Pomp and Circumstances

Lots of high schools offer college-level classes for their students. They're designed to challenge top students and prepare them for the rigors of college life. But Chase Abrams may have taken things a bit too far. Because of his advanced courses, he graduated from high school and college at the same time. On May 29 he graduated from Sierra Canyon High School, and then graduated June 20 Cal State LA with a bachelors degree.

The article is mostly about a kid who is great at time management and is very hardworking. No arguments there. But I think he's made a big mistake by missing out on a typical college experience. Abrams says he " had the full high school experience all around. I went to prom, had a girlfriend for 2 1/2 years." That's great and all, but what about the full college experience? I didn't despise high school or anything, but college was about a million times better. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to make the friends I did and take the classes I did at a college level. Most of the time, college is more than just getting a degree. It's learning about yourself and the world around you and taking part in activities you might not have gotten the opportunity to otherwise.

Of course, everyone's learning experience is different, so maybe this was the right choice for him. I just hope that forty years down the road he doesn't feel like he missed something.

The Coolest Kid on the Hall

I love when stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond send out their "dorm stuff" fliers. Boy do those take me back--the pop-up laundry baskets, the collapsible bookcases, the pillows with arms. But even if you throw up some posters and get a rug, it's not exactly the design aesthetic you want to have for the rest of your life.

Unless you're Maximilian Sinsteden.

This kid is an interior design wizard. His dorm room does not look like a dorm room at all. (Make sure to click through for a slideshow.) It's prep-tastic--green walls, ties as decor, overlapping rugs. He should be in a Wes Anderson movie. And with statements like "I can’t live in a minimalist world. For me, it’s all about eclecticism," and "Anything for cashmere!" this kid is the interior design Truman Capote.

Does he need a Harper Lee?

I was also surprised to find that I didn't think Maximilian was pretentious at all. Usually a kid with this much of a persona would get on my nerves. But he really is a fantastic designer. It's like Christian from Project Runway--he knows he has an image and probably courts it, but he puts out such a fantastic project that I don't care.

Maybe when I'm rich/famous enough to afford an interior decorator, I can give Maximilian a call. I bet he'd design a kick-ass office.

Second Semester!

Dorm Life, my very favorite web series, is back! Finally!

Now we can see what will happen to these crazy floormates in their second semester of college. Last season, Mike totally messed up with Britney (who liked him) by hooking up with her best friend/roommate Courtney. Will they ever be able to make it work? And what about Danny B and Hot Mystery Girl? Can adorable Danny ever find love? Will Courtney have another hysterical breakdown? Will Marshall stop being a douche? Will Abby ever talk? Will Shane have to drop out of school? What about that gay guy? And what will happen to the floormates at the end of this school year?

Find out this season on Dorm Life!

So far the first two episodes are up, and they're pretty awesome. New ones will be posted every Monday. Mondays just got a whole lot better! They even have brief "webcams"--short postings by characters via their webcams--to keep you going through the week.

Seriously Dorm Life people, if you need a long-distance cameo, let me know.*


*Even though I graduated a couple years ago. Whatever.

Second Semester!!!

AAAAAHHHHH! DORM LIFE IS COMING BACK!





I am obsessed with this web series. The writing is great, the actors are fantastic, and I need to see what happens with these hallmates.

Although it does make me want to go back to college like crazy. Anyone need a roommate?

We're Just Different...Different Roommates

The freshman college roommate situation can be tough. It's (probably) the first time in your life when you had to coexist with a stranger in an area the size of two shoe boxes. What if your roommate listens to sucky music? What if she has a live-in boyfriend? (Just say no to sexiling.) What if she thinks your things are just her things (only she didn't have to pay for them)? What if you "accidentally" kill her because she's freakin' obnoxious?

Of course, your college roommate could end up being your best friend. She could end up being the most awesome person you've ever met. She could end up as really famous one day.

Even better, you could both end up famous.

