Plymouth is a city with two unis, meaning over 20,000 students descend on the city every year with a majority of those going on night’s out every weekend.
Studies show that around 90% of students admit to binge drinking whilst at Uni, with 80% of Uni students admitting that they feel drinking alcohol is expected of that whilst at Uni.
I spoke to Marjon Student Xander Turnbull about whether he feels it necessary to drink at Uni and whether or not he feels he’s missing out by not drinking: “I have never been on a night out whilst at Uni, and don’t feel like I am missing out not going on nights out. I probably would drink alcohol but it is very rare and I don’t feel dependent on it to have a good time.”
I also spoke to Plymouth Student Daniel Churchill about his opinions on drinking: “I feel it’s very important to drink on a night out as I wouldn’t enjoy a club if I entered it sober. I drink most weeks however I rarely get drunk as I know my limits.”
Plymouth Student Union has a range of initiatives to help protect people on nights out including the discreet ‘Ask Angela’ way for help and ‘Safe Taxi Scheme’ to help students pay for taxi fares with their student cards.
Plymouth was voted 7th in the UK’s best night out index and won the title of ‘Best Overall Scheme’ in the national Best Bar None awards for 2017 – a company which aims to reduce alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour.
Overall, I would say Plymouth students aren’t over-drinking as the city has been voted high for safety on night-out and also a number of students either abstain for alcohol or are encouraging their friends to restrict their alcohol intake.
