Before coming to Brandeis, I took a year off to travel. Although I spent the majority of my gap year in Israel, I also had several amazing opportunities to visit countries in Africa and Europe. I must say, at the risk of sounding cliché, that my year abroad changed my life. I left the United States with a rather sheltered outlook and came back with a whole new understanding of the world and my own role in it.I will admit that the entire time I spent abroad I did not dedicate to learning. Although the program in which I participated was quite structured, we had a great deal of free time at night and on the weekends. And being fresh out of high school and on our own for the first time, many of us inevitably used some of that free time to go out and have a good time. The fact of the matter is that going out was a normal part of my overseas experience, which is why I was surprised to see a rather alarmist Oct. 12 Inside Higher Ed article discussing a new study that indicated that undergraduates who study abroad drink twice as much as they do at home.

My initial thought upon reading this was, "Well, duh." Of course students drink more when they're abroad. Not only is the drinking age 18 or younger almost everywhere else in the world, but alcohol is frequently cheaper abroad.

But, then again, the thought process of a college administrator might be a little bit different. If the rate of alcohol consumption on college campuses is already high, the idea that students drink twice as much while abroad could be pretty alarming.

It's even more alarming when the article emphasizes that students who drink abroad could potentially be in danger if they aren't familiar with foreign laws and customs and that excessive drinking might perpetuate negative stereotypes about Americans.

If I were a college administrator reading that article, I might start to question the value of sending students abroad. I would not want students representing my university to go abroad only to increase their alcohol consumption and end up in trouble with local authorities. If increased alcohol consumption abroad is so risky, students should just get their education safely in America.

Yet despite excessive drinking habits, the value of going abroad is undeniably present. The reason study abroad even exists is because there are some experiences that students can't get in a typical classroom setting in the United States.

Next year, for example, I hope to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. Yes, there is some great nightlife in Cape Town, and I will probably go out and experience it. But my reasons for wanting to go abroad are completely unrelated to the nightlife. I want to go to Cape Town because black townships and a post-Apartheid government don't exist in the United States. Although I can learn about those things in the classroom, I can't experience the reality of the situation and effect positive change for those living in the townships unless I actually go to South Africa. Seeing and experiencing life on the ground in Cape Town is a profoundly different experience than reading about it in a textbook. I feel that my education will not be complete unless I study abroad.

Of course, I know that not everyone who goes abroad has the same motivations as I do. According to an article in the University of Washington News discussing the same study, many students who go abroad might do so with the expectation that they should drink because it's part of the culture abroad. Many students also might go abroad to take advantage of more lax drinking laws; indeed, the study found that students who are under 21 when they go abroad triple their alcohol intake.

But even if students go abroad with the intention of drinking more, study abroad is still an important educational experience. In the 21st century, we are living in an increasingly globalized world. With greater connections being forged between nations and greater international flows of people, goods, ideas and cultures, it is extremely important that, as a part of our education, we learn something about this world. Some knowledge about the world in which we live not only makes one a more competitive candidate for jobs, but it also makes one a more responsible "global citizen." The best way to learn about this world and achieve the status of "global citizen" is to travel abroad. Even if students spend the majority of their time abroad partying and drinking, it is nearly impossible to spend several months in a place without learning something about it.

No matter what administrators do, many students will drink mush more heavily when they go abroad. Wanting to drink and party in a place where alcohol is more accessible is not the noblest motivation for wanting to go abroad. But regardless of alcohol consumption, the clear value of study abroad will not be lost. Education can only be enhanced by experiencing something new and different.