By Alli Rodgers and Julie Mazziotta
Staff Writer and News Editor
At the Sept. 11th Student Government Association meeting, the Radnor dorm presidents announced that they are downgrading the annual Radnor Halloween party from a level 3 to a level 2 party, which would limit the number of partygoers.
Radnor has hosted a Level 3 Halloween party with alcohol for the past two years, after the party moved there from the Rhoads dorm in 2009. A level 3 party allows any number of partygoers that can fit in the dorm according to fire codes, while level 2 parties limit the guests at 100. In the past two years, Radnor has hosted the “wet” party with alcohol, while the school held a dry party in Thomas Great Hall.
The Radnor dorm presidents, Sophie Balis-Harris ’12 and Raella Rothman ’13, announced the change after discussions with the Radnor dorm residents.
Although the proposal came as a surprise to both students and administration, Balis-Harris and Rothman state that issues behind it have been building for some years.
The Radnor dorm presidents cited a lack of community support for the party, both financial and otherwise. The two commented in a joint email that past attempts at fund raising outside of the Radnor dorm had “always been unsuccessful” and that the cost of the party is nearly $1000.
This has left the Radnor residents with a heavy financial burden coupled with the responsibility of hosting and cleaning up after the party.
“The party is without fail a huge strain on the dorm in terms of finding bouncers and a clean-up crew,” Balis-Harris and Rothman wrote. “Every year we feel that the general community does not show respect for the living space, as Radnor is left trashed after the party.”
Mary Beth Horvath, the Director of Student Activities, met with Balis-Harris and Rothman, along with Angie Sheets, the Director of Residential Life, Sept. 7th, at a meeting the presidents requested. Horvath said that she was initially surprised by the decision, which she said did not come from the administration in any way, but understood their reasons for downgrading the party.
A lesser, but still pertinent reason given for the change were the restrictions put on parties at Bryn Mawr two years ago, when the administration required partygoers to request wristbands weeks before the event.
“Many people were upset that off campus friends couldn’t really come to the party because of the attempts to prioritize entry for other Bryn Mawr students,” they said. “We feel that since the [Radnor] community puts a significant amount of effort into the party we should be able to invite our friends to enjoy the evening with us.”
In the last week since the announcement, other dorms have considered taking over the party. The Rhoads dorm presidents sent out a Survey Monkey poll to Rhoads residents, asking if they would be interested in taking over the wet Halloween party at a level 3 designation. Another opinion currently under consideration is having Rhoads host a dry party, with Rockefeller hosting the wet, level 3 party.
The presidents stressed that they didn’t want this decision to deter students from coming to the party or any event at Radnor. “This change was made to ensure that this party is something that is beneficial to the people that live here. . . Radnor Halloween is only one of many events that we hold in the dorm, we always welcome the rest of the community to join in on them.”