As a junior heading into summer, landing an internship feels like the ultimate goal for many students. For many of my peers, this can make or break their summer.

While on my search for an internship, I signed up for an app that many use called LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a social network oriented around business and employment. After a couple of months, I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with the app.

Don’t get me wrong — I think LinkedIn has many positive aspects. I can see what my peers are working on and give them kudos. I can also share my achievements and potentially catch the attention of employers.

Hayden Abbott, a junior advertising student at the University of Oregon, agrees. He is a semi-frequent user of LinkedIn and noted some of the benefits.

“I use LinkedIn multiple times per week, and it’s nice because I get to see what my colleagues are up to professionally. I also have met people through LinkedIn who are like-minded,” Abbott said.

LinkedIn is great for virtual networking. However, I’m not a fan of how surface-level and performative this social platform seems.

I’ve noticed that almost all LinkedIn update posts about new internships and jobs seem similar.

Scroll for five minutes, and you’ll find the same formula: “I’m thrilled to announce…” followed by a company logo and a list of the position’s responsibilities. It starts to feel more like a competition than a celebration.

Where is the creativity? Who says these posts need to follow the same prompt?

While Abbott recognized the benefits of LinkedIn, he also mentioned some things to be cautious about.

“I think it’s easy to get hung up on how many connections you have or compare yourself to someone who just got a nice internship,” Abbott said.

That’s my biggest concern: instead of networking, I end up comparing myself to others, and it takes a toll on my mental health.

In an article titled Associations Between Internet-Based Professional Social Networking and Emotional Distress, the authors found that within a group of 1,780 people ages 19 to 32, those who used professional social networking sites like LinkedIn one or more times per week were more likely to report symptoms of depression or anxiety.

While LinkedIn can be helpful, it’s worth setting boundaries around how often we use it to limit these effects.

Camcole Pereira, a junior business student, uses LinkedIn at least once a day in his search for an internship.

“I think that of my social media, LinkedIn is the most stressful,” Pereira said. “I need to turn my notifications off, but I am reaching out to people for internships right now, so I can’t.”

It’s a tough spot for Pereira and many others. When people post about their achievements, it’s good to be happy for them, but at the same time, it makes you feel behind if you’re not up to par.

This leads to the dilemma of how to manage LinkedIn without completely deleting it.

One tip that’s helped me: delete the app from your phone. I’ve done this with other social media apps, and if I really want to check it, I’ll use my computer, which, in my opinion, takes way more effort.

If you don’t want to go that far, turn off your notifications and set a time limit. This can be helpful with many apps, but especially for LinkedIn. You’ll only remember to check it naturally, not because of a notification promoting some performance post.

At the end of the day, LinkedIn isn’t inherently bad — but it can hurt our mental health if we let it. Your connection count doesn’t define your success, and neither does a summer internship. Don’t be afraid to use LinkedIn, but don’t let it define your self-worth.

The post Heffron: LinkedIn: Online networking platform or mental health hazard? appeared first on Daily Emerald.

“You’re breathing like Darth Vader,” my mom said as she drove me to the emergency room.

I did not know it yet, but I was having an allergy-induced asthma attack. My eyes were red and puffy, and snot was dripping from my little six-year-old nose. 

Ever since then, spring has been spoiled for me. Pollen causes my eyes to swell shut, and near-constant sneezing accompanies it, making it extremely difficult to enjoy the warm weather.

I grew up in Portland and thought I lived in the worst place for pollen allergies ever. That is, until I moved to Eugene. 

My seasonal allergies in Eugene are insane. 

I’m not alone. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, about a quarter of adults and a fifth of children in the United States suffer from seasonal pollen allergies.

This widespread health issue is felt across the Willamette Valley and the country. 

Unfortunately for University of Oregon students affected by pollen allergies, Linn County, which neighbors Lane County, is known as “the grass seed capital of the world.” UO’s proximity to Linn County causes the grass pollen count to be significantly higher in spring. 

According to the Oregon Allergy Associates, “Rain early in the grass season can cause grass pollen to fragment into small pieces, which can cause increased allergy and asthma symptoms.”

This means that the grass pollen count in Lane County can get into the high and very high range because of our late rains. 

Charles Martindale is a Spanish and journalism double major at UO who suffers from seasonal pollen allergies. He explained his symptoms to me. 

“I opened my window last night, and when I woke up, my face was super puffy and my nose was running like crazy,” Martindale said. “I used a ton of tissues.”

