I sit at the edge of my seat, tapping my fingers on my desk, waiting for the spinning rainbow circle of doom to lead me to Oscar’s home page. I absolutely need this class, I tell myself. I’ll have to work my entire schedule over if I don’t get a seat.

What feels like an eternity later, the gates of Oscar’s laggy portal open, and I furiously type in all my CRNs, only to find out that half the classes I need are gone. I didn’t plan for this in my backup schedule. What do I do now?
Near tears, I struggle to fill my schedule with 12 credits of classes I didn’t even consider taking just to be considered a full time student and join all my waitlists. The fate of my schedule now rests in the hands of other students, who may or may not choose to drop the class I want, or professors, who may choose to add more seats as more students join the waitlist.

Does that sound dramatic? Well, the pain of Phase I course registration is undoubtedly alien to few. The lucky handful will get all the classes they need, while the rest of us scramble for the remaining seats like vultures.
The point I’m making is simple: coupled with limited availability classes and unreliable registration systems, Phase I course registration causes unnecessary stress for students at Tech, as we juggle our already-chaotic lives and the fear of finals breathes down our backs.

It really isn’t anyone’s fault. Yes, there are more students who’d like to take a class than seats available, so stress is an inherent part of the course registration process. But there are a few strategies that both students and professors can employ to mitigate this stress.

Firstly, adding seats to a class incrementally would give students with later time tickets a fair opportunity to sign up for classes that they need. Instead of making all 300 seats available at once, adding 75 seats at a time would help students decide if they need the class at all instead of blindly signing up for it just because it’s available.

Secondly, lots of classes have prerequisites that fill up rather quickly, so it might be helpful to have alternatives for prerequisite classes that students can take in case their first choice doesn’t work out. This way, students don’t have to rethink their entire graduation plan when something inevitably goes wrong and they can’t take the prerequisite they planned for.

Phase II will come and most likely get you off a waitlist. Don’t panic. Take a deep breath. You may not end up getting the section you wanted, but you will end up taking all the classes you need at some point.

Consult your resources and work out alternatives.

Phase I is phenomenally stressful, but don’t fret — it will all be okay.

Over time, Taylor Swift, possibly one of the most prominent singers of the generation, has changed her rhetoric through her song writing.

The former country singer, originally from Pennsylvania, wrote songs about the unabashed intensity of love as a teenager, releasing album after album detailing the magical, magnetic power of true love.

The original “Love Story” was one of these classic romantic songs, where Swift sang about the unconditional love between Romeo and Juliet and chose to give the Shakespearean drama a happier ending. With the strum of banjos and her country twang, she created a classic that would end up as a TikTok sound almost 13 years later.

In the summer of 2019, Swift took to social media to announce that her producing company, Big Machine Records, was planning to sell all of her original music to another company backed by media entrepreneur and music executive Scooter Braun. While she held her publishing rights, Swift lost the ability to make important decisions about her music, like whether it can be used in advertising or media.

Just after releasing two major surprise albums, “folklore” and “evermore,” in 2020, Swift has made the decision to re-record the first of her stolen albums — this time, with full control over her music.

In February, Swift announced the re-recording release date of Fearless, her second album originally recorded in 2008. A cryptic message posted on her Instagram has led fans to believe that the rest of the album will be out Friday, April 9.

The first single from her new recording, “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” is a refreshing yet faithful take on the wildly popular classic. The lyrics are the same, and she even hired the same fiddle player and backup singer that are heard in the original. The difference, here, is that audiences are given an opportunity to revisit Taylor’s old work from a new perspective and see how much she has grown and changed as a singer. Her voice no longer has that country twang, and the change in enunciation breathes life into the song.

While the song was originally written by a brash teenage girl exploring the depths of love and placing herself in a Shakespearean fantasy, this new single is written by an adult woman choosing self-empowerment and self-agency.

