Whether you see it in the movies, hear it from your peers or participate in it yourself, it is a generally understood fact that college students like to party. Some adopt the habit during their first Halloween away from home and hold tightly onto it well into their twenties, while others pick it up only between midterm exams. Either way, it happens; it’s been happening and it probably will continue to happen, as long as there are weekend evenings and boring classes and closet doors that prop sideways into perfectly proportioned beer pong tables.

So why were a few neighboring families of Northwestern University so shocked to discover students who “parked themselves on a neighbor’s parkway for a little love fest” or are “hollering about “Bl** J*bs”? Sure, this behavior isn’t acceptable in a world where mothers and fathers and their eight year-old daughters are riding their bicycles to church services on Saturday evenings. But when you’re living in the midst of a university, it should be almost be expected that this will happen.

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And with that, we officially hate Rachel Bilson.

Craigslist people are really weird.

Would you de-friend an ex on Facebook?

The following is the second of a five-part series I’m calling “The Top 5 Things You MUST Do In College.” Everyone’s already heard about buying flip-flops for the shower, stocking up on veggies to avoid the Freshman 15, and to steer clear of mojitos before midterms, but there are other tips for enjoying college that the experts might have neglected to tell you about.

This series is meant to provide advice for getting the most out of college, rather than just getting through it. So far we’ve already discussed having a professor as a BFF, and now we’re going to explore the college town…beyond the pub crawl!]

College is a learning experience that extends outside classroom walls. You’re not just amassing knowledge from textbooks, but learning how to manage your time and live on your own. It sounds corny, but it’s true. And one aspect of learning at college that many tend to overlook is learning about your surroundings: your college town.

You may know the basic landmarks (the freshman bar, the frat bar, the upperclassmen bar, the jock bar), but if your only contribution to the local economy is your weekend drinking cash, you could be missing out on much, much more. Whether you go to a small college tucked away in the hills, or a major university in an urban jungle, there is sure to be something exceptional about the land just off campus. Read More »