No Party Like A House Party

Freshman social life at Harvard can be fairly depressing. Riding in on a white horse to solve this ever-pressing problem is the Undergraduate Council (UC), which, ever reluctant to leave constituents dissatisfied, recently doubled the value of its three weekly freshman party grants. While freshmen used to be allotted only $50 to plan a rager, they now have a cool $100. That’s a lot of chips and salsa. Unfortunately, it’s not much else. The UC’s actions are well intentioned, but will be ineffective, and the grant increase should live no longer than its approved three-week trial period.

There’s just no getting around the fact that an alcohol-free party in a freshman dorm room will never be that great, no matter how much Diet Coke is on hand. For better or for worse, few college students are hankering to spend their Saturday nights stuck in the Yard’s dry confines.

For those who do, it’s unclear exactly what these $100 grants are intended to pay for. The primary expense associated with hosting a college party is alcohol, which is not allowed at freshman parties. Sure, freshmen could go out and buy a Finale cake to enjoy with a small group of friends. But the UC isn’t in the business of providing scrumptious study breaks—proctors are. The UC party grants are designed to create some semblance of a normal college social life, something that freshman generally cannot provide without violating College regulations.

In addition, it should come as little surprise that freshman parties are attended almost exclusively by, well, freshmen. Furthermore, the targeted party fund increases will only provide yet another opportunity for freshmen to remain isolated from the rest of the campus community. There is already remarkably little interaction between freshmen and older students. It seems unwise to further widen the gap between first-year students and the university as a whole by incentivizing freshmen to stay away from the houses.

Outside the Yard’s walls, however, there are real opportunities to invigorate a decrepit social scene. Gatherings in upperclass houses, which were the original target of the UC party fund, are not subject to such crippling restrictions. With alcohol flowing freely, there is an actual need for more funds in order to satisfy partygoers, and the tap frequently runs dry before parties formally end. And while no self-respecting junior or senior would be caught dead in Wigglesworth or Weld, freshmen attend upperclass parties frequently. Any perceived iniquities in fund distribution are thus in practice nonexistent.

If the UC decides to allocate an additional $150 to the party fund, it should instead use the money to augment conventional parties in upperclass houses. This, ultimately, will do more to improve the social lives of freshman, since upperclass parties offer freshman a real opportunity to become integrated into college life, and maybe even get a little tipsy. While the upperclass party fund was not affected by the increase in the freshman party fund, budgeting is always zero sum game.

Freshman year is a difficult time, but 150 extra dollars in the Freshman Party Fund isn’t going to make it any easier. There are real ways to improve campus-wide social opportunities for freshman. A UC-funded Finale-fest in the Straus Common Room isn’t one of them.