Resourceful Lowbrow contributor Isabel Friedman hung this disco ball in Van Pelt tonight. In her words, “Sometimes you just have to remind yourself where the real party is.” Rosenparty, that is! And for this, we salute her.
How have you been coping with this most brutal of finals seasons? Let us know in the comments.
With finals starting tomorrow, Jimmy John’s is joining Huntsman, Houston and everyone else in the quest to win over the hearts of downtrodden, sleep-deprived students. Tonight, from midnight until 2 a.m., Jimmy John’s subs will be just $1. Yum.
And the finals perks just keep rolling in! Yesterday Wharton kids got an email detailing how Huntsman is doing their part to make sure you stay caffeinated in quiet rooms. What you need to know:
And, as usual, only Wharton students can book their own private study rooms in Huntsman. LAME.
Bean bag!
Finals really, really suck. In an effort to mitigate said suckiness, Penn likes to hook students up with the occasional freebie. Houston isn’t the only place to find perks — hit up these spots starting today and continuing through the 22nd:
Mark’s Cafe, Van Pelt: Extra shot of espresso free (plus now they’re open until 2 a.m.!)
Accenture Cafe, Towne Building: Extra shot of espresso free
Houston Market, Houston Hall: Free small soda with any purchase between 4 and 8 p.m.
Burger Stop, Food Court at Commons: Late night breakfast from 8 p.m.-midnight (not free, but we hope they have home fries)
And we’re not quite sure what this means, but Einstein is hosting a “Red Bull Energy Break: Drop in and unwind in a bean bag with Wii video games and plasma TVs! Starting at 3 p.m. on 12/14 and 12/15.” So, you know, there’s that.
Houston is always one of our favorite study destinations during finals, as it’s open all day and all night (24 hours, kids), and offers plenty of free snacks and tutoring. But this semester Houston has really outdone itself. The theme? Harry Potter! (Maybe they read this NY Times op-ed?)
Not only is there a nifty display (complete with a Gryffindor scarf, goblets, a chess set, a broom, an owl and a mock Hogwarts — see photo after the jump), but there will be two screenings of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this Sunday (one at 3 p.m. and one at 7:30).
Starting Sunday and continuing through the 21st, Houston will begin its 24-hour finals schedule and begin doling out free goodies. Know about any other finals perks? Let us know.
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This was the view from under the Button this morning (Don’t even ask why we were there. Okay you got us. We were taking this picture!) before the library opened at 10:00 a.m. Maybe the early bird gets the best study carrel, but come on. It’s a Saturday!
Let the finals fun begin.
Though we prefer Fisher Fine Arts (and some other folks do, too), a hell of a lot of people dig Van Pelt (Rosenparty, anyone?). As such, we must inform you that Van Pelt is switching into finals mode.
As of tomorrow, VPizzle will be open until 2 a.m. every day until December 22nd. Mark’s Café will continue to close at midnight, but will stay open until 2 during reading days and final exams. And, as always, Rosengarten will be open 24 hours a day. Let the studying commence (ew).
After a successful Homecoming, dutiful Penn students swarmed to Van Pelt, FFA and the like to catch up on all the work they didn’t do earlier in the weekend. For those who wanted to stay close to their off-campus digs, Van Pelt West Saxby’s was an obvious choice… until they stopped serving coffee circa 2 p.m. At least they posted this awesome sign:
We really don’t want this to be true, but we heard that several people have spotted mice in the library today. That’s your cue to put your shoes back on, barefoot studiers.
A duo of devoted readers wrote in with the following public service announcement: “Coffee in the Huntsman Au Bon Pain is free from 9 PM to 12 AM on May 6, 7, 10, and 11. Happy caffeine!” Caf up, studiers, UTB wishes you godspeed.
