If you’ve been on the internet at some point since Tuesday night (and if you’re reading this, then yes, I’m talking to you), then you’ve probably read one headline or another about the Iowa Caucus, which was one of the first “races” for the Republican presidential candidates. It’s usually supposed to be an accurate early indicator for who will win a political party’s nomination, but what happens when over 120,000 votes are tallied and a candidate leads by only eight votes? Should we even care about these caucuses at all?

To be honest, you shouldn’t really care about these results. The fact that one extra handful of people wrote Mitt Romney’s name down on a piece of paper (forget pregnant chads or digital votes, this caucus process is some serious old school stuff) really won’t determine the fate of these Republican candidates. Because those who caucused on Tuesday night are only a percentage of those who live in Iowa because even they’re only a percentage of the people who care a little about so many long speeches. Besides, these votes don’t even count for anything when it comes to the official nomination; people’s minds change and those eight people just might vote for someone else!

However, you should care about the caucus altogether: even though former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney just barely beat former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, it’s interesting that Santorum was at the bottom of opinion polls just a few weeks ago. Oh, and his campaign may not be backed by as much funding as Romney’s is, and yet he managed second place in the closest caucus in history. Even though Tuesday night was like a “test run” of what’s to come at the national convention later this year, there’s still much to learn from it. It’s the same reason why sports teams play preseason games and why students the PSATs in high school: they literally don’t mean anything, and yet there is so much be said about those supposedly negligible games and tests!

If you’re voting Republican, Tuesday night brought the first glimpse of who might earn your support at the voting booths (note: it’s no longer Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who dropped out after placing sixth at the caucus).

If you consider yourself a Democrat, then you saw who Barack Obama might be up against in November (not that you could clearly tell from those results or anything).

And if you have yet to decide where you stand politically or who to lend your support to, this is the year to do so. Four years ago, America voted the first African-American president into the White House, and this year has already seen the closest caucus in history. Sure, you don’t have to watch every single primary event or fly out to support in person, but if you’re one of the many who are unhappy with the state of this country, then cast your ballot carefully. Even if you think your vote won’t count, or that the entire democratic system of voting really doesn’t matter, or that politicians always go back on their word once elected into office, I still think that we should try.

Maybe I’m just super naive because this will be the first presidential election I can vote in (I missed the last one by being one month too young), maybe I’m just getting too excited from too many media headlines that I just had to write my own for College Candy. Either way, I’m voting this year, and since it’ll be my first time, I’m not just gonna give it away to anybody!

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

Happy Presidents’ Day, ladies!

That’s why your classes were canceled today, in case you were wondering. And why mattresses are “60% off TODAY ONLY!” So while we sleep in and high school students get a week off, and the rest of the world remembers all the great things our nation’s leaders have done for us, I’m going to  do some remembering of my own, but remembering a bit closer to home…

Remember (see I told you) when you were a little kid and you use to have to write those essays about what you did over summer vacation, what you wanted to be when you grew up, and oh yeah, what you would do if you were president for a day? Well, I’m finally getting around to writing mine. (Because I don’t know what else to do with myself now that I’ve finished my senior thesis.) In honor of Presidents’ Day I present to you, the top ten things I would change if I were president.

Disclaimer: This list is not to be taken seriously. These are not serious suggestions nor are they things I would ever actually consider doing if I were in such a situation of power. It’s just a little bit of fun.

10. Instead of the president’s most trusted advisors the cabinet will include the hottest guys in the U.S. Sure they may not be the brightest advisors a girl ever had, but they will sure make the work day a lot more enjoyable (And I’m sure they’d give quite a few of our past presidents’ advisors a run for their money.) First issue of discussion: who has the hottest abs? Well, I guess you’ll just have to take your shirts off and discuss.

9. Replace the White House bowling alley with a White House spa. Seriously, I mean I don’t know what the previous presidents were thinking. Who relaxes by bowling? Especially with those horrible shoes. Thanks but no thanks. I’ll take a massage table, some scented candles, and a facial any day.

8.  Instead of vacationing at Camp David I’ll vacation at Disney World. Why vacation at a country retreat when you can go to Disney World – the greatest place on earth? I don’t know about you, but if I’m gonna be spending a week surrounded by rodents, I prefer mine with squeaky voices and comically oversized shoes.

