In high school, teachers took great pleasure in trying to teach me what college was going to be like. This involved a variety of false statements like “You can’t miss lectures in college” that were accompanied by flimsy advice on time management. However, all of these helpful bits of advice failed to address one constant irritating detail of college: You aren’t just paying for textbooks that are basically obsolete in a year; you’re also paying an extra $50 to $100 for the privilege of doing your homework. I’m talking, of course, about digital access codes.

        Like most first-year college students, I got blindsided by the bookstore and ended up buying and renting some pretty costly textbooks. Also, like most college students, I didn’t get suckered twice. Instead, I browsed the internet and bought my textbooks for the cheapest amount of money possible. I didn’t care if they were used or written in—if it was legible and cheaper than what the bookstore was offering, it was mine. Even better, when I got the chance, I’d share a textbook with a friend and split the cost in half. Doing this generally saved me at least two hundred dollars a semester, and as a college student, that’s a lot of money.

        Digital access codes shot that method of saving money down like a plane in a generic war movie. All of a sudden, I didn’t only have to buy a textbook—I had to also purchase an access code in order to access parts of the textbook, take quizzes and do my mandatory graded homework. With each access code costing at least $70, and multiple classes requiring access codes, the money I was shelling out to get my course supplies increased dramatically. This was made exponentially worse by the fact that digital access codes are a one-time use object—they last for one class and one semester before expiring. Because of this, digital access codes tank the resale value for textbooks. In the good old days, before these awful 16-digit codes, it was possible to resell the book to another student. You would make some of the money back on your purchase, and the student you sold it to would get it for a cheaper price. It cuts the bookstore and the publishers out of the equation and is much more affordable for students. Now, since each used book that contained access codes can’t be guaranteed to have a valid code, shopping for used textbooks gets tricky. If an access code is necessary for a class, three options are available: Buy a used book online and blindly hope for the best, buy a used textbook and an access code separately, or buy a new book from the bookstore and feel part of your soul and wallet slip away from you.

        I can see why digital access codes are appealing to teachers. Online homework and quizzes basically grade themselves, and presumably, you would never have to worry about a student claiming they turned their homework in but the professor lost it. With online homework through digital access codes, grading becomes easier and students can get immediate feedback. I can also see why digital access codes are appealing to publishers, as they lock students into buying directly from the company. With digital access codes, there’s no way to share with a friend or check out the textbook from a library. The student has to purchase the access code, and in a world where students have become pretty good at avoiding buying books directly from the publisher, it’s a form of guaranteed income. Neither of these excuses, however, make digital access codes an acceptable thing to force me to buy.

        As a student, I should have to pay for the textbook. I understand that. I shouldn’t have to pay extra money to do the homework or to take quizzes that make up a good chunk of my grade. That’s the equivalent of buying a car, then having to pay extra money for the headlights to be installed after the dealer removed them. You can’t exactly go on without the lights, even though you paid for the car because you will get in trouble with the police. When some classes demand that you have these codes but never use them more than once or twice, it’s even worse. You can’t make a guess on whether the access code is necessary because it has the potential to sink your grade, but if the professor doesn’t use it too much, you’ve basically thrown away 100 dollars.

        While I might have the money to be able to buy a digital access code for whatever website the professor wants—which could be to Sapling, or WebAssign, or any of Pearson’s Mastering websites—some students might not have those funds. College textbooks cost a lot of money when you’re buying them from the bookstore, which is occasionally the only place access codes can be bought, and that money adds up quickly. One access code might not seem like much, but three a semester and no way to make up any of the costs? That can be a lot of money to pony up for a product that isn’t always necessary.

        While publishers might brag about how well their products work and how digital access codes fulfill a unique niche in the college education system, they’re not the only options out there for professors. Online homework can be given and graded through free sites such as WeBWork, and online quizzes can be built and distributed through sites all students have access to, such as Blackboard. In-class questions and quizzes can be run through Socrative instead of through sites that require digital access codes or clickers. All of these options are free and accessible to students, so it’s confusing and frustrating as to why professors constantly ignore them and choose to add yet another cost to the stack of bills college students are already juggling.

