Eckerd College part 2: The party scene

After telling you all about Eckerd's campus, academic, and activity life, it is now time to tell you all about the party life. Usually there's a party somewhere on campus Wednesday-Saturday nights. Obviously they're most common Friday and Saturday nights, but there can be exceptions. Parties usually occur at the residences named Kappa, Nu or Omega (read about residence dorms and life here), and there are sometimes exceptions. Besides the normal parties, Eckerd also has special parties that are repeated every year, and these traditions are what I am about to tell you about here.

Usually there is a Facebook group announcing the official date of when specifically themed Eckerd parties are, but I usually heard about them by word of mouth (or by following the music). All parties are DJ-ed and organized by Eckerd's own students. Here I will tell you about these traditional parties at Eckerd and what to expect.

First Friday.

First of all, I should start by mentioning that on every first Friday of the month, Eckerd provides free bus transportation to downtown St. Petersburg so that students can enjoy the bars, clubs and nightlife there without having to worry about driving home. The shuttle buses start at around 7pm, running every ten to twenty minutes until 2am. The pick up/drop off location on campus is at the mailboxes, and the downtown pick up/drop off location is near the corner of 1st Ave. South and 2nd St. South.

Toga Party.

Like many universities across America (not sure if this exists internationally too? ), Eckerd also hosts the notorious Toga Party every year in the fall semester. If you have never been to a university in the USA, you may have assumed that these kinds of parties only happen in movies, but no, it's very "real life".

Source

This photo above is a blurred scene of the Toga Party at Kappa, viewed from the upper level of the residence. It gets extremely crowded for a school campus that has a relatively small population!

At the Toga Party, most students dress up in just their bedsheets, and others put more effort into their costumes by actually cutting and sewing cloth together. Personally, I didn't want to spend any money on buying a toga costume, and I am too lazy/have no patience to make anything, so I just used my bedsheet (but I arranged it in a cute way) and secured it using safety pins and a belt. The Toga Party takes place in the courtyard of the Kappa residence. Actually, all parties in the traditional residences (like Kappa and Zeta) are hosted in their courtyards.

Angels and Devils.

This party is also hosted at Kappa. It's quite straightforward, you decide whether you want to dress as an angel or the devil. Usually I would go dressed in either a white dress or a black dress (I switched it up every year) and I put some make-up on, but I wouldn't wear the whole costume with devil horns or halos. I like to keep it simple, but it's totally ok if you want to go all out. I admire other people's dedication into making their costumes look really intricate and cool.

Halloween Ball.

This is an event organized by Campus Activities where you can buy tickets to go to a venue where food and music is included, and you wear your Halloween costume. All events organized by Campus Activities which are located off campus will include free bus transportation to and from the event. I went only twice, because I was busy the other two years, but I remember that one of the times that I attended the Halloween Ball, I wore a cute costume. I dressed up as a Minion.

Although a few other people were also disguised as Minions that night, they all had their own unique interpretation of the costume. I didn't spend much money on mine, I bought some cute black bootie shoes which I still use often, a minion T-shirt from the kids' section at Walmart, some red suspenders from Claire's, and big funny glasses which were also from Claire's.

The year before that, I dressed up as Cleopatra (because I had the right hairstyle at the time), and I bought the costume from Walmart. I preferred the Minion costume because I put it together myself and added my own original touch to it. Be creative with your Halloween costumes (and with every other costume at the Eckerd-themed parties)!

ABC.

Anything But Clothes. Use your imagination and go to the party wearing whatever you want except for clothes. Some people go dressed in cardboard boxes or plastic or paper bags, or they go wearing colored tape on their bodies. Others make clothes out of empty cartons of beer or plastic wrappers. I think guys have an easier time with designing their costumes than girls do (because they have less to cover), but it all depends on your creativity! Actually, I think one guy showed up to the party just wearing a sock or some sort of covering on his 'you-know-where'.

Nu Christmas.

