When they pass out our graduation tassels at freshman year orientation, they also say, “We will see you back here in four years.” 

That is not the case for a lot of students.

According to NBC, most college students do not graduate in four years. Instead, six years is a more accurate measurement of the typical college experience. Students also feel more pressure to secure internships earlier and stand out on resumes, according to The Hechinger Report. 

The pressure to graduate in four years should not hold college students back. Success is not linear. 

Plenty of my peers have had handfuls of internships and job titles, while I have only had a few. I felt like I should be running to catch up, but I have more time than I think. 

Anja Finstad, a third-year architecture student at the University of Minnesota, transferred from Colorado State University her freshman year. She is now considering doing an extra year of school because she needs to catch up on prerequisite courses. 

“Within my major, I feel more behind,” Finstad said. “I feel like I’ve already done a lot of school, and I see how I still have three years left when most of my peers my age only have a year or two left.” 

Finstad said she is eager to start working in architecture and feels like she is treading water in her part-time jobs. She said she is fulfilling her financial needs elsewhere until she can obtain an architecture internship.

“I’m just so excited to get into that world,” Finstad said. “It feels like I’m constantly problem-solving. I still need to make money, but I have to put up with an atmosphere I don’t really like until I can do an internship.” 

Finstad said she sees the stigma against not graduating in four years, but that is not what puts pressure on her. 

“I feel like I get more time to practice and learn,” Finstad said. “I just think the financial aspect is really hard.”

Niladri Aich, a fifth-year finance and health service management student, started as a human physiology major to go into pre-medical. A year after that, he switched to finance. Eventually, Aich added his health service management major, which required another year of his college journey. 

“I realized it would be good for me because I would be able to focus on the industry and be able to get more knowledge in that,” Aich said. 

At Aich’s current internship at KPMG in New York, a lot of his peers are receiving full-time offers and buying apartments in the city. 

“This could have been me, so it definitely makes me feel a little left out,” Aich said. “But at the same time, it is a blessing in disguise because I did not know what I was doing sophomore year.” 

Many students in the University’s Carlson School of Management get internships after their second year, according to Aich. Aich got his first internship the summer after his third year of schooling and said students who get their internships before their third year usually accept a full-time offer from their first internship.

“The people I’ve talked to that got their internships before junior year feel stuck,” Aich said. “The easiest option would be to accept the full-time offer and not really explore anything else. I got an extra summer to explore different avenues of finance.” 

Aich said he feels like he got more time to understand the ideal work environment he wanted. 

According to Aich, Carlson added pressure to prepare for internships and interviews, but in a way that benefited him. Aich’s only concern is not graduating with his friends. 

“I felt left out when all my friends graduated this past year,” Aich said. “I didn’t get my graduation in high school, so I was really looking forward to walking the stage and sitting with my friends at graduation.” 

Luckily enough, most of Aich’s friends are working in Minneapolis, so he still gets to see them. 

While taking longer than four years to graduate is not the cheaper option, it can be the smarter alternative when seeking the right career path and mastering it. 

There is no rush to prepare for a 9-to-5 job. Internships and learning experiences are still feasible and common after college. 

Sometimes people need to take more time to get to know themselves and what they want for their futures. We do not all fit in the same mold.

I have seen many women lose themselves in a relationship, and frankly, it makes me sad.

There is nothing wrong with being in a relationship, but it is disheartening when women stop hanging out with their friends, take focus away from their career or lose some of their hobbies as a result of a relationship. 

Obviously, a balance is needed when fitting a romantic relationship into your life. Some people do not know how to do that or do not want to. 

In high school, I lost a few friends because they stopped putting energy into our friendship once they got a boyfriend. It was not that they hung out with me less, they completely checked out of the friendship. 

It was exhausting to be in a one-sided friendship, so I left too.

One-sided romantic relationships are common, and once people see the signs, they tend to leave. One-sided friendships should be approached the same way. 

Now that I am in college, it is happening again. One of my close friends has trouble existing without her boyfriend. She brings him to designated girl’s nights without asking and is emotionally withdrawn from her friends when around him. It worries me. 

All of the women in my life have lost a friend to similar circumstances or know someone who has. The relationships with your female friends are crucial, so it does not sit right with me when I see women around me let go of their friends in favor of a romantic relationship. 

Emma Perpich, a fourth-year student at the University of Minnesota, said there is a difference between simply spending less time with a friend because of a romantic partner and taking a friend for granted. 

“Some people expect you to build their schedule around them,” Perpich said. “If they’re free because they aren’t hanging out with their boyfriend, they expect the friend group to be free.”

