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It's weird. He apparently died about three weeks ago. I wasn't that close to him- he was my lab partner sophomore year, and we hung out a few times, but when I spent a year away from UD and saw him again last semester, it wasn't some tight bond, you know? Still, this is the first time I've directly known a contemporary who has died, and it's weird. I mean, the dude was only 21. My friend Alex was much closer to him, and I'll definitely keep a look out for her and try talking to her when classes start tommorrow. He was a sweet guy, though- a total nerd who was completely comfortable with being himself, and never tried changing himself to fit in. There was a lot of genunity about him. I'll never forget his attempt to do a stand-up comedy rountine about proverbs. It was awful, but he was a real trouper about it. Nice reminder that we shouldn't take life for grantred- because you never know...

3,700 Freshman Move to UD Freshmen are so goddamned adorable- so impossibly young, so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Last night I partied with some friends, and we enjoyed the spectacle of the hordes of freshmen looking for parties. We even helped one freshman who got just a little too drunk- the whole thing was kinda surreal- because it felt like just yesterday I WAS that guy, and now...it's four years later and I'm now the "cool upperclassmen", as the Freshman put it. It's weird being on the other side. Sloppy Drunk Freshman had a new buddy from his dorm that was Not-So-Sloppy Drunk Freshman, who kinda watched over him a little. Myself and my group of friends all basically said, "You guys will be best friends for the next four years." That's totally how college friendships tend to happen- they're forged through the patting of one's back while your new friend throws up because he's had too much to drink. And then you tease him about it the next day while eating Sunday brunch in the dining hall. Although I did have a bit of an epiphany- when myself and my fellow senior were exclaiming our pride at being seniors, Not-So-Sloppy Drunk Freshman said, "Why would you brag about that? That means you only have one year left!" He had a point, and I'll miss college (although the way things are looking I might end up taking another semester or a year), I have four interesting memories of college to contend with, that can't be taken away from me, and while I miss the excitement of freshman year and everything being new...I think I like myself a lot better now, at 23, than I did when I was 19 years old. Still, it's so weird. I mean, I'm technically not a 5th year senior, since I took 2008 off, but still- this fall marks 5th year of my college party experience. Now that I'm a grizzled veteran at this, it's nice to pass on my wisdom and experience... Finally. I WILL have a cute freshman boy. I will. I swear it. I'm going to be Mr. Robinson and enjoy the hell out of it. Although my friend Steve teased me for it- "You're 23, Jeremy. You are way too old to have sex with a freshman." He's prolly right, but whatever- I don't care if it would make me a male cougar- I'm going to do it! Adam and Mark, you got any seduction tips you can give me? I think the approach I'm going for is "the cool upperclassmen guy who buys beers and makes a nice party buddy, who just happens to be gay..." I think if I'm open about being gay, I'll be more likely to run accross guys who may be curious or questioning themselves- and because I'm a familiar, older, and more experienced guy- they just might come to me...

University of Delaware lost the Division I title game last night at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. We gave up a second-half 19 point lead for Eastern Washington to come back with 20 points. I'm pretty bummed. It would have been great to see UD get a championship. On the bright side, it was great to see the Blue Hens there, and it WAS a great season for UD. But since our quarterback is a senior, it looks like next year's going to be a rebuilding year.

My undergrad, University of Delaware, wants to start a law school by 2015. University of Delaware's Law School Aim I can't tell you how bad of an idea I think this is. Delaware's a small state, and it already has a law school, Widner. Delaware's strength is based on the chemical engineering and business program, and I can't see how adding a law school would do anything to enhance the university. Programs are already getting cut- like the journalism major- and I imagine that will only get worse if they go ahead with the idea. The greater Philadelphia metro area is already so saturated with lawyers. And think about it-Penn, Virginia, Georgetown, GW, Villanova, Temple, Rutgers, American, and the NYC schools (NYU, Columbia, Fordham) are all a train ride away. There are so many top-notch law schools in this area that I can't see how a law school at UD would be anything but a third-choice back-up plan. Plus, University of Delaware no longer offers in-state tuition rates, so why would any state resident want to pay 25k a year for a law school program when they could go somewhere established for not that much more money? University of Delaware is ALREADY planning on building a medical campus(allied with Jefferson), an expansion to the football stadium, expansion to the student gym, a new dorm, a new science building, a new dining hall- all within this decade- and now they want to do this? If UD ends up bankrupt I wouldn't be surprised. I just feel bad for the kids going/will go there who are having to pay for all this stuff. If UD experiences an enrollment drop because of the 1990's baby bust, they're going to be SCREWED.

