Local owners have the option to require masks or not as restrictions loosen across the state.

The CDC recently announced that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks in most settings. While we can debate whether this announcement came too soon, the prevalence of masks will likely decrease over the next few months as we return to “normalcy.”

As the pandemic slows down, we’re approaching another season in Utah that poses dangers to public health: wildfire season. 2020 had a record-breaking fire season and we have every reason to believe that this season will be just as bad, if not worse, due to climate change causing warmer temperatures in Utah.

With an increase in wildfire frequency and intensity comes an increase in air pollution that can lead to heart, lung and other health complications. While reducing wildfires should be a goal of our state and federal government, dangerous air quality days are an inevitability of life in Utah in summer and winter. One tool, that we’ve become all too familiar with this past year and a half that could mitigate the health complications that come with air pollution for some, are N95 masks.

Salt Lake City already experiences some of the worst air quality in the country and it’s only going to get worse with climate change. We need to recognize that N95 masks, while many have viewed them as a nuisance over the past year, can be effective against the harmful effects of poor air quality moving forward. However, the political stigmatization and the culture around masks in Utah could lead to wildly different health outcomes based purely on political affiliation.

The Danger of Wildfire Smoke

Wildfires bring with them Particulate Matter 2.5, or PM2.5, which are particles two and a half microns wide or smaller — 30 times smaller than the width of human hair. These incredibly small particles can easily enter our lungs and bloodstream. Our air quality gets so bad that we, on certain occasions, recommend keeping schoolchildren inside during recess because it’s dangerous for them to spend any time outside. Even before our kids get in the classroom, air pollution can have a negative effect on them with increased exposure linked to increased risk of miscarriage and autism.

This summer, like nearly every summer in recent memory, is likely to bring an intense fire season as much of the American West continues to experience a drought, priming vegetation to be quick fuel for wildfires. Not only will it be an intense wildfire season, but it’s likely to be a longer one. University of Utah researchers recently found that the average air quality in August has worsened, and it looks like it might continue to worsen into September. With these additional wildfires creating even more PM2.5, we can expect worse air quality this summer.

Masks and Wildfires

During the pandemic, masks allowed us to engage in the same behaviors as before, like going to the grocery store or class, without exposing ourselves to much risk. While masks were most necessary indoors during the pandemic, masks will obviously be most helpful outdoors during wildfire season.

An unforeseen benefit of increasing all of the ventilation systems in buildings to combat COVID-19 is that improved HVAC systems can filter out harmful particulates brought in by wildfire smoke. These upgrades will be useful at filtering out bad air as our wintertime air pollution also comes in the form of PM2.5.

Like the virus, the most effective way to prevent wildfire smoke health effects is to stay indoors in a room that’s sealed off from outdoor smoke. However, as days with poor air quality become more common in Utah, we’ll have to venture out to the grocery store, school or work and go about our lives. In those situations, the CDC recommends using N95 or P100 respirators to filter out dangerous particulate.

Masks, for multiple reasons, have become emblematic of political affiliation in the United States. Back in August of 2020, 92% of Democrats said they had worn a face covering when in stores or other businesses during the month prior opposed to 76% of Republicans.

With wildfire smoke inhalation there would not be any mask mandates, only recommendations. Yet, I worry that the lasting effects of mask aversion in Salt Lake City will lead to many in that group abstaining from using masks as an effective protection measure. At the same time, people who previously may have been unaware of how useful masks can be at filtering air may be more likely to wear masks during poor air quality days, and they’ll be avoiding negative health outcomes because of it.

Wildfire smoke and the poor air quality that comes with it will continue to worsen this fire season and every fire season in the future. Masks, and N95 masks, in particular, are one of the easiest, effective ways to decrease the amount of smoke we inhale as we venture outside this summer.

If the political stigmatization of masks continues into this new, voluntary era of masking, we’re likely to see health disparities between those who identify as Republicans and those who do not. With roughly half of all Utahns registered as Republican, failure to embrace masks as an effective tool for minimizing wildfire smoke could lead to serious health complications for a majority of the state.

w.shadley@dailyutahchronicle.com

@shadleywill

The post Shadley: Masks Protect Us From Poor Air Quality, but Will Utahns Wear Them? appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Juana Garcia/The Cougar

Over 3,000 people gathered in Houston on Saturday in the most recent demonstration for the end of the Israeli attacks against Palestinian territories.

