The plan?  Deck the North Dorm courtyard out like the lair of a mad scientist.  With a host of science themed decorations and music provided by perennial favorite DJ, Mixed Reactions, the Mudd Goes Madd Party is slated for this Saturday evening.  But an event of this caliber doesn’t simply invent itself.  For that, much of the task fell to Harvey Mudd freshman Julius Elinson, who along with Jonathan Schwartz and a score of friends navigated the hassles of bureaucracy and fundraising to bring the plan to fruition.

“Mad scientists. It felt so right,” said Elinson, “It was surprising we hadn’t already done something like this.”

Mudders hard at work in preparation for the party. Photo credit: Daniel Crowley

The challenges of preparation can be hard for the uninitiated to appreciate.   Elinson began taking care of the laborious process required to hold an event this elaborate early in December.  There were several stages to the ordeal, beginning with budgeting.  Funds were needed to pay for alcohol, decorations, and music.  The social board had to grant approval, and then came the waiting.  As the 5C student governments gave funding to the event, Elinson had to be patient as his proposals were slowly accepted by all 5 colleges.  ”At Pitzer, I went to three different groups, there was some miscommunication, and I wound up having to go back a second or third time,” he explained, adding that all colleges contributed to the party funding, though some schools were more generous than others.

To help cover the cost of the party, Elinson and his co-conspirators also sold condoms in custom-designed wrappers at the Hoch-Shanahan Dining Hall at Harvey Mudd.  Available in a variety of bundles, the condoms have been wildly successful.  ”The general idea is t-shirts and shot glasses [at most parties], but we thought, ‘What’s cooler than a custom condom?’” said Elinson, who touted the merchandise as both humorous and useful.

The turnout could be fantastically high, with over 1100 students RSVPing as attending on the Facebook event and the party will occur regardless of weather, as the students have plans to cover the courtyard in the case of rain.  It’s comforting to know that regardless of what happens come Saturday night, the Mudders have made arrangements to keep us protected.

The best part is, they didn’t just rig their own numbers, they catapulted six schools (among them the unlikely Bob Jones and Scripps College) to the top seven spots so that they could spell out the acronym WIBSTR or “West is best screw the rest,” apparently some kind of dorm related boast.

How’d they do it? Much of the jargon is beyond me, but basically, through computer programs and the enlistment of beer-enticed freshman, the residents of West Dorm were able to write a script that broke Secret’s “one post per day rule” as well as their image verification software (you know those crazy letters you have to identify when you want to sign up for something?). If you’re truly interested, you can follow this link to learn a little bit more.

Also to give you a true sense of the HMC/VS PWNAGE you may consult this chart created by our ever-meticulous HMC friends. And yes, that red line at the top is Harvey Mudd. Because it isn’t enough to prank someone, you should always provide them with a spreadsheet and chart so that they can intricately model the depths of their ownage.

Exec Board met last night but there is nothing of note to report, I couldn’t resist reporting the lack of report to you anyway.

Go to Slippery When Wet at Mudd this weekend-maybe they can find a use for all the unused jello…(kidding).

-CD

Song of the moment:
Marlena Shaw-California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent remix)

Before we turn to the menus for the week, here is a way to add some variety to your dining hall experience:

Mixed Drinks, Dining Hall Style

Spring Break has ended, so you can no longer sit on a Mexican beach sipping on a pina colada and be lulled to sleep by the soothing sound of gunshots, but your beverage at Collins doesn’t have to be a complete bore.  While most diners eventually tire of Orange Passionfruit Guava juice, the combinations you can make on your own are virtually endless.  For example:

Cran-Orange Juice: Fill your cup with half cranberry juice and half orange juice.

Arnold Palmer: Half lemonade, half iced tea.

Tart Orange:  Two parts orange juice, one part lemonade.