        To sum it all up: Digital access codes can go rot, and I’m not impressed with the people who make me buy them. It’s the equivalent of a professor making every student buy the updated textbook that they write every year that is also only available in the bookstore. It’s driving up the price of textbooks up, and that’s a strain that college students don’t need.

That’s the equivalent of buying a car, then having to pay extra money for the headlights to be installed after the dealer removed them.

Hoonah, the resident star of the University Counseling Center as well as the first animal-assisted therapy dog employed at SLU, is as good-natured and comforting as he is big. A dedicated employee, Hoonah is present in the University Counseling Center on Thursdays and is often booked with appointments.

Like clockwork, every Thursday at four in the afternoon, Hoonah is accompanied by his favorite human, Jennifer Scott, to Yappy Hour. Yappy Hour is one of the many ways that the duo interacts with students across SLU. Because the location changes each week, a wide variety of students get the chance to say hello and shower Hoonah with attention. Scott, who also works within the Counseling Center, comments that Yappy Hour is important because it “helps relieve stress and also provides an opening to counseling for people who might be less willing to come in,” as well as  “it provides two faces of the counseling center.”

When he’s not at Yappy Hour, Hoonah performs his job with single-minded determination, participating in therapy sessions and outreach events across campus. These events range from visiting sororities and fraternities, stopping by University 101 classes, and attending speaking events on campus. During therapy sessions, Hoonah relaxes in the room while being present for students in whatever way they need him to be. In a number of cases, Hoonah does this by choosing to lay across student’s feet and relax.

Hoonah is the model employee — flexible, positive, and so excited to come to campus. In fact, Hoonah enjoys SLU so much that as Scott pointed out, “he doesn’t want to leave half the time.” Like all SLU employees, Hoonah possesses his own ID card and is featured under the staff section on the University Counseling Center’s page.

His staff portfolio isn’t Hoonah’s only foray into the internet — he is also the star of his very own Instagram (@hoonahatslunah). Hoonah’s Instagram page captures his day-to-day life, both at work and at home. Pictures range from Hoonah hanging out with students, enjoying the holidays in festive hats, spending time with Scott, and his most comfortable nap spots across campus.

Despite only being roughly two years old, Hoonah’s favorite thing to do in his free time is sleep. Scott often lets him on the couch, where he will happily doze until disturbed. When he’s not sleeping, Hoonah enjoys chewing on blankets and pillows, going on walks, meeting other dogs, and of course, going to work. Hoonah’s favorite snacks are apples, pumpkins and donuts; with his sensitive nose, he can tell when anyone in the Counseling Center has food that he is interested in. “He will smell it [apples] in my bag,” Scott said with a laugh, “and he will just stare at it. It’s hilarious.”

When asked the most important question of all — if Hoonah was, in fact, a good boy, Scott immediately responded with — “Oh, he’s a good boy. He’s the best boy.”

If you or your organization are interested in meeting Hoonah, contact jenniferscott@slu.edu.

As a holiday, Valentine’s Day can basically be summed up by those weird candy hearts: Disgusting, something that you have to spend money on, and ultimately disappointing. If you can’t tell, Valentine’s Day does not hold a special place in my heart. Instead, it and Columbus Day are at the very bottom of the “enjoyable holiday” list, but for very different reasons.

The most common complaint comes first: Valentine’s Day is a corporate wet dream, a holiday that’s been commercialized so much that it almost lacks any real meaning. It’s a way for businesses to make a profit, whether those profits be through generic Hallmark cards with a short message scrawled inside or a bouquet of flowers that rot within a week and can cost more than an eight-hour shift at minimum wage. Modern Valentine’s Day seems to be focused on expensive gift giving at one point in the year instead of showing your partner that you value them all the time.

Speaking of gifts on Valentine’s Day, the standard gifts seem to be chocolate, roses, those uncomfortably big teddy bears holding hearts, heart-shaped objects that will never be used outside of this one specific date, and picture frames. If you’re a woman, a few more things are marketed to you—diamonds, spa dates and heart-shaped jewelry. If you’re a man, you’re a bit luckier, because the things that are marketed at you are actually useful in the long run—shaving kits, pocket knives — and according to one website — a knife making kit.

