<p>I hear the legal drinking age in America is 21 - is this true? What happens in Harvard and other universities then, do they have their own bars which are licensed to sell to undergraduates? Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to go binge drinking every night and realise that there is a hell of a lot more on offer in these places and so much to get involved in, but I would also enjoy the occasional drink with friends - so how does it work?</p>
<p>it's illegal, but happens constantly on every college campus.</p>
<p>Bud Light? ;)</p>
<p>Seriously is that it, you just drink illegally the whole time? I'm surprised the universities don't have some kind of bar or something to make it a bit easier.</p>
<p>I've heard some do....</p>
<p>Isn't the drinking age in New York State 18?</p>
<p>My friend told me that...and so he goes to NYC now and then from Yale :P</p>
<p>Some universities do have bars--Harvard is actually in the process of building a pub--but underage drinking laws are taken seriously by most establishments that sell drinks. A bar can lose its liquor license for selling to minors, and losing your liquor license if you're a bar means you're out of business. Any host who provides alcohol to a minor is also legally liable for any damage the minor causes due to the alcohol. Because of these factors, Harvard would not be able to get away with selling drinks to minors. Most people who drink do so at house or dorm parties where the alcohol has already been purchased by somebody over 21. Some people also have fake IDs, which are handy for going pubbing and clubbing, where you often have to buy your own drinks; the quality of the ID you can get away with varies depending on the policies and equipment of the individual establishment.</p>
<p>Every state in the US has a drinking age of 21. (Some of the territories have lower drinking ages.) Your friend was probably thinking about the <em>driving</em> age in New York, which is 18.</p>
<p>Hmm, that's odd because in England the drinking age is 18 but my school has a bar which has found a way to legally sell to 16-year olds.</p>
<p>The drinking age in the entire US is 21 I believe ... but if you really wanna drink at Harvard, go to a finals club. Free drinks. Unless of course you're a freshman guy. But you're all set beyond that.</p>
<p>However, it really varies on how stringently drinking laws are enforced.</p>
<p>I have a friend at Tulane who frequents bars all the time and they always sell her and her friends alcohol.
I've heard in the Cambridge area, however, it's pretty strictly enforced.</p>
<p>Regardless of how strictly enforced it is, college students across the United States have no problem finding and drinking alcohol without any qualms.</p>
<p>Many of us just use our upperclassmen friends to hook us up. </p>
<p>Or frequent the places that don't care about age (or are pretty lax). </p>
<p>Or go to parties on campus where a) your age is irrelevant b) you don't have to pay for what you drink.</p>
<p>=)</p>
<p>What is a finals club?</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_club%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_club</a></p>
<p>Saxfreq-Or our 25 year old freshman friends!</p>
<p>Ace-I wouldn't worry about being able to find alcohol at Harvard. If you just read the rules, it probably sounds pretty depressing (illegal if you're under 21, against university policy to have alcohol in a freshman dorm, etc). But in practice, things are pretty relaxed, unless you have a crazy proctor.</p>
<p>I, uhh, have a friend, who is never without at least a six pack in the fridge. I, or I mean he, has found that there's a really nice selection of quality beers in the Cambridge area--from Guinness to Natural Light to Sea Dog IPA (from a microbrewery in Maine).</p>
<p>I will admit that Yale (at least from what I saw Harvard/Yale weekend) has a more relaxed (and in my mine more sensible) alcohol policy.</p>
<p>Ace et al - About 63% of underage U.S. college students choose to drink and it's illegal for all of them. In our town, a first offense costs you $400 and a night in jail, and it could also cost you your driver's license for three to six months. Colleges differ on how stringently they enforce the law or whether they arrest student violators. Also be aware of "open container" laws - it's illegal for anyone, of any age, to carry an open container of alcohol in a public place, unless the location has a license for outdoor alcohol consumption (such as a restaurant with outdoor seating). International students in the U.S. often have an unpleasant experience with police regarding a practice that would be commonplace in their home country.</p>
<p>Yes, or our 25 y/o freshman friends. </p>
<p>Drinking in college is common enough (and insurmountable enough) that Harvard and, it seems, most other colleges prefer to regulate, rather than prevent, underage drinking.</p>
<p>For example, alcohol in the freshman dorms is technically a no-no. My proctor's policy is, "As long as I don't see it and you're not noisy . . . " (you can fill in the rest.) My entryway has only gotten in trouble once, and that was when two students over-drank and both ended up in the hospital, one of them for about 5 days. The most important thing is to be safe. No one wants to wake up in the hospital every weekend. The problem with some Harvard students is that they were actually /good/ in high school, and have no sense of their tolerance levels when they come here. Freshman Week ("Camp Harvard") is probably better described as "To prove I'm not a geek, I'll drink five shots over my limit to see what Happens"-week, or "There's a freshman passed out on my floor"-week, or "The ambulance sure comes to the yard a lot . . ."-week. This is just silly. Don't overdo it and you'll be fine. And make sure you keep a nice supply of hangover medicine handy.</p>
<p>And, please, if someone in your room has had a bit too much to drink and looks like they're about to pass out (or worse), the worst thing you could possibly do is NOT call the police for fear of getting in trouble. You WILL NOT GET IN TROUBLE for getting someone to the hospital. You may be scolded later, but this is certainly preferable to, say, letting someone die from alcohol poisoning. That almost happened twice (that I know of) the first week we arrived.</p>
<p>This is all probably jumping the gun, as you'll be told all of this when you get here. </p>
<p>As far as getting in serious trouble for drinking . . . Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) is more concerned with your safety than with you breaking this particular law. What you do while your drunk, however, you're accountable for, ie sexual assault, vandalism, etc. </p>
<p>Unless, of course, you're defacing the statue. They won't stop you from doing that. Unless you aim at them.</p>
<p>It sucks for us Brit-dwellers doesn't it? I am trying to get most of my drinking done before college. Does that sound wrong to anyone else - it shouldn't be that way!!!!!! </p>
<p>Apparently Harvard is pretty bad-ass with regulating alcohol - at least compared with the other Ivies (Brown, Cornell and Dartmouth in particular)</p>
<p>Haha, I find it a really odd tradition that Harvard students like to pee on John (is it John?) Harvard's foot. They should show more respect and pride for their university, and instead go and pee on Yale's something or other.</p>
<p>Well, when you're drunk it can be kind of a pain in the ass to drive all the way to New Haven just to **** on a statue lol.</p>
<p>True. Might be worth it though.</p>