As a freshman who never drank or partied at all, I came into college ready to step into the party life. After a year, I have seen and learned a great deal of things that I think is very important for everyone, not just freshmen, to know. Parties can be extremely fun, but things can also go extremely wrong.

The first way to prevent this from happening is to go in larger groups. It is easier to lose track of each other when only the two of you are there. Additionally, when someone is too drunk to walk and needs to be carried home, it will be nearly impossible for one person to do that. I speak from experience. One of my friends was not able to walk and it took five of us to take her home. I do not know what would have happened if only one other person was there. It is also just more fun with a group anyways.

You should also try to have a person either stay sober or drink very little. I know this can get annoying and you may say that we have Uber, so why do we need a "designated driver"? For many reasons. When unexpected things happen, like the cops pulling up, it's nice to have a level-headed person taking care of things and making sure you get home safe. Moreover, things like roofies exist, even at Stony, so it's better for one of you to stay sober and watch out for the others than have anything worse happen.

Lastly, for all of you that are new to the system, you have to be picked up from certain locations at a certain time to be able to attend. You can find these on various Instagrams of the frat houses. You should also realize that you might not always get into the parties. I have personally waited for two hours and still did not get in, so don't always go in with the highest hopes. But if you do get in, stay safe and have fun.