Still working? Yes. Oh, log in again? And use the authenticator? Again?? Okay, I guess. Blackboard Learn is part of the Drexel University niche that a lot of students have had to adapt to. From the excessive logging in to the confusing layout, it is a difficult adjustment from Google Classroom, Zoom, Canvas and Microsoft Teams that students were used to from high school. 

The site’s main goal is to allow for communication between professors and students, deliver messages, upload content and give assignments. In addition, the students and professors must be able to proficiently navigate this site in order to turn in homework and get updated about new lecture news or additions to the course. However, this can often prove to be challenging for both the professor and student. 

For this interface to be efficient, there needs to be minimal complications and easy comprehension between the users and the software. The organization of Blackboard itself is confusing as professors do not usually add every aspect of their course in the beginning of the quarter, so the site will look different between courses and between professors. This can prove difficult for a student to follow as there is no clear assignments tab with dates to show when homework is due. There is a “calendar” feature which also proves to be unhelpful as sometimes it shows assignments for some classes but misses out on others.

 Another confusing element is the messaging feature, which many professors choose not to use due to a lack of people looking or responding, instead opting to email students, meaning that course information is spread amongst multiple platforms. Using a site like Canvas, for example, allows for courses to give you notifications within the app when a professor has messaged along with an email about the additions. 

Furthermore, one of the main uses of Blackboard Learn is to submit assignments. However, if the assignment is not a simple document or text submission, the assignment can take many minutes or never end up submitting. This could be due to glitches or the file being too big and needing to be compressed which is additional time that students do not want to take when submitting an assignment. Another issue is that it needs to sync with other external storage systems like Onedrive or Google Drive which can be an additional worry when a student is trying to submit a time-constrained assignment. Professors also link other websites like Turnitin and Gradescope that can struggle to load and glitch when they are accessed through BBlearn, which is rather annoying and difficult when trying to get classwork done. In applications like Canvas, the external links take you to the website where the students are able to access the sites directly which eliminates some of the waiting and loading process with third party links.  

There are many features that Blackboard has in order to be helpful, but the reality is that many people end up not using these features due to the lack of cohesiveness and comprehension with the software. For example, the site has a place to check grades, but they are usually inaccurate due to the professors not wanting to/not knowing how to calibrate the grades to every class they are teaching. The inaccuracy causes unneeded stress and additional calculation in order to figure out an accurate student grade. Additionally, there is also a calendar feature which is supposed to compile a list of the student assignments and due dates to see them on one page. This feature usually goes unused by many because professors tend not to upload the due dates resulting in an incomplete list of due dates and assignments. Canvas, on the other hand, is able to compile a list of due dates on a calendar-like system and link the assignment to the course module to allow for easier access and submissions. 

Overall, Blackboard does the bare minimum in allowing students to submit the assignments they need and the professors to get their content to the students, but it is an extremely niche site for a university to use compared to Canvas, Schoology and Google Classroom. While Drexel would not fall apart with the lack of Blackboard, it could do a lot better with the addition of a new platform. A lot of the features of many of these sites could work a lot better, and the communication between professor and student is more seamless and easier to use. 

When it became commonplace to have classroom icebreaker activities, I am unsure, but what I am certain of is how they have always made me feel deeply awkward and unwilling. The classic and dreaded “fun fact” question has, in fact, kept me up at night. I could have 13 pets, be an avid letterboxd user, travel to 6 continents and even be a pescatarian, but as soon as the “fun fact” question is uttered, all brain activity ceases, and I find myself scrambling to find anything useful to say about myself at all. In those moments, I become the most boring person alive. At one point, I even created a note on my notes app to write down fun facts to preemptively prepare for such situations. These situations have left me sweating and dreading the start of any course. Though an extreme, I have even heard of individuals skipping the first sessions of a course due to their aversion to such activities.

That being said, I completely understand why they are used. What better way to introduce everyone within a classroom setting than for everyone to state their name and some personal information? Problem is, what if I prefer to keep my information and personal business to myself? What constitutes public and private information? This launched me into a nonproductive spiral of finding a possible fun fact which reveals some personal information, but not too much. Oversharers may potentially avoid this problem. Regardless, the concept of sharing a random piece of information to a silent classroom of strangers always felt manufactured and unnatural. I prefer if it were a more common practice to treat everyone like Shrek and un-peal their “onion layers” through natural social interaction, rather than a random get-to-know-you activity. 

