Picture this: you take a psychology class and you soon discover that this class isn’t working for you but you stick with it. the professor is not to your liking, and they may have been unfair with their assignments and how they were graded. What are you left with? It was a terrible experience and probably left a dip in your GPA. If you were paired with a bad professor you should have the freedom to express it. 

Some may expect there to be bias in grading professors. Students who report negatively on their professors could be the ones who didn’t attend class or slacked off, yet is that a majority of the case? This assumption is just the worst-case scenario, and at the end of the day, everyone has a right to their opinion as long as the reader takes it with a grain of salt. 

There are plenty of reasons why we should be able to grade a professor. What if you run into a professor who treats students in an unfavorable manner such as discrimination or negligence of a student? Miriam Amin, an opinion columnist who wrote an article for “Medium” about her experience, said, “I have not only witnessed racism and disrespect but also harassment or teachers that interrupt students. If a teacher meets any of these points, then he/she should not get away with it.” 

“The difference between a student and a teacher is only most likely age and knowledge. That does not mean that teachers can do whatever they want without consequences,” Miriam wrote. I have been in a classroom with teachers/professors who have stated their opinions without thinking of the student’s behalf. One of my teachers in high school talked about his marriages, and political standpoint, diminished the dreams of future college students and swore at his class. Needless to say, nothing happened to him. I had another who talked about her religious views and had the class pray with her one time. I was disturbed. 

Another benefit of grading your professors is that they gain insight into how to best support their students’ needs. They can read what students say and understand where they are lacking in the classroom. This can help future or current students gain better resources from their professor if they need assistance with upcoming assignments or lectures, and better alert professors that they need to extend the opportunity of help if need be. 

I think that the professor analysis at the end of each term on Duck Web is a great way to get your point across in a kind manner. You can access this toward the end of the term – the link provided at the top of DuckWeb will direct you to a site that allows you to review your professor. This is a tool that shouldn’t be looked over and rather be used efficiently for your and future students’ benefit. 

Nicole Rogers, a reporter and opinion writer for Sun News, said “But the power to grade teachers would be beneficial for everyone. It wouldn’t be used as a tool for harm or to be used when we don’t like the coursework or the teacher. It would be used for constructive criticism so the course can be better and beneficial for the students.”

Not every student is out to get their teacher by using methods like these that are available. “I know if I had the power to grade my teachers, I would use it fairly. I wouldn’t want to make a teacher’s life harder. They already have a hard enough job,” Rogers said. 

Students should have the ability to grade their professor as a right to speak freely about one’s experience. If students aim to better themselves and their peers through the DuckWeb questionnaires, Rate My Professors, or word of mouth, grading our professors can do much more good than bad.

Houston’s Kate Georgiades (17) receives a serve from Ole Miss during the first half of an NCAA women’s college volleyball game, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar

Houston volleyball was defeated 3-1 by Arizona on Friday. Both sides put up a fierce fight all night long in the Tucson matchup. 

Arizona dominated the first set, winning 25–20 to start the match. Arizona’s defense held firm at the net, making it difficult for Houston to establish a rhythm. The Cougars found it challenging to string together points because Arizona’s middle blockers denied several Houston hitters’ attempts. 

After losing set one, Houston fought back to win the second set which was the most exciting of the match. Houston won set two 25–22 after a burst of energy and well-executed passes. 

Houston rallied and displayed its offensive ability under outside hitter Angela Grieve strong net play. Graduate setter Annie Cooke was noteworthy throughout the match because of her ability to create scoring opportunities through precise sets.

The Wildcats’ potent offense and strong defense proved to be too much, as they defeated the Cougars in the following two sets.

Sophomore middle blocker Ella Wendel contributed four kills and four blocks, which provided Houston with a well-rounded performance at the net. In the third set, Wendel’s blocking attempts helped briefly slow down Arizona’s surge.

Grieve led the Cougars with a double-digit kill total and was one of the Cougar’s most effective players on offense. In order to keep Houston in the game, Cooke played a crucial role by providing a team-high 26 assists. Graduate libero Kate Georgiades played very well defensively, recording a season-high 35 digs.

It was difficult for the Cougars to keep up with Arizona’s aggressive play and skillful blocking, particularly in the later sets. Houston was resilient when met with adversity, especially in the second set. The Cougars fought hard throughout the match, which showcased their ability to compete in a challenging away setting.

After the loss to Arizona, Houston is now 8-9 overall and 3-4 in conference play. This game made clear there is room for improvement, particularly in consistency and reducing unforced errors. The Cougars made 21 errors throughout the game, several of which occurred at crucial moments that allowed Arizona to take the lead.

