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Harvard Kills Fun - Party Fund Axed
It’s official: there is absolutely nothing redeeming about Harvard’s social scene any longer. As of this morning, the Undergraduate Council’s Party Grant program has been eliminated amid concerns of underage drinking, alcohol abuse, and “overcrowding”. The most WTF part of the press release:
It is quite apparent that the UC Party Grant program, in practice, has funded parties where the focus is on drinking. Alcohol abuse is the number one student health concern at Harvard as it is on other campuses nationwide. We have taken many proactive steps to mitigate the harm that results from high-risk drinking and have also tried to develop spaces on campus where students can socialize with alcohol safely and legally. The UC Party Grant program is at odds with the message that students, parents, faculty and administrative leaders of this community should be sending about responsible and safe alcohol use…
… The common spaces of the House are better suited for hosting parties with guests, and in these settings Beverage Authorization Teams can be used to make sure that only those over 21 may be served alcohol.
Poor freshmen. The press release goes on to talk about the UC doing things for the “greater good” instead of just the burgeoning drunkards etc. Maybe it’s just me, but I actually think depression is going to skyrocket on this campus if the booze is taken away. There is very little to look forward to as it is. Without the occasional tipsy end-of-week party, what’s left? And all the emphasis on drinking age? Um, roughly 1/10th of the kids here come from places where they’d legally be allowed to drink anyway.
This is basically ridiculous. As if the higher ups who made this decision didn’t do the free love/Studio 54 thing back in the day. It’s not like the party grants were funding our experiments with shrooms and LSD.
Thank god I have a fake I.D.
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t alcohol a depressant? How in the world can you believe that depression is going to “skyrocket” around campus when the main downer is taken away?
While your intentions may be understandable, it is misguided. It is a sad truth that the average college student feels that alcohol or some other type of mood-altering substance is a pre-requisite for enjoying life. “Without the occasional tipsy end-of-week party, what’s left?” Everything else in the world. Enjoy the natural things in life. Read a book, watch a film, listen to music. Or just sit around and talk with some of your friends. If you really need alcohol to enjoy a good time, perhaps you have a bigger problem than the lack of a beer on a Friday night.
And the emphasis on the drinking age? While I might not agree with the fact that we have 21 as our drinking age, it is the law. Whether or not 1/10th of the students at harvard come from places where they’d be able to drink (a comparatively small fraction if you ask me, but you’re the one that brought it up), they’re not there anymore. They’re here. And here they can’t drink. It’s that simple.
Oh, and the whole “well, you did worse before, so don’t tell us that we’re doing something wrong now” argument? Yeah, that doesn’t work for a slave owner now, does it? If a police officer, at some point in his life, broke the law, does that negate any authority that he has?
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:29 pm
I was mostly being facetious (see references to “burgeoning drunkards” and Studio 54). I’m well aware that there are actual issues with alcohol abuse, something I’m personally familiar with. Harvard’s answer, though, effectively eliminates social interaction. I see my blockmates practically everyday and I’m perfectly happy with being sober 95% of the time. Still, it’s not until I go to a party that I actually meet new people. Doesn’t mean I drink there and when I do, doesn’t mean I get drunk, but the presence of free alcohol (something expensive and sometimes difficult to acquire) is certainly motivation to show up. I think you’re seriously underestimating the dearth of a social scene here and how this is seriously going to cut down on the already minimal social life on campus.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Also, there are some major problems regarding equality of access. UC-funded parties, unlike final clubs (our equivalent of frats), are open to everyone.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:40 pm
1) Where can I get a good fake?
2) BAT Teams cost money. About $200 a piece, actually. The entire point of this measure is to steal more money from HoCos. Centralizing state power from HoCos to UC= communism.
3) To the idiot that’s complaining about how the fact that most of the people promoting this measure were all coked up when they were our age shouldn’t matter: they had their youth; let us have ours. The only reason outside of their leftist sentiments for doing this is their envy that they didn’t have the future we have when they were young.
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:24 pm
TO ELLE:
I think you illustrate my point all too well. “the presence of free alcohol (something expensive and sometimes difficult to acquire) is certainly motivation to show up.” And I think you also illustrate the the worries of the administration that the focus of the UC-funded parties is drinking. It is a flawed ideal that today’s college student lives with that says that alcohol is needed as motivation to have a social life. If one actually wants a social life, the alcohol is only part of the experience, and is a part of the experience that can be gone without if need be. A gathering of friends that ends as the last beer in the 30-pack is finished can hardly be called a true gathering of friends.
As for the fact that UC-funded events are open while final clubs are not, I’m not exactly sure how the programming/funding system works at Harvard, but it would seem to me that programming would still be possible without the Party Grant. If it is anything like any other system I know of, the difference is simply that the program would have to be of a slightly different slant.
Surprise, surprise, but social events are possible without alcohol.