Additionally, the whole objective of ice breakers is to lighten the mood, but is the mood ever lightened? Generally, a decent amount of any class is on edge during the first section of a course, and for the socially anxious or introverted, icebreaker activities like these inspire even more fear and distress. 

I understand that getting to know classmates is important, so what I feel could replace classic icebreaker activities could be assigning people to groups to complete a subject-based activity. These activities could be relevant to the course, so as to provide individuals with an opportunity to actually work on a productive project. That way, on a smaller scale basis, individuals can grow familiarity without having their brains blank. Those interactions also feel more natural and more conducive to friendly class relations in the long term.

Every student at Drexel University is required to have health insurance. Students can either have their own coverage that meets certain requirements such as coverage for emergency, non-emergency, inpatient and outpatient care for mental and physical health in the Philadelphia area or students can purchase Drexel student health insurance. Many undergraduate students are covered by their parents’ insurance. However, some students may have to consider Drexel’s student health insurance plan because they are nontraditional, their parent’s insurance does not provide adequate coverage in Philadelphia, are graduate students or other family concerns.

Good health insurance should meet two primary goals: protection from excessive charges for anticipated medical needs, such as primary care visits and any prescription medications for chronic conditions, and protection from crippling debt from an unexpected medical emergency.

Students should be wary that the student insurance plan is administered by UnitedHealthcare, which has faced much scrutiny over its high claim denial rates following the killing of its CEO Brian Thompson. UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, has faced a class action lawsuit for using artificial intelligence to deny medically necessary care for Medicare Advantage patients. It is reasonable to suspect that the company will give pushback on any expensive treatments a student may have to undergo. The student health insurance plan has an actuarial value of 88.410%, meaning that, on average, the insurance company covers 88.410% of medical costs for plan enrollees. However, the actuarial value of expensive treatments is likely lower as certain services, such as preventive care and contraception, must be covered for free. Although UnitedHealthcare is not alone in denying care, it is notorious for being an industry leader in claim denials which may force a student to choose between their life and their finances while hoping that they may win their appeal which involves more complicated systems.

Assuming that the company chooses to accept the claim, there is a $100 preferred provider deductible and $5,000 out-of-pocket maximum. For $3,030/year, this is considerably cheaper than other comparable PPO plans on the Pennsylvania Obamacare marketplace which reflects the low risk of college students compared to the general population. However, that is still a $100 deductible to meet and $5,000 maximum which is not a surprise bill most Drexel students can afford.

Suppose that a Drexel student insurance policyholder suddenly experienced chest pain and stayed one night at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. According to Penn Medicine’s negotiated price list, chest pain incurs a bill of $15,700.51 and $11,300 for a night in a semi-private room. With a $100 deductible, $250 copay, and 80% coinsurance, this bill comes out to $5,730.10 for the patient but would be capped at $5,000. It is possible to get a $5,000 hospital bill in one night which could be financially catastrophic.

If the same situation happened for a University of Pennsylvania student on their student health insurance plan, the student would merely pay a $400 deductible and possibly a $100 copay for the stay. Penn’s student health insurance also comes with just a $1,500 out-of-pocket maximum. The plans differ in a $1,382 more expensive premium for Penn’s student insurance and the Penn plan relying primarily on copays, which set a fixed price for services, and the Drexel plan relying primarily on coinsurance, which is a percentage of the covered charges. For big bills, copays are better for the patient, so Drexel’s student insurance may leave the student with a large bill. However, barring a bad sports injury or car accident, a typical university student would probably not have much medical needs. Primary care visits are offered by the Student Health Center, though it is a separate department than the Office of Health Insurance and Immunizations, and the Counseling Center offers free therapy. Those two offices combined could probably deal with most student health needs which are offered for free under Drexel’s student health insurance.

