College OTR

Fashion Enthusiasts Clutch their Hems over the Fate of "Project Runway"

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:40:17 EDT

Currently in its 5th season of success Project Runway may be on the brink of collapse. It is always drama, drama, drama in the fashion world and the show that has demonstrated how creativity can do it all, including bringing fashion to the masses, is being sued for 200 million with the main question of its continuing on for season 6 circling in boutiques across the nation.

Currently it is unclear. Earlier this year the rights were sold to Lifetime by the producers, Weinstein Company, and NBC Universal, the Parent of Bravo, has bring the lawsuit. The hope that it would be quickly settled is lost as the case has been appealed to the federal courts and will probably not be resolved until the Spring.

Meanwhile Bravo just finished casting calls for a new show possibly called "The Fashion Show" (dreadfully creative) .Competition, perhaps? With the uncertainty of the rights to and the continual life of Project Runway it's not surprise Bravo is moving onto other endeavors.

But still, what will we do without the talents of the Jefferys or Christians. What will Heidi do? Oh please don't make me settle for "Make Me a Supermodel."

Chicago Rocks the Field

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:26:24 EDT

Woman's soccer has made it to the second round of the DIII NCAA tournament, the furthest they've made it in the past three years. GOOD LUCK!

I Knew Superman Was the Best Superhero

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:35:01 EDT

He looks so happy. I love the power of a beer bong.

Girls: What Not to Get Noticed For

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:22:28 EDT

You don't want to be a wallflower...but you really don't want to attract attention for any of this mortifying behavior.

~dancing like nobody's watching - except everybody is watching because you look like a crazed baboon that's on fire

~ winning a Jager-bomb competition you'd been having with a bunch of frat guys before losing the not-pucking-all-over-the-floor competition that you had been having with your stomach

~cramming as many mini quiches and pigs in a blanket as possible into your clutch for a late night snack

~doing a keg stand while wearing a baby-doll dress and no panties

~ actually, just doing a keg stand, period

~ screaming "don't you touch my man!" at any girl who's touching any man

~walking out of the bathroom with your dress tucked into you tights

~walking to a party with no jacket on when it is 45 degrees outside

Celebrating the Holiday Season: College Style

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:08:44 EDT

College students don’t need any help figuring out how to celebrate Halloween. But other upcoming holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah etc. are seen as more family-centered holidays. Well, it’s time we take back the season.

Since most people go back home to celebrate with their families, the trick is to do it early before everyone evacuates Gainesville en masse. To celebrate Thanksgiving, gather all your friends and have a pot-luck dinner the weekend before the real Thanksgiving. Unless you’re a big fan of cooking, you might want to be ready to call “not it” on making the turkey. It beats a boring awkward dinner with your parents and your drunk uncle.

Christmas is even more fun to celebrate. Gather your roommates and spread a little bit of cheer around your apartment by getting a tree and some stockings. Then spend the rest of the month leaving each other fun and inappropriate stocking stuffers. If you’re a big fan of the holiday season, you can put your laziness to good use and ensure that your apartment is full of cheer until at least March.

You can have even more fun if you share a dorm or apartment with someone who celebrates a holiday different than your own. Then you can make it your mission to out-decorate the other religion. Spoiler alert: Christmas wins.

Everybody Likes Cheerleaders

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:59:35 EDT

Hey come on! Who doesn't like Cheerleaders!

How To Spot a Drunken Girl

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:58:47 EDT

“Stop dancing with your girlfriend & come dance with me
Stop talking about your boyfriend since he is not me
Stop running up my tab cause these drinks are not free
You drunk & hot girl”
Kanye West (Drunk & Hot Girls)

There is nothing like a night out in Madison with all your friends, hitting the bars until 2 A.M. And if drinking with your friends isn’t enough, it’s always fun to spot the drunken girl hanging all over some guy or the belligerent bimbo mid-puke all over her 4 inch heels. Spotting drunken girls throughout the bars and wobbling down State Street never really seems to get old. But if you are having trouble spotting who is drunk and who isn’t, here are a few ways that can help you detect a GUI (Girl Under the Influence).

1. The drunker the girl, the more likely they are to have a meltdown in the bar about absolutely nothing. Tears, sniffles and whimpers are usually a true sign that a girl has had too much to drink.

2. By the end of the night, the drunkest girl usually looks a lot different then she did when she first walked in. Smudged black eyeliner and mascara usually means that this little drunkie has either been laughing too hard or crying too much due to excess liquor in her system.

3. Any drunken girl will tell you that the heels that didn’t hurt her feet when she first arrived hurt her feet now. All of their views about not walking barefoot on State Street go out the window when they rip those puppies off and decide to go Fred Flintstone on us during the walk home.

