But apparently the University of Chicago can. The site first launched a few weeks ago, under the name UChicagoHookups.com, “a place where fun comes to thrive.” But since then, the site has gained more media attention and has been renamed EduHookups.com, allowing students from Northwestern University, Columbia College Chicago, and soon Brown University, to register under a .edu email address, and search for hookups.

More than 300 people have registered for the site and over 1,300 private messages have been sent, but I have to ask, is this really necessary? I mean it’s college. Aren’t we always complaining that there’s nothing but casual hookups in college? Aren’t we saying that it’s difficult to find anything more than that? If that’s the case why do we need a website geared toward this? Isn’t this what bars and house parties are for? Will those become irrelevant now, too, with students no longer even bothering with the fun and the flirting and the cheesy pickup lines? Now we’ll just send people private messages and meet them in the appropriate dorm room?

I’m all about new media, but this seems like a bit much even for me. Is it too much to ask for a good old fashioned house party hookup?

Remember when you were a little kid, and you’d actually wake up on time for school… just so you could huddle next to the radio and listen for your school to be called on the list of snow days? With winter’s doom impending and temperatures dropping faster than The Situation’s pants, we can’t help but cross our fingers and pray.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Are snow days something you never grow out of? Or, in college, do they prove that miracles really can happen? Here’s how our anticipation of snow days has evolved since grammar school.

Then: A snow day meant a day off from times tables.
Now: We don’t have to finish copying someone else’s MiniTabs before Stats lab.

Then: We would make a beeline to the street and get all the neighborhood kids together for a snowball fight.
Now: We don’t have to brave arctic winds to walk to class and sit through lecture with snotsicles hanging from our frostbitten faces.

Then: Since we were already up at the crack of dawn, we could take advantage of the snow day and start building a snow man as soon as we got “the word.”
Now: We can go back to sleep for about six hours, and wake up just in time for happy hour.

Then: Snow days meant putting on snow pants and trekking to the biggest hill in town for a full day of sledding.
Now: Snow days mean putting on our beer coat and trekking to the bar for a full day of boozing.

(Note: I love how college students use a blizzard as an excuse to go to the bar, yet even when school isn’t canceled, we deem it too treacherous to walk to class.)

Then: For some unfortunate children, snow days meant driveway-shoveling duty before the parents got home.
Now: After the storm passes, we have to shovel our cars out from behind the snow banks the university plows have inevitably created throughout the parking lot.

Then: We could spend a whole extra day working on our vocabulary exercises!
Now: We could start that research paper that was due three days ago… but who are we kidding? Those episodes of Law and Order SVU aren’t going to watch themselves!

Then: We had an excuse to drink hot chocolate for breakfast.
Now: We have an excuse to drink a thirty-pack for breakfast.

I think it’s clear that snow days are one of mankind’s greatest inventions. Honestly, snow delays and cancellations are one of the top reasons to attend a university in a colder climate. I feel bad for those of you who are earning degrees in Hawaii, Florida, California, or any other season-less state. You will never experience the joys of the world’s most beautiful Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card: the beloved snow day!

Want mas? Don’t worry, there are plenty more faves where this came from.]

For a lot of my life, I’ve been a religious person. I went on mission trips every summer with my church, I was on my church’s Youth Board, and I attended mass every Sunday (oh yeah, I’m Catholic). So when I got to college, one of the first things I did was to see what campus ministries were available. While other girls were rolling out of bed at 1:00 pm on Sundays and going for a hungover brunch, I was in the student cinema with about a hundred other students praising God.

Because I became so involved with my campus ministry, I met a lot of friends with my same beliefs and morals. While this shouldn’t be a problem in my life, it became one almost from the very beginning. Once people find out that I’m religious, they start to make a lot false assumptions about myself, as well as my friends.

