The College Women Behind the Shots

College bars are iconic parts of the American college experience. However, for the women who work there, they can hold both joyful and difficult memories.

By: Nicolette Cavallaro

*names have been changed to protect our sources and their stories

The Red Jug Pub sits on the corner of Binghamton’s main street and the local university’s unofficial fraternity row, doused in moody red lighting and devilish theme. This bar chain has multiple locations throughout New York, all a short distance from state universities.  Each spot is a little different – some have old pop art on the walls, others are covered in dart boards and t-shirts – but their essence as a hotspot for college students is all the same. 

This atmosphere was what Anna, 22, of Long Island, was in search of when she started looking for a part-time job at school. “I had no bartending experience before I got my job at Red Jug,” she said, “My best friend and I just decided to apply. We thought it'd be a way to make money while also staying social and seeing people that you might see on the night out anyway.” 

Anna started working as a bartender at Jug during her junior year at Binghamton University, shortly after she turned 20. She was hired on the spot after a short interview and had just two weeks of training before she was tasked with serving the hundreds of guests the bar sees on weekend nights. Many of the faces she saw at the Pub were her classmates, something she had to learn to deal with: “I would have so many friends come in that I knew, and we wouldn't even be close friends, but they're expecting free drinks, or they're really drunk, and I shouldn't be serving them, so it's definitely hard to set boundaries,” Anna said. It took some time for her to learn to stand her ground, but she never let these moments ruin her night. After all, she thought working at a college bar was supposed to be fun – like going out almost every night and getting paid for it. 

A Biology major, Anna had a great deal of school work to do when she wasn’t serving drinks. She was a teaching assistant for multiple classes and worked in research labs but still found the time to have a social life.  “I was still going out a lot the days that I wasn't working, but it would always be at Red Jug,” she said, “And I did pull away from what I was doing before.” 

Slowly, Anna’s weekday evenings, which had once been devoted to her sorority or classwork, became nights hanging out at the bar, talking to regulars and her friends on shift. She began to form bonds with her coworkers, a team of almost fifty, and grew her collection of themed Red Jug t-shirts from trivia nights and bar crawls. Like many of the women before and after her, the Pub on the corner became a part of her identity.

College bars have always been a cornerstone of the classic American university experience. In fact, some older universities, like Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York,  used to have their local watering holes on campus, in student union buildings. For generations, these spaces have been crucial to college drinking culture, allowing students, both of the legal drinking age and below it, to socialize and party. To them, these establishments become almost as important as the college itself. 

This is even more true for the students who work there, who are practically ingrained into the walls. And while having a job that involves alcohol and socialization can be fun and memorable, these bars aren’t always filled with joy. College bars can be problematic spaces that can impact their employees, especially women, for years after they remove their name tags and put down the bottles. 

Across the street from the Red Jug Pub sits Thai Time, a well-known establishment that features an Asian fusion restaurant on the first floor and a hidden bar in the basement, which often hosts fraternity formals and student fundraising events. Nicky, 24, started working there as an emergency replacement for a high-volume event. Nicky, who was a senior, double-majoring in geography and anthropology at the time, began regularly picking up off-the-books shifts and bonding with the rest of the staff. 

“The establishment was super chill,” she said while sharing memories of the open bar parties she worked at. Although she felt like it was a pretty low-risk experience, with extremely accommodating scheduling and management, it did come with some consequences. Nicky. found herself drinking while working – a common hobby amongst the part-time staff at Thai Time: “I felt like I drank more because we were able to drink at the parties; I drank more than I would if I wasn’t a bartender.” 

What Nicky had experienced was increased exposure and access to alcohol. Although, according to the Alcohol Research: Current Reviews journal, college drinking has decreased since the pandemic, this need to be in social spaces and, therefore, around alcohol is still a crucial part of “the college experience.” For most, this is just something they do once or twice a week, but for the students who work there, alcohol is on their minds 24/7. 