4. If a girl goes out with a mission to get drunk, her mission is usually a successful one. A girl who has had too much to drink usually believes in the double fisting method, taking sips from different drinks at the same time. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

5. The drunken girl who has been counting calories all week all of a sudden wants Ian’s pizza or Taco bell for late night. Though we can’t guarantee that the food will actually make it to their mouths, we can guarantee that they will most likely start a fight with a bum on line just to make sure she gets to order.

6. No, she didn’t fall asleep. Drunken girls tend to pull Celine Dion moments as they slowly close their eyes mid conversation. We know ladies; it’s been a rough night.

7. When the pros turn up at the bars, you know they are ready to drink. Drunken girls who know their Patron from their Cuervo tend to get so blackout that they get really close to your face to have a conversation as they utter words that most certainly do not sound like English.

8. Whether it’s Britney or the Backstreet Boys, drunken girls love ANY song that the DJ is playing, and she can prove it by flailing her arms in the air and attempting to get low to the ground without tumbling over.

9. Your 100 pound drunken friend all of a sudden wants to kick some ass. Drunken girls suddenly think they are Tyson and want to fight anyone at anytime.

10. Liquored up ladies love to chain smoke even if they haven’t a clue what they are doing. Drunken girls hit the patio, even in the snow, to stumble with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in another.

Now don’t get me wrong ladies, we are all victims of the drinking bug and most likely can plead guilty to many of these wrongdoings. Unfortunately for us, getting wasted doesn’t usually end up in our favor, either by horrifying posted pictures on facebook the next morning or simply looking in the mirror at last nights debauchery. So the next time you are out at a bar, make sure you don’t follow ALL of these drunken rules, because even though we love the Kanye song, the last thing you would want is people to think he was writing it about you.

WashU goes broke??

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:34:16 EDT

This morning, Chancellor Wrighton sent out a letter to the WU community. It started out innocuous - about the Thanksgiving holiday and the importance of sharing if you are able.

Then he suckerpunched us in the back of the head.

Some highlights:

* Since July 1, the value of the endowment has declined approximately 25%.

* What the University has to balance: the decline in the value of our endowment, coupled with leveling of research support, constraint on the rate of tuition growth, uncertain prospects for philanthropic support, pressures on healthcare costs, and the prospect of increased needs for
financial aid

* For all faculty and staff, in the 2010 fiscal year the University will not be able to sustain past levels of salary increases, and is are planning lower increases in compensation this year.

* Chancellor Wrighton will implement a reduction of his own salary by 5% effective January 1, 2009 and another 5% reduction effective July 1, 2009. School Deans and Vice Chancellors have volunteered to have no increase in their compensation in the year ahead.

* New staff additions in the administration will be very limited and require considerable additional justification.

* "It is also important for us to scale back, eliminate, or delay capital projects. For example, planned renovation and expansion of Mallinckrodt Center at a cost of over $20 million will be delayed indefinitely. The redevelopment of the South 40 will be slowed."

[Guess that means the Gargoyle won't have to move their shows!!]

In true Mark Wrighton style, he ended the "Honey - we're broke..." e-mail on a positive note:

"As uncertain as these days are, I remind everyone of the great year we are having: we welcomed a world-class group of students this fall; a tremendous group of new faculty joined us this year; we rejoice in the successes of our continuing faculty like Mary Jo Bang, Professor of English, who won the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award in poetry; we launched the Institute for Public Health; we dedicated Harry and Susan Seigle Hall; we opened the Danforth University Center; we hosted the Vice Presidential Debate; faculty, students and staff contributed to establishing that water exists on the surface of Mars; and faculty, students, and research staff in the School of Medicine have reported path-breaking research to understand, through genome sequencing, the origins of cancer. Let us work together to continue to enjoy national and world leadership in education, research, and service as one of America's finest research university communities."

This comes as a shock to many students. It is, however, a good (albeit unfortunate) reminder that even the "WashU Bubble" is not safe or immune to issues plaguing the rest of the country. Hopefully students won't be very affected (besides longer construction time) and hopfully the University won't lose any good faculty or staff if they have to do more paycuts. Also, implementing more thrifty financial habits now may last into the future, increasing the University's money (and stopping the decrease of tuition)!!

We can only dream...

Bob Loblaw Asks: How Tech Savvy is Tufts?

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:25:04 EDT

Welcome to the new series "Bob Loblaw Asks..." In this series, I ask for your comments on an issue. Be sure to reply! This is the first edition.

So after seeing a video online at HackCollege where host Kelly Sutton asked 101 college students if they knew what Twitter was, I started to ponder whether or not Tufts students are that involved in the online community.

