scribbles

Jake seemed like a nice guy. He is twenty and has a jawline that could cut glass. His music tastes are impeccable, with featured artists like Tyler the Creator and Mac Miller in his profile.

Jake’s bio read “Your mom would tell you to swipe right” with a little smirk emoji at the end. I’m not really impressed with his average level pick up line. I can let it slide.

His profile photos feature him lifting, holding a puppy, and flexing with his shirt off in a gym locker room. I was pretty attracted to the façade that he put together until the last photo of Jake. It was a photo of him and a friend, probably at a party hinted by red Solo cups and blue lighting, standing in front of a tapestry that read “Saturdays Are For The Boys.”

Was it petty for me to become uninterested in a person because of wall décor? Probably. But with previous experiences and conversations with guys with that tapestry, they turned out to be a complete jerk.

Plus, it was against one of my own personal rules to swipe right with a man that has a profile photo with that tapestry. I sigh and swipe left on Jake, never to see him pop up again on my list of possible Tinder matches. Onto the next bachelor that came in the form of Kaleb.

I am one of many college aged users with the dating app, Tinder. The app itself, along with other dating apps like Bumble or Hinge, is a popular trend among single college age students to have on their phones. 

Tinder was introduced to the app store back in 2012, where it quickly appealed to a range of people and their sexual attractions. The app quickly became popular due to the easy access to start looking for love, hook-ups, or casual dating. Tinder has become one of the most popular dating apps among users and has shaped the modern dating scene.

“Tinder is a dating app that you create your profile and then you have pictures of yourself. Then you have like your age and where you live,” explained sophomore Sarah Severes, “Sometimes people will have what college they go to. You can put whatever you want in your bio. Some people have bios and some don’t.”

Severes described that her account was a collection of selfies that she felt confident in. She paired her profile photos with her favorite music, done by connecting her Spotify account to Tinder.

My own Tinder account was filled with a similar strategy as Severes. The only difference is that my bio reads “I enjoy long walks in the frozen food aisle.” This bio has caused a lot of pickup lines revolving around what my favorite frozen food is and guys saying they work at a grocery store, particularly with the frozen food.

After setting up a Tinder profile account about who they are, users are able to “swipe” through other users’ profiles. If a person is interested in someone, they swipe right to tell the app they are wanting to match with them. If the other person also swipes right, both are notified that they have matched and an option to message each other appears. If a person swipes left, it tells the app they are not interested in the other person and they will not appear again as an option.

Because of the easy format of looking through profiles and making yes or no decisions is what has helped in its rise of users. “I think it’s because it’s an easy, easy way to meet people. You don’t have to meet face to face. You can see if they’re cute or not, and then you or the other person who actually liked you can message first. Then based off of that, you can ask for their number or Snapchat,” said Severes.

College age students have different reasons for downloading Tinder, whether for the mingling aspects or avoiding face to face contact while browsing at singles in the area. “I think that it’s because of the mingling,” said sophomore Garrett Arbuckle on why the app is popular with college students, “You can personalize it the way you like and do it your own way. You can choose like where people are, the distance, and age range. I think it’s a way that’s so 21st century and so new time because people are a lot less willing to just go up and talk to people in person.”

Arbuckle described his Tinder as very bare, with not a lot of photos and no bio. He discovered with making his profile, that he did not have a lot of singular photos of himself. Arbuckle mentioned that he was also using a photo of him and a friend in hopes that possible matches would mistake him as the “more attractive one.”

“My reason for downloading Tinder was because I was lonely,” explained Arbuckle, “My senior year, I had a girlfriend and it was my choice I broke up with her right before graduation just because I didn’t want to move to college and meet someone. I didn’t really have a great track of relationships to start with. I was never the type of person that had a lot of girlfriends or whatever. And so actually, my friend encouraged me to download it.”

Tinder tends to be a bandwagon app for college singles. Users tend to be pressured into downloading the app for reasons that they know the number of other college students using it or through friends.

Tinder has become an app to use when a relationship end and a person wants to get back into the dating game. “I got out of a really long relationship recently. I was with the person for a couple for years. At first it was kind of to get back at her a little bit because I know the day after we broke up, she made a Tinder,” said senior Matthew O’Connell, “I was like that hurts a little bit. I don’t even really use [Tinder] all that much or anything like that, it’s just kind of on my phone.”

O’Connell collected photos from social media to put together his account. He tried to come up with a comical bio but feels that it is a bit corny.

If a Morningside student were to join Tinder right now, they would most likely see quiet a few familiar faces from their own campus. “I would say seven out of ten college students here at Morningside have [Tinder]. I would say like a good majority or most of the Morningside population,” said Arbuckle.

I personally can say that a good majority of the campus has the app itself. Sometimes matching with someone on campus can go one of two ways: things become really awkward and you never make eye contact again or you begin hanging out more.

• 

• 

• 

Seeing a large majority of the other college students in the Siouxland area, like Briar Cliff University and Western Iowa Tech Community College, also on Tinder is a common occurrence. Sometimes with swiping does mean if you are willing to give your school pride to swipe right on a person from a rival school that you are attracted to.

“I did match with a Briar Cliff nursing student. Then I went to my first clinical and he was on the same floor as me,” said Severes, “It was very awkward. Then, I went back to my messages and like I saw that we had. So that was kind of weird.”

Tinder has varied results with those who do end up going on dates. Some go on one date and decide that there is zero connection. After the date, both people tend to stop talking and go back to swiping left and right.

Other results from Tinder is long term relationships with who they matched with. Some of the matches have resulted in marriages, although this is a rare result.