In addition to gifts, Valentine’s Day places a weird fixation on penalizing people whether they’re in a relationship or not. If you’re single—whether that be from not finding that special someone yet, or content and not wanting a romantic relationship—society has seemingly condemned you for being alone. Valentine’s Day puts so much pressure on being in a committed relationship that it can be upsetting and jarring for people who aren’t in one. When there’s an actual WikiHow entry entitled “How to Be Happy Being Single on Valentine’s Day,” you know something’s up. The purpose of WikiHow is to tell you how to do things like chop onions and astral project out of your body, not handle the shame and guilt that society forces you to feel from not being in a committed relationship. In addition to this, if you’re single and unhappy, it means I’m forced to listen to you complain about your lack of a love life for 24 hours more than I ever wanted.

There’s not much of a bright side if you’re currently dating or married. If you’re in a relationship, you’re expected to go all out and plan a romantic date. This responsibility is usually projected onto whoever fulfills the stereotypical “male” role in the relationship, and for a college student, those costs can add up quick. In addition to the romantic date, you’re expected to get presents for “your special someone,” which forces people to materialize their relationships. When a holiday pressures someone to get their partner a big, romantic gift before both parties in the relationship are okay with that level of commitment, it can cause issues. There are reasons people get dumped leading into Valentine’s Day and after the holiday, and a commitment issue is one of them.

But alas, how could I have failed to mention the one thing I love more than anything else about Valentine’s Day? I’m talking about the hyper-specific commercials that every company seems to put out in a desperate attempt to tie their product to this commercialized day of love. From car companies using wide shots of roads with the word love prominently displayed in the middle of the screen (usually in some cursive lettering) to commercials that have uncomfortable, lingering camera shots of women in tight dresses eating their product, Valentine’s Day commercials have it all. Who can forget the most iconic memo that Valentine’s Day is approaching—a dramatic increase in the number of Kay Jewelers’ ads you’re forced to bear witness to.

Here are some ways we could improve Valentine’s Day. First, stop asking me if I’m doing anything special that day and then, when I inevitably say no, stop asking me why not. Second, don’t tell people that they need to get their partner a huge gift, especially if both of the partners in the relationship aren’t sure they are that into each other. Third, ditch the weird sensual commercials that sexualize people and try to sell cookies at the same time.

And lastly, either get rid of the conversation candy hearts or start bringing back the good sayings on them. Nobody wants a dry piece of candy that says ASK ME but for the phrase COOL DUDE or SAUCY BOY? I’d willingly choke down those chalky disappointment hearts and smile.

Anna Krueger is a sophomore from Eagan, Minn., and an active member in the service community of SLU. Her dream is to travel the globe, helping to develop communities and their healthcare systems. Currently majoring in public health, Anna is hoping to go to graduate school in order to get her masters, but is considering taking a gap year to work at a surgery center and orphanage in Honduras.

Krueger is currently the President of Kappa Delta, a sorority on SLU’s campus. Recently, the Kappa Delta chapter at SLU held their fifth annual Kuts for Confidence on Sunday, Dec. 3. Kuts for Confidence is a yearly event focused on cutting hair and collecting hair donations that are eight inches or longer.

“We accept hair donations to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.” Krueger said, “It was really great this year, the opening ceremony was pretty packed. We had two girls and one boy shave their heads during the opening ceremony, then kicked off the donation period.” While not participating in Kuts for Confidence this year, Krueger did participate last year, cutting off nine inches of her hair and donating it.

Kappa Delta also does a significant amount of service. Two of the sorority’s national philanthropies are Prevent Child Abuse America and Girl Scouts of the USA. The SLU Kappa Delta chapter works with a Girl Scout Troop where members have one or more parents incarcerated. To Krueger, the most rewarding thing about being in Kappa Delta is “coming into a group of girls that I didn’t know and watching everyone grow together. Becoming more confident, more comfortable, and honestly happier.”

Krueger is also a member of the Honors Learning Community and works as an Honors Link Mentor. Krueger has lived within the LC for two years and enjoys being part of the community. “I love being in Honors,” Krueger commented.

