The second annual "Black Friday" parties consisted of fewer reported hospital visits, heightened security and a great time for many DePauw students.
The administration proposed that "Black Monday" be changed to "Black Friday" in 2014 due to a decrease in class attendance on the following Tuesday. This change came to fruiton last year, making this past Friday the second annual "Black Friday." There has been much speculation, however, as to whether the transition was good, bad or made any difference in the safety of the Greek population after their admittance of new members.
Prior to last year, Black Monday was a Greek life tradition taking place the day after sorority bids were released wherein the new members of each Greek chapter celebrated their first night out together. Oftentimes, this night resulted in binge-drinking and unsafe activity, particularly for first-year students. Hospital visits were not uncommon, and the University hoped that moving this event to Friday would make for a safer evening for everyone involved.
On the Monday following men's and women's bid days last year, the University provided Greek chapters with snacks and games to discourage students from drinking on that night. The University also forbade students from entering fraternity property for the entire evening. While sanctions were not as strict on the Monday following bid day this year, the number of students who went to fraternities on that Monday was drastically lower than that of years past.
Many fraternity chapters continued the transition this year by throwing registered parties on Friday night instead of the Monday following bid weekend. Director of Public Safety Angela Nally told The DePauw after "Black Friday" last year that fraternities are not allowed to register parties on weekdays, meaning fraternities could not hire outside security in past years. This, according to Nally, created a higher safety risk.
This year, the Public Safety active report stated that one student was sent to the hospital from the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity on Friday. This is in contrast to last year, when two hospital visits were made on "Black Friday," according to an article in the Feb. 9, 2015 issue of The DePauw.
Sophomore Caitlin Muller prefers "Black Monday" to "Black Friday" because she believes it was a de-stresser from the drudgery of recruitment. She also sees "Black Monday" as a great bonding experience with new brothers and sisters.
“'Black Monday' would have been really fun because everyone would have just gotten their bids, but no one would’ve showed up to class on Tuesday," Muller said. "So I suppose 'Black Friday' is the most viable option.”
Nally condemns the phrase "Black Friday" due to "the problematic language with 'black' anything when it refers to black outs."
A blackout is a phenomenon caused by significant intake of alcohol in a short period of time. Blackouts may lead to short- and long-term memory loss, inducing a complete inability to recall the past.
With another year in the books, Public Safety hopes to continue to make this annual tradition a fun and safe experience for students.
