The History of Blowout
Bert Mueller | Managing Editor
Last Updated:7/9/09 Section: Features
Blowout - n. - a sudden rupture or malfunction of a part or apparatus due to pressure, in particular. (Oxford American Dictionary)
Classes are almost over. Students are busily trying to accomplish all that they have left until the last minute. Then, the final Friday of classes arrives. And it begins. Students who would not touch alcohol on any other day of the year suddenly drink as if their lives depend on it. Classes usually populated by earnest and thoughtful students descend into mayhem. For 24 hours, all of the pressure that has built up over the course of the semester is released.
According to the website, College Prowler, "The last day of classes, especially spring semester, culminates in a humongous, campus-wide alcohol fest. Students go to class drunk, go to parties drunk, and go to sleep drunk. In the spring, seniors go to their freshman dorms for a toast and then head to the Wren Building to ring the bell. It's the last chance to have fun before finals begin." For many students who partake, however, the origins of this event remain a mystery.
How it all started
Thomas Jefferson never attended Blowout. Glenn Close never attended a Blowout. Even Bill Lawrence never attended a blowout. Why? Because, despite widespread misconceptions about this event, it is a relatively new phenomenon. In the mid-nineties, a fraternity that is no longer on campus, Sigma Nu, held an event that evolved into what W&M students now call blowout. On the last day of classes of the spring semester, the Sigma Nu Brothers held a "liquid lunch" at their house. Brothers and their friends would drink before classes and show up to class with liquid containers.
At first, it was just Sigma Nu brothers and their friends who engaged in the event as a serious tradition. After several consecutive years of hosting the event, however, the idea started catching on as imitators took notice. Sigma Nu did not last much longer on campus but the idea of a "liquid lunch" did.
Classes are almost over. Students are busily trying to accomplish all that they have left until the last minute. Then, the final Friday of classes arrives. And it begins. Students who would not touch alcohol on any other day of the year suddenly drink as if their lives depend on it. Classes usually populated by earnest and thoughtful students descend into mayhem. For 24 hours, all of the pressure that has built up over the course of the semester is released.
According to the website, College Prowler, "The last day of classes, especially spring semester, culminates in a humongous, campus-wide alcohol fest. Students go to class drunk, go to parties drunk, and go to sleep drunk. In the spring, seniors go to their freshman dorms for a toast and then head to the Wren Building to ring the bell. It's the last chance to have fun before finals begin." For many students who partake, however, the origins of this event remain a mystery.
How it all started
Thomas Jefferson never attended Blowout. Glenn Close never attended a Blowout. Even Bill Lawrence never attended a blowout. Why? Because, despite widespread misconceptions about this event, it is a relatively new phenomenon. In the mid-nineties, a fraternity that is no longer on campus, Sigma Nu, held an event that evolved into what W&M students now call blowout. On the last day of classes of the spring semester, the Sigma Nu Brothers held a "liquid lunch" at their house. Brothers and their friends would drink before classes and show up to class with liquid containers.
At first, it was just Sigma Nu brothers and their friends who engaged in the event as a serious tradition. After several consecutive years of hosting the event, however, the idea started catching on as imitators took notice. Sigma Nu did not last much longer on campus but the idea of a "liquid lunch" did.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Student
posted 4/23/09 @ 10:45 PM EST
Interesting.
Wally Whitecross
posted 4/30/09 @ 9:53 PM EST
Berticus this is top notch work. Just top notch.
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