<p>^ It's ironic and sad that the person who drowned was just accepted into medical school too.</p>
<p>"...ooookay....</p>
<p>binge drinking and getting completely s***faced is stupid, harmful, and irresponsible. but what's wrong with some light social drinking? like watching the game and cracking open a couple beers with your friends, or going out to a bar with friends on a friday night just to relax?</p>
<p>i guess i'm curious as to whether you're more against the stupid irresponsible drinking or whether you're just entirely against the technicality of imbibing.</p>
<p>and keep in mind that a lot - A LOT - of students who come into college thinking that alcohol and pot and stuff are terrible, sinful things end up picking them up anyways due to social/peer pressures or they just come to realize that they're not really as bad as the government tells you it is, as long as RESPONSIBILITY is in the picture."</p>
<p>its just my opinion im not here to convince people:p
I'm not very prone to peer pressure...
I don't like consuming things that change my personality/judgment for no point at all(other than to "fit in")
I'm told it tastes bad and you wake up with a hangover and sometime a lack of memory. what's the point. there's better ways to deal with stress</p>
<p>Over a MILLION people are charged with drunk driving every year. Obviously, there's a bit of a responsibility problem.</p>
<p>Don't you guys have to take AlcoholEDU before you start school? If somebody could answer that question for me, that'd be great, because I actually don't know the answer. When I started school at Berkeley, every single incoming freshman had to take this AlcoholEDU thing before they were allowed to enroll, and I had heard that more and more schools were picking up on that but I'm not sure which schools do it now.</p>
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<p>Sounds like you missed my point entirely.</p>
<p>1) Hangovers and blackouts only happen with stupid, irresponsible over-drinking. Depending on your body metabolism, how much food you eat before you imbibe, and how far apart you space out your drinks, you may not even feel the effects of alcohol until 3 or 4 drinks later. So it's fine if you don't want to drink at ALL, but it sounds more like a case of a mind unwilling to stay open. After all, based on what you've said, you haven't really shown that you're properly educated on the situation. It's exactly like blindly devoting oneself to any religion without ever analyzing the possible alternatives.</p>
<p>2) "I am TOLD this" and "I am TOLD that" doesn't really make a convincing argument. I sorta chuckled when you said that "I am told it tastes bad" because, really, there are plenty of drinks out there with so much sugar in them that you can't taste the alcohol at all (unfortunately those tend to be thrown into the category of "girly drinks"...if you've seen Scrubs and wonder why JD's friends rib him for liking appletinis, that's why). But don't be so easily convinced by a simple statement of "Hey, don't try it, it tastes bad." I don't want to offend you in any way, but that was the part that made me laugh out loud and say to myself, "Really? This is a student at a world-class institution?" The "tastes bad" argument usually applies to beers and hard "manly" drinks like whiskies, bourbons, stuff like that.</p>
<p> [quote=PseudoIntellect] Over a MILLION people are charged with drunk driving every year. Obviously, there's a bit of a responsibility problem.