There is also a different experience using Tinder between females and males according to Severes. “I want to say this without sounding rude, but I feel like women have higher standards and men just swipe right if you like, look cute at all. It’s like, I know me and my friends we like look at like the bio and know the five things that they like. I think guys would just look at the first picture of like, she’s cute and swipe right,” said Severes.

Both Arbuckle and O’Connell feel like the usage of Tinder is not that different between male and female college students.

Tinder has also played a part in hookup culture, like one-night stands and friends with benefits. College students use the app to connect (quite literally) with others the same goal. They make it clear in their bios or with the first message with the other person.

“All you have to do is swipe left or right, you don’t even have to talk to the person you don’t even have to know the person. I know guys who just swipe right on every single profile they get or whatever and it’s like why are you doing that,” said O’Connell, “I guess [hookups] certainly seems to be kind of the trend at least among guys, I’ll say that.”

Each person has their own rules when it comes to swiping. Some rules can be that a person must have portrait photo of themselves or a bio that was written with actual effort. The odd rules that some have range from names that start with J are a no or a person wearing cowboy boots receives an automatic left swipe.

Once a match happens and conversation starts, it does a become a big question if that will lead to a date. From personal experience, conversations tend to happen for a few days before dying off or learning that there is no common interest.

I can personally count on one hand where there was a date that resulted from meeting on Tinder. Majority have been no connection with the guy and ultimately finding out that there is not a connection. 

I am not the only one in this boat of feeling zero connection with the other person. Majority of us with failed Tinder dates turn around to repeat the process of swiping.

Disappointing? Yes. Do I blame Tinder? Slightly.

But with just how frustrating and unsuccessful Tinder is, it will probably stick around in the college environment for years to come until the next big dating app. 

For now, Kaleb is twenty-two and his bio entails a sexual innuendo and his love of his truck.

Swipe left.

Jake seemed like a nice guy. He is twenty and has a jawline that could cut glass. His music tastes are impeccable, with featured artists like Tyler the Creator and Mac Miller in his profile.

Jake’s bio read “Your mom would tell you to swipe right” with a little smirk emoji at the end. I’m not really impressed with his average level pick up line. I can let it slide.

His profile photos feature him lifting, holding a puppy, and flexing with his shirt off in a gym locker room. I was pretty attracted to the façade that he put together until the last photo of Jake. It was a photo of him and a friend, probably at a party hinted by red Solo cups and blue lighting, standing in front of a tapestry that read “Saturdays Are For The Boys.”

Was it petty for me to become uninterested in a person because of wall décor? Probably. But with previous experiences and conversations with guys with that tapestry, they turned out to be a complete jerk.

Plus, it was against one of my own personal rules to swipe right with a man that has a profile photo with that tapestry. I sigh and swipe left on Jake, never to see him pop up again on my list of possible Tinder matches. Onto the next bachelor that came in the form of Kaleb.

I am one of many college aged users with the dating app, Tinder. The app itself, along with other dating apps like Bumble or Hinge, is a popular trend among single college age students. 

Tinder was introduced to the app store back in 2012, where it quick appealed to a range of people and their sexual attractions. The app quickly became popular due to the easy access to start looking for love, hook-ups, or casual dating. Tinder has become one of the most popular dating apps among users and has shaped the modern dating scene.

“Tinder is a dating app that you create your profile and then you have pictures of yourself. Then you have like your age and where you live,” explained sophomore Sarah Severes, “Sometimes people will have what college they go to. You can put whatever you want in your bio. Some people have bios and some don’t.”

Severes described that her account was a collection of selfies that she felt confident in. She paired her profile photos with her favorite music, done by connecting her Spotify to her account.

My own Tinder account was filled with a similar strategy as Severes. The only difference is that my bio reads “I enjoy long walks in the frozen food aisle.” This bio has caused a lot of pickup lines revolving around what my favorite frozen food is and asking me to go on a date in that aisle.

After setting up a Tinder profile account about who they are, users are able to “swipe” through other users’ profiles. If a person is interested in someone the swipe right to tell the app they are wanting to match with them. If the person also swipes right, both are notified that they have matched and an option to message each other appears. If a person swipes left, it tells the app they are not interested in the other person and they will not appear again as an option.

Because of the easy format of looking through profiles and making yes or no decisions is what has helped in its rise of users. “I think it’s because it’s an easy, easy way to like meet people. You don’t have to do it face to face. You can see if they’re cute or not, and then you or the other person who actually liked you can message first. Then based off of that, you can ask for their number or Snapchat,” said Severes.

College age students have different reasons for downloading Tinder, whether for the mingling aspects or avoiding face to face contact while browsing at singles in the area. “I think that it’s because of the mingling,” said sophomore Garrett Arbuckle on why the app is popular with college students, “You can personalize it the way you like and do it your own way. You can choose like where people are like the distance and age range. So, I think that’s a way that’s so 21st century and so new time because people are a lot less willing to just go up and talk to people in person.”

Arbuckle described his Tinder as very bare, with not a lot of photos and no bio. He discovered with making his profile, that he did not have a lot of singular photos of himself. Arbuckle mentioned that he was also using a photo of him and a friend in hopes that others would mistake him as the “more attractive one.”

“My reason for downloading Tinder was because I was lonely,” explained Arbuckle, “My senior year I had a girlfriend my senior year and then it was my choice I broke up with her, right before graduation just because I didn’t want to move to college and meet someone. I didn’t really have a great track of relationships to start with I was never like the type of person that was like have a lot of girlfriends or whatever. And so actually my friend encouraged me to.”

