Over the last 75 years, Spring Weekend has evolved from a weekend of crew races and jazz concerts to the music festival we know today. In its earlier years, University-sanctioned festivities distributed free beer. Now, alcohol isn’t even permitted within the concert, but alcohol consumption has remained core to the Spring Weekend experience.
Today’s Spring Weekend is a one-day affair organized by the Brown Concert Agency, a student group that invites multiple artists to campus for a concert which Brown students can attend free of charge. University policies prohibit alcohol at Spring Weekend, according to guidance from Brown’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter.
Alcoholic beverages “may be confiscated by event staff,” the ACLU website reads.
Although Rhode Island remains the only state not to have ratified the 18th Amendment prohibiting the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors, the state was still subject to national Prohibition laws until 1933. In 1970, the drinking age dropped to 18. It was set to its current minimum of 21 in 1984.
But concerns of legality did not deter past Heralders from reporting on the elevated intoxication that often accompanies the festival, eschewing some laws on College Hill for a weekend. The Herald flipped through the archives to see how Spring Weekend’s drinking culture has evolved over the past three-quarters of a century.
1950s: The Hilltoppers Ball and ‘restraining influence of the fair sex’
In 1953, Spring Weekend was a three-day ordeal featuring a variety of events, from an inter-fraternity regatta to the “Hilltoppers Ball,” which, according to a Herald article, had become a symbol of the event. The ball featured Japanese lanterns and a large revolving crystal ball.
The morning after the ball, The Herald reported that “some of the more stalwart fraternities offered morning parties to start the day off properly” before heading down “to the Seekonk for an afternoon at the crew races.”
“Whether the Brown man and his date were reclining on the bank or wandering about the jumbo-sized excursion boat in mid-river, they all ended up in the same condition; chilled by the unseasonable weather, but sporting an inner glow to which the littered condition of the river bore eloquent testimony,” the article reads.
Following the crew races, it was time for “serious partying,” and the evening was described as “conspicuous in its lack of complications involving the local gendarmerie, for which we give thanks to the usually restraining influence of the fair sex.”
A few years later, in 1956, one Herald writer described the “kaleidoscope picture” of that year’s Spring Weekend: “Bright lights, intoxication, Spring, women and nonsense.”
1960s: A Memoryless Bacchanal in the Sharpe Refectory
A 1960 Pembroke Record article titled “Memoirs of My Brown Spring Weekend…” features the opening line “Dear Diary,” followed by a swath of blank space — a seeming nod to the alcohol-induced memory loss sustained by a number of students who partook in the weekend’s festivities.
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
Described by a Herald reporter as an “infamous bacchanal,” the weekend featured a semi-formal dance in the Sharpe Refectory and a portion of Saturday designated by administrators as the time to “raise limited havoc.”
A 1979 Herald article reflects on Spring Weekend in 1960, recounting that “damage in the Wriston Quad was limited to 36 windows.”
In the article, a previous Herald reporter wrote that “retiring porter John Sweeney remembered previous Spring Weekends when practically every window of every fraternity house was broken. ‘This was nothing like the days when empty beer kegs were rolled down the hill,’ he said in a voice devoid of regret.”
But in order “for Spring Weekend to be a truly drunken orgy,” the article continues, “more than alcohol was required.” Since Brown students outnumbered Pembroke students, The Herald wrote, students sought dates beyond College Hill — often beyond state lines.
In 1964, The Herald wrote about the rock ’n’ roll band the Coasters’ upcoming performance: “For those who attend the free concert and are not enthralled by the Coasters, liquid refreshment will be found in abundance. Those who are really wild about the Coasters might want to partake anyway.”
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
1970s: Free beer and legal debauchery
When Rhode Island lowered the state’s drinking age to 18 in 1970, the BCA distributed free, University-sponsored beer for the first time.
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
The 1974 concert, held on Pembroke Field, was one of these festivals that featured free beer. In an interview with The Herald at the time, a member of student government, Harry Wood ’76, said that $400 was allocated for BCA’s purchase of beer, adding that he “would be disappointed if there is not free beer.”
In response, then co-chairman of BCA Peter Allstrom ’75 told The Herald, “in good faith we could not use the money for anything else other than free beer.”
The Undergraduate Council of Students provided 25 kegs of free beer for the 1976 iteration of Spring Weekend, The Herald previously reported.
But the free beer tap was shut off in 1979, when BCA transitioned to selling beer instead. In 1979, The Herald reported that BCA faced costs of $1,000 for cleaning up food- and drink-related trash. These expenses motivated the agency to establish a new policy that no outside bottles or containers would be welcome at the concert, but they would still sell beer, champagne and other concessions.
1980s: Breathalyzers and more free beer
At Spring Weekend 1981, free beer was reintroduced — and was described as “flowing.”
