Fed up of shopping classes and starting to plan which artists you want to see at Boston Calling this weekend? Flyby can help! If you can’t tell your Flosstradamus from your Deer Tick and you want to study up, here’s Flyby’s very own Boston Calling 101, a quick intro course to some of the upcoming acts' most popular songs—because nobody wants to be that person yelling the wrong words super loud from the front row.", [])

This summer, while you were off studying abroad, interning at a consulting firm, or just sticking around the Cambridge bubble doing research, Harvard’s neighbors across the river were busy debating proposals for Harvard’s development in Allston and a community benefits package to go alongside it.', [])

Apparently not everyone is doing it: 65 percent of members of the new freshman class recently surveyed by The Crimson admit to entering Harvard as a virgin. On average, respondents estimated their IQ at 128—placing them in the 96th percentile of the population. Recruited athletes reported an average composite SAT score of 2082, 173 points lower than the average score of respondents who were not recruited for a varsity sport. The\xa0much-lamented decline of the humanities is real among the Class of 2017—just 11 percent of them say they plan to concentrate in a humanities discipline.

These numbers come from an online survey of the Class of 2017 conducted by The Crimson from Aug. 5 to Aug. 28. We asked the new freshmen questions ranging about topics ranging from their career aspirations to their alcohol and drug habits, and received more than 1,300 responses.

The Crimson will reveal the full results of the survey in a four-part series that will run in print and online each day this week. Check back to learn everything you’ve been wanting to know about the newest inhabitants of the Yard.

After Forbes magazine inexplicably denied Harvard the top spot on several of its college rankings this summer, equilibrium was restored Aug. 15 when our University was named best in the world by the Center for World-Class Universities at China\'s Shanghai Jiao Tong University.', [])

Back on campus early and trying to avoid eating cheap pizza until the dining halls reopen?\xa0Before kicking your brain into high gear, take your taste buds on a gastronomical tour of Harvard Square.\xa0This year’s Summer Restaurant Week, which began this past\xa0Sunday, continues through\xa0August 30 (though it will take a day off this coming\xa0Saturday).', [])

Forget an honor code—we’ve found the solution to Harvard’s alleged cheating problem.

At Kasetsart University in Thailand, dozens of students recently took an exam while wearing paper hats with side blinders intended to deter wandering eyes. The Wall Street Journal reported that the students helped make the blinder-hats after their professor asked them to devise a way to prevent cheating on the exam.

A photo of the experiment was reportedly posted on (and later taken down from) a school-affiliated Facebook page. But copies of the photo survived and went viral, to the great amusement of the World Wide Web.

A Harvard spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the College might consider adopting this unconventional approach to policing academic dishonesty.

Apparently having the largest endowment in higher education isn’t good enough to be named the most fiscally healthy college in the country by the always-reliable Forbes magazine.

Though Forbes gave Harvard a perfect ‘A+’ grade for fiscal soundness, the magazine ranked the University a mysterious fifth on its list of America’s “Most Financially Fit Colleges.”

Forbes seems to have deemed four schools more financially fit than Harvard for, as far as we can see, no reason at all—though we’re not terribly surprised considering that Harvard was inexplicably shunned to eighth place on Forbes’s list of America’s top colleges.

In the fiscal health rankings, published online last month and in print this week, Forbes evaluated more than 900 private, not-for-profit colleges and universities based on data from the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years. Forbes graded each school on nine variables, ranging from operating surplus to admissions yield, to assess their balance sheet health, operational soundness, and overall fiscal health.

Based on these scores, schools were accordingly assigned letter grades and GPAs, with the top 41 schools on the list all receiving ‘A+’ grades and GPAs of 4.5. Grade inflation, it seems, runs rampant even in college rankings.

So what makes Harvard less financially fit than Princeton (#1), Pomona (#2), Swarthmore (#3),and Columbia (#4), you ask? We have the same question. We tweeted at the Forbes editor who compiled the list to ask for more information, but we haven’t heard back.

The quick and dirty about what\'s been going on around the Ancient Eight.