7.  Upon completion of their degrees, college students get their tuition back. My gift to college students everywhere. If they managed to make it through four years of partying hard work and dedication to their studies they deserve a reward. I would know.

6.  There really will be a Starbucks on every corner. And of course, the president drinks for free. What? I’d need to stay caffeinated, okay? Have you ever seen me with less than sixteen ounces of caffeinated caramel goodness in my system? No. You haven’t. And there’s a reason for that.

5. Margarita Mondays will become a nationally observed holiday. Okay so maybe margaritas all day wouldn’t be the best idea. But at least a mandatory margarita during a mandatory 5 p.m. cocktail hour on Mondays. It will boost everyone’s mood and make it all the more interesting for those that have to return to work after their drinks. Don’t you think?

4. Add zebra stripes to the white house. Come on. The place hasn’t been painted since 1800. It could use a bit of a spruce up.

3. State of the Union address will involve a rundown of the previous year’s fashion trends. Okay so I don’t actually have a legitimate excuse for this one, but I just think that it would be more fun to go back and pick out the best and worst fashion mistakes of the past year than to discuss the nation’s successes and failures. Not necessarily as productive, but definitely more entertaining. Especially if my Secretary of Style, Joan Rivers, was sitting behind me.

2.  My presidential salary will include a special shoe shopping budget. This is totally reasonable. I mean I’ll be attending tons of important functions every week. That will require lots and lots of cute outfits and lots and lots of cute shoes to go with said outfits. And if my budget allows for those shoes to be Louboutins, Jimmy Choos, and Manolo Blahniks, then so be it. I am serving my country, after all.

1. Make CollegeCandy the required reading material for the entire universe. If not for the entire United States population (I’m not sure I want my mom gettin’ this on her Google Reader) than at least for all the college girls out there. It’s for their own good, I assure you.

[Check out Jenn's other musings-in-the-form-of-a-list here.]

President Obama gave his second State of the Union address last night, and ooooo-weeee was it good. No matter how you feel about the man, it’s impossible to deny that his oratory skills are a huge part of what got him where he is today. In my opinion, last night’s speech didn’t disappoint. At the end of the night, I found myself singing I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free… under my breath as I washed my face and brushed my teeth.

If you didn’t catch it last night, it’s available here, and if you’ve got a free hour, I highly recommend watching it. If nothing else, it’s a great summary of everything going on in our country right now so you can get caught up on all the main points that will affect you moving forward.

But if you don’t have the time, here’s a summary of his main points:

Like almost every State of the Union, the president focused on the unity of the American people and the necessity for cooperation to solve future challenges.

“Those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious… and that’s a good thing,” he said. But “Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater—something more consequential than party or political preference. We are part of the American family.”

The challenge “the American family” is facing is how to continue to be competitive in the globalized economy.  “We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world,” the president argued.

How will we do this? By allocating government funds towards research and innovation (“What we can do—what America does better than anyone else- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people”), improving education through state-based initiatives, tackling the issue of immigration (“let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people… who could be further enriching this nation”) and by rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure.

He laid out his plan to reduce the federal deficit by freezing annual domestic spending for the next five years and touched on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “This year…we [will] finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America’s commitment has been kept. The Iraq war is coming to an end,” he said.

Overall, Obama was pretty vague- he mentioned health care reform and the economy only fleetingly, two issues that are really on the forefront of the American consciousness. But, the State of the Union is always vague. Sure, he didn’t give details to Congress about what legislation and bills he expects to see in the next year, or how specifically to face the obstacles he described. But Congress isn’t the real audience for the speech, we are- the American people. What he needed to do was inspire us, make us proud of our country, and excite us about the future.

And he did.

“From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream… The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it’s because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong,” he concluded.

I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free… Uh oh… it’s stuck in my head again.

So tell me, what did you think of Obama’s speech? Did he answer your questions? Inspire you? Regain your trust? Share below.

Well, we all know the big news this week was Demi Lovato’s breakdown, which stirred up a lot of controversy (and not just on CC!). I would like to focus on everything else that happened this week instead of focusing on her very personal issues. We truly wish her well, and I want to respect her family’s wishes to keep out of it.

