Dirty Honey is a clean and fresh take on alternative rock.

Since the rock-dominating scene of the 1980s, many have tried to reinvent what is known as the classics and, but few have successfully managed to reproduce the similar vibe of artists like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Upcoming LA-based rock band, Dirty Honey, is one of those that have used previous bands to inspire their sound, creating songs that appeal to ears of class rock lovers.

Dirty Honey’s sound is one that could fall under the category of soul rock, representing a style of both the sexy tune of blues and the hard-core sound of rock and roll. Their newest album named Dirty Honey was released in March of 2021, two years after their debut track. It includes eight unique songs: “California Dreamin’,” “The Wire,” “Tied Up,” “Take My Hand,” “Gypsy,” “No Warning,” “The Morning,” and “Another Last Time.” The band consists of guitarist John Notto, drummer Corey Covertsone, bassist Justin Smolian, and vocalist Marc LaBelle, all men with really great style and really great hair. 

Although I’m not an expert on rock, and even less of an expert on blues, I immediately caught myself smiling as the first song played through. At the time of listening to it, I was in the passenger seat, enjoying a road trip to a small Nebraska town. “The Wire” came on and it immediately matched the energy that the beautiful spring weather emitted. I closed my eyes and could instantly picture myself at a live concert, without a care in the world. I couldn’t relate to the song’s topic of toxic love, but despite that, I loved the instrumental talent that went into creating the song. The drums and bass guitar matched perfectly with the vocalist’s raspy voice to create a groovy sound. I gave this masterpiece of a song a 10/10.  

Another song I rated high because of the same type of guitar riffs that really hooked me into it was “Another Last Time.” I definitely found myself feeling so content when listening to this one, which proved to be played a bit slower than “The Wire.” I could picture this one as a wedding song, if it wasn’t for the, again, sad lyrics of a toxic relationship – which seem to be a theme in their music. I would listen to this one over and over again. My rate for the song “Another Last Time” is a strong 9.5/10. 

The song with the lowest rating from me was “California Dreamin’.” It was still pretty groovy, but it wasn’t one I could see myself actively going to find and play as I drive. This may be surprising, since it was their chosen song to do a single on prior to making an album to accompany it, but it probably is just a personal preference. I like instrumental breaks, times within music that allows listeners to breathe and just enjoy the accompanists rather than always having to follow a lyricist’s words, and “California Dreamin’” just didn’t follow this preference as much as I had hoped they would in this song. Yet, I still found this song capable to groove to, holding similar techniques as the rest of the album, and because of this, gave it a 7/10. 

Dirty Honey really surprised me with their talent. You know it’s a good album when you start to just listen to the songs and completely forget that you are listening for a homework assignment. I also got a chance to watch a couple of their music videos as I further researched the group and, though it’s not initially what I expected for an alternative rock band, the music videos had an ‘other-world’ vibe to them that made sense for the music they were playing. 

If you are a true rock fan, I suggest you give Dirty Honey a listen and form your own opinion on them. I typically turn on pop when I’m driving, and if I feel like rock, it’s usually for a very short amount of time. So, it’s revealing of an artist if they can open a window of curiosity for listeners to encourage exploration of music similar to theirs. I was impressed and will be remembering their name, as I now have a couple of these songs in my Spotify library. 

Overall, I rate Dirty Honey’s album Dirty Honey an 8/10.

“TikTok” on the Clock

A social media trend has students losing time but making memories.

It’s 7 p.m. on a Tuesday night and I just got done eating a warm bowl of homemade mac and cheese. Now that I have food in my stomach, I am fueled up and ready to take on tonight’s homework! The tasks at hand: read fifty-gazillion pages for my English class, write a lot of lesson plans for my Education class, and send email interviews to at least twenty people for my Comm class. If I’m really focused, I’ll be able to get it all finished and go to bed early so I can wake up at 6 a.m. feeling refreshed and renewed!

About forty-five minutes pass and I’m one-third of a way into my reading. I pick up my phone. I need a brain break. I turn to the lovely video app of “Tik Tok”. 

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no.

I am instantly sucked into the world of cute dog videos and challenging dance trends and, before too long, it’s 11 p.m. and I haven’t even finished my reading for the next day. But what have I accomplished? Coming across the video that tells me to get off the app six times.

