Now that spring semester is in full swing, the weather is getting warmer and the sun is staying around more and more each day. Spring also means more opportunity for students to be outside enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. Ultimate frisbee on Foss Field, eating lunch outside, pick up basketball games, and walks around campus are just some of the activities students take part in with the return of warmer weather. In addition to these activities, students may also decide to participate in off-campus events such as trips to Point Defiance Zoo, day hikes around Mt. Rainier, or walks along Ruston Way waterfront park.
The warm weather can also bring another college tradition: the off-campus house party.
PLU is like most college campuses with a number of students living near campus in rental houses. These houses provide students with an opportunity to live with their friends and experience the freedom of living on their own. It also provides an opportunity for students to invite their friends over for a BBQ, a movie night, or a house party. House parties have developed a dubious reputation over the years and have been portrayed in popular media in a variety of negative ways. Movies like Animal House, Van Wilder, and Old School have provided us with a great deal of imagery of drunken college students engaging in numerous illegal and risky behaviors.
Students living in off-campus houses who host house parties bear the responsibility of providing a safe, legal and neighborly event that can be enjoyed by everyone. House parties have the possibility of being conducted legally and safely if students will follow a few simple steps.
Students hosting a house party should provide a “Designated Host” who can monitor the gathering all night.
Keep the gathering small and the activities legal. All hosts and guests should be of legal drinking age.
Be aware of who is invited to the gathering. Advertising on MySpace and Facebook can draw unwanted attention and guests.
Notify your neighbors of the gathering so that they are aware of additional people in the neighborhood.
Before the gathering, talk with your housemates about what will happen during the night.
Pay attention to your guests so you know who is attending the gathering and everyone is safely enjoying himself or herself.
Know your resources. The Sheriff’s deputies working for Campus Safety can assist you in removing any unwanted individuals.
In addition to the students hosting the house party, the students who attend the party also must take some responsibility during a house party.
Students attending a house party should attend as a group together and leave the party together.
Be aware of your personal surrounding at all times.
Be aware of your limits and your friends’ limits.
By keeping house parties safe, legal, and neighborly, house parties can play a positive role in the college experience.
