Should you assume that someone is your valentine? Let me go ahead and answer that for you: NO! This is for the couples out there. Regardless of whether you've been together for two months or five years, you should still ask your partner to be your valentine.  Why? Well, let's get right into it.   Just like when you are married, you should still make designated time to go out on dates. There’s a difference between intentional quality time (dates) and random meet ups (hangouts)

Within the last few months, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been the subject of major national attention. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the cause for most of the national attention going on in the city.   Two people have been killed in Minnesota during the ICE riots: Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Regardless of whose fault it was, it is still tragic.  Tragedy struck on Jan. 8th, 2026, when Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a prote

This Week’s Advice: Healthy habits.   Since being in college, so much has happened both mentally and socially.  Coming to college can be such a culture shock.   From moving away, to meeting new people and doing new things.   It can be rough adjusting and taking in these new experiences.  So far, I have fallen and gotten back up about a million times. Every week brings something new to brush off but, that’s all you have to do. Brush off the bad, and bathe in the good.   Recen

One of the many factors that makes America uniquely beautiful is its high percentage of immigrants. A Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data found that, as of June 2025, 51.9 million immigrants lived in the U.S, and 15.4% of all U.S. residents were immigrants.    https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/21/key-findings-about-us-immigrants/     According to a 2024 report issued by the National Institute of Justice, An NIJ-funded study examining data from the

Usually, I’m not the biggest metal listener, especially not the type of metal Whitechapel is, but a friend of mine recommended this album to me, and I was interested enough to give it a spin.   The album has a tendency of bathing my ears in gravelly guitar sound throughout, which is great. That’s not to say that it doesn’thave melodic parts, though. The melodic parts of the album shine through in the breakdowns of certain songs and meld with the gravelly sounding guitar reall

After five months of an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire agreement, the death toll of Gaza civilians climbs. Prior to the ceasefire, over 67,000 Palestinians died and more than 169,000 injured. Since the ceasefire, over 600 Palestinians have died and at least 1,600 injured; with Israel violating said ceasefire agreement at least 1,620 times since Oct. 10, 2025.  https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/2025-10/Human-Toll-in-Gaza_Costs-of-War_Crawford_7-October-202

Emma's Enlightenments As people, we have the ability to control the way we go about life.   We have our own mindsets, which we can then act on. We have our own way of thinking, moving and being.   Whether or not we carry ourselves positively or negatively is up to us.    We control the way we carry ourselves, as I have said before, and see life.   Why live through hate when you can live through love?   I felt this was a good topic for this week because it can relate to so man

I genuinely believe that Sufjan Stevens is one of the best artists of our time. I know I usually have lots of positive opinions while writing, but Stevens has affected my life in a way that few artists have. His music is not only saturated with emotion, but with amazing lyrics as well.  First, his music is so emotionally saturated that I can put it on based on almost any vibe or mood that I’m in. The first album I listened to by him that immediately clicked with me was “The A

We must stand firmly against the construction of data centers, and concerned citizens should petition their local leaders for the cessation of their construction. The public must also demand full transparency- the construction of data centers should be negotiated publicly, not behind closed doors.  According to a 2025 MediaJustice report entitled “The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South,” there are $200 billion worth of potential data center projects across Geo

Amongst the debates over the format for the College Football Playoff, I believe there is a perfect option for expansion that already exists.  The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is the only NCAA division that does not have an NCAA-sanctioned championship. Tradition has prevented college football from moving on from the ancient idea of bowl games, and frankly, that’s hurting the sport.  Below the FBS is the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which has a tournament that,

ESPN personality Paul Finebaum has been around forever and put together a storied career spanning several decades. He’s a living legend. But in recent years, Finebaum has left any semblance of reason or logic behind to become a full-time SEC fanboy.  The past few months, Finebaum has continually disrespected and trashed every non-SEC conference in the country on First Take and other ESPN shows. The Memphis, Tennessee, native continually upholds double standards and false narr

Emma's Enlightenments This Week’s Advice: Difference is Power.   All of us are different. No two are the same- yet we criticize this all the time.   This raises the question, what differences are okay, and which are not? Who decided this?  Differences, to me, mean power. There should be no decision on who is right and who is wrong. This is just an excuse.  There is no wrong.  Just because you aren’t the same as the person next to you doesn’t mean they are better or lesser th