Assumption #1: We are holier than thou

The first thing I always hear is that we are “holier than thou.”  I’ve learned through my experiences that a lot of other Christians have trouble going to church. They say that if they went, it would make them feel like they have to act holy all the time. So this makes it even difficult for me to really express everything I feel about God. I don’t want people pointing out examples of how I’m not leading the most holy life. And I’ll be the first to admit, sometimes it’s easier for me to pick one persona or another. Either the quiet, Christian girl who won’t talk about her problems or the troubled party-goer. A lot of people will argue that it’s not worth going to church because all the pews are filled with a bunch of hypocrites. Sure it’s a valid point, but they’re forgetting why we go to church in the first place.

We go to church because frankly, we aren’t good at being a holy people. We need God (because we aren’t perfect), so we seek Him in church. My friends and I are just like you and we won’t judge you because you might make different choices than us. I have never condemned people for their life choices, because that is one thing the Bible tells us to never do. What it does tell us to do is love everyone. As a Christian, I try to view people as God views them – with unconditional love.

Assumption #2: We don’t party

Another annoying assumption people make when they learn I’m religious and very active in my church is that I don’t party. Although the Bible tells me to not drink in excess (and I don’t drink 24/7), it doesn’t mean that I don’t drink and don’t go to parties. I would even be lying if I said I haven’t gone to church with a hangover. Some of us party, and some of us don’t, but don’t assume either way. Rather, find out by asking us. Every time friends from class ask me what I’m doing during the upcoming weekend and I say I’m going to a party thrown by a friend from church, they laugh. They picture us playing Scrabble and cuddled up under Snuggies. Not true.

Some of my most fun parties have been thrown by my church friends.  So yes I do go clubbing, I do go to parties. Just because I love God doesn’t mean I don’t also love to shout Gaga lyrics to the top of my lungs and dance like crazy while laughing and holding a Coors in my hand.

Assumption #3: We are all conservative

Finally, the assumption I face almost daily is people assuming that I’m conservative because of my Catholic beliefs. Not true.  The fact of the matter is I don’t discuss politics. What I will do, is listen to what you have to say, and if you want to talk about whether I agree with you or not, we can talk in person about it. Heck, I don’t even mind if we don’t really know each other and you want to hear my opinion about something. Even if you do sit down with me and talk to me about stuff like that, I’m nice to everyone. Like I said earlier, I was taught to love everyone, regardless of different beliefs. If you ask me how I feel, I’ll tell you, and there is no way you will ever change my mind about the topic, but I will say it calmly and don’t mind getting into friendly debates. I will never shut you down because you disagree with something I believe in. Because peace is essential to Christianity, and as a Christian I know that isn’t the way to change someone’s mind.

Why do I go to church?

So why do I go to church while in college? As silly as it sounds, it’s really relaxing to go to church on Sunday mornings and have an hour that is worry-free. For that hour classes, exams, etc. don’t matter. The only thing that matters is I am celebrating God. So it keeps me grounded and gives me a short break from all of my stress. Church is also a great place to meet friends and I-wanna-be-more-than-friends. Through my campus ministry I found friends with similar beliefs, passions, and lifestyles. We’ve been able to get really close because we’ve participated in lots of different activities with each other on a weekly basis. I met my boyfriend through my ministry, and we get along fantastically because we already agree on fundamental things. I go to church because unlike my friends who say college is for taking a break from religion, you can’t take a short “break” from religious life. You can’t just put it on hold until you’re “ready.” College is a time for growing, and learning. I take it upon myself to learn more about my faith on my own and stop depending on my parents for pushing me to do so. I go to church because I know I need it; I know I still have a lot of growing to do.

Everyone would have us believe (even some of the writers on this website) that college is a constant party and orgy, but that isn’t so. College is about finding yourself, and becoming more of who you always were (but didn’t realize it). As college students, we are all wanderers, forced out of our homes and into the real world. We wander until we discover what it is we want to do with our lives, and we succeed or we fail. We move forward, whether we know where we are headed or not. So while I am always wandering, I am never lost, because my religion helps guide my college experience.