Houston will seek to learn from this loss and bounce back against the No. 22 Baylor Bears on Oct. 23 at home.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“Georgiades season-high 35 digs not enough in Arizona loss” was originally posted on The Cougar

If you are looking for your next tearjerker, the highly anticipated third season of “Heartstopper” was released on Netflix on Oct. 3. “Heartstopper” is a comedy-drama series adapted from the webcomics by Alice Oseman. 

“Heartstopper” is the epitome of LGBTQ+ representation in media today. It explores sexuality and gender identities in a sensitive yet comforting way. All of this is shown through surprisingly healthy relationships for teenagers. The show does not shy away from addressing large issues, but goes about it in a manner that is appropriate and educational rather than succumbing to harmful stereotypes. 

Before you read any more, this is a spoiler warning!

This season depicts a lot of important and emotionally charged topics including the misrepresentation of trans people in media, gender dysphoria, toxic family members, panic attacks, losing yourself in relationships, and eating disorders (or ED).

The main focuses of season 3 are eating disorders and mental health issues. The main character, Charlie Spring (played by Joe Locke), struggles with anorexia and OCD, which is alluded to in the first two seasons but not fully explored until now. Charlie is shown wearing a sweater amidst a heatwave, then proceeding to wear that same sweater to the beach. He would not eat anything around his friends, and when confronted about the issue he denied everything. Throughout the first couple of episodes it even showed him being exhausted all the time. All of the things that Charlie was doing are telltale signs of anorexia. 

Initially, I was a bit wary about how this would be portrayed, considering how easy it can be to fall into the glorification of mental health issues. However, everything was truly handled beautifully and accurately, while simultaneously acknowledging the privilege of having access to good mental healthcare facilities. 

“Heartstopper” showed the effects that an eating disorder can have on the person struggling with the disorder, but also on those around them. Nick Nelson (played by Kit Connor), Charlie’s main love interest, and Tori Spring (played by Jenny Walser), Charlie’s sister, were the first to notice a major change in his behaviors. 

Nick and Tori happened to be the most affected by proximity. This was not because the show made it about the effects Charlie’s ED had on them in particular. “Instead, the show emphasized  that when people are going through an ED, they need more help than what one person can provide. While it drastically helps to have supportive people around, it is oftentimes not enough. Professional help can do more than a teenage boyfriend. 

On a more positive note, one thing that “Heartstopper” has been known for in previous seasons is its amazing soundtrack. This season featured artists such as Beabadoobee, Billie Eilish, Del Water Gap, Olivia Rodrigo, Rachel Chinouriri, Troye Sivan and so many more.

Some of my favorite aspects of this season were the stylistic choices. For example, whenever Charlie was going into a depressive episode, the screen would grow dark and shaky, but when Nick came around everything would go back to normal. The episode titled “Journey”  jumped through Charlie’s time in the mental health hospital. Tao, Charlie’s best friend (played by William Gao), filmed everything that happened while Charlie was in the hospital. It was shot in the style of a short film which was refreshing and something the show had not experimented with previously.

Another thing that was really interesting about this season was the development of Charlie’s outfits. In the beginning he was seen wearing sweaters and long sleeves, but by the end of the season he started wearing more short-sleeved shirts, and even felt comfortable enough to take his shirt off around Nick. 

A lot of the queer representation that we have in the media today is devastating with tragic endings, so it is invigorating to see a gay story that has a happy ending. “Heartstopper” is the media that I wish I had growing up as a queer youth and I cannot wait to see what happens next in the story. 

Around 50 people attended a pro-Palestine protest Tuesday in solidarity with Monday’s occupation of Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota.

Put on by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the protest started around 4:30 p.m. in front of Coffman Union and then marched to stand in front of Morrill Hall, which was occupied in a Students for Democratic Society (SDS) protest Monday evening where 11 protesters were arrested.

SJP media consultant Ali Abu said SJP decided to come back to Morrill Hall the day after the occupation in solidarity with the 11 people arrested, eight of whom were University students.

A SAFE-U alert at 5:06 p.m. stated certain buildings on campus would be locked until further notice due to the protest activity.

Abu said yesterday’s protest was due to the now “infamous” protest policy, the University’s decision to stay neutral in terms of divestment and the chalking warning.

“They basically gave a warning to SJP for chalking at Coffman,” Abu said. “You can’t get a warning for chalking, that’s really weird.”

Speakers at the protest include SJP and SDS members, along with University faculty. Attendees held photos of people and children who were killed in Palestine and chanted “Free, free Palestine.”

