No matter how you put it, the sad fact is that designated driving can get a little uncomfortable. And the worst part is it isn’t the DD’s fault.
When everyone else’s voices begin to slur, their bodies becoming more and more floaty and there’s dancing and music and laughter, it isn’t hard to feel a little bit left out.
Here’s someone who spends valuable weekend time waiting around to drive various people — arguably having a much better time than they are — home. Gas money is forgotten as the night goes on. The DD is lucky to make the last long drive home without “road beers” staining the car seat.
Choosing to be the DD is more than accepting a solitary night, and those nights are not uncommon to your average student-insomniac.
No, being a DD means spending your drink-less time watching your friends spiral further and further into a communal state of relative intoxication and inhibition, and choosing, for their sakes, not to join in.
But now, Student Government and various Five Points bars have lessened the burden of being a designated driver by providing free non-alcoholic drinks to those taking up the mantle. And it’s as easy as holding up your keys.
Designated (get it?) by special key chains that can be acquired at the SG offices in Blatt P.E. Center, this new generation of designated drivers will finally have something to grasp as they putter around in a depressingly coordinated manner, even if it isn’t alcoholic.
While this initiative isn’t a new one by any means, this is the first time SG has taken a concentrated step towards marketing it to the entire campus. We commend them for it.
It isn’t always easy being the DD, but saving $5 on a Coke and having something to hold at the bar gives volunteering to drive a few extra incentives.