Lost Debauched Traditions of SLC: Where Did They Go?

Kelly Dixon ‘28

Students at the Coming Out Dance in 2003, via the college’s digital archive

Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) students know that parties are few and far between here. What many may not know is that we used to have a rich culture of on-campus drinking and partying. 

Beer used to be served at an on campus pub, and there was a night where being a drunk lesbian was specifically encouraged. It sounds like a fantasy, a Sarah Lawrence of endless possibilities. How did we lose these sacred traditions? The crackdown on the bacchanal-esque style parties can be traced back to the eradication of The Coming Out Dance in 2005 (The night where drunk lesbianism was encouraged).

Many know of an event in the spring semester called Sleaze Ball, but SLC used to have a similarly outrageous, booze-driven night of partying called The Coming Out Dance. Along with this there was The Pub that served beer and even had stripper poles.

The Coming Out Dance was  originally started by the Queer Variety Coalition in 1989. As recorded by the student life subject files, the dance was sponsored by Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals United (LGBU). The event took place in Bates—not unlike other campus sanctioned events—and was a night of drinking, gay sex, and partying until dawn. 

Clipping from an old Phoenix article, November 3, 1993, via the school newspaper archives

The event was one of the most highly anticipated nights of the year, and students were encouraged to bring guests. As it was a night of pure debauchery it resulted in many cases of alcohol poisoning and hospitalizations, leading to its untimely demise in 2005. After six hospitalizations in one night—an occurrence which happened in 2004 and 2005, two consecutive years in a row—the administration issued a statement to the student body: “ Throughout the course of this school year, we have been facing a number of problems that have the potential to hurt individuals within our community… The rapid increase of drug and alcohol abuse has reached a dangerous level and must be curtailed… Many students, parents, staff, and faculty agree that the cancellation of The Coming Out Dance is essential in preventing the increase of excessive drinking and possible danger to students.” (Recovered via The Queer Variety Coalition archives).

The Coming Out Dance not only resulted in multiple ambulance rides and alcohol poisoning, there were also unwanted presences of non-students; who were reportedly coming to the campus and causing disturbances. There was a report of an unidentified man driving a campus safety van and offering students a ride, which was only stopped once authorities were alerted. Along with this there were reports of men dressed as firemen  who showed up uninvited to “check the capacity” and insure it wasn’t overheated (as reported in a 2003 Phoenix article, “The Coming Out Dance: Despite precautions, hospitalizations and other problems persist” by Nora Fussner ‘04).

In an old 2005 Phoenix article, a student claims that the lack of parties is an issue, but the coming out dance was the one night of the year to truly have a good time at a grand event. Past student Robin Takashima was quoted in The Phoenix article titled, "Cancelled: Coming Out Dance put on hold for future review.” She claimed the lack of parties was the reason for binge drinking and hospitalizations. “I've heard people argue that canceling the dance will take away the community's one big outlet to party and that it's due to the lack of parties on campus that we have this issue [binge drinking] in the first place.” 

Headline from a 2005 Phoenix article, via the school newspaper archives

The Coming Out Dance was a night of drinking, but The Pub was the communal space where you could meet in the day and night time. Student organizations met there with food being served along with the beer on tap.

What now stands in its place is the HUB: home of WLSC, the Spiritual Space, Common Ground and the LGBTQIA space. The HUB was originally  an infirmary when the college was established, but went through a renovation in 1969 and reopened as the pub in 1970. There was a plan that the infirmary would become an instructional facility/library, put forth by Esther Raushenbush. But in 1969 president Charles Decarlo, who famously got the college out of debt by taking a salary of only one dollar, realized this would increase the nearly million dollar deficit of the college. 

As discussed in The Sarah Lawrence HUBcast—a podcast aired in honor of the opening of the HUB—Esther Raushenbush was a well-known academic, but she was unfamiliar with the world of finance and money management. However, Decarlo was experienced, previously working for IBM and having a rich history in business. He realized the planned renovations put forth by Raushenbush’s building team would be financially irresponsible and he consulted with the Student Life Council.

The Student Life Council suggested the old infirmary be turned into a pub, cafe and communal student center. When The Pub was officially built, it became integral to campus life. It was a student-run organization that took cash only—similar to the Teahaus—and served beer, coffee, and light meals. 

After president Decarlo resigned in 1981, the Pub designated a bar named “Charlie’s Place” as the only thing he requested to be named after him; he was known to drink with students often, and was described by many students as a man who “knew how to party.”  

The college initially had trouble getting zoning rights from the city of Yonkers to renovate The Pub to make it larger, but Ruth Leff Siegel donated $1 million for the renovation. The building was then officially named the Siegel Center, but still generally referred to as the Pub. 

The Pub was known in the 70’s to have group ownership by clubs; certain nights would be designated for the poets, certain nights to the dancers (who used the stripper poles) and other clubs would be pushed out if it wasn’t “their night.” The renovations doubled the size of the building and the clock tower was added, which gave the area more space, letting multiple clubs commune at once, instead of on separate occasions.

Students in The Pub circa late 1970s via the SLC digital archive

The Pub was continually in use up until the opening of the Barbara Walters Campus Center (BWCC) in 2019, which Barbara Walters herself paid $15 million for. The opening of the BWCC resulted in the closing of The Pub, as it was to be made the new student center. There was a plan in motion to redesign the Siegel Center into a student affinity center, but that was unfortunately put on hold due to the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. For a long time the building was only known as a place for COVID-19 tests.         

After years of being unoccupied, the building was reopened as the HUB in 2024. And there is, to the detriment of many partygoers, no beer being served there. 

The Coming Out Dance being eradicated was the beginning of the end, and the closing of the Pub also created one less space to drink and commune. The Pub’s termination also forced many clubs out to different alcoves of the campus, and created a rift in the community. 

SLC still has Sleaze Ball and many DJ Union nights that foster community with the aid of alcohol and good music; but sadly, no more beer is served on campus, and there are no more crazy nights where lesbian sex is the main draw. Maybe in the future, but as it stands the party scene continues to be lost to time.