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Bats found and removed from Parmelee Hall

CSU has a plethora of furry friends across campus, whether it’s the squirrels that fearlessly approach students, dogs that people take for walks. One animal, however, is rather unexpected: bats. And they haven’t been found just anywhere on campus, they have been found in Parmelee Hall. 

 

Numerous bats have been found and removed from Parmelee, particularly the fourth floor on the south side of the building. 

 

Second year student Irving Mendoza is currently living and working in Parmelee, and has had multiple interactions with the bats and those handling the situation. 

 

One of the first interactions was with an RA, and someone brought in to actually remove the bats. 

 

“Both of the RA’s, me and [my coworker] were just kind of distraught from like, seeing multiple bats, as we only expected to see one. And the guy caught them, then I took them out of the building,” Mendoza said. 

 

It was assumed to be an isolated incident, but Mendoza started seeing more and more bats throughout that week. In only one night, eight bats were found and removed from the building. 

“Until that day, I counted 16 bats being found […] in the span of maybe like, a week and a half,” said Mendoza. 

 

The turning point for Mendoza was when he found out that a bat had been in his room. 

 

“I didn’t feel that supported by people I told and by the whole residence hall because honestly, they were putting us in danger,” Mendoza said. 

 

There were fliers posted in each hallway advising residents to watch for bats, and if one is spotted, to not interact with them and to call the RA on duty right away. 

 

Marianne Weighaus, the director of Communications and Sustainability for Housing and Dining Services, provided some information on behalf of HDS. 

 

CSU’s Environmental Health Services personnel responded to Parmelee Hall and collected a total of seven bats in the first week of July, and two more this week. No reports of human contact with bats at Parmelee Hall have been made to CSU’s public health office. Bats are collected when found, and tested for rabies if there was possible contact with humans. If anyone sees a bat indoors, contact CSU’s Environmental Health Services to safely collect the animal. In any situation, do not handle wildlife, especially if the animal appears sick or injured,” Weighaus said. 

 

At the date of publication, it is unknown if there have been more bat sightings, but residents discussed how this is not the first time this has happened; at least one bat was found in the same side of Parmelee last summer. 

 

Other than the aforementioned fliers posted in the hallways, there has been no other widespread communication made to residents on this issue. 

Reach Aubree Miller at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @aubreem07.

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Command Brand and Hannah Brown are giving away $50,000 to bring college students’ design dreams to life

Enter before July 30 to be among 10 college students to win $5,000 toward creating their dream living space ST. PAUL, MINN. – JULY 26, 2024 – This Back to College season, Command™ Brand is partnering with two-time New York Times bestselling author, television personality and lifestyle expert Hannah Brown to showcase how a delulu […]

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Lofts’ arsonist enters plea deal

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar

A now former student of UH has entered a plea deal that reduced his charge of felony arson to the lesser offense of criminal mischief after he intentionally started a fire and damaged four floors of the University Lofts in 2022.

The criminal mischief charge is a Class B misdemeanor that can be punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine not exceeding $2,000.

Previously, Kevin Ekofo’s bond was set at $100,000 after Magistrate Jim Callan deemed him to be a clear threat to the public. 

He waived his right of trial by jury, appearance, confrontation and cross-examination of witnesses and the right against self-incrimination, according to recent documents.

Ekofo agreed to the state’s plea bargain offer and recommendation of two years of deferred adjudication, Texas Risk Assessment System, mental health caseload and no drugs or alcohol.

Earlier, he had admitted to setting the fire “because he wanted to and because he could,” according to the bail motion filed by the prosecutors. 

news@thedailycougar.com


Lofts’ arsonist enters plea deal” was originally posted on The Cougar

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Command Brand and Hannah Brown are giving away $50,000 to bring college students’ design dreams to life

Enter before July 30 to be among 10 college students to win $5,000 toward creating their dream living space

ST. PAUL, MINN. – JULY 26, 2024 – This Back to College season, Command™ Brand is partnering with two-time New York Times bestselling author, television personality and lifestyle expert Hannah Brown to showcase how a delulu mindset is the secret to design happiness. Command™ Brand is offering the chance for 10 college students to win $5,000 to bring their design dreams to life. To enter, students simply need to share their own delulu design inspiration – a moodboard collage, an aspirational image or even a color palette they’re loving – in-feed on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube with #CommandDeluluDesign. The contest runs through July 30, 2024, and potential winners will be notified in early August.

