On Substitute Professors
By Alejandro Villa Vásquez, Deputy Managing Editor
Getting up before 12 p.m. should be illegal, no one’s arguing that. But pre-noon lectures are just the reality of college. Fine. I accept the inadequate sleep and disheartening commute. We all try to take it in stride. But then you get to lecture, unhinge the backpack that’s surely causing your spine to prematurely atrophy — and where’s that pesky professor? Who’s that stranger at the front of the room taking out her laptop? The only thing worse than a substitute professor is getting up before dawn for an unannounced phony. But hey, we take in stride, remember? Don’t be afraid to strut out of that lecture with pride. To the commuter lounge in Lipton for a well-deserved catnap.
On the 14th Street Trader Joe’s
By Melanie Pineda, Deputy Opinion Editor
The Trader Joe’s by Union Square is convenient, filled with delicious food and honestly a place that brings me great joy. But the way it’s set up makes it so that most of your time there is spent waiting in line for the cashier. What if I need to get to an aisle that’ll cost me my spot in line? What if my spot in line costs me the last apple-cranberry tart available? Thus, I become trapped in a situation of my own making; there are no winners and losers at Trader Joe’s. Only deliciousness and suffering.
On Homework Due the Monday After Thanksgiving Break
By Hanna Khosravi, Deputy Opinion Editor
I know we’ve all been doing this rant since fifth grade, and that what I’m saying is not new or novel or all that exciting. But seriously, why, oh why do we have essays due the Monday after Thanksgiving Break? I mean, come on. Monday? Why not Wednesday, or even Tuesday? Some professors are very kind and thoughtful in this regard, and many simply stick to assigning the usual amount of weekly reading over break, which is totally understandable. It’s not bad to stay on track. But every year, some of them just hit us with that Monday morning essay or project due-date. Please, just give us a minute. Our Thanksgiving breaks are short as is, and many people don’t even get to make it all the way home. Is it really fair to pile on so many readings and writing assignments that multiple people I’ve spoken to have expressed genuine worry and stress regarding all the work they will have to balance over break? I get that time can’t stand still and that our studies are our priority. I’m in full support of that. But it’s also okay to adjust the schedule by a day or so every now and then to allow students to indulge in a brief interlude of holiday spirit and pumpkin pie before the ominous reign of #finalszn descends upon us in December.
On the Awful Wi-Fi in Bobst
By Pamela Jew, Under the Arch Editor
In general, NYU wifi is bad. But certain hot spots on campus aren’t hotspots for wifi. Bobst is the greatest perpetrator. Today, while registering for classes on Bobst’s Lower Level 1, my finger rested on my laptop’s trackpad as my cursor hovered over “enroll.” The clock turned and it was time. I clicked and I clicked, but the screen just greeted me with a “no internet” default page. The Bobst wifi had failed me again. Another spot lower on the waitlist, and then my computer lagged for the next hour I sat there. Bobst, do better please. Oh, and my computer died.
On Connections at Tisch
By Guru Ramanathan, Film & TV Editor
Filmmaking is built around collaboration and Tisch often loves to send out messages about how the connections we make in our four years will last us a lifetime. Now, I certainly believe this to be true but I find the school’s approach to this philosophy to be extremely artificial. As a Dramatic Writing student I feel there is a severe lack of opportunities to get my work produced through the school itself and barely any opportunities to get involved in cross-departmental collaborations. I have been able to make connections with actors and Film and TV students by random meetings or posting in Facebook groups, and have even created wonderful projects with them — but it was more so out of my own searching and proactivity. Tisch could (and should) hold more events that allow students of various fields to connect with each other. Or, Tisch could have Open Arts classes, that are specifically tailored for something like this, instead of proclaiming it does something when it’s really students who have to circumnavigate its rigid structure.
On Fire Alarms
By Meghna Maharishi, Deputy News Editor
I don’t understand why fire alarm drills need to be so early in the morning. First, the sound of the fire alarm is ear-gratingly loud, and it’s hard to tell if it’s a real fire drill or a practice one. Today, the fire alarm in Lipton went off for 15 minutes, and no one ever bothered to specify if it was mandatory for every Lipton resident to evacuate. Tons of panicked residents crowded the floor, getting ready to exit down the stairwell, only for the speaker on the Adcom to finally say only floors one through three needed to evacuate. It is insanely inconvenient to startle everyone at 8:45 a.m. with the sound of a screeching fire drill, and then take more than 15 minutes to specify who needed to evacuate. Yeah, fire drills are important and they keep people safe, but they’re only effective if we know immediately whether or not to take them seriously.
On Tinder
Copy Desk
Nothing about Tinder irks us more than the minimal amount of information its profiles provide. And the worst examples are profiles where all the photos are group pictures. Nothing disrupts our swiping rhythm quicker than when we can’t tell which one of the 15 frat bros is Chad, 19. We’re not detectives, and we’re not interested in taking a gamble on who you are. Equally annoying is when people include their body pictures and workout GIFs — but no face? How are we supposed to determine whether to swipe left or right on an app that primarily relies on someone’s level of attractiveness? Furthermore, we’re even less willing to have a conversation with faceless Chad, 19, who somehow still manages to have the balls to ask us for sex. This brings us to our final point: Most of the people that we’ve encountered on Tinder have only been interested in hooking up rather than dating, so why is it advertised as a dating app and when did it become more of a hookup app? Many of the guys we find attractive and swipe right on end up being creepy. If we don’t respond to their aggressive and upfront pick-up lines, they become more persistent and weird. Unfortunately, the hookup-hungry Tinder guy makes us want to stray away from finding someone altogether.
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