1. Keep and Use Your Syllabi

In the sister version of this article, Six Ways to Slay the Semester, the author recommended using an agenda, but agendas don’t work for everyone.
Not to mention, assignments and due dates change.
That is why I always make sure I know where the syllabus for each of my classes is, whether that be an electronic copy in Folio or a printed copy in a folder that I can quickly locate, because a course calendar is often located in the last pages of it. This way, you can always keep track of the homework you have to do tonight, tomorrow, and next week.
The syllabi also contain important information about attendance policies, grading percentages, the professor’s contact information, and other important information you’ll need to know throughout the semester, so make sure you can locate a copy of it at all times.
Sometimes, the professor updates the calendar online as changes to the coursework occur due to hurricanes or topics that took longer than expected. Professors should announce this in class. Then, you can make a note on your paper copy of the syllabus, see the update on the electronic copy, or write it in your agenda. But be warned, if you do use an agenda, instead of or in addition to, your syllabi, write in pencil because nearly all professors have a clause in their syllabi that says they reserve the right to make changes as necessary.

2. Use the Resources Available to You

This goes behind talking to your professors or attending their office hours, which I whole-heartedly recommend. It includes:
Going to office hours
Emailing the professor with questions
Attending review sessions if they are available
Taking professors who offer to provide feedback on your paper before the due date up on their offer
Making an appointment with the Academic Sucess Center to receive tutoring
Going to the SMART Center located in Science Center 132-134 and online for Math and Science tutoring
Making an appointment or walking into the Writing Center in the back right corner of the Lane Library for help on your paper or project. (Some professors even offer extra credit for this)
Asking the reference librarian for help using Discover and the other databases to conduct research for papers and projects
And so much more.

3. Find a Balance Between A Hermit and a Party Animal

Just because you shouldn’t stay up late and party every night or every weekend in college doesn’t mean you should stay in your room or in the library studying the whole time either. In order to maintain your health and sanity and ultimately suceed in college, you’ll have to find a balance between staying in to study and going out and spending time with friends.
Part of this has to do with time management, a skill I quickly learned as a freshman in college that can make or break you, but it also has to do with trusting yourself.
Not only do you have to manage your time to make sure you have time to read the chapters that are due tomorrow and the next day as well as start researching for the paper that is due in two weeks, but you have to trust yourself that if you go to Starbucks and have coffee with a friend or watch a movie on Netflix, that you will come back and read for an hour or two.
The same goes for if you’re more inclined to spend two hours in the library down a research rabbit hole, you have to trust yourself and make sure to make time for that movie or that event that the Office of Student Activties was hosting tonight that you wanted to go to.
If you do spend too much time with friends, staying up late, or partying, your grades will suffer. If you spend too much time studying your mental health, and possibly your physical health will suffer. Remember it’s important to keep a balance between work and play.

4. Relax. It Will Be Fine.

If I could say only five words to a freshman me, it would be these five words “Relax. It will be fine.”
Since I’m sure I’m not the only freshman who has felt, is currently feeling, or will feel in a perpetual state of there being too much to do and not enough time to do it in, probably partially brought on by all the information you’ve been told by this newsletter and other emails in the last few weeks, I thought I’d share these words with you.
It may feel like there is too much to do and not enough time to do it in and the stakes are so high you can’t possibly let anything drop at any moment. However, that’s not what is going on, and it’s not good for your stress level either.
Unlike high school where you were in school seven hours a day and then assigned three or four hours of homework that was all due in the next day or two, in college, you have a lot more time during the day that you can manage yourself and the due dates are spread out over weeks.
Sure that means time management is crucial, but it also means that all four hours of homework don’t have to be done tonight.
You can plan your schedule; you don’t have to be up until eleven, midnight, or later, every night this semester if you plan your time wisely.
At least until mid-terms, Then, it gets a little dicey,
But again, I repeat, “Relax. It will be fine.” Even if it doesn’t feel like it will be.

The University will reinstate its COVID-19 testing requirement for all community members starting August 16 with plans to maintain it through September at least, Vice President of Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 wrote in a Monday email to the Brown community. 

Fully-vaccinated individuals will be required to get tested once every 14 days, while unvaccinated individuals will test once per week. A modified quarantine period will also be put in place for unvaccinated students arriving on campus.

Concerns over the Delta variant and other COVID-19 variant strains prompted to the return to testing, according to Carey. Just shy of a month ago, the University removed fully vaccinated individuals from its routine testing program. 

