It’s Saturday morning, and the night before was wild. Many freshmen awaken to sunlight in their squeaky dorm beds to this exact scenario every weekend ready for bounties of Carson brunch or Fire ‘n Spice omelets. But for some residents, their hunger is destined to go unsatisfied.

The premature end of weekly meal points is a feeling no dorm resident wants to endure. It can be difficult to budget, especially early on in dorm life.

“For the first two weeks it was a little difficult, but once I figured out how the points and stuff all worked, I had points leftover every week,” said fresh-out-of-the-dorms sophomore Robert Mollusky.

Mollusky says that the one of the most cost-efficient food items in the dorms is the three-point mac ‘n cheese at the Global Scholars Hall. However, another quality way of improving point efficiency is cutting out unnecessary items such as snacks and drinks.

“You don’t have to get a drink with every meal,” Mollusky said. “It helps your points not to get a soda with every meal. Then you save a few points a day, and that helps you at the end of the week.”

Another fresh-out-of-the-dorms sophomore, Mitchell Dobler, found that the salads at the Living Learning Center and Big Mouth Burritos at Hamilton Complex were the best way to get bang for your buck in the residence halls. Living off campus in Barnhart, however, Dobler took advantage of food around campus that helped him conserve his points.

“I lived in Barnhart, so I was off campus and able to go eat off campus more often, and my points would just stock up,” Dobler said.

Caspian Mediterranean Café (863 E. 13th Ave.), Uly’s on Kincaid street, Sy’s Pizza (1211 Alder St.) and Glenwood (1340 Alder St.) were among Dobler’s favorites throughout the week and whenever points ran low.

While at Caspian, Dobler said he most often ordered the burger special with fries and a drink.

“It’s a steal,” he said.

The cheeseburger special at Caspian is only $6.95.

With so many quality eats surrounding campus, Dobler’s advice to incoming freshmen is to branch away from campus food every now and then.

“I’d say just go off campus more, you know, try the places off campus too,” Dobler said. “Don’t just stay on campus and eat at the same places all the time. That’s basically all the advice I have. I really didn’t have any problem conserving meal points at all.”

From tasty cups of coffee at The Buzz and the Fishbowl Café to student clubs that offer experience for the real world, the Erb Memorial Union is a student hotspot at the University of Oregon for resources, leadership opportunities and entertainment.

Among the spots for entertainment at the EMU is the Amphitheater, where the all-male, award-winning student a cappella group On the Rocks performs every Friday at 4 p.m.

“When we perform it’s that time of day when people are finishing up their week of classes so they are just looking to kick back and be entertained,” On the Rocks member Connor Eggerman said on the groups’ weekly Friday shows. “No one is in a rush for anything, everyone is pretty happy and excited for the weekend.”

In order to make it through the week and to the weekend, there are some places at the EMU to get coffee and enjoy it in a friendly atmosphere. The Buzz Coffee House has a full espresso bar along with Belgian waffles. The coffee joint is closed for the summer but opens back up on Sept. 25. Mangiano is located in the Fishbowl and offers an assortment of baked treats, breakfast items such as breakfast burritos and lunch items such as calzones to go with their full espresso bar.

For more food, one interesting place to eat at the EMU is a revolving restaurant called the Marketplace. With a wide variety of foods offered throughout the week, the Marketplace transforms into a new vendor every day. Monday is World Flavors, Tuesday is Bite of Mexico, Wednesday is Pita Pit, Thursday is Qdoba Mexican Grill and Friday is either World Flavors or Bite of Mexico again.

But if it’s not food or coffee that brings students to the EMU, perhaps it is one of the clubs that is based out of it.

The Women’s Center offers leadership experience as well as a sanctuary for resources such as printing papers or grabbing a free cup of coffee.

“We have a large volunteer base, and we have a weekly volunteer meeting where people can come and learn more about issues around gender and sexism as well as intersectionality and then just ways to get plugged into the University and volunteer at other events that are happening,” said Women’s Center Director Brandy Teel.

The center holds events throughout the year such as the annual march and rally against sexual violence, Take Back the Night, an annual march, and a music festival called Out Loud that happens spring term.

“But on a day-to-day basis I think people are looking for resources, support, a place to print out their paper on their way to class or to grab a free cup of coffee, so all of those resources are available here through the women’s center,” Teel said.

