Lincoln, Nebraska is certainly no stranger when it comes to drinking.
Two years ago, both Lincoln and Omaha were ranked in the top 20 binge drinking cities in America while some lists included North Platte and Columbus as well.
What does this mean? Well for starters, Nebraska likes to drink…a lot. Maybe we drink because of the god-awful winters that rip at our faces or the football games where we lose to teams who have no business competing with us. For whatever reason, the reality is that students at UNL love to indulge themselves with cheap Natty and the oh-so lovely plastic bottles of Barton’s strewn about every Friday and Saturday night.
According to a study done by the Core Institute, 84% of college students reported that they consumed alcohol within the past year. There were around 18.2 million college students in 2007 so we can calculate that around 15,288,000 students drank during that year. While college enrollment has increased within the past seven years, one can only guess how many more students drink now, but I’ll let you figure that out.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has around 25,000 students both undergraduates and graduates combined. While 25,000 students may seem like a lot, UNL is actually the 2nd smallest Big Ten School, ahead of only Northwestern, with 14,000 students. Since moving to the Big Ten Conference, the administration is obviously trying to draw in more out-of-state students and create more national awareness, but it has been a slow process. I’m sure most of you out-of-state students have noticed that recent hike in tuition prices and I can bet most of you are not happy.
While I understand that UNL is trying to catch up with the rest of the Big Ten, the reality is that most people don’t know our school exists. When I applied for college back in New York, nobody from my grade applied to UNL and only 1 of 250 students the next year applied. I didn’t even know that UNL existed until a friend’s parent mentioned Nebraska. At that point, I couldn’t even point out the state of Nebraska on a map.
And that got me thinking. Why is that? Why, besides the Midwest, does nobody know anything about UNL?
The answer?
ALCOHOL.
A lot of high school students apply to colleges based on their sports teams, the majors they offer, or because they think it will look good on a resume, but a lot of high school students apply to colleges because of their desire to party. The prospect of almost complete freedom from parents and non-stop partying is what most high school students yearn for and they can’t wait to jump on the first chance they get.
Some readers are likely questioning how this article relates to UNL's status as a dry campus. Even if the administration does not want to admit it, the allure of alcohol and partying is a driving force behind every college-bound student's decision to enroll. Greater enrollment for the university will increase revenue. Any Accounting or Economics major knows that the more students enrolled equates to more money in the university's coffers, and wasn't that the underlying goal to move to the Big Ten? And maybe be better nationally ranked, but that’s besides the point.
In September, Benjamin Curttright of the Daily Nebraskan wrote about how UNL’s dry campus policy is safer and more beneficial to students than a wet campus would be. I, on the other hand, disagree.
The university loves to tell parents and other colleges that we are a leading example of a safe and dry campus, but we all know that is a mirage. Regardless of whether or not we’re a dry or wet campus, students are going to drink regularly, university policies be damned! I, for one, believe that a move by UNL to become a wet campus would be safer and more profitable.
Need an example? The University of Notre Dame, the 18th best college as ranked by US News, is a wet campus. While I can understand why the university thinks that our school will falter if it becomes a wet campus I do believe that it will actually improve it. By becoming a wet campus we will be able to drink responsibly after the sporting events. God knows we need it after some tough losses. Like Notre Dame, we can also create a bar in the Union, which would increase the amount of people hanging out, and drive up sales.
If UNL were to become a wet campus, then maybe students wouldn’t engage in such risky behavior. This also might help prevent UNL PD from having to hand out MIPs every weekend like they’re cups at the Big Red Welcome.
In all reality though, I do believe that if UNL were to become a wet campus, the students at UNL would be more responsible and wouldn’t drink as hard to prove something against the school.
In closing, whether or not you’re for becoming a wet campus or staying dry it’s your duty to have an open mind when looking at our current situation. I hope that one day our student body will be able to drink more responsibly and make safer choices. If Harvey Perlman ever decides to make UNL a wet campus, I’ll be the first one to buy him a drink.
