Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day – a day to take action towards informing yourself about how to protect yourself and others from HIV while reducing the prejudice of those infected. AIDS may seem like a problem only in the developing world, but it’s not. Over 1.1 million people in the USA have HIV. There remains a stigma around AIDS that can reduced the more we talk about it.

This year, some of your most-loved (or love-to-hate) celebs are giving up their digital life until their fans donate 1 million dollars by “buying life.” But you don’t have to be a celebrity with 5 million Twitter followers to make a difference.

As you sit in your dorm room (or lecture hall – we know you’re reading this in class!), you might be questioning what you can possibly do to make a difference – after all you are only one person. But, if everyone takes action, then collectively we can make some major strides. Even from that teeny, tiny room you call home.

Print out and put a poster on your door
I’m sure a lot of people walk by your room each day and chances are if there’s something different up on your door, they might take a second to stop and think about what the poster means, and maybe even generate a conversation with you about the topic.

Do your research
Read up on World AIDS Day. The best protection is knowledge. Spread what you know by talking to friends, or the random person who stops by your room after seeing your poster. Read More »

There are good ideas and there are BAD ideas

How to handle a guy who will ONLY text you

Paris Hilton smuggles drugs in her vajayjay?!

Do you care how long he can last?

Doubt that Suri actually does chores

Can college life and faith co-exist?

How to identify a  bargain

This is just so ridiculous!

The Money Tree is AMAZING

So you met a boy. A perfect boy. A boy who loves True Life marathons and Frosted Mini Wheats as much as you do. A boy who kissed you on the cheek after walking you home and took your number (instead of drunk-friending you on Facebook). You totally heart him.

After coming in the house and telling your roommates all about how sweet and funny and “OMG he was wearing the hottest jeans,” you lay in bed thinking about him. And make a mental note to get a bikini wax ASAP, because you will most definitely be seeing him (in the buff) sometime soon.

You spend the next day clutching your phone, willing it to ring. You take it to the library, the gym and even into the bathroom. You jump every time the phone rings and mentally prepare yourself to turn on the charm, only to realize it’s a friend or, of course, your mom. Finally, you receive a text message:

Hungover in the library. Not fun Read More »

Got something you need to know, but just can’t ask your friends (or the freaks who weigh in on Yahoo Answers)? Ask Tuffy. She’ll answer anything (seriously, anything!) honestly and without judgment. After all, her name isn’t Sugar Coater. So shoot her an email: tuffyluv@collegecandy.com.

Dear Tuffy Luv,

I went out with a guy a few weeks ago. We had a really good time (I think?). We had a few drinks, then he drove me all the way home, even though I told him I could walk. The convo was great, we had a lot in common and I thought he was a cutie patootie. I don’t want to be all annoying girl in “He’s Just Not That Into You,” but I really don’t understand why he never called? Aren’t all those things signs that he’s interested?

Perturbed.

Dear Perturbed,

Number one: If I catch you drinking and driving again, I will cut you in the face. Seriously, not cool. You heard, everyone?! No matter how short the distance, it’s NEVER okay to risk others’ lives.

And now to address your actual question. Okay. This is tricky because there actually is no answer. Let’s look at a couple o’ scenerios.

Numero unoski: He likes you and is too shy to make the next move. Actually, this is the most likely. Maybe you should give him a call and see if he wants to go out again. You never know what might happen. Read More »

You have a ton of stuff to do this weekend. There is studying, packing, cleaning, erranding, plus at least a good two hours of lying on the couch and relaxing. And all of that must fit into a short two-day span.

Oh, and most of your friends are already done with exams and are using their time left on campus to party it up before heading home for the summer. And it’s 75 and sunny out.

Awesome.

You set a schedule on Friday and vow to stick to it. There will be 9am wake-ups, trips to the gym, then off to the library for serious study time. During study breaks, there will be grocery store runs and throwing some of those winter clothes into suitcases. You will break for meals, but nothing else. Read More »

One of my biggest pet peeves with the male population is when a guy doesn’t call back. Yes, I know that I should take a hint from He’s Just Not That Into You and know that no call = no interest, but it still makes me mad.

If a guy says he’s gonna call, then he should call. And if he’s not interested, then he should just suck it up, be a man, and tell me. I’m an adult – I can handle it. I who would rather have a definitive answer than be left wondering.

And wonder I do.

I can’t help it. As much as I know in my head that guys would call if they are interested, my heart takes control of the situation and I am left laying by the phone, willing it to ring. Or running to it every time it does in hopes that said boy has finally mustered up the courage to give me a buzz, only to be left disappointed when it’s my mother…again…calling to ask me what I thought of American Idol.

And then the tables turned.

I met a boy at the bar and in my booze-y haze I thought he was charming, cute and hilarious. We talked the whole night, went home together and had some fun in his living room. Why we couldn’t wait to take it to the bedroom I’ll never know, but I learned a valuable lesson that night about sex on a leather couch: don’t have it.

