Yale Daily News

Several problems with this article:

As someone who was at 174 almost the entire night, I can say for a fact that the party was not the sparsely attended event that the writer makes it out to be. While at times there was low attendance, at other times throughout the night the place was so packed I could barely even move.

Also, the writer brings up the issue of cost of Feb Club in the article without mentioning senior class dues (which helped pay for the Hot Tomatoes event on the same night) as a comparison. Senior class dues were substantially more expensive than Feb Club, yet whenever a senior class event is held by the senior class council, there is always some sort of extra cost to be paid by the attendee. Compare this to Feb Club, where after one has either paid the flat fee or volunteered to host a party, there is no extra cost to be paid by the attendee (all drinks are free).

Further, the writer talks about the bureaucracy in regards to Feb Club, but doesn't mention the same, if not worse, bureaucracy associated with the Senior Class Council, which basically operates under a similar premise (planning social events, albeit on a yearlong scale).

Also, the seniors-only rule is somewhat warranted, as it helps deal with an unfortunate consequence of the ideal of having a party open to everyone, regardless of class: the freshman/freshman counselor issue. If freshmen were allowed to attend Feb Club parties, Freshmen counselors (all seniors) would be unable to attend without violating the terms of their contract.

Feb Club has strayed from its roots, but some of this is due to changes beyond students' control. It may never come close to resembling its original incarnation, but different times and social regulations result in differing incarnations of a similar idea.

The bottom line is that while Feb Club's current incarnation may be far from perfect, it serves its purpose, and is as good as it can be.

Didn't Feb Club limit its membership to 500 as it had only bough a 500 wristband pack.

I'll second the comment above, and go further--this article is riddled with factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizations. I should start, though, by acknowledging that I'm not without preconceptions: I live at 174 Park Street, was involved in organizing the party disparaged in the article, and can personally attest to the great success that Feb Club has so far been. So although I may be biased in favor of the group, I also know what I'm talking about. Caveat emptor.
Not knowing the difference between techno and hip-hop I can forgive, but if Mr. Carlson had actually spent more than ten minutes at our party (which he himself acknowledges was attended by hundreds of people, not the 30 he saw in its earliest minutes), he would have noticed that Stoplight was a completely separate event, taking place several blocks away at Hot Tomato's. Odd that he didn't know the difference, given the rather vivid description he gives of the Hot T's party--did he even attend that event, or is the "gushing stream of thrill-seeking seniors" just another of his assumptions? In short, the Feb Club event wasn't "thematically conflicted;" Mr. Carlson is just "wrong."
As far as the parties being "rigidly structured," I'm not really sure what to say. The writer can't have it both ways; he'll have to decide whether the events are poorly planned and organized or over-structured and bureacratic. I'm honestly not sure what a "rigidly structured" party would even be, but I doubt that the masses of seniors I've seen at every Feb Club party I've attended so far would agree with that characterization.
I can't help but notice, too, that the majority of the negative comments provided for the article were from those who haven't even been to one of the parties, including a student who herself points out that these are "not really the kinds of parties I want to go to." Those who chose not to sign up for Feb Club really don't have much grounds for feeling "marginalized" now that the group is no longer accepting new members--the food was terrible, and there wasn't enough of it?
Certainly Feb Club has had its hiccups, but I would challenge anyone to show me an organization that gains over 500 members in a matter of weeks and doesn't show a bit of a learning curve--especially with only a few, very dedicated people at its helm. As for the fee, throwing parties costs--you guessed it--money. Feb Club costs $29 for the whole month--i.e., $1 per party, not the "$29 a night" that Mr. Carlson claims. This is simply not an unreasonable amount given the scale of these events, and someone should further point out to the writer that SCC events are themselves funded by senior dues, which are nearly four times the Feb Club fee, and are generally restricted to those with stickers proving payment (though there are certainly also parties open to all seniors, and apparently underage YDN reporters, such as Stoplight).
I know that the YDN has higher standards than this, and Mr. Carlson would do well to remember those standards when he is working on his next piece. It might help to go in with an eye to the facts of a story, rather than to shoring up his own preconceived and, in this case, erroneous version of things.

feb club is so lame! who wants to spend a whole month hanging out with awkward class-council types and seniors who are going through quarter-life crises about missing their glory days of being freshmen? not i.

the "organized fun" that is this year's "feb club" is completely antithetical to the very idea of a party, let alone a spontaneous party that's supposed to ease a group of friends' slog through the dark month of february...

People need to recognize the incredible work that organizers like Jess Kimball and Angel Enriquez have done. They aren't paid and get nothing for their hours of hard work. It's seniors like them that make the Class of 2008 as awesome as it is!

This article was inconsistent and seemed wrong on this point -- There were Feb clubs throughout my years at yale, from 1998 to 2002. Perhaps it went too underground for it to register on the YD"N"'s radar, but oh it existed.

Feb Club rocks!
As someone who has been to every party, I can tell you that the organizers have done a kick ass job. I have more than gotten my money's worth.

Also, the first party was awesome! Everyone I know was there and most of them wasted.

I really don't feel at all sorry for underclassmen who can't come. You'll get your chance. And, as a FroCo, I really appreciate that freshman aren't there! I would have to leave!

Wow. As a frequent beneficiary of Feb Club 1985-88, I'm saddened to think of its demise. (No, an exclusive, pre-paid, wristbanded, seniors-only pseudorevival does not qualify.)

A few observations:

* Feb Club parties in the mid-80s were great. Wide open to all classes and cliques, big enough to be rocking, small enough to stay below the radar, self-organized and mostly on-campus. Perfect for intersecting new social circles. Nothing against DKE, just sayin'.

* Word of mouth was enough, no listserv or T-shirt necessary. If you looked, you found. If you didn't know, you knew who knew (or who'd know who knew).

* The best part: You always knew it was there. On any given black February night, no matter who you were or what assignment was due, you knew there was a warm party waiting for you. (It's like the idea of wilderness -- you might not go there, but it's important just to know it's there if you need it.)

I hope (and suspect) that Yalies are keeping that kind of winter party alive -- nightly, open, and on the DL -- under the Feb Club banner or not.

Keep it low-pro bro,

Keith Hammond, PC '88

As a member of the first February Club, I can attest that it began in February, 1975. It was open only to those who would agree to host or co-host a party. No other qualifications were necessary.