Substance-free isn’t for everyone

Recently Bwog caught wind of a baffling rumor that there is a substance-free floor in McBain. Yes,  McBain of vomity bathroom, penthouse party, sky-falling fame, has a dry floor (the first floor, in fact).  A little investigation proved the rumor to be true, and Bwog sat down with sophomore substance-free resident, Fabi, to learn a little more about it. 

Bwog: So substance free housing on the first floor of McBain sounds kind of counterintuitive–what’s it all about?

Fabi: It’s definitely not where I’d put it, but in a way, it’s sort of nice. I think especially as a sophomore, the idea is that you don’t have to feel so far removed from everything just because you chose to live in a certain community. So, by having it in McBain, I can still hear about parties going on, run into friends, and even experience the 4 am fire alarms.

Bwog: How did you hear about it?

Fabi: I got a flyer under my door at some point during my freshman year. I lived in Furnald, which I’m sure had something to do with it.

Bwog; Why did you choose it?

Fabi: Well I can’t speak for everyone, but I would say most of us just feel that what we choose to do socially doesn’t have to impact our living situation. It’s nice to come back to a suite where the bathrooms are cleaned, people aren’t acting like idiots, and my nice single is spotless. That doesn’t mean we don’t go out and come back late, it just means we don’t bring it all back with us.

Bwog: What was the process for getting involved?

Fabi: I applied in mid-January of last year and from then it was pretty simple. I met all of the people who were in the suite at the time and I was interviewed for 15 minutes. They got back to me pretty soon and I think they also hosted a pizza event for us to meet everyone who we would officially be living with, but I wasn’t able to attend.

Bwog: True or false: you and your floormates gather and talk about how much alcohol you’re not drinking.

Fabi: False! I’m sure you think I’m holding back about what really goes on in here but we’re all really normal! We talk about our classes, weekend plans, spring break trips, House of Cards and Scandal, just the usual stuff people talk about.

Bwog: What would happen to someone who got caught on your floor with alcohol?

Fabi: Well I don’t think we’d ever say they got “caught” with alcohol on our floor. I don’t know, it’s a non-starter. We all know each other pretty well and I don’t see that ever happening. Some people who live here are in fraternities and sororities and that’s not a big deal at all; they just know they can’t bring it back to the suite.

Well, there you have it. Not much to see here. If you want to live in McBain but don’t want to have to smell it per se, maybe the substance-free floor is the right choice for you. Even though applicants for 2014-2015 have already been interviewed, if you’re really interested, you can check the SIC website and submit an app anyway. According to Fabi, there are always times when applicants drop or don’t accept their offers and more spots become available.

Another Thursday night via Shutterstock