Cougar Place is one housing option available to sophomores and above, or any student over 20 years old. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

As students settle into their dorms, many have already developed their own thoughts and feelings about their residence halls. 

The University provides an extensive list of housing options and within a four year period, experiencing all the options is out of the question. 

The Cougar created a poll asking students to rank four of the residence halls on campus. It was a close race but here are the results of the poll.

No. 1 University Lofts

With the option to have your own bedroom and a view of downtown for some units, it is no surprise that The Lofts are a student favorite. The Nook, Pink’s and Domoishi are right around the corner for any quick runs and a store on the first floor means you won’t leave the building unless it’s for classes. 

You must be over 21 years old or junior standing to be able to live at The Lofts so no rowdy freshmen are allowed unless someone has the personality of one. 

No. 2 Cougar Place

Cougar Place can be seen an upgraded version of the freshman living situation. Instead of sharing two bedrooms among four people, there are four private bedrooms that are shared among four people. Only sophomores or students older than 20 can choose Cougar Place as their home for the year. 

It’s right next to the Cougar Woods Dining Commons and a close distance away from the science and engineering buildings for STEM students. 

No. 3 Cougar Village 

Freshman only housing options include Cougar Village I and II, so students may have a variety of memories at these dorms ranging from fond and embarrassing moments. This housing location is right across from Moody Towers Dining Commons and a short walking distance from Cougar Grounds and all the essential locations including the M.D. Anderson Library and the Student Centers. 

The main difference between the villages is that Cougar Village I has its toilet and bath together while Cougar Village II has them separated on opposite ends of the floor plan.

This housing option can be a key part to building your character as a freshman. 

No. 4 The Quad

The Quad is similar to Cougar Place as it has four single bedrooms shared among four students and is right next to Cougar Woods. You must also be a sophomore or older than 20 to live at The Quad. 

The rooms are equipped with a full size bed for a comfy night of rest and the rooms also have the toilet and bath separated. 

The Quad also has the option to live at a townhouse building where meal plans are not required.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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“Ranking: The best residence halls at UH” was originally posted on The Cougar

Alina Velasquez/The Cougar

True crime media like the Dahmer series invalidate the victims as big name streaming companies like Netflix profit off of the traumatizing events and continue to glamorize serial killers. 

The Dahmer series has gained both negative and positive reviews but the most prominent ones are from the victim’s families. 

Errol Lindsey’s sister, Rita Isbell, was disturbed by the show as Netflix never contacted her or asked permission to have the show made. Eric Perry who is related to the Isbell’s has shared the same beliefs through Twitter over how traumatizing it is to see it come up all over again. 

Some viewers claim that it is important to showcase the dangers of people like Jeffrey Dahmer.

True crime media is consumed by a majority of women because they fear they will become a victim if they do not prepare themselves with the knowledge of a serial killer’s mind. They gain a sense of protection from watching a documentary nit-picking the mind of a killer and what someone should do in case they ever find themselves in such a dangerous situation. 

However, it should not be done at the expense of the families who lost family members in such a cruel, traumatizing way. 

With a large women majority, some of the viewers become obsessive in nature. Serial killers end up acquiring groupies, individuals who grow obsessed with serial killers and aim to get closer to them.

Even if it was not Netflix’s intention to glamorize Jeffrey Dahmer, it was their responsibility as a big name streaming company to respect the victim’s family and evaluate the effect of such graphic documentary on the general public. 

To add on, Netflix has been called out by one of the show’s crew members for their racist experience on set and lack of mental health coordinators available.

Netflix has also tagged the series under LGBTQ which was uncomfortable for many people as there are not many positive queer films. To have a series about a white man killing young Black and brown men under the LGBTQ tag is jarring. 

A lot of things were done wrong by Netflix not only during production but before and after. The streaming company should have done more research, contacted the original families and ultimately decided that the series should not go through. 

True crime documentaries provide an insight on the mind of one of the most dangerous and uncanny individuals but they should not worsen the trauma for those affected by such heinous crimes. 