Carey added that the University felt the resumption of testing was necessary “as we prepare for an increased population of on-campus community members beginning Monday, August 16, with the return of employees who have been working remotely, as well as the new and returning students arriving for the fall 2021 semester.”

The decision comes amid increasing concern in the United States and around the world over a new uptick in COVID-19 cases, which some have attributed to the Delta variant. Reports of breakthrough cases, in which a fully-vaccinated individual tests positive for COVID-19, have also increased. While the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that vaccination drastically reduces the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and severe illness due to the virus, the possibility for infection still remains.

Nonetheless, the University still emphasized its preparedness for an in-person fall, citing its community vaccination rates as a key point of confidence.

“It’s important to make clear that being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 remains highly effective and is the most important step that all members of the community can take to protect themselves and others,” Carey wrote. “The response from Brown community members to our vaccination requirement has been excellent and is already helping to ensure generally normal operations for the fall semester.”

Just over four years after graduating from Emory University, Andrew Wilson (17C), the first NCAA Division III swimmer to qualify for the Olympics, tied for sixth place in the finals of the 100 breaststroke. Wilson, whose story has been well documented, also secured a spot to compete in the 200 breaststroke at the Tokyo Games, with the first prelim to be held on July 27. 

All swimming events are held in the Tokyo Aquatic Centre, a highly innovative building completed in February 2020 that can hold 15,000 people. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, all Olympic events have taken place in empty stadiums — quite a different environment for Wilson, who competed in front of a packed crowd in Omaha, Nebraska, for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials on June 17. 

Let’s take a look at Wilson’s journey throughout all three rounds of the 100 breaststroke.

Preliminaries 

Wilson began with heat 6 of the men’s 100 breaststroke on July 24 at 8:30 p.m. local time. To advance to the semifinals, Wilson needed to place in the top 16 of 49 swimmers. 

Wilson swam in lane three and placed sixth out of eight in his heat for the first 50 meters with a time of 27.94 seconds. This was a bit slow compared to Wilson’s performance at the U.S. trials, where he placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a 50-meter time of 27.77.

Despite his slow start, Wilson hit his stride in the last 50 and finished second in his heat with an overall time of 59.03. After the rest of the competitors had raced, Wilson’s time ranked seventh overall — advancing him to the semifinals.

Semifinals

The next day, Wilson returned to the pool to compete in the semifinal race. Only the top eight times from this round would advance to the finals. 

The times in the first semifinal were slower than expected, which gave an advantage to those swimming in the second semifinal because they knew exactly what time they needed to advance. Wilson swam in lane six, alongside fellow American Michael Andrew in lane five. 

Wilson was much quicker off the block this round, posting a time of 27.73 the first 50 meters, placing him fifth in his heat. In the last 50, Wilson’s pace slowed; fortunately, he maintained fifth place and finished with a time of 59.18, edging out German swimmer Lucas Joachim Matzerath for the eighth best time by 0.13 seconds. 

Andrew finished the 100 in 58.99, joining Wilson as the other American in the finals. 

.@SwimmerMichael and Andrew Wilson will swim for a chance at gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke final!@TeamUSA x #TokyoOlympics

NBC
https://t.co/5UYl3veBXr
NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/hg6My3W7UI

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 25, 2021

Finals

The medal round took place on July 26, with Wilson in lane eight and Andrew in lane two. As expected, the pace was faster in the finals, and Wilson’s first 50-meter time of 27.83 had him in last place. After the turn, Wilson made up for it with a total time of 58.99, tying for sixth with China’s Zibei Yan — his fastest time yet. 

Andrew, who posted a time of 58.84, just missed the podium. Great Britain’s Adam Peaty claimed gold in the event for the second straight Olympics, while the Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga and Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi earned silver and bronze, respectively. 

Although the 100 is over, Wilson is not done competing in the Olympics. He is also swimming the 200 breaststroke heats which begin at 6:35 a.m. EST on July 27. His races can be streamed here or on the NBC Sports app.

The post Emory alum ties for sixth in men’s 100 Breaststroke final appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Every flag is designed as a symbol. Whether they don stars and stripes, the not-so-aptly-named stars and bars or just a corporate logo on a white banner; every flag represents an idea, organization, nation or religion with which people identify. As a result, every flag, to some extent, is an extension of people themselves. Flags are us.

