An Inside Look at the Party Culture at The University of Iowa

The University of Iowa has a reputation of being a school with a widespread party culture. In 2013, the Princeton Review ranked the University of Iowa as the No. 1 party school in the United States. The University of Iowa stayed in their top 20 party schools every year until 2018, when Iowa was left out of the rankings.

In the last decade, the University has seen some decrease in the rates of high-risk drinking on campus. However, the number of students engaging in high-risk drinking is still well above the national average.

Campus initiatives are aiming to decrease the party culture at the University of Iowa. Efforts by organizations and departments intend to decrease the presence of high-risk drinking on campus and teach students how to stay safe while navigating the social scene in Iowa City.

According to Iowa’s National College Health Assessment for 2019, 47.7% of students reported engaging in high-risk drinking within the last two weeks. The national average is 28.3%.

The party culture on campus doesn’t stay confined to bars and house-parties, it infiltrates the dorms as well.

Claire Hahn, a first-year student at the University of Iowa, lives in Hillcrest Residence Hall.

“I feel like there is kind of a peer pressure to, like, go crazy on the weekends and go out to parties and stuff,” Hahn said.

Hahn also described seeing people playing beer pong in their rooms on different floors on their Snapchat stories.

The party culture within the dorms can make first-year students feel like outcasts if they don’t drink.

“Everybody parties. I don’t know many people that don’t,” said Jasmine Wilson, a first-year student who lives in Slater Hall.

Earlier this semester, Wilson’s younger sister came to stay with her in the dorms for the weekend. When they arrived at the dorm, they found the floor in a chaotic state.

“Everybody on the floor was, like, trashed,” Wilson said. “There was music everywhere blasting…I was like ‘shield your eyes.’”

Wilson said that the cops showed up to her dorm floor later that night. Students are not always careful to hide their partying in the dorms, even if they know the consequences they might face if they’re caught.

Jessica Fisher, a first-year student who lives in Catlett Hall, said that she saw some girls get out of the elevator on her floor with a case of white claw and two bottles of fruity vodka.

“I’ve heard about how hard they come down on kids that they find with alcohol in the dorms, so I thought that was kind of risky and I didn’t get why they’d choose a Catlett floor lounge to do that,” Fisher said.

A resident in the dorms found in possession of a small quantity of alcohol or empty alcohol containers is typically fined $300 on the first offense, according to New Student Services at the University of Iowa. Any second offense of alcohol possession, consumption, or hosting a gathering of residents typically results in a $700 fine.

The party culture on campus goes beyond the use of alcohol. According to the National College Health Assessment data, 16.8% of students reported using marijuana 10 or more days out of the last 30 days, compared to the national average of 8.2%. The same data shows that 7% of students reported daily use of marijuana. The national average is 3.3%.

However, campus initiatives are more concerned about electronic cigarette use than marijuana use.

“Something that I think they’re focusing on more than marijuana is e-cigarettes because [the use of e-cigarettes] has absolutely spiked,” said Aastha Chandra, the director for health and safety for the University of Iowa student government.

The National College Health Assessment reports that 14.9% of students at Iowa reported using e-cigarettes 10 or more days out of the last 30 days and 7.5% reporting using e-cigarettes daily. Student Wellness has a program for students who are addicted to e-cigarettes where they can go to Student Wellness to get help to quit, Chandra said. Since e-cigarettes are new, Chandra said that Student Wellness is working to test what may or may not work to help students quit using e-cigarettes.

While the party culture at the University of Iowa is more prevalent than at many other universities, progress has been made.

“I have a lot of friends that work at the bars, and they talk about how the police are, like, crazy strict this year walking up and down the streets by the bars every couple minutes,” said Hayes, a second-year student at Iowa.

“I don’t think that the party culture here is as crazy as it used to be. I think the University is definitely trying to change it.” Hayes is correct about the University trying to decrease the party culture on campus. Chandra said the University has created an Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee as well as a Partnership for Alcohol Safety that works with partners in Iowa City.

Efforts by organizations on campus to decrease high-risk drinking have successfully decreased its on campus. While 47.7% of students reported engaging in high-risk drinking in

the last two weeks in 2019, 70.3% of students reported doing this in 2009, according to the National College Health Assessment.

Monica Marcelo, the assistant director for residence education- student conduct, said in an email that Residence Education also uses curriculum that includes identified learning outcomes, intentional one-on-one conversations with every student who lives on campus, as well as programming and educational information around alcohol use. With the creation of late night programming, Chandra said the University has also created options for students on campus who don’t want to party on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. For students who are struggling with substance abuse, Chandra said counselors are available at University Counseling Services, staff psychiatrists are available at Student Health and consultations on alcohol and other drug use are offered at Student Wellness.

“There are a lot of resources available to students to get help. I just don’t think a lot of them are well marketed,” Chandra said. “The stigma has to be reduced so they don’t feel bad about getting help.”

Marcelo sent the following links in an email for resources available to students regarding the party culture on campus.

Alcohol/drug use: Alcohol Harm Reduction Sexual harassment and/or assault: Rape Victim Advocacy Program Office of the Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator Mental Health: https://counseling.uiowa.edu/about/staff/