Saturday marks the send off for another graduating Cal Poly class. As students toss their caps in the air, some are relieved about finishing five years worth of work, some thinking about the future, and some are, well, too drunk to care.

Graduation being one of the two days out of the year that bars open doors at 6 a.m., — aside from St. Patrick’s Day — students flock downtown for one last hurrah, celebrating with family and friends.

And families don’t hold back on participating.

Buck, a bartender at Frog and Peach, said moms and dads celebrate just as much as their graduating children.

“It’s fun to see the parents — they’re the ones who are usually paying for it. It’s just not students. It’s all the people that they bring with them. You see moms doing Jägerbombs and not knowing what they are,” Buck said.

McCarthy’s bartender Jerry, who has worked graduation morning during the last 20 years, said the bar-hopping morning is a happy one.

“Everybody’s glad that the kids are graduating. And we do get a lot of moms and dads that come in and drink with their sons and daughters,” Jerry said.

Whether parents escort their graduates early Saturday morning to reminisce on college experiences or celebrate the end of tuition payments, the 6 a.m. tradition has become an event for everyone — not just the students. Other bartenders said the morning is simply a good time.

Bulls bartender Rich Reynolds, who has seen lines of 50 people outside the bar at 5:45 a.m. for the past two years, said it’s nice to see parents sharing a few drinks with their sons and daughters.

“I’m not saying that we hoop and holler and have shots, but it’s more of a social thing and they’re here with their friends and family. It’s really more about this is their last chance to come down before you graduate,” Reynolds said.

Despite the enjoyment of seeing moms take tequila shots before the sun rises, there are always students who take it too far. Past commencement ceremonies have been interrupted by graduates who have had a little too much. Director of Student Life and Leadership Ken Barclay recalls a few moments when the Jägerbombs took too big of a hit.

“Several years ago, this girl was so sick she left the ceremony, went to the bushes, and vomited. So she was wiped out for the ceremony. Last year we had to turn away a girl because she couldn’t stand up,” Barclay said. “It’s sad that people on an important day of their lives which should be a really wonderful time, make some poor choices.”

Barclay said that commencement should be a memorable time with family and friends rather than a day of discomfort — despite how long students have been at Cal Poly.

“In my view, why do something that’s going to make you sick or jeopardize your enjoyment? Even if you’re here six years or 10 years, to me, it’s still a special time,” Barclay said.

Most students seem indifferent to the situation. Graduating architecture senior Vince Cimo said the early morning bar run is a boost for local businesses.

“If the bars have been doing it for this long and it’s profitable for them to do it because kids are excited about graduating and want to experience the bars early for one last time. If they’re making money and it’s beneficial for the kids, why the hell not?” Cimo said.

However, the physical and mental state of students on graduation day is up to them, Cimo said.

“Graduation’s all about saying you’re your own person and in control of your own actions. And if you choose to show up to graduation drunk and make an ass of yourself in front of your entire family and colleagues and professors, then that’s your deal,” Cimo said.

And students have indeed made asses of themselves. Graduate student Ron Sloat recalls his graduation day last June when one student let it all hang out.

“Last year, one guy smuggled a bunch of beer onto the graduation field, and he had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the speech, so he lifted his gown and just went for it. He was at that point where he didn’t care anymore,” Sloat said. “I can only imagine — what if a parent had a 10 to 20x zoom on their cameras trying to take picture of their daughter on the field, and looking back at it 20 years from now going, ‘Oh my god what is that?’”

Although it may be a hilarious memory to some, school officials said they want students to focus on the ceremony in good health. Commencement Assistant Marie Cole said she hopes that those participating are in good condition.

“Participating the commencement ceremonies is a choice — it’s not something that’s just automatic. So if a student chooses to participate in it, I would think that you’d want to feel good doing it,” Cole said. “The vast majority of students do just fine. There are always just a few who can’t seem to handle it and make the choice to function at a level that doesn’t feel good.”

And despite the good business, bartenders don’t condone getting completely smashed before the ceremony. McCarthy’s bartender Jerry said students should be old enough to know their limits.

“By the time that they’ve graduated, they should be mature adults and be able to be in control of their own life. We serve them, and if they drink too much, then shame on them,” Jerry said. “And when we see a person getting a little drunk, we guide them out the door and send them on their way. We’re not here to make people miss graduation, we’re here to help them celebrate.”

Students have the choice over their well-being (and that of their parents) on commencement day. Yet whether the drink of choice Saturday morning is coffee or Kahlua, it’s time to celebrate.

Creekside Brewery located on Broad Street was opened in January by two Cal Poly alums.

In the 1920s, as prohibition reigned and lovers of the suds had to go underground to enjoy a good brew, the speakeasy provided a haven for friends to meet, enjoy laughs and escape for a few hours from the drudgery of day to day life.