Tinder tends to be a bandwagon app for college singles. Users tend to be pressured into downloading the app for reasons that they know the number of other college students using it, friends, or hearing how many others use it.

Tinder has become an app to use when a relationship end and a person wants to get back into the dating game. “I got out of a really long relationship recently. I was with the person for a couple for years. At first it was kind of to get back at her a little bit because I know the day after we broke up, she made a Tinder,” said senior Matthew O’Connell, “I was like that hurts a little bit. I don’t even really use [Tinder] all that much or anything like that, it’s just kind of on my phone.”

O’Connell collected photos from social media to put together his account. He tried to come up with a comical bio but feels that it is a bit corny.

If a Morningside student were to join Tinder right now, they would most likely see quiet a few familiar faces from their own campus. “I would say seven out of ten college students here  at Morningside have [Tinder]. I would say like a good majority I would say most of the Morningside population,” said Arbuckle.

I personally can vouch that a good majority of the campus has the app itself. Sometimes matching with someone on campus can go one of two ways: things become really awkward and you never make eye contact again or you begin hanging out more.

Seeing a large majority of the other college students in the Siouxland area, like Briar Cliff University and Western Iowa Tech Community College, also on Tinder is a common occurrence. Sometimes with swiping does mean if you are willing to give your school pride to swipe right that you are attracted to.

“I did match with a Briar Cliff nursing student. Then I went to my first clinical and he was on the same floor as me,” said Severes, “It was very awkward. Then, I went back to my messages and like I saw that we had. So that was kind of weird.”

Tinder has varied results with those who do end up going on dates. Some go on one date and decide that there is zero connection. After the date, both people tend to stop talking and go back to swiping left and right.

Other results from Tinder is long term relationships with who they match with. Some of the matches have resulted in marriages, although this is a rare result.

There is also a different experience using Tinder between females and males according to Severes. “I want to say this without sounding rude, but I feel like women have higher standards and men just like will swipe right if you like, look cute at all. It’s like, I know me and my friends we like look at like the bio and know the five things that like they like. I think guys would just look at the first picture of like, she’s cute and swipe right,” said Severes.

O’Connell feels like the usage of Tinder is not that different between male and female college students.

Tinder has also played a part in hookup culture, like one-night stands and friends with benefits. College students use the app to connect (quite literally) with others the same goal. They make it clear in their bios or with the first message with the other person.

“All you have to do is swipe left or right, you don’t even have to talk to the person you don’t even have to know the person. I know guys who just swipe right on every single profile they get or whatever and it’s like why are you doing that,” said O’Connell, “I guess [hookups] certainly seems to be kind of the trend at least among guys, I’ll say that.”

Each person has their own rules when it comes to swiping. Some rules can be that a person must have portrait photo of themselves or a bio that was written with actual effort. The odd rules that some have range from fishing photos or them wearing cowboy boots receiving an automatic left swipe.

Once a match happens and conversation, it does a become a big question if that will lead to a date. From personal experience, conversations tend to happen for a few days before dying off or learning that there is no common interest.

I can personally count on one hand where there was a date that resulted from meeting on Tinder. Majority have been no connection with the guy and ultimately finding out that there is not a connection. 

I am not the only one in this boat of feeling zero connection with the other person. Majority of us failed Tinder date candidates turn around to repeat the process of swiping.

Disappointing? Yes. Do I blame Tinder? Slightly.

But just how frustrating and unsuccessful Tinder is, it will probably stick around in the college environment for years to come until the next big dating app. 

For now, Kaleb is twenty-two and his bio entails a sexual innuendo and his love of his truck.

Swipe left.

Kevin Roose does a deep dive in what it is like to be a college age evangelical Christian in his novel, The Unlikely Disciple. Roose describes a culture by spending a semester at Liberty University, a well-known conservative college, and takes the reader on a journey of learning of the lifestyle.

Roose wrote The Unlikely Disciple during his sophomore year of college during 2007. Roose graduated from Brown University where he studied English and wrote columns for the Brown Daily Herald. He now writes tech columns for the New York Times, has two other books published, and an eight-part internet related podcast called “Rabbit Hole.”

Roose developed the idea to dive into the world of Liberty University and evangelical Christianity after a conversation with Liberty students. Roose himself comes from a Quaker and secular background where religion did not play a role in his upbringing. The conversation made him realize that he was truly curious about a culture that he had no prior knowledge about and to see if what he heard was true.

This search for answers on what the evangelical lifestyle and giving perspective to others is much of why I believe Roose wrote the book. Just like the stat that he gives in the book in the beginning, over 50 percent of the American population in 2007 did not know an evangelical Christian. This book is meant to give answers to those who are curious about the culture and the people.

Roose took a “semester abroad” at Liberty University, famously known for being started by conservative activist Jerry Falwell, in Lynchberg, Virginia. Roose takes the time to fully learn and observe the people, classes, and activities that make the lifestyle of an evangelical Christian college student.

How he does this is taking classes that a typical Liberty University freshman student has to take, which are heavily invested in creationism theory and a religious center. Roose also takes part in activities that give him perspective about the Liberty lifestyle, like singing in a megachurch choir and attending prayer groups.

As the semester passes, Roose becomes more acclimated with the lifestyle and has favorite people who take part. He gains an appreciation for those he befriends and enjoys some of the aspects of how they live. A particular aspect that he mentions as an enjoyable part was that people were constantly praying for the troubles he was having in life, making him in turn feel more at peace and special.

He also describes the beliefs that some of his friends and those around him have that he dislikes, particularly on the subject of the LGBT community. Roose doesn’t hold back from revealing these beliefs that the student body and Liberty workers hold. He manages to get a good exploration on why the people at Liberty University believe these things through casual conversations with them. 