In the cover art of this album, she is seen wearing Romeo’s shirt, speaking to the ownership and independence she has grown to cherish.

“Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” provides a stark contrast to her recent albums, “folklore” and “evermore.”

Swift’s newer work peers into the concept of love with skepticism and remorse — a far cry from the Romeo and Juliet inspired romanticism of “Love Story.”

It is exciting to see Taylor Swift take charge of her own music. Such an influential artist revisiting past work will likely have an interesting impact on new releases as audiences get to relive the experience of listening to the song on the radio.

With the Buccaneers and Chiefs playing this year’s Super Bowl, tensions were high, leaving people at the edges of their seats in desperate anticipation. The game itself did not inspire too much excitement, however, as the Chiefs stumbled across the field like six-year old children trying on heels for the first time.

This year’s big game left much to be desired from the Chiefs – and unfortunately, the halftime show was not able to save the night.

While The Weeknd’s performance spoke compellingly of his story and experiences, but overall, the performance was nowhere near Super Bowl-worthy.

Given the chaotic nature of this year’s Super Bowl, perhaps an equally ill-coordinated halftime show makes sense. The themes that The Weeknd hoped to portray in the show are apparent – as he sang “Can’t Feel My Face,” he hobbled around an extremely well lit maze, zooming in and out of focus, literally acting as though he could not feel his face.

To say that Twitter had a field day with this is an understatement. Memes like “what my microwave sees” and “my teacher trying to figure out how to change the zoom settings” took Twitter by storm, all featuring a close up of The Weeknd’s confused face.

Unfortunately, the performance’s low points do not end there.

For his closing, The Weeknd makes his way to the field with hundreds of plastered look-alikes, most likely a representation of the time he got plastic surgery. They all gather to dance to “Blinding Lights,” with a choreography that was as winceworthy as it was chaotic.

His clones dance around, leaning in, before they all broke into freestyle, providing a disordered rave-like appeal to a usually well coordinated performance. That is, till the end, where all his clones appear to drop to the floor and The Weeknd is the only one left standing.

Overall, the performance itself is poorly executed, and to the average audience, it seems that The Weeknd put it together haphazardly. The production quality was low, and The Weeknd was stuck with a mic that made it nearly impossible to hear him.

On a more redeeming note, the themes that The Weeknd attempts to portray in this performance are beautiful. He wears the same red suit he donned for the MTV music awards and at the American Music Awards, where his face was bandaged post surgery.

The Weeknd used this performance to symbolically develop a story that features him and the struggles he has had to face in the past.

Unfortunately, the contrast created by the poetic character development and song lyrics featuring drugs and meaningless sex did not sit well with the audience, and left them just as confused as The Weeknd appeared while performing “Can’t Feel My Face.”

Next time, maybe save the soulful performance for a different event, The Weeknd. And turn up that gosh darn microphone. The Super Bowl is not about personal struggles, it is about fun.

Our Take: 4/5 Stars

Set in 1813 in high-society London, Netflix’s latest hit series “Bridgerton” has all the appeal of a Jane Austen novel.

Flowing ball gowns, rampant gossip and thrilling romance constitute some of the show’s steamiest and most exciting scenes.

A delightful, and perhaps superficial watch, “Bridgerton’” soapy drama has taken viewers by storm.

Following its release on Dec. 25, the show quickly claimed the top spot in Netflix’s Top Ten List and has already become the streaming service’s fifth most watched original series with over 63 million household views.

“Bridgerton” follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor, “Younger”).

She is a young aristocrat making her debut in London’s highest social circles seeking a suitor to marry.

Amongst competing young women, she must seal her position as the most beautiful, charming of the debutantes to find the best man to wed.

Considering the well-known premise, the show has gained popularity primarily due to its opulent aesthetics and charm. Production designers carefully crafted designer gowns and costumes, rolling gardens and extravagant events.

Women joke about wearing the same dress twice like it is a cardinal offense. Dowries are an expected custom in marriage.

