Photograph by Alexis Finger

There is a cloud over the land; it’s oppressive, dispiriting and frightening.

It is the political and social fallout from the nuclear election results of Nov. 8. We thought if we turned our televisions off, stopped seeking news, and refrained from talking about what happened, we could isolate ourselves from the pain of the event and the consequences of the changes in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, there is no escape. We are all affected one way or another.

As members of the Drexel community who are working, learning and teaching at a university that embraces scientific research, seeks the truth and respects all kinds of diversity, we are at great odds with the policies and practices now coming from Washington, D.C.

The undisguised hostility towards minorities is particularly troubling. The truth is that the United States has never been “great” in the way minorities have been treated, originating with the Native Americans. With time, there were signs we were getting better.

We were evolving into  a more inclusive society. When the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, we were jubilant. The perception was that we were on a roll. We were wrong.

It is very possible that our complacency contributed to the “shattering” results on the night of Nov. 8 that froze our progressive clock.

The election of a person who publically demonizes Muslims and Mexicans, shames women and shows disdain for immigrants and insensitivity toward disabled people was a few steps backward. This one said: beware of the Americans who want to go back, back to a time when people felt licensed to express hateful thoughts.

It’s hard to believe this is happening today, but it is. People who we never thought would harbor intolerant ways of thinking seem to be “coming out of the woodwork.” Instead of excoriating blatant acts of prejudice, there is silence in Washington. Though prejudice is condemned on the Drexel University campus, the general atmosphere in our country is far from reassuring.

Thus, the time for passivity and complacency is over. We can either succumb to feelings of despair and isolation or come together and engage in positive initiatives that help give us a sense of purpose and empowerment.  

Acts such as marching in the streets, calling our legislators and submitting editorials to our newspapers can all help register our rejection of prejudice. We should all take initiative. For those of us who enjoy art, there are other opportunities, as well.

On Drexel’s campus, there is a dramatic performance that can help enlighten people about the dangers of prejudice and the hurtful behavior that it generates. Members of Drexel University’s Readers’ Theater Alliance come together to embrace all our differences in position, age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual orientation.

During our rehearsals, we educate each other about our distinctness, support those who feel threatened and empower ourselves with the conviction and confidence needed to reject acts of prejudice and spread our message.

The Drexel University Readers’ Theater Alliance was created in the Spring of 2014. Before Donald Trump surfaced as a candidate for president, ignorance about different minorities was a concern of the College of Arts and Sciences English Language Center, a place that celebrates diversity. In response to this problem, a few of us who enjoy literature and appreciate the power of drama, came up with the idea of a Readers’ Theater that focuses on prejudices. We selected three significant types of prejudice — racism, anti-semitism and homophobia — for our first script: “Better to Light a Single Candle Than Curse the Darkness.” It contains scenes from plays, movies, songs, poems and editorials.

Because the script is for a Reader’s Theater rather than a traditional play, performers can hold their script when they speak their parts. Music and slides enhance the performance and programs provide additional background information. Every member of the cast wears a T-shirt that says: “I Am What I Am.” After the performance, members of the audience are invited to ask questions and share their own stories of intolerance, stories that can be the inspiration for a new script that the Readers’ Theater could perform.

Any member of the Drexel University community, including those who participate at the Dornsife Center, is welcome to attend a performance in the Gerri LeBow Hall, room 220 at 5:30 p.m. May 15.

We hope more people will join the Readers’ Theater and perform with us. Together we can create a form of sunshine that will help us diminish the destructiveness of this hovering cloud and give us the impetus to keep going until it is significantly reduced, if not completely eradicated.

Photograph courtesy of Smailox at Pixabay

This morning I read two online news articles about people spreading Nazi propaganda. I’ve seen multiple comments on Facebook that drive home the reminder that this country’s government wants to take away my rights for being a woman, for being gay, for being an immigrant. I’m scared to check some of my favorite websites, because I know they’ll probably just bring me more bad news.

People have talked for a long time about how the increase in social media use gives us, as a society, more exposure to current events — in both a good and a bad way.

Good, because it allows us to be more socially conscious and better informed, giving us an awareness of what’s happening in the whole world with just one click. Bad, because dealing with a constant tirade of bad news is a strain on anyone’s mental health.

But recently, these effects have been multiplied a hundred times over. Literally — Donald Trump has already signed more executive orders than Barack Obama did in his entire first year as president.

