Rhode Island School Of Design: Scrotie The Nads

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Scrotie is perhaps the most ridiculous mascot ever embraced by a student body. The giant walking penis is awaited by spectators at every university sporting event, and the costume makes sense considering that the teams at the school are also crudely named after male genitalia. The basketball team is known as “The Balls” and the hockey team goes by the name “The Nads.” How these names passed through university administration is beyond us, but they have become a part of school tradition. The basketball cheerleaders even go by the name “The Jockstraps,” since they support The Balls.

University of California-Santa Cruz: Sammy The Banana Slug

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It seems somehow appropriate that a college well known for its pot smoking would select a yellow banana slug for a mascot. Known for his laid back personality and chilled-out dance moves, the banana slug is a mascot that should never have caught on, yet has somehow managed to make quite a name for himself. In 1992, Sports Illustrated magazine named Sammy the Slug the top college mascot, and in 2004 Readers Digest did the same.

Scottsdale Community College: Artie the Fighting Artichoke

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Unlike so many college mascots, Artie the Fighting Artichoke is one with some real history behind him. During the 1970s, the students of Scottsdale Community College were infuriated to learn of the administration’s shady practice of using scholarship money intended for Native American students to bribe athletes into the school. In a school-wide protest, the students voted to change the mascot to something utterly ridiculous that would stay with the school as a badge of shame for years to come. The Fighting Artichoke was the result, and although the administration tried to prevent the decision from going through, here we are in 2010 and the vegetable still makes an appearance at Scottsdale games.

North Carolina School of the Arts: The Fighting Pickle

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Nothing could appear less intimidating than a giant pickle, yet as the result of a costume contest, North Carolina School of Arts has selected a “fighting pickle” as their team mascot. It is said that the pickle was first suggested as a joke, and it isn’t hard to see why. Prancing around in his big green costume and sporting a gap-toothed grin, the fighting pickle can be seen greeting fans and dancing with cheerleaders at the schools many athletic events. Sadly, the pickle seems to represent very little to the school, as the university is not known for producing, nor consuming, especially good pickles.

University of Arkansas at Monticello: The Boll Weevil

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Some schools choose a fierce animal for their mascot in the hopes of frighting other teams. Others choose a mighty knight or a King as a symbol of power and status. The University of Arkansas on the other hand chose a Boll Weevil, a pesky little insect known for damaging crops. It doesn’t say much about your team when the mascot is an insect that is probably being crushed by the players on field during the actual game.

Evergreen State College: Speedy the Geoduck

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For those who have never encountered a Geoduck, this creature is a large mollusk that is famous for its long, suggestive body that protrudes from its shell. Geoducks are the largest burrowing clams in the world, and harvesting them is such a chore that it was recently featured as one of Mike Rowe’s “Dirty Jobs.” The giant dancing clam is often seen shoeless and air boxing on the court, though we’re not sure the display is striking fear into the hearts of opponents. According to FootballBabble.com, the mascot even has a theme song to go with its phallic shapped mascot, and it goes something like “Siphon high, squirt it out, swivel all about, let it all hang out.”

Dartmouth: Keggy The Keg

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Keggy The Keg is the unofficial mascot of Dartmouth. We say unofficial because the administration refuses to accept that a giant dancing keg of beer represents their athletic department, but the students have all but shunned the official mascot of the team and await the arrival of the giant keg each time around. It’s the job of any mascot to tap into the spirit of the school, and what better way to do so than by by getting at everyone’s true reason for being at school: excessive drinking.

About the Author: Kara Taylor writes for Campus Explorer. Campus Explorer believes that given the proper tools, anyone shopping for college education can find the right fit. Campus Explorer is the place to start that great adventure. Find information to start an online education.

Too often, when taking a long trip, the music selection is just plain awful. The radio is just not acceptable, and the Cd’s are usually filled with the drivers favorite music.  While a lot of the time the driver and passengers have similar musical tastes, this is not always the case.  If you want to avoid listening to crappy music throughout your road trip, it’s time to build the perfect playlist.

Here is how it works…

1. Create new playlist
2. The driver chooses two songs and adds them to the playlist.
3. Computer is then passed to the first passenger.
4. The first passenger also chooses two songs and adds them to the playlist.
5. This system is repeated until a CD is filled, or until the playlist ends.

Why it’s awesome…

• Huge variety of music
• Random playlist
• Includes the whole car
• The mystery factor of not knowing what’s next
• Exposure to new music

The perfect playlist is by far the best solution to accomodate the whole cars taste in music, and has proved to be a very successful method. It is even the exact formula my friends and I used on our way down to Florida for Spring Break. I have to say, it made the car ride a whole lot more enjoyable and is by far the best way to get the whole car involved with the music.

Directed by: Harald Zwart
Running Time: 140 Minutes
Rated: PG

For many critics, to hear the word remake is usually responded to with a groan of despair, clamors of Hollywood lacking originality and any backbone to push forward new content.  For better or worse, the practice continues (and will be pushed forward at least for the foreseeable future) in Hollywood as exemplified by The Karate Kid, a remake of the original 1984 feature film that became a cult classic.  Harald Zwart’s new interpretation of The Karate Kid, however, is an intriguing case study of a remake.  Although it does fall into some of the common traps, this new retelling is a good film that comes and marks out its own place in history, smartly using its China backdrop and the strength of the actors.

Zwart’s The Karate Kid follows Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother, Sherry (Taraji Henson) who both are forced to move to China from Detroit after Sherry gets relocated for her job.  Dre does not want to go, as he has to leave his friends and familiar trappings for a completely new foreign land.  His assessment of the situation worsens when he arrives with a language he does not want to learn to bullies that start to harass him everywhere he goes.  A lackadaisical mechanic, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), soon meets Dre as he attempts to learn kung fu.  Unknown to Dre, Mr. Han also is a kung fu master.  The film follows their meetings and adventures as Dre has to learn both kung fu and respect.

The traps that The Karate Kid follow are small aspects that, added together, do seem to weigh the film down a bit.  One is simply some odd plot devices to move the story along, particularly referring to the film’s sense of reality.  A story is allowed to string together any type of plot point in whatever fashion it wants.  However, this stream of consciousness need to be logical and realistic in terms of the story’s rules that it sets for itself throughout its duration.  Simply putting a plot device, ready to be utilized again near the end of the film, is not enough of a convincing reason without proper context.  The Karate Kid does do this, and it did affect the effect of the climax.

Context also affected several other scenes throughout the movie that sometimes tried to be epic and grand yet come off more as cheesy and unnecessary.  It felt as if Zwart was using scenes for the sake of adding them, and for a film that had some pacing issues as well, it would have done better to either trim these parts out or at least give more proper time to make the right transitions, especially since the film understands this when it has done so successfully in other scenes.  This loose pacing also affects some of the other characterizations and therefore, plot devices, that could have been much more complex.  Moments like a possible back-story between the rival kung fu leader and Mr. Han are alluded to but glossed over along with several other characters appearing to be relevant but never really being anything more than story points.

However, Zwart and company do succeed in capturing not only a lot of passion and heart but a surprising overview of China and the modern world itself.  The actors, for one, buoy this film with their strong performances.  Jaden Smith exudes his father’s charm and style throughout The Karate Kid.  Both charismatic and expressive, his youthful demeanor is all but forgotten by the last scene when even the most skeptical of audience members have to acknowledge that he did a great job in the role.  Jackie Chan as well brings a sullen and bitter performance that works to the film’s advantage; a surprising turn compared to most of his work where he uses his physical humor.  It never comes off as overdone and a balance is struck between the tutor and tutee that perhaps should not be compared to the original’s Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, but a relationship that stands by itself in how it is unique and memorable.  Speaking of the original Karate Kid, the various different homage that Zwart makes to the original are funny to fans but never overdone.  They are tactful and smart.  And although many complaints were made about various plot devices, the core progression of the film is pretty standard but done well enough to warrant mention as it never loses track of itself and always feels like a lot of passion and enthusiasm went into it, noticeable through how the film is shot and placed.