These are just examples, experiment yourself to find your favorite combinations.  Now onto the weekly menus:

Monday

Discerning diners can choose between Mudd, Scripps and Frary tonight.  Frary has its Individual Pizzas on Mondays.  Scripps is offering a Caesar Salad Bar at the expo with a Crispy BLT Chicken Sandwich at the Grill and Chicken Noodle Soup at the soup station.  Mudd has its normal Muddgolian BBQ as well as a Nacho Bar.

Tuesday

Saunter on over to Collins tonight for a Southwest Chicken Wrap or a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich or Crepe Expectations – Cherry & Apple. Unfortunately for CMCers, Collins crepes are nowhere near as good as Mudd’s.  Before the break when I went to go get crepes on a Tuesday night, I watched the serving guy rip three out of the four crepes he gave me an the other person in line.  Furthermore, he put so much filling on the crepe pancakes that I had to dig with my fork and knife for a few seconds to find them.  While warming the final crepe he gave me, he realized that spraying the pan with PAM might be a good idea. Unfortunately, this seemed to be more easily said than done.  Rather than spray the pan and then place the crepe on the non-sticky pan, he put the crepe into the pan and sprayed the crepe.  While this might have worked to keep the crepe from sticking if he had flipped over the crepe, he just put the crepe on my plate after a few seconds and buried it in filling.

I continue to recommend Collins because the other stuff they serve on Tuesdays is good and because I still hope that Collins can shape up and finally figure out how to serve crepes.  Unfortunately, it isn’t looking like this will happen anytime soon.

If you too are tired of botched crepes, try Scripps where there will be Cheese Tortellini and Breadsticks at the Expo and Lamb Tikka Masala in the main line.

Wednesday

Tonight is Collins sushi night!  Grab a pair of chopsticks and enjoy.

Thursday

Head up to Scripps tonight for Red Curry Stir Fry Pork at the Expo, a Sky Ranch Chicken Flatbread Sandwich at the grill and Pesto Chicken Breasts in the main line.

Friday

It’s Cesar Chavez Day! Celebrate in style at Mudd with Individual Pizza’s Made to Order, Carne Asada Tacos and Clam Chowder.

You can also get sushi at Scripps.

Saturday

Tonight Scripps is not only offering its weekly steak cooked to order night, but also serving Chicken, Chipotle & Cheese Quesadillas. Scripps is worth braving the lines for tonight.

Sunday

Ah, Sunday, isn’t it strange that what is supposed to be a day of rest for many people is spent frantically working on papers and homework?  Collins essentially takes Sundays off, so try braving the lines at Mudd for Steak Made to Order (make sure to get there early) or you can head to Pitzer for pre-cooked steak and Pitzer’s generally high-quality food.

That is all for this week.  Thank you for reading!

Claremont McKenna College
Rank List
#15      Best Campus Food
#2        Best Career/Job Placement Services
#11      Dorms Like Palaces
#4        Happiest Students
#13      Lots of Beer
#18      Lots of Race/Class Interaction
#11      Most Politically Active Students
#11      Most Accessible Professors
#5        School Runs Like Butter
#10      Students Happy with Financial Aid
#15      Best Classroom Experience
#5        Best Quality of Life

Why are we on the race/class interaction list?  See our humble neighbors below…  (couldn’t ask for more appropriate from Scripps or Pitzer)

Pomona
Rank List
#12     Dorms Like Palaces
#14     Happiest Students
#1       School Runs Like Butter
#3       Students Happy with Financial Aid
#14     Least Religious Students
#3       Best Classroom Experience
#10     Best Quality of Life

Pitzer
Rank List
#1      Lots of Race/Class Interaction
#12    Reefer Madness
#12    Least Religious Students
#16    Most Liberal Students

Harvey Mudd
Rank List
#6      Least Beautiful Campus
#17    Intercollegiate Sports Unpopular or Nonexistent
#8      Professors Get High Marks
#13    Most Accessible Professors
#5      Students Study the Most

Scripps
Rank List
#13    Best Campus Food
#4      Dorms Like Palaces
#6      Most Beautiful Campus

Update 7/31/08:
CMC.edu has a press release on this here.