Tufts' Sagging Social Scene, Part II

Tufts is a unique university. It is close enough to Boston that all of Boston's bars and clubs are accessible, but it is far enough out of the city to have a residential environment.

Yesterday, the Daily wrote that the new shuttle into the city will not solve the problems with the University's social scene. It should not be a surprise for the administration, but students actually like Tufts and want to stay on campus to party. They desire an exciting social scene at Tufts. It is our university, our friends are here, we have at least one thing in common with everyone we meet, and if we had wanted the bars and clubs of a city to be our playground, we could have gone to BU. This attachment to the campus is common to many universities. At many NESCAC schools, the administration organizes large parties open to all the students to fulfill this desire. At Tufts, fraternities have historically served this function.

The actions of the Tufts administration regarding fraternities will be under close student scrutiny for the next couple of weeks. Many upperclassmen are anxious to return to parties at DU and DTD, and freshmen have their first chance to experience the complete Tufts social scene. Many students are concerned that the administration will use any reason it can to put them back on probation. The University is worried that the frats will continue to flagrantly break rules. There are lessons for both sides to learn from the past year.

The University was right to serve the fraternities with a reminder. They must respect the rules and take responsibility for what takes place in their houses. Nonetheless, it would be a huge mistake for the administration to continue to be draconian in its treatment of the fraternities or to plan to phase-out fraternities. The administration should be thankful for fraternities. They provide an on-campus social scene. They improve relations with local residents by keeping noise within boundaries. They have to be aware of the people in their house and what those people are doing, as police often check in during parties. They keep people on campus and happy with Tufts. And for those who do not like the Greek system, and are happy with the many other social events on campus, it is an easy task to avoid it.

Fraternities realize that the administration is keeping a closer eye on them. They must show that they are able to act maturely with someone looking over their shoulder. And at the same time, the administration must give fraternities some slack, and allow them to prove themselves.