The EMU is also the home of student government, ASUO, as well as Club Sports, where students can compete in sports with other schools at a non-collegiate level.

Out of 221 teams and over 1,000 contestants, including some young professionals, three University of Oregon architecture students designed an affordable, environmentally sound community to win the Timber in the City: Urban Habitats competition held by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

“To me, the design is a vibrant cultural living place. It strives to be a true Brooklyn place that is affordable and economically available for people to live there,” said Alex Kenton, who worked on the project.

Consisting of 175 housing units and 185,000 square feet set in Brooklyn, New York, the design calls for the use of a new building technology called cross-laminated timber (CLT). CLT is sturdy enough to act as a substitute for concrete, but at the same time promotes light, which is what the group of UO students tried to harvest in their design from the depths of New York.

“We took a really close look at what had been done historically,” said team member Jason Rood, “and it’s shortfallings in terms of not enough light in rooms or very narrow hallways, closed proximity and how do you kind of take those things and make them better — widen them up or give a little light, but keep them as affordable as possible.”

The answer to many of the ideas that Rood and his colleagues wanted to capture in their design was found in CLT. It gave the design the structural stability to overcome climate issues such as floods, but also provided a refreshing nature feel to the Brooklyn community.

“On the east side there’s a wonderful community garden, and just a few blocks away there’s huge parks, you know, giant playfields, in New York which you would think is just absolutely jam-packed,” Rood said. “It’s kind of one of the last areas in New York that actually has open land, and parks, and things that aren’t really  kind of clustered and so tight. We really wanted to add to that.”

In order to complete their award-winning vision, the group of UO students worked for five and a half weeks, despite the fact that the competition had begun at the beginning of the school year. Several other teams had a semester to complete their work.

Rood joked that because of the team’s limited time, they were working “eight days a week” to get it done on time. As the results show, that’s all it took.

“It’s demanding, but what you get out of it is so worth it,” Rood said.

Maintaining a quality diet away from home can be difficult. Resorting to quesadillas and grilled cheese sandwiches is a common quick fix to the problem of student hunger for some.

“I cook for myself at least five times a week. I try to every day, but realistically having two jobs, it’s hard to cook for yourself because coming home at 8 pm, I’ll make a quesadilla, I’ll make a grilled cheese, have a bowl of soup or cereal – something simple,” said senior student Alex Bentley on his eating habits.

Even students who cook for themselves regularly struggle to reach the level of healthy meals that was once achieved when they were living at home. Nicole Castaneda says she cooks dinner for herself three to four times a week.

The UO junior described the difference between her cooking and her mom’s cooking as “definitely a health and quality difference.”

“Here I don’t eat as many vegetables as my mom cooked just because some of the vegetables are that much more expensive, or the meat grade that I’m making will not be nearly as good as what my mom would make,” she said.

Although it is difficult for cash-strapped college students to cook with the healthiest ingredients, there are short and easy recipes out there that can save you from a diet of soup and quesadillas.

Collegerecipes.com has a slew of short and easy recipes. One of those recipes is ceviche Fettuccine Alfredo. All that is needed are one box of Fettuccine Noodles, one 16-ounce jar of Alfredo sauce, and one pounce of ceviche. Ceviche can be purchased from the deli at any Safeway.

Boil the Fettuccine and heat up the ceviche and Alfredo sauce in separate pan. Once the sauce is heated and the noodles are boiled the meal is ready to be served.

Another easy recipe is stuffed bell peppers. It sounds difficult but all that is needed to make a meal for three is three bell peppers, eight ounces of any pasta sauce, nine ounces of rice, one can of black beans, and four ounces of shredded cheese.

Cook the rice and slice the bell peppers in half. Once the rice is finished, mix it together in a bowl with the beans and pasta sauce. Put that mixture inside the open bell peppers, top them with cheese, and bake them in the oven for ten minutes.

To make some tasty sandwich rolls for lunch, grab a tortilla, four pieces of any lunch meat, two to three teaspoons of sour cream and four ounces of cheese. Microwave the tortilla for five to ten seconds to soften it, spread on the sour cream, pile on the meat, roll it up and cut it into one inch rolls.

Based on prices from Walmart, the ingredients for a sandwich roll-up should not exceed $9. However, that will account for multiple batches. To make three of the stuffed bell peppers, the ingredients will hover around $11  for one batch. The Ceviche Fettuccine Alfredo is a bit more expensive. It will cost somewhere between $16 and $20 for the ingredients. Availability of ceviche is subject to location. All of the pricing for these recipes may vary by a few dollars from store to store and brand to brand.

