Through Our Pens: Art Needs Laziness
We are creative beings simply by existing. As an artist, I’m sometimes overwhelmed by unproductiveness when creative inspiration is absent. My ingrained academia convinces me that I’m useless when creativity isn’t always flourishing — something that capitalism mirrors. Capitalism stifles the creativity of artists. It…
Through Our Pens: Lessons from Sprouts
We talk in the mornings, my sprouts and I. As I tend to my newly sprouting Summer Zest Pak Choy — a kind of baby bok choy that enjoys the summer heat — and Chinese leek, I’m learning much about myself and the world that…
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…
Celebrating the Indigenous Community at UCSC: IndigeFest 2022
Indigenous students are one of the most underrepresented communities not only at UC Santa Cruz but throughout all of higher education. That’s why the American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) works hard to represent the Indigenous community with events like IndigeFest. Held this year in the…
Student Organizers Host Rally at Kerr Hall Over Chancellor Larive’s Raise
Teaching assistants (T.A.s) and graduate students alike struggle to find housing and affordable child care while they work more than 40 hours per week, while, in some circumstances,being forced to live in hotels with unstable WiFi. All while Chancellor Cynthia Larive received a $105,286 pay…
The Power of En Plein Air
I am not used to this. Waking up to birds instead of buses and cars— angry to work their 9 to 5. It is true that I missed home at first. The hustle and bustle and the roar of the freeway, the honk of a…
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…
Through Our Pens: A Love Letter to Longevity Noodles
As a child, each time I was called to dinner by my grandparents and greeted with a bowl of hot noodles, I would eat until my stomach felt like it had doubled in size. “难得吃一会,” my grandmother would say. It’s still one of the only…
Why UCSC Style Is More Than Just Clothing
Growing up in L.A., a place where trends were accepted more than authenticity, where only one type of style was primarily seen, UCSC exposed me to a style that was built on originality and creative and personal expression, which is where my fascination with style…