Revelers who attend social dorm functions know that they can depend on the residents of those dorms to throw great parties. We know that Room Draw has graced us with the ability to choose our dorms, and that in the future we could be those revered students responsible for ensuring the enjoyment of our peers. We also know that by attending a Social Council (SoCo) party in the Social Quad, hospitality is not the only thing we have become accustomed to expect.
Crowds can either make or break a party: If they're too small the party dies, and if they're too big it overloads. At this year's Crossett Christmas the latter could not be more of an understatement. Crossett Hall quickly became flooded with students while Social Council enforced an interesting party policy. Both of these things have made it very apparent that having a party the magnitude of Crossett Christmas is best suited for a different venue.
Based on the prevailing knowledge concerning party attendance in the Social Quad, the SoCo policy regarding entrances into the basement of Crossett is very puzzling. It does not seem to make any sense to close off the only two interior entrances to the basement of the dorm during one of the most heavily attended parties of the year. Not only did this rule only exacerbate the bottleneck effect of the two entrances into Crossett (a safety hazard in itself), but combined with the poor quality of the dance party, it forced many people to wait outside in the cold. If this policy was to be effective, then the dance party should at least have been worth going to. No one wants to walk around Crossett to go to a dance party where the lights are on and the music is terrible. The fact that people would rather wait outside in the cold than go to a dance party that resembles freshman year of high school rather than freshman year of college should be a testament to the quality of the policy of an organization that usually knows how to throw a party.
If dorm damage is responsible for the implementation of such guidelines, then why not spread the party over two social dorms? Crossett Christmas is one of the largest parties of the year, so why not spread it out between Crossett and another dorm that doesn't have a campus-sponsored party like Pond Hall? This policy would have benefited many people this past Saturday night as most of them waited outside between Crossett and Pond to avoid the crowds in the entrances of Crossett. In addition to throwing the party in multiple dorms as SoCo does for the Homecoming festivities, the responsibility that is placed on Crossett residents alone could be spread out over another dorm, improving the quality of the party as a whole. More events could be scheduled between the two dorms as is the case with having a DJ and a band during Homecoming.
It may seem silly to write an article about how to improve the party atmosphere at our college, after all, there are more important things going on around campus. But when partygoers cannot even get into the party and the great efforts by our fellow students to make the party enjoyable go wasted because of overcrowding, something needs to change. By making simple changes we can easily fix the small problems that cause such large and detrimental overcrowding.
Dykens can be reached at
adykens08@amherst.edu