Command™ Brand provides a wide range of practical products and design tips and tricks to help college students and young adults customize their happy space and fully serve it to the world. Hannah Brown worked hand-in-hand with Command™ Brand to create Delulu Design 101, an online crash course to help college students apply the attitude that if you can dream it, you can do it. From customizing your happy space in a new home or apartment to maximizing your dorm room to reflect your true self, Hannah Brown and Command™ Brand are showing college students that the design possibilities are endless with a little creative inspiration and all the right products.

“College is a pivotal time for personal growth and self-expression. It’s a time to explore and fully express who you are,” said Hannah Brown, Command’s Delulu Design Expert. “I am thrilled to partner with Command™ Brand to inspire and support students’ dorm design dreams with Delulu Design 101, which we created together to encourage everyone to embrace the mindset that if you can dream it, it can become a reality, especially with versatile and damage-free Command™ products to make it happen.”

To learn more about the chance to win $5,000 from Command™ Brand, check out Command.com/backtocollegerules. For more information about Command™ Brand products, visit Command.com, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest at @Command.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to legal residents of the U.S and D.C. who are legal age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence and are enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution. Void where prohibited. Enter 7/9/24 at 8:00 am CT – 7/30/24 at 11:59 p.m. CT. LIMIT 1 ENTRY PER PERSON. Taxes are the responsibility of the winner. Subject to the Official Rules available at command.com/backtocollegerules. Sponsor: Command™ Brand, 3M, St. Paul, MN 55144. Odds of winning depend on total number of eligible entries received.

About Command Brand

Command™ Brand exists to help you fearlessly change your space with clever, damage-free decorating and organizing solutions that go up easily and remove cleanly without the use of tools. We believe there’s excitement that comes from being able to try new things, and that nothing should hold you back from being brave enough to go after what you want in life. Command™ products hold strongly on most surfaces even where screws and nails can’t to help empower you to create your own happy space.

About 3M
3M (NYSE: MMM) believes science helps create a brighter world for everyone. By unlocking the power of people, ideas and science to reimagine what’s possible, our global team uniquely addresses the opportunities and challenges of our customers, communities, and planet. Learn how we’re working to improve lives and make what’s next at 3M.com/news.

Media Contact

Tim Post
Tpost3@mmm.com

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Migrants Sent to SLC from Denver Have Nowhere to Go

 

On June 14, 2024, Governor Cox released a statement on X condemning news that the city of Denver was sending migrants to Utah — without prior approval from Utah state officials.

“We recently learned that the Democrat mayor of Denver has been sending illegal immigrants to Utah without proper notification or approval,” Cox said. “This is completely unacceptable and follows on the failed catch-and-release policy of the Biden administration.”

A National Problem

“Catch-and-release” is a term referring to the border patrol practice of releasing migrants into a community while they await their immigration court hearings. This serves as an alternative to detention. 

In February, several Republican-led federal House committees condemned the Biden Administration’s approach to immigration. In a hearing conducted on Biden’s catch-and-release policy, these committees found Biden had “failed to detain most illegal aliens during removal proceedings.”

KUTV further reported that Denver sent roughly 2,000 migrants to Utah over the past two years this June. However, Jon Ewing, an employee of the Denver City County Department of Human Services, claimed migrants are free to decide where they want to go.

“Any individual who travels through our system makes their own decision on their destination,” Ewing told KUTV. “We are simply helping people connect with family, friends or existing support systems.”

Denver’s shipping of migrants to Utah is part of Denver’s “Newcomer Playbook.” It describes a 15-step program designed to help the city integrate new migrants. The first three steps include creating a single point of entry into Denver and clearly documenting immigration policy and procedures. Volunteer relocation, or an offer of “onward transportation to another destination,” is step four of the program. Despite this, city officials indicated seeing many of these migrants dropped off with nowhere to go.

