Ahh, EDM, one of the many powerful revolutions of the 21st century. EDM of course stands for Electronic Dance Music, which has been conquering entire cities in the form of music festivals for the last decade. These festivals are no joke, and in attending you have to be fully prepared for what you are getting yourself into. The sad thing of late is the proclaimed necessity of drugs to enhance your music enjoying experience. I am here to tell you, again, this is sad. These festivals should be enjoyed for what they really are and that is talented DJs playing great music. I'm not trying to exaggerate either, a few beers at any concert is fine, but these concerts should not be only about the drugs.
That being said, I can never thank UCSD enough for granting us the awesome opportunity to relax and enjoy ourselves before the notoriously dreaded finals week. Sungod, in my opinion, is the best decision UCSD has ever made. I think Sungod seriously contributes to UCSD's academic success. It is not only a time of necessary break from the stress of finals. When students are more attached to their university, they are inherently more inspired academically. A music festival in which an entire community of like-minded individuals is invited to share something they like, for free, together, is something the entire university and beyond can appreciate. This festival refreshes student for the final stretch of the year, and inspires them to work harder the following year.
I read an interesting article the other day (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ucsd-student-drug-overdose-20140820-story.html). This article discusses the tragic death of a fellow UCSD student, 20 year-old Ricardo Ambriz a third-year computer science major. It was declared that MDA - an amphetamine - took this poor young man's life. Tragic. Additionally, and I quote: "48 people were hospitalized, compared to 21 in 2012 and 20 in 2011." This is terrible and makes me disappointed and sad. These festivals do not need to be enhanced by drugs. I write this article to hopefully bring awareness of how necessary good judgement is in these type of situations. Sungod is made to enhance the University experience for all of its students. And when bad judgement is used, this enhancement can be taken away from the students that work hard and deserve it. Please know your limits, and please be careful next year. How much fun did you have last year? Tell me you don't want to go back! It's sad, but this is an issue that needs to be dealt with. My blessings go out to Ricardo Ambriz and his family.