You’re finally out of your parent’s house for the school year and into your very own. This is exciting for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that you get to invite dates over without the unsettling knowledge that Mom and Dad are in the next room.

Before you go inviting your lady friend over willy-nilly, there are some things that you should know about how a successful date night transpires.

The first thing that is necessary for a successful date night is the cooking. Yes, this will most certainly be the most painful part of the process. However you might actually consider asking her for help. Some girls find cooking together to be quality date night bonding.

Junior Jaime Hershman thinks that the perfect date night meal should be “something that they cook together, like maybe pasta or salad.”

On the contrary, junior Gia Grant believes that no cooking should take place during a stay-at-home date.

“I would say get take-out and watch a movie because then you can just spend time together and relax,” said Grant.

As far as beverages served with the main entrée, there are several options. Wine is classy, and probably the best way to go, but don’t bust out a box of Franzia. Sweet Cheeks and King Estates Rieslings can be found at markets throughout Eugene for about $15 a bottle. If you’re not going to buy a nicer bottle of wine, just go with something easy to make like gin and tonic.

After dinner and drinks, it’s time for arts and crafts! Just kidding – this is when you’ll want to pop in a movie. When it comes to date night movies, you can take two routes: comedy or horror.

Funny movies will create a fun, light-hearted experience that will put your date in a good mood. Chick flicks are never a bad choice.

The logic behind the scary movie tactic is that she will huddle up to you for safety. She might act as though you have the means to protect her from spooky ghosts and vicious murderers, even though you don’t. The key here is to choose a movie that won’t make you more frightened than her. If that’s an issue, take the funny movie route.

“I think it’s because they think that we’ll get scared and they can protect us because they’re the man,” said Grant on why guys think scary movies are a good idea for date nights.

When you two love birds are getting all settled in for the show, don’t be afraid to dim the lights – a lot. Act like that’s how you always watch movies. Confidence is key guys.

What happens during and after the movie is up to you. You’ve already utilized all the tools that your home has to offer in order to make a great date night. Let’s hope she still likes you.

From the side of the stage, out of the cloudy mist wearing a protective mouth cover for reasons unexplained came Lil B at Kaleidoscope Sunday night to get ready for his show. The anticipation was tight in the air for his arrival. Shouts of “Based God” spread through the crowd like wildfire.

Rained out of his original stage and moved into a smaller stage underneath a spherical tent, Lil B gave the fans what they wanted. As soon as word broke out that Lil B was moved to another stage, fans started running to get there on time. The sound equipment that came with the new, smaller stage was not necessarily up to par, and perhaps it was the work of Based God himself, but the show went on nonetheless.

“The crowd loved me, it was great. I didn’t even feel like the show was messed up with the technical difficulties, but you know they came to see Lil B so whatever rain, sleet or snow,” Lil B said after the show.

Lil B gave a shout out to the Based God, and the concert had begun. Immediately when the music started, the crowd gathered tight around the stage and started flexing and cooking as is customary in most Lil B videos. Members of the crowd near the front began showering Lil B in gifts such as a hat (which Lil B proudly wore) and a beer.

Lil B’s slow but deliberate dance moves made his loyal followers go crazy. He interacted with the crowd throughout the show by laughing with them and starting chants of “mother nature.” At the end of the show, Lil B brought a boy from the front row up to the stage with him and referred to him as his “little brother.” He then put his arm around the boy as he sang an “I love you” song to the crowd. The fans were very appreciative.

“It’s really hard to just describe in words. Other than that, I was sincerely wooed by that dude, Based God,” Lil B fan Geo Quibuien said after the show. “For the most part he feeds off the energy that people give him.”

Once the show was over, Lil B came down into the crowd for pictures. Fans surrounded him and showered him with hugs and kisses. Lil B was happy with his time spent in Eugene at Kaleidoscope.

“You know it’s great been great, man, they showed a lot of love. Salute to everyone that was a part of it, the people that made it happen, and the people that wanted me a part of it, you know, definitely,” Lil B said of Kaleidoscope.

As the crowds settled into the Kaleidoscope Music Festival in Emerald Meadows on Friday in anticipation for the headliner, Bassnectar, rap artist Schoolboy Q and punk rock band The Thermals drew in some decent audiences of their own.

