<p>Well, ive been looking around and i heard that the adminstration is trying to make USC more acedemically competitive which ultimatley led to the current USC being only the shadow of its former reputation as a party school. So no more "work hard, play hard " mentality?</p>
<p>I think that’s fair to say. There’s still people with that mentality but the university is cracking down (ie. restricting pre-rush, etc). Quite disappointing because one of my main reasons for choosing USC was the social life/academic balance. That being said, parties are still there just not what they used to be.</p>
<p>Yeah the social/academic balance was what i liked too. =/</p>
<p>As a parent of USC kids who aren’t into being kept up at all hours due to non-stop parties, I’m glad that there may be SOME increased control. From what I’ve heard, there really wasn’t much through this spring, so not sure we’re hearing/seeing the same things.</p>
<p>i went to 6 parties on friday and saturday and i only know my housemates</p>
<p>if u wanna party, get into a good fraternity and im sure you’ll have enough fun</p>
<p>HImom, </p>
<p>Unfortunately, things just got much worse for your son and others like him. There were a record number of write-ups in the freshmen dorms. You had kids being carried out of New/North into ambulances. </p>
<p>College freshmen are going to party. It’s better that they do so on fraternity row - where houses don’t serve hard alcohol during pre-rush and have careful risk management - than in the dorms - where other people are trying to sleep and study.</p>
<p>Huh? I have NOT heard good things about parties on the “row.” Both of my kids say that a “blind eye” is turned by DPS to parties at frats & sororities. Neither of my kids nor their friends have had anyone they know needing medical attention for drinking or partying too much or hard.</p>
<p>College kids are always welcome to party, it’s just that responsibility & consideration for others should be part of the picture. It often isn’t. My S moved from his apartment that he lived in last year because it was too close to frat row & consequently too noisy with all the rowdy parties. People should be able to sleep & study in places other than just the dorm–namely in their apartments at reasonable hours rather than being subjected to out-of-control parties at all hours so much of the year.</p>
<p>All kids at USC are paying a lot of money for education; socialization is just a part of the education not the be all & end all.</p>
<p>HImom-</p>
<p>Im sorry that youve heard bad things about parties on the row. There is no blind eye. There is a cooperative and working relationship. All the fraternities have a six-person risk management team that is sober, working the door, and making sure people are safe. Fraternities do not serve hard alcohol during pre-rush to avoid students needing medical attention. Fraternities carefully guard the doors to make sure that non-students do not attend. </p>
<p>This is not the case anywhere else at USC. Hence the riot last year on 30th street, which occurred when the fraternities were all away for rush activities. Hence the hospitalizations in the dorms this year, which occurred when freshmen were not allowed to attend row parties. </p>
<p>My point is that restricting activities on the row only makes things much, much worse for people like your son. Nobody ever said that social aspects are the be-all and end-all; Im not sure where that came from.</p>
<p>Hate to disillusion you, but folks can die from alcohol poisoning & have other nasty things happen to them whether the alcohol is “hard” or other forms of alcohol. It is really unfortunate that people are always downplaying the dangers of drinking and that it is allowed to persist among underaged people (who comprise the vast majority of folks attending parties where alcohol is served).</p>
<p>I am not aware of any riot but am aware that the noise levels from MANY parties that DPS does NOT do much/anything about do interfere with the rights of others to have a reasonably quiet and safe place to live and pursue their own preferences. As a parent paying hundreds of thousands of $ to USC, I object to this.</p>
<p>NPC sororities at SC have a strict policy of NO parties in the houses. There are family events such as Mother-Daughter Luncheon, Presents Reception and Father-Daughter Dinner. </p>
<p>The sorority houses are gorgeous. A mature housemother lives in a suite in all the chapters. These houses are beautifully decorated and maintained by a house corporation or similar organization. Some have elegant stairways, crystal chandeliers, framed mirrors and grand pianos. No parties are held in the sorority chapter houses. That does not mean the women do not attend certain fraternity events.</p>
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<p>I’m going to have to disagree. First of all, the amount of hard liquor it takes to get one to black out is far less than with beer. Secondly, this idea of underage drinking being inherently dangerous is a complete farce on many levels. What is dangerous underage drinkers who are uninformed/not exposed. I’m not sure if your kids are deliberately holding back or just simply forgot to mention, but yes, there were more hospitalizations this year in New/North’s first few days then I believe we had in New/north all of last year. This could be because your kids are more reserved/have a small social circle, but I don’t even KNOW any of the freshmen personally and even I know of the stuff that went down in New/North this past weekend.</p>
<p>As for proximity to the row in regards to living, I believe that people who claim they get distracted by living near the Row are looking to be distracted. I’m not trying to imply anything negative about your son, but I live in Troy which is directly across the street from the Row and I can barely hear any music from any of the houses. I’m sure if there’s a live performance or concert you probably could, but I mean another friend lives directly behind GPB and you can’t hear much from the Row there either.</p>
