The freedom to drink Coke for breakfast, the awkwardness of 24/7 mating rituals, the discovery of avant-garde jazz — there is no substitute for college life. We know that you’re here to pack your brain full of book smarts, but don’t forget there’s a unique and funky town out there full of cheap things to do (and I’m talking cheap — a buck fifty, tops). And these things are only available in Lawrence.

1) Ride the levy, get a beer. Although your heart is with Descartes and quantum physics, you still need to get outdoors for some vitamin D and good beer to keep your brain in peak shape. Lawrence’s stretch of the Kaw River is lovely despite the high-mercury horror stories. And who said you needed to get in the water to love it? Grab your bike (or borrow one) and ride the trail east or west from the Massachusetts Street bridge access.

Afterward, reward your efforts with a beer at Free State Brewing Co., 636 Mass.; on Mondays that will only set you back $1.50.

2) Hike to the bench on the hill at Clinton Lake. Don’t sell back that Norton poetry anthology. Instead, bring it along (as well as a safety precaution or two, you little rabbits) to woo your paramour with some Lord Byron and good ol’ pheromones at Clinton Lake west of town.

3) Lawrence City Band summer concerts in South Park. Every budding writer, artist, sociologist and cultural critic owes it to their work to see the Lawrence City Band play every Wednesday night in June and July. Some will be mesmerized by the sweetness of the experience; others will feel like they are in a foreign land. This is life as a Norman Rockwell painting, and the people-watching is rich.

4) See the majesty of the bald eagle: When rivers up north begin to freeze over, the bald eagles fly south to balmy Kansas in November, setting up camp along the Kaw. Take a walk along the river trail and keep your eyes toward the trees on the south side of the river. Chances are good you’ll see our national bird. Write “that bird was huge!” and “it was awesome!” in your journal of field notes, just like any self-respecting ornithologist would exclaim.

5) Go retro; play pinball. Before you check out the pinball machines at The Replay Lounge, 946 Mass., stop by the Free State Credit Union at The Merc, 901 Iowa, to trade in your real dollar for a REAL dollar, a Lawrence-only currency aimed at keeping money in the community. The Replay Lounge will give you a cold Hamm’s for a REAL dollar, and your last two quarters can be spent on a game of pinball (pinball being a game of hand-eye coordination, which is important for pre-med students).

6) Be good for somethin’. OK, so after changing majors six times you’ve finally told your folks you are pursuing a performance art degree. This combined with your need for 12-15 hours of sleep per night has not exactly won them over to your life philosophy. But don’t fret — you can prove to them you are worth a damn by volunteering. It’s a good thing, this idea of giving to others. Check out the charitable opportunities listed under “Social Service Organizations” in one of the competing yellow pages.

7) Sled Campanile hill. As soon as a good snow hits, grab your sled and your fun-lovin’ gang of literature buffs and sled the hill. This incline is steep and long, and those sleds fly, as do the Ethan Frome jokes, which are timeless in their hilarity.

8) Soak up some health care. No matter what you may read in the papers, health care expenses in this country blow, especially when your years of deconstructing French literature are rewarded with stifling student loans and a crap-ass HMO plan. Prepare yourself by enjoying the care and accessibility of Watkins Health Center. Those doctors and nurses rock, and they will even regale you with stories of “that night in med school when I drank too much scotch,” which helps the sting when they give you that shot in the heinie to stop your dry heaving.