Actually I was called a left-wing pinko by my professor today, though it's somewhat appropriate.

What professor?

Professor [Lorn] Foster for Race, Class and Power. As my first poli sci course it's great. He calls us sports fans. He'll be like, "Hey sports fans I've got a stat for you." But he's great and we're all big liberals so it's a lot of fun.

Did you work for the Kerry Campaign this summer?

Yep, I raised money for the Dems in San Francisco and I'm working with the Amherst Dems to campaign in New Hampshire.

Do anything else cool over the summer?

I worked at a teddy bear factory.

A teddy bear factory?

Yeah, it's the original Build-a-Bear [store]. It's a giant factory and if you come when its quiet you can see seamstresses sewing bears together. You should see it when a troop of girl scouts comes in. Then it's like "I want a bear!" from 20 tiny voices.

So I hear you're taking West African dance …

It's fun, live drums. And the lady who teaches it gave me hair tips. She has dreads too and told me to use beeswax on my tips. It's a pity, though, because some people in that class have no rhythm. This one guy just flails around.

Do you do any other dance?

I did DASAC last year. It was fun but [it] takes up a lot of time.

So what do you do with your new-found free time?

There is no so-called free time. I work four or five jobs plus all my clubs and organizations. Anything left over is devoted to drinking heavily; I mean, I live in Crossett this year.

What's it like living in Crossett this year?

It's awesome. The people are wonderful. Though Friday and Sunday mornings smell so bad. Stale beer is so disgusting. Oh! And the train is terrible, the noise it makes as it goes by, that horn. It keeps me from ever going to bed early.

Buy any good CDs lately?

If [by] bought you mean stole … oh wait, actually I just bought the latest Say Anything album. They went to my high school and Max (the lead singer) had the cutest butt ever.

Say Anything went to your high school?

Yeah, so did [one of the members of] Rooney, Jason Schwartzman of Phantom Planet and the movie "Rushmore" and Parliament.

That's pretty nuts, though I've never heard of Parliament.

You'll know of them soon. They're an up and coming L.A. band.

I'll keep a vigilant watch. On a final note, what advice would you give to freshmen this year?

Have fun, but don't have too much fun. [Laughs.] Oh, and stay away from upperclass skeezebags.