It may be hard to keep up with the advances in the latest technology for networking and social interaction, but there are a few things that most everybody (who uses the Internet on a regular basis) should know. Please answer the following questions and put your answers in the comments below:

Do you know what Twitter is? (If yes, do you have an account?)

What is the domain of your main email address? (Excluding your Tufts address)

Do you know what "RSS" is? (If yes, what are your favorite feeds?)

Have you ever used Skype?

Do you know what a woot-off is?

Do you follow any Internet memes? (If yes, which?)

Do you write a blog or private online journal?

What are some tasks that you used to complete by hand that you now do online? (i.e. calendar, task management, address books, etc.)

Thanks all. Really interested in seeing your replies... and remember, if you want to blog for TuftsOTR, we are still looking for more contributors...

40-Year-Old Physics Student Just Wants To Be Heard

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:05:34 EDT

It seems that once or twice a week (even during the slow summer months), the dedication "Mike Sloothaak, Purdue Staff" proceeds a letter to the editor in the Exponent. With the considerable number of letters that people send in to the paper each day (believe you me, I worked there for almost 2 years) that's not a particularly easy achievement. But who is this Mike Sloothaak character and why does he involve himself in so many arguments through newsprint?

Revealed through a Google search: Sloothaak (shown above) is a graduate student and employee in the Physics department who works in some lab room. One topic which he is most passionate about is diversity, particularly queer acceptance, and he certainly spends lots of his time writing about it. In November 2004, Sloothaak was suspended without pay for opposing Purdue's United Way campaign because the charity supports anti-gay organizations such as the Boy Scouts. In 2005, he posted on the Purdue ACLU message boards supporting the Indiana Civil Liberties Union against Planned Parenthood.

All of this is backed up by his Facebook account in which his declared political beliefs is Libertarian. Then again, the 40-year-old's religion of choice is "Satanism" so who knows. Sloothaak has a solid 4 friends listed in his friends box, two of whom he friended on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9, respectively. To be fair, he didn't join Facebook until August 21.

Guidettes: Far Too Cool To Smile

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:29:28 EDT

Big hair & big kissie faces.

Party Like a Rockstar

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:03:42 EDT

When you party so hard at the tailgate that you pass out before the game, you either gotta up your game, or cut back on the liquor. Sorry, buddy.

Sports Figures Atop Maggies Bar

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:57:50 EDT

Did anyone else notice these poster-sized men looming over the bar?

Norovirus Cases Are Up to 40 at Virginia Tech!

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:33:21 EDT

There is a new flu this season, and it's called the Norovirus. It causes diarrhea and vomiting and lasts for one to three days. But what makes this bugger worst than a regular flu is that once infected, the person is able to transmit the virus for up to two weeks because the virus can live outside your body...and you could be contaminated.

According to Schiffert Health Center, there have been 40 cases of the norovirus this fall semester alone and 20 more cases through Montgomery Regional Hospital.

Like other colds and viruses, the Norovirus is spread through human contact and public surfaces such as doorknobs and keyboards. And you may feel the runs within just 10 hours of catching it.

So if you've been having diarrhea or vomits at least twice in one day...maybe it wasn't because you ate bad meat at D2 Dining Hall. You might be infected with the virus and you should go check that out right away. And while there may not be antibiotics for viruses, treatment include over-the-counter pain relief and anti-nausea medication as well as drinking lots and lots of water.

JMU Sorority Girls or Gang Members??

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:04:22 EDT

You decide.

Dartmouth Toga Party in Full Effect

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:41:15 EDT

Partying like a Greek is easily the best part of Dartmouth College.

Every Guy's Fantasy: Daily Blowjob

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:18:12 EDT

A typical guy's ideal night.

Check out www.youtube.com/baloneycomedy for more!

UCLA Inundated with Twilight Craze

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:02:50 EDT

The premiere for Twilight in Westwood caused quite an inconvenience for Bruins this past Monday.

Part of Broxton was closed off, not to mention there were hoards of crazed, rabid girls waiting for a glimpse of the new obsession.

Even on Sunday when I meandered down for a morning Starbucks, I saw prepubescent teen girls camping out to see Robert Pattinson and Kristin Stewart at the Monday night premiere. Some people don’t even camp out that long for UCLA basketball floor seats or the freakin’ Rose Parade.

The fans/stalkers were rewarded just before midnight on Sunday when director Catherine Hardwicke stopped by to offer support.

This Twilight craze is getting insane as actor/hottie Robert Pattinson, who plays the vampire heartthrob Edward in the film, said to US Magazine that girls have come up to him with bloody scratch marks on their neck saying, “We did this for you.”

Ew. They know he’s not a real vampire, right?

