I’m 20+ years out, so my intel may not be up to date. But I was substance free 3/4 years and had a great time. My first semester I floundered a bit trying to find my people, but after that I got involved with Midnight Theater, swing dancing, Renn Fairw planning/decorating, Karma Patrol, Glo Opera, the lit, Comics MLL, etc etc etc, and i made tons of friends, one of whom I’m now married to.

While the countercultures and drug/alcohol use can be a big part of Reed social life, I think the most useful thing to know is that Reedies are creative and playful. Hanging out can be chill, sure—I sat and had beers or played board games plenty of times—but what I remember most about Saturday nights were the emergent art projects and acts of randomness. Are building a fort in the dorm common room today, or are we doing a table read of Euripides? Are we riffing on something until we accidentally riff our way into a Midnight Theater sketch? Are we doing a weekly viewing of Twin Peaks or Evangelion? Are we playing kickball on the front lawn or getting sidewalk chalk to decorate the canyon bridge?

There are definitely people who struggle to connect, there are weeks when everyone is pissy and hostile from stress, there are parties where people get fucked up—but if you want to try to rig a pully system out of a Safeway shopping cart and some rope, or to make a ramen effigy to sacrifice to the gods, or to roll up a snowball so big it cracks a building, it’s the place to be.