UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK–If you’re an up-to-date and in-the-loop student like me, then you’ve probably heard a lot about Cstone, an iconic establishment right off the campus of UMD, where many a party animal likes to spend their Friday Night. So last Friday, I decided to do my own investigating, and let me tell you: it is NOT all it’s cracked up to be.

My journey started at 9 PM on Friday night. I left my dorm, walked across the campus past McKeldin Mall, and then followed Regents Drive until it led off campus. At this point, I walked up Baltimore Avenue to the Cstone building and was pleasantly surprised when they let me right in without any lines, and didn’t ask me to show my ID at all. After hearing so much about the lines, I was super excited to get in that quickly.

But soon, my night took a turn for the worse. Inside the building, it was just… boring. Don’t get me wrong, I get how other people might enjoy being there, but there’s just not much there for me to do (also, it’s a VERY small building). Still though, it was the beginning of the night, and the place was surprisingly uncrowded, so I tried to stay optimistic as I walked up to the counter.

After looking at the selection available, I was even more disappointed. I mean, what kind of self-respecting establishment like this sells only one type of food? Also, not like I think you NEED alcohol to have fun, but after hearing so much about people going here to drink, I was a little surprised to see that they didn’t have any alcohol at all. I guess you have to bring your own. Still, disappointing.

After buying some food, I went back down to my seat. The food was alright, but a little overpriced—definitely nothing special. By the time I finished eating, the couple of people that had been there already had left. A few more people came in, but they just got food to go or sat down and ate quietly in another corner. The whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking—what’s the big deal? I had heard people say so much about the crowds, the drinks, and the whole energy of the place—and this was just a letdown by every metric. Who would want to spend every Friday night here?

Disappointed, I threw my cup and spoon in the trash and left to head back to my dorm. After walking out of the parking lot back to Baltimore Avenue, I saw a huge amount of people clustered around some other building on the other side of the road. They were probably heading to the same place I was leaving, and just waiting to cross the street. I wanted to tell them to not waste their time, but I guess I should just let them figure it out themselves. The people in the crowd looked pretty excited, and I didn’t want to be a downer. Maybe they just like ice cream that much. To each their own, I guess.

Image Credits: Clare Dombrosky