Dear e,
I have a secret: I'm a registered Republican. I just wanted to ask you, where are all the other Republicans on this campus? Everywhere I turn, people are bashing John McCain and Sarah Palin and quoting Stephen Colbert (who's a total idiot, by the way). Even my professors get in on the action. And every time I try to join the conversation, they self-righteously jump all over me and won't let me talk. Now I don't even try. What happened to the free flow of ideas on this campus?
— Outnumbered by Donkeys

Dear Outnumbered,
I can tell you that at least some of the Republicans on campus are at the College Republi-cans Club meetings. You may consider checking them out if you’re into talking politics. According to the Center for Campus Life’s website, the College Republicans Club meets Thursdays at 6 p.m. in the dining commons, but I’d recommend contacting them at ritcrwww@rit.edu before attending one of their meetings.

I encourage you to check them out. You’ll be meeting people with similar views as yours and you will be able to discuss the likes of McCain and Palin all you want without the fear of being shut down.

If you’re into debating, another club you might want to check out is the Debate Society. They meet Mondays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. in 7B-2260. The club email is ritdebatesociety@gmail.com.

Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and I know it can be tough when everyone around you is disagreeing with you, but ultimately you have to stick up for your own be-liefs. Show them respect by listening to what they have to say, and hopefully they will return the favor.

One last suggestion would be to carry around a megaphone; That way you’ll always be the loudest person in the room.
— e.

Dear e,
I wanna be cool, but mostly I want people to come into my room. What kind of things do you think would draw people in to visit? Like juggling balls or something? I'm lonely.
— M. Notta Rapist

Dear M. Notta,
Juggling could help. When people have interesting talents, others tend to take notice.

I’m going to pass some great advice to you that I received when I was going off to col-lege: Leave your door open. That doesn’t mean leaving it open 24/7 or when you’re not there, but when you’re just hanging out and looking for some visitors, you’re more likely to get them if they can actually get in. As people walk by you can say “Hello,” or they might even beat you to it. Then, you can invite them in to pursue further conversation, watch some television, or play a game.

The next stop is food. People are drawn together by food, especially free food (poor col-lege students will take anything they can get). Buy yourself some delicious cookies and then offer to share with people on your floor. If you live in one of the apartment com-plexes, make some homemade goodies and share with others in your building. Then you can once again invite them over for poker or conversation, or whatever other social activ-ities you do in your room.

If those ideas don’t work for you and you have some extra stuff lying around, you could have a yard sale (well, more of a dorm room sale). Hang some signs around campus de-tailing when and where. People will definitely come to visit then and, as an added bonus, you can make extra cash in the process!
— e.