But I digress. The point is, after spending some time with him in the morning I realized that he was none of the things I was attracted to the night before. I just wasn’t that into him. Read More »

Oh Sunday mornings. There’s nothing quite like stumbling out of a lofted dorm bed in last night’s stretched-out leggings, wayward bobby pins dangling from stringy bangs. You brush your teeth, rub the eyeliner crusties from your eyes and attempt to scrub off that not-so-fetching jungle juice stain on your chin. You’re still trying to get the mascara off your cheek when it hits you. Did you text him?

Toothbrush still tucked in your cheek, you fish your Blackberry out from under your pillow, detach it from the charger cord you expertly wove around your bedpost, and cringe. You definitely texted him. Twice. Okay, more than twice, but you essentially said the same thing every time, so it really only counts as twice right?

It’s tipsy texter’s remorse. Drunk dialing’s quieter, slyer little sister. Drunk texting is even more perilous, simply because your chosen target has a tangible message to remember you by the next morning. A tangible message that could very well be forwarded to all your mutual friends. And why stop there? Mutual or otherwise, they don’t have to know you to get a laugh out of your arbitrary capitalization and creative spelling.

And of course, no one ever just types out “hey giRll hye, i mis ur face!!!!@! mylife wud sukc witouh u!” Not even near incriminating enough. No, it’s always a text to that douche face ex-boyfriend you never really gave up on, or that dreamboat in your stats lecture whose number you covertly acquired under the pretense of a review session. And you always have a killer intro, like “jst so u know, i nevr do tihss,” or “HELLLLLLLLO! gues where I amm rhgit now?” or “i’m soooooio hppay u hireD me for the smmuer!” Read More »

Happy National Grammar Day, everyone!

Hope you stopped by the card store on the way back from class because today we are celebrating proper punctuation, spelling and, of course, the ever important verb-noun agreement. I don’t know about you, but nothing grates on my nerves more than bad grammar. My eyes bug out, my brow furrows and I forget what I was reading as all the words seem to melt into that one misplaced apostrophe.

Maybe I’m a nerd but I just can’t get passed it. For this reason, I think we need to celebrate National Grammar Day the right way.

Being that the local bars don’t seem to be offering any specials for this momentous occasion (what, can’t a girl get a shot for outstanding English?), I thought we could celebrate by learning a few things. Yeah, we’re all in college, but judging from my recent IMs, emails and texts, it looks like our higher education left a few things out.

So open the Tostitos, check out these 5 common grammatical errors, and let the party begin!

[I like to think of myself as a pretty easy going gal, and try not to sweat the small stuff. But sometimes (ok, maybe slightly more often) the general cluelessness, carelessness and overall stupidity of some things and or/people really gets to me. I find that venting is the most efficient way to rid myself of the stress that idiots, wrong meal orders, lack of cell phone etiquette and cheese flavored products (that don’t even contain any freaking cheese!) induce.

So, in an attempt to avoid an ulcer or an unfortunate road rage incident, I vent to you, dear reader. Please feel free to join in and comment about anything–really, anything–that pissed. you. off. this week. Let it all hang out. I feel you.]

Budget cuts: It seems as though the recession has finally infiltrated the college bubble. We’ve been hearing about this horrible turn the economy has taken, but the closest we’ve come to experiencing it are reduced bar admissions. (And come to think of it, there hasn’t even been a decline in those prices…) All kidding aside, though, the economic crisis gripping the nation has, of course, affected our schools. And countless e-mails entitled “Budget Crisis Committee Meeting,” or “Plans to Cut Spending by 10% before July” skimmed over my threshold of awareness for quite some time. My professors, picking up on the general apathetic attitude, took it upon themselves to explain just what all of this meant. Apparently it means taking classes that require an intimate setting to be effective in lecture halls. It requires removing all of the phones from the English Department (yep, e-mail only!). It entails salary cuts for professors, some of whom have such prestigious reputations that they’ll gladly take their New York Times’ Best Selling butts elsewhere. Which also means that my degree won’t be as respectable as it would be if I’d had those professors or their letters of recommendation. And yet I have noticed no shortage of construction, new bronze statues or spanking new parking garages scattered around campus. Maybe if the budget were a little more prioritized we wouldn’t be facing these issues… Read More »

Are you planning on sending a romantic text or picture message this Valentine’s Day? According to a recent AT&T survey 36% of texters are. 40% of those people plan on sending 5 or more (hopefully they are sending to friends and don’t have 5 or more lovers). 48% of texters say getting a V-Day text is about the same as getting a V-Day card.

Looks like Valentine’s Day in the 21st century looks a lot different than it used to. Whereas candy and cards used to be the only way to go, now we can email, IM, video chat, or text the people we love. But even with all those new avenues of communication, what you say and how you say it are still very important.

Since so many people will be sending texts this V-Day, you are going to need 2 things to get by:

1. An understanding of appropriate textiquette.

2. A phone that makes sending and receiving texts a whole lot easier.

Well, lookie here; we got em both for ya.

CollegeCandy teamed up with AT&T again to give one lucky reader a brand new Samsung Propel. This phone is pretty sweet, if we must say so ourselves. It is small and handy, but slides open to reveal a full keyboard! No more T-9 mishaps for you! Read More »