With spring finally here, students around the University of Minnesota are remembering what it’s like to be able to spend time outside. With the final weeks of school approaching, many students are using their outdoor time to cram for exams. Although many students tend to swarm to the Northrop Mall, here is a list of other great outdoor study spots.

West Bank Caribou:
Any Caribou is already a great study spot, but this particular location at the top level of Herbert M. Hanson Jr. Hall does not disappoint. With outdoor seating now available, students can enjoy a tasty cup of coffee while also enjoying the fresh air. What tops off this outdoor seating area is the amazing view of downtown Minneapolis.

The Knoll Park:
For Dinkytown residents, this is the outdoor study spot for you. Located right next to well-known restaurants like Gray’s and Tiger Sugar, the Knoll Park is an easy trip for any student living around the Dinkytown area. While many students are often walking through this park to get to class, it stays relatively quiet throughout the day. With lots of open greenery and trees perfect for a hammock, the Knoll Park could be a lax spot to study for any final exams.

McNamara Alumni Center:
Located about two blocks from Superblock, the McNamara Alumni Center offers great outdoor seating arrangements for students. The area has a large lawn and a notable water fountain that gives off a peaceful feeling. The various picnic tables set on the outskirts of the lawn are accompanied by umbrellas to provide shade to any studiers.

Murphy Square:
What could be considered the most overlooked outdoor study spot at the University, Murphy Square is located near West Bank a few blocks away from the Regis Center for Art. For any first-year who feels isolated in Middlebrook Hall, make your own home at this wonderful park. Because this park is so old, there are many large trees that provide shade. These trees also add a feeling of privacy and silence for anyone who enjoys being alone while studying.

Within the past decade and a half, the way people watch movies and television has drastically changed. With movie theaters slowly going out of business and many families canceling their cable plans, it’s clear streaming services have taken over as the dominant media-watching platform.

With the new wave of instant access to movies and TV shows, many different services have been created and are available to a wide range of consumers across the globe. The question is: What streaming services do college students enjoy the most?

The most notable streaming services, according to students, include Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Kanopy, Peacock and Prime Video.

When considering which streaming service is the best, it was helpful to ask various members of the film club here at the University of Minnesota to provide their opinions.

From the film club members, a common opinion is that Netflix, even with its recent increase in subscription price, will continue to be one of the more popular streaming services simply due to its easy accessibility and wide range of options. Along with this, Netflix has had relatively large success with its original content, with shows like “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game.” However, an aspect of the streaming service that could use improvement is the decisions surrounding which shows will be discontinued.

“Netflix has been on a slight decline in the kind of content they’ve been producing and the decisions they make for what content gets renewed or canceled consistently baffles me,” film club member Xavier Greene said. “Although some of their originals, like ‘Ozark,’ remain some of the best on TV right now.”

Another opinion that came from University’s film club is about the extraordinary takeoff that HBO Max had. Although it has only been available for a few years, it has already made a name for itself as a streaming service that is here to stay. With an easily accessible platform and originals like “Euphoria” and “Succession,” users mostly have good things to say.

“HBO Max by far is my favorite service,” film club member Jack Verlee said. “A wide array of content from comic book stuff to recent movies like ‘DUNE’ and just generally high-quality content.”

Another club here at the University of Minnesota that has great insight with regards to movie and TV streaming services is Hook Club. The club centers around reviewing various albums, and members tend to generally have a large interest in film as well.

With Kanopy offering great deals to college students at public universities, one member had high opinions of the streaming service.

“My favorite streaming service is Kanopy because it’s free with a library card [and has] no ads,” Jack Rahill said. “It has a lot of interesting movies you can’t find anywhere else, and it’s constantly adding new stuff.”

The painfully cold Minnesota days have finally passed. No more seasonal depression, no more squeezing onto the GopherTrip to avoid a walk in negative 10 degree weather and no more oversized winter coats. With the warmer spring weather, students at the University of Minnesota have begun to bring out their spring fashion, with creativity and fun.

Comfortable with taste
While going for a spring walk near Peik Hall, second-year students Lily Mjaanes and Annie Wilson both wore plaid jackets accompanied by sweats and tennis shoes.

Although both outfits are similar, Wilson’s bright pink jacket and Mjaanes’ neutral jacket give insight into the different style preferences of the two students.

With her biggest style inspiration being Selena Gomez’s simplistic approach, Mjaanes enjoys wearing neutral colors and keeping her outfits relatively plain.

“I am a simple girl,” Mjaanes said. “So neutral colors and designs are my favorite. I think that less is more.”