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a sophomore journalism student who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com 

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“The Dahmer series is problematic, harmful” was originally posted on The Cougar

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar

Content creators are losing their relatability as they climb up the social ladder and into higher tax brackets. 

Several content creators gain their fame by marketing themselves as a relatable person who struggles with things like everyone else. 

However, when you stop becoming an ordinary person and transform into someone worthy of being invited to high-end award shows, the way you handle that transformation is what keeps your fans invested.

Emma Chamberlain has steadily risen through the ranks of internet notoriety, from instant-star YouTuber to hosting a podcast to interviewing people like famous actors and Olympians. 

More recently, she’s been recognized as a mainstream celebrity with her Met Gala appearance to her Aritzia brand collaboration.

These accomplishments are seen as an official brand of stardom by a majority of people. It removes her almost entirely from the content creator label and elevates Chamberlain above the rest of the influencer crowd.

With her entire image evolving from the quirky girl next door to the red carpet fashionista, she’s still managed to hold onto an essential part of her personal brand: relatability.

However, there is tension created as you start forcing relatability on your audience when meeting celebrities, living in a mansion and wearing high-end clothing is not something a common viewer could relate to. 

It’s becoming more and more common for content creators to form parasocial relationships with their audiences, as casual social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat become more prominent. 

Parasocial relationships are what keep a fan engaged and are more likely to spend money on a content creator’s collaboration, food recommendations and just overall be a constant supporter. 

These emotion-based relationships are slowly erasing the boundary needed between audiences and celebrities. As these boundaries fade, it becomes more and more likely that audiences will demonize content creators when they inevitably mess up.  

People like Chamberlain have massive platforms because they market their relatability in such a gripping manner. It’s easy to come back to her content, and she has a way of clicking with her viewers time and time again. 

Lately, however, she has been critiqued for growing more and more out of touch with her material items. 

In an episode of her podcast, “pet peeves,” she calls her Apple Watch a burden. In some of her other podcast episodes and other posts, she complains about living in her multi-millionaire mansion. 

Her fanbase has become increasingly weary of these sentiments, and these instances are discussed over platforms like Reddit and Twitter. 

Many fans echo that Chamberlain is no longer relatable or that her complaints are based on situations that only come from extreme monetary privilege. 

If Chamberlain hadn’t built her image off of being the funny, normal girl who just happened to get famous, it’s likely she wouldn’t be as persecuted for these out-of-touch takes. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, who grew up in the celebrity-filled Beverly Hills, don’t catch nearly as much flack for idle complaints about their life. 

Chamberlain is a prime example of a relatable influencer who is losing touch with their fanbase. 

The audience’s shift in perspective regarding her can only be expected to happen to all relatable influencers in the future and it’s something both parties should prepare for.

Leo Coombs is a freshman biotechnology major who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com 

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“Content creators are losing touch with their fanbases” was originally posted on The Cougar

Jose Gonzalez Campelo/The Cougar

The newer generation of Hispanic Americans are recognizing the effects of generational trauma in their families as resources emerge to better understand their experience.

Generational trauma is an emerging term used to describe the traumatic experiences that get passed down through generations that can manifest into physical and mental symptoms. 

Some of the traumatic experiences that can be passed down through generations can be related to racism, poverty, domestic violence, sexual assault and hate crimes. 

For Hispanic Americans with migrant parents, their parents have a lot of regressed trauma related to their experiences either from their childhood, home country or present experiences. 

“Both my parents came from verbally and physically abusive male-dominated households,” said junior public policy major Cruz Almonaci. “Both were the eldest in their families, gaining the first beatings and the first scars. Both of them still struggle to talk about their childhoods. While they’ve never been physically abusive towards me, my relationship with them has been significantly strained from the ideologies they were forced to adopt and their own inability to heal from their traumas.” 

Because of the stigma surrounding mental health, a majority of these parents ignore their trauma which then affects how they parent their children. 

Now, these children have become full-fledged adults with mental, social and interpersonal issues that seem to have no origin until they take a look at their own upbringing. 

