University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

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Your true girlfriends will always be there when times get tough, through the good and the bad. Emily Williams Senior, Communicative Sciences and Disorders Loud music and laughter fills the room as the girls lazily primp, preparing for a night out on the town. No matter what the activity, these girls are just looking to have a good time with one another. They are ready to let their hair down after a long week of classes or work, and no matter the reason, these girls just wanna have fun. Girls night out activities range from dinner and a movie to dancing until your heels break or even teaching each other how to play silly card games. Regardless of the occasion, it is always more fun when your girlfriends are there to shake things up. We girls use any excuse to get all dolled up, like played dress up as little girls (only now the jewelry is real and not plastic Pretty Pretty Princess pieces). Newsflash, boys: It is not you we are dressing up for. Our appearance is just an added perk. What we are really trying to accomplish is outshining and impressing one another, to be the crowning jewel amongst all the glittering gems in the room. Don ' t believe me? Check out The Grove on game day. Overall, the term girls night out refers to a fun, carefree night out with fellow divas. It ' s just another excuse to shake what our mommas gave us and let loose. However, everyone has their own opinion of what the quintessential girls night out might look like. For some, it may be catching the latest chick flick after a filling dinner at Ajax or Old Venice. For others it might be showcasing the latest moves you learned in Zoomba class out on The Library dance floor while DJ Mario is mixing it up your new favorite song. No matter what the ideal location, most people would agree that it is all about spending some good quality time with the ladies. After all, most of our girlfriends outlast the latest cute fraternity boy anyway. I know many came to college hoping to find true love, but that may not always work out, Emily Williams, senior communications sciences and disorders major from Oxford, said. Instead, focus on the girls that are there for you when Mr. Man of the Month breaks your heart, or when you have an unfortunate accident that requires extended hours in the E.R. Your true girlfriends will always be there when times get tough, through the good and the bad. I ' m always grateful for my friends. They are the best. In college, the slumber parties evolve from playing games and braiding each other ' s hair to getting ready for football games or the much- anticipated date party. The hours of talking with each other never seems to get old, and these conversations and memories stay with you the rest of your life. You can find any reason to have a good time with your girls, from birthday celebrations to good grades on tests or just random debauchery for no reason other than you are all together. A cardinal girls night out ritual includes the cute little digital camera and lots of posing. Girls night out would not be complete without commemorating the nights events. These are moments that are captured on film but will remain alive in our hearts forever. My girls are my sounding board and my support system, Alex Pence, junior journalism major from Memphis, said. Without them, my college experience would be missing about a million laughs and memories that will stay with me always. Tlie Ole Miss | 029

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girls iust wanna have ' i 3 of ■0) , V ■ Nothing beats getting ready with your best friends for a night out on the town, without the guys STORY BY ALEX MCDANIEL PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER MICHAELS ABOVE Katrina Mays and Chephra McKee share a mirror for the lengthy primping rituals that occur before heading out on the town. BELOW Lisa Pederson helps Katrina achieve the perfect makeup with a little assistance. OPPOSITE Emily Morrison, Carrie Cowart and Katrina rock out to the stereo to get in the mood. «

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The University of Mississippi might be the No. 2 party school in the nation, for the second consecutive year, but the guys of Ole Miss know that while enjoying a night out on the town can be fun, sometimes you just need a little time with your friends. According to Philip Harrison, graduate student in higher education from Louisville, sometimes you need a little time away from the girls and just hang out with your friends. Life is stressful, especially with women around, and sometimes you need to just relax and just be a guy, Harrison said. The best way to do that is just by hanging out with your friends, doing things you like to do. Guy things. That ' s why a guys night out might be appropriate at times. Edmond Quillen agrees with Harrison. Quillen, senior pharmacology and biology major originally from Naperville, III, but who now calls Bruce home, believes that a guys night out sometimes is a necessity. There are just some things a guy can do around other men that he can ' t do in front of a woman, Quillen said. Around your boys you can just be yourself without worrying about impressing anyone. Associated Student Body President Graham Purcell, senior political science major from Louisville via St. Petersburg, Russia, says a guys night out can be important to keeping your perspective in order. While I ' m not sure I ' d refer to it as a ' guys night out, ' I think that everyone needs the opportunity to just get away with their group of close friends where you can be yourself and discuss those things that are important to you, Purcell said. A listening ear can go a long way. The activities that most guys could get into range from anything like playing a game of pick up basketball, going bowling, grabbing a bite to eat or hitting up the Square, Purcell said. All of these are places where a guy can be a guy McDaniel Wicker, senior international studies major Life is stressful, especially with women around, and sometimes you need to just relax and just be a guy. PhiUip Harris Graduate Student, Higher Education from Tupelo, said spending time on the Square is just one way his friends enjoy time together. Going out on the balcony at City Grocery on a sunny afternoon is a good way to just hang out for us, Wicker said. We just sit there with a refreshing beverage and talk about whatever we want. But Wicker said his friends don ' t always have to visit the Square to have a good time out together. Sometimes, my friends and I just head over to a buddy ' s house and have a campfire in his backyard, he said. We may cook out or just sit around and shoot the breeze. Tucker Gore, sophomore economics major from Oxford, agreed that spending time outside is a good way to just hang out with the guys. We just load up a few cars and head out to Sardis, Gore said. We just hang out without any pressure. It ' s almost like we ' ve left the w orld, and it ' s just us. Andy Correll, second year law student from Charlotte, NC, said sports are the best way for guys to hang out. Guys are naturally competitive, and therefore sports of any kind are a good way to get guys together, Correll said. Just by playing football or basketball gets the adrenaline running and guys bonding. Wicker agrees with Correll. He said playing or watching sports is probably the first thing guys can do together. Ultimate Frisbee, flag football and basketball are just a few sports guys can play when they just want to hang out away from other people, Wicker said. If all the guys can ' t play a sport, you can all watch one. Guys get just as competitive about watching sports as we do playing them. Richard Hankins, senior biochemistry major from Omaha, Neb., said a guys night out can be as simple as getting together. Guys together can sometimes equal some crazy stuff, Hankins said. Sometimes it really doesn ' t matter what you ' re doing. You can just be crazy and fool around. Quillen agrees. He said his friends night out can include some fun on the Square. We can just get together and make jokes, he said. It really doesn ' t matter. That ' s why it is a guys night out. Everything doesn ' t have to make sense. Hankins said the best thing about guys going out is that, unlike with women, everything does not always have to be planned out. The one common factor for most nights out is the unknown factor, Hankins said. Things just happen. No planning goes into it, and at the end of it, you can look back and think about how you really didn ' t see that coming. That ' s what makes hanging out with the guys fun. No expectations. 030lTlie UleMiss