Griffin Holifield ‘27
UVM Post
Parties at Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) usually stick to a certain formula: @SLCUnderground posts a flyer that appears on your Instagram feed with a location, theme, and time. Students show up to said location, socialize, dance to blasting music, and then it's over. During the second week of the semester, word spread on Fizz about a possible “frat-themed” party taking place at Slonim Woods. The announcement for the party came that Saturday, and its flyer was rather striking.
Photo by @SLCUnderground
It featured a collage of several images over a gingham plaid background. The collage included a “Saturdays Are For The Boys” banner, three men chugging beer in preppy clothing and a sepia-toned photo of two fit, shirtless men climbing a flagpole in front of a frat house with an ‘ΠΚΦ’ sign in front. One could easily have concluded that the flyer was not an SLC weekend event invite, but instead a glitch in our matrix.
The “frat” party began around 10:30 p.m. It was held in a different area than most SLC parties, the Slo cul-de-sac, and could’ve easily been missed. As you approached it, however, the music got louder, and the sound of people's voices became clearer; you could quickly see what you were in for. The flyer’s aesthetics had literally come to life. There were several dozen people crammed into the tiny area between that last Slo house and the fence. A white plastic folding table was set up, and “beer pong” was in full swing, with extra-large Buzzballs taking the place of the beer. The outfits were… as expected. Some of the outfits seemed to reflect considerable effort: the colors salmon and light yellow in particular were on display, along with plenty of backwards baseball caps and khaki shorts. Many partygoers were standing, seemingly awaiting their turn at beer pong. The party was small but lively. Within what felt like just a few minutes, Campus Safety appeared, walking around, yelling, and shining their flashlights. People scrambled, and the unicorn event — an SLC frat party — was over.
SLC is, after all, best known as having a non-hierarchical campus culture and vibe, as well as an arts-focused learning environment. Unsurprisingly, it does not lend itself to things like Greek Life. SLC’s vibe is a huge part of its appeal, and the high value placed on students’ uniqueness and individuality, over more mainstream-style conformity, has attracted applicants here for decades. None of this means that some students don’t wonder what Greek Life could look like on campus, or even wish it was an option. With that party, students got a glimpse.
While the party’s theme was likely a simple passing folly to many, it's hard not to wonder whether Greek Life is something some students are yearning for. It is hard not to think about the weight of romanticizing Greek Life, and the aesthetics it carries, right now. In Sept., a high-profile lawsuit forced prosecutors to reopen a brutal criminal case at Cornell University involving a student who was allegedly drugged and gang-raped by several fraternity members in the Fall of 2024.(NBC Chicago 5) Simultaneously, the University of Wisconsin in Madison is grappling with back-to-back crises This includes the arrest of two fraternity leaders after an anonymous tip led authorities to the discovery of pledges injured in a hot basement, bizarrely covered in ketchup and other condiments; followed by emergency campus alerts warning of multiple students possibly being drugged and sexually assaulted at another off-campus house (NBC)
In questioning whether SLC students might actually want something like Greek Life, it is helpful to look to those students who frequent the closest thing SLC has to a traditional collegiate space: The Campbell Sports Center.
On a rather chilly Wednesday night at the sports center, sophomore Kairos Diaz, ‘29, sat working on his laptop while his fellow athletes practiced basketball on the adjacent court. Diaz, who plays on both the soccer and volleyball teams, was more than enthusiastic and willing to speak about his experience with the community on campus. For him, the sense of belonging he feels at SLC does not require a Greek letter. He explained that he already feels like he is a part of a social and supportive infrastructure, describing the student-athlete community as very tight-knit. He noted that his teammates truly form a network, doing everything together, reflecting the deep bond they share due to the immense time and effort they put into athletics. With regard to feeling acknowledged and appreciated by the institution, Diaz pointed out that the athletes are regularly featured in the school’s social media, representing the SLC athletic community but also truly representing their integral place at the college.
When asked about the recent happenings at Slonim Woods, Diaz said he heard about the frat-themed party but decided not to attend. “I don’t think it really means anything; it was just a theme,” he said. He also noted that he isn’t interested in the idea of traditional Greek Life coming to campus, and that his commitment to athletics already makes him feel like an important part of his college.
Asher Meyer-Light,’30, is a freshman and member of the volleyball team. Asher stated that he deeply enjoys the school’s smaller size and was initially attracted to the campus by the energetic bond he felt with the team during his overnight volleyball program prior to enrolling. When asked about his experience within his athletic community, Meyer-Light noted that the school does a commendable job of recognizing the immense effort and input that freshmen athletes dedicate toward their sports. For Meyer-Light, athletics provide the exact sense of belonging he was looking for at college, rendering the aesthetics of that gingham flyer irrelevant. "As far as it being a brotherhood thing, I think that’s cool, but I don’t think that’s at all something that is needed here at SLC.” Meyer-Light concluded by emphasizing that the absence of such things is exactly what makes SLC’s campus unique: “I think that’s what's special about SLC, that that isn't a thing here, and you can still find real community within groups of people who are playing similar sports or studying similar things.”
Another athlete, Bailey Gordon, ‘30, another volleyball player, said she chose SLC because of the different approach to learning. Gordon agrees with her teammate that Greek Life would hold no appeal for her if it were to exist on campus. “We’re a rather small school; it’s not at all something that would make sense,” Gordon explained. She pointed out that traditional Greek Life often serves as a crutch for students lost in bigger schools, adding: “I feel when you’re at a bigger school, and you’re not into clubs or sports, it’s easy to just join a sorority or fraternity and make that your thing.” For Gordon, the alternative environment is already a self-sustaining one. “If it were here, I wouldn't care that much and definitely would not join.”
The views of these student-athletes exist as a counter-narrative to the anonymous anxieties and complaints seen across Fizz about a lack of Greek Life.
These athlete’s views go a long way to demonstrate that perhaps the call for a more mainstream college experience is not at all a campus-wide trend, but rather the complaints of a certain sect who are still finding their place. The gingham flier and the Buzzball beer pong table may not be signs of a new conforming Sarah Lawrence after all; but rather a brief, ironic moment for students who wanted to test drive a different college experience for a bit.