The protest took place the day after a ceasefire was held between Israeli forces and Hamas, after an over 10-day bombardment of the Gaza strip left over 240 Palestinians dead, including 60 children. Twelve Israelis, including two children, were also killed.

Students for Justice for Palestine officer Noreen Saqer said this violence in Gaza is nothing new.

“When talking about Gaza, we are talking about a densely populated tiny strip of land that Israel has besieged from land, air and sea,” Saqer said. “These events are not occurring in a vacuum but are connected to 70 years of Israeli ethnic cleansing.”

UH program director of Middle Eastern studies Emran El-Badawi said that the bombardment began after an Israeli high court ordered the eviction of several families in an east Jerusalem neighborhood called Sheikh Jarrah, handing the homes over to Jewish settlers.

“Palestinians engaged in peaceful protest, notably on and around the Al-Aqsa mosque complex, and were attacked by Israeli security forces with rubber bullets, stun grenades and other means,” El-Badawi said. “The mosque itself was attacked while the Muslims faithfully worshiped inside during the holy month of Ramadan.”

President Biden supported the ceasefire, but gained criticism from members of the democratic party over his handling of the conflict and for a new bill that would provide Israel with $735 million in weapons.

“We fund endless war in the Middle East, including in the so-called holy land,” El-Badawi said. “The U.S. provides approximately $3.8 billion annually and various military and intelligence capabilities to Israel.”

Saqer said that this is one of the many occurrences where the Palestinian population is punished through these avenues of mass casualties and incarceration.

“The Nakba (exodus) is ongoing and the situation will not end with a cease-fire,” Saqer said. “Palestinians will still be under illegal military occupations without freedom of movement under a fascist and racist system of apartheid.”

Saqer added that Palestinians feel helpless that such an equipped state is able to respond with such violence repeatedly and not be impeded.

“It has never faced consequences for its numerous onslaughts and Palestinians have been constantly trying to plead to the world that they, no one deserves this,” Saqer said.

Student organization, Coogs for Israel, added to the sentiments SJP had for loss of civilian lives. 

“Coogs for Israel advocates for peace and non-violent resolution of conflicts, we are committed to holding dialogue to better understand the status quo and to promote a future that fulfills the aspirations and self determination of both Jewish people and Palestinians,” said Coogs for Israel president Rogelio Castilla. “We are incredibly alarmed at the rise of antisemitism and fake information that has ensued lately and we aim to combat both of those things.”

El-Badawi further discussed Americans and their relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“The American people have lost their appetite for perpetual war, and the ongoing Israeli- Palestinian conflict,” El-Badawi said. “If we truly believe that Black Lives Matter, and if we condemn hate against Asians, LGBTQ and other minority communities, then we can no longer tolerate the human rights violations witnessed in the latest round of conflict in the Middle East.”

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“Students, faculty react as pro-Palestine demonstrations continue” was originally posted on The Cougar

Ontiva Review

Ontiva is a free online YouTube converter tool that allows you to download YouTube videos in MP3, MP4, and virtually any common video and audio format and watch them on your device with ease. CEO of the Ontiva platform states, “We know that technology has no limit, so Ontiva YouTube converter supports unlimited downloads and conversions.” What is so amazing about this platform is that it provides top-Dollar conversion services for free…yes, you heard me quite right…it is absolutely free! Users do not have to sign up to our platform or pay any hidden costs to make use of the video and audio conversion services which are free of viruses or malware. Unlike its competitors, Ontiva offers its users unlimited download and conversion capabilities, giving users free rein to download and convert as many WebM (YouTube) videos as they may desire. Ontiva makes YouTube video downloads simple. Getting YouTube to MP3 conversion and download does not need any professional techie anymore. Anyone with a basic knowledge of copy-pasting will be able to download the YouTube videos in a few clicks. Moreover, people can download from any Android, iPhone, or iPad device. In terms of the software and site’s functional design, the converter is excellent in offering conversions from YouTube to MP3 320Kbps. Furthermore, it ensures good quality of downloads and faster too. Other than online video conversion and download, Ontiva also has other awesome tools that make using it all the more convenient and efficient for its users. These tools include YouTube Video Cutter/Cropper, YouTube-to-GIF Maker, YouTube Video Playlist Downloader/Converter, and finally offers all its conversions in several audio and video formats at lightning speeds like never before. In this article, we will take a look at the various features found on the Ontiva website, the various forms of video and audio conversions that can be carried out on Ontiva, and the other additional services that the Ontiva website offers.

