I'm sure most attendees think last Friday's library party was a smashing success. But in reality, the Latin Chic soiree served to highlight the woeful inadequacy of Duke's on-campus social scene.
Though neatly decorated and well-attended, the party itself was an organizational disaster. Because wristband distribution and alcohol ticket sales were centralized in one location manned by only a handful of staff members, the lines became astronomically long for a good hour after the 9 p.m. opening.
ID checks and ticket sales at every entrance to the library and at the bars themselves would have eliminated the traffic jam and allowed much more effective access to the enjoyable parts of the party (that is, alcoholic beverages). Instead, the long lines deterred substantial groups of people from attending the party and some from receiving their free senior drink (as well as minimized potential revenues, to say the least).
Moreover, the timing of the party-from 9 p.m. to midnight-encouraged students to stop as just another pregame for their nightly activities. Indeed, Mi Gente even advertised the affair with the idea that partygoers should go to George's afterwards. But if the event went longer and later and more activities and entertainment were planned for the duration, students would be encouraged to make the library their sole social destination for the evening.
Even at its best, the library party is of limited utility: We've had only one per year for the last two years and I feel confident the library wouldn't accept more frequent plans (such as a recurring monthly event) (full disclosure: this last claim is complete speculation on my part). So if this is the kind of event we should hold as the standard for on-campus fun, then Duke students can expect a bleak future.
Unfortunately, the problem is much broader than the failings of a single event. As the greek population continues to decline and the administration increasingly regulates fraternity activities, the greek-dominated on-campus social life will only diminish.
More fraternities are leaving campus and the unregistered groups have done quite well maintaining or increasing their size. Some on-campus fraternities are beginning to shrink, and selective living groups, which arguably contribute less to the stereotypical social scene on campus, are growing. Section parties themselves even seem to be happening less and less.
Maybe this is a good thing-after all, section parties get old quickly and are decreasingly enjoyable for both brothers and guests-so I'm not suggesting that we necessarily lament Duke's slowly changing dynamic.
The point is simply that greeks are responsible for the lion's share of social activities on campus. Besides studying, all independents can really do is hit the local dive bars or sit around and play drinking games with their friends. An atomistic social culture seems the only likely outcome of the status quo.
So if fraternity life is headed the way of the dodo, then Duke students and administrators should start seriously planning for what social life will be in its absence. After all, one of Duke's main selling points to prospective students is the "work hard, play hard" mantra that allegedly guarantees an exciting social atmosphere on campus.
The last thing we want to do is become as lame as Harvard without being as good. Sports and milder weather can't be our only comparative advantages.
As I see it, three key steps need to be taken to address these problems. First, we can't wait for the apotheosized Central Campus renovation; change must happen soon. This means making more space on campus and more funds available for holding social events, such as cost-effective Nasher and WaDuke events; expanding the entertainment infrastructure (e.g., bars/clubs) and allowing kegs on the quad and potentially in fraternity sections.
Second, more groups should follow the lead of DukePlays and Mi Gente and start hosting major events on campus. Bringing out the whole student body only seems to happen with large-scale affairs, so this needs to occur more frequently and with regularity.
Third, Duke could benefit from more academic-sponsored social events. If Pratt can do E-Kegs, why can't Trinity have T-Kegs? Or, more appropriately, why can't we have Econ-, PoliSci-, or PPS-Kegs? It's truly embarrassing to be socially outdone by engineers.
One of my professors loves to say that what distinguishes Duke students from others is their extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit. Let's put it to the test, lest closed-door dorm-room parties and dive-bar mixers become all we have left.
Jon Detzel is a Trinity senior. His column runs every other Tuesday.
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