Are there too many Jokers?
Use the fields below to perform an advanced search of The Slate's archives. This will return articles, images, and multimedia relevant to your query. You can also try a Basic search
1000 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
Traditions are a staple of any school, early or higher education. Whether it's something simple like Homecoming, or more complicated like school rivalries, traditions are an unspoken but fundamental part of institutions. In many ways, the traditions remain to be the most consistent elements of many universities and institutions. Most of the buildings here at Shippensburg have been greatly altered from their original state and in some instances are new additions entirely. However, weekends like Homecoming bring alumni back from decades before, and it’s traditions like Homecoming that give that connective tissue between the old and new generations of Shippensburg. School traditions provide a link between each generation that passes through the institution. Parents and relatives who graduated from the same high school or college are able to sing along with the alma mater since it is the same alma mater that united them all those years ago. Traditions need to be protected greatly to not only keep older generations connected to their schools, but to also remind younger students that they are continuing a legacy.
My father is socially liberal. Recently I asked him to rank the presidents during his lifetime and was surprised by his thoughts, mostly by how he described Ronald Reagan. Dad is aware of the ins and outs of the economy, which is what many cite as one of Reagan’s greatest strengths, and while he didn’t care for Reagan as a person, he doesn’t have this strong distaste for him that I and many younger liberals do.
There’s an often-repeated historical anecdote about Benjamin Franklin: As the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was wrapping up, crowds gathered on the steps of Independence Hall. A woman asked Franklin what sort of government the founders had crafted. His response has lasted centuries, to be repeated by politicians from Nancy Pelosi to Niel Gorscuh: “a republic, if you can keep it.”
The first time I stepped onto the turf field at Shippensburg University, I was a senior in high school at the district championships for track and field. I hurdled, so I usually would race towards the beginning of most meets. I looked over the schedule and noticed that the events ended earlier in the day compared to most invitationals and noteworthy meets. I asked my coach, an intense man who I needed to ask at a very specific time, why they ended everything so early. He looked at me and smiled, knowing I was going to school here in just a few months, and said, “Look up. They don’t have any lights.” I can’t think of a word severe enough to describe the thoughts in my head. Dumbfounded? Astounded? Flabbergasted? I had many questions and many more to come.
When you look back at the past few Oscar seasons, what trends do you see? The actors and actresses that normally lead the award season stretches are those playing real-life figures. Biopics are films centered around historic and public figures and they’re all the rage nowadays. Every major studio wants to get their hands on one. Really think about how many have been released just in the past few years. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Rocketman,” “RESPECT,” “Straight Outta Compton” and “Elvis’ are some of the biggest biopics— and that only covers musicians. Politicians, royalty, athletes, serial killers; if you had some kind of presence in history, chances are a studio will want your film rights. However, one of the newest biopics, “Blonde”, starring Ana De Armas as Marilyn Monroe, has left me pondering the question: Where do we draw the line?
When is it okay to use the N-Word? Well, never. But there are varying degrees of badness, and everyone has a different scale of what is evil and what is okay. But there are two sides to the N-Word’s usage, and the other side is hearing the N-Word. Even then, the way it is received depends on the person hearing it. In other words, it’s not a one-size-fits-all misery.
How often have you heard a friend complain that it’s difficult to find a meaningful relationship? All anyone is looking for nowadays is a hookup? Hookup culture has become deeply rooted in the dating landscape and can usually be a point of contention for many people looking to meet someone else. For a real-world example, think of Tinder; how many profiles have you seen with the caption “no hookups?” When it comes to dating, there’s now a sense of dread for some people that whoever is on the other end of conversation is simply looking for a one-night stand. Not to say that there is anything wrong with not wanting something more meaningful as it is 2022, and the times, as well as romances, have changed. However, like many forms of pleasure, there are healthy sides to this culture and other sides that could be harmful.
On August 21st, President Biden announced his administration would be forgiving $10,000 in federal student loan debt. Recipients of the Pell Grant — a program designed to help lower income families pay for college — are eligible for an additional $10,000, for a total of $20,000 for low-income students. While I am certainly not the biggest fan of the Biden administration, these measures are a welcome change in policy and a necessary first step in addressing the student debt crisis.
You may have seen me riding my bike; it’s a beautiful yellow cruiser with a basket on the back. I love my bike, and I love riding my bike. I love it so much I want to convince you to ride, too.
Most would agree that part of the reason you attend college today is due to the idea being pushed upon us at such an early age. When meeting with teacher and guidance counselors, they’ll hammer home how important it is to get a college education. While research has shown that a college education isn’t always necessary, we are told time and time again about the importance of college. Yet, early education doesn’t really prepare us for the four years of stress and debt.
The August 23, 2022, edition of The Slate featured a story highlighting the high ticket prices and overall inaccessibility of Broadway. As a huge theatre fan and frequent Broadway-goer, I found a lot of merit in the argument being laid out in this piece. However, I see more to the story.
If you were to go around campus and ask 20 students what they think about Shippensburg’s dining services, you would likely get 20 different answers. It is a topic that many here at Ship seem to be passionate about, whether they are discussing the offerings at Reisner Dining Hall or the length of the Chick-Fil-A line. While first-year students may think the campus dining options are perfectly fine, many believe there has been a drop in quality compared to previous years.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union, died from an undisclosed illness on Aug. 30. Gorbachev was 91 years old and is widely considered as of the most influential leaders in world history, having overseen the collapse of the Soviet Union during his six years in power from 1985 to 1991.
This past summer, I worked in my father’s cancer research laboratory as a laboratory technician. My favorite part of this job was learning to work with the colony of mice we maintained to study the way different receptors inside cells impact cancer growth. This singular part of working in a laboratory required many hours of training, briefing on protocols and approval clearances. It gave me a deeper understanding of what exactly happens when scientists use animals for research, and I think that the media has skewed the reality of this practice.
What is it that makes binge-watching so magical? Is it the feeling of excitement of watching a series for the first time and needing to know what happens next? Or is it, perhaps, that feeling of comfort watching ten seasons of a series you’ve seen a million times before? Never before have audiences been given such access to the shows they love. Streaming services provide a haven for the biggest series in the world, but also the most obscure of cult classics. However, it’s quite noticeable that when watching a show on any streaming service, they’ll often give you the option to skip the intro. But why would you? And should you?
It seems almost pointless to rattle on and on about the internet and how it has shaped our modern world. We essentially have created the world we live in today on the foundation of the internet. We use it to communicate, transport and live day to day. Without the internet, the world, unfortunately, stops turning. It also seems like all of the dangers that surround social media, particularly when it comes to mental health, are common knowledge. So often we hear the discussions of basing our success off those we see online, being connected yet distant with other people and of course cyberbullying; however there is one aspect of this conversation that has been around long before social media but has been greatly magnified because of it. That of course, is FOMO, or the Fear Of Missing Out.
When COVID-19 shut down the whole of the world, many fans of musical theatre found themselves living with uncertainty: the uncertainty that Broadway may never return, or even live theater in general. Thankfully, though the intermission was long, Broadway did return. Musicals whose openings were long overdue finally got to see the light of day, and beloved favorites got to start right where things left off. Unfortunately, one thing that also returned with Broadway is how financially inaccessible it is. However, this is a problem with live theatre that has always been present. The pandemic has only magnified this issue.