Drug culture / wellness housing

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vassar College
1

<p>My son has been accepted to Vassar but what I've heard and read about the drug culture at the school greatly concerns me. How widespread is it? What is the administration doing about it? He would want to live in wellness housing but reading about that on the web site only adds to my concerns about the school in general. It says:</p>

<p>Wellness Corridor Policies</p>

<p>Substances</p>

<p>No illegal substances, including alcohol, are permitted in the corridor, bathrooms, or individual rooms, at any time.</p>

<p>Smoking</p>

<p>No smoking of any sort is permitted in any area of the residence halls.</p>

<p>Aren't illegal substances and smoking not permitted in all dorms? Are they basically saying there is no enforcement of the policies? Also, are wellness corridors only certain floors in buildings where these activities are otherwise tolerated?</p>

<p>To add further to my concerns I read this article in The Miscellany News about students living in wellness housing being stigmatized. I am not naive. I know drug use, etc. takes places at Vassar and all colleges, but my concern is that it's much greater here and that maybe the administration has a very lax attitude about it. Any help from Vassar students and their parents would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>

<p>Council</a> explores Wellness beyond residential halls - Features - The Miscellany News - Vassar College</p>

2

<p>Well, I live on wellness and I certainly don’t feel stigmatized in the least. I have friends who don’t live on wellness, and it’s hardly a dividing factor.</p>

<p>When they say illegal substances/drugs are not allowed on wellness floors, this does not mean that there are no consequences to having them on other floors. I know of several people who have had their housing jeopardized by doing illegal substances in their dorm, even when they weren’t on wellness. However, wellness students face far harsher consequences for that, because they are putting other people who signed up for substance free living in contact with those substances. Many people on wellness have asthma or allergies.</p>

<p>I would also say that drug use at Vassar is no higher than at any other college. Many liberal arts colleges have the stigma of being bastions of marijuana use. Compared to other schools, I don’t think Vassar does any more recreational drugs than other schools. </p>

<p>And, yes, there are non-wellness people in my dorm who drink and do drugs. It’s college. That is what many college students do. At any college your son will be exposed to drugs and alcohol. </p>

<p>However, if he has expressed interest in living in wellness, rest assured that he will not be ‘stigmatized.’ The Misc. often writes highly editorialized articles that have blatant errors in there. In that article, it claimed that my floor was judging another floor for being wellness. Oh, really? I guess we must have forgotten that we live on wellness for a second. From an anonymous source. That seems reputable.</p>

<p>Also, going to a school is ultimately his choice. Your concerns are valid, but if he is already expressing that he wants to live on wellness, he’s probably not going to end up being a crazy druggie. I have never felt pressured by, nor have I have I been offered any substances by non-wellness students. Also, wellness floors tend to be much cleaner and quieter than non wellness. </p>

<p>So, please stop being so worried and acting as if Vassar is somehow worse than other schools in terms of drug and alcohol use. Many schools don’t even offer wellness areas, and, believe me, wellness is very strictly enforced.</p>

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<p>Do the wellness floors have a quiet policy?</p>

4

<p>Wellness floors are generally quieter than non-wellness, but there aren’t any particularly stringent quiet policies. All students can be reported for being too loud, though. There are supposedly quiet halls where there can be no sound heard outside of your door, but I’ve never actually seen one.</p>

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<p>Thanks- I didn’t know if quiet floors and wellness floors were the same thing</p>

6

<p>Thank you for the informative and thoughtful responses. The web site says space is limited on wellness floors, but do you know if the demand really exceeds availability? Is it on a first come, first serve basis or is it random?</p>

7

<p>About 60-70% of freshman who requested wellness last year got it, and I was one of them. Next year they’re trying to expand wellness so more need can be met. If your son requests wellness and does not pick his roommate, he has a good chance of getting it. And sometimes people move out of wellness, too, and rooms open up.</p>