While Drexel’s student health insurance is not the worst, it is not the most reassuring if a major medical incident were to happen. Students need to determine the amount of risk they are willing to take and compare options with plans offered by their parents, spouse, the Marketplace and potentially the GI Bill if they are veterans.

Manifestation, the law of attraction, affirmations…we are all very familiar with these terms due to popular media. While these methods seem to work well for personal growth and focus for many people, they result in skepticism from many others due to their oversimplified and mystified approach. However, in many cases, the path that leads to the outcomes we ought to experience is not as mysterious or unpredictable as we think it to be. Our current expectations, whether consciously or subconsciously, heavily shape our future reality. 

One dramatic, highly ironic, but very fitting example from literature is in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, where Oedipus’s fear of fulfilling the foretelling that he would murder his father and marry his own mother leads him to actually fulfill it. 

The scientific concept that explains this, the self-fulfilling prophecy, is a psychological phenomenon introduced by sociologist Robert K. Merton in 1948. It can be described as an expectation or belief that becomes a reality due to the behavior of the believing individual. The phenomenon is not often as disastrous as in Oedipus’s case and can even be used to our benefit.

Thinking About The Prophecy

The scenario of a self-fulfilling prophecy is echoed in the words of many influential figures and in many different philosophies. 

William James, a founding figure in psychology, stated “Belief creates the actual fact,”  highlighting how our thoughts and beliefs are not just reflections of reality but tools that actively construct it. In a similar vein Henry Ford famously said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

In existentialist thought, Jean-Paul Sartre discusses how humans define their own essence through choices. The self-fulfilling prophecy resonates here as radical freedom. Individuals are free to interpret their circumstances and act accordingly, thus creating their reality. In Eastern philosophies, particularly Buddhism and Hinduism, the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy can be observed in “Karma” and “Maya.” Karma is the dynamic belief that intentions and actions have consequences that shape future experiences. The idea of Maya speaks to the illusory nature of our perceived reality and suggests that much of what we think to be real is shaped by our subjective consciousness. 

A majority of 13th century poet Mevlana Celaddiin-i Rumi’s works also resonate with the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy. One of his more famous quotes “Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?” exemplifies Rumi’s understanding of belief systems and how they can shape one’s life. 

The self-fulfilling prophecy as understood in psychology and philosophy is interesting as it is both deterministic and liberating in nature. While proposing a tight cycle of cause and effect, it emphasizes the power of positive thought, free will and growth at the same time.

How Beliefs Shape and Bend Reality

The human brain is a predictive machine. It constantly anticipates outcomes based on past experiences and current beliefs. Our brain likes efficiency, and it likes to build “schemas”, mental frameworks by which we organize information and predict scenarios. A schema involving strong beliefs or expectations can guide our interactions with our environment in ways that make those expectations more likely to come true. Dopamine, the “reward chemical,” plays a significant role here. Positive anticipation triggers dopamine release into the nucleus accumbens, which increases motivation and focus. Conversely, negative anticipation can reduce dopamine release, lowering energy and attention. 

If someone believes they will fail an exam, their brain and body may unconsciously prepare for failure by increasing anxiety or reducing effort. The same is true for the opposite scenario, in which the individual believes that they will do well in the exam. In this case, the body prepares itself for extended work and focus. This is how our beliefs influence our physiology. Our physiology influences our behavior and accordingly, our environment, which in turn shapes the outcomes, completing the cycle of the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Similarly, the attention systems in our brains are primed to adjust according to our beliefs and expectations. There are infinite sources of stimulation in the environment at all times. Our brains can not process all of this information at once. Therefore, attention systems like the reticular activating system determine what we attend to by prioritizing stimuli that align with our goals, beliefs and expectations. In other words, certain things in the environment become ‘salient’ to your brain. 

Positive thinking will allow you to recognize and seek opportunities in the environment, naturally letting you succeed in life simply based on statistics. Another individual who does not share that positive belief will not attend to the possibilities they could seek in all of the other stimuli in the environment, leading them not to pursue these opportunities. 

Visionary Vibes

Visualizing physically is visualizing mentally. It allows you to clearly represent your goals and desires and set intentions accordingly. One of the best ways to exercise setting clear intentions and priming yourself to recognize desired opportunities is to create a vision board, right on time before the new year! 