Violin covers of pop music, like Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” and Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” juxtapose with historic settings and outdated customs.

Yet the show’s plot fails to live up to the grandiose settings of its scenes.

As she seeks suitors throughout her debut season, naturally, Daphne has questions.

Should she marry for love or rank? Is the purpose of marriage solely to have children and extend the bloodline? This moral dilemma has been the focus of many a tale and is hardly groundbreaking.

Throughout the season, it becomes clear that “Bridgerton” only takes about an episode or two to address these important thematic questions, while stretching out gossip-related side drama for multiple episode arcs.

The show lacks character development in this sense, constantly valuing exciting and dramatic scenes over a consistent storyline.

In the big picture, the show appears to lack cohesion, and the audience takeaway is the petty drama that occurs between high society women sipping their tea.

Although, what “Bridgerton” lacks in character development it compensates for in satire.

Obviously, the premise of the show is a feminist disaster — there are set expectations for Daphne and fellow debutantes must follow in order to “secure” a suitor of the highest rank possible.

Young women must be delicate and slim, clever but not too well read so not to “confuse [their] thoughts,” as one woman said to her daughter, and virtuously reserved.

And indeed, Daphne reflects the standards that weigh down on her as she sets off on her societally obligated search for a husband, she proves to be a clever conversationalist yet she only learns what sex is right before she leaves her home to live with her husband.

Presumably, this fallacy shows the stigmas of the 19th century era and how far society has since ascended in sex education.

More importantly, the show points out how far society still needs to go.

Our Take: 3/5 Stars

The bright lights illuminate the scene as Blackpink walks on stage. Each member assumes her position and in moments the audience is overwhelmed with the group’s harmonious vocals, bright lights and pop music. Sometimes, that is all that the audience sees – a group of four strong, beautiful women performing in unison, but what happens behind the scenes?

Just in time for the release of BlackPink’s latest record,“The Album,” Netflix’s new documentary, “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” premiered. The film follows Blackpink, a prominent all-girl Kpop group, and their journey
to fame.

The documentary goes through each member’s backstory and how they ended up on YG Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment company that trains and produces music for up and coming artists. All four of Blackpink’s members — Jennie, Lisa, Rosé and Ji-Soo — joined YG in their early-mid teens, and most of them dropped out of high school to train with YG.

The exposition of their challenging training days sets the tone for the rest of the documentary and their journey. Showcasing each member’s background serves as a contrast to the rest of the documentary, where they are more often seen as a family rather than acquaintances or friends.

Next, the documentary takes on a more intimate tone, walking through a timeline of Blackpink’s releases. From their vulnerabilities performing on stage to the overwhelming amount of pressure the group faced to release hit songs to the physical and emotional exhaustion they felt on tour, the documentary becomes much more personal.

It describes the challenges each group member faced as they quickly ascended to fame. After all, one of their first singles, “Whistle,” reached the number one on the South Korean charts in two weeks and went on to receive international attention.

But “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” doesn’t stop there. Interviews with each member highlight individual challenges and how the group came together to overcome them. The most prominent feature of Blackpink in its early days was the diversity within the group. Jennie is originally from China, Lisa is from Thailand, Rosé is from Australia and Ji-Soo is from South Korea. The diversity within this group was unheard of before Blackpink.

Jennie served as an English teacher for many of the group members and refined her own skills, recently producing an English-Korean rap hit, “Solo.”

All group members are fluent in at least two languages and developed the versatility to easily switch between languages by working with each other.

Ji-Soo, the oldest of the group, said that she felt an older sister-like instinct to “protect the other members and take care of them.” This instinct especially kicked in when Blackpink went on their first tour. In fact, Jennie referred to Ji-Soo as unnie, the word for “older sister” in Korean.

Lisa and Rosé became close friends, as they were recruited by YG Entertainment in the same time frame and quickly relied on each other to go through training. Through these roles, Blackpink became a family.

