Bass rattled Georgetown’s Black House last Saturday. Windows were broken, fences were climbed, and the promise of the function was fulfilled. A party like this is an expectation of the Black House, a spot many Howard students find themselves going to for a night of excitement.

Howard has long carried a reputation of being a premier “party school”, but lately the vibes feel off. Whether it's the looming presence of police or constant disappointment from party promoters, students find themselves in group chats, instagram stories, and dorms asking the same question: “where’s the function?”

Somewhere between last semester’s flops and this semester’s “meh” functions, Howard students are caught in a party drought.

When asked, sophomore Biology major Nadia Taryn described the state of Howard parties as “actually pretty bad,” she said adding, “Most parties have been a dub. It’s really disappointing.” Sophomore Psychology major Zion Neely shared a similar sentiment saying,“On record, every party on this campus, everything that's been hosted, mid.”

For many students “ mid” is not the vibe they expected when first stepping on to Howard’s campus.

So what exactly is making the functions flop? Taryn summed up her frustration with precision: “The lines are long, they try to play in our face. They try to get you to get a free ticket and then pay inside. Everybody's standing trying to get inside and the party is wack and empty. It's all a hoax! Everybody just wants to have a good time and they're not letting us.”

Venue choices don’t help either. Jayden Lang, sophomore Electrical Engineering Major noted, “The venues they're picking are not ideal I feel. Either there's too much space or too little.” Neely added, "I'm a very big club person. These house parties, they get way too hot, that was one thing.”

A larger part of the problem? Students are concerned about their safety. Washington, D.C. has been under federal control since August, resulting in the deployment of the national guard, and increased police presence all over the city. Keith Williams, sophomore Health Management major, admitted the National Guard’s presence has him on edge: “Honestly, the national guard is really making me, as a Black individual, feel really unsafe. I haven't been able to enjoy a party yet.” Samry Saleem, sophomore Architecture major, added: “The national guard is pumping fear into civilians, and its honestly detrimenting my college experience.”

Police stepping into the party doesn’t help either. Justice Nshangalume, a freshman Finance major experiencing the Black House for the first time, sighed: “I expected better……the police come and interrupt the party, and that just destroys the vibe. Students can understand why safety is important, but it’s the ultimate mood killer having enhanced police presence in an environment with majority black students.”Justice added, “people are just trying to have fun.”

Still, students aren’t giving up. Despite the disappointment of consistently “floppy” functions, they still show up, hoping the next night will be different.

Despite the disappointment, students are still finding a way to turn up. Justice summed it up best: "I'm still having fun with the friends I made along the way. Literally two days ago me and a group of people that I just met were singing Disney songs. And I think that's an experience that you only get at an HBCU like Howard.” Junior Zaryah Stroman emphasized the accessibility of house parties and kickbacks: “Look within your friend groups. I feel like friend groups are really gonna have the best parties. You know the people.”

Regardless of the party drought, Howard students aren’t sitting in their dorms twiddling their thumbs. If there isn’t a flyer, people are making their own moves, because the vibe doesn’t just live in some promoter’s group chat. If the parties aren’t hitting, fine. Maybe you just gotta look for the function somewhere else, even if it’s just in each other.

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