Month: March 2013

Elaine Lac

Staff Writer

Technology is a blessing and a curse. Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, provided her perspective of the impact of technology on the world and what this meant for social media during her talk for the “tech/no” spring series. Technology has connected the world but, on a superficial level, without proper maintenance it can create an unintended but ironic dissonance with reality.

Many students tote around smart phones that constantly connect them to the vast social media sites of Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, making them available for social interaction at any time and place. Despite this constant connectivity, in normal day-to-day exchange there seems to be an inability for people to socialize in tangible space. Cafeteria meals are supposed to be times for conversation and real connections but are instead riddled with constant texting and social networking. People pass up chances for real-time conversations in exchange for ones on the digital plane. Socializing has become null and unnatural despite this constant virtual connectivity. Our generation has lost the ability to hold a conversation and instead retreats to the comfort of smart phones.

This retreat into comfort has also harbored an inability to live and enjoy life as it plays out. People use smart phones to take them away from their current surroundings and direct their attentions to the internet where things are seemingly more interesting. People miss the best moments of life and this constant need for stimulation reduces our attention spans. The best moments in life are rarities and can only be enjoyed to the fullest when they’re not being compared to the internet which can provide comparatively better entertainment. Jokes are not as funny, people are overexposed and friendships become an unnatural Facebook construct of accepting an invitation. 

This inability to live without technology has degraded the quality of ideas people can have. Because the internet provides such rich distraction, there is less time for people to retreat into their own thoughts and find true inspiration. Ideas instead become a recycling of what other people say and not of organic inspiration. These thoughts become shallow and common, a dangerous future for idea development. Good ideas come from new inspiration and metacognition which requires patience and time, both of which people are running out of in exchange for technology.

Excessive technology use can be cured with a little bit of control. Technology does not need to dominate every minute of our days. Take some time, unplug your devices and enjoy life as it manifests. Enjoy the people surrounding you and the richness of reality. You develop your own identity instead of latching onto everyone else’s.

Despite technology’s many flaws, it has provided us with an important level of connectivity and information distribution. It can be a tool for good as long as it’s used for important engagement of information and opinions. An example of this would be the Huffington Post’s use of opinion forums where people can hash out their ideas.  These people have their own original ideas and share them across a space where improved conclusions can manifest. Technology can be a positive with proper and restrained us.

Riley Schwengel

Writer

Modern news seems to be dominated by celebrity scandals and mishaps. Whenever a celebrity gets arrested, does drugs or does something “immoral,” their faces immediately appear on the front page of the newspaper and thousands scream for an apology. But why do we care? Why must celebrities apologize to us? It’s not like these people are politicians or religious leaders who actually have a significant impact on the people they represent or preach to; these are just movie stars, athletes and entertainers. I think the reason celebrity apologies have become so prevalent is that we’ve become a society that worships celebrities along with the entire idea of fame. The reason many need these people to apologize to them is that they’ve become like gods to many people, and when celebrities make human mistakes they become angry with them. It may sound ridiculous, but celebrity worship has become a religion that a dominant percentage of Americans subscribe to.

In the past, celebrities were nothing more than a mild form of entertainment. People would see them on the television or hear about them on the radio and perhaps would stop by their house if they were in the neighborhood. To many, they would have been role models, but vague ones, acting as model citizens for others to aspire to be like. Now we follow their every move, from what they eat, to what they did on Saturday and even to whom they sleep with. Just open up any copy of People Magazine or Us Weekly and glance at the many ridiculous articles that line their pages. Fifty years ago if we had followed celebrities as intensely as we do now, we would have been called obsessive stalkers, but now it’s the norm. This obsession has raised celebrities to god-like status, and we have started to believe that they are perfect and infallible. But they are not perfect; they are human and they make mistakes. When they make mistakes, the general population is outraged and acts like they deserve an apology from these demi-gods but the truth is they don’t owe us anything.

Lindsay Lohan got caught snorting cocaine and got a DUI, but does she owe every American an apology? No, she doesn’t; she owes one to her family and her friends but not every person who sees her mug shot on a newspaper. Lance Armstrong got caught using performance-enhancing drugs, should he apologize to me? No, he should profess his regrets to his teammates, his competitors and the sport in general but not to me. These celebrities don’t know you and probably never will, so don’t act angry when they do something wrong. It didn’t affect you in any shape or form.

I think it’s high time that we end this ridiculous hero-worship of celebrities. If you want a hero, look for someone who deserves your praise, like a medal-of-honor recipient, a charity organizer or a fireman who carried a child out of a burning house.

The next time you see some scandal in the tabloids and feel the blood rushing to your head in anger, just remember that all the beautiful people you see on television are only human and that they are going to make bad decisions just like you and I.

Justin Marinelli

Senior Writer

It seems nowadays that almost everyone is unhappy with the way their bodies look. While the causes for this seem intense and varied, most people seem to miss something in the whole issue. Too much negative body-image can be harmful, but just the right amount can spur you to achieve a healthier, more physically capable body.