This last party before winter break is hosted at Nu. Come by dressed as Santa, an elf, a reindeer, or anything you really want. Usually most of the rooms at Nu are decorated with Christmas lights, fake snow, window stickers, and some even have Christmas trees or menorahs. It's quite the show and it's a great way to wrap up the fall semester.

Around the world.

This party is quite an epic one. Taking place in Omega near the end of the second semester, this party requires much imagination, creativity, and preparation on the part of everyone living in Omega who wishes to participate. Every apartment in Omega should choose a party-theme and decorate their living room and kitchen based on that theme. Usually each apartment also provides the beverages. When the party starts, students may go "around the world", basically around Omega (since it's oval shaped), and they can enter in any apartment that is participating in the party.

When my flatmates and I participated, we decorated our place as Neverland and dressed up as the Lost Boys and Peter Pan.

In this photo you can see how we decorated our windows with the Peter Pan/Neverland theme. The decoration inside the apartment was even better. It took some work, but we managed to get big palm tree branches and natural things to turn the living room into the secret den of the Lost Boys.

Other theme examples of Around the World include Old Gregg, Crazy Laboratory, Not-Holy Nuns, etc. Use your imagination!

Spring Ball.

This is a second semester end of the year dance organized by Campus Activities which takes place at the Jannus Live venue in Downtown St. Petersburg. You need to buy tickets for this because dinner and a live band are included, as well as one or two drinks. Every year there is a different theme for the ball, one year it was Flappers and Dappers, another year was White and Black.

It's not necessary to dress according to the theme, but it's fun if you want to. When it was Flappers and Dappers, we had fun trying to find and put together the attire and accessories that fit into the party scene of the 1920s. Wearing sequins, feathers, long gloves, head bands, are some examples. Think of The Great Gatsby! As I mentioned earlier, officially organized events like this which are located off campus include free bus transportation to and from the event.

Kappa Ball.

Immediately after getting back from the Spring Ball, everyone changes and goes to Kappa to party some more. Kappa Ball is notorious for it's theme, because the theory is that after the Spring ball, the girls take off their dresses and the guys put them on. So the result is that guys show up to Kappa Ball wearing dresses and girls are in their underwear/lingerie. Again, not necessary to do that, but some people really like to go all out and it's quite entertaining.

Pijama party.

Another straightforwardly themed party: wear your pijamas and party at Omega. This party is not a particularly traditional one and it's not anything outrageous or crazy. The last time I participated I just wore my onesie pijama, hung out with a few friends at their Omega apartment and played beer pong, and later we smoked shisha on my balcony (of course I had my own hookahs! ).

Zeta Zoo.

Over at the residence named Zeta, there's one special party that's hosted there. At the Zeta Zoo party, you are free to dress up as any animal you'd like. Again, it's not necessary to dress up but it's definitely fun and it makes it more interesting for everyone else when people show up with cool costumes. I didn't dress up (loser), but I (temporarily) wore a student's live boa constrictor around my neck and shoulders. That counts, right?

Cowboys and Indians / Ninjas and Pirates.

One of the biggest parties of the year is hosted by both Omega and Nu residences. Formerly known as Cowboys and Indians, residents of Omega and Nu would each represent one side (for example, Omega was Cowboys and Nu was Indians), and the rest of the students from the other residencies could freely choose a side to be on and dress up as the part. Then, the biggest water fight on campus begins. There is no real "point" to this event, except to dress up as one team, and if you see someone from the other team, get them wet using water guns, water balloons, buckets of water, and anything you can find. Eventually there is some dancing and music that takes place at some residence.

This party unfortunately has given rise to many controversies. After addressing the fact that calling one team "the Indians" was racist and stereotypical because it portrays Native Americans as being barbaric (and calling them "Indians" is incorrect in the first place), the name of the party was eventually changed to Ninjas and Pirates. Putting that aside however, changing the name does not address the fact that the water fight and the big hype has caused a lot of dorm damage, and many students who are not participating in the event get attacked and wet when they do not want to be a part of it.