Other chants included “How many kids did you kill today?” and “Israel bombs, U of M pays.” 

Abu said the plan is to keep doing whatever is needed to win divestment.

“The students are ready to protest, they’re ready to escalate and do whatever the case, whatever it is, to get what we want, which is divestment,” Abu said.

The protest ended around 6 p.m. and according to a SAFE-U alert sent at 6:20 p.m., all University buildings reopened except Morrill Hall and Coffman.

Celebrities arrive at shows in Maybachs and Rolls-Royces, donning the most absurd outfits their stylists can put together and still call fashionable. Designer houses empty their pockets to create runways that seem more appropriate for a Hollywood movie set than a fashion show. The squinted eyes of fashion critics and journalists watch behind oversized and overpriced sunglasses for the looks that may trickle down into the plebian everyday style, and all we see are pixelated moments from the Instagram stories of influencers and Vogue collection recaps. Step back to look at New York Fashion Week as a whole, and it may seem that we’ve created the precursor to The Capitol from The Hunger Games. It’s fantastic.

NYFW is one of the biggest fashion events in the United States, and it’s gone through some changes in recent years. Let’s take a look back at NYFW 2024 to see what happened, and where we’re headed.

Historically, the gravitational pull of NYFW has brought in a long list of LVMH-style legacy brands, but this year, that list seemed to be cut short. Starting on Sept. 4 and ending on Sept. 11, this year’s NYFW lacked some big name brands.

European titans like Balenciaga, Chanel and Louis Vuitton opted to show their spring/summer 2025 collections at Paris Fashion Week instead. This reflects a shift toward exclusivity (as if the fashion world wasn’t already exclusive enough) that big name brands have recently pursued.

It might be more appropriate to call it a preservation effort rather than a shift. Paris Fashion Week upholds that tradition of exclusivity and rigidity, while New York Fashion Week seems to be breaking away.

Ralph Lauren exemplifies this diversion with their SS25 collection not being included on the official NYFW schedule. This is despite the brand’s place in the American fashion zeitgeist and their guest list including heavy hitting names beyond the fashion world like Jill Biden, Jude Law and Tom Hiddleston.

The brand also chose to host the show in Bridgehampton, New York, rather than New York City, with a well done, if not a bit uninspired, collection of equestrian and Americana-influenced looks.

Whites and blues headed the collection, and both mens and womens pieces shared formal tailored silhouettes that look right at home in the Hamptons, with the womenswear also getting some elegant mesh dresses.

Eckhaus Latta, (which was actually included on the official schedule) further deviated from what you might expect a NYFW show to be. Guests of the show were told to attend wearing Eckhaus Latta pieces, and in the Tribeca loft, where the runway should have been, there were only two long tables that turned a supposed fashion show into a dinner party.

Only after the music played did the guests realize that they were to walk the path between the tables and act as the models. Its SS25 collection is full of muted colors, knitwear and the clean modern cuts that are to be expected from the house. Their presentation of guests acting as models let these pieces speak for themselves.

The fashion world is changing quickly, and its once heavily guarded floodgates have been weakened by the internet. Brands can livestream runway shows, aspiring designers can connect with their kin on other sides of the world in a few taps via social media, and the infinite niches of personal style that are born of endless microtrends leave room for an equally infinite number of designers to fill them.

This year’s show featuring VAIN, an up-and-coming Finish brand, was one of my favorites at NYFW.Vain’s first collection debuted in 2023, coming from the chrome-dipped wires of the web. The show notes for it’s SS25 collection recognizes this origin, saying, “The brand’s DNA is deeply rooted in music and internet culture.” It’s easy to see this influence in the clothes.

The color palette is dominated by reds, whites and blacks that feel industrial, but when paired with the brand’s constant “<3” motif, feel just a little softer. The looks feel like they come from a hybrid fantasy world that combines the character creation menu of “Skate 3” with Rick Deckard’s wardrobe from “Blade Runner,” and it works perfectly.

The fashion industry is changing, and NYFW is changing with it. Will we see it continue to veer off the course that Paris Fashion Week is glued to?Or will it snap back into the mold it has always known? As to which outcome would be better or worse, we can’t be sure. What we can be sure about is that even though it looked a bit different this year, NYFW remains as important as ever.

In a candle-lit room in Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center Oct. 15, portraits of women from 10 countries were spread along the wall as a tribute to their lives lost to senseless violence.

Hosted by the Survivor Advocacy and Feminist Education Center, El Centro and the Pride Resource Center, the exhibition entitled Remembrance Roses: Honoring the Lives Stolen by Femicide honored women lost to femicide.

