Columns
EICHER | Why I Don’t Drink in College
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I gave much of the first two years of my college experience to alcohol, but over the past two years, I have gained so much back.
The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/alcohol/)
I gave much of the first two years of my college experience to alcohol, but over the past two years, I have gained so much back.
Cornell’s Kappa Delta Chapter of Theta Tau was suspended due to hazing and drug use violations revealed in an investigation from the fraternity’s Central Office.
Rather than relying on alcohol to meet new people and have fun, I’ve tried my best to gather up the courage on my own to initiate with people I might not feel comfortable with yet.
A bill sponsored by Sen. Lea Webb will allow CALS to manufacture alcohol if approved and currently awaits Hochul’s signature.
“Why don’t you drink?” The question itself is innocuous enough. In a sea of college students who couldn’t imagine St. Patrick’s Day without jugs of green alcohol from Thursday night through the duration of the weekend, it can seem off-putting when someone chooses not to indulge. To me, the real question is, “Why do you?”
Truthfully, the whole concept of drinking has always been a little bit odd to me. I’m not talking about the occasional beer or glass of wine, but rather the ritual of dedicating every weekend to trying to set a new personal record of alcohol consumed. The idea that you have to reduce your inhibitions or change who you are in order to have fun or feel comfortable socializing is something I’ve never resonated with. I like myself and my friends. I don’t need to change my personality to have fun with them or to feel confident in who I am.
If you’re like me at all, the question, “Is making your own moonshine really that bad?” has crossed your mind at least a few times. Can you blame me? The thought of unlimited, practically free alcohol was tempting, and I imagined that it would have the added bonus of being as strong as a horse tranquilizer. While contemplating if I really wanted to freak out my housemates by making them accomplices to an illegal moonshine distillery, I started to wonder why moonshine is even against the law in the first place. Like almost everything, the answer is … complicated.
For legal reasons, I disappointedly must report that I don’t have the balls to distill moonshine in my collegetown house.
Moonshine in the United States has a long history, especially in the South.
Collegetown’s liquor stores saw an uptick in sales through election week.
Although national alcohol sales have sharply increased in the past weeks, Ithaca liquor stores are reporting differing results.
“Ever heard of beer, bro?”
American drinking culture, especially male drinking culture, is seriously flawed. No matter what anyone may say, there is an implicit pressure on young adults to consider drinking a fun pastime with no serious consequences. The explicit pressure is largely nonexistent, but the status quo, especially in Greek life, encourages drinking. Our worldview is to see drinking as innocuous. If someone chooses to abstain from alcohol, that choice is accepted — but usually with reluctance and without in-depth consideration of the reasons behind their abstinence.
From Marg Mondays to Fishbowls on Wednesdays, there seems to be a drink for every night of the week. That being said, bar culture has transformed into blackout culture among Cornellians, with pregaming becoming more and more popular while the idea of meeting up for a beer or two being considered taboo or just plain boring.