The OC’s White Tent Party

As the two weekend Halloween comes to an end, students around St. Lawrence University laugh and rehash their weekends. While some groups around campus had closed parties. Halloween’s Saturday night’s annual white tent party encouraged students to come together as a campus to celebrate this spooky holiday.

Every year since 1999, the Outing Club has put on a whole school tent party. This takes place every Halloweekend, on the Saturday, to end the weekend with a bang! Finn Mallien ’25, the co-president of the executive board and a member of the OC, said that this year’s tent party was a success.

Throughout the school year there are a few events that happen on campus. Springfest, Titus and Raft Day are just a few. What makes all of these social events similar? They all include everyone on campus. It does not matter what grade you are in or what sports team or group you are a part of, you can be at these events.

When Mallien was asked about inclusion at SLU he said, “I feel like how small St. Lawrence is, it can be quite cliquey. Yeah, and in my time here, I feel like I’ve seen a change in from more house parties and big functions where people that maybe do not come together often come together to kind of less house parties to more exclusive types you know.” This can be hard for people who are not yet a part of something or are still figuring out their groups. It can make SLU feel isolated without inclusion.

The goal of the tent party is to bring people together. Ana Battles ’28 said, “I saw people that I wouldn’t normally talk to, and it really allowed me to go outside of my comfort zone.”

Sometimes going to a small school can feel isolated and if you are not apart of a group this campus can feel exclusive. Fortunately, the SLU community is strong, and all school events like the tent party are so important and widely popular to the student body.