Opening of the Court to replace First Night Down

This year two aspects of first-year students' orientation to the social aspects of Davidson are changing.  "First Night Down," when freshmen are introduced to life on Patterson Court, has been renamed "Opening of the Court" and will occur on a Monday (September 14) rather than a Friday. The second change is that the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program has been eliminated.

"These changes have come to us as an initiative from students," said Dr. Patty Perillo, Director of Residence Life and Associate Dean of Students.  "There has been so much focus on this First Night Down that we've lost sight of the original intent of what this was all about to begin with—keeping the first few weeks on campus as a time for first-years to connect with each other, but not yet to Patterson Court, because that's a whole different layer of social life." 

In response, the campus hosted its inaugural Wildcat Welcome Week this year, which included a variety of social events for first-year students, intended to help acquaint them with college life. 

"In the past, there was this intense focus on the Friday night event because all the houses had parties," Perillo said. "But this year we wanted to change the focus.  When we say starting on Monday the 14th this year, that means that at any point in time starting on Monday—throughout the week, the weekend and beyond—students can go down to the Court.  Our hope is that this big buildup of hype, anxiety and excitement about this one event on campus would be diffused and spread out a bit."

Another reason for the change was to encourage both eating houses and fraternities to become more aware of how they present themselves to freshmen. "When it came to First Night Down, there wasn't a whole lot of thinking about how each house wanted their welcoming to be different and unique," Perillo said. 

"It really just became this weekend when everybody had parties," she continued.  "We went to Patterson Court leaders this year and asked them to get back to the original intent—to think about how it is that they could open their houses and make them unique and welcoming to first-year students. As Patterson Court becomes more intentional and thoughtful about how to let first-years experience a particular house or fraternity, our hope is that this creates a better first-year experience."

Perillo noted that studies show 28 percent of Davidson students choose not to drink. The focus on the drinking aspect of First Night Down made some of these students feel uninvited and unwelcome.

The calendar this year also presented a logistical challenge to having First Night Down on a weekend.  "Clearly we didn't want first-years down on the court the first two weekends—it just doesn't make sense," Perillo said. "The third weekend was Homecoming Weekend, when alumni will come back to those houses. There's a fair amount of socializing and drinking on this weekend, so it might not be the best place for first-years.

The next weekend is Rosh Hashanah, which is a really important holiday for many students. By the next weekend it would have been five weeks out, and we didn't want to wait that long."

Reactions to the changes in First Night Down this year vary widely among upper-class students. "I do not think First Night Down should be moved to a Monday, and I am worried about the precedent Monday night will set for partying that entire week," Second Belk hall counselor Caroline Fortney '11 said.  "Opening of the Court was moved to a Monday to try to decrease the importance of First Night Down, but I think it will simply transfer all of Friday's normal shenanigans to a Monday night."

While some strongly oppose the changes, others favor them. "I feel that the new Opening of the Court will be an improved and more relaxed introduction to Patterson Court for our first-years," said former hall counselor and current Residence Life Office (RLO) staff member Heath Pelham '10.  "The change in date will enable the first-years to enjoy the full Patterson Court experience without the pressure to drink."

As President of the Patterson Court Council, Charles Brodsky '10 explained that decisions about First Night Down this year were made with the intent to "create a scenario in which first-year students are able to become more comfortable with Patterson Court over the course of the week as we try to maintain a safe environment for all students and organizations involved."

Some students believe the changes are ultimately insignificant. "I don't think that either of the changes are going to affect the first-year experience," said Jeff Banks '11, a hall counselor on First Little. "There are plenty of court parties, and while First Night Down generates more excitement, I suppose, than other nights at the court, it is really only that: another night at the court. And by the end of their freshman year, I think they will have experienced more than enough of those to compensate for the loss of one night."

In past years, the "Big Brothers, Big Sisters" program was informally organized by hall counselors who paired first-year students on their halls with opposite gender big brothers and big sisters. 

"It has never been organized by the school," Perillo said. "Most students would tell me that these big brothers and big sisters really just provided alcohol for the first-year students." 

Since Residence Life policy prohibits hall counselors from supplying alcohol to residents, this presented an issue.  Even though they weren't directly supplying the alcohol, by organizing a program that was known for such behavior, hall counselors were indirectly involved.

At the same time, campus leaders did not want to eliminate the upper-class mentoring that resulted from Big Brothers, Big Sisters.  "There's so much wisdom that comes from being a veteran community member," Perillo said. "We really want upper-class students to do all that they can to share their experience with the newest members of Davidson, but we also want that to happen in a way that's safer and perhaps more inclusive."