Though said in a half-mocking tone, these “theme parties,” or TAPs, have become the familiar face of school-sponsored social life on campus. And, like it or not, they herald the coming of each new holiday or season, and, more generally, they mark the passage of time on campus.
School has not officially begun until Polynesian-garbed students empty into the social quad for Luau TAP. The bitterest Amherst weather hasn’t fully come until Endless Summer TAP vainly attempts to hold onto warmer days. And it’s not nearing interterm until Crossett residents deck their halls — ahem, staircases — and common room with boughs of yuletide goodies in preparation for Crossett Christmas TAP.
No matter what the theme, TAPs come as dependably as your next paper topic, thanks entirely to the efforts of Social Council. But SoCo, as it is more commonly known, was not always around for party planning.
“There is an urban myth,” said Dean Lieber, “That ‘TAP’ stands for ‘The Amherst Party.’ I think that’s a made-up explanation.” In actuality, Lieber explained, TAPs are an institution started in the schools fraternity days, when this or that fraternity would be “on tap”: “In the days before the drinking age changed, fraternities would throw all-campus parties where beer was served ‘on tap.’”
By 1984, however, fraternities were officially abolished, and the school scrambled to devise an alternative social planning tool. Originally, the campus was divided into pairs of dorms called “demes.” “Demes,” Greek for “people” (coined by a philosophy professor), were groups of dorms that took up the function of planning parties. Quickly, however, the “demes” proved to be inefficient. Freshmen dorms were linked with social, upperclassmen dorms, so the quality and kind of dorms that were grouped together was so different that they were almost non-functioning. “The problem with ‘demes’ was that, if you were going to create a coherent grouping of dorms, you would ideally have them be dorms that are contiguous,” Dean Lieber explained.
The fragmented structure of “demes” necessitated a unified body to plan events. Finally, in the mid-1990’s, a special council met to consider social events. Eventually, that council kept meeting until it became what students now recognize as Social Council.
Today, Social Council plans every aspect of TAP-organizing, from DJ-booking to publicity to giveaways. SoCo has the last word in choosing themes for the TAPs, but as Social Council Co-Chair Sarah Margaret Marks said, “Most of the TAP themes are recycled from past years because SoCo feels that these have become traditions the Student Body appreciates and looks forward to.” Besides the ever-popular Homecoming and Screw Your Roommate TAPs, though, SoCo also has freedom to experiment with other theme ideas, like Hoe-Down/Fiesta TAP and last year’s successful Whiteout TAP.
There are a number of reasons to explain why some TAPs remain successful and some never seem to garner much popularity. Marks pointed out that Luau TAP is the first party of the year, and therefore serves to bring people out to meet new students or reconnect with old friends in the comfort of still-summer weather. She added that Homecoming TAP is always big because of the returning alums; Screw Your Roommate TAP brings a crowd because of its unique format and air of mystery; and Crossett Christmas TAP seems to take advantage of Crossett residents’ enthusiasm and tap into the holiday cheer to provide for a “jolly old good time.” Additionally, although some TAP themes enjoy great success, even old favorites, like the once wildly popular Madonna TAP, are scrapped in favor of new ideas.
The recent stabbing incident in Crossett, and, more broadly, the economic crisis, raises questions for the future of TAPs on campus, especially in dorms. Marks reported that SoCo tends to promote TAPs primarily as Amherst College events and always provides adequate security. “I think that due to the current economic climate, if AAS or Student Activities decided to shave SoCo’s budget in hopes of putting some of that money towards other causes, then I would understand,” said Marks, although adding, “It shouldn’t come at the price of the student body that enjoys and expects a certain level of social life on campus.” The SoCo budget comes from the portion of tuition allotted to Student Activities. Any radical changes would have to be approved by the AAS and additionally put to a student referendum.
More pressing than unlikely budget changes, dorm renovations and related economic concerns have more notably affected SoCo this year. Hesitancy from social dorm RCs, some of which had already borne a TAP, led to a lackluster Screw Your Roommate TAP in Keefe Campus Center. Homecoming TAP had to be squeezed into Hamilton because of renovations to Seelye and Hitchcock, which have provided more space in the past. Traditional senior “triangle” housing is a more attractive space for TAPs than a social dorm basement, Marks said, because the “open floor plans and multi-floor/room parties make for a more natural flow for the events.”
Dean Lieber expects Triangle parties to work next year after renovations are completed, despite diminished social spaces. Before renovations, the senior houses had massive, disproportionate social spaces. “Because of financial reasons, we had to make them more efficient,” said Dean Lieber. The renovations have left SoCo in a bind in terms of options for holding events, but Dean Lieber expects that the somewhat diminished social spaces in the Triangle, which will be designated TAP spaces, should still function as they have in the past. The Amherst social scene may depend on it.