Georgia Southern is holding an online student job fair after classes start to connect students with employers.

The Student Employment Center has coordinated with the Office of Career and Professional Development in order to sponsor the function on August 18th from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. using the Handshake social platform.

The virtual job fair will connect hiring managers with students seeking employment with all the flexibility and efficiency you can get by being online.

Handshake can be used by students with a computer or smartphone after downloading the free application on a device connected to the internet. The platform features a video conferencing tool to allow face-to-face discussion in groups or singular appointments.

Students can sign up for their preferred video conference style prior to the event, and hiring managers can schedule up to 15 members to assist them during the event from different areas.

Hiring managers and their assistants will be able to view the students scheduled under their departments. This will allow the staff to streamline their agendas.

Each department must use the Fall 2021 Job Fair Registration Form to register for the event. Once the registration is complete, use the Student Job Opening Request form to show open positions on  the OneUSG Careers website.

Specify that the position will be filled during the virtual job fair in the notes area of the job advertisement. All job advertisements will be available to students on the Careers website August 9th, and will direct students to Handshake.

All enrolled students will be informed of the virtual job fair on August 2nd via email.

Pain that demands to be felt

Content warning: graphic content (blood), narcotics

I’m in worse pain than I was in the emergency room. 

But at least now I’m not internally bleeding. 

I’d been suffering from an annoying pain since I returned from my trip last Saturday, just inside of my lower rib cage. On principle, I waited until Monday to do anything about it. 

At my boyfriend’s insistence, I emailed my primary care physician, who didn’t reply. Unperturbed, I went on with my day and ran 2 miles before my evening meeting. 

Upon returning from my run, I bounced into the bathroom to empty my ostomy bag before a quick shower. 

To my horror, the entire bag was filled with crimson blood. 

Ever since that moment, I can’t stop picturing it, can’t stop talking myself out of what I saw: 

No, it was just because you ate a mixed berry fruit snack earlier. That’s all it is. You’re exaggerating. 

I beckoned my boyfriend into the bedroom to confirm that I was not having some sort of psychotic breakdown. “Please, I’m reading a horror novel right now,” I’d begged after he vehemently refused to come and look (yes, we’re that couple). Then I called the on-call clinical advice line at my primary care physician’s office.

Of course, the unhelpful on-call clinician told me to go to the emergency room. 

“Really?” I protested. “But I’m not bleeding anymore.” This was true — after a quick shower and bag change, all evidence of blood had disappeared, like I had cleaned up a crime scene.  

“We need to rule out internal bleeding.” 

“Really? But I’m not bleeding,” I repeated ineffectively. 

“Well,” she said, “I’m just going to put it in the notes here that that’s our recommendation.”

Is that some kind of threat?

“And your doctor will call you back tomorrow, sound good?” 

I smiled obediently as if she could see me. “Sure.” 

About five hours later, my boyfriend pronounced, “I would really appreciate it if you would go to the hospital, for me.” He looked at me with those boyfriend eyes, like: I can’t see you in pain anymore. A look I knew all too well. 

Thankfully, our apartment is less than a mile away from the hospital. Ten minutes later, I was triaged through the emergency department, and we waited among a small group of socially-distanced couples. 

We waited nearly two hours before I got a room, at which point the pain had progressed to a noticeably less tolerable stabbing. 

I was given a chest X-ray a few minutes after changing into the gown, which was promising. Shortly after, a nurse came to access my port. She missed on the first try, causing a few milliliters of saline to leak into the cutaneous tissue around my port. It’s not as awful as it sounds, but I felt it. 

She was forgiven for this mishap when she administered 4 milligrams of morphine into my port, which I had asked for in place of fentanyl or Dilaudid, both of which have worse side effects.

“Dilaudid makes me do that stopping-breathing thing, and it really freaks my boyfriend out,” I explained, nodding in the direction of my long-suffering partner. 

The nurse nodded, “Oh yeah, happens to some people.” 

After the morphine, I seemed to float off into a blissful state of calm comfort, which I both expected and welcomed. 

“It’s like I’m still in pain, but it feels so far away that it’s not actually my body,” I explained to my boyfriend, my eyelids thick with narcotics. 

At around 2:30 a.m., I was taken for a CT scan, whereupon being wheeled into the room with the gigantic magnetic tube, I was informed that I would be having a CT scan with contrast inserted through my port.

