Press Rewind
What one journalist learned by vicariously sitting in on David Carr’s master class—with only his teacher’s reputation, extant syllabus, and students’ recollections to guide the way.
college
A collection of 60 issues
The New Town and Gown
As colleges proceed to charge more and more, real-estate developers in the neighborhoods around them look to cash in.
Crazy in Love With Kansas
Brief updates on important stories that have tumbled off the front page—“Carry That Weight,” Brownbackonomics, the ice bucket challenge, homophobia in Russia, and more.
Harry Potter and the Shades of Twilight
A generation of women read the “Harry Potter” series as teens, “Twilight” in college, and “Fifty Shades of Grey” in their twenties. What is the cumulative effect?
Thoroughly Modern Marxism
A Marxist upbringing, graduating into a recession, and a lineage of missed opportunities make a brutal combination.
Dear Daughter, Your Mom
Drawing inspiration from those who went before, and those still to come, in the waitress wars.
The Absolute Minimum
Highlights from a reading of 200-plus letters to the editor, from newspapers in all 50 states, to determine what Crazy America thinks about raising—or lowering—the minimum wage.
Let Football Live
Cracks are appearing in football’s helmet—injuries to athletes, injuries to the game. For one former high school and college player, the damage has gone too far.
Tony Horwitz
Our man in Boston sits down for a frank accounting with Tony Horwitz, author of beloved works like Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches From the Unfinished Civil War. Here they chat about his new book on John Brown—still a divisive figure in America, particularly in these days of terrorism—and the
German Philosophy for Immigrants
The line to speak with a consular official is never so long as when you’re studying 19th-century philosophy and everything you desire exists on the other side of an ocean.
Words Fail
This is the essay for your community college poetry class, the essay that encapsulates your thoughts on the assigned work in written form, the essay you started this morning, the essay that is due today.
Under the Bridge Downtown
When you’re a competition-level grocery-store bagger, it’s easy to overlook the messy lives of your co-workers. But when one of them goes missing, and you start to grow up, the picture changes.
A Buyer’s Guide to American Colleges
Rare is the college graduate who’s attended more than one school. But when you’ve attended four very different types of university, it’s incumbent upon you to share what you’ve learned.
Rebellion Rules in a Conformist World
Last year, our correspondent entered a March Madness pool with brackets filled out by his mother, who knows nothing about NCAA men's basketball. He won. Now it's time for lightning to strike twice.
As Time Goes By
In the past 20 years, movies and the quotes they’ve sprinkled across American pop culture have occupied a shrinking proportion of our social mindshare. It’s time to mark and celebrate the death of the movie catchphrase.
All the Gin Joints
The deserts of Morocco are wide and golden. Trust nearly 200 American college students to track down and guzzle whatever alcohol lurks in the sands of the Islamic kingdom.
The College Years
Armed with personal histories and transfer credits, grads from ’88 to ’15 hold a fall-semester seminar on majors, dorms, and the types of roommates to avoid.
The Crap in My Head
Little things people say can get stuck in your brain and become triggers, forcing you to relive moments you’d rather forget. Well, for aspiring linguists, it’s much, much worse.
The Sex Trade in Northwest Wisconsin
In a small town with a withering economy, rebellion is choosing college over your job at the X-rated drive-in.
Where the Choices Are Endless
After a childhood in the country, awaking as a freshman in a college town, where the inhabitants are willing and strange.
Andre Dubus III
Our man in Boston sits down with writer Andre Dubus III to discuss the differences between memoir and autobiography, Harvard and UMass students, and when it is inappropriate to send an email.
The Butler Beats the Old Dominion to a Metaphorical Pulp!
March Madness is not self-explanatory. To assist our coverage, a mother and son discuss over instant-message how college basketball works.
The Karma Bum
When Allen Ginsberg stayed with my family, we played video games and read together. But the harmony was broken when the yoga began. It wouldn't be the last time.
A Message From Your University President
Americans prefer "doing" to "knowing." When will our universities wake up to reality? English majors everywhere: More budget cuts are coming, but prepare to smell great.
The Unbearable Lightness of Declaring a Liberal Arts Major
Faced with a deadline to choose her major, our writer hunts down interview subjects to learn where their studies got them, no matter her mother's loathing of the liberal arts.
Cheater Cheater
Everyone remembers their first, especially English professors. A professor confronts a student he busted for cheating—and who caused him to completely rethink plagiarism.
Pomp and Consequence
Celebrity graduation speakers should dispense wisdom and entertainment, or cause a scandal. Our writer found eight who managed to provide at least two out of three.
