New Student Week is arguably one of the best times of the year for both NU newbies and returning students. While spending your evenings seeing mediocre school-sponsored entertainment (e.g. the ghost hunter) and/or passing out in the Shakespeare Garden after that fateful last Busch Light is certainly an acceptable way to spend your week, don't just be a slave to campus social life during NSW 2007. Here are some alternative ways to spend your evenings (and one early morning) in that quaint midwestern town, Chicago, that many students often forget exists.

Tuesday-Wednesday: Head to Wrigley Field and watch the Cubs (who have a better record than the Sox right now) play the abominable Reds.
Thursday: Transit nightclub offers music deco Thursday, where "modern music meets classic vibe." Don't worry about the theme; we all know every theme really translates to "dress slutty, get drunk, and hook up."
Friday: If you want comedy (Azn style), Margaret Cho is performing at the Lakeshore Theatre.
Saturday: If you are an early riser try working out at Millenium Park. Yoga is at 8 am, pilates at 9, and hip-hop at 10. Plus, it's free!
Sunday: Stop by the House of Blues to see what Gaper's Block is calling the "biggest mainstream hip-hop show to hit this year." Artists include Big Daddy Kane, The Roots, and Talib Kweli.  Right, it's Northwestern, most of us don't know what hip-hop is--just consider it an "educational" evening.
Monday: If you're still itching to get some action after a summer of fantasizing about that older, twice married co-worker, topped off with a week of realizing (or re-realizing) that the prospects at NU are less than ideal, then "Dating for Nerds" is for you. There will be board games and trivia quizzes to break the ice, along with plenty of fellow nerds who's best pickup line is: "So...what's your major?"