“It’s a really conducive environment for studying, and everyone constantly motivates each other to be on top of their work.”Krueger also actively participates in service in the St. Louis Community. For the past two years, she has participated in Make a Difference Day with her sorority, and participated in LC Day of Service. Along with large service dates, Krueger also does smaller, regular service and has been working as a tutor for Overground Railroad for two years. Krueger’s favorite part of tutoring is spending time with the kids, specifically “the energy that the kids have. You can tell that it’s towards the end of the school day for them, so they’re really hyper. So sometimes, before we go work on homework, we go to the gym and shoot hoops or play tag. They wear themselves out, so it’s a lot easier for them to focus on their work.”

Outside of her volunteer work, Krueger enjoys watching sports. A huge hockey fan, Krueger supports the Minnesota Wild.

“I get a lot of smack talk thrown my way, especially when the Wild are playing the Blues,” Krueger commented, “but they’re my team.”

Saint Louis University officially began their 200-Years-In-One Challenge on Nov. 14, 2017. The goal of the challenge is to accumulate 200 years—or 1,753,176 hours—worth of service within one year through the combined effort of students, faculty, and people around the globe. The challenge is open to anyone who wishes to improve the world through service, even if they are not associated with SLU.

The 200-Years-In-One Challenge officially began at 3 p.m., and featured speeches from Dr. Fred Pestello and Dan Carter, who discussed Saint Louis University’s history of service along with the service that SLU plans to achieve in the future.

As a Jesuit university, SLU has a long tradition of service within the St. Louis community. Specifically built to honor SLU’s Jesuit heritage, The 200-Years-In One Challenge is part of SLU’s bicentennial celebration and is an effort to look back at the history of SLU while making improvements for the future. In order to do this, the 200-Years-In-One Challenge is working with the Center for Service and Community Engagement along with incorporating SLU volunteering events such as Make a Difference Day and Showers of Service. Any form of volunteering is accepted for the challenge, as long as it is unpaid work and used to further the public good.

The Jesuit education is intended to inspire students to become “men and women for and with others,” encouraging students to reach out to the world and community around them. This education, focused on preparing students to pursue justice for others within their daily lives, is built around the idea of service, something to which the 200-Years-In-One Challenge is devoted.

Laura Geiser, Assistant Vice President for Brand Management, is in charge of the 200-Years-In-One Challenge. She commented that the 200-Years-In-One Challenge was proposed to address SLU’s history of service, saying, “In celebrating SLU’s bicentennial, we felt it was important not just to look back, but to give back. So many universities and institutions mark their major anniversaries with retrospectives and histories. While those things are important, we also felt that we needed to do something in the present that will impact the future. Given SLU’s longstanding commitment to service, this challenge is an especially meaningful way to celebrate our legacy.”

The amount of time that has been volunteered is displayed on the 200-YearsIn-One Clock, which is located on the southeast corner of Lindell and Grand Boulevards. Time for the clock can be logged in real-time using an online app or a link provided on SLU’s website. Currently, there is no plan to check the validity of service hours logged into the clock. According to Geiser, “We will take at face value what the participants submit. SLU’s service data has always been based on self reported hours, and this challenge will be no different. This effort is about engagement and involvement.”

SLU has faith that the challenge will be met. According to Geiser, “We are confident that the hours will be achieved. Saint Louis University students, faculty and staff always have given back in a big way. And because this challenge goes beyond our campus and includes alumni, parents, and even those not directly affiliated with SLU, we believe this effort will be a success.”

At the time of print publication, three years, two days, and 13 hours of service had already been completed.

A current junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Emily Moroni, has a passion for animals. Moroni is a St. Louis resident and commuter student who chose to go to SLU because it was close to home, she got a good scholarship, and she liked the biology program. Staying nearby her pets was also important to her– she has three dogs, a fish, and a ‘nephew’ of a cat named General Ulysses S. Grant.

Moroni is a biology major who is concentrating on evolution, ecology, and conservation with a keen love for the environment and the creatures that live there. While unsure about going to graduate school, Moroni plans on working with animals through field work and conservation. Part of Moroni’s passion for ecology and conservation comes from the ways problems have to be approached in conservation ecology.