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<p>Absolutely right. But again, with education, self-control, and good friends to help you along the way, that number would be much, much smaller Unfortunately that's not the case, but that statistic has nothing to do with you as an individual. You don't have to be in that number just because you choose to drink. Again, education and responsibility are the two things I've been trying to stress. It's exactly why when you took sex ed in middle school, nobody taught you absolute abstinence is the only way to go (well maybe they did, and that's just plain stupid), they taught you to be responsible, make educated choices, and to use protection. It's EXACTLY the same deal here.</p>
<p>Many of you make the choice not to drink, and that's perfectly fine. (Please don't throw me in with those people who attack you guys ad hominem, because I definitely hate that myself). But regardless of what you choose, education on the subject, responsibility on the implementation, and outside support in the form of friends or family or whatnot are the three pillars of a situation like this. And I mean on BOTH sides of the coin.</p>
<p>I cosign the 2 month challenge with them, drinking is not such a bad thing unless you drink too much, a couple cans of beer before and during a football game or basketball game isn't that bad, mix some drinks instead of taking shots might be nicer too (personally can't do shots, hate it) don't get you self to the point of being drunk and you'll be fine</p>
<p>I'm up to the challenge. Let's make it 4 years eh?</p>
<p>If you drink, you drink.</p>
<p>If you don't drink, you don't drink.</p>
<p>Simple as that.</p>
<p>I started drinking at 13. I've had some rough experiences and some fun experiences. You only live once.</p>
<p>When I was an incoming freshmen, I didn't drink, but wasn't as close minded as some of you. I found that probably 60 or 70% of the people I met didn't drink either. After 2 months, I slowly started drinking which is actually very fun as long as you know how not to go overboard. Also, within the next 2 years EVERYBODY I met had at least participated in some underage social drinking. Drinking is a part of the college experience and although its not good for you and it is against the law so are soda and jay walking. Anyways within your 1st year and a half at UCLA you will drink and it won't be as bad as your 6th grade teacher said.</p>
<p>haha so true vtownsfinest, my roommate didn't drink at all before coming to UCLA and we got him to drink a little bit after finals during fall quarter</p>
<p>ladies and gentlemen i think we know, even without prior knowledge, who wants to go into poli sci. Loosen up, dammit. Stop being so ignorant and accept what others do. People are going to drink, I didn't take my first real drink prior to my senior year of highschool, but did I preach the idea that it is devil water of some sort that should be washed out of the minds of the many who walk the earth? People are going to do it, you can't change that, so accept it. </p>
<p>Welcome to college, not everything goes your way.</p>
<p>Wow, you all are so pathetic with all this anti-alcohol and pot stuff it's unbelievable. Grow up.</p>
<p>lol... funny thread.</p>
<p>But it demonstrates a great thing about UCLA. There are all sorts of people at UCLA. A case in point, some people who drink/party a lot, and some who don't do it much, or at all. So whoever brought this thread back to life, don't worry too much about this. If you like to party and drink, you will have plenty of opportunities.</p>
<p>As for the presence of drinking on campus... its definitely there. A LOT of people drink, either regularly or occasionally. And those of you who are thinking "I'm a good kid and I'm not gonna drink in college," well... be prepared. Unless you have something really strong keeping you from drinking (ie: religion) then you will find a way to justify it. The simple thing is that drinking is the gateway to the idealized college life and you will be exposed to it in most social gatherings.
So, as a person that does not drink, I think its fair to warn you to come here with an open mind and really know why you feel the way you do about something like this.</p>
<p>Ahh I love it. The preachy people... and then the people who are preachy about not being preachy. No one is going to change his/her mind here: The ones who drink and smoke the weed are going to try and rationalize their actions, and then the ones who won't will do the same for their position. </p>
<p>The REAL question we should be asking here is this...Should marijuana be legal to buy and sell in the United States?</p>
<p>Oh and as a side note, I got the impression that the pot culture at UCLA is much less prevalent than at say, Berkeley or the legendary University of Colorado Boulder.</p>
<p>Let Randian capitalism RISE! Legalize it all! Monopolize the whole industry! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! </p>
<p>Actually, I rather they legalize marijuana and criminalize alcohol. In terms of public safety and all that jazz, it'd be more rational, considering the negative effects of booze versus plant life. </p>
<p>But then again, if we legalize it, we wouldn't be able to have any Reefer Madness sequels. Awww...</p>
<p>I drink just to get through the day...</p>
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<p>shame on you for peer pressuring that poor son of a *****</p>
<p>lol i guess it might been my fault, but its not like me and my other roommate drink a lot (although my neighbor is 21 and always up to get us alcohol lol) but i mean finals over, celebrate a little :)</p>
<p>lol i feel so old coming into ucla as a 21 y/o... all these freshman talking about anti-drinking ********s lolz <3 you'll come around... they always do...</p>
<p>it is very difficult to avoid the drinking scene...making it more difficult to avoid drinking
by the end of my freshman year every single person i met had participated in it to some amount...from just-a-sip to completely&consistently wasted</p>
<p>Week 6 (including 0 week). Been to 6 parties...my brain and body are still virgin to alcohol</p>