Daily Vanguard columnist and Portland State University senior Jennifer Nelson is not ashamed to admit she is addicted to celebrity gossip. Although Nelson does not subscribe to any tabloids, she confesses to going to the supermarket at least once a week to read People Magazine and US Weekly.
“I’ll usually just grab one and stand in the longest check-out line,” she says. “It completes the shopping experience. Even more than food samples.”
Nelson also admits to stealing her best friend’s copy of W, in order to keep up with Suzie.
“I would get my own subscription,” she says, “but I’m afraid one of my neighbors would steal it right out of the mail room. W is expensive.”
Between these three publications, and a score of mailing lists and Web sites, Nelson says she gets her fill of dirt. She admits most of it is useless, but says it helps her score dates at hipster parties.
“Hipsters appreciate kitsch value, more than most people,” Nelson says. “And let’s face it, celebrities are pretty damn kitschy.”
This fall marks Nelson’s second with the Daily Vanguard. Her column, Nothing’s Shocking, runs weekly and touches on subjects ranging from suburban sprawl to the benefits of donning low-rise thong panties.
“I cover issues that affect the people,” Nelson says of her interest in undergarment trends. “I’m just as tired as the next person of staring at those unsightly strings peeking from pants of freshman.”
Before transferring to Portland State in spring 2002, Nelson attended Oregon State University in Corvallis. There, she worked as arts and entertainment editor for the OSU student newspaper, The Daily Barometer. Later, she worked as a copy editor for the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
Upon graduating from Portland State (“which should be this fall, audit be willing”), she plans to pursue a graduate degree in journalism. In the meantime, Nelson says she passes the time by learning to speak Norwegian and eating oysters.
“Boiled, pan-fried or raw, they are the best.”
To read Nothing’s Shocking, see the Opinion page.