<p>I read about the Pledge Night problems last January (for example, here: WFU</a> may alter rules | JournalNow.com), </p>
<p>and then this:</p>
<p>Of course, I recognize that many students drink while in college. My questions are: Is drinking such a pervasive part of the student culture at Wake Forest that a non-drinking student would feel ostracized or unable to find like-minded friends? If Wake offers many alternative activities, what are they, and how well-attended are they?</p>
<p>There are plenty of people who do not go to parties not to mention people who do not drink at all. Most student would label DKE parties (the one that got busted last Saturday) “sketchy” When you are a freshman and don’t know many people, it might seem that everybody is into frat parties and whatnot, but that is not true at all. Frat guys are kind of like cults; they always sit around in their lounges and hold exclusive parties off campus. They probably think everybody wants to come to their parties, but that is not true at all. There are social dances, movie nights, dinners parties, academic clubs, intramural sports, musical activities etc. It is not something Wake has to offer as a school but it’s how the students here make use of the resources. The best thing about college is you can do whatever you want; if you find like-minded people with whom you want to do things together (most likely you will), you will have no problem even if you don’t drink. Well, in my personal opinion, people who get drunk every weekend are those who are lonely (so they want to hook up at drunk parties), or those who are somehow traumatized in high school, or those who don’t know what else to do (these people will end up stop drinking and discover something else to do after a while). Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for your comments! </p>
<p>Do other Wake Forest students have additional thoughts about the culture at Wake?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that while 80 students were cited for drinking - the other 4000+ students had better things to do! Speaking as a parent - many students are involved with sports - both as a participant and as a fan, many are involved with the arts and there are many other planned activities. Fraternity parties will always be there for those who want that as the focus of their weekend - but for those seeking options - I think Wake has plenty of alternatives.</p>
<p>Former Wake student, here–'08 grad. The problem was never finding things to do, it was finding time to do them! There were always club meetings or lectures or movies or dinners with friends going on. And when I didn’t go to those, there were a lot of nights my friends and I just stayed up late talking. Obviously, there aren’t a whole lot of organized activities really late at night (no one’s giving a talk or going to a movie at 2AM), so you’re kind of limited to whatever you and your friends plan to do, but it wasn’t ever a problem for me to find friends who weren’t drinking.</p>
<p>I would say that’s a minority opinion by wakiewakie. If you want the honest truth about Wake, I would say that of course there is drinking. Welcome to college. Fraternities and sororities determine the social scene of Wake, and there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone has a lot of fun and we don’t drink cause we’re “lonely” or “traumatized by high school,” we just like to have a good time. As a senior in Greek life, I wouldn’t trade my college life for anything. Looking at wakiewakie’s posts, he/she just picked the wrong school and didn’t fit in too well.</p>
<p>Ahaha, I heard about that. I believe a few of my classmates got busted in that fiasco. But yes, drinking is big here; Greek life is very dominant on campus. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>I’m currently a freshman at Wake Forest, and I do not drink for a variety of reasons (besides the fact that I’m not yet 21). As first year students, we have been warned by friends, professors, etc. NOT to go to places like DKE (also called “Deac”/“DEKE”). It’s known for being unsafe and “sketchy,” as the others who have posted stated earlier. </p>
<p>But, rest assured, the majority of Wake students are funny, kind, community-oriented people, many of whom do not drink and will not try to pressure others into doing so. Yes, drinking can is a general part of the college experience, but it does not have to be a part of your experience if you do not want it to be. There are a few “dry” co-ed service fraternities on campus, as well as many club sports groups, student-run groups, choral and instrumental music groups, etc. who can show you how to have fun sans alcohol. </p>
<p>As far as academics go, statistics show that A/B students at Wake drink less or not at all. People with academic problems related to alcohol usually see the error of their ways around Spring semester and drink less, especially because football is over. Just find a good group of people to associate yourself with, and you’ll be fine.</p>