Skidfest, the local charity rock event that has been held every semester in a block of row homes known as Skid Row since 1990, has been denied a permit because of the university bookstore construction going on behind it. I knew this was going to happen as soon as I realized that the construction would take up the two parking lots that surrounded Skid, because it would severely limit access to the event. And you could feel it at the last one that the end was near when the cops closed the event down early because some stupid kid fell off a railing and had to be taken away in an ambulance. This sucks. I went to my first Skidfest when I was a 17-year old reservist townie. I made some great memories there- like when I smoked sage with my buddy Grant while some weird drunken chick kept trying to hit on me, the time I literally got up on a soap box and gave a speech about medicinal marijuana, the time I puked all over my arm because I tried to chug Hurricane, the time I got really drunk and then walked over to the academic building across to Pearson Hall to watch a play...just all those wonderful, precious memories that I owe to this place. The event was more than just a bunch of drunken, stoned kids slobbering over themselves while garage bands played. It was a dedicated charity event in which members of the community-students, alumni, townies- all came together for a cause. It lasted for twenty years, and it became something of an institution not just with the students of University of Delaware, but within the city of Newark. It will be missed, and I hope it can indeed come back in some other kind of fun. The University, in its obsession with obtaining Public Ivy League status, has done whatever they can to kill the party scene over the last 10 years. In doing so they've also killed the local music scene. What they fail to grasp is that it's memories like going to places like , or - those are the kinds of memories that make their average student feel a fondness for the university and turn them into alumni that want to donate. But hey, I guess they're getting what they wanted in shutting down something that was just too great and too wonderful to be allowed to continue.

http://www.udreview.com/udpd-steps-up-tailgate-regulation-1.2641368 I love reading about how my alma matter has turned into a fascist police state where no students are allowed to have fun. J-walkers and tailgaters get punished, yet that same weekend three students were robbed by gun point and the UD police didn't give a damn because they don't make money off of them like they do fining students over ridiculous reasons. University of Delaware was once a great school, with lots of uniqe and great things about it. But in the school's singleminded attempt to kill off the party scene so that UD will be seen as a serious Public Ivy academic school, they've curtailed the freedom of their young adults to explore their boundaries, create fun memories that they'll laugh about when they're middle-aged and sitting in an office, and meet people in situations that they might otherwise never have met. College tailgating is a time-honored tradition, and gives people a chance to mingle and meet new friends. These freshmen will grow up, become alumni, and when they come back for Homecoming with their own kids while pumped full of nostalgia for their own glory days, their kids just might be persuaded to come here. It's an ingredient in creating a successful football team, healthy alumni giving, and the next generation of students. By making it so that your students are fearful of tailgating, you have essentially cut your nose to spite your face. Especially when you consider that UD has been talking for such a long time about how they want to move up a football division(with a planned stadium expansion to 30k). Guess what? Big-time football universities also have big-time tailgating. You can't have one without the other, and the fact that UD football attendence is down to 1998 levels pretty much speaks for itself. UD can give prize giveaways all it wants, but until students feel like they can tailgate without an arrest, the kids are going to stay away from the games.

I pulled off a 4.0 this semester. Yes! Now my grad school GPA stands at a 3.83. I'm pretty happy, since getting a 4.0 was on my bucket list. I came close to that with winter session '10, and I was disapointed when it didn't happen. But now I can say I had a 4.0 semester. It gives me some wiggle room to deal with the third semester, which is going to be a bitch. I'm taking a seminar with a professor who is a notable badass. Plus I have a 10 a.m. for the first time in a year, and I don't have a single day off from class. But now I'm just going to enjoy summer. I think I'll go and hang out at the pool or something. In other good news, UD nixed their plans for the totally unneeded law school. Thank god that in one case, common sense prevailed! UD Nixes Law School Plan Thank god.

Just when I thought UD couldn't come up with even more inane ideas...they proved me wrong..... UD Wants to Close Academy Street See, I get the principle of what they're trying to do- they're trying to create a more closed, Ivy-League like campus(like say, UPenn), and what they have to do to achieve that is to get rid of throroughfares. Still, Academy Street is just way too critical north-south route to close like, especially when you consider the fire station and the ambulance station that use Academy. My belief that the university is doing everything they possibly can to discourage people from commuting to campus just grows more and more- between closing down parking lots and now this? Traffic in Newark is already a nightmare. I can't imagine what it will look like if they got rid of one of the few things that relieved congestion on Main Street and Delaware Avenue during peak school hours. UD pulls crap like this that shows just how much they don't care about the students in the pursuit of looking like an Ivy League college, and they wonder why applications are down 5 percent despite the national commericials they spent loads of money on doing? Between this completely unecessary project, the completely unecessary law school plans, and the millions of other projects they're doing, I'll be shocked if President Harker doesn't drive the school into the ground.