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.

So we’ve all heard this particularly morbid myth (no, not any of the ones from Urban Legends—although Brenda was a bad-ass scary killer) about one surefire, if not tragic, way to snag a 4.0. The general myth goes a little something like this: If your roommate dies, you automatically achieve a 4.0 average for the semester.

There are a ton of variations to this myth; if you weren’t in the room at the time of death, you only get a 3.5 (sorry, not traumatized enough!). Or if you have more than one roommate, you’re not all going to get the golden 4.0 (they don’t want to run out of perfect GPA’s, I guess?). And, of course—you can’t kill your roomie for the express purposes of getting a 4.0 (killing her for ruining the suede clutch you lent her, now that’s another story).

As it turns out, however, there is (surprise!) no such rule on any campus in the United States of A. You may have heard it repeatedly since you were a freshman, you might have a lab partner who will swear on a stack of Bibles that it happened to his 2^nd cousin at Ole Miss, hell your parents might even still believe this myth, but it is one million percent fictional.

First of all, as Snopes points out when it lists the different variations of the rumor, there are way too many provisions that would need to be established to ensure that all 4.0’s were given to the bereaved fairly (unfairly?). What if you were home, but they died in the living room? What if you were out of town at the actual time of death, but you found the body? What if you were out shacking and came home to crime scene tape across your door?

Then of course, administration would have to deal with helicopter parents who wanted to ensure that their children received the GPA they “earned” (via their roommate’s death). who’d do anything to get a Harvard Law-worthy GPA.

The bottom line is, this myth is completely and undeniably false. If you really don’t believe me (I know, that lab partner was pretty effing convincing) read through your entire student handbook and find this policy. Chances are you’ll read only about the grief counseling and other services offered to traumatized students (those services aren’t going to be of the “Here’s straight A’s” variety). If I’m wrong, I will come to your school and go streaking across the quad. But if I’m right (and I am) you’ll have to come to Tallahassee and do the same. Trust.

We’re back with another edition of G.W.W…

…well, sort of.

I’ve got a healthy libido and a short attention span, so my celeb crush turnover rate is pretty high. But every once in a blue moon, my ever-wandering eye is caught by someone so despicable, so nasty, my sexual drive is dashed in an instant.  This week, let’s talk about a G.W.D.W.E. (Guy We Don’t Wanna Eff)–Phil Spector.

Phil’s career as a music producer is perhaps as illustrious as they come–he’s worked with The Ramones, The Righteous Brothers, and The Beatles.  But just last month, he was sentenced to 19 years to life for the murder of  Lana Clarkson.  Witnesses at his trial said he had a ghoulish habit of “bullying” women with guns.  Great songwriter? Maybe. Soulless, gun-wielding psycho? Definitely.

But the pièce de résistance of Spector’s uneffable resume is his God-awful  puffball hairdo. Seriously? Look at this thing! It looks like someone stuck his pecker in a socket and transplanted his putrid pubes onto his head. Looking at this photo for more than three consecutive seconds triggers my vom-in-my-mouth reflex. Yuck! And worst of all, the ‘do is a wig! Spector has been known over the years to fancy all sorts of alternative hairstyles, but this one takes the fashion-disaster cake. Who voluntarily chooses to look like that?

Philly, shame on you for your nasty updo. Double shame on you for murdering an innocent woman. Triple shame on you for wasting your legendary talent. Don’t expect any conjugal visits from me.

A while back, the editor of this very site put out a query: “Give me a Top 10 list of your favorite High School Movies.” I told her I wanted in – after all, who doesn’t love to indulge in a little HS drama? So I sat down and started listing. Only I discovered that including just 10 was more impossible than winning 8 medals in one Olympic games. And I am no Michael Phelps.

So, I listed 10. The first list of what would soon become many. After posting, many of you seemed quite angry with my decisions. Your comments were full of ALL CAPS and lots of exclamation points!!!! You were upset that I had left some classics off the list. Perhaps you didn’t notice the “Part 1″ in the title, or perhaps you just needed everyone to know of your love of The Breakfast Club.

Not that it mattered; I was clearly coming back for round 2. So here it is – another 10 gloriously angsty high school flicks. Get that Smart Pop ready, ladies; these high school dramas are gonna rock your lockers!

