Photo: Creative Commons via Loving Earth
The end of the year stretch: No, we’re NOT talking about finishing those lingering response papers, or trying to make up for lost time in discussion section. We’re talking about something much more important—party themes. They’re such a bitch to come up with at the end of the year. This week we saw a well-meaning attempt at Heaven and Hell, and a bizarre melange of patriotism and horror. More Party Report, after the jump.
Friday night: Student group formal
Roadies in hand, members of a certain cultural student group board buses Friday night to the Hyatt Regency Chicago. While the upperclassmen choose to stay sober for most of the ride (who wants to have fun on the bus but not at the place?) certain freshman decide to go big and start chugging right away—leading to a schwasted frosh being wrestled away from the window as he tries to upchuck. In the actual ballroom, students join in a sweaty, gyrating mass as they dance to such middle school classics as “Get Low.” While the music may have been questionable, we have to applaud the students running the event for managing to convince the hotel workers to turn the lights down to appropriate hook-up level, despite workers’ protests that it’s a “fire hazard.”
Friday night: Frat party
An on-campus frat house decides to deplete its supply of alcohol Friday night. Partygoers have no problem chasing with a jug of expired orange juice, despite the pungent egg odor. The jungle juice consists of a swamp-like ice tea mix. A room opens and everyone is simultaneously perplexed and impressed by what appears to be a giant yellow bed condom covering a certain frat star’s white sheets. Such genius and paranoia sparks a deep drunken desire to slide across the bed with the help of sweat drenched hands. Drunk enough, people tire of the remaining beer and move south.
Friday night: Birthday party
An off-campus double birthday party with a double theme leaves party guests confused but not disappointed. The Friday the 13th/American Celebration of Freedom theme might seem disjointed, but the free booze keeps attendants from questioning the combination of fake blood and American flags adorning the party. The party remains tame throughout the night, until some kid pukes all over the front steps of the house. Thank God for Evanston’s crappy weather. The thunderstorms take care of that mess.
Saturday night: Heaven and Hell frat party
There’s probably no better way to escape unseasonably cold weather than to enter a steamy fraternity hallway greeted by a “Welcome to Hell” sign. Note: There is no hellish attire to be seen save one brave guest in a revealing red get-up. The flaming shot is a sight to see on the “Hell” floor, while mixed drinks float around “Heaven.” The ice luge proves to be a real crowd-pleaser. Lucky guests even catch a glimpse of a notorious frat rap star creepin’ around the drink table. The fiery, red-lit “Hell” starts out as the popular one, but even “Heaven” gets more sinful as the night goes on. After slipping and sliding on the booze-soaked floor for about two hours, the crowd thins and resorts to an impromptu dance party. Eventually the party dies down as everone leaves to head to a different kind of hell—The Keg.
Saturday night: The Keg
Maybe it’s the pseudo-end of midterms (do they ever end?) or just the need to escape the bad weather, but the Keg is hopping this weekend. The booths are filled with the usual groups playing flip cup, and a few games of pong are set up in the aisles, making the walk to and from the dance floor even less navigable. The girls’ bathroom line is twenty deep by 1 a.m., prompting some line-cutting attempts and subsequent sassiness. Katy Perry’s “Firework” is a hit, as is “Build Me Up Buttercup”—not sure who to blame: TKOE for playing songs that grandparents might like or NU for liking them so much.