On a lighter note, there are some interesting things going on in Hollywood that don’t involve all kinds of Charlie Sheen/Mel Gibson crazy. And is it just me or are there a ton of movie trailers coming out all of a sudden? Like I need more distractions from class!

Big Time Procrastinating Tools

1. It’s about time: Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are engaged! They released an official statement this week saying how happy they are about their future together.  No deets on how it went down yet, but congrats! Reports are saying that Jessica Simpson is upset by the news, but we have a feeling some magazines (ahem, OK/Us Weekly/Star, ahem) came up with that one on their own.

2. Are LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian engaged too? They Tweeted a photo on Halloween of a fake proposal as “part of the Halloween fun” and sources said they weren’t engaged.  But now, sources are saying they really are.  Apparently they got engaged before they posted the photo, and then made a prank.  Why, who knows?  Great that they’re happy, but that doesn’t make the public like them anymore.

3. Baby Spice, Emma Bunton, is pregnant with her second child!  She and her man, Jade Jones, have a 3-year-old son and just announced that they’re expecting again.  Congratulations!  Since this is the 9th offspring from the Spice Girls, maybe the mini spices will make their own group!

4. Will Jay-Z be running in the 2012 presidential race? No, but maybe in 2016!  In a recent interview, the rapper told said that, “Maybe in eight years, I’ll be the President.”  He then went on to talk about politics and the current situation.  Honestly, it’d be pretty cool to have Jay-Z as the Pres! Just think how awesome those State of the Unions will be!

5. Speidi might be going bankrupt! The two reality stars, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, have already gone through their more than $10 million earned from The Hills.  Wowza, that’s a lot of money! They’ve moved into a studio apartment on Spencer’s parents’ property and are considering filing for bankruptcy.  Guess those crystals didn’t deliver on their special, magical promises.

Itty Bitty Time Wasters

1. There will be eight Lady Gagas soon! Madame Tussauds is planning to release eight different Lady Gaga wax figures at their locations around the world!  This is the biggest launch in the museum’s history and I’m not surprised it’s Crazy Gaga who’s getting the honor.

2. Blake Lively and Leonardo DiCaprio were spotted out at dinner this week, but it’s not what you think.  They’re not dating, but instead they had a dinner meeting with director Baz Luhrmann about his new film, The Great Gatsby.  Blake is one of the actresses in talks to play Daisy Buchanan and Leo is the frontrunner for Jay Gatsby. So excited!

3. Supernanny Jo Frost is dunzo! She said she wants to create some balance in her life so she can settle down. I say, we need another so-bad-it’s-good reality show to fill this new void in my life.

4. Weezy is freeeee! Lil Wayne was released from jail this week after his eight-month stay. Hopefully he won’t go the T.I. route and end up back in the slammer.

5. Check out Frieda Pinto looking GORGE in BlackBook magazine!

YouTube trends range from the adorable (kittens and babies, anyone?) to the grimace-worthy (FAILblog’s YouTube channel has over 1 million subscribers). Recently, though, a trend has popped up that is downright inspirational- the It Gets Better Project.

I didn’t hear about the campaign when Dan Savage, a gay columnist and activist, first started it a month ago in response to Billy Lucas’ death. Lucas, a 15-year-old high school freshman from Indiana, hung himself in his grandmother’s barn when the endless name-calling and physical abuse by bullies at his school became too much. Savage had a message for any gay teenager who was considering similar action- it gets better. The feelings of loneliness, worthlessness, and confusion fade away, and so do the close-minded bullies. He and his partner posted a video describing their life together to try to show teens that a happy, gay lifestyle is attainable, even if it seems impossible now.

Since then, hundreds and hundreds of people have posted their own “It gets better” videos. One features high school teachers who can’t show their faces out of fear of being fired by their district. Another (and the first one I saw, it was sent to me on two different blogs I subscribe to) shows a gay city councilman addressing his colleagues, urging them to take bullying seriously. Others feature celebrities, including Jason Derulo, Vinny from Jersey Shore, Kesha and Adam Lambert. Most though, are average people, using nothing more than a webcam and an Internet connection. LGBT or allies, who have lived through bullying and know that things change and the tormentors go away.

There are some mind-boggling stats about the amount of content on YouTube- their website advertises that “every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded.” Admittedly, most of it is crap. Some of it is educational, or useful, or a means of procrastination, or just weirdly… amazing. (Charlie the unicorn anyone? Amirite?)