11. She’s the Man
In a take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Amanda Bynes is Viola Hastings. In the many twists and turns of the movie, she enters her twin brother’s private school, tries to make the soccer team to beat her school’s team and make her sexist ex cry, get rid of her brother’s obnoxious girlfriend, fall for her… er… her brother’s roommate, and much more. Whew! Amanda is such a power girl in this movie. It’s nothing like my high school experience (I never did the drag thing), but totally entertaining all the same.

12. 10 Things I Hate About You
Are you kidding? Seriously? This movie is on the top of every list. Another Shakespeare twist done right.
Kat rocks!! The tough, sensitive chick lands the hot, caring, bad boy; the college of her dreams; and the Fender Strat! I want to scream in pure bliss. You can laugh at me, but I know you’re squealing on the inside. 10 Things I Hate About You is just too good to be true. (See what I did there? Get it? No?)

13. Jawbreaker
High school, like life, is a hierarchy. Some are at the top of the list, some at the bottom of the barrel. So it makes sense that Fern Mayo wanted to be like Liz Purr. It’s completely tweaked that Liz’s BFFLs accidentally killed her, made her death look like a sick sexual perversion, and turned poor Fern Mayo into Vylette, the newest member of the clique. Be careful what you wish for.

14. The New Guy
Umm. Eliza Dushku’s wardrobe montage was kinda whack, but if I could snap my neck like Dizzy and make people scared I’d totes do it! It’s the ultimate makeover; why go from Geek to Chic, when you can go from Geek to The New Guy??

15. Say Anything…
Dear John Cusack,
I’m gonna keep on loving you, ’cause it’s the only thing I wanna do.
Love Always,
Donnette
Here’s the deal: when someone asks what’s the greatest thing you ever did for love what will you say? Lloyd Dobler can say anything (almost). The infamous boom box scene where Lloyd stands outside Diane Court’s window and plays In Your Eyes is a top rated classic, but who can forget the date where he’s shivering because he’s happy. And yes, Diane was so deeply touched by his vulnerability that she “spent the night with him” and told her dad about too. If you’ve forgotten, go watch this movie again! Now!

16. Can’t Hardly Wait
I’m LOLing just thinking about this! Typical-guy-misfit-is-enamored-with-teen-queen-and-waits-until-graduation-to-tell-her-after-her-jock-boyfriend-dumps-her-then-she-finds-herself-and-gets-letter-from-misfit-and-tries-to-find-him-but-he-finds-her-and-she-thinks-he’s-a-drunk-creep-and-people-get-abducted-by-aliens-and-Seth-Green-loses-virginity. Whew! Like I said typical. Ethan Embry paves the way for Seth Cohen, Rusty Cartwright, and Paulie Bleeker. Yum.

17. Strike! (Aka Strike! Aka The Hairy Bird)
On one hand, this movie has way too many names. On the other, it’s a Kirsten Dunst flick. Love her or hate her, the girl’s good. At an all-girl prep school in the early 1960s, the girls are flung to the trough of puberty. Ha. So here’s want goes down: Kirsten Dunst and her clique hold meetings and eat stolen ravioli, they have ISSUES: they discuss boys, school, family, the girls who hate them and all of their seemingly massive pubescent drama. I’m already reminiscing…

Anyway, the school decides to go co-ed and Verena (Dunst) became a one-girl revolution. The girls decide to play some games and do some damage when the boys come to visit. This involves bra-stuffing, drink spiking, sex having, cat fighting – your basic no-holds barred war. And don’t you think for a moment that it ends there. The best is yet to come.

18. Carrie
This movie is the reason why I was nice to everyone in high school. Seriously. Okay no not seriously, but it definitely made me fear anyone with that name. Regardless, it’s a fun one to watch (with people that, you know, like you).

19. The Breakfast Club
GREATEST MOVIE EVER!!! Great cast, great costumes, great plot, great, great, great! Since I have no words I’ll let Brian’s (Anthony Michael Hall) letter speak for me.

Dear Mr. Vernon: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was wrong, but we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay, telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as: a brain, an athlete, a basket case, princess, and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at 7 o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed.

I am forever devoted to The Brat Pack.

20. Mean Girls

In junior high and high school, I’m sure you’ve encountered these *insert derogatory word here*, but they’ve got nothing on Regina George. She’s sweet and sour, impeccably dressed, and knows how to rock the school. Until Lindsay Lohan comes along. Tina Fey totally hit the mark with this movie and it will forever be a classic. It’s just so…fetch!

