Alcohol and USC?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>All of the college guidebooks we've looked at are fairly silent on the subject of whether or not alcohol is a problem at USC, other than mentioning some partying on Frat Row. I'm hoping this silence is a good thing. :)</p>

<p>My daughter has also been accepted to Wake Forest, where we read there is an extremely large problem with partying and binge drinking, even mid-week. She was also turned off by the excessive partying when she went to a Merit Scholarship Weekend at Sewanee. Students had vodka bottles lining the windowsills, lots of freshman drinking, etc.</p>

<p>Can anyone shed light on the situation at USC? Is it nondrinker friendly? The literature makes it sound as though there are plenty other activities to choose from. She's just concerned about things like not ending up with a drunk roommate throwing up, etc. :) :)</p>

<p>Thanks for any insight!</p>

2

<p>Bottom line, almost ANY school your daughter attends will have partying and drinking and other activities that you might not want her to participate in. This is part of the college experience, and no matter how hard a school tries, it will always exist.</p>

<p>However, that being said, many schools implement programs for students who know that they don't want to be involved in that kind of social activity. In USC's case, I believe that they have a "quiet floor" in one of their dorms, and kids who do not want to partake in the rowdy partying social life will be placed with other students alike. There will always be subsitutes to try to remedy these issues for people who think that they are issues, but it will always exist.</p>

3

<p>The dorm building I live in has a substance-free floor. It seems to be working well. All the buildings on campus have a no-substance policy, which basically means if the RA's see any alcohol in any form in the buildings, it gets taken away and the student gets written up. True, it's definitely not foolproof, but at least USC has a rule about it.</p>

<p>I see your concern about a drunk roommate coming back in the room because I do not drink, but have experienced the exact thing (roommate has thrown up, has annoyed me to death while drunk). If your daughter firmly sets her boundaries with her roommate and her RA the first day of school, it will make things easier. I found that my roommate respected my wishes and my RA and I were able to hold him more accountable. It happened, but my roommate felt more guilty about it than he would've if I had mentioned it for the first time after he had sobered up.</p>

<p>These problems you cannot avoid at any college. USC is no longer the partying school that it was typically stereotyped to be back in the 70's and 80's. There is a party scene, but it's controlled. She won't have any trouble finding activities to do, as only the fraternities and sororities revolve lots of their events around drinking.</p>

4

<p>Thanks to all for the feedback thus far. She definitely recognizes drinking is an issue unless she goes somewhere like Wheaton -- just hopes to have a "manageable" situation and especially that she won't be an "outsider" and have a social life if she doesn't drink herself. :) You've given some good insight into what options there might be. </p>

<p>Any additional thoughts would be most welcome!</p>

5

<p>USC is enormous. There is no way she'd end up being the only student that didn't drink on the weekends. I wouldn't worry about this thing outside of small schools.</p>

6

<p>That's a good point. Do you think because of the size USC might be more "live and let live" about drinking than a school like Wake Forest (over 4000 students)? Maybe there is a bigger pool of potential non-drinking friends at a larger school too?</p>

7

<p>Why can't she experiment with alcohol and see if she likes it? No need to be a teetotaler. College is about new experiences. But, if she is a saintly girl and doesn't want to, she will be fine. A few guys in my fraternity don't drink and everyone is fine with it. The bad part is that they are always designated drivers. As for girls who don't drink...well, guys don't like to be around them as much because they aren't as easy. Just let her experiment in moderation.</p>

8

<p>"well, guys don't like to be around them as much because they aren't as easy."</p>

<p>That's probably a good thing from PBK mom's standpoint. lol</p>

9

<p>Thanks, her own preference is not to drink and not to be as "easy." :) She has lots of other interests, just wants to make sure there are plenty of opportunities for other kinds of activities and that the drinking scene in the dorms isn't completely out of control as at one school she visited.</p>

10

<p>Yeah... Im in the dorms this year, and drinking is in no way out of control... I mean, if you want to go get drunk, you can, any day of the week... The party scene at SC definitely revolves around the row and alcohol BUT I have friends (guys and girls) that dont drink and have a lot of fun on weekends... Your daughter will be fine.</p>

