Busting up the party yet again
The semester is almost over, and I find myself looking back onthe memories of this year, so far. The papers, the tests, the latenights at Fondren Library, and of course, the parties. I love ourparties and the many interesting themes that accompany nearly everyone of them, some far too vulgar to print.
What’s better than heading out on a Friday or Saturdaynight to a bar or club, dressed like an idiot, to dance, talk andsocialize with other SMU students wearing, likewise, inappropriateand inadequate clothing? SMU recognizes the fact that there will beparties, and that, at them, some people will chose to drink, andSMU has attempted to make the party scene safer for allinvolved.
Student Senate, IFC and university administration have providedexcellent services to our student body, like SMU Rides, to keep thepartygoers safe. They now require everyone to ride the buses toparties in order to cutback, if not totally eliminate, instances ofdrunken driving. I applaud the Senate, IFC and the administrationfor these programs, but are they working the way that they shouldbe?
The busing system sounds fantastic on paper. Everyone hops onthe bus and receives an “I rode the bus” wristband thatallows them to get into the party. They go and have a good time, inthe manor of their choosing, and then return to campus safely underthe care of DART’s finest (and bravest) individuals. Everyonewants to ride the buses because they are fast, efficient, free and,of course, safe. This is how the bus system should theoreticallyoperate.
I want everyone to think back to the last party that theyattended and ask themselves, “Is this how it was?” WhenI look back on the last party that I attended, I remember wastingan hour and 15 minutes of my life waiting in front of a line ofDART buses to receive the coveted wristband and be admitted to thebus. Was this system efficient and timely? Honestly, I think thatmy grandmother could have handed out the wristbands and organizedthe crowd with greater success and speed than our fair Dictator ofthe DART. Whoever hired this bus bouncer, should seriouslyreconsider giving him a job next time.
There were plenty of buses and wristbands to carry the wholecrowd to our sought-after Saturday sanctuary, but at the speed thisdude was going, we’d all be lucky to even get to the partybefore the bar closed for the evening. So naturally, everyonestarted crowding the man and shoving toward the front of the linein a desperate attempt to get there first. Our brave orator wouldthen stop the distribution to stand up and yell for everyone to”Back up!” I don’t recall how many times that Iheard this phrase that faithful night, but I assure you it was toomany.
Everyone would back up and, inevitably, those of us that hadactually waited and reached the head of the line fairly, would beforced to return to our new positions at the end of the line.During the course of the hour that I spent in this human tideebbing back and forth, I heard at least 20 people get on their cellphones and call those lucky enough to have gained entrance into theholy land, to find out where this paradise was. They then wouldleave and drive themselves over to the party and simply grab thewristband off of someone who was already leaving in order to sneakinto the party that way.
This seems backwards to me. If we are going to set up a systemin an attempt to save student lives, then why have we let thatsystem become utterly unusable? Drunk driving is a major problemthat we need to combat. However, let’s combat it with a moreefficient system. Put up some ropes and form a line — yes, aline and not a meaningless mass of pissed-off partygoers — toget onto the bus. Don’t hand out wristbands as people getonto the bus, it simply creates a bottleneck that can be avoided;instead, distribute wristbands after the bus is underway. Thesesimple measures can make the bus and party situation less of ahassle, more efficient, and a desirable alternative to driving andsneaking in.
People are going to party, and some are going to chose to drink.We should not try and prevent this by making fraternity partiessuch a hassle to attend that these students end up injured or deadas a result. I would much rather insure the safety of students whochose to party than worry about where SMU stands on the list ofparty schools. SMU can make it safe to attend parties without,necessarily, condoning any illicit activities.
First a word to SMU: Partying is going to happen whether we likeit or not, so why not make it safer for our students who chose todo so? As one of your social norms posters recently stated,”Drinking responsibly is actually the most popular studentactivity.” We need to do all that we can to make “themost popular student activity” a little safer. Let’srevamp the bus system and save some more lives.
Finally, a word to the students: We need to stand up and fightfor our right to party (safely, responsibly and, most importantly,legally). I encourage you to write in to The Daily Campus orto your student senators with your ideas on how we can improve thebus/party system. Maybe together, we can make our most popularstudent activity a little safer for everyone.
