A toast to all the designated drivers

by Mat Camp, Alestle Copy Editor

It is impossible to emphasize enough the importance of always having a designated driver when you decide to leave the comfort of your home to hit the town for a night of drinking shenanigans. The possible consequences of hurting yourself, your property, other people, other people’s property and the ever looming DUI should be enough to keep everyone from driving drunk but alas, every weekend people get caught. Just read the police blotter.

It is not difficult to get over that .08 BAC limit, and even if you do not feel impaired, it does not mean you aren’t impaired. Depending on body-fat, age, weight, gender, genetics, number of drinks over how long, if you’ve eaten, and I’m sure many more factors, it can take as little as two or three drinks for you to be “legally” intoxicated. Even if you aren’t doing anything erratic when driving, if you get pulled over for California stopping at an intersection and the officer thinks he smells alcohol, they can submit you to a sobriety test. If you blow .08 or over, there is a good chance you will be arrested. Interestingly enough, some states can give you a DUI for below .08 if they believe you incapable of driving, so keep that in mind.

Illinois has some pretty strict DUI laws. Granted with a good attorney and the right circumstances surrounding your case, it is possible to get much less than what the law says, but it will still end up costing you time and thousands of your hard earned dollars, which could have been better spent buying more beer.

Overall, it is much better to not go out drinking if you don’t have a sober driver. Period. Staying home and drinking by yourself would honestly be much better than driving drunk.

I personally go to the bars on Thursday’s all the time, and if I drive there, I will call my brother for a ride home and leave my car there until the next day. Luckily most of the time we have a friend who doesn’t mind DD-ing for us, which saves a lot of hassle. Even if you can’t get a hold of anyone, do anything but drive. Walk, call a cab or even call your parents.  Whatever the consequences or costs are, they will be much less severe in the long run than a DUI.

So to my brother, my friend and all you other designated drivers out there, I salute you. Everyone should make sure the next time you drink to the point where you don’t remember the night, at least remember to thank the person who got you home safe and DUI free.

Sounds of spring at SIUE

Lindsey Oyler, Alestle A&E Editor

by Lindsey Oyler, Alestle A&E EditorNow that the warm weather is kicking in and everyone is coming out of hibernation, I noticed one thing in particular. Windows are open and music is LOUD. I keep my window open each night now, just to hear the sounds of nature. (I lived in the country before SIUE.) It was almost like culture shock when, instead of just hearing birds chirp, I got an earful of rap at three in the morning.

I know that Housing does its best to regulate noise levels, but some students can’t be stopped. If they’re up and their music is on, it’s not going to stop.

At first, I could not stand it. I was tempted to close my window a few nights and plug my iPod in. Then I realized something.

One day I looked to see the source of some very obnoxious rap music. I peered through my window and, lo and behold, there was a room a few floors below mind on another wing, blasting the music.  Their speakers were facing outwards and through the open windows.

These students aren’t doing this to be distracting. Most of the time it’s in the middle of the afternoon, and if you close your window and put in your own headphones, it’s easy to avoid listening to the outside music. But the students have the intention of sharing their expression with the world. They’re not creating some regular disturbance for their own pleasure, but instead giving the rest of the building and all passerbies something to reflect upon.

Never have I heard of something so wonderful as filling the world with music. It’s almost as good a sign of spring as flowers blooming and sunny days.

To kick off your spring the right way, here are some great music sites for free, legal listening.

Groove Shark
Dizzler

Divine Music

The original freestyle

Lindsey Oyler, Alestle A&E Editor

by Lindsey Oyler, Alestle A&E Editor

Doo Doo Doo. Boo Bee Bop. It means nothing in writing. Nothing in words. Everything in sound.

I first discovered scatting in the works of Nina Simone, jazz extraordinaire. My favorite song was her well-known “Feeling Good.” It talks about the goodness in everyday life and the opportunity in nature. The lyrics are:

“Birds flying high you know how I feel.

Sun in the sky you know how I feel.

Reeds driftin’ on by you know how I feel.

It’s a new dawn.

It’s a new day.

It’s a new life

For me.

And I’m feeling good.”

Nina Simone

These melodic words instantly put the listener into a pleasant mood and by the refrain, comes the scatting. At first, I was almost embarrassed to listen to it and thought it was nonsense. The second time I tried to appreciate the song, I realized it wasn’t just some filler sounds. It was an expression, a method of emotion. It sounded to me like the improv an actor does, or freestyle for a rapper. All of the creative juices are flowing, and it was just a way for Nina Simone and several other artists to let it all out.