There are few things I love in life more than holidays. Perhaps that is unhealthy, but I do not care. And, amid the holidays that I passionately adore, there are some that rank higher than others. Halloween is one of my favorites. I love the autumnal weather, the unnecessary amounts of chocolate, and having one day to claim “my life is a masquerade” and not be greeted with WTF looks.

I love it so much, in fact, that I have decided to write a poem. Perhaps a sonnet would have been more appropriate, considering the extent of my obsession with Halloween, but an ode was what I came up with. So, read with care and enjoy.

An Ode To Halloween

‘Twas the night before Halloween and all through my house
Not a creature was stirring, except for our mouse.
The candy was placed on our porch with care
Awaiting the children that soon would be there.

My roommates were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of jagerbombs danced in their heads.
With my costume unfinished and I in my (thinking) cap,
I just couldn’t settle my brains for a nighttime nap.

When out on the porch there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to my door I flew like a flash,
Grabbed the doorknob and threw open the hatch.

The crisp autumn air grabbed at my lungs,
And revived a spirit that made me feel young.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But eight drunken boys, dressed as Santa’s reindeer.

When they spotted me, so lively and quick,
They scurried away, like a bunch of chicks.
More rapid than eagles, the boys, they all ran.
Irritated, I thought, “Must be freshmen.”

I went back to my room, candy bowl in hand,
And snacked while I prayed I would never look like them.
Their costumes sucked, I hoped that mine
Would never be so grossly benign.

Suddenly an idea sprang in my head.
I ran to my desk and worked with some thread.
Feverishly I sewed, all through the night
Until my masterpiece was perfectly right.

As we got ready for the party, eyelashes in place
My roommates and I looked totally replaced
By wig-wearing characters with high, high shoes
With our costumes, there was no way to lose.

We arrived at the party and suddenly I saw
The most handsome Ewok, he had no flaws.
His hair was styled in just the right way
And looked at me like his sight was X-ray.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with vodka and ash soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And I fell in love when he opened his Northface backpack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His bag was stocked with 4 Lokos and Beer,
Not to mention bags of Candy… Halloween Cheer!

The stump of a cig he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a devilish face and a far from round belly,
That was so atypical of college boys—who usually packed jelly.

His smoking bothered me, but he was a cute nonetheless
And I laughed as we flirted, keeping me from becoming a drunken mess.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Pouring and mixing for all with a smirk.
The music was loud, the spirit was right.
College Halloween was an awesome sight.

But my Ewok got too drunk, so I gave my team a whistle,
And away we all flew like the down of a thistle.
Instead of ordering Domino’s for a late snack,
We munched on candy from my Ewok’s back.

As we sat on our porch, laughing about the bash
We listened, on our iPod player, to Monster Mash.
We eventually went inside, but shouted before out of sight
“Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good-night!”

Halloween in college is a big deal.  Major, really.  You may have thought you hit your trick-or-treating peak in the 3^rd grade when you wrapped yourself in tinfoil and went out as leftovers, but think again.  Unlike Christmas, the 4^th of July, and Thanksgiving, everyone’s on campus for this most hallowed of evenings and the booze will absolutely be flowing (perhaps in cauldrons).

From fog machines to technicolor jello shots, there’s a lot of stimuli to process and as a freshman it’s easy to get overwhelmed.  But novice or otherwise, you’ve got to keep your head, wigged or otherwise, in the game.  Here’s what you can expect as your favorite bars and frat houses become unrecognizable with silly string…

A General Lack of Pants
From dozens of Risky Business-era Tom Cruises to sexy cats/bees/fairies/mice, there will be maximum leggage come October 31^st.  I’m not sure what it is about “everyone dress up crazy” that translates to things being purely pants-optional, but it’s a fact: ass cheeks will show, cellulite will be on parade, hairy man thighs will make a one-night-only appearance.

Dry Ice
Is it edible?  Will it kill you?  Why did those stupid pledges have to go stick it in the jungle juice and ruin a perfectly good concoction?  No, it doesn’t look like witches’ brew.  And the fact that he’s 22 and just drew that connection makes you question his sanity.

