by Dezmond Remington

Luke Kennedy’s katana is heavy. He busts it out for parties, which he and his roommate Miles Conte throw every weekend. Except when there’s not supposed to be class on a Tuesday. Then, Mondays are prey too.

“We were trying to pick a date that would stand us out from the crowd,” Conte said. “We were just trying to start off the extension of winter break off with a bang.”

With the CFA strike eliminating class on Monday, Jan. 22 for college students all over California, Kennedy and Conte decided to host a bonus party at their place, a dayger that started at 3 p.m. 40 people showed up to party in their house. Though some people left when everyone got the news that the strike was off, most stayed until about midnight or so. 

“When we [got the news] it was evening time,” Kennedy said. “It’s the height of the party. I’m walking around with the beer bong and loading it up with [left-over beers] and loading people up. And then [someone] said, ‘Hey, I think we have classes tomorrow!’ Everyone’s pulling up the email. And so there was this whole conversation — ‘Oh, what’s going on?’ And honestly, everyone was like, ‘Fuck it, I’m not going to class’… But I think, party or not, most people would have probably ditched that Tuesday.”

Conte said it was more fun when they realized the strike was off.

“The party vibe became immaculate when we learned we had class tomorrow,” Conte said. 

He turned to Kennedy for a moment.

“What do you think?” Conte said. “Is ‘Immaculate’ a good word to use in this situation? Or not?”

Conte did skip class the next day; Kennedy attended.

“[When the strike only lasted one day], I was initially rebellious,” Conte said. “Because I am not going to my classes.”

Both Conte and Kennedy said if the strike had continued as planned, they likely would have thrown at least two more parties throughout the week. Any more than that likely would have been overkill. Conte laughed at the idea while he rolled a cigarette with gas station tobacco.

“We just party, all day, every day,” Conte said. “No sleeping allowed. That would have been hilarious. Like, yeah, ‘We’re going to have a continuous party for five days straight.’”

Freshman Bryn Urdi had a good time at the strike party. She was glad that she was in bed by the time she got the news that the strike was off. Urdi said she would definitely have attended again if given the opportunity, but the best part was seeing all of her friends again.

“It was really nice to come back from break and see all of my friends again,” Urdi said. “It was great just to be with them for a while.”

Kennedy believes that the parties he and Conte throw offer an important service to students they can’t get anywhere else.

“I think that the parties make students more excited to go to class because they get to see their classmates,” Kennedy said. “[Campus] feels like a zoo environment, in that it can become a goal, clocking in and out of class every day. You don’t really know anyone there. I feel like the mark [the parties make] makes the school a thing, versus just something you clock in.”

“We bring a full-charge mentality to partying,” Conte said. “We’re passionate about making people happy and having a good time.”

Despite the attitude, Kennedy isn’t just about drinking and getting rowdy.

“I respect somebody’s performance,” Kennedy said. “I look at somebody; are they a degenerate? Do they get good grades? Are they healthy? I don’t want to encourage students to just drink and party. There’s tuition. I think it’s important that students remember that they’re here to get a degree, hopefully learn something and become a better person.”