When Brown holds campus-wide events such as the Annual Spring Gala or Spring Weekend, the atmosphere on College Hill is filled with excitement and a sense of camaraderie among students. The divides among students of different ages, concentrations and extracurricular interests melt away as they dance and mingle at these inclusive events. Yet it seems as though these types of activities are too few and far between at Brown. Especially during the fall semester, there are only a handful of events designed for all students, and none of them are as lively or exciting as those in the spring. During a season of cold, rainy weather combined with the increasing lack of sunlight, students would benefit from having such large-scale, campus-wide activities and events to look forward to.
Several dances planned by individual class boards are open to certain classes early and then only open their doors to the entire school at a later time. This unfortunately discourages students from attending or even considering attending these events. Therefore, they do not help foster a sense of community that is inclusive of the entire school. In addition, there is little to no intermingling between the separate grade levels at social events. This is troubling given that students of different ages have experiences worthy of sharing with each other.
The fall semester tends to be a more difficult one for students, as the weather gradually becomes more unpleasant, darkness hits at earlier times and midterms take over students’ lives. The Brown community needs fun, light-hearted events to which to look forward. Unfortunately, students cannot currently pinpoint any particularly enticing activities or events that the University puts on during the fall semester, and it is rather disappointing that Brown does not plan any large-scale, campus-wide events for Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations.
When it comes to the fun, campus-wide events that Brown is traditionally known for, only a Night on College Hill takes place during the fall semester, and this is disappointing — especially at a time when students probably need it most. In order to change this, Brown could plan a campus-wide masquerade ball for Halloween or a Thanksgiving feast. While these are just suggestions, the sentiment remains the same: The University could use more campus-wide social events during the fall in order to help foster a stronger, more intertwined sense of community among all students.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Manuel Contreras ’16 and Meghan Holloway ’16, and its members, Emma Axelrod ’18, Noah Fitzgerel ’17 and Aranshi Kumar ’17. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
