Editor's note: All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers.
Jack Davis: In my opinion the race is the best part of Little 500 weekend. I get the appeal of having a long weekend party atmosphere, but I don’t think it takes drinking to have fun at the races. Last year was my first Little 500, despite living in Bloomington for 20 years. I had this weird feeling that watching the races for the first time would be boring. I can safely say it was not, and I had fun watching it with my friends.
Eric Cannon: The Bison is a mascot par to none for the Indiana University Student Foundation and the Little 500. Bringing back the bison would be a way to instill every weekend at IU during football and basketball seasons with the spirit of the world’s greatest college weekend.
Pehal Aashish Kothari: Classes should be cancelled on the Thursday and Friday of Little 500. Everyone knows Little 500 isn’t just about the races, and because it’s one of the biggest college traditions in the U.S., IU professors should give students the Thursday and Friday off to be able to completely immerse themselves in the school spirit.
Gino Diminich: Going out to bars on Little 500 weekend is overrated. Before I turned 21, I remember walking down Kirkwood the Friday of Little 500 (the greatest college weekend) and being shocked. I saw lines down the block for every bar, I saw people fighting, yelling, shoving, crying — it was like an episode of some “Real Housewives” show but without the Botox and with more baseball caps. Once I turned 21 and went out Tuesday night, I can confidently say, overrated. Just stay in, get your work done and have fun on Saturday. The bars are simply too loud and crowded to be even remotely enjoyable. If I wanted to be standing and sweating to death I’d go to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona wearing a black garbage bag.
Isabella Vesperini: Going to Breakfast Club is a little over the top. Why would you want to wake up at 6 a.m. to go to the bars and start drinking so early in the day? You’re setting yourself up for a day of too much drinking, being endlessly hungover, potentially feeling sick and spending too much money on alcohol. Is it even fun to wait in those long lines just to be packed into a bar where you can’t find a seat or even hear the person next to you? It's just not worth it.
Grace Romine: I don’t think Little 500 is all that (I wasn’t allowed to request off work this weekend and am attempting to talk myself out of FOMO).
