If you live in the state of California, then you’ve probably heard of the legendary party town of UCSB that is Isla Vista… or as the locals know it as, IV. Anyone who attends the school has experienced the stigma that comes with UCSB’s boisterous rep. “Good luck getting anything done” or “Oh, you go to UCSB, you must be a hard partier” are just a few of the things students often hear from people. While it can be a bit annoying at times to hear the student stereotype, as it demeans the University’s prestigious merits, it isn’t wrong.
As you visit the cluster of neighborhoods that border the Santa Barbara bluffs, you’ll find it inhabited with college students jumping from house to house like it is Halloween every night. While it seems like incredible fun to most in their late teens and early twenties, not everyone in the lively little town is sold on it. There is actually a great handful of students that live in the notorious party town who don’t care to drink, let alone party. As a University of California school, many of the programs entail a tremendous workload that require the kind of dedication and discipline, which leaves little room for such ventures. For some students it just isn’t their scene or idea of fun.
While some may wonder why these students chose the tiny town to live in if they aren’t that into partying, it can quickly be defended that the neighborhood is more fairly priced than the surrounding student living. Not to mention its amazing proximity to both the campus and the beach. If living in a town full of heavy drinkers weren’t bad enough for the nondrinkers, nearly everyone in IV shares their living quarters with several roommates, often doubling and even tripling to one room. This means that a lot of these straight edge students are sharing their bedroom with frequent partiers, which can be awkward at times. Many students experience the hard peer pressure that comes with these sort of conflicts. While some of these roommates may mean well, they often are putting down the nondrinker without even realizing it. They imply that they are lame for staying in, simply because they aren’t jumping on board the band-wagon… or party bus I should say.
Many non-drinking students have noted the mix of reactions they get from others when they found out they don’t drink. The immediant reaction is normally confusion, and the assumption that there must be something else going on. As if it is impossible to prefer not to drink. It is often assumed that the person either has experienced alchol abuse within their families, or that they must have obtained a DUI. The other assumption is that a student who doesn’t drink must hate going out, and therefore hate having fun. The truth of the matter is, there are students who would love to go out to parties, they just don’t feel the need to get drunk. There are just some people that prefer socializing when sober, as hard as it may be to believe. Often times, people act offended and assume that if the student doesn’t drink, they must be judging everyone else that is drinking. People often respond with things like “Oh, you don’t drink… Well, I can fix that,” or “Don’t worry, I’ll buy it for you. Then you won’t have to pay for it”. There are a lot of assumptions about those who don’t drink alchol that keep them feeling seperate from everyone else.
There is also an element of loneliness which comes with not drinking in IV. While there are several school organized events throughout the year, most people in town choose to enjoy their leisure time partying at each other’s houses. This leaves the non-partiers often sitting at home, forced to listen (because seriously, it’s as loud as a hustling, bustling city out there) to all of the fun that is surrounding them. Also, when classmates befriend each other, typically they organize drinking based get togethers.
All in all, there is definitely a lot of drinking and partying going on in the fun, little zone next to UCSB. However, for every drinker there’s a nondrinker, meaning there are plenty of students in the same boat, experiencing IV in the same way. These students have definitely linked up in the past to create their own groups, filled with people who carry similar preferences for what is fun. There is so much to do not only in Isla Vista, but in the entire beautiful Santa Barbara area that does not require drinking of any kind to enjoy, such as hiking, stand up paddle boarding, or even shopping on State Street! While these students sometimes face insecurities because of their differences, they are able to enjoy the lovely oasis just as much as any student at UC Santa Barbara.