Yeah, you read that right. Guns in school. Apparently Gov. Rick Perry thinks that guns are the new black. Excuse me but wasn’t it just LAST SEMESTER that a student came onto my campus with a gun, opened fire, and eventually killed himself?

I can see why some would support this. Back in 1966 when Charles Whitman went to the UT Tower with a rifle and opened fire, he received return fire from not only the Austin police, but armed civilians as well. Some believe that with guns on campus, students would be protected if a shooter were to show up. But personally, I think this is way too preemptive viewpoint.

This is probably my over-thinking mind at work, but can you imagine a frat party where the guys are allowed to have their guns? Nothing about that says “good idea” to me. I’m an optimist; I like to believe that not everyone is out to kill me and my fellow students. Guns on campuses are completely unnecessary. I know I can’t speak for every other Texas school out there, but I feel perfectly safe with UTPD doing their jobs.  If trouble goes down, I know they’ll take care of it and they’ll keep me safe.

Even UT’s president Bill Powers has spoken out against this bill. When the man in charge of one of the largest schools in the country thinks it’s a bad idea, then it’s probably. a. bad. idea. Hopefully the Texas Senate listens to him and doesn’t allow this to happen. But if it does, at the very least, I can look forward to the fact that I’m graduating soon and won’t have to be here when something inevitably goes wrong.

UT's Tower, September 28th, 2010

I woke up yesterday morning like I usually do.  I rolled out of bed at 8:15, threw on some clothes, and started cooking breakfast. But then I got a text. I figured it was my friend from class reminding me to print out our paper that was due at 9:30. But I click “Read” and instead I see “UT ALERT: Armed suspect reported last seen at Perry Castaneda Library on 09/28/2010. Details to follow.”

My immediate thought was of my friend Louise who was spending the night in the PCL to study for a test. I texted her to see what was up. I kept getting ready because we’ve had armed suspects who had been fleeing a crime scene come through campus. I wasn’t too worried by it. Until the next text arrived, “UT ALERT: armed subject reported last seen at Perry Castaneda Library. SHELTER IN PLACE. STAY WHERE YOU ARE AT. MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW”

This is probably going to sound terrible, but it was 9am and I had class at 9:30 where a major paper was due. I checked the emergency page on the University of Texas’ website and it said the university was open, so I headed out the door to the bus stop. I figured the cops had the situation under control and that campus was OK as long as I didn’t go near the library, which I wasn’t planning on. But when I got to the bus stop, there was a gathering of people. Someone was telling everyone that the bus system to campus was shut down and that the university was closed.

I went back to my apartment, into my room and turned on the TV. I got on Facebook and Twitter to see what was going on. The news interrupted whatever show was on to start the coverage on campus. I was so lost. All I knew was that there was a guy with a gun seen at my school. I decided that being safe was more important than a paper. I crawled back into bed and watched the news. As the information was coming in, so were the calls and texts from all of my friends and family. Among those, the text saying classes were canceled and that UT was on lockdown.

So far, here is what we do know: Colton Tooley, a 19 year old mathematics major at UT brought an AK-47 to campus. He fired a few rounds outside then went into the Library where he took the stairs to the 6th floor. He then locked himself into a room where he took his own life.

What we don’t know, however, is why he did this. To me, the hardest thing to grasp is how someone so young, practically a kid, goes from being just your everyday student to being an armed gunman scaring thousands of people. One of my friends has known this guy since they went to middle school, then high school, and now college together. It’s truly heartbreaking to try to think of what happened to this guy to make him go and do something like this. My heart goes out to his friends and family for their loss.

There is, however, a good side that I’ve been focusing on. First of all, there wasn’t a single injury aside from the gunman who took his own life. I am so grateful that all of my friends and myself are OK. I also can’t believe how many people called, texted, and checked in on Facebook with me to be sure I was OK. A guy who I just started dating (who lives in a different city and attends another school) found out because his mom saw on the news and wanted to check on me. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that you are loved and cared for, or even just thought about in a time of crisis.

Today, I go back to school. I am happy to say that I feel perfectly safe because of how awesome UT police are. They were on things from the start making sure that students, faculty, and staff were safe and sound. Not many people know this, but the main reason for SWAT teams in the U.S. is because of the 1966 shootings at UT where Charles Whitman went to the tower and killed sixteen people while injuring almost three dozen with a sniper rifle. Fortunately, today’s events were nowhere near as disastrous, but Austin’s SWAT team was on the scene within minutes with an armored car, searching buildings and securing the area.

Today, I woke up very proud to be a Longhorn.

While it’s obvious that there are situations common to all college students whatever campus they may call home, every campus has its own unique traditions. Some, like walking through a certain fountain upon graduation, date back hundreds of years. Others, like puking under a table at the late night Mexican restaurant on the night of your 21st birthday, are simply infamous amongst the student body.

And it is these things that unite students and make us proud to call our specific school home. So this week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to show a little school pride and share their university’s eccentricities with the world.