Roose develops a moral issue while at Liberty University since he is there under false pretenses. He becomes close with those in his dorm, who are very open about sharing their struggles and thoughts to him, and he finds it very hard to keep his own secrets. 

His secrets are put to the test the most when he develops a crush on a girl named Anna, who is very different from many other students and has qualities he likes. There is a moment in his reporting that he describes having to cut her off due to him getting too emotionally involved.

By the end of the semester, Roose is split on the fact that he is leaving Liberty University. Some of this is due to the people that he became close with and the Liberty Way lifestyle affecting him. The other part that was meaningful to him was a sense of college wide shared emotion of caring compared to Brown University.

The lightly evangelical research Roose did before diving into the culture is what makes The Unlikely Disciple so enjoyable. Readers learn alongside him about the quirks and routines of the Christian college group.

For me personally, coming from an evangelical Christian household, it was humorous to me reading his journey. Particular parts that struck me as funny was learning how to curse as a Christian and how they are bluntly nosey. Little moments like this made me chuckle since I know the experience and struggle.

Roose does a phenomenal job revealing all the problematic parts of evangelical Christianity. He is very truthful in saying that some have very outdated thinking, like with interracial couples and the subject of race. 

Readers also learn that not all the evangelical Christian students fall under the stereotypes. Roose explores the disagreements that the students have with Liberty and Christianity. Two explored minority beliefs is the disliking of Jerry Falwell and being a feminist at Liberty.

His writing style is very humorous, mainly due to the secular side of Roose clashing with the culture. It makes the monotony of the religious lifestyle interesting to read about. The writing also makes his reactions to subjects or activities fun and keep you engaged. 

Roose does explain a lot of the evangelical lifestyle in a very detailed way that readers with no religious experience can understand. I believe the best moments when he does this is with explaining pretribulation theory and creationism.

Roose also paints the picture of the people he befriends very realistically that you feel connected to while reading. Just as enjoyable as Roose’s story, it is fun to read about the other characters’ struggles with the Liberty Way and a secular world as the semester goes.

I did not have to question Roose’s journalistic integrity due to personal experience with evangelical Christians and with his work. But there were moments I would do a quick Google search just to learn more, like more information about Tim LaHaye or Roose’s article in The Liberty Champion. Anyone who does question his reporting can easily search it on the internet for more clarification.

I feel like the religious theme of this book will not be for everyone, but it is a big part of the culture that Roose writes about. The Unlikely Disciple might also be a cringe book for anyone who is a practicing Christian.

The Unlikely Disciple is an enjoyable read that makes you laugh and cringe at the same time. It gives a good perspective on what some young Christians live like and what their college experience is. I recommend The Unlikely Disciple to people who are not educated in what evangelical Christians are like and enjoy a well written journey about adapting and studying a culture.

I give The Unlikely Disciple a 9/10 diet peach flavored Snapple teas.

Family members sat in organized white chairs across the lawn in front of Lewis Hall. Most had a wind breaker wrapped around their shoulders or around their exposed legs due to the harsh cold breeze. Despite the undesirable conditions to be sitting in the cold, they were happy to see their loved one about to walk away from the stage with a degree in hand.

The tops of mortarboard hats displayed the messages of what the person would be doing in their next step in life or a sarcastic comment about their college experience. Every soon to be alum looked forward towards the stage with sense of accomplishment detailed on their face.

Despite how much I loved seeing the 2019 graduates and the effort they put towards decorating their caps, I always took an appreciation towards seeing the doctoral robes. Years of schooling that professors put in to end up with an outfit straight out of a Harry Potter movie.

Every doctoral robe had something special about it. Colors have particular meaning. Hats have a particular meaning. Stripes having a particular meaning.

Pretty weird sign of being really smart and probably deep in student loan debt.

I made eye contact with my art professor, John Kolbo, before both of us breaking into broad smiles. He was seated near edge, where I was standing on the other side with camera in hand. His robe wasn’t one that signified him with a doctoral degree but still one that said he was a professor.

At that point in time, John Kolbo was my art professor and advisor for two years. He was a pretty big reason in why I committed to coming to Morningside College. His personality was always goofy with finding ways to sneak a pun or bring up his family’s yearly hog roast.

We would always joke with each other, bounce ideas off of each other, and teach each other keyboard shortcuts for Adobe programs. He was instrumental in making me pursue the crazy design ideas I had. He truly believed in me, which motivated me to improve my skills and make him proud.

Kolbo would always come into the graphic design lab with some musical tune coming out of him. His long grey hair on the top of his head bobbing slightly when he walked.

Kobo was also characterized by the iconic look that he rocked practically every single day. Puffy black vest. Sweater over a button up. Shiny black boots. Blue Jeans.

The man knew how to make you smile.

That cold graduation day was the last time I saw Kolbo looking healthy. Full of joy without a care in the world when he was awarded Faculty Member of the Year Award from the college. A moment that wasn’t revealing with the health problems he was dealing with.

Kolbo was diagnosed with high grade brain tumor after being treated for a subdural hemotoma back in 2014. He had received surgery and had the tumor removed. Since then, he faced rounds of chemotherapy and trips to Rochester to track the state of the tumor.

But since then, the tumor slowly made itself more apparent that it had returned.

He never talked about it in class how his health was, but a person could see that he was not feeling his best at times. I would ask him about how he was feeling. He would play it off. The dark bags under his eyes and less weight in his face said otherwise.

