As everyone knows, 10/10 is tomorrow and it is being hyped with the usual excitement and anticipation. This year will be my fourth consecutive 10/10 as the RLC on call and it has been interesting to watch the evolution of the party during that time. The week before 10/10 is always filled with talk of “what 10/10 can and should be” and the week after is always filled with “WTF just happened”? Each year we have more of the former conversation and less of the latter as a result of improved planning on the part of the organizers and better collaboration with the Administration. After four years of meetings with the organizers, other students, staff, faculty and the GPD, we have collectively learned from our mistakes and created a more conducive environment for a successful party.
After all this planning, there are still several incidents each year that are a clear demonstration of a breakdown in self-gov. The type and severity of these incidents vary but all detract from what 10/10 “should be” and all the other students choosing to enjoy the party responsibly. In the spirit of base-10 lists, here are 10 examples of situations I have personally witnessed on 10/10 where self-gov did not prevail (and yes, these are all true stories).
1. Throwing a full Solo cup of beer at a moving police car is always a bad idea but I saw someone do it. This student actually ran from Younker to the street to hit the car. Where I come from, we have a term for people that make decisions like that; the term is ‘ass hat’.
2. One year I saw John Booth (campus security officer) walking with a student back to his residence hall to unlock his door. Two students were walking through the loggia the opposite direction and as they passed, the said “f***ing pig”. So I said, “that must make you feel hella tough to passively throw an unintelligent insult at one of the top 3 nicest people at Grinnell” but I did not get a response. Was I hella nerdy? Yes. Was it hella satisfying? Also yes.
3. We can all be a little pyro sometimes. But if you see anyone take toilet paper from the bathrooms on Cleveland first, unroll it onto the sidewalk to spell out ‘Grinnell’ and light it on fire, tell them to stop. I am all for GC Pride, but that is GC Dumb.
4. Despite all the warnings, people still cross 8th St with open containers but what’s worse is getting stopped by the GPD then trying to convince the officer that your name is Mr. Mitchell Mitchellson. Even the most gullible of people will call BS on that and so will a search on DB.
5. I frequently hear ‘campus unity’ used as a reason for having 10/10 and yet every year there are several fights. How are fighting people contributing to campus unity? Just walk away and meet one of the other hundreds of people at the party. And by the way, no, she did not take your shoes because yours are still on your feet. And yes, it is rude to tell someone her butt is blocking your path to the keg.
6. High school students and other non-Grinnellians do not belong at 10/10. We give all Grinnell students the red wristbands to empower the student body to self-gov strangers out of the party. Please do this so that I do not have to drive home a vomiting high school student that found his way into an unlucky student’s unlocked room.
7. If you choose to be sexually active on 10/10, be safe. But don’t choose to be sexually active in public. I have seen it. I like you guys, but not that much. Also, that is a really ridiculous way to draw unwanted attention to the campus from the GPD.
8. Don’t get super drunk at the Gardner concert and spew your dinner all over paramedics in the bathroom. And especially don’t stand in front of me the next day in the D-Hall line and tell your friend you had a great 10/10. I’ll call BS every time.
9. Each year there have been injuries because of someone stepping on glass from someone else’s broken bottle. This is easily avoidable…don’t caveman smash the bottles you shouldn’t have in the first place. I hope to avoid my annual “can paramedics determine someone’s pulse by watching blood shoot of their foot” conversation this year.
10. I have to disagree with my man Billy Madison; peeing your pants is not cool. Nor is any other bodily excrement sloshing around in your carefully chosen 10/10 outfit. It is, however, a great way to find out which of your friends will help you through that unfortunate situation and which ones will puke in their own Nalgene bottle at the sight of you.
10/10 has the potential to be a great event but as these stories demonstrate, a few students can have a massively negative impact on the party. If self-gov prevails, situations like these can be prevented before they happen. As always, call Security and ask for the RLC on call if you need something and if you choose to participate, have a fun and safe 10/10!