This is concerning to experts like Mariann R. Piano, PhD., who specializes in young adult drinking and substance abuse at Vanderbilt University. “In my opinion, [students bartending] might impact their outlook on drinking; it might normalize it or make it seem more okay,” she said. To many college students, reliance on alcohol isn’t too much of a concern, with “it's not alcoholism until you graduate” being a common saying amongst the age group. But Piano was quick to remind us that young adults are not immune. “Young adults may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of alcohol because their brains are still undergoing development,” she said, “Several reports suggest that those who exhibit a binge pattern of drinking have signs of early cardiovascular disease, such as coronary calcification,”  the build-up of calcium in the arteries, “and arterial stiffness,” stiffer arteries that may lead to higher blood pressure. 

A few blocks from The Red Jug Pub, in the center of the downtown Binghamton area, sits another college bar named Tom and Marty’s Town House. Its blue awning has welcomed students for generations, starting in 1946. Faith, 22, had been going to the bar since she started at Binghamton University but began working there the summer before her junior year at age 20. To her, Tom’s was a safe space. “As a bartender,” she said, “I would say it's easier to feel comfortable drinking at my own bar, and I am more willing to go out and spend most of my time there.” It was also a place where she could experiment with new drinks and combinations, something she wouldn’t do if she didn’t work there. 

For many individuals in the service industry, this is a dangerous issue. According to the American Addiction Center, of the 14 million people who work in the restaurant and bar business in the United States,  11.8% have participated in binge drinking in the last month, and 17% of them have a substance use disorder. This is comparable to a study done in 2020, which found that 9% of women in the United States had an alcohol use disorder (AUD),  with 13% of adult women engaging in binge drinking. 

On top of that, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found the industry to be the most at risk for illicit drug use and the third most at risk for heavy alcohol use. This risk can be tied back to aspects of the job like on-site stress, low wages, and irregular sleep due to late-night shifts. With the added stress of graduation looming over college students, it's understandable how this can lead to an addiction. Faith, however, never felt pressured to drink or as if she needed to. Her coworkers at Tom’s had become almost family, and that connection made it easy for her to step back and ask for assistance when needed. According to her, it also helps that the management is extremely concerned about their safety: “I will always say that I feel safe at Tom’s; Larry protects his employees fiercely. He makes sure that no one is feeling uncomfortable or alone and is ready to handle any situation.”  

Lauren, 23, never truly felt comfortable at her bars, Bricks and The Lab, located thousands of miles south of Tom and Marty’s tattered blue awnings, near the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.  Although she enjoyed the “vibes” of the bars and the staff, she was never incredibly close with them or her management. 

“It's kind of dangerous sometimes because even though it’s a college bar, people still come in and get obsessive,” she said, “I just never felt comfortable being drunk. The bouncers will walk you out, but at the end of the day, it's still like a more vulnerable position when you're drinking and when you're dressing kind of like a little bit more provocatively.”  

This is an element of the extreme gender disparities in workplace safety, especially in the service industry, with women accounting for 72.5 percent of all workplace violence cases in 2021, according to the United States Department of Labor. Many college bartenders, like Lauren, are young women responsible for working the closing shift into the early morning hours. They are often not trained to deal with unruly or dangerous guests and are placed in situations where they are vulnerable. 

Many of these bars also have an unwritten, tacit expectation that the servers, particularly the women,  are to dress more alluringly and even flirt with customers to make more sales. Lauren had many experiences involving men groping her while working in more provocative clothing. “I get that I'm serving drinks,” she said, “but at the end of the day, I'm still a person, and I didn't ask you to touch me, and just because I'm wearing shorts doesn't mean you can do things like that. When you're in that position, being treated like a piece of meat, knowing that's the only reason that they're tipping you, it’s a gross feeling.” 

P.M.*, 22, who started serving at Red Jug in 2023, has been in similar situations and is familiar with this emotion. “Recently, I had a man, who seemed to be about 60 or 70 years old, constantly grabbing my hands and my arms over the bar, rubbing me, and just saying, ‘You are so beautiful,’ which was weird, but I work for tips so,” she said as she rolled her eyes. 

