In my last installment of the year, I'm going to talk about something I am sure none of you were expecting: Ivies. Surprised? I think not. But there may be a bit of health confusion on the topic. We are all receiving mixed messages about our health, safety and school rules at this time. Ivies can be a lot of fun, but it can also end up not being that fun if you are having trouble navigating the surreal quality of the event and walking the line of how much is too much.
Q: Is hard alcohol allowed during Ivies?
Hard alcohol is never allowed at Bowdoin. If you are caught with it at any point in time, you could end up in legitimate trouble with the Dean's office. This rule, despite what may seem to occur, is still very much extant during Ivies. Bowdoin does not allow hard alcohol on its campus for a few reasons, but one major one is that hard alcohol is much more dangerous than beer or wine, and people end up having more health problems when it is involved.
That said, it is your prerogative to make the choice to drink or not to drink. Security, not to mention the Brunswick Police Department, will still be on the lookout for any banned substances, and remember to monitor how much you have consumed to avoid scary and unhealthy situations. Ivies, as much as we may all convince ourselves otherwise, does not come with a get out of jail free card, and we must be careful and smart if we do choose to drink.
Q: What is the best mixer?
Once again, hard alcohol is not allowed, but if you make the choice to drink it here is some information to keep in mind. Number one, when you mix a drink of some sort with shots you are getting the same amount of alcohol as if you had taken the shots, but it goes down easier and you end up drinking more, faster, due to the lack of a gag reflex. Ergo, measure the shots and keep track of your intake.
Second, you've heard it a million times, but here we go again: avoid caffeine and alcohol. The caffeine masks the depressive effects of the alcohol, which can lead to more drinking, and the mixture dehydrates you more than other choices. The last thing people need at Ivies is to be more dehydrated —the combination of the sun, drinking and constant stimulation does a good job of doing that already.
Additionally, carbonated drinks increase the pressure inside the stomach, which means the alcohol is pushed up into the bloodstream faster, raising your BAC faster. Sugary drinks with hard alcohol are likely to give you bad hangovers due to the addition of high sugar to you body, and people can end up drinking more than they would like to. All in all, the choice is up to you, but bear in mind not only the risks of hard alcohol but also the risks of mixing it with other drinks. Really the best thing to do if you choose to drink is monitor your consumption and alternate between alcohol and water to have a safe and fun Ivies and morning after Ivies.
Ivies is fun. It should be fun. The ways that you can maximize this fun are pretty simple: keep an eye on your drinking, alternate with water, put on lots of sunscreen, and look out for one another. If you see something happening that may not be safe healthy or such a great idea, don't be afraid to speak up.
This is the last article that will appear for Peer Health this year, so please feel free to direct any questions you may have to any Peer Health member, the Health Center, or you can email me at clevin@bowdoin.edu. Have a happy and healthy Ivies and rest of the year. Thanks for reading.