“It’s going to feel like you’re peeing yourself, but I promise you’re not,” the technician explained, as if I hadn’t been through this before. 

It actually felt like I was burning from the inside out.

When I got back from radiology, alert now that my insides had been engulfed, I noticed that my boyfriend was extremely uncomfortable in his tiny plastic hospital chair. I told him to go home; there was no reason we both needed to be miserable. Reluctantly, my dutiful boyfriend trusted me and my apparent strength enough to handle this on my own and allowed himself to get some sleep. 

It was 3 a.m.

And then … nothing. 

No doctors, no nurses, no lab technicians, no janitorial staff … nothing for four entire hours.

I was all alone.

There was no TV. I had no call button, and when I got up in a fit of frustration to retrieve it, I could hear it beeping in the hallway, seemingly going on forever unnoticed.

I cried — out of frustration, out of panic, out of desperation. I called my boyfriend three times, to no avail. I seriously contemplated disconnecting myself from my IV line and leaving. 

At around 7 a.m., a new doctor came in, awakening me. “You’re discharged,” he announced, handing me a stack of papers with “Radiology Report” written on top. 

As he pandered on, clumsily de-accessing my port, I groggily read over the paperwork.

Under every category: unremarkable.

“Bile ducts and gallbladder: collapsed?” I read aloud. “What does that mean?”

“I’m not your doctor. He left a little bit ago. You’ll have to follow up with your primary care,” and he pointed toward a little note on the bottom of the page instructing me to do so. 

“It could just be a fissure, so probably nothing. It’ll go away on its own,” assured my mother, whom I hadn’t called.

“Thanks,” I said politely, grimacing. If I wanted my internalized ableism fed directly into my ear, I would have called her, instead of her calling me while she’s audibly chopping vegetables for lunch.

Thank you, Mother. I knew it was nothing, and so did the ER doctors, and so did my primary care physician, so thank you for your input. Have a lovely day.

A week later, following a weekend of drinking a bit too much with friends, I feel worse than I did when I went to the emergency room, though this is probably the result of vomiting for two days straight. Playing phone tag with my primary care physician, my ER visit replaying relentlessly in my head. I’m thankful, now more than ever, for my port and home IV fluids.

I’m numbing the pain with caffeine and cannabis so that it is reduced to a dulled knife in my side, rubbing against my internal organs.

It’s mostly congregated on the right side, leaving my left torso with a mere whisper of faraway agony that threatens to migrate.

Good thing I’m left-handed. 

It feels like I’m wearing one of those big wrestling championship belts. Except that it’s covered with thorns and knives, skewering my insides, twinging every slight bend of my waist with pain.

But at least I’m not internally bleeding.

Chloe Moody writes the Monday column on being a college student with a disability. Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org or follow us on Twitter @dailycalopinion.

The Daily Californian

From freshly baked sweets to New Harvest coffee to savory sandwiches and salads, the Blue Room was a staple of pre-pandemic, on-campus dining. On July 23, the Blue Room reopened its doors for in-person dining to students approved to be on campus for the summer 2021 semester — marking its first time offering full services since the onset of the pandemic, according to a July 22 email from Brown Dining Services to the Brown community. 

Following the July 12 expansion of the Sharpe Refectory to in-person dining, the reopening of the Blue Room comes as part of a University effort to return in-person dining options to campus as vaccination rates continue to rise, ending more than a year of primarily pick-up and takeout food services.

The Blue Room was last open to the student body with limited services for the fall 2020 semester, accepting online orders for pick-up only through the GET app, and was reopened for the summer semester to faculty and staff members July 12. But low levels of interest from faculty and staff led BDS to expand the dining hall’s services to the student body, Ann Oulette, a Blue Room cashier, said while working the register on the Blue Room’s Friday.

The near-universal on-campus vaccination levels further informed the University’s decision to reopen in-person dining options for students during the summer semester, The Herald previously reported.

Oulette has worked at the Blue Room for the past three years, facing the challenges that the pandemic posed to on campus dining head-on. After more than a year of navigating public health restrictions and limited services, she said she was just as excited as the student body to see the Blue Room reopen.

“I am so happy to see you guys,” she said. “I talk to every single person that comes in here.”

For many members of the student body, news of the Blue Room’s reopening traveled by word of mouth.