Ontiva Features

Ontiva stands as one of the best YouTube video downloaders/converters out there currently. So let’s
take a look at the various features that make it so awesome to use.

The Easy-to-use Interface
It’s wonderful website template is very easy to maneuver and does not have bothersome
popups and ads to inconvenience you while on their site. It also possesses several how-to-use
instructions on its homepage to guide even the simpletons on how to make use of its various
tools. So gone are the days when you have to be an IT guru to convert and download YouTube
videos because of the easy-to-use Ontiva!

Unlimited Downloads and Conversions
Ontiva has gone on to offer its users the freedom to go wild and carry out as many conversions
and downloads as their hearts' desire. So no more daily limiters to stop you, all you have to do
is to keep downloading and converting all the videos you want from YouTube whenever,
wherever!

YouTube Video Cutter/Cropper/Clipper
Ontiva allows users to trim and edit a portion of a YouTube video to their taste through the use of their
state-of-the-art YouTube Video Cutter/Cropper/Clipper tool. It allows the user to trim away
unwanted parts of YouTube videos, and merge two or more video segments together to make it
more concise. This editing can be done manually or automatically through the use of aspect
ratio to determine which video portion(s) to be kept all the while doing so without a bulky
software download.

Offer several Audio and Video Format Outputs
Ontiva mostly offers YouTube (WebM) to MP4, YouTube (WebM) to MP3, and YouTube
(WebM) to WAV video conversions. However, Ontiva also supports other formats such as FLAC,
WMV, OGG, ACC, MP2, WMA, FLV, AVI, 3GP, MOV as well as any other commonly used
formats.

Offers High-Speed Video Conversion
Ontiva makes use of cutting-edge technology to cut down the conversion and download time to the
barest minimum. This simply means that users can now have all their desired YouTube videos offline in
no time at all.

YouTube-to-GIF Maker
For all GIF lovers out there, Ontiva presents you with the YouTube-to-GIF Maker that will
immortalize brief segments of your favorite YouTube videos into a GIF that could the next viral
one to burst onto the social media scene. So look no further than Ontiva’s YouTube-to-GIF
Maker to create catchy GIFs from your favorite YouTube videos.

YouTube Video Playlist Downloader/Converter
YouTube Video Playlist Downloader and YouTube Video Playlist Downloader/Converter are
tools that Ontiva users can make use of to make batch downloads and conversions of videos on
YouTube. This allows users to convert and download several YouTube videos simultaneously with very little fuss and at lightning-fast speeds. However, users can only access this feature
once they are registered with Ontiva. Don’t you worry about the cost of doing so because it is
absolutely free!

How to carry out various kinds of Video and Audio Conversions on Ontiva

YouTube (WebM) to MP4 Conversion

• Go to YouTube, search for the desired video to be converted and downloaded, and copy
  the YouTube video’s URL.
• Then open the Ontiva website on another tab on your browser and paste the copied
  URL into the bar found on the website homepage. However, should you desire to edit
  and trim the video, feel free to make use of the range slider to select the particular
  segment of the video you wish to convert and download.
• Click ‘START NOW’.
• On the next page, Ontiva offers various audio and video formats. Select the format you
  prefer. In this case, to download as an MP4, go to the ‘Video’ tab and select ‘MP4’ as the
  desired format.
• Click ‘Convert’ and wait a moment for the conversion to take place.
• Click ‘Download’ afterward to download the converted video onto your computer
  storage.

YouTube (WebM) to MP3 Conversion

• Go to YouTube, search for the desired video to be converted and downloaded, and copy
  the YouTube video’s URL.
• Then open the Ontiva website on another tab on your browser and paste the copied
  URL into the bar found on the website homepage. However, should you desire to edit and trim the video, make use of the range slider to select the particular segment of the
  video you wish to convert and download.
• Click ‘START NOW’.
• On the next page, Ontiva offers various audio and video formats. Select the format you
  prefer. In this case, to download as an MP3, go to the ‘Audio’ tab and select ‘MP3’ as
  the desired format.
• Click ‘Convert’ and wait a moment for the conversion to take place.
• Click ‘Download’ afterward to download the converted video onto your computer
  storage.

