Excitement, laughter and utter anticipation fluttered through the air as my friends and I walked out of Cable Hall around 11:45 p.m. Saturday night. Upon first glance, we might have looked like any other group of college students heading to a party, yet a closer look would clearly indicate that we were anything but. We were giddy first-years heading to our first fraternity party as Brandeis University students.
“How far is the walk? Should I wear pants or shorts? We need to bring a cup?” Riddled with questions, we realized that the only way to find answers is to experience it for ourselves.
As the feelings of adulthood and adventurous independence washed over us, the chill of the crisp night air and the empty darkness of the streets lacked their original unease. While strolling towards Russell Street, a group of upperclassmen walking back from the frat party called to us: “Guys, it’s not worth it. It’s over crowded and you will not be able to get in. We are heading to another party.” After a quick deliberation, we decided to head over to the other party.
When the pavement began to tremble to the beat of the music, we knew we were almost there. As we arrived at the door, I took the lead and tried to open it. Met by complete resistance, I shifted into a football stance and pushed harder. The industrial door finally gave in and we finally saw a glimpse of college parties. The smoke crept out from the top of the door like dementors hungry for their next prey, darkness cloaked the room where visibility remained strained and the music echoed above all other sounds: This was my first college party experience.
Overwhelmed and unnerved, I hastily backed out of the doorway, coughing the smoke out of my lungs. Understandably, this may appear to be a dramatized exaggeration of the party, yet coming from a rather “boring” high school, I never experienced a party of this magnitude. It was in this moment when I realized just how unprepared I was for what lay ahead of me.
After spending the last week undergoing various different orientation activities, icebreakers, assemblies and information sessions, I cannot help but wonder why the party atmosphere was not discussed more. Sure, we did have to take an online course on drug and alcohol awareness and bystander intervention before we arrived on campus. We also watched a pretty informative performance created and executed by Speak About It, which taught the audience the proper way to go about a multitude of “classic” party scenarios. I commend both these methods for acknowledging that students will experiment with alcohol, drugs and partying. However, I feel as though the scenarios they were describing were extremely unrealistic.
Aside from also being impersonal to the Brandeis community, these programs did not instruct us first-years, some of whom had never experienced a college party, how to ease our way into the party scene.
Throughout Orientation, after every event, our orientation groups would meet to discuss what we found interesting. Afterwards, we were asked if we had any questions. When I was asked if I had any questions about the Brandeisian party scene, I suppose I did. However, I did not know what to ask because I had yet to experience it.
The Orientation Committee did an amazing job welcoming us and making my transition from home to Brandeis seamless. They were friendly, warm-hearted people who are beyond knowledgeable in every area of first year confusion. From putting in a week’s worth of training prior to our arrival to spending Orientation Week predominantly with us and in the same shirt during a heat wave, they made many sacrifices to ensure we had the best time as newcomers.
Although the Orientation curriculum is very well written, I do wish they prepared me more for the party scene in general, not just frat parties. Discussing ways to assess a party atmosphere would have been much more effective than a lifeless and unrelatable electronic course. It is a known fact that Brandeis University does not recognize Greek life on campus. Nevertheless, that does not mean that it does not exist. I wish I knew more about the different types of parties, their locations and who generally is in attendance.
Reasonably, it cannot be expected of each orientation leader to have first-hand party experience and at some level, they can never fully prepare us for the party world because every person is different. I think all first years, however, would benefit from a cohesive form of advice being added to the curriculum.
One piece of advice I was given by my older sister, a recent graduate of Union College and member of the sorority Tri-Delta, was to attend the first parties around campus with a Gatorade in hand. Throughout the night, I would dance and have fun with my friends, however, I would sip on my Gatorade instead of an alcoholic drink. Sober, I would assess the party situation and judge for myself, with clear eyes, whether or not I trust the people and place for the next time. It would be almost nonsensical to ignore the self restraint and lack of fun it would be for first-years not to “let loose” at their first Brandeisian parties, yet for those who are willing to have that delayed satisfaction, I hear it is worth it.
Ultimately, Orientation was an excitingly jam packed week filled with new information, new people and new experiences. Although we can never be truly prepared for everything that will come our way, Brandeis’ class of 2022 is more than capable of figuring it out!