The trick is to ignore the body image our culture and society seem to impose upon you and find one for yourself that you would like to achieve. Say you want to lose an inch off your waist or put some more muscle on your shoulders: as long as this comes from a genuine desire (not one forced on you by cultural norms or the way other students might look) and you don’t do anything too extreme in your pursuit of this goal, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. As long as you approach your ideals of body image in a healthy way, and act in a similar fashion, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve your body in some way.

My personal favorite example of body image isn’t actually image-focused. It’s the simple idea that “form follows function.” Instead of worrying about what your body looks like, you focus on its capabilities. You focus on a goal, like running a five-minute mile, or being able to do 15 pull-ups in a row, and you work to achieve that. Your body ends up adapting, and in the process, demonstrating your new physical capabilities (in the case of running, being thin and lean, in the case of the pull-ups, having a strong, muscular back).  The “form” of your body is thus dictated by its new abilities (the “function”). Without really trying to, you build a respectable body as a symptom of achieving a different goal entirely. To top it off, because it represents the results of your actions, your body now reflects a far more accurate representation of what you do (and hence, your personality) than any imposed body image. As a result, it ends up being a much better fit for who you are as a person. That’s the sort of body-image that needs to be promoted.

Obviously, destructive ideas of what an ideal body should look like can be incredibly damaging. This is a concern for many people, and it should not be taken lightly. Like many things in life, taking responsibility for what you feel your body should look like, and then acting on that decision is a powerful way of taking control of your life and banishing the ideals that might be imposed upon us by others. This is the healthiest and most productive paradigm you can possess to approach the matter.

El McCabe

Senior Writer

Are you tired of the old gym routine? Do you only rotate between the treadmill and the elliptical? If you answered yes to either of these questions, it is likely that you will benefit from trying one of the specialized classes the University has to offer. 

The University offers fitness classes that break up the monotony of working out and are guaranteed to be different each time. For example, the first fitness class I tried here was kickboxing. It was a great workout that helped relieve stress and burn calories simultaneously. Punching and kicking the punching bag repeatedly was fun and it allowed me to channel negative energy. The class also works your core and keeps you going for the entire hour time slot. I suggest this class if you want a solid workout and the opportunity to relieve stress/negativity.

Another amazing class to check out is spinning. This class is definitely the most intense one I have tried here, and if you do try it out, make sure to bring your “A” game. You are working hard non-stop for an hour straight, and the class is very interactive between the instructor and your fellow spinners. If you are not pushing yourself hard enough, the instructor will come and add more resistance to your bike, which may seem harsh but will really benefit you and your body in the long run. Afterwards, you will definitely be feeling sore but satisfied. I suggest trying this class at least once; it is a great feeling to know you worked that hard and burned major calories.

Finally, the most popular fitness class the University has to offer is definitely Zumba. For those of you who do not know what it is, Zumba is essentially a fitness cardio dance party. The routines, taught by the talented senior Grace Ragold, are on the whole consistent from week to week, so the Zumba-ers can master the moves. New people are always welcome, and no one judges you for messing up the dance moves. Zumba has classes three times a week, so definitely go check it out. Also, one hour of Zumba burns 576 calories, which is more than running or training on the elliptical!

These three classes are not the only ones offered here. A full list of the amazing classes offered at our school can be found online or in the gym itself. Give one a try, and I can promise that you will not be disappointed!

Caroline Schaeffer

Writer

It’s that time of year again, the time when every one of your teachers has decided to give you a gargantuan midterm worth at least 45 percent of your grade, and they all decided to do it on the same day. On top of that, clubs, projects, papers and life in general piles up on your already loaded schedule and it feels as though your workload is about to literally crush you. At a school with as demanding a curriculum as the University’s, you’d be hard-pressed to find a student not feeling the pressure every now and again but, hakuna matata, students, stress doesn’t have to kill you. There are some easy ways to avoid that anxiety overdrive.

It may seem completely counterproductive to getting your work done but you have to remember to take a break and relax. Studying for eight hours straight will drive you insane and basically turn you into a zombie. Remember to take at least an hour off if you’re having a hard-core cram session, and do something you find enjoyable. Watch an hour of mindless TV, Facebook stalk the living daylights out of your friends or just hang out with a friend for a little. If you give yourself a little leeway and enjoy some you-time, when it’s time to go back to studying, you’ll feel refreshed and ready for round two.

If it’s just one of those weeks when everything and anything is due, sometimes you’ve just got to make all the little moments you have to yourself count. Take a long hot shower, nap for an extra 20 minutes or if you’re really ambitious, crank it out at the gym for an hour and sweat out the stress. Better yet, take an hour out of your day to take one of the University’s gym classes. I guarantee you won’t be thinking about that term paper during an hour of breaking down the beat in Zumba or contorting your body in yoga. Sometimes, you just need to let loose to lose the stress.

If you’re trying to alleviate stress in your life you have to do something that doesn’t cause you stress. It sounds simple, but a lot of us forget to take a break when the pressure is on.  Just give yourself a little personal time, and do whatever makes you forget about that English paper or Econ test for an hour. By the time you’re done, you’ll be ready to crush whatever anxiety stands in your way.