It seems pretty counter-intuitive to throw a party in honor of Earth Day (we’ve all seen college lawns the morning after a party), but what better way to bring people’s attention to this important day and issue than by throwing a soiree? You can teach people a few things while having a good time!

And you can do it the Green way!

Fact: Parties generate a lot of waste(d people).
Fact: You can throw a party without the waste. (Though the wasted people might still be there.)
Bonus: You can do it on an end-of-the-year student budget (a.k.a very little moolah).

So let’s celebrate and bring some much needed awareness to Earth Day this year! Here are some tips for throwing an eco-friendly Earth Day Party so you can have fun without hurting Mother Earth. Read More »

College brings a whole lot of new experiences, new lessons and new people. But it seems that no matter what school you go to, there are same characters on every campus:

With the Go Green revolution, a lot of us have been making the effort to protect and preserve our environment: trees, animals, reservations. Hemp jewelry is so in right now and vintage is your new passion, right?

Well, guess who’s more passionate than you are? The Neo-hippie, better known as The Empathetic Activist.

The Empathetic Activist feels the pain of the distressed, whether it is animal, mineral or vegetable. When a mouse-trap is set up in the dorms, he or she will be there to protect the rights of our furry friends. When soda cans are thrown in the cafeteria trash, he or she will be there to lecture their peers on the perils of cans in dumps around the world. When a tree is cut down to expand your campus, he or she is there screaming murder through blurred vision…or at least collecting signatures to stop the madness.

The Empathetic Activist cares, but not about material objects. While we’re all spending what little money we have on a spring break wardrobe, the E.A. is perusing the local consignment/ thrift/ vintage shops while munching on some tofu, as he or she is also most likely vegan/vegetarian. (“Animals have rights too!”) And when your favorite neo-hippie is not purchasing vegan Birkenstocks, you will find him or her working for social consciousness, whether it be through debates and discussions with friends or long and heated monologues during class. Read More »

For one semester, I went to a hippie college.

Why did I do this? Well, two reasons. Reason A) I consider myself a hippie-at-heart. I have fun at bonfires and like to sing with a group around a guitar, enjoy spending time without shoes and could never work in an office for 8 hours. Reason B) I only applied to two colleges out of high school, and when the Ivy League didn’t accept me, I had one other option.

(I was an idiot. It’s okay. You can say it.)

Anyway, before I quickly transferred to the small, expensive, 2nd Tier liberal arts college I eventually graduated from, I spent 4 months in the company of some of the hippiest hippies I’ve ever known. We’re talking unshaven legs, militant vegans, classrooms filled with the stench of marijuana, and professors who were actually surprised when you did your work. I had a few great classes and learned to love 9 grain bread, but by October break it was painfully obvious I didn’t belong. Read More »