Is party life a figment of the past?

ABIGAIL SCHAUB
PHOTOGRAPHER

LEXIE THAYER
LAYOUT EDITOR

3/30/2026

At Alma College, there are five social fraternities and one social sorority that are allowed to host open-to-campus parties. Despite six potential venues, there has been a notable lack of public parties within the Greek community this semester.

In my opinion, there are likely multiple causes for this new phenomenon. Namely, I believe that the low turnout of student support is pushing Greek organizations to hold private events with other Greek organizations instead of public events.

In previous semesters, open parties were a regular part of campus life, with multiple Greek organizations throwing every weekend, sometimes even on the same day. And, even with the competition of sharing a day, the student turnout was still enough to encourage throwing again.

However, there has been a noticeable shift in student culture, especially with competition from Wayside, and a variety of bars becoming more mainstream on weekends than attending on-campus parties.

“As a senior who has been a brother of a fraternity since freshman year, I have seen the overall decline in all campus activities. It’s from parties to club participation to even actual attendance at school-sponsored events. This isn’t just limited to parties, even though that’s where we are beginning to see it the most,” said Zeta Sigma’s Social Chair Jackson Eelbode (‘26). 

Moreover, when Greek organizations decide to throw privately instead of publicly, there is no need to worry about turnout or any possible liability that comes from strangers inside the house. 

“Earlier this year, Odenwald mentioned a point during a meeting: Fraternities were doing a lot publicly. Why would you join a fraternity if they are going to host for you and clean up all the party stuff for you, and you can just enjoy it? With this, he was proposing the solution of private events to increase recruitment numbers,” said Phi Mu Alpha’s Vice President Killian Glover (‘27).

While low attendance may play a role, there are undoubtedly other factors contributing to the lack of public parties on campus.

Debatably, there is a lot of effort and behind-the-scenes work that goes into throwing parties.

“I also think it could be burnout. It’s a lot of effort to throw a party! For example, at Kappa Iota, they always provide snacks and water, as well as having multiple sober hosts,” said Lily Sierakowski (‘28).

Despite these factors, I believe that fraternities and sororities throwing open parties are vital to keeping an overall positive campus atmosphere.

Moreover, while private events offer convenience, open parties have historically played an important role in bringing the community together, which is something that Alma College is currently missing. 

Nonetheless, there are upcoming parties despite these tribulations. Phi Mu Alpha’s yearly jazz party in collaboration with Tau Kappa Epsilon will take place on April 10th. 

Moving forward, increasing collaboration between Greek organizations could help revive the public party life. Perhaps the excitement from two different organizations collaborating will spark excitement in the party sphere again.

While not being a party, Kappa Iota’s Luxury Liner formal event was open to campus on March 28th, with 83 tickets being sold for RISE advocacy.

This to me shows that it’s clear Alma’s student body still values social events, and while frequent parties may be a thing of the past, the party spirit remains alive and well.