“I lived here two years ago, can I use your bathroom?” This was a pretty typical request this past weekend, as packs of alumni swarmed the beach area, determined to relive their glory days.
And of course, this request was typically granted by the current seniors, as there are certain unspoken rules that come into effect for Alumni Weekend.
Recent alums seemed to assume a degree of clout upon return to their former beach houses, whether it simply be bathroom privileges or overnight stays on the couch. Some took advantage more than others; the astute alumni found that bribing current students with a keg was just as good as a key when it came to opening up the doors of their former beach residences.
Current seniors stepped aside as alumni crowded the Lantern Point deck, sipping from solo cups and listening to a band, relishing this throw back to college life.
Of course many alumni could be found at the Seagrape from the afternoon until night. They staked out their territory at this dingy bar full of fond drunken memories early, knowing that it was only a matter of time until the place would soon be impossible to get into – and they were right.
Thus seniors, who have made the Grape their standard watering hole for the past month, stepped aside again, leaving the Cherry Bomb hangovers for the alums in lieu of a keg-filled solo at a house party.
Graduates had returned to their beloved, former stomping grounds and weren’t leaving until they had soaked up every bit of their college pasts as they could before reality could summon them back to work on Monday.
Normally, seniors keep a steadfast grip on their beach territory. This is usually aimed at the flocks of freshmen who arrive by taxis in search of free-flowing booze that will prove they are finally “so college.” Why do we, as seniors, so willingly step aside during this particular weekend, so readily allowing our beach houses and bar stools to become packed with strangers?
Is it out of respect for tradition and the former students who have walked the “forgotten path” before us? Is it simply enjoying giving back to the familiar faces who once showed us the fine art of tapping a keg?
I think these contribute to it, but it goes further than that. I think this past weekend reminds the senior class of the looming reality that we will soon be in the same position as these alumni, wishing that college life had never come to an end.
This sentiment was a repeated pattern among returning grads, who emphasized that we were lucky to be enjoying what would be the best times of our lives. Is the real world out there that depressing?
I’d like to think it’s just that our world here is that good.
Whatever the case, this reminds us that these are our glory days, so live it up and enjoy it before we are those returning alumni knocking on our former beach houses demanding to use the bathroom because after all, hey, we used to live here.
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