Learning curve for freshers

YOU’RE off to college to have the time of your life.

Study’s important, but a compelling social whirl also beckons, one which must be navigated without parents or teachers to rein you in.

And, as a record number of third-level students — 59,000 — are currently taking up places in their college of choice — the question is how responsibly will 2013’s freshers negotiate those first months?

Not always well, it seems — studies carried out in NUI Galway show that around 50% of third-level students binge-drink one or more times a week, a habit which lies at the root of many problems experienced by first years.

Any counsellor, doctor or Student Union welfare officer will tell you isolation is a major issue for many first-years, and that it can lead to risky behaviour.

Many don’t succumb to what Dr Declan Aherne, clinical psychologist and head of counselling at the University of Limerick, calls the “huge peer pressure” rife among first years desperately struggling to make friends and get a foothold on the social scene — but some do.

“They’re engaging in excessive drinking and sexual promiscuity in order to fit in and be accepted. They get tanked up and they get a false sense of security. Their identity can get tied up with that. There’s huge peer pressure and expectations,” he says.

“Excessive drinking and promiscuity is an issue,” says Dr Aherne, adding that if one- night-stands are the only option for comfort or company “they’ll take it if they’re struggling.”

For some freshers making friends is one of the most daunting challenges facing them at college, says Alice O’Fegan, a second year science student at NUI Galway.

Others believe the first year at college is a “doss” — and they “get a feel for the freedom and go crazy”, she says.

“A lot of people go out and drink to excess — it’s about the rush of freedom. People aren’t used to it and they go a little bit mad and lose the head a bit.”

While most students eventually adjust, she says, there are often “one or two who go a bit too wild and forget you still have to go to lectures, hand in your assignments and have exams to do.”

The pressure to adapt to an unfamiliar new environment can have negative lifestyle consequences, says Cindy Dring, health promotion coordinator at NUI Galway, who tells a story about a first year who sought her advice.

“She said she didn’t drink but that she might have to start — her flatmates weren’t asking her out because she didn’t drink.”

They didn’t trust her because she was a teetotaler, believes Dring, who says alcohol is one of the biggest issues at third level.

She lists a range of problems that result from alcohol abuse.

“Fights, relationship problems, unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy, being hung-over and not showing up in class.”

Studies carried out at the university show not only a strong link between a student’s binge-drinking and poor academic performance, says Dring, but have a surprising effect on peers.

Research carried out at UL in 2013 showed 31% of students reported their property had been vandalised as a result of binge-drinking by other students, 65% had been verbally abused and 19% had been hit or assaulted.

“The way they drink is particularly dangerous and relevant to a number of harms, such as drug use or unprotected sex. Some of it can be just a passing phase, but for some it may become major because alcohol can contribute to depression and to falling behind,” says Dring.

Although many first years are seasoned drinkers by the time they arrive at third level, she says, they don’t always understand the effect binge-drinking can have on their lives.

“If you get them in [to talk to you] about an STI or an unwanted pregnancy or a rape, they don’t always see it as related to their binge-drinking, but it can become clear when you drill down that this is the fact of it.”

They find it difficult to say ‘no’ to sex or to talk about casual sex, she says, because “they have this sense that everyone is doing it — and they’re not.”

Mark Mulligan (19), a third-year-student of accounting and finance at DCU, says college life presents many challenges.

“People don’t use their money properly — they’ll drink, they’ll eat poor food, which affects them financially, physically and academically,” says Mulligan, a student ambassador at the college.

“I’ve seen people fall into that trap — they don’t seem to understand that too much drink and fast food isn’t good for you.

“The weight gain can be phenomenal.”

When drinking, inhibitions are lowered, so risky behaviour and casual unprotected sex can be an issue, particularly after a night out.

“On the street after a nightclub you’d see Slane-girl-style behaviour; you’d have girls and boys who are drunk and barely know each other going home together.

“The fella looks like a great man for pulling these girls, but the girl’s getting a bad name and she’s categorised as a slut.

“It’s very first year-style behaviour. I think they get a bit of sense by second or third year, but some first years drink as if it’s going out of fashion.”

Students should choose their companions carefully,” he advises. “Only go out with people you can trust not to put up embarrassing pictures of you on Facebook.”

Student unions fight back against the binge-drinking culture by heavily promoting the huge array of clubs, societies, sports and volunteering activities on offer at third level, says Paddy Rocket, vice president academic, at the Students; Union of the University of Limerick.

He insists the media exaggerates the so-called anti-social behaviour of college students, but says the SU staff are careful to identify the long-term risks of binge-drinking and anti-social behaviour.

“We always tell them that for every action there’s a reaction — taking the examples of Slane Girl or KPMG Girl — we warn them about how their actions could affect the way prospective employers might view them in the future and explain that that is their responsibility.”

First years are encouraged to participate in campus activities outside the academic sector, and to participate in volunteering of all kinds — an activity in which UL is particularly strong.

One of the first pieces of advice DCU student welfare officer Lorna Finnegan will give first years this term is to check out the clubs and societies.

Drinking excessively is a problem, acknowledges Finnegan, particularly in the early years of college, because many students don’t know when to stop.

“There is a culture of drink or sex or drugs — it’s not as dominant as people might think, but it’s there if you look for it,” she says.

“Getting into the social whirl can be a problem, she says, especially if students have to budget.

“They can spend their money on socialising rather than eating.”

The big issue for Dr Frank Hill, a GP who provides confidential medical care to Cork Institute of Technology students in an on-campus medical centre, is actually getting first years to avail of the service.

That’s important, because, along with the usual flurry of colds and flus, he says, there are a number of issues that are more common in first year than in other years.

“We see a huge amount of sexual-health issues, from contraception to STIs to unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.

“You’ll see a good quota of first years over the first three to six months seeking to be put on the pill as their first-ever contraceptive prescription.”

However, while they may present for an STI screening because they’ve been sexually active, the majority of results are negative, he says.

While they’re exposed to alcohol, sex and drugs, only a small part of the student population actually develop problems, adds Hill, who emphasises, however, that he’d prefer to see first years discussing contraception with him before becoming sexually active.

Also landing on his desk this autumn will be issues around “the whole stress associated with being away from home — homesickness, difficulty fitting in and making friends, not eating properly or managing money.”

There’s a note of reassurance for parents as their children leave home for the first time — while they can make mistakes, one thing that strikes Dr Aherne is the sheer resilience of first year students.

“The resilience comes through — they show incredible ability to cope.”