With so many students damaging their livers and their wallets so catastrophically due to alcohol, it’s surprising that fewer people are straight-edge, a lfiestyle that defines itself partly by abstinence, but primary through sobriety.
Students currently have a bad reputation owing to all of the boozing – and the throwing up in the streets – that we do (or that the media says we do), so people like Stephen are, we guess, aiding us in our quest to be seen as serious intellectuals.
Gone are the days when students were seen as sensible strivers, buried in books and the bosoms of their mentors, and now we merely appear to be a lost generation, lost to the charms of each other’s arms- and dingy student bedrooms, the bottom of nightclub stairs and bottles of Aldi vodka bad enough to make you go blind.
Articles appear year after year, saying the same slander about us and our supposed debauchery, from chiding tales in the times of students being banned from city centres and ironic videoblogs from the likes of Vice, foraying into the not-so-secret world of rugby lads and laughing at them all the while.
With little to no job prospects or contact hours, cheap booze being sold at every corner of every university town and the depressing weight of thousands upon thousands of future debt upon our shoulders, is it any wonder that we students are drowning our sorrows and letting our hair down a few nights per week?
It seems like we’ve regressed into a kind of childish state – throwing inhibitions out of the window, throwing on ridiculous fancy dress costumes night after night, and suffering hangovers and embarrassment the next morning, but we don’t seem to have learned our lesson yet.
I interviewed Stephen Harper, who is straight-edge, about what makes him tick – and what makes him stay awake in club nights, to see whether his unstereotypical lifestyle is something that could prove to be popular with other students.
I also wanted to know whether there was a viable option which doesn’t involve expensive ‘grub crawls’ or pyjama parties for Freshers who want to experience an alternative, sober, first week away from home.
Read on to see if this is the case, and whether his ‘different lifestyle’ is something you could one day try…
“I’m not teetotal- I hadn’t heard of the term until I was about 18. I’m straight-edge!
When I was about 15 I’d sampled several alcoholic drinks and the taste of them hadn’t really struck a chord with me, and the idea of being drunk hasn’t ever appealed to me. I brought this up amongst my close family and friends who were all older than me and they all said that it was a good idea and that they wish they’d done the same.
I was heavily into metal at the time so I researched sober metalheads (as there is quite a drinking culture in metal I wanted to know if there were any role models) and I found out about Hatebreed’s lead singer who was ‘straight-edge’. I was searching to label myself and it really sung to me. I read into it and really liked what I saw so I picked up a few hardcore records and haven’t looked back since!
Fresher’s week was strange as a sober person. It was harder to get through with no alcohol involved- and to find the non-alcoholic events. If you thought silent discos were bad, try being the only sober one there! I left early and met up with one of my friends from Liverpool and we had a delightful walk around York. For the other nights, I don’t think I went to another alcohol based one and thankfully one of my house-mates is mostly sober too and could keep me company! And most of the rest don’t drink too much so I had great company with whom I could talk with!
The non-alcoholic events were great. The poker night gave me an excuse to put on a suit. The Science Fiction & Fantasy night was ridiculously fun and the ComedySoc night introduced me into the best society in York!
I don’t always stay awake on club nights -I have fallen asleep in many great venues in York. Cranberry juice and good conversation keep me stimulated, I don’t drink Red Bull – my current poison is Cockta – a delicious Balkan soda.
I have been to Willow sober and it was an experience. I can see where its cult status came from. A lot of its joy may have been lost on me. Thankfully, I’d gone in a large group for someone’s farewell night so there were always some who wanted to stay away from the sweatbox of a dancefloor.
I have very photosensitive eyes so York’s other clubs aren’t a very Stephen friendly environment- Willow’s dimness was a welcome relief and sitting area was a great place to escape the throng!
I sometimes feel left out on club nights. If I’ve gone out with people who just want to get pissed and dance and stuff (the main purpose of a club night) then I do feel left out. I don’t go on too many because of this! A good tactic is to be with the group at pre-drinks and to the pubs and bars they go to before a club, and then leave before anyone goes to a club.
I must point out, even when sober, you can still dance around and have a laugh with your friends, so it certainly doesn’t stop you from enjoying a night.
Right now as I sit in my room missing the crap out of York, what I really want to do is go to Open Improv for two hours, then retire to Deebs with ComedySoc and chat about something weird with my friend James.
I spend the extra cash from not boozing on: Cranberry juice, Vikings pizza, inordinate amounts of pool, tabletop wargaming, and of course jeans that make my butt look nice.”