Luckily for us, while that sad period of American history is long dead, the tradition of the speakeasy lives on in downtown San Luis Obispo thanks to the newly opened Creekside Brewery.

“The brewery, of course, is the showcase,” co-owner Eric Beaton said. “We’re really focused on the beers that we brew and the food rather than entertainment, like some of the other breweries in town. We also have a decent selection of quality bottled beers. It’s a bit of a beer destination — a beer geek destination.”

Sitting inconspicuously along the creek just outside of the crowded row of bars on the main drag, the main floor of the two-story building that formerly housed Grappolo’s opens up to the spacious restaurant section. The balcony on the northwestern side offers a view of a peaceful section of the creek for a dining experience complimented by the natural sounds of the flowing water.

A quick descent down a short flight of stairs leads to the coolly-lit barroom, the only subterranean bar in the county, where one first notices the silver tanks of the brewing system next to the sleek bar that hoists a row of the signature Creekside beer tap handles and rests in front of rows of fine liquor.

Beyond the aesthetic qualities of the building, Creekside Brewery offers quality food and, of course, the signature Creekside brews.

“We’ve gone through 12 batches of beers so far and only a couple of them have been repeated,” Beaton said. “The ones that we’re going to try to keep are our bases, like our pale ale, our IPA, probably our blonde and our stout.”

According to Beaton, the blonde is one of most popular among patrons. An “introductory” beer, the blonde is light in color, not flavor.

“It’s got a lot of flavor, a lot more than say, Budweiser,” he said. “It’s one of those beers for people who come in and try to order a Bud or Coors Light, which we right now do not carry. We’ll give them a sample of that and they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah! I’ll take this.’ It’s sort of an intro beer for the craft beer scene for people who drink Coors Light and the other little yellow, fizzy beers.”

The Creekside Pale Ale is a hoppier version of your standard western pale ale with the noticeable dominance of Cascade hops and a reasonable alcohol content at six percent. The I.P.A. on the other hand is a bit maltier with a nice balance between the bitterness and the fresh Centennial and Cascade hops aroma, coming in at just under 7.5 percent alcohol. Creekside’s stout also contains 7.5 percent with a nice body and a filling blend of coffee and chocolate notes.

“Serving the beer is really cool,” Beaton said. “All the beers so far have come out really well. I’ve been really proud of them and people seem to like them. I’ll tell you, it’s a real boost to your ego when you’re brewing the beer and people like it.”

In addition to their home brews, Creekside Brewery offers a variety of domestic and imported bottled beers rarely found in even the upscale bars in town, and at a reasonable price. Two of the biggest sellers in the exotic category are the Lindemans Lambic Framboise, a sweet and sour so fruited it tastes like soda (the raspberry flavor is most popular), as well as the Franziskaner Dunkel Weissen, a dark, chocolaty Hefeweissen.

Make Creekside your first bar experience on your 21st and you will be greeted with the establishment’s own Dirty Creek Water, a tasty specialty shot made with Blue Curacao and Chambord raspberry liquor. The red and blue mix together to give a blackish, murky color.

Though the brewery is certainly more beer-oriented, its wine menu offers a list of local wines, and true to fashion, Creekside’s very own brand, made by Autry Cellars.

“We do have a nice selection of local wines,” Beaton said. “Most of the wines we have are decent quality from the area, although we have a couple that are priced on the low-end for those who would just like a nice glass of wine for a reasonable price. Because a lot of the wines around here are really good quality and you end up paying $15 a glass.”

With all the tastes downstairs, it could be easy to forget that the establishment is also a restaurant. Like the beer and wine selection, the lunch and dinner menus boast a variety of options that promise not to drain your wallet. For lunch, warm up with their signature plant-ripened jalapeno bottle caps and chase them with the popular live oak sandwich, a filling smoked beef brisket, topped with pepper jack cheese and grilled onions on ciabatta bread. For dinner, the half rack of smoked baby back pork ribs are very popular, as is the lime and tequila chicken.

Creekside opened in January of this year, the brainchild of Cal Poly engineering alums Beaton and Jon Moule, who met through a local homebrew shop. Realizing they both had the same idea for opening a Central Coast brewery, the pair decided to collaborate instead of compete and within a year found the perfect location in downtown San Luis Obispo.

According to Beaton, the brewery is in the process of securing their entertainment license and they hope to continue the Thursday Nights Jazz series made popular by Grappolo’s.

Though less than six months old, Creekside is quickly developing a fan base among people looking for something different than bland beer at a crowded and noisy bar.

“It’s a lot different from other bars in town. I come here to actually hang out with my friends — it’s not your warehouse bar,” said San Luis Obispo resident Mike Coughlin. “It kind of has that aura of the prohibition era, you know, where it’s a classy bar underground.”

