Happy Days Full of Tasks

April showers bring May flowers, but May flowers bring distraction to school and homework. With the seasons quickly changing and school coming to an end, being stuck at a desk all day while the weather is beautiful might impact how and when we get our work done.

Going to class is much harder when it’s nice out simply because we want to enjoy the beautiful weather. With the spring bringing life back to our surroundings, our motivation to stay inside significantly decreases. Students do not want to worry about going to class and sitting at a desk for over an hour when it’s 75 and sunny outside.

Read more ...

What is Normal?

Life over the past year has been nothing short of crazy. One day we were sitting in on lectures, going to the gym, and attending parties with our friends. Come the next day, we were locked inside with no end to the pandemic in sight. It was a tragic and scary part of our lives in which we had no choice but to adapt. Now, most of us have adjusted to this new way of life. We moved the classroom into our bedrooms, the gym into our living rooms, and “parties’’ consist of hanging out with your parents and your dog.

However, with more and more COVID-19 vaccines being distributed every day, it’s safe to say that things are on track to getting back to normal. After over a year spent indoors, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pandemic. However, that light might trigger anxiety for some of us who got used to the new normal. Yet, now that most of us have adjusted, I’m comfortable with this new normal we have created.

Read more ...

This America is Not My America

This America is not the America I understood it to be when I was a little girl. Like most kids, I lived with the false reality that everything was perfect and everyone was equal. I never thought to treat someone who didn’t look like me differently, but as I got older I realized that to a lot of people, the color of your skin matters.

What happened to George Floyd is wrong. What happened and continues to happen to people of color is unfathomable. People have become targets because of how they appear and it is not okay.

Read more ...

No Weed for Thee

With marijuana now legal in New Jersey, it calls to question what right a location has to ban the substance. Many private properties such as colleges, stores, and hotels have made it clear that the smoking of the substance will not be permitted on a property’s respective premises. While this may seem unreasonable to people who have waited a very long time for marijuana to be legal in the state of New Jersey, private properties are entitled to make these decisions.

Private institutions hold their own policies, and have the right to tell their customers or students what they can and cannot do on their property. When it comes to private places, more often than not, you must sign a contract agreeing to their terms and conditions. If you partake in smoking weed while on their property, you are breaking the contract.

Read more ...

College Students: Powered by Caffeiene

Caffeine is no stranger to students at Monmouth University. Dunkin coffee cups can easily be spotted in the hands of several of the University’s students all around campus as they rush to their 8:30 morning classes. From the on-campus coffee shops in Plangere Center to the Rebecca Stafford Student Center, there is no lack of options. Several of us have chugged cans of energy drinks, such as Monster and Red Bull, to stay awake and study during midterms and finals.

Ever since I started commuting at six in the morning from New York for my class every Wednesday, I found myself falling into my old habit of relying on caffeine. With a Starbucks conveniently located on the route to Monmouth, I would justify picking up a cup of coffee by telling myself that it would keep me alert on the road and energized for my class.

Read more ...

Statement on the Recent Escalation in Anti-Asian Violence

We, the members and supporters of Professors United for a Safe Haven (P.U.S.H.) and the Program in Gender and Intersectionality Studies (PGIS), stand against anti-Asian racism and violence. Although racism and violence towards the Asian community are not new, now more than ever we must work together to break the silence surrounding these tragic events. There is no space for indifference. The Asian community requires allyship, recognition, and support.

The targeted violence that took place on March 16, 2021 in Atlanta is a tragic event. The nature of the attacks is a hate crime against Asian women. Sadly, it is one of many violent acts that have been on the rise in the United States and globally towards Asians, Asian Americans, Desi, and Pacific Islanders. This violence has been especially targeted towards women and elderly people and has increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Read more ...

The Importance of International Women's Day

Since the beginning of time, women have been tasked with a multitude of very taxing responsibilities—bearing and caring for children, fighting for equality, and obliterating unrealistic stereotypes. Even today, women are still working to empower their daughters and fellow female figures to urge change for a better future.

While International Women’s Day lands on March 8, the whole month is designated to embrace and celebrate the vast achievements of women. Each year, a theme is provided to outline the unique issue, and 2021 brings about the theme “Choose to Challenge” to inspire the world to both recognize and challenge inequality. The remarkable day was first celebrated in March of 1911 by over a million women spanning Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany, as a means to fight for their ability to work, vote, and gain equality. Over 100 years later, women are still working towards the bettering of society for their conditions.

Read more ...

My Money is on the Little Guy

Monmouth Athletics this spring will be one of the most unique in school history; almost all sports will be playing at once. This might be the only time we will see basketball, football, golf, softball, field hockey, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, cross-country, track and field, soccer, bowling, and swimming all in one semester!

With teams here at Monmouth and across the country starting up again, it begs a question I often ponder: why hasn’t legal gambling caught on with the less popular sports? Whether it be collegiately and/or professionally, the smaller revenue sports in my opinion have potential to expand their product. 

As a cross-country and track athlete here at Monmouth, I think legal betting would only benefit my sport. It was a joke last year when the pandemic first hit that outdoor track should continue because no fans attend anyway. I certainly appreciate my family and friends coming to the meets; but if my sport could attract large crowds, it would only benefit universities and the sports industry more.

Read more ...

Spring Break: What Break?

Spring break is a time for students to kick back, relax, and not worry about assignments for a week or so. However, due to COVID-19, spring break has been canceled, and instead, students are given two single-day breaks: one break day in March and one in April.

I am fully aware of why it must be this way, and it is because if students traveled to a different state or country and brought COVID-19 back to Monmouth University the number of positive cases would skyrocket like it did last semester after the super spreader event at off-campus housing. Though this procedure is for the student’s safety, and to limit the number of COVID-19 cases, I am honestly very disappointed and frustrated that we students only get two separate days of break instead of an entire week.

Read more ...

The Luck of the Irish-Asian

When you picture St. Patrick’s Day, you typically imagine one of the biggest celebrations of Irish heritage. People decked out from head to toe in green, shamrocks galore, extravagant parades equipped with Irish step dancers, and masses of people flooding streets and restaurants all fueled by their mutual love of being Irish.

As someone who is proud of their Irish culture, I’d fit into that image in your head.

Well...kind of.

Read more ...