Spring Weekend

This past weekend was Spring Weekend, the last weekend during the regular school year. It's supposed to celebrate the end of classes and the start of finals. Fordham sponsors alot of events during this three-day stretch, including concerts on the quad and a massive formal dance under an outdoor tent. Among the students, Spring Weekend is notorious for the amount of drinking that takes place; undergraduates make it their policy to remain intoxicated for the entire weekend. This provides for some interesting yet also unsavory situations.

Thursday night Spring Weekend kicked off early. I began to see openly drunk students all over campus starting around 8:00 pm. I was working on a paper and therefore was not in the mood for any alcohol (and besides, I never hit it as hard as most of my colleagues). I took a break to go outside and catch some fresh air with my friends. Outside, this fat junior boy from the debate team (and a friend of one of my friends) plopped down on the bench opposite me and began to smoke a cigarette. He was clearly intoxicated; I became all too aware of this reality when the fat junior suddenly lobbed his cigarette into the air. It landed in the curls at the end of my hair, still lit, tumbling ashes. Needless to say I shook it out, quite upset and angry.

"What is wrong with you?" I demanded, balling my hands into fists.

"You were in my way," the drunk, fat junior replied. He was slurring his words. I was tempted to clock him right then and there, but he was clearly out of it and perhaps could turn belligerent. This is why I don't like hanging out with really drunk people. I headed back into the dorm, seething. And thus did my Spring Weekend begin.

So the weekend didn't start off well, but it got better as it went along. On Friday night I went to the annual Irish-Italian rugby game, which was moderated by a Jesuit. It was pretty exciting to watch, although I couldn't decide on a team to vote for; after all, I am Italian and Irish. The Irish team ended up winning, continuing a winning streak. My friends and I then went back to the room and drank some Guinness to celebrate. Very appropriate.

Saturday was packed full of activities. There was a concert out on the quad, featuring a bunch of Fordham bands. There was also a free barbecue. The bands were rather unusual; I listened to one for over an hour. This band basically free-styled for the entire hour with some never-ending composition. The main singer came up with his lyrics on the spot- here are a few of my favorites:

"Nobody's falling in love! Everybody needs a shove!" (repeated over and over)

"Everybody's eating Dippin' Dots! Eat alot and alot!" (again, repeated over and over)

"If I had some money to go to the record store, I would!" (I didn't understand this at all, and the lead singer repeated it over and over for almost ten minutes.)

The music wasn't that great, but it was a beautiful day and I was outside with my friends, so I enjoyed myself.

The best part of Spring Weekend was the Under the Tent dance, which took place Saturday night. I got all dressed up with my friends and headed out to this massive tent constructed on the quad. It was beautifully decorated inside, and it featured good food and drinks, and a massive, gleaming dance floor. The dance also had a live band, and they were excellent, playing everything from Madonna to Journey. I love to dance, and it was great to be surrounded by so many friends and just let loose. Fabulous is the best word to describe it.

So here's my opinion of Spring Weekend- it's a wonderful way to cap off the regular semester, but it always ends up getting out of hand. It's quite difficult for me to describe the amount of drinking that takes place among my fellow students, but trust me, it is out of control. I like to party, but not to such excess. I mean, every night this weekend when I tried to sleep, I would be kept awake by the drunken screams of other Fordham students. Not to mention that many of my younger friends just passed out cold at parties. This was the first Spring Weekend that I felt really old; I enjoyed the quality time with other seniors, but I have to say I was relieved when it was over. Does this just mean that I'm ready to graduate? I think so...(gulp)