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drinking societies
who's planning on joining one?
how do you normally hear of them? are they seriously at the freshers fair?
and do you need to be a member of the particular college to join a college-associated soc? i.e. could you be at catz and join the wyverns??
how do you normally hear of them? are they seriously at the freshers fair?
and do you need to be a member of the particular college to join a college-associated soc? i.e. could you be at catz and join the wyverns??
But then, there tend to be college wide ones - like the wyverns, and then year wide ones (much less famous, but still a great laugh), and then there are all sorts of sports drinking societies etc. - basically, if you want to get pissed and make an ass of yourself with a load of other people, then you'll have no issues finding a drinking soc to join. Although, yes, for college affiliated drinking socs (almost all of them), college membership is a must.
I'm only speaking what I know about Robinson's here - I'm guessing this is a fairly typical college-wide drinking society, ie. not one as large and notorious as the Wyverns. I am not a member. I think they tend to be more secretive than the OP thinks. Everybody knows they exist, everybody knows vaguely who in college is a member, everybody wakes up on the morning of the drinking soc's initiation day and sees them all already completely hammered but still drinking. Technically however they are banned I think or at least frowned upon by the college authorities which is why they aren't allowed to openly recruit. You have to be chosen to join and a prerequisite of this (at Robinson) is to represent the college in at least two sports teams. There is a men's drinking society and a women's.
Interesting to note that the initiation (at least in Robinson) is at the end of the year, possibly on Suicide Sunday, probably so they don't get too many random freshers joining. This is not your casual beer-tasting society or even an immature "omg I'm at university lets drink lots of smirnoff ice and get thrown out of a nightclub" kind of thing - there's a certain kind of macho image they try to maintain in being able to drink like crazy, which is perhaps why they're selective.
Interesting to note that the initiation (at least in Robinson) is at the end of the year, possibly on Suicide Sunday, probably so they don't get too many random freshers joining. This is not your casual beer-tasting society or even an immature "omg I'm at university lets drink lots of smirnoff ice and get thrown out of a nightclub" kind of thing - there's a certain kind of macho image they try to maintain in being able to drink like crazy, which is perhaps why they're selective.
What's wrong with just drinking to excess...responsibly? 
. All sounds rather hocky sticks, tally ho, old boys brigade to me. Good fun though...
phil.
. All sounds rather hocky sticks, tally ho, old boys brigade to me. Good fun though...phil.
Most drinking societies you get invited to join, and they're actually an amazing way to meet people from other colleges. Society hall swaps are where x number of boys from one drinksoc and x number of girls from another go to formal together and then out. Although maybe in the fresher years this is seen as a way to pull, as you get a bit older these just become ways of having a great night whilst meeting people.
But most drinking society initiations are horrific to watch, especially when it's midday and everyone around you is paralytically drunk.
But most drinking society initiations are horrific to watch, especially when it's midday and everyone around you is paralytically drunk.
They tend to be snobbish, exclusive, macho and more than a little stupid (but I am biased since the Girton Green Monsters pissed on my door one night, while one of them wiped his arse on my neighbour's doorknob. Just to give you an idea of what they get up to sometimes - our drinking soc at least have a long history of rudeness and breaking other people's things). Initiation (aka Cesarean Sunday) is just a bout of drunk attention-whoring. It is true that formal swaps are a fun way to meet people from other colleges, but drinking socs swaps seem to be quite drunk and sleazy. And most college societies (e.g. sports team) will organise swaps at some point.
As you'll have gathered, I don't like the famous drinking socs too much. By all means, become a member if you think it's fun, I'm not going to tell you not to, but just bear in mind that joining really isn't necessary if you just want an active social life and enjoy drinking
As you'll have gathered, I don't like the famous drinking socs too much. By all means, become a member if you think it's fun, I'm not going to tell you not to, but just bear in mind that joining really isn't necessary if you just want an active social life and enjoy drinking
Evidently a girtonian - the girton chaps have became a tad infamous last term - I believe they were banned from Emma after one of them defecated somewhere in the grounds, and Cesarean Sunday is a huge great pissup - not really what drinking societies need to be about. A number of colleges have drinking socs with a little more class - some organise proper garden parties (with a dresscode, of all things!) and the like. I think it's just that girtonians only get into Cambridge once every month or so, and like to make the most of it...