“Mental illness on my dad’s side of the family is not taken as seriously as it should be,” said junior public health major Jynx Flores. “His sister had dealt with depression and suicidal thoughts herself. I had not known this until my dad had found out I was struggling with these same issues, except it wasn’t brought up for understanding and comfort. It was brought up to further invalidate my issues as he proceeded to call her crazy.” 

Many children of immigrants take on multiple roles during their childhood as they become translators, negotiators, mediators and a placeholder for several problems immigrant parents face in family, financial and social contexts.

There is a conflict that arises from this complicated relationship as children are treated as adults even though they do not have the tools necessary to solve these problems, therefore, creating a child filled with uncertainty and higher levels of anxiety. 

“At home, I am the one expected to take over my mom’s responsibilities when she’s gone. She works 24/7 at her own job, at home and outside fixing our house,” said Almonaci.

“I have a hard time facing problems,” said Almonaci. “I often leave or shut myself out when in conflict with someone else the same way it happens with my parents when we fight. No apologies or conversations, just silence until someone breaks it and we move on. This habit has carried into my relationships with others. I have developed anxiety because of how controlling they can be.” 

Unresolved trauma can present itself in several ways, especially with immigrant parents who find it too painful to confront. However, it shouldn’t have to get to the point where their children are the ones suffering from the aftermath of their parent’s trauma. 

In order to increase conversations and resources surrounding generational trauma, there should be an investment in the research on the phenomenon to know how to prevent it or just lessen the strain it has on both the parent and child. 

As of right now, it’s just a word hidden in the psychology world, only found when someone is in desperate need of an explanation of their family dynamics and seemingly unfounded struggles.

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a sophomore journalism major who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Hispanic Americans are combatting generational trauma” was originally posted on The Cougar

Iqra Rafey/The Cougar

Generation Z is proving themselves to be more critical of the government than any generation before it which can end performative politics.

By prioritizing accountability and holding a more headstrong attitude towards their politics, Gen Z is placing the power of democracy back into the complete control of the people, the same fundamental value the U.S. was founded on.

Throughout the course of America’s history, politicians have dangled false promises amongst the heads of their constituents. 

This has slowed progression, as the people are not actually having their voices heard and concerns addressed. However, this practice, known as performative politics, may not be as common in the near future. 

As the first generation to have grown up without knowing what the world was like prior to the major technological shift, technology is now constantly at Gen Z’s fingertips. 

This has shaped their overall perception of the world and given them the ultimate advantage when it comes to advocating for change. 

Media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram have allowed people to post in real time when these events take place, as well as their own personal feelings on the matter. 

This has also effectively mobilized Gen Z to take action and speak out against various issues, especially ones that personally threaten their freedoms and way of life.

Growing up in a post-9/11 world with economic downturn, countless school shootings, the devastating effects of climate change and now a pandemic that has created greater paranoia about the future, Gen Z is more dedicated to taking matters into their own hands when it comes to their future. 

Through advocacy groups like GenZForChange, rallying and even supporting specific politicians in elections, Gen Z is beginning to shape American politics as more of them become old enough to vote and have noticeable influence. 

It is estimated that in 2024, Gen Z and Millennials will match the older generations in the voting age population.

One can easily see why Gen Z is frustrated, just by looking at the demographics of Congress. A whopping 86 percent of the House of Representatives and 88 percent of the Senate are Baby Boomers and Gen X, compared to eight percent and one percent of members of each respective chamber being Millennials. 

This means that there is a huge discrepancy between the desires of the people, where now more than 50 percent of the population is made up of millennials, Gen Z and beyond. 

The older and younger generations tend to heavily disagree on many issues, most recently being gun control and access to abortion. 

Over half of the U.S. population is not being properly represented. Distaste is evident, as Congress’ approval rating fell to a low 18 percent in January 2022.

“As someone who is relatively politically informed thanks to social media, I try to place trust in politicians who claim to work for us,” said mechanical engineering sophomore Mateo Cannata. “However, it is hard to do considering a majority of them grew up in a completely different America than we are currently living in.”

