Cal Poly is in session. Students swarm through campus and file in and out of classes. They're thinking about the next chapter reading they have tonight, their next class, their new dorm, their senior project, how to get to the gym, what's for dinner tonight? Where's the nearest bathroom? Kate and I know things can get a bit chaotic as a student navigating the ins and outs of college life.
At cal Poly. We focus on learning by doing, but sometimes you don't know what to do well. Emma and I are here to answer your who, what, when, where, why and howse Here on CP one oh one Learned by Listening, presented by KCPR ninety one point three. Hi Mustang, I'm Kate lopensk a fourth year journalism student.
And I'm Emma Hughes, a fourth year English student here at cal Poly, and.
We're here to share our tell all guide on how to survive and thrive at cal Poly.
San Luis Obispo. So grab a notebook. You may want to write this down.
Welcome back to another episode of CP one and one. Today we wanted to talk about a pivotal accessory to the college experience alcohol.
Whether or not you choose to consume alcohol, you will inevitably be in the presence of it in some capacity or another while at college.
With this in mind, it's important to be aware of the social etiquette and most importantly, safety tips while drinking.
That's why Kate and I are going to share our own encounters with alcohol and trust me, there's been many, while also breaking down tolerance, hangovers, and of course, most importantly, some safety tips.
So to kickstart this episode, we thought it would be fun, well, not necessarily fun, but Emma's idea of fun.
To write thatally fun ironically.
Fun to read the Office of Student Rights and Responsibility Statement on alcohol use, and this just serves as a helpful reminder before we dive into the nitty gritty details of all that is alcohol.
The statement is as follows. In an effort to maintain a high level of student success and public life health, and in accordance with state law, all students are prohibited from possession and or consumption of alcohol on campus outside of authorized areas. Any student under the age of twenty one is strictly prohibited from possession and or consumption of alcohol on campus or at off campus university hosted events. Student events are not allowed to serve or sell alcohol
on campus. Thus, university events, meetings, and activities that are student club and or student managed are not considered university events under this definition unless they are under the direction and control of a university host and have an approved permit.
Okay, take a breath.
I now that was like a moth. Do you take a break.
I'm going to break this down because yeah, this is a big scary statement. So essentially, what this is saying is that alcohol is not allowed in any resident halls, which are dorms or even apartments that are on campus. And even if the resident is able to legally purchase alcohol, it's still not allowed because it is campus grounds. So quite a mouthful, kind of confusing, but there it is all adult.
But I think if you are twenty one and like you're going to a football game, you can buy yourself.
A beer, yes, but only you can't bring alcohol into the events, but only not from vendors there. Yes, so confusing. That's why we're doing this episode exactly.
Now that we've gone over some of the campus rules for drinking, let's shift to talk about some neat to no information before you actually start drinking. Most importantly, again, let's talk about some safety tips. So the first tip we really wanted to emphasize here is the buddy rule. So you learn this back in preschool, kindergarten. It still
applies to you in college. So even just when you're going to an event with alcohol, it's always good to have someone in your back pocket who you can be like, please, like, let's watch over each other tonight, whether you're drinking or not, just having a friend, especially if it's a sober friend who is going to remain sober that night. Just employ this buddy rule and make sure you guys look out for each other when out and especially when consuming alcohol totally.
I also like the phrase go together, leave together. Yes, if plans end up changing, you need to update each other and make sure that each other is safe. But like typically you should abide by that.
I mean shameless plug. Like go check out how to Party at Polly one of our other episodes where we literally break down the party scene and we talk about this buddy system and just knowing like if you go together, you leave together, or you at least make like an evacuation plan that is safe for all parties involved. Another thing we really want to emphasize is just your ability.
If you are sober, or even if you're not, but you're sober enough to recognize that something might be off with someone else, it is then your responsibility to intervene. Intervene if anything looks off, if anything is you know, not as it should be. If someone looks a little maybe too intoxicated, too sick, if they seem like they are just lost, don't know where they're going, what they're doing, and a lot of it is because of an overconsumption,
maybe of alcohol, intervene. Do what you can to help a fellow friend out.