Nebuduck
Evidently a girtonian - the girton chaps have became a tad infamous last term - I believe they were banned from Emma after one of them defecated somewhere in the grounds, and Cesarean Sunday is a huge great pissup - not really what drinking societies need to be about. A number of colleges have drinking socs with a little more class - some organise proper garden parties (with a dresscode, of all things!) and the like. I think it's just that girtonians only get into Cambridge once every month or so, and like to make the most of it...
Haha... Fair enough
Though the pissing on my door incident was the year before last. And I've heard bad stories about other drinking socs. But I'm ready to believe that all of them aren't like that, don't worry 
Nebuduck
Evidently a girtonian - the girton chaps have became a tad infamous last term - I believe they were banned from Emma after one of them defecated somewhere in the grounds, and Cesarean Sunday is a huge great pissup - not really what drinking societies need to be about. A number of colleges have drinking socs with a little more class - some organise proper garden parties (with a dresscode, of all things!) and the like. I think it's just that girtonians only get into Cambridge once every month or so, and like to make the most of it...
I believe even the Wyverns have a dress code for their jelly-related debacle.
Nebuduck
Male: Shorts and Tie
Female: As little as possible
Yeah, okay. At the very least, the Pembroke Idlers had a dress code of 'Blazers' and a very civilised affair indeed.
Female: As little as possible
Yeah, okay. At the very least, the Pembroke Idlers had a dress code of 'Blazers' and a very civilised affair indeed.
I think "blazers and bikinis" is the technical term. But it's still a dress code.
Mind you, my college drinking society isn't much to shout about.
fumblewomble
http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/1223/1/
Don't worry - you can avoid this side of Cambridge if you don't like it.
http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/1223/1/
Don't worry - you can avoid this side of Cambridge if you don't like it.
Oh god... That article
I now understand why I don't have any close friends in drinking socs.
There's definitely an ugly side to some cambridge drinking/dining societies - sexist, chauvanistic, elitist, exclusive, etc, etc - but for the most part they're a fun and, for many, integral part of the social life here - a chance to go out with a group of friends, meet other people from other colleges, network and so on.
Membership criteria is varied - normally in your first year you'll form your own fresher's drinking society with a group of friends, and so for the most part, anyone is included. However most colleges have college wide societies for older years which often have more exlcusive criteria - anything from popularity, sociability to sporting ability. In my experience though the secretiveness and exclusivity of these societies is over hyped (except maybe for Wyverns or the Pitts club or something like that) and mostly anyone who wants to can be involved.
Membership criteria is varied - normally in your first year you'll form your own fresher's drinking society with a group of friends, and so for the most part, anyone is included. However most colleges have college wide societies for older years which often have more exlcusive criteria - anything from popularity, sociability to sporting ability. In my experience though the secretiveness and exclusivity of these societies is over hyped (except maybe for Wyverns or the Pitts club or something like that) and mostly anyone who wants to can be involved.
Miam!
They tend to be snobbish, exclusive, macho and more than a little stupid
That's just the sports ones really. In every year at every college there will be a male drinking society and a female drinking society that will do formal swaps with female and male drinking societies respectively (yes, it's pretty heterocentric) from other colleges. These are great ways to meet people and don't usually involve initiations or that sort of thing.
crafty bison
That's just the sports ones really. In every year at every college there will be a male drinking society and a female drinking society that will do formal swaps with female and male drinking societies respectively (yes, it's pretty heterocentric) from other colleges. These are great ways to meet people and don't usually involve initiations or that sort of thing.
The non-sports ones (e.g. Slags, Wyverns, etc) are every bit as bad. There are some which are just a bit of fun - and there are plenty of sports ones which are the same - but there are plenty of both types which are fairly unpleasant from an outsider's perspective.
Yes, well obviously the more infamous ones can be set apart, but the large majority of 'drinking societies' are pretty harmless and basically involve a meal, some wine and meeting some new people.
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