Does WWC Have a “Party Ban”? Depends on Who You Ask.
Ryleigh Johnson | Oct. 6, 2026
A dorm desk covered with assorted bottles at Warren Wilson College on April 11, 2026, Swannanoa, N.C. (Echo/Emma Taylor McCallum)
Since Warren Wilson College (WWC) students have returned to campus for the fall semester, rumors have circulated about the continued implementation of a “party ban,” or a total ban on gatherings not directly sponsored by the school administration on campus. These rumors have been worsened by a lack of direct communication from the administration regarding what parties are permitted and what parties are not.
Parties hosted by the Garden Crew at WWC’s campus garden (often referred to as “Garden parties”) have traditionally been the largest sanctioned parties on campus. The last “Garden party” was held on Dec. 13, 2025, and resulted in the medical transportation of three WWC students due to alcohol poisoning. These transportations existed in the context of a semester where, as Lead Public Safety Officer John Davidson noted, there had been “more than seven” instances of alcohol poisoning documented by Public Safety on campus.
Poster advertising the last “Garden party” at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. The image was posted to an school-wide chat on Dec. 13, 2025 with the caption “Garden party 2nite starting at 10pm!
There will be a shuttle running between dorms and the garden: call (202)-230-7153.
As many know, our last party got shut down due to open containers. This time we are not playing, people seen with open containers WILL be asked to leave. I have also been informed that Pubsafe will be checking cups and water bottles for alcohol. Let’s all be smart tonight so we can continue to have parties at the garden!” (Grace Peyton)
On the night of Dec. 13, Davidson was called to campus as the first ambulance arrived to take an intoxicated student to the hospital.
“As I walked down to the garden, the first [incident] happened,” Davidson said. “It was immediate from that point for me. And as we're dealing with that one, then the second one. And then it's like, ‘Okay, we got to get this area shut down.’”
When a third ambulance came to take another student, it arrived with several members of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department. They told Davidson and Gilbert Hinga, Vice President and Dean of Student Engagement at the time, that if another ambulance was called to campus, they would be back.
“[The Buncombe County Sheriff's Department’s] sergeant is sending deputies [saying], ‘What's going on? Why are we having this many ambulances? Is this [a] party?’” Davidson said. “[They said] ‘If we have another ambulance come, we’re coming back to campus, but a lot more and different actions will be taken.’”
The students transported, according to Davidson, were “vomiting profusely” and unable to walk. The severity of their intoxication, the large number of students affected, and the presence of the sheriff’s department prompted serious concern from Public Safety and Hinga.
“We were left with two questions,” Davidson said. “How do we mitigate student risks? And, are we doing everything in our power currently to mitigate student risk?”
Evan Snelling, Assistant Dean of Students and Inclusive Excellence and Belonging, emphasized that, to his knowledge, non-Garden parties that have been pre-approved were never banned.
“[Last semester] there were birthday parties in dorms that were approved,” Snelling said. “There was a Black Student Union [BSU] party. There were Sage [Café] events that happened last year.”
One reason why students may perceive parties as being “banned” by the college administration is because any large gathering of students outside of their dorm that has not been approved by Student Activities is supposed to be shut down by Public Safety. Davidson explained Public Safety’s general policy when it comes to unsanctioned parties.
“If you don't go through the proper channels and we come across it, yes, we stop it and we shut it down,” Davidson said. “We work closely with Student Activities. They send the e-mail [saying], “Hey, this is planned, this is approved,’ so [that] we know. We still have an obligation to come by and check on it and make sure everything is great. If everything is great, we get out of your hair. If there are issues that we need to address, then we address some of those issues...But in general, if it's not sanctioned, [it] can't happen.”
This means that there are events hosted by students, with or without alcohol or other substances present, that are liable to be shut down because they were not pre-approved. These parties have, in effect, been “banned” on campus for a number of years.
Because Hinga is no longer at the college, it is difficult to find information about whether or not an official investigation into what happened on Dec. 13 was conducted, and if so, what the results of the investigation were. When Joel Bluml, the current Vice President of Student Engagement and Dean of Students, was asked via email whether or not there was currently a ban on parties at the garden, he did not have a concrete answer.
“I don't have an answer for you at this moment, but I'm definitely looking into it,” Bluml wrote. “High on my agenda is to provide clarity to students regarding what is/isn't allowed at the moment. We will also be working to better understand what is possible, safe, and healthy moving forward.”
Bluml seems to be currently operating under the assumption that there is a general ban on parties at WWC, referencing his desire to “bring parties back in a good way.” He emphasized the importance of the social connection and campus cohesion that large events like “Garden parties” foster, while maintaining that these events can only occur if the administration can ensure student safety.
“We've got to be able to meet people, [we] need to be able to have a conversation face-to-face, not just over a text or whatever,” Bluml said. “[But] we don't wanna lose a student. It's the last thing I ever wanna have happen on my watch.”
At present, Bluml does not see a clear path to reinstating “Garden parties” or events like them, expressing concern that the administration may simply be re-exposing students to dangerous situations if parties were to be allowed again.
“If we bring [parties] back, the way that the culture is on campus right now...are [we] doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result?” Bluml said. “We can't be naive because the only thing that's changed is the lapse of time. We haven't done anything else to address the underlying reasons why we had to put the ban on in the first place.”
Bluml encouraged students who have suggestions or ideas about how to safely bring large celebrations like “Garden parties” back to campus to reach out directly to him. Students who seek to hold approved gatherings can contact Kyndall Norman, director of Student Activities, to access the party permit form.