Top 10 Reasons For Cal to beat Stanford

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:25:41 EDT

The 111th Big Game between Cal and Stanford is on Saturday, and everyone at Berkeley is gearing up for it. With festivities going on around campus all week, including the annual bonfire on Friday night, Cal Bears are ready to bring back the axe. Here are the top ten reasons for Cal to beat Stanford:

10. Still no Stanfordium.

9. I don't bleed red, I BLEED BLUE & GOLD.

8. Our tower is taller than theirs.

7. REVENGE.

6. Stanford= Pretentious Rich Kids.

5. In 2008, cutting down trees is what we do.

4. Their name can be scrambled to SNODFART.

3. National Championships: Cal 3 Stanford 1.

2. Their 1 year loan of the axe is up.

1. Since when has California been a red state?

GO BEARS!!

Lions, Tigers and...Edward Cullen? The Twilight Movie

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:44:23 EDT

Screaming fans, midnight showings…vampires?

How do these all relate? The Twilight movie! The movie, opening nationwide November 21, is causing mass chaos among the over 17 million fans who can’t wait to see Edward Cullen on screen. The midnight showing of this movie is Thursday night, and it promises to be quite an event.

No matter how you feel about this series by Stephenie Meyer, you have to admit that it has garnered a good deal of media attention. You know at least one person who has read this series and swears by it. In fact, in my limited experience, I haven’t met anyone who has read the books and been dissatisfied.

The first book in the saga is Twilight, upon which the movie is based. It begins with Bella Swan, a seventeen-year-old self-proclaimed “old soul” who has just moved with her father to Forks, Washington. It is there, at her new school, that Bella meets the Cullen family.

More importantly, Edward Cullen.

Edward is a vampire, but don’t let that throw you. He also happens to be one of the most attractive book-heroes ever. He is over-protective, sweet, and caring.

Oh, yeah. And he looks like a model.

It turns out, Edward is having a rough go of it because he really wants Bella’s blood. But he’s been a vampire for 80 years, so he has learned some self-control. Enough for them to start dating and him to start doing all sorts of adorable things.

I don’t want to ruin the book for those of you who haven’t yet read it (and I do say “yet-” give in already people!) but pretty much here’s the gist: Edward Cullen leaves girls everywhere ruined for all eternity because of the impossible ideal that they now hold all men to.

But he’s so worth it.

The movie is out tomorrow night, everyone! Get ready for some crazy girl-screaming to happen.

Harvard Hooligans Smack Talk Yale Fans, Others Encourage Yalie Adoption

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:36:27 EDT

This Saturday, the Harvard Crimson will take on the Yale Bulldogs in one of the most anticipated Ivy League matches of the season.

Naturally, the lead up to the Harvard-Yale grudge match has been rife with smack talk, including this angry tirade from the Harvard Hooligans.

Of course, the Hooligans are a comedy troupe, and so, the video is very tongue-in-cheek. But, it does capture the general sentiment amongst the outspoken Crimsonholics—to say the least.

Still, if smack talk doesn’t tickle your fancy, you could consider sponsoring a Yalie this weekend instead through the Harvard-Yale Aid program:

Either option will suffice.

Now This Is BS!

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:28:32 EDT

A student stands next to a crap encrusted bench, Monday, waiting for his bus. The University is still trying to relocate flocks of crows that have been roosting on campus and, obviously, making a mess.

UC Davis Students Love Piercings

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:19:24 EDT

Septum Piercings initially don't hurt, but don't be fooled after a few days you'll be crying like a baby every time you have to sneeze.

10 Major Websites and Their Evil Twins

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:07:27 EDT

Generation Y has also been called the Net Generation for our widespread use of web-based technologies. Not only do 97% of us own computers, 75% of college students use Facebook. As such, the internet has been flooded with many similar websites, but some are more evil than others. Here we present CollegeOTR's Top 10 Websites and Their Evil Counterparts.

eHarmony vs. AshleyMadison
AshleyMadison is like eHarmony— for a completely base, cynical, and married clientele. While both are matchmaking sites with matching guarantees, AshleyMadison specifically matches married people who wish to have affairs, its tagline reading, “Life is Short. Have an affair.” This year AshleyMadison will be advertised during the SuperBowl, which is sure to add a bunch more grimy dudes to a website comprised of 2.7 million members, most of whom are probably already grimy dudes.

People.com vs. Perez Hilton
Sure both websites have broken gossip stories about celebrities and wannabe celebrities, but undoubtedly there is only one website which would Photoshop cum stains on people’s faces, on which the term LezLo was coined, and on which coverage of Cristiano Ronaldo would say, “His lips look like he spent the night rimming Clay Aiken.” It’s too obvious that Perez takes the cake when it comes to evil celeb gossip. After all, his old website was called PageSixSixSix.

