Author Archives: lswihar

THE CASE FOR PUBLIC LAUGHTER

BY LAURA SWIHART STAFF WRITER “If I had shame about laughing in public, I’d have nothing left.” My friend jokingly replied with these wise words when I encountered him laughing maniacally over his Akeno Sushi in the Johnson Center and…

IN FAVOR OF A COMPASSIONATE CLASSROOM

BY LAURA SWIHART STAFF WRITER “This is new to all of us, so have patience as we navigate this semester together.” Every student has heard this line or something like it this year, as education continues to be reformed in…

IT’S TIME FOR A SHIFT IN PHILOSOPHY

BY LAURA SWIHART STAFF WRITER In March, Mason students went home for a normal spring break, but since then, nothing has been normal. We accepted lockdown and dealt with the chaos because we had to, under the pretense that it…

Birds and bugs: Environmental problems haven’t gone away

BY LAURA SWIHART STAFF WRITER With eye-catching stories ranging from “How the world’s media reacted to Tuesday’s debate” from BBC (spoiler: they didn’t like it either) to “The Loss That’s Killing the West’s Wildlife” from The Atlantic, it is all…

Simplistic education shapes American politics

BY LAURA SWIHART STAFF WRITER In an election cycle dominated by horse-race reporting and campaign ads, American political polarization has surged to the forefront. Though many believe the stakes are higher now than ever before, bitter polarization prior to an…

Feeling nostalgic?

BY LAURA SWIHART STAFF WRITER The leniency shown to students during the spring semester is all but gone as we dive back into schoolwork, either virtually or in person. “Safe Return to Campus” and “the virtual experience” are plastered on…

Today’s college students are the coronavirus generation

BY LAURA SWIHART Our parents grew up in a relatively stable world, taught by their parents that the path to success is finishing high school, getting a well-paying job that offers a lifelong career, getting married and having two kids….