When I got to college, I was totally ready for the academics, more than a bit cowed by dorm life (as any introvert would be), but mostly–I was completely unprepared for the drinking life that dominated my Ivy League campus. I say Ivy League, because my university did not fit the stereotypical bill of a “party” school, yet it was. Oh yes, it was. Most schools are.
As I mentioned in an essay for Drinking Diaries, my dorm hosted a “rooms party,” that first week of college. We served gin and tonics, I passed out that night, and I’ve never been able to even smell a gin and tonic since. That, dear readers, was the start of my college drinking career, which included many near-comatose Saturdays and Sundays, times where I woke up with a guy whose name I wasn’t sure I knew, drinks in the shower before parties, pitchers of beer mid-week, while studying for finals, drinks, drinks, drinks!
I’d like to think it was just me, that maybe things have changed drastically now that the drinking age is no longer eighteen (as it was when I was a freshman). We even had a Campus Pub, where they served kamikaze shots in little plastic shot glasses. Has it all changed? Or are students just crafting better fake IDs? Perhaps I’m hopelessly out of touch.
Also–maybe I was just extra hard hit since my high school drinking career was practically nil. But does that mean I should encourage my kids to drink
before college so they get a drinking education? Hmmm. That sounds dubious.
It would be great if they came to college armed with some information about alcohol, though. Would that help them moderate themselves through all those temptations? I’m not sure, but maybe.
While browsing an interesting site called College Drinking–Changing the Culture, I discovered that some colleges offer mandatory alcohol education courses, which incoming freshmen can take online. That’s a start, but it seems a bit impersonal. It may have helped me more if college students had visited my high school during senior year for a frank and private (meaning no parents or teachers) round table on college drinking.
Readers: I’d love to hear your thoughts on college drinking. Should students get some practice by drinking in high school, or do you think that’s absurd, given that: A) underage drinking is illegal; B) the earlier kids start drinking, the more likely it is that drinking will be woven into the fabric of their lives; and C) drinking isn’t healthy for the developing body and brain.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
There is certainly a culture of drinking at many schools, some more than others. Friends of mine attended colleges and universities where the practice was expected.
And when in remote areas far from cities or much to do, students often rationalize drinking for that reason.
Oh, boy. You hit me right where I live. My oldest is a high school senior. All of her friends have been drinking for a couple of years now, many with their parents’ permission. But not her. Underage drinking has been a strict no-no in our hourse and so far our teens have obeyed. But college next year will be a different story. My daughter plans to drink in college, in fact, looks forward to it. Will she go wild without parental constraint? Will the fact that she’s older help her make better decisions than her friends did a 16 when they started getting drunk? We talk about it. A lot. It seems like that’s all I can do at this point.
High School Mom–There’s no easy solution, but it sounds like you’re doing the right thing by talking about it. We did not talk about it in my house–alcohol was taboo by that point. I think if there had been a forum, it would have helped prepare me. Maybe I could have tried drinking, but in a more moderate way. There are college kids who don’t drink, and there are college kids for whom drinking is not a big deal. But you generally won’t find those kids out at frat parties and the like. It’s good to know how to handle yourself in every situation.
I started drinking on weekends in high school (without my parent’s permission, but I’m sure they knew), but I was in no way prepared for the amount of alcohol available at university. It was constant, especially in the dorms, and it is suprising in retrospect that I survived that period.