And the decisions he’s made are shocking, frequently going against the basic human rights of minority groups.

So it’s no surprise that people are overwhelmed by the amount of terrible news we’re forced to wade through on a daily basis just to see what memes our friends are posting.

That’s why it’s more important than ever for us to remember that politics is just one aspect of life. It’s great to stay informed, but we shouldn’t give Donald Trump — or any other politician — the satisfaction of taking over everything we do.

When the weather is good, one of my favorite places is the porch swings outside 30th Street Station — they’re a great place to sit and listen to music and people-watch. I also love going to formalwear stores to try on expensive dresses I’ll never be able to afford. Or, if I don’t feel like leaving the house, I can completely lose track of time by drawing or cross-stitching. If I’m feeling nice, I’ll clean the kitchen and bathroom for my roommates.

These are just some examples of things I like to do to give myself time away from newsfeeds, article links and the impending threat of disaster. However, everyone has their own distraction.

A lot of people find exercise really helpful for occupying their minds, but really it should be about whatever works for you — anything from taking care of a foster cat to entering hot dog eating competitions.

In fact, I’d say that right now is the best possible time to take up a new hobby that you’ve always wanted to try. Even though it might seem like the worst time, since our minds are already in so many places at once and we’re busy planning for possible disasters, it’s actually the best time to do something for yourself and take time to enjoy life while so many people are trying to make life more difficult.

If you really don’t have any ideas about what to do for self care, try texting a friend and offering to treat them to dinner, enforcing a ‘no politics’ rule on the conversation.

Maybe talking to them will offer up some more ideas, and, if not, at least you’ll have a fun night and you’ll feel good about yourself, having done something nice with your friend.

Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore at Flickr

This Saturday will be the 100th day of the Trump presidency.

“No matter how much I accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days, & it has been a lot (including S.C.), media will kill!” the president tweeted April 21.

The president typically tweets about things that trouble or glorify him. Why then is he tweeting about this? Simply put, he knows that he and the GOP-controlled Congress have blown a historic opportunity.

The Republicans have spent at least seven years setting up this position. They took over state legislatures just in time for the census and redrew the congressional districts to effectively guarantee them control of the House of Representatives for the next decade. They fought and obstructed their way into the majority in the Senate.

They prevented the filing of a Supreme Court seat for almost a year on the gamble that they would get to select Antonin Scalia’s successor. And now they control the presidency. Throughout all of this, they based much of their platform on the premise that they had a better plan than what was being offered by the Democrats. Of course, because one branch of government was always out of their control, they always had an excuse as to why they hadn’t implemented it yet. But that is not an excuse anymore.

With such extraordinary control of the government, and the amount of organization and planning that went into acquiring it, one would presume that the GOP government would be pushing legislation through like a well-oiled printing press. But instead, the most significant pieces of legislation that have been passed have made it easier for mentally ill people to buy guns, transferred control of internet privacy from the Federal Communications Commission to the Federal Trade Commission, and used the Congressional Review Act to void an unprecedented 23 regulations.

By Republican standards, this is actually pretty small pickings. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), is still the law of the land. Tax reform is still in committee. And this is just what the legislature has failed to fulfill.

The president created a 100-day agenda; his “contract with the American voter.” He promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, create massive infrastructure bills, eliminate Common Core, tax reform, build the wall, crack down on sanctuary cities, enact his “extreme vetting” and label China a currency manipulator. All of these have either gone nowhere or have been blocked by the courts.

His most meaningful “accomplishments” are those he was able to do without much need for congressional support: unilaterally pulling us out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and nominating a conservative to the Supreme Court that required a rule change to get confirmed. Otherwise, anything that requires deal making has been sunk.

So why all this focus on the first 100 days? For those who don’t know, the first 100 days of any administration’s term are always the most crucial. This began with Franklin Roosevelt, who saw his first 100 days as crucial to the success of his agenda. This is not entirely unreasonable, as this period is typically a honeymoon period where no one will be running for reelection yet, and the goodwill of the voters is still high. As a result, items on the legislative agenda can move through the legislator with more ease than at other times.

Obama for example had passed sweeping financial regulation reform, passed the stimulus, and helped turn the nation back from the brink of a second depression. Knowing this, Trump put forward his 100-day plan during the campaign. But when asked about it recently, he tried to distance himself from it. Why? Because he knows he blew it.