Even though this sounds like a crazy instance of lacking self-control, and it may be over-dramatized for viewer’s entertainment only, it is actually more common than you think for students to get distracted by the app for long periods of time. Whenever I study with a friend or two, at least one of us will become bored of our homework or need a snack break, absorbing every video that crosses their feed and completely forgetting about their agenda for the night. 

“I try to watch Tik Tok only at night before I go to bed, but when I get bored from doing homework and need a break, I’ll pull it up to watch a couple videos. Every time I do this, the break that was supposed to only last five- or ten-minutes turns into an hour long one,” junior Carlie Wilson said. 

While many students can recognize the app as a barrier for productivity, there are only a few that are taking action in attempts to do something about it and not let the app suck them in. 

“I find it really easy to get sucked in and spend hours on the app without realizing it. I normally delete [Tik Tok] every few days but I’ll watch it for an hour or so when I have it downloaded,” senior Macie Moore said. 

Though the app can be addicting, one of the reasons it is such a popular trend amongst a variety of age groups, is the fact that the videos it shows on one’s newsfeed are based off of previous ones the consumer has liked before. This can be dangerous in trapping students in a time-warp but it also proves to have its benefits. 

“I have a completely different feed than my friends, which is nice because we are always sending each other new things,” Moore said. 

The majority of Morningside students have the app or are at least have seen videos on other social media platforms that take that them to the app, but only a limited number of students actually post content. Even fewer have had a video ‘go viral’. 

“I have gone viral a few times. My first one was just a casual dance video that got over 1.2 million views. Since then, I started getting more views on other videos that got anywhere from 20k to one million views,” freshman Caleb Roggenbuck said. “However, my most viewed TikTok received 25 million views and five million likes. The video was with me and my sister doing a trend. I currently have 300k followers.”

In order to cater to viewers, content creators must know the latest trends on the app, which requires them to spend time watching videos.

“I spend an embarrassing amount of time on TikTok. But, when I’m on it, I’m on it to find content or to make videos for my page,” Roggenbuck said.

Because of the relatability and realness of the app, one that reflects a platform similar to YouTube, many students see it as a trend that will be long-lived. It’s a trend that thrives on catching people’s attention and keeping it as long as possible, aiming to entertain through unique content. Having certain creators students religiously follow gives them a certain motivation to continue using the app, keeping the demand for the app at an all-time high. 

“I am obsessed with the Battle family. They post on each other’s accounts, but my favorite is Max Battle because he is so funny. Their content is honestly so original, and I can always rely on them to make me laugh and put me in a better mood,” junior Jadyn Steffen said. “Vine ended up dying and people realized how much they missed it after it was gone, so hopefully TikTok will be around much longer.”

To accommodate to students’ fascination with the app and making use of it in the classroom, professors have even begun incorporating the ability to create Tik Tok videos into their lessons. Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Dr. Elizabeth Coody, says that offering the option to be creative and use the app as students seem fit can be useful in learning her courses’ material.

“I’ve had one student do a TikTok project for an individual study on Religion, Gender and Sexuality in Spring 2020. Her assignment was to teach someone something about the intersection of religion/, gender, and sexuality, so she did a series of TikToks, using the posts to talk about the concepts from our class work,” Coody said. “I thought it worked well because it forced her to take ideas from class and translate them into the challenges that were going on.”

Both students and educators are finding that the app has its pros and cons, and because of the positive benefits of the app, like the encouragement to tap into the creative side of the brain, its believed that the app will be around for a while for consumers to continue being entranced with. 

“At first I thought it would’ve been a short-lived app. But [during] the pandemic it really got popular, so now I think it will be around for a while. The app satisfies people of all ages,” Roggenbuck said.

This is America; As seen through photos

A massive dumpster with the “rules” posted beside it in bright red.
Inconvenient construction right in front of one of the only doors this building has
Opinion & Business section of this sample newspaper, focusing mainly on politics and news regarding business
A painted gas/sewer structure (not quite sure what it is) of a minion, from a popular kids’ movie, wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A hairless guinea pig up for adoption at a nearby Petsmart.
A jello shot made for a good time on a Friday night.

Mentally Checking Out (or the lack thereof….)

