This past weekend, I had a prefrosh stay over in my room. I enjoyed his visit because the time I spent with him allowed me to view our university through his eyes. I was able to examine just how Brandeis may have portrayed itself this past weekend to one of its potential students. The truth is, I don't think he could have chosen a better 3-day period to visit. My prefrosh certainly got an accurate perception of what life as a Brandeisian is really like; he encountered all of the staples that are part of the Brandeis experience. These include wild parties that begin on Thursday night; a dormitory that reeks of alcohol; numerous calls to the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps and the Department of Public Safety; lights and sirens galore; handcuffs; scantily clad women (and men); assaults of police officers; arrests; and, of course, a crazy, multi-thousand dollar party that ended with a fire alarm being pulled.

Yes, he may have concluded this was all part of a typical weekend in the life of a Brandeis student. He might have thought that whoever compiles the rankings of the biggest party schools must have gotten it totally wrong, because the crazy Brandeisian nightlife certainly deserves the top spot.

Granted, I may be approaching this a bit cynically. In reality, though, his possibly skewed opinion is due to Pachanga, the wild event sponsored by the International Club. The event only became an official party that was open to everyone in 1998. What did we ever do before its existence? Where did Brandeisians go for a party as intense as Pachanga?

If I were to speculate, I'd say the answer is not anywhere near campus. This was probably true for every weekend of the semester until Pachanga hit Brandeis. Now, we are fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on how you view the extravaganza) enough to have one weekend out of the semester to, well, expand our horizons.

Brandeis has never been known as a party school. We don't pride ourselves on fraternities and blood alcohol content but rather on our greatest weapon: social justice. True, there are always parties on the weekends; and people drink at these parties. However, I'm sure that most would admit that our parties-while enjoyable--don't fit the "party-school" mentality. That is to say, while we have an active nightlife, it is definitely toned-down.

Many prospective students who come to visit on any non-Pachanga weekend of the semester will be hit by these toned-down Brandeisian parties, but they will also be hit by Bananagrams. And, for many (though not all), if they drink any alcohol, it will likely be at a post-Shabbat dinner party. The fact of the matter is that, like it or not, Brandeis simply is not used to a party of Pachanga-like magnitude. What do I mean by this? Whether or not you like to party, it's not hard to see that Pachanga is a bit over the top. It's definitely not the norm for us. For example, a friend of mine informed me that, on the way to the Provisions on Demand Market, he saw two different females who were wearing so little clothing that most of their buttocks were exposed. Additionally, two students were arrested before 10 p.m. for being belligerent. Also, according to the University police log, approximately 20 people needed medical attention in some shape or form. Additionally, a student bit a police officer on the forearm while resisting arrest. BEMCo experienced a significant increase in calls and had a station set up near Levin Ballroom, where Pachanga took place, specifically for injuries at the event.

I cannot speak from experience, because I did not attend the party. But all I had to do was take a brief trip through my hall and to the P.O.D. Market to get a very good sense of what was going on. For many, it seemed, the weekend's festivities were treated the same way a person may treat the discovery of chocolate. It seems that the rarity of an actual college party on this campus threw many students into an incredible craze.

Now, one may make the argument that if this university had more parties of Pachanga-like magnitude, it wouldn't be such a big deal every time Pachanga came around. Students would no longer hype up the event, because it really wouldn't be anything special. In short, this university should become more of a party school so that we can learn how to drink responsibly.

Alas, this position violates the very character of the University. I'm afraid that adopting such an attitude toward partying would be quite impossible at Brandeis, because, for the past 62 years, this university has had the same reputation: a school for hard-working, genuine and somewhat quirky individuals who like to have a good time, but shy away from the stereotypical college experience.

True, there will always be people that violate this stereotype-Brandeis does have its share of fraternity brothers and Pachanga-lovers. But if you ask me, I think that most of the people here don't actually like Pachanga. It's an attraction. A rite of passage, if you will. While I have no statistics to back this up, I would speculate that students attend the event because they feel deprived of the typical college experience. However, this does not mean that students crave Pachanga every weekend. Many of us, instead, are obsessed with more humanistic social justice matters.

By no means do I suggest that Pachanga should be canceled. I think it is a positive effect that so many students are unified, putting aside all differences for one night in the name of an insane party. That being said, I do believe that the event does not at all fit in with the character of the University. It's quite telling that it seems like this is the only time of the year when students from other universities actually travel to Brandeis specifically for a party.

While Brandeis may never learn how to become a true party school, those who partake in Pachanga should attempt to act the part of a student at a party school by at least pretending that this is a normal event for Brandeis. Hopefully, Brandeis can party more responsibly at Pachanga in spring 2011.