Dealing with a nightmare roommate, eating gross cafeteria food, surviving classes…Sound like average college concerns? Well, now students have a little help, in the form of a book. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook[s] have been popping up on shelves in almost every bookstore; covering topics such as golf, travel, and work, the handbooks are full of comical and sometimes practical tips on how to survive odd situations. The newest addition to the line of books is the college edition, 167 pages of tips for surviving what is supposed to be the “best time of your life.” The book is divided into four sections: getting settled, room and board, extracurricular survival skills, and class survival. Following the divisions, the book is broken down even more to assess particular situations, such as how to survive sports emergencies, stadium riots, and avoiding the dreaded freshman fifteen. Although the book is thoroughly entertaining and occasionally somewhat informative, as a whole, it is not to be taken seriously.
To make a point, how exactly can food be measured in mugs of beer, and how often do college bars serve beer in mugs? Unless Tavern and Sandbar are not up to fashion, pitchers and glasses seem to be the most popular mode of delivering foaming glasses of alcohol to the wide-eyed and eager student populous. But then of course, the survival handbook does supply quick remedies for such troubles as squeaking bedsprings, opening a bottle without an available bottle opener, and how to eat for under a dollar. Essentially, the book and its $14.95 price tag is an appeal to the whimsical students who don’t mind paying for a book that will later become a mere shelf adornment. The attempt was well thought of, but honestly, isn’t it rather ironic that a person who’s trying to eat for under a dollar has to pay $14.95 (sans tax) to find out how?
Joanna Davila can be contacted at j.davila1@umiami.edu.