PhDeac
PM a mod to cement your internet status forever
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Honestly, I think it has almost nothing to do with drinking culture and everything to do with the difference in drinking age. In almost any college course in the US there are going to be underage kids, so in that situation the prof is providing alcohol to underage students which is illegal and the liability surrounding that for the prof and the school is too great. My mom said when she was in college in the 70s they used to drink with professors all the time. My sister also went to a small hippie school and she often drank with profs as well.
Right. Then you get into a position where you're picking or choosing students potentially giving some preference over others.
The basic issue is having opportunities for students and professors to hang out informally outside of class. I had a good experience this week with this. I gave students extra credit to attend a College town hall meeting aimed at faculty and staff to give them a behind the scenes perspective at some of the debates going on around campus. About a third of my students in a 35 student seminar showed up. I sat with 4 of them and talked to the others on the way to class. It was nice. Unfortunately, these types of experiences aren't necessarily encouraged socially.
I'm curious if the professor from the UK mentioned earlier was talking about her undergraduate or graduate student experiences. They're completely different here.