By any objective metric, regardless of what you think of his policies and plans, President Trump has wasted a golden opportunity. He is seeing that the GOP, plagued by infighting once kept dormant by a mutual hatred of Obama, is not ready to govern. It is easy to protest but much harder to create change or actually “drain the swamp.” Faced by a potential government shutdown unheard of when one party controls all branches of government, he was forced to retract his down payment on his border wall.

And for once, Republicans can do little to blame the Democrats. Though they do not have a supermajority in the Senate, a little deal-making could get the eight votes the GOP needs to steamroll through legislation. Though they have some internal divides, deals could still be made to help bring them together on tax and healthcare reform. All sorts of deals could be had for the GOP with all the power it currently should be able to wield. If only Republicans had helped elect a man who supposedly wrote the book on making deals.

Given the recent explosive actions taken by Donald Trump, it’s more important than ever that President Fry declare Drexel a sanctuary campus.

For those out of the loop, a sanctuary campus is an institution of higher education that actively adopts policies that protect its undocumented students and workers. These policies include, but are not limited to, pledging to not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to carry out activities with no legal basis such as raiding on campus, and pledging to not voluntarily give out information about those of undocumented status to authorities.

In December, Fry sent out an email to the Drexel community explaining that he had signed a statement, hoping that “DACA is ‘upheld, continued, and expanded.’” He also went on to say that “Drexel [would] not join other universities in declaring itself a ‘sanctuary campus,’” since “it has no basis in law.”

However, there is no concrete basis in law to forced detentions and deportations of groups or individuals based on national origin or religion either.

In fact, Trump’s anti-immigrant orders as well as the corresponding actions of ICE are borderline unconstitutional. In addition, the concept of offering sanctuary to the persecuted transcends laws and borders — it is a simple demonstration of humanity that is rooted in morality, humanism and global faith traditions.

Signing a petition is not enough. It would be disheartening to see Drexel comply with the lackeys of a tyrannical administration. Therefore, our school must take an active role in the sanctuary campus movement, which has been endorsed by the American Association of University Professors.

That’s why the Drexel Socialists (which I am a member of), in conjunction with a coalition of other student organizations, are organizing a pro-sanctuary rally on campus on May 1. The first of May is celebrated worldwide as May Day. The holiday has historically been associated with labor and working class action, and in recent years, pro-immigrant action. It’s the perfect day for a rally like this. It’s also the perfect day for the nationwide Day Without an Immigrant movement to call for a general strike, not only by recent-generation immigrants, but by the black and brown communities and the LGBTQ communities as well.

We encourage all to come. The rally will be at Perelman Plaza at 11 a.m. on May 1. It will be followed by a march to the Juntos-organized Day Without an Immigrant rally at City Hall at noon.

Drexel can be particularly stressful. With its fast-paced 10-week quarter system on top of co-op and extracurriculars, it can be difficult to find the time for all the homework and midterms that professors pile on.

Luckily, Drexel has systems in place for if the pressure of schoolwork gets to be too much. Up until the end of week seven, you can withdraw from a class with no penalty except for the ‘W’ that appears on your transcript (and having to fit the same class into your schedule again sometime.) And after that, if you’ve done most of the work but can’t quite fit in that final project, you can take an incomplete.

Incompletes are a really appealing idea. You’re exhausted and faced with the prospect of spending the last few days of the term not sleeping, and taking the incomplete would give you a whole year to work on that project and make it great instead of rushing it out at 3 a.m. during finals week. And most people take incompletes with the best intentions — that they’ll finish their work over break, or in the first couple weeks of the new term before pressure piles up.

The truth is, that very rarely ends up happening because in Drexel’s fast-paced environment, there’s always newer and more exciting things to focus on. Whether it’s an honors project in your new class, taking up running because the weather’s getting nicer, or picking up extra hours at work to save for a summer vacation, there will always be a million things that seem more important than an assignment for a class that feels like it’s over.

Currently, I have two outstanding incompletes on my transcript. One of them is from fall term, and I intended to finish my last project (which involves giving a presentation) right at the beginning of winter. The problem is, whenever I email the professor trying to set up a time, she doesn’t reply until after the dates I’ve suggested. And now I’m on co-op working full time, so I can’t go to her office hours.

