Freshman consumption of beer is at an all-time low.
About 33 percent of college freshmen reported drinking beer in 2012, according to a recently released survey by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. It has dropped about 40 percent since 1982 as reported by the study, “The American Freshman.”
But UF freshmen were surprised by this number, and many doubted its validity.
“I don’t know if it’s the willingness to admit or if it’s actually that the number has gone down,” said Robbie Houston, an 18-year-old UF exploratory freshman. “But I don’t think the number has gone down that much. I think people are just more shy to admit that they drink beer.”
The study is based on data from 192,912 full-time students in their first official year at 283 four-year colleges and universities across the country.
The number of freshmen who partied in their senior year of high school has also gone down.
About 70 percent of freshmen spent some time partying weekly during their senior year of high school in 2009. That number has been decreasing each year, and about 63 percent were reported in 2012.
“Considering it’s your last year of high school and you’re with your friends for the last time, I guess it’s pretty normal,” said Cameron Snavely, a 19-year-old UF exploratory science and engineering freshman.
Meanwhile, about 14 percent of freshmen said they spent six or more hours a week partying, which is a decrease from 63 percent in 1987.
Nonetheless, The Princeton Review continuously ranks UF as one of the top 10 party schools. Last year, UF ranked No. 9 but was bumped up to No. 6 for 2013.
Even though Houston doesn’t party much, he feels the effects of UF’s high ranking.
“I work 3 a.m. shifts, and I get the bar rush, and the party scene hits me hard,” he said about his job at Jimmy John’s.
UF is making an effort to educate students about alcohol use. Beginning in 2010, all incoming freshmen and transfer students were required to complete the Alcohol e-CHECKUP TO GO assessment before they were allowed to register for classes.
GatorWell’s Core Alcohol & Drug Survey, released in 2011, surveyed 678 UF undergraduate students. It reported that about 60 percent of underage students consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days.
“I think there’s more people that drink who just aren’t saying it,” said Kayla Zobel, an 18-year-old UF exploratory science and engineering freshman. “But still [that] is still pretty high for underage drinking.”