Immigration in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City Council Member Alejandro Puy recounted an incident involving a family that was sent to Salt Lake City from New York City.

“We learned a few months ago about a family that was sent to Salt Lake from New York earlier this year,” Puy explained. “It was a family of seven, all of them children, and they landed at the airport in Salt Lake City with no connections and no one waiting for them.”

Salt Lake City Police chief Mike Brown told KUTV that many of the migrants from Denver arrive “with very little information other than instructions to find a person in uniform to help.”

Salt Lake County has been finding it difficult to house these individuals. As of July 18, three of the primary shelters in the county were at 100% capacity

Puy claimed it is very difficult to increase funding to house individuals and increase resources in Salt Lake City. 

“[Salt Lake City] Health and Human Services doesn’t have funding for it that the counties do and the state does,” Puy said. “And they also don’t have either the willingness sometimes or the amount of funding that we need for something like that.”

The City of Salt Lake does spend a lot of money, Puy said, on contributing to shelters, food centers and other resources. The money comes from the state legislation and the county, he said. However, it is not enough and it’s difficult to distribute adequately. 

“I think we spent $12 million just on personnel [for homeless resources]. That is a big chunk of money that we are supposed to be using for other issues,” he said. “…We’re doing a lousy job, because we don’t have the funding nor the expertise.” 

Puy added the poor allocation of funds is ultimately due to the politicization surrounding both the migrant and homelessness crisis. He claims that neither the federal government nor the state want to solve these issues. 

“Most of [Utahn migrants], they’re escaping a war situation and the only thing that they want is to work, to pay taxes and be good citizens,” Puy said. 

 

e.hagy@dailyutahchronicle.com

@JEmersonHagy

The post Migrants Sent to SLC from Denver Have Nowhere to Go first appeared on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

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Braves ASB recap

On Aug. 29, 2023, veteran reliever Reynaldo López was placed on waivers by the middling Los Angeles Angels. This came just two short months after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox in a trade deadline deal that the Angels made primarily for his teammate, starting pitcher Lucas Giolito. An afterthought in two deals to play for three different teams who failed to make the playoffs, López signed a three-year, $30 million dollar deal with the Braves. They offered him a chance to pitch in meaningful games and a chance to be a starting pitcher again after being strictly a reliever for the previous three seasons.

Entering the 2023 offseason, Chris Sale, a 7-time all-star starting pitcher and World Series champion, was four years removed from pitching in over 20 Major League games. Injuries and disappointing performances left the Boston Red Sox eager to offload his hefty contract. On December 30, 2023, the Red Sox traded Sale and $17 million in cash considerations to the Braves for Minor League infielder Vaughn Grissom.

Marcell Ozuna’s life seemed to be in shambles following an arrest in August of 2022 for driving under the influence. His off-the-field issues and struggles at the plate made him an unpopular figure among Braves fans, who called for his release.

In a stunning twist, these three players represented the Braves in the 2024 MLB All-Star game in Arlington, Texas, alongside starting pitcher Max Fried, who was recently added as a replacement for injured Philadelphia Phillies starter Ranger Suárez. López leads the MLB in earned run average, allowing just 1.88 runs per nine-innings pitched over 17 starts. Sale has returned to form and has struck out 140 batters in just 110 innings, which is right on par with his career average of 11.08 strikeouts per nine innings, which is the highest career rate in history for any pitcher to have thrown over 100 innings. Ozuna has found the fountain of youth, finishing the unofficial first half of the season with an on-base percentage of .379 and leading the National League with 26 home runs. 

As it stands at the All-Star break, the Braves sit at 53-42, 8.5 games behind the Phillies in the National League (NL) East division and firmly in control of the top wild card spot in the NL. Given the standard Atlanta set for itself after its 2021 World Series title, the team’s performance has fallen short of expectations, and anything less than the division crown at the end of the year would be extremely disappointing to fans. 