Facebook vs. MySpace
If you want to argue over which networking site is more evil, just look to who owns each website. Facebook: Innocuous Harvard dork Mark Zuckerberg. MySpace: Rupert Murdoch. Enough said.

Huffington Post vs. Drudge Report
In October 2006, ABC News reported that Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge estimated that 20% of his reporting is incorrect and this year the website reported that 20-year-old Ashley Todd has been attacked and mutilated for being a McCain supporter, which was later proved a hoax. Therefore, no matter how opinionated some HuffPo pundits get or how many times a given HuffPo contributor stabbed her ex- partner, it can’t really get much worse than the Drudge Report.

iTunes vs. PirateBay
What do pirates do? Plunder booty. What do you do on PirateBay? Plunder electronic booty. Then there’s iTunes, where you actually pay for the stuff you use.

RxList.com vs. Erowid.com
RxList is one of those websites that nervous types can check out to make sure that if they take an aspirin with a dose of Amoxicillin that it won’t cause heart palpatations. Erowid is one of those websites that burnout types can check out to make sure that if they take acid and Vicodin they’ll get really wasted beyond belief.

YouTube vs. YouPorn
Have you ever heard those nature vs. nurture arguments which use the example of twins divided at birth and raised by different families? Well, YouTube would be the twin raised by the kind of kooky but loveable middle America family, while YouPorn would be the twin raised by the sexual deviants on the wrong side of the tracks with only sex toys for amusement as a teenager.

Monster.com vs. Craigslist
If websites were people, Monster.com would be that family friend who tries to help you find a job and CraigsList would be a pimp with a really far-reaching network and free bedbug-ridden mattresses available if you can arrange transportation for the items.

WebMD.com vs. AfraidToAsk.com
On WebMD, healthnuts can get information about a variety of ailments, ranging from the common cold to breast cancer. On AfraidToAsk.com promiscuous people can get information to figure out whether the red pimply things on their crotch are genital warts. With real STD photos posted, one should avoid eating cottage cheese while searching AfraidToAsk.

Digg vs. Reddit
Both websites lend a helping hand to other websites through the democratic process, but while the equivalent of Reddit in politics is an Alaskan governor, the equivalent of Digg is the President-Elect.

UNC's Tyler Zeller Fractures Wrist, Out For Season

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:33:51 EDT

X-Rays revealed that the wrist injury Tyler Zeller suffered Tuesday night in a game against against Kentucky is multiple fractures. Zeller will most likely be out for the season.

Although Zeller started the first two games of Carolina's season, he was not expected to start once Tyler Hansbrough returned from his own injury, a stress reaction in his leg. This may seem like a slight relief to Tar Heel fans, but even though Zeller would no longer have been counted on to play such an important role on the team, the game experience that he will lose this season will be sure to affect the Tar Heels next season when many of Carolina's best players graduate and/or move onto the NBA.

Hansbrough, meanwhile, went through a "limited practice" on Monday and will hopefully return soon now that Zeller is out.

Ex-Penn Professor Pleads Guilty to Five More Child Porn Charges

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:54:51 EDT

In May 2007, former Penn Marketing professor Scott Ward was sentenced to 15 years in prison for producing child pornography for importation into the United States. On Monday, he pleaded guilty to five more child porn-related charges, including one that entailed defrauding the U.S. Government.

In other words, the likelihood of the 66-year-old pedophile walking free again is slim at best, and the world is a much better place for it.

The Daily Pennsylvanian reports:

Ward, 66, admitted guilt to two counts of inducing a minor to engage in sex to create photos or videos, two counts of trafficking child pornography and one count of lying to State Department officials.

[…] By pleading guilty, Ward admitted that he tried to convince a 16-year-old Brazilian boy to engage in sexual activities and lied to authorities to secure a visa for the boy in 2006.

[…] Ward did not show emotion throughout the hearing.

How does one accurately convey the “I’m hopelessly screwed” emotion? Oh, that’s right – you can’t, but silence works to some degree.

Ward’s sentencing is scheduled for February2009, and if his prior felony charges are taken into consideration, he could receive life in prison.

My advice: Don’t drop the soap, because even the most vicious criminals don’t take kindly to pedophiles.

Barack Obama Solves Economic Crisis with Doodles

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:52:35 EDT

Today I was struck with the greatest idea...ever. I'm no economist, but I've figured out a soution to the ailing economy.

You've heard the statistics; 1% of the country posesses blah blah blah amount of the country's wealth and it's totally unfair, etc, etc. I agree, and I know how we can solve this issue, how we can redistribute the wealth.

Wayne Berzon, a memorabilia collecter from Illinois, paid $2,057 last year for a doodle by Barack Obama of members of Congress.