But by 1984, when the drinking age in the state was raised to 21, The Herald reported that “as part of a campus-wide effort to curb alcohol abuse during Spring Weekend, off-duty state troopers stationed in front of the Ratty will offer optional breathalyzer tests for those interested in checking their blood alcohol level.”
In an interview with The Herald at the time, the co-chairperson of Spring Weekend Committee, Lindsey Arenberg ’86, said, “a big part of Spring Weekend is alcohol.”
“We can’t prevent people from drinking, but we can encourage taking a responsible approach so that people enjoy the weekend rather than just getting plastered,” Arenberg said.
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
1990s: The introduction of regulations
In a break from tradition, BCA decided not to serve alcohol at the concert in 1991, The Herald reported. Dean Forsberg, then-director of student activities, told The Herald that he believed the agency’s decision was due to “costs and potential liability problems.”
In fall 1991, after that year’s concert, the University instituted a ban on kegs and bottled alcohol, limiting alcohol consumption to canned beverages for students over 21. In response, leading up to Spring Weekend in 1992, some students took to The Herald’s opinions section to protest the ban, even suggesting that students engage in a “Primal Puke” to persuade the administration.
In 1994, alcohol policies surrounding the festival continued to get stricter, with the University prohibiting fraternities from serving alcohol at Spring Weekend events after 6:30 p.m. The Herald also reported that “the sale of bracelets, tickets or other items used in exchange for alcohol will be prohibited,” and “impromptu” gatherings were barred.
Then-Dean of Student Life Robin Rose credited these policy changes to incidents at the previous year’s Spring Weekend, including 11 false fire alarms and mass underage drinking.
But students felt the new policies were far too restrictive. “A lot of students came up to me and asked if Spring Weekend was canceled,” Czerina Patel ’96, then-vice president of the UCS, told The Herald in 1994. “Many of them feel that the University is trying to stifle the little fun that we do have.”
Patel also told The Herald that students expressed concerns that “the University is eventually trying to do away with Spring Weekend.”
1999 saw further restrictions on drinking and a stronger police presence. In an interview with The Herald, Matthew Stroup ’00 expressed frustration over the police presence, saying “it seemed like a power trip more than anything else.”
Stroup also told The Herald that “the cops were pretty invasive … People were walking around carrying their beverages and they were harassing them.”
But these alcohol restrictions resulted in fewer medical emergencies at the 1999 Spring Weekend, The Herald reported the next year.
2000s: “An anticipated fable of downright debauchery”
Alcohol policies remained in place into the start of the new millennium.
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
Erica DeRosa ’00, then-president of the Greek Council, told The Herald at the time that “to say that Spring Weekend is going to be alcohol-free would be naive. The reality is that there is going to be a substantial amount of drinking going on. What we’re looking for is responsible drinking.”
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
In 2009, The Herald’s guide to Spring Weekend described the festivities as “an anticipated fable of downright debauchery” and a “four-day sh*tshow” that evolved from a “drunken brawl.”
The guide also featured an advertisement for Emergency Medical Services.
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
2010s: Vodka water bottles
By 2011, some students told The Herald they were uncomfortable with the strong drinking culture surrounding Spring Weekend and opted out of attending. In an interview, Brian Lin ’12 said that “many students approach the event with the attitude that they are so stressed they ‘need a whole week to be shitfaced.’”
For that year’s festival, the Contemplative Studies Initiative planned to offer meditation retreats Saturday and Sunday called “Staying Grounded on Spring Weekend” in part for students not interested in attending the concert, The Herald reported.
In 2015, a Herald article about data from that year’s fall poll showed that 15% of students had attended class under the influence. One student interviewed by The Herald said that on the Friday afternoon before Spring Weekend, “in my last class of the day, everyone showed up totally drunk except me. There were people drinking straight vodka from Poland Spring bottles.”
2020s: Hydrate or die-drate
Today, the student group SoBear Activities Club hosts a “retreat on Spring Weekend that offers students the opportunity to leave campus during a period of elevated substance abuse,” according to Brown’s Division of Campus Life website.
In a message to The Herald, BCA Co-President Yabeke Zike ’25 wrote that current policies have expanded to the concert queues, and “open containers with alcohol are not permitted while you are waiting in line. Anyone in line with an open container will be asked to leave and not admitted to the concert.”
Students are not able to bring any drugs, alcohol or outside food or drinks into the concert, according to Zike.
Zike wrote that BCA also provides concertgoers with guidance for safe alcohol consumption: “If you’re out in the sun or drinking alcohol, you’ll need more water. If you go to the concerts, remember to bring an empty water bottle to fill at the water stations. Eat often. Food slows the absorption of alcohol, and a meal or snack every four hours will keep your energy up, allowing you more time for fun.”
From The Brown Daily Herald's archives.
Talia LeVine is a section editor covering arts and culture. They study Political Science and Visual Art with a focus on photography. In their free time, they can be found drinking copious amounts of coffee.