Most Ivy League students have traded in their textbooks for ties or travel for the summer, but that hasn\'t kept their campuses out of the headlines in recent weeks.

In case you missed it, the New York Times reported a shocking new trend in a feature last month detailing the "hookup culture" at Penn: Some college-aged women have casual sex. (Wow.) What could possibly explain this breaking news, you ask? In fact, the paper of record concludes, some college women are too busy or ambitious for committed relationships, among other factors.

That might seem simplistic, particularly for a nearly 4,800-word article that took months to report, and students at Penn seem to agree. The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that, of the students they interviewed, "most" objected to the article’s portrayal of their campus. The DP also published its own editorial proclaiming that “[author Kate] Taylor drew conclusions that inaccurately represented and overly generalized the university\'s student body.”

In more serious news over in New Haven, Yale released its fourth semi-annual report of sexual misconduct complaints this past Wednesday. A total of 61 complaints of sexual assault, harassment, or other misconduct were brought to Yale officials between Jan. 1 and June 30. That number represents the greatest number of reported complaints\xa0since Yale began releasing the reports, according to the Yale Daily News.

At Cornell, more fraternities than even exist at Harvard are in trouble with the university for reports of hazing. Cornell shut down two fraternities and sanctioned four more following investigations that occurred during the spring. One frat is being punished by being put on "provisional recognition status for at least four years,"according to the Cornell Daily Sun—something that wouldn’t be such a big deal at Harvard, considering that officials here refuse to recognize frats and sororities (not to mention final clubs) at all.

Greek life is also once again in the news at Dartmouth, where fraternities came under national scrutiny in 2012 after Rolling Stone magazine published a\xa0piece detailing allegations of hazing at a campus fraternity. Last month, a three-foot ball python went missing from a coed fraternity for several days, only to be found by a dog who was "\'yapping really loudly,\'" The Dartmouth reported.

We already knew that the College’s drugs and alcohol policy tiptoes around the question of whether we can play beer pong. But a gradebook released last week by the nonprofit organization Students for Sensible Drug Policy points out that the policy is vague on other questions too.

SSDP, which "neither condones nor condemns drug use," according to its website, gave Harvard’s alcohol and drug policy a \'B\' grade—an above-average mark among the 300 colleges evaluated as part of the project. (We, accustomed to Harvard\'s generous grade-inflation, aren\'t used to thinking of a \'B\' as "above-average," but we\'ll take their word for it.)

SSDP\'s website describes Harvard\'s policy as "vague," saying it is "unclear which sanctions apply to which violations." It notes, however, that a "full medical amnesty policy is in place"—albeit one that some students told The Crimson has discouraged them from seeking medical help out of concern about potential repercussions.

Drew Stromberg, an outreach director for SSDP, said in a phone interview Wednesday that Harvard\'s policy is "overall very good," in part because the College\'s amnesty policy covers both alcohol and drugs and offers protection for both the victim and the caller. The "only thing" that prevented the policy from receiving an \'A,\' he said, was its vagueness about sanctions. Specifically, Stromberg said, the policy doesn\'t make a distinction between sanctions for all marijuana policy violations versus a typical sanction for the first violation.

We pulled up the policy to see if he was right. The College Handbook for Students does not mention sanctions for marijuana use specifically, instead grouping together infractions including "the use of illicit drugs, underage possession or consumption of alcohol, serving alcohol to underage individuals, or overconsumption of alcohol." The policy does differentiate between administrators’ initial response to drug or alcohol violations ("a warning and/or referral" to the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Services) and their more strict responses to a "pattern" of rule-breaking behavior. But as Stromberg notes, it\'s not precise about the response to a first-time violation for marijuana or any other drug.

Back in 2005, Administrative Board Secretary John "Jay" L. Ellison told The Crimson that the Ad Board will not issue punishment if a student is caught simply smoking marijuana. In recent cases in which students were punished, he said at the time, the offense was broader than just drug use.

We reached out to College spokesperson Colin Manning to get more information about the response to a first-time marijuana violation under the most recent iteration of Harvard\'s drugs and alcohol policy. But the statement he provided, while noting that the policy is "designed to protect the health and safety of all undergraduates," didn\'t answer our question.