The turning point in the group’s journey was performing at Coachella for the first time in 2019. The group was about to complete an exhausting world tour and was especially nervous about an unexpectedly large audience. However, the performance helped them realize that Blackpink was not just a traditional K-pop girl group.

“They knew we wanted to try something creative and new,” Jennie said. Members also learned how to draw passion from the crowd to better their performance and become comfortable on stage. This was an important stepping stone in their journey and has shaped all of their on-stage performances since.

The documentary also disclosed Blackpink’s vision of the future, specifically the scary thought the group will be replaced by the younger generation in the future — but the group doesn’t seem very concerned about this fear.

Stream “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” on Netflix now.

The Exorcist

“The Exorcist” is a 1973 classic set in the 1950s. A woman and her 12-year old daughter, Regan (Linda Blair, “Savage Streets”), are living in Iraq, to film a movie about student activism. Nearby their residence is an ancient archeological dig. Regan soon experiences a variety of physical symptoms that concern her mother. When consultations with physicians and experts yield nothing, they must resort to other means to figure out exactly what is causing Regan to experience such symptoms..

In terms of horror movies, this one is both a classic and surprising, providing elements of the supernatural to support a conventional horror format. In its time, the movie was groundbreaking. This is the perfect old new movie to break out and watch a horror movie with a twist.

The Shining

Any list of horror movies would be remiss to leave out this next classic. “The Shining” is a perfect psychological horror — a conventional scary movie to watch on a stormy October night. The movie follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson, “The Departed”), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, as he begins a new position at the Overlook Hotel. The Overlook is a sketchy location with a history of murder and suicide. As Jack continues working there, he becomes violent and impulsive and suffers from recurring nightmares. All of these bad omens lead to a heinous series of events.

This 1980s movie represents all that is mysterious and thrilling about the horror genre — ”The Shining” is a classic, no fluff, no extras, no external elements. This is a must-watch. The simple it is written will have viewers on the edge of their couches, popcorn in hand, screaming, “Don’t open that door!”

The Silence of the Lambs

“The Silence of the Lambs” stars a young FBI trainee, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster, “Contact”), as she studies the case of famed serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”) in an attempt to apprehend him.

In order to trace his steps, Clarice talks to a series of imprisoned serial killers, seasoned criminals and experts.

Though technically not a horror, this murder mystery is sure to keep viewers hooked. The plot follows and shapes characters realistically, creating a dynamic setting that viewers are excited to follow. It is not quite a horror movie, but all the elements are there — the ominous setting, a shady main character and dark plot.

Insidious

Those who liked “The Exorcist” must give the “Insidious” series a try. It relies on similar elements of surrealism to craft a plot that combines supernatural events and an ominous setting.

The first “Insidious” movie features a family of five moving into a new home. Soon after their move in, the oldest son falls into a coma and a series of inexplicable events lead the family to move to another house.

Despite the move, sinister events follow. Perhaps the family members have been equipped with newfound superpowers? Or maybe the spirits of the house are following the family members to their new locations? How might these events change the dynamic between the family members? There’s only one way to find out.

This movie has all the tropes of a classic horror, but just like “The Exorcist,” the addition of a supernatural element drives the story forward and ironically, makes the story seem more realistic and three-dimensional.

Sinister

The “Insidious” series and “Sinister” are actually very similar. In this one, crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke, “Before Sunrise”) moves into a new home with his wife and child. Specifically, a new home where a family was murdered, with the intention to take inspiration from the murder in his writing. As the classic horror trope suggests, the house is haunted and leads to a series of unfathomable events.

For those looking for a predictable, and in turn, relatively relaxing horror movie, the “Sinister” series should be on the list. What it lacks in new and modern elements, it makes up for in the comfort of a classic, semi-realistic plot and great character development.

Minutes away from campus, Produce Express-o, a newly-opened grocery store features the same facilities and products at competitive prices. What makes it different from its competitors you ask? No rules and regulations.