Imagine your future self in the best scenario possible. What qualities does this person possess? Where do they live? What does their room and house look like? What is a day like in their life? What do they wear to work? What form of transportation do they use on a daily basis? What types of food do they eat? Do they have any pets? What do they do to rewind after a long day? Do they have a regular weekend activity? Who do they spend time with every week? 

Exciting, is it not? Now illustrate your vision however you want. Be creative! You can make a collage with cut out pictures from magazines or books, you can choose to draw your imagination for a customized board, or go with my preferred method and make a large PowerPoint slide on your computer for the easiest creation. 

I like to revisit my virtual vision board every once in a while to relive that surge of motivation and remind myself of what I want to prioritize in life. I hope you enjoy this exercise as much as I do!

Citations

Decety, J. (1996). The neurophysiological basis of motor imagery. Behavioural Brain Research, 77(1–2), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-4328(95)00225-1 

Florida Atlantic University. Self-fulfillment: The self-fulfilling prophecy. Retrieved December 2, 2024, from https://www.fau.edu/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/selfulfillment/

Ford, H. Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right. Goodreads. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/ 

Friston, K. (2010). The free-energy principle: A unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2787 

James, W. (1897). The will to believe and other essays in popular philosophy. Longmans, Green, and Co.

Rumi, M. J. You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life? Goodreads. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/ 

Sartre, J.-P. (1943). Being and nothingness: An essay on phenomenological ontology. Philosophical Library. Retrieved from https://www.marxists.org/ 

Schultz, W. (1998). Predictive reward signal of dopamine neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 80(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1998.80.1.1 

Vanderwolf, C. H. (2000). Are you conscious of what you are doing? The reticular activating system and conscious experience. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 24(3), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-7634(00)00015-3 

With many individuals swiping left on empty-handed ice-skating sessions and solo hot chocolate dates, the yearning to swipe right is higher than ever as the holiday season approaches. Dating apps thrive during the holiday season, with many individuals wanting to mingle with someone special beside a cozy fire, on a romantic walk through a winter wonderland or at a large family dinner table. But with the romantic aura of holly berries on the trees and the promise of snowflakes dancing in the night sky, is this seasonal search for love genuine, or is it just a short-lived response to holiday loneliness?

And are dating apps effective to satisfy your relationship needs?

Cuffing season– those chilly autumn and frigid winter months when it suddenly feels like everyone is pairing up– is a term that originated in African American vernacular and is officially defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the cold autumn and winter months [that are] seen as a period when it is especially desirable to enter into a romantic relationship.” While the thought of cozy holiday dates is definitely a big draw, there is more to it than just hot cocoa and matching pajamas. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression linked to less sunlight, lowers serotonin (the feel-good hormone) and boosts melatonin (the sleep hormone), making people crave extra warmth– both emotional and physical. 

It seems many people are on the hunt for some “extra warmth” during the colder months, as evidenced by the uptick in Tinder activity during the first two weeks of November. With the excitement of summer fading and the holidays just around the corner, people often seek emotional connection to counter the isolating effects of the colder, darker months. This search for a sense of closeness and stability during what some consider the more “depressing months” reflects a broader trend of seeking comfort and reassurance during challenging seasonal transitions.

However, all this being said, break-up season is also the most prominent at around this time as well, particularly a bit after the November surge. Hmm… 

From late December to Valentines Day, couples find themselves in a prime position to break off their relationship. For those who turn to dating apps specifically to find a partner for the holiday season, the fading romantic atmosphere once the festivities are over can lead to a diminished desire– on one or both sides– to maintain the relationship. This phenomenon is referred to as “post-holiday breakup” season. With many people returning to the same-old schedule after the holiday season had ended and the abundant amount of joyful activities diminishing, relationship-related issues can not be swept under a festive “Welcome!” mat carpet anymore; these problems are now at the forefront of both partners minds. 

Will long distance work once they go back home? Will we be able to see each other the same amount when school picks up again? New year, new me?

