Individual drinking a bottle of Stoli while standing on a Rollins College sign (1993).
It is no secret that college students partake in the consumption of alcohol, whether they are of the legal drinking age or not. Rollins College is no exception. Not many people have heard about our tiny school with just over three thousand students, but if they have, they may know Rollins as a party school. Throughout the years of the college’s history, the attitudes of the students and administration of the college regarding alcohol have fluctuated between tolerating, prohibiting, and encouraging. Even at times when alcohol was completely banned from campus grounds, students still found ways to imbibe. Without a continuous alcohol policy on campus for the second half of the 20th century, “the spirit of Rollins and party-time has always been with us, it seems.”[1]
Today, Rollins has the reputation of a successful and prestigious institution, with extraordinary programs in the social sciences, business, and the arts. But in certain circles, it is a party school nonetheless. Records from the Rollins College Archives as well as local archival sources show that this reputation really started to solidify in the mid-twentieth century, and has not diminished since. For many decades, College decision makers struggled to decide if students should be allowed to drink on campus or not. This vacillation was due to internal campus pressures as well as larger national trends in higher education such as the fluctuating legal drinking age and US anti-alcohol campaigns.
Some have argued that the drinking culture at Rollins was one born out of necessity. The small size of Rollins was a catalyst for a thriving party culture.[2] Students did not have to go far to meet up with friends to drink, and, according to student reports in the mid 20th century, there was a lack of other social activities to engage in.[3] Before the greater Orlando area became a developed, metropolitan city, there really weren’t diverse options for social gatherings. Even so, going off campus was extremely difficult before a large number of students had access to their own vehicles or transportation services like Uber, Lyft, or the Sunrail (which started assisting Central Florida commuters in 2014). Thus, students largely remained on campus or ventured out on foot to the few bars in Winter Park to socialize with peers and others.
From the founding in 1885 until 1973, Rollins had a “strict” policy against the consumption or possession of alcohol on College property, as well as a chaperone system in place for all social gatherings, specifically those between male and female students.[4] For instance, Rollins rests on the shores of the beautiful Lake Virginia but if students wanted to enjoy a nice boat ride or go for a swim, they could expect a staff member to be paddling right next to them. This policy functioned well enough for a while but after World War II, it was becoming more and more difficult to truly enforce a no-alcohol policy, especially as the average age of students in the post-war context increased as a result of the GI Bill. Updated rules were considered, but, in a letter to the dean in 1947, a faculty member expressed the wise realization that “if young people wish to drink you cannot stop them by law, and it merely encourages them to disrespect and break the law.”[5]
So, rather than embark on an endless fight to stop students from drinking any alcohol at all, College administrators decided to keep the policies in place on paper, but in reality only tried to enforce them in egregious cases. Administrators could not be altogether oblivious to alcohol consumption off campus per policy, but because the legal drinking age in the State of Florida was 18 until 1984, it was easy for students to legally partake. In the 1940s, the college even sent out letters to incoming freshmen (specifically freshman girls) and their families, warning them of the drinking culture that already existed at Rollins by that time. In one letter written in 1948, the school told the parents of an incoming freshman girl that “there is no use denying that the places they love to foregather in are the ‘taverns’ and that many girls who never before took anything to drink, have ‘learned to drink’ at Rollins.”[6]
During the period after World War II, but before the official allowance of alcohol on campus in the early 1970s, there was a steady increase in demand for alcohol on campus at Rollins. In a critique of the student body in a 1957 edition of the Sandspur, student authors explained a shift of students’ attitudes about alochol. They expressed that in decades prior, students pulled pranks and used their imaginations to entertain themselves. But “Nowadays, [meaning, in 1957] it’s much easier to be lazy, sit back, and wait for the effects from the trusty rusty bottle to acquire that feeling.”[7] In short, the presence of alcohol in college life at Rollins increased significantly between the 1940s and 1960s, and college administrators could not shove it under the rug for much longer.
They therefore developed a new approach to addressing the growing desire for alcohol amongst students — the creation of a safe, confined, official drinking space on campus. This proposal surfaced in 1969, and resulted in the creation of “The Pub” shortly thereafter. According to the proposal, “the purpose of the Pub is to provide a convivial atmosphere conducive for discussion of matters of all types and to provide an informal meeting place which caters to the college community.”[8] Likewise, and arguably of more pressing concern, the Pub also addressed the issue of alcohol-related incidents off campus. Administrators hoped that “the Pub [would] reduce many of the unfortunate happenings which occur between off-campus bars and the college.”[9] Since the legal drinking age was still 18 at this time, this seemed like a promising way to appease the student population and encourage safe consumption.
