Penn State students who decide not to drink explain why they don’t ‘need alcohol to have fun’ | University Park Campus News

Penn State student Keaton Zang says he doesn’t drink alcohol because of genetics. His family is predisposed to alcoholism and he has stated that he would rather not risk becoming an alcoholic himself.

However, Zang (junior-computer scientist) said he doesn’t mind being around people who drink and is often the designated driver when he goes out with friends.

Although it’s “much harder to make friends and connections at Penn State” because a lot of people drink at parties or bars to socialize, he said there’s no shortage of sober people in college.

Although Penn State’s party reputation is at odds with the interests of a sober student, Zang said he doesn’t see himself going anywhere else for school.

Zang comes from a Penn State family, with several college-educated family members. For Zang, that, combined with Penn State’s computer program, sealed the deal.

As for Dan Boell, he said he abstained for various reasons.

Boell (first-year civil engineering student) said drinking was “never that rebellious thing for [him]because ever since he said he could make it to 21 at an early age, the challenge of getting booze never interested him.

He said he chose not to drink for other reasons, as he had witnessed firsthand the effects that excess alcohol could have on individuals, which caused Boell to be afraid of be black drunk.

Boell said staying sober can be a slight social challenge, playing various Penn State clubs helps offset that.

He said he chose Penn State for similar reasons to Zang’s — citing more than seven members of his family who graduated from Penn State, and wanted to take advantage of the state’s prevailing tuition.

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For Keeley Boell, Dan’s sister, she said her uncle died of alcoholism and she saw the effect it had on her immediate family.

Keeley (Junior Biomedical Engineering) said she prefers to avoid alcohol and people who drink completely when possible.

“If you need alcohol to have fun, you’re not having fun,” Keeley said.

For her, sober fun comes from places like Penn State’s AURORA Outdoor Orientation Programs, which bans alcohol, and she’s also a member of the Society of Women Engineers.

Although she said it might keep her out of some social storylines, Keeley said she met her roommate and best friend because she wasn’t a drinker.

This best friend is a member of Penn State ROTC and therefore needs to be in a sober environment to risk losing her scholarship, which for Keeley is an ideal roommate.

Keeley said she chose Penn State for similar reasons to her brother, Dan. They both looked at in-state tuition, engineering programs, and family ties.

However, Keeley said she is also interested in the location of State College and the university’s alumni network.

“I don’t like cities,” Keeley said. “I knew I would be hiking in the mountains, and that’s awesome.”

For Lamar Cooley-Russ, a graduate student, he prefers to be in the “right frame of mind” and sees drinking as a way to “potentially put [himself] in a vulnerable place.

“The taste doesn’t seem to be very appealing either, as I’m pretty content with soft drinks,” said Cooley-Russ (cybersecurity graduate).

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Cooley-Russ said he was “the epitome of ‘just chilling'” in reference to his social life.

He said he was happy with the friends he had made and didn’t feel the need to use alcohol to expand that group.

Peer pressure to drink doesn’t get to him, Cooley-Russ said.

“If someone put that kind of pressure on me, they’re probably not the kind of people I want to hang out with,” Cooley-Russ said.

Cooley-Russ said he was unaware of Penn State’s party culture when he applied, then found out about it after witnessing it firsthand.

He visited Penn State through Upward Bound Math-Science, a program that brings underrepresented students to Penn State. He said he came to like the campus and its students, which led him to decide to enroll.

For Aviauna Beckett, she doesn’t drink for medical reasons, but it hasn’t had much of an impact on her social life, and most people don’t ask why she doesn’t drink.

Beckett (a sophomore in biochemistry) didn’t have a “particularly strong affinity” for Penn State, but one of her close friends was present, so she followed them, and although they weren’t close anymore, she did. said she had no regrets about her decision.

“I would be sad if I didn’t have the same experiences as everyone else, but it’s for the best,” Beckett said.

For Daniel Godzieba, it’s a matter of taste. He doesn’t like the taste of alcohol, so abstaining from drinking was an easy decision.

Godzieba (a graduate in Physics) said he doesn’t mind being around alcohol or people who drink, as he has been around it all his life.

For Godzieba, he chose Penn State because of its proximity to his hometown and its graduate program.

“Parties were a complete nullity in my consideration.”

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