College-Sponsored Senior Events: Fueled by Alcohol

I have noticed two troubling trends here at Connecticut College. First, we seem to have a dependence on alcohol for fun. Second, even though drinking is officially frowned upon, the college falls all over itself to provide seniors with alcohol during their final days.

In the fall of 2008, each house had a mandatory meeting to gather and discuss Conn’s drinking culture. This was a response to the record hospital visits at that time. The administration seemed upset with us at the time for drinking so heavily. Our culture of drinking while locked away in our rooms was criticized. Admittedly, I’ve gone through my first three years partying in just this way. But I have seen the attempts that faculty and administrators have made to curb this and add more intellectualism into life at Conn. They turned common rooms into classrooms, promoted the Dessert & Dialogue series, encouraged social programming in houses through the creation of floor governors, et cetera.

However, now that I am a senior of legal drinking age, I have started to experience a contradiction in the values of this institution. The college has been handing me alcohol for free. It began with the 100 Days party. My friends and I went to Cro and were greeted by a open bar, a DJ, an assortment of appetizers, and a large amount of our fellow seniors. We drank openly in Cro for the first time – watched by Campus Safety – and socialized the night away. It was fun, and I am not arguing that we shouldn’t have any of these parties. But last Thursday we had the 50 Days party which was exactly the same. And there are many more to come.

The e-mail that all seniors received on March 17th entitled “SENIOR WEEK 2010” informed us of these future parties. According to the e-mail, there are five events in this all-caps-worthy week. They are as follows:

Kick-off Bash on Wednesday, May 19th – 10:00p.m.-2:00a.m. – location TBA
All-campus Luncheon on Thursday, May 20th – 11:00a.m.-2:00p.m. – Castle Court
Night of Nights Party on Thursday, May 20th – times & location TBA
Senior Week Formal on Friday, May 21st – 9:00p.m.-1:00a.m. – off-campus location TBA
Family & Friends Gala on Saturday, May 22nd – 8:00p.m.-11:00p.m. – College Center

That’s three parties, one luncheon, and one family gala, whatever that means. But I need no more details than the time of day and the name of the event to see the trend: three more parties where there’s likely to be another DJ and another open bar. Oh, and the week’s dues are $70 ($85 if turned in late), and it’s only payable in cash or check, which makes me feel like I’m being asked to take part in a drug deal.

I recently heard from one of my friends from another college. She was excited about paying her senior week dues, because the events included bowling, beer tasting, and a brewery tour. Tasting beer and touring a brewery do include alcohol, but they have a much different character than the parties where as much alcohol as we want is simply handed to us.

Are there feasible alternatives? Yes! There are several seaports in the area, as well as several beaches in the area, just begging for daytime visits. Not only that, but there is a wine trail throughout all of Connecticut with almost 20 wineries, and three of those wineries are very close by and open for tour appointments. There’s even a state forest close by. Laser tag, bumper cars, mini-golf, bowling – the possibilities for a daytime adventure that doesn’t require alcohol are plentiful.

So my conclusion is this: why can’t we have a few more of the kind of events just listed during our grand finale? I am positive that there is a portion of the senior class that is either alienated by or uninterested in the parties we have. And some of us who do drink just want to do it on our own turf, because we don’t find the everybody-is-wasted-in-Cro events that much fun. The alcohol culture is criticized for three years, then overly encouraged and reinforced by the college.

My proposal is not that we should just do away with all of these parties. We can still have one or two of them during the week – after all, I did enjoy the 100 Days party. I just don’t enjoy the prospect of three more 100 Days parties.