TO FRANCES:
First, if I’m reading everything correctly, the HoCos never really had the money in the first place, but rather had to go to the UC to get it from the Party Grant. The Dean’s letter specifically says that it would still be possible through different means. So there is not “centralizing state power from HoCos to UC,” simply a change in the processes. And if anyone gets the title of “idiot,” the simplification of that down to communism should make it pretty clear that you are the one that warrants it.
There is no question about whether or not they did drugs when they were younger, that’s completely outside the issue. It’s not as though when they were younger the drugs were legal and there were no restrictions on it. Both cocaine and marijuana have been illegal since before 1920.
The point I’m trying to make is that drugs and alcohol are required for our generation to have a youth, and especially not for us to enjoy it. College isn’t about the ability to get fucked-up, it’s about preparing for the future both in the classroom and through experiences outside of the classroom. I’m not trying to say that we should outlaw alcohol, or that the illegality of marijuana is right (I personally support the legalization and taxation of it), but what I’m saying is that the mindset that either or both of them are required to enjoy life or to have a youth is a very flawed one.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:11 pm
jdotcole:
Your argument about the general mindset of our youth is correct, there IS a general air that getting completely trashed is how you party/have fun, and I doubt anyone will argue that’s positive. Lena is taking issue with the fact that (and correct me if I’m mistaken please) Harvard seems to have a pretty lousy social scene to begin with, and this organization helped to enliven that somewhat, and now the administration has removed this organization’s funding for social events without really stepping in to counter it with something similar. Let’s be honest, college-age kids don’t generally go to parties without alcohol. Same thing goes for adults, surprise surprise. So yes, while alcohol is NOT required to have fun, it’s often expected to be available at a social gathering.
As for why this heavy-drinking mindset exists among the college age population, I’m not sure what to say about this exactly. Perhaps it’s the result of the high drinking age (a sort of “forbidden fruit” syndrome). Perhaps it has to do with people arriving at college coming out of a place where alcohol was difficult to obtain, and suddenly there’s a plethora, and they overindulge. There’s no doubt though, that alcohol abuse by students is a problem for any university.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:16 am
wow…lol
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:50 am
J — Again, I hang out with my friends sober all the time. My point isn’t that socializing is impossible without alcohol; my point is that parties increase my interaction with people I don’t already know on a campus where the social scene leaves a lot to be desired. Alcohol, like music or kitschy themes, is a major incentive to show up to these parties, if only because it’s costly/a hassle to procure on my own. That doesn’t mean I even drink but just that the option is there.
Similarly, music isn’t necessary for me to have a social life either but not everyone has speakers, so people go to parties for the express purpose of having loud music to dance to. Doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily dance, but they then have the choice. If Harvard suddenly banned speakers, I think we can agree it’d be pretty detrimental to social life, but hey, it’s not like music is essential to our interaction with peers.
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:53 pm
The school probably did this in order to limit their liability. The problem is the school gets sued by fuckhead parents when their drunken kids injury themselves. If you want your booze back, complain to your parents, not the school.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:32 am
Elle…you make some good points but I’d still have to side with jdotcole. I live in Mather and I literally jumped with joy when I heard about the party-fund being taken away. While it might have been ok when you were living in Mather since you actually involved yourself in parties, my friends and I are quiet people who would rather sit around and chat or watch TV than go to parties. And there are others like us too, who like to spend the end of our weekends relaxing with a few close people rather than mingling with sketchy, sweaty people amidst mind-blowingly loud music. So it really upsets us when there are these loud parties that involve alcohol because it means:
- drunken freshman trailing us in the hallways
- random partiers knocking on doors and leaving bed frames in the hallways to block access to rooms
- watching over our falling-down drunk roommmates who pre-gamed a little too much, to make sure they don’t try to go down stairs by themselves or don’t need medical assistance
- music so loud that we can’t hear ourselves talk and can’t watch movies
- no sleep at all until at least 3AM, when we had planned an early morning Saturday jog
- the lingering smell of putrid barf in the hallways and bathrooms for the rest of the week
It’s one thing to have a lively social scene on campus, but it’s another to totally disrespect the non-partying students living in the same building. Even calling the security guards and tutors does nothing. I hate being in the low-rise during weekends.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:25 am
Janus –
Totally understand that the party scene is not for everyone on campus. However, there are plenty of students who do partake in it and to us, it seems like the quiet you crave already happens every other night of the week. Therefore, it’s really troubling and frustrating that the administration decided sans undergraduate input to do away with the entire party grant program.
Kind of a sidenote: On the whole, I think that the balance between loud/quiet or party/study nights is very much in favor of the latter as it is. Whenever there’s a major exam (LSAT, MCAT, etc.) the college prohibits parties altogether and there’s nothing going on during Reading Period or finals. Thus, Mather or not, I’m sure Harvard is much less wild than most colleges.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:51 am
People always talk about how Harvard lacks a social scene. I often wonder if everyone actually feels like that’s true or if they just repeat it because everyone else is saying it. People rarely make it clear what exactly they feel is lacking and how they would prefer to live their lives.
Maybe I missed the memo where all this was explained. If anyone cares to fill me in, I’d love to know.