Last spring, I had the opportunity to spend the semester in Copenhagen, Denmark as part of the CIEE Open Campus program. I had known for many years that I wanted to study abroad in college because I have always loved traveling and had a specific interest in Scandinavia, as that is where much of my…
At Hope College, we are told we are more than just a number. One of the benefits of living at a small liberal arts college is the deep integration of students and faculty. We the students know the ins and outs, the whos and the whats, and ultimately the drama within each department. While nothing…
A year and a half ago I wrote a piece for a Creative Writing: Nonfiction class about the internet and how it’s changed the way we live. In my pre-writing work for this article, I revisited Sophomore Eli’s writing, and, like my old piece prophesied, the piece was out of date. “Even to speak about…
Allow me to persuade you to discard your business, accounting, biology, communications, or any other major connected, in some way, to the so-called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) or social science fields. I propose you instead major in that which offers something of substance. Philosophy, classical studies, English, or a history major would be fine…
Do you ever find yourself sitting in class, not able to pay attention? Not because of anything that is being said or shown on a screen or whiteboard, but because of the room itself? Maybe it’s the lighting, maybe the seats are uncomfortable, maybe the technology is glitchy or maybe it is something else. Or…
On many campuses across America, schools professing to be Christian find that the actual tenets of their faith are at odds with the populist dogma that appeals to the American ethos of free expression. On the one hand, Christian educational institutions desire to appeal to the same principles of “free speech” and “open-mindedness” that their…
This summer, Hope’s President, Matthew Scogin, introduced Hope Forward–a model that will drastically change the way that students pay for a Hope experience. The college hopes to implement the plan in the next ten to fifteen years. When it comes to fruition, all students would be offered a full-tuition scholarship with the expectation that upon…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this past week brings to the forefront a divide between interventionism and isolationism that has long been debated in American politics. The policy of “America First’,’ pushed during the Trump Presidency, has created a new fault line within the Republican Party specifically. There are those who believe that domestic problems must…
I remember, almost two full years ago, a time when we did not have to worry about having a mask on us when we left the house, we didn’t have to worry about not being able to see our friends and family because of health issues, a time when the idea of a global pandemic…
Michigan is cold. Especially in West Michigan, winter brings not just freezing temperatures but months of snowy weather. However, there are a multitude of fun things to do on the weekends or whenever you’re free during the winter. As students, we need breaks every now and then, so getting outside or off campus is just…