<p>My opinion on the topic - drinking is certainly a larger part of the culture here at Wesleyan than I’d expected. This is largely because before I arrived at Wesleyan, I’d heard that it wasn’t significant in social life at all… but it is. Many of my friends who came to college not drinking at all now drink at least a little bit, socially. As an RA, I can also attest to the fact that parties in the dorm tend to include alcohol - I would say it is more commonly used than marijuana (like at most schools) contrary to popular stereotyping of Wesleyan.</p>
<p>That said, there’s something about the scene that is certainly very different than the drinking culture at other liberal arts colleges. I think the big difference is where drinking tends to happen (more “pre-gaming” with friends in people’s rooms, and then going out to parties that are dry and don’t serve alcohol - this makes it very easy to go to parties without drinking, even frat and house parties, and without anyone thinking anything of it, or to easily avoid drinking if you have friends that do without any stigma - there is little to no peer pressure, despite drinking’s popularity). You don’t see people drinking out of a funnel until they feel sick. They tend to drink responsibly and not too much on a single weekend. To be honest, I think one of the main reasons drinking is so popular at wesleyan is that the entire campus suffers from a slight case of awkwardness, and drinking is an attempt t</p>
<p>Similarly, the culture of doing really really stupid things when you are drunk is looked down upon - not respected. I think vandalism depends on what you define vandalism to be - I think most students consider chalking or tagging the Butterfield tunnels completely legitimate (as do I). As for inappropriate vandalism, this does happen. People can be pretty stupid. However, this IS reported and dealt with when it does happen, and while extremely worrying, is probably less prevalent than at other similar schools.</p>