The frats may be a foreign concept to those of you who have never ventured out to frat row on a Wednesday or Thursday, Friday or Saturday and sometimes Monday or Tuesday night.
Fraternity parties are depicted in almost every college movie ever, so for those of you who’ve seen them in the media, when you came to college you probably had a formed opinion on whether or not you like the frats and want to party there.
Coming from someone who reminisces about Welcome Week often, I’ve learned that there are many unspoken do’s and don’ts when you decide to go down frat row. Your time will either be your favorite or your worst nightmare. Don’t underestimate it, and never compare it to the bars.
First impressions are important, so make sure you go out the second school starts. Welcome Week is a crucial part of the year for the frats, where all of them, even the bouses, do their best to impress you with a slew of parties.
Your first order of business should be to find frat shoes. A pair of beat-up, disgusting shoes that you were on the verge of throwing out anyway would be perfect, since everything imaginable will be spilled on you. Hopefully you avoid the canon event of your new roommate throwing up on your shoes, but who knows? That being said, never, ever wear flip flops to any frat, ever. I don’t care if it’s a summertime darty, still wear your frat shoes. You don’t want your toes to end up mysteriously wet, trust me.
You are definitely going to want to pregame. Find whatever alcohol you can and drink it, because the frats will typically only have Kirkland seltzers and the warmest beer known to man. Pregame hard enough to where you could have a few more drinks, but you’re already having a good time. This is especially crucial after late September when you can freeze fairly easily; New Amsterdam vodka will keep you warm. Know your limits: you need to enjoy your night and at all costs avoid going home with a pledge.
Next, you’re going to need to know your timing. Parties will typically start at 9 p.m., but never, ever get there at 9 p.m. The best time to get there is 9:45 p.m., as it allows you to get there early enough to hit the bar while not being the only one there.
Most frats, if they don’t know you because you aren’t a regular (yet, but I promise you will become one at your favorite house), will ask you for your Wolf Card or Canvas to prove you’re a Nevada student. Make sure you have it. It might be annoying, but no one wants high schoolers at the frats.
Once you’re inside, stay close to at least one of your friends; better safe than sorry, always. If your friend is overly drunk and needs to go home, make sure to take them back. You can always go back out once they’re safe.
Earlier I mentioned the heavily underwhelming Kirkland seltzer and beer, but Wine Wednesdays have a special treat: box wine. Don’t drink it. The second you get to the house, you will be bombarded with a multitude of bags with guys asking you to drink from the little spout. If you drink it, you will taste the most disgusting, warm liquid you’ll ever have.
Instead, swing by Jackson’s, grab a bottle of Barefoot and bring that instead. If you do decide to drink anything from the frats, make sure it’s unopened. Most of the time what they hand you will be in a can, but if it’s not, make sure it’s from a trusted source — or just don’t drink it.
In order to make any of these parties fun, follow the themes! You are not too cool to dress up or match the color that they are basing their parties around. If you think it’s lame, do it anyway, or find another party where you like the theme more.
If the party doesn’t have a theme and you’re a girl, throw on the uniform: jeans, a cute top and your frat shoes we discussed earlier. As for guys, it’s the same uniform for the most part: jeans or sweats and a t-shirt. I’ll emphasize that you will get spilled on at some point in the night, and I would wear something you don’t love, or just do what I do and have that Tide stick ready.
The most fun part of the frats is finding your personal touse. During Welcome Week, go to every single house, seriously. This past year, Zeta Psi and Lambda Chi threw great beginning of the year parties. However, you’ll see that houses either get banned—miss you Lambda, see you soon—or they stop throwing all together.
These houses can also pretty easily get overshadowed by the bigger houses that a lot of people prefer throughout the year. It’s easy to find your way around once you’re on frat row. Find Kappa Alpha Order (KA) on a map before you go out if you’ve never been there. Their house is the furthest away from the other houses. But don’t let that deter you and make the walk to their house. If you’ve ever been you know it’s worth it.
Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) is always a good time, and I would make sure to hit it anytime they throw. When you go to ATO, you can go in the front or back door and go down into the basement. That being said, their long stairway in the front is not lit up and you need to make sure you aren’t so drunk that you fall down the stairs. I’ve seen my fair share of people eating shit down those stairs, don’t be one of them.
Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) has the perfect location for their house as they’re right in the middle of frat row. SigEp’s house is also fairly big which gives you the option to move around, keep an eye on your friends here if they’re runners. Don’t stay in the basement too long, as you could literally faint from how hot and gross it gets down there.
When you end your night, you want to make sure you’re at ATO or KA. Their parties are usually the biggest but they are also on each end of frat row, which makes them easy to hit. ATO especially is on the way back to the apartments and dorms, which makes them easy to swing through.
While those stand out the most to me because these houses throw often (and I spend the most time there), I’d be reluctant to not mention all the other fraternities on campus. I’m always one to promote going “around the world”. Going around the world is when you and your friends hit every frat that’s throwing in one night, spending a little time at every house. This will happen at the most random times, but I would recommend it so you can get a taste of every chapter and what they have to offer. Never underestimate any of the houses, they’re all fun. Even if it’s not your personal favorite you’ll usually have a story to tell after going.
A little ways past the houses, you’re going to pass Crazy D’s. If you have the funds, go in and get the grossest yet most effective hangover food you can find. Trust me, it’ll make you feel better the next day. My final piece of advice is not to take the Bird scooters home drunk; I promise you can walk or Uber if you really can’t.
The frats are a fabulous time. Finding your favorite house and arguing about going to bouse, as I do every night, with your friends is great. Remember, once the year starts the frats are for Wine Wednesdays and Friday nights; never skip the bars on Thirsty Thursday. I’d like to reemphasize that whatever you do, do not go home with that pledge. He doesn’t like you, he’s just trying to look touse.
