Students grill while tailgating before the Maryland football game against Richmond on September 5, 2015.
With the return of college football comes the return of pregame tailgates, and while some university students might look forward to pregaming at the Interfraternity Council’s on-campus tailgate ahead of Saturday’s big game, not all of them will be able to attend.
The cost of attending this tailgate rests on knowing the right person who can provide a coveted wristband.
About 3,900 people can tailgate in the designated area — university President Wallace Loh’s front lawn — and every fraternity receives enough wristbands for each member and a guest, said Taylor Roethle, IFC vice president of external affairs. But more students want to attend, as evident by the widespread practice of students photocopying wristbands to gain entrance.
“It’s very selective, like, not everyone can go, if you don’t have a wristband,” junior American studies major Sara Goldstein said. “It limits people who aren’t in Greek life. I get that they’re doing it on-campus to get people to go to the games, but it still seems very selective.”
Although some students argue this tailgate is exclusive, Fraternity and Sorority Life Director Matt Supple said it wasn’t created to include the entire student body.
“There has been a misconception that everybody is supposed to be going to these tailgates,” Supple said. “It’s still invitation-only, and the chapters control who they invite and are responsible for their guests.”
The IFC contributes roughly $20,000 a season to host this tailgate, in part through grants, such as those from the Pepsi Foundation and University of Maryland Parents Association, and in part through IFC chapter dues, Roethle said.
The Division of Student Affairs, the Division of Administration and Finance and the City Council each contribute $7,000 toward a total-season cost of $46,000, Roethle said.
As the host of the tailgate, each fraternity contributes part of its dues toward the cost and provides alcohol. Each chapter is responsible for cleaning or setting up for one game during the season and must attend a weekly meeting to get its wristbands.
Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity President Alex Spector said there is a lot more demand for wristbands than supply, especially when fraternity members have guests coming to the campus for the football game.
“I know the IFC pays for it, and technically we’re paying for it, but I think that obviously everyone wants all their friends to be there,” Spector said. “It was harder for the girls. Girls couldn’t get wristbands. … A lot of girls are missing out.”
Lindsay Gray, a sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences and an Alpha Omicron Pi sorority member, said she was able to attend the tailgate this past weekend, but had to “beg guys” until she received a wristband.
“It made the whole system seem very patriarchal,” Gray said. “It was very degrading.”
IFC can’t print more wristbands to meet the demand because fire-safety laws limit the number of attendees to 3,900, Roethle said.
But Supple said if another Greek life organization wanted to host, it could acquire wristbands as well.
Kappa Alpha Theta President Allie Morris said when her sorority had a tent at past tailgates, it received enough wristbands for its members. It cost about $500 for the chapter to get a tent.
If more sororities coordinated risk-management and alcohol policies with their national branch and followed Kappa Alpha Theta’s lead, they wouldn’t have to rely on a fraternity member to get a wristband, said Vikk Shepelev, Panhellenic Association president.
Six PHA chapters — Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Xi Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Kappa Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha Epsilon Phi — will be participating throughout this semester, Supple said, and Zeta Tau Alpha already co-hosted during last Saturday’s event.
“The IFC is assuming responsibility for everyone with a wristband,” Shepelev said. “It’s not a free-for-all.”
While there are strict rules for hosting the IFC tailgate, it isn’t difficult to attend once someone obtains a wristband.
The area is closed off and the guards at the entrance check each person for a student ID, a football ticket and a wristband. However, they don’t ask for identification proving that an attendee is at least 21, because “it’s simply not practical to ID everyone who is tailgating on-campus,” said Linda Clement, student affairs vice president.
The university’s Code of Student Conduct states that “use or possession of any alcoholic beverage under the age of 21; knowingly providing alcoholic beverages to a person known to be under the age of 21,” is subject to disciplinary action.
The 2015 Greek life tailgate plan, distributed to participating fraternities, also states that attendees are expected to be at least 21 years old.
While students enter the tailgate, where free alcohol is available, the only time University Police check for ID is when “there is problematic behavior that involves alcohol,” Supple said.
University spokesman Brian Ullmann said authorities at the tailgate reserve the right to check IDs and fraternities are accountable for those who wear their wristbands.
Since the tailgate’s inception, there have been no citations issued for underage drinking violations, University Police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas wrote in an email.
“We respect the law and we want students to be safe,” Loh said. “Having students having a good time in a supervised environment is simply a safer thing to do.”
This tailgate isn’t the only option for students looking to party before kickoff.
The Department of Resident Life sponsors an additional tailgate on La Plata beach, where anyone is welcome, Clement said. This tailgate includes a DJ from Hot 99.5, and participants can take part in activities such as face-painting and football.
More than 300 people attended the La Plata tailgate last weekend, Clement said.
However Roethle said currently, the IFC tailgate is the only organization-sponsored tailgate where a person can bring alcohol.
While some students look at the IFC tailgate as a service to the student body, it was created to curb noise complaints in downtown College Park, Supple said.
“The goal has never been to accommodate everyone who wants to attend,” Supple said. “The goal has been to alleviate the problems that were happening down in the city.”
By moving the tailgates to the campus, city residents have relief from the excess noise, vandalism and public urination that occasionally stemmed from game day celebrations, District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn said.
“I’ve spoken with several residents in the more heavily student-populated neighborhoods about this,” Wojahn said. “My understanding is that since on-campus tailgates have started, there’s been a significant improvement in the level of partying and noise and then tension between students and long-term residents.”
To maintain these relations, PHA and IFC chapter presidents and risk managers came together to restate restrictions surrounding off-campus tailgating last Thursday.
A chapter caught engaging in off-campus tailgating, such as the popular pregame tradition “kegs and eggs,” could face sanctions from a variety of organizations, such as the IFC, the Office of Student Conduct or the DFSL, Supple said.
Not all organizations are pleased with the way the IFC tailgate is organized. Gabriella Zakrocki, a junior mathematics major in this university’s Alpha Phi sorority chapter, said although the tailgate was fun, the wristband system made it difficult for all her friends to attend.
“There were a lot of people, even in my sorority, who weren’t able to get wristbands,” Zakrocki said. “If they were trying to cut off off-campus tailgating, they probably should have accommodated more for more people to come.”
