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I'm going to be an incoming freshman at Bates College and I was placed in their "Chem Free dorm." This was not my first choice and although I do not smoke or drink, i like to be social and have fun like everyone else. Will a No Smoking/No drinking Dorm be No fun?

By Ariesathena (Ariesathena) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 06:47 pm: Edit

Not at all!! I lived in smoke-free and sub-free for the three years I was in dorms, and it was great. Minimal partying there, minimal drunks at 3 am waking you up (on a Tuesday!), people who can have fun with or without the alcohol... and you tend to meet people who will study. Basically, you meet people who will want to have fun and blow off steam at the end of the week, but they are the ones who tend to do quite well academically, don't drop out, etc... and still have fun. That fun often just happens in a different location if it involves alcohol.

By Uschicka (Uschicka) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 08:47 pm: Edit

It won't be a problem at all. Most dorms don't allow drinking or smoking anyways. The dorm rooms are just for hanging out and having fun (but of course, I'm sure people will drink/smoke there anyways...it's just like underage drinkers- they aren't supposed to, but they do anyways). The good places to party aren't in dorms anyway.

By Purgeofdoors (Purgeofdoors) on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 10:13 pm: Edit

It depends. Is the sub-free dorm the only one on campus? If so, it could mean problems (well, define problems). But I agree with Aries, you'll still be around people who want to have fun - there are no ascetic dorms.

I'd go sub-free if they'd call it something except 'substance-free'. Wtf? It has no substance? Does it exist? Is it implying that we who ingest no alcohol are somehow meaningless? Thus it would be like going to most public high schools?

By Calimari (Calimari) on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 11:06 am: Edit

no, Bates allows alcohol and tobacco into all their dorms (which I think is insane), so the sub-free are specially designated for students who don't want to live around that stuff. I hope i like it, i guess i can't change it anyway! Thanks for the input, guys!

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 11:34 am: Edit

When my daughter was deciding on a theme dorm, mainly between "quiet" and "sub-free", she opted for sub-free.

Dorms where students don't use substances are not only cleaner , but quieter too.
http://web.reed.edu/apply/tour/qtvr/steele2.htm

This will be her third year in a sub free dorm, while she is 21, and doesn't abstain always, like some dorms encourage their students, she does appreciate people not smoking in the rooms, and while no one can pass all their classes and party all the time, she likes that the students in her dorm have lots of activities that don't revolve around losing conciousness.

( I am exagerating I don't think there is a