Graphic By: Zoe Brown

Quad Fest: A Tale of Two Cities
| Published 04/30/04

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."

If you live on campus and never really venture off, (as I did last year) you would be totally unaware that Quad Fest was anything more than a mildly entertaining affair with live music, floats and - in the case of this year - a lot of hippie spirit. Sure, the music didn't interest me, and the inflatable attractions failed to elicit the same excitement in me as they did last year (with exception of the over-sized gloved boxing moon bounce ring). However Quad Fest on-campus seemed to be something that some people could indulge in (and even perhaps I would, if the NFL Draft hadn't been on).

But this year, Quad Fest came to me. As boxing matches took shape on the lawn in front of my complex, the screams of drunken passers-by and those working on it echoed over the television. I stepped onto my balcony watching as hordes of red-cup-carrying college kids stopped to see what the action was about. People were hanging over third story balconies and second story landings, cradling 40oz of Miller High Life that I thought would litter the ground like bombs across London during World War II. I remember feeling relieved that my car was parked not in the lot in front of the complex, thinking that at least I had a better chance of avoiding people sitting on it, walking on it or kicking it in a drunken episode.

Police presence and tactics change quite a bit during Quad Fest. Yeah, they arrest maybe 100 or 200 students for their conduct, but for the most part they are just trying to make sure a riot doesn't ensue and aren't too worried about public intoxication or open containers. By 2 p.m.,  plenty of students were already wasted, and many were drinking from the night before and into the current night. People shifted from party to party as the kegs dried up. Some being scurried off by the arrival of cops to break up live bands causing noise violations (clue: the WHOLE campus was causing a noise violation).

I guess I feel sorry for the townies. They're forced to live in communities where cars speed down narrow roads and college students tearing up already slummy communities. Then a wild day like Quad Fest happens (where I am sure they bolt their doors, board the windows and put the kids in the bomb shelter). I can't decide whether the energy of Quad Fest excited or frightened me, but it definitely was a day where I didn't feel like going around without someone with me. Drunk, belligerent college students and I won't mix well.

Either way, Quad Fest was a wild, eye-opening day, and one that I am glad only comes once a year. After all, I don't think I could stand the litter that is strewn about the lawn in front of the complex, wondering when or if BCR will come and clean it up.