ResLife recommends you study hundreds of floor plans. Because that is the level of insanity the lottery requires.

This is an incredibly important PSA reminding everyone that lottery applications are due this Friday, March 22 at noon. Do not miss this deadline! If you do, you and your tragic housing group will be automatically entered in the Summer Housing Process. ResLife provides a step-by-step account of that process, but it can be summarized as being officially fucked over for housing. So again, submit your housing lottery application by FRIDAY!

As you’ve probably heard, there have been significant changes to the housing options available for rising sophomores, who are now part of a separate lottery from rising juniors and seniors. As you have also probably heard, no one actually seems to know how exactly this will affect the lottery; some will tell you the Class of 2016 has been saved from the brutality that would have been, while others offer the opinion that they have been royally screwed over (Perkins as a sophomore, anyone?). It doesn’t help that ResLife is intent on sending out very confusing emails and maintaining several different webpages that offer different sets of information. Example: the initial lottery information email told students to check the “front desk in North Wayland” to verify their semester levels. Um, ResLife has been located in Grad Center E since the beginning of this school year. You would think that they would know…

We do our best to provide useful lottery information and links after the jump:

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As members of the Brown community, we should really have a handle on some of the conventional social norms so we can respect our fellow students. However, it seems that there are some norms that Brown students simply overlook, or just really don’t care about how their behavior will affect (read: annoy) their peers. LISTSERV, my friends, falls in this latter category. To put it simply, this website really was not created for humans. Sure, you could go through your four years receiving e-mails from that club that you signed up to join but never attended the first meeting the first week of your freshman year…or you could not. When I told a friend that my inability to navigate LISTSERV was bothering me, she said, “what’s LISTSERV?” At that point, I knew something had to be done. Here are a few things that you should know about LISTSERV in order to save yourself from future annoyance, and more importantly, embarrassment. We did some serious investigative journalism to help you out over here. [Read more →]

It’s during the depths of winter that the temperature of our dorm rooms never seems to reach a comfortable medium; instead, it only seems to fall on polar opposite sides on a scale that has “Inferno” on one end and “Arctic Circle” on the other. This afternoon, ResLife sent out a comprehensive and aesthetically pleasing graphic that outlines five different ways to “stay cozy this winter.” Would we have loved to see this a few weeks ago when the temperature plummeted to a mere 7 degrees? Sure, but we’re not complaining. We only have a few more weeks until spring, but in the meantime, these tips will make all the difference.

Additionally, if you live on Wriston or in Keeney, you also should have received a handy dandy chart that teaches you how to use the new environmentally conscious toilets with the pretty green handles. ResLife is (literally) lifehacking left and right, respectively. Stay warm!

How do we even begin to explain waffle cake? We can’t. This is simply something you must try for yourself. The V-Dub holds endless possibilities. Here’s how to make your very own. (You’re welcome.)

1.  Get a mug. Any mug will do!

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This is no ordinary water fountain.

If you like carrying around a water bottle, then you probably like hydration stations, or other similar devices that allow you to fill up your bottle without getting your hand wet.

Maybe you thought they were restricted to new and renovated buildings on campus, but some oldies — like the Rock — have them too. See that little button in the upper-right corner of the water fountain? Indeed, that’s an old-school hydration station. There’s no motion sensor or anything fancy like that, but it does the job well.

Needed: a water bottle to fill.

As of my last observation, the ones on the third and fourth floors work. Sadly, the basement one does not. File a Facilities service request?

Guys. This changes everything.

Yes, now you can find free laundry machines from the comfort of your computer: LaundryView is the answer to our stained and sweaty prayers.

Long gone are the days of hauling loads of dirty clothing to the laundry room, only to find no free machines. No more reusing emergency socks for the fifth day. No more resorting to taking other people’s underwear out from the washing machines (and awkwardly discovering you have the same pair).

It gets better. All the different dorms are compiled in the landing page menu, and once in your building, you can mouse each machine (conveniently color-coded) to find out how much time it has left. Yeah, that’s right. You can pick your jaw off the floor now.

You still actually have to do your laundry though …

Last week, I was complaining about being too hot in the afternoons when the sun would randomly break out and render my sweater/jacket ensemble useless, but I am so apologetic now. We are set in the cold weather days—and the heating isn’t on in my room yet. I promise it is somehow colder inside my room than it is on the Main Green in the pouring rain. I come in and put on extra layers (read: hide in my duvet, thinking it is a good ‘workspace,’ and then nap).

For everyone who is also counting down the minutes until facilities turns on the heat in your dorm, this document will change your life: the Campus Heating Schedule. (It will also help you decide which classes you should not attend bring a sweater to.)

Luckily, I only have to wait one more week; my sympathies go out to the “Week ending in 10/19″ dwellers.

Image via.

Brown loves making us wait for our spring break. While all of your friends at other schools have already hit the beach with college students nationwide, we’ve been studying for midterms embracing the unusually warm March weather and pretending we’re already on break.

For those Brunonians who will be tanning on a beach next week instead of on the Main Green, you know you need to pack bathing suits, sunblock, sunglasses, and all those other generic vacation items. But, if you want to stand out on the beach and be the most ridiculous college student there, consider bringing along the following items…

1) A Boom Box Fanny Pack. There’s no doubt that you will make an impression on the beach with this fanny pack. It has built-in speakers that are compatible with iPods and iPhones, so you can blast your music in public and obnoxiously play “Call Me Maybe” on repeat. You know you want to.

2) You want to be able to enjoy drinks on the beach, right? You want them to be cold but don’t want to pay the overpriced charge at the tiki bar. A cooler is out of the question because packing a heavy, bulky vessel in your suitcase is ridiculous. Or is it? Outsmart everyone with this collapsible cooler on wheels. It’s easy to pack and you’ll definitely make a scene trying to roll that on the beach. [Read more →]

In response to our and others’ criticisms of Brown Menu last fall, the site’s owners have implemented a complete revamp. It now looks sleeker and, more importantly, lets you to sign up to receive text and/or email notifications when BuDS is serving your favorite items. Just register for the site and start favorite-ing menu options by clicking the mouse-over heart icon that appears next to each item. The site also now has a tight favicon.

With God as my witness, I will never again miss another Gnocchi alla Sorentina dinner. In this blogger’s eyes, BrownMenu.com has officially moved up from FlogDailyHerald to (Campus)Lifehacker status.

Unless you have an exciting date (and the Ratty doesn’t count), the best part of Valentine’s Day is when an a cappella group disrupts your class to serenade an unsuspecting fellow classmate. I’m not sure which scenario is more awkward: the crowded lecture hall where 100+ students witness your embarrassment or the intimate seminar where everyone has a great view of your face as it grows redder than a Solo cup.

Even professors excitedly await the spectacle. Last spring, my professor in a relatively small class remarked that she hoped someone would come to serenade a student. Luckily for her and the other amused students, the Ursa Minors walked in during the last few minutes of class to sing “Only You” to a girl sitting right in the middle of the room. She awkwardly slouched in her seat, nervously whispered to her friend, “Who sent that to me?” and, essentially, did not play it cool. At all.

That girl was me.

Now, one year older and wiser (not really, but I can pretend), I’m offering advice about how to act natural if the Ursas interrupt your class, call your name, and serenade you. And just a heads up, I heard the pirate a(“RRR”) capella group is doing valentines this year too, so be prepared. [Read more →]