Bryn Mawr’s Residential Life & Student Engagement will reportedly be announcing that the two key social events of Bryn Mawr’s “Welcome the First Years Week” (WTF Week) will “be dry and enforced by deans and staff,” according to an anonymous hall advisor (HA).
This alleged new and unprecedented enforcement comes directly from the New Student Programs & Residential Life/Student Engagement Coordinators, says an HA who requested to go by the pseudonym CT. Staff from these offices and Dean of Student Life Tomiko Jenkins will reportedly be present at these events, which have historically featured student nudity. Hall Advisors say this news raises concerns and questions about student privacy and responsibility.
There will be an enforced “no container” policy, reportedly, including water bottles or the historically favored baby bottles. Additionally, the only bags permitted will be clear plastic bags, says CT, who stated that the office is apparently seeking to encourage a “concert-like” environment for these events. While these policies do not break the Bryn Mawr Honor Code policies regarding drinking, CT says they believe they will likely encourage binge consumption of alcohol.
“Students who get excessively drunk after binging before attending events, because they cannot bring containers and pace themselves, are not going to want to go to members of the administration who are there,” said CT, “This responsibility will fall on the HAs, once again placing more work on student employees.” CT says that HAs brought this concern up in a meeting with coordinators, and that they were dismissed.
Under new Pennsylvania hazing laws passed after the death of a frat pledge at Penn State University in 2017, Bryn Mawr College took a more conservative approach to WTF Week-related traditions. In 2013, Bryn Mawr’s Dean’s Office was forced to release a statement regarding a Radnor Dorm hazing situation, which included traditions that are no longer practiced at the College.
In the past, these two WTF events have been supervised by student bouncers and hosts, who, as per Bryn Mawr’s party policy, serve to ensure parties are only attended by students in the community and that underage students are not consuming alcohol.
Spring 2023 Campus Safety Security Reports from WTF Week of March 2023 included only two reports of student hospitalization, one of which was the result of an ankle injury that occurred before noon. For comparison, the Campus Safety Security Report for the weekend of September 8, 2023, when there were no college-sponsored social events, confirmed four separate instances of alcohol-related incidents.
CT asked students to contact the Residential Life and Student Engagement Office to dispute this reported change.
Feature image by Bi-Co News Lead Graphic Designer & Social Media Manager Natalie Phan
Has tri co college life changed dramatically in 15 years?
If memory serves the only event with alcohol during freshers week was the welcome party at a Haverford dorm. Even then it was a sad “nasty ice” keg, and cups were gone within the first 20 minutes so no way to drink anything.
There was zero need for campus staff to supervise, as there was the general expectation for responsibility and respect.