At the end of the day, or the cumulative sit-by-the-fireplace-matching-holiday-socks sessions, the answers to these questions differ from individual to individual. Where someone may hold contentment in their relationship depicts a person who feels a sense of security and alignment with the way their life is headed. For someone else, this contentment may be overshadowed with the uncertainty of where they want their life to be headed. This difference often hinges on the strength of the bond between the two individuals and perhaps even their initial intentions when entering the relationship.

Whether you are searching for someone to share your hot cocoa or just testing the waters with a playful “what’s your favorite holiday movie?” opener, one thing is for sure: dating during the holidays is as unpredictable as the weather. After all, the holidays may bring fleeting flings or lasting love, but either way, they leave us all with stories as unique as the season itself.

The pivotal 2024 Presidential Election this past Tuesday, Nov. 5, warranted a wide range of reactions across the nation, especially among college students. Drexel University’s Undergraduate Student Government Association successfully advocated for the cancellation of classes on Election Day, giving students the opportunity to cast their votes and travel home if necessary. Pennsylvania, with its 19 electoral votes, stands as a swing state with much pull on the overall outcome, which was felt throughout the atmosphere on campus. 

To gain insight into the campus climate during this election season, I spoke with several Drexel students to hear their perspectives on the election’s outcome and learn about the impact the results may have on their future. The conversation included second-year biology major Mariam Stewart, third-year public health major Jasmine Harris, first-year biology major Jae Walsh and first-year English major Morgan Hammond.

Interviews were edited for length and clarity.

NI: How has the outcome of the 2024 presidential election affected your mental or emotional well-being?

Stewart: Honestly I was kind of numb to the whole thing. I was disappointed but not surprised. America’s identity is in a really weird battle between being the “land of freedom and opportunity for all” and returning to the former glory of the “good old days.” My way of coping has been to continue on like before. I did my part by voting, so stressing about a future I can’t control is only going to cause unnecessary harm. 

Harris: Me and everyone I know have collectively been feeling down because of the results, but I’ve been surrounding myself with good friends to take my mind off it.

Walsh: The outcome was extremely disappointing to me, but not shocking. Reading the results when I woke up hurt, and I felt pretty depressed for the rest of the day. I feel a lot of concern for marginalized communities in America that are still facing threats to their safety and well-being. I know there is nothing I can do to change the results so the only thing I can do is move on emotionally and continue to fight for the issues I care about.

Hammond: I think my emotional well-being has been affected by the outcome. I am scared for what will happen to the rights of women, LGBTQ+ and people of color in our country. The prejudice, and ignorant comments I’ve heard recently has made me more scared as well, and that has been impacting my mental health.

NI: Have you found it challenging to focus on academics or daily routines due to election-related stress?

Stewart: If anything, I think it has made me more determined to excel and take advantage of the privileges and stability I have now. There’s this constant feeling of uncertainty that looms over everything and it feels like things are about to get chaotic. I don’t want to be in a situation where I am stuck with no way to advocate for myself, so I’m trying to prepare now. 

Harris: Definitely, election night was an anxious time, and I kept refreshing the election map to see any updates. I submitted an assignment late because of it.

Walsh: The first few days were certainly very difficult. I found it hard to stay on track with my assignments. I was continuously falling into rabbit holes scrolling on social media and watching the news. I care a lot about American politics and staying up to date on current events, so being able to go back to it feels like a step in the right direction.

Hammond: Throughout the week, I’ve found it challenging to focus on activities in my daily routine. It’s difficult to keep my attention on schoolwork, my job, and extracurriculars because of election-related stress. Social media and the hateful messages posted after the voting results, especially directed towards marginalized communities, has also made it more difficult to focus. 

NI: Do you think the 2024 presidential campaign addressed concerns relevant to young people and college students?

Stewart: I think the campaigns addressed enough issues that are relevant to young people but I do n’t necessarily agree with the way certain things were addressed on both sides. I hate that we didn’t have a candidate who wanted to end the conflict in Palestine. There was a lot of talk about the economy, inflation, abortion and immigration which was good, but some of the discussions seemed unproductive.