This same scene played out during early October of 2019, only a few months after graduation. Kolbo looked like he had not slept in a week with a dulled energy that he had before. His smile still remained bright in the middle of the matboards and stacks of paper that piled around his desk. 

I talked to him about how his semester so far and checked in on what designs he was working on. We laughed about going to Meet the Pros, a graphic design conference in February, and the current plans for the hog roast that year. A little voice in my head told me to savor this moment for some unknown reason.

Kolbo went on sick leave soon after this small drop in to his office. There was a ripple of uncertainty as adjuncts were placed in the classes he was teaching. Graphic design students were hopeful that he would return back in the spring semester.

The New Year passed, and he did not return back to school. When the pandemic hit, it became more certain that he would not return due to how at risk he was. 

Spring semester was filled with small updates on how he was doing. 

Kolbo was not doing great. He got better and was back on his motorcycle, cruising the town. He fell back into not doing so great.

Nothing really clear.

Until this past week.

On Friday, I received the first concrete news about John Kolbo in a long time. He had passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, after a six-year battle with cancer.

Initially, I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t comprehend it. A world without a mentor that meant a lot to me.

It wouldn’t hit me until 2 AM at a friend’s apartment with a drink in my hand. My fellow graphic design friend asked me what was wrong. I spilled what I knew to her. We both kind of slumped in our chairs with steady streams of tears running down our faces.

I have felt numb since learning the news. Randomly being hit with grief where I cry has become a normal occurrence, especially when I am alone with my thoughts. My energy has been drained as well some heightened depression and end of the semester anxiety clashing.

I have noticed that I have been seeing objects that automatically remind me of Kolbo. They makes me tear up every time. He deserved a lot longer time on Earth than what was given.

It will take time before the pain wears off. For now, I will just need a lot of tissues with me.

I try to think of the good memories of Kolbo and his spirit. I smile and tear up at the same time. 

The year of 2020 feels like it is a year of grieving and losing. It has been the Grim Reaper’s year to raise hell. It feels like he has almost taken a long-term residence to take the good ones in life away.

Death has felt like it has been the biggest theme of this year. COVID-19 related deaths. Cancer or illness related deaths. Freak accident deaths.

We see it constantly everywhere we look at a whole new scale. Numerous people passing away sooner than expected.

Just as much as death has been a dominant theme, grief has also followed along. Loved ones, friends, and those who were close to those who passed away have been hurting. Empty spaces at the dinner table that won’t be filled again.

This year has made it hard to comfort each other during our times of grief. We can’t go hug each other or stop at other’s houses due to the fear we might bring an early death to others. 

All we can do is check in with those who are grieving and just talk from a distance. 

I only hope that next year is better, with death not being as big of a theme for the year. I don’t want to read as many obituaries as I did this year.

Most importantly, I want good people to hug their family members for years to come and not be taken away sooner than expected.

Trend Story: Swiped Right

Ryan is twenty-three and has the first photo of his profile of him holding a huge fish in his hands. His next photo is him and one of his homies standing in front a “Saturdays Are for the Boys” tapestry and red Solo cups in their hands.

The tapestry is a big red flag for me. Swipe left.

Downloading Tinder, along with other dating apps like Bumble or Hinge, is a big trend for those heading off to college or in college. You talk to any of group college students, from Iowa State to Western Iowa Tech, and I bet a majority of them have the app downloaded or did at one time. Having the app is a bandwagon trend with young adults, especially if they suck at dating or have busy schedules.

Every single Tinder user has their own agenda while using the app. For some, they just naturally want to use the app to find a relationship. Others are just there to be kinky or to try to buy feet photos from you.

With this article, I was hoping to get people’s reasons on why they downloaded the app and their guidelines for using their dating app. I was possibly thinking about asking guys I met on Tinder and went on dates with if I could get their opinion, mainly because I feel like I will have a lot of female opinions in the article.  I might throw some of my own personal experience in there as well.

Getting Tinder is a trend and I don’t think everyone understands why downloading the app now is such a common thing. I feel like this will be a good dive into why it is a big thing to meet people on dating apps. Hopefully, readers can get a better picture of what the dating in 2020 is like.

Suanao Katabuchi’s In This Corner of the World is a stark reminder of the consequences of war on the human soul with his animated film. In This Corner of the World is a beautifully animated tale from Japan that warms the heart and is simultaneously brutal at the same time.

In This Corner of the World is based off of a manga series by Fumiyo Kouno. The film won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year during 2017. After winning several prestigious film awards in and doing well in Japan’s box offices, the film was introduced to American audiences the following year. In This Corner of the World is available to watch on Netflix.

The film follows Suzu Urano, a day dreaming and kind 18-year-old woman with a talent for art. Suzu marries a man that she barely knows early in the film and moves to Kure, a small town outside of Hiroshima during 1944. The town itself is a bustling naval town, where battleships come to dock frequently, and everyone seems to work for the Navy. Audiences follow as she struggles with navigating a new town, lifestyle, and with her sister in law. 

As the film progresses, the war slowly comes closer to Suzu and affects more of her life. One area that it affects is feeding her new family and finding new ways to stretch rations longer. Suzu endures her town being bombed, traumatic injuries, and loss of loved ones. With all the pain happening to Suzu, it becomes a question if her spirit will remain intact by the end.

In This Corner of the World brings a natural beauty to the time that it is portraying, mainly due to the animation style of the film. Most of the scenes have a connection to nature in some way and a soft color palette for the animation. Each frame of the film is very picturesque, where you will want to pause to take in the details.