*headdesk*
With finals now officially here, everyone’s got studying and paper-writing on the brain. As you may have noticed, UTB is continuing to update sporadically, as we will throughout exam period. What does this mean for you? Keep sending in tips! See a crazy study fort in Van Pelt, or have an insane story from a weekend of formal-hopping? Hit us up! While we wait for your tips, Street’s editors have taken the liberty of putting together a sick playlist for you all. (We hope it is, at least — our music editors, fresh off their “Too Cool For Street” paper plate award at this weekend’s gala extravaganza, have not deigned to contribute. Guyyyys, you’re killing us.) Clicking on each song should allow you to listen — enjoy!
“Can I Kick It?” – A Tribe Called Quest
Because, yes, I can in fact kick it. –Julia Rubin
“Mirando” – Ratatat
My favvvvvvv. –Lauren Lipsay
“Oxford Comma” – Vampire Weekend
I can’t listen to music with lyrics while I study, but the grammatical namesake of this song makes me feel academic during a study break. –Hillary Reinsberg
“Let’s Get Ready To Rumble (Remix)” – Jock Jams
Jock Jams volume I, II, III, IV. for irony. –Julie Steinberg
“Wake Up” – The Arcade Fire
Not only is it the song in the freaking amazing Where the Wild Things Are trailer, but it’s called Wake Up. It’s purpose is right there in the title. I have literally been listening to it on repeat for like three days. OK, maybe not literally. Figuratively. –Jess Spiegelman
“This Is The Day” – The The
The title says it all. –Eliza Rothstein
“Walking On Broken Glass” – Annie Lennox
Sounds so sweet, actually pretty harsh. (Ha, people say the same thing about me.) –Heather Schwedel
Take heed, studiers: this sign is posted in Harnwell’s rooftop lounge.
We assume they’re espousing a Marxian “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” theory of toilet paper consumption, i.e. take only so many squares as you need rather than stealing rolls like a greedy little bitch. It is so good of housekeeping to remind us to be considerate of our fellow man.
Fisher Fine Arts does most things right. One thing it still needs to master? Temperature control. The last round of reading days saw FFA turned into a veritable icebox. This round of reading days, FFA is feeling more than a bit sauna-like. A sign posted yesterday reads:
TOO HOT?!!!
The University is aware that the Fisher Fine Arts Library is too hot.
They are working to remedy the situation.
A day later, our beloved FFA is still toasty. A lone industrial-sized fan is circulating some air, but that’s pretty hard to do in the reading room. So, “University,” please get on this ASAP. How else are we supposed to pass MATH170??
Today in alarmist national media attention, the prestigious New Yorker takes great lengths to details your neuroenhancer habit.
The BoredAt Web sites—which allow college students to chat idly while they’re ostensibly studying—are filled with messages about Adderall. Posts like these, from the BoredAtPenn site, are typical: “I have some Adderall—I’m sitting by room 101.10 in a grey shirt and headphones”; “I have Adderall for sale 20mg for $15”; “I took Adderall at 8 p.m., it’s 6:30 a.m. and I’ve barely blinked.”
When Street covered this topic a whole year and a half ago, we quoted the selfsame message boards! We also learned to spot the profile of a typical Adderral user:
White male undergraduates at highly competitive schools—especially in the Northeast—are the most frequent collegiate users of neuroenhancers. Users are also more likely to belong to a fraternity or a sorority, and to have a G.P.A. of 3.0 or lower. They are ten times as likely to report that they have smoked marijuana in the past year, and twenty times as likely to say that they have used cocaine. In other words, they are decent students at schools where, to be a great student, you have to give up a lot more partying than they’re willing to give up.
UTB isn’t fully convinced that Adderall actually works, i.e. allows you to get more work done, but we do know this: it’s dangerous and you should probably get some sleep.
Exhibit A: Framents of Ceiling Tiles, Beans, Regret.
As I hunkered down to start writing a response paper with a 6 AM deadline (ca. 12:53 AM), the four cups of black coffee I chugged with dinner caught up to me. Happy to have chosen the Harrison computer lab for its vicinity to both my house and a bathroom, I made my way down the hall, stopping briefly to glare at the excessively chatty clique seated near me (Friendship is for Rosengarten, kids.) Upon opening the restroom door, I was greeted by the following scene (see Exhibits A & B).
