Unsanctioned Senior Bars Planned

While the College has announced it will no longer sanction senior bars, seniors said yesterday that the tradition will continue unofficially and opened the month of nightly parties with a bash at North House last night.

Although the house masters recently reconsidered banning senior bars, they reaffirmed their original decision, said Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III. "Senior bars unfortunately have violated the drinking rules, so we must discontinue the practice," he said.

Without the College's approval, the Senior Class Committee can no longer coordinate the parties and distribute a schedule to the Class of 1987, seniors said.

However, since the parties have always been paid for by the hosts, a group of senior--who asked to remain anonymous--took over the Class Committee's planning function and will organize this year's party season.

The Undergraduate Council will reimburse them for the cost of printing up schedules, said council member Evan O. Grossman '87-88.

"We wanted to insure that seniors would be able to unwind in the manner they have in the past," Grossman said. He said that the party hosts will be in charge of distributing the schedule.

While College officials did not approve this informal arrangement, they said that seniors are free to have parties on their own.

"We'd like to remind individual students that they must speak to their individual masters about having parties in thenormal way," Epps said.

Although students in all of the houses can holdparties in their rooms or use house common roomsfor weekend parties, the rules for gatheringsduring the week vary from house to house.

Dunster House students may not use the housecommon rooms for weeknight parties, but they mayhost events in their rooms provided that theyabide by the regular noise regulations, said BettyA. McNally, assistant to the master.

Kirkland House does not permit weeknightparties at all, said Diane A. Barrios, assistantto the master.

And North House Senior Tutor Robert L. Franklinsaid that parties there must end by 11 p.m. "Ourprinciple concern is what effect it has on thehouse," Franklin said.

Most weeknight bars will probably take placebetween 9 and 12 p.m. in order to comply withhouse rules, one host said.

Seniors hosting the parties said they will tryto abide by their house rules, adding that theydid not view the new arrangement as a violation ofCollege rules.

"It's not really a senior bar. All this is amatter of coordinated parties," said Drew Pierce'87, who is scheduled to host a party later thismonth. "We're shouldering all the costs and theresponsibilities.