One final and important mention goes to the backdrop of the film, China.  There are two sides in how this was filmed that really makes The Karate Kid an intriguing and good film.  One is how China is incorporated into the overall narrative.  It is not just used as scenery.  It embeds itself as an important character into the story of Dre’s overall story arc and the theme of respect, both between Dre to China and vice versa.  The interesting flipside to this is the candidness that Zwart gives to the realities and the modernity of the modern world.  For instance, the historical backdrop of the economic hardships affecting Dre and his mother in Detroit and how it forces them to move to China is not only a clever introduction but effective in serving the modernity of the rest of the film.  Perhaps even more surprising is the surprise in seeing how prevalent communist imagery and effects could be seen about China.  Although never mentioned directly or acknowledged, the fact that these images pervade onto a mainstream movie create an interesting chemistry of, perhaps, a pseudo-documentary overlapping the inspiring fictional core plot.  It seems, intentionally or unintentionally, that Zwart left the images for the international community to think about and grapple with.  Therefore, The Karate Kid becomes more than simply a remake but a modern and politically relevant film for the masses.

The Karate Kid falters a bit in its execution; resorting to odd plot devices and an uneven pace, but it is memorable because of its charismatic, stalwart actors and its surprisingly candid outlook on the context of its plot and China itself.  The remake seems to doubt the strength of its own story at times, yet those missteps do not mask the positive and strong portions of the film that shine and hold the film up.  Perhaps Director Zwart was simply trying to put this remake on par with the original yet has, in reality, crafted a much more original entity that embraces a very modern and relevant context and makes itself into a pseudo, mass-market documentary and dramatic martial arts film.  ‘The Karate Kid’ is a good instance of what remakes should set themselves out to be: more than simply just a re-telling of a story with the same characters and plot mechanics but with a sense of purpose and relevance.

The Wie muses *** ½ out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

1. What classes did you like the best freshman year? Are these the same things that you enjoyed in high school? Deciding your major is a big part of what happens sophomore year. Taking time over the summer to evaluate where your interests lie can save you a lot of time and heartache later. If you know that you don’t like biology but were planning to be pre-med, it might be time to re-evaluate.
2. What did you bring to college last year and never use? What were the items that you found you needed but didn’t bring Sophomore year often holds a myriad of options for housing, whether off-campus or in dorms, and having a good packing list before heading off to school is helpful. Last minute Wal-mart runs are stressful and time-consuming!
3. Do you want a job in the fall? What jobs are open on campus? Freshman year is a transition period and it can be difficult to handle a job during the adjustment. By sophomore year, you should have a good idea of what your schedule can handle and if you feel that a job will fit into your week now is the time to start looking! There are often a lot of jobs available right on campus (ex. in the library, at the athletic center, tutoring for a department) but these jobs tend to be highly coveted. If you decide you want a job on campus over the summer you can get a jump-start on applying for the positions before everyone returns to campus in the fall!
4. Do you want to study abroad? With everything that is going on sophomore year it is easy to let this one slide through the cracks. A lot of colleges have study abroad fairs during the first few weeks of classes; these fairs are most helpful when you’ve already decided the general area of the world you want to go to (ex. Africa? Eastern Europe?). The decision should be a joint one between you and whomever is paying your tuition bill so it’s much easier (and much less painful) to do at home over the summer when you can gage the ‘rents mood!

If you have a rough outline of your plan for the fall before you get to campus, your year will be a lot less stressful and you’ll be able to concentrate on classes…..and other things!

Director: Masakazu Hashimoto
Running Time: 99 Minutes

Note: This was a special preview screening courtesy of the British Film Institute.  There is currently no release plan for the US.  It is currently scheduled to be released on DVD in September in the UK.  The Japanese release was on September 9th, 2009.

Video game-to-movie adaptations have one of the worst stigmas attached to them.  They usually and unfortunately fall into one of two pitfalls.  The first is that it attempts to create an entirely different product and soul than the original said game, whether it’s because the original game had nary a plot to begin with (i.e. Super Mario Bros.) or because the essence of the original game was too complicated (i.e. Final Fantasy). Both resulted in films that may have connected to the original series via some character names or very narrow plot points but were not great in terms of conveying an engaging cinema experience.  The second pitfall is that some of these adaptations adhere too closely to the plot of said video game and falters by being so inclusive.  And really, that is the main point.  These films have problems understanding being…films.  Of course, the latter (and honestly, all of these films) is a branding strategy to elongate out the video game’s life among consumers more than anything.  There are exceptions to this rule.  Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva is not quite that exception.  It walks the latter path of following very closely to the arc of video games already released on the Nintendo DS and although a prequel, does require a bit of knowledge about the game’s characters to understand some of the perhaps intricacies of the characterizations and references.  However, it’s visual style and charm certainly elevates the film for a casual viewer and for fans, it is filled with some great gleeful moments.

Before going any further, one has to understand exactly what Professor Layton is.  It is a series of Nintendo DS story-driven brainteaser games that have sold fairly well worldwide.  The plots of these games follow the titular character of Professor Layton and his assistant, Luke, in their various travels to unravel various mysteries usually revolving around some myth or artifact.  Their latest adventure takes place before a majority of the games (at least the ones that have released outside of Japan).  Luke has just joined Layton as his number one apprentice.  They are hurried to a new mystery involving Layton’s former acquaintance, Jenis Quatlane and the opera house where she performs.  The mystery concerns an old tale about immortality that is still possible to be received.  Unbeknownst to the protagonists, the opera show they attend morphs into a devious game in which one member of the audience will be promised eternal life and the rest would be disposed of.  Following a quirky set of characters ranging from the opera house’s organist to a British soccer player, they all must play the game whether they want to or not to discover the truth behind what this symbolizes for all of them.

The Eternal Diva’s problems mostly attribute from its structure and convoluted plot.  Director Hashimoto flies right through to the main mystery rather than attempting to introduce and flesh out the two main heroes of Layton and Luke, expecting the audience to derive much of their knowledge from the video game source materials.  Although their roles are easily identifiable, a Sherlock Holmes-esque duo fighting to figure out a mystery, characterizations and humorous moments will not make sense to those uninitiated to the Layton lore.  Some films that are based on properties include subtle touches or in-film items that allude back to the original material.  The Eternal Diva is not so interested in holding back and will veer right on ahead, leaving those uninitiated lost early on.  This is not helped by its ultimately convoluted plot that attempts to do too much in so little time.  The Professor Layton series is known for its supernatural and mystic elements in all of their games whatever they may be yet here, it feels like much of the lore of the core part of understanding the story along with many of the motivations never fully get explained and whether one is a fan or a casual viewer, it feels as if the plot rushed itself for the sake of keeping a quick and lean pace at the sacrifice of delving into a more comprehensive story that would have given the film more emotional weight that the director was attempting to gain, especially at the climax.  And as one other side note that is more of a personal quibble than perhaps an overarching one, it was a letdown to see some of the more serious and grim moments of the film that were fairly shocking at first to be offset by convenient solutions.  It is difficult to explain without delving into a shot-by-shot analysis but perhaps a harder edge age rating would have led to more powerful moments that in the end, feel more like the filmmakers had to scale it back and provide solutions solely because of the audience.  (And a very minor quibble…for this screening, the voices were all in Japanese with English subtitles underneath.  However, the video games have a great English voice cast already set up.  Perhaps already finalized but it would be hopeful that an English dub would also be provided.)

Yet the film ultimately achieves its goal being such a fun film for its fans which seems to be its first and foremost goal and even for the casual viewer who may be lost in terms of the plot, the beautiful style and animation are great and attractive alongside the charm that the film exudes.  Fans of Professor Layton will ultimately derive the most enjoyment from the film.  The Eternal Diva is essentially a movie laden with a lot of fan service whether it’s a clever way of including the brainteasers from the games (much more directly than one may imagine before seeing the film) to a lot of in-jokes about characters already covered throughout the series.  And there is something about seeing cheeky British stereotypes being paraded on screen that do not necessarily feel offensive, the film (and the series) is self-aware and embraces its simple stereotypes to some laughs, ranging from some cringe-worthy to pretty funny moments that all-in-all add to the film’s charm.  There is such a bright and fun attitude to the film in which the audience wants to see the next shot to see the next strange development unfold.  Why?  Because of the beautiful job the team has done with the animation.  Already on the video games, Professor Layton had a unique European-Japanese fusion visual style mixed together, and in theaters as well, it makes a similar impact.  Blown up to the big screen and with the seemingly same animation team from the games who now have a bigger budget, it is one of the more visually pleasing animated movies to watch in theaters.  And that really is what the casual viewer will probably take away from the experience and be impressed by the most is its unique visual identity and silly humor and style which in itself is an achievement.  Backing this all up is a well-produced soundtrack that keeps many of the catchy tunes from the games but gives the whole soundtrack an appropriately operatic and heavy string sound that adds to the charm.

