A party night on campus is full of the playful spirit, as is defined by Huizinga (1950). The party is set apart from normal time, and the anonymity and out-of-character behavior which occurs is associated with entering the often dark and crowded dorm room. Perhaps the most obvious aspect of the play which occurs during a night of drinking is drinking games. Each drinking game has its own set of rules and involves consuming large amounts of alcohol frequently. Early played the game Kings during her Saturday night out. As she reported in her log, the game can go for extended amounts of time and can lead to a lot of alcohol consumption. There is competition between those who play and the end goal of the game is to be among the winning players, that is, one of the players who has not pulled the last King card. Drinking games create a comfortable social environment for everyone involved by keeping the stakes relatively low (regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed), all the while allowing those involved to make social connections.
Another playful aspect of campus partying is the promise of a potential hookup. Smith and Berger (2010) identify the hook up as one of the major motivations for women to attend drinking parties. The excitement and anticipation of getting dressed up and potentially attracting a mate can, in a way, become playful or game-like. The anxiety builds up as the woman gets ready, hoping the outfit and makeup she chooses to wear are the right choices. The anticipation and the uncertainty of the outcome builds as the woman enters the party and searches for a mate. This act is often mediated by dancing. Interest is elevated when a couple meets and begins to dance, and the sport-like desire to "conquer" one's presumably appealing mate stirs. Aided by alcohol and the anonymity of the dark dance floor, the dancing often leads to a potential hookup. She earns the pay off and gratification and becomes the "winner" when she scores the hook up by the end of the night. Judy and Early, however, are in relationships and are not looking to hookup as many other women are during a night partying. This one aspect of the night changes the nature of the relationships they make with other males, because there is no pressure or expectation to hookup.
The gender relations become more interesting, especially for Notre Dame women. While Notre Dame women may go out with the intention of meeting a male partner, interactions with some women may be very strained and uncomfortable. Early identifies tension between a group of girls she meets at her friend's room. She identifies these women as St. Mary's students. St. Mary's, the all girl's college across the street from Notre Dame, have an uneasy relationship with Notre Dame girls. Many Notre Dame girls feel that the St. Mary's women attempt to force themselves on men because there are no men at their college. Early even identifies the women as "overeager and bubbly". The St. Mary's women are factors which complicate the game for Notre Dame women.
Attending college parties becomes ritualistic as society continues to give them significant meaning. College drinking has been called by some a "rite of passage" (Crawford and Novak 2006). With the growing amount of television shows and movies that glorify the college drinking experience, once one enters college there is the feeling to need to enter that world of college drinking. And it is only in the world of college that this type of drinking is legitimized. There are many sayings used among college students to legitimize their drinking, such as "after college it's called alcoholism". One may even be (jokingly) chastized for choosing to spend a night in doing homework, because it is expected for the weekend to be spent drinking alcohol and partying.
Smith and Berger (2010) identify a theme in womens' drinking patterns which they call "relational group ritual". This term defines the course of ritualistic events which occur in a night of partying by women who experience them as "the group". The group uses these experiences to create social bonds with one another. The generalized course of events is as follows: pregame-"going out"-storytelling. The first stage, pregaming, consists of getting ready to "go out" and pregaming with alcohol as the group. The group not only serves as a means for social connection, but the members of the group also keep an eye out for each other. The second stage, going out, follows pregaming and includes all aspects of the partying- getting to the party, continued drinking, and hooking up. Both Judy and Early outline a pregame stage followed by a going out stage in their logs, though they completed their logs at the second stage's end. The final stage is storytelling. This involves the woman sharing her experiences of the night before with the other members of the group. In my own experience, it nearly becomes expected once one wakes up the following morning for the group of friends to converge in one room or go to brunch together so that the events of the past night can be relayed or realized in the group. This sharing reinforces their social unity as the group. Most partying nights of Notre Dame women also follow this general outline.
As revealed by the results of the survey and both Judy's and Early's journals, while there may be a general outline to the "typical Notre Dame campus party", there are also a variation of activities which may take place from one night to another. Early pregamed alone before heading over to her friend's room to continue pregaming in this one account, but it is more typical for her to pregame with her roommate and her group of friends. As reported in the survey, though most on campus parties feature dancing and socializing (talking in groups), it would also be acceptable to have drinking games at the party as well. This understanding and allowance of variation of steps to fulfill an end echoes Bruner's concept of subroutines to fulfill an act (1972). There is a required understanding that these subroutines are flexible and can be replaced and the same end or purpose will be fulfilled. It does not matter whether one chooses to dance or play drinking games at the party, or gets Sbarro or goes directly back to their room, the same end purpose can be reached by the end of a night of partying.
