You're burnt out on the Grille, the patterns on the Loker LED confuse you and your House master sniffs out your parties like a bloodhound.

So you think to yourself, if Harvard can reel in the best students and professors alike and can provide me with more speeches, concerts and exhibits than I could possibly attend, why can't it consistently show me a good time?

In the wake of a letter from Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III admonishing activities at final clubs and the administration's rejection of a proposal that would bring alcohol to Loker, many students have started to sense what others have felt for a long time--namely, that something's wrong with social life at Harvard.

"I think the majority of students feel there's a void in the social scene. The typical college parties are non-existent at Harvard," says Joseph A. Sena '99, co-chair of the Undergraduate Council's Campus Life Committee.

Students cite everything from the lack of open parties and gathering places to the school's policy on alcohol as contributing to Harvard's social malaise. Others simply blame it on the nature of Harvard students in general.

"I think people come here because its not your typical frat school," says Catherine D. Rucker '99, also co-chair of the Campus Life Committee.

Can Loker Fill the Void?

But other schools with similar student bodies have very different approaches to on and off-campus entertainment. Brown, for instance, has an on-campus bar, the Underground, that provides an easy outlet for students that want to drink with their friends without going into town.

"They don't care [about serving alcohol at the Underground] once you're in, as long as you have a Brown or Rhode Island School of Design ID, and one Brown student can bring like 10 friends," says Tyler W. Thorn, a first-year at Brown.

Thorn emphasizes that Brown maintains a bar on campus because it recognizes the need for a safe place where everyone is welcome.

"[The Underground] might generate a little bit of money, but I think it's combination of keeping alcohol on campus and providing entertainment," he says.

Bars like the Underground might serve as models for bringing alcohol into Loker Commons, but the College administration remains opposed to the idea of serving alcohol in Loker.

"The idea of alcohol in Loker kind of makes [the administration] wet their pants," says Rudd W. Coffey '97.

"It worked very well [at Loker] with the Harvard/Yale victory party, where we had kegs in the coffeehouse," Coffey says. "My only hope is that Loker can be used so that alcohol can be integrated, and not be a separate event."

Alcohol may not be Loker's saving grace, however. Many students feel that with or without alcohol Loker needs to be completely revamped before it will draw enough students to make it a success.