{"id":2743,"date":"2014-06-15T22:14:38","date_gmt":"2014-06-15T22:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/?p=2743"},"modified":"2014-06-23T17:31:33","modified_gmt":"2014-06-23T17:31:33","slug":"evolution-fests-fieldston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/2014\/06\/evolution-fests-fieldston\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolution of Fests at Fieldston"},"content":{"rendered":"

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9:00 pm: phones buzz, fake IDs out in the open, Fieldston students drink at an apartment \u2014 it is Fest time. Fests, explains Evan Weinstein (V), are parties \u201cwhere people like to blow off steam.\u201d Charlie Sloane (VI) describes them as an \u201cevent in which kids rent out a club or gallery space for a few hours and host a big party.\u201d Upper School principal, Laura Danforth, tells me that she\u2019s gathered fests can be described as a rented party space where \u201c[Fieldston] kids go that are either under the influence or really drunk. Girls dress very provocatively. I get an image of this raging adolescent hormonal evening.\u201d Although Ms. Danforth acknowledges that fests may be an opportunity for students to \u201ccome together as a school,\u201d she adds, \u201cif there\u2019s illegal activity and excess, I don\u2019t see anything positive about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Called \u201cpost-Homecoming\u201d parties in the 1990s, Fests have evolved into events where students engage in more than imbibing a few drinks, and their behavior has prompted the school to involve itself in students\u2019 extracurricular social lives. \u201cI worry that a student will die on my watch,\u201d Danforth tells me. \u201cI worry about excess, especially poisoning one\u2019s body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Danforth\u2019s concern for Fests was not expressed by John Love, Upper School Principal from 2004-2012, who tells me that although he \u201csent out an email to the parents before Fests basically saying that they weren\u2019t school sponsored events,\u201d Dr. Love \u201cnever heard about anything particularly bad happening at [them].\u201d For him, they weren\u2019t \u201cany different than a party that a kid would have at his house.\u201d Neither Dr. Love, nor any of the deans at the time \u201cwanted to manage the kids\u2019 social lives. Unless it got really extreme, which it never did during my time. What the kids did on the weekend was not the school\u2019s job to police.\u201d And yet, unbeknownst to Dr. Love, Fests were advancing culturally across America into nights of excess.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpringfest of my Sophomore year was a bad experience,\u201d Samantha Dascher, Class of 2006, tells me. It \u201cwas the first time I had ever really consumed hard alcohol \u2014 Raspberry Smirnoff Twist \u2014 and after three shots on an empty stomach in less than 10 minutes, I was totally wasted.\u201d Ms. Dascher \u201cended up in the hospital that night\u201d after \u201cblacking out and throwing up while another girlfriend of [hers] was completely passed out and comatose.\u201d Despite her unpleasant experience, Ms. Dascher tells me that she \u201calways liked [Fests]. They were extremely nerve-wracking when you were the younger ones there, but they were still fun.\u201d Plus, she elaborates, \u201cthe dancing was a big bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back\u201d on fests, Jordan Siskind-Weiss, class of 2011, reminisces, \u201cI don’t remember really enjoying the parties themselves. People got excessively drunk and got sick \/ behaved inappropriately. I also remember boys getting pretty handsy and not enjoying that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some students are uncomfortable at fests, others thrive \u2014 even profit from the parties. Tai Bassin, class of 2011, had no reservations telling me he \u201cmade about $2,000\u201d a night and \u201ctook advantage of rich wasted white girls\u201d to \u201cmake $80 a ticket\u201d at the door. Fests in his time were usually held at the Vinegar Factory which \u201cwas clutch because Sasha [Zabar]\u2019s dad [Eli Zabar] owned it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another for profit fest organizer, Sasha Zabar (Class of 2009), is infamous for his self-appointed title as the creator of the high-school party. \u201cWe defined it,\u201d Zabar told the New York Post in an 2011 article. \u201cPeople would be throwing up and comatose on the sidewalk, and I\u2019d have to call an ambulance. But we never got shut down.\u201d At one party, Zabar braged, he made $20,000 in cash.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, Tai tells me, \u201cone of us would use a fake alias to sign the insurance lease (def not very legal), but then again these club promoters were all sketchy guidos and couldn’t care less.\u201d Tai didn\u2019t run the operation on his own, however, he often \u201cworked with a club promoter that Spencer \u2018Get Money\u2019 Barkoff (\u201909) was close with.