Walsh: The most important issues for me are climate change and environmental policy, supporting a free Palestine, equitable healthcare for all, racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights. We are all impacted by a great deal of issues, but these seem the most pressing to me. Nobody deserves to suffer for who they were born as, and we all deserve a secure future for our planet. The issue of abortion also continues to be a big one and people around the country are dying due to lack of access to reproductive healthcare. Everyone deserves to choose the path that is best for them and their family.

NI: What personally impacted you/what was the most important issue for you?

Stewart: There are many issues that I care about. The conflict in Palestine, inflation, abortion rights, gun laws, etc. It’s disheartening to know that the people in power are in complete disagreement with my beliefs because they prioritize the lives of those with power and money over the lives of the average American people. It also feels like many aspects of my identity could bring me more disadvantages that my family has fought so hard to protect me from. It made my family and I consider leaving the US. We’re proud of our culture and history but the uphill battle doesn’t seem worth it anymore.

Harris: I think my right as a woman has been impacted, and the issue of the Muslim ban is a critical topic. As well as climate change, specifically the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is very concerning. 

Walsh: We want healthcare, we want student loan forgiveness, we want a secure job market that doesn’t give our jobs to AI, we want to be able to purchase homes and care for children without financial hardship, we want strong unions and labor rights, we want to feel safe and protected by our government, we want choice, we want to see an end to wars, and we want climate action, and neither candidate gave us much in terms of those key issues. 

Hammond: An issue that really matters to me is abortion rights and women’s bodily autonomy. Having the right to choose what we do with our bodies is important to me as a woman, and something I believe should not be dictated by the government or men. 

The diverse reactions from Drexel students emphasize the importance of the 2024 Presidential Election, and its role in sparking important conversations about political topics. College students are directly impacted by current events and these reactions highlight the crucial role young people play in driving societal change and fighting for representation in political discourse.

On Oct. 4, The Triangle published my article “Kamala Harris might not win.” There, I outlined the events that made her the 2024 Democratic nominee for president, her time as attorney-general and senator of California, her 2020 presidential race and the obstacles that stood in her path to win The White House in 2024. Now that we know Harris will not be the 47^th president, what happened between early October and Nov. 5?

One event that stood out to me the most was Harris’ appearance on The View. Specifically, when Sunny Hostin asked Harris, “Would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?” Harris responded, “There is not a thing that comes to mind,” before adding that she was part of most major decisions made by the Biden administration.

Really? Not a single thing? You would not have approached the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, where 13 American soldiers were needlessly killed, differently? What about the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, where over 1,200 innocent Israelis were killed and 250 kidnapped, by Hamas? What about the war in Ukraine, the border crisis or China’s slow encroachment upon Taiwan? You would change nothing in America’s response?

A second cause that contributed to Harris’ election loss was Biden’s approval rating. CNN’s latest Poll of Polls for Biden’s approval rating had him at 38 percent, and a disapproval rating of 57 percent. Despite Harris’ repeated message that she was not Biden, and her claim that she was always the last person in the room for every decision during Biden’s presidency, it was hard to not cast some of the blame on her for Biden’s lacking approval rating.

A third contributor would be her running mate. The Vice Presidential debate serves to answer two questions: Who do we, the American people, trust in office, and who do the candidates trust? Tim Walz made it clear that he trusts “the experts.” He trusted the supposed bipartisan S.4361 border bill experts as it died on the Senate floor. Trust in “the experts” may be up with Walz, but according to Gallup, only 28 percent of Americans are confident in major U.S. institutions. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, commented during the debate how economic experts lack an understanding of the Trump administration’s tax plan, likely bolstering voters’ distrust among U.S. institutions.

The final contributor to Harris’ loss was President Biden calling supporters of Trump “garbage”. There is a saying in the culinary world, “Sauce covers a multitude of sins.” No amount of sauce would cover this monumental political sin. Insulting opposition party voters, where Republicans make up 48 percent of the registered voter base in America, including Democrats and Independents who may have voted for Trump in previous elections, is the one thing an elected official should avoid. Given that Harris continuously struggled to separate herself from Biden, it is no surprise that voters cast their ire upon her as well.

Harris made many achievements throughout her career. She graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of Law with a Doctorate in Law, and was hired as a district attorney in California. There she became Senator, and was eventually named Biden’s vice president for his first term. She became many things, but one thing that is clear is that she is “not Joe Biden,” and she is certainly not the 47^th president of The United States.

