Westminster College - Argo Yearbook (New Wilmington, PA)

Page 20 text:

The All-College Guide To What Every Student Needs To Know About Chowin ' Down and Drinkin ' Up PARTY Webster, the prolific dictio- nary author, defined par- ty simply a a social gath- ering and the entertainment provided for it. With this broad definition, Webster left the field wide open, and so students came up with ingenious ideas for entertaining themselves. The simplest parties were those which were held in individual rooms. As these were usually spur-of-the mo- ment affairs, entertainment was usual- ly conversation coupled with a back- ground of stereo music. The volume and topics of conversation depended on the refreshments being served. Popcorn and iced tea were the fa- vorites at some of the tamer parties. Lynne Illis and Laura Burke added a delicious twist to one of their parties with a bit of sugar and food coloring in their popcorn. Despite the restrictions concerning alchoholic beverages, illegal room parties continued to be popular. These gatherings ranged from two friends sharing a bottle of Lambrusco, to a wild and crazy half-kegger in- volving most of the hall, to stuffing towels under the door to hide the aroma of the wildwood weed. Greek parties rated among the more creative bashes held by students. Organized parties, called smokers by fraternities and rush parties by sorori- ties, were where hopeful pledges had their final opportunity to learn about the different fraternities or sororities. The combined efforts of a fraternity and a sorority resulted in mixers and house parties. Basically, the entertainment at par- ties consisted of loud music to dance to and lots of beer. Theme parties such as the Theta Chi tunnel party and Lake and Grounds Day, the Phi Kappa Tau pajama party and the Al- pha Sigma Phi beach party became more popular. Toga parties, of course, were courtesy of Animal House. Just about any event was occasion enough to throw a party, as far as most were concerned. For many stu- dents, weekend parties at the frats were the ideal form of entertainment. Some, however, agreed with Linda Drumm that they were stupid . Ro- mance Watson, a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, enjoyed frat parties and found them to be a great place to meet people — especially fe- male-types. As long as students continued crav- ing entertainment to get their minds off their studies, parties of all kinds thrived. -Amy Wagner 5 Enjoying a ZTA Phi Tau mixer are Laura Rowell, Karen Knab, and Terri Stewart. -J. Potts Sig Kaps Paula Baron, Paula Mays, ka Jewell, Misty Moore, Kathy Sullivan, and S Cintron entertain freshman rushees. -K. P Strom