If You’re Bored, Then You’re Boring

By Nick Post

We’ve all heard the complaints. “There’s nothing fun to do on campus” or “Nothing cool ever happens on Long Island.” It’s the sentiment shared by many students currently living and studying in our little bubble on the North Shore and it’s one of the more frustrating aspects of student life.

Believe it or not, Stony Brook University used to be cool. In the 60’s and 70’s, the school hosted major artists including Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Lou Reed. Now it seems as though we’re lucky to book decent acts and the events we do schedule seem to host crowds who would rather look at their phones than the stage. Putting aside the politics and financial concerns that weave together the various clubs and organizations on which we depend for our entertainment, we have no choice but to look in the mirror.

Are we too cool for our own campus? Or are we simply just not fun anymore? I believe the deadliest party killers are apathy and passivity. Students feel that they need to be entertained, that it is the university’s problem they are bored–a nonsensical attitude that does nothing to alleviate the feeling. And I’m tired of it. I’m tired of the lackluster attitude we possess when it comes to having fun.

It’s an uphill battle, I know. The amount of exceedingly dull events that remind me of ice cream socials is staggering and it seems as though the orchestrators of these are completely out of touch with us. Yet there are events put on for students, by students. They don’t work because we’re not going to them. And we’re not having fun at them.

We work hard, we should play hard too.

Why? Because we’re young adults in 2011. We’re college students. There will be a time when I won’t be able to stay out all night, wash off the face paint, eat an egg sandwich, and be ready for business as usual in the morning. Right now, my body and mind are capable of it and I know from my daily interactions with middle-aged professionals that it’s one of those “don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” perceptions.

So what do we do? Well, what do you do when it’s Friday night and you’re ready to go out? Get in touch with your friends and see if anything is happening. Same idea, larger scale. Where to then? What’s the first space to invade? The Rock Yo Face Case on April 4 might be a good place to start. It’s in an obscure corner of the campus and it’s dark, intimate, hot and let’s not forget–a bar. Think: all the good parts of a Ke$ha video. You’re probably not doing anything on a Monday night anyway, so you can sit in your dorm and smoke a bowl or you can party with us.