Voting is not where our citizenship should start and end, but it is one way to shape the world and the future as you hope to see it. This election feels particularly special to me since 2020 is the women’s suffrage centennial. Despite this, though, there are still far too many people in this country—and,…… Read more »
What We Do in the Shadows
If you’re in need of a spooky pick-me-up, look no further: FX’s vampire mockumentary series, What We Do in the Shadows, has got you covered. Not to be confused with the 2014 movie of the same name, this series has two ten-episode seasons to date, and it follows the hijinks of four Staten Island vampires…… Read more »
Maintain Motivation: Manufacture the Environment You Need to Stay Focused
When my brain is at its absolute worst, I find that it’s often the result of the environment I’ve created for myself, and part of keeping myself motivated is creating a work environment for myself that helps me stay on track. 2020 is nothing if not ten years’ worth of news headlines packed into a…… Read more »
Tools to Stay Involved on Campus and Around B-Town
Without the normal hustle and bustle on campus, it can be difficult to find clubs and organizations you want to join both on campus and around Bloomington. Lucky for you, though, there are a few tools you can use to help you in your extracurricular search. BeInvolved BeInvolved is a great way to connect directly…… Read more »
My Favorite WFH Tricks
For the first few months of shelter-in-place, I felt awful—not because I was sick, but because sitting inside for the entire workday, and then some, was wearing on me. With work and school bleeding into my personal life, nothing felt sacred anymore; it was all just sameness. But then I started mimicking the walk I’d…… Read more »
Public Art: Alexander Calder’s “Peau Rouge Indiana”
As a humanities student, I spent most of my time in the older parts of campus. But when time permitted, I’d often walk past the huge red sculpture outside the Jacobs School of Music’s Musical Arts Center (MAC). The piece—famous American sculptor Alexander Calder’s Peau Rouge Indiana—was created by Calder specifically for its location in…… Read more »
The Arts & Humanities Creativity Kit: Just a Box (Until You Open It)
This semester is off to a much different start than usual, with the campus arts and humanities community’s typical host of shows, lectures, and performances either virtual or modified. But the beauty of the arts and humanities is how adaptable we can be when presented with the constraints of Covid and social distancing. This Thursday,…… Read more »
Dear IU Newcomer: Say Yes. Then Say No.
Dear IU Newcomer: First of all, congratulations on having made the right choice: attending IU. (I’m *mostly* kidding.) As a recent grad, I have a lot of thoughts about how I spent my time at IU and how, in light of the pandemic bringing last semester’s in-person activity to a screeching halt, I’d do things…… Read more »
Trip to JSoM: Checking off my IU bucket list with an online Jacobs performance
A viewing of the Jacobs School of Music’s annual production of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker often makes the list of “must-do” IU events. I, however, somehow managed to make it four years without settling into the seats at the Musical Arts Center (MAC) for the production’s dazzling visual array of festive holiday cheer. If…… Read more »
Hanif Abdurraqib’s “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us”
I’m recommending that you check out They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, a phenomenal collection of essays by Hanif Abdurraqib, a Columbus, OH-based writer, poet, and critic. Abdurraqib is foremost a music critic, and I am mostly clueless when it comes to music, but that didn’t stop me from loving his essays. He…… Read more »