“Femicide, which is the intentional killing of people who identify as women,” said Lili Zamarripa, SAFE Center media program coordinator. “It tends to often be (committed) by family members or people who identify as cis men.”

October marks the intersection of Relationship Violence Awareness Month, Latinx/é Heritage Month and LGTBQIA+ History Month, which brought the three centers together in creating the exhibition.

“I think that it is important to reflect on and to consider for those of us that are called to do something about solving this problem because it is a global problem.” -Aaron Escobedo Garmon, El Centro director

The exhibit honored 10 women and girls from different countries, including Belize, Trinidad, Brazil, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the United States and Bolivia. Guests circulated the room while intimately interacting with each woman’s story and photograph.

“It’s 10 different countries, and you get to see a picture of the person who was murdered, and then to get you to read about their story, who they were as a person and how they had passed,” Zamarripa said. “(We also explore) what that means within the context of that country.” 

Rose petals were scattered on each table and applied to a large canvas rose painting at the end of the exhibit. Zamarripa drew inspiration from the flower’s symbolism in several cultures for its inclusion in the exhibition and incorporated it into October’s monthly observance.

“Our theme for Relationship Violence Awareness Month is ‘Surrounded by roses,’” Zamarripa said. “In a lot of different cultures, roses are used as a healing practice, and it’s also just something that I had always seen represent femininity, … so I wanted to incorporate that into this.”

The memorial also focused on Latinx/é women, with every country represented in the event except the United States being in Latin America. Femicide, as El Centro Director Aaron Escobedo Garmon explained, is an ever-present issue in the region.

“Within Latin America, femicide rates, gender-based violence are through the roof compared to other parts of the world,” Escobedo Garmon said.

In 2022 alone, at least 4,050 women were victims of femicide in Latin America, yet the number could be much higher when adding crimes that go unreported. While this epidemic is not original to Latin America, several cultural aspects may play into its prevalence, Escobedo Garmon said.

“One is because of the role that masculinity plays within many Latinx cultures,” Escobedo Garmon said. “Machismo is one of those reasons, but it’s also because of historical trauma that many families experience.”

Femicide can stem from many relationship dynamics, along with other systemic societal issues.

“Within Latin America, femicide shows up with partner-based violence,” Escobedo Garmon said. “So domestic violence and interpersonal violence that really escalates, also within violence that’s antitrans violence.”

The memorial paid tribute to Angie Zapata, a transgender woman who was murdered in 2008 in Greeley, Colorado. While the heaviness of the subject was prevalent in the room, it also made space for important, necessary discussion.

“It’s definitely heavy, it’s emotional, but I think it can open up our eyes to something outside of the United States, something that is intersectional across transness and gender and race and ethnicity, that I think will just give people a different perspective on how things like sexism can result in hard things and terrible things for some people,” said Maggie Hendrickson, Pride Resource Center Director.

As guests left the memorial, Escobedo Garmon noted what he hoped visitors took away and what can be put into action to create long-lasting, sustainable change.

“I think that it is important to reflect on and to consider for those of us that are called to do something about solving this problem because it is a global problem,” Escobedo Garmon said.

Reach Katie Fisher at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.

The Daily Trojan features Classified advertising in each day’s edition.  Here you can read, search, and even print out each day’s edition of the Classifieds.

Click the Classifieds icon to download the PDF of today’s Classifieds:

To place an ad, please contact an ad representative:

(213) 740-2707

USC Student Publications Student Union – Room 402

Los Angeles, CA 90089-0895

https://dailytrojan.com/ads

The post Classifieds – October 22, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

While the presidential election will make the most headlines, this year’s ballot consists of many key federal and state elections.

Voting can be done in person on Nov. 5 or by mail-in ballot, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State website.

Secretary of State Steve Simon said the ballot varies from place to place, but the common elections all Minnesotans will share are the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the Minnesota House of Representatives, ballot amendment, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals and Minnesota State District Court.

Minneapolis’ ballot specifically contains races for the presidency, U.S. Senate, U.S. House District 5 and state House District 60B, as well as the school board, state Supreme Court justices and Courts of Appeals judges, according to the MNVotes website.

With so many decisions on the ballot, Simon said it is okay not to know everything.

“Vote for what you know and feel perfectly free to leave the rest blank,” Simon said. “Your ballot is just as good. It’s not spoiled just because you don’t vote in every contest.”

Riley Hetland, director of civic engagement for Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at the University of Minnesota, said students are narrow-minded when they think about voting, and it is important to research every election on the ballot.

