Alcohol and Other Drug Social Norms
Backwards thinking. It’s everywhere.
Even on our campus. When it comes to alcohol and drug use at Wake Forest, what many students think is the norm isn’t always the case. Demon Deacons party smarter than you think. And we have a poster campaign to help set the record straight.
The Facts
Based on the Spring 2020 National Collegiate Health Assessment (NCHA) of 884 Wake Forest students* and the 2023 Spring Social Norms Survey of 759 students** these are the facts :
- 32% of Deacs don’t drink alcohol.**
- 78% of Deacs don’t smoke weed (use cannabis) and more than half (55%) never have.**
- 97.5% of Deacs know that taking study drugs not prescribed to them is dangerous and doesn’t work, so they don’t do it.**
- 84% of Deacs don’t vape.*
- 61% of Deacs don’t drink to the point of blacking out.**
- 99% of Deacs don’t drink to the point of getting in trouble with the police.*
- 55% of Deacs don’t drink to the point of doing something they later regret.**
- 78% of Deacs don’t drink to the point of physically injuring themselves.**
- 99% of Deacs don’t drink to the point of needing medical help.*
- 70 Deacs identify as being in recovery from alcohol or drug use.* (If you need information about recovery, reach out to the WFU Collegiate Recovery Community with recovery@wfu.edu or @wakeforestcrc.)
- 83% of Deacs make sure to eat before and during drinking.**
- 71% of Deacs keep track of how many drinks they’re having .**
- 84% of Deacs stick with the same group of friends when they go out.**
- 97% of Deacs did not get in trouble with the University due to their drinking.**
A blast from the past
In the Spring of 2021, our party memes were all over social media, and they were brought to you by the same nerdy oldsters who collect and study statistical data about alcohol and drug use among Wake Forest students. As with our current posters, our strategy was to place fiction next to fact — and our goal was to challenge your perception of drinking and drug use behavior on campus.
