Embrace the Rainbow

Before I came to Bucknell University I had never met someone who was homosexual, or even bisexual. However, I was very accustomed to hearing gay slurs in my everyday life. I went to an all boys school named Christian Brothers Academy. When other high schools in the area talked about us, they referred to us as “CB-GAY”. When they cheered against us in sports games, they intended to insult us with this phrase and even some more graphic phrases. I never really cared much about what these other schools said about us. I wasn’t paying attention to how hurtful this could be to other people. To be completely honest, the word “fag” was even included in my vocabulary on an infrequent basis. My friends around me, along with these other schools, made it seem like these slurs were just jokes. Everything changed when I went to college.

Push for Open Primaries

Political parties are not part of the constitution, the declaration of independence or any other of the hallowed documents of the “founding fathers.”

We need to open up the political process as much as possible.

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall

Millennials have been “blessed” with being born into a generation that has technology and convenience at their fingertips. We do not have to leave a day at the end of finishing our papers, so that we can make sure we have enough time to type our final version out on a type writer. We have the gift of information at our fingertips. Wherever we are we are able to pull out our smartphones and google something. Our generation also has the luxury of communicating through text messages, emails, group messaging applications and many other newer mediums.

What’s in a Name?

Names are one of the most unique identifiers a person has. People feel pride in and attachment to their name. A last name is important because of the family ties and the bond it implies to those related to you. A first name is more distinctive, picked by your parents and holds a special significance to the person possessing it. I think everyone is proud of their name, and appreciates when people use it.

A Night with Ta-Nehisi Coates

It was really interesting to hear Ta-Nehisi Coates speak, especially after we had read his article on reparations for class. I am always curious to see how a writer’s voice is different or similar between his speaking and writing.

Impacting the Way We Design Buildings

Making an actual impact on society is a tough goal to achieve; however, this has actually been a long time goal of mine. My parents are architects so I have always loved buildings, and when I was ten years old, I decided I wanted to be a real estate developer (the ones who hire the architects and set out to build buildings). Since then, I have improved upon this goal, most especially when I came back from studying abroad in Copenhagen. While abroad I took a class called “Sustainable by Design,” which focused on sustainable techniques to designing buildings, and this idea is what has become my passion. Now I want to start my own real estate development firm focused on building sustainable apartment buildings with the techniques I learned in Denmark.

Hug Me Brother!

Unfortunately, we have all missed National Hug Day this year, but you can mark January 21 on your calendar now so you won’t ever miss it again. Hugs are great. At the end of a tough day, all I want is a hug. It’s a nice feeling to be close to someone and feel protected even if the action makes you more vulnerable to being tickled or pinched at the sides.

Losing Ground

The film Losing Ground by Kathleen Collins featured a philosophy professor, Sara, and her painter husband, Victor. This art event was interesting because it touched on topics such as gender, race, and art. Sara was focused on writing a paper on aesthetic experience while her husband was focused on sketching and painting after he sold one of his pieces to a museum. I found it interesting to see the shift in Victor’s artwork from the beginning of the movie to the end and how his environment influenced his work. At first he painted abstract works of art in an apartment in the city. Then, Sara and Victor decided to move to a village for the summer. After moving, Victor became mesmerized by the Puerto Rican women, scenery, and lighting. He started to paint people as opposed to just utilizing colors and shapes and focusing on the medium of the work of art. Sara and Victor’s relationship was impacted by the shift in art and the change in environment. Sara did not understand why Victor was no longer painting in the same style after a museum bought one of his works. Victor became so intrigued by the content he was painting that he ended up focusing on his subject matter, a Puerto Rican woman, Celia, as opposed to his wife Sara.

The Revelations of Comedy: Duck Soup at the Campus Theater

Earlier this semester, the short days and the cold weather was starting to wear on my attitude. Luckily, Provost Mick Smyer chose to feature Duck Soup (1933) at the Campus Theater and the goofiness of the comedy genuinely helped life my spirits. Smyer’s introduction to the movie praised the efforts of the Campus Theater staff for working so hard to bring in old movies from the country’s many film collections. He also made a point of noting the power of comedy and how it is a useful tool for seeing the absurdity of our world.

Inspiring others to do good: The lifestyle of Ellen DeGeneres.

There are many tipping points present within our society. These tipping points could be things such as raising money to donate towards cancer research, creating awareness for certain illnesses and prevention methods, encouraging the use of sustainable products, turning off lights to reduce energy use, etc. One of the most important things to do in our society is to create awareness of issues and give back to the community. Ellen DeGeneres inspires others to do good through leading by example. Ellen hosts a television show that runs five days a week. During her show, she uses comedy as a tool to brighten everyone’s day. Additionally, her show features entrepreneurs and celebrities, but most importantly the show features people who do good things for our society. On the television show, Ellen gives back to individuals that inspire the world through their acts of kindness. For example, Ellen hosted Jesse and Jasmine on her show because they demonstrated a true act of kindness. Check out their story below: