You could hear the drums in the Collis Center lobby, but to witness the succession of '95s making beer runs to the rhythm of the World Percussion Ensemble, you had to descend to the Lone Pine Tavern, where three or four friends sat talking around a table and listening to the entertainment.
For many members of the Class of 1995, the transition to senior year is accompanied by a transition in their social lives.
Bars such as the Lone Pine and Murphy's Tavern on Main Street provide '95s with an environment different from the fraternity basements many frequented over the past three years.
"You can walk, you don't get crashed into when you turn around, and if you want to talk to people you don't have to scream," Bevin Jackson '95 said of Murphy's Tavern.
"It doesn't smell bad -- and there are mostly '95s so I know the people there. I definitely spend more time off campus than I do in Greek houses," she said.
At bars "you don't have to wait in line, you can hang out and talk and you don't have to deal with people you don't want to," Charlotte Hanley '95 said.
As Dartmouth students age, they tend to forego many of their former social activities, including the Greek system in many cases.
"I went to the fraternities as a freshman but I got bored with that," Haskins Hobson '95 said.
But not all students change their social patterns as they get older. Jon Prescott '95, for example, said his social life is "pretty much the same."
Seniors in fraternities and sororities often change roles within their houses rather than radically alter their social lives, Inter-Fraternity Council President Scott Swenson '95 said.
Swenson, a member of Gamma Delta Chi fraternity, said he spends less time at his fraternity has not changed his attitude toward the house or the system.
Although one difference between most seniors and the bulk of underclass students is the ability to drink alcohol legally, many seniors said this has not changed their social lives.
According to Jon Weinberger '95, "Getting alcohol was never a problem." The ability to go to bars does add flexibility to a senior's social life, but seniors said it is less of a milestone than most underclass students think.
Perhaps the most common trend in senior socializing is the off-campus party. Weinberger said he socializes "at friends' houses off campus ... I think that is due to the fact that more of my friends live off campus than before."
According to Molly Corrigan '95, the off-campus party is the most important change to a seniors' social-life.
To some underclass students, the senior social scene does not seem that glamorous. In the words of Jay Park '98, "They act like a bunch of old people."
