With Halloween around the corner, we were expecting some spooky tips—we were not, however, expecting horror (because that’s what it is) closer to home. In the picture to the right, you see tentacles (of the sea, distant, alien, weird) found during dinner at John Jay on a day that seafood was not served. 

What is this, if not seafood? How did it get into your meal? Is this not a violation of some health code? Would you eat it if you found the tender, juicy, beckoning tentacle of a marine animal nestled innocently (/seductively) between your broccoli and your tomato? What does that say about you as a person? All pertinent questions that serve to underscore a larger point: the world can be turned inside-out at any moment, without any notice. Chaos and danger lurk behind every bite, every quick dash outside your dorm room, every moment your Internet browser starts up. It’s a crazy world out there.

The question is whether or not you embrace it. On one hand, you can take the bite, generate saliva, swallow the tentacle, digest it, and excrete it. You can take the bull by the tentacles, so to speak, and thus position yourself as an alpha dog among alpha dogs. On the other, you can lock yourself inside your dorm, start watching a new show the week before midterms, and compulsively track how long your suitemate’s boyfriend stays every time he comes (just so you never bump into him), because you are regrettably basic. It’s your call, although we hope one thought sticks with you as you contemplate your decision: WTF, John Jay?