Remember when you were little, and your parents gave you that “Don’t talk to strangers” lecture?  Well, approximately a decade or so later, we find ourselves in college. At bars. Talking to strangers.

And by “talking” I mean… letting a few rounds of Patron turn into a one-night-stand. What’s up with that?

Look, I’m not a slut. But I have certainly made some bad decisions. And with one in four college students carrying an STD, it’s really important to follow Mom’s advice.

There are plenty of reasons why it’s best to actually get to know someone before you go home with them. You don’t want to run into any “surprises” in the sack- e.g. you think he’s a nice fellow, until you’re astride him and he’s requesting that you spank him and call him Sally. You also don’t want to feel awkward about things in the morning. Let’s face it, it sucks to wake up to a selfish stranger who doesn’t even care about your walk of shame because he wants to get a few more Z’s, even though he has a car parked right outside and could easily give you a ride home.

And then there are the urban legends. You know, the guys who seem like quite a catch, when in reality they are dating/married/married to five women/gay/a transsexual… you name it. My roommate recently shared the most hideous tale I’ve ever heard. She insists this happened to “a friend of a friend” at work, which leads me NOT to believe it, but you know what? I’m going to share it for the amusement of the many CC readers out there.

A girl goes to a bar and gets wasted. She ends up making out with a dude, something she hardly ever does. The next morning, she wakes up with a rash all over her face. Freaked out, she goes to the dermatologist, who takes one look at her face and demands to know everything the girl has done in the past few weeks. This girl, not normally one to snog a stranger, lists everything except her chance encounter- after all, she didn’t sleep with him. The dermatologist knows she’s lying and keeps pressing until the girl admits to her makeout sesh. The doc then tells the girl to find the guy and go to the police. Somehow, she does (another reason I’m hesitant to believe this), and when the cops go to the dude’s house, they find two dead women in the apartment. The dude has been having necrophiliac sex with his victims, and when he made out with the chick, he passed their dead skin cells onto her face, causing the break out.

WHAT THE F***K???? Like I said, I don’t necessarily believe this story, but it shows that you never know what kinds of skeletons (no pun intended) a stranger has in their closet when you decide to shack up.

Sure, when you’ve been high and dry, and a McDreamy comes along and sweeps you off your feet, it can seem like a good idea to let loose. But sometimes one bad decision can lead to a scarlet letter that lasts forever. Why do you think herpes is (rather sickly) referred to as “the gift that keeps on giving”?

Take mom’s advice. If you are in a well-lit place with your girls, you can share polite convo with a stranger. But don’t go home with him until you know his last name, are familiar with his roommates, and hold no reasonable doubt that he could have a criminal record….or dead people under the bed.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Guide to Picking up Women

Holiday greetings from Britney and the kids!

Best place to sell your used text books.

How to rock the cape coat.

Hollywood’s hottest homewreckers.

Students ask universities to ban JuicyCampus.com

For-profit universities are loving the recession.

We need these jeans. Santa? PLEASE?!

Who will be nominated for a Golden Globe today??

Wisconsin student killed in bar brawl.

We love everything to be big…except our butts.

While her story gained worldwide attention, the world wondered: who could have wanted to kill such a kind-hearted, hard-working young woman?

Over a month passed since Pressly’s death, and the police had not named any suspects nor possible motives for the murder, only stating that they believed it was a robbery gone bad. But on November 26th, police in Little Rock arrested 28-year-old Curtis Lavelle Vance for the beating death of Anne Pressly. They did not disclose what led them to arresting Vance, only stating police would have to remain “very tightlipped” before trial.

Then Pressly’s parents, Patti and Guy Cannady emerged on television with riveting new details about the case. Yesterday they appeared on The Today Show stating that there was evidence of their daughter being sexually assaulted during the beating, and furthermore that she broke her hand trying to fight off her attacker. They shared gruesome details about Pressly’s physical condition, including that “every bone in her face was broken,” and immediately condemned Vance as her killer. Mrs. Cannady said that Vance is a “monster [who] stole my daughter’s innocence. He took her life,” while Mr. Cannady added, “I think he could have been a stalker.”

With such a sudden surge in developments in Pressly’s case, many questions arise not only regarding the events themselves, but the media surrounding them. What led the Little Rock police to the arrest of Curtis Vance? Could Pressly’s murder really have been a robbery-gone-awry, or was Vance a crazed stalker? And, perhaps most alarmingly, why are the police keeping so mum about the case while Anne’s family is revealing so much? Doesn’t this present a conflict of interest?

