Mardi Gras and the appeal of a whole season of partying is a huge draw for many students coming to Tulane University. However, most Tulane students come from out of state and never experience the holiday until spring semester of their freshman year. They get their information about Mardi Gras and how to celebrate mostly from other out-of-state Tulane students, popular media or social media platforms like Fizz. This leads to a stark divide between how Tulane students view and celebrate Mardi Gras and how locals do.
The “Tulane bubble” tends to hold students back from exploring the city year-round, including during Carnival season. Frats selling wristbands for parties, the annual Tulane block party and Tequila Sunrise keep many students around campus, especially in the days leading up to Mardi Gras. However, Mardi Gras is embodied throughout the city and locals tend to congregate in other places. Being a tourist-heavy season, many locals avoid the French Quarter during Carnival and congregate on the parade route in areas mostly populated by families and generally hoping to avoid the noisy frat tents that crowd the neutral ground.
For New Orleans and Louisiana natives, Mardi Gras also tends to be a family event. You won’t see kids strolling down Bourbon Street, but walking almost any parade route, it’s not uncommon to see kids decked out in beads on DIY ladder seats painted in purple, green and gold. It’s a time when parents get to relax, let loose and spend time with their children, who are off school and excited for king cake and toys.
Another Tulane-centric aspect of Mardi Gras is the fashion. Students gather a week’s worth of outfits that, to outsiders, look more appropriate for a rave. The fashion trends for Tulane Mardi Gras outfits tend to not only encourage overconsumption — spending hundreds of dollars on outfits that get worn once or twice — but also generate social pressure to dress in ways that may make some feel uncomfortable. While dressing up in costume is and has always been part of Mardi Gras celebrations, dressing in everyday clothes or costumes related to float themes is more common among locals. Of course, it’s generally expected to add a splash of purple, green or gold, but jeans and a sweatshirt are completely acceptable, especially during colder parades earlier in the season.
This is not to say that locals don’t view the season as an opportunity for fun and debauchery — that’s certainly something Tulane students get right. But the expectation among Tulane students to go out and party every night of the season, an extension of Tulane’s reputation as a top party school, differs from local practice. Most locals are still working until at least the Thursday before Mardi Gras and going to every single parade and party is simply no more reasonable for them than for a busy college student. Going to a couple of favorites rather than every parade is more common among native paradegoers and leads to a more enjoyable and memorable experience. As many students have heard around campus, Mardi Gras is a marathon, not a sprint.
Lastly, Tulane students tend to overlook the cultural history behind the holiday. The Mardi Gras experience is what you make of it and is wholly unique to everyone. However, while cultural appreciation is not necessary to enjoy the season, knowing where the traditions like parades and king cakes come from leads to a deeper appreciation of what the holiday, and the city of New Orleans, has to offer. Most Louisiana locals learn some Mardi Gras history in school, but a quick Google search would open up the storied past of Mardi Gras in New Orleans to out-of-state students who could have a little more appreciation for what the holiday means culturally and historically.