Imagine this: You’re sitting in your Comm 300: Feature Writing class the Friday before spring break begins. The weather has finally begun to warm up, melting all of the snow that piled up only days before. The sunshine that you felt walking to class is the only thing you’re focused on, because you know that in approximately 45 minutes, you’ll be back out there and headed to the dog park with your pooch. It’s the perfect time during the semester for a long-awaited break. You keep checking the clock, which makes you even more anxious to leave, but it’s alright, because you begin to notice your professor checking the clock too. Which means only one thing. He’s as ready for the upcoming week as you are. 

The perfect start to a stress-free, low-commitment spring break, right?

Wrong. 

Even though your professor might seem excited for a break from teaching for a week, he has less responsibility for his class than you do – because you are assigned homework. A chapter to read, an article to find and dissect, and an excerpt of your third story to sketch. This isn’t the only homework you have for the next week, either. As a junior, almost all six classes you are taking assign some sort of course works to keep you “engaged” during your break, on top of your outside internships and real job that you still must attend in person. 

With all of this, you begin to think to yourself: This week is going to feel like more work than a normal week.

While students enjoy the break from classes, it can be difficult for some to feel that they really can “mentally-check out” during breaks. This would require for them to completely blow-off their homework and focus on the present day of what they are doing, whether it be going to the beach in Florida or just napping on their futon, it’s doing something other than schoolwork. And yet, a break from it all is what their mental health truly needs.

“Breaks give me a chance to change my environment and gives me a stress relief. Without breaks, my mind doesn’t really get the opportunity to let down from the stress which is really draining,” junior Carlie Wilson said.

Students have especially found an increase in the need for breaks since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and they began being tested both mentally and physically. This need has not since changed and the pandemic seems to still be a present barrier to students’ mental health.                                    

“Since COVID-19, I have found it hard to mentally check out because I have begun associating going home with projects and homework,” sophomore Rachel Steinkamp said.

This last spring break, Steinkamp found herself catching up on class work and assignments as a result of her being quarantined right before and was concerned about falling behind in her courses. 

“I am constantly thinking about the work I have to do and if I can get ahead in my classes and if it will make it an easier workload for when I get back to campus. I find it had to have fun when I have work waiting for me on the back burner,” Steinkamp said.

This work-ethic clearly varies for college students, but Morningside College’s atmosphere fosters it with their emphasis on academic success. Faculty and staff members also make it important for students to acknowledge their mental health and practice self-care.

“A few years ago I had a conversation with a group of students who were upset at how much homework they were assigned to do over spring break and that they really needed a break. Ever since then, I’ve refused to assign anything over spring break to let my students actually take a break,” Elder said.

Students can be hopeful, though, as it takes time and practice after graduation for them to learn to allow themselves a break from constantly doing work. Whether this is a direct correlation to having homework or the constant need to study is unknown but, nonetheless, the adult culture of it is different. 

“I have gotten pretty good at leaving my work at work. There are days when there are lots of work things on my mind but there’s nothing, I can do about it at home. If I ever take time off, I have a whole team behind me who I know will take care of any problems that arise,” ‘19 Morningside graduate Abigail Fitzgerald said. 

Looking back at college, Fitzgerald found her most important strategies for taking a break to include writing in her planner. And though she was work-oriented, she found value in the college experiences that did not include academics.

“Academics are important but not as important as the relationships you build with your peers, professors, and community. Make time for your time and especially make time for yourself,” Fitzgerald said. 

Story #3: Culture Sketch

Imagine this: You’re sitting in your Comm 300: Feature Writing class the Friday before spring break begins. The weather has finally begun to warm up, melting all of the snow that piled up only days before. The sunshine that you felt walking to class is the only thing you’re focused on, because you know that in approximately 45 minutes, you’ll be back out there and headed to the dog park with your pooch. It’s the perfect time during the semester for a long-awaited break. You keep checking the clock, which makes you even more anxious to leave, but it’s alright, because you begin to notice your professor checking the clock too. Which means only one thing. He’s as ready for the upcoming week as you are.

The perfect start to a stress-free, low-commitment spring break, right?

Wrong.

Even though your professor might seem excited for a break from teaching for a week, he has less responsibility for his class than you do – because you are assigned homework. A chapter to read, an article to find and dissect, and an excerpt of your third story to sketch. This isn’t the only homework you have for the next week, either. As a junior, almost all six classes you are taking assign some sort of course work to keep you “engaged” during your break, on top of your outside internships and real job that you still must attend in person.

