Peeta Mellark, I mean, Josh Hutcherson scored some expensive whiskey at grocery store this week. Well, homeboy is nineteen so people naturally are freaking out about it. The Hunger Games hunk waltzed right into a Ralph’s grocery store, used a fake ID, and walked out with a bottle of Macallan in tow. TMZ says they got him on camera a few weeks ago saying, “I think the age to go to war is 18 … so I think the drinking age should be 18 as well.” Way to stick it to the man, Josh.

Underage drinking isn’t uncommon, hell I did it. We see it as college students, but something tells me Josh didn’t have a fake ID although sources say he did. He’s a well-known celebrity and went to a grocery store in Los Angeles. People know how old he is. This is just another instance of turning a blind eye at a celebrity. Shocker. I give him props though because he didn’t even try to hide it, and he’s obviously not going to deny it. A Ralph’s spokesperson said, “We strictly enforce all laws relating to the sale of alcohol to minors.  We will investigate these allegations and take any steps necessary.” Read More »

Newsweek just released their 2011 college rankings, and they’re pretty useless for prospective students. Top Schools for Activists? Boring. Best Schools for Foreign Students? I could just study abroad. Most Rigorous? Why would I want to challenge myself?

Here are five categories that Newsweek should have included on their list that prospective students would actually need to know about. Read More »

A presentation by the American Psychological Association on college drinking recently released some statistics that may make you spit our your beer: 1. College students intend to drink to get drunk, and 2. College students use alcohol as an excuse for hooking up. Yeah. When I said you were going to spit out your beer, I meant because you’d be laughing with me.

If you ask any frat boy at a party he’d probably have told you these shocking findings, while saving money on the research. He might also then go and give one of his bros a big hug, saying “I love you man,” behaviour if questioned on, he would likely blame on the alcohol. Because, as Jamie Foxx has figured out, it’s pretty easy to blame it on the alcohol. Which college students inevitably do. So, in case the American Psychological Association wants to save some money next time, here’s eight more things college students blame on the alcohol. Read More »

Everyone remembers their first time at a bar. Whether they were 17 with a fake ID, or they actually waited until they turned 21, it’s a relatively exciting experience. It’s like when you don’t have to sit at the children’s table for holiday dinners anymore — you finally get to play with the big kids.

That being said, it can sometimes be pretty obvious when someone is at a bar for the first time. No matter how hard you might be trying to fit in, that’s probably exactly what’s making you stand out. And trust me, you don’t want to be that girl. Sometimes, no matter how much everyone drinks, there are some things people just don’t forget.

Here are a few handy little tips on how to handle yourself the first time you make an appearance at a bar — from one bar veteran to a bar virgin, trust me on these.

Dress appropriately. I can’t stress this enough. You might think you’ve finally found a place to wear that skin-tight, super-short, leopard print dress you got at Too Cute, but consider your surroundings first. Most bars are relatively casual, especially local ones. I can’t tell you how many bars I’ve been to where everyone is in jeans and a cute top, and in walks an 18-year-old girl in a tiny dress and sky-high heels looking completely out of place and completely 18. Those outfits are usually better suited for a club. Not that you can’t look cute at a bar — you should. But I would say it’s definitely more of a casual environment.

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When trying to figure out what to write about for this week’s weekly ten I was a little bit stumped. So I decided to go back to the basics. And this is college after all, so it’s no surprise that drinks soon followed. But I didn’t want to go with the most common drinks or the weirdest drinks, or the ways to drink those drinks. So instead I thought I’d do something a little bit different. The drinks with the best, the sexiest, the craziest cocktail names out there.

Fair warning though, this week, instead of my usual witty commentary I’m going to take a back seat and let these drinks speak for themselves. All recipes taken from drinkmixers.com.

10. Sex on the Beach. 1 ½ oz vodka. ½ peach schnapps. 2 oz cranberry juice. 2 oz orange juice.

9. Between the Sheets. 1 oz brandy. 1/2 oz light rum. 1/2 oz triple sec. sweet and sour mix.

8. Mountain Dew Me. 2 oz midori melon liqueur. 1 oz triple sec. 4 oz pineapple juice. 1 splash7-Up soda.

7. Bend Over Shirley. 1 ½  oz raspberry vodka. 4 oz sprite soda. 3/4 oz rose’s grenadine syrup.

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If there’s any place where causal sex would be seen as the norm, it’s college. People are humping like wild pitts off their leashes, and these days a committed relationship is no longer a requirement for sex. There are so many different things to consider when choosing the perfect freak-and-forget partner though. Even though you’re wrapping it up and taking all STD-free precautions, it’s hard to know who’s a complete sketchball and who’s not. Even still, sex is fun and I can’t think of very many people who ever get tired of chasing the big O.

