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By Laurynn Davey, Assistant Editor Photos from Google Although we may be living in the world of 2021, this past weekend took us on a journey all the way back to the year 2008 when iPods were still around, and we still wore headbands with high-waisted shorts. But most importantly, it was the year we first listened to “Fearless” by Taylor Swift. Fast-forward 12 years later, Swift has done it again (literally) by re-releasing her “Fearless” album this past Friday. The catch? It’s all been re-recorded.  After publicly calling out her former record label Big Machine Records (BMR) and founder Scott Borchetta for selling her masters to Scooter Braun, with whom Swift has a troubling past, Taylor decided to re-record her first six albums. For those who do not understand what a musici...

Harmon Marien was one of three top essays chosen in the freshman writing essay contest held this fall. Essays were submitted by English 111 instructors and were judged by the students in the ENG 340 Fall Editing class, who chose the top three. The contest was sponsored by the Humanities division. Congratulations, Harmon! Photo from Unsplash I live in Eagle River, WI, in the Nicolet National Forest. With a resident list stacking up to just under 1,400 people, Eagle River and the surrounding small towns and community, known as the “Northwoods,” have an abundance of untouched land and water. Vilas County alone is home to more than 1,300 lakes and over 70 rivers and streams. When growing up in an area such as Eagle River, you are forced to appreciate nature’s natural beauty, and regular...

Lauren Wilk, contributing writer Photos from Google *Disclaimer: light spoilers about the content of the show (no names of characters in situations are revealed) The enticing world of subscription services has been a reliable companion during the ongoing stay-at-home narrative of the pandemic. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and other services have been releasing plenty of series over recent years to provide specific content for a monthly or yearly rate. A streaming service I was able to obtain access to recently is HBO Max. For years, I missed out on HBO shows because I never had the channel growing up, which means I have not seen “Game of Thrones.” Worry not, it is on my list of things to watch.  The first show I completed on HBO Max was called Lovecraft Country that I heard about f...

By Emily Lease, contributing writer Photos from Google One occurrence that a lot of college students experience is having roommates. In a lot of cases, movies and television programs show these relationships as wonderful friendships that will last forever; this is not the case for most people. In reality, a lot of students deal with roommates that they are not compatible with, which can result in arguments or, in some cases, mental and physical abuse. When asking the McKendree Residence Life department about how they pair people to live together, they were willing to answer my questions and gave me a copy of the paperwork that they have students fill out as incoming freshmen. The first question that they ask incoming students is where they would like to live. Following this, ...

By Mikayla Walton, Head Copyeditor Photos from Google ASMR, also known as Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is a phenomenon that has caught on over the last few years with a more significant increase in the last year. ASMR is described as a tingling sensation that begins at the scalp and moves down the neck and upper spine. Audiences experience this response through auditory stimuli, while others do not feel the tingling sensation at all but rather experience a deep euphoria that makes them relaxed and tired. The stimuli to these responses can be found on YouTube with many different types of videos. There are videos that include massage, eating, sand cutting, soap cutting, rain, soft music, etc. The popular forms of ASMR videos often include people whispering into microphones...

By Haley Rey, Associate Editor Photos from: stantonssheetmusic.wordpress.com, pinterest.com, and mackeymitchell.com This weekend, McKendree’s music and theatre departments will present the musical comedy First Date. This show is just under two months in the making, showcasing the talent of several Bearcats. It’s about two single people meeting for a blind date set up by their friends and family. The two are haunted by both past and current anxieties, which are playfully shown in musical numbers performed by the other patrons in the restaurant.  Onstage, you will find JD Lindley, Elizabeth Coady, Bradley Eston, Jade Heuer, Samantha Elling, Lilia De Oliveira Palaez, Elizabeth Birkner, Amanda Morgan, and Kelly Damann. In the band you will find Jessica Anderson, Jason Weaver, Guy Can...

By Harmon Marien, contributing writer Photos from National Geographic Darkness at its purest form is in my opinion the most underrated, underappreciated natural phenomenon on planet earth. Pure darkness reveals the real night sky, which is littered with other objects in our solar system. It is an astonishing sight and one that is not seen by many anymore. The over and immature usage of artificial light has resulted in light pollution that litters most of the globe. It creates a visual barrier between us and our galaxy while limiting and damaging our world at the same time. Light pollution affects our health, takes away our ability to experience our solar system, and ruins our ecosystems. Light pollution is the “inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light” ("Light Pollution...

By Dr. Jenny Mueller's Literary Editing class Photo by McKendree Montage Did you know McKendree has its own undergraduate literary magazine? Montage was started on this campus more than 25 years ago. It began on paper, featuring only creative writing, but now features student visual artwork as well and can be found on the web. Montage has been a feature of the Academic Excellence Celebration since it began and is one of its most popular presentations. You can publish your own creative work in the Montage, too, if you send it to the editors for review by March 22. The magazine is published every spring around AEC day and editors are currently requesting submissions of student creative writing and art. This year, Montage will record student writers reading their work and post it t...

By Victoria Sananikone, Editor In Chief Photos from Victoria Sananikone, Rappler, Chicago Tribune, The Economist Let’s talk about what happened in Georgia on the night of March 16. On Tuesday night, eight people were shot and killed by a white man named Robert Aaron Long. He targeted three spas that were located in Woodstock and Atlanta: Young’s Asian Massage, Gold Massage Spa, and Aroma Therapy Spa. Six of the eight victims that were killed were Asian and only one of them was male. Their names were Delaina Ashley Yuan, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Yan, Julie Park, Park Hyeon Jeong, and two other names that have not yet been released. Woojin Kang, 27, a priest, cries at the makeshift memorial outside Gold Spa near Acworth, Ga., on Thursday, March 18, 2021, one of three massage b...

By Isabella Strimling, contributing writer Photos from Isabella Strimling Out of nowhere, my alarm began to blare, cutting through the sleepy serenity of my early-afternoon nap. My hair was a matted mess of dried chlorine, and my body still ached from the morning’s 6 a.m. lift and the ensuing two-hour pool practice. As I reluctantly slid out from beneath the comfort of my blankets and touched my feet to the cold, hard floor of my run-down dorm room, prevailing exhaustion gripped my brain, tearing through my muscles, and reminded me aggressively of how badly I wanted to call off my shift. Still groggy and craving another 45 minutes of rest, I splashed my face with some cold water and cracked open a Bang as I repeated the same ol’ words in my head to inspire me out of the door: “You n...