One particular scene that stands out is one where Suzu is watching bombings happen around her while interpreting the explosions as paint splashes. The cuts between the two is beautiful but has you stunned, just like Suzu is watching the world around her starting to be destroyed. The color design is confusing in this scene, due to how light the palette is contrasted to the bright paint moments, but it is a good use of quick animation cuts.

Sound design plays in line with the softness that the animation portrays but helps deliver dark and serious moments within the narrative. The best moments of the sound design come from scenes of bombings on the town. The combinations of the sounds of planes flying over and bombs exploding has you feeling the same fear that the characters have.

The first half of the film has audiences fall in love with the characters that are introduced, especially with Suzu. Part of the credit goes to the character design, which is very soft but distinctive. The other half goes toward you learning the quirks of the other characters as Suzu learns about them herself, like their habits. 

Some of the dialogue in the first half of the film does feel a little clunky. Because of this, I feel like they make Suzu appear very ditsy and dumb. It also makes the growth of the relationship between Suzu and her sister in-law feel odd by the end of the film. 

A bigger criticism I have with the film is the speed of the first half of the film, mainly due to the focus of showing small daily chores. With the playing of mundane tasks, like cooking or sewing, it becomes a slow narrative. There was a point that I did question when the speed of the film would pick up or have a pay off from a slow showing of daily tasks.

It does pay off in the second half of the film. Big time.

Audiences sees the war reaching the shores of their town and how quickly tears it a part in the second half. It is where audiences also begin to see the effects of war on innocent citizens, both with their mental state and physically.

The second gives audiences a serious look and commentary on what war does to innocent citizens. It is best summarized when the main protagonist is at her lowest and says, “I wanted to die a day dreamer.”

Audiences get a raw look to the affects that the atomic bomb have on people due to being dropped near their town as well. This moment is quick, animated in a way that is startling, and audiences can figure out immediately what has happened.

In This Corner of the World is an animated film geared more for an older audience due to the themes and speed. It is a movie where you are charmed by the characters and environment, only to slowly dread as they approach closer to the day when they drop the bomb.

In This Corner of the World is a two hour look at the lives of those affected by war and the affect it has on their spirit. It is a movie that breaks your heart by the end and you might need tissues. I recommend this film to fans of Grave of the Fireflies, those who like watching movies from a different perspective of historical events, or those who enjoy good animation.

In This Corner of the World gets 7/10 wartime rice recipes.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Clamor and giggles acted as the loud melody within the four-person apartment, all in anticipation for what to come. The opening of Mike’s Hard lemonades and White Claws acted as the percussion with each bottle cap hitting a surface or pull of a pull tab. One of the guests asked what the hell she needed to do while scrunching her face at her laptop screen.

All eight participants took their place within the small living room, either seated on one of the chairs or barstools. Laptops were open on all of their laps to export their presentations onto a flash drive. Tonight, was the big reveal of their performances and jokes, highlighted through bullet points and bar graphs. Tonight, was PowerPoint Night.

“Basically, all of my roommates and a few of our friends that Zoomed in created a PowerPoint about whatever we wanted and presented them, so pretty lowkey. Nothing super glamourous but a good time,” said one of the hosts of PowerPoint Night, Taylor Van Vliet.

PowerPoint Night is set up like a regular classroom presentation but with a nonacademic twist. Participants work on their topics before presenting on a designated night. All of the final products have a varying degree of effort to help drive the humor. “We’ve all collectively put way more effort into PowerPoints than we have into assignments lately, which is questionable but it’s all in good fun,” admitted Van Vliet. 

Some of the participants take the time to fully research, like looking for statistics and images, or put minimal effort in finding facts to enhance the topic they are presenting. All of the rules of a good academic or professional presentation are thrown out the window.

When it comes to what topic is allowed for presenting, anything is on the table. From politics, to Dance Moms, to even convincing the group they should be allowed to sleep with someone on campus, it’s allowed on PowerPoint Night.

“There was a lot of Dance Moms content at this last one, which I think there’s going to be more Dance Moms content this weekend,” said Van Vliet “Really anything is on the table. If you can put some graphs with it, it’s fair game.”

Lindsey Kruse, a sophomore and fellow host for the night, queued up her PowerPoint up on the television as the first presenter. Loud howls of laughter erupted due to her subject of possible new career choices for someone who is leaving Morningside campus and the image that was on the title slide. 

Kruse cleared her throat and began to present with her best humorous presentation voice. Some of the possible career choices varied like telemarketer, model, and therapist due to the dad energy the person gave off. Kruse pressed next on the slide, coming up as “Enginir” which caused another loud burst of laughter. “[They] did in fact take the tape from the bleacher, which our asses sat on, to fix [their] mask,” stated Kruse while pointing to the photo as reference to why they should become an engineer. 

“[PowerPoint Night] was based off of some trends we had been seeing on Tik Tok, at least as far as I remember how it got brought up” explained fellow host Elizabeth Obermeier, “We were talking about something really random and then one of us was like ‘hey we should do a PowerPoint Night, that can be really fun’ and it just kind of went from there.”

Obermeier explained that the combination of inside jokes or pop culture in the PowerPoint format helps with making it so comical. Majority of the inside jokes relate to what has happened on Morningside campus or within the groups that a majority are a part of, like band. Pop culture related jokes tend to land better with the group when most know the reference they are talking about, like in the case of Dance Moms.

Obermeier took control of the remote and brought up her presentation titled “Sports that Rank Above Me.” She flipped to the first slide which garnered an instant response from the audience. “Golf, because that’s what my ex-boyfriend decided was more important than our relationship,” stated Obermeier in a sarcastic tone.