As Moroni puts it, “I think the creative mechanisms and approaches to solving ecological issues is so interesting. There’s so much more to saving the planet and its species than we think.”

Originally planning on becoming a vet, Moroni chose to change her career path and focus more on conservation and ecology instead of working with pets. “I guess I just wanted to do something on a larger scale. I shadowed at a vet for a while and I actually liked it, but it wasn’t for me.”

When Moroni took a conservation biology class taught by Dr. Valone, however, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. “It kind of lit a lightbulb in my head and got me actually exploring what my dream job actually is.” Moroni said, “I knew I wanted to work with animals, but I wasn’t sure in what ways.”

Despite her choice to leave the pre-vet track behind her, Moroni still remains invested in working with animals and the environment.

Moroni regularly volunteers at Support Dogs, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing well-trained service dogs to both individuals with disabilities and therapy teams. Puppies are born and raised at Support Dogs, Inc., and are trained until they can obtain certification to become a service dog and placed with a client who needs them without cost.

At Support Dogs, Inc., Moroni’s job is to be a Whelper Helper, or an individual who helps care and raise new litters of puppies until they are 8 weeks old. She found out about Support Dogs, Inc., through the Community Service Fair her freshman year and immediately began to volunteer. She enjoys spending time with the animals and the fact that they will be trained to help people later in life.

“There’s always dogs running around and I get to pet forty puppies every time I go,” Moroni commented with a laugh. “I like it, because I get to obviously hang out with puppies, but I think it’s a good cause and really rewarding.”

Aaron Brown is a sophomore and a rising star in men’s a capella. Aaron chose to come to SLU because of the Jesuit approach
to learning, the way the campus had a city feeling to it, and how there was an academic challenge. Moving from his home in Kansas City, Mo., to attend SLU, Aaron left behind his family,
cats and dog.

Initially majoring in Secondary Education and English, Brown decided to switch to majors in Sociology and Economics. Part of the reason for the switch was because, despite enjoying teaching and tutoring kids, he didn’t know if he really wanted to be a teacher.

“If I really wanted to go back to it [teaching],” Brown said, “I could always get certified without a degree, if I want to do high school. I thought I would branch out, [and] try something new while I had time.”

Brown is currently uncertain about what exactly he plans to do after graduating, but has a variety of ideas, such as attending law school, working as a city planner or organizer, and studying how society is set up within cities.

“I wouldn’t mind being a government worker or being in the private industry, “Brown said, “but something where I’m at least helping people would be ideal.”

Brown is involved in a variety of things at SLU, including Honors, League of Laughter and Overground Railroad.

Overground Railroad is something Brown especially enjoys, saying “I like working with kids a lot. I think it’s a lot of fun, and I
always kind of enjoyed doing that tutoring aspect and seeing them figure out something.”

Aaron Brown is best known for his participation in the Bare Naked Statues. He was elected to be the concert chair for the
2017 year and was in charge of BNS’s spring performance, Escape from Alcatraz. As concert chair, Aaron works on writing script, recording, editing videos, designing posters and tickets, obtaining guest performers, booking a venue, organizing tabling and reservations, and helping with costumes. While others help him, Aaron is one of the driving forces behind the creation of the BNS concert, something that is both incredibly stressful and exciting.

Brown is also the concert chair for BNS’s upcoming concert, the theme being Bare Naked Slumber Party. While the script for the concert’s video hasn’t been fully finished, the bare (naked) bones of the project have been built. Brown is looking forward to filming the video, a task that involves all of the members of BNS, as the videos are fun to shoot — even if people do forget their lines.

“As long as they get the main gist of what I’m saying, then it’s fine — just as long as they get the plot going and what
they say is funny,” Brown said with a laugh.

Bare Naked Slumber Party will be performed on Dec. 7 in the St. Louis Room. While Aaron notes that there is a lot of work that goes into the formation of the concerts, it all pays off. As Brown puts it, “At the time it’s stressful, but you feel proud afterwards.”