Every term brings new classes, a new schedule and a new life for both the students and the professors. It can be difficult to remember everything we have to do in the present, let alone still having outstanding work from earlier to focus on. There’s a limit to how much an individual person can do at once, and in my experience, the thing that gets pushed to the side is usually the work from last term’s class that still needs doing.

Of course, there are some situations where it’s okay to take an incomplete. If you have an unexpected illness or family emergency, that can’t be helped, so needing extra time for schoolwork is understandable. But if it’s just a matter of procrastination and bad time management, then the sad truth is that those habits won’t magically change in the new term.

I begin every single term by saying to myself, “This quarter, I won’t be as busy and I’ll have time to stay on top of my schedule and get everything done!” Every term, I turn out to be lying and I know I’m not the only one.

So do yourself a favor and start planning now to get all your work in before spring quarter ends. You’ll thank yourself this summer when you can take a weekend trip to the beach rather than being holed up in the library working on old term papers.

Photograph courtesy of Logan Ingalls at Flickr

As the spring weather dawns on us all, the time to transition back to reality has come. This semester, we must ensure that we flourish, and that begins with textbooks. The bookstore offers these books. But at what cost? In a survey of over 5,000 students across college campuses in America, Student Public Interest Research Groups reported students spending on average a total of $300 per semester on textbooks. Personally, I spent $300 dollars on my physics textbook alone last quarter — a real tragedy considering the price I’m already paying to attend.

According to NBC’s review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data, the price of textbooks has seen a  1,041 percent increase over the last 38 years. The prices are appalling, but the books must be purchased. Usually, core classes are accompanied with recitations in which the students go over the most important and relevant questions that are later found on midterms and finals. The questions often come from the assigned textbook, so without them we’d all have a hard time preparing for tests.

Still, it’s possible for students to break free from these financial shackles. If digital versions of all textbooks were offered, a world of opportunities would open for students.

Digital textbooks — textbooks available for digital download that can be viewed as a PDF —  easily solve the problem of price. They are available on Drexel’s bookstore website, and are cheaper than hard copies. The smartest purchase of my freshman college career was renting my General Chemistry book digitally, rather than getting that hard copy. The $200+ I saved really came in handy later.

Going digital can also help the environment by saving paper. It also prevents an abundance of outdated textbooks that end up outdated on classroom shelves. An average classroom can contain around 9 thousand pages of wasted material!

The Green Press Initiative, an organization that works with book and newspaper industry stakeholders to conserve natural resources, preserve endangered forests, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and minimize impacts on indigenous communities, discusses the usage of paper to print textbooks yearly.

“Each year, approximately 30 million trees are used to make books sold in the United States — 1,153 times the number of trees in New York City’s Central Park. Many of these trees are sourced from endangered forests with devastating impacts on the people and wildlife that rely on them,” its site reads.

So, by making the switch to digital, we can minimize the impact our actions have on forests and wildlife.

Some argue that digital reading induces strain on our eyes due to a phenomenon called computer vision syndrome. This is where the eye muscles cannot keep up with the strain that comes from continually refocusing on small text, with backlit screens and distractions such as ads. While this is understandable, (and I have experienced this a few times myself) today electronics are adjustable to nearly any eye. We can brighten and dim screens, zoom in and out, and even remove ads. Also, there are many reading applications and hardware that mimic the readability of a book to a tee. With so many options, the effect of computer vision syndrome is lessened.

We should consider making the switch to digital textbooks. If we do what we can now, we can push our future toward a less expensive and environmentally friendly education.

It’s time for a change.

According to philly.com, Central High School teacher George Bezanis is raising money for a plane to fly a banner over the NFL draft, and it won’t be about the Eagles — it’ll be about how it’s been more than three years since Philadelphia teachers have received a new contract.

Around 200,000 people are expected to attend the draft, philly.com reports. Bezanis, as of April 20, has raised $985 in hopes of taking advantage of the temporary national attention to emphasize the teachers’ predicament in not having a contract, which has prevented them from getting a raise for the last five years.

Some of the messages that donors can vote on for the featured message are, “JOCKS GET PAID TEACHERS GET STRAPPED PFT.ORG” and “CITY HALL <3 SPORTS BUT HATES OUR TEACHERS.” Both take jabs directly at Philadelphia playing host to the draft.

To be fair, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers union and the school district have been deliberating on a contract for years. And, while NewsWorks reports that the city of Philadelphia will be spending up to $500,000 on the event, an agreement for the teachers would likely require upwards of $100 million.