Wilson, on the other hand, enjoys wearing brighter colors along with an oversized look.

“I am always wearing lots of bright colors like the bright pink jacket I am wearing right now,” Wilson said.

Colorful breeze
While walking in Dinkytown, fourth-year students Nora Coughlan and Erik Rossing were both rocking their own unique styles.

Coughlan, who is studying psychology, wore a green overcoat accompanied with purple pants and a beanie. With most of her shopping taking place at various thrift stores, Coughlan enjoys viewing fashion more as a way to express how she is feeling on a day-to-day basis.

“I honestly do not have a favorite fashion icon or go-to look. I just wear whatever I am feeling each day,” Coughlan said.

Rossing wore a fleece Patagonia sweatshirt, accompanied by a Sioux Falls baseball cap and joggers. The most notable aspect of Rossing’s outfit was his sandals.

“With the warmer weather, I was excited to wear sandals so I broke them out with some socks,” Rossing said.

With most of his shopping taking place at Savers, Rossing enjoys putting together a more granola-themed look.

“I am a sucker for an outdoors store. So anything that resembles a Midwest look is what I enjoy,” Rossing said.

Relaxed beauty
While walking through the mall, third-year student Isabelle Keller wore a white sweater underneath a red puffer, both of which she thrifted. With this, Keller wore blue jeans while holding a tote bag.

Keller is largely inspired by “Euphoria” stars Zendaya and Hunter Schafer and their edgy looks. While most of her shopping takes place at thrift stores, Keller also enjoys Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters.

“I don’t really like to use words to describe my style,” Keller said. “I just don’t really have a general idea of what my overall style is. It’s more of a day-to-day thing.”

Cuteness overload
Last and certainly not least, a bunny named Ginger was serving a pink, strawberry-patterned jacket while hopping around on a walk in Knoll Park.

A line trailed three blocks long outside of The Fillmore in downtown Minneapolis on Friday night.

That line was full of indie, Generation Z fans waiting anxiously to watch Clairo, the highly acclaimed, singer-songwriter artist perform her music that covers an array of emotional topics involving relationships, self-love, and more.

With Clairo’s “Sling” tour beginning back in February, Minneapolis fans have had more than enough time to build up excitement for the show.

The opening act was performed by angelic Arlo Parks, a London-based singer-songwriter. Parks’ music usually falls under the R&B/Soul umbrella, and she is mostly known for songs like “Black Dog” and “Eugene.”

Parks performed for about 45 minutes, with songs like “Green Eyes,” “george” and “Cola.” Her performances sounded almost identical to her recorded songs, displaying how much she has perfected her soft and whisper-filled voice. While slowly dancing to her music, Parks integrated the positive energy into the crowd that would continue for the rest of the night.

The concert began with “Bambi,” a somber, moody wandering melody that welcomed the musicians on stage. As soon as the band came walking out with Clairo trailing behind, the audience became ecstatic. With jeans, a simple blouse and a leather jacket, Clairo’s appearance embodied one of the biggest messages that came from her new album; her music and persona should be centered around her art and lyrics.

On her new album, Clairo put an emphasis on her lyrics and sound, rather than forcing a popular single into the album. This change in pace centers focus on the art, something that Clairo felt she had to do as an artist, although at times she still feels like it will be taken for granted: “I have moments where I wonder if it even matters what I write. I put in so much effort, but is it going to get to a point where I’m just overly sexualized again? You’re so desperate for someone to hear you out that you just let them do it,” Clairo told Rolling Stone.

Clairo went through most of her discography, with songs like “Flaming Hot Cheetos” from her original EP “diary 001,” and later on covered newer songs like “Amoeba” from her most recent album “Sling.”

During the performance, Clairo made sure to give credit where it was due. Between each song, Clairo talked to her fans and thanked them for the love they showed her. As her fans showered her with love through screams and paper signs, Clairo began to cry.

Many of Clairo’s songs like “Softly” and “Heaven” contain complex harmonies, so she was accompanied by multiple background singers whose voices complimented the peaceful melodies and sounds of the songs. Along with this, many of the songs on “Sling” use very particular instruments. On “Wade,” Clairo’s band members would switch between playing the clarinet, flute and piano, showcasing their versatility and talent.

The stage layout remained fairly simplistic throughout the show. The most notable aspect of the display was the rectangular screen that presented visuals of various handmade paintings that embodied the emotions of each song. For instance, during Clairo’s song “Sofia,” the screen displayed darker and crazier paintings that expressed the frustration of being shamed for exploring sexuality.

