Although last weekend's shortage of parties was a result of both the impending end of the term and the College's recently implemented alcohol policies, it demonstrates the Greek system's central role in campus social life.
Since the new policies promote closed, invite-only parties, next year's unaffiliated students and freshmen will be even more excluded from the Greek system than they currently are.
However, it is not the new alcohol policies that pose the greatest social obstacle to students -- rather, it is the College's current inability to provide late-night social options for students.
Policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related social options will fail if they are not complemented by increased and strengthened social events on campus. In fact, such restrictive policies could have other detrimental effects -- increasing hard alcohol consumption, drug use and the number of parties held in dorm rooms, for example.
Therefore, to remedy the potential lack of social options next fall, the College must step up its programming role to fill the social void opening around us.
In order to encourage alternative social options, the College should support student groups by providing both finances and resources.
One issue that should be addressed immediately is the severe lack of programming space on campus since renovations began on Webster Hall.
The College should also promote more effective use of available facilities by allowing Collis Center to remain open all night, as suggested by the Social Life Task Force's implementation committee.
The administration's decision to implement the alcohol policies at the end of Spring term is problematic for students, who are too preoccupied with upcoming exams and end-of-the-term chaos to protest or urge the administration to increase alternative social options.
However, the College's only means of decreasing alcohol abuse on campus without severely constricting students' social lives lies in increased programming.
To limit the possibility of student backlash before it occurs next fall, the College should work with students to improve campus social life this summer.