11

<p>PKB Mom:</p>

<p>Unfortunately much of youth culture today revolves around alcohol. If your daughter is uncomfortable with drinking she will choose friends who don't drink, or, at a minimum, wouldn't bother her about not drinking. With 17,000 undergraduates it is quite likely she will find a group of friends with a similar view of alcohol. And, btw, good for her.</p>

12

<p>I'll be her friend! haha : ) </p>

<p>but yes, i think its just honestly about who you choose to hang out with and where you choose to get involved. every school has its party scene, but you can avoid that if you want to. your daughter sounds like a girl who's pretty strong in her convictions, so i'm sure she'll be fine! </p>

<p>sirwatson: i honestly hope you're joking..</p>

13

<p>Maybe you should meet up with her if she attends, sarahjhansen! :)</p>

<p>Really appreciate the additional feedback. It sounds like, in general, you can go find partying if you want it, but that she wouldn't be a social "outsider" if she's not into that aspect of school life and wants to be busy with other activities instead. Choice is good!</p>

<p>Thanks to all --</p>

14

<p>To some degree, I believe it also depends on what school within USC she's in. I understand the folks in engineering, pre-med & business are pretty serious & more studious. The international students are also quite focused & really want to succeed (they're often in engineering as well).<br>
My friends' kids who have attended/are attending have not mentioned any problems related to alcohol. One of the benefits of a larger school is that you're more likely to be able to find the right niches/groups for you. According to the USC folks at the accepted students' reception, as long as your student turns in their housing form & it's received no later than May 1 & s/he answers the questions in the questiionaire honestly, most do pretty well with their roommates.
As has already been said, I think drug & alcohol misuse is pretty widespread throughout college campuses, but from all I've read it's also OK for students if they choose not to imbibe.</p>

15

<p>PBK Mom - I think that your daughter will be fine, and do well at USC. </p>

<p>When we went to the Explore USC, during the Scholarship Interview sessions, there was a woman speaker from UC Campus Security, and also a couple of gentleman speakers from USC Housing. Without going into a 1,000 word summary of their discussion with Parents that day, I will give you the quick thumbnail sketch overiew of what they had to say.</p>

<p>(1) Yes, drinking occurs at USC, like it does at every other college campus. (They were not condoning, or approving of it, with their comments. They were being honest).</p>

<p>(2) The head of Housing stated very directly, that anyone caught drinking is dealt with. There is a student government forum. There are some type of "drinking education" sessions that they are required to attend (that apparently are quite effective at communicating the consequences to the students). It is communicated very directly to the students that it is "OK not to drink", and it is "not ok to drink".</p>

<p>(3) the bottomline: If the students are caught more than once (maybe it is more than twice, they can be put on probation programs, and get kicked out of the dorms, and get kicked out of USC. The point being, it is NOT taken lightly.</p>

<p>Let's add one more unspoken element to the equation. Unlike many public schools, USC, and the fact that it is a private school, IS going to hear from, and listen to Parents and Alumni. Parents do not want to learn that their kids are "learning" how to drink. Parents and Alumni, in the giving, are going to communicate their preferences. This does NOT mean that drinking will not occur. However, I do believe that it is taken very seriously, and I believe that students will learn of the seriousness after an offense, if not before.</p>

16

<p>This feedback is exactly what we need. It sounds as though the overall environment at USC is OK as far as the drinking issue being "manageable" if you're a nondrinker. I am printing all your feedback out for her to review as part of the decision process. Thanks very much!</p>

17

<p>I cannot say that I've seen ALL of USC, but I will say that when I went to ExploreUSC for my Scholarship Interview, there was a buch of drinking and a game of beer pong going on. I was in Birnkrant, on a floor of all freshmen.. it seemed that everybody was pretty into alcohol, but only the hardcore kids were doing it that monday night. I was told that the RA's dont really care.. they kind of ignore it.</p>

<p>Since I was there for an interview, I politely declined :D</p>

18

<p>I'll hang out with your daughter...I don't drink, and I was a little concerned about the prominence of alcohol in social activities as well :)</p>

19

<p>I don't drink either, so I think your daughter would/will have many "non-drinkers" to hang out with.</p>

20

<p>yay.
we can all start a club.... and maybe name it "College Confidential Addicts Who Don't Like Alcohol"... sound like a plan, guys? : )</p>