“Thirsty Thursday” is known as a night many college students spend drinking alcohol and going out to parties without worrying about Friday morning classes; hence the word “thirsty.”
But the popular phrase is not often heard at Queens College; the Princeton Review recently ranked it a “stone-cold sober” school.
Of the 20 schools on the list, three were CUNY colleges. QC was ranked 12, while the other two — City and Brooklyn Colleges — were ranked 11 and seven, respectively.
Pursuing higher education aside, the college experience is often portrayed as going out on weekends, attending and throwing parties and getting drunk to the point of forgetting the occurrences of the evening.
A main reason as to why QC and the other CUNY schools were ranked “stone-cold sober” is because they are predominately commuter schools. Students forego hanging out on campus, instead focusing on attending classes and leaving right away due to other responsibilities.
People don’t particularly associate a commuter school with the average college experience, but for many, living in the dorms is considered an integral part.
Although the on-campus residence hall — The Summit — enforces a no alcohol or drugs policy, it only houses a small portion of the school’s population, roughly 3 percent.
The Summit’s rules and regulations prohibit alcohol in the premises as well as the sale or use of any illegal drugs or substances. QC has a strict no tolerance policy for alcohol and drugs being permitted on campus and abides by the CUNY system in following the laws of the “city, state and federal government,” according to QC’s drug, alcohol, and tobacco policy.
Some students, who focus on school during the week and then relieve stress on the weekends, wish there was some sort of party scene at QC.
“I was hoping to be going to those college parties when I came here, but I didn’t really have expectations. I’m shocked that QC was that high on the [sobriety] list,” Chelsea Weiss, a junior and Summit resident, said.
Opinions are torn on whether students are missing out on the so-called, full college experience.
Diane Molina, a senior and Summit resident, thinks that the partying at QC is lower than average compared to other colleges.
“We’re not at an average level of parties; we’re lower than average [on] partiers,” Molina said. “When can you ever do that again in your life, like attend a crazy college party?”
The Princeton Review ranks schools from surveys taken by students who attend the colleges that are part of their “Best Colleges” book.
Obtaining answers from surveyed students includes, “the use of alcohol and drugs at their school, the number of hours they study each day outside of class time and the popularity of fraternities and sororities at their school.”
According to the Princeton Review, the sober category is based on “high personal daily study hours (outside of class), low usages of alcohol and drugs on campus and low popularity on campus for fraternities and sororities.”