Drinking on an Off-Night
This year Halloween falls on a Sunday, and though you’ll be getting Friday and Saturday usage out of your costume, you can’t retire it before the actual holiday.  So in anticipation of this three-day face painted bender, don’t be your usual procrastinating self.  Figure out what work you’ve got due Monday and do it.  Yes, this is your mother speaking.  And your econ professor.  And your better judgment.

Cops, Both Real and Fake
If you’ve seen Hocus Pocus (AKA the greatest Halloween movie of our childhoods), you’ll remember the scene where the main kid approaches what he thinks is a cop to tell him that the town’s being haunted by Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler.  Well, take heed all you first-timers.  On Halloween, not all cops are real and not all seemingly fake cops are fake.  Before you pee on the side of that building or resist arrest, make sure you know what you’re dealing with.

Orange and Black Puke
More than welcome week, more than your first tailgate…November 1^st will hurt.  A lot.  And lest you forget what holiday it was you just celebrated, the orange and black Tostitos you consumed and subsequently puked up should tip you off.

Upperclassmen: Did we forget anything?

3 places to meet guys in college

Halloween costumes you’ll wear again

Why it’s good to go to college far from home

The Rappin’ Librarians (video)

Pay off your college debt now

8 Brain Boosting Foods

Vote now for a national homecoming queen (and be eligible to win MONEY)

Collaborate With Classmates Using New Facebook Groups

Letter from a grammar nazi

Are study drugs a form of cheating?

Help a foreign student out at UCLA

Scheduling will make your life easier

Whether you see it in the movies, hear it from your peers or participate in it yourself, it is a generally understood fact that college students like to party. Some adopt the habit during their first Halloween away from home and hold tightly onto it well into their twenties, while others pick it up only between midterm exams. Either way, it happens; it’s been happening and it probably will continue to happen, as long as there are weekend evenings and boring classes and closet doors that prop sideways into perfectly proportioned beer pong tables.

So why were a few neighboring families of Northwestern University so shocked to discover students who “parked themselves on a neighbor’s parkway for a little love fest” or are “hollering about “Bl** J*bs”? Sure, this behavior isn’t acceptable in a world where mothers and fathers and their eight year-old daughters are riding their bicycles to church services on Saturday evenings. But when you’re living in the midst of a university, it should be almost be expected that this will happen.

There is a reason why the surrounding areas of universities are called “college towns”, because the towns cater to the needs of the college kids, almost as if it were an extension of the university itself. Twenty-four hour coffee shops, fast food restaurants open late, local bars with affordable cover charges, and hundreds of apartments and houses that collect the overflow of students who move off-campus. When a college student is away from home, tight on rent and possibly without a car for the year, there is only a limited amount of places one can live. So sorry family who moved down the street from the stadium. You’re probably going to hear a little noise on the weekends.

Yet I’m sure there are countless communities sprouting into socially acceptable suburbs, each lined with white picket fences perfect for protecting the precious youth from these disrespectful drinkers. Hint: they aren’t located in the college towns surrounding universities, especially ones that have been charging tuition to students since 1851.

To the respectful residents of current college towns, the students don’t mean any harm. You must remember what college was like: the high stress, the low budget, the stiff competition and the hard substances. Now, multiply that memory by ten, and you have the modern mindset of today’s college students, and post-grads as well. After all, that’s the comparison that our parents have told us all about.

P.S. The stated fact that “the issues of NOISE, TRASH, and CONDUCT” are noted as the university’s greatest challenges should shine a light on how lucky Northwestern is.

We launched a photo contest at the beginning of the semester that challenged all our readers to send in a Welcome Week photo that said “I love being back at school.” While we expected a few good ones, we were in no way prepared for the awesomeness onslaught we got when we started looking through your photos on our Facebook wall. From slip and slides to ski shots, we were impressed with your Welcome Week spirit…and jealous of how much fun you are all clearly having.

And of course, the winner will be having a lot more fun when she goes home with $500 from lulus.com!