Like these famous roommates. Most people know about Al Core and Tommy Lee Jones (inspiration for Oliver in the sap-fest Love Story). But what about:

Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
Just a couple of wacky guys who wanted to make films. No wonder Owen Wilson shows up in everything Wes does. They're not just best friends, they're roomies! Also, apparently Anderson used his writing skills (via an Edgar Allen Poe paper for Owen) to get the better bedroom in their apartment.

Score one for the writers!

Edward Gorey and Frank O'Hara
It's like they're characters on some indie sitcom: the wacky artist and the intense poet. I bet they argued over who was more emo.

I wonder what kind of posters they had up on their walls.

Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams
I know it's not true, but I like to think that they went to bars to pick up girls with Reeves dressed as Superman and Williams bouncing off the walls. That'll get the ladies every time.

Sweet footnote: "Williams even covered some of Reeve’s medical expenses after he was paralyzed. Of course, being Robin Williams, he couldn’t stop there; after Reeve found out he couldn’t walk again, Williams visited him dressed as a doctor and pretending to be his proctologist, reportedly causing Reeve to smile for the first time since the accident."

College roommates = best friends forever.

The Dog Days of College

Finals are rough. Or ruff. Because at the University of Pittsburgh, they bring in the dogs for exam-time stress relief.

"Every Tuesday night from 7 to 8 p.m., university officials let the dogs into the Commons Rooms, a heavily used study area...About 25 dogs participate in the program, which is called College Canine. All of the dogs and their owners attended training classes at the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, and all passed a tough test that won them certification from Therapy Dogs International."

What a great idea! I want to snuggle puppies every day, but especially during stressy periods like the end of the semester. Although, as Dan at Best Week Ever says:

"I love that they say the dogs ‘participate,’ like the dogs mulled it over then decided to sign up and donate their time. I also love picturing myself going to ‘College Canine’ nights and not studying for three hours leading up to the dogs’ arrival because 'the dogs are almost here' then playing with the dogs for an hour then not studying for another three hours because 'c’mon, we just played with the dogs!'"

Yeah...that's actually how it would go. Oh well. We can dream.

I Wish I Could Go Back to College

As a recent college grad, I miss the days on grounds. (Okay, it's been a few years...but it still feels like orientation was yesterday!) I miss sleeping in because class didn't start until 11; I miss how costume parties were a regular part of my social schedule; I even miss the kids handing out fliers, saying "Come to our a cappella concert/bar night/philanthropy event!" But with internet short sensation Dorm Life, I get to go back for about five minutes at a time.

The first season left off at the end of first semester, when the hallmates were unlucky in love--all the guys were left dejected in some way. But hopefully soon we'll get to see the rest of the school year. The hall is back and ready for even more craziness. In the interview linked above, show creators Jessie Gaskell, Jim Brandon, and Brian Singelton discuss what's coming:

"The second season is the story of second semester. Our floor comes back from Christmas break after spending some time at home ready to tie up the lose ends from last semester. All the questions we left the end of Season 1 will be addressed- Did Mike blow it forever with Brittany? We know Abby is engaged but is she totally out of the picture? With Shane on academic probation, will his partying lifestyle have to be put on hold so he can get his act together? How will Danny B get out of the friend zone with his Mystery Hot Girl? Do Steph and Marshall get married? We find out in second semester! This season also features several new characters who have been lurking in the background of Season 1."

I'm so excited! I hope that Mike and Brittany have a little more trouble before they get together--perhaps a Karen (from The Office) figure to shake things up? Will Mystery Hot Girl realize that Danny B would make the most adorable college boyfriend? (I hope he gets to sexile Gopher and Shane.) Will Abby ever say more than "I'm engaged?" Will Courtney freak the hell out again? (She's AMAZING.)

In the interview they say they hoped season to be to back in November. So far, that's not the case. But I know I'll be checking the website regularly. Rest assured I'll pass on any updates here.

Better Than the Patch

Clarion University has banned smoking from campus.