Now, with Obama slated to move into office on January 20th, the demand for his doodles has sky rocketed. The lawyer for an anonymous buyer offered Berzon six figures for Obama's creation.

So with all that being laid out, the premise is set for my economic rescue plan.

In order to bring the working class back to the strength it once had, future-president Barack Obama should start selling his doodles straight from the source. Think about it. If he just took two or three days and busted out a couple hundred or thousand doodles, that could easily add up to billions of dollars.

Think of how many families Obama could save from defaulting on their homes if he just did a quick sketch. That's DaVinci status.

UMN Student Loses It After Being Fired From News Internship

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:51:27 EDT

Some people don't handle bad news very well. University of Minnesota student Jennifer Nicole Anato-Mensah proved herself one of them when she was let go from her position as an intern at news station KSTP.

Upon hearing that her she was not experienced enough for the job, she "lost it" and began to scream, curse, and threaten other staffers. Bringin it straight gangsta, Anato-Mensah responded to her getting fired by saying "You don't know where I'm from. I'll mess you up, bitch,". When others tried to step in and calm her down, she continued her rampage, going as far as to kick in a window in the conference room where her boss was. When finally escorted from the station, she was charged with two misdemeanors for property damage and disorderly conduct.

Daaaamn. Moral of the story: Don't mess with a U student, we'll bring the crazy and go all out on ya'll suckas. Think we don't have what it takes to shelve backlogged tapes and make coffee? Shit, we liable to go buck wild up in here! You are unaware of where we are from, and we will mess you up, bitches. Step off.

Wesleyan's Andrus Field Back In The Day

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:44:31 EDT

A view of a Wesleyan versus Amherst College football game on Andrus Field in "LIFE Magazine" from October 1958. The view bares a remarkable resemblance to today's scene from Foss Hill.

Auburn's Food Drive Against Alabama Comes to a Close

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:14:29 EDT

The Beat Bama Food Drive winner will be announced in the upcoming weeks. The food drive is a 14-year competition between Auburn University and the University of Alabama, where each school tries to collect the largest amount of canned food items for the war on poverty. It’s one of the largest food drives in Alabama, so it’s kind of a big deal.

Auburn lost last year for the first time since 1999. According to the event's website, we collected 183,017 to Alabama’s 441,336. I hope we don’t screw it up this time because then that would be two big events we would lose this year.

In the recent years, SGA has implemented a way to virtually donate to the cause. People can just donate money to this website and food will be purchased with the donations.

The drive ends mañana, so we need to get on it. I donated a can…well, it wasn’t so much a can as it was a discarded piece of trash. I thought the barrel was a trash can! Don’t judge me.

Columbia Helps Werewolf Boy?

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:42:28 EDT

When a friend forwarded me this link, I couldn't get past the tabloid-esque headline and assumed the story was fake. However, considering that the Telegraph is a well-respected and widely circulated British newspaper, and other news sources have ran the same story, I guess it's for real. This is blowing my mind for a few reasons:

First, Wolf Boy is real! If there are 50 people in the world with werewolf syndrome, are their others with vampire syndrome? Zombie syndrome? Witch syndrome? Is Big Foot just an unusually tall man with hypertrichosis like poor Pruthviraj? The possibilities are endless!

Second, Wolf Boy is on campus on a regular basis. Forget about James Franco, Anna Wintour's daughter, W's neice, or even Blake LIvely, I want to meet this kid pronto.

Third, Columbia is taking the lead in racing for the cure. It's too bad the world is too unkind to allow Pruthviraj to rock the wolf look, but it's legit that Columbia is involved in trying to make things better. The Columbia I know is a cold and disillusioning bureaucracy, so it's nice to know that someone here has a heart.

For more info, check out the Telegraph's sidebar "Werewolf Boy Begs for Cure to Rare Condition" and The Sun's coverage, "Tragic Story of the 'Wolf Boy.'"

UMD Doctor Diagnoses Treeman: No Super Powers

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:21:07 EDT

Dede Koswara is not even close to your average human being. Why you ask? Because he is turning into a tree. Well, not literally - he doesn't have leaves and can't photosynthesize - but to the naked eye it would seem that he was. When Dede was 14 years old, he fell and cut his knee, which triggered his transformation into Treeman (not as radical of an accident as Marvel or DC would have you think). Ever since then, he has been growing roots from his hands and feet, and warts of other kinds all over his face and body.

Since this tragic accident has not produced any super powers yet, Treeman cannot work or care for his children. Since Woodman is already Mega Man's enemy, he's got no outlet there. Also, the fact that his wife left him doesn't help either. You'd think all of this bad fortune would spiral Treeman into a life of villainy and pay back. You'd think it would cause him to change his name to The Roots of Evil and join the bad guys... but this is not a story of revenge, it's a story of triumph.

