<p>I like everything else I've heard about Hamilton, but I was really put off by the D+ grade college ******* gave Hamilton- lower than that of any other school. I know every college has drugs, but I'm hoping to avoid a really intense drug scene.</p>
<p>Are the authors exagerating, or is it really that bad?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>i cant say for sure, but a friend of mine goes there and he smokes a lot of W**D and i mean ALOT. i dont think there are alot of hard drugs though.</p>
<p>Hi lioninwinter and bailey89,</p>
<p>My name is Eileen and I am a current senior at Hamilton College. To give you an idea of the type of student I am (not just some administrator spouting stuff you might not believe), I am a pretty average student. I am a Varsity Captain and serve on the Student Government. I write for the paper and work on-campus. Most of my friends are in Greek Societies, but I am not. The reason I am responding is because I also had the privilege of serving on a group that deals with the alcohol culture on our campus, so I have information about what you guys posted.</p>
<p>To address your concerns, The College *******, the publication lioninwinter mentioned, totally misrepresented Hamilton in their piece. To a certain extent, every college will have students with too much time and too much money and drugs will seem like a great idea to them. However, I assure you that the authors are COMPLETELY exaggerating about Hamilton and if you were to read the actual description and compare ours to other peer institutions, the descriptions are exactly the same. Not once have I ever felt pressure to do something that I didn?t want to do. Drugs are only an issue if you make them an issue. Not once have I ever been in a situation where I even personally witnessed hard drugs (Cocaine, etc.) being used. I would say that honestly, Alcohol is the most prevalent drug on our campus, followed by Weed. Again, I have never been in a situation where I felt pressure to drink or smoke with friends, enemies or strangers. </p>
<p>When you?re a freshman in college, you?re about 18 years old. You?ve already made good friends. You will now make new, college friends based on compatibility. Your personalities will be well-matched and something as simple as eating habits will be the same. Most importantly, your values will be compatible. If you aren?t interested in drugs, likely those you choose as friends will not be interested either.</p>
<p>College is all about decisions. You have to decide when you?re going to go to bed; when you?re going to go eat; when you?re going to study, if at all. You have to make choices about social situations as well: to drink or not to drink; to stay up late or go to bed early; to smoke that cigarette with that girl on the stoop outside the party. Some of those choices will be easier to make than others, but the point is it?s a learning experience. Most of what your parents and teachers and everyone else you rely upon for advice in high school will absolutely apply in college; some won?t. I chose not to smoke that cigarette but I did have that beer at a party. I regretted the beer the next morning but I still do not regret not smoking with that girl. College is what you make of it and drugs are just another choice. If you aren?t the type to use them, I guarantee Hamilton College will not make you start.</p>
<p>If you have any questions, any at all, I encourage you to post them on this forum. I?ll check back. Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>-Eileen</p>
<p>Thanks, I was wondering too.</p>