First-generation and proud: Why your degree matters now more than ever
Nati Feliciano-Soto, Contributing Writer In 2025, the rhetoric around immigration has become louder, sharper and, for many, more hostile. Immigrant families and their children — many of them first-generation college students — are caught in the crossfire of political propaganda which paints them as outsiders who are undeserving of the opportunities they have worked to […]
Whose speech does VCU value?
Natalie McEwan, Opinions and Humor Editor VCU’s comically named Campus Expression Interim Policy states that the Compass is “a pivotal crossroads” for students and staff in their reasoning to prevent protesting or chalking in this area. Despite this, VCU seems to have no problem allowing religious grifters on the Compass — screaming through megaphones that […]
The lost art of moving on
Henry Jobe, Contributing Writer Humans have always been drawn to sequels, a second opportunity. It is part of our human curiosity to want to know what happens next. Most of William Shakespeare’s plays directly precede or follow each other narratively and there are more film trilogies than I could ever count. Despite that, these stories […]
Adulting 101: The dance with your credit score
Nati Feliciano-Soto, Contributing Writer For many college students, the road to financial independence is filled with firsts: first job, first paycheck and for some, the first credit card. Navigating this new responsibility can seem daunting, but having a credit card as a college student isn’t just about convenience — it is a powerful tool to […]
Check your “echo-system”
Andrew Milhorn, Contributing Writer As long as the self serves as a commodity to be sold back to us, our culture will continue to stagnate. Every day we wake up, scroll, brush our teeth, scroll, defecate, scroll, walk to class, scroll and wait for class to start. Maybe you scroll TikTok, maybe Instagram Reels — […]
Don’t turn your brain off
Rowan Weatherford, Contributing Writer “I’m so tired of the world right now,” you say. “I just want to turn my brain off and read my silly little stories. What harm could come from that?” Everyone wants a break from the world and their responsibilities, especially after the most recent election. During winter break, I spent […]
I’m glad I was outed
Katie Meeker, Contributing Writer It was all rather hilarious, actually. I was sitting at the kitchen table with my mom and brother on Christmas Eve, wrapping some last-minute presents for my Dad. We had just gotten back from our neighbor’s annual Christmas party, and I was telling my mom about my friend and her new […]
Stop ranting online, start ranting here
Natalie McEwan, Opinions Editor When faced with a near-empty pitch deck for this semester’s first paper, I asked myself, “Where are all the opinion writers on campus?” In a world where people share their opinions online more brazenly than ever, I found myself surprised by just how low participation is here in the Opinions section. […]
What ‘woke’ really is
Nati Feliciano-Soto, Contributing Writer The term “woke” has been weaponized by parties associated with the far right. What began as an acknowledgment of social awareness has now been twisted to villainize those who challenge systemic inequities. Originally, “woke” emerged as a term rooted in Black activism, symbolizing social awareness and vigilance against injustice. It was […]
CT seniors say farewell
Peggy Stansbery, Executive Editor I always knew I wanted to join my college’s newspaper. Growing up, I made newspapers in my free time, often answered “journalist” as what I wanted to be when I grew up and was obsessed with the American Girl Kit Kittredge, a young aspiring journalist; so, when I had the opportunity […]