Like many of us, he has to choose to stay inside to escape the pollen or live normally while enduring his symptoms. It sucks.

This year, my attitude changed a bit. I found out about the grass seed industry, which gives Linn County its nickname as the “grass seed capital of the world.” 

The Willamette Valley is the perfect place for grass seed farming due to our wet and mild winters. With more than 420,000 acres devoted to grass seed farming in the Willamette Valley alone, this has a substantial impact on our economy.

The grass seed industry in Oregon also employs about 10,000 people and generates about $1 billion in economic activity for the state. 

While 10,000 jobs might not seem like a ton, Oregon had a 4.6% unemployment rate in March of this year. This gave Oregon the 12th-highest unemployment rate in the United States. 

Reducing the amount of land available for the grass seed industry would only cause that number to rise. 

For David White, a junior business major, the employment opportunities and economic activity don’t matter when it comes to his allergies. 

“My allergies piss me off,” White said. “It’s a detriment to my everyday life.”

Believe me, it pains me to say our allergies are a necessary cost for other people to make money, but if it means jobs for 10,000 people, I’d say it’s justified. 

I think that Martindale put it well.

“I don’t think I would personally choose to put the grass seed industry over my allergies, but if the wheels are already in motion, I won’t knock their hustle.”

As for remedies, I recommend finding an allergy medicine that suits you best. When I consistently take allergy medicine, both in pill form and nasal spray, my symptoms significantly decrease. 

For me, Zyrtec and Flonase are my saving graces; they have allowed me to have a relatively symptom-free spring so far this year.

Grass seed is an integral part of this region, so instead of suffering through this pollen season, let’s find ways to cope.

The post Heffron: Say gesundheit to the grass seed industry  appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Students across the University of Oregon’s campus — and throughout Eugene — are bringing attention to mental health struggles by dumping buckets of freezing water over their heads. The USC Speak Your MIND Ice Bucket Challenge — an initiative led by the student group called Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) — has taken the internet by storm, with celebrities like former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and TikTok star Brooke Monk joining in.

With so many participating, it can look performative. Why should we sacrifice our warmth and dryness?

About a week ago, I was nominated for this challenge. At first, I thought it was a second coming of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

However, viewing the challenge from the outside, I didn’t realize the real, tangible change that participating in this challenge could create.

In March, a student-led group from the University of South Carolina called MIND started this movement, encouraging participation through Instagram. Their goal was simple: raise a few hundred dollars for mental health awareness.

Today, the challenge has raised over $380,000, all going toward Active Minds, a large youth mental health nonprofit, based in the U.S.

Still, some remain unsure about the challenge’s legitimacy.

“I wasn’t sure about the impact at first,” Ike Hutchinson said. Hutchinson is a junior and business major at UO who recently participated. “But I did it for those around me affected by mental health.”

$380,000 sounds like a lot, but it’s just a start. We must keep participating and spreading the word.

According to the World Health Organization, one in seven adolescents aged 10 to 19 experiences a mental health disorder. Think of all the young people you know; chances are, several are struggling.

The USC Speak Your MIND Ice Bucket Challenge is also very accessible: all you need is a bucket, water and a way to post online.

For UO junior and computer science major Cooper Sevigny, the challenge carries deeper meaning. He recently lost a best friend to mental health struggles and shared why the movement matters.

“This challenge humanizes us,” Sevigny said. “No one is invulnerable to freezing cold water, just like no one is invulnerable to feelings of depression and frustration. We always seek help for physical injuries but often ignore mental ones.”

This challenge gives visibility to injuries we don’t always see.

The money raised empowers more than 500 Active Minds chapters to host guest speakers, run workplace workshops and distribute crucial mental health resources.

Although this movement might feel distant at first, it touches more lives than we realize. Who could you help by sharing one silly, shivering video?

So grab a bucket, take the plunge and Speak Your MIND.

And as Sevigny said, “Even being able to laugh and be silly is beneficial for everyone involved.”

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Tarot card readers of varying levels shuffled their customizable decks, placed them in their boxes and gave thanks to Joanna Brook, an experienced tarot card reader and the founder of Brightheart Alchemy Guides, before heading out the door of her home on a drizzly April evening. 

The decks’ themes ranged from cyberpunk to medieval, drawing an equally eclectic group of people together to analyze the cards and search for answers in their lives.

Before attending this tarot card circle, I had some prior convictions about what tarot is all about. I assumed that tarot was something hippie college kids did in their free time and that there were no benefits to analyzing your life through a deck of cards.

