Does dry refer to no drug use as well or just alcohol? Magic mushrooms, anyone?
Maybe that is why the Derby party was out. No mint juleps! 
I read The Dartmouth fairly regularly when S was an undergrad, and I must say that it is almost unheard of to see so many comments on an article from people who clearly have no connection to the school. Obviously they were drawn to it by the publicity in certain online sourcesâŠ
It saddens me when there is too much outrage. When there is really something to be offended or outraged about no one will take you seriously.
@doschicos, as a neighbor of Kentucky, yes it is the South.
From the comments section of that article: âWhat are they gonna do, wear some beads and some tie-die and call it good?â
Iâm trying to imagine any sorority girls who think tie-dye is appropriate dress for a party. But I guess sex, drugs and loud music is a better theme when you arenât able to sip the traditional mint juleps because youâre on probation.
Why not?
What a strange comment. How do you think âsorority girlsâ dress? Why wouldnât they dress in tie-dye and beads for a Woodstock theme?
Perhaps the Kentucky Derby Song is at the heart of the objection to the themed party. The derby adopted a song that even without the darkie term, continues to be about a runaway slave missing life on the good ol plantation. Maybe the sorority didnât recognize the roots of the state songs of the great states of Kentucky, Virginia and Florida, after all, theyâve been cleaned up and âreinterpretedâ. But surely they can learn why some who know the history of these songs object to all this nostalgia about the good ol days of slavery.
Echoing @partyof5âs clarification, Iâm a Kentuckian and we do identify as a Southern state. If youâve ever read Pat Conroy, you know itâs possible to love your Southern identity and location, while at the same time wondering why some of your friends and family are not up to speed.
As to the party, I think the Derby theme was being misinterpreted if they were using this as a hoop skirt dress-up event. I donât think that is historically accurate at all. As for todayâs Derby attendance and attire, if you watch Derby coverage, youâll see a wide variety of people - celebrities from entertainment and sports, horse people, young partiers in the infield, etc. Lots of wild and wonderful hats and the one time of year that many will opt for a mint julep just so they can get the official Kentucky Derby glass for their collection. They could have reimagined their Derby festivities to match present day and had a fun theme party, but the Woodstock themed party will give the girls the opportunity to explore the adventures of tie-dye.
i didnât know what you meant by the KY Derby song. So I googled it, and it just sounds like the trumpet music they place before horse races. Of no more significance than, say, the music they played on ABC Wide World of Sports. Thatâs an awfully big stretch.
Maybe these schools should forbid any students from the state of Kentucky, or whose ancestors may have owned slaves, as their very presence might be offensive.
So what ARE the approved party themes these days? Is there an official list? I wouldnât want to commit a thought crime!
Pizzagirl, surely you know there are no approved themes. Sororities should be abolished!
"Cracks me up that Ivy League school students are complaining that, âthe exclusive party was racist and economically elitistâ. "
These students could have gone to community college, but they worked hard to get into an academically elite college. Curious - why is academically elite a âbetterâ kind of elitism?
I donât think there is any reference to the parties being about âhooped skirtsâ. Not sure where that leap is coming from.
Thereâs no mention of hooped skirts. I agree, that leap came out of nowhere.
A KY derby party means they are going to wear big hats and that there will be horse-related things. Thatâs about it. This isnât a Confederate ball.
I suspect that the protests were not about the Derby theme, but rather that the party attendees were wearing gowns and suits that evoked the popular image of plantation life, girls in hoop skirt gowns and men in their string ties and white suits. The Derby itself was only run in 1875, so it itself had nothing to do with plantation life. Plantation life being directly tied to slavery, since the folks who would dress up in those kind of clothing back in the day lived their lives based off of slave labor, is why it evokes this.
Personally, I think it is idiotic, while I am not exactly a fan of antebellum Southern Culture, or even a lot of elements on modern day Southern culture and politics, it is idiotic because that dressing up has been traditional at the Derby and other high end horse races for a lot of years. At big races like the Preakness and the Belmont stakes it was a major social event for the upper classes, as was the race meet at Saratoga, and the women especially would be in a horsepower war over what they were wearing,who can top who, etc.Could I argue it is invoking elitism? Sure, when races used to draw people like the Whitneyâs and Vanderbilts. In reality, it is a kind of costume party invoking another era, and I think the outrage is based on a pretty misguided concept. It is kind if ironic to be protesting a sorrority invite only party as elitist, when frats and sorrorities are self choosing, they arenât campus clubs open to all, they choose who they want shrug.
On a side note, several years ago I went to the Belmont Stakes, the crown was on the line, and there were all these young women and men all dressed up in gowns and suits and stuff, was especially cool (to me) to see the young women wearing these elegant off the shoulder gowns with killer shoes but with some neat tattoo work:)
There is ZERO reference to antebellum culture, hooped skirts, etc.
Hereâs an article I found from last year when the protest took place. It includes a video of the protest and also states that the party goes âdressed in pastels, fancy hats and sun dressesâ. I get the sense some of the negative feelings stem from it being an âinvite onlyâ party. Itâs pretty preppy looking. It could pass as the modern day dress worn at races in the UK.
Take a look: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/22382/
But please, letâs get away from the talk of hooped skirts and antebellum dress. You arenât going to find that in NH.
The Runaway Slaveâs Lament by Peter Lee:
"suspect that the protests were not about the Derby theme, but rather that the party attendees were wearing gowns and suits that evoked the popular image of plantation life, girls in hoop skirt gowns and men in their string ties and white suits. "
The party didnât HAPPEN, musicprnt, so party attendees didnât WEAR hoop skirt gowns since there was no party to ATTEND.
There is zero, zip, zilch reason to associate hoop skirts with this party. One poster made that leap out of nowhere.
What about it, Jamcafe? Whatâs your point? Should students living in dorms be forbidden to turn the dorm TV in a common area to the Kentucky Derby horse race because 150+ years ago, people in KY had slaves?
Perhaps we should forbid any watching of TV sports events that take place at colleges or locales in parts of the country where slaves were owned. Because that really solves the problems in the black community today. Yep, stopping a sorority from having a derby party really helps get black people access to jobs, education, economic security, etc. Good focus.
Perhaps students with southern accents should be required to re-learn them, because it might be âoffensiveâ to have to listen to someone with the same drawl as someone who enslaved your ancestors.
@pizzagirl:
That was my assumption, that they were protesting the outfits and such evoking plantation life, the article wasnât specific. If all they were doing was wearing the dresses and such they wear to the Derby, the 'elegant finery", then claiming it was racist is really idiotic. As far as it being an invite only party, those kind of things go on all the time, since when is everything egalitarian?