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva does have that common video game-to-film attribute of a very convoluted plot that only loyal fans would probably appreciate and deter most other moviegoers, yet the great visual aesthetics, a good soundtrack, and atmospheric charm help to ease the entry barrier that some viewers may face.  Casual viewers especially will have the most trouble getting past the fan service that the film is mainly concerned with; not helped by the problems with the overly complex plot and rushed pacing.  However, these viewers will most likely appreciate the great and unique animation that gives the film its own charm and style and a sense of grand spectacle.  Additionally, fans of the series will most appreciate the film and although perhaps not an essential addition to understanding more of the Professor Layton’s back-story, is a fun treat that has good production value behind it.  To come full circle back to the introductory point, is this the direction that video game-to-films should take?  Perhaps not fully as it alienates a good number of the audience yet unlike most of the fare made strictly for fans, this is one of the better balances that can at least be aesthetically enjoyed.

The Wie muses: *** out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

Business Centered

These search engines will help you navigate a wide variety of business topics.

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2. Zapdata: Sign up with this site to search for business data you can use.
3. Bloomberg: Follow the latest business news and fluctuations in the market using this site.
4. BPubs: Here you’ll be able to search for great business-related publications, great for personal and school research alike.
5. ThomasNet: Connect with others in the industries you find intriguing through this site.
6. Corporate Information: Use this search tool to find out more about businesses out there.
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8. BusinessInDepth: This site will let you go through business resources by country and search for what you need to know.
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10. Where2Go: Search through this site to easily find the resources you need to start and run a business.
11. Small Business Search Engine: This government site is home to numerous search engines that will aid you in searching for everything from legal issues to local policies.
12. TopTenWholesale: Retailers looking for wholesale products can search through thousands of listings here.
13. Zibb: Check out this global business search engine to get news, business updates and more.
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15. Masterseek: Find products, news, jobs, business leads and much more through this search engine.
16. Fox Business: If you need a business quote, want some news or videos, this site offers easy searchability.

Entrepreneurs

Those thinking of starting their own business can benefit from these search engines.

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11. Inc.com: Try searching through this magazine for articles that fit your research or business needs.
12. Killer Startups: When you search through this site, you’ll find articles on marketing, blogging and technology as well as access to the Datapedia site so you can find relevant business data.

Stocks and Investing

Find out more about the stock market and investing–two essential components of business–from these search engines.

1. DailyStocks: Search for and track all the changes in the stock market using this site.
2. Yahoo! Finance: Follow the latest financial news on Yahoo! Finance.
3. Investor Guide: From managing your own finances to getting help with business prospects, search through this site for helpful articles.
4. Investopedia: This Forbes company will let you search through tutorials, study for CPA exams, and just plain learn more about finance.
5. TradeWiser: You can find an online broker through this site or just get some advice on smarter investing.
6. Dividend: Search for stocks that meet your interests here.
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9. Tickerpedia: Here, you can search for stock, Forex or brokers.
10. TradingDay: Search for stocks, highs and lows, quotes and more through this handy site.

All-In-One

These meta search engines will save you time in finding the results you need.

1. Powerset: This site offers a better and more comprehensive way to search through Wikipedia.
2. Dogpile: Search through all the major search engines at once using this site.
3. MetaCrawlerWeb: Save time and search through several search sites at once here.
4. mamma: mamma lets users find images, news, videos and tweets.
5. Myriad Search: Use Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.com at once here.
6. HotBot: This search engine goes through Yahoo!, LyGo and MSN to find the best results.
7. SurfWax: You can search news, RSS feeds, Wikipedia, shopping and more using this tool.
8. Clusty: Using several top search engines, this site combines the results into clusters organized by topic.
9. Copernic Agent: Search the web smartly using this search tool.
10. Scour: Scour makes it easy to get the latest and most popular results in images, news and videos.
11. Vertical Search: Get targeted, relevant search results on this site in a range of categories, including business.

Research

When doing research for your courses, these search engines can be a big help.

1. Google Scholar: This site guarantees that you’ll get great results that are academic and trustworthy.
2. WorldCat: If you can’t find what you want in your own library, use this search engine to locate it.
3. HighBeam Research: Search through tons of articles and journals using this tool.
4. iSeek: This site will deliver results focused on academics and education.
5. Librarian’s Internet Index: Find information you can trust through this search engine.
6. Virtual Learning Resource Center: Search or browse through loads of topics on this site to find the information you need.
7. Open Library: Doing research for a business project? This site can help, with access to lots of free books.
8. Virtual Salt: This site offers access to a variety of search engines as well as listing some tools that can help you find what you need.
9. NoodleTools: Not sure how to go about researching? This site takes into account numerous factors and gives you a plan to get it done.
10. Academic Index: Here you can search through academic and professional resources.

Economics and Finance

Find out more about the world of finance through these search tools.

1. EconLit: Search through numerous articles published in econ journals through this site.
2. National Bureau of Economic Research: Find out more about economic research projects by searching this site.
3. RePEc: Find research papers in economics by searching though the hundreds of thousands of papers listed here.
4. Inomics: Use this site to keep up with the latest news in economics meetings, education and jobs.
5. Google Finance: Follow the markets and important financial news here.
6. DailyFinance: You can search this site for market results, or just read the news published daily.
7. Boardmark: This financial search engine and community will put you in touch with great resources and people.
8. SeekFin: Search the web for the best financial information using this tool.
9. Business Finance: Through this site, you’ll get access to information geared towards business professionals.

Legal

Gain a better understanding of the legal aspects of business by using these tools.

1. FindLaw: Find answers about the law, get access to lawyers, and much more through this site.
2. LawForum: Here you can join in discussions on law and find helpful information through the search functions.
3. Everybody’s Legal Glossary: Use this site to look up legal terms so you can be in the know.
4. Law.com Quest: This search engine focuses on law firm sites and legal blogs to bring you results.
5. FedLaw: If the research you’re doing requires learning more about federal law, then try out this site.
6. World Legal Information Institute: Try out this site to find out about law and legal decisions worldwide.
7. Meta-Index for U.S. Legal Research: This site isn’t a search engine itself but will point you in the direction of dozens of other great searchable sites.
8. LawGuru: Ask a legal question or search through past answers on this site.

Advertising and Marketing

Try out these search engines to research advertising and marketing, past and present.

1. Ad Access:You’ll find over 7,000 ads here that you can search through.
2. Ad Forum: Using this site, you can search through a collection of modern ads and get access to an online community.
3. MarcommWise: Find articles and a glossary on this searchable site.
4. Marketer’s Portal: Search through this site for resources that can help you be a better marketer.
5. Vintage Ad Browser: Get an idea of what ads looked like in past decades from this site.
6. Workbook: This site is an excellent photography and illustration database for advertisers.
7. Marketing Find: Through this search tool, you can find marketing news and helpful apps to navigate the web.

Social Media

These social media search tools will help you better navigate social tools that can help you market and promote your business ventures.

1. Aardvark: Find all kinds of answers to your important questions on this searchable site.
2. Backtype: Type in any URL to this site to see its social impact.
3. Delicious: Use Delicious to search for information that is popular with web users.
4. LinkedIn: LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for searching for business connections.
5. Scoopler: Find out what the biggest scoops are out there in business, technology and more using this site.
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7. Taggl: Search for tagged posts relevant to your query on this site.
8. Twingly: You can follow big news stories or help yourself find ones that you really want to read by signing up and searching this site.
9. KnowEm: Search through all the big social media sites to see what people are saying about your company.
10. Omgili: Find communities, message boards and discussion threads about any topic using this search engine.

Green Business

With more and more businesses looking for ways to be green, these search tools can help you learn about the latest developments in sustainable business.

1. EcoBusinessLinks: Through this site, you can search for green products and companies.
2. EcoSeek: This site is a searchable green products directory.
3. GreenGamma: Use this directory to find out how green tech is being used by all kinds of different companies.
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7. Sustainable Business: Learn about green business, investing, connections, jobs and more through the search tools on this site.

