On Saturday, October 4, a protest was held in reaction to the "Mansion" party occurring at Ladd House the same night. As members of the Inter-House Council (IHC), we have become intimately involved in the conversations following the event. In the week immediately following the protest, discussions on the issue occurred in the IHC, the BSG, Curia, a student-run online magazine about Bowdoin, and countless informal settings. Discourse on the event seemed to represent many different and sometimes conflicting opinions.
In hopes to include the voices of the rest of the campus in this editorial, IHC Secretary Keri Forbringer '10 sent out a campus-wide email on October 11 eliciting responses regarding the event and Bowdoin's social atmosphere in general. The responses were incredibly varied: Some were excited about the protest, some were vehemently against it, and some were indifferent.
Following is a sampling of the responses:
"Parties are parties. They are meant to be good, safe times where people can get out of the library and let loose for a little."
"I think it is upsetting that we have already had a slew of controversial themes, which instead of doing what themes are supposed to do (being a fun experience) have resulted in debate."
"I think that College Houses should be held to a higher standard."
"No matter what the theme of a party is, people do NOT have to dress up if they do not want to... If you have an objection with the party, don't attend."
"I honestly feel that the fallout from the Mansion and State School parties is ridiculous...It seems to me that both parties attracted a good crowd, and even though their themes might not have been entirely politically correct, the underclassmen enjoyed them and that is what is important."
"People need to get over themselves. Starting a protest over a social house party feels like more of a cry for attention than throwing a Playboy party ever was to begin with... What people wear to Ladd house on a Saturday night concerns me little."
"There is an absence of 'more dancing, less drinking' parties. Drinking should not be an event of itself, but a complement to an existing event."
Some additional responses suggested that Office of Residential Life should have more oversight over party themes. On the contrary, the IHC has taken the stance that the student body should continue to be responsible for its own actions and not rely on others to determine right from wrong. Only in cases where Houses and the IHC have failed to fulfill their responsibilities as self-editors should ResLife have the obligation to intervene.
It seems that the take-home message from this debate is that as a student body, we represent a wide spectrum of what we view as appropriate and inappropriate in regards to social events on our campus. Moving forward, and keeping in mind that we are a system funded by the College, the Houses will consider this spectrum to a greater degree when planning events.
Furthermore, since this event, the IHC has begun to use its meetings to consider the impact of Houses' events and to continue to encourage a wide variety of events on any given night.
In short, we would like to encourage the Houses and all other social groups on campus to be self-regulating: to think twice about events that could be offensive, and why, before carrying them out. This can all be accomplished without placing unnecessary restraints on the creativity and enthusiasm of our students.
We would like to thank each individual who has engaged in this important and somewhat unprecedented debate.
We ask you to continue to voice your opinions, listen to those around you, and consider the underlying issues that may influence those opinions.
As usual, the greater Bowdoin community is always welcome to attend IHC, BSG, and College House meetings to let their opinions be heard.
We hope this debate results in a more thoughtful social atmosphere on campus.
Lindsey Bruett '09 is the President of the Inter-House Council and Keri Forbringer '10 is the Secretary. Vice President Dan Hetherman '09, Events Coordinator Chelsea Jackson '09, and Treasurer Simon Ou '10 also contributed to this op-ed.