The most commonly voiced concern in talking about closing campus fraternities has been ensuring that students feel safe and comfortable in all spaces on campus. But recently a different question has caught people’s attention: Where should people congregate on weekends?
DKE, Beta, and Psi U, which until last year housed their members in mansions on High Street, are three of the biggest houses on campus and therefore were popular places for hosting events. In addition to hosting themed parties, the frat houses also held benefits, concerts, and art events. The traditional Top 40 concert with student performers, for example, which attracted a diverse and teeming mass of people, typically happened in DKE. Last year, members of Second Stage directed the musical “Cabaret” and set it in Psi U’s large main room; “Eye Contact,” a performance that confronted racial issues, also occurred in Psi U.
So what happens when you erase three of the biggest social spaces on campus with no replacement?
“I think the program houses that were known for hosting events before all of this happened will probably try to step up and host more,” said Linnie Halpern ’18, House Manager of the Bayit. “There are program houses that have never really been known to host events, and I don’t know if they’ll suddenly start to host events.”
Earth House, which successfully hosted events fairly regularly last year, is an example of a program house that may continue to do so.
While The Bayit has a large main room, Halpern explained, she does not anticipate it to accommodate large parties.
“There is a big space, but it’s where Shabbat services are held, so people might feel weird having a rager in there,” she said.
Anna Apostolidis ’19 does not know what campus was like with residential fraternities. She explained that her weekend destinations have been mixed, but that the most fun party she has attended this year was at the Bayit.
“I’m just a freshman though, so I just follow my roommate everywhere,” she added.
What about Eclectic and Alpha Delt? The two coeducational societies certainly provided a few large parties last year. But perhaps given what has happened to the other houses and the drug-related events that occurred last year, the last two Greek houses standing are nervous about hosting big events, and neither one is the same buzzing social hub that it once was.
Because program houses tend to be small and have smaller focuses that bring people there, they have always seemed to attract a slightly different crowd from the masses that would go to fraternities. Besides, while Eclectic and Alpha Delt have large, central spaces that can accommodate hundreds of guests, the other program houses are not meant—or allowed—to host masses of people. That capacities were drastically lowered this year stands as a testament to this.
“If I had to summarize the social scene at Wesleyan this year, it would be ‘outside,’” said Matt Siegelman ’16, a member of Psi U.
The senior houses on Fountain and their backyards have also always drawn large crowds on Friday and Saturday nights. But there has been a shift here, as well: People seem to head directly to the Fountain backyards this year, whereas last year they tended to eventually congregate at senior houses after going to other events.
“It’s fun now, because it’s nice out and everyone can congregate outside,” said Isabelle King ’16. “Not much else is going on, so when you go to Fountain you see everyone you know.”
Alexis Concordia ’16 agreed with this sentiment, adding that the full impact of the frats’ shutting down will be much more apparent in the winter.
Siegelman noted that the parties on Fountain have been unusually fun so far. His friends are not spread out at other events on campus, and PSafe has not been as quick to shut gatherings down.
“The fact that PSafe has been lax about capacities on Fountain is nice, because there is a lot more autonomy and less concern, but it makes you think the administration has already had a conversation about lack of social spaces,” Siegelman said.
Perhaps, though, Fountain’s emergence as the main event of the night on weekends is detrimental to underclassmen—especially the ones that do not personally know seniors. Some freshmen, such as Sammy Stephen ’19, say they do not feel welcome.
“I haven’t gone [to Fountain parties] because I haven’t heard much about it,” Stephen said. “I wasn’t sure if it was invite only.”
King said that people like Stephen may might not be entirely wrong in that belief.
“There have been many times when I have been in a Fountain house and a group of loud freshmen barges in assuming there is a party,” King said. “It can be awkward.”
For those who choose to forgo Fountain for a program house, things can be just as unfortunate. Halpern recalled a recent event at Art House.
“The other night, when Chef had a concert in Art House, there were huge lines outside the door, and people were waiting for like 45 minutes to get in,” she said. “Not being able to get into concerts—that’s really annoying. Last year, it was so easy to walk into Art House to see a cool band, but I’m not going to wait 45-min in a line just to see a concert.”