Lawnparties: The quintessentially Princeton way to spend a crisp fall Sunday

Sundays are relaxing. Some people sleep in, some go to church, others watch football and some frantically scurry to catch up on a week's worth of neglected reading. But anyone strolling around campus this past Sunday would have immediately realized that there was certainly no Prospect of relaxation at the Street.

It's kind of difficult to explain Lawnparties to anyone who does not attend Princeton. But I tried to explain it to a friend:

Uhhh, yeah, you know those eating club things we have? Yeah, that's right, the ones that are like coed fraternities and that they talked about in "The Rule of Four." Exactly. Those mansion things. No, I don't know if there are actually underground tunnels. But yeah, every club brings in a band and everyone's invited to go out and watch them play music. We call this event Lawnparties.

Oh, and by the way, the clubs serve champagne with breakfast in the morning. Nooo, not André's! Good stuff. So basically, the celebrations start around 11 in the morning and last until sunset. It's kind of a downer when you're left with a hangover around 9 p.m. and have to resort to passing out on the couch and watching "Family Guy," but hey, life is really tough sometimes.

The dress is pretty casual. There's no need to get all dressed up when you're going to be standing outside in gorgeous weather listening to bands like Jurassic 5, the Gin Blossoms and Maroon 5. For girls, sundresses and high heels will do. Guys can get by if they are wearing clothing with some combination of horse logos, alligator logos, plaid patterns, pink or some other flamboyantly pastel color. Definitely casual.

Some students opt to enjoy the afternoon in other ways. Nothing crazy though. Girls plunging 50 feet down Slip 'N Slides in their dresses, guys tossing footballs and Frisbees from balconies. You know, the usual college stuff. Too bad we're not near a beach and have to settle for crowd surfing.

Are all the bands good? Certainly! Campus Club had an awesome band this past weekend. Everyone was really touched watching the lone trumpeter solemnly playing Taps in the backyard.

Now that my friend had left, satisfied with my description, I sat down in my rocking chair, puffed on a cigar and began to ponder the deeper meaning of Lawnparties.

I find Lawnparties to be one of the most intriguing events of the year for a number of reasons. For one, it is the one day that captures the quintessence of the Princeton stereotype. As a freshman, I came to Princeton having heard that I would be surrounded by a sea of snooty, elitist, beer-drinking sons and daughters of politicians. With the exception of a few members of a certain club that is also a type of cheese, I have found this stereotype to be quite false. Lawnparties is the one time when it's acceptable for everyone to dress like a professional croquet player or, equivalently, to look like a complete douchebag. It's a sort of wonderful joke.

It is not often that we get to see such an eclectic mix of students on campus enjoying themselves together — especially at the Street. Rarely do so many students from different social circles find themselves at the same place. At Quad on Sunday, as Jurassic 5 played, I was amazed by the assortment of straightedges and drunkards, jocks and nerds, wackos and average joes. Moreover, the decision to donate a large portion of the proceeds from Lawnparties T-shirt sales to Hurricane Katrina relief seemed to compel more students to sport the clothing than in past years.

Lawnparties brings out some of the best in Princeton social life. And we've only got about eight months until the spring version! Sure, there's no need to loot the Nassau J. Crew or glue the flowers onto your white dresses just yet (that's what you girls do, right?), but stay ready. It'll be a damn good way to spend another Sunday. Neel Gehani is a junior from Summit, N.J. He can be reached at ngehani@princeton.edu.