<p>^First, I have been attending an American/British school for my entire life. Consequently, I may have nor may have not (Thats up to you to decide, afterall you live in the states) <strong>some</strong> experience with your drinking culture, having encountered it daily (we have about 450/1200 American sutdents; ca. 35/60 in my graduating class. Most of them come here because their parents moved from states, means they are mostly middle class). Now, this is my basis for my epxeriences. It may not be representative, but that’s all I got (plus some visits to the States). All I am saying is that I have experienced in this matter (Alcohol) is that they are completely ecstatic about alcohol and drinking beer at 16. I am just having doubts about why they are, !that’s all!; I am not pontificating anything, as I have stated more than 3 times.</p>
<p>@smoda61 perhaps I mistook some the posts for parents’ opinions, that was my mistake I am sorry…</p>
<p>@Felix - There are other parents on this thread but they were much earlier on the first page. Most applications of “^” that I have seen are when the current post is in response to the one immediately preceding.</p>
<p>Everybody. If you’re going to drink, make sure you smoke some pot with it to protect your brain cells! A research by UCSD shows taht those who binge drink AND smoke pot have healthier brains than those who only binge drink.</p>
<p>Thanks for clarifying, bilguun. I’ll be sure to tell all my friends who smoke pot BUT don’t inhale marijana smoke that they’re missing out on brain benefits.</p>
<p>So the deal with alcohol among Harvard freshman is: it’s there and more or less freely available for consumption. It is not uncommon for freshmen who have never consumed alcohol before to overindulge and end up in fairly unpleasant situations (such as in the hospital for alcohol poisoning). It is also not uncommon for freshmen to drink more or less responsibly and enjoy themselves without damaging themselves or their peers. There is very little pressure to drink, and freshmen who abstain are equally capable of enjoying Harvard’s social activities. (Besides, watching people get drunk can be very entertaining.) It can be a little overwhelming at first, especially if you are unfamiliar with alcohol, but you get used to the scene fairly quickly.</p>
<p>Harvard is pretty reasonable about alcohol on campus. They make every freshman go through an alcohol education program (called AlcoholEdu). They have also instituted an amnesty policy - you won’t be penalized if you seek help for alcohol-related problems or if someone seeks help on your behalf. While alcohol is allowed in the upperclassman houses (and even paid for, if only for students who are of age) alcohol is NOT permitted in the freshman dorms. </p>
<p>I hope that answers the question satisfactorily.</p>
<p>One caveat - the amnesty does not apply (at least it didn’t last year) to student group leaders for parties held by a recognized (i.e. The Crimson) or unrecognized (i.e. The Spee) student group.</p>
<p>D just mentioned today that her friend who is a freshman has 4 suitemates who have drinking parties and one of them apparently smokes pot. It appears that they get together with some boys down the hallway and get very noisy. They have been previously warned by their proctor and last night the proctor came and confiscated the alcohol and now all of them are getting ad-boarded. D’s friend was not in the room and does not party with these girls. She is very upset as the proctor said that all the roommates are responsible whether they were there in the room or not.</p>