Not surprisingly, however, one confined place that only served a few types of beer and wine was simply not good enough for students. The early 1970s saw an influx of student-led initiatives to expand the scope of alcohol consumption and possession on campus. A student named Chris Costa, who was in the class of 1973, started what he called the Booze Committee. This initial push did not succeed because the efforts were too informal, disorganized, and generally characterized by “barging in” to administrative offices and demanding that alcohol be allowed in a greater number of places on campus. Following this attempt, and with more caution and respectability, another student named Peter Phillips “…spearheaded a full-scale research effort to investigate the feasibility of allowing, in some form, the consumption of alcoholic beverages on campus.”[10] He was a psychology student, and his efforts impressed the college’s administration. So finally, in 1973, due to the efforts of Phillips’ and others, there was an official proposal for drinking in dorm rooms and common areas of residence halls. In order to drink in the common area, students still needed to get an event pre-approved, and this was still a significant ask.
Afterall, alcohol had been prohibited on campus since the College’s establishment in 1885. Students were hopeful for a positive result, and to their excitement, the College declared in an official statement “that the consumption of alcoholic beverages be permitted on the College campus commencing with the Fall term of the 1973-1974 academic year subject to applicable state and local laws and ordinances…”[11] So, after almost a century, drinking was allowed in places other than the Pub at Rollins, and it would never return to being considered a dry campus. This was thanks to both student and administrative initiatives, all of which were hopeful for a safe implementation of alcohol into the Rollins community.
In years following, to the joy of students, but to the frustration of administration, Rollins further solidified its status as a “party school.” In practice, this foundation had existed for decades, but after 1973 and these changes of policy, drinking and partying at Rollins became excessive and open. A publication of a proposal for an Alcohol Education program used student accounts from the late 1970s to illustrate the level of alcohol consumption that occurred at Rollins. For example, a female junior student in 1977 shared: “Coming to Rollins, however, was a totally different experience! Every single party I went to my freshman year either a beer or a glass of grain punch was somehow or another placed in my hands.”[12] Likewise, a male freshman remarked: “But I have never seen so much beer in one setting as I have seen here at Rollins… I have spent weekends at other colleges and partied with the students that go there, and I would have to say that parties at Rollins would put most other college parties to shame.”[13]
Despite the clearly excessive use of alcohol at Rollins in the 70s and early 80s, the college did not take any measures to reverse any drinking policies. The drinking culture that was established at Rollins was not wildly different from that of other institutions of higher education at this time, but, again, Rollins’ petite size seemed to magnify its presence. For instance, another student described the drinking culture by saying: “I don’t see alcohol as a problem here at Rollins. But I do believe that it is the crux of all social life here. People use it as a crutch to hide their insecurities and immaturity.”[14]
Given this scenario, it would seem logical that the federal raising of the legal drinking age to 21 in 1984 with the implementation of the Drinking Age Act would have been detrimental to Rollins life and college party-life in general, but in fact, the opposite outcome occurred. The only real change at Rollins was the closing of the Pub. Otherwise, the Drinking Age Act did not seem to be a devastating loss for partying students. Drinking continued at Rollins, and may have intensified more. This can be attributed to the added sense of danger and mischief that came with breaking the new law’s age limit. The law put a majority of students under the legal drinking age, so when they did drink, they were more likely to do it secretly, unsafely, and in excess. The result of this was arguably more binge drinking, drinking irresponsibly, and drunk driving incidents at many colleges in the US.[15]
Thus, by the 1990s, Rollins and many other colleges around the country were back to the drawing board about improving campus drinking policies. They had to take new steps to prevent reckless drinking on campus. Many colleges would learn from mistakes that occurred at other institutions. For instance, student deaths involving alcohol at major institutions like MIT and LSU sparked national panic and discussion.[16] Consequently, campus action plans paired with top-down federal initiatives flooded college agendas in the 1990s. On the federal side, certain federal grants would not be given to schools who did not have an alcohol prevention/education program in effect on campus. This was definitely a strong motivation for administration as it had the ability to affect budgets.[17]
An internally motivated initiative at Rollins was Alcohol Awareness Week. This happened every year for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the actual impact of such programs was debatable, according to students and faculty. The week would consist of open Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, question-and-answer sessions, and an alcohol-free party. There were “… activities to help students think about [the consequences of] drinking and taking drugs.”[18] They also placed a wrecked truck driven by a drunken teen-ager outside of the campus center. While these efforts were not totally unsuccessful, many students felt as such: “I’ve heard all of that before,” or “It’s all just too overdone,” and “I’ve already seen the car thing.”[19] Furthermore, despite these initiatives, Rollins still managed to rank impressively high on the Playboy Party Schools List in the early 2000s — it ranked number 3 in the country in 2002, and number 7 in 2010, making it the “hardest-partying small school in the country” both years.[20] Clearly, anti-alcohol initiatives had less than noteworthy success rates in those years.
