Brandon wants to quit the paper so that he can enjoy his senior year. Andrea enlists the help of new advisor and English teacher Gil Meyers to change his mind. Gil decides to have Brandon replace Andrea as editor. She accuses him of sexism and wants to resign. Gil resolves the dispute by making Andrea and Brandon co-editors. A depressed Kelly changes her entire schedule to avoid Brenda and Dylan. Brenda, Steve and Donna sign up to be ""senior buddies"" for freshmen and transfer students. Donna is paired with David's summer fling Nikki, who has moved from San Francisco. David is afraid to confess to Donna, but Nikki inadvertently breaks the news. Donna tests David's love by having Nikki pretend to come on to him. Nikki expresses an interest in Brandon. Steve winds up with geeky freshman Herbert, while Brenda tries to help Scott's troubled sister Sue.

Music: ""Live and Learn"" by Joe Public (#4, 1992); ""Wishing on a Star"" by the Cover Girls (#9, 1992)

Brandon and Brenda are at each other's throats after their parents reveal that they can only send one child to an out-of-state college. Jim and Cindy decide to take a second mortgage so that they won't have to play favorites, but Brandon and Brenda each decide to apply to local California University. Brenda fears that she and Dylan are growing apart, while he and Kelly bond over their mutual ambivalence toward college. Andrea believes that Gil is discouraging her from applying to his alma mater (and her dream school), Yale. She has nightmares about Gil trying to knock her off a tightrope.

Music: ""Venus"" by Shocking Blu

West Beverly's undefeated football team prepares for a showdown with powerhouse Shaw High. The school decides to forfeit after two Shaw students are shot to death by gang members during a game. Brandon is furious because the West Beverly student body cares more about the homecoming dance (coordinated by Brenda) than the shootings. He and Jordan Bonner, editor of the Shaw paper, run each other's editorials in their papers without school permission. Brandon invites the Shaw students to the dance, drawing the wrath of his friends and the administration. A fight nearly breaks out--partially due to the overzealous security guards--but Nikki and Donna defuse the situation by asking the Shaw guys to dance.

Music: ""Switch It Up,"" performed by Brian Austin Green; ""Let Me Be Yo

Gil is relieved of his duties after Sue charges him with sexual harassment. Andrea offers her friendship to Sue, while Brandon stands behind Gil. Gil quits without fighting the charges; he confesses to Andrea that a former student committed suicide when he rejected her advances, and he does not want to drive Sue over the edge. During a dinner with Andrea, Sue's uncle Henry badgers her into admitting that the allegations are fake; she had tried to kiss Gil. David and Donna visit Sue and find the eerily cheerful family holding a barbecue, with plans to move to Oklahoma. Fearing that Henry is becoming too close to her little sister, Sue reveals that her uncle molested her. Dylan picks up a bacterial infection from surfing in polluted waters. He wishes to support a clean water initiative, but can't vote because he failed to register before the deadline. Brandon seeks David's help in learning to dance, but cancels the lesson. He refuses to dance with Nikki at a club, then gets jealous when