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-Alexa Schlaerth | Thursday, September 29, 2022
The recent global COVID-19 pandemic has prompted us to look inward to reflect. One aspect subject to this reflection is none other than our healthcare system. More specifically, Covid has presented an opportunity to investigate the shortcomings and advantages of our current healthcare system, especially as it operates within the market/mixed economy ecosystem in modern
Alexa Schlaerth | Thursday, September 15, 2022
It is almost 10 p.m. on a cold Sunday evening in December, and I am walking across the quad on my way home from a (somewhat frantic) Principles of Microeconomics TA review sesh, the likes of which I’ve never experienced before. It is chilly and dark, and the campus has a general “stressed out pre-finals”
Alexa Schlaerth | Thursday, September 1, 2022
As a new anthropology major, I am eager to explore the various subcategories of discipline, including, but not limited to the sociocultural and linguistic aspects of study. And in this, the first week (or so) of classes, my mind has already been opened to the power behind the language used within the area of study
Alexa Schlaerth | Friday, February 25, 2022
As a Californian, I have borne witness to the ever-growing climate crisis in many forms, but none are more concerning to me than the rampant wildfires plaguing my home region. While we are out of the wildfire season for the time being, it is important now more than ever to reflect on the shades of
Alexa Schlaerth | Friday, February 11, 2022
Now that we are over a year out from the events that took place Jan. 6, 2021, perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the multiple actors related to the incident at the Capitol and investigate the causes and environment surrounding the dialogue about the event. Pharos, a Vassar College-run website focusing
Alexa Schlaerth | Friday, January 28, 2022
When we discuss politically correct, or “PC” language, we inherently examine the culture and/or movements that have created the new and more progressive terminology. How do we approach topics like these while maintaining our values of tolerance, acceptance, equality and free speech? Generally speaking, the terms in this prompt reflect a trend toward non-gendered language:
Alexa Schlaerth | Friday, January 14, 2022
As spring semester 2022 has dawned upon us all, now more than ever is the time to reflect on the policies and behaviors that have allowed us to come back to campus in (what is seemingly) one piece. Many of our college-aged peers in other universities across the country have fallen into a “soft-start” approach
Alexa Schlaerth | Friday, December 3, 2021
Is the Catholicism we see practiced in campus spiritual life today consistent with the traditional values and practices of the Catholic Church? Or have we strayed to a new and different belief system, more suitable to the modern practitioner? Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD) is a revisionist version of what traditional Christianity practices. In Christian Smith’s
Alexa Schlaerth | Friday, November 19, 2021
There is a central focus in a lot of leisure literature these days: how do we recreate? Especially post-pandemic, as this landscape changes, we have all borne witness to the trend of “self-care.” Face masks & skincare, smoothies and baking bread, staying in and watching Tiktoks–you name it. As college students today, we are inundated
Alexa Schlaerth | Friday, October 8, 2021
Chronic illness has complicated a lot of things in my life, but this semester, it has taken more of a toll than I anticipated. I wiped out another week of illness with doctors appointments, trips to the pharmacy and more lozenges than I could keep track of. “Long Covid” and other post-viral complications are not