The Winter and Partying

It seems the Rochester winter is finally beginning to descend upon us, bringing with it biting winds, a gray winter sky, and precipitation which is neither rain nor snow, but something in between. Without a doubt, the winter will be cold and snowy. It always is. So, my question is: how will the change in season affect campus, and specifically the party scene?

Campus first. Let's begin with the obvious. There will be more warm clothes, more people in the tunnels, fewer people walking around outside at any given moment, and many more people in the dorms. This last change may result in higher grades. I wonder if there is any noticeable correlation between the weather and average GPAs on campus. My hypothesis is that as the temperature goes down, grades go up. The off-setting factor may be lower morale and energy brought about by the cold, but I still think the extra incentive to stay inside and study will increase grades slightly. More subtle changes will be a shift in attendance at the dining halls. Most people on the academic quad will probably go to Douglass more, and perhaps the Pit will see some higher revenues. Sue B people will probably forego the walk to Douglass and eat at Danforth. Starbucks too will probably see some more profits due to an increased demand for warm drinks. And the libraries will probably be less crowded. Extracurriculars might slow down as well. Maybe people are used to it and none of this will really change.

Now on to the party scene. Off-campus parties? Fuhgeddaboudit. Not happening. Only the really dedicated party goers will make the trek over the bridge, so I fully expect that the off-campus parties will really slow down. This would be a big boost to the Frat Quad. Unfortunately, one major issue here is that there are only 4 open frats on campus (is it 3?). The rest are on probation. So every weekend, anyone trying to get into a party will probably have to wait outside in line. Imagine that! People will inevitably be under-dressed for the weather, and will have to stand outside! Sounds awful. I'm pretty sure most people would wait for maybe five minutes and then leave. Or they just won't go. One or the other. And even those who wait in line will probably be rewarded with some of the most crowded parties you will see during the year. However, I expect this to level off. At first, there will be long lines and crowding, but after people discover these difficulties, they may just choose to stay in the dorm. The true party-goers will be revealed, and the less dedicated ones will be weeded out. The question is, will the drinking just shift to the dorm? I would bet that there will be a slightly higher rate of incidents in the dorms due to people drinking in their rooms or the like. Instead of going out, people will stay in. Simple.

A more subtle effect may be more lost jackets and warm clothes. If people do dress warmly for the frats, they will have to offload their jackets and other warmer clothes when they get inside. Then they go inside, dance,  drink, and then leave, forgetting the winter coats and gloves! On second thought, I think it would be too cold to completely forgot, so let me remedy my prediction. There will probably be more people who leave and then have to come back. Even then, this number will probably be low, but there might be a slight increase in lost clothing.

We'll see in the coming months how many of my predictions turn out to be right.