Written by Abby Stone
Lubbock is a dry county, which means no beer, wine, or liquor can be sold in the city of Lubbock. The only place to obtain any type of alcohol, besides restaurants or bars, is to take the 15-minute drive out of town to the Strip. The Strip is a cluster of well-lit and well-stocked liquor stores. The drive out of town would seem to be a deterrence to drinking for college students, but this is not the case, and Tech has no problem living up to its reputation as a party school. Like many colleges around the nation Tech has a substance-abuse problem, and the substance of choice is alcohol. Girls and guys alike will drink as much as they can in an effort to have an excuse for the bad decisions they know they want to make. Keg stands, beer bongs, and drinking games can be found at most house parties and fraternity parties, and they make for quick buzzes and late, late nights. Marijuana makes its appearance at these parties as well, but if you don’t want to see it, you won’t. Usually the people who are smoking weed aren’t too keen on sharing it. Their discreet behavior makes it a low-profile drug at any party.
It would be naïve to think that no one on the Tech campus is dabbling in hard drugs like cocaine, but the percentage is small. People who want to become part of that group can do so, but if it is being used during parties, it is kept on the down-low. Tech has its fair share of heavy drinkers and potheads, but when it comes to heavier drugs, Tech students in general just say no.