YouTube (WebM) to WAV Conversion

• Go to YouTube, search for the desired video to be converted and downloaded, and copy
  the YouTube video’s URL.
• Then open the Ontiva website on another tab on your browser and paste the copied
  URL into the bar found on the website homepage. However, should you desire to edit
  and trim the video, make use of the range slider to select the particular segment of the
  video you wish to convert and download.
• Click ‘START NOW’.
• On the next page, Ontiva offers various audio and video formats. Select the format you
  prefer. In this case, to download as a WAV, go to the ‘Video’ tab and select ‘WAV’ as the
  desired format.
• Click ‘Convert’ and wait a moment for the conversion to take place.
• Click ‘Download’ afterward to download the converted video onto your computer
  storage.

The Daily Californian’s editorial and newsroom staff were not involved in this advertisement’s production. For advertising and sponsorship opportunities or more information about paid content, contact advertising@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Free, Virtual Event is Biggest Premed Event in the World Boulder, Colorado. May 24th, 2021. Mappd has opened registration for National Premed Day, enabling premedical students to attend a free virtual conference to better prepare themselves for medical school. National Premed Day is an annual holiday created by Mappd, LLC. National Premed Day is on […]

As the second wave of COVID-19 infections continues in India, images of devastating loss — such as people lining up outside hospitals with empty oxygen cylinders — have captured the world’s attention. 

“We were doing completely fine,” said Soumya Karwa ’23, who is spending the summer at home in Mumbai. The situation right now is “just so sad,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Last September, India’s government received praise after it successfully brought down case numbers during its first coronavirus wave. Yet, beginning in April of this year, India was hit with a devastating second wave of infections. On May 6, the country reported 414,188 cases, nearly four times as many as counted during the fall peak. While leaders across the United States outlined reopening plans, media reports from India told an entirely different story.

The Herald spoke to five students currently living in India who discussed the state of the crisis and the government’s management of it from their firsthand perspectives.

Karwa was still on campus during the spring when she first started hearing about the burgeoning COVID-19 crisis in India. “Reading the news from the U.S. about India, it just got worse every day and it was just really sad,” she said. 

Himanssh Pettie ’24 also spent the spring semester on campus, but went home at the beginning of remote reading period. He had planned to return to campus for the summer, but the United States has since implemented travel restrictions for India. He is spending the summer semester studying remotely from Hyderabad. 

Akshit Chhabra ‘23, whose parents are both healthcare workers in India, described the debilitating burden on local hospitals. “During the first wave, it was about the fear of the unknown,” he said. “But the reality now on the hospital grounds is that there are no beds.” 

“Even when there was no government lockdown, people imposed a self-lockdown,” said Kushagra Agarwal ‘22, discussing the beginning of the latest coronavirus wave. Agarwal, currently in India, spent the entirety of the 2020-2021 academic year studying remotely from his home in Kanpur. 

“We never had a great healthcare system to begin with,” Agarwal said. As hospitals across the country are pushed to the limits, patients have been turned away. Stories have recently surfaced of people traveling for hours in search of hospital beds and medical supplies. The already high death toll being reported may be much lower than actual numbers, as evidence has emerged that many deaths are going unreported. 

Pettie also believes that the reported COVID-19 statistics drastically underestimate the actual toll of the virus. 

“You can’t take the statistics as the actual statistics … because the situation on the ground does not reflect those statistics,” said Pettie. 

Despite devastating trends, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resisted imposing a nationwide lockdown even as he faced calls from both the domestic and international community to take more action to bring down infection rates. The Hindu festival Kumbh Mela was held as usual, and Modi and his government have focused on holding political rallies ahead of elections.

“If you’re doing 16 rallies in 10 days, how much time do you actually have to devote to managing the pandemic?” Agarwal said.

Pettie expressed a similar sentiment, characterizing Modi as “hypocritical.” While Modi has not done much to mitigate the crisis, Pettie argued, a video conference on Friday showed him seemingly holding back tears while speaking to frontline health workers about the COVID-19 pandemic. “Modi is very used to doing PR stunts,” Pettie said. 

Aditya Singh ’25, an incoming first-year living in India, said that management of the pandemic has been “quite a mess.” Many of his extended family members had been supporters of Modi’s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, but that has since changed. 

