Aoife Bennett tells us about one of DCU's newest societies: Sober Soc.
Overwhelming. The level of alcohol students drink on an average night out. The portion of the night forgotten the following morning. Ferdia Mooney’s description of the reaction to his newly formed DCU society- Sober Soc.
“The overall response has been hugely positive. The support has been overwhelming. I’ve had people Tweeting the account even just saying that this is a great idea.”
And it is a great idea. Students have gotten a bad reputation recently on the back of the deadly #NekNomination craze. Isn’t it about time we got a good name for ourselves?
Ferdia’s brainchild, DCU’s Sober Society will focus on bringing students a night they can remember the next morning, completely quashing the belief that alcohol is key to enjoying yourself. In a culture where we rely so heavily on alcohol it even features in our funerals, a society like this is a necessity, even in college life. “As someone who doesn’t drink, I found myself with nothing to do and nowhere to go to just have a chat with people. I needed something to keep my mind active, because I was afraid I would lapse back into a very deep depression. So a friend of mine suggested doing something for people like myself, so Sober Soc arose from that.”
The aim is simple: give students an alternative to going out drinking, but still maintain the “craic” Irish people are renowned for worldwide. “Fun that you can remember”, as the society’s motto goes. The society’s first meeting is testament to this statement, least of all owing to the amount of people who came to the event.
“I couldn’t get over how many people came, it was such a success,” recalls Eve Kerton, incoming Welfare Officer for DCUSU and one of the people who helped Ferdia set up the society. While Ferdia himself was anxious it would be a room filled with just his friends, it appeared he had no reason to worry. “I was just so thrilled with the amount of people. There was a lot more people than I thought there would be. A new society always has a small AGM, and I had that in my head, especially since Sober Soc is so niche. But there were no spare seats, and it was a big room. And most of the people there weren’t just my friends there to support me; they were actually there because they were interested in the idea.”
Source: Aoife Bennett, campus.ie, 07/04/14
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