Author: Michael Darling
The damndest thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I was with some friends and we were heading to a party when we ran into a throng of first-years at the edge of campus. We proceeded on our merry way to the party until we noticed that the first-year pack had started following us as if we were going to lead them to the Promised Land. This Night of the Living Dead like image was found to be rather disturbing by my friends and I. We eventually lost the crowd when we started talking about how great it will be to go home and get some sleep. Conveniently, this first-year multitude fell for our ruse and we were able to get to our destination without anyone tailing us.
So, why did I bring this little anecdote up? Well, this year’s first-year crop seems to be raising the ire of the upperclassmen. Now, I just want to make it clear that I don’t come to condemn the class of 2012. Yes, they haven’t been the best guests when they go off campus, but it is not entirely their fault. The segregated first-year-only housing plan does not work because, amongst other things, there are no older students there to teach the new students how to drink properly. Instead, the only older students in the dorm are employed by Oxy. It also doesn’t help that the recent Alcohol Awareness Week presentations were just a little bit better than abstinence-only drinking education. So, to deal with this absence of proper drinking information, I am here to fill the void with a short crash course on how to be a good guest off campus.
One: Know what the Party is. There are three types of parties. There are private parties, most often these are Greek mixers or semi-formals. You should only be there if you have received an invitation. Then there are birthday parties which are supposed to be semi-private. The birthday person does not want people besides his/her friends there, so it’s best if you and your random friends stay home unless you know the birthday boy/girl/entity. Honestly, would you like it if I came to your birthday party and ate your cake? At the very least, bring your own alcohol for yourself or to share with the birthday honoree. Lastly there are open parties where the rager is for the community. However, you should still know the hosts if you’re going to the party. Seek them out and introduce yourself if you need to. I would recommend making a donation.
Two: Don’t Make a Mess. Remember, you are a guest at someone’s house. They might open the place up for an evening, but the rest of the week, they live there. So, don’t break things, don’t steal things and overall just respect the place. Would you like it if strange people came to your place, broke your things and passed out on your bed in a pool of their own vomit? Well, I would hope not. Hosts don’t like when you vomit on their lawn. In fact, your fellow guests won’t enjoy being near the person who puked either.
Three: Don’t Be a Jerk. How do you ensure that people will want to have you back the next time they throw an event? It’s simple, don’t make an ass out of yourself. If you are asked to leave, do it. Respect your fellow guests. Last year, for example, there was a guy who gained notoriety for intentionally knocking people’s cups out of their hands. If your idea of fun involves getting your jollies by ruining other people’s party experience, you need to rethink a few things. Most importantly, don’t start fights. We’re trying to have fun on a weekend here, we don’t want to have to deal with some drunken idiots who will only wind up spoiling our fun. Conveniently this year has been largely fight free, but this is worth repeating.
So, if we just follow these simple rules and basically respect each other, we can all have a good time. Think of it this way: If we all give each other a little respect, hopefully, no one will have to write articles like this again and that will be a better, better day.
Michael Darling is a junior History major. He can be reached at mdarling@oxy.edu.
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