In this week’s column, Emlyn counsels a daughter who is worried about her mother’s alcohol consumption and helps a sophomore decide whether or not to get a meal plan next year. Be sure to submit your questions after the jump.

Dear Emlyn,

My mom and my dad recently got divorced. When I went home for break this year, it seemed like my mom was drinking heavily. I never saw her drink, but she would buy a handle of vodka, and the next day it would be half gone. The day after there would be a new one. She never seemed drunk, but she must’ve been considering how often she purchased vodka. I’m worried she has a problem, but I don’t notice anything else wrong. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Concerned Daughter

Dear Concerned,

Good for you for being so observant and caring—your mom is lucky to have you. First of all, I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions. Since your mom, as far as you can tell, was never visibly drunk and you didn’t even see her chug vodka sours, don’t sit her down and have a major intervention just yet. If possible, I’d suggest talking to another trusted adult at home, someone like a neighbor or a friend of your mother’s that’s around her while you’re off surviving the daily grind on the Hilltop. They can keep an eye on her and check in on her periodically, and maybe they’ll be able to get a better idea of what’s going on. In the mean time, try to Skype with her a lot and maybe invite her to visit you for a weekend or something. I can’t imagine that the post-divorce stage is a walk in the park, so just do your best to be there for her and support her.

Here’s the thing that you should prepare for—if your mother is an alcoholic, there’s only so much you can do. It’s the same for people who are depressed, suffering from an eating disorder, coming to terms with the fact that nothing will ever be as good as Breaking Bad, etc. Suffering people can only change if that’s what they wish to do, which means that it’s just not possible to make your mom better in the blink of an eye—she’s got to be willing to accept your help and undergo some sort of treatment. You may be in for a tough couple months or years, but it definitely won’t hurt to be the kickass daughter that you already are—make sure she knows she can have honest conversations with you, offer to help move her in to a treatment facility, or help her find AA meetings in the vicinity. Good luck. Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, Vox tackles the various vices many students engage in during their college years: drinking, drugs, sex and smoking. As a disclaimer, Vox isn’t advocating underage drinking or the use of illegal drugs, and most of this information comes from outside sources, not firsthand experience.

Drinking

Despite what some tour guides reassured your parents, drinking is a sizeable part of social life at Georgetown for many people. If you look for a party on the weekend, you will always find one.

During New Student Orientation, many freshmen will wander the neighborhood in packs listening for noise that might signal a party. We advise freshmen who find parties to avoid inviting their entire floor or drinking everything as soon as they can.

If you’re over 21 (or have an ID that says you are) and prefer bars, here are some of the more popular nearby options:

• Chadwicks (3205 K Street): Good happy hours and champagne brunches.
• Epicurean (On campus, under Darnall): Offers karaoke, and is usually occupied with doctors from the hospital.
• Old Glory (3139 M Street): Strong drinks, good barbecue; the covered back porch with a bar makes it convenient for smokers.
• Rhino (3295 M Street): Sketchy, but good wings and a good chance of spotting Real World cast members or Kobe Bryant.
• Rugby (1065 Wisconsin Ave): As part of a Ralph Lauren store: very, very preppy.
• Third Edition (1218 Wisconsin Ave): Relatively cheap, lots of dancing; famous for having its exterior used in St. Elmo’s Fire.
• Tombs (1226 36th Street): The closest bar to campus and filled with students, but also the strictest with IDs.

How strict a given bar is with accepting fake IDs varies from bouncer to bouncer. In the past, fake ids have been confiscated at Third Edition, so be wary. Generally, Vox would discourage you from trying your fake at Third Edition or Tombs.

If you’re looking to buy your own alcohol, the best bets are Towne (1326 Wisconsin Avenue), Wagner’s (1717 Wisconsin Avenue) and Dixie (3429 M Street). Vox recommends you get to know the employees are Dixie–they’re a friendly and often inebriated sort. Wisey’s also sells beer and wine.

Booey’s is a great alternative to overpaying for drinks at a bar. Although its only open until midnight, the pitchers are cheaper than most places in Georgetown.

