Normally, when picturing a night out to the fraternities, you imagine the rooms filled wall to wall with drunk college students dancing on every surface possible (whether or not they should be) as they sing karaoke to the classic 2000's throwbacks. There are the girls who wander there every night of the week mixed in with those trying to branch out and try a new fraternity. All the in-house members are there along with the freshman boys who know no other territory. This weekend, however, there are new guests on the scene. Guests that normally (as they should) consider a fraternity house restricted territory: parents.
There is a reason you go away to college and start becoming independent from your parents. There is also a reason why you go to college for four years and then move on to bigger and better things. Yes, Mom and Dad's day are exciting weekends. I mean, who doesn't want their mom or dad to come visit and buy them meals and groceries and pity their below-average living habits, leading to a $20 bill being slipped to them before they leave. Obviously every child anticipates these weekends, as well as the attention and babying that comes with it, but I've come to realize I think parents end up having more fun than their child.
I mean, think about it. Parents have the chance to go back to a fraternity for a night. Let them relive the “best days of their lives" and even bore you with countless stories of all the crazy adventures they had in college. A million other parents are doing the same thing, not just on your campus but also on various campuses across the country, so there is no need to be embarrassed. I have no problem with parents hanging out at the house, but there is a line that can so easily be crossed. First off, the vibe of the house is automatically different when adults are present. It's not something you can explain, but things are just off. You feel as though you have to act a certain way and that they are judging your every move. You attempt to hide your red solo cup at your side and simply smile as you walk back. You also feel threatened by the fact that some of the adults there are hotter in their 30's and 40's than you currently are or ever will be.
Parents also feel like they have to “prove themselves" and show they were just as cool as you back in their college days, so the drinking begins. Some of the parents party harder than their children do, but either way, the drinking usually gets taken way to far. You walk into a room and the moms are dancing on tables thriving off the music from their teenage years. The dads are trying to outdrink their sons and see who can spit better game to the cute sorority girl across the room. Things escalate very quickly, and as the night gets later, things get weirder.
It hits that point where pledge drivers begin driving intoxicated moms and dads back to their hotels as their child passes out in his own bed. The parents will wake up the next morning and barely remember how they got there and immediately call their child to be debriefed on events from the night before. Photos of the drunkest and funniest parents will surface through group me's, and kids will either be proud to have the “cool" mom or dad, or be appalled at such juvenile behavior.
It's definitely an experience to go out with moms and dads. It's weird to have your separate worlds collide, but forces you to appreciate your freedom. If you know you're going somewhere where adults will be present, prepare yourself to expected the unexpected…. And then some.
