Reflections on Drinking Norms On Campus
May 5, 2010 at 6:29 pm 13 comments
How have your perceptions of drinking norms and drinking at Cornell changed since the beginning of the semester?
Please reflect on the in-class presentations and the concepts learned throughout the course. Please address norms outside of your paper topic.
Entry filed under: Uncategorized.
13 Comments Add your own
Leave a comment
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
Alcohol on Campus 
1.
Chelsea Blake | May 5, 2010 at 8:08 pm
My perceptions of drinking norms and drinking at Cornell have definitely changed since the beginning of the semester. After completing interviews with various students for the workhard/playhard paper, I learned the extent to which students prioritize academic success over going out and drinking. Before embarking on this project, I did not realize how similar most students at Cornell are in terms of how they manage their social life and schoolwork. Despite extreme cases in which students only focus on school or going out, most students do maintain an active social life in which they drink heavily, as well as an intense academic life, in which they study intensely and achieve good grades. In addition to learning about the workhard/playhard trend, I also gained a lot of knowledge about the college drinking culture from other groups’ presentations. I had never thought about how many people remain abstinent in college, nor did I realize that many of these students still go out and have fun without drinking. Furthermore, I was not aware of how studious and academically successful many students on the athletic teams are, as well as how infrequent their drinking behavior occurs. Since I am not on a sports team and do not interact with athletes in a social environment very often, I had always perceived athletes to be extremely heavy drinkers who are not very academically focused. The concept of pluralistic ignorance applies to my false perceptions of student athletes. In addition, before taking this class, I was never aware that basics existed at Cornell. I have learned that many freshmen are sent there, many times do to unlucky circumstances. Furthermore, because I am a part of the Greek system, I was aware of the false stereotypes and inaccurate media portrayal of sororities and fraternities, in which members are usually portrayed as excessive, “binge” drinkers. Overall, through this course, I learned a great deal about outsiders’ perceptions of the college drinking culture as well as what type of behavior actually occurs on college campuses. Through the lectures, readings, group presentations, and my own direct research, I was able to gain a different perspective on college drinking.
2.
cornellstudent | May 11, 2010 at 2:50 am
To be completely honest, at the beginning of the semester I viewed the drinking culture at Cornell in a rather unsophisticated way. I had acknowledged that a drinking culture existed here on campus, and deduced that there must be some force guiding how as well as why Cornellians decide to go out partying. However, I had never taken the effort to analyze the norms playing into the drinking culture, nor could I determine why a large portion of the student body chooses to abstain from alcohol entirely.
Beginning with the habits of those who do drink, I did not consider the effects of peer influences upon the frequency a given student decides to drink and the alcohol he or she chooses to consume on a single occasion. Although I had recognized that students drink more when they have less work, and vice-versa, I did not realize the role that norms set within peer groups played into student drinking behavior. For instance, the athletics group demonstrated how drinking was confined to periods of “time-out” on the swimming and soccer teams, as those who show up to practice unable to perform because of a severe hangover are sanctioned by their teammates. The group that researched Greek life further underscored the potency of peer sanctions by explaining how fraternities and sororities will point out irresponsible behavior of members who fail to keep their partying within a context deemed “responsible” by their chapter.
In addition, I had largely misunderstood the rationale of those who abstain from alcohol prior to discussing the topic of abstinence with Professor Sonnenstuhl and listening to the group’s presentation on the matter. At the beginning of the semester, I acknowledged the reasonableness of a student’s decision not to drink alcohol because his or her friend or family member had suffered from alcoholism; yet, other reasons for abstinence seemed almost nonsensical to me. Throughout college the people I have run into that did not drink for reasons other than bad experiences with alcoholics, I either regarded as “stiff” people who do not know how to have fun, or people who are “missing out” on a large part of what college life has to offer. As a matter of fact, I have used my convictions to successfully turn non-drinkers into drinkers over the long-term. Nevertheless, I had naively failed to comprehend that college means different things to different people, and choosing not to drink does not mean that someone is “missing out”, per say, but rather enjoying college in their own unique way. Theoretically, I could be “missing out” on some aspects of college by spending my weekends drinking rather than getting involved in a club or pursuing other interests.
All in all, through class discussions, readings, research, and the presentations of my fellow classmates, I have gained valuable understanding of the drinking culture at Cornell. Besides understanding the potency of norms, as informal rules that confine college drinking to a mainly responsible activity, I have become more tolerant to those who view drinking differently than I do.