With all of this, you begin to think to yourself: This week is going to feel like more work than a normal week.

Culture Article

Article: NU men’s club soccer team builds camaraderie, focuses on recruiting

Link: https://dailynorthwestern.com/2021/03/12/campus/nu-mens-club-soccer-team-builds-camaraderie-focuses-on-recruiting/

This article, written by a student-reporter at Northwestern, focuses on the culture of the men’s soccer team. The main focus is on how they’ve kept up morale, despite the COVID restrictions that have forced repetitive and tedious indoor practices. They are connecting in ways that they hadn’t thought before and are now focused on recruiting to, hopefully, combat the recent disconnection.

The culture aspect is what is their college’s men’s soccer team culture – how they’ve chosen to find “meaning for their existence” through this tough time. Their team camaraderie and encouragement is part of their college experience and the culture that surrounds their involvement.

“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” is a film that’s clear as day

Billie Eilish, 19-year-old singer and songwriter, shocked the world in 2015 when she her song “Ocean Eyes” went viral. R.J. Cutler’s documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” was just released last Friday on Apple TV and focuses on the teen’s rise to fame and the impact of it on her life.

Throughout the film, the audience is taken through magical opportunities Eilish has gotten, like getting to perform at Coachella and meet her childhood celebrity crush, Justin Bieber. Yet, it also takes time to home in on the small moments, too. The film shows how Eilish and her older brother, Finneas, first began creating music in his childhood bedroom and continue to do so. It also goes through Eilish’s own vulnerabilities and how those impact her daily life.

The most surprising parts of the documentary were the ones that focused more on Eilish’s feelings and thoughts on her whole experience as a big-time celebrity. It revealed her insecurities surrounding her Tourette’s Syndrome (which I didn’t even know she had). It also showed her mom and how involved she was in her life (though, I would argue that her mom was a little TOO involved). We got a sneak peek into Eilish’s messy love life, a big part of adolescence. 

Personally, I love watching celebrity documentaries because it’s a craft that reveals a rich, famous person as being human and more than just their talent. As regular citizens, there is an underlying jealousy to the rich and famous having problems because they have truly seemed to have everything. Yet, through these documentaries, audience members are exposed to the idea that true happiness cannot come from anything material – but it comes from within, and even celebrities struggle finding it.

I was a fan of this film because, despite the singer’s age, it didn’t shy away from digging deep into who exactly Billie Eilish is. I will say, though, that Eilish is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. She is rather vulgar in her everyday speech and a bit dark humored which is portrayed through her style of dress and music. This is not at the fault of the film, though, but rather the critical critique of the actress’ developed personality. For this, I would advise those who don’t truly like her against watching the film. There is a irony in this warning, as Eilish has actually been known to promote good behavior and staying off of drugs in her early songs, like “Xanny”.

I would suggest those who do love, or at least bob their head comfortably to her music’s beat in the car, to take the two and a half hours out of their lives to watch the life of the young celebrity. It’s fascinating to learn more about her as a person, especially in this crucial moment of her life, and helps with adjusting assumptions of her that may have been initially based on her fashion taste. 

As a growing ‘Avocado’, ‘Eyelash’, or ‘Pirate’ (the three names her fan-based is currently deciding between), I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary.

I give the film a 3.5/4 stars.

Into the Adult World, One Step at a Time.

A Personal Narrative by Kassidy Hart

“Instead of a cat next year, you should get a dog,” Carlie exclaims to Nick as she tosses the slobbery blue ball toward Willow to fetch.

“Dogs require so much more attention. I’ll be at my job for eight or more hours. Plus, you’ll still be in school and unable to see him every weekend since I’ll be further away,” Nick reminds her, as he sits near her. Carlie’s eyes drop a bit, remembering the move he will be making from Brookings, South Dakota, to a small Iowa town about five hours away.

“Yeah,” her expression changes suddenly, to one of excitement and longing. “But we could get a Pitbull!”

“Pitbulls are cute and can be so sweet but a lot of apartments have restrictions on the breed,” I pitch in. When Zane and I looked at apartments over winter break, we barely found any that allowed pets – so it was a miracle when we found the one, we’re in. And even though they do allow animals for an extra fee, we had to get her breed approved and she’s a border collie.

