Thinking Outside the Solo Cup

“What can I get you?” is a common and courteous way to welcome someone to a party. On Harvard’s campus, as on those of other colleges, alcohol is by all accounts accessible and abundant. A red Solo cup is a ubiquitous accessory to many social events. Yet despite the presence of alcohol on campus, a number of Harvard students choose not to drink. For many of these students, this decision is based on a variety of personal factors, all challenging the assumption that social life in college necessarily involves alcohol.

Students cite a number of reasons for their decision to abstain from alcohol. For many, foremost among these is the desire to remain in control. For Saad Amer ’16, alcohol is a tool many students use to loosen up—one that he doesn’t need. “I can do this without alcohol,” he says, referring to the interview. “I don’t want to impair myself. I see no benefit for it.”

Aaron N. Cheng ’15 describes himself as a relatively introverted person, but says he doesn’t want to rely on the effects of alcohol to make him “more social.” For Franchezka M. Loza ’15 (whose middle name, Margarita, she says jokingly, is itself an alcoholic drink), both the taste and the effects of alcohol are unappealing. In terms of the taste, Loza says, she doesn’t understand why some people “make themselves like it,” giving up some control over their bodies in the process.

Some students also refer to their upbringing and family as factors in their decisions not to drink. For Joshua R. Wortzel ’13, alcohol was not a substantial presence in his household while growing up; it was not “fetishized,” he says, or needed for social get-togethers.

Loza, who also says she doesn’t feel pressure from her family to either drink or abstain from doing so, cites her Christian faith as a reason for refraining from alcohol use. While her faith does not prohibit drinking, Loza feels that alcohol would make it harder to adhere to her vision of a Christian life.

“My Christian life is very important to me,” says Loza. Balancing school, work, and social life with her faith is hard enough, according to Loza, without throwing alcohol into the mix.

For some, abstinence from alcohol is less a values-based choice than a health-related one. “I have a health condition that essentially amplifies the effect of alcohol I might intake, and so as a health-conscious student I’ve never experimented with alcohol,” Cheng writes in an email to The Crimson. Nonetheless, even if he did not have a medical condition making the consumption of alcohol particularly dangerous, Cheng believes he wouldn’t drink. “Even without my medical condition, I can’t imagine myself ever really wanting to give alcohol a try,” he says.

Wortzel and Amer both acknowledge health concerns as additional reasons to abstain. A consideration of possible risks, they say, has factored into their own choices not to drink.

All of the students interviewed for this article emphasized their feeling that the choice to drink is a personal one, and their decision might not be right for every student. “After a stressful week, it may well be worth it for some to unwind with friends and let loose,” says Cheng, though he himself does not use alcohol to do so.

Loza also empathizes with reasons her classmates might drink. “Some like the freedom they get from being under the influence,” she says. With lowered inhibitions, she continues, they don’t have to worry about what others are thinking, and as result, might feel more honest, or perhaps even more “true to themselves.”  Yet, Loza says, she does not share the desire to use alcohol to lower her inhibitions.

Though some of the students interviewed for this article are under 21, none cited being underage as a reason why they don’t drink. Despite the wide availability of alcohol and the social nature of drinking, none of the students felt that pressure from others to drink was a significant problem they faced. According to Amer, an offer of alcohol in a social setting is more of a cultural norm and a kind gesture, rather than forceful pressure.

Some qualify these assertions of freedom from peer pressure, acknowledging that the people they socialize with are a self-selecting group. Wortzel credits his social group with creating an environment where he feels unpressured. Put simply, says Wortzel, “I don’t put myself in a place where I might feel out of place.”  Because he doesn’t drink, he says, he realizes that he may not have a full picture of the drinking scene at Harvard, or be completely aware of some of the problems associated with drinking.

Loza also feels that her friend group creates an environment that is supportive of her decision to abstain. A member of the Sabliere Society, a female final club, Loza says she has not felt pressure to drink at club events. “Girls in the Sab have been very supportive of my decision. No one has even questioned it,” she says. According to Loza, there are a handful of other club members who also abstain from drinking. Loza also feels that her choice to remain sober would allow her to look out for others if something went wrong at a social event.

For Amer, socializing shouldn’t depend on alcohol. From his perspective, a focus on social drinking may eclipse developing deeper friendships.

Cheng agrees.  “I have never found myself considering partying and drinking to be more fun than simply reading for pleasure or watching a movie with my blockmates,” he says.

Echoing this sentiment, Wortzel adds, “There are plenty of ways to socialize where drinking does not happen.”