It’s two in the afternoon on a typical Saturday at Vanderbilt University. The D1 SEC Vandy/Kentucky game is coming to a close, and Vandy’s heading for another loss. It isn’t a big deal though—no one seems to even know. That’s because the entertainment is outside of the stadium, directly outside, in the front yards of the houses lining frat row.
The tailgates, most of which started at six in the morning, are raging on with little sign of slowing down, except for the seniors who have indulged their last Vandy tailgate to such an extent that they are passed out across couches, yards, and floors. The early morning barbecues and dancing are now accompanied by various forms of debauchery. A couch in the yard of Sigma Chi has been inverted and the feathers now decorate the front lawn along with beer cans and solo cups. A giant inflatable Santa Claus in Phi Delt’s (dry house) yard is attacked by a group of ATOs who untie it from the ground and drag it across twenty-fourth avenue to their lawn. As this happens, some SAEs start eyeing the fun, and decide to shotgun some beers in the lawn and charge across the street to steal the Santa from the ATOs. Captive in SAE’s lawn, Santa is “humped into submission” by a pack of drunken fraternity brothers. ZBT, two houses over, sees this happening and decides to join in, charging the lawn with pocket knives drawn. They pop and slice Santa into a deflated pile of plastic. The SAEs then dispose of the remains in their backyard (god knows what else is back there).
Just another Vandy tailgate (this one at Pike). Photo by Lauren Spielman
Despite the cross fraternity interaction, there are no hostilities. Everyone laughs and then moves on in their pursuit of more fun. One brother, adrenaline pumping, gauges interest from the others on the lawn in shotgunning another beer and running over to Sigma Nu (four houses down) to tackle one of their newly added Christmas trees lining the path leading to their door. The other brothers politely decline and continue their effort to hit an empty beer can over the street, into ATO’s yard, with a six iron. They were ultimately unsuccessful.
Standing in the yard watching all of this happen, all of the guys dressed in button downs and ties dancing with girls in sun dresses on the front porches of every house on the row, cups in hand, hundreds of people out in every direction, I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated. This was the college people reminisce about in the office for years after graduation.
To be clear, it wasn’t the drinking itself that I was envious of. Per capita there was probably less drinking than what you’d find in a dorm, fraternity, or off-campus party at Northwestern. That’s because it was primarily beer (Vanderbilt has rules against hard liquor) and it wasn’t rushed or hidden. There were cop cars driving by but they didn’t have any problems. There also was no time constraint since the parties were permitted and therefore had no chance of being broken up. This, in turn, meant people didn’t need to get as loaded as they could as quickly as they could.
What I found captivating was a certain synthesis of youthful energy, freedom, and responsibility. These kids were having fun—stupid fun, dancing fun, drinking fun—and they were allowed to, or at least defacto allowed to. Because the school can’t officially condone underage drinking, it has set up a system of enforcement that allows it to take place in a reasonable manner.
It's 4 p.m. - pace yourself (Sigma Chi)
Vanderbilt is not the only school that has done this. “Open Door Policies” at schools like Swathmore and Claremont Mckenna allow for defacto school-sponsored drinking. Schools like Williams and Dartmouth simply don’t bother students and let them self-regulate.
A reasonable person may ask if this is safe for the students. Vanderbilt has not had an alcohol-related death in at least four years. I tried searching every possible combination of “Vanderbilt, student death, and drinking,” but got no results at all so I cannot confirm past then. This of course is not the result when the same search is done for Northwestern.
What makes Vandy special is a certain ratio of fun to academic quality. Their ratio blows Northwestern out of the water. This is probably the case for Dartmouth, Stanford, and UVA as well. These schools want college to be about more than killing yourself over four classes a quarter (Stanford and Dartmouth, also on the quarter system, only do 3 a quarter). They understand that growth and maturity in college are as much dependent on social interaction as they are on academics.
A lot of what I saw at Vandy was the archetypal Animal House stupidity that all high school students imagine college to be like. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. By letting students be students out in the open, instead of hidden away, everyone is safer and better off. It also builds a feeling of community among all students. Instead of social outings being small, fragmented and secretive, they are a shared experience.