In that moment, we were simply discussing dogs, which is a common topic amongst young adults who enjoy animals. But the whole interaction felt so natural, the conversation transitioning from one topic to another very smoothly. I began to picture Saturdays that involved more than just Zane watching Iowa football with me doing homework beside him – Saturdays spent out and about with our new couple friends.  

We were all gathered around the 40-inch tv that Zane insisted on getting with HD quality. The NASCAR Daytona 500 was currently paused for a lightning delay, so as we talked, everyone took turns throwing the ball for our nine-month-old puppy to chase down and retrieve. Willow was having the time of her life with people finally visiting our apartment. Even though Carlie and Nick had planned to just stop over to let Nick shower, the conversation picked up and they ended up staying two extra hours. 

“Okay hear me out. What if we got a monkey!”

The thought of Carlie with a pocket-sized demon monkey made everyone break out into laughter, noting the increase of responsibility that jumped from the idea of just getting a cat to the closest thing to a human baby.

“Carlie, monkeys are terrifying and cost way more than even a dog would,” Zane notes as he is slouched in the corner of the living room atop our giant LoveSac. 

The conversation seemed to vary throughout the three hours they were there, discussing anything from school gossip to apartment pros and cons. Nick was about to graduate from South Dakota State University and Zane wasn’t in school, but Carlie and I were able to converse as we did when it was just us two, even with them around and they willfully jumped in.

When they finally left, I started thinking about the situation. I was so nervous, as I had been for the last two years, to meet my best friend’s high-school sweetheart. I had only interacted with him a couple times before, through subtle facetime jokes or a quick pass-by in the hallway. I assumed it would be uncomfortable and forced since he seemed so different from my boyfriend and me. But the interaction was pleasantly innocent and felt so natural, as if Zane and I had experience with couple friends prior to these two.

Zane and I were never a couple who had a common friend group. We started dating sophomore year of high school and, since he wasn’t really an extra-curricular guy and I was an in an overwhelming amount of extra-curriculars, we kind of stuck to either each other or our own friend groups. The two never inter-mingled. We even went to different colleges, so we never really got the chance to start over and make friends together. I was worried that we would never find people who we could both be ourselves around and feel comfortable to casually talk to.

I knew that the natural flow of the conversation was a surprising bonus, but honestly, what I noticed more was that our conversations seemed to be more mature than they would have been if we did get together to double date two years ago. Most freshmen in college are absorbed in the “now” of things, focused on last Friday night’s party or the extra credit they are hoping to get for an intro class they were put into. As an upperclassman, those things seemed silly. There was occasional banter about on-campus life, which made sense since Carlie is still a Resident Assistant in the freshman dorm, but other than that, we were more interested in the future details and, quite frankly, those more mature topics were what made the interaction feel more authentic.

Dr. Shannon Claxton, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Morningside, has spent a lot of time conducting research on romantic relationships but says that friendships are usually pretty similar. According to some of her research, she can note an increase in emerging adulthood, typically 18–29-year-olds, for the need for more stable relationships. Because there is such a strong emphasis on identity exploration during this time in life, people are more likely to develop a clearer picture of who they want around them as they find out who they are. 

For the first time, I was able to experience on my own this type of adult friendship I had seen with my parents and their friends. In a way, it was a sad realization that the days of whispering about our crushes smiling at us on the playground or boasting about the newest sparkly shirt from Justice we just got were long gone. But it was a sneak peek into my next couple of years as I begin to step into my senior year of college and prepare myself for the adult world beyond what college allows. 

Morningside senior persists through the pandemic despite initial worries.

By Kassidy Hart

With both tennis teams crowded around the t.v. in their resort suite, they anxiously awaited the news that could determine their fate for the rest of the semester. Not only were they scheduled to play a match the following day, but they were to return to campus and resume classes directly after spring break ended. 

When they received the email that Morningside would be switching to remote learning and extending spring break, the room filled with excitement because of the possibility of another memorable week in Florida. They never would have guessed that, from that point on, life as they knew it would change.

Looking back at the tennis trip to Florida last year, senior Garrett Seamans can recall just how serious he took the news of COVID since his father had been sick for a while prior to the news.