Perpich had a similar experience in high school where she lost friends to romantic relationships. She said she learned from their mistakes and strives to balance her romantic and platonic relationships and is grateful for that. 

“I think that was a hard balance because they didn’t have anyone to look at to see how to make a balance between two separate kinds of relationships,” Perpich said. “It showed me how important friends are when you get into a relationship and how you still have to nurture those friendships.” 

Cecilia Wallace, a fourth-year student at the University of St. Thomas, said seeing women around her prioritize romantic relationships over friends has negatively affected her. Wallace said she does not want to be someone who takes her friends for granted. 

“I sometimes neglect romantic relationships I may want to resume further because I don’t want to miss out on time with my female friends,” Wallace said. 

Wallace said she is frustrated with the number of times she has seen her female friends completely check out of friendships in her life.

“If you’re solely hanging out with your significant other, then you’re stunting your growth as a person,” Wallace said. “You need to see new people, talk to new people and do new things.” 

Elaina Mankowski, a fourth-year student at the University of St. Thomas, said she got into a relationship back in high school in which her boyfriend led her to push her friends away. Mankowski said she also drifted from hobbies she loved, including painting, writing and drawing.

Mankowski said her relationship regretfully lasted two-and-a-half years and was not the same after it ended. Her lasting relationships with friends and family helped her rebuild her life. 

“Once out of it, I knew I never wanted that to happen again, and that compromising my sense of self was not worth it,” Mankowski said. 

Mankowski said she is more self-aware and leans on her friends and family to avoid romantic relationships becoming the center of her life. 

I have seen many women lose sight of the importance of friendship and their sense of self. Seeing that and losing multiple friends has instilled a fear of making the same mistakes. It drives me away from wanting a romantic relationship at all. 

Lindsay Pidde, a fourth-year student at the University of St. Thomas, has a roommate who would only hang out with her boyfriend, and bring him to every social function. From an outside perspective, Pidde said seeing this persuades her to avoid romantic interactions. 

“It reminds me that it can be so easy to lose yourself and your independence,” Pidde said. “I can’t imagine that happening to me.” 

All of the women I spoke to said they would rather be on the receiving end of a one-sided friendship than be the ones taking their friendships for granted. I am in the same boat. 

It is okay to be in a romantic relationship and to want one. However, it is hard to watch some women dispose of their friendships so easily when we should all be supporting one another, especially in a patriarchal society.

If you have ever sat at the family dinner table and just wanted to scream at your relative for saying something racist or homophobic, maybe rethink your approach.

People do not tend to change their opinions when they are met with hostility, according to Psychreg. It is a delicate process. So, the next time someone around you shares a bad take or says something offensive, respond calmly. 

Some big issues people are debating on TikTok for the upcoming election are the United States’ investment in Israel and Project 2025 — a list of policies by the Trump administration to make a more conservative America if former President Donald Trump is reelected. 

Social media is a battleground for opposing sides. I cannot count the number of times I argued with someone on Instagram for posting “All lives matter” on their stories in 2020. Four years ago, I was not as informed. I did not understand that ridiculing someone for something they said would not make them change their mind. 

I have tried to change my brother’s opinions on transgender rights and diverse casting in his favorite TV franchises, but I have only countered his opinions with anger. 

When I was in high school, I posted content online where I was met with anger. In 2020, I reposted violent images of police brutality on Instagram because I thought it would raise awareness. People responded and said it was not a productive way of raising awareness and did more harm than good. I was embarrassed. Taking accountability and admitting you made a mistake can be hard, especially if you fear judgment, but it is a respectable thing to do. 

Christopher Federico, a political science and psychology professor at the University of Minnesota, said when people are reconsidering an opinion, others can be less than forgiving. 

“‘Why didn’t you figure that out a year ago?’” Federico said. “‘Why didn’t you believe that already?’ If you do that, you are likely putting people in a position where there is an identity threat, a threat to their sense of self.” 

According to Federico, this leads to people feeling like they are not respected and becoming more defensive of their opinions. Changing someone’s opinion is a slow process. 

When someone’s opinion is flagrantly immoral and offensive, directly attacking them will not be effective, Federico added. But, he would not advise being open to any argument someone poses. 

“The question is, when do you have to morally condemn an opinion because it’s so dangerous or unpleasant, versus when you can take a patient path?” Federico said. “It is a judgment call.” 

Abby Wichlacz, a fourth-year student and the president of the Undergraduate Political Science Association, believes casual debates should be approached calmly and factually. 