Read the rest of this entry »

For this edition of Prefrosh Preview, we’ll be tackling various vices you might be interested in engaging in during college: drinking, drugs, sex and smoking. As a disclaimer, Vox isn’t advocating underage drinking or the use of illegal drugs, and most of this information comes from outside sources, not firsthand experience.

Drinking

Despite what some tour guides reassured your parents, drinking is a sizeable part of social life at Georgetown for many people. If you look for a party on the weekend, you will always find one.

During New Student Orientation, many freshmen will wander the neighborhood in packs listening for noise that might signal a party. We advise freshmen who find parties to avoid inviting their entire floor or drinking everything as soon as they can.

If you’re over 21 (or have an ID that says you are) and prefer bars, here are some of the more popular nearby options:

• Chadwicks (3205 K Street): Good happy hours and champagne brunches.
• Epicurean (On campus, under Darnall): Offers karaoke, and is usually occupied with doctors from the hospital.
• Old Glory (3139 M Street): Strong drinks, good barbecue; the covered back porch with a bar makes it convenient for smokers.
• Rhino (3295 M Street): Sketchy, but good wings and a good chance of spotting Real World cast members or Kobe Bryant.
• Rugby (1065 Wisconsin Ave): As part of a Ralph Lauren store, very, very preppy.
• Third Edition (1218 Wisconsin Ave): Relatively cheap, lots of dancing; famous for having its exterior used in St. Elmo’s Fire.
• Tombs (1226 36th Street): The closest bar to campus and filled with students, but also the strictest with IDs.

How strict a given bar is with accepting fake IDs varies from bouncer to bouncer. Last spring, a number of fake IDs were taken from Third Edition, so be aware that it could happen to you. Generally, Vox would discourage you from trying your fake at Third Edition or Tombs.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the last Friday of April, the weatherman is predicting a gorgeous, sunny day with a high of 67, and we can all rest easy that Will and Kate are finally married. You know what that all means? That it’s the perfect day to get out of class, get outside, and celebrate the day every Hoya waits for before we all get smothered under the weight of finals—Georgetown Day.

And, whether you have to wait until Linear Algebra lets out at 11:30 a.m. or you got up at 4 to play Royal Wedding drinking games, you know what GU Day really means: Bouncy castles, wing-eating contests, and lots and lots of day drinking.

You may have noticed on the Voice‘s back page this week that we had some Georgetown-themed drink suggestions to keep yourself in the Hoya spirit this GU Day. We at Vox have augmented this list, adding some new favorites that we can all imbibe in honor of our fine University.

Dino-Jack and Coke: 2 oz. Jack Daniels Whiskey, 10 oz. Coca-Cola. Preferably not the kind that comes pre-mixed in a can.

Blue and Grey: 1 oz. Hpnotiq, 1 oz. Grey Goose vodka

Salmon Shorts: 2 oz. pink lemonade vodka, 10 oz. grapefruit juice, top with a slice of orange. A great breakfast drink.

See more after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

Students running to Dixie Liquor at 9:55 p.m., rejoice!

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray’s proposed budget includes a one percent increase of the sales tax for alcohol—from nine to ten percent—but, in return, stores in the District would be able to sell liquor two hours later on Monday through Saturday.

Stores that only sell beer and wine will also be able to offer the extended hours on Sundays as well.

Current D.C. statutes currently require that sales of alcohol cease at 10 p.m.

Gray is currently facing a $322 million gap in the budget.

If the proposed budget is approved, the tax increase and extended hours are expected to provide an additional $2.36 million in revenue for the District.

h/t: GW Hatchet

Georgetown Patch recently asked local liquor stores what their highest selling brands were, and received mixed results across the board. Since Georgetown is comprised of students and other, more prosperous residents, differing tastes are represented. It’s pretty clear what kind of clientele these different stores have.

Unsurprisingly, Wagner’s and Towne Liquor listed Natural Light, Keystone Light, and Burnett’s making up the large part of their sales, with Four Loko and and Smirnoff Ice were also popular.