In a\xa0series of reviews, members of The Crimson\'s summer staff are making a case for the best froyo in the Square. We\'ve already reviewed\xa0Pinkberry,\xa0Ben and Jerry\'s,\xa0Yogurtland,\xa0Lizzy\'s, J.P. Licks, and Berryline. Last up: CVS.

You don\'t become the country’s second-largest pharmacy chain by dispersing subpar products. With 7,000+ locations across 41 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C., the only explanation can be that CVS is selling great frozen yogurt at a great price.

So, maybe the CVS location on Mass. Ave. only sells Ben and Jerry’s brand froyo, and the one on JFK St. doesn\'t sell any at all. But last time we checked, you can get a whole pint of the delicious stuff at the Mass. Ave. CVS for $5.79. If that\'s not a great deal, I don\'t know what is.

And unlike inferior froyo shops, the pleasure of eating one of CVS’s two Ben and Jerry’s brand varieties can go on and on and on. Go to Ben and Jerry’s and grab a froyo. It\'ll last you five, maybe 10 minutes. But pick up a pint at CVS? It could sit in your freezer, building up that icy stuff around the container, for months. Eating it a spoonful at a time, you\'ll be able to relish the frozen treat over and over.

On top of that, CVS is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But don\'t let these hours fool you into thinking CVS is a last ditch resort when you have a sudden craving for a chilled, refreshing snack at 3 a.m. Rather, CVS is the obvious choice for frozen yogurt in the Square any time of day.

Now, Crimson editors have praised other frozen yogurt joints for a variety of reasons. Please allow me to debunk these false laudations.

One of my colleagues told you to stick with the old-school froyo from Berryline. She\'s clearly confused: Berryline was founded in 2007, and CVS was founded in 1963.

Another folly Crimson editor tried to sell J.P. Licks as the local option. I’ll cede that Jamaica Plain is closer to the Square than Lowell, Mass., the location of CVS’s first store. But locality is also relative. J.P. Licks hasn\'t spread outside of the greater Boston area; so necessarily, it had to have been founded close by. CVS, on the other hand, is a local business that successfully spread across the country.

A third misguided colleague laughably suggested that Lizzy\'s leads the pack because its froyo tastes like old-fashioned ice cream. He certainly wouldn’t have made such a claim had he ever tried the ice-cream-esque goodness that is CVS\'s Ben and Jerry’s brand Half Baked froyo.

Three other Crimson editors made the ridiculous argument that Pinkberry, Ben & Jerry\'s, and Yogurtland, respectively, are the most patriotic froyo joints in the Square. If they think these lowly brands represent freedom and opportunity, all I can say is that they haven\'t used CVS\'s self-check-out machines.

Still don\'t believe me? Buy yourself a pint, and you too will understand that CVS\'s supremacy in the Square’s frozen yogurt market is undeniable.

In a\xa0series of reviews, members of The Crimson\'s summer staff are making a case for the best froyo in the Square. We\'ve already reviewed\xa0Pinkberry,\xa0Ben and Jerry\'s,\xa0Yogurtland, Lizzy\'s, and J.P. Licks. Now up: Berryline.

Dearest reader,

I ask you to close your eyes for a moment. Relax your mind, and imagine Harvard Square’s frozen yogurt marketplace as it once was. Back in those better, simpler days, there was no Pinkberry. There was no Yogurtland. Ben and Jerry\'s had yet to launch its Greek frozen yogurt line. Sure, Lizzy\'s and J.P. Licks served frozen yogurt, but let\'s be real: no one really liked their froyo anyway.

Back then, the destination for anyone craving frozen yogurt was clear—Berryline. As long ago as 2007, locals have gathered together to enjoy delicious froyo in that little corner of homegrown paradise at 3 Arrow St.

Can\'t remember such a glorious vision of the Square? I\'m not surprised. If you\'re reading this esteemed student life blog, you\'re probably too young to remember that wholesome, happy time. But let me tell you this: As recently as early 2011, when members of the Class of 2014 were wide-eyed freshmen, Berryline reigned supreme as the Square’s unquestioned froyo hotspot.