World hunger does not stand alone as a problem. Since people who are chronically hungry simply cannot get the amount of energy they need to lead an active and productive life (which then leads to poverty) and that some people who are too hungry become so desperate that they start stealing and committing other petty crimes which then leads to increased crime rates around the world, so if you think about it, once world hunger is somehow eradicated, some of the other connected issues wouldn’t be much of a problem anymore. World hunger is surprisingly, one of the issues that whole world has brought upon itself because the primary reason that the world is starving because the vast amount of the food that the world has produced goes to the much wealthier nations of Western Europe and North America instead of going to the much more “desperate” nations of Africa and Asia.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) “The State of Food Insecurity around the World Report” (2009), over 1.02 billion people in the world are undernourished. This means that more people are hungrier now than ever, even with the introduction of various programs designed to alleviate world hunger. At this rate, we will not be able to reach the World Food Summit’s goal of cutting the number of the world’s hungry by half to no more than 420 million by 2015. This means that the countless measures we currently have in place are clearly ineffective and we need to try other and more innovative methods to effectively help reduce world hunger.

One reason that we still haven’t reduced the number of people that are chronically hungry to noticeably lower levels is that we keep on underestimating the true extent of this problem, one example of this is that at the end of the Second World War, most scientists and various experts in the field predicted that with the advances in modern technology and thinking, it would be possible, by the end of the 21^st century to end global problems like world hunger and poverty. The impoverished countries of South America, Africa and Asia will have a new lease on life and will go down a road of great prosperity and overall, national harmony. Sadly, nowadays, these idealistic thoughts have been replaced by feelings of hopelessness as more than one and a half billion people are simply not having enough to eat.

As the world’s population continues to grow at an ever increasing rate, great amounts pressure is being placed on the availability of suitable farm land, water, and energy to provide an adequate supply of food for all of us. According to the World Bank and the United Nations, from 1 to 1.5 billion humans are now malnourished, indicating a combination of insufficient food, low incomes, and inadequate distribution of food. This is the largest number of hungry humans ever recorded in history. In China about 80 million are now malnourished and hungry. Based on current rates of increase, the world population is projected to double from roughly 6 billion to more than 12 billion in less than 50 years as the world population expands, the food problem will become increasingly severe, conceivably with the numbers of malnourished people exceeding 3 billion.

World hunger is one of those problems that are affecting a large number of people around the world. The world was created in mind that it will produce enough resources to sustain the vast amount of people living on it, but nowadays the unequal distribution of food is becoming increasingly widespread, this is based on the fact that 36 out 40 countries that have a large majority of malnourished people are exporting a large quantity of their annual food production to wealthier countries in Western Europe and North America. So with no evidence on the supposed inability of even poorest countries around the world to sustain themselves with locally grown food and food products, the question of “Why people are still unnecessarily starving in the midst of so plenty?” People who argue that some countries in the world simply do not and will not have sufficient resources and materials to sustain themselves are simply wrong because Asia, the largest continent on Earth has more arable (land suitable for growing crops) than other regions’ of the world, and yet, Asia has one of the biggest, if not the biggest percentage of chronically malnourished people in the world, so it again begs the question “Why are so many starving in the midst of plenty?” So if we all do our part, by pressuring our government representatives, we can all help each other end world hunger.

In order to properly prioritize your life, you need to take a step back and reassess where you are investing your time and energy. Alongside this, in my opinion, it becomes quite beneficial (necessary, in fact) to keep yourself accountable for every single decision you make. It doesn’t matter how big or small each decision is – rather, it matters that you make every decision consciously and purposefully according to your priorities and goals.

At this point in my life, I feel that it makes most sense to prioritize ourselves in this order:

1. Health - Of mind, of body. Keep yourself in shape. Aerobic exercise is a must, along with other recreational or occasional forms of exerting physical energy. Interestingly, studies have shown that regularly exercising and accomplishing physical challenges will automatically keep your mind sharper and happier. In addition, it will embolden you to accept other non-physical challenges. Moreover, your brain needs mental stimulation on a regular basis – outside of family or work. Read the news. Read books. Stay up on what’s going on in the world, what happened in history, and how it relates to your perspectives. Practice artistic hobbies and express your views while reflecting on the beauties of life. Be aware of yourself, your words, your actions. Groom your body and practice good hygiene. Maintain regular schedules of sleeping, eating, and otherwise as described here. More than anything, don’t obsess over your health – be moderate, and enjoy it.

“When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.” – Herophilus

The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they’ll ease
Your will they’ll mend
And charge you not a shilling.

- Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields, What the River Knows, 1990

“The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.” – G.K. Chesterton

“Our body is a machine for living.  It is organized for that, it is its nature.  Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself, it will do more than if you paralyze it by encumbering it with remedies.”  – Leo Tolstoy

“There’s lots of people who spend so much time watching their health, they haven’t got time to enjoy it.” – Josh Billings

2. Relationships - Family, friends, and people that YOU care about seem to be a logical secondary life priority after you take care of yourself. In fact, studies have shown that people who do volunteer work or show regular compassion or generosity to others are more likely to be happy and satisfied with their own life goals and accomplishments. In addition, laughing is said to help oxygenate your blood stream, and a smile is said to require less energy than a frown. Maintaining positive relationships with the people you love is vitally important to a balanced life as it will seemingly create a “give and take” cycle between you and others. Ultimately, though, don’t spend too much time on people you don’t care about, or people that always let you down. This sounds harsh, but such actions will only negatively impact your a) health and b) relationships overall.

“Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.” – Tennessee Williams

“Having someone wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night is a very old human need.”  – Margaret Mead

“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.” – Unknown

There’s one sad truth in life I’ve found
While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

3. Career and Purpose - Keep your long-term goals and identity in mind with every decision. Contrary to popular sayings, a job is not “just a job”… rather, like they address in the movie Repo Men, “you are what you do.” In the old days, most people wound up falling into whatever industry their father was in – farming, fishing, carpentry, textiles, blacksmith, etc. In the postmodern age, however, we have the blessing, and curse, of having too many options. It has the effect of making life decisions harder – overwhelming, at times, as we decide on education, training, where to live, which subcultures to be a part of, and what career paths to pursue. Moreover, sometimes we don’t have a choice, during bad economic times or between jobs or schools, and we fall into random opportunities. Rather than getting caught up in the crazy speed and confusion of the modern world, challenge yourself to make decisions according WHO and WHAT you want to be. Got rejected from medical school but haven’t given up? Then find a job in the meantime and remain focused on your ultimate goals. At all costs, do not remain stagnant or hesitant for too long. You can only learn more about yourself, and more about your purpose, by moving around and trying various things. Here is a fascinating and inspiring rundown about life purpose you should check out.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

“Each of the professions means a prejudice. The necessity for a career forces every one to take sides. We live in the age of the overworked, and the under-educated; the age in which people are so industrious that they become absolutely stupid.” – Oscar Wilde

“Don’t ever let economic alone determine your career or how you spend the majority of your time.” – Denis Waitley

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

4. Fun & Satisfaction - Don’t live for tomorrow, live for today. Enjoy life. Pleasure is so important and brings the cycle of life priorities back to #1, which is your own personal health and well-being. There are funny differing opinions and wordings regarding the idea of being content or satisfied. Some people believe that to live an energetic, happy, and interesting life, you must “never be satisfied” and keep going and going on to various things. This is intriguing, and I understand what they mean. However, I think it is important as humans to pursue, and consciously acknowledge to ourselves, a certain level of contentment and satisfaction when we accomplish the things we sought to, or when we reach certain encouraging milestones, or when we have a fantastic season of life doing something we enjoy, or something that is truly good, or something that we did with people we love that is just awesome. At the end of the day – no, actually, at any time of any day, you should generally be on the path that you WANT to be on, even if its a short diversion or pause. You should never live for “one day” or worry about tomorrow constantly. Today was yesterday’s tomorrow, and such a cycle is so dangerous. Have fun with people, marvel at the beauty of the natural world, listen to music, develop your hobbies, travel, and play around with the idea of satisfaction.