While stopping in the dining hall on the day of its reopening, Cecile Schreidah ’24 told The Herald that a friend from the Muslim Students’ Center told her about the announcement. Some underclassmen, including herself, did not receive the BDS email and instead relied on friends to tell them about the Blue Room’s new hours, according to Schreidah.

In the email, BDS also announced that it would only accept Bear Bucks, cash or credit cards as forms of payment. This differs from previous years in which Flex Points were also accepted as payment, leading some students to criticize the Blue Room’s inconvenience for those on meal plan this summer.

“I am a little upset (the Blue Room) doesn’t take Flex Points, but I am very happy that it is open,” Serena Levin ’24 told The Herald while stopping at the Blue Room the day it reopened. 

Mina Sarmas ’24 agreed, adding that, as a student on meal plan, she found the limited payment options inconvenient, and that it would make her less likely to use the Blue Room in place of other dining halls this semester.

As the Blue Room has been closed since their arrival on campus in the spring 2021 semester, many first-years noted that they were glad to have the opportunity to try the different food items the Blue Room offers, including pastries, sandwiches, snacks and the campus-favorite muffins.

“I (heard) so much about their pastries and muffins, and I am really excited to try them,” Schreidah said.

Besides for dining, students told The Herald that they are excited to utilize the space to study and catch up with friends. “It’s definitely a cute little spot to do work instead of a typical library,” Sarmas said.

The Blue Room is fit with a variety of places to sit including tables and chairs, along with booths and larger armchairs near the windows. “I think this will be a nice morning place to have coffee and do work,” Levin added. 

The Blue Room will continue to operate throughout the rest of the summer 2021 term, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

As the new Space Jam movie is being seen by millions of people, people are naturally starting to revive the debate as to who is the Greatest of All Time (GOAT), Michael Jordan or LeBron James?

Championships

For this category, Jordan currently has the upper hand. The number one thing mentioned when debating who’s better is the number of championships Jordan has compared to James. So far, this has cemented Jordan as the GOAT in a lot of people’s eyes.

Jordan has a total of six championships under his belt while James only has four championships. However, Jordan went 6-0 in the finals while James is 4-6 in the finals. Due to James’ mediocre record in the finals, a lot of people put Jordan ahead him just for that reason.

Now, the question that arises is, if James gets two more championships before he retires, will that officially cement him as the greatest of all time? A lot of people are 50/50 about this because of what James’ overall finals record would be, but ultimately, if he gets the same number of championships as Jordan, it will be hard to dispute that he’s not the greatest of all time.

Even James’ playoff record is something mentioned when debating who’s the best. At the end of the day, this stat will really decide who’s the greatest of all time and is why it’s so important for James to win a few more championships and improve his playoffs and finals records.

Stats

Statistically speaking, James is doing better than Jordan and will have better stats when it’s all said and done. James currently has more career points, rebounds, assists and blocks as compared to Jordan. The only category Jordan leads right now is steals, but James isn’t too far behind him and could potentially beat him by the time he retires.

Considering that James still has a few years of basketball in him, his stats will continue to improve and will continue to bolster him in front of Jordan. For a lot of people, stats are equally as important as championships because it shows how an athlete did individually. So, for this category, James will have the upper hand. For a full side by side comparison of their stats, click here.

Awards

Both men have an impressive resume when it comes to the number of NBA awards they have won. Jordan has five regular season MVPs while James has four, and both men have won a finals MVP each time they won a championship, with Jordan at 6 and James at 4.

The rest of the awards vary from category to category. James has 17 NBA all-star appearances while Jordan only has 14 (and James will only continue to grow that number in the next few years), James has more All-NBA selections and All-NBA first team selections as compared to Jordan, but Jordan has more All-Defensive and All-Defensive 1^st team selections. Jordan has more scoring titles as compared to James.

Really, you could go all day about who has more awards and show how one individual is better than another, but ultimately, these two athletes are neck and neck in each award category. However, James will more likely continue to keep getting more awards as his career goes along and will ultimately have the upper hand on this category.

Influence Outside of Basketball

Both athletes are considered some of the most influential athletes in all sports. With Jordan’s famous Jordan Brand and James’ huge brand with Nike, both athletes are really “tied” in this category for a lot of people. Both athletes even starred in the Space Jam movies, proving they’re even popular in Hollywood.

Social-media-wise, James has a bigger following and influence as compared to Jordan. Really, this category is equal as both athletes have huge influence outside of basketball and will continue to keep having influence for years to come.

