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how do you find a college that doesn't have a lot of drinking on campus?

By Megofou (Megofou) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 08:52 am: Edit

It's really hard. But hey, I go to one of the top five so-called "party schools" in the country...and I've been to exactly one uber drinking party. Several of my friends don't drink at all. It's not that difficult to stay away from if you want to.

By Parentofteen (Parentofteen) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 11:57 am: Edit

My daughter is a freshman at Duke and is a non-drinker/non-partier among many partiers. She does not let the party scene worry her too much. There are so many other things to do to satisfy her interests than going to parties. Her roommate is also a non-drinker; she actually goes to the parties but does not drink and feels no pressure to do so.

She enjoys Duke's many cultural events, including Broadway musical shows, movies, symphony orchestra performances, and dance performances, as well as the coffee house
on Friday nights and Christian goups/Bible studies.

I think most campuses offer a wide array of things to do in your free time in lieu of partying. Most students just choose to party instead.

By Justplayin104 (Justplayin104) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 11:58 am: Edit

You're probably going to have to look into Christian schools or military schools. I go to the # 3 party school, Wisconsin-Madison, and everybody drinks (I don't). Up here, it's not hard to make friends, and if you drink it's 10x easier. But I'm not looking for those types of friends so it's kind of difficult.
But it's definitely possible. Just do the things you like doing, and meet people there; go to church, go to the parks or theatres on Friday nights, etc.

By Brandnew (Brandnew) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 02:05 pm: Edit

I'm going to UCLA and here, you have to make an active effort in order to drink. It's not hard to stay away from at all. I've drank here, but it's only because I wanted to and went looking for it, not because I stumbled upon it or because of peer pressure.

By Anglophile (Anglophile) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 07:04 pm: Edit

It is really easy to avoid drinking at most colleges. So, I wouldn't worry about it. Just choose your friends well and stay away from idiots and frat parties.

Hey Brandnew, I'm at UCLA also Just thought I'd say hi.

By Lame (Lame) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 02:10 am: Edit

I'm at UCLA too! Courtside love.

By Icarus (Icarus) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 03:16 am: Edit

Psh - its all about the penthouse of Dykstra!

But to stay on topic, I'm with Brandon - its not difficult to not drink if you don't want to... then again, its not hard to drink as much as you want.

By Vladimir2004 (Vladimir2004) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 09:09 pm: Edit

2 questions: where do they buy alcohol? I'm sure it is not sold on campus. And also, are there ever problems with the police?

By Koolgorl (Koolgorl) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:19 pm: Edit

Check out the thread on the parent forum labeled "4th alcohol poisoning death" just to make sure you are aware of the facts related to alcohol poisoning. It will just take a second and it might save a life of a friend.

By Missegg (Missegg) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 12:04 am: Edit

make friends with someone legal, same way they buy it in high school....aside from parking tickets the main tickets given out on my campus are underage consumption

thanks koolgorl, but neither me or my friends drink

By Megofou (Megofou) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 12:10 am: Edit

Even if you know no one of age, someone you meet will. It's really not hard at all to get alcohol. If nothing else, join a club and get to know some of the older people. Chances are they'll buy for you.

I didn't have a problem. My roommate's dad bought her a lot of Vodka and a guy I knew from home gave me a bottle of Cuervo. I don't drink much, so I still have most of it.

Police are only a problem if you're noticably drunk. Stummbling around in public = stupid = fair game for ticket. If you're discreet and can at least walk straight, no one will notice. The other weekend my friends and I had a bit to drink (none of us were drunk really) and we actually went out and had a long conversation with some horse cops about their horses...and petted them. Meanwhile, drunks stummbled by and the cops just cringed.

*shrug* Be careful and be smart and you'll be fine.

By Idiias (Idiias) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 03:52 am: Edit

are you going to make a decision of a college based on how much drinking goes on there? Okay...even if it's not your biggest factor, it shouldn't even BE a factor! There's so many more important things to worry about and base a decision off of!

By Eyesclozedtight (Eyesclozedtight) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 01:14 pm: Edit

funny story:

the other night my friends and i went to a party. they all got drunk but me(i have a hard time getting drunk. maybe because i have a high tolerance but mostly because beer disgusts me). we were walking back across town back to our dorm(i go to uc davis by the way), and my trashed friend started undressing himself in the middle of the street at about 12. i got him to put his pants back on but the shirt stayed off. as he stumbled around dancing shirtless in the street, a police car started driving up. i called to my friend to get out of the street and he did when he saw the police car. the cop could tell i was fine and rolled down the window and asked me to "keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid." i politely thanked the officer and he kept driving.

the moral of the story is that davis police are friggin sweet.

as for the original question, if you want to go to parties but not drink, the trick is to just get a drink and hold it. as long as you're holding a drink people will simply assume you're having a good time and won't bother you about not drinking. don't forget that you may have to "accidently" spill some of it throughout the night so it doesn't look like you haven't drank any. i use this trick all the time and it works well.