3.
br277 | May 12, 2010 at 1:41 am
My perception of drinking norms at Cornell has become more enlightened since the beginning of the semester. I have realized that it is important not to paint the drinking culture at Cornell with a broad brush. There are clearly different levels of drinking among Cornell students and most students seem to consume generally reasonable amounts of alcohol. Our class’s focus on specific groups within Cornell shed a great deal of light on specific drinking norms within a number of groups on campus.
Students’ in depth analysis of the Greek system at Cornell revealed a great deal about the realties of Greek life. The group debunked many of the stereotypes about fraternities and sororities. They revealed that most members of fraternities and sororities are far from a bunch of drunks and are in fact outstanding members of the Cornell community.
A group of students also took an in depth look at the lives of students who choose to abstain from drinking. The group explained that many students are generally quite satisfied with abstaining from alcohol consumption.
One of the most important things I have learned in this course is that, although nearly all students abide by reasonable drinking norms, a small number of students do truly break norms and do have serious alcohol abuse problems. I have realized that it is crucial that those students receive help. Administrations should recognize that every organization has outliers and that some outliers, such as alcoholics, should receive serious attention and assistance. It is also very important not to label the general demographic of college students as alcohol abusers and recognize that most college students have reasonable judgment and live without serious problems.
4.
jssy123 | May 12, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Throughout the semester, the class focused on how a social norm within the campus affected students. Before students were coming into the college, they were expecting a set of standards to experience during their college life. During my high school year, I heard many stories of college students drinking heavily and also watched movies that try to depict the extreme cases of college life. I believed that college students regularly enjoy drinking themselves into stupefaction, but these indirect experiences are extreme and often exaggerated which led me to create misperception.
Not just me, but most students also believe that heavy drinking is prevalent and a general norm within the campus. However, this is only pluralistic ignorance which is no one believes but every thinks that everyone believes. This ignorance may lead students to drink heavily because they do not want to get left outside of a group. Many students have been influence by a situational behavior and tend to drink more excessively in college.
However, students know how to limit their drinking behaviors and enjoy socializing with other students at the party. Students learn how to balance their work and play time throughout the semester in order to succeed in college life. They tend to spend less time playing during prelims and spend more time hanging out with their friends when they need time out from a long lasting prelim season. College is a time to make new friends during what is most teenagers’ first experience of living away from home, so students discover how to manage their time wisely. Athletes also have similar social norm as work hard/play hard because they have to go to practices, games, and meetings during the season. So they need to learn how they should drink if they want make a contribution to the team. Athletes have a different time schedule with others, so they usually drink with their team members which allow them to develop teamwork. Students who involve in Greek life often get a reputation for binge drinking which is false perception. People in fraternity and sorority may have lots of parties, but the Greek life is not all about drinking. Students enjoy a lifelong friendship and make a contribution to the community which they would never experience if they have not joined the Greek life. Students sometimes go to BASICS because RA catch students drink in their rooms, find empty alcohol bottles, or hear making really loud noise. However, students do not take it as serious matters and joke about going to BASICS. They restraint their drinking behaviors after their first BASICS but they start to drink after a certain amount of time passes. It is also surprising that schools without Greek system are more lenient about drinking rules.
Before taking this class, I never thought about how a cultural norm, social setting, and ideology can affect one’s behavior. Throughout the semester, I was able to learn how these various concepts affect the college student drinking behavior and including myself.
5.
djh279 | May 13, 2010 at 3:55 am
regardless of social orientation, the collegiate experience alters the actor’s perception of alcohol use. for the first time, it has the aura of being officially sanctioned, unlike high school, where the activity is explicitly illicit. this has cascading effects on the entire experience.
also due to this, the perception of ultawidespread alcohol use grows like a fungus. one has a neighbor; a respectfully appearing, perhaps private school individual is bragging about his experience at ‘TKE’ or ‘DX’ or whatever time may provide. the alteration of culture is enough to bend rationality in any individual.
fortunately, at least a few in academia are aware and studious of this phenomenon. call it what you want, but the fact is: the few pot smokers down the hall, or the kid smuggling the handle in Sept of 08, bend our ability to rationally estimate the proportion of students that indulge. study after study proves the aforementioned.
before this course, I was only partially (being honest, at best only intuitively) aware of the facts and figures that I know now. this is a subject that I am interested in, the very tentacles of drug policy, which reaches out of the lower socioeconomic classes and into the bourgeois ‘mainstream’ (wealth) with half-legal programmes such as BASICS, the Judicial Administrator, and other institutions that pretend to be sanctional. now I have a clear picture.
it is a poorly kept secret that the Sophomore writing seminar is non-optional. if this were untrue the probability of my taking this course would have declined precipitously. but events like this make me less untrusting than usual of administrative power structures, as I am glad I was a part of this community for 13 weeks, though I only was able to attend for twelve.
