“Excuse me, do you have a lighter, a cigarette or both?”

That is the question that I am usually greeted with when I  walk out of the  building where I take most of my classes in my college. For some reason, that is the “smokers’ hang out spot” where the smokers gather to share a cigarette  and basically fry their lungs while the rest of the non-smoking population is forced to breathe in their second-hand smoke. And then smell like it so their friends, parents and teachers think they have picked up a new extra curricular activity.

So when I read an article about Rockland Community College, a school that has totally banned smoking both indoors and outdoors starting September 1st, I kinda sorta considered transferring. A school that is completely smoke-free? A school where I can go anywhere on campus and not have to worry about coming home smelling like an ashtray? Heaven!

But is that really possible?

I can see this ban working at community colleges, as students don’t live on campus and can light up as soon as their car leaves the campus lot. But what about a regular university? Could a school really enforce that rule? And would banning smoking on campus really promote a “healthy environment,” (the goal of the ban) or are students just going to get in their cars, drive to the edge of campus and enjoy a cigarette over there?

Even more, is this really fair? I am all for a place where I don’t get smoke blown into my face, but is it really fair to take away a legal individual’s right to smoke when they have the urge?

What do you guys think? Would a ban work at your college or university? Would this ban help the nearly 30% of  American college students who smoke?

As the semester comes to an end, I  can’t help but stress about the upcoming fall semester. In a few short weeks, I will be graduating from my two year community college with an associates degree and, come September, I will be walking onto unfamiliar territory at my new university.

Of course I am excited that I will no longer have to wake up 2 hours before my class to get onto 2 over-crowded and always-late buses to get to school. I will finally get to move out of my parents house and have what most people call the “real college experience.” I will, at last,  get to prove to my parents that I can survive away from home.

However, I can’t help but be consumed by thoughts about various things relating to this upcoming experience.

First, there’s the whole roommate situation. I’ve never lived out of my house, let alone in a small room with a stranger. Thankfully, my friend who is transferring to the same uni as I has agreed to be my roommate. But I’m still a little nervous. I’m not used to sharing my space with anyone and I’ve heard that it is unwise to be roomies with your friends, as you may end up hating each other in the end. Will I end up calling my mom in tears after a giant fight with her over using up the milk? Read More »

Midterms have passed, and yet we’re still weeks away from winter break. This week, if you’ve been feeling bored, restless, or just plain anxious for the term to end, you too may be suffering from the Fall Semester Itch! Leaving campus was just one of the alternatives we at College Candy considered, along with opting for community college and even ditching academia altogether. Hey, we’re just trying to keep our options open.

But if you’ve got The Itch, then we’ve got the remedies. College Candy prescribes a heavy dose of mindless entertainment. This week, we got all the facts on the hottest celebrity cat fights, contemplated the progression of Disney starlets to Hollywood harlots, and watched some real heavy drama on The Biggest Loser.

After a few good laughs (and maybe seeing Amy Winehouse look like a hot mess), it was time to spruce up. We relaxed our wild tresses with these tips for curly hair care, raided our closet for high-waisted pants, and upgraded our wardrobe to be sexy for winter. And once we got the dirt on down-n-dirty hookups, we were all prepared for a night on the town.

If all this hasn’t relieved that Fall Semester Itch, this week we also looked longingly to Thanksgiving (with this pumpkin pie recipe) and brainstormed ideas for holiday gifts! With this week in the books, the excitement of the holiday season lurks right around the corner!

When you think of community college what comes to mind? Cheap, slackers, immature kids with bad grades. These are the first things that popped into my head when I had to make the decision to go there for the semester before I transfer schools. I thought it was going to be pure hell, but instead it’s actually kind of my idea what college should be like, minus a few things. Here’s what to expect if you’re going to community college next semester or summer.

The Good:

Free parking! - I was pumped about this, since parking at my last college (NC State) was about 200 bucks. This is also a bad thing because everyone can afford to park, so I have to leave my house 40 minutes before class (and I live 15 minutes away) to beat traffic and find a spot next to my building

The Fests - Back to School Fest, Fall Fest, Latin Fest, Halloween Fest….there’s always some type of “fest” going on….and they all involve a DJ, a moon bounce and loads of free food!

