Loud music, a packed house, and red solo cups are a crucial component to the stereotypical high school party. Movies depicting these events set up the same scene: reckless youths inviting all their friends over and drawing noise complaints every time their parents leave the house for a night. Does the party scene at Aragon reflect this image?
“The party culture at Aragon is compartmentalized, so there aren’t huge parties that everyone goes to,” says junior Margot Bellon. “I would say that the stereotypical high school party is not an accurate representation.” The huge ragers that serve as an integral part of any high school movie are not a regular occurrence for Aragon party goers. Senior Cassie Weiss says, “When I was like a sophomore, the seniors and stuff from that generation had more of a party culture, but now I’d say people are mostly doing like schoolwork.”
Junior Julianna Glafkides attributes the decrease of giant movie-like parties to Aragon’s diversity. “Since there’re so many different groups of people with different interests, there’s not necessarily one party culture per se because you can’t define the culture of the entire school in one way.” Conversely, Weiss associates party culture with the school’s overall environment. “There are distinct party cultures at each school, and it almost goes with which schools have the most spirit. I feel like San Mateo is really crazy, and Hillsdale’s pretty wild, and Aragon’s more low-key,” she says, adding, “Honestly, it’s probably going to be less and less every year just because everyone so college oriented.”
Although not a weekly ritual, large parties are not entirely absent. Following prom last year, Bellon went to an afterparty at a rented house in Half Moon Bay. “[There was] a lot of food, smoking and drinking, and beer pong.” School dances are a common platform for students to hold bigger parties because it allows for more preparation beforehand.
But, a majority of the parties that exist among Aragon students are held within each friend group, usually with an unvarying group of people. Bellon explains, “The people who get invited are just the same people over and over again […] There’s not a lot of outreach to different people.”
Aside from the people invited to a party, there seem to be many commonalities between these events, which can be characterized a few different ways. Senior Olivia Di Santo explains, “[Most parties involve] blasting music with some fire aux cord game. People also dance and play games to entertain themselves.” Aside from music, most parties involve games and activities. [Some] guy will just be playing video games […] like ‘Modern Warfare.’ Besides that I guess there’s beer pong,” says Weiss. Although different parties may have different activities, they all include a few general components. Glafkides says, “Parties involve getting together with a group of friends, listening to music, and talking. That’s as typical as it gets, and after that a party could be anything from a small birthday celebration to a huge ordeal just for the heck of a wild time.”
The frequency and exclusiveness of parties also varies widely from group to group. “I know some go like weekly, and some go bimonthly, and some go monthly,” says Bellon. Additionally, most parties are very informal with no set “guest list.” Di Santo says, “People get invited through friends of the person or group of people planning the party. Very often it is an ‘open invite,’ so people bring their friends.” This openness often allows for bigger, potentially crazier parties, with students from different schools mixing together.
In the media, parties hosted by high school students often get a bad rap, and are defined by reckless behavior. As Bellon says, “People go to these parties because the idea of consuming illegal substances and sort of defying the rules is appealing.” Although this rebellious behavior has the potential to get out of hand, Di Santo says, “I haven’t been to any parties that are like the movies, or as extreme as anything like ‘Project X.’” Additionally, Weiss explains that some of the most extreme events she’s gone to have been with friends from Hillsdale and other schools. “Sometimes it can get [crazy], where people are like on the roof, and the entire house is hot boxed or something, and parents come home and everyone’s running for the fences.”
Alcohol and crazy behavior do seem to be staples at the typical high school party, but are not necessarily crucial. Di Santo says, “I don’t know about other people, but I go to parties to socialize and hang out with my friends. The music and good vibes that parties bring take my mind off of the stress that I have from school, or sports, or whatever else.” The key component to a successful party is the assortment of people. “I think it’s just like a normal hang out with more fun,” explains Bellon. It’s hard to limit party culture do one image because the students at Aragon have varying preferences when it comes to partying. Weiss says, “Personally I like smaller kickbacks because I don’t like to be in noisy environments that much, and I have a smaller core group of friends, and I just like to be with like five of those people.”
With prom coming up, many students are excitedly beginning to make plans for an after party. Unlike the typical weekend party, post-dance gatherings garnish more excitement; it is these parties that are typically larger and more “movie-like.” Bellon, who attended prom last year as a sophomore, says, “The dance after parties are more fun than the normal parties because usually they’re more organized whereas on weekends they’re just spontaneous.” Additionally, as Di Santo explains, “After dance parties are different because they often have themes for people to dress accordingly, and for bigger events, such as prom, people often rent houses for their after parties.” Houses are not the only option for after party venues. Weiss specifies, “Some people are going on the Airbnb to find spots to go to,” while others rent “hotel rooms.”
Overall, Aragon’s party culture is a mix of different sized events held by groups of friends. Informal kickbacks and larger, themed post-dance events all appeal to Aragon students, and provide the perfect way to have a fun weekend with friends.
