{"id":1463,"date":"2011-02-21T09:54:12","date_gmt":"2011-02-21T14:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2017-11-19T17:40:33","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T22:40:33","slug":"booze-burden-for-cash-strapped-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=1463","title":{"rendered":"Booze burden for cash-strapped students"},"content":{"rendered":"

For centuries alcohol has played a prominent role in social events. <\/span><\/p>\n

Arguably, the bottle holds its most iconic status in the hearts of university students across the nation.<\/p>\n

This is why friends of Carleton University student James Craig, were\u00a0so surprised when he decided to lay down the liquor for the entire month of November.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cOne Sunday I woke up and I wasn\u2019t feeling on top of my game,\u201d recalls Craig. \u201cI wasn\u2019t impressed with myself and I said, \u2018you know what? I\u2019m not gonna drink for a month.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

James considers where to go with the money he has saved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Craig\u2019s decision was made to improve\u00a0 his lifestyle, but before long it provided him with some valuable financial benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you add everything up, weekends aren\u2019t very cheap occasions,\u201d says Craig, 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized I was saving an average of $80 a week by not consuming alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

Craig breaks down one weekend\u2019s expenses as follows – $20 for a 12-pack of beer purchased from The Beer Store and consumed during the night\u2019s \u201cpre-drink\u201d stage, $20 for cabs and $20-$60 for drinks purchased at the bar.<\/p>\n

Craig clarifies that this is merely an approximate number and not every weekend is spent at the bar. But if most undergrads spend an average of $80 a week on booze, that works out to anywhere between $2700 and $3200 annually, an expensive luxury for budget-conscious students.<\/p>\n

Students are spenders<\/span><\/p>\n

This figure may come as a shock for some, but not for bartender Anthony Luna. As a four-year veteran at Oliver\u2019s, Carleton\u2019s campus pub, Luna sees students empty their wallets every week just for a few drinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsistently there are a couple of students that will run about $150 tab about once a week,\u201d says Luna.<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple weeks ago three students had a $310 tab.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luna admits that these are above average spending habits and agrees with Craig\u2019s assessment that the typical cost for a night out is around $80.<\/p>\n

So why is this generation of students so dedicated to the drink? Why are we so different?<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Anne Lavack, a board member at the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in Ottawa, we aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents for many years have always found enough money to buy alcohol,\u201d says Lavack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s perceived to be part of the entertainment experience and so students have a certain amount of their budget that they set aside for entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marketing menace<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Norman Giesbrecht, a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, doesn\u2019t quite agree that things are just like they\u2019ve always been.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is different now, is that in Canada you have much more extensive marketing of alcohol than you did 20 years ago,\u201d says Giesbrecht.<\/p>\n

Students can also consider having non-alcoholic alternatives. There should be no stigma attached to having a non-alcoholic beverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese ads are targeted towards the young population.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both do agree on is the rise in binge drinking and the health risks that go hand in hand with it.<\/p>\n

Giesbrecht recited a grocery list of physical complications caused by over-consumption consuming and says moderation not only adds money to your wallet,but years to your life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf students are prepared to cut down on the occasions they drink, skip some days and not have any alcohol and combine alcohol with meals, a lot of these risks can be modified in a positive direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavack agrees and believes that a person shouldn’t\u00a0feel badly about not wanting to drink at a social event.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents can also consider having non-alcoholic alternatives,\u201d says Lavack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be no stigma attached to having a non-alcoholic beverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That’s all that’s left from $20.<\/p>\n

For Craig, a month away from booze did pose its challenges. Some situations in which he was the only one not drinking were awkward at first, but that didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first it was a little strange,\u201d recalls Craig about his first alcohol-free night out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut after a little while, I realized I was with friends and that we were just there to have a good time.<\/p>\n

Aside from having a heavier wallet, Craig soon discovered other benefits of not drinking booze at the bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople just started giving me free stuff,\u201d says Craig.<\/p>\n

Counting the benefits<\/p>\n

On more than one occasion, as soon as the server or bartender learned Craig wasn\u2019t drinking, he was offered unlimited pop on the house. One particularly charitable server even gave him milk and cookies.<\/p>\n

Luna says this kind of generosity towards the non-drinkers is common in most bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the time it\u2019s up to the discretion of the bartender,\u201d says Luna.<\/p>\n

At the end of Craig\u2019s alcohol-free month, he did celebrate with a drink but also took with him some valuable knowledge and has since cut back significantly on drinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized it\u2019s still socially acceptable not to drink at a gathering,\u201d says Craig.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it saves you a hell of a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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