Women’s March Madness Update
by Suzanne Jackson There has been plenty of madness this March during the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. The Final Four is set with the #2 Iowa Hawkeyes facing off against the #1 South Carolina Gamecocks. The #1 Virginia Tech Hokies will play against the #3 Louisiana State University Tigers. The top-seeded Gamecocks beat the Maryland Terrapins in a 86-75 victory on Monday evening. Senior forward Aliyah Boston recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Gamecocks to the win. This double-double was Boston’s 82nd career double-double for South Carolina. With this win the Gamecocks are currently 36-0 on the season and fans made sure they were there to watch the game live. The regional women’s tournament attendance record was broken during the Elite Eight matchup in South Carolina with 82,275 fans in attendance. Iowa Hawkeyes junior guard Caitlin Clark continued to make headlines after being the only person in Division I basketball to record a 40-point triple-double in the history of college basketball. Clark finished with 41 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds against the Louisville Cardinals. Clark’s performance helped lead the Hawkeyes to their second ever Final Four appearance in school history after defeating the Cardinals 97-83. The Hokies beat the Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday night 84-74 to advance to their first Final Four appearance in program history. Senior center Elizabeth Kitley recorded a double-double scoring 25 points with 12 rebounds making Kitley that all-time leader in double-doubles for the Hokies. This season the Hokies got their first ACC Tournament title, first NCAA Tournament #1 seed, first Elite Eight appearance and now their first Final Four appearance in program history. Fans are eager to watch the Hokies face off against the LSU Tigers in the Final Four. The LSU Tigers beat the Miami…
Spring Has Sprung!
by Rebecca Dance I’ve done it, folks. I finally got to sit outside long enough to get a sunburn. I regret it a little bit, because my clothes are rubbing against it and it’s a little uncomfortable, but it also means that spring is finally here and it’s time for me to start photosynthesizing. It feels weird to say this at the end of March, because we had all the unseasonably warm weather early in the year that dropped into unseasonably cold weather all of a sudden and I don’t want to make any sudden claims. However, I think it’s safe to say that spring is absolutely officially here. Admittedly, I spend most of my day in a room with the blinds closed, so I can’t get much photosynthesizing in. However, every time I leave a building and get a face full of sunshine, I am instantly happier. In addition to that, I am now happier that I don’t eat dinner in the dark. The sun is out much longer in the evening, and it makes my days so much brighter. The flowers are out too! I drive past the same houses every day, twice a day, so I’ve been slowly watching their lawns change. This afternoon, I noticed that one of the houses on my drive had a yard full of wild violets and buttercups, and I was so violently happy that I accidentally honked my horn at the elderly woman gardening next door to the wildflower yard. My reaction was maybe a bit extreme, but you can feel the anticipation for spring and then summer on the air. It’s almost like I can already smell vacations and a brief respite from responsibilities. All I can say about this time on campus is that you should get outside whenever…
Activities to Do This Spring
by Mia Shelton Spring has sprung, and the bees are out to say hello! The weather is becoming warmer, and outdoor activities are on the rise. This spring, set some new goals, make new friends, eat more ice cream, and remember to take pictures along the way! Here is a list of fun activities to create memories this spring season. If you’re looking to make memories that last through the summer, gather a group of friends, and start a scrapbook! Get a group of friends that may not already know each other and create new bonds within your fondest relationships. Create a bucket list and find things to do together. Bring a camera, document the moments, and write in your favorite mementos. If you’re looking for something to create with your hands, check the Taubman Museum of Art’s webpage for hosted events. All throughout the month of April, the Taubman is offering yoga lessons and painting lessons. Some events are free, others have a small fee. Looking for something to do on a random day? Take a trip to the Happy Hollow Garden Park in Roanoke County. Being active is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and keep momentum within your daily tasks. When plants come into full bloom, share a walk with a friend and visit the flowering faces. Spending time in nature helps with our productivity and mood. Make time for yourself and nature. Going on local hiking trails like Dragons Tooth or Hanging Rock can promote group activity with a picnic at the summit. If you’re looking for on campus activities, try renting bikes from the library! Campus has many hills that can ensure a fun ride! Visiting the Olin Hall Gallery in between classes can help reset and calm your mind. Buy a deck of…
Folks of ‘Noke; Suzanne Jackson
by Juniper Rogers Suzanne Jackson is a senior from Scotch Plains, New Jersey and is majoring in Sport Management and Communication Studies. Coming from New Jersey to lovely Salem, Virginia, Suzanne says “It’s important to be open and understanding how other people think. When I moved down here, I made more of an effort to understand how other people grew up because it can have a big influence on their opinions on the world today.” “Dunkin Donuts has superior donuts to Krispy Kreme!” she says to the question of what’s her most controversial opinion. Suzanne went on raving about how much she enjoys community service. “I’ve been passionate about community service my entire life. Giving back to the communities I’ve lived in has been one of my core pillars.” Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed service fraternity on campus has known her passion for the past four years. Suzanne served as President of APO for the 2022 calendar year, and prior to that she served as the Vice President of service for the 2021 calendar year. Yet another example of her commitment to the community of Roanoke is the fact that she is the Head Resident Advisor of Sections and was an RA in Beamer for her sophomore and junior years. Suzanne’s dream job would be to serve as the Director of Community Engagement for the New York Yankees. “I grew up watching the team with my dad, so I cherish those memories.” Suzanne’s advice for the rest of y’all would be “College can be very overwhelming, so be sure to slow down if you need to and take care of yourself.”
