Seniors celebrate100 Days ’Til Graduation

It's a rite of passage at the University.  The date is saved on calendars, outfits are selected, camera batteries charged and tickets purchased.  No, I'm not talking about the G-word (graduation) or even cocktail/formal season, but rather the "100 Days 'Til Graduation" party for seniors.  

Not easily deterred by the snow or freezing temperatures, over 600 giddy seniors packed into Brownies 23 East last Saturday to celebrate the countdown to reality or, as one of my friends put it, "100 more days in play land."  

Two floors of this Main Line club were inundated by the 'Nova Nation, vying for spots at the bar or a square of space on the dance floor.  My friends and I occupied a table on the second floor balcony, which provided a bird's-eye view of the night's shenanigans.  

Live, rollicking music was provided by the Blue Route, which featured both male and female vocals, plus my favorite supporting instruments of saxophone, trumpet and tambourine.  Interspersed throughout the night were great covers of Tom Petty, the Beatles and a tribute to Whitney Houston.  

Taking turns with the band was DJ Konrad Krebs, who kept the party going by mixing the best music of the '80s, '90s and today, which was a refreshing change from the usual amateur DJ fare of just playing songs and occasionally transitioning between them.  

Also included in our $10 ticket (cheaper than most of the office supplies for sale in the bookstore) was classy round-trip transportation via school buses, drink and draught specials for three hours, plus a buffet of delicious munchies and finger food.  

Since the night was sponsored by the Senior Class Gift Committee, there was a perpetual push to get people to donate their $20.12 to the part of Villanova one loves most: School of Business, School of Engineering, Campus Ministry, etc.  

Personally, I have yet to donate because I can't seem to find the option of donating to ensure that the Oreo is put back in its rightful place in time for my graduation pictures.   

But can you really put a price on a good time?  Pardon the cliche, but please hear me out.  Thanks to some epic Friday nights, but mostly due to Kelly's fatigue, Brownies has become my favorite place for a cost-effective good time.  But last Saturday was different.  

Despite the uncomfortable overcrowding of people, less-than-impressive drink deals and the fact that I had to wait twice as long in line for the bathroom, I had even more fun because I knew or recognized over 80 percent of the people at Brownies that night.  

I caught up with friends I had not seen in a while, made small talk with classmates from the past four years and smiled awkwardly at freshman year hook-ups.   Call me crazy, but going to a packed bar where you have to push through sweaty, beer-soaked crowds while saying, "Hi," to every third person trumps going to a quaint, upscale bar in Philly any day of the week.  

While this might not be what the Blue Key tour guides have in mind when they expound Villanova's emphasis on community, (sorry, Father Peter), I think the abundance of student-friendly bars and restaurants along the Main Line allows (legal) students to extend this idea of community beyond the confines of classrooms and dorms.  Even with more than three months left until graduation, I already know that I will miss seeing so many familiar faces whenever I walk into a bar.  Class of '12, cheers to many more epic weekends together and may the countdown to Senior Week begin.