<p>One of the things that I think contributes very heavily to drinking at Williams is likely the isolation of it. I was really surprised when I visited how small Williamstown was and how physically isolated it seemed. Northampton, by contrast, offers a lot more to students looking for off campus, non alcohol related entertainment. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t want to give the perception that Smith women don’t drink. Most do, some do too much, it’s a college like any other in that respect, albeit probably on a smaller scale. However, I also remember discussing this with friends of mine who attended well respected large public universities, with football teams. They described their “schedule” to me, and I was literally confused as to how they could do their work and attend to their drinking. It was Thursday: drink and party; Friday: drink and party ahead of football game; Saturday: Tailgating and football and post football drinking; Sunday: recover. Trust me, no Smithie could do that and survive, though we like to have our fun the same as most college students. You need to be sober most of the weekend if you want to stay on top of your homework. </p>
<p>One thing I will say is that Smith takes great strides to ensure that it’s difficult/next to impossible for underage students to drink at on-campus parties or events. Houses are required to have ID-checkers and bartenders if they want to serve alcohol at their parties. And liquor stores in Northampton, as well as bars, are very strict about underage drinking as well. In order to get served, you have to have ID, and if it’s an out of state ID you have to have a second form of ID (like a credit card or insurance card) that has a name matching your picture ID. So while that doesn’t stop underage drinking, I think they take what reasonable steps they can to discourage it.</p>