"GrubHub is completely distanced from the user and does not provide any direct methods of remediating an issue. Have a problem with an order? You can’t talk to a cashier, but you can report an issue in the app; maybe a chatbot or worker in a third-world country will get back to you."
"TikTok’s algorithm-driven content prioritizes short, engaging videos filled with buzzwords, eye-catching infographics and emotionally related content, allowing influencers to forsake evidence and credibility for views. This undermines the trust in public health professionals and science-backed interventions."
"We’ve gotten good at not finding peace, but constructing illusions of it. We push out regret, sadness and uncertainty, but they don’t go away. Every emotion, no matter how nuanced or uncomfortable, exists for a reason, and therein lies a lesson to be learned."
"I was fascinated by the company and dreamed of one day working there, helping to build that interplanetary future that it promised. But, as years passed, cracks began to show. While SpaceX has remained fairly apolitical and out of the spotlight, it became caught up in the absolute mess that was its founder, Elon Musk."
"Too many times, I’ve waited way too long for the elevator, only to find it full of students who could have taken the stairs. Several times, when I’ve been eating in the dining halls, I’ve witnessed the able-bodied student workers go straight to the ADA stall in the bathrooms, despite me being in the process of maneuvering to it in my wheelchair."
"Libraries are a vital public service and play an important role in education. They offer free and easily accessible learning opportunities to the public, and they allow people who do not have the privilege of receiving adequate education or educational resources to find such opportunities in one place, for little to no cost."
"The new system changes how funding for departments is calculated. Now, 40% of instructional revenue will be given to a student's primary major, a large increase from the 25% set aside previously. This means that a department will get far less funding for offering courses to students from other majors, emphasizing ones that mostly offer courses to its own students and punishing ones that participate heavily in the Miami Plan."
"The option to continually swipe after two seconds of disengagement feeds and affirms the catalytic nature of boredom: anything that is slower and quieter is automatically correlated to what the mind recognizes as a type of harm to the mind and in need of relief. Even if cognitively, we want to enjoy our hobbies, we just can’t."
"A lot of their plans included going out to the bars Uptown or checking out parties, so I was a little bummed. I wanted to have fun like the others around me, but my idea of fun looked different from theirs. I decided to take matters into my own hands and find my own version of the college experience."
"The line between science and the humanities might be thinner than people think. There’s an inherent beauty to microbiology and chemistry, one that students sit in front of without knowing how it came to be or how it might relate to their studies. The intersection isn’t obvious, and Miami is aware of this, letting the artworks fade into the background and exist with practicality."
"This past summer, I resolved to make my second year something to look forward to. I started researching on and off-campus activities I knew I’d love and started a little note in my phone detailing how I’d avoid the sophomore slump."
"Major media outlets have regurgitated official press releases instead of probing contradictions. The heart of journalism: investigation, skepticism and the courage to question power seems to have been forgotten."
"Behind the vague wording, the true intentions are to provide more protection for the accused person in cases of sexual violence. It rules that schools can only investigate a case if it involves 'severe and pervasive sexual violence.'"
"Throughout the years, Miami’s chapter of Students For Justice in Palestine (SJP) has hosted numerous fundraisers for humanitarian aid in Gaza, protests and encampments. Advocacy has been difficult, however, as many students – especially those who have recently immigrated to the U.S. – hesitate to show their support for Palestine in the wake of governmental opposition."
"No, it’s not what we’re used to at home, but these establishments feed thousands of people per day, and that in itself is a gargantuan task. That being said, there are some structural changes Miami could adopt to make eating at school a little less painful."
"Most people can identify the familiar pattern of our higher education training: study, memorize, spit out, rinse and repeat. But somewhere along the way, what was meant to be the foundation became the forum, and what was meant to be the means became the method. Much like a search engine and its results, we have become information generators, automating and bending to what is prompted of us."
"Objectively, the OPD officers do a great job of keeping Oxford a safe community for both students and townies with minimal amounts of large-scale crime, like assaults and robberies. Most of the crimes that occur here end in misdemeanor or traffic charges."
"Universities are meant to be places of learning, where students become more adaptable to the ever-changing world. Now, it feels as though universities are viewed as job factories, where students enter for the sole purpose of employment. While the acquisition of a job after graduation is a huge factor for attending college, oftentimes it can cloud passion. "
"In my years on campus, I’ve had concepts taught and drilled into my head. I could do a mass balance on a system in my sleep now, just with how much practice I’ve had with them. Junior year and senior year, understand that you know these concepts, and they challenge you to bring them all together as one."