On top of her simplistic outfit, Clairo was carrying a bass guitar with her. For her songs like “Softly” and “Blouse,” Clairo would break out into guitar solos, driving her fans into a craze.

“I just had one of those moments where you realize there are hundreds of real people staring at you. Whew!” Clairo said, before moving on to her more mainstream songs like bubblegum “Pretty Girl” and alt-rock “Sofia.” As Clairo clearly began to feel nervous, the audience burst out into loud words of encouragement, showing outward appreciation for Clairo’s ability to keep it real with her fans.

Because of the popularity of the remaining songs, the rest of the concert consisted of what felt like the entire theater singing in unison to Clairo’s songs. After what almost turned into a mosh pit during the chorus of “Sofia,” alt-rock, bedroom pop bliss.

Boba tea has overtaken the streets of the University of Minnesota.

Although the University has a wide variety of beverages to offer, the abundance of boba options is unmatched.

Because of this, I found it necessary to stop by three boba tea spots on campus to review them and find out which one is superior — so that you don’t have to, of course.

The contenders include three different boba tea locations: Chatime, Tiger Sugar and Kung Fu Tea. The reviews are based on the following criteria judged on a 1-10 scale: the boba pearls in each drink, the tea, the interior design and the customer service that I experienced at each spot.

Boba pearl rating:

Boba pearls are made from cassava roots. These pearls should typically be cooked for about 30 minutes to give them a tender and chewy texture, according to recipe developer Hungry Huy. When a boba pearl is not thoroughly cooked it is evident, because the middle of the pearl is noticeably harder than the outside of the pearl.

Chatime: 5/10; tender on the outside, but a noticeable crunch on the inside.
Tiger Sugar: 8/10; the pearls were tender throughout, however the size was inconsistent.
Kung Fu Tea: 9/10; the pearls were tender throughout and had a consistent size.

Tea sweetness rating:

Boba tea locations often offer a range of sugar for their customers. For each drink, I used what was labeled as the “normal” amount of sugar, a judgment that is decided by each location. At each location, I ordered a different tea, based on what the workers recommended. At Chatime I received the Thai milk tea, at Tiger Sugar, their signature brown sugar bubble tea with cream mousse and at Kung Fu Tea, the honey milk tea.

Chatime: 9/10; although their tea was sweetened perfectly, it tasted slightly watered down.
Tiger Sugar: 10/10: their signature drink had the ideal blend of milk and sugar, making it extremely difficult to put down.
Kung Fu Tea: 5/10: the recommended amount of sugar was overdone and the milk was watered down.

Customer service rating:

The interactions customers have with employees are extremely important to the success of a restaurant. Walking into each restaurant, I acted like I was completely new to the concept of boba tea. Workers at each restaurant had to guide me through the menu, toppings and various sugar levels. Here are my experiences after asking each worker the same following question: “As someone who is new to boba tea, what would you recommend?”

Chatime: 10/10; as soon as the employee noticed that I was new to boba tea, she enthusiastically guided me through the menu, asking what kind of tea I was looking for and explaining the various toppings.
Tiger Sugar: 8/10; the worker was great at explaining the various concepts to me and gave me great suggestions, although she did appear slightly impatient.
Kung Fu Tea: 4/10; although I was eventually given a suggestion, the worker gave little explanation for various concepts and appeared agitated when I asked questions.

Final Scores:
Chatime: 24/30
Tiger Sugar: 26/30
Kung Fu Tea: 18/30

The highly anticipated season finale of “The Book of Boba Fett” was recently released on Disney+, and director Robert Rodriguez did an amazing job giving the spin-off series a place that fit perfectly in the Star Wars universe.

Boba Fett is one of the oldest characters in the Star Wars universe, dating all the way back to the original movie, “Star Wars: A New Hope,” in 1977. In the three original Star Wars films, Fett played the role of a villainous bounty hunter, who lived solely to take down targets in exchange for a cash reward. The next time Fett made an appearance in the Star Wars universe was in the 2002 film “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.” In this film, fans saw a glimpse of Fett’s backstory and how he followed the footsteps of his father, Jango Fett, as a bounty hunter.

Because of Fett’s longevity in the Star Wars universe, fans were more than thrilled when it was announced December 2020 that a seven-part spin-off series of Fett, played by Temuera Morrison, would be released.

Without missing a beat, the series began right where fans last saw Fett in the films: on the planet of Tatooine at the location of where Fett was previously thought to have perished from the massive sand creature that had consumed him. In the first episode, fans see how Fett’s armor was able to protect him from the acidic liquids that the massive sand creature uses to consume its meals.