Potomac Wines and Spirits and Bacchus Wine Cellar list wine and champagne, like Ruinart and Blenheim Vineyards. Pappy Van Winkle 20 year Bourbon is popular at both locations, and Sam Adams is the only beer listed.

Dixie was not included in the survey. Maybe we should have a keg census this spring?

h/t: Georgetown Patch

Just like Philly P, parties with more than two kegs, and Dan Porterfield, another piece of college canon is leaving us for good. After a struggle led by pretty much everybody except college students, the Food and Drug Administration banned Four Loko and other caffeinated alcoholic drinks.

Today, the FDA sent letters to four companies—including Four Loko’s manufacturer, Phusion Products—informing them that the FDA had decided that adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages was unsafe. The companies must take action within fifteen days, or the FDA warns it will seize the products or seek a court order to ban the distribution of the products.

“FDA does not find support for the claim that the addition of caffeine to these alcoholic beverages is ‘generally recognized as safe,’ which is the legal standard,” Joshua M. Sharfstein, the FDA’s principal deputy commissioner, said in a statement. “To the contrary, there is evidence that the combinations of caffeine and alcohol in these products pose a public health concern.”

Just last night, Phusion took preemptive action by announcing that they would remove caffeine, taurine, and guanine—three of the four ingredients that give Four Loko its name—from their beverages.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Advisory Neighborhood Commission met on Monday to discuss the usual—license approvals and community noise complaints. As expected, commissioners also mentioned the shenanigans in Harbin Hall, as well as a few local bars and restaurants. Here are the meeting’s highlights:

Neighbors’ complaints stall Third Edition’s liquor license

Commissioners voted to not support renewal of Third Edition’s liquor license on the grounds of neighbors’ complaints and the bar’s multiple ABRA violations. However, Third Edition isn’t going anywhere; Commissioner Bill Starrels assured the audience that the ANC did not want to run the bar out of Georgetown.

“The overarching problem is that they aren’t complying with the previous [voluntary] agreement,” Commission Charles Eason said.

The ANC will revisit the liquor license question after Third Edition’s voluntary agreement is revised to address noise concerns.

Read the rest of this entry »

Growing opposition from medical and academic communities may threaten the continued production of Four Loko, a hyper-caffeinated malt liquor dubbed “blackout in a can.”

The main concern? The mix of caffeine and alcohol causes heavier, longer periods of drinking.

Four Loko consumption at college campuses across the country have caused a recent frenzy of backlash against the cheap beverage. Nine students at Central Washington University were hospitalized after drinking Four Loko. Ramapo College, a small public school in New Jersey, banned the drink last month. And earlier today, Harvard University officials warned students to avoid Four Loko. (Even the New York Times jumped on the trend.)

According to Mary Jane Reen (COL ’11), GERMS director of public relations, the D.C. Department of Health is now keeping tabs on Four Loko-related hospitalizations.

“The D.C. Department of Health has asked all EMS agencies in the District of Columbia to report any cases involving consumption of “Four Loko” energy drinks,” Reen wrote in an email. “In order to maintain patient confidentiality, any identifying information is removed before the report is sent to the Department of Health.”

Several states, including New Jersey, Montana, and Utah, are already looking to restrict or ban the sale of caffeinated alcoholic beverages. While D.C. Health Department officials have yet to confirm they are doing the same, Four Loko nonetheless appears to be going the way of Tilt and Sparks.

Call us crazy, but we don’t think a Lokomotive ban will stop college students from finding cheap alcohol.

The George Washington University is cracking down on large parties.

After a number Greek-life groups held unregistered parties on campus, the University began to place heavy sanctions on non-compliant organizations.

According to the GW Hatchet, the requirement was spawned by Student Activities Center Director Tim Miller after he drove past a number of very large, very unregistered parties last August.

Although not cited as one of the reasons for the heightened enforcement, the death of sophomore Taylor Hubbard, who fell out of a dormitory window last May, may also factor into the decision. (A medical examiner was unable to determine the manner of Hubbard’s death and is not allowed to release any information regarding his blood alcohol content at the time of the fall.)

Read the rest of this entry »