During Rush Week, the girls attempt to pledge the Alpha Omega sorority and the result bores Brenda; reunites Kelly with an old flame, John Sears, whom she can't stand and shake off; exhausts Donna who tries to boost ratings for her and David's radio show; and stereotypes Andrea when she suspects the sorority president of being anti-Semetic. Meanwhile, Brandon is asked to run for student senate, but Steve won't accept his involvement with the senates politics which are unpopular with the fraternity.

During the first week of classes as California University, Donna becomes burned out of her work which is interfering with her college courses, Donna quits the late-night radio shift leaving David solo. Brenda seeks a job for herself to pay for her college tuition and finds one with her father, but she fails to deliver some important contracts. At a pool party for the college freshmen, Steve decides, but can't bring himself, to break up with Celeste. A jealous Dylan can't deter John Sears from seeing Kelly. Also, Andrea discovers that her residential advisor and admirer, Dan Rubin, is her English professor.

Jim sets a lonely Brenda up on a blind date with Stuart Carson, the son of his business associate and both he and Brenda hit it off. Dylan decides to buy a new car, regardless of the price. Due to his late night schedule, David causes problems with Kelly and Donna over his lack of housekeeping. Kelly tells Dylan that they should start seeing others as a result of her growing relationship with John Sears. Meanwhile, Andrea finally loses her virginity when she and Dan move beyond being "just friends."

After Steve breaks up with Laura, she tells Kelly and others that he date-raped her the night they were together to get back at him. Meanwhile, Kelly learns Sears true sexist colors and rejects him, but he too doesn't take it so kindly. Dylan tutors Brenda in poetry which brings them to a disagreement. Also, Brandon's relationship (or lack of it) with Lucinda takes a dangerous turn when D'Shawn finds out and threatens Brandon to take his history mid-term for him or he will tell Professor Randall of his suspicions. When Lucinda insists to Brandon that he should take D'Shawn's tests, Brandon reacts stressed and hits the road.

After mistaking a woman at a rural filling station for his former girlfriend Emily Valentine, Brandon decides to visit Emily's home in Marin County north of San Francisco. He learns that the Valentines have moved to Greece, but runs into Emily by chance on a cable car in San Francisco. They rekindle their romance and decide to spend Thanksgiving together, but Emily does not reveal that she must move away in a week. Back in Los Angeles, the KEG frat house and Alpha sorority serve Thanksgiving dinner at a halfway house, and John Sears tries to take advantage of a 15-year-old girl. Steve intervenes and has the fraternity president distract John. Meanwhile, Dylan declines Kelly's Thanksgiving invitation because he plans to go surfing, but later agrees to dine with the Walshes. When Kelly comes over with her family, she snaps at Dylan and makes a scene. Elsewhere, Andrea is hesitant to attend a Thanksgiving soirée at the home of Dan's parents. Jesse, the bartender from the Walshes' anniversary party, is working Dan's parents' party; he asks Andrea out, and she willingly gives him her address.

Emily has been accepted to the prestigious Cousteau Institute in France, but does not want to attend because she and Brandon are in love. Brandon observes her passion for marine biology and encourages her to pursue her dream. Brenda balks when she is asked to appear nude in an experimental campus play. The frat and sorority pledges must endure a series of humiliating experiences during "Hell Week." The upperclassmen order Steve to steal a prize autographed baseball from Professor Randall for a scavenger hunt, but he gets caught. Andrea breaks up with Dan and begins dating Jesse. She learns that he is a UCLA law student who attended undergraduate courses at Yale.

Strange dreams contemplate Donna to fulfill David's dream to sleep with her on their second anniversary together, until her parents show up for a surprise visit. Meanwhile, Brandon returns from San Francisco where he learns about the Steve's botch break-in, who finds himself left in cold after Mike Ryan and the rest of the frat members reject him. Only John Sears remains sympathetic to Steve and tries to help. But when Brandon learns and relays to Steve that the campus police were anonymously tipped off to Steve's break-in, Steve realizes that Sears had set him up. In the meantime, Brandon plays hardball with the corrupt Professor Randall to drop the break-in charges against Steve by threatening to go public about him rigging test scores for D'Shawn and other basketball stars to they can play basketball for the university. Elsewhere, Andrea falls deeply in love with Jesse. Also, John Sears continued wooing of Kelly only pushes her back to Dylan.

Brandon and Susan cover the Tournament of Roses Royal Court tryouts in which Kelly, Donna, and Clare are candidates. After his successful return to the stage, Ray gives a command performance to the 11-year old daughter of a record company president. Meanwhile, Toni begins to get to Dylan while he develops feelings for her. Also, Kelly becomes jealous when Colin attends the Rose Ball with Valerie, and Steve tries to find an out to his math tutoring from Clare by tapping in on an Internet dating system.

A major earthquake hits L.A. which traps Susan and Brandon in an elevator with a pregnant woman who goes into labor. Meanwhile, his friends are rocked after Dylan's announcement about his and Toni's engagement. While Donna continues to try out for Rose Queen, she finds a picture of her mother taken during a 1969 Rose competition, while at the same time, Ray's therapist warns Donna that he has a history of being abused as a child by his father and he may harm her.