Why there's now more to student life than boozing and beans (... seriously!).

(From Irish Independent)

With alcohol sales dropping at many of the country's university bars, it seems the days when college was a byword for partying are over, writes Catherine Murphy

In the 1960s students loved freely and protested loudly (or vice versa) before going off to become the middle classes. Today students shop around for free banking, are in love with their cars and focus more on exam results that will clinch coveted careers than on Middle Eastern politics.

Figures recently released by UCD seem to support the notion that students have become a sensible, focused bunch. In a further blow to Irish alcohol sales, takings at UCD's bars last year were revealed to be down by 20% on the previous year. Over 40% of the revenue at one of the on-campus bars was generated by food sales, quashing the theory that students either can't afford to eat out or pathologically prefer baked beans to panini.

UCD isn't alone in its failure to pull students by pulling pints. The downward sales trend is repeated almost exactly at DCU on Dublin's northside and, according to student union representatives, on most campuses around the country.

The drying out of Irish campuses paints a grim picture of earnest students locked in their books all week and …