The Fred Gives Alternative to Vernon Street

I am confused as to why the anonymous opinions contributor who wrote the article about the Fred in last week's Tripod chose to write as though the Fred is well liked on campus. I'm pretty sure no one ever described the program as a "shining beacon." From the beginning the Fred has been unfairly represented in the Tripod. The program is mocked and written off as an Ivory Tower full of elitist intelligentsia.I would also question claiming superiority over those of us in the Fred who do choose to drink or smoke while decrying the elitist people and ideas behind the program. I take offense to being labeled as though I'm in a constant drug induced haze simply because I am a member of the Fred. Elitism does not just describe a feeling of intellectual superiority.

We presented ourselves as the anti-Vernon, not as sober or anti-alcohol. The Fred was meant to be a place where people felt comfortable drinking if they chose or if they chose not to. I don't know about any of you, but when I go to the frats, I don't feel very comfortable when I'm not drinking. At Fred Friday night events, the majority of the people are not drunk or even drinking.

When I signed on to be part of this program last year, I worried I was becoming part of a community based upon criticizing fraternities, when in reality the only different thing about was the prevalence of wine instead of beer. I now see that the Fred offers me more than Yellowtail instead of Keystone Light. I have a place where I feel comfortable drinking or staying sober.

More importantly, the Fred offers events, intellectual and otherwise, I can attend during the week. The Fred is composed of several groups with different focuses or themes that hold varied events. These groups make the Fred a true alternative space. Our mystery critic claimed "The Fred is not unique in promoting an alterative option, so it should go." I think the Fred is unique because we offer events every day. We are not just a club or "social organization" that holds occasional or weekly events. Said individual makes no mention whatsoever of these groups.

Since this anonymous member of the Fred doesn't mention the groups but brings up the "mediocre turnout" of Friday night events I'm pretty sure said person stopped attending Fred events a few weeks into the semester.

Most of our Friday night events have had excellent turnouts, and while some of the same people do show up every week, there are always newcomers. Some return, some don't. You could blame the Fred for this, but the events are so varied it's not surprising some people choose to attend one or two events and no others.

It's a good thing the same people return; most of them are freshmen, and if we keep even 10 freshmen from transferring it's enough to validate the Fred's existence. Even when events do go badly, and some do - I would never try to deny that - the representatives who attend the next Sunday meeting certainly do not write it off as a fluke, they take unsuccessful events seriously.

I think we cannot forget the Fred is in its very first semester. We shouldn't take small mistakes in the first few weeks as a sign that it is doomed. I'm not implying that we should have unjustified faith in things that clearly won't work out, but I see no reason we should assume the Fred will "deteriorate around us" because it's not perfect yet.

Matt Milner '09, and Gwen Hopkins '08 have done a good job setting up a program with aims beyond drinking and intellectualism. They have both worked incredibly hard to arrange wide ranging events that will pull in people from all over campus. I am offended for them that the author implied people who show up to Sunday meetings are hung-over. They take their jobs seriously, regardless of your personal opinions of their decisions.

There are problems with publicity for all the events, something that I myself have criticized in Fred-wide meetings. I still feel as though my recommendations about publicizing events have not been addressed, but I also fault myself for this. I should have volunteered to do something about my complaints, as I feel the anonymous author should have done. You cannot expect things to be perfect if you are not willing to have enough faith to give them a second chance or to become involved in a way that allows you to correct the problems you see. We named this a "community project," which implies it is something for all members of the community to work on together so it can succeed.