6.
cam352 | May 13, 2010 at 1:31 pm
My perceptions of drinking norms and drinking at Cornell have changed significantly since the beginning of the semester. From my own research, I have found that many students at Cornell are abstinent from drinking alcohol. This is something that I did not realize before, partially due to my participation in Greek life. Every person that I know drinks—and does so on a regular basis. It was extremely interesting to conduct interviews with these abstinent students to see just how much their college experience is altered from not drinking alcohol and how their relationships with others are affected due to their abstinence.
I also realized that many students do not drink as heavily as I previously thought. Before this course, I believed that most boys and girls drank substantial amounts of alcohol every time they went out, but this is not true. Most students do not have more than 4 drinks in a single night—something that was surprising to me. This pluralistic ignorance has made me realize that most people are not extremely drunk while partying.
The extent to which peers have an influence on the amount that students drink was also very interesting to me. If you are part of a group of friends that tends to drink heavily, you will most likely begin to drink heavily. It is seen as a group norm—even if the rest of the campus is not drinking heavily, you believe that this behavior is normal because the people around you are partaking in it. Heavy drinking can also lead to other problems such as interference with schoolwork, various consequences from your actions while drunk, strained relationships with friends, and even addiction problems.
The Greek life presentation was able to shed some light on the drinking culture associated with Greek life. They were able to prove that some of the perceptions of drinking in Greek life were wrong. Members of fraternities and sororities do not get extremely drunk every night, they do not allow partying to influence their schoolwork, and they do not focus their organizations on the consumption of alcohol. Although the social aspect of Greek life is extremely important, many fraternities and sororities have been able to separate socializing from alcohol intake. Yes, students like to drink and have fun, but most of the time they just have a few drinks socially.
I also learned about the realities of students who do have alcohol addictions. There are a small number of students who have lost control of the amount of alcohol they drink and have developed a dangerous relationship with drinking that can cause issues with their friends, family, schoolwork, and overall health and well being. I learned the importance of getting these students help for their addictions.
All in all, I have learned a lot from this course. Through the course readings, lectures, presentations, field research, and class discussions, I have been able to more clearly see how alcohol fits into college life.
7.
fashionfab12 | May 13, 2010 at 11:16 pm
My experience of sophomore year has definitely shifted my relationship with alcohol and the way I view drinking norms. This change was heavily influenced by the fact that I spent my year living in a sorority house and that I was more familiar with the Cornell environment. As a freshman, I never realized that everyone had different preferences regarding alcohol consumption and just thought that everyone is looking to drink whatever is available. I never thought about the norms and the culture, which forms due to alcohol consumption.
Living in my sorority house, I noticed how alcohol was more a symbolic form than just a drink. It is a social lubricant and an indicator of “play-time”. When we were all getting ready together and pre-gaming for the night, we were having the times of our lives. We did not necessarily feel the effects of alcohol yet, but the alcohol served as a social marker indicating that it was time to let loose and have fun.
Throughout the year, I believe that my relationship with alcohol has become more sophisticated. I know my limits and I also know the stigma attached to being the “wasted girl” at the party. Living in a sorority has taught me that all the events of the prior night are carefully scrutinized and analyzed. All actions have consequences, regardless of how much alcohol was consumed.
8.
bigred15 | May 14, 2010 at 1:20 am
Please reflect on the in-class presentations and the concepts learned throughout the course. Please address norms outside of your paper topic.
Throughout this course, I learned a great deal about how the drinking culture at Cornell actually functions. On the outside, one would only expect excess, sex, and evasion of the authorities. However, the norms that govern social behavior are actually quite strict. Having never examined them, it was strange to think that the simple act of going out to drink was limited and controlled in so many ways. From work load, IFC regulations, the JA, RA, and even friends, one is actually relatively controlled even at their wildest. Also, it was interesting to learn about the many students who did not participate in the mainstream drinking culture. People sort themselves based on interests and this group seems to be silent and relatively isolated. However, it really is just self selection, and from the percentages, much more prevalent that I ever expected.