Along with keeping themselves safe, these young employees are often placed in highly competitive environments where they compete for shifts, employer praise, and, of course, tips. P.M. gave up a lot of her college experience to gain her boss's favor: “I felt like I was missing out on so many significant events. I missed Santacon, the St Patrick’s Day parade, and my sorority's big little reveal. That was upsetting. School was also tough at some points because my hours at the bar were super late, and I could never wake up on time for my classes if I worked the night before.”  The bar was also strict on calling in sick, which was incredibly difficult for P.M. during her senior year. 

In 2024, she was scheduled to work Parade Day, the college town’s St Patrick’s Day celebration, and one of the busiest days at Jug. This was one of her shifts as head bartender – an extremely coveted slot where most tips are made. This was what P.M. had been working all year towards. But just a few days prior, she had learned she was pregnant. Unable to take the day off, in fear of both losing this position as well as all the tips she would make, she had to come in for a full day of shift hours after having an abortion. 

“I couldn’t take off because it's one of the busiest days of the year. I ended up sobbing in our basement all night with my coworkers periodically coming in and hugging me,” she said, “I was just so unwell, both physically and emotionally.” 

In some college bars, tipping culture can become manipulative and cause tension between staff members. Across the street from Tom and Marty’s Town House sits a dark, narrow staircase leading to The Rathskeller, known to students as The Rat. 

N.M.* started working there shortly after her nineteenth birthday, unaware of the competitiveness of the space. “I remember my very first-night working, the bartender that was supposed to be training me throughout the night took all the tip money I made; I was so confused,” she said, “Apparently, that was pretty common; some of the bartenders were shady.” 

With a toxic management style that allowed older bartenders to dominate newer staff and a policy that didn’t allow any input in scheduling, N.M. found it very difficult to stay afloat. She worked four days a week, with six or seven-hour shifts, and made very little money.  One memory that came to her mind was when she asked ahead of time for a day off to attend a family funeral: “He scheduled me anyway and told me that during the funeral, I had to find someone to cover me or else I would get fired.” After years of trying to play catch up in a space that barely allowed her to breathe, N.M. took a step back from The Rat a few months ago. “It is nearly impossible to ever make money or show our boss that you had the capacity to make money if you weren’t in a high-ranking spot.” 

Another staff member at The Rat, Rebecca, 24, had similar experiences. She worked at the bar during her senior year at Binghamton University and was able to make some friends, but struggled with advocating for herself in the competitive space. “There was definitely a competition aspect, but I never caused any grievances,” she said.

While there are many women with troubling stories about the college bartender experience, there are also many good ones. College bartending has been known to help people with shyness by forcing them to step out of their comfort zones and talk. It also allows for building connections and relationships with customers. 

Aly, 24, worked at Red Jug Pub for a year while she was a student at Binghamton University. Although not every day was pleasant – she has many memories of people acting out – one aspect of the job that she consistently looked forward to was seeing her regulars. “It definitely makes the night more comfortable when you can crack a joke with the person you’re serving, or even when they ask for your recommendations,” she said, “I was always so happy to serve people I recognized.” She also says balancing her school work with her employment wasn’t that tricky, as long as she ensured all her homework was done before she left for her shift. 

Cailey, 23, who is a current employee at Jug, states that when she first started working there, it was overwhelming to balance her class schedule with work, but with support from other staff members, she got the hang of it. She also has become incredibly close with the staff, and has built healthy friendships with them: “I am going to live with someone who works with me next year; we are a very close group of girls, and we are always texting in the group chat.” 

College bartending is something Anna, who left Red Jug a year ago, would never take back. Although she and many other young women have faced challenges working behind the bar, it is an experience she has grown from. These days, when she isn’t working as an EMT, she picks up shifts at her local Irish dive bar in Boston. There, the rules are a little more lax, and she has more control over her hours and who she serves. She loves her nights there and can thank Red Jug for giving her the experience she needed to do this. “I really met so many new people and kind of expanded my college experience for the better,” she said with a nostalgic smile, “I was for a time, so upset that I wasn't working there anymore. But, I love where I am now.”