Public party dress codes are doomed to fail

By Thresher Editorial Board     10/22/24 10:57pm

Like many years past, students will dress up and line up for a public party the Saturday evening before Halloween. These students will be less scantily clad — but we question if that is a good thing.

After the loss of Wiess College’s infamous Night of Decadence public party, ‘Masquerade After Dark’ is a fine theme, and probably the best option presented to Wiess students (Aprés Ski-yee, anyone?) We don’t envy the job of the Wiess socials, as their public will inevitably, and unfairly, be compared to past NODs.

However, we are concerned that Baker Beach’s ban on shirtlessness and swimsuit bottoms is an overstep of personal expression and is uncomfortable and difficult for socials and core teams to enforce. We understand the need to distance Halloween publics from NOD, and hosting at a different college is a good way to do so. However, policing students’ clothing is the wrong way to go about it. 

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First, the onus of deciding what is and isn’t appropriate clothing will probably fall on security volunteers, resident associates or even police officers — it’s unclear. Imagine calling a classmate out of line due to their dress and seeing them the next morning; it’s uncomfortable and, frankly, not students’ places to police other students’ attire. Even worse is the optics of asking faculty or police officers to stare at students’ attire.

Additionally, of all things, why are swimsuit bottoms banned? In today’s age, no one bats an eye at swimsuit bottom-esque fashion at festivals and concerts. Do proponents of the swimsuit bottom-ban avert their eyes at the Rec pool?  If the point of Baker Beach is to move away from the sexual connotations of NOD, why do so in a way that puts attention on the real or imagined sexual implications of students’ clothing?

The logistics of enforcing this ban are nigh-impossible: what makes swimsuit bottoms different from the bottom half of a one-piece? The wording of the ban technically prevents students from wearing tankinis, often touted as a modest bikini alternative — yet would allow one pieces, even those arguably more revealing than a tankini. Are spandex shorts allowed? What if they ride up and look like a swimsuit bottom from the back? Does this ban unfairly penalize curvier or larger students? 

Administration is understandably concerned with students making the mistakes of NOD again. However, a party dress code does nothing to prevent overdrinking and students deserve trust in decisions as basic as what to wear.

Editor’s Note: Thresher editorials are collectively written by the members of the Thresher’s editorial board. Current members include Riya Misra, Spring Chenjp, Maria Morkas, Sarah Knowlton, Sammy Baek, Shruti Patankar, Juliana Lightsey, Arman Saxena and Kathleen Ortiz.

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