University of Virginia Library

Bacchus On Alderman Road

The combo party held behind Tuttle House
after the game Saturday was a notable event.
At last the residents of the Alderman Road
houses, many of whom have complained so
long and so loud about the social
disadvantages of living in the dorms and the
social dominance of the fraternities at the
University, had a party all their own, right at
their doorsteps, with a good band. That this
party was held goes a long way toward
disproving the validity of those complaints for
the future, if not for the past. The door is
open now for a complete reorientation of and
reconstruction of the social situation in the
dorms. We applaud the efforts of the
counselors and others who conceive
Saturday's party and carried it through.

We were a little confused, however, by the
small turnout Saturday. Perhaps it was caused
by a certain amount of skepticism about the
success of such a venture; or perhaps those
who lament their social "exclusion" as dorm
residents are not so numerous as their
spokesmen would have us believe; or perhaps
the party was not adequately publicized. At
any rate, there was a fair crowd right after the
game, but only a few people had dates, and
the size of the crowd tended to decrease as
the party went on. If the dorm residents do,
indeed, welcome such efforts as this on their
behalf, they must certainly show more
support for them in the future. We hope many
such events can be held in the future.

The initiative for this party came mostly
from the counselors. Now that it has been
demonstrated that the dorms are not
necessarily socially sterile, however, it's up to
the residents themselves to take that initiative
and realize its fullest potential. With a little
effort and organization, the dorms could
become as active socially as are the
fraternities; they could become the scene of as
much revelry on party weekends as is the
Rugby Road-Mad. Lane area. Such an
arrangement among residence houses is
currently in effect very successfully in Chapel
Hill.

The groundwork for the blossoming of the
social lives of dormitory residents at the
University has been laid. We hope the
residents will follow up on this effort. After
all, they have everything to gain by its success,
and only they will lose by its failure.