This semester, PC is introducing something new for the weekend nights. Each Fraternity House now has to create a guest list for all of their social events and submit it 24 hours before the weekend starts. According to an email send by IFC President, Devron Glenn, “the guest lists are one step in fraternity house management and they are required in order for the fraternity house to have insurance coverage.”

Before the first weekend this semester, many students were unsure how the guest lists were going to affect their night out with friends. However, after going out to the houses as usual, it was clear to me that the purpose of the guest list was not to limit the amount of people or the amount of fun, but to keep tabs on everyone who was there.

One thing that had changed was entry into the fraternity house. In previous semesters, there was less of an emphasis on getting a wristband. Therefore, there was not much stopping the students from going into the houses from the back porch or sneaking inside. However, that was not the case this year. When students attempted to try and enter into the house by coming through the back door, they were met with a fraternity member from the house respectfully asking them to go and get wristbands and enter through the front door. Once the students obtained wristbands, not being on a guest list was not an issue. If the student thought ahead and asked for their names to be put on the guest list, then they told their name to the Sober Party Monitor and were let inside the house. However, if a student forgot to send their name in, the Sober Party Monitor simply wrote his or her name down and allowed them to enter. In my opinion, the entire process went smoothly, was very effective and did not stop the fun.

Going into the first weekend of the semester, many students were worried that the guest list was going to seriously affect their night and that they were not going to be able to have a good time. However, after the first weekend, it is clear to me that the implementation of guest lists is just intended to ensure the safety of all people who visit the fraternity courts on the weekends. Hopefully, this will continue to hold true as the semester progresses.