Are You Ready?

Shh, can you hear it? That eerie silence? The calm before the storm? The anticipation for possibly the greatest weekend in UNH history is growing and Friday is just a few days away.

Since the administration announced the move of Homecoming weekend to the same weekend of Halloween, the UNH campus and community has been buzzing with excitement. It's been dubbed "Hallowcoming" and it is going to be one heck of a weekend: two hockey games, tailgating, homecoming football, parade, fireworks, Halloween costume parties, volleyball senior day and potentially great memories. I say potentially, because quite honestly, we might not actually remember all of it.

The stars have aligned and two of the best, craziest and outrageous college weekends have been combined into one. However, this also means that the two weekends that usually average the most arrests, apart from maybe Spring Climax, are also combined. Arrest numbers will most likely exceed the 48 we saw last year leading up to and following the Wiz Khalifa concert.

This weekend poses two huge questions: what do I wear for Halloween? And how do I not get arrested? Have no fear, for I am going to share some of my senior wisdom that will hopefully help provide answers to both.

First on the table is the question of what to wear for your ever-important Halloween costume. The first tip I have is to wear something that can be comfortable in a variety of temperatures, or at least wear layers so you can adjust appropriately. Sure it may be 80 degrees in that dirty basement, but when the cops break up that party a mile off campus and you have to walk back, that "cat" costume may be a bit light for a New Hampshire fall night. This happened to me sophomore year, but luckily my full Celtics warm-up jumpsuit was suitable for the warm and cold. Also, you want it to be comfortable – you're going to be wearing all night, or all weekend if you're dedicated, so be sure to take that into account.

The second tip I have for a costume is to be original, but not too obscure that you will have to be explaining yourself all night. I have a feeling we'll see about 25 Lady Gagas and even more Nicki Minajs this weekend.

Personally, I would love to be Chuck Testa, but only three people would probably get it. Last year my Jagerbomb costume was borderline too obscure. It was definitely creative, but only about a third to half the people who saw me got it. Those who got it loved it, but those who didn't thought I was just some weirdo with deer antlers and a fake bomb taped to my stomach.

As for the arrest problem, there are a few things to take into consideration. The most common arrest at UNH is underage intoxication. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times and it is no secret that underage college students drink.

I did it, you probably did it and thousands of you will do it this weekend. For those of us who are 21, we only have to worry about public intoxication, but the tips for both situations are similar. Don't attract attention to yourself and don't cause a scene and you will probably be fine.

One of the problems about drinking is that it usually throws common sense out the window and the only thing it really takes to avoid an arrest is common sense. Be respectful to the police, be smart about your decisions and chances are, they won't bother you.

On big party weekends like this one, the police are looking to control the crowds and keep people safe. They will not single out random students from a crowd and ask for their ID, but if you're calling attention to yourself, they probably will. Stay together in groups, watch out for hotdog costumes and mind your own business. There is no reason you can't have fun and partake in various college nightlife activities and still stay out of trouble or harm's way.

The biggest tip I have for you this weekend is to be safe, but still have as much fun as humanly possible. You are only in college once, and believe me, it goes by way too fast. So enjoy yourself and your time here, but be smart, stay safe and most of all:

Stay classy, not UMassy.

A PSA from President Huddleston

Is it Friday yet?

Stay classy, not UMassy.

The Colonial Clash Part II

This weekend I'll be heading down to Gillette for the UNH-UMass game with my family for my dad's birthday. He is a UMass alum, but he cheers for UNH because between my two older brothers and I, he's paid a hell of a lot more money to UNH than UMass. I can't really blame him there. Plus, he gets to root for the better team.

 I've haven't seen any of them for more than a few minutes since school began so I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone. But I realized something today. I can't wait to tailgate with them all, last year I wasn't 21 yet so I didn't want to risk anything. Last year was a blast while sober, so this year should be even better. Last year's Colonial Clash was one of the best afternoons of the school year and it's nice to see people get excited for UNH football. UNH is playing well this year and UMass is preparing to move up a level so it should be a good game. UNH has already sold out their student tickets, twice, so hopefully we have the bigger crowd again this year.

Hopefully this will get more people excited for the remaining home games UNH has, especially homecoming. Or should I say Hallowcoming, as it is being called around campus. The anticipation is killing me!

Stay classy, not UMassy.

UNH Bus Halloween Time Lapse

This video was posted to the blog's facebook page over a month ago, but facebook deemed it to be spam so I never got notified. I just came across this and it is pretty interesting. Big tip of the hat to the creator and I'm sorry I missed it. Check it out:

 The best part is that I know a few people in this who can not only be identified, but look right into the camera. This is awesome.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Like a Pro: Campus Assaults

"Like a Pro" can be found in the Tuesday issues of the UNH student newspaper, TNH. This is the blog, unedited version of this week's column.