“‘I believe that it is the right thing because of XYZ,’ and give them the facts,” Wichlacz said. “Give them the background rather than being like ‘You’re terrible.’” 

Wichlacz said holding people accountable for their beliefs is not always the most important. Some people do not want to change their opinions, and they believe what they believe because they were raised that way. 

“But, if they act on their beliefs, if they say something offensive or if they do something offensive, then we can say ‘That is not cool,’” Wichlacz said. 

It is key to ensure they know what they are being held accountable for, Wichlacz said. 

The most important thing to understand is that we all come from different places and have our own stories, Wichlacz said. I agree. Opinions do not disappear and beliefs do not go away. 

Wichlacz said you cannot always hold someone accountable and you cannot always get someone to understand your opinions. However, Wichlacz believes existing as a person with contradicting opinions is a good way to make other people aware of another side of an argument. 

“I think even just existing if you can’t have that conversation with somebody, is a really good way to start fostering doubt in somebody,” Wichlacz said. 

When it comes to the political attitudes we hold, we are more flexible than we think, according to an experiment conducted by Scientific American. There is hope when it comes to reasoning with someone who does not share the same beliefs as you, but it could also be out of our hands. 

It is important to be consistent in trying to inform people about what you think is right and where your opinion stems from, but it is not always important to be consistent in our beliefs. Outside of the blatantly offensive perspectives, we should seek to understand why people have certain opinions. It is crucial to constantly inform ourselves and the people around us if possible.

When I was 10 years old, I remember multiple fifth-grade students showing off their brand-new iPhone 5s. And then I wanted one. 

Today, many children are rushing to Sephora to buy retinol they do not need. They get exposed to violent or sexual content at a young age, according to the BBC, and children are far too aware of their diet. It makes me wonder if children are growing too fast. 

The following year I got an iPod, and I downloaded Instagram and Snapchat. Looking back, 11 was too young to be active on social media. I became aware of my social standing and developed insecurities. But everyone else my age was also using social media. 

I was chronically online and it felt easier to text and post on Instagram than to speak to people face-to-face. 

By age 10, 42% of children have cell phones, according to the Child Mind Institute. Cell phones make social media more accessible to children and are a nice way for parents to know what their children are doing when they leave the house, but it is handing social media addiction right to them. 

Growing up, my household had one desktop computer, and my sister was always hogging it to update her Facebook status. So this is not to say that children won’t find their way around not having a phone. I also know parents worry about their children feeling isolated if others have phones and they do not. 

Once a child gets online, the algorithms are designed to keep them online, according to Henriette Warren, an instructor at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development. Social media is not looking out for children, it is trying to make money. 

“Unfortunately, that means there’s a lot of disturbing content young children might get access to,” Warren said. “For example, there’s a lot of advice seemingly from experts, such as dietitians, that have no actual training tell you that you should have these really unhealthy eating habits in order to look a certain way.”

Children are more susceptible to social media pressures, according to Warren. They feel the need to post things that are extravagant and cool to strengthen their public appearance. There is also a pervasive pressure children feel to get online. 

“It does kind of lead to that whole feeling that children are having to grow up quickly because of the taking over of a socializing agent that’s not looking out for them,” Warren said. 

Social media replaces in-person interaction with parents, teachers, trusted adults and peers, which are the preferred “socializing agents” for child development, according to Warren. 

Ellie Schwartzman, a fourth-year developmental psychology major, said time on social media takes away from time being active or creative on top of in-person interactions. 

Additionally, there are plenty of negative impacts for children being active on social media at a young age. There is a decreased amount of time children and adolescents spend hanging out with friends, dating and sleeping at night. 

“There’s increased depression, increased anxiety, increased loneliness, all the things you think of when you imagine how bad it can be are true,” Schwartzman said. 

Generation Z has been affected by social media use, but not to the same extent as young children today. The average 8 to 12-year-old in the U.S. spends four to six hours a day watching or using screens, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

“They (Gen Z) weren’t constantly being thrown an iPad to self-soothe like these kids are,” Schwartzman said. 

Alejandra Rivera, a 2024 developmental psychology graduate, said one of the more concerning effects of increased screen time is poor academic performance. Rivera, who volunteers at her sister’s elementary school, noticed most students have phones. 

“They have really short attention spans, and they’re behind in math and reading,” Rivera added. 

According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, screen time can be used for learning, but there is a significant correlation between high social media use and lower scores on standardized tests. Verbal interactions with adults help with language development, and screen time diminishes the quality and quantity of these interactions too. 