Oftentimes, those of us concerned about environmental welfare and seeking to lessen our impact on our earth overlook a relatively simple and straightforward way to do less harm to our planet.   We should eat less meat, and when we do consume it, it’s important to focus on low-impact meats such as chicken.   According to researchers from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and the University of Michigan, the highest carbon impact item in Americans’

If you’ve looked at internet music discourse over the past couple of years, you may see a few names pop up more than others. A lot of people have similar favorites in these communities, and it can be interesting to see which albums and artists are talked about more than others.  I can understand why certain artists are talked about. Radiohead is a band I think is very unique and brilliant; I have no qualms with Geese; and I think My Bloody Valentine is one of the most influen

Emma's Enlightenments This week has been hard for me. For a moment, I wasn’t sure what to write about. How can I give advice when I, myself, am lost?  That’s when I snapped myself back into reality. I have to save myself.   If no one is there, be there.  Sometimes, you have to take your own steps to being okay, which means being alone for a little while.  There won’t be someone there to pick you up every time you fall. You can’t expect to always have another set of hands.   Y

After 12 seasons of the NASCAR Playoffs, the premier stock car racing series is returning to the Chase format for the 2026 season, the first time since 2013.  The move comes after years of constant complaining from drivers and fans about the lack of crowning a “real champion” in the playoffs, especially after the 2025 Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway ended in controversial fashion.   As a result of that race, Denny Hamlin, who led the majority of the race and had dominate

Recalls are just a bandaid In the past several days, there have been numerous recalls for various food products issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For example, the FDA has recently issued a recall for cookie dough that contains undisclosed peanuts.    “People who have allergies to peanuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products," the FDA said in its recall announcement.     Especially for food-allergy related

Since many people (including myself) have declared 2026 as the new 2016, I thought it would be appropriate to share my thoughts on an album that came out in 2016 that people weren’t the biggest fans of.  That album would be “Painting With” by Animal Collective. I firmly believe Animal Collective are legends in the indie circuit, as their output from the 2000s is nothing short of wonderful. Their albums from “Sung Tongs” to “Centipede Hz” are all exceptional releases, but whil

Opinion: Tangible Media: Obsoletion vs. Opportunity   Travis Johnson   Staff Writer     As a 25 year old Gen Z-er that was born during the height of the Y2K “end of the world” conspiracy, I have come to terms with the sad reality that others around my age, myself included, are part of a faction otherwise known as “pre-internet.”    During my childhood, my parents made me go outside and play in the mud, play hide-and-seek with other children in the neighborhood and build lasti

On Jan. 3, 2026, the United States of America launched a military strike in Venezuela and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They then were brought back to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.   According to npr.org , the US has struck at least five “Venezuelan” drug boats that were trying to bring drugs across the border. If the Venezuelan “president” was sending drugs into our country, we are absolutely justified to go in

Birmingham, we cannot allow Israel to breach citizens' privacy Israel’s interference in the United States continues to increase at an alarming rate as Birmingham, Alabama’s City Council plans to enter a contract with an Israeli data mining company.   In their last meeting, the Birmingham City Council approved a resolution after it was recommended by Mayor Randall Woodfin to create a contract between the local police department and Cellebrite Incorporated.   https://bhamal.gra

A ccording to a study entitled “Smartphone use in a large US adult population: Temporal associations between objective measures of usage and mental well-being,” which was published on the National Institute of Health’s website (NIH), the average American spent 337.7 minutes, over five and a half hours, on their smartphone per day.   The median minutes of screen time for all non–social media applications per day was 295, and the median minutes of screen time on all social medi

You hear that? Exactly. Nonsense, which is basically what baseball is.  Baseball is boring and confusing. Now, don’t get me wrong; it has its perks here and there, but overall, it’s nothing compared to a fast paced, hyped, physical and active sport.   Soccer is exactly that.  When it comes to soccer, you are guaranteed some type of action at least every five minutes. With baseball, you’re lucky to be done with the first inning by the time you come back from the concession sta

With 2026 in full swing, I wanted to highlight some of the releases from last year that I personally enjoyed. The albums and songs I have mentioned are not in any specific order, but all of them are recommended by me.  Jane Remover’s album “Revengeseekerz” dropped last year and it was definitely my most anticipated album coming into 2025. It excelled my expectations dramatically, to the point where I thought every song was a hit. I like to describe “Revengeseekerz” as being j