The news of the recent assaults around campus has been very disturbing for me to think about. Student on student violence is a terrible thing and it will never solve any problem. However, the real problem that has emerged has been the student reactions to these assaults. As we all know there were numerous students who witnessed the Halloween attack, but not one student stepped forward to speak. Not one student called the police as the attack was taking place. I have a couple of points brought up by the most recent assault that I would like to briefly touch on.

Most students have probably seen the facebook group that was started in support of the victim, which I think is great. However, some of the messages left in the group and on the anonymous UNH message board really made me question the integrity of some of my fellow students. There were several students who blindly claimed that this victim deserved what happened because he probably mouthed off to the suspects. I am sorry, but I do not see how saying a few words would allow someone to be beaten unconscious by at least three other people. According to the police reports that attack was random and unprovoked, but even if words were spoken there is no justification for what happened.

On these same message boards rumors quickly spread over a girl who allegedly had a video recording of the attack. This girl and the other bystanders were afraid to come forward because they feared getting arrested. First of all, these people need to realize it is more important to help the police find these suspects then protecting themselves from the law. Who knows, maybe the suspects will strike again and it all could have been prevented if these witnesses immediately came forward. This is one of the many reasons why UNH needs to adopt a “Good Samaritan Policy,” something that 91 college campuses already have in place.

I was very pleased to learn that the student senate is currently trying to get such a policy passed, which would allow students to call for medical help or police assistance for an emergency involving drugs or alcohol without getting arrested or facing severe punishment from the school. This policy would keep students from hesitating to contact authorities when a situation goes out of hand. Policies like these have been extremely successful for the health and well being of students at schools across the country. I feel that a policy like this at UNH would greatly increase the chances of someone contacting authorities, which in the long run could save a life. Students, I ask you to reconsider your priorities. Putting yourself ahead of the safety of your fellow students is sad and any witnesses who refused to come forward should be ashamed of themselves.

I know that the factor of police techniques on campus has been brought up before, but I feel it is necessary to reexamine the situation. I understand that the campus police can only do so much, but I also know that extra police were called in for Halloween weekend. To make alcohol related arrests. I know that the police arrived on the scene very quickly, but maybe a better game plan by the police could have prevented this from happening. I am not a police commissioner nor am I an expert on policing techniques, but it would make more sense to me for cops to spend less time hiding in the woods looking for drunk freshman and more time patrolling different areas of campus. I can’t believe how many times I have been to the Durham House of Pizza during my time at UNH, only to see three or four cops parked across the street. Is that really necessary? Would it not be more efficient for the campus police to spread out in order to protect the students of UNH? These are questions that our local authorities really need to think about.

Lastly, I would like to thank President Huddleston for his letter last week. He could not have been more right when he said that UNH is a community and students need to look out for one another. If there is a “next time,” and hopefully there is not, maybe someone will call the police before things get out of hand. Let us learn from this experience in order to make changes to further strengthen the community of UNH.

Stay classy, not UMassy

Vitamin Vodka

Seeing that it is now Halloween weekend I would like to present my idea for vitamin water. It's called vitamin vodka. It's simple, you take vodka, add vitamins and drink it. Delicious, refreshing, healthy? Probably not. But it will get you drunk and keep your body replenished with essential vitamins, as long as you don't puke it up later. The first vitamin "flavor" I have is called "Granite State of Mind." Here's the little explanation that would go on the side of the bottle:

granite state of mind

They say a little vodka can go a long way. But you know what? Every drunk needs a little vitamin boost to keep their night going, so that is why we invented vitamin vodka. And if there's anyone who knows their vodka it's the The New Hampshirite. Straight from UNH, granite state of mind keeps students partying harder, longer and with better consequences. The added vitamins allows drinkers to stay replenished all night long and reduces morning hangovers. So we have one goal for you, show off your school pride by entering a granite state of mind and live free or die!

I think that is a gold meddle idea, don't you? By the way UNH'ers I came across this little goodie earlier this morning. It looks as though UNH and Durham will be boosting the police force for Halloween weekend. What a fucking surprise, right? I've also been informed that at UMaine cops got search warrants to enter any frat at any time this weekend. So I guess it could be worse here. Stay smart out there and stay out of those illusive police logs. But don't let that affect your party habits. I hope to see you in your awesome costumes all night long. Just be aware that my costume can't be beat. It's wicked awesome. Party on UNH, party on.

Stay classy, not UMassy.