The Future

One thing that James has going for him is his future in basketball. James still has a few more “good” years of basketball within him to secure more championships and to improve his stat line. If James can capitalize in these next few years, he can ultimately seal the deal as the greatest basketball player of all time.

However, it’s now harder than ever to get a championship for James. His age, along with the highly competitive nature of today’s NBA, is going to make it very difficult for him to win more championships in the next few years.

One of the biggest criticisms James has gotten (as compared to Jordan) is his use of superteams. As mentioned earlier, every NBA team has improved drastically making it harder to win a championship in today’s NBA; because of this, James has been a part of or formed superteams to combat this issue.

From his “Big Three” era in Miami to his current unstoppable duo with Anthony Davis, a lot of people are discrediting James’ championships as they feel he’s been “carried” due to his involvement with superteams. This is one of James’ biggest roadblocks to becoming the greatest of all time and if he continues to get “help” from other superstars, his future championships could be discredited and viewed as less valuable than Jordan’s. Ultimately, James will have to prove a lot in these next few years.

Level of Competition

One of the most controversial aspects of the GOAT debate is the level of competition both athletes have had to face. Jordan faced Magic, Bird, Malone, Barkley and whole lot of other athletes from the 80s and 90s, while James has faced Durant, Curry, Kobe, Duncan and a whole lot of other athletes from 2000s and 2010s (and even now in the 2020s).

Really, this is hard to compare because you can’t definitively say that one era is better than another, and you can’t compare the style of play either. However, there is no question that players nowadays are better compared to when Jordan played. But that’s to come naturally as players get better trainers, medicine, resources and more to help them improve.

People often argue and say that if athletes in the 90s had the resources current athletes had they’d be just as good; because of this aspect, you really can’t compare the level of competition. Also, saying that today’s NBA play style is more difficult than what it was back then is also an “unfair” comparison because you can’t determine if either athlete would’ve done better in the other’s era of NBA play. This category will really come down to preference when debating this topic.

Regardless of who you think is the greatest of all time in basketball, Jordan and James are arguably the number 1 and 2 players in NBA history. Both athletes have done a lot for the sport of basketball and their impact and influence will be felt in the NBA for decades to come.

a.fatahian@dailyutahchronicle.com

@ariafatahian

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The post Who is the GOAT: Michael Jordan or LeBron James? appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Juana Garcia/ The Cougar

While being vegan can be beneficial for those who love animals, vegans still support a corrupt immoral industry. 

Veganism is often advertised as a way to eat your food and live life more guilt free. This makes sense as not consuming animal products keeps you from supporting factory farming, an industry that heavily exploits and harms animals.

It’s understandable to not want to support such an industry, but some people think that veganism is inherently more moral. However, all food production is complicated and far from moral. So any form of eating has blood on its hand, including eating vegan. 

Many people are aware that animal agriculture can hurt the habitats of animals as much wildlife has to be cleared for grazing space. But many people don’t realize that crop farming can cause issues for animals too.

Avocado farmers have to deal with gophers a lot. Gophers can tunnel to and eat roots so they can be harmful to avocado production, a food featured in many vegan dishes. Farmers will often set traps to get rid of gophers. Some farmers may set up wire to keep gophers from getting to their plants which can keep them from their natural habitat. 

To farm you need to clear a lot of land which damages the natural habitat of many species. You often have to keep clearing land because soil loses its fertility due to erosion, water logging, and pollution. So farmers will have to keep clearing land to grow their crops. It’s clear that even non animal agriculture can be and often is harmful to animals.

However, plant agriculture isn’t just harmful to animals but to its workers too. Workers are often paid low wages to work in harsh and dangerous environments. The median income is only $28,900 a year. A large percentage of agriculture workers are undocumented, which allows their employers to exploit them even more. 

The work involves being bent over for long periods of time which can lead to injuries. They often have to work in extreme heat without good shade or water. Workers are often paid per piece which discourages them from taking breaks which can lead to over exhaustion and heat stroke. These are just a few examples of the harm the agriculture industry does to its workers.

It’s clear that even eating vegan foods like fruits and vegetables still is not harm free. Veganism is great for those who don’t want to eat animal products or support factory animal farming. However, it’s not necessarily a moral high ground. You still are forced to support industries that do harm to both people and animals. 

Anna Baker is an English senior who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

—
“Eating vegan isn’t necessarily guilt free” was originally posted on The Cougar