Students often struggle during the middle of the fall semester; as midterms pass and Thanksgiving break approaches, it's common to lose momentum and motivation. Knowing that you are not the only one feeling this way is essential! Once the buzz of starting a new school year (or starting college at all) wears out and deadlines begin to creep in, it can start to feel like the semester starts to drag you along. So, instead of holding on for dear life, here are some tips and tricks from students who are along for the ride with you! 

Social media platforms have allowed us to follow the lives of our fellow friends, families, and peers. Media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, and Facebook are some of the many ways that media users share even the most private or minuscule pieces of their lives. On all kinds of media platforms, you can get news of marriage proposals, birthday posts, business promotions, and, of course, any type of drama you can get your hands on. Unsurprisingly, on at least one of these platforms, you may have witnessed users sharing too much about themselves.

Dear Minerva,

Lately, I’ve been struggling to find the motivation to do any of my classwork. Projects, assignments, you name it, I don’t want to do any of it. Obviously, I need to do my work, but how could I get some motivation to actually do any of it? Things are piling up, and I could use some guidance here. Please give me some pointers.

Sincerely,

Procrastinator

Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus, Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Washington, Mahatma Gandhi went on a hunger strike, and Americans spilled tea into the Boston Harbor. Activism and boycotting are not foreign concepts and have proven effective in achieving equality and creating a voice for marginalized communities. Yet somehow, telling people to abstain from drinking Starbucks coffee, eating McDonald’s, or watching Disney causes discourse and discomfort surrounding its political context. How is it that despite the discourse and public opposition, there is a blanket of solidarity through activism? And why has this “solidarity” seemingly died out in a digital age of interconnectedness?

During the upcoming festive season, people engage in shopping to a way higher degree than most will at any other point of the year. It is no surprise to any of us in the modern age that there has been a large movement away from traditional retail stores to check boxes off of birthday and holiday lists, and turning to finding and buying these goods online. E-commerce is a foundational pillar of the Internet age, with many of the biggest online companies in the world, such as Amazon, being companies based on acquiring, purchasing, and shipping various products. While more convenient for many people, is it better that society has moved to this more streamlined version of shopping? Or will this reliance lead to a dissolvement of one of America’s largest industries?

When Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart assumed the iconic roles of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, the result could only be art and pure magic. As someone who has watched the entire series (at least 10 times), I can clearly approach this matter with the utmost objectivity. Universally beloved (of course), this movie series has remained relevant and has stood the test of time since the first movie’s release in 2008.

Earlier this year, I wrote an article defending Apex Legends, labeling it as one of the best battle royales of our time. I complemented their representation, growth, storytelling, and in-game updates that enhanced the abilities of every player. It is with disappointment that I have to rescind my previous statements—Entertainment Arts (EA) is slowly destroying Apex Legends, and they are taking the community down with it.

It’s not when I hated living here when I knew I had to leave. When I started to love it again, I knew I had to go. From an outside perspective, Rochester is an overlooked city. Once the flour city, now the flower city, it seems like even now, the flowers Rochester cares so deeply about are wilting away. The infrastructure is crumbling, downtown streets are lifeless, and there isn’t one day without hearing about another shooting happening within city limits. Tourists will see Rochester with a more upbeat take, citing events such as the Lilac and Fringe Festivals, the abundance of parks, and the prominent universities of the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology.

As an avid World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) enjoyer, I have seen my fair share of gimmicks capable of winning over a crowd and some that have done the opposite. There have been far too many gimmicks that have caused the WWE Universe to overlook the talents of a superstar because of their doltish nature. For viewers, it is a lack of effort by the creative team.

Spider-Man is one of the most popular Marvel superheroes. Since his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy 15 (1962), Spider-Man has appeared in various comic books, movies, television shows, and video games. In 2018, Insomniac Games released Marvel’s Spider-Man, the highest-selling Playstation 4 game ever. The beautiful visuals, amazing gameplay, and thrilling story cemented it as my favorite game of the year. With these factors in mind, Spider-Man fans were excited when the official sequel was announced and released in March 2023.