However, understanding their season requires context.   Considering the adversity the Braves have faced through the first 95 games of action, 2024 is shaping up to be one of the  most impressive seasons in franchise history. 

This time last year, the Braves sent a franchise-record of eight players to the All-Star Game, en route to winning 104 games and fielding arguably the greatest statistical offense of all time. That lineup set a new MLB record for slugging percentage and tied the record for home runs. Remarkably, not a single player from that 2023 All-Star game will return this year after season-ending injuries to two of the most electrifying young players in the game: reigning MVP outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and flamethrowing pitcher Spencer Strider. On top of injury trouble, Atlanta has endured disappointing performances from the remaining six players, including career worst offensive years by OPS (On base % + Slugging %) from Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Orlando Arcia, Ozzie Albiesand Sean Murphy

The fact that the Braves stand where they are in spite of down seasons from six of their nine lineup mainstays is a testament to the unbelievable depth that general manager Alex Anthopoulos has assembled since he took the job in 2017. Anthopoulos first gained his reputation as one of the game’s great front office executives in 2021 when he addressed Acuña’s season-ending torn ACL by acquiring  the eventual 2021 National League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP in outfielders Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler, players who were all but given away to the Braves. He has showcased his proclivity for finding value where others do not yet again in 2024. Outside of acquiring All-Star talents in Lopez and Sale, he also traded for outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who is having a resurgent year of his own after his 2023 season was shortened by a fractured foot suffered after kicking a dugout cooler in frustration.

At the onset of the  midsummer classic, the Braves are a good team. When the standard is great, however, good simply is not good enough. The Braves bats are too talented to underperform the way they have for the remainder of the season. Even after losing Strider, the starting rotation and the bullpen are rounding into form; both are perhaps the strongest those units have been during this extended run of NL East dominance. 

The Braves face an uphill battle if they are to catch the Phillies, who have been MLB’s strongest team thus far. If past successes have taught us anything, the Braves are far from out, and Brian Snitker’s team is not going to give up any time soon. In 2021, the Braves lost Acuña Jr. to a torn ACL. Despite this, they made a few savvy moves and rode a magical hot streak all the way to a World Series title. History is not likely to repeat itself again in 2024. Then again, nothing about this season or this team has been likely.

The post Braves ASB recap appeared first on Technique.

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Classifieds – July 24, 2024

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:

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To place an ad, please contact an ad representative:

(213) 740-2707

USC Student Publications Student Union – Room 402

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Four alumni Mocs head to Paris

The four Mocs set to compete in the Paris Olympics. | Background photo courtesy of Creative Commons

By William Battle, III & Caroline Bryant
Sports Editor & Editor-in-Chief

A highly-anticipated highlight of this summer in the sports world is the 2024 Paris Olympics. This year’s summer games will feature four familiar names from Florida Southern’s past, representing three different countries at the prestigious events.

Dylan Travis, ’16 (3×3 Basketball)

Dylan Travis ‘16 goes for a reverse layup vs. Team Puerto Rico. | Photo courtesy of Team USA Basketball

Dylan Travis and Team USA enter new territory as they represent the very first team fielded by the United States for 3×3 basketball in Olympic play. Tokyo 2020 was the competition’s debut, where Latvia won the men’s gold, and the women’s gold was taken home by Team USA.  

“It’s very exciting. I feel like it is a full circle moment for me,” Travis said. “In 2019, I was at the Tokyo Olympic camp and didn’t make the team, so now four or five years later, I made the team for Paris. Basketball has just been a huge blessing to me, and has brought me to some cool places.”  

  Olympic basketball was never previously an aspiration for Travis, but he’s taking it in stride.

“I knew I wanted to play professionally in the eighth grade, assuming it would be 5-on-5, which I did until COVID happened, and then I got introduced to 3×3. Things have just kept getting better year by year [as I] rose the ranks and made Team USA in the sport.

He will be joined by familiar names in the sport, Jimmer Fredette (Brigham Young University), Canyon Barry (University of Florida) and Kareem Maddox (Princeton). They are no strangers to success, as they took home the gold in 2022’s Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) event. 