The takeaway is that even though Northwestern fails miserably at acknowledging the realities of life as an 18-21 year old, it doesn’t have to. President Schapiro will most likely fix a lot of this, but he has so much on his plate we shouldn’t expect changes anytime soon. To accelerate the process it’s about time we start shuffling up the student life office and getting a new Vice President of Student Affairs. Otherwise I’m transferring to Vanderbilt.
it would also be good if we tried to figure out how to get more blondes, like vandy…….
you’re all fags, we have sweet tailgates at NU your just not invited cuz u suck cock…..you should all go to vandy, you’re not wanted here
Screw that, stay at NU. Vandy is way more badass than jose cuervo fags.
I recently graduated from Vanderbilt and this article really summed up what every gameday Saturday was like. It made me sad to think that the days of Vandy tailgating are over, but also made me happy and reminded me that I truly experienced college in the way that it is supposed to be experienced!
Agreed, 4 more years ahead with studying and having fun!
Haha yep, we know how to party.
“Otherwise I’m transferring to Vanderbilt.”
You would get rejected
Once a wildcat, unfortunately it’s in your DNA irreversibly
I hope you enjoyed your visit
Cordially
ZAX
When it came down to college decisions, I decided Vandy over Northwestern because of this very reason. Vandy > Northwestern all the way.
After reading your article, I beg you to stay at Northwestern.
We do not need people like you at our campus
people dont party at vandy
I graduated from Northewestern 4 years ago and am pretty sure you’re walking around with your eyes closed. While not everyone had this experience that you dream of at NU, there were certainly a large fraction of us having the time of our lives. Wash your bitterness down with a beer and go find those people (somewhere on North campus).
Dude Northwestern was a different place four years ago. How many fraternities have been kicked off campus since you graduated? I can think of at least three.
And the author is Pres of one of the only social fraternities left on campus. Not exactly blind to north campus…
Vanderbilt is the best..no other school is so highly-ranked for academics, while still having an incredible party scene, plus some pretty damn good sports teams (ignore football..look at baseball, men’s & women’s basketball)! Not to mention…Nashville is a ridiculously fun city, on its own. Need I even mention that Playboy has ranked Vanderbilt as #2 in the country for best-looking girls? Go ‘Dores!
I graduated from Vandy as well and your article is absolutely amazing and really makes me miss college. Vandy is DA BOMB and yes, you should definitely transfer! Work hard, play hard, that’s how we roll.
check urban dictionary for vanderbilt
” It is essentially, a perfect school. Congratulations if you’ve been accepted.”
then check it for northwestern
A highly selective and prestigious school with an entirely homogenous student body.
Northwestern Norms: Black North Face Fleece, Lacoste Polo, Apple iPod, Losing at almost every Big Ten Sports, walking with your head down, wearing t-shirts from Ivy League schools you aren’t going to, and having an artificially low GPA because of extremely challenging classes.
“Going to Northwestern University is like having a beautiful girlfriend that treats you like crap.” – The Princeton Review
it is universally known that vandy is better
This is the life I love at vandy. One of the reasons i chose their over northwestern. We don’t give a shit if our football sucks, we still have a grande old time.
Glad you got a taste of what we do every weekend. (or every other if you’re including a tailgate….not that football has any relevance to our tailgates at all….)
Kids are going to drink. It’s going to happen, The administration just has to ask themselves which is safer: Pounding 10 shots in less than an hour before heading out or drinking over the course of 10 hours with cops never more than 50 feet away and an immunity clause that enables students to get their friends help in an emergency?
It may seem counter intuitive to have less restrictions in order to increase student safety but hey, look at vandy, it works.
p.s. come back in the spring. there’s nothing frattier than a crawfish boil…..
fuck i almost forgot about the crawfish boils, i cant wait until spring…college in the south is amazing. thank you for the article i sometimes don’t realize how great vandy is.
zax
Matty: on Sunday, go to brewhouse and red door, tup next, might as well frat out..it’s Monday, sam’s/sportsman’s on Tuesday, why not Beirut at phi psi, pike, aepi? It’s Wednesday, downtown and demonbreun on Thursday, and then fuck it…it’s the weekend, so that’s an obvious choice.
Guess you should probably get some new friends if you’re being ostracized…sounds like nobody’s telling you where to vandy goes to “party”.
