In the fall of 2001, 300 students took to the President's lawn to protest what they perceived a crackdown by police on the party scene - and general social life - at Tufts. Three semesters later, the majority of students say that social life on campus has somewhat improved or not changed during their attendance at the University, a Daily public opinion poll showed.
Of 148 students polled, 46 percent have not seen a change, while 32 percent think it has somewhat improved.
But just because things have not changed, students are not entirely dissatisfied with campus social life. While students of all years were close to agreement about the character of campus social life, the poll suggested that seniors are more satisfied overall with the campus social scene.
According to the poll, 57 percent of seniors say their expectations of campus social life have been met, while only 42 percent of freshmen, 38 percent of sophomores, and 40 percent of juniors agree.
Although most students have not noticed a significant change in campus social life, administrators feel options for entertainment have expanded recently. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said that last year saw a "major change in social options" because of the work of a policy group formed after a student forum on social life.
"People were saying the campus in general is too dependent on the Greek system to provide social activities," Reitman said.
Though the Greek system has high visibility on campus, the poll revealed that many students do not choose to attend fraternity and sorority events on weekends.
The majority of students polled said they do not frequently attend Greek house parties. An estimated 15 percent of students are involved in the Greek system and a much larger percentage of the student body attends Greek events. But 53 percent of students polled rated their frequency of fraternity party attendance a "1" on a scale of "1" to "5," "5" being most often.
Students voiced dissatisfaction with the role of the Greek system in campus social life, saying there are "too many drinking-centered activities" on campus. One student said the biggest problem with campus social life is that "it's all frats." Another said the Greek system is poor and weak, which may be attributed to an "anti-fun administration."
However, fraternities are not the only option for campus entertainment on the weekends. Since students protested a police crackdown on parties in the fall of 2001, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate and administrators have been working to develop weekend programming for students.
"The fraternities have played a large part in social life on campus the last few years, but there's plenty of untapped opportunities," said TCU President Eric Greenberg, who was a leader in many of the efforts to improve campus social life last year. Non-Greek or dry social activities are there, but "people just have to look."
For example, Club Hotung, held every Friday night, is an alternative place students can go for music and dancing. The club's hours were extended last year as part of the policy group's effort, and students of age are allowed to drink there. Events such as the Sailing Into Spring cruise this Friday, drama department productions, and music performances provide students with a variety of options for social activities, Greenberg said.
Other groups within the University, the Student Activities office, the Program Board, and other groups work to provide "a variety of kinds of opportunities that are both just social in nature, that are co-curricular in nature, that that are mingling in nature," according to Reitman.
Though Reitman and Greenberg tout the virtues of on-campus programming, some students expressed unhappiness with what they saw as too many activities focused on one specific group, while still another said Tufts students do not have enough school spirit. One student said Spring Fling, the Naked Quad Run, and Fall Fest are the only "campus-wide events that a large proportion of the students attend together and enjoy."
Students also vocalized feelings that, as one student expressed, "the word isn't spread well about the activities."
Another factor that fragments campus social life is the draw of nearby Boston and Cambridge. "People leave campus too often on the weekends," one student said. Of students polled, 73 percent said they go into Boston for social reasons at least 3 times a month, while 32 percent go at least 6 times a month.
The proximity of Tufts to Boston and Cambridge attracts a number of students to the University who wish to take advantage of what the city and its surrounding areas have to offer. There is "less need to focus entirely on campus for your social life," Reitman said, leading to less occasions for the entire campus to come together.
Reitman believes that the combination of on- and off-campus social options gives Tufts students a positive experience, unique from the experiences of students at other universities. But 39 percent of students surveyed see social life at Tufts' either "slightly worse" or "much worse" than at other institutions. Only 18 percent said Tufts' social life is either "much better" or "slightly better" than that of other universities.
Greenberg said he does not have enough knowledge of other universities to make a comparison, but that sometimes students become too narrow-minded in judging their school. "Sometimes we're stuck in our bubble here and we don't realize how it is at other schools," he said.
The University, however, maintains committed to improving social life, according to Reitman.
"I think school spirit is pretty high these days compared to where it used to be," Reitman said. He said class spirit-building events, such as the senior welcome back and the sophomore run/walk/roll, have been established to further class spirit.
Though Reitman sees opportunities to gather the student body as a way to increase school spirit, a lack of resources forces the number of these events to be limited. "Those kinds of events cost the student government and the University lots of money," he said.
