October in Madison means a lot of different things. It means finding a unique Halloween costume, cramming for midterms, and this year it means getting ready to vote in the upcoming election. October, though, is also the time when you can see a distinctive shift in the social scene on campus.
It’s not that University of Wisconsin students cease partying during the winter months. We all know that would never happen. But I am saying that the cold weather brings out the “troopers.” These students absolutely cannot miss a Thursday night at the State, or the graffiti party at their favorite fraternity. Those less dedicated, on the other hand, seem to bid farewell to the outside world sometime during this chilly month of October.
Everyone knows the nights when you sit in your room debating whether it is “worth” going out. What exactly, though, makes a night “worth it”? Many think the event of the night must be exciting enough to justify not only the usual primping routine but also the inevitable freezing factor. As usual, all of this is more complicated for females. Cold weather means there is no more showering and running out the door; wind and rain and snow mean that wet hair will quickly turn into a bad cold or at the very least, icicles in your hair. But there are also implications for boys: they find that their gentlemanly duties are expanded. Those girls who do in fact, go out with sopping wet hair, often plead with their male counterparts to lend them their coats and/or take cabs to the party or bar.
Why the problem with coats and cabs? It’s part of the struggle, when deciding whether or not to go out, of what to wear. More specifically, the question of what to wear revolves around whether to wear a jacket. It should be a simple matter of logic: cold weather equals jacket. But many of us wrestle with the question of whether it is really cold enough to justify a jacket and will we really freeze if we go out without one. Why is it so complicated? It comes down to where you put your jacket when you take it off. Bars seem to be the lesser of the two evils. Most bars have coat hooks, if you trust them, or, in most cases, your friends will migrate to a table or two and everyone will collectively “guard” the coats. Some students frequent the bars more during the winter for this reason alone. Fraternity and house parties, however, pose a much bigger problem for those sporting down jackets. Besides the lucky ones — the partygoers who know a member of the frat or an occupant of the house that is hosting the party and can just leave their coats in his or her room — everyone must decide whether it is safe enough to leave their coat in the pile that is quickly growing on the nearby couch. Perhaps, though, if so many of us would stop wearing the same black fleece this would be less of a problem. Even I have a problem with that.
The last resort, I suppose, is carrying your jacket all night. With the number of people who end up crammed into bars and parties during the winter, trying to remain out of the cold for as long as possible, holding your jacket is not only uncomfortable but illogical when considering the usual activities at campus parties. How many hands does a person have?
Jackets aside, one of my favorite parts of this time of the year is watching different people test out the acceptability of different fashion ensembles for various social events. All of us know at least one person who tries to make a statement by wearing his flip-flops or shorts throughout the winter. Then there are the girls who refuse to acknowledge that skirt season is over. Some try to hide the fact that they are wearing a few inches of cloth around their waist by pairing it with tall furry boots.
It is depressing to think that the excitement of returning to social life here at school has been blown away by the realities of midterms and mid-thirties weather. Despite the brisk air that now accompanies us all, let us remember that roles have been assigned to us. Many of our parents, siblings and friends mock (and in truth envy) our reputation of being one of the best party schools in the country. The motto “work hard, play hard” should stay intact through the future snowstorms and freezing rain. No matter what the temperature or what you decide to wear, the standards of Madison nightlife must be maintained. Certain things are important.
Emily Friedman ([email protected]) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism.