“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” – Book of Ephesians

“Don’t let the past steal your present.” – Terri Guillemets

“If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today.” – Author Unknown

“Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  And today?  Today is a gift.  That’s why we call it the present.”  – Babatunde Olatunji

*Some people might argue that religion, or lifestyle ideologies and philosophies, should also appear on this list, probably at the top. However, it would seem that such a logic is in fact blinding. Universal human values can fit into any reasonable and natural ideology, hence, this list is presented “as-is.”

Students who end up at colleges that weren’t their top choice are often happiest. Sushma Subramanian on the upside to being rejected by the elites.

When Lauren Schug, 26, from Philadelphia, was rejected by her top college choices—Brown, Columbia, and Duke—she was pretty sure her life was over. “I was extremely disappointed when I didn’t get into my first choice school,” she says, “and as I didn’t get into my second and third choice, I feared that my education and my future would be compromised.”

She reluctantly began considering the colleges lower down her list, only two of which she would consider enrolling in: Boston College and Tulane. The latter she had applied to only because the son of her parents’ close friends had gone there and liked it.

“It’s kind of like dating that person who’s good on paper,” says one college counselor about elite schools, “you’re just not in love with them.”

But then something strange began to happen. The more she was forced to dwell on these two schools, the more they intrigued her. Boston College turned out to have an in-depth classical focus as its English major’s core curriculum. And after her visit to New Orleans—on a sun-drenched, 80-degree spring day the weekend of the French Quarter Festival—Tulane started to look pretty fantastic. Plus, Tulane was offering her a scholarship. (Schug also remembers her parents telling her they’d buy her a car if she went there; it never materialized.)

She eventually settled on Tulane—and in retrospect, she thinks getting the cold shoulder from her more elite first choices was the best thing that could have happened to her. At Tulane, she was outside her comfort zone and surrounded by a diverse group of students. “At Tulane, there were so many different people from around the country,” Schug said. “If I’d gone to one of my other choices, a lot of them probably would have been people who grew up in well-off suburbs in the Northeast.”

Schug’s experience isn’t uncommon. College counselors and faculty, as well as students who didn’t get into their top-choice college, say the second-choice school often turns out to be an even better fit. “I had wanted a school that people would recognize and think was prestigious,” Schug says. “A lot of times, kids put so much emphasis on a big name rather than what school is right for them.”

Jeremy Hyman, a former philosophy professor and co-author of Professors’ Guide to Getting Good Grades in College, agrees. He’s seen students again and again rank prestigious schools as their top choices without fully researching them. Just ask students who scrambled to get into Notre Dame for the sports only to be unnerved once they arrive to find that chapel attendance every Sunday is mandatory. “When there’s less name-recognition, the student does a more careful investigation of what the school is really like,” says Hyman. “When the first one’s out of the way, that’s when they study the product, visit the college, study the website, check the syllabi for some classes.”

That’s just one reason many students end up happier at their second-choice college. Some students aren’t as ready as they think they are to conquer the world at a Harvard or a Yale. Barbara Cooke, head of academic advising and student-employment services at Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods in Kansas City, says kids overestimate their abilities at their peril. “Sometimes you can choose a college that’s more of a reach than you can handle,” Cooke said. “If you end up at a second-choice school, sometimes the transition is easier, either academics-wise, or it’s closer to home.”

There’s a psychological aspect, too, to why fewer choices can make you feel firmer about your decision, says Sheena Iyengar, a researcher at Columbia University and author of The Art of Choosing. If you’ve been accepted to all the colleges you’ve applied to, selecting between Yale and Harvard and Stanford and Princeton can cause a minor meltdown. (Turn down Yale??) Even after the choice has been made and you’re safely on the campus of your perfect Ivy, you might continue to worry if you made the right decision—a worry that could plague you long after you’ve graduated.

One way to muffle the shock of being rejected from a first-choice school is by having good back-ups—not just safety schools you hate the idea of, but genuine second-choice schools that you think you’d genuinely want to attend. Jim Jump, the director of guidance at St. Christopher’s School, an all-boys’ prep school, in Richmond, Virginia, says that approaching the admissions process correctly means identifying a range of schools, any of which they’d be happy at. Problems arise when all of their expectations rest on the decision of one college.

“As they think about college, they should be constantly thinking about the ‘what-ifs,’ which should preclude being obsessed over one place,” says Jump.

Those what-ifs should also include options if that first-choice school doesn’t turn out to be a match made in heaven. Alexis White, a private college application consultant in Los Angeles, says that sometimes students have dangerously lofty ideas about what the college experience will be like. “There’s an incredible amount of expectation placed on a first-choice school,” says White. “They get there, and sometimes it’s not what they’d built it up to be in their minds.”

But perhaps most intriguing is the notion that many students end up falling more deeply in love with their second-choice school—one that embraced them fully and unconditionally—than they ever could have with an institution that’s hyper-selective. “Students tend to bond with the college they attend, and this process is enhanced by the fact that the college wanted them, too,” said Lisa Sohmer, the director of college counseling at Garden School in Jackson Heights, New York. Even though a dream school may have a fitting academic program, it might not be right, socially or emotionally. “It’s kind of like dating that person who’s good on paper—you’re just not in love with them,” White says.

Take Randi Fuchs, a 22-year-old English major who was accepted to her first-choice college and enrolled there in 2006. She’d grown up surrounded by driven, overachieving students at Scarsdale High School; her closest friends were headed to the Ivies. Students at Scarsdale High didn’t aspire to attend nearby colleges like Manhattanville, Iona, or SUNY-Purchase. So Fuchs, almost without thinking, accepted her admission to the most elite school she could get into with her B-average: American University.

Fuchs wanted to study education, but at American, students couldn’t be accepted into the education program until their sophomore year. And American prepared them for certification tests for local schools, not schools in New York, where Fuchs wanted to live after graduation. She also joined a sorority, but after three years as a sister there she felt the social pressures were interfering with her schoolwork.

By her junior year, she had transferred to Manhattanville College, a small school in Westchester with just 1,700 undergraduates—a place she hadn’t even applied to back in high school and that most people outside the New York area have never heard of. Her friends thought she was crazy, but today, Fuchs couldn’t be happier.

“When you go to college, you don’t know who you are,” she says. “At 22, I know I’m comfortable making decisions that are right for me.”

Sushma Subramanian is a freelance journalist in New York and an adjunct journalism professor at Hunter College. Her work has appeared in New York magazine, Psychology Today, and Self.

Don’t be ashamed to move back in with mom and dad – for a while anyway

If you do not already have your own place with a steady income and a sound budget, it may be a smart idea to move back home until you get all that sorted out. Don’t be ashamed. You are not the only college graduate who will be moving back in with mom and dad. According to a recent poll by Collegegrad.com, 80 percent of 2009 college graduates moved back home with their parents after graduation, up from 77 percent in 2008, 73 percent in 2007 and 67 percent in 2006. Moving in with the parents is smart because it saves you lots of money while you figure out how you are going to afford to live on your own. Just be mindful that you are no longer living in the dorms and be respectful of the house rules. Offer to contribute to the household like an adult if you want to be treated like one.

Size up your expenses and debt – if you have any

Do your budget. If you have any student loans, you usually have a grace period of 6 months or so before you have to start paying money back. Even so, find out your your payment will be and factor that into your monthly living expenses. You may not be paying rent and utilities if you have chosen to move home, but gym memberships, credit cards, car payments, gas and other expenses still need to get paid.  You may have to eliminate some things from your freshly graduated, broke budget. Make it a priority to pay off any consumer debt and devise a plan to do this once you find a job.

Just get a job

This is of course the reason you attended college in the first place, right? Well, keep in mind your first job out of college may not be your dream job. According to Collegegrad.com’s Director of Marketing and PR, Adeola Ogunwole,t he competitive job market is only one dynamic getting in the way of college graduates’ gainful employment. The other big obstacle is unreasonable expectations. Consider your first job a starter job – something to keep you busy and help put a little cash your pocket while you work toward the ideal career. Don’t feel bad if you don’t even know what that ideal career is. You have plenty of time to figure that out and it will always change as you get more experience and figure out exactly what you do and don’t like about various industries. The average person changes careers several times in his or her lifetime (not jobs, careers). So you might as well get started and get the crappy jobs out of the way first.

