Clean Your Room With Me
After opening the door to my bedroom, guests and friends are occasionally greeted with mountains of papers towering over my opened laptop, a fleet of dirty cups lining my coffee stained desk, and waves of blankets strewn about my unmade twin XL bed. You may…
Quarantining Students Speak Out
Does testing positive for COVID-19 mean you should leave quarantine and move back in with your roommates? At UC Santa Cruz, it’s a tougher question than you may think. When someone tests positive for COVID-19, they receive a phone call and email with further instructions…
Black Student Organizations Demand Change on Campus
Making up less than five percent of the undergraduate population, Black students are often left to create and maintain their own safe spaces with little help from UC Santa Cruz. That is why the African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT) and the Black Student Union…
City Adopts New Plan to Combat Houselessness: Benchlands Closure Part of New $14 Million Plan
The Santa Cruz City Council adopted the Homelessness Response Action Plan (HRAP) on March 8, taking on $14 million provided by the state to combat houselessness in the city. Improved services for the unhoused are at the heart of the plan, such as the expansion…
$105.67 million Where Did This Federal Stimulus Money Go?
Following the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in March 2020, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) was created to provide federal stimulus to colleges and universities across the country. Following the passage were two additional stimulus packages…
Food Not Bombs’ Hectic Start to 2022
Before he got to open the envelope himself, Food Not Bombs (FNB) co-founder Keith McHenry received a call from a local media organization requesting a comment on the city’s most recent cease and desist letter issued to the organization. “I barely had time to reflect…
New Learning Environments Should Mean New Learning Accommodations
I noticed the problem during my very first college final. Despite the hours of time I had to take the multi-part exam, I found myself sweating and panicking as I neared the last twenty minutes and still had an entire essay question to finish. I…
Through Our Pens: Thank You for the Cheese
Piknik cheese is softer than feta, more creamy but capable of crumbling. It pairs well with herbs, and sometimes my family would sprinkle it on top of pasta. When we’d open the can of cheese we’d wash off the brine and plate it alongside a…
Through Our Pens: A Guide to UCSC Cryptids
As you walk through the trails of UCSC’s campus, you hear a sudden stir in the dense forestry. You stop and think, “It’s probably just another deer. Maybe a raccoon, or even a coyote.” But what if it was something stranger? For centuries, we’ve come…
The Best Western: UCSC Graduate Student Housing
Every morning, first-year applied mathematics master’s student Anish Sambamurthy pours his first coffee of the day from the 24/7 lobby coffee machine in the Best Western lobby before heading out to the gym. When he returns, he grabs his complimentary breakfast from the empty lobby,…