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S: Most people associate being a student with alcohol, believing that those who don’t drink must be either religious, ill, or boring, what was it that prompted you not to drink?
T: I’m teetotal by choice. The reason is I don’t like the taste of alcohol. As much as people say it is an acquired taste I don’t see the point in forcing myself to like something. It’s a bit like marmite- you either like it or you don’t, you don’t keep eating it until you like it. People sometimes ask, ‘why don’t you try this type?’ Well I’ve tried jam and I like jam, but if I don’t like marmite then I’m not going to eat it.
S: Did you find it difficult in Fresher’s week when so many of the events revolve around alcohol and drinking?
T: Funnily enough there was a facebook group of about 300 people who didn’t drink when I came to York, and although I joined it and we spoke about doing a massive social, I ended up going out with my housemates. For people who usually drink and then don’t one night, you have to be very patient, I guess I’ve developed a tolerance, so it doesn’t bother me as such.
S: Did this leave you feeling isolated at all?
T: I’ve found that I don’t need to drink in order to be myself, loose my inhibitions, or ‘let go’, which is the reason most people give for drinking. That I can do this without alcohol means I don’t get left out of anything. Even in drinking games I still get involved- I sit by the table and participate in different ways, either as the photographer or rule maker, I find a little niche for myself: there’s always a gap for everyone, you just need to find it.
S: And what about the Ziggy’s experience, is it true what people say that it can’t be done sober?
T: I do it every Wednesday! Unfortunately not so much this year, I’ve been pretty busy, but the three years I spent doing my degree at York saw me there almost every week. It is slightly more annoying, slightly more frustrating. Ziggy’s, being the place it is and its layout, is not ideal for a nightclub, but its fine. I go out with the Rugby lads who have a reputation for being the biggest drinkers, so I think that illustrates the contrast: I can be with people who are perceived to drink a lot and still get on fine, they integrate me in everything and I never feel left out.
S: And you never came across any peer pressure to drink?
T: No, people are always intrigued and they don’t understand why I don’t like it because so many people do. So the peer pressure is more out of curiosity and people constantly asking: ‘Oh why don’t you drink?’ Some just assume that I’m just not drinking at that time, some, even those who I’ve told before thought it was just for a night or a short period and I think most of them are quite surprised when I say: ‘I don’t drink at all; I don’t like it’.
S: How do people respond when you tell them you don’t drink?
T: They seem shocked that its possible, which is an interesting perspective. If you think again about the marmite example; people wouldn’t be shocked at that, but they are shocked with alcohol.
S: How do you feel about that attitude?
T: Maybe that says something about the philosophy in this country about alcohol, that everyone should like it. I came from Kenya where, alcohol exists; people do drink, but not simply for the purpose of getting drunk or having a laugh. They drink for the purpose of enjoying it: to enjoy the drink itself, rather than using it to make something else easier.
S: What would you say to those who do come under peer pressure to drink, even if you didn’t face it personally?
T: I can’t talk from experience, but people shouldn’t be put under pressure to drink. If people feel that they are under pressure then they can go to the advice and support centre and talk to one of the members of staff there and they’ll be able to give advice on how to combat it. Always talk to someone, I think talking to someone about it is the best thing to do, because a lot of people might feel pressurised into doing things, and then they feel like they are the one who is abnormal, the odd one out, when actually it is normal to not drink.
S: Do you think there are any problems with students’ mentality towards alcohol at York?
T: No, I don’t think so. University is a strange environment, it almost acts as a catalyst for social cohesion and the English culture has come to recognise social cohesion as involving alcohol. However I wouldn’t say it’s just the English; many cultures embrace that view point, but because of that, and because you have so many people solely focused on socialising, it becomes concentrated as a major part of university culture.
As it happens a lot of students drink responsibly and I think they know when they have had too much. They even help each other out, you would be amazed how many students will look after their peers on a night out, so I don’t think it’s a problem; I think it’s controlled. You get the odd incidence but those are inevitable on a campus of 12,000 people.
S: Do you find that by not drinking you are put in the position of being the responsible one, looking out for other people?
