Your shoes stick to the floor and are newly stained with mysterious liquid. Your hair is soaked with sweat, your makeup half-melted off. Your legs burn from a unique mix of dancing and standing in line for 45 minutes. A house-techno remix of Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso blasts at a decibel you previously would have thought impossible. Your surroundings reek of Pink Whitney and the Sephora fragrance aisle.
Perhaps this is a nightmarish scenario for you, perhaps an absolute dream. This is a FROSH week party, and it is highly important that you experience it.
FROSH week is a highly-coveted university experience for both new and seasoned students alike. Yes, it is a week of reading syllabi, organizing Notion assignment trackers, dorm decoration, faculty traditions, and textbook purchases. But it is also a week in which more freedom and time for exploration is gifted to UofC attendees than is afforded virtually the whole school-year. Therefore, my advice to you is this: try within the best of your ability to go out.
Instead of “touching grass,” I urge you to go touch the filthy, plastic flooring of a 17th Avenue club or house party.
Any circumstance akin to a party or “clubbing” scene can seem daunting, especially for a person who has never undergone this sort of collective experience before. However, these moments are imperative to our social development. I believe that something has been lost to social media, to a culture of self-surveillance and the prioritization of one’s own boundaries. When you don’t push yourself to face events and situations outside of your wheel-house, or even things that you may deem as uncomfortable, you do not grow to the extent that is possible.
Whether you walk away from your participation in “touching the dance floor” with a review that is either positive or negative, it still contributes to personal development regardless.
You may bond with your friends over a strange interaction, or an inside joke, or a song bellowed collectively in the glow of flashing lights.
You may walk away from one particular experience with a new list of dos and don’ts for your next outing, or a venue you’ll avoid for the rest of your life. You may make new friends that you wouldn’t have met otherwise.
You will, inevitably, gain a deeper understanding of the things you enjoy and, implicitly or explicitly, the things you despise, your own social boundaries. These experiences are the start of an introspective journey. You come to university for education, but also to learn about yourself. It’s extremely easy to learn about yourself in a situation as emotionally, physically, and socially intensive as a FROSH week function.
I may feel combative about the bad wrap of party-culture, but that is not to say that there is no need for vigilance when going about “touching the dance floor.” All the above being said, there is a safe way to experience these activities. Not to sound parental or self-righteous, but I am an advocate for boundary-pushing and social exploration, not for irresponsibility and self-endangerment. So, please consider the following:
- You do not need to drink or indulge in any form of intoxicant to enjoy yourself. Judgement is needless in either preferential direction— you can have a memorable time either way. Don’t let yourself be pressured into anything!
- If you are deciding to partake in any substances, do so mindfully! When I first partook in UofC FROSH week, I was freshly the legal drinking age and wasn’t quite sure of my tolerance. Ensure that you hydrate, eat something fun and carb-heavy beforehand, and do continuous mental and physical check-ins with yourself throughout the night.
- Do your research! Whether you are heading to a venue or a more private function, vet it beforehand. Check Google reviews, ask your friends. This is all to aid in ensuring safety throughout the night. physically
- Use a buddy system! Accountability and check-ins are easier in numbers.
- Charge your phone, or make sure you have access to a phone. Admittedly, I’m guilty of forgetting this step at least a few times.
- Final and pro-tip: gather some fentanyl testing strips from around the U of C campus! These kits are available in various dorm lobbies across campus, as well as by request through Student Wellness Services.
- You can pick up naloxone kits from pharmacies both on and off campus, which is always available for free.
In short, FROSH is the perfect time to permit yourself to step outside your comfort zone. Touch the dance floor, enjoy some (occasionally questionable) music, embarrass yourself a little, discover what you enjoy and what you don’t.
University is about gathering the experiences that will shape who you become. Go out,safely, look out for your friends, and let them look out for you, too!
