Do you ever think about how much better your college experience would’ve been if you’d had an iPhone back then? If a lecture got boring, you could just watch some cute cat videos on YouTube; if an attractive stranger walked in the cafeteria, you could Facebook-stalk him before he finished up at the salad bar. But today’s college students are way more creative than that; they’re developing apps that let students track free food events on campus, find out how full the dining hall is, or locate your next class. When the New York Times recently tracked down the best apps for navigating campus life, and an app developed by students at Goucher, Drexel, and McGill — Involvio — got a prominent mention.

Involvio’s point is simple:  it helps students sort through the often-overwhelming number of parties, events, club activities, and sporting events that are happening on campus at any given time. Involvio’s founder, Ari Winkleman, a Drexel senior, says he got the idea after noticing that “students always feel like they’re missing out. It’s all too common for students to think, ‘There’s probably something better happening than the thing I’m doing right now, I just don’t know about it.” He recruited Goucher alum Evan Siegel and current student Adrianna Edgerly-Moore to help bring the app to Goucher, where 200-plus events are currently listed.
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The University of Baltimore unveils “Talking Trash” today, a program that invites Baltimoreans to vote with recycling on favorite sports team legends.
 
Each month, the university will pose a different question about Baltimore sports teams. The first question: “Who is Baltimore’s greatest team sports icon?” The UB community, its neighbors and even passersby can cast a vote by putting recycling in four campus bins. The bin with the most recycling at the end of the month will win! Voters can dispose of recyclable paper, cans and bottles and cast their vote as often as they wish. The results will be announced on UB’s website and another question will be posed.  
 
The new initiative demonstrates UB’s continuing commitment to preserving the environment. From recycling and using green materials in construction projects to reducing energy and water use and encouraging the use of public transportation and rideshare programs, the UB community is committed to reducing its impact on the environment.  

Look for the monthly Talking Trash question affixed to a 120-foot fence across from the Fitzgerald Garage and the Barnes & Noble at the University of Baltimore on West Oliver. The university will also post the question on its website.

I always figured that living in a miserable dorm room was one of those character-building, out-of-the-classroom learning experiences that you were supposed to have in college. Two people cramming all their worldly possessions in a tiny room with cinderblock walls:  for many of us, the dorm room was where we first learned compromise, cooperation, and how to loft a bed.

So in that way, I feel sorry for the students who are unfortunate enough to live in Loyola’s Newman Towers, an apartment-style dorm on the school’s North Baltimore campus. The residence hall just came in at number six on CampusSplash’s list of the 15 best dorms in the country, and no wonder:  each apartment includes a full bathroom, living room, full kitchen, walk-in closets, a dining room… Oh, and the building itself boasts several restaurants and a grocery store. “If I never had to leave this building I never would,” a Loyola student told CampusSplash.

What was your college dorm like?