Although the California Aggie does not encourage underage drinking, this article was compiled with the intent to give tips to of-age persons for throwing a safe, and somewhat environmentally friendly party.
Step 1: Getting the word out
A party without people is not a party. It can be as simple as telling a few friends to invite their friends, word of mouth spreads quickly on college campuses.
“You don’t have to tell too many people about your party,” said Eugene Jang, a junior psychology and human development double major and member of a fraternity on campus. “People will talk about what’s going on for the weekend and word spreads quickly.”
If the party is going to be a huge event, a guest list might be the way to go. Many large parties use this route because it limits the number of people attending.
“The people at the party have a huge influence on whether you have a good time or not,” said Eric Schmidt, a sophomore exercise biology major. “If you know a lot of people around you, you will feel more comfortable and enjoy yourself.”
Step 2: Choosing and purchasing beverages
Beer is a typical cornerstone of many college parties due to its widespread availability. Many large parties also have “jungle juice”, which can be a combination of some sort of citrus juice and alcohol, or a concoction of the liquid contents of one’s fridge. Jungle juice, however, can be a dangerous drink to serve if made too strongly.
“I don’t think it matters too much what kind of alcohol there is at a party, but I think there should be an option of hard alcohol and beer,” Schmidt said.
Enforcing a bring-your-own-booze (BYOB) rule might prove useful for those tight-budgeted college students. An employee at Aggie Liquor said that the most purchased alcohol by college students are kegs of beer and Smirnoff vodka.
For this reason, the Aggie went to six different stores-Safeway, Nugget, Walmart, Costco, Savemart and Aggie Liquor to find the cheapest alcohol in the Davis area.
Walmart is currently selling a 30-pack of Keystone Ice and Natural Light for $13.97 before tax, a little bit less than 50 cents per can. Costco has good deals for hard liquor: a handle of Smirnoff vodka is only $15.99, or about a quarter per shot. Aggie Liquor has a handle of Smirnoff for $21.99. Prices for alcohol change on a weekly basis so shopping around for the best deal may be a good idea.
Instead of buying cases of beer, purchasing a keg is much more economically sound. There are only a handful of places that students can order kegs, most notably Aggie Liquor and Olive Drive Market. A keg of Icehouse beer is $49.99, Natural Ice $59.99 and Budweiser Light runs up a tab of $79 at Aggie Liquor.
Kegs are also potentially more environmentally friendly than aluminum cans. Instead of being recycled like cans, kegs are returned once they are empty and leave no landfill impact, as long as one uses the correct cups.
The typical offender against the environment when it comes to kegs is the red cup. Made from #6 plastic, red cups are not recycled easily in Davis unless they are carted to Davis Waste Removal on 2727 Second Street. Costco offers the best deal when it comes to red cups: 240 cups for $9.99. Aggie Liquor has a pack of 30 cups with ping-pong balls for $5.99. To avoid adding to the landfills, people can reuse their red cups or use biodegradable cups.
“Kegs are a better choice,” Schmidt said. “It is more economically friendly and cuts back on so much more waste than cans.”
Aggie Liquor also sells 360 Vodka-an eco-friendly vodka-for $19.99 for a 750 ml bottle.
Step 3: Different drinking games
The usual culprits when it comes to drinking games are the typical beer pong (Note: The UC Davis bookstore sells a 6 pack of ping pong balls with a Gunrock logo for $7.95), king’s cup and flip-cup. But here are a few games some may not have heard of which can be easily replaced with non-alcoholic drinks, such as soda.
Civil War
A fast-paced variation of beer pong, players continuously shoot once they retrieve a ping pong ball instead of waiting for turns. With four players per team, each person has four cups in front of them. Players shoot to make the other player’s cups and once they’re all gone, their opponent can no longer shoot. First team to make all the other team’s cups first wins.
Fusion
An easy way to include more people with game activities, fusion is somewhere between beer pong and flip cup. Two teams play beer-pong as normal, but once someone makes a cup, the two teams on the side begin playing flip cup.
Seven, Eleven or Doubles
This game requires two die and everyone to have their own drink, usually beer. It begins when someone rolls a pair of die, trying to get a seven, eleven or doubles. If they do, the roller picks someone to drink. Once the drinker touches their drink, the roller has to roll another seven, eleven or doubles before the drinker is finished. If they are successful, the process is continued until the drinker wins by finishing their drink before the roller gets a seven, eleven or double.
Step 4: Safe party tips
Parties are not all about the booze; it’s possible to throw a non-alcoholic party that’s still fun. As stated in the September 24, 2009 article “Party hard, party safe,” study shows that 43 percent of UC Davis students choose not to drink when they party and that most students do not binge drink (five or more drinks for me, or four for women).
If alcohol is served, here are some signs of alcohol poisoning to keep an eye out for, from safeparty.ucdavis.edu:
-Unresponsive, unable to be awakened
-Slow, shallow breathing
-Cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin
-Repeated, uncontrolled vomiting
For more information, go to safeparty.ucdavis.edu.
Knowing the facts about alcohol
Drinking can be a dangerous game to play if people don’t know their facts about alcohol. Here are some people may overlook.
One
alcoholic drink equals 12 ounces of beer.A red cup is not 12 ounces of
beer but 16 ounces.A 15.5 gallon keg holds about 164, 12-fluid ounce
servings.Shot glasses can range from one-fluid ounce to two-fluid
ounces.One “handle” of hard alcohol is typically 1.75 liters or about
60 fluid ounce shots.A “fifth” of alcohol means it is a fifth of a
gallon, or about 25.6 shots per bottle.
NICK MARKWITH can be reached at features@theaggie.org.ANGELA RUGGIERO contributed to this article.
