In some ways, going to class is like Sea World.ÿIf you choose to sit in the first seven or eight rows, you know you are going to get called on.ÿThat's the Splash Zone, because you have to pay attention or else you'll get soaked.ÿEveryone in the other rows is just sitting back and eating popcorn because they know they'll never have to answer any questions.
So writes Wharton alumnus Aaron Karo in his forthcoming book Ruminations on College Life -- the title of which catapulted it to the desk of a Simon & Schuster editor.
When a Simon & Schuster intern from Vanderbilt University spotted Karo's manuscript sitting in "the slush pile" -- a heap of unread drafts -- she immediately recognized the title, brought it to her boss and told him that he had to read it.
"A week later, Simon & Schuster called and offered me a book deal," Karo says.
The book is coming out on July 30 and Karo is currently developing a screenplay based on his popular college e-mail newsletter, Ruminations on College Life.
Karo's e-mails started in 1997, when he was a freshman at Penn. Ruminations began with a readership of 20 of his high school friends.
The column discussed everything from his complete inability to do laundry to "the take-your-towel-off-before-you-get-in-the shower-but-don't-let-anyone-see-you-naked-maneuver."
By the start of his second semester, Karo's column grew by word of mouth to hundreds of subscribers.
Fast forward to his senior year, and "Ruminations" had a worldwide readership of 11,000 subscribers. Karo had set up his own Web site to showcase his writing. And fellow Wharton seniors elected Karo to speak at their graduation last year.
"I went to the Web site the summer before I came to Penn, and thought it was really funny," College freshman and 34th Street contributer Noel Fahden says. "It made Penn sound really fun."
Having been out of school for nearly a year, Karo recently returned to Penn for Spring Fling weekend.
"This is the first book that talks about what really happened in College," Karo says. "There is no other book that was written while it was happening. I wrote Ruminations from the very first week to the very last week of school."
Karo cites television shows and films as generally giving a false picture of college life with palatial dorm rooms and unrealistic character interactions.
"They are not very accurate," he says. "They seem to be written by bunch of people who have not been near a college within the last five years"
For budding writers, Karo advises endurance to reach success.
"People have come up to me and said, 'I had the same idea and I never did it,'" Karo says. "It takes a lot of persistence. Do you know how many times I didn't feel like writing those e-mails?"
In terms of comedic inspiration, Karo "sticks to the 'S's,' meaning Simpsons, Seinfeld, Sportscenter and South Park."
But as popular as Karo has become, not everyone is a fan of his brand of comedy. Some students think Karo should look beyond the four S's for funny material.
"It's okay. I've only been to the Web site once or twice out of curiosity," one Wharton junior says. "I really don't think it's as funny as everyone says it is."
However, Karo predicts that once Ruminations is published, "Penn will be exposed as what it is. People should be really excited here -- it's all about them."
While the book sets out to expose Penn's true colors, the University administration should not worry just yet.
"The theme of the book is that I loved college, and I loved Penn," Karo says. "I couldn't think of a more appropriate way to show that then to write about it."
Referring to every e-mail he receives as "another adventure," Karo has built a wide fan base over the past five years.
"It is flattering," he says. "People will write or come up to me and tell me their life stories. Readers really think they know me."
Turning a slew of e-mail columns into a book has proved a unique experience for both Karo and the editors at Simon & Schuster.
"My copy editor had never worked on a book with the word Kegstand in it," Karo laughs. "I am arguing with her about the syntax of Kegstand, and finally, I am like, 'Listen, I think I am the expert on this.'"
Simon & Schuster has been supportive of the book. Karo was told about editorial meetings where middle-aged editors exchanged publicity ideas.
"They love the whole thing," he says. "They want to call it a keg tour when I go out to visit schools" for promotion.
Unlike his e-mails, Karo's forthcoming book is not chronological, but is divided into chapters, including "Night Life," "Greek Life" and "The Classroom."
Karo has also written new material, including introductions to each chapter and an epilogue that details his first time returning to Penn for Homecoming.
Describing the book as a "wild ride," Karo said he hopes it will have broad appeal.
"I am pitching it to a universal audience," he says. "That includes recent college alumni, parents, and kids who are still in high school."
However, Karo adds, "at the end of the day, it is by a college kid for a college kid."
