Before you start singing the back-to-school blues, just be aware there are many interesting things to look forward to -- school pranks, campus scandals, and cool classes. School may not be as lame as you imagined. Come winter break, you'll find yourself returning home with stories like these.

Cell Phone Blues
Where would we be without our cell phones? With such busy schedules -- whether you work, go to school, or bury yourself in hobbies -- had it not been for the cellie, you probably wouldn't be able to keep the friends you have. In fact, the only way I stay in touch with my busy buds and family is by texting and calling at my convenience (and, at times, by them getting back to me at their convenience).

So you can imagine why students at Brock University (St. Catharines, Ontario) were ticked when they got word that cell phones might be banned from campus. For several weeks this past spring semester, posters sprouted up around campus noting the Web site www.brockcellphoneban.com, which polled students about the proposed ban.

The site said, "We've heard they're going to ban the use of our cell phones on our campus. What do you think?" College students quickly became paranoid that the school would take away their right to chitchat on school grounds whenever, wherever.

The culprit behind the scare: fourth-year dramatic arts students. The professor of the course didn't find anything wrong with the deception. Students theorized that technology infiltrated, contaminated, and diseased our world. Realizing that barely anyone (I'm guilty!) could live without mobile communication, the dramatic arts students set out to show what would happen if the privilege was taken away.

Exam Anxiety
The cell phone ban at Brock was a hoax, so student stress was only temporary. A type of stress that's totally for real and inescapable for college students, however, is finals week. In a few months, coeds across the nation will find themselves singing the studying blues and cramming to save themselves from big fat F's.

Last school year, students at the Parini School in Milan, Italy, wanted to get out of an exam so desperately they flooded their school! Four Italian teens admitted to blocking drains and turning on the taps of school faucets to avoid a measly test.

The flood caused about $234 of damage to the school, which is one of the oldest institutions in the city and is practically considered a historical landmark.

Although the teens sent a letter of apology to school headmaster Carlo Arrigo Pedretti, they still face charges for vandalism, breaking and entering, and disrupting a public service.

Come to think of it, they probably would've been better off getting Fs.

Relationship Angst
I'll be the first to admit that while I was in college, I should've received a big fat F in relationships. (On second thought, my relationship grade hasn't really improved much since then.) After all the heartaches and heartbreaks, I could have really benefited from a formal lesson in the dating trade. Had my school offered a class on relationships, I may have fared better in my flings.

College students, help is on the way. Schools are offering to aid your love affairs with Relationships 101. Take Pepperdine University's (Malibu, CA) freshman seminar "Developing Healthy Relationships." Students enrolled in the course practice listening (particularly letting someone speak without interruption) and learn what it takes to be in a committed relationship.

At Seattle Pacific University (Seattle, WA), lecture topics in the relationship curriculum include "Falling in Love Without Losing Your Mind" and "How to Break Up Without Falling Apart." (Courses I could've really used during my relationship drama and trauma!)

Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA) has even incorporated relationships in their religious studies with the course "The Theology of Marriage."

Have you received your course catalog yet? Don't start registering for relationship courses just yet. Remember, earning an A in the class won't necessarily mean you'll get an A in your relationship.