Okay, And then next let's get into the amnesty rule also known as the Good Samaritan policy. So a person who dials nine to one one is protected from any further disciplinary action. But one of the rules is that you cannot abandon the person that you are calling on behalf of, or else you will get in trouble. So, for example, if you are calling on behalf of someone who is underage and you are underage yourself, you will not be issued an MIP also known as a minor
in possession. So this does not mean that the other people around you are safe from any repercus this only protects the person who calls. However, this only keeps you safe from the law and not cal poly disciplinary action. So cal POLY states that they would rather have you call and report the incident rather than hide it, because if you do hide it, then your disciplinety action will be a lot.
Worse and it might still seem like, oh well, then
why would I call? But it boils down to saving a life mm hmmah, even at the risk of like a minor, like literally slap on the wrist, like yeah, it's not like a person's life is in danger, and you if that person died or experienced any sort of serious consequences, you know you're gonna live with that for the rest of your life because you're posed out across the roads of like do I call for the safety of my friend or even for the safety of this stranger,
And it's like you you have to ultimately make that decision for yourself. But this is why it's called the good Samaritan because because you have to really embody that.
Also in addition, for further like cal Poly rulings on the issue. So in the fine print, it says cal POLY will consider the reporting of the incident when determining any disciplinary action imposed on the student group or club. So essentially making that call will ultimately benefit you rather than do anything against you.
Another thing to keep in mind when drinking, you know, not drinking from an open bottle, open container. If you go to a party and there's like a punch bowl, just essentially no open bottles. Like, don't pick up an open bottle and start drinking from it. You don't know what's in that bottle. You don't know if anyone spiked it. Work on like covering your drinks even when you're like
dancing or you're talking. Don't set your drinks down if they are uncovered where anyone could slip something inside your drink. Just take cautionary measures and be aware of your surroundings when you are drinking, or do it for your friends if you aren't.
We know that this is all so serious so far, but when it comes to college drinking culture, like we just have to say it, you know. Yeah, So next, let's talk a little bit about hazing. So this is still very prominent in cal poly FSL culture. It's often used as a way to flex like your toughness and the guys are like, Yeah, I was forced to like chug a rack of beer and hike up to the top of Bishop.
And it's almost like a testament to like you, like, oh, I've overcome this hardship of like doing this really tough task and it's like of drinking, like risking your life for like nothing.
Yeah, but let's read the fine print again. So hazing is a violation of cal Poly's standards for student conduct as well as the California Penal Code Section two four five point six. Students who participate in hazing, even if only as an observer, may face saying from both the
university and the criminal justice system. So we know it's fun to like carry on a tradition or I don't know, be a part of something big, but if you find yourself in that situation, just take a step back, reflect, realize that it's not a safe situation that you're in, and preferably report.
It when in doubt, just report any situation. Alrighty, now that we've covered that.
We got so serious, But let's get into some fun sayings that can help you from vomiting, because that's not what you want to have in.
So some fun little puns we have for you guys today, beer or wine before liquor never been sicker. Liquor before beer, you're in the clear, and beer before wine will make you feel fine. So these are just some fun saying that we found on the world wide Web that we wanted to share with you.
They're helpful, Honestly, you don't.
Have to like abide by these by any means, like obviously free will, but just keep these in mind and be cognizant of how different alcohols will mix and what that will mean for you.
Absolutely. And then two big ones, making sure that you eat food and stay hydrated. Just make sure that you have like a really good carb heavy like protein heavy meal before like a good like pasta with some like I don't know protein in there. Make it fun too, like have like a dinner night with your friends and then go like go out together. Right. Yeah. I know that sometimes people are like, I don't want to eat before I drink because then it'll help you get more drunk.
Honestly that's not even really.
The case, but it's again disregarding your own safety.
Yeah yeah, And you can still like feel fun and have a good time if you eat before.