“Gold medal is always the expectation for [the] USA,” Travis said. “For me, I just want to give a spark and continue to be the all-around player that I am to help the team win.” 

To perform at the highest level,​​ Travis always makes sure he’s not overwhelming himself physically or mentally.. Since can travel around the world for weeks at a time, Travis likes to keep a relaxed schedule when he’s at home to keep him on the top of his game.

“When I’m home in the states, I wake up to work out at 7:30 a.m.,” Travis said. “Then [I] lift weights directly after…hit my coffee shop to read my book and catch up on emails. In the evening, I’ll go for a walk or complete a yoga session.”

Although it has been nearly a decade since his experience at Florida Southern, Travis credits his tenure as a Moc with his adjustment to international life.

“It was my first time being away from home, going down to Florida at FSC,” Travis said. “I’m from Nebraska, so that was a big move. And now, ever since then, I’ve been on the move every year to a different country or state, so FSC prepared me for that.” 

Not only did FSC help him later in his international transition, but it immediately impacted him as an individual.

“I also became a better person,” Travis said. “The students and faculty were so nice and welcoming, [which led to my becoming] a better student in the classroom and my skills [improving] on the court.” 

Ludovico Viberti, ’22 (Swimming) 

Ludovico Viberti ’22 competing in breastroke. | Photo courtesy of Italian Swimming Federation

Ludovico Viberti specializes in the 100m breaststroke – the event in which he will represent his home country of Italy this summer. For Viberti, the Olympics have always held a special place in his heart.

“⁠I think every athlete’s dream is to one day be able to go to the Olympics, because it’s the most important stage where you can compete,” Viberti said.“So, obviously, it was a dream of mine, and throughout my career…I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself and in my abilities; I just had to be patient and go step by step.”

He plans to take that confident and competitive mentality with him to Paris.

“Expectations are high, as they should be,” Viberti said. “We are going to compete against the best in the world, it’s going to be really exciting, but we are not going there just to have fun. Personally, I’m not a participation guy – I like to win. I like to beat the guy next to me, so I’m going there to be the best version of myself.”

Viberti has always carried a chip on his shoulder when competing in his sport.

“I have never considered swimming…a hobby,” Viberti said. “I’ve always had the mentality of being the best, so for me it was always serious. I set new goals at the beginning of every season, and I do whatever it takes to achieve them.”

That said, he’s been preparing for a race of this magnitude for years now. His experiences at FSC – and in America in general – helped him along the way. 

“When I went to America, I…realized how different the sport can be approached and done,” Viberti said. “The training, the schedule, the competitions…a lot of things were different, so I took my time to adjust and to learn a new system, and I believe doing that helped me to grow faster as a swimmer.” 

He then test-ran his new approach when he returned to Europe. Alongside more international meets, from the World University Games in China to the World Swimming Championships in Doha, Viberti empowered his fresh mindset to hurdle over any challenges along the way. 

Kyle Micallef ’23 (Swimming)

Kyle Micallef ’24 accepting his championship trophy for the NCAA II 50 freestyle. | Photo courtesy of FSC Athletics

NCAA Division II National Champion, College Sports Communicators Team Member of the Year, All-SSC honors and College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Individual and Team Scholar All American are just some of the successes Kyle Micallef has had in 2024 – competing in the Paris Olympics is just another item added to the list.

Though he hails from Melbourne, Australia, he will represent Malta as their top male swimmer, honoring his paternal side of the family from the Mediterranean island. 

“The Maltese national team reached out to me four years ago, and I started competing for the country last year during my summer break from Florida Southern,” Micallef told FSC Athletics. 

His Olympic journey as a Maltese competitor started at the 31st Easter Meet and National Championships in April. There, he received 1st in the 50m freestyle, 100 LCM freestyle, 100m fly and 50m backstroke. 

He later advanced to the European Aquatics Championships in June, competing in the 50 LCM free and 50m fly. In the 50 free prelims, Micallef received a season’s best time of 22.80 seconds, setting the Maltese national record. 