On-Campus Conference Lifts Up Student Voices
by Alexis Barton For its second year, Roanoke College hosted the Virginia Conference on Race (VCR), a two-day interdisciplinary conference that examines racial issues from a variety of academic lenses. The conference is sponsored by RC’s own Center for Studying Structures of Race and is directed by Dr. Carrie Murawski, an assistant professor of communication studies. The conference draws in student presenters from a variety of academic disciplines, including communication studies, history, environmental studies, and public health. These students are largely from Roanoke College, but there are representatives from schools across the Commonwealth as well as students from Illinois and Massachusetts. In addition to fostering critical conversations about the role of race in our society, the VCR provides a unique opportunity for Roanoke College to present their own research. Students can present their work from seminar or capstone classes, or they can create an endeavor that is unique to the conference. Madison Smith ‘24, a history major from Colorado, has been researching the experience of Korean students in Jim Crow era American universities for several months alongside Dr. Stella Xu. Madison shared, “Asian immigrants were in such a unique position in this time, trapped between the dichotomy of white and Black racism, yet there is hardly any scholarship connecting their experiences to the context of their time. This research seeks to fill that scholarly void and add to the scant literature on Asians in the deep South.” Though her research did not connect to her history seminar, her relationship with Dr. Xu piqued her interest and brought this new area of research to her repertoire. “[Dr. Xu] really encouraged me to apply and without her, I probably would have been too scared. This conference is so amazing, bringing a massive audience all in one place to have productive and needed…
Thoughts from Seventh Grade
by Rebecca Dance Question: What would you do for 24 hours without Wi-Fi or your phone? “I would disappear into the woods and start a bonfire.” “I wouldn’t really care because there are so many things to do without Wi-Fi.” “I would put on a cute outfit and go to IHOP.” “I would read a book.” “If I had no Internet it would be bad because I couldn’t continue my Snap Streaks.” “We spend too much time on our phones anyways.” “I would probably die but that’s okay.” “I would go get Hibachi with my family.” “I would make tea and draw.” “I rode a 20 year old tricycle when I lost my phone once.” “I would probably do a lot of things that involve touching grass. A lot of people in this class should do that.” “Play soccer.” “Stay inside because I don’t have any way to call the police if an emergency happens.” “I play this game with rocks and cows – I put rocks on the fence and see which ones the cows choose.” “Go outside and catch fireflies.” “I’d be bored.”
Yeonmi Park; Tales of Tears
by Anna Tillman On Monday, March 20th, Roanoke College had the pleasure of hosting Yeonmi Park. This was a part of the David L. Guy Lecture Series where Roanoke is able to bring in many different types of lecturers to the campus. These lectures are always amazing and a great opportunity for students to learn new perspectives and meet new people. Yeonmi Park’s lecture was a very emotional retelling of her childhood growing up in North Korea. Her lecture is titled “The Fundamentals of Freedom: We Must All Fight Against Tyranny.” This lecture was incredibly powerful and impactful. It had many people in the audience tearing up. She discussed what it was like growing up in North Korea with a dictator who did not have its citizens best interest in mind. When she was 13 years old, she made the brave decision to flee and find refuge in China. Her journey from there was shocking to many and was hard to listen to. She ended her lecture by urging people to fight against oppression all around the world. Yeonmi Park is a strong and amazing woman. It was such an incredible experience to be able to listen to her life story and what it taught her going forward in life. She is an inspiration and Roanoke College students were so grateful to have the opportunity to hear her story. This event was sponsored by David L. Guy, Young America’s Foundation, and the Center for Economic Freedom.