But every once in a while, YouTube hits upon all that it can be – a way for people to come together and make a difference. It is a platform where the President of the United States has just as much power as 20-year-old gay student recording from his dormitory.

I spent my whole afternoon watching these videos (it gets addicting), and at some point it stopped being about commiserating with gay youth. I started thinking about the bullying I’ve been through, nothing too different from what just about everyone who has stepped foot into the tiled, artificially-lighted confines of a middle or high school experiences. I started thinking about the insecurities those unkind words gave birth to, and how now, as a college student, away from the sources of the comments, I am beginning to finally toss them aside. Surrounded by more diverse people, who are more mature and accepting, the words are no longer on replay in my head. It got better.

So if you need a little inspiration or just want to see what everyone else is talking about, here are my favorites:

The Original

Modern Family Stars

President Obama

Kim Kardashian

And of course, it wouldn’t be YouTube without a musical rendition…

W.T.Eff?

Banning books? Seriously? First Obama gets attacked from those crazy moms who think he’s out to brainwash children by giving them talks on the importance of education and now reading is bad for children, too?

The whole thing is just absurd. Have people even read the books they’re trying to ban? How can a story about a pooh named Winnie who likes to eat honey and play in the woods with his other anthropomorphic friends possibly be bad? It seems like a book that is deemed “good” and “appropriate” these days is a book that will not inform your child of the existence of sex, racism, violence, homosexuality, the devil, bad language, and any other concept that will cause children to ask you awkward questions. The whole banned books thing will probably cause my AP Literature class to be renamed AP Literature That Will Morally Damage Your Soul.

Does this mean we should ban Pokemon as well, since the little animals “evolve,” which therefore enforces the idea of evolution and is therefore anti-Christian and therefore is Satanic? Winnie the Pooh may be the poster child for the obesity epidemic, his friend Eeyore for depression, and Kanga for single moms everywhere, but that doesn’t mean our younger siblings can’t read about them. I happen to like Tigger, even if he does have ADHD. And although Harry Potter may have “witchcraft and wizardry” and whatnot, it’s still one of the most significant contributions to literature in our lives, and as such, should be available to anyone who wants to read it.

So let’s take the attention and money away from banning books and focus on some more important things that should be eradicated from this planet. Because in 2009 there are so many things worse than kids in capes flying around on broomsticks or finding a lion in your closet.

1) Twilight movies

We can send a man into space but Hollywood can’t make a decent vampire movie. The actors all have a deer-in-the-headlights look on screen and attempt to fly around like people in improperly rigged harnesses. There’s something oddly wrong with that. The only thing that could have made it worse was if they cast Megan Fox, and that’s only because she makes every movie ten times worse than it could’ve been, due to her acting skills, or lack thereof.

2) Crocs

Plastic rubber clogs with holes in them, with the loudest, most obnoxious colors imaginable. Need we say more?

3) Bad Alliteration

Amusing to a certain extent, but gets repetitive after every English major tries to sound like James Ellroy and just ends up sounding like an awful author addicted to annoying alliterations. Again.

4) Livestrong bracelet knockoffs

One yellow cancer bracelet is enough. Do we really need people sprouting an armful of colored rubber with every imagined cause stamped across them? Be a little more original, please. Oh, and true story from a friend:

“Weight Watchers sent me a bracelet after I signed up for a meeting. It was white, with some rainbow stripes on the side. But why would I wear a Weight Watchers bracelet? Is it not obvious enough that I need to lose weight? Do I also need to tag myself with a FAT GUY BRACELET?”

5) Gaming language

Otherwise known as nerdspeak. Common terms include noob, newb, noobsicle, ftw, gg, gg no re, 1337, QQ, lawlz, nub, pwned, pwnage, or even harpwnage (the act of being pwned really hard) should not, under any circumstance, be said in ordinary life.

6) Creepy Facebook ads

Someone please tell me how Facebook has managed to eerily know everything about us and assume what we want. “Discount airfare to China!” What? Just because I’m Asian?

7) A few select man trends

Including: rattails, ponytails, monster trucks, hairy backs, man-purses, chains, a gazillion tattoos, mandals, mandiators, and transparent shirts.

