Drinking Culture at Yale

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
21

<p>Again, I’m not only a parent, but one whose offspring’s undergraduate experience is now a# of years out of date, but…</p>

<p>FWIW, I would disagree with JHS’s take on the drinking scenes at Columbia, UChicago and Harvard. </p>

<p>The most recent numbers I found for Harvard were from 2002. 42% of students had engaged in binge drinking in the 2 weeks before the survey. I don’t see any major difference between drinking at Harvard and Yale, except that more Cantabs do their drinking off campus, e.g., at Finals Clubs. </p>

<p>My impression of UChicago is that there is a bigger split between those who drink and those that don’t than there is at Yale. I think it’s actually a worse place to be for the kid who is a social drinker. This is the most recent info I could find
[SCC</a> provides sober alternatives to traditional relaxation method ? The Chicago Maroon](<a href=“STD (Stuff to Do) 2-11-05 – Chicago Maroon”>STD (Stuff to Do) 2-11-05 – Chicago Maroon)</p>

<p>Note that part of UChicago’s lower rate in 2002 was that it has a higher cut off for binge drinking for females than the Ivies used/use. And note that the percentage of non-drinkers in 2004 was the same as the percentage of non-drinkers at Brown in 2012. </p>

<p>What really surprises me is that college women, particularly white college age women from households with above average incomes are now out binge-drinking men. <a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost;

22

<p>During the opening days of school this year, my freshman wandered into a party in a suite where a bunch of kids were drinking. This was not his scene so he left and groused to me about it. But he very quickly found a great group of friends in his RC who were more his style. Most of them don’t drink at all; a couple got drunk a few times with other friends in other groups. He did not participate in partying or this sort of ‘pre-gaming’ at all, and didn’t feel left out or judged. His social life and experiences were very positive and while he knows kids who party hard (including one of his suitemates), it did not affect him. He loves his Yale friends and I was heartened by how fast they found each other.</p>