“They grew up in a time where minimum wage jobs could actually pay for their education, and where their degree practically guaranteed them a job straight out of college. We either have to live with our parents or put most of our earnings towards rising expenses,” he added.

The change that Gen Z is bringing is already noticeable. 

They are fizzling out support for more established political figures for what they claim as more seemingly authentic politicians who communicate with their constituents on a personal level, such as AOC. 

Gen Z candidates are also beginning to run for public office, as the upcoming 2022 midterm elections see Maxwell Alejandro Frost and Karoline Leavitt, both only 25, running for Congress. 

Running on opposite sides of the aisle, they represent a uniquely Gen Z mindset when it comes to the current regressive polarized state: reluctance to settle for less than demanded.

Michael King is a political science sophomore who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Gen Z can put an end to performative politics” was originally posted on The Cougar

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar

Scare tactics used by professors make the learning experience harder for students than helping them.

Teachers should be wary when it comes to throwing out threats that stress the number of hours they must spend to pass their class or how only a certain few will receive exceptional grades. 

A study done by the American Psychology Association shows that these tactics may be worsening student performance and decreasing student drive.

Students who felt threatened by a professor to perform well reported feeling less motivated to stick with the class and were scoring worse on exams on overall grades. 

A similar study found that students who were used to belittlement from educators felt dread when tests were coming up. They could already picture disappointment in their teachers’ eyes and hear the lecture they were going to hear about needing to do more. 

Another prevalent issue with college education is how teacher-student relationships are harder to form, especially readjusting from remote learning and adapting to a college setting as opposed to lower-level education. 

Good student-educator relationships promote learning, and an article by the Harvard Graduate School of Education provides suggestions to help both students and professors form positive relationships.

Educators are suggested to understand the science behind building solid relationships with students, become empathetic listeners, practice genuine vulnerability and find a way to center themselves when teaching becomes frustrating

Further difficulties in understanding positive teacher-student relationships are that educators and students define them differently.

Teachers describe healthy relationships as “close and supportive but not overly dependent” while students define them as having a teacher who listens and takes a personal interest in students’ lives.

This difference is creating a gap in understanding how to approach building these relationships. 

While it is important for a student to not be dependent on a professor for success, it is also important that an educator takes the time to make the student feel understood.

It can be overwhelming to create a positive classroom environment, especially in college where classes may not meet every day. Still, if professorscano identify these at-risk students and encourage rather than degrade them when it comes to work and provide tutoring and coaching services, then everyone wins. 

When wanting students to strive for excellence, it may be easy to throw out threats and cautions, but this simply does not work for most students.

Professors who find themselves using these scare tactics should reevaluate their teaching styles and focus more on positive reinforcement and creating a welcoming and fun learning environment. 

Sarah Elise Shea is a freshman English literature major who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Professor scare tactics do more harm than good to students” was originally posted on The Cougar

Dylan Burkett/The Cougar

Romance novels and the publishing industry are thriving as book sales have spiked because of Generation Z TikTok users.

Before the tremendous boost TikTok gave to the entire industry, it was heading rapidly to bankruptcy. 

Various Barnes & Noble store locations were closed around 2020 because of COVID-19 pandemic.  

However, the once dying publishing industry is now reviving as young readers are finding an increased interest in romance novels. 

Authors like Colleen Hoover, Tessa Bailey and Monica Murphy are some of the few romance novel writers that have been repeatedly recommended by book reviewers on TikTok. Their novels “It Happened One Summer,” “It Ends With Us” and “Ugly Love” are a few of them.

All these novels and many more have been part of the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Gen Z young adults are one of the main consumers of TikTok content with around 22 percent of them on the app. 

Because of them, Colleen Hoover’s sensation, “It Ends With Us,” was what many say started the book trend.

Under the hashtag #BookTok in the TikTok app, a person can enjoy 74.6 billion videos relating to the same topic, precisely romance book suggestions.

“It Ends With Us” is considered a romance book and has its own TikTok hashtag, #itendswithus, with its whopping 1.4 billion views on content related to the novel. 