Other scat artists include Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Even Van Morrison and David Lee Roth have been credited for morphing scat into a rock style and keeping it alive.

A sober, stay-at-home, fun spring break

by Liz Spihlman, Alestle Copy Editor

Not all of us can afford to go to Panama City for spring break. Honestly, most of us can’t afford to go anywhere. I certainly can’t afford to do, well, anything it seems. However, I grew up in a 2,700-person town with one good restaurant, three gas stations and no fast food. Somehow we survived the weekends and summers, and it didn’t even involve underage binge drinking. So, if anyone can figure out how to spend spring break at home, it’ll be me.

First off, my roommate and I just bought a dartboard ($35 at Sports Authority but ours was only $30 in-store.) In my opinion, the bristle boards are better than the electronic boards, and they are typically cheaper. In any case, it’s been up in our living room for about a week, and we’ve gotten tons of use out of it already. We covered the wall with foam board to keep the misfires from putting holes in the wall. If you’re living on campus, unfortunately, the University Housing Living Guide states that dart boards are not allowed on the walls of any living unit. So, if you’re staying in Cougar Village over spring break, go find someone who lives off campus and has a dartboard.

Another good idea is to scrape together all the delicious food you have and host a movie/TV party. Better yet, have everyone bring something. I, for one, have “Family Guy” nights all the time because my cousin owns almost all the seasons on DVD. Usually there are only a few of us, so I don’t bother with a ton of food. However, I love to cook and everyone loves to eat so why not make a party of it? Nothing’s better than Ro*Tel and Velveeta.

If you’re still not convinced, maybe you’ll find something here to your liking. Go ice skating (Ice Sports Complex – Fairview Heights.) Go to St. Louis Union Station and be bored out of your mind, or go at night and play hide and seek. Also, Hard Rock Café is right there, and it’s delicious. Go to City Museum, also better at night, and don’t be afraid to climb on the outdoor jungle gym. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend visiting the Arch, but if that’s your thing, go for it. If nothing else, go to a local show at Pop’s and have a good time.

If you can’t get away from your binge drinking for any of this, you might have a problem.

A binder is a bride’s best friend

Karina Swank

by Karina Swank, Alestle Editor in Chief

There are 115 days until my wedding. 103 days until I graduate and 110 until my fiancé graduates. Some would call me crazy to be getting married right — and I mean right — out of college.

At times I would have to agree.

Planning a wedding while juggling a class schedule, a demanding job and a social life so I do not alienate my soon-to-be husband can be overwhelming, but I’m here to say it can be done. You can earn a degree and eat your cake, too — wedding cake that is.

For my first entry in this weekly blog, I want to start with the basics. Even if you are a ways into your planning, it can’t hurt to rewind and organize. The final months are the most stressful.

Organization and time management are everything to a successful academic, college career. The same is true of a wedding. My first suggestion for planning a wedding without going gray days before is to organize your plans and details in a binder like you might your notes for class.

In the binder, you should have a section for the ceremony, the reception, the formalwear, the photography and videography, stationary, music and flowers and honeymoon.

Each of these sections should begin with a timeline of events that need to take place according to the number of months until the wedding. For example, from nine months or earlier, brides should be looking for a wedding dress, and at four months the couple should be finalizing travel details for the honeymoon. As time passes, the planner of the wedding needs to check each task off as it is completed or make notes in the side of what is completed and what still needs to be, such as “paid off groom’s wedding ring, but still owe on the bride’s.”

Each section should also include a folder or plastic sheet covers. These are necessary because of all the receipts and invoices you will accumulate during your engagement and planning period. There are so many little details to a wedding and most are important, like is there a service fee and a mandatory gratuity tacked on to the price of the caterer, or how much did you put down on the reception hall seven months ago because they are asking for more than you recall still needing to pay. Weddings are pricey, and no one wants to pay be surprised with hidden costs they could have easily looked up if they had kept the receipt or invoice.

Another useful item to keep in the binder is a space for business cards. As brides or wedding planners, we get so many business cards from possible reception halls or caterers or cards with dress numbers and limo rental prices. They are easy to lose but can be handy in the long run when you recall knowing this great bakery, but cannot remember their name.

Like a successful grade in a class, it takes organization and the occasional lack of sleep to pull off a wedding while still in college or entering the workforce. And we all need a little help now and then, so if you have a question ask someone or leave a comment here.