By Anastasia Cottone, Staff Writer
Every year, students celebrate the closing of the academic year by participating in Spring Weekend festivities. With Spring Weekend around the corner, many students are enraged that the quad party, typically held in the townhouse lawn, has been cancelled by the administration.
This party is an event that brings students together and is often highly anticipated by most upperclassmen. Several students have been questioning how the administration can cancel an event they don’t sponsor. The party itself is not an event that is planned by them, as it often consists of excessive consumption of alcohol. It takes place on school property, giving them the right to attempt to put a stop to it.
In a recent Bona Venture article, the decision to end the quad party is explained. In the article, it is stated that the quad party has, in previous years, resulted in damage to school property and students overindulging in alcohol. Administration also wants to encourage students to attend the activities that they plan for the weekend. However, what the school administration seems to be overlooking is the fact that, regardless of the location of the quad party, it will occur nonetheless. “Cancelling” it will not have the effect administration desires.
The activities the administration plans for students often consist of juvenile recreation, such as a inflatables and a mechanical bull. These activities may have interested students 10 years ago when they were children, but not now.
Students who are 21 years old or over should be allowed to participate in the event because they are of the legal drinking age of New York State. One option for the school administration to consider is possibly ID’ing people who come to the quad. Therefore, there would not be any underage drinking taking place and the students who are there still maintain their right to drink on campus and enjoy the tradition of the quad party.
Student Government was not involved in the decision to cancel the party, resulting in some students feeling blindsided by the university. There were open discussions that took place that could have given students the option to voice their opinion, but ultimately the decision was made by administration.
Junior Emily Sacco said, “I think it’s so important because it brings people from all classes together to all hang out and make new memories. Without it, you will just find more dorm parties and off-campus incidents.”
Brandon Pawlik, another junior, agreed.
“I think it’s annoying that the school took it [the quad party] away without asking any of the students,” Pawlik said. “It is a part of the tradition of Spring Weekend.”
Some students think administration can’t really stop the upperclassman party from happening.
“The quad party is going to happen no matter what, regardless of location,” said Mya Cappellino, a junior.
Students are not happy that the decision to cancel the quad party was made without consulting them. This made some of the students feel they have no voice. Administration should make a better effort to listen to what students want to do to celebrate the end of the academic year, rather than forcing regulations upon us.