Today, Rollins remains a “wet” campus, that allows students who are of the legal drinking age, and who live in certain residence halls, to possess and consume alcohol. Many students in college, including some who are under the age of 21, still drink regularly as a part of their college experience. This is unlikely to stop at Rollins or at other schools. In the 21st century at Rollins, there have been more college-sponsored drinking areas like Dave’s Downunder (later Dave’s Boathouse) that have similar goals to the Pub of the 1970s and these have been embraced in part by students. Rollins also still holds alcohol-awareness-related events on occasion, and they have an alcohol-education program in place to be used as needed.
However, campuses across the country still struggle with alcohol related issues like drunk driving and binge drinking. If these incidents happened at Rollins in recent years, they did not result in any significant changes to alcohol policy so far as the archival record shows. To view the current campus-wide policy for consumption of alcohol by students consult the Rollins College Code of Community Standards from the The Office of Community Standards & Responsibility. Finally, as a recent Rollins graduate and proud alum myself, I would like to encourage all current and future students who are of age, whether on or off campus, to drink responsibly and make good choices to ensure the safety of all.
About the Author:
[1] “1920 Dean of Men Made Students Walk Sobriety Rail,” The Sandspur (Winter Park, FL), Dec. 6, 1957.
[2] “College emphasizes alcohol awareness,” The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL), Oct. 25, 1990.
[3] “Rollins College Alcohol Education Program,” Feb. 25, 1977, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Education; Prevention, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Olin Library, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida (hereafter ASC), p. 1.
[4] Dean Burdell, Dean Watson and Dean Hicks to Rollins Gazette, Sandspur, All Resident Heads, All Social Group Presidents, All Chairmen of House Councils, President of Student Association, Chairman of Lower Court, All Administrators and All Faculty, Nov. 27, 1964, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse: College Rules and Regulation, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC.
[5] Dean Cleveland to President Holt, Jan. 20, 1948, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse: 1940s Dean Enyart, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC.
[6] Dean Cleveland to President Holt, Jan. 20, 1948, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse: 1940s Dean Enyart, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC.
[7] “1920 Dean of Men Made Students Walk Sobriety Rail,” The Sandspur (Winter Park, FL), Dec. 6, 1957.
[8] George H. Draper, IV, “Presentation for Final Approval of the Pub to the Rollins Trustees,” July 22, 1969, Folder: Pub: Rollins 21 Club, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC, p. 2.
[9] George H. Draper, IV, “Presentation for Final Approval of the Pub to the Rollins Trustees,” July 22, 1969, Folder: Pub: Rollins 21 Club, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC, p. 4.
[10] “An Update: Drinking on Campus,” The Sandspur (Winter Park, FL), March 19, 1973.
[11] “Change of Alcohol Policies in 1973,” Rollins College Archives, accessed April 21, 2023, https://archives.rollins.edu/digital/collection/students/id/214
[12] “Rollins College Alcohol Education Program,” Feb. 25, 1977, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Education; Prevention, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC, p. 1.
[13] “Rollins College Alcohol Education Program,” Feb. 25, 1977, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Education; Prevention, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC, p. 3-4.
[14] “Rollins College Alcohol Education Program,” Feb. 25, 1977, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Education; Prevention, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC, p. 2.
[15] Christopher Carpenter and Carlos Dobkin, “The Minimum Legal Drinking Age and Public Health,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 25, no. 2 (Spring 2011): 133-135.
[16] “Rollins College Core Drug and Alcohol Survey- Form 191 Executive Summary,” July 9,1997, Folder: Alcohol Policy, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC.
[17] Steve S. Neilson and Maria J. Martinez to Senior Administrative Group, Aug. 1989, Folder: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Education; Prevention, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Collection, ASC.
[18] “College emphasizes alcohol awareness,” The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL), Oct. 25, 1990.
[19] “Did you notice Alcohol Awareness Week?” The Sandspur (Winter Park, FL), Oct. 1990.
[20] Scott Maxwell, “Rollins Goes Wild,” Orlando Sentinel, Oct. 1, 2002; Jenny Andreasson, “Rollins No.7 on Playboy party list,” Observer, accessed Feb. 5, 2024, https://www.orangeobserver.com/news/2010/apr/22/rollins-no7-playboy-party-list/.