Last orders for a university rite of passage ... as student union bar goes teetotal!
( LORD KNOWS WHAT THIS LOT WOULD MAKE OF IT
THEY have been a focal point for campus hedonism for decades and the scene where many a pint of lager has been sunk.
But as students become increasingly health conscious and shun alcohol, in a development which will horrify traditionalists, one union bar is set to stop selling booze altogether.
The newly teetotal union at the University of Aberdeen will focus instead on becoming an ‘inclusive... home from home’ for students who’ll consume nothing stronger than flat whites.
It’s part of a wider emerging trend at colleges and universities as a new generation rejects alcohol in favour of smoothies and sessions at the gym.
Natalie Phillips, a psychotherapist who works with young people, said the move coincided with rising social anxiety among students.
She added: ‘I do have the sense that [this generation] are possibly missing out on making mistakes and the sense of being young. I think they’re quite old before their time.’
In surveys, more than a third of 16 to 24-yearolds nowadays have said they never drink alcohol. The figure was one in five in 2005.
Abertay University in Dundee closed its union bar in 2019 following a fall in sales. It was viewed at the time as evidence of a move to a more café-based culture, with students said to be favouring coffee and cakes over the traditional pint. Abertay’s student hub, now the Library Café, offers Fairtrade coffees, fruit and herbal teas, and ‘non-dairy milks, syrups and toppings’, while its bar has been turned into an events space.
At institutions including St
Andrews, which was this month named by The Times as Scotland’s top university, there is also alcohol
‘I have the sense that they are missing out’
free accommodation, which sees students agree not to consume booze in their apartments.
A study published in the British Journal of Sociology said young people now drink less than their parents because they are more health conscious, fear losing control and feel under pressure to perform well academically.
Laura Mahon, of harm reduction charity Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: ‘It is hugely encouraging to see students taking the lead in showing that socialising doesn’t need to revolve around alcohol.
‘Creating alcohol-free spaces gives people options, is more inclusive and is a step forward in changing our cultural norms.’
However, all is not lost for the students who still wish to have a drink as the stress of an essay deadline approaches.
Traditional freshers’ week promotions are still to be seen in some parts, including at the University of Strathclyde’s Skint Thursday night, launched this year, which offers spirits and a mixer for a student loan-friendly £1.50.
The move away from alcohol at the University of Aberdeen is understood to have followed plummeting sales at its Union Brew Bar, which took in just £2,122 in the four months it was open during the pandemic in 2020-21.
Vanessa Mabonso Nzolo, Aberdeen’s student association president, told its newspaper The Gaudie: ‘Union Brew as a pub was not sustainable as a business or attractive to students. It is time to move on. This is part of a general culture change. We are trying to offer more socialising opportunities for students that are not centred only on alcohol.
‘We try not to organise events that promote a drinking culture. We want to provide alternatives and a choice for every student, which has resulted in making Union Brew a daytime café.
‘Students need to be able to access a social space other than expensive cafés or the libraries – especially taking into consideration the rising cost of living which will have an impact on student wellbeing.
‘We want to aim to provide a space that is warm, welcoming and available.’