Enter the beam of hope! Discovery Channel broadcasted Treeman's condition to the world in a special program and the Chief of Dermatology at the University of Maryland, Dr. Anthony Gaspari, was watching. Intruiged by Treeman's condition, he visited him in Indonesia to try and help.

Dr. Gaspari examined Dede and found that the growths are actually warts caused by a very common human papillomavirus, or HPV, infection, and that the warts were able to grow unchecked for many years because of a problem with Dede's immune system...

Working with doctors in Indonesia, Dr. Gaspari suggested treating Dede with large doses of synthetic Vitamin A and a powerful anti-viral drug to fight the underlying cause of the infection. He arranged for a California company to donate the anti-viral medication, which is not available in Indonesia...

"Dede has suffered tremendous hardships because of his rare medical condition, and my main concern has always been to do everything I can to help him return to a more normal way of life," Dr. Gaspari says. "He still has a way to go before he is entirely self-sufficient. But, his quality of life is now much better, and he is able to be at home with his family."

From University of Maryland Medical Center

Score one point for science and one point for UMD. Sorry science fiction, ~~Vitamin~~ A for effort.

Princetonians Indifferent Towards Proposition 8, Little Public Outcry on Campus

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:13:36 EDT

Two weeks ago, California passed Proposition 8, a referendum that barred gay couples from getting married within state lines, by a relatively small margin (2 percent). Since then, members and supporters of LGBT groups have shown their discontent with the state’s decision by organizing protests across the country.

At Princeton, however, very little has been done to help overturn the decision – and by very little, I mean nothing.

No, instead of standing alongside their outspoken LGBT brothers and sisters, Princetonians are awaiting the passing of the storm, and their collective silence is deafening.

The Daily Princetonian reports:

Chris Simpson ’09 said he is organizing a satirical campaign on Thursday that would ban freshmen from walking on campus sidewalks to parallel the injustice of the proposition.

“I think it’s a shame that there is so little debate taking place on a campus that is as well-informed as ours,” Simpson said in an e-mail urging students to participate.

Matt McMahon GS, an openly gay first-year architecture student who tried to organize a sit-in at the Nassau Street office of the National Organization for Marriage, the biggest funder of support for Proposition 8, said he has received few responses to his campaign.

He explained that he felt obligated to act because campus felt like a “radiant silence.”

What’s wrong with you, Princeton? Do you have no sense of justice? No compassion for the plight of your fellow man?

I guess Princetonians are too busy studying for finals to care about the real world.

Drug Use at Yale on Par With Other Universities, Roughly 35% Have Dabbled

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:42:12 EDT

In an effort to ascertain the prevalence of drug use on campus, the Yale Daily News circulated a poll to roughly 600 undergraduates to find out if they had used or seen someone else use drugs during their time in New Haven.

Of the 300 respondents, roughly 35 percent said they had used an illegal substance at Yale, and at least, 47 percent knew of 10 or more Yalies that had.

While these statistics may appear abnormally high, they are actually in line with the national average of 36.6 percent. This fact, of course, doesn’t surprise members of Yale’s drug culture.

The Yale Daily News reports:

One freshman in Ezra Stiles College, Fred, who described himself as “overly social,” said that because his acquaintances span class years and residential colleges, he has access to a wide array of possible suppliers.

Fred also said he is not surprised that other Yalies use drugs.

“You have a lot of smart people in one place,” he said of Yale. “Of course there are drugs.”

Wait – since when does intelligence equate to drug use?

If anything, it’s the fact that many Yalies come from well-off families that’s contributing to the drug problem, not the student body’s collective intelligence.

Baylor Students Have A New Coffee Option... And It's Free

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:29:46 EDT

In today's Lariat a new coffee establishment had its own four-column, no-jump story (a feat in and of itself for the Baylor daily). The Jakarta Mud Hut offers free - yeah, free - coffee and tea to the college students of McLennan County. Sorry, but no Aggies or Longhorns, please. The Waco Outreach Foundation made this haven for caffeine addicts a dream come true, but unless they get more volunteers on staff their hours will stay Mon.-Fri. 5p.m. - 9p.m. Show the place some love, or get some volunteer hours (I'm pretty sure your fraternity/sorority philanthropy chair will let them count towards whatever)and give Waco a third student coffee hang out.

What it has over the Baylor Starbucks and Common Grounds:

1) It probably won't get as crowded as fast as Common Grounds
2) You won't have to smell Chili's Too like you do at the Baylor Starbucks
3) I'd put money down that it's a great study group spot, with the right amount of noise to feel homey, but not too loud where you can't get anything done.