Define your goals (short term and long term)

While you are working your way through your first entry-level job, you may feel a sense of disappointment. “Is this what I went to college for?” many college graduates wonder. Use this as a motivation to figure out what you really want to do with your life. Look on the bright side and make the best of the experience. Entry-level positions can teach you, by process of elimination, what you like and dislike about that job. Keep notes and put your career goals in writing. As you define your goals, let others know about them too. Your boss may help you move to a different department within the company or your parents may have friends that work in a field that you are curious about. If you have personal goals of getting married and starting a family, define, write down and imagine how your life would look with those aspects as well. It may seem corny, but these jedi mind tricks can be a powerful tool when it comes to going after and getting what you want.

Don’t be so hard on yourself

Very few college graduates get the life that they imagined for themselves immediately after graduating. It takes much more than a four year degree to acquire skills, maturity and experience. While it may not seem like it for a while, there is life after college. Be patient and enjoy the ride.

April Lentini writes for Apartment Guide in Austin.

1. Ellen DeGeneres: After a long career as a comedian, actress, Academy Awards host and TV talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres now enjoys a large, loyal following of middle Americans and respecting colleagues, many of whom tune into her talk show Ellen everyday. Fans love DeGeneres for her quirky, self-deprecating sense of humor and her penchant for poking fun without being cruel. Her two books, My Point…and I Do Have One and The Funny Thing Is were written in 1995 and 2003 respectively, and mirror her signature comedy style. Readers will find jokes and commentary about the humor in everyday life, from parallel parking to the way we act in elevators.
2. Stephen Colbert: On his TV show The Colbert Report, host and writer Stephen Colbert is a silly anchorman who points out the absurdity of the day’s news. But beyond the jokes, Colbert is an intelligent man who mixes political commentary with comedy. He has won four Emmy awards, as well as other awards for work on his own show and The Daily Show. Colbert is also a New York Times best-selling author, thanks to his overwhelmingly popular satire I Am America (And So Can You!)
3. Ethan Hawke: During the late 1980s and 1990s, actor Ethan Hawke was slated to be the next hottest thing in Hollywood after appearing in movies like Dead Poets Society, White Fang and Reality Bites. But while the dark, sensitive actor continued to work regularly, he wasn’t interested in being a high-profile movie star. Instead, Hawke chose smaller roles, returned to theatre work, and even wrote two novels: The Hottest State in 1997 and Ash Wednesday in 2002. Both were critically acclaimed successes.
4. Henry Winkler: Happy Days star Henry Winkler continues to appear on TV shows and movies even today, but the Fonz is also a children’s book author. And while lots of celebrities, from Madonna to Spike Lee, have written kids’ books, Winkler drew on his own childhood struggle with dyslexia and school life to create the Hank Zipzer Collection of novels for the nine-to-twelve-year old set.
5. Woody Allen: Director, writer and actor Woody Allen’s life has been riddled with controversy and complexity, but he is nevertheless one of the most successful and influential filmmakers of the 20th century. Allen has been working steadily since the 1960s, and has written, directed, and/or starred in a number of films, including What’s New Pussycat?, Play it Again, Sam, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and others. Allen has also written plays and short stories like “Side Effects” and the novel Without Feathers, which spent four months on the New York Times Bestseller list.
6. Carrie Fisher: While actress Carrie Fisher was once most well known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies in the 1970s, she is now more often cited as a successful novelist and screenwriter. She has written five novels, including Postcards from the Edge, which was also developed into a movie in 1990. Her sole work of nonfiction Wishful Drinking is an autobiographical story that was turned into a limited-run show on Broadway.
7. Steve Martin: Steve Martin has been a part of the entertainment industry since the 1960s, and a very public part since his appearances on TV with The Gong Show and Saturday Night Live in the 1970s. Now, Steve Martin continues to work regularly as a TV and film actor, awards show host, producer, musician and writer. Martin has written several screenplays and plays including 2001’s Shopgirl, which starred Claire Danes.
8. Hugh Laurie: House star Hugh Laurie has won countless awards, including Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards, for his work on American TV, and he also enjoyed a successful career on stage, TV and in films in Great Britain. The talented actor also experimented with novel writing and even submitted the book The Gun Seller to a publisher anonymously. His agent convinced him to admit that he was the author to help with publicity for the book, a thriller about a retired Army officer propositioned to assassinate an American businessman. Laurie has also written another novel, The Paper Soldier, which is currently unavailable.
9. Martin Scorsese: Film director Martin Scorsese is responsible for creating cinematic masterpieces like Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, Casino and The Departed, as well as documentaries and several short films. The award-winning filmmaker has also written and compiled several books and collections about cinema history, directing and the entertainment industry. Additionally, books like Casino reveal the original story created before the movie version.
10. Quentin Tarantino: Another cutting-edge American director on our list is Quentin Tarantino, the creative genius behind movies like Pulp Fiction, Sin City, Reservoir Dogs and the Kill Bill series. Tarantino and his projects have cult followings and have enjoyed widespread commercial and critical success, making him one of the most influential artists of his time. Besides directing films, Tarantino has also written many of his screenplays and book or comic book versions of his movies, like Grindhouse, Natural Born Killers and Inglourious Basterds.

Contributed by OnlineUnis

Every college and university around the world expects its students to uphold certain standards. Honesty, refraining from causing harm to others, community, and staying within the laws of the home country all remain relatively reasonable and universal codes that give students structure while still preserving their individuality and bolstering their character. But some schools, most especially those affiliated with the evangelical Christian movement in the United States, raise a number of extremely difficult questions with their adherence to a highly restrictive code of values. While it usually remains the students’ choice to partake of such environments, many outside the affiliated fundamentalist organizations may look over their rules and find their jaws dropping. For these schools, leeching beyond the academic and school-related extracurricular functions and into the private lives of their students remains a high priority, with handbooks dictating very clearly how all of them must behave regardless of whether or not they live or play on campus. Are they genuinely pushing their students towards the path of Christ? Or are they treating free-willed adults as if petulant children incapable of forging their own individual perceptions, decisions, and behaviors without being fed someone else’s interpretations of Christian dogma? There are as many answers as there are people to consider the questions, because the world exists in shades of grey. Perhaps they are harmful. Perhaps they are harmless. But the following schools nonetheless play host to a number of regulations that seem rather appalling to mainstream society, and this article takes an admittedly irreverent peek at a little of what they have to say.

1. Oral Roberts University

All resident and commuter students at Oral Roberts University are required to attend church at least twice a week and find themselves to a highly restrictive dress code. All men and women are expected to dress modestly, stay well-groomed, and avoid tattoos and body piercings. The former may not wear makeup, because breaking archaic gender tropes will rip the very foundations of society asunder. Alcohol is held up as equally detrimental as illegal substances regardless of whether or not a student partakes responsibly and remains at or above the drinking age – and the University does not discriminate on whether or not consumption or possession takes place on- or off-campus, either. Raffles are not even allowed as fundraiser due to their association with gambling, which is also banned. Obviously, dishonest or disruptive remains heavily discouraged as it does even in public schools. But premarital sex, homosexuality, aligning oneself with occult religions (though the handbook never actually specifies which belief systems they consider “occult”), using expletives, tobacco possession or use, dancing, and working at any establishment that encourages or involves any such things apparently constitute impropriety and stand as offenses worthy of expulsion.

2. Pensacola Christian College

While most schools understandably discourage nationally illegal activities involving drugs or underage drinking, Pensacola Christian College outlaws perfectly legal ones such as gambling, possession of pornography, dancing, swearing, smoking tobacco, and even patronizing movie theatres. They completely reach into the personal lives and convictions of their students, demanding that they refrain from such so-called “perversions” such as premarital sex, extramarital sex (even if both parties agree to an open relationship), and homosexuality. Anyone caught in such a position faces discipline or dismissal. In addition, all students enrolled in 12 or more hours are required to attend at least one chapel event a week. Part-timers or those with special circumstances must do so on days when their classes do not begin until after noon. All of these policies supposedly honor the wishes of Jesus Christ and facilitate participation in the encouraged weekend activities of door-to-door and child evangelism, working in churches, and volunteering at nursing homes.

