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Opinions

“Midnights” pales in comparison to Swift’s other works (Photo courtesy of Apple Music).

OPINION: ‘Midnights’ didn’t deserve AOTY at the Grammys

By Lake DiStefano | Feb. 15

The Grammys this year pleasantly surprised me. However, despite the many successes of the night, I couldn’t help but scowl at my TV when they awarded Taylor Swift her fourth Album of the Year win for her tenth studio album, “Midnights.” “Midnights,” with its confused writing, lackluster production and stale context leaves me with a cynical suspicion – that it won not because of its quality, but rather because of the huge year that Swift had.

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Photo courtesy of Flickr

OPINION: There must be more non-stereotypical Black characters in TV and film

By Keasia Jenkins | Feb. 15

When you hear the phrase “Black TV and film,” what’s the first movie or show that pops into your head? “Boyz In The Hood?” “Friday?” “Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air?” “Roots?” “12 Years a Slave?” “Madea?” Not to diminish the greatness of those shows and films, but I believe that Black Hollywood is overly saturated with shows and films that center around harmful Black stereotypes or slave period pieces. 

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Photo by Elizabeth Gladstone / Multimedia Coordinator

OPINION: Technology cannot determine chemistry

By Kate Zydor | Feb. 15

Finding a romantic partner isn’t always as easy as it looks. While some people seem to literally bump into their soul mate, others have trouble making that “stars-aligned” connection. Enter social media apps. The solution for all your dating woes – or so we thought. With just one swipe, friend request or direct message on apps such as Tinder, Snapchat and Instagram, we can connect to and communicate with potential partners.

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Photo by Lilly Ward

OPINION: Desk assistants are no longer in the apartments: Here’s why residents should care

By Lilly Ward | Feb. 14

Just as some residents may have concerns about the security of the buildings without DAs, other students may remain unfazed by this new change implemented by Residential Education and Housing, who made the decision to remove DAs in an attempt to reduce costs at a time when the College is facing budget shortfalls. This decision raises the question: should security in residential halls be compromised to cut down on costs?

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

OPINION: Warner Bros. must return to its roots

By Donovan Crumpton | Feb. 14

In the rugged years spanning from 2020 to 2023, Warner Bros. grappled with a series of challenges that shook the very foundation of its operations. From financial woes to creative missteps, the studio faced a perfect storm of obstacles that tested its resilience and adaptability. 

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(Photo by Briana Keenan / News Editor)

OPINION: Men should not clean the women’s bathrooms, especially if people are inside

By Briana Keenan | Feb. 9

I get ready to shower before my 11 a.m. class, and hear some other girls come in and out of the bathroom. While I’m still in the shower, I hear the cleaning cart come in. When I finished getting dressed and stepped out to go to my room, I noticed that a man was cleaning the toilets. Whoever this cleaning staff member was did not knock, announce himself or make any effort to check if anyone was inside the bathroom before entering. I was shocked.

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Finding the perfect roommate is arguably the greatest source of stress for incoming college students. (Photo by Kate Zydor / Opinions Editor)

OPINION: Roommates do not have to equal friends

By Kate Zydor | Feb. 9

For incoming college students, there is an immense amount of pressure surrounding choosing a roommate who will not only be compatible with their living habits but also become their instant best friend. We've all heard our fair share of horror stories about roommates gone wrong, and we place tremendous focus on ensuring that our experiences will be different. With that being said, not all roommates are going to be best friends and that is okay.

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(Photo by Briana Keenan / News Editor)

OPINION: The transition back from winter break can be a struggle for students at the College

By Briana Keenan | Jan. 31

While the time off allowed me to see friends from high school, spend time with my family and relax after my first semester, the start of this semester has made me find comfort in a routine. Yet, anxiety about how much I have on my plate still lingers. Being back from break has reminded me that I must continue to take care of my mental health while transitioning back to campus life. 

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Matt Rife’s Netflix special received poor reviews (Photo courtesy of IMDb).

OPINION: Matt Rife isn’t funny

By Maia Venuti | Dec. 11

On Nov. 15, stand-up comedian Matt Rife released his first special with Netflix, titled “Matt Rife: Natural Selection.” It was met with a 16% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is one of the lowest scores I have ever personally seen for a standup special. 

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The yearly Spotify Wrapped has emboldened a culture of judgment within music (Photo courtesy of Flickr / “Piano” by UnnarYmir / January 27, 2012).

OPINION: Spotify Wrapped encourages musical elitism

By Lake DiStefano | Dec. 6

This time of year is marked by many traditions–yet none more indicative of our digital age than the annual Spotify wrapped: the yearly showcase of a listener’s top artists on the music streaming platform of the same name. Many look forward to seeing how their listening habits have changed between the previous year and the present–but I feel that what was initially a pure idea has only been twisted into a form of gatekeeping and narcissism. 

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(Photo courtesy of Liam Simonelli / Editorial Cartoonist).

OPINION: Fake viral Thanksgiving Day parade float video highlights importance of media literacy

By Tristan Weisenbach | Nov. 30

In today’s ever-changing era of technology, social media has grown from what was once simply connecting with friends online to now providing an avenue for seemingly anyone to create anything and share it under any name — whether it’s real or not. While these state-of-the-art developments have garnered many creative and once-unimaginable creations, they have also given an outlet to share information online that is false. 

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The newest “The Hunger Games” film, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” came out on Nov. 17 (Photo courtesy of IMDb).

OPINION: New “Hunger Games” film is better than what critics say

By Grace Ruthe | Nov. 27

Mixed emotions are certainly an understatement when it comes to Suzanne Collins’ “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (Songbirds). Both the novel and the new Francis Lawrence film of the same name that hit theaters on Nov. 17. Audiences have had several conflicting opinions when trying to answer the question: Did the story live up to the seemingly untouchable trilogy and set of films that took the 2010s by storm?

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Nicholas Cage (Photo courtesy of IMDb).

OPINION: Nicholas Cage IS a good actor

By Maia Venuti | Nov. 21, 2023

“Moonstruck” shows that Cage has the range to do romantic comedies, and that he gives consistently good performances when the film is well written, as he has been doing for nearly four decades. To jump ahead to the 2010s, as Cage’s career grew, he began to take more and more roles in more and more movies. There were a lot of reasons for this, but the primary one was that Cage was severely in debt throughout the 2000s and 2010s, owing as much as $6 million during the real estate market crash. Because Cage owed so much money, he needed to find ways to make more money to repay his debts, and did so by taking on multiple projects per year.

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