She flipped to the next slide which said ‘The End’ on it. The group began clapping and cheering wildly. One audience member began yelling, “Good dinner! Good dinner!”

Presentations about American politics also tend to be a hit within the group. One of the well-received politically driven PowerPoints was about ranking the Midwest governors and their replacements. The replacements would be something ridiculous as well, like replacing Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds with single ply toilet paper.

Sarah Severes, sophomore and an invited guest, set up her presentation ‘Things I Would Rather Do Than Vote for Donald Trump.” Severes put a disclaimer that she would be voting Joe Biden and that there was no particular order to her list. Some of the things she listed was having a Lego stuck in her shoe for forever, drink UV Blue every day, walk up Dimmitt Hill fifty times a day, or get hit by a train. 

Severes emphasized with each slide how much she hates what she listed but is willing to do it if it meant not voting for Trump. Reactions acted a little bit wilder with her presentation due to most being finished with their second or third drink. All of whom agreed they would rather be hit by a train than vote Trump.

Alcohol and the time at night when presenting plays a part in the humor of PowerPoint Night. These two factors, along with the stresses of college, help with knowing how to play along with the audience. “It’s the end of the week. We’ve had a long week. So, we’re already on that, you know, crackhead kind of energy,” said Obermeier.

These nights have been a stress relief for all who are involved. PowerPoint Night has become an event to look forward to and help release any stress the group has. Some of the stress causers become content for PowerPoint Night.

Samantha Warren, a sophomore and apartment resident, presented her PowerPoint titled “People That Fucking Terrify Me/Stay the Fuck Away from Me.” Her list included any man that wears Vineyard Vines, men with mullets, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. 

Warren listed that people with Androids also need to stay away from her. Her reason was that “the image quality of an oil painting was better than the phone quality than an Android.”

PowerPoint Night has been a way for the group to do an activity that does not involve going out or heading to the bars due to the concerns about COVID-19. The concerns with heading out during the weekend is a reason why the activity was created. “You have to think about it more, especially with who are you going with and where you are going,” said Van Vliet “Being able to stay at home but still do something fun, especially with Zooming in people. We wouldn’t have thought about doing that before. But now, we’re like ‘oh yeah someone wants to join but they can’t come, make a PowerPoint and share your screen and we can all have a good time.’”

Everyone who is involved has become closer with each other, even if they have met each other for the first time that night. PowerPoint Night has allowed laughter about inside jokes while creating new ones. It has also become a moment of normal college shenanigans. 

Taylor Van Vliet stood up, placing her beverage down, to present what Morningside figures would be if they were on The Office. There was instant chatter about what a good topic it was. The sound of sipping drinks complimented her subject as well.

Van Vliet paired her unfavorable Morningside figures with the more despicable Office characters. Each slide had a list of bullet points on why she paired them, making a connection to the person and the character selection.

She concluded on the fact that she would be Angela Martin. Her reason being that “my collection of cardigans is just as excellent.”

When asked about how Van Vliet would explain this college activity to her grandkids, she began to laugh. “Oh my gosh, my four grandkids. Well, we were all stuck inside. We all had so much more time to just think about things because what else were you going to do. And what better way to express your absurd thoughts, than in a Microsoft PowerPoint. Truly beautiful,” stated Van Vliet.

Clamor and giggles acted as the loud melody within the four-person apartment, all in anticipation for what to come. The opening of Mike’s Hard lemonades and White Claws acted as the percussion with each bottle cap hitting a surface or pull of a pull tab. One of the guests asked what the hell she needed to do while scrunching her face at her laptop screen.

All eight participants took their place within the small living room, either seated on one of the chairs or one of the barstools. Laptops were open on all of their laps to export their presentations onto a flash drive. Tonight, was the big reveal of their performances and jokes, highlighted through bullet points and bar graphs. Tonight was PowerPoint Night.

“Basically, all of my roommates and a few of our friends that Zoomed in created a PowerPoint about whatever we wanted and presented them, so pretty lowkey. Nothing super glamourous but a good time,” said one of the hosts of PowerPoint Night, Taylor Van Vliet.

PowerPoint Night is set up like a regular classroom presentation but with a nonacademic twist. Participants work on their topics before presenting on a designated night, all of which have a varying degree of effort to help drive the humor. “We’ve all collectively put way more effort into PowerPoints than we have into assignments lately, which is questionable but it’s all in good fun,” admitted Van Vliet. 

Some of the participants take the time to fully research, or not at all, to enhance the topic they are presenting, like looking for statistics and images. All of the rules of a good academic or professional presentation are thrown out the window.

When it comes to what topic is allowed for presenting, anything is on the table. From politics, to Dance Moms, to even convincing the group to sleep with someone on campus, it’s allowed on PowerPoint Night.

“There was a lot of Dance Moms content at this last one, which I think there’s going to be more Dance Moms content this weekend,” said Van Vliet “Really anything is on the table if you can put some graphs with it, it’s fair game.”

Lindsey Kruse, a sophomore and fellow host for the night, queued up her PowerPoint up on the television as the first onest. Loud howls of laughter erupted due to her subject of possible new career choices for someone who is leaving Morningside campus and the image that was on the title slide.

Kruse cleared her throat and began to present with her best humorous presentation voice. Some of the possible career choices varied like telemarketer, model, and therapist due to the dad energy the person gave off. Kruse pressed next on the slide, coming up as “Enginir” which caused another loud burst of laughter. “[They] did in fact take the tape from the bleacher, which our asses sat on, to fix [their] mask,” stated Kruse while pointing to the photo as reference as why they should become an engineer. 

