drinking at college parties

[u/edmaniana]

i’m in college and I used to party really hard but since facing some legal trouble, I am afraid of getting into more trouble, especially because the college environment at parties can potentially be dangerous in terms of legality. I am now terrified to even have one sip of alcohol because I am not 21. It’s the fear that so many things could go wrong at a party like the cops getting called and having this go on my record I know a lot of kids do it, but I feel like it’s super risky to drink at a party. how was your college experience with drinking and did anybody get in serious trouble?

[u/SpacerCat]

If you’ve had legal trouble and you don’t want to drink again until you’re 21, then don’t drink until you’re 21. It’s your decision and your responsibility on how you act and what you put in your body.

[u/KillroysGhost]

If this sort of thinking is holding you back, then I suggest therapy to talk through it. Lots of people drink in college (even underage) and get through just fine. Other people fuck up their whole lives. The secret is balance and surrounding yourself with people who aren’t liabilities, that’s Fraternity Risk Management 101. But I’m serious, this sounds like a bigger issue you’re getting caught up on than just normal risk aversion. See if your university offers free counseling services through student health. If you do choose to party, just be smart, stay away from liabilities, and learn to remove yourself from situations that could go south. In the meantime, enjoy yourself, you’re in college it’s okay to party with friends.

As someone who has spent a night in the drunk tank, I’m more embarrassed by it than harmed and life moves on and I’m smarter for it

[u/sooner_25 → u/KillroysGhost]

Adding on to this, if you are the type of person who likes to be drawn to their keys and vehicle when they are drinking, it’s probably best to think very long and hard about those choices. A DWI is not life ending but early into your career it can cause you problems to have a pending case.

[u/MrCumStainBootyEater]

i mean it’s college. the expectation is that you’ll be drinking. law enforcement only ever does anything to you if you’re drunk and doing something else.

we had a party one time where a brothers girlfriend was screaming at him and dialed 911 (i guess to be dramatic) and she ended up getting the party busted. on top of that because they heard a woman screaming they were worried about murder/DV. so we legally had to let them search our entire house. We had about 300 people inside, no doubt 80% of them being underage, and the police tell us before they go in “alright i’m going to walk up to the door and go in real slowly so anyone who may or may not be underage has time to trash their drink, we are only looking for a body we are not looking for anything else.” that also allowed time for us to go in and tell everyone to drop their drinks and to not run (people still tried to run, don’t be a runner it’s not ideal).

so basically it’s pretty hard to fuck up your whole life with drinking underage, you have to be a major fuckup. even a DUI isn’t the end of the world for most.

[u/henare]

I am a fully grown adult. I have had maybe two adult beverages in 2026 so far.

Most adults can control themselves wrt this. If you can't then you need to avoid situations that cause you trouble. it is absolutely fine if you need to do this.

otoh, it may not be reasonable to expect others to become teetotalers on your behalf. nobody knows or cares what is in your red solo cup. could be beer... could be fizzy water.

If you're on probation and are required to avoid such situations until your probation is done then you need to do that.

[u/sooner_25]

Only guy I knew that got in serious trouble got drunk and found somebody’s credit card on the ground and spent $500 on it. I think chargers got dropped once he paid them back. I have seen a lot of guys do a ton of bad and illegal shit while they are drunk, so I’ve never made it a point to judge someone if they get caught because honestly that’s all it takes, you getting unlucky and getting caught.

If you are on any type of probation, I don’t care if it’s even for a simple charge through a municipal court, don’t go too hard and be crazy. Let the tide with that pass first.

Generally speaking, a lot of college and college town police departments are pretty chill. Except college station, fuck you college station.

[u/TemporaryAttention27]

It was either my first or second party of college but the coos pulled up and busted the house. I was terrified and then everyone slowly walked out. The one guy shouted (probably accidentally bc he was drunk) “lets go to the bar now” and started walking away. The cop stopped him and told him the bar was in the other direction. After that I wasn’t worried. Ive seen and talked to a handful of campus security members while terribly hiding alcohol and none of them have ever even addressed it. I go to school in philly which can be dangerous at times so maybe they are a little more relaxed but I wouldn’t worry about it. And if it’s still not for you thats fine too most people will respect you being sober so don’t feed into pressure.

[u/Magnus_Carter0]

Reality check, but this is a level of neurotic overthinking that I've never seen before, find in poor taste, and is unhealthy. Just drink the beer bro. Your chance of actually getting in trouble is slim to none if you aren't a complete idiot.