Frat Boy Cosby Sweater & Boat Shoes Party of Nine
Finding photos for these blogs isn’t all that difficult. About 90% of them come from Unsplash. The other 10% are a mixture of my own pictures or other free online photo sources.
What’s tricky is finding the right search term.
I put a few terms in the query box to find the right look.
frat boy
frat guy
college
sweater
man in sweater
college sweater
boat shoes
man in boat shoes
ugly sweater
cosby (where an illustration of breakdancing popped up)
idiot
pong
beer pong
college party
frat party
After scrolling through hundreds of pictures I was about to give up and scrap the title for something more generic. Then, it hit me.
beer guys
Lo and behold, near the end of the Unsplash page, the perfect photo to match my title.
Now, I’m sure the man in the photo drinking a beer on a rooftop in Salem, Massachusetts means well. I’m sure he’s a responsible young adult who just needed an extra layer of clothing on a chilly rooftop while enjoying what appears to be a New England IPA. But my goodness does he fit the description I was looking for to a T.
Why?
Because last week a group of nine guys strolled up to the bar way too close to closing time looking for a table. I won’t presume to know where they go to school, but unlike mine where newspapers were free in the lecture halls, news is not a “thing” they pay attention to. They’d know all bars are restricted in the state by curfew, capacity and table size.
But they didn’t mind splitting up, despite being dressed in the same frat boy uniform: Cosby, Ugly, or “Ironic” sweater, khaki pants or shorts, and boat shoes or loafers without socks.
Pretty close to the picture.
Unlike the picture, however, only half of them would be drinking. No, not because of curfew, capacity, or table size.
I walked down the line checking IDs. You know, it still amazes me that people don’t catch onto what’s happening when I hold onto an ID and spot check others. Like, you're literally in school to grow your knowledge base. By the second one, maybe some doubt should creep in. The third? Dude, I’m holding the fakes and not even bothering with the real ones.
The fourth?
Are you sure you're even enrolled?
Facebook memories reminded me of several milestones. I guess Spring is big for me on that front. But almost four years to the day was another time I confiscated a handful of cards to send me over a century mark.
In April 2017, it was a van full of high school girls with IDs 99-104.
And last week it was a barrage of frat guys with IDs 796-800.
