By Lily Sage 

College is a time in young people’s lives when they have their first taste of adulthood, leading to difficult decisions. Whether it be getting to class on time, finding time to study or deciding what food hall you should go to today, college is all about learning how to be on your own for the first time. 

College has also been synonymous with drinking culture. A research study in the National Library of Medicine discussed published instances of college drinking since 1945. 

With sporting events, apartment parties and easy access to bars, many college students end up incorporating alcohol into their weekly schedules. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, around half of college aged people in the U.S. drink alcohol in July 2025. 

College is a place where young adults get to make their own decisions for the first time, and this includes to join in on the drinking or to stay sober.

Pete Brower, a civil engineering student and a member of Razorback Recovery, has been sober for two years. He made this decision after realizing he was spending too much money on alcohol that could be used in other places in his life. According to Brower, the first six months of his sobriety journey were the hardest part.

“I was stuck with my own raw emotions,” Brower said. “I’ve been hiding for such a long time that my head was toxic. Eventually, I found that through recovery, I was comfortable being alone with my thoughts. That is one of the biggest rewards I’ve ever been given.” 

Brower has also seen a positive change in his academic career. He is a part of many different honors communities and is doing well in his classes, which Brower said was no his strong suit before sobriety. 

After experiencing emotional growth and thriving academically, Brower decided to remain sober for the foreseeable future.

“It’s very daunting,” Brower said, “the idea of never picking up a drink again. So, what most people say is to take it a day at a time. Today I’m not drinking, and I don’t think I’ll be drinking tomorrow.”

There can be many reasons for a person to decide to be sober. Mandy Simmons, a senior at Kansas State University, credits her faith and fitness as reasons why she decided to go sober. 

Simmons has drunk alcohol before, but said she never enjoyed drinking in the first place. She did not like the way it made her feel, and she could never find a drink that she liked enough to convince her to drink more. 

“It’s not in a sense that I feel weird around drunk people,” Simmons said, “or I judge my friends at all. Sometimes I wish I could sit down and have two drinks, but it’s just something my body kind of rejects to begin with, and it’s just something that doesn’t make me feel good. So I don’t choose to participate in it.”

Peer pressure has been an issue for Simmons due to her sobriety. However, she tries not to let it bother her as she described herself as an outgoing person. She said she feels like she can be around people who are under the influence and still have a good time without the need to drink. 

“A lot of times people might feel judged if they don’t have a cup in their hand,” Simmons said. “You can’t feel bothered by other people’s thoughts and opinions — at the end of the day, if the person who is telling you, ‘You’re not cool if you don’t have a drink in your hand,” they’re probably not the person I want to be hanging out with anyway.”

Celebrate Recovery, a 12-step program rooted in the Christian faith, has many different locations around Northwest Arkansas. The one in Fayetteville is located at New Heights Church. 

Even though it is a Christian program, it specifically states on the website that everyone is welcome to attend.

Angela Imhoff, the ministry leader, named a multitude of matters that this program helps with, such as mental health, pornography addiction, and alcohol and drug addiction.

Imhoff believes she has seen larger numbers of college students come to this specific program because of Fayetteville’s collegiate culture. However, she also cites open-mindedness as a reason why college students attend this program. 

“I think there is a cultural acceptance that has shifted,” Imhoff said, “which I believe has made it a little bit safer for a younger population to start showing up in our program.”

Imhoff said she believes having sober people around will ultimately help someone stay sober. If you are looking for this kind of support, Celebrate Recovery and Razorback Recovery, a university group, are two groups that you could look into. 

“Reach out to people,” Brower said. “Talk to people. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I never took that first step to walk into a meeting. Finding that community, finding those people that are going through that same experience or a similar experience to give weight into what that process is like is invaluable.”