There is no definitive answer to whether or not children grow up at an earlier age because of social media, but Rivera believes children feel pressure to appear older and more mature, and I agree. 

“A bunch of little girls feel the need to get into skincare at a young age, or dress a certain way,” Rivera said. “They want to look and feel more mature than their appropriate age.” 

Warren said teaching media literacy in schools would be helpful. It would teach children to weed through false information and foster conversations about the content they consume. 

Many children are so consumed by social media, they forget to be children. There is no Michelle Obama ad telling us to play outside for 60 minutes a day anymore. Social media is influencing children on what is important, like what to eat or wear, when that should not be important to any self-identifying adult. 

After I got my first phone at 14, I was not as present. Now that is happening to young children, when they need to be present to focus and learn.

I used to think people in society had forgotten the art of creation, but now I realize no one can afford to appreciate things made with care and thoughtfulness.

People buy clothes on a need-it-now basis. Food is quickly produced and distributed to compensate for the hastily emptied shelves in grocery stores. Houses are built efficiently, quickly filling up grass lots in the suburbs. 

In a world where we work to live and salaries barely cover recreation, how something is created does not cross our minds. We want what is cheap, easy and gets us through the day. 

Personally, the grocery store stresses me out. There are so many options and price points, I just grab whatever is cheapest. I do not look for phrases like “locally grown,” “grass-fed” or “farm-to-plate.” 

Ethan Denny-Broker, the chef de cuisine at Owamni Restaurant, promoted a menu that only uses locally grown and sourced foods that ancestral Native Americans used. They utilize the slow food process and do not use any dairy, citrus, pepper, chicken, beef or pork. 

Slow food is produced and prepared with local ingredients and culinary traditions. It is not only healthier, but it protects local culture and is more sustainable, according to Broker. 

However, purchasing local produce is not cost-effective, especially when college students have a budget. There are not enough people who have money to acknowledge the importance of fresh, local foods. 

“They’re looking for what’s quickest and readily available at stores,” Broker said. “There’s a mixture of people from the new generation that care, but I just don’t think enough people do.” 

Furthermore, when purchasing clothes, college students tend to buy what is cheapest and has the fastest shipping. According to Forbes, 72% of college students shopped fast fashion in 2022. 

I am guilty of this. On multiple occasions, I bought last-minute Halloween costumes on Amazon. Aside from that, I try to thrift all of my clothes. It is a cheaper and simpler alternative to fast fashion. 

Molly Alexander, the director of brand operations at No Standing NYC, a fashion brand based in New York City, recommends buying one nice piece of clothing every once in a while. She is very intentional with her purchases and waits for items she absolutely loves, but not everyone can afford to do that.  

“Caring is more expensive, and fast fashion just appeals to people who root their identity in being told what to wear or how to be styled,” Alexander said. 

Fast fashion utilizes cheap, synthetic materials, according to the Public Interest Research Group. It does not last and you have to make continuous purchases. People do not take the time to purchase clothing with longevity. 

“People just can’t afford the quality of a sustainable product,” Alexander added. “If it’s anything synthetic, it’s not remotely good for the Earth, and nine times out of 10, it’s not good for you.” 

College students should shop sustainably and slowly, but that is not always realistic, according to Alexander.

Despite that, it is definitely worth the try. 

“Any solution is better than supporting fast fashion,” Alexander said. 

The architecture of buildings has undergone many changes. Since the Industrial Revolution, buildings were built for utility and to handle the influx of people, compared to architectural styles like Renaissance, Baroque or Rococo. This emphasis on speed and budget has strongly influenced modern architecture. 

Some people, like myself, perceive modern buildings as dull and too sleek. However, architecture today is shifting focus toward sustainability and embracing a relationship with nature, according to Aidyn Strang, a third-year architecture student at the University of Minnesota. 

While Strang thinks new suburban neighborhoods are boring and absorb land, she mainly views modern architecture as something positive. 

“We’re focusing on making green roofs, having more biophilic design aspects and building something that isn’t going to affect the site that it’s on,” Strang said. 

According to The New York Times, many architects worldwide are implementing more renewable organic materials, such as wood, hemp and bamboo. Greenery on the outside of buildings is also used to absorb carbon dioxide and regulate humidity. 

Strang said people take modern architecture, spaces she believes are built to inspire people and formulate communities, for granted. The same amount of thought goes into making a building today and a 17th-century Baroque, according to Strang. 

“I walk into buildings that are new, and I would say I’m equally amazed as when I walk into an old Cathedral in Europe,” Strang added. 

