Sweep the leg, Johnny!

In "Mr. Deeds" there's a scene where Adam Sandler sings David Bowie's "Space Oddity," complete with clapping at the appropriate time (you know, where it's just the acoustic guitar and it goes "da da-da da-da CLAP! CLAP!) In a very non-direct, out in left field sort of way, that scene represents my favorite part about college: the bonding with complete strangers through our shared experiences within pop culture.\nBeing back in Bloomington, I'm looking forward to lots of things: the way the campus looks throughout the fall, the fact I'm taking 100 level classes as a senior, Kirkwood, all the freshmen making a very-appreciated effort to get all dolled-up for class and lots of booze. But the one thing I'm looking forward to more than anything else is that uncanny ability and desire to participate in a pop-union, a common phenomenon that proves that nothing is trivial.\nHave you ever been to a party and heard "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes? Every person will drop what they're doing to clap at the right time and damn near 95 percent of the student population will sing the lyrics. \nPop-union.\nIt's the very glue that bonds us as students. And it's Elmer's glue. Remember that stuff? With the little cow on the front? That stuff was awesome! (High fives all around.)\nWhen we walked into orientation, they told us we'd be living the best years of our lives here, we'd discover ourselves, make connections that last forever, etc. But what they didn't tell us is that we'd be drunk on the stairs of a house party on Atwater talking about the "Breakfast Club," quoting Homer Simpson and screaming the lyrics to "Fight For Your Right" while dancing on top of a bar.\nAnd that's the beauty of being here -- everyone craves those pop-union connections. We've all moved on from the fickle cliques of junior high and high school, we've grown up and we're eager to meet a diversity of people. \nBack in the day, there were too many juvenile restrictions on what was cool and what wasn't, but secretly we all had our obsessions that have molded us into who we are. \nYeah, when you were in fourth grade you spent a whole weekend making a stormtrooper costume for your cat and have the Polaroids to prove it. \nYeah, when you were 15 you wore an autographed Gallagher t-shirt to school. \nAnd yes, in the seventh grade you dyed your hair green, pledging allegiance to punk rock only to be suspended from school for ten days.\nNow is the time to let those obsessions out.\nYou can brag about owning "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on DVD and people won't laugh. They'll probably want to borrow it (and maybe use it to aid in "recreational" activities, if you know what I mean). Call it camp… call it nostalgia -- we all long to partake in pop-unions.\nSo don't be afraid to confess that you brought your original Nintendo Entertainment System with fifty games to your dorm, or that you love "Star Wars," or that you own 700 Phish bootlegs or that you sing along to "Weird Al." This is the place where no one will judge you.\nAnd if they do, make like that guy in the "Karate Kid" and "SWEEP THE LEG, JOHNNY"