The R is in the month again. The R that’s also in dRink, dRugs and cigaRettes. One of those addictions has had its own autumn campaign for a while: Stoptober to stop smoking for a month. But there are so many other things you can stop doing, say Wageningen’s student societies. Now they are introducing OcSober! to stop people drinking alcohol.
The student societies and sports clubs will stop serving alcohol for the entire month of October. With the slogan Be a Hero, Stick to Zero, students are being challenged to examine their own alcohol consumption. The initiator is Bob Bras of the KSV debating society Triple. He had the idea while suffering from a hangover after an evening boozing.
Third-year student Bob admits he normally likes a glass or two. ‘But the hangover was a really bad one this time. Triple what it normally is, you could say. I can’t remember what happened beyond half past eight at all. I woke up the next morning with my head in the flower pot my mum gave me.’
Initiator Bob Bras of the KSV debating society Triple had the idea while suffering from a hangover after an evening boozing
Anyone ordering a beer next month at a club bar will be served tap water. If they try to order beer twice, they will get a yellow card. Three attempts and they will be banned from the premises for the rest of the month. The societies and clubs are taking this seriously. Incidentally, the tap water will cost as much as a beer. Got to fill those coffers.
Student psychologist Jan Bols warns of the social costs of a dry month. ‘Look at the US, where Prohibition led to Al Capone. If students can’t get smashed at the club bar, they’ll just do it at home instead. With the inevitable consequences.’
Bras doesn’t think it will be that bad. After all, there is a really cool prize on offer for students who make it to the finishing line. Anyone who can prove they didn’t drink a drop all month will get a free ticket to one of the extra performances in November of the musical The NO-horn in the Junushoff.
In this show, creatures such as the KISS-my-ASS dog and OH-YES princess search for the mysterious NOWHERE. ‘A spicy production for students who dare to dream,’ says Bras enthusiastically. ‘Seldom has grumbling been performed with such irresistible delight. At least, that’s what Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant says.’
![[Seriously?] FYI: new uni EN test](https://www.resource-online.nl/app/uploads/2025/03/WEB_DeNeus.png)