“A lot of people think it’s going to be a two-name ballot with our presidential race, but they forget to really look and kind of understand and do proper research that students do look down the ballot to our local and state elections,” Hetland said.

Hetland said policymakers do not gear their policies toward college students, but she hopes USG’s Row the Vote will encourage students to pay greater attention to the ballot and politics in general.

“It’s really important that college students do take notice of what policymakers are adequately representing college students because a lot of the time they don’t really make policies for us,” Hetland said.

Republican candidate for State House District 60B Abigail Wolters, who is running against incumbent DFL Rep. Mohamud Noor, said she is targeting University students through door-knocking and putting herself out to students as a 2021 University graduate. District 60B covers Dinkytown, Como, Marcy-Holmes, East and West Bank, and Prospect Park.

Wolters said it is important for students to understand the cruciality of local elections.

“Local elections and local politics might and should have more impact on your life than federal,” Wolters said.

Hetland said if students live within 10 miles of campus, the University verifies students’ addresses for them, so they only need to bring their student identification card to register to vote on election day. If students live over 10 miles from campus, an official identification, along with proof of residency, is needed.

Simon said he urges people with questions about their ballot to go to MNvotes.gov.

“A frequent question I get all over the state is people who say ‘Hey, everyone who has a pulse knows there’s a presidential election going on, but what else is up in my area,’” Simon said.

To find your personalized ballot, type your address into the website and a sample ballot will show every contest and candidate within, Simon added.

The Weisman Art Museum is hosting a Voterpalooza on Oct. 22 to allow students to vote early and educate themselves on the election.

“It’s super important that people educate themselves on what their ballot’s going to look like and understand that it’s not just a two-person election,” Hetland said.

The number of civil complaints and lawsuits filed against college administrations in Boston have spiked this year, raising concerns surrounding the jeopardization of free speech on campuses.

Pandemic effects linger as University of Minnesota students still spend most of their time at home. 

Americans spent more time working from home in 2023 than they did prior to the pandemic, according to data from the American Time Use Survey released in June. About 35% of employed people did some or all of their work at home in 2023, compared to just 24% in 2019.

Liza Meredith, a licensed psychologist and University professor who studies college students’ mental health said the pandemic gave people a complicated relationship with the comfort and routine of being at home.

“Sometimes we can develop really engrained routines at home that don’t even help us anymore, right?” Meredith said. “It might prevent us from saying yes to a really good opportunity, like going out and seeing friends or seeing a concert or doing something we care about.”

In a survey of undergraduate University students conducted by the Minnesota Daily, about 89% of respondents said doing school work is one of the two things they spend the most time doing at home.

Tristan Sohr, a third-year student, said he does the majority of his schoolwork at his off-campus apartment because he is most comfortable there, despite knowing he is more likely to get distracted.

“Because it’s the environment I’ve set up around me, I have a lot of stuff that I enjoy doing,” Sohr said. “So instead of working on an assignment, I might end up using my 3D printer or something completely unrelated, not productive, at least for schoolwork.”

Meredith said there is a positive work-life balance side to the lingering pandemic effect.

“Maybe the pandemic slowed some of us down and made us realize, ‘I don’t need to be doing as much of what I was doing before,’” Meredith said. “If people are still getting out and doing the things they value sometimes, it’s not so bad if they’re doing a little bit less than what they used to be.”

Exactly 75% of students said they feel recharged by being at home and 25% said they prefer doing activities outside of their home, according to the Minnesota Daily survey.

Third-year University student Wayde DeYoe said the pandemic changed how he and his friends socialize today, spending more time communicating online than in person.

“We used to hang out before in person and play board games,” DeYoe said. “But is there really a reason to go over to a friend’s house to play games when you can just do it online?”

These at-home attitudes could be changing. The majority of students who responded to the survey said they spend the same amount of time or less at home today than they did before the pandemic.

Meredith said she noticed a striking difference in her freshman students’ preferences for being on campus this fall compared to her students in 2023.

“I’m not having students miss classes as often, they seem more in the routine of coming in person for things,” Meredith said. “Last year, I gave students the choice to take the exam from home or take it in an exam room and very few people came to the exam room.”

Data from the American Time Use Survey for 2024 will not be available until next year, so changes to how Americans spend their time at home will not be clear until then. 

DeYoe said he does most of his schoolwork on campus because it is where he feels most focused.

Meredith said she feels more productive in her own life when she works in person and gets out during her day and thinks college students may be experiencing a similar post-pandemic learning curve.

“When forced to go out, they have a better experience and a better day,” Meredith said. “Maybe over time that kind of reward they’re getting for having a better day, actually being out, will help us change our preferences.”