A new survey describes that, at least in Great Britian, college students are less likely these days to party all night and swig beer like there’s no tomorrow and instead, are increasingly likely to engage in more health-conscious activities like exercising at college health clubs, yoga, pilates, and even healtly food:

About one in four students is now teetotal, says National Union of Student Services - and among the rest of the student population there is a growing appetite for exercise facilities and healthy eating. . . . The Unite survey, carried out by Mori, shows a 13 percentage point fall in students going to the pub as a leisure activity, compared to five years ago. The pub is now a minority activity, only 1% ahead of sport and exercise as a way of spending spare time.

Nick Emms of NUS Services says there is a clear trend away from pub-going, and this has “become more pronounced in the past four or five years.” “Students expect a much wider range of social activities - and are more health conscious. They’re more likely to use exercise facilities than the general population,” he says. As for day-time drinking - a time-honoured pursuit among many students of old - it’s virtually disappeared, he says.

Well slap my foot and call me Howie! If this trend is also true in the U.S., that would be quite a sea change. Could it actually be true that the norms associated with “Party School U.” are on its way out? And a better question is, if this trend is valid, does it also mean that more students will actually study hard and remember that they’re in college to get an education?

What a shocking concept!