So You Go to a Party School, but Don’t Party...

Graphics by Téa Sklar

Whether you’re a fresh-faced first year or a lived-in senior, everyone knows that going to Syracuse entails parties. Going out, getting drinks, making bad mistakes, all of these things are typically assumed to happen, almost expected. I find it interesting that college students, even teenagers, yearn for the partying and drinking that seems inevitable one’s younger years. It feels as though they’re trying to speed up time, basically forcing themselves into adulthood. Yet, what happens when you don’t want to do that, when that part of life doesn’t excite you? Why is there almost an insistent requirement to go out and get drunk, not even just at Syracuse, but at college in general? We live in a world where 21 is so close, yet so far, and we need to find that inebriated thrill somehow. For many, drinking is custom, but why should it be?

For many college students, drinking is seen as a social key to venturing out and meeting new people. It’s a way to connect with someone, even with your words slurring and your vision hazy. This subcommunity of the college world almost feels like you need special access to enter. It’s never done with intent, but drinking seems like a planet in and of itself, almost creating a barrier from those who don’t drink. This planet, with its own set of rules, lifestyles, and behaviors, feels completely foreign to those who don’t partake. Although one may not want to drink, Friday nights might start to feel lonely, leading to the question of why don’t I just go out?

After being surrounded by people who drink as if their lives depend on it, it’s easy to feel isolated, trapped by the need to stick to your morals. People may not drink due to a plethora of personal reasons, yet all of that goes out the window on a weekend night, stuck in your room, engulfed by the sounds of people laughing and screaming outside. While other people are out making core memories, your dorm becomes the core of your entire college experience.

Yet even considering all of this, you can still have a successful social life without drinking and going out every weekend. College is your time to restart, shift your way of thinking, and become the “you” that you want to be. If that involves drinking for the very first time or maybe leaving that in the past, you get to choose the person you want to be, who you want to be surrounded by, and what you want to do. The best person to trust is the one you always have– yourself.