UNC is consistently ranked below the national average in alcohol drinking rates, according to the CORE Drug and Alcohol Survey of students at hundreds of colleges nationwide.
“Alcohol abuse is one of the greatest public concerns that we have in our culture because it affects things like sexual assault, HIV, crime and general health and wellness,”said Dean Blackburn, assistant dean of students.
“It may be because our students have more rigorous academics, are more engaged and we do a tremendous amount of education to help reduce those risks,” he said.
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Eric Geiger, UNC freshman mathematics major, said the drinking culture at UNC is prevalent but the influence to drink is not overwhelming.
“It seems real big to most freshman, but in reality it’s not that bad,” Geiger said. “Sometimes you feel pressured, but it’s generally pretty easy to say no.”
“I know a lot of freshman that don’t drink,” said Krysta Gahagen, UNC senior communications major.
She said finding freshman that don’t drink is easier now then when she was a freshman.
“At UNC, I think drinking has a long tradition like at any college,” said Jared Dix, UNC freshman biology major. “I think it’s in our society that drinking is how you have fun on the weekends if you’re young and have fewer responsibilities.”
“I wish students would consider the negative consequences of drinking before making it a habit and that they would monitor drinking habits before things get out of hand,” he said.
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