By Goda Ponomariovaitė
The first of September brings joy and excitement for everyone but especially for those who will start university this year. In Denmark, most freshmen (first-year students at university) start a new beginning with a lot of activities, including drinking beer.
Freja Dybro, a first-year journalism student, feels a variety of emotions but looking forward to beginning her studies. Freja does not agree with the stereotype that first-year students start a university by drinking a lot of beer during activities. “You don’t have to drink to participate. Some sort of competition tomorrow afternoon, as far as I know, I don’t think it includes drinking” she states.
It is obvious that introduction days can cause burnout and anxiety. Photojournalism student Sigrid Ellesør points out that drinking beer is very common in Denmark, so it is hard to start conversations and games without drinking. “I don’t think it is possible not to drink when all of the people around are drinking beer” she claims.
According to some research, Danish students view drinking alcohol as a social activity.