<p>From what I have seen with older son and pals is that overnight visitors and alcohol can be common in the regular (not substance free) dorms. I really think kids need to set rules for the visitor thing right from the start or they will end up with more than they bargained for in the roommate department. Drinking goes on all of the time. My nephews, both not drinkers, ended up with some serious drinking roommates the first year. One adapted and just lived with it, eventually becoming friends and trying to socialize with his two suite mates; the other couldn’t take it and ended up basically camping out in his friend’s dorm room. Of course, although not romantic, that made him the “overnight visitor” that so many dread. Usually though, kids have a way of working these things out without their parents help and are given advice from RA’s on how to deal with these types of situations.</p>
<p>I did not know that USC has substance free dorms. Which dorms are substance free? Thank you for your info. Do you think there is a lot of alcohol and visitors at Fluor? I thought Fluor was supposed to be quiet.</p>
<p>I meant substance free dorms in general; I do not know if USC has that type of dorm available. In any case, by the end of the first semester, kids have a way of finding like minded people to hang out with.</p>
<p>When I entered USC as a freshman in Fall 2005 the 4th floor of New was the “substance free” floor. From my experience, that title means little to nothing because people will randomly be placed there as well. I didn’t live on the 4th floor, but I can pretty much guarantee you that there will be alcohol in any hallway on campus at any given time…even in the Dean’s Halls. Welcome to college. ;)</p>
<p>College alcohol usage is a problem across the country. All one has to do is click on a photo storage site and access the public college parties/fun titles. There are hundreds of photos of drunken students, drinking parties, beer pong, etc. taken at campuses from Maine to Washington.</p>
<p>To mdcissp:</p>
<p>To answer your question about whether there are a lot of visitors and alcohol at Fluor Tower, I’d have to say that it really depends. I actually lived on the designated “Quiet Floor,” which for the past few years has been the 9th floor. I’ve found that the presence of alcohol was pretty limited on the 9th floor, and if there was any there, the people drinking it weren’t making a loud ruckus or anything. I know that a couple of floors last year were somewhat notorious for having alcohol and guests over, but I’d have to say that Fluor Tower is pretty good overall. It’s going to depend on how strict the RA is, but sometimes even that doesn’t seriously matter. On the whole, Fluor is probably one of the quieter dorms. As for dorms in general, I was under the impression that ALL of them are “substance-free,” even if that isn’t necessarily enforced. </p>
<p>2+2=5 is right about alcohol being at any housing location throughout campus. It just seems what matters is whether things get out of hand. Among those who drink, I’d say that there are a lot of casual drinkers, which is acceptable in the sense that they keep quiet, but there are also some heavy drinkers. That being said, I think that quite a lot of the heavy drinking is off campus.</p>
<p>Does Fluor Tower arrange any special events/trips for the kids or are you on your own? Did you see a lot of over night visitors? My son does not drink and does not want to be around drinking parties.</p>
<p>There are tons of activities that your son’s RA will plan. Also, students who live in USC housing are welcome to attend other activities by other RAs. Some activities include Thursday Night Live, which are alternative activities to partying on Thursdays. Last year, there were programs like Salsa lessons, speed dating, The price is Right etc. Lots of fun!</p>
<p>To mdcissp:</p>
<p>For the two years I was at Fluor Tower, each year was different. I would say that it really depends on 1) the dorm’s building government and 2) the RAs (at least for the Fluor Tower sponsored events). As Nikara mentioned, there is Thursday Night Live, which has a lot of cool events and is sponsored by a different dorm’s building government each time. </p>
<p>As far as Fluor Tower strictly, both RAs I had took my floor to The Grove (which is a nice outdoor shopping venue), the BG (building government) held some events (such as a beach party at Dockweiler Beach, a sandwich party, a poker tournament, and so forth), and the RA during my 2nd stint at Fluor had a Secret Santa thing going on in December. I know that an RA from another floor took his floor and invited another floor to an L.A. Galaxy soccer game. So again, it really depends on the aforementioned factors. I think that your son will find something that he likes to do both on and off campus.</p>
<p>As for overnight visitors… I think that’s somewhat common at any dorm building. Again, I’m going to throw the “it depends” out there. I know that Fluor Tower suites were completely dry (no alcohol), whereas others did have alcohol and were loud at night. I lived on the Quiet Floor, so I never really had to deal with that except for about 2 times during my two-year stay at Fluor. In my personal experience, there was alcohol both years in my suite, but nothing ever really got out of hand (except for the one incident I had, which I wrote in a previous post on this thread). I don’t drink, so I can understand your son’s perspective.</p>
<p>I think the important thing is that the college experience will teach your son to adapt. It’s very rare to have an absolutely perfect roommate/suite/floor, so your son will have to be able to distinguish between what he should let go, and what he should not let go. College is definitely a learning experience. Hopefully, your son doesn’t run into too many uncomfortable situations, but again, it’s college. That said, like people find like people; I have become friends with a lot of people who don’t drink. At the same time, I’m also friends with people who do drink, but most of them know how to control themselves.</p>