8) Starving Hollywood celebrities

Rachel Zoe, Renee Zellweger, Tori Spelling, Victoria Beckham, Amy Winehouse, and Ashlee Simpson all need to eat a few burgers before they’re fit for the public. Young people these days have enough to worry about besides trying to look like a skeleton. Save that look for Halloween, please.

9) Fat people falling Youtube videos

Guilty pleasure number one, but really should be banned to relieve my soul from residing too much in an immoral state of being. I really shouldn’t watch Scarlet taking a tumble a million times and laugh hysterically every time I see it; it’s bad for me as a conscientious human being, I’m pretty certain.

10) Special athletes that promote the stereotype

As a current student at Duke and avid sports player and fan, I know for fact that you can be incredibly smart and be amazing at your sport. So it worries me when people like this one fail at representing athletes in a more flattering light. Like, um, really.

Anything else you think we should ban?

Gossip and rumors are main staples on college campuses across the nation, and the website Juicy Campus (which was recently shut down), shows just how far people are willing to go to spread gossip. At some point in everyone’s life, gossip comes up – good or bad. Gossip, in moderation, can be just another thing, but in a culture that obsesses about pop culture and dishing dirt (think of websites like Perez Hilton), the fixation of dishing dirt about someone else isn’t going away any time soon.

Although many of us love to gather on Monday nights to watch Gossip Girl and watch the scandals of the Upper East Side unfold, no one likes it when their own personal life is exposed in the cafeteria over wilted lettuce or when private information rolls off the lips of classmates before the professor starts the class. While gossip may seem like something that comes and goes, it can leave its dirty scars behind all too often.

Maybe because it’s an all-women’s college and women often use each other to bring others down, or maybe it is the size of the university, but the Hollins rumor mill never seems to cease on campus. It constantly peeks its nasty little head around the corner for students that least expect it. Whether it hurts friendships, ruins reputations, or isolates students from campus events — gossip can cause tremendous damage.

Remember when my mom and I met with the President to discuss the bullying that happened my first year? Well, upon arrival at Hollins for my sophomore year, the student body buzzed (never to my face, though) with the rumor that Hollins implemented a bullying policy because of me… being a bully. No one knew that my mom and I brought forth the issues that happened with me because of a bully on campus, demanding the President to come up with a bullying policy. No one knew what happened to me as a first year. However, everyone seemed to accuse me of things that I did not do.

Time after time, I have met girls on campus who tell me how “mean” I sounded from other students’ tales of meetings with me. One of my friends was even warned by another student to not be my friend. Whenever I hear these stories, the people who spoke out against me are always peers I have never met myself. They are usually students who I have never had contact with. How can anyone pass judgment before they have met someone else, especially in the context of putting someone else down? I don’t know how anyone could go around talking so negatively about someone else, when they have never personally had an experience with that person.

I have seen gossip make people unable to maintain decent friendships on campus, as well. For example, this girl named Emma (name changed) was known around campus to have a “private jet,” an extensive collection of designer apparel in her closet, and people even talked of her having major connections to the sports industry. Girls on campus thought they would take advantage of Emma by befriending her, only to go into her closet and steal her designer clothes. Not only would they go and steal her stuff, but they would talk about taking from her because she deserved it as a “rich kid.”

Truth is, Emma does not have a private jet (although her dad is a pilot), she doesn’t have immediate connections to the sports industry, and the only designer clothes she owns come from outlet malls. Now, whenever students meet Emma for the first time, they can’t get past her “rich kid” reputation. How can Emma expect to make friends on campus when everyone seems to focus on what they heard about her, instead of actually getting to know her?

Talk spreads like wildfire. I see it all the time. Just walk into the cafeteria on Monday morning and other people know where you were over the weekend. How? My first reaction to this, when it happened to me, was that those who were asking found out from Facebook. Since then I have had to make my Facebook entirely private, along with many other students on campus, in order to have any privacy. Though the gossip has not ceased.

Worst of all, it doesn’t help when the administration plays into the whole “Guess what I heard about you” game. On more than one occasion I have heard of students going to speak with the Dean of Students or head of Residence Life, only to come out with gossip from other students told to them by the authority figure who uses the gossip against them. If the administration lends an ear to gossip, of course the student body is going to keep it up.

