Sustaining Our Social Life: Managing Social Events Without Saturday Classes

Last August, Lawrenceville announced there would only be three Saturday classes during the Spring Term. Group chats buzzed with excitement and disbelief as arguably the most dreaded aspect of Lawrenceville life was removed. Everyone around me looked forward to the normalcy of a two-day weekend, eager to have both Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings to rest and recuperate. However, this change only inflates the void that is our social life on campus. On each of the past two day weekends, boarding students have driven home in droves, and day students have not come to campus on commitment-free days. On Saturdays, the one day of the week students have the opportunity to take a break from studying, campus became dormant and organized social events seemed to draw even less of a crowd than they usually do. 

Theoretically, Saturdays without class should reinvigorate social life on campus. Two day weekends help break-up our endless cycle of work––the feeling that one week leads right into the next––and give students more time to prepare for their new week, preventing the peaks and depressions of the Lawrenceville weekend that come with working Friday night, attending Saturday morning classes, crashing Saturday evening, and studying again on Sunday morning. Indeed, I have only heard positive feedback about no-Saturday class weekends. My History class really enjoyed the longer break and felt better prepared for the 8:00 AM start time on Monday. Many said that having their sports practice in the morning on Saturdays was helpful in managing the rest of their day, with their only commitment out of the way. 

However, rather than relaxing at school on the weekends, many students find relaxing at home with their family more rejuvenating. I was among the students who went home on our first Saturday off. What was there to do on campus that Saturday night? There was an all school “Club One” dance in Clark Music Center. While a dance seems like an ideal way to kick off the Spring Term, there was a disproportionate turnout between forms, and the event didn’t seem to leave an impression on students. When I came back to campus, many of my housemates were not even aware of the dance. Here lies the core problem with our social life: We repeat similar events every Saturday, drawing smaller crowds and depressing student life on campus. Besides dances, most Saturday night activities––movie viewings, trivia, or game nights––can be celebrated at home in the company of students’ families. For students seeking a fulfilling weekend, it’s in their interest to go home (if they can) and enjoy reuniting with their family rather than attend small-scale activities that seem so similar to ones before. So what activities can convince students to remain on campus, contribute their presence to Saturday events, and revitalize student life at Lawrenceville? 

Events that showcase students’ talents and skills seem to attract the most attention and praise among the student body. Events like Impulse Comedy Improvisation shows, The Disciples’ performances at school meeting, and “All Arts Night” at Clark Music Center had substantial turnouts and seemed to receive universally positive feedback. These events reveal the talent of musicians, dancers, and singers that we have only known as students from class or from around campus. 

Further, the Tuesday night before the no-class Wellness Day saw vibrant activity across campus. Crescent Houses had house specific gatherings such as Stan Swim, the Circle hosted a “Block Party” with each House serving different food items, and the Circle became absolutely packed with students playing frisbee, soccer, spikeball, and football. The Circle experienced an explosion of activity and upbeat moods that I haven’t for the past seven months––all because of the no class schedule the next day. Unlike on Saturdays, students on Tuesday were not fatigued from an entire week of classes and became more eager to socialize. Student performances and light student schedules are integral to a social event’s popularity. 

However, performers need practice and our schedules are rarely open. Organizing a successful social event requires the intersection of hundreds of student schedules. Organizing student performances takes weeks of forethought. When students don’t feel the motivation to attend a social event or even stay on campus, just think of how much dedication it takes to plan, organize, and produce a successful event. Jump-starting social life on weekends is no simple feat. However, the lack of Saturday classes gives us the opportunity to experiment with different events and schedules until we find the combinations acclaimed by our student body. To test these experiments, though, students must stay on campus. Running away from a boring campus will keep campus boring. Staying on campus, actively seeking to have fun, and creating your own social life will increase the collective Lawrenceville’s social life. The first step to reinvigorating our social life on campus is choosing to stay at your Lawrenceville home on the weekends.