Once word started spreading through the grounds of Kaleidoscope that Schoolboy Q was playing at 7:30 pm, people started hovering toward the main stage. Hair-blowing hip-hop music started blasting from the speakers and Schoolboy Q came out, ran his hand through the fans in the front row, and took a half lap around the stage.

Before he started rapping his first song, Schoolboy Q yelled at the crowd to put up “threes,” and everybody put up three fingers. After his first song, he claimed to the crowd that one of his favorite shows was played at WOW hall and that his favorite football team was the Oregon Ducks.

The crowd blew up in bouncing excitement when Schoolboy Q decided to rap over Kendrick Lamar’s “maad City,” however his choice of rapping over Lamar’s lyrics was not well received by some fans.

“I thought it was chill that he was playing Kendrick’s song, but it was kind of wack that he was rapping over Kendrick’s verses, because Kendrick’s way better,” said festival goer Maxwell Chalmers. “No offense to Schoolboy Q, I love Schoolboy Q, but he shouldn’t rap over Kendrick.”

Some members of the audience who were not familiar with most of Schoolboy Q’s music were disappointed at the crowd’s response to the show.

“I’m kind of sad. I wish everyone was more like hyped up, more energetic, everyone seemed pretty chill. I’m sure it will get better as the night goes on,” said festival attendee Mara Rennie.

After Schoolboy Q’s performance, as the majority of Kaleidoscope goers were getting primed for Bassnectar, a punk rock band from Portland called The Thermals played in a mosquito-filled stage in the back woods of the venue.

The three-person band passed around a beer on stage as they played, and a small following of loyal fans crowded the stage in adoration.

One fan traveled all the way from Tacoma, Wash. to see The Thermals play with tickets that he won on the band’s Facebook page. He thought they played a great set, but was disappointed with the showing of fans in attendance.

Bassist of The Thermals, Kathy Foster, thought that the reason for the small crowd was that Kaleidoscope is not necessarily a rock and roll venue, but she enjoyed the show nonetheless.

“It’s just a weird, freaky hippy festival, which is not something we usually play, so that’s different. I think we stand out here because I don’t think there’s that many rock bands playing. Seems like it’s mostly electronic and hip-hop and dance stuff,” said Foster. “I always like playing smaller shows. It just feels like we’re all together-one party.”

There are sure to be more hidden gems such as The Thermals as Kaleidoscope continues into the weekend.

There is plenty to be excited about heading into the Kaleidoscope Music Festival this weekend. Even aside from the main performers such as Bassnectar and Empire of the Sun, there will be hidden gems throughout the weekend to feast eyes and ears on.

One of those hidden gems is EDMTunes DJ Topher Jones. Jones is an up and coming artist from Chicago whose music includes a healthy range of remixes and originals. Some of his music has been played by artists such as Skrillex and Afrojack. To hear one of Jone’s more praised releases, try listening to “Brohammer.” His August is booked with performances in different cities nearly every night, and on August 24, he is stopping by Kaleidoscope to douse Eugene Meadows with his dirty beats.

Of course it’s not just musicians storming the stages of Kaleidoscope this weekend. A wide range of performing groups and spectacles will be there to satisfy the desires of the audience as well. A dubstep dancer by the name of Marquese Scott is one of those performers. Watching the way that Scott’s body contorts and moves might make you question the human anatomy itself. His arms may be made of spaghetti, and his feet may be made of air. Regardless, somebody should probably give him an MRI to see what the deal is.

Another Kaleidoscope performance to get excited about is The Jezebelles. Difficult to describe in words, The Jezebelles are a group of women who belly-dance, hoop, walk on stilts, play with fire and more, while wearing wacky outfits. They’ve performed at such popular venues as Dayglow and Spring Love. If you like girls with paint on their bodies, long, colorful boots, and/or the occasional gas mask, you should give The Jezebelles a whirl.

Speaking of colors, another can’t miss attraction at Kaleidoscope will be The Wanderlust Circus. Filled with colorful lights, bike tricks, stilt dancing and hand balancers, The Wanderlust Circus is a spectacle to behold. According to kaleidoscopemusicfestival.com, The Wanderlust Circus will be holding a special Daytime Electro Swing MegaBounce Party. Indeed that is an ambiguous name, but if there’s one thing that makes a megabounce party glorious, it’s daytime electro swing. That’s just a fact.

