Greetings and Salutations

 My name is Ben, I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and am a recent grad of the prestigious Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. As a student I had many great experiences: I competed as a varsity athlete for the Men's Swimming Team, my freshman year, I studied abroad in Austria and traveled around Europe my junior year, I interned for the U.S. State Department in Vienna, Austria as a fifth year senior, and I made tons of great friends and acquaintances both in and outside of Athens. Anyone even slightly familiar with Athens knows that it's a small drinking town in southeastern Ohio with a college problem. For the past two decades, to the dismay of the administration, we've been on Princeton Review's list of the top party schools. Well we've paid our dues and in 2011 we were finally named to the number 1 spot.

The reason that OU is such a party school is due to one thing...there ain't shit else to do in Athens, hence students resort to drinking copious amounts of malt liquor and doing extensive damage to their livers. There are many things that are special about Athens' unique party atmosphere, the widely open house parties, the out of control street fests, Ohio Brew Week, pregaming in the dorms as an underclassmen, but there is one thing that is sure to become the heart of any OU students' social life: the bars of Uptown Athens. Uptown Athens is home to 19 bars, most of which are located on two intersecting streets, Union and Court.

It's August now and pretty soon a whole new batch of undergrads will stride through College Gate and make the first steps in their drunken, stoned out, sex odyssey in Athens. This occasion is usually followed by a mad rush for these new freshmen to find fake i.d.'s so they too can partake in the drunken revelry of Uptown's plethora of drinking establishments.

Another guarantee that the new year brings is that the restrooms of the bars will be painted with a new layer of Sharpie ink from the thousands of students going on the Court Street Shuffle. This event entails having a drink at every bar in town within the course of a day. There is nothing more depraved, reckless, and irresponsible than the Court Street Shuffle. I would know, I'm multi-time veteran.

For those OU students fixin' to spend some time drinking at the bars this year, whether you're a first timer or a seasoned veteran, let this blog be your guide to the bars, each one's unique nature, and their go-to drinks to satisfy your blackout. Opinions are my own and may vary from person to person. Just know that this is the advice of an experienced OU alum and a fair and open-minded individual. Go Bobcats!