As the school year begins, many University freshmen and transfer students find themselves in a new town and a new school at the same time, barely able to find their classes let alone any of the local attractions.
However, Eugene and neighboring Springfield boast many indoor recreational opportunities for students on lazy autumn weekends, including video games, dancing, bowling, miniature golf, skating and movies.
On campus, students can play video games and pool at the Break Pool Hall & Arcade in the basement of the EMU. The Break features an ancient Tetris arcade machine, and also offers foosball, air hockey — more expensive than the free air hockey table in the Bean lounge, but convenient — and Dance Dance Revolution.
Every Friday night from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., the Oregon Ballroom Dance Club hosts dances in the Gerlinger Hall gymnasium west of the EMU. The dances draw both
students and outside community members. The numbers of leads and follows (traditionally, male and female dancers, in ballroom lingo) are usually balanced, and inexperienced dancers can brush up on lessons offered during the first hour of the dances.
Eugene also has many bowling alleys. The closest ones to campus are Southtowne Lanes at 2486 Willamette St. and Emerald Lanes at 140 Oakway Rd., near Oakway Center.
An entirely indoor miniature golf course is located at Putters, at 1170 Highway 99. Putters also features video games, pool and pizza.
The area also has rinks for both ice and roller skating: The Ice Center at the Lane Events Center, at 796 West 13th Ave., and Skate World,
at 3188 Gateway Loop in Springfield. Skates can be rented on-site
at both rinks.
The Eugene area has three shopping malls, all accessible via Lane Transit District bus routes. Oakway Center, located at Coburg Road and Oakway Road, features stores such as Borders, Old Navy and Bed Bath & Beyond. Valley River Center is known for its array of youth-oriented clothing stores; a movie theater sits across the street.
Gateway Mall in Springfield is popular among students for Cinemark Movies 12, known locally as the “$1.50 movies.” While the movies are second-run, admission is always $1.50 for all viewers, except on Wednesdays and the first matinee every weekday, when admission is only $1. For those in search of more current movies, another Cinemark theater shows new releases at the other end of the mall.
Flicks & Pics at 2777 Friendly St. has an extensive selection of foreign and art films to rent for a quiet night at home. Other nearby video rental stores include Silver Screen Video at 2475 Hilyard St.
More adventurous new Eugeneans may soon exhaust these activities and move on to more esoteric pursuits like getting acquainted with the midnight crew at Wal-Mart. However, most students should be able to find at least a term’s worth of entertainment in town.
Eva Sylwester is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
