15-cent draft fun

Leia Pratapas, a junior, sits at a booth with three of her best friends on her 21st birthday. On her head is a blue construction helmet, which perfectly holds two 15-cent drafts on each side, with a tube that conveniently reaches her mouth.\n"I think it's leaking," Pratapas screams as she spills beer onto the table and giggles. Her friends down their own 15-cent drafts at the Bluebird on a Wednesday night. One of her friends knocks one over on the table and doesn't seem to mind she's lost a beer.\nTo some, Wednesday night is the best night of the week for drinking, and it's all because of the 15-cent Miller Lites sold at the 'Bird. With lines that usually go down the block and a crowd busier than anywhere else in town, the 'Bird and its 15-cent drafts have become a big part of college life at IU.\nVisitors will find it's a place where you can be yourself and not have to dress up to fit in. Most people appear to go for the music, to hang out with friends and, most importantly, for the popular drink special on Wednesday nights.\nPratapas and her friends continue to consume 15-cent drafts as the night progresses. A friend asks Pratapas how many she is going to drink.\n"How ever many you buy me, I guess," Pratapas says before taking another drink out of her hat.\nAt another table, freshman Andrew Phillips sits with his friends talking before things have gotten too crazy for the bunch. \n"I love this," Phillips says. "This is my first time here for this. It's only 15 cents for the beer, so that leaves money to buy shots, which is what we'll be doing later."\nJoey Reaves, a sophomore, agrees about the shots and says he comes to the 'Bird for 15-cent drafts as much as possible. \n"I'm not big on counting beers," Reaves says, "but I could spend $8 to $9 on beers and tips alone. That doesn't even include shots."\nHelping make the night possible is bartender Brent Mortara. Mortara fills up cup after cup for the waiting customers, and does so with a smile.\n"I don't mind working on 15-cent draft nights," Mortara says as he takes an order from the next customer. "I get to make money and see lots of people have a good time."\nAnother customer, senior Brendan Riley, interrupts Mortara and orders six 15-cent drafts. Riley hands out the beers to his friends as they all take a sip of the frothy cold Miller Lite. He admits to being a fan of 15-cent draft night since he was a freshman.\n"I come here on Wednesdays about once or twice every few months," Riley says, taking another sip. His friends argue with him that it's actually a lot more often. Yet, Riley and his friends do agree that they normally consume 10 to 12 drafts each Wednesday they are there.\nFifteen beers are the most seniors Jody Agler and Leanne Fairbanks say they have consumed in one night. The two come to the 'Bird every Wednesday night because of the drink special.\n"The only thing that sucks is that you have to wait in line for half an hour to get a beer," Agler says. "It ends up costing you more time to get less beer."\nFairbanks disagrees immediately. "You can get lots at one time though. You can buy like six at a time," she says.\nAgler jumps back, asking how one should go about carrying six beers. Fairbanks says you ask your friends to help.\n"But those friends who carry your beers might drink them," Agler says as the two girls laugh and take another drink.\nThe two reached the conclusion that it is possible to carry up to four 15-cent drafts at one time. The consensus seemed to be that a dollar would buy you four beers, with the extra 40 cents going as a tip.\n"It's all about the 'Bird on Wednesday nights," Fairbanks says. "Fifteen-cent drafts"