Students and educators alike have become hyper-aware of using artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom as technology upgrades exponentially. This week, The Lamron reached out to SUNY Geneseo students and staff in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), as well as those in humanities and literacy classes. All participants in this article are willingly depicted anonymously, as some content might be incriminating—specifically for students.

With the recent execution of Marcellus Williams, the death penalty and its use have once again come under significant scrutiny. In 2001, Williams was convicted of the 1998 killing of Felicia Gayle; in a scene of armed burglary, he was accused of stabbing her with a kitchen knife 43 times. He spent 23 years in prison. In both 2015 and 2017, he was spared from execution, but his conviction was not overturned.

Cassettes, VHS tapes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs, albums, etc., are all examples of physical media. Over the decades, they have provided means by which movies, television shows, music, pictures, and videos have become a permanent staple in homes worldwide. In the modern age, there is a starkly decreased need for companies to produce these kinds of releases due to decreased consumer interest. What was once the only gateway to fictional worlds, experimental chords, or permanent reminders of important people and/or moments has surmounted to nothing more than a souvenir, collectible, or keepsake.

Media—in whatever form that may take—influences how people see the world and act within it. Representations in media can demonize or uplift, humanize or degrade, normalize or alienate; they can reinforce stereotypes or actively fight against them. Those who produce media are, thus, in a particularly powerful position, as how they portray individuals and groups of people shapes public opinion, whether viewers consciously recognize it or not.

Since Doctor Who rebooted in 2005, 188 episodes have aired. Some were good, some…were not. While the fanbase can agree on which episodes fall into which category sometimes, I can’t say I always share the collective opinion. Excluding any episodes from the seasons I have not seen, here are the top 15 worst episodes of Doctor Who according to IMDB, and whether or not I think they belong on this list.

The ability for people to critically examine, analyze, and assess the media they come across is a skill more paramount than ever in the age of the internet. “Don’t believe everything you read online” is a sentiment ingrained into the rising generations' minds since the cradle, but it seems the heart of this mentality—media literacy—is sorely lacking in the modern age.

Do you know how to swim? Do you believe that you could survive and find help despite being stranded at sea? Have you ever felt like you were drowning even though you were on land?

Growing up in the digital era has most definitely altered how I view and navigate media. I was always advised to be overly cautious of who I spoke to, shared information with, and, most importantly, what I was consuming. This meant avoiding spam accounts on Instagram, ignoring fake chain mail, and avoiding useless arguments with people on X, formerly known as Twitter. At a young age, I had access to anything I could get my hands on.

The New York Times estimates that “3,100 people have been arrested or detained on campuses across the country” since Apr. 18, 2024, for their involvement in protesting over the inexcusable mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. This comes after an Associated Press article in January of this year stated, “more than 1,230 people have been charged” for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, United States capitol attack. I find it astonishing and disappointing that more students/university members have been arrested than attempted insurrectionists. It is outright reprehensible that most arrests were made on peaceful demonstrators. A statement from the Human Rights Institute at Columbia University even mentioned that “The NYPD said that protesters were, ‘peaceful, offered no resistance whatsoever, and were saying what they wanted to say in a peaceful manner.’” Many of the individuals who were arrested did not violate the law. They violated unjust, undemocratic campus policies.

Every four years, I sit on the couch with my family members in celebration of around 195 countries coming together to put on some of the greatest athletic performances of their lives. This year's Olympics was legendary as athletes continued to break barriers and set new records for themselves and their countries. Some of the highlights included Sweden’s Armand (Mondo) Duplantis beating his world record in the men’s pole vault, USA’s Katie Ledecky winning four medals in Paris and becoming the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history, and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem winning gold—setting a new Olympic record in the process. We cannot deny that Paris had some of the most pivotal moments in Olympic history, but that does not change the fact that this year’s Olympics was a hot mess.