Is it possible to get by without ever drinking at Pomona?

lockn
Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:17:48 +0000

I did not choose sub-free. Some of the people in my sponsor group were non-drinkers, and they were fine. There are also people who do drink in sub-free sponsor groups (“sub-free” means don’t do it in your room).

There’s a question on the housing form that asks you to rank from 1 to 10 how much you drink/party/use substances (can’t remember the exact wording). This is separate from the question of whether your sponsor group will be sub free. I think a good compromise for someone who doesn’t personally drink but is fine with being around alcohol would be to join sub hall, but rate yourself on the low end of the scale. You could even explicitly write “I don’t drink, but don’t want to be in a sub-free hall”.

A quick primer on how the party scene works. Most people start out the night in small gatherings in dorm rooms (3-10 people). You may have heard of “pre-gaming” where people down a bunch of shots before running off to a party, but that isn’t what I’m talking about. It’s hanging out, with alcohol. At some point, groups of people start to filter out of these small parties toward the large college events.

Someone could feel left out socially, but it depends on your expectations. If want to go to a social event where hundreds of sober people are gathered at 11 PM on any Friday night, you will be disappointed. If you just want to hang out with some friends (the same thing the drinking people do for most of the night), you’ll be fine.