<p>How pronounced is the drinking/hazing scene at Rice? </p>
<p>I've been told that there are 2-3 bars on campus. In light of the recent drinking death at UT, the issue of hazing/underage drinking is being given more attention.</p>
<p>drinking, i know, is very very prevalent. when i visited this october, i was offered alcohol at least 3 times. </p>
<p>As for hazing, i think it might depend on the greek group you're in, etc. </p>
<p>there ARE lots of bars on campus, and i agree--underage drinking must be taken more seriously.</p>
<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought there was no Greek system at Rice. And we have visited Rice several times and never seen an 'on campus' bar. That's not to say they don't party at Rice, but I don't think what goes on at Rice is different from any other college.</p>
<p>greek organizations are not allowed at Rice. </p>
<p>Hazing is really not that big of a thing. There are a lot of fun/crazy things that happen during o-week, but none of them are close to "hazing". I imagine there may be some crowds at Rice that may have some type of hazing though, i'm not sure. It's not at all a big problem, though.</p>
<p>the only greek i was referring to were the honor societies (pg 10 of the RICE General Announcements handbook), im not saying it's any different at rice than those of other schools, but it's very prevalent. as for bars, there are several underground bars that people who don't go to rice wouldn't notice.</p>
<p>How prevalent is the alcohol scene anyways?</p>
<p>im pretty sure that most people drink. i think it's harder to escape that scene than other schools though, because rice is so small.</p>
<p>I guess what I'm trying to say is, "When does the partying start?" LOL</p>
<p>There is alot of drinking on Rice's campus, from what I know. There is an underground bar on campus, as Rice is a wet campus. Last year for Owl Weekend, they closed it on Thursday night and had it open for a drag show and only nonalcoholic beverages on Friday in an effort to control underage high schooler drinking. Not sure it was so sucessful, since there were a couple of parties that weekend. (Owl weekend is Thrusday afternoon-Saturday morning.) I don't think Rice is very strict on disciplining students that drink, because they'd rather have everyone alive and not in trouble. I don't think there have ever been any alcohol related deaths on Rice's campus.</p>
<p>The action taken last year because of hazing was a big deal; the Lacrosse team was disbanded for 1 or 3 semesters (I forget which), and the team captain wasn't able to graduate on time and all sorts of stuff. Lots of people disagreed with the disciplinary action taken. However, I think again Rice was just trying to encourage healthy drinking, and forcing people to drink a fifth and handcuffing them together isn't exactly healthy.</p>
<p>In my experience, those who wanted to drink at Rice, were able to drink at Rice, but those who didn't drink typically didn't feel an overwhelming amount of pressure to drink. I know that before I decided to drink, everyone was fine with my not partaking.</p>
<p>Alcohol is fairly readily available on campus. The general idea is that, bottom line, college students are going to drink. Rice's philosophy is that if the students are going to drink, and they are, then make it possible for them to drink on campus rather than go to a dodgy bar off campus, get plastered, and then drunkenly drive back <em>to</em> campus.
Underage drinkers are typically not disciplined because the administration would rather have underage drinkers who are in medical trouble feel free to call the campus police and EMS and get the help they need than just try to deal with an alcohol-related emergency by themselves.</p>
<p>There are two pubs on campus. One is run by grad students, is underneath the chem lecture hall, and is called Valhalla. They serve cheap beer, and it's a good place to hang out with weird grad students and cool professors and chat on a sunny Friday afternoon while having a St. Arnold's. The other pub is located in the basement of the RMC, which is the main student center on campus, and it's called Willy's Pub. They serve tasty beverages and pizzas and allow smoking. It's got the typical feel of your generic college pizza-n-brew dive.</p>
<p>The only instance of hazing in recent years has been the Lacrosse team incident. It really shocked the Rice community that this sort of thing was happening, since hazing REALLY DOESN'T HAPPEN at Rice. I never encountered any type of hazing during any of my years there, and aside from O-Week, when we were all doused with water several times a day, I never really felt like a frosh or an underclassman. Since Rice really doesn't want to have ANY kind of hazing on campus, the incident was punished with extremely forceful disciplinary action. Five student captains were suspended for three semesters, and the lacrosse teams were disbanded. No length of time was given for how long the disbandment was going to take place. Rice wasn't trying to encourage healthy drinking so much as they were trying to be overly harsh at the first sign of hazing on campus. I agree with the punishments. They may seem a bit fascist, but I'd much rather have that idea in the heads of Rice students, that skirting the edges of hazing is a BAD idea that could result in BAD consequences.</p>
