Although a three-day weekend may seem like a perfect excuse for students to party more, Greek leaders say there is more to Winter Carnival than alcohol.
Bones Gate fraternity President Justin Heather '96 said there are more parties, but not necessarily more alcohol.
"There's more alcohol available because basically every fraternity and sorority wants to have a party," he said.
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity president John Bennett '96 said he agreed.
"There's just a greater volume of parties and maybe that's a reason why people think alcohol plays a more important role during Carnival weekend," Bennett said.
Bill Tovell '96, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, said the increased number of parties did not necessarily mean there would be more consumption of alcohol.
"Just because you have a party doesn't mean you're going to have an increased amount of drinking," Tovell said.
According to Bennett, drinking during Carnival weekend is nothing out of the ordinary by Dartmouth standards.
"Realistically, it plays a major role in Carnival weekend, but then again, alcohol plays a major role in every weekend at Dartmouth," Bennett said.
Susie Ettinger '96, president of Epsilion Kappa Theta sorority said alcohol plays "about the same role as any weekend," but the increased number of people on campus causes an overall increase in alcohol consumption.
"I don't think individuals are drinking more, I think that with students, alums, and randoms on campus, there are more people drinking," Ettinger said.
Zeta Psi fraternity president Greg Jensen '96 agreed that more people party on campus during Carnival Weekend. "A lot of people at Dartmouth don't go out every weekend, but everyone goes out on Winter Carnival weekend," he said. "The parties get more crowded, because everyone takes the time to go out," Jensen added.
Darren Peers '96, president of Chi Heorot fraternity, said Winter Carnival is a good reason to go out, just like other special event weekends, such as Homecoming and Green Key. "There's a lot more people and a few more parties," he said.
Abbey Henderson '96, president of Delta Gamma sorority, said alcohol plays less of a role during Carnival weekend than during other special-events weekends. "Winter Carnival is more of a sports-oriented weekend than Green Key or Homecoming."
But according to Padraic Malinowski '97, membership coordinator of Asgard, students who normally drink will probably be inclined to drink even more over Carnival weekend.
Still, Malinowski said Asgard is planning its second-annual Evening of Elegance for Saturday night.
Malinowski said that this event is a good place to come to after the Winter Carnival Formal in order to have non-alcoholic refreshments and spend time with friends.
Tovell said the focus of Carnival weekend is the games and activities and not consumption of alcohol. "It's such a fun weekend because people come from all over not to drink. They can do that anytime," Tovell said.
Still, Tovell acknowledged that Safety and Security probably had more alcohol related pickups during Carnival Weekend.
Safety and Security Officer Rebel Roberts confirmed that there is usually an increase in alcohol related complaints during Carnival weekend. She also said that complaints of all kinds increase during Carnival weekend. "It's one of our busiest weekends throughout the year," Roberts said.
According to Safety and Security statistics, there were three incidents of "lewd and lascivious conduct" involving alcohol during winter Carnival weekend last year. Only one such incident was reported in the entire month of January, 1994.
In addition, the number of "possession of alcohol by a minor" complaints tripled from January 1994 to February 1994, with many of the February complaints coming during Carnival weekend.