San Luis Obispo native and Creekside regular Christina Bertsch sites the selection and atmosphere as what brings her back. “I like the whole brewery system and that you can get a beer that you can’t find in stores. It’s also a small town local business and what’s not to like about that? We have to help each other out. It’s also a little hidden bar that a lot of people don’t know about yet, which is kind of good because it’s not crowded all the time.”

“If you want to learn about beer and try good quality beer, come on down,” Beaton encourages. “We have tasters and you can get four tasters for $5. And tasters are about five ounces, so you can try a bunch of different beers without getting hammered. We can walk you through it and explain all the different beers and what you’re supposed to be tasting and what the different styles are.”

More proof for how seriously Creekside Brewery takes slinging suds is their pledge to use the proper glassware to accompany a particular beer. “Well, as best as we can, anyway,” Beaton added.

The Creekside Brewery is located at 1040 Broad Street and open daily for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and for dinner from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The bar is open late. To view the menu visit www.creeksidebrewing.com.

Paul Bittick

As graduation for many super-seniors is approaching, some of us less fortunate juniors are stuck on this wonderful campus for another year of educational bliss.

Many of my friends will be graduating in a week and leaving me to fend for myself during times of senioritis (I hear it is a serious situation), procrastination, loneliness and most of all, confusion.

As they get ready to flip their tassel and I get ready to buy another $90 parking pass, I asked them what they thought will make my senior year easier and some things that I should or should not do to help my last year on this amazing campus be one of fun and enjoyment instead of stress, anxiety and disappointment.

I knew the challenges I had this past year from difficult teachers to 7 a.m. classes and yes, even having my face swell up from those lovely bees on campus, so any advice they could offer I was happy to hear.

First of all, everyone keeps telling me to spread my units out equally instead of overload myself the final quarter and to definitely not drop classes. It seems obvious enough, but try to stick out the tough class in the beginning, because once those 10 weeks are over, more than likely it will be a huge relief knowing that class is behind you instead of included in your final two quarters of grueling classes.

Secondly, enjoy the time with your friends now while you can. If I wanted I could take this a different way and just hang out with people all the time and never do my homework, but I don’t think my parents would appreciate those grades very much and neither would I. From what I hear, college life and the real-world life are vastly different as sleeping in becomes a little more difficult, bummer.

Thirdly, see your advisor early. Don’t wait until the quarter before graduation to discuss your plans with your advisor. They don’t have the final say in everything and the disappointment one of my friends experienced when he found out he would not be graduating on time was not the happiest time for either of us, but it was his fault for assuming he knew everything.

Fourthly, do your senior project as early as possible. This is next to impossible for a lot of people, but since it is a big time consumer, the sooner you get it done the more time you have to focus on other academic areas before graduation.

Finally, don’t skip classes. So many people as they get into the home stretch of their college career basically give up and don’t worry about their grades. They lose sight in what is important and give into drinking, partying, sleeping and procrastination. As tempting as this may be, if you have to do it, do it in moderation. Isn’t making the dean’s list a little more exciting than making a margarita? From what I hear, the dean’s list lasts longer too.

Well, for all of the upcoming seniors, good luck. I have spent four years in college so far and I don’t want to give into senioritis to give up everything I have worked so hard for.

I’ll be having fun times during the next three quarters, and I am far from an academic nerd, but I will be the loser who does the homework and comes to class.

But hey, at least I know I will be walking down that aisle on time and with a better GPA than a 2.0., hopefully, and trying to make my senior year be just that, only a year.

Paul Bittick

I feel old. Some days I look in the mirror and I see a woman I do not know and wonder where the 16-year-old me is.

Oh my God, I am turning into my mother. I blame the sweater sets I wear to meet the dress code of my internship and to look professional as a tutor. But it is more than that, my nightly highlights include still getting home in time to make dinner, cleaning my bathroom and paying my bills.

Life is moving too fast. Internships, senior project, my job, that thing I want called a career – all coming toward me at 110 mph. Forget movies like “Legally Blonde” and “Animal House”; I never had time for anything that exciting.

A few weeks ago, I mailed out all my graduation invites and I felt like that took obsessive amounts of “me time.”

Wasn’t college supposed to be glamorous? What about all those great stories college recruiters fill Web sites with, or all those profiles from catalogs you get from schools that liked your SAT scores.

Now, at 21 years old I will be done with this chapter of my life and onto something else. What else is there?

When Richard Kipling, an editor at the Los Angeles Times, spoke to the journalism department in March, he talked about where you want to be professionally by the age of 30.

Does he realize how old that is? Thirty! My parents were my parents by the time they were 30. Why not just tell me to count my life over as of now?

I have spent most of college wondering what I want to do with my life. I have changed this idea several times, often depending on my mood or what others suggested.

