It’s almost midnight when three members of Kansas University’s Beta Theta Pi fraternity choose to show their love for Lawrence. They climb the merry-go-round outside the Antique Shopping Mall and go for it.

This might not represent what Lawrence has to offer after dark, but it’s an amusing way to celebrate the last day of classes nevertheless. Who says college students don’t know how to have fun?

When it comes to Lawrence nightlife, KU junior Jeff Briscoe, who’s sharing a table at Fatso’s with his closest friends, prefers the unexpected.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” he says. “We’ll be walking down Mass. Street and the night just comes alive.”

A local jam band sets the pace at Fatso’s, where the atmosphere is as laid back and open as the front doors that welcome a couple hundred inside.

“Whether you’re a hippie or stuck up, cheap drinks bring us together,” KU junior Beth Wheeler jokes. “The patio out here is relaxing, perfect for before finals.”

The overflow of bars downtown is an undeniable magnet to many college students.

Other Lawrence residents, such as local DJ and band member Rob Schultee, say it is the music scene that puts Lawrence over the top.

“There was just a guy from Brooklyn in here rapping his heart out,” Schultee says after a performance by El-P at the Granada. “I also love how my band can keep playing places here we’ve never been to before.”