But the juxtaposition is worth considering. If 200,000 people were as impassioned about the teachers’ salary freeze as they were about the NFL draft, would more progress be made to help the teachers who haven’t seen a raise in pay in nearly half a decade? And even if Bezanis succeeds in commissioning a banner plane, will anyone bother to look up?

According to NewsWorks, city officials are anticipating $86 million in city-wide revenue from the draft, which will take place April 27-29. Meanwhile, Philadelphia educators have no choice but to wait for a contract that always seems to be just out of reach.

For those interested, Bezanis’ crowdfunding site for the banner plane can be found at https://www.chuffed.org/project/support-teachers-nfl-draft.

Photograph courtesy of US Air Force/Eglin Air Force Base/ZUMA Wire/TNS

According to whitehouse.gov, President Donald Trump claims that “peace through strength” will be the premise of his U.S. foreign policy and that this will lead to a “more peaceful world with less conflict and more common ground.”

On April 6, this “advocate for peace” launched 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase.

This action was taken to retaliate against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s recent chemical attack on his own civilians. Trump evidently wanted to protect the very population that he bans from entering the U.S.

“It is in this vital national security of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons,” Trump claimed.

In other words, to prohibit one type of weapon, we fought back with another type of weapon. Because fighting violence with violence is always the answer, right? Spending almost $60 million on this poorly planned endeavor just makes sense, right?

Though the attack did damage some Syrian aircraft, at the end of the day, only a trivial portion was destroyed, meaning Syria’s civil war will continue despite our efforts — and large sums of money spent. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that only 23 of the missiles made it to the base and only six planes were blown up.

Trump initially opposed taking action against Assad’s regime during his campaign, but we all know how well Trump sticks to his words. His inability to follow his preliminary promises and the ease at which he can be influenced further emphasizes his inability to effectively lead. Trump doesn’t care about the Syrian citizens — he cares solely about his plummeting ratings and hoped this response could give him the boost he desperately needs. And while some are happy with his decision, it’s important to recognize that violence cannot be the new trend for our foreign policy.

The civil violence in Syria is heartbreaking and should unquestionably be denounced. But an impromptu bombing does not effectively take a stand against this issue and most certainly will not lead us to the peace that Trump has pledged.

This effort to lessen world violence could potentially lead to more violence in the world, as Russia is allied with Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strike violated international law and is considered an  “act of aggression.” President Trump is not good at very many things, but one thing he is exceptional at is ticking off other countries. Russia is not a force to be reckoned with and when dealing with such a prominent risk, we should not so quickly bring out the weapons.

Trump tweeted, “Things will work out fine between the U.S.A. and Russia. At the right time everyone will come to their senses & there will be lasting peace!”

Oh yes — lasting peace. Dropping bombs as habitually as he tweets will not lead to lasting peace in the world. And it’s not a matter of people coming to their senses — it’s a matter of taking global matters more seriously and thoroughly considering the consequences of such attacks before making decisions that could very possibly lead to another world war.

And to further demonstrate his “peaceful” diplomacy, less than a week later, Trump made the decision to launch another strike in Afghanistan against members of ISIS. While this decision was more reasonable as it adhered to Trump’s agenda to crackdown on ISIS (something that I do agree we need to concentrate on) it nevertheless represents a detrimental shift in our foreign policy.

Known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” or MOAB, the device was dropped April 13 and was the most powerful non-nuclear bomb ever utilized by the U.S.

In just a little over three months, Trump has launched two major attacks in two different parts of the world. It’s terrifying to think about what his next move could be. With a foreign policy categorized by rash decisions, vast ignorance, a passion for violence and a selfish need to improve ratings, the end results could mean bad news for America.

Bombs are not the answer to every problem. We must thoughtfully pick our battles and not instantaneously rely on violent means.

For someone so focused on “peace,” his current actions do not seem to align with all of the idiocy incessantly spewing out of his mendacious mouth.

“Bombing the shit of of ‘em” will not be an effective solution moving forward and it most certainly will not lead to less conflict in the U.S.

Maybe Trump could spend a little less time golfing and tweeting and a little more time reevaluating his foreign policy.

Photograph courtesy of Daderot at Wikimedia

Drexel University offers its students a vast array of resources that can be used to help with both academic and nonacademic needs.

Upon arriving at Drexel, one of my biggest concerns was that I would become a victim of the infamous “Freshman 15.” I was never the kind of person that would workout regularly because physical exercise did not always agree with me.