Nowadays, many people view being trendy as going to a coffee shop, holding a tote bag and having a trendy book in hand. 

Books like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings have been the books with the most sales for quite some time now and romance books might catch up with them. 

Anyone interested in picking up a romance book any time should know that it comes with several benefits including increasing your empathy, reduces stress and relieves depression symptoms. 

As college students, a lot of time is spent on textbooks studying everything ranging from algorithm theory to the history of physics. Sometimes it’s okay to clock out of that environment and pick up a book to escape into another dimension. 

Romance novels are making a comeback so make sure you are taking a look to find your next escape. 

Sofia Contreras Rueda is a freshman English major who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“TikTok is bringing romance novels back” was originally posted on The Cougar

Dylan Burkett/The Cougar

Some students struggle recognizing domestic abuse in their college relationships, therefore, colleges must take action to provide additional support through increased social resources and promoting conversations. 

Navigating new people, experiences and expectations may be tricky but the hardest part of it all may come from not being properly educated on how to love safely.

Relationships and college campuses prove to have a plethora of ups and downs.

Many students end up feeling overwhelmed and confused navigating hookup culture, parties, the ‘we’re just friends stage’ and much more.

This doesn’t even begin to cover the exploration of learning your wants, likes, dislikes and other preferences when it comes to relationships. 

In college, many student often feel lonely.

In order to overcome loneliness, students take different routes that include putting themselves out there, talking to friends and families and finding reprieve through hookups. 

By their senior year, 72 percent of students have participated in hookup culture, according to a study.

The high percentage can be accounted for by a few things including societal expectations, sexual pleasure and relationship formation. 

With a majority of students’ relationship experiences resulting from hookup culture, the nature of the experience sometimes makes it difficult to have safe and trustworthy conversations.

Many students ignore the warning signs of violent and unhealthy relationships as they are eager to find their true love or someone to make them feel loved.

College-aged women are the most at risk of intimate partner violence with that age group reporting the highest cases of abuse.

Moreover, 21 percent of these women report abuse from a current partner while 32 percent report abuse from a previous partner. 

However, these cases hardly get reported.

Victims can feel trapped by their circumstances and even 52 percent of people who know of someone being abused believe that it is not appropriate to report that abuse. 

What proves to be even more concerning is that one in four college women have either been raped or suffered an attempted rape, with 90 percent of these victims knowing their attacker and 35 percent reporting that the rape or rape attempt happened while on a date, according Charles R. Ullman and Associates law firm.

Yet colleges often do very little to protect these students.

While Title IX requires colleges and universities to investigate the case, it does not require any legal trial, legal protective order or jail time. 

This general lack of accountability from administration leaves 80 percent of college students not reporting their sexual assault, as they fear that the lack of legal protection will put them even more at risk to their abuser. 

Colleges so often ignore the conversation around domestic abuse that many students are unable to recognize the signs as they mistake it for tough love rather than abuse. 

Domestic abuse is so unfortunately common that 12 million women and one in 10 men experience it. 

The numbers are higher for minorities and impoverished groups, especially immigrants, as they struggle through not only language barriers but a lack of social resources as domestic violence is so normalized in their communities. 

One of the main reasons domestic abuse is difficult to pinpoint is for its “honeymoon” period from the assailant which causes victims to stay and not recognize that they are in an abusive relationship.

There are things you can do to help someone in an abusive relationship, such as starting the conversation about it, offering support in a way that is beneficial to them, encouraging them to reach out to community resources as well as creating a safe escape plan with them.

Most importantly, you must make the hard choice of respecting their boundaries and decisions.

A lot of these victims may not understand that they are in an unsafe relationship and it is important not to corner them which may cause them to push support away.

Falling in love can be scary and sometimes dangerous, yet colleges do not do enough to educate students on how to find the warning signs. 

Initiatives must be taken, as well as more safety procedures, to better protect students on college campuses. 

