Blogger delves into alcohol-free activites for students during D-Days

New students often look forward to Dakota Days with nervous excitement, while we veteran students prepare for the chaos to come. Very soon, illicit deals will be made in order to stockpile alcohol for the week-long event while the local police get the “drunk tanks” cleaned out and ready for use. The school can try to claim D-Days is a celebration of school spirit and community, but anyone honest with themselves knows that a very large number of the students treat it like Mardi Gras.

However, if you are one of the students who doesn’t want to drink themselves completely into oblivion, D-Days doesn’t have to be spent dealing with intolerable drunks. The Student Government Association will be hosting several events throughout the week dedicated specifically to non-alcoholic fun for students. Students should be able to enjoy at least a few activities during the day before going out for the night. Here are the activities for the following week:

• On Monday, D-Days kicked off down in the Muenster University Center with the sale of t-shirts and free promotional items from 10 a.m. to noon. Later in the evening, comedian Anthony Jeselnik performed a show at 8 p.m. in Aalfs Auditorium in Slagle Hall. Students were allowed in free so long as they had their IDs, while all other guests had to pay $5 to get in.

• Tuesday’s events began with a blood drive that will continue through Wednesday. The times to donate blood will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. Tuesday was also the day in which the seven top candidates for both Mr. and Miss Dakota were announced at 7 p.m. in Aalfs Auditorium. Immediately following this event there was a safety speech titled “Living Proof,” given by guest speaker Sarah Panzau at 8 p.m. Anyone new to the college scene or intending to participate in less-than-legal activities is strongly encouraged to attend this speech.

• Wednesday’s activities will include the Vermtown Bash in Prentis Park from 5 to 9 p.m. This event will include games, music and food and will also have many of USD’s organizations recruiting during the evening. Anyone interested in getting involved in extracurricular activities should definitely come. There will also be a two-mile fun run held by the Wellness Center at 5 p.m.

• Thursday will be the last day to vote for Mr. and Miss Dakota, and this can be done through myU Portal. Later in the evening, the SGA will be hosting an all-night campout, which will feature yard games, music and other activities in honor of the unveiling of the new coyote statue on campus at 8 p.m. Organizations are also welcome to chalk up part of the sidewalk in order to promote their interests. The Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media will also be presented to columnist Marilyn Hagerty in Aalfs Auditorium at 7 p.m.

• The events on Friday will shift focus a bit, welcoming alumni and setting up events for them accordingly. There will be an alumni dinner at 5:30 p.m. in the MUC, giving the former students a chance to meet with their former compatriots. Then, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., the Wellness Center will be hosting a two-hour Zumba class open to the public. Finally, for the alumni that wish to get their groove on, an alumni dance will be hosted in the Neuharth Center at 8:30 p.m.

• D-Days will officially end on Saturday, starting off with the Dakota Day parade at 10 a.m. downtown. Following this, USD’s classes of ‘52, ‘62, and ‘72 will be having their reunion lunches at noon. That’s when a large number of students will be heading to the DakotaDome for tailgating before the football game that will kick off at 2 p.m. and royalty will be crowned at halftime.

So, as you can see, D-Days isn’t a week that you have to dedicate to being wasted. For students who don’t want to participate in illicit events, these are the perfect ways to still be involved and have a good time. For the students who will be downing beers like a starving man would eat a buffet, at the very least, these events could be an opportunity to take a break.