I know what you’re thinking. How is the entertainment editor about to rip celebrity culture a new one? I’m not sure either.
It’s a Saturday, early evening, and if not for social distancing and the events of the past few weeks, many people would be enjoying parties at their respective colleges or towns. But because that’s not within the realm of possibility right now, people will take the next best thing. Cue Club Penguin Rewritten, a replication of a childhood classic, which comfortingly enough, looks just like it did when we left it back in 2010.
I took some time out of my very busy schedule (of WebExing into classes for two hours a week and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my time) to compile all of the quality films streaming on Amazon Prime, HBO Go, Hulu and Netflix right now. The Student will be releasing my recommendations in weekly installments until the end of the semester. I thought we’d start with romantic comedies, classics and nostalgic movies, which are usually comforting to me, instead of action movies or true-crime documentaries, which are not. Favorites are bolded.
After watching “Tiger King,” I have a lot of complicated feelings about it. I’m sure those who watched it, heard about it from a friend or saw a meme about it do, too. Netflix’s docuseries, which was released March 20, is already one of the streaming platform’s most-viewed pieces of true-crime content. “Tiger King” has garnered more viewers than “The Staircase,” “The Keepers” and “The Ted Bundy Tapes” did in their first weeks on Netflix. This could, of course, be attributed to the fact that most U.S. residents are under stay-at-home orders to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, but it’s probably more due to the documentary’s content.
“You want what now looks like?” British and Kosovar Albanian pop superstar Dua Lipa sings on the title track of her sophomore album. “Let me give you a taste.”
Oxford’s sources for local or free groceries are turning into grocery delivery services to eliminate coronavirus contact points. To keep up, they are training additional volunteers.
In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, many are left wondering what’s going to happen next. However, some in the Oxford community have decided to take a different route. Spreading smiles instead of germs, Miami University students are using this pandemic as an opportunity to be creative and look into different hobbies for the remainder of the remote semester.
When I came to college, I thought I was an adult. I thought, as most of us probably did, I had it all figured out. Though I was only 17, I was on my own, free from my parents’ roof. I lived in Hepburn Hall during my first year, and while it was nice, I longed for the day I’d be able to live off campus, avoiding sticky dining hall tables and crowded dorms with communal bathrooms.
All photos courtesy of Sammy Harris
For Ann Fuehrer, director of the Talawanda Oxford Pantry & Social Services (TOPPS), a single day hosts an array of activities. From shopping at Kroger, to making sure the shelves are stocked, to answering emails and phone calls, to supervising volunteers, Fuehrer, who took over as director in July 2019, leads one of many efforts to help those struggling with food insecurity in Oxford.
Even before the stay-at-home order, on GBD last week, uptown was quiet. There were no lines stretching out of Brick Street Bar & Grill. There were no queues spilling out of Bagel & Deli. There were parking spots available. Sidewalks were nearly empty.
Cover photo courtesy of Pixabay
The bathrooms of college students can be downright gross. Toothpaste lines the bowl of the sink, the trashcan overflows and the toilet paper roll is notoriously empty. But, at the very least, Miami University sophomore Seif Boulos can fix that last problem.
Some stories delve deeply into the lives of their subjects. Others seek to capture the human condition in just a few words. Modeled after journalist Brady Dennis’ 300 word stories that explore the unfiltered intimacy of the everyday, these pieces offer a glimpse into the untold experiences of college life.
In a classroom on the second floor of Upham Hall sit 10 students. They drum their fingers on desks, bob their heads and tap their feet while the song “Heading Out to the Highway” by Judas Priest plays. Instead of the regular sounds of muted lectures and shuffling students, the raw chords of the song reverberate throughout Upham’s hallways. At the front of the room, the music video dances across the whiteboard. This is what a meeting looks like for Miami’s heavy metal club known as the Newly Woken Organization Based on Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The name is a nod to certain metal subgenres like NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal).
Drinks? Check. Music? Check. Local vendors and student entrepreneurs? Check. Wait, what?
I’ve always loved a ritual. Proms, bat mitzvahs, confirmations, swearing-in ceremonies, quinceañeras, masses, weddings, funerals. And graduations. Rituals help us take what is ordinary, what is necessary, and transform it into an event. A moment that helps us step out of our everyday selves to recognize that the momentous has happened. Now, it looks like the chance to pause and feel how momentous graduating is might be taken away.
Going off to college, my soon-to-be roommate was texting me, excitedly talking about future plans and how she couldn’t wait to get to Miami. It seemed like all my friends from home were the same way, counting down the days until they would leave for school. I was the complete opposite. I was terrified to leave the only place I had ever known to move 300 miles away and live with complete strangers. When my parents left me, I cried the entire walk from their car back to my dorm, before wiping my eyes and trying to pull myself together as I met the people I would be living with for the next year.
The XT700 Styrofoam Densifier
Photo courtesy of Sammy Harris