The other day I was going through my Twitter feed and I came across a page called @NDDormParties. Curious as I was, I started going through their tweets and the one that stuck out the most read “Retweet if your favorite part about dorm parties is the general awkwardness, favorite if it’s the sweat.”
Being a sophomore I’m pretty familiear with the dorm party experience. Frankly, I’m glad I’m past that because my recollection of them still makes me cringe. One of the first weekends here at Notre Dame, my friends and I were very excited about going out and checking out the college scene for the first time. We got all dressed up and headed out. If I remember correctly, we were probably out for only about two hours and the night had been pretty much a bust. I’m sure we kept wandering from dorm to dorm, failing miserably at finding anything decent.
The thing about dorm parties is you never know if it’s going to be a good one or not. For freshmen especially, all you have is a dorm address and the hope that you’ll actually have some fun. Most of the time, however, you will encounter quite the opposite. If the party hasn’t been broken up by the time you get there (this happened to me several times) you will most likely be walking into a room engrossed by this cloud of humidity (100% sweat). Once you make it past this cloud, you will find you can’t move because there are 50 people crammed into a room that can only fit about 10. I distinctly remember getting hit with the door constantly because I was pressed against the wall right by it, and people stepping on my toes repeatedly.
The guys will already be beyond drunk, which just makes them kind of obnoxious. If you are looking to drink, whatever is good will be gone by the time you get there, except for the mysterious so-called “Jungle Juice” which many warned me not to go near.
Aside from this, the guy to girl ratio is always off. The parties I went to would always have a very large number of girls with only a few guys. Now for the guys this was no problem seeing as they have many options, but for us girls it is always slim pickings. If all of this isn’t bad enough, add in the awkwardness of not knowing anyone, let alone the person who is hosting the party.
Now, while dorm parties are not the selling point for Notre Dame, they are considered a rite of passage and I can gladly say that things do pick up. I have heard of people actually having fun at dorm parties don’t get me wrong. In these cases though the parties are closer gatherings where everyone or almost everyone knows each other so it’s more fun. However, you do start learning the In’s and Out’s of the ND party scene. If you were scarred from your dorm party experiences, there are plenty of other alternatives!