T: I think I’m pretty clear when I go out that I’m not there to look after people. I don’t know why that is, I don’t know how I do that, but people don’t ask me to take on that responsibility: more often than not I put myself in that role. No one ever says: ‘Tim, you’re the one who’s not drunk look after that person for me?’ or ‘Tim, I’m so drunk can you look after me?’. People never ask me for that, I offer myself because I am probably the person in the fittest state to do so, but that’s alright.
S: Do you feel that not drinking enhanced your university experience; that you got more out of it?
T: I’d say I got as much as anyone who drinks would. Again it just highlights the fact that it’s a bit like marmite: if someone likes marmite and they come to university, is that going to enhance their experience? Well no, because someone who doesn’t like marmite is still going to go through the same thing.
S: You quite like your marmite analogy!
T: I think that if someone can live without marmite then I can live without alcohol. Marmite doesn’t change a student’s university experience, so alcohol won’t.
S: Are there economic benefits to not drinking?
T: Well yes, I may gain but sadly I just spend it on other things like gadgets: I just got an iphone, which cost me a bit. I think when you have money you will always find something to spend it on- money isn’t useful whilst it’s sitting in your bank; money is best used either getting you more money or something that you enjoy.
S: What do you feel about campus events and the alternative non-drinking events during Fresher’s week?
T: There’s a lot of emphasis around the country now to look at events and see how we can make them more inclusive: to take the focus away from the alcohol and put more of the emphasis on integration, not so much social cohesion, but integration, as it is often overlooked, which is a real let down. Integration implies the inclusion of different cultures, different ages, different societies: different groups of people. Social cohesion just implies people getting together and that can happen in a way that doesn’t necessarily integrate people, especially on an international campus like ours.
S: Would you prefer to have events where alcohol and abstention can occur together, as opposed to separate, parallel events for the two?
T: The two have to go together. If we are saying that people can not drink and still have a good time, then the two have to happen together. Otherwise, if we start segregating, then we are just saying that you can’t go to this event unless you drink or you can’t go to this event if you do drink: once again that’s breaking down integration and social cohesion, which should be able to happen naturally with or without alcohol. People have the right to choose whether they want to involve alcohol in that experience or not.
S: Is there more that can be done to enhance understanding of different reasons as to why people might not drink?
T: Yeah, I think there is, but it goes beyond what we can do on campus. Marketing and publicity will help solve the issue, but every year we get thousands of students coming in and then you argue is it right to be spending resources every year reminding people that they don’t have to drink? The real change needs to happen on a much more macro level and that’s the government and society in general accepting the standpoint.
But societal change is a big topic in itself and it takes decades, but if you change the views of society, then we wouldn’t have the issue on campus, because all that feeds down through different demographics and gets passed on. We could campaign on campus, but if you go out and talk to a friend from York St John, and if York ST John aren’t doing the same thing then the message isn’t effective.
S: Sometimes it can be pretty hard to lead a one man campaign! But I think you show that it is possible to be a student and teetotal, whilst getting the most out of the university experience.
Tim Ngwena = LAD... nuff said
I don't usually drink and people don't generally care - but unlike Tim I don't spend a lot of time at the main drinking places in York. Great piece and hopefully it means we'll have more non-alcoholic drink deals in the Courtyard during events 
Really excellent article! Tim talks a lot of sense here, even if he does overstretch the marmite analogy - if yeast extract were a very common part of York student life it'd work much better.
But in his last response, he just seems to be trying to get out of spending money on this. If he accepts that macro change will take ages, then he should embark on micro change to help with this issue. Obviously, changing the entire drinking culture of Britain, "Goes beyond what we can do on campus," but does changing the drinking culture of campus?
His final point shows that he is thinking too big when he says it is impossible to change the culture: "If York St John aren’t doing the same thing then the message isn’t effective." True, but in that case it only isn't effective for York St John students, who are not the people Tim is paid to worry about.
#3 not sure this is the case, bear in mind this article is personal so he talks from his own perspective, I.E. he talks about himself, and not YUSU.
That said he makes a valid point about culture, this country, and society. Im sure he's not saying lets give up hope but he's saying if were to see "real change" its got to come from something much bigger.
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