Public Safety Enforces New Party Policy

By Andrew McIntosh
News Editor

Only four weekends into the fall semester, students across campus have already noticed that the new party policy is being enforced to its full extent.

Effective since September 1, the policy requires that any party with 75 or more attendees must be registered with the Dean of Student Services. The new policy also reclassifies parties into three categories, each one having special restrictions to which hosts must adhere or risk the party’s break-up by Public Safety.

"This is a policy that a lot of people worked on last year. It’s rational, it makes sense, but it’s still under review," said Mike Whaley, dean of student services.

The new policy is a departure from the previously ambiguous classification of parties as "open" and "closed." The policy also aims to prevent alcohol-related problems from occurring at parties.

"Public Safety wants students to be able to have good, safe parties," said Maryann Wiggin, director of public safety.

But two student parties on Brainard Avenue met with very different reactions from Public Safety last weekend.

According to Dan Lawren ’99, he and some friends were throwing a birthday party for a housemate last Friday when Wiggin approached the house with Public Safety officers. Wiggin said there had been a noise complaint, and that she would return later to see if the noise problem was solved.

Lawren said that he shut off the music in the house, but when Wiggin returned half an hour later she told the students the party was over. Lawren had not filed an event form with the Dean of Student Services.

"At one point, she said there was some destruction ...she walked me down the street and showed me some broken bottles like 10 houses down ...they were trying to find a reason just to stop our good time," Lawren said. "They didn’t count heads, they just closed the party."

The next night, Lylah Martin ’99 threw a party at her house several doors away. Martin and her housemates had filed an event form, and before the party began Public Safety officers arrived at her house. According to Martin, Wiggin quizzed her on the rules of the policy.

"Initially [Wiggin] was professional and somewhat skeptical, but as soon as she realized we had done our homework she was super cool, laid back and relieved," Martin said.

Martin described how Public Safety officers inspected the house for the proper signs and food quantities.

"Not once did we get a cold shoulder or any kind of behavior from any of them. It was annoying, but they knew they were being annoying," Martin said.

Gun shots fired outside Fayerweather Gymnasium in December of 1997 prompted Peter Patton, then the interim dean of the college, to impose an indefinite moratorium on open parties. Over several months, a party policy committee composed of faculty, students, and administrators met to hammer out a new policy to address safety concerns.

"The committee was very concerned with developing policy to help students learn the elements of being a good host," Whaley said.

Starting on October 1, all event forms must be filled out by a student who has already gone through a host training session. Five sessions are being offered this fall, with the final session this semester taking place on October 12.

At Thursday’s training session, Associate Director of Public Safety David Meyer explained what Public Safety looks for when investigating a party.

"We don’t card people. We’ll check the bar, we will look at people in the crowd ...Public Safety does not per say go around to parties and say ‘you’re too loud, shut it down,’" Meyer said. "What makes us break up parties depends on a lot of variables."

According to Martin, following the rules of the party policy was not too much of an inconvenience. However, she said that Public Safety did make her somewhat edgy with several visits during the night.

"If you’re going to throw a party, be prepared, read up on it and it will be easy. It’s not worth fighting," Martin said.

Bill Wilson, president of the WSA, said that he felt Wesleyan should not measure its own party policy up to that of other schools.

"I don’t think we have to follow suit and have draconian rules here because there are problems in other places," Wilson said. "For me Wesleyan is the kind of place where you can sit on Foss Hill and smoke a joint with your friends. I don’t think that’s going to be the case next spring."

Additional Reporting By Becky Trout