Probably the most enlightening presentation to me was the one on the JA and BASICS program. Having never (knock on wood) been caught in the act of underage drinking, I have never been made to attend this program. It was crazy to think that such an established and well regarded program is not respected by the students who are forced to partake in it. Students viewed it as a punitive slap on the wrist and sounded like they could not wait to be rid of the burden it presented on their lives. It seemed to make no change in the participants and the only change in their behavior could be attributed to the deterrent effect of actually being caught. To me, it seemed like the program exists only to hide underage drinking on campus from the real legal authorities and to make it appear that the university is taking steps to lower alcohol consumption. All the program does is prevent students from being penalized, which in my mind seems fair. However, a much wiser and less wasteful alternative would be a lower drinking age as it would eliminate this unnecessary program. In my mind, the only truly beneficial aspect seemed to be when individuals realized that they had a problem and chose to participate voluntarily. In this case, the program could actually impact one’s quality of life and sufficiently impact drinking norms.
Overall, I have been privileged to participate in a class of this nature. A class could not have focused on a more appropriate and ever present topic in a student’s life. Looking at these customs and social interactions from an inquisitive academic perspective led to many realizations. The papers were especially rewarding because they actually contributed to an important project which we all now share a stake. Thank you for everything this semester and best of luck with the manuscript this summer.
9.
John Parker | May 14, 2010 at 10:50 am
There haven’t been any major changes in my perception of the drinking culture at Cornell since the beginning of the semester but I believe that I gained some valuable insights from the final presentations.
It was definitely interesting to listen to the presentations on the niche cultures associated with drinking culture at Cornell. I feel like I’ve been exposed to a lot of different cultures at the two colleges that I have attended, and so it was surprising to see how blindly I had prescribed to some of the stereotypes about athletes. People frequently forget that college athletes are actually normal human beings who must function under the same time restraints as normal students. That being said, it should have been obvious to me that the data indicated that they drank and partied less then normal students, due to the enormous physical/emotional/time sacrifices they make to continue playing their sport. After watching the presentation, I actually felt ashamed to have been so clearly caught up in a cycle of pluralistic ignorance, because I had been involved in the culture just before coming to college. I limited my partying and drinking for club soccer for three entire years of high school, I am familiar with these sacrifices, so why should I have assumed (without evidence) that collegiate athletes would be any different? Clearly I shouldn’t have which clearly goes to show how easy it can be to misjudge a culture (even if you are familiar with it).
I guess the major lesson that I will be taking form this class is that individuals regularly assume the worst about not only unfamiliar cultures but cultures that they were formerly involved with. Binge is such a perfect example of this trend; if there was no merit to this trend, then how would opportunistic writers like Seaman make a living? Seaman is famous, because parents will eagerly pay money in order to support their unreasonably pessimistic perception of a culture they were formally involved in. They were in college not too long ago, but they are willing to believe that the college students, of today, are comfortable with drinking themselves to death. I think its absolutely crazy, and yet I too just grossly misjudged a community I had been involved with not too long ago. The thread is that this irrational behavior seems fairly predictable.
What do I take away from this? I will remember that cultural outsiders frequently exaggerate the deviant behavior of others and I will try to judge people/cultures/organizations accordingly.
10.
starburst1113 | May 14, 2010 at 4:44 pm
I feel that my perception of drinking and drinking norms at Cornell has changed substantially this semester as a result of this course. One of the most important take away points from this course, for me, is the method of ‘harm-reduction’. Throughout studies of athletes and Greek members, along with those of the regular student population, I have come to see how responsibly and moderately most college students drink.
The method of harm-reduction entails scheduling one’s drinking or moderating one’s drinking habits in accordance to other priorities, whether they be athletic, academic, etc. Previously, I held a relatively negative view of the drinking habits of college students and understood drinking abuse to be widespread across Cornell students. However, once I have learned more about how students carefully balance their drinking, I have come to realize how integral a part of drinking is to college student life and how in fact, most college students, contrary to popular stereotypes, do drink responsibly.
In addition, my understanding of ‘situational alcoholism’ has changed my views regarding drinking and the drinking norms at Cornell. Many college students, if they had to take a standard test for alcoholism, would test positive. However, through this course, I have come to understand the meaning behind ‘situational alcoholism’ and thus have a greater understanding of the many variants of alcoholism and alcohol abuse and their complexities.
In conclusion, my views regarding drinking and the drinking norms at Cornell have changed in a positive way. I now understand how moderately most college students drink, despite popular stereotypes that may seem to contradict the data discussed in this class. Through ‘situational alcoholism’ and ‘harm-reduction’, most college students drink responsibly and do not drink in such a manner that any of their priorities are compromised.
