In the last few years, debates over the need for "alternative social spaces" have periodically dominated campus dialogue. Despite the issue's persistent presence, however, students interviewed by The Dartmouth this week said that, while some alternative social events have seen success, the movement for alternative social spaces as a whole has had limited and sporadic results. Multiple changes must be made to existing College alternative social spaces before they will be a viable and regularly accessible option for students, these students said.
Student Assembly, some students said, has arguably had the most success in forwarding alternative social space events. The Assembly's first such event, held in Fahey and McLane residence halls, was "wildly successful," according to former Student Body President Molly Bode '09, noting that the event attracted over 300 attendees from many different segments of the student body. In the wake of that initial party, Student Assembly has held parties in Cutter-Shabbazz Hall and Thayer Dining Hall, Bode said.
Assembly efforts to sponsor alternative social spaces parties were influenced by an Assembly survey, in which many students complained there were very few non-alcoholic or College-sponsored events after 10 p.m., making Greek events the dominant nighttime activity, Bode said. Alternative social space parties were intended to fill that gap, she said, by providing a mix of activities both with and without alcohol in order to reach out to non-drinkers, light drinkers and students seeking a social space that was not owned or controlled by a particular group of students.
Student Assembly spokesperson David Imamura '10 agreed that the drive to create alternative social spaces is rooted in historical unrest over the social dominance of the Greek system, but noted that, in recent years, the Assembly has sought to work with the Greek system on alternative social space efforts.
That collaboration, Imamura said, can be traced to the administration of former Student Body President Tim Andreadis '07, during which efforts to reduce the influence of the Greek system created serious conflict that effectively paralyzed the Assembly.
Despite the Assembly's current collaboration with the Greek system to provide these events, however, one of the main selling points for students who have attended alternative social space parties has been their independence from the influence of a Greek organization or another group of students, Jennifer Argote '10, former chair of the Student Life Committee, said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Argote is a member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
"A lot of people told me ... how they felt really comfortable, and it wasn't like a [fraternity], so they weren't being controlled by anyone," Argote said. "I think it's much less intimidating because it's in Food Court. Everyone's just kind of equal."
Hovey Grill, the space in the basement of Thayer where several Assembly alternative social space parties were held, proved to be well suited to the events because its arrangement allowed for easy alcohol service, while maintaining an appropriate party atmosphere, Argote said.
"It ended up being very much like your standard [Greek] dance party," Argote said.
Including alcohol in the parties has drawn a number of students to the Assembly events, Student Body Vice President Cory Cunningham '10 told The Dartmouth.
Cunningham is a member of The Dartmouth Senior Business staff.
"I think it's a somewhat contentious point, because some students have said, Why does there need to be alcohol at every event for it to be considered a party?'" Cunningham said. "My ideal goal is that the emphasis may not be as strong on alcohol at these events. While it's present, that's not what it's oriented around."
Deciding not to serve alcohol "would significantly decrease attendance," he said, which could also have the effect of depressing turnout at future events.
While the Assembly has seen some success, however, parties hosted by other student organizations outside the Greek system have often had difficulty attracting a large amount of interest, Bode said. She pointed to her experience with class-specific formal parties, where she said she saw comparatively low turnout.
Bode said she believed that poor marketing and a lack of alcoholic beverages were potential explanations for the event's low attendance numbers.
"Alcohol and food are definitely draws to any event on campus," she said.
Many organizations are limited in their ability to hold events for large numbers of students because of the Social Event Management Procedures policy requiring trained event managers which many organizations lack or because of the expense of large events, Bode said.
Imamura similarly pointed to the funding regulations of the Committee on Student Organizations, which he said prohibit alcohol purchases and limit spending for social purposes, as a roadblock to the success of alternative social events.
Looking forward, however, members of the Assembly hope to partner with other groups to involve them further in event planning, allowing these groups to shoulder more of the burden of planning alternative social space events. Both Bode and current Student Body President Frances Vernon said that Student Assembly is better-suited to managing the policy aspects of social life.
While there is no reason for Student Assembly to stop partnering with other interested organizations to plan events, Vernon said, the Assembly should increase its focus on the long-term planning of new social spaces on campus.
Representatives from Student Assembly met with Programming Board last week to begin the process of bringing more program-oriented organizations into the process, she said.
Ann DeBelina '10, senior chair of Programming Board, said that the group had discussed taking over Student Assembly's alternative space parties. She noted, however, that while the dance parties were an "interesting concept," Programming Board has a much more expansive mission than planning parties. Programming Board has also previously sponsored dance parties that were not well attended, DeBelina said, so members will have to assess student demand before expanding its organizational role.
Rigel Cable '10, co-chair of Gender Sexuality XYZ, emphasized the importance of alternative social events outside of parties, pointing particularly to GSX events including a Halloween costume ball and the "Coming Out Stories" program, as well as the PRIDE TransForm fashion show. These events, Cable said, create social environments for students that are alternatives to the typically heterosexual Greek system, he said.
"This kind of work is really important for groups that are not always embraced by the Greek system," Cable said. "I don't think these systems are intentionally excluding people. I think it's just the binary they were built on."
Alternative social events are only a "temporary Band-Aid" to cover the more fundamental problem, Cable said: Dartmouth's relative dearth of social space.
Compared to other peer institutions, Dartmouth has a very small amount of social space, in terms of square footage per student, Cable said, which restricts campus social life to narrow programming events, rather than spontaneous social gatherings.
Increasing the space available for alternative social events, Vernon said, is an issue that has been discussed "on the Dartmouth campus for 20 years."
While the Assembly has not yet made formal proposals to the College administration, Assembly members have forwarded a number of ideas on creating physical social space for the administration to pursue.
Remedying continuing concerns about alternative social spaces, Vernon said, will need to remain a priority at the College, even in the face of an impending second round of budget cuts.
"One of [Student Assembly's] goals is always to be responding to student demand," she said. "If it's that important of a campus issue, I don't think even the budget situation will necessarily hold us back."