3. Bob Jones University

Bob Jones University requires all students to attend regular church, Sunday school, society, Bible conferences, artist series programs, and vespers services on campus, though not necessarily in a single week. They understandably discourage illegal and discourteous behaviors such as excessive drunkenness, but generally harmless actions like possessing legal pornography, moderate drinking, disciplined gambling, dancing, sensuality, premarital sex, and homosexuality all remain condemned and held up as just as harmful to young, educated minds. All mixed groups of men and women – both on and off campus – require the presence of a chaperone to intercede on any behaviors they deem offensive to their conservative sensibilities. The school even governs how students are to go about their off-campus employment as well. Serving alcohol at bars or restaurants, keeping hours past 10:30 PM on weekdays and midnight on weekends, and door-to-door sales without expressed permission from the dean or a retail license are all forbidden by Bob Jones University. Any and all work must not interfere with weekday prayer sessions, either. In addition, all freshmen with jobs must consent to being chaperoned by a prayer captain or one of their assistants or an upperclassman while working. Neither freshmen nor sophomores are permitted to drive cars to work, either.

4. Liberty University

As with many Christian colleges and universities, Liberty extends its behavioral guidelines to students who live off campus as well as on. They do not require church service, but Convocations on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are compulsory for the entire student body. Political or social demonstrations – including harmless picketing – are completely banned on campus, and the University heavily discourages participating in any held off-campus as well. They reserve the right to discipline any student who does so, most especially in cases when the politics and ideals expressed in the protests go against the school’s extremely conservative beliefs. Commuter students cannot cohabitate with significant others or any peers of the opposite sex, either, and anyone hoping to get married before the age of 21 is highly encouraged to seek counseling and receive parental permission. In addition, anyone considering dating a classmate or other attendee must refrain from any sign of affection beyond handholding. After dusk, mixed groups are not allowed to fraternize without chaperones because having a group of friends including males and females alike is not normal psychosocial behavior – it is “improper” and apparently leads to premarital sex and dancing and other alleged affronts to Jesus.

5. Brigham Young University

The official “Honor Code” of BYU strictly outlaws camping trips with members of the opposite sex, though instances with separate accommodations for males and females will at least receive a modicum of consideration and reduced discipline if unauthorized. Most of the punishment is reserved for any involving “impropriety,” however. In accordance with their Mormon faith, students must also refrain from the expected and reasonable discourteous and illegal behavior – but coffee, tea, responsible alcohol consumption, and tobacco are also disallowed as well. All women are required to keep their skirts at knee-length or longer and receive no piercings beyond one in the earlobe. Men may not grow their sideburns past their earlobes, have hair covering their ears, or keep moustaches beyond the corners of their mouths. Beards are completely banned without explicit permission from the school, and neither gender may color their hair or wear any form-fitting apparel. Openly homosexual students are allowed to attend classes, but they must commit themselves to the same standards of staunch chastity as their heterosexual peers. In addition, they must refrain from participating in any pro-gay demonstrations or distribute literature involving equal marital and legal rights for their community. While BYU does accept students who do not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they are still required to participate in the community as if they were.

6. Asbury College

Demanding a “radical commitment to Jesus Christ” of all students involves not only the usual abstinence from illegal substances and behaving courteously, but a number of other legal but forbidden or discouraged behaviors frowned upon by the religious right as well. Possessing legal pornography, light to moderate drinking (even non-alcoholic versions of beer or cocktails), gambling, premarital or extramarital sex (regardless of whether or not the latter take place within an open relationship), dressing immodestly, supporting or practicing religious beliefs in line with the “occult” (with the lines of what constitutes such practices never explicitly stated), using profanity, tobacco, engaging in or supporting homosexuality, and having or supporting abortions are also very much in violation of the school’s strict moral guidelines. Allowing dancing at any school-related function – on or off campus – is strictly prohibited, though students are allowed to bust a few chaste, pre-approved moves at “weddings, military balls, graduation exercises, church, and family occasions” provided they refrain from attending clubs, bars, or parties that allegedly lead to temptation no matter what. Attending chapel is mandatory, and it is heavily suggested that not participating in other Christian ceremonies or functions is highly frowned upon. Any movies to be shown on campus must receive approval from Asbury College faculty and staff if it involves a rating of PG or PG-13, with all R’s and NC-17’s banned except in extreme circumstances (Passion of the Christ, by the way, was considered violent and intense enough to warrant an R by the MPAA). Students hoping to visit any friends of the opposite sex must receive permission from their families and keep it on file with the school as well.

7. Dallas Christian College

Dallas Christian College directly addresses individuals who feel their extremely staunch policies are either too slack or too restrictive, stating that such measures strike a balance between freedom and Christian piety. In addition to outright banning the expected illegal and discourteous behaviors, premarital sex and homosexuality are “considered as absolute” in their alleged offense to God and society as stealing and lying. Any freshmen taking less than 24 hours of coursework must be in their dorm rooms by midnight on Monday through Wednesday and 12:30 AM on Friday through Sunday. Other academic levels are not stringently held to these policies, but they must sign out if they want to return after curfew. Thursday nights require a 10:00 PM return time because of devotionals. All students with a course load of 6 hours or more are required to contribute at least 6 hours of volunteer work in a Christian-related field per month, and they are heavily discouraged from taking jobs that distract from the school’s staunch moral guidelines. Students caught engaging in premarital, extramarital, and homosexual behavior face the risk of being expelled completely from Dallas Christian College as well. Dancing, too, falls under extremely restrictive guidelines as well, with the school outright refusing to allow it on campus or any official functions held offsite. Social and dance clubs as well face quite a bit of consternation.

8. Ozark Christian College

Most schools understandably want their students to stay away from breaking the law or acting inconsiderately towards others – but Ozark Christian College also places tight regulations on legal activities as well. Alcohol and tobacco are forbidden even for those of age for purchase and consumption, and media intake is restricted to whatever the faculty and staff deems inoffensive. This, of course, means any movie above a PG-rating or below a -1 score on Previewonline.org (though there exists the very rare acquiescing from the school). In addition, attendance at parties, clubs, casinos, restaurants, and bars is expressly prohibited except when no alcohol is present. Mixed groups of males and females must agree to confer in the presence of a chaperone. Public displays of affection beyond handholding are highly discouraged, as is fraternizing with those of the opposite sex on co-ed camping trips. Dyed hair and “faddish or extreme styles” are out, as are any piercings beyond the ears or a nose stud – presumably allowed for cultural reasons. Save for the dress code and media violations, most of these infractions can lead to disciplinary actions or even outright dismissal from the school.

9. Clearwater Christian College

This Florida institution takes its “honor court” very, very seriously – going so far as to issue demerits for a number of completely legal offenses. Some are grounds for immediate expulsion, while others build up over time before a student can be dismissed. Arrests, convictions, and firearms understandably lead to suspension or termination, but so can purchasing and consuming alcohol (even when of age), attending a bar or a club, involvement with a cult, Satanism, or witchcraft, or engaging in sexual activity. Because the nude human body is just as detrimental to society as a sawed-off shotgun. Major infractions largely accepted by mainstream society and allowed under American law include “dating violation[s],” owning potentially offensive media (which will get confiscated), swimming with the opposite sex, patronizing a movie theatre, attending a concert, receiving a tattoo or piercing, gambling, possessing pornography, or purchasing and using tobacco (even when of age). Some of the dating offenses include displays of affection beyond hand-holding both on- and off-campus, seeing one another in swimming or sunbathing attire, not exiting a car at the same time immediately upon turning off the engine, being caught alone together while at school, and going on single dates while a freshman. Minor infractions include borrowing and not attending chapel and group devotions on a regular basis. All students are also required to adhere to a stringent dress code lest they find themselves facing a few more fines along the way.

10. Florida Christian College

The veritably Orwellian Florida Christian College combs through its students’ media collections, banning any books, movies, music, magazines, or video games it deems detrimental to Christianity. No video games may possess an M rating, nor are students allowed to own movies above the PG-13 rating. They can’t dance, can’t gamble, and can’t even lightly use alcohol or tobacco even if of legal age. They have to cover tattoos, remove piercings, and maintain hairstyles approved by the dean – and all without any unnatural colors, of course. Employment must not mainly involve the sale of alcohol (so no bars or liquor stores), anything even remotely sexual, gambling, or anything un-Christian. Sexual abuse and incest are very understandably considered a violation due to their illegality and penchant for psychological damage, but legal activities like abortion, premarital and extramarital sex (even within the confines of an open marriage), and homosexuality are held up as just as appalling.