Tell us: what campus “tradition” sets your school apart from the pack?

Ness – Sheridan: You know you go to the biggest art school in Canada when all the guys are either high or gay. Sigh.

Teresa Wu – UCSD:  You know you go to UCSD when it’s hard to find a seat at the library on the third day of school.

Kim – Stanford: You know you go to Stanford when there is a protest for anything and everything.

Lauren H – The New School: You know you go to New School when there’s only one guy in your class and he’s looking for guys too.

Elizabeth – UC Berkeley: You know you go to UC Berkeley when you’ve been kissed by a bum.

Nina – Michigan State University: You know you go to Michigan State University when a half hour’s walk to a party or class is no sweat … it’s actually the norm.

Kari – Florida State: You know you go to Florida State when the sight of Potbelly’s makes your heart flutter, when you refuse to wear anything that pairs orange and blue together (hideous), and when you’ve eaten a slice of pizza bigger than your head from MoMo’s.

Thu – USC: You know you go to USC when you can dorm in a hotel your freshman year (I did!).

Rosie – Duke: You know you go to Duke when your pre-football game tailgate consists of students completely wasted by 9 am, dressed in ridiculous costumes in a parking lot, throwing beer, chilling in kiddie pools, dancing on speakers, and then, after 3 hours of a complete sh*tshow, totally ignoring the football game itself for a nice longggg nap.

Lauren – University of Michigan: You know you go to Michigan when the mere site of an Ohio license plate makes your blood boil. And when you look around for the skinniest person near you at a football game whenever the team scores.

Brittany – University of Richmond: You know you go to University of Richmond when you’ve never seen, only heard of, the UR basketball team and not even the incentive of free pizza can motivate you to go to a game.

Elizabeth – University of Missouri: You know you go to Mizzou when campus tour groups are the most excited to see the Rec Center. Hey, can’t blame ‘em for wanting to see what Sports Illustrated ranked #1 Best College Gym in the nation.

Brianna- Fordham University: You know you go to Fordham (At Lincoln Center) when you wear sweatpants to dorm parties because all the men are looking to hook up with other men.

Charlsie – Hollins University: You know you go to Hollins University when one random day in October, after the first frost, the president cancels classes in honor of Tinker Day. We eat Krispy Kreme donuts and then hike up Tinker Mountain, where we do class skits, class songs, and eat fried chicken. Or if you are too cool for that after first year, you get drunk off of mimosa’s and pass out by noon.

Samantha – UC Santa Barbara: You know you go to UCSB when instead of a football team, you have a soccer team, and instead of tailgating you pregame and throw tortillas onto the field.

Elizabeth – University of Missouri: You know you go to Mizzou when campus tour groups are the most excited to see the Rec Center. Hey, can’t blame ‘em for wanting to see what Sports Illustrated ranked #1 Best College Gym in the nation.

Sarabeth – University of Texas: You know you go to Texas when you’re asked the time and you automatically respond, “It’s ___ o’clock…AND OU STILL SUCKS!”

Mechelle – Florida State: You know you go to Florida State when you play drinking games better than you play football (and own more than one t-shirt with announcing that fact).

Alex K – Lakehead University: You know you go to Lakehead when you’re in line at Tim Horton’s and the guy in front of you has his full fishing gear (rod, hip waders, ETC).

Ricki – University of Michigan: You know you go to Michigan when the Insomnia Cookie Truck is the only thing that will make a drunk person feel better.

Carly – Grinnell: You know you go to Grinnell when you find yourself drunk at a party late on a Friday night… having an intense discussion about philosophy.

An historic election is only 19 days away. No matter which candidate you support, it is more important than ever to get involved and assist in electing our next president. Students and young people across the country are taking their role in this election and the political process very seriously. From volunteering for the party of their choice to registering voters, and everything in between, our generation is getting involved like never before.

And some are going even further.

David Modigliani, a Harvard grad with an MFA from University of Texas, is an ordinary 20-something who went to extraordinary lengths to involve himself in the political process. Modigliani saw an issue in the Bush administration and politics in general and wanted to get the real story.

“I started this project because I felt duped. I didn’t know Bush wasn’t from Crawford, Texas. When I found out that he’d moved to Crawford in 1999, a couple of months before announcing his candidacy for President, I realized how well the creation of a folksy, aw-shucks small town political persona had worked. I consider myself an educated citizen, but I could have sworn he was actually from Crawford. I had bought the narrative without thinking twice.

I wanted to see this town he’d made into a symbol. And I wanted to make a film indicting him for it.

As it turns out, I found something much more compelling – the people of Crawford, Texas itself. It’s been thrilling to see audiences meet these characters – to see the ways in which their lives change profoundly over the years. So, thankfully, CRAWFORD is not a film about George W. Bush – who wants another one of those? – it’s about a tiny town thrust into big time politics. It’s a look at the Bush era through the eyes of the people who’ve had a front row seat. It’s about a town that goes from 15 minutes of fame to ground zero for 20,000 protesters — becoming a microcosm for national conflict in the process.”