Sarah Elise Shea is a freshman English literature major who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Domestic abuse warning signs are not talked about enough” was originally posted on The Cougar

Iqra Rafey/The Cougar

News literacy is important now more than ever, but the public is still unable to master the skill. 

Only nine percent of adults can decipher if a news organization does its own reporting and less than a quarter could not pick one source out of six that does its own reporting. 

When questioning high school students on the credibility of an unreliable source, 96 percent of students failed to do so. 

These numbers are concerning for a generation that has moved from printed news to digital news.

More than 80 percent of Americans get their news from digital sources and over half of teens get their sources specifically from social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Teens also find it important for them to stay up to date on the news. 

With these numbers, the public does care about the news but the way they are accessing it could hurt them rather than help them. 

Digital news moves at a faster pace which has the risk of spreading rumors, unreliable narratives and unchecked facts. 

Digital cookies also play a part in saving your information to continue showing you the same content which then increases bias. 

Even Google’s own search engine has been called out for its own gender bias when users search up occupations and they display male-oriented results. 

Accessing accurate and reliable news has gotten harder but there are ways to stay mindful and critical of the consumption of media. 

The main key to preventing the flow of inaccurate information is to look at more than one source. If the New York Times writes an article on a Supreme Court case, double-check the information with the Washington Post or the Houston Chronicle. 

Heading to the official White House website is also a valid resource to check your sources. 

Another way to increase your news literacy is to view every news article through a critical lens. 

This does not mean to disregard every news source that comes your way but to pause and mentally ask where the source was published, who wrote it,  and how it compares to other news media. 

News literacy is a skill that gets better with practice and although it might seem like a handful to go through these steps whenever you are consuming news, it creates the skills necessary to make sure you are not spreading the wrong information to yourself and others. 

With the upcoming elections and the increase of news sources, it is important to know where your news is coming from and which outlets are reliable. 

More likely than not, the one news article that pops up on your Twitter timeline will not have all the facts. 

Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism sophomore who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“News literacy needs to improve in adults” was originally posted on The Cougar

Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar

Scents are a huge part of the human experience and colleges should allow candles in dormitories so students can reap the benefits.  

Through all the chaos of college life, aromas can make the most unbearable days seem doable. 

These scents serve such a grand purpose that the essential oil market is set to hit $13 billion by 2024.

Essential oils can reduce anxiety, increase sleep and are even linked to stabilizing blood pressure. 

Much of this has to do with the brain’s anatomy as olfactory responses are tied to the emotional center of our brains and connect scents to memories. Thus, it elicits certain chemical responses when a familiar smell is wafted by. 

This phenomenon is even found in a literary passage by French author Marcel Proust. It has since been coined the “Proustian moment” known as a sensory experience triggering memories from the past. 

And it’s not just literature telling us of scents’ hidden abilities but science too.

Scented candles have been scientifically proven to be beneficial with certain scents linked to improving concentration and focus while also releasing chemicals like dopamine and serotonin that ease anxiety and depression. 

However, college students are often robbed of the benefits of scented candles, incense and diffusers as many dorm regulations forbid them.

UH prohibits candles and incense due to the risks of fire hazards. 

This leaves students with little to no options.

While there are always risks when it comes to open flames and walls filled with plugs, colleges need to step back and understand these are not being operated by children left unattended but by adults seeking higher education to further both their lives and careers. 

Instead of completely banning these scientifically-proven mood and study boosters, colleges could enforce other regulations like requiring someone to be in the room for a candle to be burned. 

These less-extreme preventative measures allow a safe dorm experience while also letting students feel more at home.

For students interested in what scent would benefit them best, studies link certain smells to certain perks; lemon promotes concentration, lavender is found to be calming, rosemary will help those fighting fatigue and cinnamon is for those go-getters ready to focus and study.  

Overall, college students should be trusted to handle candles and be able to reap the benefits many scents provide. 

After all, the smell of fresh-baked cookies never hurt anyone. 

Sarah Elise Shea is a freshman English literature major who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Scented candles, diffusers should be allowed in dorms” was originally posted on The Cougar