How have new IFC rules changed social/party scene?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Cornell University
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<p>I have read about rule changes put in place by the IFC severely limiting the amount of things freshman can do (attending house parties, making fraternity rush dry, stricter fraternity rules). Are these rules strictly followed and is it difficult to participate in fraternity events because of them?</p>

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<p>Bump10char</p>

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<p>Bump10char</p>

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<p>Haha well it looks like not a lot of people are interested in talking about the party scene… I’ll take a stab at it.</p>

<p>So basically what happened is now that rushing is dry and frats aren’t supposed to have freshmen at parties, the parties have been moved off-campus into houses in Collegetown. This means a couple things:

  1. the parties generally include more hard liquor as opposed to beer
  2. the real police (instead of the campus police) are in charge
  3. there generally aren’t sober monitors at parties like there are in the frat houses.</p>

<p>So be careful if you go out to party because people won’t be looking out for you as much as they used to and in general it’ll be easier to be less careful (if that makes sense).</p>

<p>In some cases, frat houses still have parties and freshmen have a harder time getting in. Cornell is really cracking down hard on infractions, so this doesn’t happen very often.</p>

<p>Remember that NY state now has the Good Samaritan law - if you or someone you know needs medical attention, call 911 and nobody will get in trouble.</p>

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<p>Thanks! Are the college town parties easy to find or do you have to be close with some upperclassmen, and are they every weekend or just during particular times?</p>

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<p>LivyChan doesn’t seem to have a very good grasp on the way things actually are. There is a 4 quarter system in place for fraternities. During the first quarter (first half of fall semester), freshman are not allowed to have any contact with fraternities. This really just means that they are not allowed inside of their houses at all. During the second quarter, freshman ARE allowed in fraternity houses, but not when alcohol is present. Fraternities will still have events every weekend at their houses, but they will almost always be closed. They might have occasional events they let freshman into (especially if you know someone), but those will be somewhat under-the-radar. Spring semester is a whole different animal with rush and everything and warrants a separate conversation. Collegetown parties happen all the time, but because the houses are smaller and the parties are not all run by fraternities with large budgets, they can be tough to get into. They’re easy to find, but tougher to get into. During O-week, most will be open and inviting but it will go downhill from there. That being said, meet as many people as you can the first couple days and you’ll be fine for the rest of the semester. Meet guys in houses and get their numbers (it’s not awkward; they’re expecting it), and they’ll likely invite you to unofficial rush events throughout the fall semester.</p>

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<p>BBall,</p>

<p>Thanks for elaborating. I’m not much into the frat scene, so take what I said with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>My experience with parties is that most often, somebody you know will know about something going on! So don’t worry too much about not being in-the-know - it’s virtually impossible, especially if you’re friends with your floor mates (which I’m sure you will be!)</p>

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<p>I can’t speak as to what it’s like now, but I jus feel bad for all of you. They really seem to have killed the social scene. Open parties were so much fun, great ways to meet your classmates and bond over waiting in line for 30 minutes or figuring out a way to sneak up the fire escape, and so safe–security, free water and food available, campus police, sober monitors, and difficult to get anything other than keystone light (I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible to consume the quantity of keystone necessary to get wasted). </p>

<p>And I know so many people who went to open parties and didn’t drink, just to dance and meet people. I feel like now there isn’t even a place where people under 21 could go to dance and let loose.</p>