I was surprised by how off target I was and how the experience of tarot is not limited by the card but rather enhanced by the community surrounding it.

The regulars of Brook’s tarot circle welcomed newcomers to tarot, which included me and a few others. They explained certain cards and advised on the issue in question.

Brook began her tarot journey 23 years ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and felt drawn to tarot due to out-of-the-ordinary experiences.

“I was picking up on emotions, and I could tell they weren’t mine,” Brook said. “I would be in a crowd of people, and emotions would just swirl past me, and that’s when I stumbled upon a sign for tarot reading classes.”

With a degree in English literature and creative writing, Brook views tarot as a medium of storytelling.

With many ways to arrange the cards, Brook says that there are “an infinite number of stories to tell, depending on what cards you put in what position.”

She’s very correct.

There are 78 cards in a tarot deck, which are divided into two sections. The Major Arcana consists of 22 cards that give you information on major life events.

The Minor Arcana covers the remaining 56 cards, which deal with more day-to-day issues. The Minor Arcana cards are then divided into four suits: cups, swords, wands and pentacles.

Each suit is numbered one through 10 and has four court cards: the page, knight, king and queen. These are the typical parameters of a tarot deck; however, as I mentioned, decks are completely customizable, and certain decks have different names for suit and Major Arcana cards.

There are so many different ways to interpret the meaning of each card that a different story can be told every time.

As members of the Tarot circle asked questions to the cards and the group, it became apparent that besides guidance from the cards, people sought community.

It seemed like circle members walked away with a weight off of their shoulders, more sure of what they had to accomplish in the next week, month or even year.

Elvie Pelayo, an office manager at the University of Oregon, is only just starting to dive into the tarot world but had a lot to say about its benefits.

“Tarot helps me choose what I should do when I’ve got turmoil in my life,” Pelayo said. “It clears things up for me.”

For those contemplating life and wondering what their next move should be, I would encourage exploring the Tarot community.

“We’re all searching for meaning,” Brook said. “There is so much going on in the world that is frightening and out of our control.”

Brook’s words stayed with me after my introduction to Tarot. In a world full of uncertainty, sometimes all we need is a new perspective on the same old questions — and a community to remind us that we are not alone.

The post Heffron: Don’t knock tarot until you try it appeared first on Daily Emerald.

If you are an active user of TikTok, there is a high chance you have seen many short videos promoting items ranging from packs of candy in bulk packages to American flags with the Costco Guys on them.

These videos are a feature of TikTok Shop, which arrived in the United States in 2023. Since the feature’s launch, it has surpassed both Temu and Shein in sales. 

For college students, TikTok Shop is an enticing way to make impulsive and cheap purchases. With graphic T-shirts for $12 and hoodies as low as $7, who can resist these deals? 

In reality, not many, but we all should strive to find our desired product elsewhere.

Here are the reasons why.

While these prices might seem amazing, the quality is often comparable to TikTok Shop’s rivals, Temu and Shein. They also have the same negative side effects on our planet. 

Although multiple types of items are sold on TikTok, clothing and textiles remain a hot commodity. 

Unfortunately, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, it is estimated that a truckload of clothing or textiles is dumped into a landfill every second. 

They also have found that the fashion industry is responsible for 2-8% of global carbon emissions and 20% of wastewater production.

TikTok sellers generally use cheaper quality items, allowing them to make a profit despite the very low prices. These items are considered fast fashion and contribute immensely to climate change. 

There is no benefit to these items. If you buy it for a cheap price, in return, you’ll get a cheap quality. 

Ian Valleau, a junior journalism major, has bought off of TikTok before and shared his experience. 

“I bought a McLaren sweatshirt off TikTok Shop. It was low quality, but that’s what I expected because it was cheap,” Valleau said. 

Luckily for us, there are other options for finding cheap clothing and food.

My number one suggestion for clothing is to shop secondhand. If you want the best deals, go to thrift stores. You might not always find what you’re looking for, but occasionally, you can strike gold for a very affordable price.

You can find a diverse array of items at these stores. 

If you want a more curated option, go to vintage stores. Some of my favorites in Eugene are Founded Vintage and Freestyle Superette. 

A cheap way to get a lot of food in Eugene is an app called Too Good To Go. You can download this app on your phone, and local restaurants and bakeries post bundle deals of their surplus food for very cheap. 

Businesses like Panera Bread and Whole Foods post daily on this app.

These options support local businesses and offer you quality items that hopefully won’t end up in the landfill. 