Carolina Blues
A year after winning the championship, the University of North Carolina's men's basketball team is suffering its worst season in recent history. A New York-based Tar Heel laments.
'Tussin
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we assist a college student who's swimming in dirty laundry and drowning in cough syrup.
My Life in Jest
When floating through post-collegiate limbo, you can use an anchor. Recalling when a very large book played a very large role in life.
Regular Guys
University communities are often divided by townie and out-of-towner, and never the twain shall date. A story of town and gown, and lawnmower mania.
March Sadness
Your NCAA brackets have fallen apart; you are not alone. Devised with lessons learned from the tournament thus far, a set of rules to ensure a perfect prediction from here on out.
Like Pulling Teeth
Whether it’s experimental injections, sleep deprivation studies, or freelance writing, sometimes the best way to look after your health is to risk it.
Blacksburg and Biography
It stunned the nation that the Virginia Tech murders took place; it shocked Virginians that they occurred in Blacksburg. A former longtime resident traces his connections to the tragedy.
A Word of Advice
’Tis the season of graduation ceremonies, when many will be told it’s the first day of the rest of their lives. We offer the ultimate commencement speech.
Match Day
Thousands of med students lose their lunch each year over whether they’ll be matched up with the residency of their dreams—or end up washing dishes for minimal wage. This year’s class at NYU was no different.
The Closest Jay Comes to a Love Song
At the rager the chicks come and go, talking about art or something. In time for a hundred hip-hop-hoorays, a frat-boy adapation of T.S. Eliot’s “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”
Semester's End
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth is hit with some unexpected news, and she's faced with her most important decision yet.
Give Me a (Thanksgiving) Break
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth travels home for a visit and returns to a roommate whose behavior is becoming more and more difficult to live with. You decide what happens next.
November Rain
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth lies to protect Raj, then tries to determine who told the professor about their extracurricular activities in the first place. You decide what happens next.
Downloading for the Greater Good
Fall semester is fast approaching, when students in our best universities will resume buying their essays off the internet and plagiarizing like crazy—and good for them! Why downloading term papers is an asset to higher education.
Haunted Halloween
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth takes her T.A., Raj, to a costume party, where he refuses to dance. You decide what happens next.
Lies, All Lies
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth keeps a secret while trying to survive a weekend of everyone else's parents. You decide what happens next.
Back to School
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth heads back to school with fresh eyes and provides a shoulder for Kat—a friend in need, indeed.
Home, Alone
It's Elisabeth Eckleman's first year of college, and she has a lot of tough choices to make. In this installment, Elisabeth goes home to see her mom—without Brad—and then meets an old friend with an attractive offer.
Date Unknown
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth questions how she feels about Chad, but then the unthinkable happens. You decide what happens next.
Mother, Jugs, and Lone Star Beer
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth tries to figure out why her mom calls six times a day. You decide what happens next.
Screw the R.A. (Wait, You Already Did)
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth tells Kat about what’s been going on with Geoff. You decide what happens next.
Bright Eyes, Big City
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth goes to the Bright Eyes concert with her R.A. and continues to avoid her T.A. You decide what happens next.
An Escape With Geoff
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth makes time for friends, but not for studying, and gets the grades to prove it. You decide what happens next.
Flirting With Disaster
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth decides that when her date becomes a ho, she will too. You decide what happens next.
Pimps & Ho's
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth goes to a sorority party and isn't sure what to do once the theme takes over. You decide what happens next.
People Watcher
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we help a college student out of her end-of-school doldrums by suggesting a hobby both interesting and adventurous, but that sometimes skirts the wrong side of the law.
Class Begins
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth makes a new friend and isn't sure if she should bring her boyfriend material to a party. You decide what happens next.
Party With Kat
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth goes to a party with her roommate and meets a new somebody. You decide what happens next.
Freshman Year
Elisabeth Eckleman just left home, and has a lot of difficult decisions ahead of her. In this installment, Elisabeth loses her high-school boyfriend and drives to college with her parents. You decide what happens next.
Mascots
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we dig into some heavy research to tell you what your school mascot really says about you.
Rivalry Day
Harvard-ers and Yalies may not mix well, but ask a Buckeye what he thinks of someone from Michigan, and he'll start building the effigy. A long day on the couch watching the seismic clashes of college football.
John Ashcroft's 2002 College Football Preview
Thanks to the 2001 PATRIOT Act, we can learn the dark secrets that lurk in the hearts of men. The time is upon us to take this information and put it to good use: predicting the 2002 college-football champions.
What Are You, Drunk?
A new study on binge drinking from the Harvard School of Public Health slides off the stool, falls down, and admits that it really didn't know what it was talking about earlier, with all that "research" business.