But since then, things have changed. Every year, fresh faces with short memories and capricious tastes flood the Square, distracted by new, flashy, corporate froyo options. And Berryline—poor, forgotten Berryline—finds itself further from the hearts of the fickle patrons it sought to serve.

Call me a crotchety old rising senior, but back in my day, Berryline meant something. My peers and I would have never dreamed of eating Pinkberry\'s mawkishly sweet froyo when we could savor Berryline\'s creamy delights, nor would we have considered serving ourselves at Yogurtland when we could enjoy Berryline’s unrivaled customer service.

But not all is lost. It is not too late, wayward youth, to reject artifice, to honor your heritage, to remember your roots. It is not too late to go to Berryline.

Forbes continued its annual tradition of kicking Harvard in the shins this week when it released its "America’s Top Colleges" list, ranking our esteemed university in a lowly eighth place. That’s behind Stanford, two liberal arts colleges, three other Ivies, and the United States Military Academy. The shock and horror.

The rankings, Forbes says on its website, are set apart from others by its "firm belief in \'output\' over \'input\'"—that is to say, its interest in what students are getting out of college, not how they got in. Forbes says its rankings are calculated based on 12 factors that fall under five categories, which include student satisfaction, post-graduate success, and student debt. We haven\'t found a problem with this methodology yet, but since College Confidential told us we were going to the best school in the world, we know Forbes must be doing something wrong.

Regardless, don\'t be too alarmed by our lackluster showing, proud Harvardians, because this isn\'t actually that big of a change. Although Harvard regularly tops the U.S. News and World Report rankings for best national universities, Harvard also failed to crack the top five in last year\'s Forbes rankings (it settled for sixth).

At least Harvard had a better showing this year than the trade school down the river; MIT came in 10th.

In a\xa0series of reviews, members of The Crimson\'s summer staff are making a case for the best froyo in the Square. We\'ve already reviewed\xa0Pinkberry,\xa0Ben and Jerry\'s,\xa0Yogurtland, and Lizzy\'s. Now up: J.P. Licks.

It’s hard to deny the significance, the gravitas, of the year 1981 in the lives of Bostonians. No, not because it signaled the beginning of the eight-year run of Ronald Reagan, better known in Cambridge as "He Who Must Not Be Named." Instead, it was the founding of a little paradise that has since expanded to a handful of locations around the greater Boston area. I’m talking, of course, of J.P. Licks.

Now, my fellow writers have gone before me and extolled the virtues of their various establishments, how this place or that spot is truly American. But America, you steely-eyed beauty, nothing better captures your greatness than the city of Boston. And there’s no frozen yogurt establishment in Beantown quite like our very own J.P. Licks. It even has Boston in the name—"J.P." stands for "Jamaica Plain," where this chain was born. Take that, Yogurtland.

Some of you might say that J.P. Licks is an ice cream establishment first, and a froyo hotspot second. Au contraire (or as a true Bostonian might say, “Go fack yahself.”) Sure, J.P. Licks’s ice cream is first-rate, no question. But what other establishment has flavors like "Yogurt X," "Mango X," and "Peach X," so loaded with deliciousness they had to throw an "X" on it just to let you know? Certainly not Berryline.

In short, the decision is clear. If you want a flavor rollercoaster, a taste of Boston and of America, a brief sojourn back to the days of yore, when everything was just a little simpler, a little more wholesome, then friends, J.P. Licks is your answer.

EdX President Anant Agarwal is used to hearing criticism of his rapidly expanding online learning venture from concerned professors. But on Wednesday night, he faced humorous resistance from a new, unexpected, critic: Stephen Colbert.

In an appearance on the Colbert Report Wednesday night, the MIT professor laughed and went on the defensive as his host poked fun at what he once referred to as “the edX.”

As Agarwal described edX’s mission of providing college courses over the internet, Colbert cut in. “University of Phoenix, you can do that. No, I’m serious. You can do that. They advertise on my show. Right? Same thing!”

