In high school, we used to have an epic Battle of the Classes every spring.  It was intense.  Each of the four classes was pitted against each other in a series of contests.  I was never a big fan, because it was encouraging us to hate each other.  (I never bought into the It Separates Us But It Really Brings Us Together argument.)  Nonetheless, I would go and cheer for my class every year, which probably makes me a hypocrite.  One thing that always bothered me about Battle was that many of the cheers and chants taken up by my classmates (and sometimes by me too, I admit it) were extremely negative or meant to bring the other classes down.  I didn’t like that much at all.

(I stole this picture from Emily Strong’s facebook account)
Here is a picture of me and some friends at Battle of the Classes when we were seniors.  Also, for some reason there was this tradition of the senior class dressing up in horrible 80’s fashions (possibly because we were born in the 80’s?)

The point (I do have one) is that when I came to college and found out about the Odd-Even rivalry we have here, I was worried that it would be a repeat of Battle.  I was pleasantly surprised.

The Odd-Even rivalry has to do with the year in which you graduate.  I graduate in 2011, for example, so this makes me a member of the Oddline, otherwise known as an Odd or an Oddliner.  Someone who graduates in an even year would be a member of Evenline, an Even, or an Evenliner.  The cool thing about this is that instead of turning us all against each other, it gives us allies within the school and among the alumnae.  Each team has its own traditions, colors, songs, and the like.  Odd colors are purple and yellow.  Even colors are blue and green.  So.  Now that we’ve got that straightened out…

The tradition is for freshman and sophomore girls (heavily coached by juniors and seniors) to have a sing-off and a basketball game in the fall as a sort of homecoming celebration.  This year the Evens won the sing-off and the Odds won the (more important) basketball game.  I didn’t get to see either one, but I hear they were a riot.

(I stole this picture from Maggie’s facebook account)

This year for the first time, the men of the college decided to create their own tradition in the Odd-Even genre.  Their version is a competition in the form of a chili cook-off and a dodgeball game.  I couldn’t make it to the cook-off, but the dodgeball game was legendary!

The teams were pretty evenly matched, much to everyone’s surprise.  The Evens had much more athletic guys, so most of us were expecting to be slaughtered on the court.  Turns out, the Evens were athletes, but their sport is soccer.  Our guys, while smaller, had much better hand-eye coordination somehow.  The two teams battled it out in a series of games, and the score was tied for most of the evening.  The boys trotted out at half-time leaving a 4-4 tied score behind them.

In the second half, tensions were running high.  The score remained fairly even, but there were a myriad of disputes.  One game, which would have been credited to the Odds, was argued over so much that in the end the referees threw the entire game out.  In the end, the Evens were triumphant, though Oddliners are still arguing over alleged cheating on the Even side and the game they might have had.

The best part for me about the competition is that in the end we sing to each other to remind us that we are all one campus of friends.  While it is sometimes difficult, Odds and Evens can give up their quarrels and party together again when the game is over.

All in all, Odd-Even is a fun, exciting tradition, and I look forward to cheering on my teams in the future.  And a big congratulations to all the guys for finally making it happen!

Hmm, that post was something like a sports review.  I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“Gather ’round, girls.  I have a very important lesson to give you.  Boys have cooties.  It’s true.  Just learn that now, and it will save you future strife.”

I said this to every group of girls I had this summer when I was a counselor at Girl Scout camp.  They would inevitably start talking about boys, and I felt it my duty to step in and inform them of the facts.  I mean, they run a serious risk if they’re living in the dark about this.

I think this weekend was some kind of Bring-Your-Boyfriend-to-College convention that I was uninformed about.  Seriously, I’ve been introduced to so many boyfriends since Friday I’m actually starting to lose track of them all.  I sort of missed the boat on that one.  For one thing, I don’t have a boyfriend, and let’s make no mistake- I don’t need one.  I’m not one of those girls who sits around and laments the fact that she’s single.  Sure, if the right person came along I’d date him, but I don’t feel the need to have a boy to define my life.

Anyway, the other single girls on my floor and I found it a little depressing with so many people in love running around.  We solved this problem by sitting around eating junk food and watching chick flicks together.  Maggie says she thinks we are like addicts- we admit we have a dependency but we just keep on doing it.  She’s probably right, but it’s more fun to be lonely and heartsick with your friends than to do it alone.

You know how it is, you’re walking down the hall and some guy says hello to you in passing.  Then your feet get a little bounce to them and you say to yourself

“Oh my gosh, the hot religion major just spoke to me!”.

Of course nothing will ever happen between you, and you probably don’t even really want it to.  But it’s fun to imagine nonetheless.  Granted, around here appealing boys are about one in a hundred, and then they turn out to be gay or otherwise unavaliable.  I keep telling the other girls that if I ever do decide to look for a boyfriend I won’t be dumb enough to do it here. 

But I hate that phrase anyway.  To “look for a boyfriend” makes you seem so desperate.  I mean for goodness’ sake, there are other things in the world.  When you meet a guy, the first thing that runs through your head should not be

“Okay, would I date him?”

That is positively horrid and it turns girls into vultures.  If you happen to think someone is attractive, okay.  That happens.  But looks shouldn’t be the only critera for a partner, and if you think they are you have another thing coming.  When you fall for someone, it should be (as Shakespeare put it) for all of his traits at once.

Now, I’m probably the last person on Earth who should be giving relationship advice.  Lots of girls have asked me my opinion on various situations, but what is boils down to is this:  I have never had a boyfriend.  I guess all I really know is that boys have cooties.