Online classes with NO extra fees - Most colleges label online classes as Distance Education and slap a few extra fees on the courses so that you’ll actually come to campus and not sit in your dorm/apartment/parent’s house watching your lecture via laptop wearing your your favorite tee and a pair of sweats (heaven!). Well, because so many people go to good ol’ community college (mine has 4 campuses total and is 40,000 strong), they actually prefer if you take a class or two online. But be warned: most online classes don’t have deadlines and it can be tempting to slack off. I’ve been taking Ethics since August and haven’t taken any tests just because I don’t feel like it! Read More »

I am the biggest. idiot. ever. Why? Because I will be spending one dreaded semester at home. That’s right, I gave up my freedom so that I could come home to spend a little extra time with the ‘rents. No, I’m not one of those people who can’t bear to spend time away from my parents, I just made a couple of mistakes…well, let’s call them choices…

Rewind to the end of senior year when a certain girl was debating between College A and College B. College A is the largest school in North Carolina, is very serious about their sports program (which means tons of fans to party with, plus I love college football) and just happens to be an hour from my boyfriend. College B is a smaller but well-known school located right in the middle of a booming city not to far from my home in Virginia that also happens to house an insane Arts/Fashion program.

Of course, naive senior Amber picked College A so she could get a degree in Fashion but still tailgate, party like crazy and spend time with her beau.

One cringe-worthy break up, one failed class, dozens of racial/socioeconomic clashes and too many drunken nights later I decided that it was time to transfer. My decision was a good one, but was made too late; by the time I submitted my application to another school (College C, I guess), it was impossible to receive housing and a decent financial aid package. Then I remembered good ol’ College B with the awesome Fashion program and decided going there was worth spending one semester at a sh*tty community college while having to obey Mom and Pop’s rules.

Some of you may have decided (or been forced) to stay at home too, or maybe I’m just hoping I’m not the only one that gets upset when I see those back to school commercials with all the cute dorm furniture and kids running through campus. Either way, there are pros and cons to movin’ back in with the rents and I know all about them: Read More »

Every college girl – hell, every college student knows that school requires a lot of sacrifices. You give up things that you would have never otherwise dreamed of giving up beforehand. I’m entirely guilty of that (and don’t act like some of you aren’t, either); I’ve been taking my summer vacation for granted for years now, just vegging out, doing a little summer work, and reading.

But since I transferred after my freshman year, I lost a few credits. I still need to graduate in 2009; with the way tuition is, I can’t afford another semester or even another year. So since I was a little underweight in the distribution section, I decided to do what any smart, responsible college student would do; I signed up for summer classes.

Summer classes are no joke. They last just about a month, maybe a little bit longer. You’re learning things that are usually spread out throughout a semester, but crammed together into four weeks. It’s fast-paced, hectic, and time-consuming. It’s even harder if it’s a subject you’re not familiar with.

I’m taking Spanish 101 and 102 at my local community college to get my language requirement out of the way. Mind you, I’m already pretty well versed in Spanish. I took it for about ten years in baby steps. But now that it’s pretty much being crammed down my throat and even I’m having some difficulty. Read More »

In high school I kept busy. I took dance classes four days a week, was a member (and eventually editor) of my high school yearbook, served on the regional board for my youth group, took numerous AP classes, tutored at the middle school and worked long into the night to keep up my GPA.

Looking back, I don’t know how I did it all without serious drugs; I was crazy. But, at the time, I knew exactly what I had to do to set myself apart from everyone else in my class in order to get into my first choice college.

I know I wasn’t alone alone. I’m sure there are many people reading this right now and thinking, “Yup. Same story for me…except I was also on the tennis and softball teams!” We all did what we had to do. With more kids applying to college than ever before, the competition was fierce; what other choice did we have?

Then there were the unfortunate ladies (and I know there are lots of you) that are reading this and thinking to themselves, “That is all you did? I was also class president and helped the starving children in Somalia and still didn’t get into my #1!”

I feel for you guys, I really do. And if you happen to be one of those bitter students who did all that work and was forced to go to your second choice school, stop reading now because you are going to get pissed. Read More »