There’s nothing like the promise of a Friday night. The dim glow of Christmas lights in your crammed dorm room dance to your new pump-up iTunes playlist as you get ready for a night out. You take care in applying your make up – more than you can say for any other day of the week. The crappy Res-Life supplied mirror, now littered with hairspray, hasn’t been cleaned since you got to school. This combined with poor lighting and a slight buzz from the Barefoot Rosé you just began downing, cause you to look and feel the best you ever have.

And so your night begins and ends with the usual way of progression: pre-game of the pre-game, the pre-game, the party, and the after party. But there is something special about the way the after party operates at our college, students usually end up congregating in Campus Pizza, Milo’s, Wawa or at small dorm parties. These after-parties end up being the main event. The part of the night we have to tell our friends about the next day. The part of the night where the most “drama” happens. And I believe this is because the after party is universal. No matter what team you play on, if you’re affiliated or GDI, if you’re a freshman or a senior, you can partake in the after party.

No matter whose party you go to on a given night or even if you decide to stay in and go out later, you can always bet on people getting together around midnight to 1 a.m. People reconvene on the corners of Cattell and can count on seeing someone they know on the line for Campus. It’s an awesome thing to see people from all over our community come together at this time on the weekend night.

And the best part? By the time you’ve arrived or decided to begin your after party, that “promise” of a Friday night becomes more realized because you’ve relaxed a little since the start of your evening. Even in the dead of winter, you’re going to sweat at most parties on this campus, but by the time you’ve arrived at the after party, you no longer care what you look like. The stress of finding out where the party’s at is no longer a stress at all. You aren’t rushing to get ready. And if you’re not into the scene of people at a particular place, you can find a whole mix of new people at a new place.

You’re also only about a half hour away from eating the equivalent of an entire day’s calorie intake at Don Juans or Wawa. Sometimes, the after party is literally at Wawa. People are waiting (and loitering) for their orders of Mac N’ Cheese and gooey Quesadillas. Sometimes the best part of the night is learning what crazy thing your friend did as she spews her tale a little too loudly on the checkout line. Also, Wawa has air conditioning and that is just invaluable.

Whether at Wawa, Milo’s, Campus, or a friend’s room, the after party is an essential part of any evening. At Lafayette it’s a time of stress-free unity. It’s a time to wind down or give the weekend your last turn up moment. It’s a time that promises a hot meal and a warm bed at 3 a.m. Finally, it’s a time to make sure your night wont be easily forgotten.