The Romanticisation of Drinking in College

College is the time to experiment, party and socialize to the extreme — or so they say. What that entails varies for each person, but this romanticized image of what college should look like usually centers on excessive alcohol consumption. The expectation to fulfill this stereotype can make students feel pressured to drink, drink and drink some more. 

Generally, college students are known to drink frequently and in large quantities. Heck, we’ve even given names to certaindays of the week as an excuse to drink more than just outside of the weekend. Twisted Tuesdays, wacky/wine Wednesdays, thirsty Thursdays or — if you're 21 and heading to Bar IX — Bucket Night. All so we can live our college life to the fullest and maybe get alcohol poisoning along the way. 

I have not been sober my whole life and I have 100 percent experienced the thrill of getting hammered. I am also not currently sober. Instead, I have found a happy medium of only drinking occasionally and just getting tipsy because this is what works for me. 

From my experiences of complete sobriety to drinking heavily to having a drink every few weeks, I've come to realize that being on the sober end as a college student is viewed as odd.

“When people hear that I don't really drink, they think that I'm uptight and have lots of judgment towards other people,” said Adeline Sydnor, a business major. I’ve experienced the same thing. It is important to recognize that choosing sobriety or opting for one drink instead of seven doesn’t make you boring — nor does it disconnect you from the college experience. The stereotype of a sober person standing alone in the corner of a party is bogus. 

Personally, I am a huge party animal. I love small parties, big parties, bars, clubs and concerts — literally any social event that I hear about, I want to be there. These days, what separates me from many of the people at these functions is that I am sober or barely tipsy, while they are wasted. “I can have just as much fun and not have to drink alcohol,” Sydnor said, and I couldn’t agree more. 

I understand that alcohol can change one’s experience and perception of an event to make it more fun. I’ve been there: seeing the ceiling spin is a great place to be sometimes. However, the idea that alcohol is needed to have a good time is just wrong. 

Many believe that you have to fall into one of two extremes when it comes to drinking in college: complete sobriety or borderline alcoholism. This simply is not true. “It all comes down to moderation,” said Tate Hart, a kinesiology major. “[Students need to be] able to control the impulses and not get blackout drunk every night as a college student and fail [their] classes.” 

He also mentioned that on the other end of the spectrum, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating a good exam grade with alcohol or drinking a glass of wine with dinner. Everyone can find their balance.

Since we are in college and alcohol is so prevalent in our lives, there are naturally people on the pro-alcohol extreme. “It’s great, I love alcohol,” said Jack Hayward, a computer science major.  “I think drinking alcohol is part of the canonical college experience.” 

He’s not wrong here: college students are expected to drink, sometimes in dangerous amounts. “If you make it through college and you don't find out where your blackout line is, did you really go to college?” Hayward said. 

As a student body, we need to better emphasize alcohol safety. Students may know that alcohol destroys their liver, but it’s easy to ignore when they haven’t faced those consequences yet. This isn’t to say that everyone who drinks alcohol is going to be brutally harmed by it, but those who have reached these serious limits often brush it off because it is socially accepted. 

“I’ve seen people who have alcohol poisoning, and it's just so normalized that it isn’t addressed,” Sydnor said. It’s impressive that, for some students, poisoning our bodies with a near-fatal amount of liquor is just a typical Tuesday. It’s usually unintentional, but when someoneis already blacking out every week, it’s entirely possible that their next drinking night could end with stomach-pumping and hefty hospital bills.  

College is more than just four years of 30 racks and shots. I have loved my time here and I believe my current drinking habits are far from debilitating to my experiences. In fact, I can actually remember the things and events I’ve done, which is more than some can say.