Q Monday, May 11, 2009
8 , P The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
'College Life'
keeps it real

MTV's latest
reality show
focuses on
student drama
By BRIGID KILCOIN
Daily Arts Writer
"It's not 'reality:' it's
real." As
the show's *
bafflingly
inane Li
tagline
might Mondays at
suggest, 10:30 p.m.
MTV's MTV
series
"College
Life" veers closer to prob-
able occurrence than the

channel's other carefully
choreographed attempts at
slice-of-life programming.
The producers of "College
Life" give handheld cameras
to six University of Wiscon-
sin students and have them
personally film their foibles
and failings throughout the
first year of college. Much
like the cast of "Real World,"
the show's core characters
seem handpicked to embody
every college archetype
(Innocent Christian, Girl
from a Small Town, Over-
achiever, Bro, Rebel and
Kid Desperately-Clinging-
to-His-High-School-Girl-
friend, in case you were
wondering). But unlike
"Real World," the kids are
more intriguing than they
appear at first glance, and

their problems are fairly
representative of the actual
college experience.
Slacker Kevin struggles
to balance constant party-
ing with his parents' disap-
proval of his failing math
grade. Studious Lindsay
deals with the constant
presence of her roommate's
boyfriend in their dorm
room. Artsy Jordan tries to
figure out a way to hide his
new tattoo when he returns
home to visit his parents.
While significantly less
dramatic than the majority
of reality TV, these portray-
als of everyday minutiae
make the show hit closer to
home.
Unfortunately, the show's
editing detracts from its
See COLLEGE LIFE, Page 9

Pointless Facebook photos-- because that's what college is all about.