But I have developed a philosophy on life that serves me well. Those who are happiest in life recognize that we are unto a purpose bigger than ourselves. Everyone in this world makes a difference and matters to someone.

Good manners always out perform good breeding to strangers. It might even make them your friends. Say “thank you” and tell people that you love them whenever you get the chance.

Those are just ways to live life, not plan ahead. Living life counts more than planning for a life you might not live out anyway.

Thirty is too far for me to plan right now. So, I chose to plan for today and embrace it as the best thing ever. Because now is what I have to work with, even with the yucky sweater sets.

Katie Hofstetter

As a graduating senior, there is one question that I hate above all else. It’s the dreaded, “What are your plans for next year?”

Each time I hear it, I have to pause for a minute, allowing the “Dodgeball”-style bit of throw-up that has entered my throat to subside, and forcing back the word vomit that plagued Lindsay Lohan’s character in “Mean Girls” so that a slew of profanities won’t spit out of my mouth and land in the ears of the questioner.

After that ritual is completed, I usually try to mask the taste of vomit, both word and real, before answering with “I’m not quite sure yet.”

What I really want to do as a response to this hateful, hateful question is walk away, hang up or answer with “I plan on sleeping in until noon each and every day and watching ‘Dodgeball’ and ‘Mean Girls’ on repeat to fill my afternoons.”

Unfortunately, Cal Poly doesn’t offer a major in laziness, and while I’ve heard more than once that a journalism degree is the next best thing, I’d be inclined to disagree. Engineering is.

OK, well maybe not. But I can’t help feeling a hint of disdain for the engineering majors who are met with a plethora of prospective employers at any job fair.

Yes, we’re a polytechnic university, and yes, your major is accredited. Big whoop.

But the truth is, I’m not mad at the questioners, or the engineers. I’m anxious because I don’t have an answer yet.

This is the first time I’ve ever really had to plan anything so important, and I don’t even know where to start. Is it best to decide where to live and then look for a job? Or find a job first and then relocate accordingly?

With senior project deadlines to meet, finals to study for and graduation announcements to send out, the last thing I need to be worrying about is the rest of my life.

Thus is the burden of graduation and total independence.

The move to college marked the loss of a curfew, the all-important 18th birthday and later the most-important 21st birthday – all the pros of independent life.

With graduation come the cons: the full-time job, the rent check and the insurance policy.

Whatever elation my parents are feeling for their financial freedom I am feeling equally in fear for the responsibilities that come with being entirely on my own.

And each time I hear the dreaded question, the fear is recognized once again because really, I don’t have a plan yet.

So as the date of graduation draws nearer, instead of running toward the finish line, I’m hesitantly walking a plank into the harsh waters of the unknown. I can’t help but feel that my celebration of the end is tainted by the realization that I’m only just arriving at the starting line.

Mariecar Mendoza

It is 1:01 a.m. and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” is blaring from my television. But it’s not Conan’s jokes that are keeping me awake, nor is it the screen’s glow or my computer’s hum.

It’s this darn thing: The goodbye. The adieu. The farewell.

I knew it was near; shoot, I cursed that it couldn’t come sooner. But now that graduation is only days away, my eyes are glued to my computer screen hoping letters will appear, come together and make sense of all that I have lived through in my journey – no, my odyssey – that is “the college life.” I mean, I don’t want to leave college without providing some words of wisdom to those who must continue contorting themselves to fit in those miniature torturing devices the university calls desks.

But to do so, I have to reflect on how I have reached this point in my life. Hmmm, how did I get here? Aww yes, I know: Family, friends, FAFSA and an understanding that for every hour you bust your butt for school equals two hours of having fun after school. I’m not trying to lure the Ferris Bueller out in everyone, nor am I recruiting for AA, I’m just warning every student after the class of 2006: You must have fun! Whether it’s a long, blurry night at Black Sheep or a belly-aching, sober night at Boomers, everyone needs to laugh and make memories. If you don’t, you risk spontaneously combusting.

Now, with that said, I exhale and think of my future with utter glee.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m as scared as the next graduating senior, but I’m also insanely excited. In a matter of 11 days, I will be a full-fledged adult. I know I’ve got past many-a-bar’s velvet rope since I turned 21 in 2004, but now I’m going to pass a different kind of velvet rope; the kind where you flash that class ring to show you are a regular at “Club Alum.”

Sure, I will no longer have the comfort of knowing I have a safety net, but knowing I can potentially go splat all over the pavement if I fall gives me a surprising rush of adrenaline. Sounds sadistic, I know, but what a challenge! This is what my parents have dreamed for me, what I have been training for all my life, what Cal Poly has been preparing me for – this is my last curtain call for this one epic performance – and I am ready.