The owner of the store, Jane Doe, opened the store to make it easier for anti-maskers to shop with like-minded individuals. “We really value freedom of expression over anything else,” she said. “The goal here is to create a safe space for anti-maskers to shop without judgment.”

Doe draws inspiration from her friends, who have faced significant problems while trying to shop in stores. “My friend, Karen, believes that masks go against her values of self-expression,” she said. “But whenever she tries to take her mask off, there are employees hovering around like vultures, waiting to tell her to put on her mask or leave the store.”

“It all makes for an unequivocally subpar shopping experience for everyone, not just her.”

Doe believes that in general stores, employees’ aggressive behavior stem from the guidelines that they are expected to follow.

“They can’t bear to see someone else break the rules when they are not allowed to do so themselves. It is about equating punishment for them.”

To pursue equality in the store, Doe decided to lift restrictions for customers as well as employees. “Like I said, we really do support freedom of expression for everyone. If customers can break the rules, employees should be able to do so as well.”

Employees can choose whether they want to wash their hands after using the bathroom, according to Doe. They are also free to avoid helping customers as they see fit, give themselves tips from customers’ credit cards as they see fit, and of course, remove their masks whenever they want.

“We see employees working without masks all the time,” Doe said. “Some of them don’t wash their hands after using the restroom, and others don’t wipe carts for customers. One of our employees walked past an older customer who was asking for help the other day and gave themselves a 45% tip for their excellent service during checkout. We can’t really enforce these rules because it would go against our core value of freedom of expression.”

For those pursuing a shopping experience that values their freedom, Produce Express-o is currently their only choice, though Doe hopes to open a franchise sometime in the near future for all those feeling restricted by a mask. In the meantime, there are a variety of alternatives to shopping here. Well, specifically one:

Wear a mask.

Netflix’s “The Social Dilemma,” is a 90-minute documentary featuring experts who have ample experience working in the social tech industry. These experts have all come together to share a simple message: the purpose of social media has evolved, and not in a good way.

Rhetorically, the documentary contains multiple elements that make it an interesting watch. Expert opinions, animations and graphics combined with sitcom-like real-life examples of the adverse effects of social media work together to convey all the abstract concepts that tech experts bring up throughout the documentary.

Fundamentally, the idea of “The Social Dilemma” is quite simple: to remind people to put their phones down, because social media giants will not. Experts discuss the negative side effects of spending too much time on social media, including the deterioration of mental health. One even described “Snapchat dysmorphia,” a term coined to describe young adults visiting plastic surgeons to look more like Snapchat filters.

Amid this incredulity, though, “The Social Dilemma” discusses how the purpose of social media has wavered. Initially the goal was to connect individuals, keep people informed and serve as a means to meet new people. Yet modern social media platforms have evolved into something darker and more concerning.

Now, users scroll through their Instagram feeds, watching other people post bikini pictures or showing off their six-packs, envious and sad that they do not (or can not) look like that.

Users look at those around them and become sad that they do not have as many friends.

Popularity has been quantified and is constantly visible to the entire world, determined by the number of Instagram followers, Snapchat streaks and TikTok videos, all located on a screen, easily accessible.

As one reporter says in the documentary, “The tools that we have created have started to erode the social fabric of how society works.”

Experts like Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google, shifted the blame from the individual to the tech giant.

Harris claimed that the influence social media has come to have on individuals puts engineers and creators on a pedestal.

Our Take: 3/5 Stars

Katy Perry’s new album, “Smile,” is named very aptly – the catchy lyrics and positive message can bring a smile to anyone’s face. She released it on Friday, Aug. 28, just days after the 10th anniversary of one of her greatest hits, “Teenage Dream.”

Over the last few years, Perry has strayed from the epicenter of American pop music. While her older songs, such as “Teenage Dream” and “Birthday,” gained massive popularity over the years, her newer singles have all but disappeared into irrelevance.