Now crazy contortionists and colorful acrobats aside, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention the fact that rap artist Lil B is a part of the Sunday line-up for Kaleidoscope. Yes he raps about wonton soup, his seemingly infinite supply of swag, and some sort of entity called “Based God,” but isn’t that exactly why you want to see him?

Lil B is just another fun and unique experience that Kaleidoscope will offer. There’s going to be some talented musicians, wacky shows and sights you may never see again. Nothing less should be expected from a music festival in Eugene.

When it comes to parks, Eugene offers some beautiful venues for picnics, hiking, and disc golf. The following five parks seldom disappoint.

Skinner’s Butte is located on the north edge of Eugene. It is a giant hill facing the entire city with beautiful hiking trails and vacant lawns. The park is approximately 200 feet above the city, so rock climbing is welcome. An “O” emblem is erected on the hill and can be seen from the surrounding city as well as the air. It used to be lit up leading up to the Civil War game. Biking to the top and enjoying the view is a treat to behold.

Hendricks Park is the oldest park in Eugene. Known for its rhododendron garden, the park also features a hiking trail, 200-year-old douglass fir trees, and a healthy variety of wild flowers. It is 78 acres and perfect for hiking, jogging, and birding. Also if you enjoy picnics, you might want to stop by.

West University Park is located next to the UO. The entrance is located on the corner of 14th Avenue and Hilyard Street. Small and quaint, it’s a nice place to escape campus for a bit on a sunny day. It was designed by students of the landscape architecture department at the UO in 1979. The park features a plaza, boulders and a slew of plants native to the region.

Westmoreland Disc Golf Course is a popular place when the weather is nice. Since the park opened in 1986, it has hosted several tournaments. The course was designed over old airport run ways. The short holes make the games quick and the course popular.  It can be a bit wet November through May, but it features nine holes and concrete tees. Scattered foliage makes it a pretty venue. Get there early as it gets crowded on sunny days.

Covered in green, the Alton Baker disc golf course has 18 holes and costs $3 per person per day. Trees include an old filbert grove, large maples, firs, cotton woods, and cedars. Since the course is located next to Autzen Stadium, the course is cut down to 12 holes on days that there is a big event. In addition to disc golf, Alton Baker Park is a dog park with duck ponds and bicycle trails.

DuckLife is the Emerald’s magazine for incoming freshmen, made available during IntroDucktion. This story has been reprinted from the magazine in its original form.

The summer is fast-approaching the point when it is time sell books from summer classes, and start thinking about buying books for fall classes. It’s important to remember, though, that it’s not necessary to be restrained to the prices of the Duck Store when shopping.

When searching for books on the Duck Store website, be sure to compare prices with the options they provide from around the web.

Other book-buying options can be comparable in price to the Duck Store. One of those options is Alibris.com. Simply type in the ISBN number of the desired textbook, and Alibris.com will deliver a price for the book both new and used if they carry it.

Senior University of Oregon student Beye Antonsen rents some of her textbooks from Chegg.com to save money. According to her calculations, Antonsen saves roughly 200 dollars per term by shopping for her books on websites such as Chegg.com and Amazon.com. On these sites, she is able to buy and rent books used.

“If you’re not paying for your own books, you would probably just go to the Duck Store just because it seems a lot easier because it’s on campus, and it’s like right away you don’t have to wait, but they are way more expensive,” Antonsen said.

One of the books that Antonsen said she saved money on is Atlas of Anatomy by Anne M. Gilroy. Currently at the Duck Store, Gilroy’s book is $54 used and $72 new. On Chegg.com, Atlas of Anatomy is $31.99 to rent for a term. However, the Duck Store has this particular used book for rent at $30.22 a term as of Aug. 19.

Selling books can be done on websites such as half.com and even Facebook. Sophomore student Ben Salaman has successfully sold old textbooks through the UO Class of 2016 Facebook page.

“The Duck Store wouldn’t buy it back,” said Salaman of one of the books he sold on Facebook. “I think I’ve had success because I was able to get three quarters of my money back for a book at my own convenience.”

Corrections:

We added the price to rent a used copy of Atlas of Anatomy by Anne M. Gilroy from the Duck Store. The original story suggested it was cheaper to obtain a used copy from Chegg.com.