Some specifc details about the case are cause for suspicion. Little Rock police confirm that Vance is also being charged in the rape of an Arkansas schoolteacher last April. If it is true that Pressly was also raped, it seems unlikely that her death was merely the result of a random robbery, particularly if Vance has a history of sexual assault. And Pressly’s mother revealed on The Today Show that she drove to her daughter’s home at 4:30 am October 20th immediately after Anne did not respond to her morning wake-up call. While it may seem circumstantial, why would Mrs. Cannady immediately suspect something had gone wrong and drive over to her daughter’s home so early in the morning if she didn’t respond to a phone call? Maybe she was still sleeping?

Was there any reason for her to believe Anne would be incapacitated?

We may never get the answers we want regarding this case, but one thing is for sure: when there’s a murder in the media, it becomes much more difficult for the media to address the murder.

Spotted: Dorota getting her own TV show?!

An arrest for the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s family members.

All I want for Christmas is the perfect butt.

Lindsay isn’t breaking up with Samantha.

Some reasons to hate Christmas.

More Americans are waiting for college acceptance letters…from overseas.

SJP is looking for a new home for her chic-and-cheap fashion line.

Stay warm without spending the big bucks.

Enough pink (and blue) to make you sick.

You may not be eating as healthy as you think you are.

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand. This is beach reading at its finest; three women – one sick with cancer, one just fired after having an affair with her student and one whose husband cheated, all move to the Hamptons for the summer. Juicy, juicy.

The Other Boleyn Girl. Before you see the movie (or if you haven’t already), read this book about the tragic love affair that will suck you in and make you unable to leave the page.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. This book chronicles best friends in love with the same man and how an unexpected romance changes everyones lives for the better. The best part: there’s a sequel!

Loose Girl. A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Kohen. More on the sad, but touching side, this memoir chronicles the life of an adolescent female who turns to self-destruction when she has no place else to turn. After reading, it gives you hope on the choices you make in your life.

Are You There Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. My favorite raunchy comedian writes a book detailing her life, her messes and her love vodka. One word: Hilarious. Pick it up.

The Beach House by Jane Green. Set again in Nantucket (such a perfect setting for a beach book), an older woman rediscovers herself after being forced to rent out rooms in her house to vacationers. A feel-good book at its best. Jane Green is a fabulous author and this book is pure proof of that.

Life With My Sister Madonna by Christopher Ciccone. This goes without saying, but I’m dying to read this book. Madonna’s fame, told by her non-celeb brother, who – I’m sure – has a case of jealously towards the successful converted Brit.

Pure Romance Between the Sheets: Find Your Best Sexual Self and Enhance Your Intimate Relationship by Patty Brisben. Why not read a book this summer that can enhance (and spice up) your bedroom activities? Your man, woman (or even yourself!) will be thanking you once you read this book about finding your inner sexuality.

The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner. If you’re a murder mystery buff, this book about a series of murder mysteries will keep you on a thrill ride to the very end.

Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller. ABC News claims this is one of the best “Sizzling Summer Reads,” about three women – Carly Simon, Carole King and Joni Mitchell – come of age in the 60s music and how, these legendary figures, are really, just girls like us.

There you have it ladies. Now, throw on that suit, grab a towel and one of these books and head for the sun!

(photo courtesy of stock.xchng)

This past week CC asked our readers whether or not racism was still an issue in the country. You all were pretty mixed in your responses—a third of you said that it was a major issue, another third said that we’d made progress but still need to work on it, and another third said that it wasn’t an issue anymore.

Probably a lot of the confusion comes from what we perceive to be racism.

For example, a male Caucasian clerk is friendly with a Caucasian female and then rude to an African American male—now this could be a clear cut case of sexism—clerk is hitting on the female and rude to the male, or a clear-cut case of racism.

The way in which you experience that scenario is really dependent on your previous life experiences.

During my childhood in Southern California, I understood racial tension to be part of a larger issue—i.e. gang violence or immigration. For me the civil rights movement was a thing of the past. In the scenario above, I definitely would have leaned towards the sexist explanation.

Then I moved to Washington, DC.

It’s an angry city with a massive history of racial tension.

Many of the people who work in DC in fact live in either Virginia or Maryland (during the work week the city’s population swells by 71.8%!), and those who live in DC (aside from college students) are either upper class or lower class. The majority of upper class reside in Northwest DC or Capital Hill. The rest live in Northeast and Southeast. (The Capital is the center of the grid).