So, while scrolling on TikTok, resist the temptation to press the purchase button on those TikTok Shop ads! There are plenty of other sustainable and community-supporting deals in Eugene. You just have to find them.

The post Heffron: TikTok Shop takes a toll on our wallet and our environment appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Spring in Eugene is the perfect time to get outside. After months of rain, it’s finally time to take advantage of everything Eugene and the surrounding areas have to offer.

For many, winter term is a long, treacherous 10 weeks of torture. Limited sun and continuous downpours turn many University of Oregon students to indoor activities, and it takes a toll on mental health. 

Since a good portion of our student body is from California or warmer climates, seasonal depression can hit hard. 

According to data from the fall term of 2024, the UO’s Office of the Registrar says the university has 20,626 undergraduate students. 

It’s hard to get through the winter term, even as someone who grew up in Oregon. This puts much more pressure on getting outside and spending time in the sun during the spring. 

Hannah Dean is a freshman English major from the Big Island of Hawaii. She said she is looking forward to spring after her first rain-intensive winter in the Pacific Northwest.

“I didn’t realize how much the sun influences my happiness,” Dean said. “Waking up to gray and gloomy weather makes it hard to have motivation.” 

While talking about her home, Hannah mentioned how much she missed swimming. 

“I honestly was really privileged to go to the beach and swim with my friends,” Dean said.

In the spring, you can do that here in Eugene too! There are over 13 natural swimming holes in Lane County alone, with tons more in nearby counties.

The weather in spring is also warm enough to enjoy swimming holes, but there is no intense heat like in summer, making hiking much more doable. 

Kemper Flood, a senior advertising major originally from the Portland area, said she agrees. She is finishing up her last year here in Eugene and knows how to make the most out of the warmer weather once spring comes.

She shared some of her favorite memories during spring in Eugene such as day trips to Dexter Reservoir and hiking Tamolitch Falls. 

These spots aren’t as enjoyable when the weather is chilly or with intense heat. Spring offers that perfect happy medium.  

Both spots offer gorgeous views and are great day trips if you have the means to get there and the chance to cool off in the water. Be careful with Tamolitch Falls though, the water remains at about 37 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. 

“The number one thing is to get outside. There are so many lakes and hikes,” Flood said. “Just leave the campus bubble. There’s a lot more fun things to do outside of campus.”

From Koosah Falls to Scott Lake, there are some incredible views and hikes to make the most of as the sun arrives. 

If hiking and day trips aren’t your thing, there are still many activities to be done in the city. 

There are a plethora of parks spread throughout the city, and the comfortable weather in Eugene offers the perfect time to go for a picnic, toss the frisbee or even just take a nap in the sun. 

Some of my favorites are the Owen Rose Garden, Hendricks Park and the Rhododendron Garden. 

The Eugene Saturday Market is also a hot commodity in spring, with various artisan goods and produce. 

Once May and June arrive, the berries and fresh fruit are out of this world. 

Eugene may be soggy and grey for a good portion of the year, but all that precipitation allows for insanely gorgeous scenery once the season turns.

Get out there and enjoy it, but be sure to stock up on allergy medication if pollen gets you!

The post Heffron: Spring is here, and you need to get outside! appeared first on Daily Emerald.

The quarter system seems to catch a lot of flak here at the University of Oregon. Many compare our short 10-week quarter system with the longer 15-to-16-week semester system, which most universities in the United States use.

I have changed my major three times while attending universities with quarter systems. I started as a communications major, then switched to sociology and not even a quarter later, I was a journalism major.

This is thanks to the quarter system, which allows much more flexibility and exploration than the semester system.

The quarter system allowed me the freedom to figure things out without derailing my graduation timeline.

A semester system would limit me to two sets of classes per-year, while quarters offer three, creating more opportunities to explore.

Students have fewer chances to explore majors in semesters, and taking extra time to decide on a major can become costly.

This is important for freshmen who don’t have a plan. Not everyone enters college knowing their passion.

Roland Armstrong, a junior accounting major at the UO, is completing his first year in the quarter system. He transferred from Boston College, a semester-based school.

He agrees that more classes are a plus but said, “A semester class is almost the same as two-quarter classes when you account for syllabus week, midterms and finals.”

A rushed curriculum is something Armstrong felt affected his education. Semester systems offer a deeper dive into classes. However, I like to think the quarter system prepares students for the work environment, which often means meeting deadlines on short notice.

