Germs are everywhere.  However, we seem to forget this known fact when we go out to parties. At first I actually thought I was allergic to Purdue and then I realized our actions at parties are the prime reason we’re sick all the time. Girls seem especially susceptible. 

We’re the ones who wear as little clothes as possible, drink mysterious drinks and enjoy going to dark, crowded and loud parties. We’re the ones who go to parties on weekdays and decide to stay out until the break of dawn. These are five main reasons why girls get sick so easily. 

1. Drinking from other peoples’ cups or bottles. We all know what fraternities are and we can’t deny that we don’t do it, too. You might even think you’re passing the cup around to your friends, without realizing the same cup was being passed around by another group of girls five minutes before. You wake up in the morning feeling as if a brick hit you in the head. You really can’t complain about a hangover because it’s probably the flu from the hundreds of people you swapped bacteria with the night before. 

2. The music. That sore throat you’re feeling a day after going out isn’t strep. It’s the strain you put on your vocal chords trying to talk over the music at last night's party. Most likely, the party’s main goal is to have the music as loud as it can possibly be without the cops coming. That goal doesn’t take your vocal chords into consideration. 

3.  Standing too close. After straining your voice to talk over the music, you don’t realize how close you are to the person next to you. You’re practically touching noses just to hear them speak, not even thinking about their breath going into your face, containing who-knows-what germs. Soon enough, the party gets big and, not only are you touching noses to talk to people, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the people next to you, there’s someone in front of you and in the back. Can anyone tell me this won’t spread sickness?

4. Your outfit. It’s understandable. We’re in college and college means wear as little clothes as possible. There aren’t any adults in our lives to tell us our outfit is inappropriate. The crop top with pencil skirt and wedges might be sexy, but not when the temperature is six degrees outside and your body thinks that it can’t feel the cold. You’re trying to impress that one dude you’ve been talking to, but what’s more important in the moment as you’re waiting to get into the bar? That dude or your well-being? That cold you wake up with, once again, is not a hangover. It’s the cold you happened to catch while out in the tundra last night.

5. Lack of sleep. It’s Tuesday and we say we're only going out for a few hours, we'll come home early.  Nope. That doesn’t happen. You don’t just go to a party and come home early. No one is here to give us a curfew so we think we can come home whenever we want. It’s 3:30 a.m. and you’re stumbling into bed. Next thing you know, your 6:30 a.m. alarm is going off. Whatever symptom you may be experiencing, whether it’s a hangover, a cold or the flu, there’s no way you’re going to class.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that things will change. Girls will still go to parties and not worry about the bacteria around them. Awareness is good and that’s what I am hoping to achieve with this article. Next time you go to a party, think about your surroundings. You might have to think twice before you wear that crop top, and you might be more conscious of what you’re drinking. Maybe you'll come home at a decent hour and  have that casual convo another time when the music isn’t blaring.