This is probably the case for Dartmouth, Stanford, and UVA as well.
is this a joke? dartmouth and stanford are both miserable schools. however, overall this is a good assessment of why vanderbilt is great – every school says they are “work hard, play hard” but vanderbilt actually is. sad that my tailgating career is over but as another post said, i’m happy to know that i lived college the way it was meant to be lived!
vandygirl12… crawfish is the best. i respect ur love for it.
vandy does it right. if u want to argue differently, come visit first. we dont need to visit you. we know.
tailgates are not about the game, they are about the experience. never forget that.
Hah is that a joke, drinking at Vandy isn’t approached in a safe way. plenty of people drink themselves to the point of blackout/hospitalization…it’s just kind of sad.i feel bad for those who go to vandy and envision that the best time of their lives was in college…why would you want to peak in your early 20s? northwestern isn’t much better either.
Mark, nobody said anything about Vandy being the best 4 years of our life. We have the academic prestige to have an incredible life after we venture out into the real world.
All I’ve heard is: Vandy alums and students are glad to have experienced/be experiencing college as the incredible “work hard, play hard” 4 years that college is idealized as.
we’re not peaking….we’re just having a great fucking time.
It may have looked fun…and it probably was…but the frats still have the most elitist, snobby people on campus. I say this as a former fraternity member at Vandy who did a tailgate or two. So you might appreciate it from afar, but those Vandy kids are precisely the types of kids that give colleges bad reputations.
I agree there are “elitist, snobby people” in fraternities but they exist past kensington and 24th too. In terms of “work hard, play hard”, Vanderbilt has it down. But we’re not perfect. We’re one of the worst ranked schools in terms of diversity as our student body is made up of predominantly white, rich kids – of course we have the reputation of being snobby.
But as one of “those Vandy kids”, we don’t think we’re better than you or anyone else. We just think we throw the best parties….and um…well….are you really going to contest that?
We care about academics just as much as non greek students but, we don’t take ourselves seriously when we party so we certainly don’t expect you to. What’s wrong with a good ol’ solo cup of natti and a pot of crawfish while wearing a sundress and cowboy boots…We just wanna enjoy it because when will that EVER be socially acceptable again?
You are correct about alcohol related deaths – Vanderbilt hasn’t had one in something like 20 years and knock-on-wood, won’t have one in the future thanks to our tolerance policies. I hope your President helps NU get more realistic about college drinking so you too can be silly and fratty. Go Vandy
Yeah, I think it has become generally accepted that Vanderbilt is better academically also, and not frigid in the winters…
As a Vanderbilt student, it is true, we do know how to balance partying with studying.
However, I’m going to be honest, Northwestern is known for being academically better.
It’s all about the trade-off that one is willing to make. Do you want a school that is more academically prestigious or a school that has a good reputation for both academics and partying?
How come no one here is mentioning Penn in the discussion of the school with the best work hard/play hard attitude?! We won the Ivy League football trophy, are home to the Wharton School and are practically in Downtown Philly. Go Quakers!
“How come no one here is mentioning Penn…? We won the Ivy Leagye football trophy…”
Who really cares, it’s the Ivy League?
haha, what a grundle.
Well, unfortunately this post makes it seem like tailgates are the only fun that goes on at Vanderbilt. That is very far from the truth. There’s only what, 5 or 6 tailgates every fall. It’s everything else that makes the rest of the year so much better.
Having attended both Vandy & NU, I wholeheartedly agree with this article! Both great schools without a doubt, but hands-down Vandy wins for overall, well-balance college experience.
The self-regulation policy not only allows people to have fun – it provides them with the opportunity to become properly socialized and mature.
While you can find the fun at Northwestern – it’s like attending a high-school party.
The point of this article isn’t about the large greek system (which both schools brag), but the work/life balance that Vandy promotes.
Northwestern is so focused on being academically superior that it neglects to remember that pressure and stress don’t amount to happy people and good experiences. Besides, the real world isn’t about how well you can take a test.
I had a good time at NU – but definitely less satisfying, less socially adept, and less relaxed/fun than Vandy.
BOTTOM LINE: Work hard/play hard at Vandy. Work ridiculously hard and hope that over the course of your life it will pay off at NU.
In the words of a true Vanderbilt frat star… “If you make it to the game, you didn’t tailgate hard enough!”
