It’s that time of year during which my peers and I are go crazy trying to prepare for upcoming midterms, lab practicals, 10-page essays, and other ultra stressful, all-nighter inclining assignments.  Although I am not pre-med, almost everyone in my classes is (it’s the sad reality of being a nutrition major) and their academic stress and competitiveness can be contagious if one is not careful. And it doesn’t help that I attend Cornell University, a school known for it’s abnormally high levels of competitiveness amongst students, depression and suicide.

With school pressures up the wazoo paired with the changing of the seasons, it’s understandable that my peers and I might not be as happy as we could be.  So, the fact that my school is so demanding and does have such a high rate of suicide brings me to the topic of this article: how to obtain a whopping dose of happiness the natural way.

1)   Light in the morning and darkness in the evening is just the best for saying sayonara to the blues. Make sure to get some rays of sunshiny goodness in the morning (as close to dawn as possible) to prevent depression and to treat depression if you’ve got it.  It is now known that light therapy is wondrous for treating all types of mood disorders, not just Seasonal Affective Disorder.  A 2005 metanalysis (a study which combines the results of multiple independent studies) of bright light therapy for depression found that “bright light treatments are efficacious, with effects equivalent to those in most antidepressant pharmacotherapy trials.”  Woot! That means bright morning light works just as well as antidepressant medications, but with no side effects!

On the same note, don’t go all Edward Cullen on yourself  (sorry Twilight haters) and not get any sleep.  Staying up late or pulling an all-nighter is pretty much equivalent to just asking moodiness to come find you.   Not only this, but studies show that staying up late makes you more inclined to eat late at night, thus increasing the odds of gaining weight, thus making you more inclined to dislike the way you look, thus making you more likely to become unhappy. Read More »

It’s not something they’re proud of, but Cornell University has long been known for their high rate of student suicide. They experienced a bit of reprieve from the tragic trend between 2005 and 2008, but this school year hasn’t been quite as positive.

Since the beginning of the year, Cornell has reported six suicides, with three in the last month.  It’s gotten so dire that, as a temporary measure, they have even placed fencing on campus bridges.  The University is aware that the issue is much larger than physical blockades, and that a long-term solution needs to be implemented.  For the time being, security guards will be posted along the bridges as well.

Reading this tragic news disturbs me greatly and raises an array of questions on several tangents.  Read More »

Lindsay Lohan was dating Heath Ledger!?

Tracy Morgan is raunchy. And some people are surprised?

Scandal at Cornell! (And this is JUICY.)

Nicole Richie brings her style to Bebe.

Some women will do anything for a new pair of boobs…

Glee is a giant success! (Duh. It’s awesome.)

As college students, we are constantly inundated with new knowledge. It can be useful, thought-provoking, or crammed into our head on a Starbucks-fueled binge several hours before an exam. However, very rarely do we question the validity of all this new knowledge (unless you take philosophy classes, then you’ll question away).

That’s where College Candy comes in. We’re not going to debate whether or not the Theory of Relativity actually exists (a disappointment, I know, but I’m a communications major and stopped taking science classes after Baby Bio fresh year). However, we are here to thoroughly investigate the most widespread college knowledge (no, not rhyming): the myth.

Ah, the Freshman 15. This popular legend has spawned books on prevention, magazine articles in every Back-to-School issue of any teen magazine, and whispered reminders to your BFF as she’s eyeing that 3^rd helping of French toast in the dining hall.

But does this phenomenon really exist? We’ve all gone home for Thanksgiving Break and seen that one friend who unfortunately succumbed to the Freshman 15; but what about your ex who still looks exactly the same (dammit!)? And the girl who got seriously in- shape? (I know paying for my own food was the best diet I ever went on). The Freshman 15 can’t be this metabolic death sentence we’re all doomed to once we start our higher education, right?

Right. A recent study demonstrated that over a period of 7 months, a group of 125 freshmen gained an average of 2.7 lbs.—not 15. Even more good news? Only half the students surveyed gained weight at all; 1/3^rd maintained their starting weight and 15% lost weight. Read More »

OMG, we can’t wait for some more NeNe dramz.

The worst swimsuits of the summer.

Yay! Michael Cera is single.

We’re in love with chunky chain necklaces. LOVE.

Lady Gaga shows her nip nips.

Is Cornell the real-world Hogwarts?

There’s nothing better than possessing college pride. No matter where we go, from sporting events to keg parties to our grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, us college students revel in screaming out the names of our mascots, singing our alma maters, and making it known, loud and clear, exactly where we go to school, whether we’re shiny new freshmen or forty-year-old alumni.

Unfortunately for some students, there just aren’t enough bragging rights to go around.

Radaronline.com has compiled the nine worst accredited four-year colleges in the country. If you attend one of these colleges, we’re very sorry to do this to you. But for every college that’s known for its superior eliteness or exclusivity, or its hell-of-a-good time, or its drop-dead beautiful men and women, there has to be one that is….well….lack luster. Read More »