When you first come to college, everything seems pretty new and exciting. Even frat parties were fun when I was a freshman.

The rest of your years here can seem enjoyable, but there’s a catch. For anyone who’s visited another college—you know what it is. Many other schools are much cooler than ours. Many.

In fact, the basis for this whole realization was a trip to the University of Chicago this past weekend.

Now, it wasn’t as cool as when someone threw firecrackers at the Nitzer Ebb concert, or when the Renfields play “Happy Janitor Man,” but it still proved that DeKalb lacks in fun.

I can just hear it now; school isn’t for partying, it’s for studying, that shouldn’t be the main reason for picking a school, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. OK, but when you have classes all week and you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown, some people begin to crave an escape.

The first thing you notice about U of C is the residence halls. Or should I say “dorm castle central.” To disclaimer myself, yes, I know it costs a lot more to go there, but it’s the whole principle of the thing.

First of all, you’re not attacked by door guards when you walk in. No ID to show, etc.(Note: I was a door guard and I know the whole process.) The friend I was with just called up, signed us in, and we were in like Flynn. I admit that for security reasons, it wasn’t the safest thing, but nonetheless it kept us from having to deal with the hassle.

My little marketing buddy Babette had an idea on this. If partying was allowed in NIU dorms, the city of DeKalb would make a lot less money. Just think about all the money they make by fining people for serving liquor without a license or for misrepresenting your age or the plethora of DeKalb bars.

In this particular U of C dorm, keggers were allowed as long as only one room per floor had a party per night. Tres cool. Granted, you might not get as much done as you might want to, but it still seems like an incredible idea.

Look at it this way; if people can’t drink in their room without getting ‘written up’ and having judicial action brought against them, many of them go to parties off campus and end up driving home drunk. Not cool.

I’m not saying that underage drinking is right, but there’s a hell of a lot of it going on. Just look how many people get arrested for it. Personally thinking, there should be a maturity test for who should be ‘of age’ and who should not, but that doesn’t seem to be catching on.

I also dealt with a frat party at the ‘Figi’ house. Wow. The guys I was with just had to show their school ID, and I was told to go on in. Though I must admit, it was a bit scary to see a guy in the back room up on a short table dancing to Prince’s “Cream.” It was still a blast.

The main point is that life was more fun at U of C. I felt at home. No one accosting you to find out your social security number and birth weight, no one telling you your hair smelled good so you could go in (frat party, 1990.) It was fun. Now, fun isn’t dead in DeKalb, and I actually am having fun this semester, but I feel like we’re all still missing out on something.

It’s scary when mom talks of wilder days at college than you do.