Despite Michael’s departure and Dwight’s impending spinoff, Brown alumnus Jim Halp—John Krasinski has remained one of the highlights of NBC’s The Office.

In his shining moment, Krasinski led a series of time-wasters after a cheesy pita resulted in a profusion of smoke and very little fire. Jim, gathering most of the office, asks for “Desert Island Picks” and “Who Would You Do?” These little icebreakers might be a little predictable, but the answers are always surprising. Sure, “Who Would You Do?” do is a little crass, but the answers to such questions speak volumes about your newfound friend’s proclivities and cultural taste (and sexual tastes, too). Check out what the answers mean after the jump.

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Freshman orientation should ideally be a time of grace and poise, but this façade is too often lost somewhere between your second and third Karkov-cranberry. So, as you gather with other anxious first-year students from across the globe, what could be more fitting than a tropical themed dance?! “We’re all dressed in silly outfits! Isn’t this like the most fun!  This is just like what I read about!”

An essential stepping stone in the process of initiation into Brown student life, the Annual Freshman Orientation Dance is no time for goofing off, and you better bring your A-game. Although classes haven’t started yet, important life decisions are definitely about to be made. In order to help you kill it, we’ve compiled a helpful list of “Dos and Don’ts” to adhere to so that you can make a stellar first impression on your new peers. Check it out after the jump.

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Hellooooo class of 2016!

So, we’re sure all of you have committed crimes of excessive Facebook stalking in anticipation of meeting your RANDOMLY ASSIGNED ROOMMATE, but the fact of the matter is this: you will not get to know, tolerate and ultimately appreciate your roommate without spending time with them.

Well, if you’re going to have to start breaking the ice, you might as well benefit from it. Thus, our first recommended ice breaker is literally helping each other move in. Not only will the move-in happen faster (especially for those on top floors), but you’ll make small talk with your (hopefully) new friend and his or her parents. Be nice to parents, because if you’re a real charmer, you might get a free meal out of it. [Read more →]

We just want you to know that right now is the most exciting moment of your entire life! I mean, this is the type of thing you’d think in a million, billion years is never gonna to happen to you… and even when it does, you still can’t believe it: you’re at orientation. At college, at Brown University. Freshmen, meet BlogDailyHerald. We’ll explain it all.

We all move into our freshman year differently. Maybe you’ve been coordinating a color palate with your roommate, and maybe this is the first time you heard about move-in day. Either way, you probably have some questions. Yeah, there are obviously the essentials — deodorant, socks, and that obligatory college poster — but BlogDH is here to help with those finer details of packing. We hit you with some ideas last year, but after another year of college living, and several more “I wish I hadn’t packed my rice cooker”s, we’ve amended the list so that you’ll never be without your fracket.

Do: Bring Tide to Go. BBQ sauce, beer, blood—you will encounter all of these stains your first semester (maybe even all at once!). You’ll want this to erase what denial and untagging photos on Facebook can’t.

Don’t: Bring cooking supplies. First, I will steal them from you, because I’m still damn bitter you guys get the shiny new kitchens. Second, unless you really, really want to cook, there’s no way you’re going to be making anything practical or worthwhile while in the dorms. Let’s face it—they’re going to be broken in (emphasis on broken) via the drank in your red solo cups. [Read more →]

Introducing Brown University’s “shopping period.”  A chance to make sure you, the student, sign up for classes that will expand your mind and challenge your core belief system.  A chance to find a class that grabs your attention and awakens your scholarly passion.  A chance to transition into school slowly.  An opportunity to go out every night and make acquaintances instead of acquainting yourself with the library.  A chance for upperclassmen to drop classes like Maritime Archaeology and others that stopped sounding fresh as soon as post-Spring Weekend sobriety set in.   While shopping period is a time of great freedom, it is also one of high stakes – your class schedule represents one-eighth of your college education.  To maximize your classroom satisfaction, mind these tips for crafting the perfect schedule, after the jump.

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The Orientation Welcoming Committee’s mammoth newsletter for new students has finally been released on the interwebs. If you’re a first year, you can expect to get one of these little suckers along with your Brown ID, the key to your room, and various other goodies when you first arrive on campus.  With its exhaustive list of 100+ orientation events, the orientation packet might seem somewhat unwieldy, but fear not. We’re here to weed out the fun and informative from the boring and unnecessarily.

A small minority of the events in the packet have been listed as “REQUIRED for all students.” Most of them are not listed as such, but we believe that some of the events have been miscategorized. Here are our corrections:

Optional events that should not be missed:

 Midnight organ concert (12 am, September 5): Orientation can be hugely tiring. You’ll find yourself having the same conversation (“Where are you from? What are you concentrating in? Are you excited for classes to start?”) at least fifty times during the first forty-eight hours. By the end of the second day, you might need a rest from the seemingly endless train of clumsy conversation. The midnight organ concert is a perfect opportunity to both relax and continue to bond with other first years without the constant pressure that comes with the more meet-and-greet type events. Besides, even if you’re not exhausted, you won’t want to miss hearing Brown’s kickass resident organist.   [Read more →]

Brown’s class of 2013 and transfers to other classes — a total of 1,485 news students — moved on to campus this weekend and broke the ice in all sorts of completely non-awkward ways.
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