We’ve all heard that college is a time to let loose and live a little, but these college-related headlines of 2013 really take that to the next level. From ball-riding to abortion battles, university life is full of crazy shenanigans that… strangely enough… don’t involve alcohol.
5. Kansas University boobs website told to cease and desist for selling merchandise.
In an effort to support their sports team, the Kansas Jayhawks, the students of Kansas University started a unique cheering campaign called KU Boobs. Which, as the name implies, consists of various pics of female KU students displaying their cleavage in support of their team. It started with one random student showing her support with the use of a cell phone camera. A twitter account was started shortly after, and sure enough, the twitter account had over 56,000 followers within a short span of time. More information of the story can be found in this Huffington Post news article.
The university, understandably, sent a cease and desist letter to the owners of the twitter account. By this point, the group had a Facebook page, Tumblr page, and many campuses across the country had created their own versions of the group. But here’s where the headline really gets crazy. The university didn’t have a problem with the KU Boobs movement; they had a problem with the merchandise they were selling.
On his own Twitter feed, Athletic Director Jim Marchiony had the following thing to say: “We’ve asked them to stop selling that merchandise, not to shut down the Twitter account. Rock Chalk!”
So, in essence, they had no problem with the sites that used KU’s name, just the merchandise that used KU’s name.
4. University of Texas conservative students hold an affirmative action bake sale.
Huffington Post
Fundraisers are a normal part of having a student organization. And for many, fighting for a cause is another. However, few organizations have incorporated the two in a way that the Young Conservatives of Texas did at the University of Texas.
In an effort to demonstrate that affirmative action is “demeaning to minorities”, the group decided to hold a bake sale. However, in this bake sale, the price of the baked goods differed based on your race and your gender. White students had to pay the highest amount, while Native American students paid the lowest price.
Huffington Post
Gregory J. Vincent, the university vice president for diversity and community engagement, called the bake sale “inflammatory and demeaning,” as well as “deplorable.” Defenders of the bake sale claimed that they were standing up for America.
Huffington Post
3. NYC College students pretend to kill babies in an “Abortion Battles” game.
The New York Post has an article on a video that went viral that included some college students in NYC filmed playing a game called “Abortion Battles”. The game consists of two students who put a balloon under their shirt, then proceed to joust at each other until one pretends to kill the baby of the other.
Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up. Here’s the footage of the game in action:
Marco Rosales, who posted the video, wrote, “We were introduced to this epic game called `Abortion Battles.’ It’s somewhat unorthodox, but it’s really fun! Lol!.”
Such a game drew controversy nationwide, with many spokespeople voicing their opinion on the tastelessness of the game. University officials made it clear that this was something concocted by the students, and was in no way a university-sanctioned event.
2. University of Michigan takes down wrecking ball sculpture after students attempted to ride it… naked.
NY Daily News
A giant pendulum in Grand Valley State University in Michigan had to be taken down after students attempted to straddle it naked, according to an article by NY Daily News.
The reason they did it? They were attempting to replicate Miley Cyrus’ new “Wrecking Ball” video.
‘The ball has been taken down due to the safety hazard of people riding on it,’ according to a student-run university Twitter account, which quoted a dean.
Dozens of pictures and videos popped up almost overnight of students riding the public art display.
1. Chinese students attend a cram school from hell to qualify for college entrance exams.
SBS.com
The Chinese equivalent to the American SATs or ACTs is a hypercompetitive college entrance exam, which according to a popular saying, resembles an army of 10,000 students rushing across a narrow log.
The test lasts about two to three days, lasts 17 hours a day, and goofing off can get you arrested. What’s more, the score you get on this test comprises the majority of your college application. If you don’t meet the university’s minimum scores, you have no chance of getting in. To make things worse, the requirements for poorer students from rural areas are higher than those of the wealthier students who live in the city near the universities.
And to make things worse, the questions range from the medium-difficulty SAT questions in American exams, to really bizarre questions such as this one:
“It flies upward, and a voice asks if it is tired. It says, ‘No.’
An article on this Australian news site talks about particular schools students attend such as Maotanchang High School. These schools are known as “cram schools”, where they use military-style test prep to get students ready for the gaokao (the name of the college entrance exam). These schools are big business. They attract students and families from all over the country, and they carry quite a hefty price, costing as much as $8,000 for the cram program.
Inside the walls of these schools, students study all day, every day. Their methods can sometimes be considered extreme. One of the classrooms, for example, is equipped with intravenous drips filled with amino acid to assist students (seen in picture above). These schools are typically located in small towns, and their success makes the town’s economy completely revolve around them.
So the next time you have to stress about choosing the right college or university, at least keep in mind that your barrier to entry is nothing like this.