A Word of Advice... on drinking

By Joshua O'Connell
Posted Thursday, September 19, 2002

I pretty much have avoided drinking in high school. Now, as a freshman, I really don't want to drink now either, but it seems everyone is doing it, especially on the weekends. Should I let my guard down and just try it?

--Sober after all these years

Time to get a ton of letters, but to sum it up in a way only this column's title could promise: No.

Less than 60 seconds ago I had a pre-med student telling me I should get the party started and that everyone is drinking right now (I believe the phrase was, "who isn't?"). It's 1:30 in the morning on a Thursday night, and I'm responding to you instead of holding a beer in my hands. Oh yeah, it's tempting considering my floor this particular night is full of parties, but I know I've got class in the morning.

The nice thing about this campus is there's all types. I know of some people who would play the Chicken Soup for the Soul board game as a form of nighttime entertainment. Others would find it a thrill to play Dance Dance Revolution on the Playstation until 2 AM.

While the arrows may all be glowing in one direction, and the dance seems easy to follow and enjoy, it's more important to be true to yourself. If you're the type of person who prefers to just hang out and watch movies instead of drink, find good company who does the same. There's substance-free floors which can provide a great amount of entertainment of the non-drinking variety, and the student government generally has activities planned which can keep you occupied and having fun. The school's like Baskin Robbins - there's 31 flavors. Find which one you like the best and go with it, and if you're not liking one, there's always another to try next time.

--Drunk with confusion

The health center at my school has stickers in virtually every bathroom telling you to not let someone sleep it off. Who am I to argue with professional nurses and doctors? Except. Some schools still punish those who come in drunk to their health center, regardless of whether they're helping someone out or they're drunk themselves and need help.

Ultimately, it's a question of your friend's health. If you're afraid a friend could be in serious trouble, it makes a LOT of sense to get him over to the health center immediately. It may have been fun going for awhile, but the fun could stop permanently if someone's not careful when they're out drinking. Killing the fun for that particular night may ensure that the person could come out of it OK and be able to talk to you after class the next day.

Have people slept it off successfully? Yes. But without knowing how much they've drank, you're really playing a game of Russian Roulette, and you don't want to be the one who let the trigger go if they can't control it at that point themselves. Call Security, get them to Dolan, and ring the bell at the door. They'll be happy you did, and ultimately, so will your roommate.

--Social, but dry

I'm already tapped out of funny comments, but I'll still answer the question.

There are pros and cons to this. Of course it'll be cool to hang out with your friends, and you can get out and meet new people. Parties definitely offer a cool social situation when you want to have some fun. But then there's the icky stuff - people will constantly be offering you drinks, and then there's the different planes you'll be on when one person has drank a bit and you haven't. Some things just seem funnier to people once they've drank a bit… and you will probably wonder what planet they are from. Then, of course, if you're under 21, there's all those rules and regulations and such that go on and on in the handbook which could but you in a bit of a spot for just being in the presence of underage drinking.

If you're cool with being around people who will definitely be in a different mindset as you, there's relatively little harm in it. But beware that you'll be seeing things without the benefit of beer goggles, and that will make everything seem less attractive at times. Good luck, and thanks for asking.

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