“The way they have abdicated their responsibility during the crisis” has caused many of the party’s supporters to lose faith in them, he said. Singh hopes that this poor response from the central government during the second wave becomes a major campaign issue in the next general elections.

Chhabra echoed Singh, adding that he was glad to see that Modi’s party lost the recent state elections in West Bengal and believes that it may be a sign of “turning tides” in his previous widespread support.

Karwa noted that while the government is not doing all that it should, it is still an improvement from April since the political rallies “sidetracked the attention that the incoming wave should have been getting.”

For Agarwal, the international media coverage that India is receiving is both accurate and crucial. 

“The coverage by itself is traumatic,” he said, but “someone needs to hold the government accountable, and most Indian media wasn’t doing a good job of that.” 

While Karwa agreed that news coverage is accurate, she cautioned against sensationalization of the crisis by media outlets.

Most people who die in India are cremated due to religious reasons, pandemic or not, she explained, referring to the widely circulated images of mass cremation sites.

“If you take an aerial view of a fire, it’s always going to look very, very bad,” she said. Media coverage is not wrong, Karwa added, but “provoking” and lacks context at times. 

While reported case numbers are decreasing in the country, vaccine access and distribution pose additional hurdles. In the beginning of May, India opened up vaccine eligibility to all adults, but not all adults were able to immediately access the vaccine.

 Agarwal has already been fully vaccinated. The state he is currently in, Uttar Pradesh, was one of the earlier states to open up vaccine slots for younger individuals. But he noted that current vaccine availability is significantly lower than before. 

“It’s more like if you’re lucky, you find a slot,” Agarwal said. 

Politics may play a role in vaccine distribution within India, he speculated. The state of Uttar Pradesh, highly coveted by political parties, is due for elections in the upcoming year — potentially accounting for the greater distribution of vaccines to the area, said Agarwal. The state has also faced recent accusations of political interference in vaccine distribution. 

Singh recently received his first dose of the vaccine in India. He said that it was relatively easier for him to get vaccinated because his father is an army officer, allowing him and his family to receive priority. Still, he is worried that he will not be able to get his second dose on time.

Pettie, who has not received either dose of the vaccine due to limited appointment slots, is similarly worried about getting fully vaccinated by the time he has to return to campus. 

Karwa was able to get fully vaccinated in Rhode Island during the spring semester before she returned home, and said that most of her family in India is fully vaccinated. But she has been having a hard time finding a second dose for her mother since availability dropped due to the second wave of infections.

After getting swept by UCF, UH baseball ties a school record for most losses in a single-season with 32. | Andy Yanez/The Cougar

A regular season where nothing seemed to go right for Houston baseball came to an end Saturday as UCF swept the Cougars in a four-game series in Orlando.

While both the Cougars’ offense and pitching staff had been extremely inconsistent all year coming into the series against UCF, pitching was not the problem. In fact, the UH starters and bullpen put together one of the team’s best pitched series of the season.

Junior left hander Robert Gasser, who pitched Thursday’s series opener on a pitch limit in preparation for the American Athletic Conference Tournament, threw two innings of scoreless baseball with two strikeouts.

Sophmore righty Ben Sears followed Gasser with a strong start of his own, throwing six innings allowing only one earned run.

Junior left hander Matt Lazzaro allowed two runs in six innings pitched in Saturday’s series finale.

UH relievers combined for 14 and 2/3 innings pitched allowing five runs in the four games.

While the Cougars’ pitching was good enough to win, the UH offense was nowhere to be found. UH only scored three runs the entire series, losing 3-1, 2-1, 6-0 and 2-0.

UH finished the regular season 19-32 which ties the program’s record for most losses in a single-season. UH’s 7-21 conference losses also ties the record most conference losses the Cougars have suffered in a single season.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“UH baseball swept by UCF to finish the regular season” was originally posted on The Cougar

Demonstrators marched through Boston in opposition to violence against protesters in Colombia.

Armstrong students are able to receive the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination from Tuesday, May 25 until Tuesday, Jun. 1 at the Armstrong Center. 

The Southside COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic hosted by SouthCoast Health and other community members will be distributing the vaccinations. 

Second doses of the Moderna vaccine after Jun. 1 will be distributed by the Health Department.

