THE CO$T OF GOING OUT

On a weekend in Bowling Green, Ohio the average night dweller can expect to put a TWENTY to FOURTY dollar dent in their pocketbook. The cost of a good time is on the rise and showing no signs of dwindling to anything affordable for a fund-less college student. Expenses such as alcohol, and bar cover are just a few examples of the necessities that roll along with being a Falcon on the weekend.

First, college students participate in a pre-bar ritual called “pregaming.” This consists of binge drinking heavily to lessen the blow of the bar tab. Starting out with a six pack of beer will usually run you about eight dollars, roughly $1.30 per beer. This is just the beginning of the night and your bank statement is already paying the price. Second, tipsy students move on from their pregaming to the big show, the bar. The bar first robs students of their paycheck for a cover charge. This expense costs anywhere from five to ten dollars depending on the bar. The biggest buck breaker come next; the drinks at the bar. A beer or a shot at the bar costs anywhere from two dollars to ten dollars.

The last stop on the train to broke is the late night food run. Already being in the hole anywhere from twenty to forty dollars, all senses of good and bad are thrown to the wind on the walk home. Stopping for food costs between five and ten dollars. Due to the pregaming and bar hopping, knowledge of bank account balances are lost somewhere between the third tequila shot and the fourth Bud Light Lime.

Pregaming, bar hopping, and the late night food run on one night of the weekend costs roughly thirty dollars, or in other words—an arm and a leg. With a thirty dollar debit on their bank statement, BGSU college students can think of only one thing on the very blurry, aching Saturday morning… What time are we starting tonight?