Another big one that we really shouldn't have to say, but we just want to make sure we touch on it. Do not, under any circumstances drink and drive, Do not get behind a wheel, Do not operate a vehicle if you have had anything to drink.
And then, like we said before, just like having that sober friend, especially just like, yeah, an uber, I don't know, if you split it between a bunch of people, maybe it'll cost like five bucks max. And like you can get the uber to stop at different houses as well, so that you're not just having to go to like one friend's house or like THEO Forrest comes to worse like crash on the couch. It's okay, Yeah, you will figure it out in the morning, and it's way better
than trying to navigate your own way home drunk. Yes, okay, So now let's talk a little bit about tolerance, because I know that this can be kind of a foggy subject sometimes because honestly, you don't know, especially like I said, if it's your first time being exposed to alcohol, you might not know what your tolerance is and what that
even means. So let's talk about what that means. So Emma did a little bit of internet research for us here, And according to Stanford University, alcohol tolerance is a physical and mental acclamation to alcohol developed after habitual use. And so she beautifully broke this down for me. I'm loving you for this. I'm giving you your flowers because you
deserve this. Yeah. Because of the definition includes the word acclamation, your tolerance is subject to change depending on how much and how often you drink.
Yeah, So essentially, the less you drink, the lower your tolerance, and the more you drink, the higher your tolerance. How we typically determine tolerance in a more conversational manner, like even just like when introducing yourself, like at in a party or drinking environment. It's typically by classifying ourselves as
either a lightweight or a heavyweight. So obviously, if you are a lightweight, you can't handle as much alcohol and therefore don't need to drink as much as a heavyweight in order to get drunk.
And so your tolerance mainly depends on how much alcohol you can consume without the full effect of being drunk.
So this kind of varies depending on the person and is impacted by more specific factors like how much food you ate that day, how much sleep you got, the previous night, what alcohol you were drinking. Again, this goes back to like alcohol percentage, are you mixing alcohols, what's actually in your drink and things like that.
Alcohol tolerance is not set in stone and certainly not the same for every individual.
I didn't like have any experience drinking before coming to college, and then it was like a slow progression of like, oh, I'm a lightweight, and I love to be a lightweight because you know, it's just like one and done, and like I don't have to worry about it, and so my limits less gross, right Yeah, But then it like it progresses, like the more that you are drinking and partaking in that, the more you are like building that tolerance, and the more you will then you know, feel the
need to drink in order to achieve like whatever level of drunkness you are aspiring to.
While there are tests you can take are breathalyzers that will more specifically gauge your tolerance or your drunkness, the best way to learn your tolerance is through careful observation. Emphasis on the careful, So whether or not you keep track of drinks the old fashioned way, like making tallies on your arm, which is honestly, such a vibe or having a sober friend or a sober monitor to keep
track of you. There are always ways to learn about your tolerance, and remember to do this in a safe manner.
This is all not to say like go out and practice drinking to test your limits. Rather, when you are drinking, you need to be aware of how much alcohol you are consuming so that you can gauge how many drinks it takes you to get drunk with like saying that I feel like the tootsy pop owl, who is like how many licks does it take to get to the center of a totsy pop The owl even like jumps the gun eats the whole lollipop in one bite. But we don't want to do that.
So you don't want to make that mistake of where you over indulge really quickly because you can't feel the effects of your drinks. We've all been there. I mean, if there's times that you get a little too excited, and I guarantee that those drinks will kick in sooner
or not and they'll bite you in the butt. But yeah, if you chug and drink way too fast, and like we were talking about this before, like that moment when you're in the bathroom, yes, and you're with like a friend or you're by yourself and you're just like in there and the room starts spinning and you're like, uh.
Oh, reality hits you, yeah, the same time that all your drinks do, and you're like, not have I done?
Yeah, let's not glamorize that, Like it's not a fun place to be.
Yeah, especially if you are having the actual spins. It's like, get me out of here. But this is why, you know, knowing your tolerance is so important. It does take time and it does take care. You can't assume your tolerance or overestimate your abilities when drinking. So do what you need to do, but make sure you're doing it in a safe manner.