In their quest to encourage their students to live like Christ – or, more accurately, their interpretations of how Christ lived – these schools push upon them a series of heavy restrictions involving their behaviors on and off campus. Going far beyond the usual, generally accepted standards of not breaking the law, acting in a disruptive or discourteous manner, and remaining honest in word, deed, and homework, they raise a number of fascinating moral and ethical questions regarding personal freedom. While this article certainly peers into their doings from the perspective of an outsider, it admits that the real answers remain entirely subjective and highly nebulous. Everyone should look at the evidence presented and formulate their own personal opinion of the matter.

Or does it?

Now more than ever, many people of all ages are turning back the clock on technology and looking for more down-to-earth methods of interaction. While it’s hardly possible to avoid the Internet these days between all the online banking, emailing, and what not, some web communities aim to mix a bit of tradition with technology.

Enter JuJu, a new social network that aims to harness the power of the Internet to bring back the old-fashioned penpal with perhaps a little more technological pep. Dozens of homemade penpal type sites have existed on the web for the past 15 or so years, but JuJu seems to reach out in new form with a slick brand and slick software.

Users who register on JuJu are given the opportunity to fill out a profile where they can specify what they are looking for. Choices include: Friends, Penpals, Dating, Language Exchange, Travel Companions, and Hosting Other Travelers.

JJ, one of the current administrators of the website, explains further: “Neither the idea of penpals nor the idea of social networks is a unique idea, to say the least. Rather, JuJu seeks to fill a niche that seems to be lacking on the web currently, becoming a sort of fusion between Couchsurfing, Match.com, and a traditional, homemade penpal site. Our website is high-tech and full-featured, but moreover, our service is completely free.”

By focusing on cross-cultural friendships, JuJu aims to keep the community family-friendly and safe for minors, while still leaving the door open to romance for those users who are interested in lasting partnerships. Under this philosophy, JuJu users are in total control of their profiles with a full range of privacy and security settings.

Members of JuJu are encouraged to connect via Skype or by using the site’s own private chat system, along with photo albums, blogs, and forums. JJ says that more features are being planned for the future.

Signup for a free JuJu account today!

1. Vacuum cleaner

A basic vacuum cleaner is a necessity for college students, especially if you have a grungy looking carpet in your dorm or apartment. Even if you just use a hand held, like a Bissell or Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner, you can still pick up the majority of the dirt and grime from your floor or furniture. Vacuuming your place regularly can also go a long way towards limiting your allergy or asthma suffering, as it can lead to fewer dust particles in the air.

2. Toilet brush and cleaner

Unless you are a completely abnormal college student, chances are your bathroom is dirty. The simplest remedy would be to use your neighbor’s bathroom all the time. Since most of us can’t get away with that, the only other option is to regularly clean the place. Simply put, you don’t want to get stuck cleaning a toilet by hand without a brush. This thought alone should make you want to run out and grab one immediately.

3. All purpose cleaner

This is really a life save for the college student. One product that can clean almost anything. Yes, you can actually use an all-purpose cleaner on any surface in your pad – living room, kitchen, bathroom, wherever! Not only does a product like this make cleaning much more economical, it also makes it easier. Lysol, Oxyclean and Mr. Clean all have their own version of all-purpose cleaner, so you really have your pick on which is the best product for your place.

4. Rubber Gloves

Yes, cleaning can be gross. Especially your bathrooms. Using these should be a no-brainer.

5. Laundry Bag

While not exactly a cleaning tool, a laundry bag is an item that can certainly help you clean your place. Consider yourself lucky if you get a place with a built-in washer and dryer. The rest of us will have to lug pounds of clothes up and down stairs and even across busy streets just to get the laundry done. A simple laundry bag can make the job that much easier – and less embarrassing too. The best part about a laundry bag is that you can also use it just to take your laundry back and forth from your parent’s house where Mom is happy to do it for you!

Mike Tennant is a freelance writer who covers technology and lifestyle topics. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Mike currently works with several Web outlets, including Vacuum Home as a content writer and consultant.

Image: NathelieMaynor (Flickr)

Kenyon College Cemetery

Recorded burials at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, date back to when the college began, around 1827.  Perhaps the most mysterious grave site on this campus is the grave of “an old man.” It’s believed that this grave was the first one among the hundred-odd graves in the official Kenyon College Cemetery. The college cemetery, which is surrounded by a low wrought iron fence behind Rosse and Rutherford B. Hayes Halls, is still used for alumni, employees and others, with the permission of the college president.

Notre Dame Cemetery

People are always trying to sprinkle their loved ones’ ashes on the Notre Dame football field, in the woods around the lakes and elsewhere on campus. In response to this clandestine scattering, the university opened up a final resting place for alumni. Cedar Grove, located on the Notre Dame property, is an open-air garden mausoleum at the west end of campus that features vaults (for purchase only by faculty and staff) and niches for cremated remains which can be purchased by alumni. You can even buy a custom coffin or urn for Notre Dame’s “Coming Home” mausoleum marketing campaign.

The Jackson Street Cemetery (University of Georgia)

Buried in this historic cemetery are merchants, tailors, ministers, children of UGA faculty members, families of state government officials and two UGA presidents, Robert Finley and Moses Waddel Duncan.  The cemetery is also known as the Old Athens Cemetery and is located between the Visual Arts Building and Baldwin Hall. While this historic grave site is no longer active, you can purchase a lot at Oconee Hill Cemetery down the road owned by the University of Georgia. Bulldog Haven is a section in the cemetery devoted entirely to the university’s football letterman.

Iowa State University Cemetery

Iowa State University has maintained a university cemetery since 1876. Located on the northwest corner of the Central Campus, there are more than 700 graves in the cemetery, seven of which belong to university presidents and faculty and staff members who helped shape Iowa State. Two students also are buried in the cemetery. One of them, Kung Fan Chi, a 29-year-old horticulture major, was believed to be the 70th direct lineal descendent of Confucius, the ancient Chinese philosopher. In order to be buried in the Iowa State cemetery today, one has to have continuously served the university for at least 20 years. In addition, faculty members must have attained the rank of tenured assistant professor or higher.

Duke University Memorial Garden

Because many people have been caught scattering ashes on campus, Duke University started a program in which they charge $25,000 a pop to bury ashes in its new two-acre memorial garden. For that price, the deceased receives a stone with his or her name on it that lines the gently winding path leading from the courtyard up to a wooded hill. Ashes are scattered in the Memorial Garden, which is situated on two acres just north of the terraces, between the Rose Garden and the Hanes Lawn. Profits from this program help finance the school’s vast public gardens.

University of Florida Gator Graveyard

The University of Florida is hoping to cash in soon on the campus cemetery bandwagon. The school is trying to receive special permission from the state to turn part of its campus into a cemetery. The university wants to build what’s called a columbarium, a structure with niches for the ashes of alumni.  UF officials say that they hear requests from people who want spread their ashes on the football field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Many people have scattered family remains on campus without permission, so they figured, why not build a columbarium and charge alumni $3,000 to $5,000 to store their charred remains for all eternity? This plan is still pending the state lawmakers’ approval.

Woodland Cemetery: Clemson University

Woodland Cemetery, also called Cemetery Hill, was the idea of Clemson’s former president Walter Merritt Riggs, who developed a fierce loyalty to the school when he was nominated as president in 1911. He wanted a final resting place, a faculty cemetery, to recognize faculty and college administrators for their service. In 1924, Riggs became the first person buried in the cemetery. Woodland Cemetery no longer has plots for sale, but to help support the grounds’ preservation and research, the college accepts gifts designated for the Cemetery Hill Preservation Fund.

Texas A&M Aggie-Themed Cemetery

The Memorial Cemetery of College Station has an eternal resting place for folks who are really devoted to Texas A&M University. This cemetery has a section for Aggies and their supporters who want to show their school pride – forever. Roughly one-third of Memorial Cemetery’s 57-acre burial ground is dedicated to A&M devotees. There are more than 3,000 spaces for Aggie alumni. The school says it has no financial stake in the $10 million project but is allowing the city to use the school logo and a few other A&M-trademarked items as part of a licensing agreement. The new cemetery is marked by two stone columns the with college’s logo.  Kyle Field can be seen in the distance a mile or so away, creating a visual gateway to the football stadium. The stadium view was one of the college’s requirements in the cemetery contract.

April Lentini writes for Apartment Guide in Austin.