People say that college is the best four years of your life and so far I definitely have to agree. However, it comes and goes at such a shockingly fast rate that we sometimes don’t get the chance to do everything we want before we graduate. In the spirit of Bucket Lists, I’ve made my own top 10 things you must do before you graduate Rutgers. Now be prepared, this is not your typical list with visit the historic section of campus, go to a football game, blah blah blah. Instead this list reflects the actual nature of college and the things we are actually dying to try.
Trip Your Ass Off In Nature
A lot of Rutgers students are not aware of the amazing nature that we have, once you drive a few miles outside of scummy New Brunswick. The Rutgers Gardens are a self-sustaining botanical garden that are free to visit right off Ryders Lane on Cook. It is absolutely, the perfect place for an adventure when you’re tripping balls, because it is so big and has so many different sections. The Gardens include several different flower gardens, a water conservatory, forests with trails, and even a bamboo forest. Seriously how epic is that? If you’re the type to get a little freaked out wandering around nature, then you can also visit Buccleuch Park which has a few small trails, but it’s mostly playgrounds and sports fields right off Easton Ave. It gives you a little bit of nature to explore without being completely overwhelmed.
Throw an Obnoxious Themed Party
Now the goal of this is to be creative as possible. I’m so sick and tired of the bullstuff, stereotypical Toga parties and GI Joe and Army Hoes party; we need to start coming up with new ideas. Even if you don’t throw a huge rager, get a good group of friends together who will go all out and dress up. Some ideas that are a little less overused are an ugly Christmas Sweater Party, a Woodstock party, or even pick a TV show and have everyone dress up. The point is for you to come up with a totally new, hopefully hilarious and outrageous theme and make everyone follow up on it. Include massive amounts of alcohol and you’re in for one of your funnier nights at college.
Black Out Karaoke
Don’t try to lie, everyone knows that they love completely screaming your favorite song when your alone in the car, but never have the balls to do it in front of people. Well meet my good friend liquid courage. I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about and although blacking out can lead to some embarrassment, I’m telling you from experience nothing is more fun than belting your favorite song and not giving a fudge at all. On my 21st birthday, I got up in front of the entire bar and spit Eminem’s entire “The Real Slim Shady” for everyone and I KNOW my rapping skills are not up to par. So from now on don’t be a little bitch, take a few more shots next time if necessary and frickin sing a song. I promise it’s completely worth it.
Dollar Beer Chugging
One of my favorite parts about living on a college campus is the outrageously cheap happy hours that we have. Olive Branch right behind the student center has the best happy hour around. They serve $1 Coors lights and $.50 slices every weekday from 3-8pm. The bartenders are all really chill there too, which makes it even better. Obviously, happy hour is a must as often as possible, but even better are having chugging races on dollar beer night. You might not actually make it out past 8 if you try, but it’s definitely a worthy cause for dollar beers. Get a large or small group together and see who can chug 10 beers the fastest or even play my favorite game I call “How many beers can I drink before happy hour ends?” You would be surprised at how many beers you can consume in one sitting and it might be a little painful the next day, but definitely worth it.
All Nighter in the City
With a location so conveniently located by the train station, night trips into Manhattan are a necessity for Rutgers students. Even more than spending the day shopping or going out to dinner, all Rutgers students need to have one of those epic completely fudgeed up, wander the streets of New York, miss the last train and sleep in Penn Station kind of nights. Sounds a little risky and dangerous, I know, but seriously some of the craziest adventures I’ve had in my life were wandering around the city that never sleeps after leaving a club or concert.
Drop A Bomb in the Underground Scene
Rutgers has an amazing underground music scene that most people are not aware of. There are a few main houses that constantly hold live shows and sometimes the locations are hidden until last minute, but once you break onto this scene you will see some amazing bands. If you’re really into music and seeing shows like I am then I encourage you to go as much as you can, but more importantly you unquestionably have to go to one of these shows rolling your face off. Not only is it awesome because you are in New Brunswick rather than a club or concert and do not need to worry about getting home, but you can actually stand a foot and a half from the band and literally feel every note of the music through your body. It’s the perfect way to spice up a boring basement party.
Drunken Rain Dancing? Yes Please.
Now this one brings me back to childhood a little, but for real what is more fun than taking something we used to do so innocently and add drugs and alcohol to it? Isn’t that what growing up is all about? I know everyone hates on cook and says it sucks, but as a proud former cook girl for two years, let me just say cook has all the best places to go on adventures. My favorite of all is waiting for a weekend in the fall or spring when you know it’s going to rain, getting completely wasted and running around like an butt playing in the rain on the fields of the Cook Gym. You might think it sounds stupid, but seriously don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Rutgers Dub Club
Rutgers Club is one of those places stuck on the corner of campus that few people know about, but it is definitely a spot to check out. Normally, it is a private club for Rutgers alum, but every Monday and Thursday Rutgers students can come and eat dinner for one meal swipe and $2. The food is usually banging and they have a huge dinner and dessert buffet. Everyone definitely has to eat at Rutgers Club completely stoned. I’m not talking like I took a few hits oh I’m high. I mean smoke a whole blunt to your face cannot hold an intelligent conversation high and then head on over. Everything is served buffet style so you do not need to talk to any waitresses, just sit down and enjoy the best $2 dinner you’ve ever eaten.
Fishbowl Races
Stuff Yer Face is one of Rutgers’ more legendary restaurants and even appeared on Man v. Food this past year. With the world’s best strombolis made from every topping under the sun to the dozens of beers they have on draft, Stuff Yer Face offers everything. My personal favorite are their fishbowl drinks that are so big they have to serve it to you in a giant pitcher. To make it even better, these fruity drinks are also over 80% pure alcohol totaling around eight or nine shots in each. Although it is nice to sit outside and slowly enjoy a fishbowl, my favorite Stuff Yer Face activity is fishbowl races. You can do it individually or in teams (if you’re a bitch and can’t hold your alcohol). The rest is pretty self-explanatory, see who can finish theirs first and the next round is on the losers. When those nine shots you chugged in 30 seconds start to kick in, the rest of your night is full of endless possibilities.
Bar Crawl
I know the bar crawl one is a little cliché and everyone does it, but why not join the tradition and plan your own before you graduate. The great thing about Rutgers is that we have so many bars on one street that it doesn’t require more than stumbling a block to get from bar to bar. You obviously have to start out your night with a fishbowl race at Stuff then the must-hit spots are Olive Branch for Happy Hour, Knight Club, Pub, Queen, and Rail. If you’re brave and want to throw Kelly’s or Corner Tavern on there then go ahead, but from experience it’s hard enough to make it to those six. Bar Crawls are fun because you can get a huge group, dress in theme or make shirts for it, and overall act like completely drunken douchebags and everyone lets it slide a little more because they know its bar crawl.