The first picture is taken from my album. Pike clearly knows how to rage.
Would of appreciated some credit though…
Plagarism?
Alright,
In all honesty, VU is a sick school, but it is for those kids who love the South and are all about it. If you arent’ from the South, or you are but don’t really dig everything it stands for, you probably want to go there. If you are a laid back guy, you might not want to go because the fucking frats are so intense. If you want something more laid back and equally fun (depending on the frat you join) you should go to NU. We’re better at football anyway.
Go U, Motherfuckers.
you pretty much just admitted your a pussy
I think Duke is probably more deserving of a shout-out than Stanford or Dartmouth. We have similar tailgates–having a bad football team for years tends to breed that type of behavior I guess. Like Vandy, we’re good/great at other sports (emphasis on men’s basketball) and the school has a pretty relaxed policy on alcohol. We obviously have different traditions and living arrangements (tenting for the UNC game, no frat row) but the principle of work hard/play hard still remains the same.
The differences are subtle. Duke’s atmosphere is less southern, the girls aren’t as pretty (though they’re not nearly as ugly as their reputation suggests), and the academics are stronger–though not enough so that it really makes a practical difference.
LOL @ Duke
Vanderbilt may be in the south, but it is not filled with Southerners. I spent a delicious four years there and never felt pressure to be Southern. It’s there, yes, but only if you chose it.
Also, word to the Vandy people: can we clean up our grammar?You’re not exactly pleading our “work hard/play hard” case very well.
You want a real experience. Try Emory University. Work hard, play hard, with real people.
I was on Vandy campus the day the article describes and I had a blast. Party from 8am-4pm, nap, party in Nashville midnight-3am. Hard to beat that, I agree.
What makes Vanderbilt inferior to Emory, however, is a student body that is 1. diverse and 2. down to earth.
Sure, Vandy might admit a “diverse” body of students, but that diversity doesn’t embrace. Go to Emory’s campus and you will find fraternities that represent what college campuses strive for – and they still throw down.
Secondly, Vandy kids suck. Unless you’re into a reputation/wealth hierarchy, Emory students are so much more friendly and enjoyable to be around. Walk around at Vanderbilt and you will find countless rich snobs from private schools who think that they are untouchable.
Vanderbilt has the tailgate scene down-pat, sure, but if you’re looking for the most enjoyable work hard play hard college atmosphere, Emory is the best.
“What makes Vanderbilt inferior to Emory, however, is a student body that is 1. diverse and 2. down to earth.”
Is this a joke? I lived just off the Emory campus for years after graduation from Vandy, and the only diversity I saw was whether the student was from New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania. No major sports, no off-campus community (students drive to Buckhead and Virginia Highland to party – compare to the Vandy scene described in this article, which I assure you just scratches the surface) and 3 attractive girls.
I’m a senior at Vanderbilt and the fraternity scene here is lame compared to other SEC schools and so is the support for our football. The fact that all these damn Yankee fraternities are oblivious to the traditions of the SEC (including actually attending football games) is the biggest problem with Vandy. And don’t give me this BS about SAE and KA being “Southern.” If you let your fraternity skip the game to dance to coon tunes you’re a tool. Being a tool has no geography. I should’ve gone to Ole Miss.
I’m a classic kid, this is for certain (LOL!!!), but people just don’t teach me how to RAGE. I want to rage hard – here, there, and everywhere – but I the math dept. told me to study hard, and I’ve been doing it. I’ve gone out once this year thus far, but that was just to CVS to pick up some preparation H. But, at the end of the day, I’m still the most classic kid on this campus. I’m hilarious, I’m hip, and I’m holy hell awesome. I’m CLASSIC HEMS!
Seriously, I go to vandy and frat row is always empty…. biomed library is where the majority of folk rage on the reg. lulz xoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxox
Wow…these comments are awesome.
I’m from the Midwest and I love it – I always will. That being said, I loved my four years at Vandy so much that I moved away after graduation for a great job in a major city and moved back a year later to Nashville/Vandy for graduate school. There is nothing quite like the combination of great food, people, tailgates, and MUSIC in Nashvegas.