There are plenty of buildings designed with community and sustainability in mind, Strang said. Many people forget to appreciate the thoughtfulness behind anything that is created for society. 

Speed and efficiency affect us down to our bones, and cost-effectiveness can prevent us from making the right choices, whether it is the right foods or fabrics for our skin. We all move so quickly through our lives and we view food, clothing and architecture apathetically. 

In a marketplace, we are presented with good and bad options. We should have the conscience to discern what is made with care and what is not and learn to appreciate the ones made with care.

On my flight home from Florence, Italy, where I spent four months studying abroad, I woke up from my nap with a sudden thought: I have to continue searching for hiding spots in classrooms.

According to Gallup, one in three in-person students worry about gun violence on campus.

Generation Z is considered the ‘lockdown generation’ because they grew up practicing active shooter drills, according to The Washington Post. Now it has become ingrained in my mind, alongside many others, to look for places in a classroom where I’d be out of sight from the windows.

This was quite a shift when I studied in Italy as there was no mention or worry of gun
violence at all.

I returned from my study abroad trip at the end of April, and readjusting to an environment where gun violence is more prominent was uncomfortable.

One of the first things I did when I returned to the United States was go to the movie theater. About halfway through the movie, I located the exit. I missed the better part of the plot in favor of wondering what I would do if someone came in with a gun and how fast I could get out of the theater.

In 2023, there were 655 mass shootings in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive. In Europe, there were only 18 mass shootings since 1987 and three in the past 10 years, according to Reuters.

The biggest concern I had in Europe was pickpocketing, which is a predominantly survivable crime. Besides that, I felt I could walk around safely, day or night. I could walk into school, the store or a museum trusting I would be safe from gun violence.

Paige Miller, a fourth-year student at the University of Minnesota, studied abroad in London during the 2023 fall semester. Miller said she didn’t think about gun violence as much in the U.K. as she does while in the U.S.

“It was definitely way less of a concern when I was abroad,” Miller said. “When it even came down to public transportation, I always felt much safer.”

After I landed in Florence, I received a SAFE-U alert from the UMN Department of Public Safety on Jan. 11 about a man threatening to shoot people on campus and felt relieved to be in a country where gun violence isn’t as common.

Miller said she remembers the campus lockdown on Jan. 11 after her return to campus in spring 2024 and reminded herself she needs to be more alert to gun violence.

“It was a snap back to reality that that was a concern again,” Miller said.

Grace Dinzeo, a fourth-year student at the University, studied abroad in Florence in the 2024 spring semester. Grace has family in Italy, and her cousins asked her if gun violence is as bad as it’s perceived to be in the U.S.

“I told them about how we grew up doing drills in schools,” Dinzeo said. “It was just mind-blowing to them.”

Dinzeo left Italy thinking more about gun violence than she ever had because many Italians pointed out the frequency of the issue in the U.S. After an Italian national found out she was American, he kept gesturing at her with finger guns.

“The first thing he asked me was, ‘Do you own a gun?’,” Dinzeo said.

Joey Klein, a 2024 graduate from the University, studied a semester abroad in New Zealand in the spring of 2023. Klein said gun violence is something always in the back of his mind. When asked if he felt safer in New Zealand, he said, “For sure.”

“Their crime rate is just very, very low,” Klein said. “Most people in town left their doors unlocked.”

According to Klein, it was different to return to the U.S. He could walk around at night in New Zealand and not think much of it, whereas walking around Minneapolis at night is a different story. Klein added there is more crime and sometimes it can be worrying to walk at night.

When Klein got back from New Zealand, he thought of gun violence like any American would.

“It didn’t affect my day-to-day life, but it is something still in the back of my mind,” Klein said.

Until the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019, New Zealand hadn’t had a mass shooting in over two decades. New Zealand responded quickly, tightening up its gun laws and banning military-style assault weapons.

While I don’t have class again until the fall, I still feel uneasy in crowded spaces. I avoid going to the mall, I buy movie tickets seated close to the exit, and I am hypervigilant at concerts and The Minnesota State Fair.

Mass shootings are down 29% from last year in the U.S., according to Forbes. There were 134 mass shootings in the first four months of 2024 compared to 190 during the same period in 2023. While this is an improvement, it is not enough.

Gun policies on campus are important to most current and future students, according to Gallup. Stricter gun laws should be at the forefront of our country’s priorities. The motivation to travel abroad is clear when comparing the U.S. to study-abroad locations, such as Europe or New Zealand.

We must create an environment where students feel safe to return, not fearful.