Not just outside buildings, but all of campus. As a non-smoker, I'm all about this--I hate having to walk behind a smoker and ultimately getting smoke in my face. (Usually I speed up and dodge around them, and send heinous vibes their way as I pass.) But I can see how that would be frustrating to smokers, who usually just have to be a few feet away from a building. Still, some of the reactions seem a little extreme:

"Jon DiSalvo, 23...said smoking is his addiction, he loves it and those who don't like what he exhales can step a couple of feet back. 'The walkway is five feet. I'm maybe a foot and a half wide,' he said. 'There's three other feet they could be walking on.'"

Yeah, because smoke stays in a one-foot zone around you. What a charmer.

Also, smoking is bad for your health and potentially costs thousands of dollars a year and makes you smell like a grandparent. Take this as incentive to quit, Jon.

Hot off the Presses

Gawker wants to kill the college newspaper.

The argument is that college kids all have access to the internet, so why not just run an online edition? And college papers don't really make money, so what's the point. And even harsher:

"Print editions of college papers are either fully subsidized by advertising (which is getting harder, obviously), or they have some kind of endowment, or the university kicks in money to help them pay their expenses. Why not take that money and hire some laid-off journalists to teach these kids journalism? This way another former journalist would find a job, and janitors would have fewer things to pick up after entitled college kids, thereby cooling the simmering class war on campuses, leading to fewer administration buildings takeovers by young leftists channeling their rage into fair wage campaigns for university employees."

Ouch. Sure, university papers aren't going to rival the New York Times or the Washington Post for readership. Sure, young people aren't even reading those papers, much less their own. So why keep them around?

Um...SUDOKU?

Maybe at some schools all the kids take their laptops to class, but I sure didn't go to that school. In my day, we still had our pens and notebooks. And that meant you could be doing the crossword while your professor lectured about Beowulf.

Furthermore, a college newspaper is relevant to the particular people at that particular school at that particular time. While it might be just a "training ground," that doesn't mean the college paper doesn't add to the entire college experience overall. Online or in print, it's exciting to read a real newspaper about the issues that literally surround you alongside news about the outside world.

In defense of print, there's just something about the physical entity that I like. (Quoth the blogger.) I always check news online, but I prefer browsing a real newspaper.

The only real argument I'd make against the university paper would be that it's greener not to print so much paper. But I could also make that argument against the copy-shop packets I have to buy for classes every semester.

Frankly, I don't know what Gawker has against the college paper. Maybe it's not the best journalism or financially beneficial, but they provide students with an outlet to write/make art/share their opinions in a professional-looking environment.

And honestly, where would Rory Gilmore be without the Yale Daily News?

Welcome to 5 South

It's that time of the year. Students are returning to college campuses, ready to hand out flyers about a cappella concerts, protests, and greek life. Freshman, adorable lanyards with their keys and ID around their necks, are herded into dorms and forced to coexist with people they've never met before. My own first year dorm experience worked out pretty well. At first I thought, "Wow, this is weird, a stranger is right across the room, I don't think I like this," but then she killed an enormous cockroach and she became my hero. Half of my hall would interact; the other half we never really saw. But even with Ben and Jerry's sharing (a pint, multiple plastic spoons, someone's computer) and in-hall baseball, we never quite matched the hilarity that is Dorm Life.

Granted, I might have gone crazy if I had had to live with half of these people. But, much like its inspiration The Office, I love watching these 5--10 minute episodes about roommates, IM sports, and all nighters.

Some favorite characters:

Steph: So excited to meet you! Steph's energy is insane. She's the girl you hate and love all at the same time.

Mike: The 5 South Everyman. Plus he can juggle.

Marshall: The worst RA ever. "Umm...bye."

Daniel: The classic hall nerd, who's secretly in love with  Mystery Hot Girl.

Courtney: "I'll make you look like a vice president." This girl is hysterical. She's a typical sorority girl but somehow manages to have the funniest moments on the show. Snaps for Courtney!

The show starts out kind of slow, but it gets so amazing. (Some favorite episodes are 'All Nighters,' 'IM Football,' and 'The Talent Show.') The season ends with the end of fall semester. I can't wait to see them back for spring.