I snagged an interview with Nate Bourne, College ‘10, co-founder of Kuloco Clothing. His idea of creating a clothing company rooted in where you live, not how you live, is taking off. I first heard about Kuloco when I noticed quite a few of my friends had joined the group “Kuloco Clothing” on Facebook. I checked it out and saw almost 1,000 members in the group. I read the description of the clothing company and realized that it’s hot.

Anyway, check it out:

Yeah, it’s true. Communication is the sexiest major on campus (and I would know because it’s mine). Anyway, I’m breaking a personal vow never to blog on the “s” word, but it sells and I know you’ll read this.

If you checked out the latest issue of 34th Street, you’re probably rearranging your course schedule for next semester. The main feature highlights Communication as the winner for the sexiest major — overwhelmingly, too.

“Comm majors know that the medium is the message, and this medium will be wearing pearls and tight leggings, thank you very much.” In Mass Media and Society or Introduction to Communication Behavior, the number of hotties will leave no one in doubt.

I recommend registering for those courses if you’re emo or an engineer forlornly studying in your room (never mind, wholesome Tri Delts wouldn’t want you anyway). This is tough advice to give because, upon reading this, next semester’s ratio of guys to girls will be lowered from 30:1 to around 10:1, thus diluting the major. Luckily, I’ve taken both of those courses.

CNN and YouTube hosted a debate for the Democratic presidential candidates in July (the Republicans get their turn tomorrow). Then MySpace and MTV collaborated for presidential dialogues at universities. Now, yesterday, Facebook announced a joining of forces with ABC News to sponsor upcoming presidential debates.

If you watched the CNN-YouTube and were dismayed by the lack of quality questions chosen, you weren’t alone. That’s because the audience that loiters and fools around with YouTube isn’t that quality either. And then the MySpace-MTV forums featured even more watered down questions that barely grasped the surface of politics. We’re talking about MTV — synonymous with style over substance. So the basket is set low for Facebook to slam dunk.

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While we’re away with family and friends giving thanks, keep in mind the great people working our dining halls every day to make sure we’re well fed.

I’m on the full meal plan, so I eat all the time at Hill. I pretty much know most the people workin’ there.

Bernard (a.k.a “Bernie”) has worked the grill at the dining hall in Hill College House for 12 years and loves doing it. You’ve probably seen him before. He works most days and I always chit chat with him for a few minutes. He gives good advice to “hang in there” when some days are tough to get through. He’s here for us (Penn students) and told me so: “What they may not know is that I’m here to please them.” He’s proud to fuel the future, and that’s why we should give thanks to some of the excellent dining staff we have.

A few years back, Cory Bray, who then headed the Penn College Republicans, claimed:

“If Penn can’t protect us,” he said, “we should be able to protect ourselves.”

Bray advocated the allowance of concealed-weapons permits for students. Of course, it was shot down and people thought he was crazy. Bray graduated last year, but maybe he had a good idea — after this we now know that we can’t always trust the security on campus.

We are a university that never sleeps. A walk through Hill House, the Quad, or other dorms at any hour reveals this fact.

If we have a class late in the afternoon, we’ll work until 2 or 3 a.m. and wake up around 11 a.m. or noon. Likewise, if our class is early, we may hit the sack around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. So everyone on campus has a different schedule. Sometimes, I’ll find myself up until 3 or 4 a.m., waking at noon, class at 2 p.m., eat at 5 p.m., some activity around 7 p.m., and then dinner. I may not hit the library or Pottruck until much later.

That’s why Pottruck shouldn’t close at 1 a.m., but should stay open 24 hours a day. The dining halls, too. And maybe even all floors of the library. Students don’t stop after midnight, so neither should the rest of Penn. Otherwise, research is limited to Google, workouts limited to pushups, and food, well, most places close after 2 a.m.

We’re into the name thing at Penn. That’s why we say we’re in Wharton, Nursing, the College, or Engineering.

Now that discussion of the B-FLAT minor for College students has unleashed Wharton’s enmity towards the College, creating a fear of dilution due to the participation of liberal arts students, Dennis DeTurck, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, rushed to defend the proposed idea in a recent DP:

It is regrettable that Friday’s article gave the impression that there is a fully-formed “program” that the College is “pushing,” or that it is a point of contention between the College and Wharton.

I’m glad Dean DeTurck clarified.
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The DP pointed out today:

The Division of Public Safety tested its new PennAlert emergency-notification system [last] Thursday, with 95.3 percent of the targeted individuals receiving a notification either by phone, e-mail or text-message.

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“Busy signals or poor reception caused the few notification failures.”

I have a class at Annenberg and a class at David Rittenhouse Laboratories. Reception in both classrooms is poor and sometimes nonexistent. If an actual emergency did happen, I wouldn’t know about it. But I’m only at those places a few hours a week. Maybe I should worry more about the fact that reception at Hill House is sporadic. My cell phone often has little reception in my room. If an emergency happened at Hill, I’d be lucky find out.

So what should the University do? Or what should we do? Some say Verizon is the best. I’m on T-Mobile. Time to make the switch. For safety’s sake.

Drexel hosted the Democrats. Initial reaction by most: “How?” Penn certainly would have priority if it were between us and Drexel to host an MSNBC primetime Democratic debate.

And Penn did.

The issue? The Commission on Presidential Debates “dropped a deal-breaking bomb: Penn would have to close eight city blocks, between 34th and 38th streets and Spruce and Walnut streets. And not just on the day of the debate - but on the three days preceding it as well.” Too much for HUP at 34th and Spruce, which must remain open.

Thus, Drexel won the debate location.

When media celebrities and seven Democratic presidential contenders descended upon Drexel, they should’ve stopped at Penn. And why didn’t they? Watching debate commentary and analysis by Chris Matthews, Howard Fineman, and Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, you’d be surprised at the Penn connections.

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It happened close to campus. Too close. Still, we often forget how fortunate we are to be living in this part of Philly. We are in virtually a green zone.

However, if it gets worse, let these select quotes be your survival guide to Philadelphia. Better to be prepared, as some parts of Philadelphia “have spray-painted ‘IRAQ’ in huge letters on abandoned buildings to mark the devastation”:

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