Column: Mirte Brouwer

And a non-alcoholic beer for you?

The action taken by Mirte Brouwers’ student association to not drink alcohol for a month is a great success. She thinks that informing and supporting instead of imposing may also be a good approach for TU Delft.

Mirte Brouwer zit op een bankje

(Photo: Sam Rentmeester)

Last week I was at a birthday party with only students from TU Delft. As usual, the table was full of bottles of wine and craft beer, but less than half of them drank any. The rest were doing Dry January, a challenge to give up alcohol for a month. Many think of it as a detox or low-key rehab programme. The phenomenon originated in England where it has been around for over a decade. Although Dry January has also been in the Netherlands for a few years now, it feels like far more people I know are doing it this year compared to previous years.

I couldn’t help but wonder why so many people are suddenly doing it this year? TU Delft and the Government have been trying to reduce alcohol consumption among students for years through various programmes and campaigns, such as the Responsible Alcohol Consumption by TU Delft Students covenant. But honestly, as a student, I haven’t seen these efforts change the weekly drinks culture.

It’s easy to see why Dry January is popular this year. The board of my student association decided to do it and encouraged the other members to follow their lead. They were, in turn, nudged by the VerenigingsRaad Delft. And as these things go, people began encouraging each other and making plans to do it together. What also helps is that non-alcoholic beer costs the same as regular craft beer, while soft drinks are half the price of regular beer, thus, not drinking alcohol costs the same or less.

The association board received no pushback for this campaign – unlike when TU Delft introduced a new alcohol policy

Fortunately, there were plenty of 0.0 options at the birthday party I went to because, as one of the guests said, “Drinking Coke while everyone else is enjoying delicious craft beers is a bit boring”. The association’s bar committee also realised this, and expanded the range of non-alcoholic craft beers available in January, complete with a survey where we could vote for our favourite alcohol-free options. A new debate sprang up at our weekly drinks: is it cheating to have a beer with 0.3% alcohol? What about tiramisu? The discussion lasted such a long time that someone finally just ordered a round of water.

The association board received no pushback for this campaign – unlike when TU Delft introduced a new alcohol policy, for example. The big difference is that the initiative was not imposed from above, but came from the students themselves. The Free University of Amsterdam, where I also study, seems to be experimenting with a similar approach. Posters in every bathroom stall promote the benefits of skipping alcohol for a month: better sleep, feeling fitter mentally and physically, and a sharper focus and memory. They also have a QR code to a support app (in Dutch). Perhaps this approach of informing and supporting, rather than imposing might work at TU Delft as well.

I’m not expecting Dry January to lead to a sweeping cultural shift. But even one month without alcohol can bring health benefits. And maybe for some of the people who do it, drinking alcohol will become less of a given. Plus, hopefully the wider 0.0 range on offer at my student association will be permanent. As for me, I’m not doing Dry January, which means I now have to explain why I do drink. The roles are reversed for a month.

Mirte Brouwer is a master’s student in Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft and a master’s student in Dutch Literature and Literary studies at VU University Amsterdam.

Columnist Mirte Brouwer

Mirte Brouwer is a master’s student in Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft and a master’s student in Dutch Literature and Literary studies at VU University Amsterdam.

Do you have a question or comment about this article?

m.c.brouwer@student.tudelft.nl

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