Ah, Carolina Cup. To members of the real world, Carolina Cup is a horse race. But for college kids, Carolina Cup is an opportunity to have a bit of fun while wearing really expensive clothing. The amount of pastel and stumbling sorority girls can be overwhelming, so here’s a quick list of do’s and don’ts of this event:
1. Do watch the horse race.
Carolina Cup is a steeplechase, meaning that the horses are racing over jumps. It’s action-packed and inevitably some jockey will fall, which is both terrifying and exciting.
2. Don’t do a keg stand in front of the undercover (or regular) cops.
While the above warning may seem pretty obvious, never underestimate the temptation to do a keg stand while being egged on by your drunken peers. Some of the cops at Carolina Cup are pulling off this year’s Lilly better than you are, and can easily blend into the crowd while distributing $500 drinking tickets. Props to you if you can pull off the keg stand, and bonus points if you can keep your hat on the entire time.
3. Do wear a giant floppy sun hat and all of the pastel within reach.
Since Davidson doesn’t have traditional sororities (eating houses FTW), Carolina Cup gives us an opportunity to be as sratty as possible for a day. This necessitates a Lilly Pulitzer dress (or similarly colored/patterned clothing), pearls, and a big hat. Monograms encouraged. We’re Davidson students, we’re perfectionists, so why not go all out?
4. Don’t wear heels.
God invented Jack Rogers for a reason, y’all. Carolina Cup is one of them. You will sink into the earth/be hella uncomfortable all day if you choose to wear heels. Do your feet a favor, wear some Jacks and leave the stumblin’ for someone else.
5. Do employ the buddy system.
Carolina Cup can easily turn into a maze of tents, and your phone unavoidably will die. Stick with a buddy as you walk around judging admiring all the other schools and their Carolina Cup efforts. Also, when you get trapped in the infield, it’s nice to have a buddy to sit with you as the horses do their thing.
6. Don’t oversleep.
Buses leave early, there’s always a pregame at the house, plus you have to wake up, take a shower, do your hair, find your shoes, etc. Set at least a million alarms to avoid that panicked feeling of waking up to a friend knocking on your door saying it’s time to leave.
7. Do enjoy your day outside the bubble.
As Davidson students, we often get trapped in the bubble that encompasses our campus. It’s easy to forget that a world exists outside of reviews and papers and F. Carolina Cup allows you to leave the bubble, have fun in a random field in Camden, South Carolina, and (hopefully) not feel guilty about not spending Saturday in the library. Here’s to a fun and safe time at Carolina Cup 2014.
*HC Davidson abides by college policy and does not support underage alcoholic consumption.