So, Dartmouth has been one of my top choices for a few years now. I’ve found something appealing about the general atmosphere, and a vibrant social scene from the fraternity system is something that I really want. The thing is, I’m wondering how the recent changes made by President Hanlon have affected the social scene on campus. Is the party scene gone altogether? Is there no drinking on campus at all? How do students at Dartmouth view the bans?
I would also really appreciate a response to this question.
Same. anyone?
As if that could actually happen…
I’m a 19 so I can answer some of your questions. While I can’t speak to what the vibe on campus was like pre-Hanlon, I can say that there is still a very vibrant party scene and that you can get alcohol/hard alcohol if you want to. However, there is a hard alcohol ban on campus so don’t do it if you think you’ll get caught. There are serious consequences for having hard alcohol on campus. If you are caught drinking underage, there will be a fine but it is comparable to getting a ticket for running a red light. Also, if you party too hard, there is an option to call Good Sam which gives you medical attention without getting you into legal trouble. Seriously, Good Sam is your best friend here. For the first 6 weeks, freshmen are only allowed to attend registered “freshmen friendly” events in Greek houses. Outside of these events, freshmen are not permitted to enter Greek houses. This is taken very seriously by the fraternities because if they fail to follow the rules, they run the risk of being derecognized by the school. While students don’t necessarily like the bans, there are many different reactions to the new rules. The fraternities are very serious about following these rules to the letter while individual students can be pretty relaxed about them.
tl;dr You can still party but if it gets too wild, call good sam
I’m a 19 as well and I agree with @RNinja. There’s definitely still a party scene. And yes the bans are serious. The hard alcohol ban just means that it’s very underground. People don’t just carry it around at parties. And the 6 week ban from greek houses isn’t really a punishment for us, but more of a punishment for the houses. So you probably won’t be able to get into one until Homecoming. But you can definitely find a party if you try.