<p>I feel that contrary to what you stated, instead of downplaying the appeal of alcohol to “underage drinkers” (I’m sure some people still disagree that an 18 year old shouldn’t be able to drink, but I know a ton of 21-30 year olds that shouldn’t be drinking either), one should be forthcoming and realistic about it. Yes, hard alcohol IS more risky than drinks with lower alcohol content, and drinks like beers are far harder to keep drinking due to how fast your stomach expands. While I’m not in a frat and I don’t plan on rushing (I’m personally just not down with being in a frat), the one thing they do pretty well is keep there parties on lock with solid security for the students. Besides that, you cannot blame them if someone drinks too much inside, they cannot monitor all these people, but they provide one of the safest environments to drink/socialize with people on campus. </p>
<p>DPS can’t go around carding everyone on the row. They don’t turn a blind eye, in fact I would say its the opposite, they keep a watchful eye out for people who look like they might be too trashed/unable to go home. Wasting time messing with all the people who weren’t in this state would prevent them from being able to respond quickly and efficiently.</p>
<p>Finally to the OP, understand this:</p>
<p>Every college is a party school (besides BJU probably). SC is more of a party school than most schools, but not as big as the state schools. Whoever said you can’t find a good party just fails. I know of at least two parties in my apartments and tonight’s a Monday. Tuesdays and thursdays theres the row, the halfway house, etc etc. Theres downtown LA, hollywood, etc. You could party out of school if you wanted too, but why would you?</p>
<p>regardless, there is certainly NO lack of parties and I can assure you we still play just as hard as we work.</p>
<p>hyakku lets party brah</p>
<p>Agree with above: almost every school can be a party school. USC is no exception. If you want to party, you will find a party regardless of whether it is at a Greek house or not.</p>
<p>Death by alcholol poisoning doesn’t care how “educated” the drinker is and how much s/he thinks s/he can “handle” or “hold” their liquor. It’s tragic from a parental & societal point of view to see young lives and brain cells lost. Yes, I know that you can get alcohol poisoning quicker with “hard liquor,” but there are many dead brain cells, poisonings and deaths with beer as well.</p>
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<p>I don’t disagree with you at all, but I’m not saying people who know what alcohol is will be immune from alcohol poisoning. What I’m saying is simply that people who have been exposed to drinking and know there limits are in a far better position than those who go to say pre-rush or a register and get so wasted because they think they can handle four double shots of patron, a few beers and a shotgun on there second night drinking (seen it done, seen the results, please don’t do that if you don’t drink -_-) hyped up by all their friends and wanting to keep up.</p>
<p>Kmzizzle, down to do that whenever man, long as theres no 8 AMS the next day -_-.</p>
<p>ha i live right next to gamma the azn frat. i went to a couple huge parties last weekend but it seemed to be greeks who all knew each other (and some of them are losing their houses i heard). im not going to rush because im a transfer junior and i need to focus on grades and i dont know how ill do in my classes. wish i was here freshman year i’d totally rush</p>
<p>and i dont think i could ever get alcohol poisoning off beer - id get full and throw up way before i could force enough down</p>
<p>stressed4college obviously has no idea what they’re talking about. Most debacles I’ve heard of come from the greek scene. Adriana Bachan and Marcus Garfinkle were coming back from the row. my friend’s roommate knocked out her front teeth on the porch of her sorority. New/North (large greek population) is a dorm with a ton of idiot freshmen who act like they’ve never had a bit of freedom before college. I am not into the repetitively dull Greek scene… parties elsewhere are much better.</p>
<p>Hey Srabiee90, </p>
<p>I hope youre not trying to suggest that the tragic hit-and-run that killed Adriana and seriously injured Marcus was either of their faults. They followed all the traffic signs and were hit by a sick, twisted person who drove through a red light, then peeled her body off the car and placed it on the sidewalk, before driving away. To blame Adriana or the Greek community for that is not only terribly cold and insensitive, its also absurd and ridiculous. </p>
<p>Your friends roommate who knocked out her teeth in proximity to a sorority yeah, youve got me there. Anecdotal hearsay with widespread implications like that How can I even argue? </p>
<p>New/North, by the way, had zero Greeks at the time of the hospitalizations; rush had not begun.</p>
<p>stressed4college, you’re wasting your time if you’re trying to argue that a disproportionate amount of the debauchery at USC doesn’t originate from the greek scene. Anyone who lives north of 30th and south of Adams knows exactly what goes down at the row, and how much of it. Having experienced greek and non-greek parties at USC, and the 21+ scene in LA, I can confidently say that greek parties and their scene are over-rated. Why systematically purchase friendship when you can buy a much cheaper friendship catalyst for someone at the bar? OK I’m poking fun, but really, being in a fraternity is just proxy adulthood – no 21+ wants to party with 17- and 18-year-old kids. It will get old.</p>
<p>Regarding Adriana and Marcus, yes the drivers were at fault, and what happened was truly tragic – but let’s not fool ourselves and ignore the fact that they were walking home from the row at 3AM on a Tuesday. How long did it take you to convince yourself that they didn’t drink and that alcohol/partying played no role?</p>
<p>And I can speak to the noise pollution from the row – I live in Annenberg House and can hear the loud music and ■■■■■■■■ "woooo!"s echoing across the parking lots right into my window at least 3-4 times a week. And yes I keep my window closed. We’re usually running the AC.</p>
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<p>To clarify, I mean being in a fraternity for the social scene.</p>
<p>Also I’d like to add that while USC as a university can be described as a diverse place, you can’t ignore how homogeneous the majority of the greek organizations here are. Granted, I can only say this based on my observations. I wish they’d disclose a membership profile so that those arguing for the greek system’s place on a pedestal can substantiate their claims, or at least stop trying to fallaciously allude to USC’s diversity as a whole.</p>