I have heard many rumors about myself here at Hollins, and 99% of them never happened, resemble nothing from the truth, and have no merit. At first, I am not going to lie, the rumors really bothered me. A lot of them were hurtful, and a lot of them have stuck (despite not being true), but there comes a point when you have to displace yourself from that, even when it seems like everyone is talking about you. There have been so many times when I have seen my fellow peers break down about something that was said about them, and even though you want to stand up and say “No – that’s not true! That didn’t happen!” you can’t, and it doesn’t seem right or fair.

If sisterhood exists at Hollins, then why does gossip own the souls of most students? Whenever someone hears something that is obviously not true, no one speaks up – they just go along with it, and that is unacceptable. I am sick of hearing gossip about people and myself, especially at a school that talks about the loyalty and respectfulness of its students. If Hollins continues to let rumors take hold of the student body, I believe there will be no way to return to a clean, respectful state in the student body. No one will be able to avoid it, and that just seems entirely too extreme.

I know Hollins isn’t alone in this gossip battle – tell me about your school and how big of an impact gossip has on the student body? What is the worst rumor you have ever heard about yourself or someone else? Do you think gossip, in moderation, is healthy or just vicious in any degree? Time to share your story!

I will never forget moving into my dorm during my first year orientation week being completely scared out of my mind. However, at Hollins, meeting people came easy. In fact, we were put into groups of six or seven students with a student advisor, who was a grade or two older than us, to spend the week with. We played ice-breaker games, talked about high school, and spent the days getting to know each other in the August heat. My student advisor, known as a Student Success Leader (SSL), was a quiet sophomore, English major (just like me). She helped my fellow group members put together our schedules, get to our seminars on time, and learn all about Hollins and its academics.

Although orientation went quickly, I never forgot how amazing my SSL was. She went out of her way to stay in contact with all of us first years, even leaving us goodie bags of finger puppets and Hello Kitty stickers. She always made herself available, and I couldn’t have thanked her more.

At the end of my first year, applications for the new program called Orientation Leaders were released. The application was simple, asking for information on my campus activities, my schedule, and ideas about community building. I then signed up for an interview with two or three other girls. During the interview, the Dean of Students asked questions to the other girls, snubbing me from the conversation.

Dean of Students, Patty O’Toole, and I have gone way back since the very beginning of my academic career at Hollins. She came to Hollins my first year, and I remember her telling my mom how excited she was to be at Hollins and to help all the students during a Parents event at Orientation. When she started to ignore me from the conversation, I knew immediately that I would be rejected from being an O-Team participant because of our run-ins in the past. And my gut instinct ended up being correct!

While other girls found out they made the O-Team program, I received nothing in my e-mail or through the mail. I was told that I would receive a message regardless if I made it or not, but I didn’t get anything. Everyone who applied for O-Team made it (or at least that I knew of, and keep in mind – Hollins is so small, word travels fast), except my friends and me. I didn’t understand why I would be passed upon. Here I was – an eager student ready to I repay the favor of my student advisor the year before with no Honor Court violations, and an active participant in my community – being turned down.

Obviously, since the Dean was responsible for handling (and fumbling through) many issues I had at the school, it was apparent that she kept me off so I wouldn’t share my story with the first years. Better to keep me away from them so as not to ruin the Hollins image. In fact, whenever Hollins and its image of being this sanctuary of sisterly love comes into perspective for what it really is, I have found that the university will do nearly anything to try and keep their image clean, even if they have to hide things and lie through their teeth to do so.

When my mom and I met with the President, we brought this up at as well. After reviewing my credentials with President Gray, she seemed to think it was a little strange that I wasn’t put on O-Team. Home for the summer, about a month after meeting with the President, I received a phone call from the Dean asking me if I was willing to put our differences aside to work as a team during orientation. If I was asked questions about being an O-Team leader to begin with, maybe the Dean would have known why (besides looking at my application) being a part of freshman orientation was important for me.

Although this story ended up having a somewhat happy ending – I got to participate as an O-Team leader and thoroughly enjoyed the orientation process – it was a hassle to go through. All of these unnecessary steps could have been prevented from the get-go. No one should have to go to the President for something as simple as being rightfully placed on a leadership team.