Part of the obscurity of Perry’s new music can be attributed to the “Old Town Road” and “WAP” era. The epicenter of music has shifted from upbeat pop music to unpredictable TikTok-boosted songs. There is no longer a recipe to create a hit pop song as there was in the ‘00s.

The cover of the “Smile” features Perry frowning at the camera, wearing a cartoonish red clown nose — very telling of the silly, upbeat nature of the album. But in times like these, Katy Perry was quickly accused of being removed from the reality of the times when the cover first came out. How does one smile with everything going on in the world?

In the song, Perry plays a colorful video game, an unusual concept for pop songs, which are more typically about relationships and love. The video game features Perry’s caricature, introducing a fun, lightweight feel to the music video. The repetitive lyrics — “Scratch that, baby, I’m grateful” — and upbeat rhythms are very reminiscent of her older music. In times like these, when everyone is returning to older pop music to lift their spirits, “Smile” may be just what listeners need.

What sets “Smile” apart from Perry’s 2000s music, though, is purpose. Dubbed “purposeful pop” by a New York Times review, Perry’s intention with this album is simple — to make people “marginally happier than [they felt] three and half minutes prior.” And for the most part, the songs in “Smile” accomplish this goal. Perry’s newest venture into “purposeful pop” leaves people nodding along to the beat, no doubt with a smile on their faces.

“Smile” also sits comfortably in the middle of Perry’s older music — silly, fun and upbeat — and possibly, her music in the future: pop songs that have meaning and purpose beyond their concept. What really stands out in “Smile,” however, is not its resemblance to Perry’s hits, but to her first more sincere venture into music — that is, it brings back memories of her first ecstatic Christian-rock record.

Though this album may be very different from Perry’s earlier alt-rock and her faith may have shifted, the idea is the same — to trust that things will, in fact, be okay.

Our Take: 5/5 Stars

BTS, the world’s biggest K-pop group, released their first English language single, “Dynamite,” on Friday, August 21. The song’s music video racked up over 100 million views within 24 hours, making it the most viewed music video premiere in YouTube’s history.

At first glance, the music video of this single resembles the group’s iconic style – pastel pink and purple hues and an overall mellow aesthetic. Seconds into the video, though, and it is clear that the song is anything but a conventional BTS song.

A tribute to Michael Jackson and the upbeat music of the 1980s, “Dynamite” features a disco rhythm. This vibe is a stark contrast to the music video’s muted, calming vibe. Later in the song, though, the music video and choreography begin to don a more retro aspect, with outfits inspired by the ‘80s, brighter colors, and louder, higher harmonies to keep up with the fast-paced melody.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference between this video and that of a more traditional BTS song is in the choreography. As a way of paying homage to Michael Jackson, the dance includes poses and Jackson’s classic leg kick.

Most importantly, BTS incorporates their own style into this single; they seamlessly blend their esthetic with hallmarks of an older genre to introduce music history to a new audience. The lead singers maintain the breathy feel of the melody, while other band members harmonize by incorporating elements of rap music and staccato beats to give the song a more upbeat feel. Outfits have elements inspired by the ‘80s – tinted glasses, bright colors, denim and patterned clothing – which are paired with BTS’ signature pastel-colored loose clothing.

Most of the scenes in the music video feature the band at the center, while using set piece locations, like a donut shop, to add to the scenery.

Through this song, BTS hopes to bring a smile to peoples’ faces in a time of uncertainty. According to a press release, “BTS sings of joy and confidence, treasuring the little things in life that make life truly valuable and special.”

Overall, the juxtaposition of ‘80s disco rhythms and relaxed pop harmonies make “Dynamite” the perfect rekindling of an older genre with a new twist. BTS is set to perform “Dynamite” at a premiere performance during the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 30. Give the single a listen, fans and newcomers alike will surely be humming the catchy hook in no time.