\u201d He also paid \u201ctwo kids per grade [to] sell tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast to the profit-seekers, some students have organized fests for charitable causes. \u201cI started Water:Fest when I saw how much money fests could make in one night,\u201d Samara Flug, Class of 2011, writes me. \u201cI knew the [party] would push our [charity] campaign further than I could have ever imagined. Our goal was $5,000 for the semester and I didn’t think we’d make it. We made over $7,000 from Water:Fest alone.\u201d The biggest challenge, Samara tells me, \u201cwas taking care of sick people. You need people on hand who can deal with that.\u201d Other than that, though, Samara \u201cwas impressed by how many people wouldn’t ask for change or would even give more than the ticket price, because they knew it was a donation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Sasha Zabar’s $20,000 parties, there have been changes at Fieldston. Dr. Love\u2019s \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u201d attitude has been replaced by a more involved administration. The key difference in Danforth\u2019s take on fests comes in the school\u2019s official response. \u201cThe more we talk about it, and the more we demystify it then the less exciting it is,\u201d she tells me. \u201cBringing the whole culture out of the closet and being able to talk about it with administrators, faculty, kids, the principal, and parents takes away some of the power.\u201d And talk about it we have.<\/p>\n

On November 26th Fieldston held its first ever alcohol and drugs roundtable, co-led by Laura Danforth and me, David Fishman (V). \u201cJoin Laura Danforth to discuss the pressures of \u2018going too far\u2019 and the appeal of alcohol,\u201d read the Fieldston Bulletin that day. Upwards of 150 students shuffled into the Stu-Fac to share their fears, stories, and concerns about fest culture and binge drinking. The discussion was deemed a success by Ms. Danforth, the faculty, and the student body as a whole. Sabrina Reich (VI) even commented in that evening\u2019s Fest Facebook page that she \u201chope[d] everyone learned something from the [F]est roundtable,\u201d and to \u201cbe responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discussion didn’t end there. Six months later, on May 13th, the Fieldston community participated in a \u201cGender, Power, and Consent\u201d MAD (Modified Awareness Day) organized by Juliet Lewis (VI) and Paul Schorin (V). Workshops held throughout the school addressed issues including consent on campus, gender roles, and Fest culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine how great it would be if you never felt pressure to hook up with more girls or boys at a fest than you were comfortable with,\u201d the leaders projected at the MAD\u2019s introductory assembly. \u201c[Imagine] how awesome it would be if you never felt pressured to say yes when you wanted no, or no when you wanted yes, if sex could actually be about pleasure and not social conventions.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the Fest culture workshop, a room packed with students from all grades shared their experiences. \u201cConsent is not implied until the girl says no. Consent is a yes,\u201d Robin Krupnick (VI) said, receiving a wave of \u201csnaps\u201d signaling the group\u2019s general approval. \u201cYou never talk to anyone you hook up with,\u201d Katie Serwer (IV) pondered. \u201cIt\u2019s the weirdest thing ever. If you\u2019re too uncomfortable to ask, then why are you doing it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucas Philips (V) said that \u201cat a fest there\u2019s really no consent. It\u2019s just assumed.\u201d He went on to say that \u201cat Fieldston there\u2019s drunk, and then there\u2019s Fest-drunk. Fest-drunk is black-out drunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opinions about fests were generally mixed. Miranda Einhorn (VI) argued that \u201cit\u2019s fun to be drunk. It\u2019s fun to be with your friends. It\u2019s fun to get dressed up. Everything except the gross parts.\u201d Emma Kaeser (VI) explained that at Fests \u201ceveryone\u2019s invited. Everyone who can afford a ticket can go. It\u2019s not an exclusive party.\u201d Jack Upton (V) simply stated that \u201crejection is 100% less scary at a fest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of the MAD, students were less forthcoming with their experiences at fests. I reached out to 10 students from each grade \u2014 randomly chosen from the Fieldston directory \u2014 and many felt too uncomfortable or ashamed to share their experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lure of the Fest is essentially just a night where some people can express themselves in a rare and bizarrely different environment,\u201d Ryder Kimball (VI), an organizer of Water:Fest and Springfest, tells me. \u201cAmidst a many complaints of fests, the most common complaint seems to be that kids get carried away in many different ways. This aspect of the fest openly exists but is really just a darker side to a generally beneficial experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick Koepp (V) has \u201ca love-hate relationship\u201d with Fests. \u201cWhile [they] provide an environment for high schoolers to blow off steam and get all that crazy out of their system,\u201d he tells me, \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of grossness and objectification that goes on. They become almost like the Olympic games of high school popularity, especially given all of the talk that goes on post-Fest about who\u2019s hooked up with who.