The tension is palpable (check out my earlier rant over the Supreme Court handgun ban ruling). DC was the site of some of the worse race riots over the years. The city has the worst public school system and the 3rd highest poverty rate in the country as well as the highest child poverty rate. Its destiny is controlled by the US Congress—a group of mostly Caucasian elites overseeing a majority African-American city.

I worked for 3 ½ years at the B. Dalton at Union Station located directly behind the Capital and consequently the place where these two worlds met.

Certain memories are imprinted upon my mind. One Saturday afternoon, four people started yelling at each other outside the store—that was fairly typical. But then I heard two loud shots. We all hit the floor. Luckily the gunman fled the building—otherwise I might have been involved in a hostage situation.

The cops caught up with the shooter and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital—and that was the last I heard of it.

Sure it made local news that evening but when I scoured the Washington Post the next morning, the incident was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t news that an African-American shot another African American. That happens all the time. The cops never questioned my coworkers and I (despite the fact that we were eyewitnesses).

It seemed clear that there was no desire to put a case together concerning what had happened—they already knew. I’ve seen more concern over a car crash than that shooting.

It was just another day in DC.

I was 6 when the Rodney King riots occurred in Los Angeles, yet before I moved to DC I probably wouldn’t have factored racism into the way the shooting was handled. Yet now I am absolutely certain of it.

Racism is ugly; an issue that all of us (who can) would just as soon pretend is nonexistent. But let’s be honest—it’s not going anywhere.

The schisms between races in our country will only begin to be healed through massive national dialogue. For such a dialogue to take place, it is essential to understand that even if you yourself aren’t affected by racism (or don’t realize you are), others are. Racism is still an issue—and it must be dealt with.

[Images courtesy of wikipedia commons and Quaker House]

The SLA terrorized California between 1973 and 1975 through a series of high profile robberies and attempted bombings. They rose to international notoriety when they kidnapped 19-year-old Patti Hearst.

Sara Jane Olson aka Kathleen Soliah, took part in a bank robbery in Carmichael CA on April 21, 1975. During the robbery, Myrna Opsahl, a mother of four, was shot and killed while depositing money for her church. In 1976 Soliah was indicted for planting pipe bombs under two Los Angeles police cars.

Following the indictment, Kathleen Soliah fled from CA and adopted a new identity, Sara Jane Olson in St. Paul Minnesota where she remained for 23 years. It was only when she was profiled on America’s Most Wanted that she was finally captured on June 16, 1999. At the time of her arrest she had married a doctor and together they had had three daughters.

She pled guilty to both crimes.

On March 17, 2008, she was released on parole after having served only half of her 12- year term. At the time her early release was credited to good behavior and prison work while in jail. Tim Sands of the Police Protective League angrily stated,

[She] “attempted to murder LAPD officers by bombing two police cars […] She needs to serve her full time in prison for these crimes and does not deserve time off for working in prison. Criminals who attempt to murder police officers should not be able to escape justice simply because they have good lawyers.”

Jon Opsahl, the son of the woman Sara Jane Olson pled guilty to murdering was similarly enraged, stating,

“I’m just dumbfounded — that someone can be involved in an SLA terrorist-type group, commit murder and get out of prison in a half dozen years […] The justice system is incompetent or impotent.”

Well, turns out the system was indeed incompetent (although the fact that such crimes received only 15 years total gives value to the claim of impotence as well). On Monday, March 25, officials admitted that in early 2005, a clerk accidentally cut two years off of her term. Then last year her lawyers got CA to reduce the sentence by another year… Meaning that in the system suddenly her 15-year sentence became a 12-year sentence. When she came up for parole, they felt her good behavior deserved recognition—cutting this sentence in half= 6 years. Hence her early release.

Once they caught this mistake, she was rearrested and returned to prison to serve out at least another year.

So I have the following comments:

1. There are detainees kept at Guantanemo for simply plotting a terrorist operation. This woman actually tried to kill cops with pipe-bombs and she’s only getting 14 years?!

2. She murdered a woman—and admitted to it. Again… what?? Doesn’t that normally qualify for life in prison?

3. How did the officials screw up on a case so widely publicized? Seriously now, this wasn’t just any murderess—this was Sara Jane Olson—the SLA member who evaded capture. Don’t you think that would have stuck out in their minds??

What do you think? Even though all this time has passed, should she still serve her entire term in prison?