I remember back in high school when my teachers first proposed the idea of flipped learning, and everyone let out a massive sigh. Flipped learning is the notion that students are to learn and memorize material at home, and class is a time solely for questions and applications. Initially, I assumed this idea would be great. It sounded solid in theory and would make actual classroom time more engaging. However, this implementation not only increased out-of-class time, but it also required that we now add video lecture time to already assigned homework and exam studying time, while also physically showing up for multiple hour-long classes each day. Ridiculous.

The general narrative was that this technique was a novel, norm-breaking method of teaching, but if anything, it just exponentially increased the required time commitment for students per class, per day. That being said, I completely understand why it was proposed in the first place, and its theoretical advantages. For instance, having pre-recorded lectures enables us to speed up or slow down videos based on whether we are slow typers or find particular concepts challenging. You can take breaks and learn at your own pace. You can bypass the downsides of an overcrowded and noisy lecture hall and actually hear what the professor is saying. All of these advantages are undeniable, but so is the downside of the added time commitment.

The pre-recorded lecture format could definitely work and be massively beneficial (without the consequence of adding time) if in-person class sessions were not mandatory and instead optional-but-recommended office hours. In a flipped classroom, if one has a question, they might have to spend the majority of the mandatory class time listening to the questions of others, thus wasting more time that could be spent learning. While the flipped method is beneficial to the learning process, it is also an inefficient way to learn. 

Additionally, we pay tuition to learn from our professors, and at times, it feels that the flipped learning method is simply a way to shortchange students of their tuition and provide an easy way out from genuinely taking the time to teach students. One way to mitigate this would be for professors to record, post and let students watch lectures on their own time. The traditional teaching method truly highlights the knowledge and teaching abilities of professors, both of which are overshadowed by flipped learning. And as great as flipped learning sounds in theory, I think the sighs of my classmates are warranted.

Joe Biden’s vice-president has a chance to make history, but her chances are not as big as the mountain she must climb.

The mock Biden-Harris re-elect campaign has finally ended. President Biden’s deteriorating mental state was obvious, despite the countless times members of his administration, his wife and multiple media outlets, claiming he was “often sharp and focused.” Now he spends his remaining presidential career either on a beach in Delaware, or dawning hats from his opposing political party.

When Biden stepped down from the presidential race, former President Trump had an extraordinary lead in the polls against Harris. As of this publication, there are only 32 days until the election, and Vice President Harris might actually win the presidency. But the question we should be asking is not “will she?”, it is, can she?  What can we expect from a younger, huggable, career-oriented candidate who has spent over 20 years in public office?

To refresh your memory, Harris was California’s 32^nd attorney-general from 2010 through early 2017. Her career highlights include deciding to not pursue the death penalty against the man who fatally shot SFPD Officer Isaac Espinoza in 2004. Then, she would defend capital punishment in the case of Ernest Jones in People v. Jones ten years later. She’s also known for wrongfully convicting actor Jamal Trulove of a 2007 San Francisco housing project shooting back in 2010. Trulove ended up being acquitted in 2015 and received $13 million from the city. 

She then became a United States Senator in California’s 2016 Senate election, a relatively unexplored time in her life. Her performance on camera gained her some political spotlight, specifically during her cross-examination of witnesses. Information about Harris off camera, however, is sparse. While her allies and coworkers described her as being a fast learner, she struggled to find a cause of her own, and instead tried to be a legislative jack-of-all-trades. Trying to be progressive, moderate, compromising and firm all at the same time is probably why she has yet to illustrate what her presidency will look like. Maybe she just does not know what to fight for.

When she ran for president in 2020, she was the first to drop out due to lacking funds. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ripping into her career as attorney general did not help much either, nor did Harris’ failure to defend herself from such attacks. Her left-leaning approach towards fracking and rent subsidies, among her other running points, struggled to gain traction with voters as well. As Biden’s vice president, she also shares the blame for overseeing the country’s 9.1 percent inflation rate and an overwhelming increase in illegal border crossings.