Generally, a party weekend at the University of Notre Dame serves one major purpose. The games and play aspects of the night allow for stress relief after a difficult week of studying and the play spirit, and its ritual aspects create social bonds with those around us. A night of drinking and partying becomes so appealing to many because of its enjoyable and playful aspects, regardless of the consequences the following morning.
Another playful aspect of campus partying is the promise of a potential hookup. Smith and Berger (2010) identify the hook up as one of the major motivations for women to attend drinking parties. The excitement and anticipation of getting dressed up and potentially attracting a mate can, in a way, become playful or game-like. The anxiety builds up as the woman gets ready, hoping the outfit and makeup she chooses to wear are the right choices. The anticipation and the uncertainty of the outcome builds as the woman enters the party and searches for a mate. This act is often mediated by dancing. Interest is elevated when a couple meets and begins to dance, and the sport-like desire to "conquer" one's presumably appealing mate stirs. Aided by alcohol and the anonymity of the dark dance floor, the dancing often leads to a potential hookup. She earns the pay off and gratification and becomes the "winner" when she scores the hook up by the end of the night. Judy and Early, however, are in relationships and are not looking to hookup as many other women are during a night partying. This one aspect of the night changes the nature of the relationships they make with other males, because there is no pressure or expectation to hookup.
The gender relations become more interesting, especially for Notre Dame women. While Notre Dame women may go out with the intention of meeting a male partner, interactions with some women may be very strained and uncomfortable. Early identifies tension between a group of girls she meets at her friend's room. She identifies these women as St. Mary's students. St. Mary's, the all girl's college across the street from Notre Dame, have an uneasy relationship with Notre Dame girls. Many Notre Dame girls feel that the St. Mary's women attempt to force themselves on men because there are no men at their college. Early even identifies the women as "overeager and bubbly". The St. Mary's women are factors which complicate the game for Notre Dame women.
Attending college parties becomes ritualistic as society continues to give them significant meaning. College drinking has been called by some a "rite of passage" (Crawford and Novak 2006). With the growing amount of television shows and movies that glorify the college drinking experience, once one enters college there is the feeling to need to enter that world of college drinking. And it is only in the world of college that this type of drinking is legitimized. There are many sayings used among college students to legitimize their drinking, such as "after college it's called alcoholism". One may even be (jokingly) chastized for choosing to spend a night in doing homework, because it is expected for the weekend to be spent drinking alcohol and partying.
Smith and Berger (2010) identify a theme in womens' drinking patterns which they call "relational group ritual". This term defines the course of ritualistic events which occur in a night of partying by women who experience them as "the group". The group uses these experiences to create social bonds with one another. The generalized course of events is as follows: pregame-"going out"-storytelling. The first stage, pregaming, consists of getting ready to "go out" and pregaming with alcohol as the group. The group not only serves as a means for social connection, but the members of the group also keep an eye out for each other. The second stage, going out, follows pregaming and includes all aspects of the partying- getting to the party, continued drinking, and hooking up. Both Judy and Early outline a pregame stage followed by a going out stage in their logs, though they completed their logs at the second stage's end. The final stage is storytelling. This involves the woman sharing her experiences of the night before with the other members of the group. In my own experience, it nearly becomes expected once one wakes up the following morning for the group of friends to converge in one room or go to brunch together so that the events of the past night can be relayed or realized in the group. This sharing reinforces their social unity as the group. Most partying nights of Notre Dame women also follow this general outline.
As revealed by the results of the survey and both Judy's and Early's journals, while there may be a general outline to the "typical Notre Dame campus party", there are also a variation of activities which may take place from one night to another. Early pregamed alone before heading over to her friend's room to continue pregaming in this one account, but it is more typical for her to pregame with her roommate and her group of friends. As reported in the survey, though most on campus parties feature dancing and socializing (talking in groups), it would also be acceptable to have drinking games at the party as well. This understanding and allowance of variation of steps to fulfill an end echoes Bruner's concept of subroutines to fulfill an act (1972). There is a required understanding that these subroutines are flexible and can be replaced and the same end or purpose will be fulfilled. It does not matter whether one chooses to dance or play drinking games at the party, or gets Sbarro or goes directly back to their room, the same end purpose can be reached by the end of a night of partying.
Generally, a party weekend at the University of Notre Dame serves one major purpose. The games and play aspects of the night allow for stress relief after a difficult week of studying and the play spirit, and its ritual aspects create social bonds with those around us. A night of drinking and partying becomes so appealing to many because of its enjoyable and playful aspects, regardless of the consequences the following morning.