We chose our top five favorite entries (which was hard, let me tell you) and posted them here so YOU can vote on which one most says WELCOME WEEK. Because, honestly, we’re too busy looking through our own Welcome Week photo albums (insert nostalgia) to pick our favorite.

You have from now until noon ET on Monday, September 27th to cast your vote. Then we’ll close the polls, count the votes and announce the BIG WINNER on Twitter and Facebook (so start following us, fools). And then she’ll jump for joy and spend the next 10 hours poring over Lulus.com, figuring out how she’ll spend that $500!

P.S. If you’re one of the lucky finalists, be sure to promote your photo on Twitter and Facebook! $500 dollars worth of new clothes is at stake. This is no time for modesty!

Check out the finalists then scroll down to vote for your favorite below.

The Finalists:

“The senior is an easily entertained species. Here it can be observed during its ‘Welcome Week,’ drinking many fluids and watching freshmen prey move in. But for every 3 surviving seniors, 1 does not make it through the week.”
Submitted by Caroline.

“I’m so excited for to be back at- zzzzzzz.” (Good call on the 2 bottles of water, though!)
Submitted by Alexandra.

Campus maintenance really shouldn’t leave those garbage bags just sitting around.
Submitted by Kelly.

No need to stop the party to attend the first day of classes at Texas State.
Submitted by Erica.

Two porches, one pong table. One hella awesome Welcome Week.
Submitted by Sarah.

That’s kinda what freshman year feels like right now. I’m meeting a ton of people, but I’m just not sure how they’ll all fit into my lives. Who will be my bff? My Facebook stalkee of choice? My worst enemy?

It reminds me of the Jersey Shore, season 1: Snooki dramas out the first week and everyone hates her, The Situation and Sammie are an item, and Pauly D actually talks – things that are all highly unlikely and strange by now (we could never hate Snookums and you know The Situation would never settle down with just one lady). The guidos and guidettes of the Jersey Shore were just trying to figure out their niche in the house, to settle down and make some friends.

And much as some of you guys will hate to be compared to J-Woww and the crew, figuring out the beat in college happens very much the same way as the Jersey Shore squad approached it. You wander around, looking for potential friends and potential loverboys…and you learn that some are winners, and some not so much.

But unlike the cast of the Jersey Shore, we have to see these people over and over again for the next four years (without getting paid), so it’d probably be better if there wasn’t so much drama that called for big ass apologies.

Some tips for staying on good terms with new people:

Don’t Gossip: Gossip is always bad. Always. Especially if you don’t know the person that well. Because then, when she finds out you’re talking about her (which she will), you suddenly become that girl who not only gossips, but judges people without even knowing them. It’s so much worse, trust me.

Sit with different people for meals: Expand a bit – you don’t have to stick with one group of friends forever and always. I mean, what happens if you’re  3 weeks in and all your dinner buds have other commitments? What do you do then? Awkwardly sit alone? The first few weeks of college are about opening up and making new friends, so open up and make new friends. You never know who your BFF (or your BF) will be.

Don’t stress out about boys too much: A lot of guys are looking just to hook up in these first few weeks. If you start overanalyzing them, you’ll just get more acne and really, no one needs that. Plus, you don’t want to start some kind of rivalry with other girls who go after your man.

Play Frisbee! I know, it’s so cliché, but you guys, I’m pretty sure there’s a reason why dogs are always happy and well-liked. They all like to play frisbee. Frisbee is active, boys and girls like it, and other people always want to join your game. It’s easy and fun and involves just the right amount of talking. Just watch out for the college brochure photographers.

Keep yourself together: Don’t pull a Snooki and totally lose your shiz before these potential new friends really have a chance to get to know you. I imagine the story of the “chick who puked up Jimmy John’s in the hallway” will spread through campus quickly and that reputation will be hard to shake.

Do you have any tips for making good impressions on new friends?

But before you unpack those Yaffa blocks and stock up on the highlighters, allow me to dispel a few of the myths your older, wiser and drunker friends have told you about your freshman year. Is freshman year awesome? Hell to the yes. But there are some things you just gotta prepare for.

