The shift from being an undergraduate student to a graduate student is very sharp. There is a heavier weight of academic work, and a responsibility and expectation to progress in your academic career at an accelerated speed, but there is a specific, stark difference in the drinking culture.
As an undergraduate student of legal drinking age in Canada, a lot of your consumption of alcohol is introduced in social settings outside of your academic institution. Red solo cups and games of beer pong in a residence building party are trademark images of undergraduate social life.
However, as a graduate student, drinking alcohol becomes enmeshed in most socialization and networking events commonly administered by the institution. From drink tickets at welcoming receptions hosted by different departments at the Graduate Students’ Union pub to post-academic conference dinners and happy hours, alcohol and its consumption becomes a subtle expectation throughout these events.
A 2022 survey conducted by Health Canada found that about 79 per cent of post-secondary students in Canada consume alcohol in general, while 30 per cent consume alcohol at least once per week. This begs the question: is drinking alcohol a mere buffer to make socialization and networking events more bearable — or even fun — as a budding academic? Or can its inclusion in most social situations be a potential hazard for graduate students?
I believe alcohol consumption has become an expectation in graduate school culture, promoted and normalized by the institution and veteran academics alike. We must try and shift into a culture where alcohol is no longer expected for the betterment of our future academics.
The downsides of normalizing drinking in grad school
Including alcohol in graduate social events and academic opportunities can have both positive and negative effects on graduate students. Students may find that conversing with higher-ranked academics and building their networks can be less intimidating with a drink in their hands.
However, the seemingly permanent inclusion of alcohol in academic spaces can be exclusionary to some graduate students. Using alcohol to create a more relaxed environment, where young academics are pursuing networking opportunities, can lead to the risk of favouritism: students who are more likely to join departmental socializing with a glass of wine will likely foster relationships that those who are not drinking cannot. This also excludes some students who may abstain from consuming alcohol for various reasons: pregnancy, religious adherence, and medical or social reasons alike.
When presented as a cushion in scenarios where alcohol may be a requirement to further academic, social, and professional opportunities, students can feel like their absence in a drinking scene or some of these social functions will damage their reputation and academic careers.
It is no secret that there are a plethora of problems that come with a career in academia: the long hours, isolation, stress, and other mental health issues, amongst others. Normalizing drinking, especially in social interactions fostered by the academic institutions, can have damaging and long-lasting negative impacts on graduate students who are already adapting to the struggles that come with pursuing academia. It’s important to note that alcohol use can be linked to decreased academic achievements, cognitive defects, and injury, which can permanently damage a student’s life.
What does this say about the ethics of institutions providing alcohol as a gateway at their events despite the awareness of the negative impacts it can have on a student’s academic career and life?
What are the alternatives?
Some alternatives to alcohol are offered at academic social events, such as mocktails, soft drinks, or water. However, I don’t think these changes are enough to address the actual issue: the established culture of alcohol consumption among academics.
I believe this culture stems from a broader societal norm of drinking in social settings, which then bleeds into smaller aspects of our lives. Academic institutions could be the leaders in collectively changing this norm by diverting the expectation of drinking at social or networking events.
I’m not arguing for the complete expulsion of alcohol in academic social settings either; alcohol in moderation can make for a fun time with peers. However, I believe there needs to be a ‘denormalization’ of the intense drinking culture that higher academia has long cultivated. This can start with detaching the expectation of serving and consuming alcohol at every academic networking and social event, and the connected presumption that alcohol is compulsory to have a good time.
The younger generation is drinking a lot less than its predecessors. A TIME article explains that this could be due to a multitude of factors, such as the change in alcohol’s social reputation and a growing interest in leading healthy lifestyles. As graduate students like myself become more aware of the negative impacts alcohol has on our lives, I hope to see a relative shift in the drinking culture in graduate school and academia as a whole.
Ragini Kaushal is a second-year master’s student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, studying adult education and community development. She is a Graduate Studies Columnist for The Varsity’s Opinion section.