“Velma”: Deserving of Renewal?
by Mateo Biggs As many know, HBO has always followed behind Netflix in the decision of making old shows with a new twist and bringing back childhood classics. From shows like “Titans” after the classic “Teen Titans”, to the most recent show “Velma” which comes from the ever timeless favorite “Scooby-Doo”. However, in terms of the latter, are these twisted remakes we want to see? For those who don’t know, “Velma” was created earlier this year by executive producers Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein, Sam Register, and Mindy Kaling(“The Office”). Based on the infamous character Velma Dinkley, the show follows many of the characters we know recategorized into a modern Era of entertainment. However, as far as the show goes, it leaves much to be desired. Beyond their names, characters no longer resemble any aspect of their previous iterations and beloved canine companion Scooby-Doo is no longer a dog but a food critic who ends up in a relationship with Shaggy– “call me Norville” –Roberts, Velma Dinkley seems to be a near self obsessed aggressor who tears down other people, and Daphne Blake simply seems to act as a near damsel in distress for Velma’s character. New York Post– not to be confused with The New York Post –claims that viewers see “Velma” as “so insulting to the Scooby-Doo fanbase” while Mindy Kaling herself said on twitter that the show is “hilarious” and “sometimes scary”. The Atlantic states that the so-called edgy and satirical“concept, though, quickly grows old” with both audiences and critics. Even Forbes critiques that “Velma” is horrible “for its shallow sense of humor, which is extremely self-referential, and packed with snarky, pseudo-progressive one-liners that seem stolen from 2016 “girlboss” Twitter”. Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a 7% audience rating, with IMDb rating it a harsh 1.5/10. Even Google…
The Ultimate Energy Drink Ranking
by Marisa Seager While it might not be a good thing, I’ve been an avid caffeine consumer from a very young age. I enjoy everything from tea to coffee but nothing hits the same way an energy drink does. Here is my ranked energy drink list. Coming in first place is Red Bull. Now if you would’ve asked me years ago, then my answer would have been Monster. More recently I can say that Red Bull has won me over with the variety of flavors and special edition releases. I’m always itching to try whatever the newest flavor is. Second place goes to Monster. This wasn’t the first energy drink that I ever tried but it’s the one I’ve drank most consistently throughout my life. At rock concerts and on dreadful high school mornings this brand was my go to. Shoot, I even have a Monster license plate on my car. In third place is Nos. There’s just something about the bold flavors and punch that I love. Not to mention, it’s slightly cheaper than the others so it’s a little more affordable for college students such as myself. In fourth place is Mountain Dew Kickstart. To me drinking a Kickstart is like drinking a soda but with a higher amount of caffeine. It’s essentially an energy drink made for the soda drinkers. Last place goes to Rockstar. Over the years this brand has definitely stepped it up with the recovery series, which is perfect for when you need hydration but also a boost. I would consider moving Rockstar up in rank if I could ever find the pina colada flavor again. Note: Sorry to the Bang and Celsius lovers out there but I really don’t like them. All the flavors of Celsius I’ve tried taste like medicine, and I…
Doing Laundry in Dorms
by Rebecca Dance Across campus, my laundry situation is probably one of the best. Each floor of Maxey Hall has three mostly functioning washing machines and three mostly functioning driers for a grand total of approximately twelve of each machine. I say approximately because some of them don’t work very well. Sometimes your clothes come out of the washing machine with weird blue stains, and sometimes it takes three cycles to dry your clothes in the driers. Despite these difficulties, the laundry situation isn’t bad if you can do your laundry when nobody else is doing it. It’s almost peaceful then. Say you want to do your laundry on a Saturday or Sunday, though. It’s the end of the week – you want to make sure that you have the clothes to get through the week. Except everyone else was also thinking the same thing and now getting a washing machine and a drier in the correct order is like waiting for a miracle to happen. Not only are the cycles mismatched (the driers are sixty minutes and the washing machines sit at a meager thirty minutes), but if you don’t time it just right, someone from another floor has come into your laundry room and swiped your machine right out from under you. That leaves wet laundry just sitting – a lot. And especially as it gets warmer out, this is not the ideal situation. Clothes get musty when they sit for too long in the humidity, and so you might have to wash your clothes again! Keep in mind that every time you do something unexpected with your laundry you’re messing up someone else’s carefully laid plans. It turns into a whole fiasco and then you start to wish that you had just gone to the laundromat down…