At the beginning of the series, an inconsistent time frame is used. At the start of each episode, the audience sees Fett’s journey from the sand creature to meet a desert gang that teaches him the importance of community. The episodes then skip to the current day where Fett has met his new business partner Fennec Shand, played by Ming-Na Wen. The audience sees the pair go on a journey to claim and defend the Tatooine city of Mos Espa.

The chemistry between actors Morrison and Wen was evident. Although both actors are relatively new to mainstream Hollywood, they gave memorable performances. With an upbeat attitude and corny punchlines, the dialogue between the two felt right at home for fans. Along with this, they both showed off impressive skills in the highly choreographed action scenes. Morrison was able to effectively duplicate Fett’s iconic jetpack scenes and fighting moves from the original film.

Costume designer Shawna Trpcic, who also worked on the set of “The Mandalorian,” was able to effectively portray the various characters through detailed makeup. Krrsantan, a new Wookie character played by Carey Jones, had very similar features and mannerisms to the old beloved Wookie character Chewbacca. Many of the side characters also had alien features nearly identical to those in the Star Wars movies.

The two soundtracks of the series were composed by Ludwig Göransson and Joseph Shirley and contain upbeat songs that were reminiscent of the Star Wars movies. With about two hours of new music, fans received many new tunes to listen to.

Later on in the series during episode five, the audience witnesses an amazing surprise crossover with the other spin-off Star Wars series on Disney+, “The Mandalorian.” The Mandalorian, played by Pedro Pascal, is recruited by Shand to help defend Mos Espa against various foes.

With the surprise crossover and well-thought-out tactics that made the series feel right at home in the Star Wars universe, “The Book of Boba Fett” gave fans a memorable backstory to the beloved character of Boba Fett.

If there’s one thing Washington Avenue was missing, it’s made-to-order, steaming hot donuts. The newly opened The Test Kitchen, a sandwich and hot donut joint serving lunch and dinner staples, has solved this problem.

Experimental in nature, the restaurant’s concept encourages customers to choose what goes on the menu.

With the holiday break and the recent surge of COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant, business was slow when the lunch and dinner spot opened its doors late last year. Nevertheless, co-owners Chris Rahder and Kerry Kramp are thrilled to have a location on a college campus and they have already seen an increase in sales after students returned from campus.

“Typically, when people look at restaurants, they think it has to be limited to one thing. But here, it is the reverse,” Rahder said. “We kind of let the students and the people of the area dictate what we make.”

The concept of The Test Kitchen mainly revolves around not limiting the shop to one idea of a restaurant. The menu is small and includes a range of handheld lunch and dinner items — from the creative: a grilled cheese sandwich with a burger in between, to the classics: glazed, sugar or plain donuts. The restaurant also takes requests from its customers. Two of their menu items, the Pat and the Kenny Melt, were named after customers with specific requests.

The owners were originally nervous to enforce the new proof of vaccination rules, according to Rahder. However, it has not been an issue of concern for them.

“The great part about being located where we are is that about 90% of the customers who walk in show their phones to prove that they are vaccinated,” said Rahder. “So, it actually has been a lot easier than I anticipated.”

With Roti, Burger King, Chipotle and Raising Canes lining Washington Avenue Southeast, restaurant chains have increasingly overtaken Stadium Village. The pandemic caused many locally owned restaurants along Washington Avenue — Punch Pizza and Simpls, to name a few — to shut down or temporarily close. A locally owned lunch and dinner spot is a welcome addition to the bustling University street.

The owners plan on keeping their customers by staying transparent with them, Rahder said. They have opened up the kitchen area so that customers can watch the cooking process and all that goes into it. On top of this, maintaining a positive environment between coworkers and customers is emphasized, according to Rahder.

“I love interacting with my coworkers,” cook Karim El Agha said. “There is a strong small business vibe going on and the way we talk to each other and engage outside work reflects that. Everyone here has a distinct personality.”

Second-year student Margaret Engel agrees. “There is a really upbeat vibe as soon as you come into the store,” said Engel, who enjoyed one of The Test Kitchen’s donuts at the shop.

The majority of ingredients that The Test Kitchen uses come from local shops and farms. You’ll find bread from Uptown Ovens on your sandwiches and cheese from Wisconsin layered atop your burgers.

Although The Test Kitchen is still relatively new, Rahder hopes to expand his business in the future. His next ventures will be guided by the same concept that he currently has for his restaurant.

“Our current goal goes back to the original idea of being a kitchen of concepts,” Rahder said. “If customers are demanding enough donuts, we will open a donut shop. If we try out ice cream and it works, we will open an ice cream shop.”