“The university is developing plans to continue offering the COVID-19 vaccine on the Armstrong Campus,” Jennifer Wise, the Director of Communications and Marketing, said in an email about the vaccine clinic. The George-Anne Inkwell will provide students with up-to-date information as it becomes available. 

Walk-ins are encouraged for vaccinations as scheduled appointments are not necessary. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available to any individual aged 18 and older.

For more information about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines, visit:

• The Georgia Department of Public Health
• The Center for Disease Control “Key Things to Know about Vaccines” 
• The COVID-19 Vaccine Virtual Town Hall on the Moderna vaccine presented by Dr. Brian Deloach, with additional resources at the bottom.

Angst, intimacy and heartbreak abound on Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album ‘Sour’

Geffen Records/Courtesy

Grade: 4.5/5.0

No pop star in recent memory has had a rise to stardom quite like Olivia Rodrigo’s. The Disney-actress-turned-singer became a worldwide sensation seemingly overnight after the release of her debut single, “Drivers License,” in January. The track blew up on TikTok, and it wasn’t long before it took the rest of the internet by storm: “Drivers License” broke Spotify’s record for most streams in a single week and spent eight weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. After the success of “Drivers License,” all eyes were on Rodrigo as critics and fans waited eagerly to see whether she would live up to the high standard set by her debut. She quickly met that standard with her subsequent hits “Deja Vu” and “Good 4 U,” and with the arrival of her debut album Sour, Rodrigo has shown that she’s even more talented and multifaceted than we anticipated.

Throughout Sour, Rodrigo proves herself to be remarkably self-aware, introspective and mature; she manages to articulate complicated aspects of heartbreak and teen angst in a way that feels relevant to her teenage audience while still resonating with all listeners. The singer wades effortlessly between themes such as friendship, betrayal, jealousy and spite, and she addresses each of these topics with care and intention. Between her apt lyrics, varying musical styles and sweet voice, Rodrigo creates an album that feels both intimate and universal at the same time, all while being an enjoyable listen.

Each of the 11 tracks on Sour feels like a meaningful part of a cohesive whole. The album starts off with the angsty “Brutal,” a punk-rock-inspired track that laments the broken promises of young adulthood. Atop an electric guitar and powerful drums, Rodrigo explores the anxiety and frustration that come with being a teenager, singing, “They say these are the golden years/ But I wish I could disappear.” As she begins Sour by baring her insecurities and imperfections, Rodrigo perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album, affirming herself as the honest and relatable narrator of her own story.

The album then transitions to the ballad “Traitor,” in which Rodrigo reflects on the betrayal she felt when her ex-boyfriend quickly moved on after their breakup. The switch from the angsty “Brutal” to the poignant and cathartic “Traitor” demonstrates Rodrigo’s range, which she continues to illustrate on the next track, “Drivers License.” It’s easy to understand why the song has been such a smash hit –– it explores the struggle of moving on from a relationship when there are still unresolved feelings, and it embraces all the melancholy that comes with these feelings through intimate and honest lyrics. In both of these songs, Rodrigo utilizes the sounds of soft piano and dramatic synths to successfully immerse listeners in her emotional journey; between the emotive instrumentation and the singer’s powerful voice, the songs feel raw and heartrending.

On the slow, bittersweet tracks “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” and “Enough For You,” Rodrigo continues to embrace the complicated aspects of young love as she considers the ways that she fell victim to her ex’s unfair expectations. Though these soul-baring breakup songs are highlights of the album, they aren’t all Sour has to offer. Rodrigo draws from pop-punk legends such as Paramore on “Good 4 U,” a sharp, sardonic track in which the singer expresses her spitefulness toward her ex. She moves between these themes and musical styles smoothly and effectively, showing her range and talent with each song.

Rodrigo rounds off the album by exploring topics other than heartbreak –– namely, she denounces the unrealistic beauty standards that young women are expected to adhere to in “Jealousy, Jealousy,” and wishes her old friends well on “Hope Ur OK.” Though these tracks tell different stories, they both tackle the difficulties of growing up with a signature sense of sincerity and intimacy. 

With that, Rodrigo ends Sour just as she started it: by exploring the complexity of coming of age in an unabashedly honest and self-aware way. And with such a stunning debut under her belt, Rodrigo will undoubtedly continue to impress us with her candor and sentimentality for years to come.

Contact Salem Sulaiman at ssulaiman@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian