A False Dillemma

Hey guys! I was invited to respond to the post about my birthday party, and I must say the invite itself erased any negative view of SMCM LOL and Natty Ho. I wanted to put it all out on the table, so if this issue does not tickle your fancy I would save your time and listen to this instead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33mjGmfy7PA). I always enjoy a little internet debate, but I do think an anonymous post that used my name directly was a little over the edge. That said, I don't want to bash Natty Ho... he wrote what was on his and another student, "Diablo"'s, minds and that is what blogging is all about. I respect SMCM LOL allot as a blog, and also believe that the conversation Natty Ho has started is important. Instead, I want to divide this rebuttal into 3 sections: Why and how I developed this birthday party, the mistakes that I made in regards to the party, and why I think the article published on my birthday was far from fair. But before all of that, I would like to cite my (very, very intelligent) brother's comment on his Facebook post of Natty Ho's article.

"How rude of you, throwing a party at your own expense and trying to control who comes in. How entitled of you, to try to dictate who enters your own home. You should be required to let everyone come in, regardless of the fact that no one would be able to move."


1. The party: in early December, I had a dream that got to play alongside my brother,  Knoxbox ( a friend and a DC based trap/dubstep artist) and Dillon Francis ( a famous DJ who would never come to SMCM). After much convincing, the dream became real. My birthday was finally on a weekend, and another friend Julian Ragland ( A DC based deep house and UK Bass DJ) coordinated renting speakers. Our house pooled the money together, but it was done so with the knowledge that on a normal Friday, these DJ's would be getting paid instead of playing a free party. Only one issue was left: How could I pull this off without PS shutting it down before 1? I have 0 strikes left, I am a second semester senior, and I am doing TFA next semester. To make a long story short, getting in trouble again would effectively change me from a semi-functional basshead with a plan to a dude who just couldn't hold his shit together months before graduation. So I called them, and for people who have dealt with my shenanigans for 4 years, they were really cool about it. They said that we needed people to regulate the door so that no alcohol left our house, and that the "bouncers" should limit the amount of people coming upstairs to prevent being shutdown. I made it very clear on Facebook that the party started at 9 pm, and anyobody who wanted to see the headlines should make sure to be there for my brother's set (which was both wonderful and underpopulated). Established rules, easy directions... Party time, right?

2. The mistake: Any one who has read an academic journal knows that you have to call out your own limitations, something I believe the blogging world should adopt when claims towards specific people and events are made. I made mistakes, and I made more than one. Firstly, I told everyone that once you had gone inside, re-entry would be easy. I lied, I never developed a system for this, and it led many of my best friends who drove from Montgomery county unable to return after ducking out to smoke a cigg. MY BAD. Secondly, there was no coordination between the bouncers and myself. I went downstairs for one minute and was truly shocked by comments made by people waiting in line. One was particularly dark:  "Fuck you Sami, We were in the same class your sophomore year, I thought we were friends". I don't know who said it, but trust me, we are still friends. I just wanted to turn up on my birthday, but this left me unable to judge when our house was at capacity. MY BAD. Lastly, the bouncers were given no directions other than what PS told me. Once we were at capacity, I told them to go "1 in 1 out" except for my best friends and non-smcm students who traveled here for my Bday. They had to judge who they think I wanted to be inside. They were swung at, cursed at, and were forced to be mean. The only reason they did it was for me, and they did this horrible duty while I had a fantastic time. MY BAD. If you were turned away, just know that many of my best friends were as well. Lastly, I invited to many people to the party. It was invitation only, but I hate exclusivity so I made it so friends could invite other friends. I am warm blooded, and thought people could be happy dancing outside. MY BAD. I now understand that I am an unpredictable party guest, and a much worse party host.  So... one last time: If you are a true fan of Knoxbox/Teszero, if we are good friends, if you were a peer mentoree ( Don't worry...I have special plans for you guys), or if you got treated poorly in anyway... MY BAD. It was pretty wack for Natty Ho to use my name, but it was hard to be overly offended because the truth is I am the one to blame.This brings me to my most important point...

3. The Article published on my birthday: Rule #1... if you don't have a blue checkmark on twitter, and want to post a critique as an anon, DON'T USE FULL NAMES. This is a small school... putting me on blast was far from necessary to start a conversation about bouncers at parties. Research in Psychology suggests how influential first impressions are, and participants who get a negative first impression are oftentimes uninfluenced by a secondary positive impression (Tetlock, 1989). I always have birthdays that disappoint my high expectations, but couldn't you have waited until the day after my Bday? Or maybe asked me for my perspective? Iranians are badddd with guilt, and this just loaded it on in a way that would make my persian grandmother proud. That post made me out to be a bad guy, and made it appear like I believe the term NARP is profane. I am no angel, but lets be clear: I am a NARP, live with 2 other NARP's, and one captain of the soccer team. I had friends from Fraternity's come down, so in that circle I may be considered a GDI. From my (biased) perspective, there were no NARPS, GDI's, fratstars or athletes* at the party : It was just one big sweaty love sesh, and I have a feeling that if you enjoyed the music, you probably had an ok time to ( *I do have loads of respect for the athletes on 48 who came out to say happy birthday... that takes mettle). In conclusion, I have an honest request from Natty Ho and Diablo: I am not mad at you guys at all, just mad at the way you chose to write the post. Overpacked parties are no fun and risk getting shutdown. As far as I know, asking for a cover charge is illegal on campus. I wanted a party that everyone who cared had a fair chance to get into. I did not want an invite only event, which in my mind is "party aristocracy" at its worst. Natty Ho, my "hot commodity" would love to open our house for Mardigreens once again, but we were asked to regulate our house for Hollowgreens by PS (we were one of the few house that opened for all). How should we regulate in line with the " St. Mary's Way?" No hard feelings Natty Ho and Diablo, you guys are welcome at Morsel 2 anytime. Well... I guess that depends how much you pay off the bouncers ;)