So he made the film. And now you can watch it right here. For free.

This movie is not about Democrats or Republicans; it is about politics, lies and is more than relevant during this election season. So watch it, own it, talk about it, then get to the polls; you don’t have to make a film to have your voice be heard.

Steven Colbert and Spiderman

Audrina is a lying idiot

Annnnd Whitney is getting her own spin-off!

Seriously.  Don’t invent sh*t like this

Katie Holmes…sings?

Seth Rogan is gonna (try to) make cancer funny

Speaking of horrible diseases…

Cosmo Girl goes down like the stock market

The 105-year-old Virgin

Michelle Rodriguez, lord of the dildos

Man, they really are short

Bruce…are you Santa?

UT students want their political say

Not all grandparents are nice…

Austin Powers actor is actually a terrible human being

UT – Austin surveyed 52 men who were asked to test the scent of 18 worn t-shirts worn by women in various phases of their menstrual cycle. Almost all of the guys in the experiment, 1 guy was gay – so his doesn’t really count, found the shirts worn during the girl’s period to be the most enticing.

Sadly, this is when a woman is least fertile…therefore, least likely to get pregnant.

But, when Aunt Flow comes over to stay no one is really excited to jump into bed anyway…

So, other than all those religious fundementalists who think womens’ ovulation is dirty and unnatural, every other man thinks it is when we are at our sexiest.

The question is, how eager are WE to have sex during our period?

I mean, I knew I was Harvard-caliber, I just didn’t have the grades– I was above grades! I could have totally gone Ivy-League if I had wanted to, but I chose the route of a small school with a philosophy, a mission (and a respectable ranking).

My freshman year, I ended up at a small liberal arts school that was ranked #30. Not bad, considering it was ranked #25 in terms of selectivity. I figured its teeny endowment brought the main ranking down. I was satisfied, my family was satisfied, my peers were satisfied. I had landed.

But when I got to college, of course, I realized that these rankings meant absolutely nothing. What did I care about my college’s freshman retention or alumni – giving rate? And the insidiously low student to faculty ratio was moot if you were in a crappy class in which none of the other six students talked. I found myself pining for large, anonymous lecture classes. Did I wanted a lower – ranked education?

The old, corny adage rings true over and over again: college is what you make of it. Seriously. All campuses have pretty trees and old buildings. All student bodies have geniuses and idiots. Yale has a dining hall. Podunk University in Mississippi has a dining hall.

And they both have horrible food. It’s all the same.

Therefore, I totally support the abolition of college rankings, and it looks as if the movement is picking up some deserved speed. The notoriously antiestablishment Reed College in Oregon (which has been called the most cerebral college in the country) has always shirked the ratings, and more colleges are jumping on its ship. As today’s Chicago Tribune stated: in a letter to colleges across the country, 12 college presidents have announced that they will abstain from filling out U.S. News’s annual survey and risk a fallen rating for the betterment of the college admissions process.

I don’t think too much about prestige or the name-brand of my college now that I’m actually here. Truth be told, the tiny, #30 ranked college I went to is not a whole lot different than Texas, which bears the scar of a different ranking (#1 Party School! yeahhh…). Just goes to show: the important is not where you go, but where you’re going (and, um, graduating).

The list of urban legends unique to college is miles long. College students are believable characters in these tales, many of which don’t seem so far – off from your average Friday night frat party antics. There are three legends in particular that are incredibly pervasive, withstanding the test of time. But are they true or false? Let’s see…

1. At some colleges, sororities aren’t allowed houses because of “brothel laws.”

This legend has been making its rounds on the internet since 1995 and may have been concocted way back in 1960. Unfortunately, it’s false. While some cities have zoning ordinations concerning how many people can lawfully occupy a single building, there are no “brothel laws.” Many campuses still cite this legend as fact to explain why they don’t have sorority houses.

2. Your college’s library is sinking because its architect did not consider how much the books in it would weigh.

My friend at Indiana University, where the library looks like a giant Triscuit, swears this is true. Alas, it’s not. Libraries may sink, but it’s not because of the books but boring “structural problems.” Analysts take this legend as a metaphor: the weight of the books represent the daunting impossibility of “the scholar’s task.” Precious.

3. The night after a wild party, a University of Texas student wakes up in a bathtub full of ice. Next to him is a sign telling him to call 911: both of his kidneys have been stolen, to be sold on the black market.

Obviously, this one is my favorite. It appeared in 1996 and really picked up speed, circulating campus through email and phone. It accrued credibility through use of false names and a faked appearance in The Daily Texan. But, it’s totally false — one huge mistake gave it away: The legend attributed the organ theft to a medical student at UT – Austin, but everyone knows UT – Austin has no medical school! Geez. Check your facts! Because facts are key to creating an awesome urban legend.