Also, Vandy is not full of southern-loving prep schoolers. Many people I knew, in Greek life with me, were northerners/midwesterners from public schools. Public schools can be better than private schools in certain areas of the country.
Really, Northwestern is a great school, as is Vandy. It’s merely a different atmosphere you’ll find at Vandy – to each his own! If you want to study hard and party like crazy, go to Vanderbilt. It was the best four years of my life.
When visiting frat guys from both Notre Dame and Duke repeatedly say that they should have gone to Vandy…we’re doing something right!
You preppy, rich kids: you love being in college more than you love the college you are at.
Try feeling real pride for your school and then we’ll talk about what it means to have the “real college experience.”
At least preppy rich kids manage to understand the extremely rudimentary concept of dangling prepositions.
Preppy, rich kids:
If you’re going to insist on being a member of the grammar police, please learn how to use commas properly.
That DHEMS fellow sounds HELLA cool…similarly Matty Berg has the right idea, i always walk through frat row after i buy condoms at CVS to masterbate into, and frat row is a ghost town. I have been to the biomed library everynight for a few weeks and that shit is always bumping. A hidden gem at vandy thought is the peabody library, thats where the coolest kidz go…LULZORZZZZZZ
humor invalidated at luzlorz
It’s unfortunate that we go to a school that inadvertently creates such a fragmented campus. I know all too well how difficult it is to have a great time because of how most of the get-togethers are quiet or private.
I feel like less stringent rules might strengthen the Northwestern community.
We don’t need “intense frats” like Vanderbilt. We just want to have a good time without always trying to cover our asses.
CODY! All the vady girls in my program in rome are raving about you. proud to say i know the writer! So when are you coming to miami and writing one of these for us?
ahhh…the chronicle.
tip: get editors. pretty sure it was Santa Claus, not Clause. don’t make northwestern students sound like idiots AND, according to this article, losers. you should probably choose one or the other.
and oh yeah…why doesn’t this kid just transfer already? it seems there’s a better use of his time: instead of writing this article, put together your transfer application and get going already! have fun…be happy…have a great four years in college! if northwestern isn’t doing it for you, why not go? spend less time on the laptop writing about your troubles and more time drinking with friends! that’ll do ya
One enormous advantage of Vandy is their well defined campus and availability of housing for their students. In Northwestern’s quest for excellence, most of their new construction is for academic buildings. As a result, NU can not guarantee housing to upper classmen. Having the vast majority of Vandy students within the campus allows for the more close knit party atmosphere in contrast to the fragmented living situation NU creates. I personally have been disappointed to see a high priced private institution with great academic reputation tell upper class students they don’t have enough housing for them on their campus. While Vandy has built a new freshman quadrangle, Northwestern’s limited choices of dorms are often old and much to be desired. How much security can you give students who live off campus and freequently to go to bars to drink?
Funny, bc 15 years ago NU frat parties were much much more fun than Vanderbilt’s. NU had huge keggers while VU banned them. I know NU has gotten much worse, but it’s hard to tell if Vandy got any better.
Girls at vandy were hotter though. I suspect that’s still the case. Though really once you’re in your thirties an unattractive 21yr old pretty much an oxymoron. My advice to you youths, bang everyone you can. Most of the ones you think are ugly now will make you drool in 10 years.
I am from Nashville and go to Northwestern, so I have experienced the best of both worlds. What it comes down to is Nashville is a way more fun city than Evanston with a police force that is more accepting of student debauchery. Let’s not forget that Evanston was a leader in prohibition and has been a dry city up until recently.
Add to that a restless Evanston PD that wastes their time breaking up controlled parties while people are getting jumped and robbed in West Evanston. Let’s face it, most of Evanston HATES Northwestern and its students. I think it’s on Morty Schapiro to fix this.
Cody, please submit your transfer applicaion immediately. Northwestern doesn’t want or need people like you. You, surprisingly, managed to get into Northwestern, so should be one of the more intelligent at Vanderbilt…so, please, go enjoy what you think is so great. Good riddance.
things that are true:
1. that’s a run on sentence.
2. you’re a smug douche bag.
go fuck yourself. seriously.
Three student deaths in 3 years raises some concerns about pressures. Does anyone out there share my concern that the pressures of campus life might be too intense?
Not going to the football game does NOT make your school better, it makes it a shitton worse.