And 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@collegecandy.com!

This week we zero in on two state schools on opposite sides of Kansas City – University of Kansas and the University of Missouri. The Big 12 conference rivals share rhyming nicknames (KU and Mizzou) but little else. How do the two joke-loving, panty-raiding, prideful colleges measure up?

1. Mascot Matchup

Kansas- The colorful Jayhawks are the pride of Lawrence, Kansas. Their infamous chant, “Rock Chalk Jayhawk!” was once proclaimed by Teddy Roosevelt as “the greatest college chant [he'd] ever heard.”
Mizzou- The mascot of Columbia, MO is named Truman the Tiger, after President Harry Truman.

Three credits to: Kansas. Check out the ominous/grandiose audio to accompany the Jayhawk squawk.

2. Terrific Traditions

Kansas- A website dedicated to KU history notes that campus periodicals were among the first to feature sex columns and frequently reported a regular Kansas activity: panty raids!
Mizzou- In addition to the annual Tap Day (where student leaders are “tapped” into honor society), another mainstay of  Mizzou culture is poking fun of their rivals to the west. Check out this hilarious collection of KU jokes.

Three Credits to: Mizzou. “How can you tell if a Jayhawk is a good cook? The PopTart is still in one piece!”

3. Die-Hard Downloads

Kansas- The school has a link to “KU Fun Stuff” including Jayhawk-themed screensavers, e-cards, and specialized “Hawkagami.” No, really.
Mizzou- Fans can get animated cell phone wallpaper and ringtones of popular chants on the athletics homepage.

Three credits to:  Kansas. The school has its own special origami. And tangrams. And paper airplanes. Does my college have that? Does yours??

4. Ass-kicking Alumni

Kansas– Paul Rudd, Rob Riggle, Betsy Randle (the mom from Boy Meets World)
Mizzou- Sheryl Crow, Jim Lehrer, Brad Pitt (attended)

Three credits to:  Kansas.  Paul Rudd is a mega-stud, and he graduated.

5. Acceptance Rate Agony

Kansas- 92.2% for the class of 2011
Mizzou-  85.6% for the class of 2011. (Both figures are courtesy US News & World Report.)

Three credits to:  Mizzou–though both are state schools, it appears the competition is rougher east of the Kaw River.

And the diploma goes to: Kansas! Hawkagami, fierce chants, and the chance to check out Paul Rudd at alumni events? Hollaa! (But please don’t tell my boss–he’s a Mizzou alum!)

It’s important to remember that breast cancer does not discriminate. The American Cancer Society estimates 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. Here’s a look at some well known faces who beat the disease and lived to tell about it.

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I joined students nationwide in their fear of collapsing of dehydration in their respective college towns. Nalgene-carrying has become a trend to be reckoned with. Much to my dismay, as well as that of 75 or more percent of the collegiate and camping population, the company has decided to recall its hard plastic bottles within the next few months.

The containers are made with bishephonol A (BPA), a product which is suggested to cause “aggressive cancers,” per National Geographic Adventure blogger Steve Casimiro.

Hold up. Haven’t Nalgenes always implied an attempt to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Don’t they help to ensure drinking those 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, and then some? They were part of the whole outdoorsy-but-not image on campus. Sure, they weren’t really unbreakable (I’ve ruined 2, myself), but they seemed so… harmless. How unnerving to think that something so basic, so innocent as a water bottle, is now up there with cell phones, cigarette smoke, and artificial sweeteners as a carcinogen.

Casimiro writes:

“a study from California published in April shows that BPA directly alters genes in breast cells so that they resemble cancer cells…. Earlier this year, in the first direct test for bisphenol A migration in water bottles, University of Cincinnati scientists found that BPA leaches from polycarbonate containers at room temperature whether the bottle is old or new. More alarming, when the bottle has hot water in it, the chemical is released up to 55 times faster.”

Yikes. Not that I’ve been known to drink warm water by choice, but think about it. We’ve all been parched, we’ve all done it without a second thought. All this time I’d been worried about the quality of tap water when the bottles have been even worse?

A month ago, I received an email from one of my sorority sisters, with no direct sources quoted but warning that drinking from water bottles left in cars (where the temperature definitely is prone to rising) has been linked to breast cancer. Breast cancer survivor and musician Sheryl Crow, in her March appearance on the Ellen (DeGeneres) show, urged women everywhere to be extremely careful and avoid drinking remnants from plastic water bottles as well.

Fear not, Nalgene lovers. The company has a line of BPA-free bottles, and has the technology to continue producing them. For more information on what materials are safe and what to look for in your next water bottle, visit www.nalgenechoice.com.

Better to be safe than sorry, and you’re health is well worth the extra cash.

MySpace has brought many an artist to the musical forefront, and Colbie Calliat is no exception. However, unlike many artists today, Calliat (like ballet) writes her own music.

The 22 year-old hails from sunny California and grew up in a musical family. Her father co-produced a few Fleetwood Mac albums and by age 11 Colbie began singing. It wasn’t until she was 19 that she took guitar lessons and really started to take her music seriously.

After the song “Bubbly” garnered interest on her MySpace page, Colbie’s music career took off. She shopped around for a record label and found a home with Universal Republic.

Aside from dropping her first album CoCo this past July, Calliat has been named a finalist in the AOL Breakers contest, a VH1 artist You Oughtta Know and is scheduled to appear at GIRLFRENZY! alongside the likes of Sheryl and Fiona in 2008.

Colbie’s music is just the feel-good, heartwarming girl music you love to listen to. It’s this sunny day, daydreaming sort of pop album that sets Calliat apart. That and actual talent.

Listen to CoCo on her website and then pick it up at iTunes. It’s way more than worth the 8 bucks the album will cost you.

First, the Spice Girls made their comeback and now another fight for GIRL POWAAA!

Sheryl Crow and Avril Lavigne have come together to organize “GirlFrenzy”, (estrogen overload, anyone?) an all-girl concert scheduled to happen this October.

Performers include Av & Sher, along with Fiona Apple, and “rising stars” like Sara Bareilles, Antigone Rising, and Colbie Caillat (who now?).

Should be interesting to see how many GUYS actually show up to this event. I guess it’s fitting that the concert’s taking place October 27th, Halloween appropriate, seeing as it will haunt the souls of poor boyfriends dragged in tow left and right.

Sorry fellas.

I’m always in for a little celebration over girls ruling and boys drooling but “Hey Hey, Av, Av”…I thought you didn’t like a girlfriend?