Pressure to party in college isn't just coming from peers. American traditions, culture, society, even the economy all contribute to and perpetuate the perception that the college years are party years. Any student who chooses to resist this unhealthy stereotype is facing a monumental challenge. Here are some ways you can identify sources of negative pressure, some reasons why you should resist the urge to party, and some tips for how to accomplish that feat:

UNDER PRESSURE

If you are being hounded by aggressive classmates to join in the drunken revelry, you are probably in the minority. Blatant attempts by other students to get you to drink are the stuff of after school specials. Most peer pressure will not manifest itself in a dramatic confrontation where your room mate ties you to the office chair and tries to pour whiskey down your throat. That's not to say this kind of taunting doesn't happen, because I'm sure it does, but most pressure to party will appear in a much more subtle way. For instance, you might not be invited to join in social events if your friends or classmates think you are a tea-totaler. Friends will gradually drift away if they perceive you as a buzz kill. This is pressure of the worst type. When faced with the quandary of refusing to party at the expense of poisoning your own social life, what is a student to do?

This direct pressure comes from a source that is a bit farther removed and extremely sinister. College students are expected to party by just about everyone. The "entertainment" industry has cranked out thousands of raunchy movies having to do with college frivolity. The music most young people listen to is replete with references to drinking and more. The media has created a facade of what a "grown up" looks like: someone who is attractive, fit, holding a beer in one hand, wearing over priced fashions, driving an expensive car to pick up an attractive member of the opposite gender for a casual afternoon of guilt free sex. This is the image many students are trying to mold themselves into. It doesn't help that the college realm has a long history of traditions that offer students many opportunities and excuses to get trashed and behave badly in the name of fun. Think about fraternity parties, football tailgating, homecoming, rush week, and spring break. And what about the rite of passage of getting a bad fake ID or being an underclassman who pays for the keg for the upperclassman? There are hundreds

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