DormDelicious on Twitter (@dormdelicious)

We're Tweeting! For those of you unaware of the phenomenon that is Twitter, here's the scoop. It's basically a social tool that lets you communicate with people following you with short messages called tweets. Over the past week, DormDelicious has been building our Twitter account, @dormdelicious, which we encourage you all to start following.

Not only will we be updating you when we have new posts, we'll also be tweeting about goings-on in the college/dorm life space and asking for help as we write our articles. We think it's a great way to get quick feedback from college students like you, so we don't just keep writing about our own experiences, which we will eventually run out of, and have to write about that time we stole a cup from the dining hall, or that time we tried to do that thing where you make a harmonica out of a blade of grass.

For more Twitter fun, check out this just-released video from the guys over at HackCollege, where they ask 101 college students (at LMU, which is just up the street from us) whether they know what Twitter is. Enjoy! And remember to follow @dormdelicious.

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How Walkable is Your College Campus?

By now you've probably heard about Walkscore, a website that scores addresses on how walkable they are. Basically it takes into account the amount and diversity of businesses, parks, libraries, etc. within "walking distance" of an address and assigns a score. Presumably super-rural addresses would get a low Walkscore.

We think an interesting application of this service is to check a college's Walkscore and factor it into your college selection process. Depending on how important it is to be able to adventure in the area around your campus on foot, you might weight the Walkscore more or less highly in your selection criteria.

At the right is the Walkscore map of Harvard University. As you can see, there is lots to do within walking distance, earning Harvard a 98/100 on the walkability scale. This is not surprising, since Harvard is right in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts and not far from Boston. Just out of curiosity, we looked at how walkable the United States' top universities were. Here's what we found:

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Off Campus Housing: Is It Right For You?

We see no reason why your off campus accommodations can't be delicious, too. This post is the first in a series of posts on off campus housing and, yes, gasp, moving beyond that university-owned bubble that is your college dorm.

Sometimes you have no choice but to move off campus. Your university simply cannot hold you. It may be related to the Freshman 15, or it may just be that they don't have enough rooms. If you do have a choice, however, you should consider a couple things. Before you take the plunge and start searching for an off campus house or apartment, ask yourself these questions.

Can I Afford It?

When you live in the dorms, all your costs are taken care of (usually) - electricity, water, cable, Internet and gas are all rolled into one flat rate. When you're calculating what it's going to cost to live in an apartment or house don't forget to include utilities and whatever furniture you'll need to by. If you're like us, you might actually save money by moving out of the dorms, but it depends on property values around your school. Apparently we went to school in the ghetto, which was made clear every morning when we would wake up at 3AM to the blaring police sirens outside and the screech of tires in the parking lot. And then our roommate being arrested.

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Green Dorm Room Decorating Tips

UPDATE: All of these fine green dorm products (and more!) can now be found in the DormDelicious Dorm Store.

Here at DormDelicious we've been doing some research on green living for another one of our projects, and we thought we'd share some relevant tips for making your dorm greener! Tip number one: buy a gallon of green paint. OMG hilarious! Actually, we're not talking about the color green, more about living sustainably and being environmentally conscious.

CFLs: The Start of a Great Green Room

This is green tip number one. When you buy that sweet 5-arm floor lamp popular in Bed, Bath & Beyonds worldwide, use compact flourescent lightbulbs instead of regular lightbulbs. They save energy and last longer. It's a win-win.

Green Your Water Bottle

There's now an array of metal water bottles that are eco-friendly and won't contaminate your water like they say Nalgenes will (sorry, Nalgene, apparently you cause cancer... but I still have a special place for you in my heart. The part of my heart that doesn't need water).

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VOTE TODAY!

Dear American DormDelicious Readers,

Although I would wager that Obama kept a swankier dorm room in his college days, in the context of this site there is not much I can argue to you about either candidate and which way you should vote.

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