| Full-time undergraduate program |
Newark is a small town with approximately 10 establishments serving
alcohol. Wilmington is only 20 minutes away, but most students don't
have reliable transportation. Philadelphia and Baltimore are each about
an hour from campus, but again, not easy to reach with a car.
In the past 5 years or so, the university has received millions of
dollars from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation to curb binge drinking
and its effects on campus. This has resulted in a crack-down of parties
on campus and off. This has also filtered into the town and bars are no
longer permitted to offer happy hours, or advertise for any type of
special encouraging "unnecessary" alcohol consumption. Homecomings used
to be the highlight of any given year, but festivities have been
severely limited in the past few years. Tailgating is limited to two
hours before kick-off at football games, ticketholders may not leave the
game at half-time to tailgate, and if they do leave, they are not
allowed to return to the stadium. There is also no tailgating after the
game. More family-oriented activities now take place at football game
and nearby parking lots are off-limits, discouraging any form of binge
drinking anywhere near school grounds. Punishments for students with
alcohol in their possession have also been hardened in the past few
years. The school has implemented a low tolerance alcohol policy, and
it is much easier now to get kicked out of the dorms for drinking and
partying.
The upside of this is that the focus has shifted to academics and can be
seen in the increasing numbers of student applicants, lower acceptance
rate, and thus, better quality of student.
A favorite place for over-21 students is Klondike Kate's on Main
Street. Monday night Quizzo is a new favorite activity, but not for the
pious, naive, or otherwise faint-of-heart. Disco Saturdays have been
replaced with Saturday 80's night to accommodate the younger generation,
but 70's music can still be heard during the week at The Deer Park,
where Tuesday nights are half-priced burger nights and $1 pints. Now,
however, they may not be able to have cheap beer, but the half-priced
burgers are worth the trip.
Another personal favorite, and definitely the way to go, is the house
party. I'd stay away from the fraternity parties, as I've heard all
types of negative stories and never really had fun with the meatheads
anyway. House parties are usually off-campus, beyond the long arm of
the UD campus police. As long as the noise stays down, you can have a
great time and not worry about getting kicked out of the dorms. Make
friends with the upperclassmen to find out where these parties take
place. To make friends with the upperclassmen, I'd suggest taking a
small class first-semester freshman year, such as a foreign language
class, or a science course with a lab. You're forced to talk to others
and in no time you'll become acquainted with students living in, or
knowing others who live in, houses around campus.
Despite the recent crack-down on drinking around campus, I love the
University of Delaware and would highly recommend the school to anyone.
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