P.S. They have free Wi-Fi, so bring your laptop, stay awhile and enjoy all the free coffee, tea and ho-cho you can stomach.

The Leaders, The Best, and "Michigan's Worst Lawyer"

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:28:06 EDT

Larry Greene, a professor in the Political Science department and lecturer of Polsci 389 (Constitutional Politics, Courts, Politics and Society), stopped showing up to teach his class at the beginning of November. His students were informed that he was in the hospital, and in an interview last night he claimed that he is “severely injured”. This of course is amidst a news report coming out about Greene taking thousands of dollars from clients and not doing the work he was supposed to, as well as cashing in retirement funds—for his dead parents (5 years after their death). Even after the report broadcasted, Greene claimed “I am proud of my affiliation with the University of Michigan”. Lucky us. First the football team, now our academic standards. This is what we get for hiring a lawyer who had already been disbarred twice in the past 10 years.

How is it that a guy can practice law for 40 long years and still have to rip off clients while cashing retirement checks for his deceased parents? I don’t know how much they need to spend on medical expenses when they’re living in a box down by the river. I love how he bolts from his class before the report comes out and is “severely injured” by truth and criticism. I’m upset that the University didn’t remove him upon hearing the report. There’s no place for people like this at U of M. Lock him up with Milano.

Shout-Outs in Penn's 34th Street Magazine Tomorrow

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:43:23 EDT

Tomorrow is a very special day in the lives of all Penn students who read and love 34th Street, the Daily Pennsylvanian’s witty, wonderful weekly magazine. Why is tomorrow different from all other tomorrows? Because it’s Shout-Out Day!

Shout-outs are a bi-semester feature of the magazine’s Low-Brow section. The gist is that people can send in messages in which they pour out their hearts (anonymously, of course) to anyone or anything on campus.

Some highlights from last semester’s slew of shout-outs? The guy who called out the people who work at Einstein’s for taking approximately 47 minutes to whip up a toasted bagel with cream cheese was quite good, as were the multiple shout-outs to those crazy-ass squirrels we all know I love to loathe. Of course, the sexually suggestive shout-outs are amazing as well, especially if you have an idea as to whom they may involve (I know for a fact there will be at least one of those in the paper tomorrow…).

So don’t forget to pick up a copy of the DP, because you don’t want to miss out on the hilariousity that will ensue.

I think it’s safe to say that on the excitement scale, the arrival of Shout-Out Day almost trumps the return of the festive holiday coffee cups at Starbucks every November – almost.

Vampires Get Girls' Blood Pumping

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:59:33 EDT

The latest lusted after celebrity is not in a band or gracing the pages of tabloid magazines; he's a heartless, cold-blooded fictional vampire. His name is Edward Cullen.

At first I didn't understand the obsession surrounding the main character or the sudden vampire mania. That is, until I read the first book of Stephanie Meyers' best selling series Twilight. I got curious when I heard people talking about it and saw hundreds of Facebook bumper stickers (which finally make sense to me).

Now, I've fallen under the spell of Twilight and its alluring characters and constant twists in the plot.With the movie coming out November 21st people will be talking more than ever about the characters.

So, here's a rundown of the series so you won't be out of the loop:

The book is about two high schoolers living in Forks, Washington (an area with the most cloudy days per year), Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. As one can assume a romance develops between the two of them. The only problem is he's a vampire who has to fight the temptation to kill her every time he gets too close to her. What makes the book so captivating is the sexual tension that builds between Bella and Edward and his old-fashioned charm. Sometimes you forget that he's the one that's supposed to be the monster.

I'm personally dragging my roommate with me to the movie at midnight on Thursday. The actor that plays Edward, Robert Pattinson, is enough eye candy that you'll enjoy the movie even if you've never picked up one of the books. Now that I've made myself sound like a complete nerd, enjoy the movie!

As We All Know, It's Better When The Night Starts Getting Blury

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:52:22 EDT

Don't hurt yourselves ladies.

Rutgers: Anonymous Frat Puts New Recruits in Drag

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:24:34 EDT

They refused to give me the name of their organization when I asked, but I wasn't too surprised. I can't think of any other group on campus besides a fraternity that could convince a bunch of college boys to get all dragged out in all this shiny polyester glory. The boys in skirts told me they were on a scavenger hunt, but not for items around the Grease Trucks where they were situated, but for guys who would take pictures with them.

"I'm doing this for a laugh," said a guy standing by in his comfy sweats as he watched the "ladies" mob a group of guys just getting off of a bus.

What I couldn't decide was how much help they received from girls. Some of these outfits were definitely coordinated and put together beyond what your average male sensibility would be capable of. Some had too little body fat, and had to wear pants over their mini-skirts. But upon request, they were all very good sports about dropping trou and posing for my camera.