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fests aren\u2019t for everyone. George McNulty (III) told me that although he\u2019d gone to one, he \u201cwill never go again because it was weird and nasty.\u201d He does, however, \u201cthink they should continue because some people like them and even if we tried to stop them they will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jillian Rice (V) also \u201cdoesn\u2019t attend Fieldston fests.\u201d For her, \u201cthe Mondays afterward would just be too awkward.\u201d On the one hand, she tells me, \u201cyou can let loose and talk to people you have never spoken to.\u201d On the other hand \u201cyou also might do something that you will regret the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seniors and juniors chipped in to organize the three fests we\u2019ve had this year. Jack Perlman (VI) helped plan Water:Fest, which, he tells me, offered \u201can effective way to raise money and help others.\u201d In general, he says, \u201cI don’t really see Fest culture as the major problem. I think individuals use the Fest as an excuse for a release. At Fieldston, people love to come down on Fests because they represent all the components we’re taught to avoid in high school: binge drinking, pushing the limits of consent, etc. Many think it\u2019s cool and even their ethical duty to protest these issues, but the truth is a lot of people do enjoy them.\u201d Henry Hays (VI), another organizer of Water:Fest, \u201clikes how fests are effective ways to promote worthy causes,\u201d but, he says, \u201cI don’t like how one cannot really have fun at these events whilst sober.\u201d In their time at Fieldston, one Senior parent signed all the clubs\u2019 liability forms and assumed responsibility for all of the students at the parties, a significant legal risk.<\/p>\n

Unlike Jack and Henry, Charlie Sloane (VI) set out running fests to make money. \u201cI was approached by other students who needed someone to help put down money for the deposit and I agreed to help,\u201d he tells me. \u201cI realized that not only would this be a good financial decision to make, for I would be making money, but I would also help organize a much awaited and anticipated party.\u201d Charlie believes that \u201cFests, and this includes pre-gaming too, are some of the most fun times. Also, probably 80% of the relationships at Fieldston are started at a Fest or a different big party.\u201d It is \u201cwhen people are under the influence,\u201d he explains, that \u201ctheir guards go down and relationships can be made because of that confidence that most kids usually don\u2019t have.\u201d Throughout his four years at Fieldston, Charlie\u2019s experiences with fest culture have been \u201coverwhelmingly positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will any of the workshops we\u2019ve had mean anything? What is the result of Ms. Danforth\u2019s increased involvement? Will things change? The future of Fests is an open question. Nevertheless, Ms. Danforth says, \u201cI have an obligation to do whatever I can to do to educate you about choices. It\u2019s ok to choose not to party, but if you do decide to drink, you should know the consequences that may come with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite some public consensus at meetings in school about the drawbacks of Fests, student participation remains higher than ever. Over 200 students attended each of the three fests this year. As Jack Perlman (VI) puts it, \u201cIf Fieldston doesn’t want fests anymore, and that\u2019s exactly how it sounds after every MAD or roundtable discussion, then its the students who should step up and refuse to go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9:00 pm: phones buzz, fake IDs out in the open, Fieldston students drink at an apartment \u2014 it is Fest time. Fests, explains Evan Weinstein (V), are parties \u201cwhere people like to blow off steam.\u201d Charlie Sloane (VI) describes them as an \u201cevent in which kids rent out a club or gallery space for a few hours and host a big party.\u201d Upper School principal, Laura Danforth, tells me that she\u2019s gathered fests can be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":2745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[160,159,162,167,161,135,164,163,166,165],"coauthors":[45],"class_list":["post-2743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-slider","tag-alcohol","tag-beer","tag-evolution","tag-festival","tag-fests","tag-fieldston","tag-parties","tag-party","tag-student-life","tag-students"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Fest-Photo-Credit-Kallerna.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2743"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2771,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743\/revisions\/2771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2743"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}