“You’re going to become best friends with your floor.”
Maybe. Or maybe not. Yes, while the people on your floor are going to be the first people you meet and become friendly with, don’t feel pressured to become best friends with them. The only thing you may have in common with these people is that you live on the same floor in the same dorm at the same school. They’re great for trips to the dining hall, party wandering in the first week of school, and swapping hangover stories on Sunday mornings, but don’t feel bad if that’s it. You might find yourself laughing a month or two into school saying, “OMG, I can’t believe I used to go to breakfast with her” if your neighbor becomes “that girl” at parties on campus. Your real friends in college will be eclectic, and while many people find them on their floor, many do not. Friendships are rooted in a sharing of values, not a sharing of a hall. You’re lucky if you find both in the same place.

“Your classes aren’t that hard.”
Kind of a lie. Senior year you don’t do any work at all, and it’s really hard to turn your brain back on and retrain yourself to read and understand 60+ pages of reading a night. This lie depends on the school you go to and the classes you take, but the way I experienced it and the way most of my friends experienced it is that your classes are kind of hard. Especially when you’re trying to decide on a Tuesday night between $1 pitchers of beer and making notecards. You need to do a lot of the learning on your own and if you’re not careful, it’s very easy to fall behind. You might have floated through high school, but college is an entirely different ball game. You’re going to have to retrain your study muscles for those college classes!

“Being a freshman in college is nothing like being a freshman in high school.”
Such a lie. Everyone knows you are a freshman. Everyone. Between the maps you carry, the way you lug all your books to the first day of class, and the way you travel in huge gaggles down the streets of your college town trying to find parties, you’ve got freshman written all over you. But the thing to remember is that everyone has to experience that. Carrying the maps and traveling in the gaggles teaches you how to adjust to college life so that second semester, you don’t scream freshman. You definitely have to pay your dues a bit as a freshman, just like you did in high school, but don’t expect any mean seniors to shove you into lockers or try and sell you tickets to the pool. Unless someone’s having a pool party and they charge you for alcohol and you end up getting so plastered that you wake up in a locker.

“If you don’t go out every weekend, you totally miss out.”
Definitely not true. While partying is really fun at college and very different than at home, you do not miss out at all if you decide to skip a night out or go somewhere else for the weekend. If you feel like sitting in your bed in sweatpants and catching up on your shows, do it! There is always going to be a party, and there will always be an opportunity to go to the bar. Don’t burn out. If you need to study, study. You might miss out on making a few drunken memories, but you have four years to make more. Your report card, mental health, and physical health will thank you when you follow your instinct if you don’t feel like going out. Plus, your friends will be excited to tell their stories to you the next day and start planning the next time you’re all going to go out together.

“You’re going to love everything about school right from the get-go.”
Doubtful. You move into this tiny dorm room in the unbearable heat of your non-air conditioned dorm with a stranger. Your stuff is a mess and everywhere, and your parents kiss you goodbye and are on their way. And then you’re there. And you don’t know anyone. While yes, the first few nights of college are exciting, fun, and usually pretty drunk, they’re definitely uncomfortable. You need to be awkward (all the time) and put yourself out there to meet people more than you have ever tried in your life. Sometimes you just want your mommy to hug you at the end of the day, make you dinner, and ask you how your day was. But all you have is your roommate and the ice breaker games your RA facilitates. It’s rough at first, but the thing to remember is that everyone is in the same place as you. Everyone is feeling the same way, but most people won’t admit it.

Here’s the deal: The word “lie” is subjective, meaning a lie is found in the mind of the individual. What I view as a lie, you may not, so don’t put too much stock into what you read about freshman year. Just because I view these comments as lies doesn’t mean that you will feel the same way. Everyone has a different experience in college, and no matter what happens, you’re going to enjoy parts of freshman year and you’re going to learn a lot about yourself. So get ready, because you have a lot to look forward to.