Here at Laurier, we pride ourselves in academics, being kind people, having championship winning sports teams and, of course, partying.
In MacLean’s list for Top Party Schools 2018, Laurier was listed as number 5 in the country with 4.9 hours of partying per week, only behind St. Francis Xavier (7.9), Bishop’s (7), Queen’s (6) and Acadia (5) respectively. This was higher than Western (4.6), Guelph (4.1), and University of Waterloo (2.9).
So with Orientation Week among us, it is necessary, if not required, to throw a party or two. If you are nervous about throwing a party or if you’re unsure what to do, here are a few things you can do to throw a great house party.
The first thing that needs to be done before you can even consider throwing a party is cleaning your house.
Nobody wants to party in a place that has garbage and clutter everywhere. Take out the garbage, clean the bathroom, vacuum the floor, do the dishes, or whatever else you need to do to make your place look clean.
Later on if the party is getting more hectic, the cleanliness aspect won’t matter as much because the traffic of people will mess up the house.
The second thing is inviting the people. For a good party, having around 15-20 people is good enough. More than that would make the party a massive “rager.”
The key thing to keep in mind when having a party is to keep people entertained. This can be done with a variety of things.
Having the right music will put the party into the right mood.
Opera music or Josh Groban won’t exactly get the party people going.
Try mixing in some old school tracks from artists like Eminem, Dr. Dre, Sum 41, and DJ Khaled with newer music from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, Cardi B and… well DJ Khaled.
Also a little bit of Blink 182 never hurt anyone.
If you do take this advice and throw a party this O-Week, please drink responsibly, be respectful to others and law enforcement and always ask for consent before engaging in any kind of sexual activity.
Party games are good as it’s important to have your guests doing something other than just sitting around listening to music all night.
Party games are often reliable go-to’s. However, try mixing in other games like Cards Against Humanity or Poker for those who don’t want to drink too heavily or at all.
One party idea I’ve had lots of success with is a beer pong tournament. If your party has 20 people, that’s 10 teams of two that can go head to head tournament style. Nothing gets the party going like a little competition.
As an added bonus incentive to get more competition in the tournament, I suggest having prizes for the winning team. It can be something simple, or if you can get others in the party to pitch in, a 26er per person can really make the tournament interesting.
But as host, you will have more responsibilities than your guests.
This includes looking after guests who have been drinking, making sure the house isn’t destroyed and kicking people out if needed.
While most of the time it isn’t necessary, it will come around at some point.
The key is to be firm but fair with unruly guests. If someone accidentally knocks over a beer bottle, don’t throw them out. But if someone is disrupting others’ experience, it might be time for that person to go home.
While having parties can be fun, it is always important to remember to be safe.
If you do take this advice and throw a party this O-Week, please drink responsibly, be respectful to others and law enforcement and always ask for consent before engaging in any kind of sexual activity.
Welcome to Laurier new golden hawks and have fun this O-Week!