Concordia?s All-You-Can-Drink Culture

As the year goes on, students are being forced to tighten their budgets, causing some Concordia students to make some tough decisions: An apple or a package of Ramen noodles? Quit drinking or go broke?
Luckily, with dozens of Concordia faculty associations, student groups, and Concordia Student Union clubs all vying for attention, there’s usually a student-related event ready where Concordians can drink without breaking the bank.
In October, the Arts and Science Federation of Associations hosted an event where, for $5, students could get all the sake, beer, noodles and karaoke they could possibly want.
The Commerce & Administration Students’ Association and the Concordia Ski and Snowboard Club likewise both organized separate Halloween bashes. Though both parties lacked any sake or noodles, they did provide all night, all-you-can-drink privileges for $20.
And, both were smashing successes, said organizers.
“It turned out fantastic,” said Amanda Paquin, VP external for CASA, which throws an annual Redrum Halloween party. “We had over 1,000 students attending – the first time we’ve ever broken 1,000.”
The ASFA events, which included September’s “Tacos and Tequila” event and the upcoming all-you-can-drink “Lasagna and Wine” are thrown under the banner of being cultural events. But the irony of that isn’t lost on everybody.
“I’m not going to lie and say this is 100 per cent cultural,” said Amir Sheth, VP social for ASFA when asked to comment on the cultural validity of the events. “But instead of a pure drinking event, there’s a cultural aspect. For example, I’m sure there are people who went to sake-noodle night that had never had sake before.”
But don’t expect to get cheap, unlimited drinking sessions wherever you go; not all student-event organizers so generously offer the opportunity to become inebriated at a low cost.
A number of Concordia organizations throw wine and cheese or cocktail parties where a thirsty student will have to be content with one or two glasses of wine. CSU policy does not allow individual CSU clubs to spend student money directly on alcohol, so they often to have to rely on outside sponsorship for booze money, or for partnerships with companies such as Molson/Coors.
Regardless of how well-attended these events might be, some on campus see a downside in the student drinking culture.
“The research tells us that alcohol is a problem on campus,” said Gabrielle Szabo, a health promotion specialist from Concordia’s Health Services. “We know that a third of students experience harm related to alcohol in their time at school. We know that alcohol is involved in the vast majority of sexual assaults on campus. Most students drink moderately. But there is a small group that drinks heavily. It’s ingrained in the college culture.”

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