All right, Emma, let's play a little game of assumption versus reality. So start us off.
Yes, there is this assumption that drinking more alcohol will prolong your feelings of drunk being drunk, and like prolong that good feeling of being drunk, like the happy drunk things.
Saying let's keep the night rolling.
Yeah, she's like rallying, like, uh, but actually, if you are drinking past a point oh five blood alcohol content level, it will raise your tolerance to alcohol, and it won't actually prolong that good feeling because point oh five scientifically is where your peak buzz is going to be. It's where you're still like riding that high. You're kind of
climbing up that mountain. You're reaching that peak, but it just might not be the same buzz that it typically is if you keep going and you keep drinking and you over indulge. So it's better to reach that peak and then just let it simmer, you know, have a little come down moment. But if you keep drinking and over indulge, you're actually not prolonging those happy, good drunk feelings.
See I didn't know about that at all. And then kind of piggybacking off of that point, there is an assumption that it's better to be a heavyweight, and this is actually false, as we kind of talked about it, because being a lightweight is actually way more cost effective, healthier, It's just overall better for your mind, body, and soul. That's how I feel about it.
Live, laugh, love, lightweight, I miss it. Take me back. We're on our lightweight journey right now. Yeah, absolutely, we're getting back to that, going back to like those joyful feelings that alcohol can provide. Alcohol is actually a depressant,
so it can sometimes do more harm than good. You also need to keep this in mind if you are mixing alcohol with I mean, we've talked about it, mixing different alcohols, but also if you are on any type of medication, mixing that whatever medication you're on, even birth control or even cold medicine, anything like that, if you mix it with alcohol, it can totally impact your tolerance and it typically makes you feel the effects of alcohol to a higher degree, which is so dangerous because you
have your base level of what you are, like, Oh, this is where I'm at, this is how much I plan on drinking tonight. But when you factor in any medication or anything like that, it's gonna overshoot you and it's gonna make you overdose. So just be aware of that.
Yeah, definitely. So depending on how you tend to spend your weekends, it can sometimes feel like alcohol is everywhere, and while you're at cal Poly, you'll likely encounter it at house parties, frat parties, restaurants, and when you're twenty one, the downtown bars.
One of the worst parts about getting alcohol while out are the costs. I mean, this hits home for me. I mentioned it. That's why I'm trying to, like impart lower my tolerance because drinks can be anywhere from eight to twenty dollars. And like, if you're writing that eight dollar drink, it's not quality alcohol. It's not gonna taste good, it's not gonna feel good going down. It's just gonna be, you know, bottom of the barrel.
It's just a beer, yeah at that point. Yeah. And so to help with the costs, we recommend actually investing in drinks at home and ingredients that you can have at home. Even though ordering drinks at the bar is supposed to be fun, it can be really intimidating at first. Like I totally remember when I turned twenty one, I was going on my phone, like drinks with tequila to order it at the bar, drinks with.
The vodka, And you don't want to be the person like staring at like the chalkboard.
Yeah no, no, no, no, no, comead. I literally remember being at your apartment before your bar crawl, looking at my phone trying to decide what I was gonna be that night.
I didn't know.
But anyways, let's talk about our favorite drink order. So, Emma, what do you normally like to get? What's your go to?
My go to? Honestly, I've been switching it up lately. Like I used to like a Madori sour and that was fun. It was it was fun. I know. Abby just gave me a look young in case you couldn't in case you couldn't tell because she's not on camera, but she gave me the most like a heinous look. But Madori sours like they were my go to first because that's what my friends liked. So when I first hit the bar scene, it was like that's what they were getting. So obviously I bandwagon and just got that too.
It's all about the bandwagon. You just do what your older friends do.
Literally, now I've gotten like vodka cran like just a classic vodka cran. I sometimes do the vodka Red Bull just to give me a little pep in my step.
Also that hurts my stomach just to think about you do you girl?