Agarwal clarified that these courses originated from top-tier institutions including edX founders Harvard and MIT, prompting Colbert to quip that he had “heard of” those universities.

(Heard of? Good to hear that your hour-long interview at the Institute of Politics from 2006 was so memorable, Stephen.)

Above all, the satirically right-wing TV pundit was aghast over edX’s free offerings.

“I don’t understand,” Colbert lamented. “You’re in the knowledge business in a university. Let’s say I had a shoe store...and then I hired you to work at my shoe store. And you said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Let’s give the shoes away for free.’ I would fire you and then probably throw shoes at your head.”

Colbert also alluded to the debate between access and exclusivity, questioning whether edX diminished the value of a college diploma. “Let’s say I go to your Harvards or your MITs or your Berkeleys out there,” he quipped. “I get to say, “I went to Harvard.” That’s half of what you’re paying for.”

In an afterthought, Colbert added, “Actually you wouldn’t say, “I went to Harvard.” You’d say, ‘I went to a small college in the Boston area.’”

Too real.

In response, Agarwal acknowledged that online education cannot replicate the “on-campus magic” of learning in a traditional college environment. He named peer interactions, late-night discussions, and inspiration from professors as irreplaceable aspects of campus life—but not before Colbert could chime in with his own addition to the list: “homoerotic frat hazing.”

“Online, no one’s going to ask you pass a greased 45 record from buttcheek to buttcheek before they’ll call you brother,” Colbert said.

That educational experience, Agarwal joked, costs $40,000.

Breakfast sandwich lovers, fret no longer—Clover plans to reopen the doors of its restaurants Thursday.

The health-conscious fast-food chain closed all of its operations over a week ago after learning that some people in Massachusetts who had contracted salmonella had eaten at Clover.

But on Wednesday, Clover founder and CEO Ayr Muir wrote on the chain’s blog that its four restaurants, including its Harvard Square location on Holyoke Street, would be re-opening Thursday. (The vegans of the world were disappointed when Muir’s Tuesday announcement that Wednesday would be the big day proved overly optimistic.)

As an added bonus, the window of the Harvard Square location is advertising free fries for Thursday’s lunch customers.

In a series of reviews, members of The Crimson\'s summer staff are making a case for the best froyo in the Square. We\'ve already reviewed\xa0Pinkberry,\xa0Ben and Jerry\'s, and Yogurtland. Now up: Lizzy\'s.

Talk of liberty and freedom in the context of frozen yogurt digresses from perhaps the most important question in lactose-consuming circles: Is it wrong for froyo to look and taste like ice cream? At Lizzy\'s, the answer is a resounding no.

Nowadays, most frozen yogurt chains are rolling out new flavors, new toppings, and new forms of service that overcompensate in their efforts to distinguish themselves from ice cream. "We\'re unique! Experimental! Different from anything that\'s come before!” their new product advertisements seem to scream.

If Yogurtland and Pinkberry are easily distracted, prepubescent pimpled boys, Lizzy\'s is the refined man with the Macklemore haircut who knows what he wants. At Lizzy\'s, there’s no shame in raspberry chocolate chip frozen yogurt tasting and looking like raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. Take one bite of Lizzy\'s firm frozen yogurt, and you\'ll forever regret those runny cups of mainstream froyo brimming with unfortunate combinations of toppings.

What Lizzy\'s does with taste it also does with atmosphere. Lizzy\'s, located at 29 Church St., is all about the traditional ice cream shop experience. With seven frozen yogurt flavors and an attentive staff at your service, Lizzy’s offers refinement where other froyo vendors offer chaos. At Lizzy\'s, there is no annoyance from loud children overfilling their self-serve containers, no dissatisfaction from foolishly mixing orange and cucumber flavors, no shock from realizing there are no strawberry toppings that day.

Lizzy\'s understands that the supposed innovations of upstart froyo chains are vain attempts to craft a unique identity. Lizzy\'s understands that it is futile to deny the long-established ascendancy of ice cream, which has been and always will be the apex of human achievement. Lizzy\'s understands that to be delicious, froyo must embrace its roots.

Go to Lizzy\'s, and you will understand too.