If Biden had dropped out sooner and the DNC held an open primary, she likely would have fallen short again. Instead, she was named the DNC nominee almost immediately, received millions in campaign funds and a pre-made campaign strategy. If this was not an obvious sign that the Democratic Party was ready to abandon Biden for someone new, I do not know what is.

When she became the Democratic nominee, you would expect every single media outlet to ask what America would look like with Harris in The Oval Office. Perhaps she would illustrate where she stands on key issues such as abortion, immigration, foreign affairs and beyond.

Well, 41 days after she accepted the nomination, Harris and her running mate Tim Walz joined CNN for an interview with Dana Bash. Here, Harris would finally explain what America would look like with such a historic president at the helm.

Harris managed to only provide more questions to be asked. The interview was 27 minutes long, and she only spoke for roughly 16 of them. A 16-minute interview is not going to get you 270 electoral votes. She managed to obscure every policy position she’d ever had while simultaneously trying to paint herself as a moderate.

As of publication, the ticket winners for the Democratic party have participated in just over 20 interviews with other media outlets. Meanwhile, Trump and Vance have participated in more than 60.

In her debate with Donald Trump, in my opinion neither candidate won. Excluding a few stand-out moments like Trump’s “run, spot, run” referring to Harris’ copying of Biden’s policy platform and Harris calling out Trump’s “old, tired playbook,” I doubt this debate had any significant impact on poll numbers.

What is she going to do until November 5? If she agrees to a second debate with Trump, how is she going to convince Americans why she deserves to be the next president other than positive vibes and historic moments? Harris has yet to climb the first one thousand feet of this political mountain that lies between her and the Oval Office. But if I had to choose between her chances at becoming the 47^th president and a snowball’s chance in Hell, I would have to go with the snowball.

Navya Gupta

Being an out-of-state student, I assumed the biggest adjustment to the Drexel experience would have been the weather, hence I overpacked my luggage with an exorbitant amount of coats and sweaters. However, nothing could have prepared me for the state of driving around campus, in all its rashness and impatience. I remember how absolutely offended I was the first time I got ambushed by a blue minivan, and thought about how the minivans from my suburb certainly did not conduct themselves in that manner. Nearly two years later, being nearly run over is a daily occurrence that leaves me relatively unfazed. 

Growing up in California, I always overheard people lamenting  how everyone was too cautious in Northern California, and too rash in Southern California. Road rage incidents were far and few between, and usually involving minor traffic violations or unnecessarily slow driving. So I rationalized the state of driving at Drexel to be an urban versus suburban issue, and thus understandable. Upon further reflection, I was shocked to realize that I was more likely to be victimized by a vehicle around campus, than when I was visiting New Delhi as an elementary schooler.

Additionally, studies have shown that Philadelphia continuously ranks as one of the worst American cities to drive in, ranking near the bottom in 95th overall out of 100 American cities in 2023. The ranking took into consideration safety, traffic and infrastructure, access to vehicles and maintenance and cost of ownership and maintenance. By this research, I should have been more than accustomed to being victimized daily at Drexel, but I never felt victimized back in California. One reason for the overall rankings could be that given the high cost of living in California, Los Angeles (97th), San Francisco (99th) and Oakland (100th) all rank as cities with the highest cost of ownership and maintenance, while Philadelphia ranks significantly lower (77th). This could explain the relatively worse ranking of these Californian cities. 

Why does Philadelphia seem to have such a poor standard of driving? While it has not been established, I personally feel it is a combination of high  traffic volume and poor infrastructure, namely that the roads have not been updated to accommodate for the sheer amount of vehicles utilizing them. In a historic city, roadways are narrow and while driving at high speeds, cars may be forced to make extremely sharp turns, leaving both pedestrians and drivers in a pickle. Some folks cite particular attitude predicaments of drivers to account for the all-encompassing issue, but I feel that without taking into consideration the other factors listed above, this is an unfair sentiment. 

While being victimized by bad drivers is never an enjoyable experience, I believe some level of understanding of the systemic problems (older roads, traffic, sheer car volume) is important. I will continue to stand an unnecessary distance away from the edge of the sidewalk for my own sanity.