Many students are concerned about their pets who might get anxious and stressed during the water fight, so they have to be kept indoors. A few years ago, the party got a bit out of hand and the fire alarm was pulled at Omega, which further caused stress to both the residents and their pets. Usually many students who are not participating in the event get a bit angry.

Nerds and Jocks.

A lesser known but still popular themed event at Eckerd College is the Nerds and Jocks party at Nu. Simply choose whether you want to dress as and represent a nerd or an athlete. I consider myself both a nerd and an athlete, but for this particular event I decided to dress as an athlete because I already had my tennis outfit ready and it was easier to put that on than to have to be creative and figure out a nerd costume (ok, I could have worn my Sailor Moon shirt).

Kappa Kitchen.

This party's purpose is to raise money at Kappa to help pay for Kappa Karnival. Students living at Kappa will make barbecued food like burgers and hot dogs and sell them while the party goes on. There is no particular dress code or theme here, just come like it's a normal party and if you're hungry, buy some food freshly made by the Kappa Kreatures (this is another way to call the residents of Kappa)!

Nu Thrift Shop.

Another Nu party; come to this one dressed in any random thrift-shop looking outfit! You don't necessarily have to buy clothes from a thrift shop, unless you really don't own anything old-looking or thrift-shop worthy. Basically putting together and wearing anything random-looking (for example: shorts, tie-dyed or Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, straw hat, long socks or flip flops (or both)) is perfectly accepted.

South Beach Sessions.

Every once in a while there will be a party hosted in none of the residences. These exceptions take place at the South Beach on campus. This party takes a bit more effort and work to organize because the students organizing it have to bring the music and party lights equipment out to the beach pavilion, but when a lot of people come out and it's a successful party, it's all worth the effort.

Kappa Karnival.

This is the biggest, and probably the most popular end of the year event that Eckerd is well known for. Campus Activities uses the money made from Kappa Kitchen and the left over money that the student clubs didn't use to help finance this epic event. Basically, Kappa Karnival is a great big party event taking place on Kappa field with carnival rides, fried foods, activities, games, crafts, and live music.

The ferris wheel doesn't get old! I prefer this to the spinny rides which sometimes make me feel dizzy. At Kappa Karnival, there's something fun and enjoyable for everyone!

From the top of the ferris wheel, you can see the whole Karnival.

This event is not only for Eckerd students to enjoy; Eckerd faculty and staff members are also invited and can bring their families. The best part is that everything in this event is free, and students can invite a non-Eckerd guest. I am personally not a huge carnival ride person (I prefer rollercoasters with drops rather than spinny rides), but I do really like the anti-gravity ride that they have every year. The food that they offer includes fried dough, hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, and some other things like desserts and cakes which can vary year to year.

The live music at Kappa Karnival varies every year, once the school hired some random rappers to perform, another year it was our own students who sang and performed.

The Karnival ends at midnight if I recall correctly, but usually after that everyone goes to Kappa to continue the party a little longer until it is finally broken up by the campus security.

Extra information.

Alcohol and drug use.

Are you wondering about the presence and/or pressure of drugs and alcohol on campus? It is true that most people partake in some form of alcohol drinking and drugs, but I don't think that there is a pressure to participate and throughout my entire experience at Eckerd, I have never felt pressured to drink or use any drug. I didn't even drink until the spring semester of my Junior year. During my Freshman and Sophomore years, I went to parties with my friends and was completely sober. Nobody thought that I was weird, nor did anyone treat me differently for choosing not to drink or use drugs. Actually, many people told me that they respected me a lot for that.

Campus Security.

The campus security officers are nearly always vigilant and present at campus parties, but they are not overbearing or annoying. There is a rule of no glass bottle use (which makes sense, to avoid any possible broken glass and injuries), so if they see you with a glass bottle they'll tell you to use a plastic cup instead. Also they will often break up the party when it gets past 1 or 2am, which is when the quiet hours kick in. In general, the security officers are there to help and assist students when there is a problem, which is nice.