‘Twas the night before BSD and all through Rez…

By Hadija Gabunga

Believe me when I say this, BSD in Rez is like Christmas. You spend the night before pacing back and forth, anxious for the coming morning. You’ve already bought loads of alcohol, with a few extras just in case, and all you can think of is how exciting it’s going to be to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to chug down your first of many Canadians. A word of advice on BSD: learn to pace yourself.

Just like Christmas morning, you’re like a little child excited to unwrap all the toys and goodies you’ll get. And as much as you want to be a good little boy or girl, the excitement gets the better of you. In Rez, BSD is likely the last time you’ll party with all the people you spent the past eight months with and all it comes down to is making it as memorable as possible.

In Rez, BSD usually starts with a 5 a.m. wake-up call, the fire alarm. And after that somewhat rude awakening, you wonder why anyone in their right mind would be up and drinking this early. But as soon you step outside your door, whoever you bump into will either already be drinking if not drunk. And their festive, touristy, Bermuda shorts outfit will remind you exactly why you got up that early.

You also wonder if, by the end of the day, you’ll indulge yourself in way too many unnecessary activities. For example, have one too many tequila shots at around noon, black out by 4 p.m., and if you’re a real trooper, you’ll keep going until the next morning. You also hope that at some point, if you get too drunk to remember your name or the Rez building you live in, someone will cut off your alcohol intake.

For those who don’t drink, don’t want to be surrounded by drunk people and can’t handle being in any environment full of hormone-raged, sexually-repressed and inebriated people muttering incom-prehensively, I do pity you. You might want to seek refuge outside Rez walls. BSD is all about tacky Value-Village Bermuda shorts, beer gardens, last farewells with friends, the possibilities of mischievous deeds–not to mention how weary and tiresome you’ll be by the end of it all.

There are of course situations on BSD where our better passions can result in overindulgence. So for those first years who don’t know much about BSD, the humorous stories you hear might sound exciting and you might be tempted to become "that guy who was passed out by noon," or "that girl who spent the rest of the afternoon hugging the toilet bowl." But there are other ways to make it memorable.

It’s the one day when you forget that mid-term or quiz you failed, finals, how Rezed-out you are, how you can’t wait to go back home, and all it boils down to is going all out on BSD. Many might say it’s simply wasted youth, alcohol abuse, the exploitation of free will, but, if anyone asks why you’re drunk before noon, tell them not to worry, it’s BSD!