Class of 2013 –

Welcome to the place that has it all – sun, surf, plenty of Nobel Prize winners and a great campus newspaper to boot. With just a few weeks left before you start the four best years of your life (it’s a cliché soundly based in fact), we here at the Nexus decided we should send you a guidebook to prepare you for all the drinking, debauchery and, yes, schooling, that await you.
Sure, you all went to Orientation – but could anything be less helpful than a university-sanctioned and organized introduction to this absurd place? In that spirit, we’ve filled our issue with tons of hints and tips to guide you through your first year here. We know you guys aren’t dummies – apparently you’re all part of the smartest class UCSB has ever had, as a matter of fact – but we here at the Daily Nexus like to think we know a thing or two about UCSB and I.V. Flip through this issue for a look at a night out with the Isla Vista Foot Patrol, a delicious look at local restaurants and tons of how-to guides to survive your freshmen year.
Can’t get enough of us already? Check out our Web site at dailynexus.com and follow us at twitter.com/dailynexus or friend us at facebook.com/dailynexus. Our blog – the Daily Nexog – is updated frequently and features online exclusive snarky opinion pieces, stories from Gauchos abroad and news at blog.dailynexus.com.
Do you draw, write, take pictures or criticize friends’ grammar? My advice – come work for us. Check out the paper this fall for information on our training sessions. We’re located beneath Storke Tower and you should all feel free to stop by anytime. Don’t worry, the seven types of mold growing inside our walls were recently removed.
And in the spirit of our guidebook, here are my final tips as your friendly neighborhood editor in chief:

•Pick a major you love. Sure, we all talk about the parties and beaches, but at the end of the day you’ll be spending a hell of a lot of time with your books. If you select the right major – say history, for example – you guarantee yourself an A+ college experience.
•Do not think that just because you woke up for classes at 8 a.m. in high school that you can continue this hellish trend into your college years. You can’t.
•If you eat at Freebirds, make sure you ask for BBQ sauce slathered on your nachos. Best discovery ever. However, at the end of the day, nothing beats Super Cucas for a late night food fix.
•Study abroad. Whether you use EAP or another program, the best part of being a student here is just how easy it is to become a student anywhere in the world.

So when you step onto campus in just a few weeks, grab your trusty Nexus, go exploring and make some memories. Soon enough you’ll be dispensing sassy wisdom like a Gaucho pro, too.