The Borg Challenge

Once again, I want to warn you about a dangerous party trend that’s gone viral and being promoted on TikTok. Known as the Borg challenge or drinking trend, the online videos quickly garnered over eighty-two million views. The word Borg stands for blackout rage gallon, which refers to an alcoholic drink that is made by filling a gallon size jug with a combination of water, alcohol, electrolytes, and caffeinated energy drinks. Borgs typically include up to a fifth of alcohol, which is equal to about sixteen drinks. Students believe that mixing and drinking their own borg is a safe alternative to carrying an open container that could be tainted with some other drug. Students also believe that adding the water to dilute the alcohol makes for a safer drink and drinking less, which is actually not true. On one weekend in March, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst had twenty-eight ambulance calls related to the trend. Parents, warn your kids about the dangers of this and other drinking trends.