IOWA CITY (KWWL) -
Fall semester at the University of Iowa doesn't start for two more weeks. The campus is peaceful now, but when students are in session, it's the number 14 party school in the country, according to Newsweek.
"I'm proud of it," said Maddie Bushnell, Sophomore. "I think we bring a lot to the table, but I mean, academics-wise and party-wise. I think we balance it pretty well."
Iowa ranked even higher in The Princeton Review list, number four.
The rankings come after an Iowa City ordinance that makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to be in a bar past 10pm. Before June 2010, you only had to be 19 to get into bars.
"It's definitely kept a lot of under-agers out from downtown," said Elisa Martinez, Senior. "I know back in my freshman year, there were under-agers everywhere. And now that's scared some of the underclassmen to not go to the bars."
But that doesn't mean they aren't drinking, some say the ordinance shifted underage drinking from bars to the dorms.
"I think it was good for safety, but I think it's bad for residence life workers because it makes the job a little more stressful," said Cole Rush, Resident Advisor.
Students say they see a stronger police presence on and around campus because of the drinking laws.
"My sister went here, she's 32 now, but she said she never once went to a house party and never once got a drinking ticket," said Bushnell. "It seems everyone's getting busted for that."
According to Newsweek, there were 175 alcohol arrests made on the Iowa campus last year.
University officials say the university is working to combat drinking, and they say their programs are making progress. University of Iowa Spokesperson Tom Moore says that the high risk of drinking rate dropped more than five percent from 2009 to 2012.
Meaning that where as 70.3 percent of Iowa students were participating in "high risk drinking in 2009, now it's 64.1 percent, which is the lowest it's been in the past decade.