11.
Brian Fetterolf | May 14, 2010 at 7:39 pm
From this course, I have developed a considerably more organized, complex perspective of college drinking culture, specifically at Cornell University. From an outsider’s view, campus culture can seem mysterious – particularly driven by the fact that it is now illegal to drink alcohol if one is under the age of 21. Evidence of this misperceived mystery is quite clear – just looking at Bob Saget’s motive for holding and filming “a college fraternity party” at Seal and Serpent’s house this past semester; he wanted to try to convey to parents and such what college life is like.
I had recently given thought to the ambiguities as to how undergraduate social life revolves around alcohol use (aside from those who abstain), while at the same time it is illegal. The problems with the system gave me further frustration when I was sent to the JA and BASICS last semester for an insignificant matter. In addition, as an independent college student, how can one “break the law” (so to speak) and participate in using drugs that have been banned because of such terrible incidences as drunk driving?
This course has classified my understandings into a series of thoughts and statements. By historically tracing the norms and ideology of alcohol use in the U.S., we learned how strong culture is – college drinking has maintained itself despite any law or policy. I now understand college drinking as a series of rituals – the pre-game, the party, and event afterward. Furthermore, I understand from my interviews and other student’s papers, as well as the manuscript, that most drinking behavior is responsible.
The presentations on Greek Life, Athletics, and Work Hard Play Hard demonstrate how students prioritize their activities and use alcohol as a social outlet to relax on the weekends. However, it really does not get in the way of academics and other obligations such as athletics; it merely enhances the college experience.
Because of the norms that these three presentations demonstrate, it makes the alcohol policy countrywide seem infeasible and even frustrating. BASICS and harm reduction cannot truly be affected until the country can acknowledge and accept up front that alcohol is a part of U.S. culture and that college students drink. I am thankful to have taken this class because it has enabled me to cohesively understand this story. It is a field of study that I am very interested in, and I am eager to continue expanding my view while spreading the story of “undergraduate drinking culture.”
12.
norain471 | May 14, 2010 at 9:22 pm
The drinking system at Cornell is a very large and sophisticated system, though people may not realize it when they first arrive on campus. The drinking culture revolves around the Greek institutions, but partying also exists outside of the Greek chapters. Learning about the drinking culture has helped me to understand more about both about the drinking habits of myself as well as others.
I learned a huge amount about the drinking norms of Cornell through pledging a fraternity this semester, but I feel that I learned equally as much about the subject through the research and interviews I conducted on Greek life throughout the semester. Aided by pluralistic ignorance, I didn’t really understand how I follow the norms of the drinking culture on campus until I took a step back and viewed the norms from afar.
The research provided by the members of the Work/Hard play hard group provided an interesting take on why students at academically intense schools such as Cornell enjoy going out as much as they do. I was also very surprised at the high rates of abstinence on collegiate campuses that were announced by the Abstinence group. Through emerging myself in Greek life, I realized how biased my views towards the drinking culture here at Cornell truly are.
Taking Organizational Cultures gave me a view that I previously may have held, but could not truly defend: college students drink much more responsibly than most adults believe. While we do enjoy partying and drinking, our generation is not exponentially worse than any generation of collegiate students that have preceded us. Drinking at Cornell is actually probably safer than it is at many other campuses throughout the country. The drinking norms at Cornell are generally followed by most students, and these norms enforce a relatively safe drinking culture among the students who choose to drink on our campus.
13.
davidrostowsky | May 15, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Throughout the course of the semester there have been a number of changes of my perceptions of the Cornell drinking norms. I have become much more aware of life outside of Greek life. Researching my paper on abstinence as well as listening to other students present their papers has made realize that the drinking culture at Cornell is sophisticated and each aspect is unique.
I felt most enlightened by the athletics group. My perceptions of athletes at Cornell were generally not a positive one. I felt they were afforded all the luxuries of Cornell without the effort that the average Cornell student put forth. Not only did I learn about their academics but also how they were still able to have a good time and participate in the drinking culture that exists here at Cornell.
Generally this class made me more aware of other students at Cornell. When I go out now I look to see who is drinking, in what context they are drinking and if it appears as though individuals want to be drinking. I feel more comfortable talking to peers if I think they have a problem and am able to be more aware of what I am drinking. I also realized that Cornell is generally smart about drinking with a very small minority drinking to excess.