I may strongly dislike Hollins, but it doesn’t mean I have nothing positive to share or give. In fact, after all the things I experienced first year, I came back and became one of the most involved students on campus. I sat on the Student Life council, I was the Guest Speakers Bureau chair for the Activity Board and brought four amazing speakers to campus, and I was an active member in the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. With those activities as part of my schedule, there was no reason to ignore me for a role as an O-Team leader. The Dean made a subjective decision, which was unprofessional and wrong when looking at the facts of what kind of student I am.

Just because I can’t stand the university, doesn’t mean I am unable of participating as a contributing community member. No one, not even the administration, is going to hold me back from being a part of the community. I refuse to let them because Hollins is my community too, even if the administration and the bulk of students like to make it feel as if it’s not.

Does dressing alike improve a relationship?

Mark McGwire’s brother plans to spill family secrets.

Welcome to twacne: the twenty-something skincare problem.

Want to score a 160 on the LSAT?

John Travolta has been targeted in a $20 million extortion plot.

Obama orders an end to Gitmo.

No instant messaging in the white house?!?

Chief executive of Merrill Lynch, John A. Thain, resigns from Bank of America.

The six layer makeup technique.

Remembering Heath Ledger, a year later.

Beanie Babies are back. Presidential (daughter) style.

There are only two things I didn’t do enough in 2008: read about Barack Obama, and drink. And, like any two problems, it turns out you can fix those with a simple drinking game. But I don’t this to be some namby-pamby Johnny-come-lately one-night drinking game. For better or worse, I want this drinking game to last as long as Barack Obama is the president. For the next four years, I want Obama streamed directly into my life. And I want to be really, really drunk.And unless our national situation shapes up soon, you probably will, too. So:

The 2009-2013 Barack Obama Presidential Term Drinking Game.

- Drink every time Obama shoots a three-pointer as a publicity stunt. Drink again if he makes it.

- Drink every time an annoying conservative blogger photoshops Obama in a compromising political situation. Chug if it’s hilarious, like “PHOTO EVIDENCE: HUSSEIN OBAMA SHOWN WITH MINIATURE TALIBAN RADIO TRANSMITTER AND 40 VIRGINS UNDER TURBAN.” Chug and sob if FOX decides that bad photoshops are “news.”

- Drink every time Obama is implied to have planned or caused the following events: the economic crisis, 9/11, the Iraq insurgency, the Pearl Harbor bombings or the assassination of Julius Caesar.

- Drink in celebration every time one of the Big Three auto industries makes a full-featured, attractive, affordable electric car (please get out of the car, first).

- Alternately, take a shot every time one of the Big Three goes bankrupt or gets bought by Toyota.

- Drink every time any senior Democrat says “worse before it gets better.”

- To avoid mass pan-American blackouts, times when Obama says “hope” or “change” will be reduced to one-quarter of a drink each.

- Drink every time Obama pisses off the Russians (missile defense system in Poland, anyone?) Drink again if Putin responds with more shirtless martial arts videos.

- Drink every time Obama is hotter shirtless than Putin anyway.

- Drink whenever Michelle Obama is compared to Jackie O.

- Drink whenever Barack Obama is compared to JFK, and drink to calm your nerves whenever you see him in an open-air venue (was anyone else inexplicably terrified during the election night speech?)

- Drink whenever Obama is shown with any kind of nasty un-Presidential personal technology.

- Drink whenever Obama’s cabinet is described as a “second Clinton administration,” a “throwback,” a “dynasty” or anything similar. Chug if Bill Clinton ends up with an official Obama administration post.

- Drink every time someone paints an Obama mural in a European city.

- Drink a Shirley Temple every time Obama makes a speech in a predominantly Muslim country.

- Take one drink for every point Obama’s public approval ratings fall below 50%. Hopefully, this one won’t kill anyone outright through alcohol poisoning.

- Drink every time the Obama girls don’t get arrested for drunk driving or fake IDs. Heh, heh.

- Pound a few shots if, upon taking office, Obama turns out to be an evil overlord and replaces the Washington Monument with a giant statue of himself. Pound a few more if the statue shoots lasers from its eyes.

- Finally, until the Dow makes it back over, say, 10,000, drink every time you’re able to afford it. Obama might be smiling up a storm in office, but the next four years could be rough.

Print a copy, keep it in your pocket. Be ready whenever, wherever. And play responsibly, yeah?