Off-Campus Woes

This past weekend, a multitude of off-campus parties at houses surrounding East Campus culminated in a series of debaucherous incidents on the part of students. Local residents informed the Durham police of numerous unacceptable behaviors including noise violations, littering and urination on private property. In response, the DPD promised to crackdown harshly on parties in coming weeks.

While the actions of the students involved were in no way excusable, this unfortunate event was the result of a host of factors acting on the Duke social scene. If incidents like these are to be avoided in the future, the University, students and the Duke and Durham police departments must examine the realities of a social scene that has been pushed off-campus.

In the past decade, several changes in the social structure at Duke have limited the opportunities available to students, and forced many social gatherings to take place off of school grounds. With regard to greek life, actions taken by many national organizations, in addition to moves by the administration, have left fraternities and sororities feeling unwanted and highly restricted.

Many national committees have banned kegs at fraternity parties, and forbidden sororities to mix with fraternities on frat-owned property. In addition, the administration has indirectly placed pressure on the greek system by removing fraternity sections from the main quad on West Campus, and has placed several frats and selective houses on strict probation. All of these actions have contributed to the creation of an environment in which socializing off-campus has become the most attractive option for many students.

While the shift toward off-campus partying was inevtiable given the social climate at Duke, the primary responsibility for this weekend's mishaps lies with the irresponsible students involved. There is no excuse for their behavior. Students cannot complain about the social scene when their actions give the administration every reason to distrust the student body's ability to conduct themselves responsibly in the presence of alcohol.