“[PowerPoint Night] was based off of some trends we had been seeing on Tik Tok at least as far as I remember how it got brought up” explained fellow host Elizabeth Obermeier “We were talking about something really random and then one of us was like ‘hey we should do a PowerPoint Night, that can be really fun’ and it just kind of went from there.”

Obermeier explained that the combination of inside jokes or pop culture in the PowerPoint format helps with making it so comical. Majority of the inside jokes relate to what has happened on Morningside campus or within the groups that a majority are a part of, like band. Pop culture related jokes tend to land better with the group when most know the reference they are talking about, like in the case of Dance Moms.

Obermeier took control of the remote and brought up her presentation titled “Sports that Rank Above Me.” She flipped to the first slide which garnered an instant response from the audience. “Golf, because that’s what my ex-boyfriend decided was more important than our relationship,” stated Obermeier in a sarcastic tone.

She flipped to the next slide which said ‘The End’ on it. The group began clapping and cheering wildly. One audience member began yelling, “Good dinner! Good dinner!”

Presentations about American politics also tend to be a hit within the group. One of the well-received politically driven PowerPoint was about ranking the Midwest governors and their replacements. The replacements would be something ridiculous as well, like replacing Iowan governor Kim Reynolds with single ply toilet paper.

Sarah Severes, sophomore and an invited guest, set up her presentation ‘Things I Would Rather Do Than Vote For Donald Trump.” Severes put a disclaimer that she would be voting Joe Biden and that there was no particular order to her list. Some of the things she listed was have a Lego stuck in her shoe, drink UV Blue every day, walk up Dimmitt Hill fifty times a day, or get hit by a train. 

Severes emphasized with each slide how much she hates what she listed but is willing to do it if it meant not voting for Trump. Reactions acted a little bit wilder with her presentation due to most being finished with their second or third drink. All of whom agreed they would rather be hit by a train than vote Trump.

Alcohol and the time at night when presenting plays a part in the humor of PowerPoint Night. These two factors, along with the stresses of college, help with knowing how to play along with the audience. “It’s the end of the week. We’ve had a long week. So, we’re already on that, you know, crackhead kind of energy,” said Obermeier.

These nights have been a stress relief for all those involved. PowerPoint Night has become an event to look forward to and help release any stress the group has. Some of the stress causers become content for PowerPoint Night.

Samantha Warren, a sophomore and apartment resident, presented her PowerPoint titled “People That Fucking Terrify Me/Stay the Fuck Away from Me.” Her list included any man that wears Vineyard Vines, men with mullets, and republican senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. 

Warren listed that people with Androids also need to stay away from her. Her reason was that “the image quality of an oil painting had better phone quality than an Android.”

PowerPoint Night has been a way for the group to do an activity that does not involve going out or to the bars due to the concerns about COVID-19. The concerns with heading out during the weekend is a reason why the activity was created. “You have to think about it more especially like who are you going with and where you are going,” said Van Vliet “Being able to stay at home but still do something fun, especially with Zooming in people. We wouldn’t have thought about doing that before. But now, we’re like ‘oh yeah someone wants to join but they can’t come, make a PowerPoint and share your screen, and we can all have a good time.”

Everyone who is involved has become closer with each other, even if they have met each other for the first time that night. PowerPoint has allowed laughter about inside jokes while creating new ones. It has also become a moment of normal college shenanigans. 

Taylor Van Vliet stood up, placing her beverage down, to present what Morningside figures would be if they were on The Office. There was instant chatter about what a good topic she chose. The sound of sipping drinks complimented her subject as well.

Van Vliet paired her unfavorable Morningside figures with the more despicable Office characters. Each slide had a list of bullet points on why she paired, making a connection to the person and their character selection.

She concluded on the fact that she would be Angela Martin. Her reason being that “my collection of cardigans is just as excellent.”

When asked about how Van Vliet would explain this college activity to her grandkids, she began to laugh. “Oh my gosh, my four grandkids. Well, we were all stuck inside. We all had so much more time to just think about things because what else were you going to do. And what better way to express your absurd thoughts, than in a Microsoft PowerPoint. Truly beautiful,” stated Van Vliet.

College Culture: PowerPoint n’ White Claws

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day during class when there was a change in the conversation. “Do you want to see a PowerPoint my roommate made,” she said with a humorous twinkle in her eye, “Don’t worry, it’s not a typical PowerPoint presentation.”

I was thinking what you are thinking. What about a PowerPoint presentation could make my friend so excited to share with me?

I have a group of friends that have been putting together what they call “PowerPoint Night.” Basically, the presentations have nothing to do with anything academic but more humorous. Any topic is on the table to present to the group and the more raunchy is the better. Examples of the presentations that have been done is “Ranking the Midwest Governors and Who They Should be Replaced by” (Kim Reynolds would be replaced with single ply toilet paper) and “Why I Should be Allowed to Sleep With This Person” (if anything like this comes up, I would make sure the other person stays anonymous).

Alcohol and the time that these are presented are big factors in what make them so funny. Quite a few glasses of wine and White Claws are consumed and as it gets later at night, it gets more humorous.

I was going to try to interview the ones that host the PowerPoint room, which is Taylor Van Vliet, Elizabeth Obermeier, and their two roommates. I might interview with whoever else participates. I am personally participating in on the night, so hopefully I don’t have too many White Claws in me to not take notes.

I want to show that the some of the culture of college is this lawful chaotic energy that likes to make regular things, PowerPoints, into what they weren’t intended for. I think people would also like to hear the story about how PowerPoint Night got started. Also, I think in this pandemic that doing this alcohol fueled night is just a moment of normal college stuff without the possible large crowd risk.