Ranking among the top party schools in the United States, The University of Alabama is widely synonymous with crowded house parties, late-night bar crawls and raging spring break trips. Among the University’s diverse student body lies an invisible minority — those who choose not to drink. For them, the social experience can look different, and sometimes more complicated.
Tricia Witte, an associate professor of human development and family studies, and her Prevention of Violence and Substance Use Research Lab conducted a survey of 867 college students across the U.S. and found that roughly 28% of college students are alcohol-abstinent. The top two reasons students stated for their abstinence were avoidance of risks and general disinterest.
“I don’t want to feel like I can’t control my actions,” said Zoe Drigo, a junior majoring in theater who abstains from alcohol. “I know how to have fun without it.”
Other reasons students avoid alcohol include health concerns, lack of availability, interference with responsibilities or recovery from a substance use disorder. The findings from Witte’s lab have not been published yet and will be presented at the UA Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference this month.
College marks a transformative period of newfound independence as students transition from adolescence into adulthood. Alcohol is often perceived as a stress reliever and a way to cope with college’s challenges, according to Natalie Holland, a collegiate recovery community coordinator at UA Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services.
“Social media, commercial marketing, peer pressure and societal expectations can lead students to feel that alcohol is necessary to fit in,” Holland said. “This perception can create feelings of isolation and loneliness for those who choose not to partake, making it seem as though they are the only ones outside of the experience.”
When it comes to social pressures involving alcohol, some students said the experience is at its worst at the start of college but improves as peers mature and settle into solid friend circles. Students also said that their peers’ reactions to their choice vary.
“When you tell people you don’t drink, some people judge you and some people don’t, but I feel like the ones that do kind of feel like they’re better than you in a sense, or they feel like you’re better than them,” said Brian Perryman Jr., a junior studying mechanical engineering.
Drigo said that during her freshman year, people asked her why she wouldn’t drink. Now, her friends respect her choice without questioning it.
“My friends drink, but they don’t pressure me to drink,” she said. “It all depends on who your friends are.”
Drigo and Perryman emphasized the importance of finding community in activities they enjoy, such as watching movies, going to the gym, playing sports and participating in clubs. Perryman said he believes there is still space for sobriety in the party scene, and that he occasionally visits bars with his friends with a mocktail in hand.
Moreover, Perryman said that people must reflect on their own values and interests, beyond the influence of others. He added that ultimately, everyone will do what is best for them individually.
“It’s okay to learn who you are first before you try to step into a whole bunch of social interactions,” he said. “Once you know who you are, then you’ll know what’s cool and what’s not cool according to you.”
Self-discovery is especially crucial to stepping into social environments in college. Attracting like-minded friends only results from transparency, rather than changing oneself to fit in.
“Be authentic and don’t give into pressure,” Drigo said. “As soon as you start giving in, then people aren’t gonna know what you stand for, and you’re never going to find those people.”
In the long run, Drigo and Perryman agree that their peers’ opinions about their abstinence are trivial compared to the memories and connections they have made that only resulted from their authenticity. Perryman said his longest-lasting friendships were made outside the party scene.
“What I’ve noticed is that some people care more about you just being present,” he said. “What really matters is the memories that you make wherever you are, whether or not there’s alcohol.”
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