John Belushi would be proud to visit the new interactive Web site for college students, www.animalhouse.com. “We like to think of animalhouse.com as a Web service rather than a Web site,” said Greg Kaufman, the site’s campus administrator. “We provide everything you would ever need to make college life easier.”The site, which takes its name from the 1970s movie classic, can be found at over 200 schools throughout the country, said Jay Samit, president of the Web site. It emphasizes student involvement as a key to its creation.”We want students to build the site to their own preferences,” Samit said. “We want them create a community for themselves that can be embraced by college students of all ages.”The site covers everything from a resume search feature, for prospective employees, to easy-to-make recipes, he said.Other services students can find on the site include:
- medical information
- phone numbers for crisis hotlines
- research topics for term papers
- classified ads
- breaking news from prominent publications
- travel tips
- a page to create your own Web site.
Kaufman said the technology that provides animalhouse.com should be taken advantage of by the college community.”In the 70s and 80s the average student did not have access to this information made available to them all in one place,” he said.Registration for animalhouse.com is entirely confidential and free of charge, Kaufman said. The site also includes a free e-mail address that allows a student to chat long distance with other members.During the summer months, the service will have school e-mail accounts forwarded to an animalhouse.com address, he said.”You can buy a $10 microphone for your computer and talk with friends in any part of the country for free,” Kaufman said.Andrew Smith, a sophomore computer science major at Ohio State, said animalhouse.com could be a great help to incoming students unfamiliar with university life.”This site might help ease the transition from high school to college,” Smith said. “It has something for all students to lose themselves in.”Students interested in filling the vacant OSU representative position can contact the site by e-mail.
