<p>S seems to think that there is next to no usage of drugs/alcohol or tobacco products. Are most of these activities done off campus? I'm not so foolish as to not realize that it goes on, but just how much of the culture is it?</p>
<p>It’s a college campus. People drink. In certain houses it tends to be a much larger part of the culture than others. During my junior and senior years, my group of friends and I probably drank at least once every other weekend, usually a even split between on campus and at a friend’s off campus apartment. A few groups of people drank more often than us, but I would say most people drank much less. We also knew how to make sure it didn’t interfere with our studies (we all graduated in 4 years with honors).</p>
<p>And if drinking is absolutely not your thing, that’s fine. Plenty of people don’t drink at Tech. On any given weekend you’re more likely to run into a group of people playing DotA, Settlers of Catan, or doing homework than playing a drinking game. Some of my best friends still don’t drink, and it never prevented them from hanging out with us or having fun at an interhouse party.</p>
<p>Usage of “tobacco products” and other drugs is much more rare to my experience. </p>
<p>Is there some specific concern you or your son has? I’ve never really considered alcohol usage on campus as something to be worried about at Tech.</p>
<p>As a current frosh, drinking is definitively more prevalent than I thought it would be (I like your son thought there would be very little to no drinking). However, it does exist in moderate amounts (anecdotally much less than at my friends’ colleges). However, I would say (again anecdotally) that Caltech has one of the healthiest drinking cultures on any college campus. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>When people drink, they are in general careful about it (keep track of the number of drink they’ve had and matches the number of drink with cups of water). </p></li>
<li><p>Because of the Honor Code and how small Tech is, everyone looks out for everyone and if someone is having a bad night, then either you will take care of them or know one their friends or fellow house members who can take care of them.</p></li>
<li><p>Socially, whether you drink or not doesn’t matter at all. There is no social stigma about not drinking and drinking is not required to have at Caltech parties.</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone is at Caltech because they love math/science and so almost everyone (there will be knuckleheads at every school) put academics before getting drunk.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As regards to where the drinking happens, the majority of it happens on campus in the houses which I think is a very safe thing as there are no cars involved and no walking back to campus late at night. Also, Caltech has (I think) a great policy for alcohol/drug use which is that if security is called to an emergency, they cannot write people up just for possession which makes sure that anyone will be willing to call security if someone has is too drunk or any other crises.</p>
<p>Lastly, tobacco is very rare at Caltech and as far as I know there are roughly 5 undergrads at Tech who smoke (out of 900 total).</p>
<p>Hi, Im currently a freshman and Im doing a research paper related to alcohol usage in college. Many students started drinking in college and this behavior is brought on by the drinking peers in college. They project this false notion into college freshmen saying alcohol will make them popular (or gain them a lot of friends). I got this information from this article called Peer influences on college drinking: A review of the research, where the authors Brian Borsari and Kate Carey found out that Matriculating students seek to establish a peer network that can be a source of support and intimacy and assist transitioning to college by providing role models and social opportunities. I havent gone to any parties so far in this semester so Im telling my side on this issue from what Ive heard from people who do go to those parties.
In the college Im currently attending, I havent seen a real alcohol bottle or someone holding an alcohol bottle but alcohol is real and out there on campus. A lot of peers who my friends hang out with are people from our grade. There are people in my hall that drinks and go to parties on the weekend and comes back at 1 or 2 oclock in the morning.
In my past life, I used to associate parties with cakes and sodas such as Coca-colas, Mountain Dews, or Fanta. College just gave me a new definition of party: a place for dancing and drinking alcoholic beverages. One time, I ate lunch with a group of people who went to a party the night before and they were talking about how happy they felt there and how great it is to have the alcohol in their system because it makes them energetic and euphoric. I became so scared that I started crying all of a sudden. Ive heard stories about people getting drunk at parties and eventually end up because of the large amount of alcohols in their system in the past, as reported on local news. However, hearing a story about people getting drunk at a party as told by someone at your hall who was among the people who got drunk is a scary experience.
Youre not at home anymore. At home, those stories about alcohol are hidden away and you dont have to worry about encountering drunken people The college here puts a lot of emphasis on academics so most of the students here study on the weekends. When they graduate from college, a lot of them go to graduate schools and later go on to have successful careers. Though I would definitely say alcohol is prevalent at my school, but you dont see people holding an alcohol bottle filled with alcohol on campus because the alcohols are hidden away in the dorms or at fraternity houses.</p>
<p>My son went to a friends 21st dinner party, and no one ordered a drink. I felt like the bad parent, because my best friend and I took son to dinner right after his b/ d, and encouraged him to order a chocolate martini, get carded, and we thought it was fun. Honestly, years later, neither he nor his friends are drinkers, none would touch drugs (including nicotine). In sum, relax. The students tend to be very sensible.</p>
<p>One of the best things about the social scene at Caltech is that there is NO stigma to being a non-drinker. There are some weekend drinkers, and there are some very occaisional drinkers, and there are a LOT of non drinkers. People here are supportive of those who choose to put academics over the party scene, and there are very few students who over do it. But, any college campus has kids who are away from home for the first time, and feeling their way in the world, and will indulge a bit. Most are very restrained, and try alcohol as an experiment, and do so in a controlled manner. Drinking seems to be more of an occaisional way of relaxing than a lifestyle. My friends at UCLA and UCBerkeley talk about MUCH more out of control drinking, slobbery-wastedness, and such than I have ever seen at Caltech.</p>
<p>JenRochester94 obviously doesn’t know about Caltech culture… I’m a current sophomore at Caltech.</p>
<p>Drugs and alcohol are definitely at Caltech. However, the important thing to note is that their use is usually extremely responsible. There is a culture with those who drink of watching out for each other and always knowing how many drinks they have consumed. There is also little pressure to drink, and I think there’s little for parents to worry about. If your kid is drinking, it’s certainly their own choice, and honestly they’re probably in one of the safest environments to try it.</p>
<p>That said, I think most people at Caltech do not drink. I do not drink myself. There is a small culture of drinking, but I don’t think you could find a college with a significantly smaller one unless you went somewhere like BYU. I am occasionally offered drinks, but I have no problem turning them down.</p>
<p>Also: only 5 people smoke? Not true. Maybe only 5 people smoke <em>tobacco</em>…</p>
<p>A not insignificant proportion of caltech students drink heavily on a regular basis. Mostly, to unwind after the weekly stress of caltech. Most people who do drink do not drink particularly responsibly and our use of alcohol is probably borderline alcoholism. On the other hand, a large number of students don’t drink or do drugs at all.</p>