Spring Quarter is fast approaching, and I’m excited. I love springtime because everyone remembers how fun it is to be outside in the sun. Every day, the beach is filled with sun-kissed bodies and a few brews. The high energy level and positive mood in Isla Vista make it an amazing place to be. Although it is beautiful outdoors in the spring, there is one place I wouldn’t mind hanging out indoors: the Study Hall.

That’s right, the one thing every senior — and junior if you’re old enough — should do this spring is the 50 Club. Starting Sunday, Mar. 30, and ending Friday, Jun. 6, the Study Hall will be packed with fun people at any time of any given day. The first time you go to the Study Hall Spring Quarter, tell the bartender you want to do the 50 Club. You will receive a card you need to present each day you go to the Hall. You will get one stamp per day that you go to the Hall and have a drink. If by the end of the quarter you have 50 stamps, you win! They also offer occasional double and triple stamps, where you can go to the Study Hall downtown and O’Malley’s and get additional stamps there.

If you are considering doing the 50 Club, I highly recommend it. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, 50 days of having at least one drink is difficult. There are 10 weeks in a quarter, so roughly 70 days in Spring Quarter, during which you must drink 50 times. This works out to about five days a week you have to get a drink, on average. It can be a little tough at times, but it is definitely worth it. Doing the 50 Club is a great way to socially network with other fun UCSB students you may have never met. It is also a way to go out with a bang by spending your last quarter — or one of your last — with your friends nearly every day.

Beside the fact that 50 days is a lot of straight drinking, the 50 Club can also be tough because it’s expensive. If you figure you spend $5 a drink, and you drink 50 days, that is about $250 — not that bad, but usually you don’t just have one drink. I would recommend having a few days set aside to go and have multiple drinks — maybe the weekend — and the rest of the days only have one, like the weekdays. On these weekdays, to make the 50 Club more affordable, split a pitcher with your friends. It will only be about $3 a person if you split a pitcher among four people. Take turns, for example: Every Monday is Herman’s day to buy a pitcher, and every Tuesday is Mildred’s turn, etc. I wish I had friends named Herman and Mildred, by the way.

So now you know what the 50 Club is and some tactics to accomplish it. But you probably want to know what you win. Besides 50+ days of fun, you officially get to join the 50 Club of 2008. This means many great things. First, you get your name on a plaque forever posted on the wall in the Study Hall. Second, you get an awesome shirt commemorating your survival of the 50 Club. You may also get a cool shot glass or other memorabilia. Last, and the best of all, you get to go to the Study Hall OPEN BAR PARTY! The Study Hall downtown, which is moving to the second story of O’Malley’s on Mar. 1, will be the venue of a lifetime. Imagine hundreds of the most hardcore partiers of legal age in the same place, at the same time, with unlimited free drinks. These are real drinks too — none of that fake tequila, watered-down shit you find at open bars in Mexico. The 50 Club Party is insanely fun!

The weather is getting better, and I can’t wait for another great Spring Quarter. Make sure to take no more than 12 units so you have plenty of time for fun. See you at the Hall.

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