It’s hard to believe that our parents grew up in a generation where cupcakes were just something that parents brought into elementary school classes on their child’s birthday. Not like today when cupcakes are not only America’s favorite dessert, but also one of the very few desserts with bakery brand name recognition. Just tell someone you’re going to NYC and they’ll recommend the best cupcake store in the entire world.

While we wouldn’t dare try telling you which bakery makes the best c-cakes. We will round up all our favorites and give you the official rundown. Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like banning 21st birthday shots) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

This week, under the category of “news that made me say WTF!” was this little story about students at Georgetown University taping their mouths and chaining themselves to a statue in front of the school in protest of the fact the Georgetown doesn’t provide or help to provide contraceptive options like condoms to it’s students. The school, a private Catholic university stands by the religious policies of the Catholic church under which it was founded and refuses to provide any contraception that prevents the creation of life. Let the debate begin!

OK, let’s go ahead and get this out before the NYC-liberal-arts-student part of me literally explodes – SERIOUSLY! Are you freakin’ kidding me?! Georgetown, a major university, which does not require it’s students to follow Catholic doctrine, is still, in this day and age, refusing to hand out condoms!? Are you gonna provide daycare, Georgetown?

Ah, I feel better now.

But honestly, there are a lot of good reasons why Georgetown should step up and help with the sexual health of it’s students. To begin with, Georgetown is located in Washington D.C. where officials have declared a citywide HIV/AIDS epidemic. That means that, completely outside of the pregnancy prevention argument, Georgetown is refusing to help it’s students protect themselves from devastating, life-changing illness. And yes, students at GU could just go around the corner to the drugstore and buy their own condoms, but as many many schools have found out, it’s a lot harder to get students to do that (when you’re this close to getting it on in your dorm, that CVS might as well be China). Read More »

When I think back to senior year of high school, I remember a few things: hardly ever doing schoolwork, living under my parents’ roof, and being 10 pounds lighter, for instance. But there’s no doubt that waiting for those college acceptance (or rejection) letters to start rolling in is the most exciting and nerve-racking time in a senior’s life!

There’s nothing like bringing in the mail and finding that large envelope between the Victoria’s Secret catalog and some random bills addressed to your parents. Your heart pounds as you tear it open and find out that you’ve been accepted to the school of your dreams. You can barely sleep that night, excited to run into school the next day sporting the shirt you bought during your campus tour, telling every one of your peers, teachers, and even the lunch ladies where you’ll be headed next year while your parents are at home preparing your deposit and sending e-mails notifying the other universities you were accepted to that they can suck it you won’t be attending.

But what if, some time later, you found out that THEY TOOK IT BACK!? (Cue the tears, hair pulling, “I can’t show my face at graduation!” etc.) Read More »

Welcome back to The Rival Rundown! If you’ve always wanted to give props to your school on CC, now’s your chance! Shoot us an email explaining what’s awesome and unique about your school (or what stinks about Rival U) at rivalrundown [at] collegecandy.com!

Our focus this week are two Big East schools who have thirty years of history as basketball powerhouses. Syracuse and Georgetown may be known for their excellence in ballin’, but they are also competitive in top-notch academics and, er, curiously named mascots. Here’s to one of the most well-rounded rivalries in college sports!

Quick Facts

Georgetown: Private Jesuit university in Washington, DC with 7,000 undergraduates. Founded 1789.
Syracuse: Private research university in Syracuse, NY with 13,000 undergraduates. Founded 1870.

1. Basketball Record

Georgetown: 37-43
Syracuse: 43-37

Three credits to: Syracuse Read More »

Wait, was Joaquin Phoenix working?

Angels and Demons: from awesome book to awesome movie?

Joe the Plumber now Joe the Plumber/Country Star and no longer a supporter of John McCain.

Courtney Cox is returning to comedy.

Juciy Campus founder thinks students are too serious.

Yes. There is a National Museum of Pasta. Delicious.

College grad starts an online college guidebook.

Rachel Bilson is adorable.

The world doesn’t revolve around you, people.

SAE fraternity pays for hazing.

Ever date a guy who is too tall?

If this isn’t the most outrageous story  I’ve heard in a while, I don’t know what is.

Apparently, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper’s great-great-grandfather Cornelius Vanderbuilt was the slave owner of Michelle Obama’s great-great-grandfather, Jim Robinson. And what’s more, Anderson’s kin has personally invited Obama to visit her ancestor’s grave at the Georgetown, SC plantation named Friendfield. Not surprisingly, Michelle Obama has yet to respond to the invite.

I’m  going to assume that supporting the final days of her husband’s campaign for President of the United States is taking precedence.

We thought we’d seen it all earlier this election season when news of Bristol (daughter of Sarah) Palin’s teenage pregnancy made headlines. But now we’re talking about celebrities/politicians and slavery. Will the press never end?

Of course not.

UPDATE: The source, Mollygood.com (via the New York Daily News), has updated the story to note that Cornelius Vanderbilt came into ownership of Friendfield after Jim Robinson was enslaved there. To clarify, the Vanderbilts never actually owned Robinson as a slave. My apologies for any confusion.

Last week, I warned you that the grad school application process is quite a time consuming effort. Well guess what folks? You’re going to need to put ample time into choosing your prospective grad schools too! Sure, this might seem a bit obvious, but this columnist doesn’t always think things through.

For me, grad school was a roll of the dice, and six possible schools came up for me: Georgetown, Rutgers, Ohio State, North Carolina State, San Francisco State, and the school I eventually chose, hereafter refered to as X University.I chose these schools on a whim. Georgetown was my “reach,” and the closest I could get to Ivy League while maintaining a glimmer of hope for acceptance. Rutgers was relatively close to my hometown (by close I mean a 5 hour drive); Ohio State is a party school notorious for it’s tailgating parties (I swear, that’s why I applied- don’t judge); North Carolina State was an hour from my only other friend attending grad school; and San Francisco just seemed like a cool city to live in, as did the location of X University.

Rule number one in choosing grad school? Don’t be superficial when planning your future! Read More »

DC Chief of Police, Mayor, and City Official React to Supreme Court’s Decision on Thursday

On Thursday the US Supreme Court struck down the D.C ban on handgun ownership as unconstitutional. It’s decision overruled 200+ years worth of lower court decisions that suggested that the intent of the amendment strictly concerned gun ownership in a citizens’ militia. The 1976 law prohibited handgun ownership and required that shotguns and rifles be kept unloaded and either disassembled or under a trigger lock.

The plaintiff in the case, Gillian St. Lawrence, a 29 year old residing in the posh neighborhood of Georgetown in Northwest DC, stated, “I’m thrilled… I’m finally going to be able to take the trigger lock off my shotgun and load it if I need to be able to defend myself in my own home”. It should be noted that the majority of murders occur on the opposite side of town—in the urban areas of Southeast and Northeast.

Last year there were 143 murders in DC and the thugs seem ready to beat that number this year. There have been 85 murders in DC so far this year. So let’s make it easier shall we? Hunting season is officially starting up once more in DC. Come one come all! (Your writer is a resident of DC). Read More »