Another common complaint is the misalignment of our academic calendar with summer opportunities. Many agree that the quarter system makes it difficult to lock down summer jobs and internships.

“People are limited when they can only do internships in Oregon that are curated to the quarter system,” Armstrong said. “If the state was more unified with the whole country, more students from Oregon could go out of state for internships, and students from other states could come here.”

The quarter system does interfere with many companies’ internship schedules outside Oregon. However, UO mitigates this with internship programs that work around the quarter system.

While multiple factors impact graduation rates, a paper by the IZA Institute of Economics suggests that students who switch to the semester system reduce their graduation rates by 3.7 percentage points.  

According to the paper, “The cost to students of this increase in time-to-degree is substantial and includes both the added tuition and the lost earnings from the additional time spent enrolled.”

This is valuable information for students fond of switching to the semester system considering the impacts this transition could cause.

Diego Mauricio Cortés, an assistant professor of media studies at UO, has a similar take. He’s taught in both systems.

“I’m happy with the quarter system,” Cortés said. “I don’t think the quality of education will change a lot if we go to semesters.”

Cortés pointed out a fix for the fast-paced learning that many complain about.

“This could be resolved by providing classes in a sequence system, so you have theory one quarter and then apply those theories to practice in the next quarter,” Cortés said.

Switching to a semester system would also be difficult. A term system is more than just a calendar. Universities would fall victim to significant costs, updating schedules, websites and course structures.

The quarter system needs improvement, but I enjoy its fast-paced rigor and the ability to explore different areas of study. I hope it’s here to stay.

The post Heffron: Which term system is better? appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Finding a hidden gem in a thrift store for an affordable price is always satisfying. However, often when I’m flipping through racks of used clothing, the items I find have a ridiculous number attached.

Carhartt pants ripped in the crotch are priced over $20, and fleece jackets matted down with questionable stains are at $30. Who sets the price so high on these damaged items?

The answer is nonprofit thrift stores, which get all of their products from donations. What gives these organizations, with mission statements based around helping those in need, the right to mark up used items that are not wearable?

Thrift stores have historically provided a cheap way to find functional clothing for those who need it, and as thrifting becomes more popular, these companies are betraying their original functions.

Sadly, many people blame resellers for the inflation in thrift stores. I’ve heard people say thrift stores are trying to emulate what vintage stores and resellers do for a living to make more money. 

Thrift stores and vintage stores are anything but similar.

Thrift stores, which are often chain stores, are donation based, and sell a wide variety of items.

Vintage stores hand curate and resell the items that they find to turn a profit, making the experience more curated. 

Nadav Kramer, a University of Oregon class of 2024 graduate and vintage clothing collector, said, “I don’t think that it’s fair to compare thrift stores and vintage stores considering they cater to completely different audiences.” 

The average person thrifting is looking for affordable, functional clothes — not paper-thin graphic T-shirts from the 1980s priced at $14.99, similar to vintage store prices.  

Vintage stores are curating a certain style, while thrift stores aren’t. They simply mark up products based on similar items online, pretending to curate, and failing. 

According to the data from the United States Census Bureau, “the U.S. secondhand market will more than double by 2026, reaching $82 billion.”

This is largely due to companies like Depop and eBay. People can make a living off of these online platforms. Some thrift stores could see this growth and capitalize on it. Both have websites that sell higher-end products for a premium.

Peter Michaels is the owner of Founded Vintage based in downtown Eugene. Michaels makes a living off of curating an experience for his customers through vintage clothing. Although he hasn’t felt the effects of the rising thrift store prices, he points out the strain it puts on other people.

“It’s horrible,” Michaels said. “Homeless people can’t find a jacket that’s warm for less than $20.” 

Michaels has been able to avoid feeling the effects of thrift inflation by being resourceful. 

“I would say that if there is any effect on resellers, it’s just people getting the product in a different way and going to the racks less,” he said.

Thrifting seems like it’s dying, but is still viable.

Search for deals at your local mom-and-pop thrift stores. These establishments are not corporatized. Prices at these thrift stores are almost always cheaper.

Local vintage stores often have affordable $10 racks — similar to an affordable thrift store with amazing finds already chosen for you.

As Michaels puts it, “thrift stores are trying to corporatize something that can’t be corporatized.”

Sadly, thrift stores allow their corporate prices to hurt those they claim to serve. Thrift stores will continue to cosplay vintage and resale stores, but they will always lack the knowledge and eye for curation that resellers spend years developing.

The post Heffron: Is thrifting dying? appeared first on Daily Emerald.