That time earned him 771 FINA (World Aquatics) points, enough to occupy a spot in Paris for the same event that crowned him a NCAA champion.

“I am so grateful to the Malta ASA for the opportunity to represent the country at the Olympics,” Micallef told FSC Athletics. “I know my family is proud and this is an amazing honor to represent Malta, and those in my family who have passed, on a world stage.”

Jenson Van Emburgh (Paralympic Table Tennis)

Jenson Van Emburgh celebrating his win in the 9th I Feel Slovenia Open Thermana Lasko. | Photo courtesy of Van Emburgh

Van Emburgh was born with a spinal cord injury, confining him to a wheelchair and making him a Class 3 Table Tennis athlete. His disability hasn’t hindered his athletic success, returning to his second Paralympics as a favorite.

As the No. 11 seed, Van Emburgh upset No. 4 in Tokyo to earn bronze. Now, he is boosted to No. 3 seed, following behind the 2021 Olympic silver medalist, Thomas Schmidberger from Germany, and the 2021 Olympic gold medalist, Panfeng Feng from China.

His rank improvement has spiked confidence heading into the upcoming games. He explained that the last time he played against Schmidberger, it was a close match, losing to the German competitor only by two points. The man to beat, in Van Emburgh’s eyes, is Feng – he’s never lost a match in the Paralympics. 

In preparation, Van Emburgh trains twice a day two times a week, and once a day the rest of the week. After training sessions, he partakes in matches with members at his club. At tournaments, he tries to squeeze in at least one warm-up, analyzing the conditions of the table and space and how they may affect his game.

“It’s really exciting because this time around there will be fans, and I’ll have my family and friends there, which we missed out on in Tokyo because of COVID,” Van Emburgh said. “I had my mom there because she is my PCA, Professional Care Assistant, but my dad couldn’t be there, my brother couldn’t be there, none of my friends could’ve flown out to see.”

He hails from a tennis family, with his brother playing collegiate tennis and his dad, Greg Van Emburgh, being a previous head coach for men’s tennis at FSC. That said, he first indulged in wheelchair tennis. However, the fast-paced game was difficult because of Van Emburgh’s disability. After trial and error – wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball and sledge hockey – he finally landed on table tennis.

“I tried wheelchair basketball, but I couldn’t shoot the ball into the hoop high enough when I was young,” Van Emburgh said. “So, that was kind of really discouraging. Then, I found table tennis, which was easier for my disability, and I picked it up quickly. I continued, I enjoyed it and I found it really fun.”

Just like adapting to life’s challenges as a person with a disability, finding life’s purpose can take time. That’s why Van Emburgh encourages everyone to never give up.

“If someone is struggling with a disability or facing hardships in their life [should] keep going and to find something they have passion for. It could be a sport, it could be an art, it could be a study. For me, mine is table tennis. That keeps me going, happy, and a better, stronger person everyday…there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Bad days build better days.”

When to watch
The 2024 Paris Olympic opening ceremony will begin July 26 at 1:30 p.m. EST, where students can watch Travis, Viberti and Micallef begin their journey towards gold. As the Mocs head back to school, check back on Aug. 28 to cheer on Van Emburgh in the Paralympic opening ceremony.

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Best Houston cafes for study sessions

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar

According to research, studying in a cafe can provide students with a refreshing environment, encouraging productivity and motivation. 

Cafes have coffee, snacks and food to keep students fueled while studying. However, finding the perfect cafe to fit individual needs may require some trial and error but, here are a few spots in Houston that are worth checking out:

Agora

Open until 2:00 a.m., Agora has been praised for their warm environment fit for late night study sessions.

Agora provides affordable pastries and enough coffee to study throughout the night.

According to the Agora policy, once an order is placed the customer is given the wifi password and is free to roam the two story cafe for the perfect study spot.

It is recommended to keep a check of time before leaving for Agora as it tends to get crowded because of late working hours.

Tout Suite

For those looking for a lively study spot with a wide range of food options to choose from, Tout Suite is the perfect place. 

Translating to “right away,” it is a vibrant cafe with a colorful menu consisting of sweet and savory goods. 

