<p>I just ask becuase when i visited, the tour guide went on and on about how she loved the "self-governance" policy and how it ubiquitous it was on campus. logically, this seams to imply more drug use than other campuses, but then again it depends on the type of student body. is this the oberlin of iowa? haha. just curious anyways. </p>
<p>any student or otherwise knowledgable opinions? thanks.</p>
<p>There is drug and alcohol use on every campus. My son goes to Grinnell and says he can easily find friends who don't party dangerously. I know lots of kids on other campuses who have had trouble finding such a peer group. Self-governance usually leads to MORE responsible behavior, not less.</p>
<p>thanks bethievt. its good to hear from someone who knows the school first-hand. I guess i just ask because of the smirk our tour guide had when she talked about self-governance--perhaps it means different things to different kinds of students.</p>
<p>What's about Oberlin then?</p>
<p>I'm a current student and I don't drink, smoke or do any recreational drugs and I have no problem finding sober people to hang out with on the weekends. Matter of fact I believe something like 20-30 percent of the school doesn't drink. I doubt you will have any problem with drug use.</p>
<p>I'm not sure I understand why you're relating "self-governance" to substance abuse. As far as I know, self-governance refers to the way students are engaged in the community and taking responsibility for the community. It doesn't mean that the administration lets the students police themselves with respect to drugs and alcohol. Based on the 3-4 times I heard the administration speak about alcohol use, my understanding is that Grinnell's rates of "binge drinking" are somewhat lower than the national average. There are drugs and especially alcohol on every college campus -- including the dry campuses -- and Grinnell is no exception. But, students don't have to drink to find friends, and there has been growing demand from the students for more substance-free housing.</p>
<p>This all being said, Grinnell is a place where drinking is prevalent. Doesn't mean you can't go out to parties if you don't drink, but there are plenty of non-drinkers who drop that whole 'non' part once they get to college. And if you want to get trashed, which many people obviously do, the school's not going to stop you. That's where self-governance steps in. Personally, I find the drinking/party culture, which is loose and doesn't force you to quickly down half a fifth in your closet in order to dodge school staff or security, one of the best parts of Grinnell. Great place to drink lots of beer, if that's your bag.</p>
<p>Also, just want to add that the open atmosphere makes drunken adventures common and fantastic , compared to the whole like, get wasted in someone's room and just sit there.</p>
<p>That last thing you said, about the "open atmosphere", isn't that common among LAC's? I mean, most of them are in rural or suburban settings, with plenty of space. </p>
<p>And, how common is the self-governance thing among the rest of the LAC's? I'd imagine they are very similar to Grinnell in these aspects...?</p>
<p>Again, I do not believe this has anything to do with the philosophy of self-governance. The administration's view, as it was explained to us by the president when my son was a freshman, is that they do not want to crack down hard on drinking and drive the activity underground. They want students to feel comfortable getting help for someone who needs it--a student who needs to go to the hospital or student who has a serious drinking problem. That being said, my son said he felt the administration was getting tougher on alcohol over the course of the four years he was a student there. The truth is that colleges and universities don't know what to do about controlling drinking. Many institutions have tried many things--with very little success.</p>
<p>By open atmosphere I meant there's not much antagonism between the administration and students as far as 'rules' go. There is plenty of beef regarding other stuff (such as how and when the school spends $$$), but it's not like at other school's where weekend nights are spent dodging authority. And no, there's not self-governance at every liberal arts school, or at least not officially. For example, people will play beer pong in hallways at Grinnell, which would be asking for a write up at many other schools.</p>
<p>My daughter, a sophmore at Grinnell, does not drink and does not smoke...really, she is very intolerant! and she has never felt any pressure to do so at Grinnell. Her friends at school who do indulge seem to find places other than the living quarters to do so in (and her first year dorm was substance free and that was, apparently, respected).</p>