So, how casual is your sex life? You’d be surprised to know that 8 out of every 10 women up to the age of 63 have had at least one casual sex encounter. Sheesh, that’s a lot of hooking up! Lots of girls are taking part in this no strings attached lifestyle, and they’re revealing all the juicy details in this latest survey from TrésSugar & Self Magazine. For climax confessions and one-night-stands gallore, check out the survey results for yourself. Happy humping!

L-E-G-A-L.

No more slipping your older, cooler friends a twenty in line at the liquor store for getting you your goods. No more getting completely annihilated before the bars because your drinking has to end the second you leave the security of your own home. And best of all, no more trying to scrub off those despised black X’s in the bathroom sink of the bar.

Ladies, you’re about to enter a magical time in your life where paper wristbands are your new favorite accessories and Tylenol is your new best friend. So toss that fake I.D. aside and get ready for a ride.  You’re turning 21.  Now how do you survive it?

Pre-Drinking Preparation. It’s all about getting your room ready for your future drunken self.  Before you go out for the night, make sure your room is ready for your return because you might not even know who you are, let alone how to get into a bed, by the end of the night.

1. Pull the covers back on your bed to make it easier to pass out in.
2. Put the garbage can next to your bed. Obvious reasons.
3. Set a container of bottled water next to you. When you wake up, you’ll be thirsty…but there’s a good chance won’t feel like moving.

It may seem pointless now, but you’ll thank yourself later.

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Oysters, chocolate, and green M&Ms chili. No, I’m not listing off ingredients for a (seemingly disgusting) recipe; I’m listing off well-known aphrodisiacs, AKA foods that allegedly get you in the mood to get freaky with yo bad self (and your partner).

Well, get excited peeps, because there are a few new frisky foods to add to that list.

The Food Research International journal has recently published research saying that saffron and ginseng also boost sexual performance.

The professor behind the research said these natural aphrodisiacs theoretically enhance performance and libido and, because they are simply common spices, are safe to experiment with. Unlike alcohol, another aphrodisiac (the effects of which we’ve all experienced, am I right?), saffron and ginseng will not cause judgment impairment (the effects of which we’ve all unfortunately experienced, am I right?), meaning this is a fun and safe way to literally spice up your love life. Read More »

Although it may not feel like it (what up gloves in March), but summer is coming. And with summer comes tank tops, short shorts and bikinis. You know you want to start getting in shape for all those beach photos, but you also know you’re not ready to cut out all your favorite snacks. After all, what is life without ice cream or cheese? What is a night out without beer followed by the drunk munchies.

Here are some suggestions on how to make your favorite and most unhealthy foods a little bit healthier. Although it’s not exactly the same, these options are still tasty AND they don’t include that guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach when you wake up the next morning spooning an empty pizza box. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself in June, when you’re feeling totally fabulous in that new string bikini.

You don’t need to give up your favorite junky foods while you’re trying to slim down — just keep these tweaks in mind and you’ll be cutting down on a lot of unwanted calories!

So just like with the very first column I wrote for Surviving Senior Year, it’s taken me a while to figure out what exactly I want to write for this one. My very last one.  Actually I should say it’s “taking me a while” because I really have no idea where this one is going. So bear with me one last time.

When I started this column back in September I was just starting senior year.  I was both excited and terrified at the prospect of having just two semesters left of college, and now, two months away from the end of college, I’m just as excited and just as terrified. That much hasn’t changed. But a lot has changed.

I started this year with more responsibility and less time than I’ve ever had. And lots and lots of things that I wanted to accomplish, things I felt I needed to accomplish. Take the GRE. Write a senior thesis. Keep up my GPA. Remain involved in all of my extracurriculars. And on top of that I really wanted to make sure that I didn’t lose sight of my social life. I was determined to keep all aspects of my life in perfect balance. I was determined to figure it all out. I was determined to find answers, to figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to do it. But even though I accomplished pretty much all of my goals, I’m still no closer to knowing what’s going to come next.

I don’t know where I’ll be a year from now. I don’t know what path my career will take. I don’t know if and when I’ll go to grad school. I don’t know if I’ll become a writer or a wizard. I don’t know if I’ll ever find the perfect guy or the perfect pair of pumps. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to go to Greece…or if the closet I’ll get to that ancient city is watching Mamma Mia. Because senior year hasn’t given me the answers to my future. I don’t know any more about that than I did when I started. But I do know a few other things.

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