In addition to their variety of coffee choices, Tout Suite has vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options as well. 

They also have a sister store, Sweet, located in CityCentre that specializes in cupcakes and macarons. 

Slowpokes

With five locations to choose from, Slowpokes showcases quality coffee sourced from sustainable and ethical practices. 

On top of quality coffee, Slowpokes offers local treats and a happy hour menu as well.

This cafe is a great choice for those who like to study in calm settings while enjoying a change of scenery. 

If unable to make it out to this cafe, their roasted coffee is available for purchase to enjoy at home. 

Brass Tacks

Brass Tacks is popular among students for their spacious study areas and cozy aesthetic. They have multiple study hubs which are great for study groups or meetings with outdoor and upstairs seating. 

Whether in need a quick snack or a full meal, Brass Tacks offers a diverse menu to keep customers satisfied during short study sessions or lengthy meetings. 

The cafe, though busy, has just enough ambient noise enabling it to not be too distracting so customers can still be productive in a stimulating atmosphere. 

Muse Tea

Muse Tea serves refreshing tea and smoothies with options to choose ice and sweetness levels along with milk substitutes.

Muse Tea has a matcha series that is recommended for all matcha lovers. 

This cafe has a chic and clean interior that is free from distractions for students to cram in those last minute study sessions. 

Ironworks

Ironworks is a multifaceted building that has history going back to the 1930s. The warehouse contains several small businesses to browse through during study breaks. 

There are venues that offer coffee and quick bites, providing energy to study and explore the warehouse.

Ironworks has spacious work areas near the lively market, inspiring creativity and ensuring a productive study session. 

news@thedailycougar.com


Best Houston cafes for study sessions” was originally posted on The Cougar

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Libraries: We All Know Them, Do We Still Love Them?

 

Are libraries still important? Of course. Are they important in the same way they were 40 years ago? No, not exactly. 

Your parents may have told you the old wives’ tale of going to the library to write their school essays and projects (and how they had to cross the Northern sea to get to school). 

Today, we open our laptops and can either purchase the reading material we need or search on the infinite web for articles and publications. 

It’s not a stretch to say that public libraries have been on the decline in the past decade. It’s evident that they are not as prevalent in our communities as they once were. Are libraries on their way out?

The Rebranding of Libraries

At the core, the purpose of a public library is to lend books to the customer that will then be returned in a few weeks. A concept that feels a bit foreign in the age of mass influencing and overconsumption. 

The problem with this is that the principle of borrowing and returning physical books is not as heavily practiced anymore. It may appear as though people don’t make use of their libraries anymore, which is just not the truth. We just don’t have to walk through the actual door to get the books we want anymore. 

In 2009, 98% of library resources were found in the actual library, compared to only 45% in 2019. Libraries recognized the decrease in physical copy usage and converted part of their catalog to audiobooks and digital versions.

So, how does one participate with their local library? Well you can always get a library card and go grab a physical book. However, that’s not the common practice anymore.

A great platform for readers looking to read or listen to books without buying a book is Libby. Libby was created in 2017 as a way to borrow and enjoy books digitally. All you have to do is get a public library card, link it to your account and start placing holds on e-books or audiobooks. For kindle users and audio listeners, this is an inexpensive option.

Here to Stay

Why should we even try to hold on to libraries though? Well, there’s always a want to hold on to old ways that feel nostalgic. Although there are growing options in bookstores, libraries still have something to offer the community. They offer an inexpensive and sustainable way to keep up with reading.

In 2024, there are an overwhelming number of platforms for people to share their interests, including reading. With the rise of TikTok came the rise of BookTok, a book community online to share recommendations and tips. It’s reported that “BookTok also increased the number of books that the platform’s users read annually by 58%,” which is always good news. So not only are libraries not dead, but reading as a whole lives on.

Libraries may have died once, but they are resurrected now. With some adaptation, our public libraries are still standing.

 

h.edmonds@ustudentmedia.com

@haileyedmonds8

The post Libraries: We All Know Them, Do We Still Love Them? first appeared on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

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