<p>So, that's the 411 on hazing and drinking.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, there are two underground bars at rice (Willy's pub and Valhalla). They are literally underground, not like unapproved or hidden. Valhalla is just for grad students though.</p>
<p>The alcohol policy at rice is basically, your rooms are like rooms in your home. If you were sitting at home drinking a beer while watching a football game, you wouldn't expect the local police to come bang down your door, right? That's how it is here. Now, were you to be running through the streets drunk and wreaking havoc, or underage drinking at a bar, you might expect to get in trouble. That's also how it is here.</p>
<p>Hazing was a big deal last year because of the lacrosse team thing, but it is kind of over and done with in that one incident. Yeah, people drink, but aside from that incident there is really very little/no pressure to drink. Well, i think varsity soccer makes their freshman dress up and look stupid, but that's about it. I've never been hazed, and people are being SUPER careful, especially during o-week, to make things funn and pressure-free.</p>
<p>EDIT: aibarr and I cross-posted, and she was more eloquent than I was... oh well! Note, Willy's pub no longer allows smoking.</p>
<p>What goes on at O week? Is water like the worst thing done to you? Are there any other things you are forced to do?</p>
<p>Ooh, Jenskate! No more smoking at Willy's? Fabulous! I'd have spent a lot more time there as an undergrad, shooting pool and watching games and eating pizza and whatnot, if it were no-smoking.</p>
<p>Pilebay- don't worry about O-Week. Water is the worst thing they do to you. It's a lot like summer camp, actually... It's a blast. =) No alcohol allowed on campus at O-Week, lots of harmless pranks, lots of fun stuff. At summer camp, they made us eat chocolate-covered pickles, and nothing like that happened to me at O-Week. It's just a ton of fun, and a great way to meet all the people in your residential college and get used to living on campus before classes begin. It's just a ton of fun.</p>
<p>i canNOT wait for O-week..and neither can summer! ;) lolz</p>
<p>Yeah, it still smells because of the past 25 years of smoke, but it's better. I can't imagine what it would have been like to work there! Yuck!</p>
<p>And yeah, o-week is pretty chill, especially now.</p>
<p>Rice students take each other's well-being very seriously. There is an excellent student run emergency medical service that is called when people go overboard, it does not involve the police in anyway. We are trying to help people, not get people in trouble.</p>
<p>Drinking is big at Rice, that is undeniable. It even seems bigger at Rice than it does at many schools as it isn't tucked away behind Frats. Many believe it simply is a bigger part of our social scene, but really don't let that scare you! On the same hand, don't that fool you into thinking Rice is a party school.</p>
<p>The lacross incident was an anomaly and honestly not nearly as bad as it sounds(you didn't have to do it if you didn't want to, and the people who got hurt had the bright idea to start boxing, it wasn't alcohol poisoning or anything).</p>
<p>There isn't hazing at Rice. Unavoidably there will be slight peer pressure to drink, but nobody is going to force you. In no time you will find other people that don't drink to spend weekends with. Rice students realize that an alcohol related death is the easiest way to get to alcohol policy taken away,.</p>
<p>As others have said, Oweek is completely dry. Unfortunately the lacross incident caused them to change some past traditions, but oweek is still lots of fun. Dis-o, the saturday following oweek, the campus becomes wet. In a big way.</p>
<p>On owl weekend prospective students have a tendency to get drunk, that is true. However that is completely their own choice, people will offer, but no one will pressure you. Vision weekend( for hispanics, blacks, and native americans) tends to be very different and drinking is much more rare.</p>
<p>Ah, I've been off CC for a while. Alcohol at Rice is more or less readily available, if you know where to look. It does get boring after a while. Pressure to drink depends on who you hang out with. I don't think anyone is forced to drink, but you will tend to drink if you hang out with people who drink. No one tries to aggressively impose alcohol upon you, if I'm not mistaken.</p>
<p>As for the police and all that shiznazz, the police do not like to get trouble on their hands. They will usually not slap you with anything heavy if you cooperate with them. If you plan to drink as an underage at Rice, just do it smartly. And don't worry about getting forced to do it.</p>
<p>My D is a very, very light drinker, and has lots of fun at Rice. She also has many friends that don't drink or drink moderately. Don't be scared off by the "hazing" - it was definitely an anomaly, and don't be scared off by the notion of all that drinking. Students are serious about their studies, and there are LOTs of Friday classes, so there is less drinking at Rice overall than many other campuses.</p>
<p>partying officially starts the night O-Week ends, or as some would call it dis-O-Week or Disorientation week, this is the night many freshman find out their limits. Be smart about it.</p>