But okay, Also this is like a crazier hotter take. But if you are like hoping for like a one hit wonder with your drink. The sister of the AMF is the Tokyo Tea scared.
Oh no, no, no, it's all the MF.
I was like, oh, don't say it, not THEMF now, sister of the AMF. The Tokyo tea. It's not blue, it's green, and it tastes better, but it still has four liquors in it that will give you to where you want to be and you can ride that high for the whole night. And it's ten dollars.
Okay. See yeah, so that's where I like.
Yeah, and if I'm getting a drink and I'm wanting to feel some type of way, I do my one and done Tokyo tea. I also just feel cool ordering it because Tokyo Tea just rolls off the tongue. Okay. But that was me, and that's like my bar life. I'm like just all over the place. I kind of just pick and choose what I want. But kay, I can see that you've planned out some fun little drinks for us. I'm assuming you take inspiration from your study of.
Absolutely Like, I love making my own drinks, So if I can just make myself a glassy little cocktail before I go, that's what I would preferably do. I love an apparall sprints. I love a mohito. I just love the experience of the beverage. Like I'm the same way with like my morning coffee. I'm not much of an energy drink person just because I love like the active ritual of making the drink and drinking it. I sound so like you're.
So bougie, but that's not the I love the experience of the beverage. I do that's anywhere.
It makes me feel like less worse about it because I had my first four loco experience and like that was not fun.
So I never so I've just got low, but I don't go that low.
No, it was like I made that promise to heat or a go when I had to follow up. Yeah, so I had to make I had to my bargain. But when I'm at the bar, I love a paloma. I like my tequila. So a paloma is just tequila limon grapefruit juice and like maybe some like club Seta, I really like it. And then call me basic. But I have recently started getting back into the vodka cram with the lime.
It's good. It's really good. It feels classy, but maybe that's just because it's classic and it's not actually classy. It's just like, yeah, it's nice and it's always there for you.
Alcohol either, which I like. Yeah, And then if I'm not feeling like doing something with a hard liquor, I will do a cider. I love a cider. Continuing on with this really long episode, let's just talk about like the final stage, yes, which is the hangover. And these can be an absolute beast to manage. But we have some tips for you. And I did a little research on Harvard Health because Harvard and so according to them, you should drink fluids, take pain relievers. This is this
is the catch. This is a new one. Don't take tail and all because if there is still visual alcohol in your system, it's really bad for your liver. So lrip my liver. Well, when in doubt, just google that, look it up and the internet smart. I probably should have done that, but now I always do.
And then I like, most of the time, no matter what it says, I'm just like, and this is what I have is so what I'm gonna take. Don't be like me, but make sure you are aware of the situation.
Okay, but anyways, recommendations use ibuprofen or aspirin instead, and then also they said to take vitamin B and zinc. And I know that you probably might not have supplements on hand, because who does. We are twenty one years old. I have barely anything. But just eat foods that are rich in these products and these supplements, and then again, just eat those carb dance foods. Make a ritual out
of it. Even I'm all about making everything an event, as we know by my pregating tactics, like be like, okay, girls, we're going out tonight and we're getting breakfast burritos in the morning.
That is the way to do this, totally.
Yeah, everyone's nodding around you right now, like, yeah, that's.
How it support. Also, there are things you can do to prevent a hangover beforehand, so we've touched on a few of them. But like eating that full meal before you go out, no matter how much alcohol you are planning on consuming, it's just going to act as energy for whatever your plans are. But it will also help absorb some of that alcohol so you're not feeling it the day after.
I am guilty of ending a night early just because I'm hungry. Okay, I will leave the bar, so's I could really go for some nick the Greek right now.