However, my brother who is currently in his junior year at Drexel invited me to come to the gym with him in the mornings and I agreed, not realizing what I was getting myself into.

Saying that the first week was brutal would be an understatement. Having to get up at 6 a.m. every weekday was something for which I was horribly unprepared. After the first week I was ready to call it quits.

But strangely enough, I stuck with the early mornings because I knew that I would never be able to convince myself to go the gym in the evening after my classes were finished.

It wasn’t until several weeks later when I started to see and feel the results of going to the Recreation Center and working out each morning.

The healthiness that I felt was not strictly physical. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back on it now, much of my healthy mental state was a direct result of working out.

An article on HelpGuide.org talks about how exercising can help with things like depression, anxiety, stress, ADHD and PTSD.

Out of those mental ailments, stress is the one that I remember feeling during the week of midterms. I was never stressed out to the point where I felt sick, but all the work that I had to do started to drain me mentally.

Working out made dealing with the pressure of exams easier for me because seeing myself progress each week at the Rec Center made me very optimistic about everything, and working out in the morning also put me in a good mood for the rest of the day, which also made my class experiences more enjoyable.

An article on the Huffington Post also talks about how working out can reduce stress, improve self-confidence, boost brainpower and even sharpen memory among other things.

There have also been studies done which indicate that college students who workout at their campus gym were more likely to get a higher-grade point average than students who don’t work out.

One study that illustrates this is an article on Purdue.edu that discusses how working out can in some cases improve academic performance.

Recently, working out has definitely had an impact on my academic performance. Now, I only workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I’ve come to notice that I am more active on these days and I tend to get more homework done.

Working out has also helped me become more consistent when it comes to getting things done. Learning to dedicate a few hours each morning to my physical health made it easier for me to dedicate a few hours every evening to studying.

I can say with great confidence that I have become a more diligent and hardworking person as a result of working out, and being physically healthy is a nice bonus.

Photograph courtesy Michael Murphy Flickr

Winter is the most brutal season for college students. It’s a time of year when we feel at our worst.While this isn’t necessarily attributed to the cold harsh weather of winter, it certainly can play a big role in how we feel.

Seasonal affective disorder is a very real thing, as an article on HelpGuide.org talks about how SAD symptoms generally start at the beginning of fall, become worse throughout winter and subside in spring or early summer. I had to force myself to go places during the last quarter so that I wouldn’t stay cooped up in my room day in and day out. It was a long ten weeks to say the least, but it’s spring now and that means it is time to take full advantage of all the wonderful attractions that the city of Philadelphia has to offer.

There are a myriad of fun places in Philadelphia. Some of them are within walking distance of Drexel’s campus and others require some form of transportation to reach in a decent amount of time. I have a few favorite places that I like to hit up, but which one you should go to depends on what you’re in the mood for.

If you are in the mood for getting in touch with your inner animal-lover, then take a few hours to visit the Philadelphia Zoo and see some of its overly energetic creatures.

Or perhaps you’re looking to treat yourself to some exotic food instead of the Chick-fil-A sandwich and fries combo that so many of us students have come to rely on. Well look no further than Reading Terminal. It’s a bit of ways away, but the variety of foods that you can find there along with the superb quality is worth the traveling distance.

If you’re more of an artsy kind of person, then the Philadelphia Museum of Art is right on the other side of the Schuylkill River.

If I’m being honest though, you don’t have to go to any of these places to enjoy the incredible weather that comes with spring. Just go outside. It’s as simple as that.

During winter quarter, I often found myself spending a lot of my time in my room reading while I listened to music. It was a good way to pass the time, but it wasn’t always the most enjoyable feeling. Now that it’s spring I can go outside and take up residence on one of the many tables just outside Northside Dining Terrace, or plop down on the grass right outside Race hall.

The level of difference between reading while listening to music in a small room while reading and listening to music outside on a sunny day is greater than one would think. Plus you get plenty of vitamin D from the sun, so that’s even more incentive to go out and do something, instead of spending this spring in your room.

It’s still fairly early in the spring quarter, and this is probably going to be the most amount of free time that we will get all quarter, so let’s not waste it sitting in our rooms. Go out and do something, even if it’s just a walk around the campus, or a trip to the bookstore. You could really enjoy it, and possibly end up adding it to your weekly or even daily routine.