Warm winter cocktails to shake off the cold
By Melvin Bravo
Feb. 18, 2022
Summary:
As we head into the final stretch of winter and finish a weird term with half of us in attendance and the other half isolated, here is an opportunity for some solace in making unique cocktails. These drinks can bring some remedy and peace of mind as you head into finals and get over your cold/COVID-19 variant this season. After all, we’re still trying to stay responsible out there, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves. These drinks I picked are an outlet to help take the edge off, distract yourself with ingredients and put the book down to enjoy a moment for yourself or in the friendly company of someone close to you.
Hot Toddy: A simple cocktail, perfect for a cold night
Smoking Bishop: A Victorian drink with intriguing ingredients to combine in the kitchen.
Carajillo: a Spanish drink to start your day right.
Editor’s note: Melvin Bravo did a fantastic job describing the flavors of these drinks and providing a guide on how to make them as well as incorporating a mixture of unique and traditional cocktails.
The Fallout: important or insensitive?
By Samantha Pierotti
Feb. 8, 2022
Summary:
Do we really need a movie about a school shooting? HBO thinks so. But creating a movie about such a sensitive topic, one that generations of students share trauma over, is a delicate process. “The Fallout” portrays the depression, anxiety and PTSD students deal with after a school shooting. It’s compelling and a true depiction of one of the worst parts of the 21st century.
The film starts with Vada (Jenna Ortega) getting ready for a monotonous day at school. She drives with her best friend Nick (Will Ropp); they stop for coffee and miraculously still make it on time. Vada is trudging through the first couple of periods of her day when she gets a call from her sister and decides to take it in the bathroom. That’s when the shooting occurs. Vada hides in a stall with Mia (Maddie Ziegler) and is soon joined by Quinton (Niles Fitch).
Overall, “The Fallout” does the best job it can do at portraying teenagers. There are always going to be discrepancies, especially where dialogue is concerned. But the grieving process of the students, along with the way Vada interacts with her family after the shooting, is spot on.
Editor’s note: Sammy Pierotti wrote an honest and insightful review that both pointed out the flaws of the movie and places where it did a good job. It stood as one of the most read stories for weeks.
Building community, breaking down barriers at UO’s Outdoor Program
By Evan Reynolds
Feb. 11, 2022
Summary:
For decades, the Outdoor Program has been a staple of the UO community, offering a diverse range of services from scheduled trips and events to year-round gear rentals and bike loans. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, students and community members have been given even further incentive to explore the outdoors.
Since UO’s return to in-person services, the Outdoor Program has resumed its full offering of activities — and demand for them has skyrocketed to higher levels than before the pandemic began. “We’ll have an event with 10 open slots and we’ll easily get 30, 40 people who want those spots,” director Margaret Hoff said. “If we had the resources to match demand, we could triple the amount of trips we’re currently doing.”
The Outdoor Program has also been working to emphasize inclusivity. “The perception people have had, for years, is that the outdoors is a white bro space when that’s absolutely not true,” Hoff said. “So we’ve been working to do a lot of queer hikes, we’ve partnered with the Black Cultural Center, [Native American Student Union]… and I think that we’re starting to be successful in being as welcoming as we need to be.”
Editor’s note: Evan Reynolds described the importance of outdoor activities and highlighted the ways in which this program seeks to create an inclusive space for people of all backgrounds. In collaboration with this piece the video team developed a beautiful video to showcase the Outdoor Program and the different opportunities that it offers.
Breaking down myths and redefining what is healthy
By Aisha Ghorashian
Feb. 28, 2022
Summary:
Many UO community members are pushing back against diet fads and trying to encourage a different approach. Fitness and nutrition specialists and other experts on campus said diet fads are, for the most part, harmful myths, and there are other ways to promote positive changes to your health.
Fad diets are a way to approach meal planning that claim to help you lose weight very quickly. Similarly, restrictive diets, which may be a part of fad diets, are meal plans that emphasize lower calorie intake to help you lose weight. Some infamous examples are keto, paleo, juice cleanses and intermittent fasting.
“The word diet is just what you eat. It’s what you fuel your body with every day; it doesn’t have to be the paleo or keto,” Jessica Campbell, assistant director of fitness at University of Oregon’s Department of Physical Education and Recreation, said. “Paying attention to which foods digest well or give me energy is more important. And that is so different for all of us because of our chemical makeup.”
Editor’s note: This cover written by Aisha Ghorashian did an incredible job of including a variety of sources with expertise and approaching a sensitive topic with care. The piece managed to unravel a common issue that is present in our current world while offering a campus angle as well as robust resources.
