<p>So, I've been put into a no smoking, no drug, no alcohol, no nothing dorm where each student has to sign a contract basically saying they won't do any of those activities inside or outside of the dorm. Now, understand that I am NOT a party animal who comes home drunk each weekend, but I'll also say that I'm not completely innocent either. I chose the dorm because it was more studious, more involved in the school, and just a more focused group.... it's exactly what I wanted. I recently got a paper outlining the rules and wow, it seems pretty darned strict! Like break any rule and get kicked out... Anyone live in this type of dorm? Were they as strict as they originally stated? I kind of get the impression that this is a front put on for the parents and that it's not going to be all that strict but then some students say that it's the real deal. Like I said, DON'T get the impression that I'm wild and am intending on getting drunk, smoking, etc all the time but I was just wondering about it. </p>
<p>I don't think there will be RAs scouting the campus for individuals that drink and then go back to a substance free dorm, if that's what you mean. That said, if you go back to a substance free dorm completely drunk, then you may have some problems.</p>
<p>I'd definitely avoid smoking--that seems to be what was most heavily enforced in my substance-free dorm (which makes sense because some of the people in the dorm had chosen it because they're very allergic to smoke). As for drinking, don't get drunk or drink so much that you come back smelling of alcohol and you'll probably be okay. Also, find a friend who'll let you crash in their room if you want to drink heavily. The contract might say that you can't drink outside the dorm (although our contract specified that we couldn't come back after drinking rather than we couldn't drink), but no one in the dorm is going to care about that clause if you crash somewhere else.</p>
<p>Substance free dorm is an oxymoron. You will be fine, just don't let the RA see you bring a 12 pack back to your room. You are an adult, this is not the military or jail. You will surprised how laid back this "policy" actually is come the start of the semester.</p>
<p>My son will be a freshman at Bowdoin next year. He doesn't drink or do drugs and dislikes cigarette smoke. However he doesn't know much about life in drug-free vrs. regular dorms. He's concerned that the drug free dorms might carry some kind of stigma and that the tone may be too serious, conservative and just not as much fun as a the regular dorms. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>the thing is,....college is all about experimentation, and when you get shut into something that's substance free, it can really hinder that....freedom that you go to college for,...to not live with your parents.
Even if i didn't drink or toke, I wouldn't wanna be told what to do by anyone. I can't stand my dorm now, because the RA's try to write everyone up for doing something that doesn't bother anyone else.</p>
<p>That being said, it's not hard to drink and toke in your dorms, for pot, just tape the fire alarm, or use a fan, and drinking you do it quietly or make sure you don't have bottles in the open. it's pretty simple.</p>
<p>There's not that much stigma on the substance free dorms (at least here @ cal) because most people would kinda laught it off, as in....oh...ur in the narc dorm hahaha. and if you don't associate with people who like to party a bit, it probably won't be a big deal.</p>
<p>as long as your roommate isn't a complete jerk and your RA's aren't out to get you, its ok to have a drink in your room with a couple friends. just don't get loud enough to draw attention or tick your roommate off.</p>
<p>
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My son will be a freshman at Bowdoin next year. He doesn't drink or do drugs and dislikes cigarette smoke.
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He will most likely start drinking when he gets to college. Do not have him sign up for the substance free dorms. I also dislike cigarette smoke immensely. Just make sure he writes on his housing form that he doesn't want a roommate who smokes.</p>
<p>My school doesn't have a whole dorm (they're kinda short on dorms), but they have a wing or a floor or something of one of the upperclassmen suite dorms that was supposed to be a 'wellness living community' or whatever they called it...basically I think it was supposed to be substance free plus people that like to work out and eat healthy and whatnot. </p>
<p>I don't drink and I got lucky that my freshman year roommate didn't either, so when I went to sign up for housing the second year I picked that because I could foresee low-key parties in the common area and my other 3 roommates stumbling home drunk at 3am, bringing 5 of their friends with them. So who did I end up getting stuck with for roommates but 3 friends who thought that because they only came home drunk once each weekend and usually didn't actually puke, that meant that they "hardly drank" and they wanted to be in the sub-free section so that on the nights they didn't come home drunk they could study with out being disrupted by rude roommates who came home drunk twice as often as they did. Yeah, thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. If you don't like the rules that's probably a sign that you really shouldn't be living there in the first place.</p>
<p>I did substance free this year, and it was not so bad. I don't drink or anything so I thought it would be a good option for me. The only downside is that the kids in substance free tended to be on general shy/antisocial/awkward at first. I found the first few weeks tough, because people were not the most friendly (ie: people always kept their doors closed). Ultimately I am just grateful that I don't live in a noisy dorm. Substance Free doesn't totally prevent you from drinking if you want to anyway. As long as you weren't belligerent or really obvious you would be fine. You can get drinking citations, but as long as it is not within the substance free you are fine. Next year I'm an RA, so I won't do substance free, as it is not really necessary as you pick the people who live with/in your suite, so that problem solves itself out.</p>
<p>Since when did substance free dorms care what you do when you aren't actually in them? All of my school's dorms are substance free...but there aren't any rules about what you do off campus (other than actual laws about that kind of stuff).</p>
<p>But I had no issues in the substance free dorm and in fact, there was a lot more drinking issues than I would have liked. The RA didn't do anything about people vomitting in the hallways while drunk and after this happened twice, I told him to either write them up or I was going to file a complaint against him. He wrote them up. This year I lived in regular housing and was written up because I came back from drinking off campus and although I was not drunk, the RA heard discussions about my drinking and wrote me up. Harsh. However, rules are rules. So don't think that just because you're not beligerent and obviously drunk that you can't be written up.</p>
<p>My S is in the chem free dorm at Bowdoin. Overall it has been a good experience in that the dorm is quiet and he is able to study/sleep. He has made friends with many students in the dorm and there is always someone around to talk with, play ping pong, watch a movie etc. Most of the students are female and many international students choose chem free. He is one of only a few athletes.
His only complaint is that many of the kids seem to only hang out in the dorm and rarely venture out for other social outlets (opinion).
Acohol/drugs are not allowed (stictly enforced) in the dorm but some students consume elsewhere and come back to the dorm later.
S states he has experienced NO stigma for being in chem free</p>