I take pride in that. I take like um, well, it comes out of the question would I rather be here with a measley drink in my hand or would I rather be like at home or you know, at a fast food joint eating some lovely food. Also just drinking water in between your drinks. So when you are at the bars, pacing your yourself, knowing your limits and being able to take a step back again, don't drink all at once, let it simmer, let those drinks cook
in your stomach, and drink that water in between any drinks. Then, also just drinking in moderation, avoid that binge drinking. So regardless of whether or not you're stacking drinks, make sure that if you do plan on drinking a lot, you separate it out. You don't drink it all at once, and you just d don't overdrink, don't over consume your alcohol. It will not be fun.
Mm hm, be smart and so, Emma, I'm curious, do you have any other hangover tips that Harvard did not lay out.
For us today? Yeah, I personally have never been that down bad after a night out. Like at worst, I just lay in my bed. That being said, our lovely editor Gabby had a fantastic tip that I wanted to share with everyone. So her advice, first and foremost is to drink pickle juice and hear us out. Hear us out.
Alcohol is a blood thinner, hence the hangover. So drinking pickle juice either while you're drinking alcohol, so like using it as a chaser or anything like that, or even just drinking it the day after it will help cure your hangover and potentially your anxiety.
The anxiety. We talked about that before as well.
But just rely on your pickle juice and you'll be fine. You'll be saved.
I actually, do you want to tell my funny story before I get into it. I had such bad like anxiety the day after drinking one time that I drove myself to Avala Beach and I jumped in the freezing cold water at eight am.
Because eight am, how many hours had passed since you like consumed alcohol enough?
I mean, I I'm.
Not talking about you drinking and driving, and I'm talking about like, did you sleep? Yes?
I did sleep. I end my nights pretty early. But yeah, I yeah, I don't like it, like even if I barely drink, I will be anxious the next day. So adding on to that, I always try to get some fresh air and movement if my body lets me. Emphasis yeah, I mean if I'm feeling nauxious or gross the day after, like it's fine laying in bed, but I do believe in sweating it out, like I can either go to
the gym ork and walk around my block whatever. All right, now, let's get into some other resources that you might find helpful. So first of all is Mustangs for Recovery. This is for if you need that support group if you are struggling with your relationship with alcohol, that is always available.
There's also anonymous drug and alcohol self assessments that you can take if you go to the Health and Will being Paige.
And then there are also Safer presentations. I for one, have attempted safer presentations to be an event monitor for my sorority functions, so they are actually very informative. I learned some stuff I even throw into our talk today. So making sure that you follow the campus health and Wellbeing Instagram and seeing when those are is always very handy.
They also make them super fun. I've done ones that are like ca who are just like facts of drinking and it's purely like informative for you. So they make it fun, they make it interactive, and it's like it's less about like shaming you like it. They don't shame you at all for drinking. They're aware of the college environment and they're just there to provide the information that
you need to be safe. Another great resource that they offer through the Health and Wellbeing website is one on one consultations or presentations, so you can meet with someone to kind of talk about your experiences, or they can give you those presentations in person or via zoom and do it in a one on one setting where it might feel a little easier to ask any potential questions.
You can also tap into counseling Services and make an appointment there for free, confidential and brief individual counseling services. And we already talked about that on how to mental health. The counseling Services centered, like we absolutely love them and you should definitely check that out.
Yeah, and this one specifically will give you like guidance on reducing or eliminating alcohol or drug use based on specific goals that you have and just also understanding like academic, emotional, and personal issues that involve alcohol. So you can definitely cater these sessions to any specific goal that you have in mind or issue that you want to address. Obviously, for the purposes of this episode, that's the focus on alcohol. Well,
that's all the time we have for today. One last piece of advice, don't rush into drinking if you aren't ready, and if you are, make sure you are practicing safe drinking habits. We cannot emphasize this enough.
Cheers to that, Emma, and anyways, we'll be back with more tips and tricks next time on CP one on one Learn by listening. You can find us on any preferred streaming platform for the next episode.
And keep up to date with CP one on one and all KCPR podcasts. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, TikTok, or Facebook at KCPR nine one three.
Or check us out on KCPR dot org slash podcast. Signing off, I'm Kate Lopenske and.
I'm Emma Hughes. Thanks for keeping up with all things cal Poly