“I kind of thought maybe there was a chance he could die. I didn’t want to see him like that ever again,” Seamans said. 

His trip was followed by a self-declared quarantining due to the paranoia of contracting and spreading the disease. For a month, Seamans didn’t leave his house. He refused to let his family get fast food, even restricting himself from his own driveway. He finished the rest of his spring semester online, relieved that he would be able to social distance from his home in Wyoming but frustrated with the way academics were being handled within his individual classes.

“I remember sitting for weeks at my parents’ house, maybe doing 30 minutes of work for the whole week, and thinking ‘I’m paying for this?’ My professors seemed almost clueless with how to use any technology and It took weeks for them to figure out Zoom was the best platform,” Seamans said.

As the semester came to an end and summer began, Seamans found himself getting more comfortable with the thought of leaving his house. He was able to do things that felt like normal again, such as getting a summer job and attending his sister’s wedding.

“Our wedding was beautiful but, besides our aunt and uncle that we literally never see, the majority of our family couldn’t be in attendance. We were all pretty sad about the situation but I’m glad our immediate family could be there to celebrate,” sister Julia Seamans said. 

After restricting outside contact while staying with his family over the summer, Seamans returned to campus with newfound habits due to the lifestyle he had gotten used to. He knew he would be a bit more cautious around those he hung out with but did not expect the specific feelings he ended up feeling.

“I had never felt as homesick as I did coming back. I even felt this way with the 5-week Christmas break. I have never been so homesick, and I know it is just because I had spent so much time at home with my family over quarantine,” Seamans said. 

Since returning in the fall, Seamans has had to quarantine twice. Once for a close contact tracing and once, more recently, because he had strep and had suspected it as the coronavirus.

“This last time where I was actually sick, I didn’t get asked anything for contact tracing. I was student teaching and just worn down from tennis, so that probably brought it on,” Seamans said.  

Not only has the pandemic took a toll on his physical health, mainly due to stress, but Seamans has also admitted to it affecting his mental health as well. He’s felt rather lonely and distanced from those he once called his best friends. He became saddened by being stuck in one routine day in and day out. 

“Because Garrett took the pandemic more seriously than some of his friends back home, he lost a lot of his friends. He spent a lot of time on his own, following a routine. I felt bad and tried to be there for him but there’s only so much you can do for your adult kids,” Seaman’s mother, Vicki Seamans, said.

Now with the college’s academic schedule returning back to a more normal one, Seamans has slowly become more comfortable with acclimating to the new way of life. He says he’s not taking precautions that are so severe anymore, since time has passed, and he doesn’t want to lose the remaining months of his college experience to his fear.

“I know that in 7 months, I won’t get to do 99% of the things I did in college and I will experience the adulting world. It is just hard to see your life flash by and all you’re supposed to do is sit at home,” Seamans said. 

Over the course of the last year, Seamans has endured loss – ranging from close connections with friends and opportunities with family to some of his last moments in college tennis and the social life. Yet, he’s endured, holding hope for his semester as he finishes out his senior year student teaching in-person. 

“I continued to work out to keep my mental and physical check in place. I found it to be a good escape from what was going on and just tried to focus on myself,” Seamans said.

As for his next steps, graduation is not too far away and Seamans’ long -term goals have not been too harshly impacted by COVID, rather slightly adjusted to fit his newfound knowledge of friends and love for his family.

Fruit Snack Distribution Made Better by Minions

To begin this journey of distributing COVID safe fruit snacks, I started in the admissions office with peers I work with often. I knew that with it nearing lunch time, they were bound to accept. And boy, was I right! Right away, they both excitedly welcomed the small pack of bright yellow gummies. “What kind of person gives away perfectly good minion gummies?” to which I responded with “It’s for a class” and that was the end of the discussions – as if it was perfectly normal for professors to assign fruit snack distribution. 

My next and final stop was the scarcely filled first floor of the library. It was, again, near lunch time so the majority of students could most likely be found in the cafeteria. Yet, there were a few brave souls who braved the cold to come study in the library. For this, I decided to offer an award in the shape of, yep, you guessed it, Minion fruit snacks! I started within the dining area near the Spoonholder. The first girl was a little more hesitant than my co-workers in admissions. I blame it on her possibly wondering why a stranger was offering her fruit snacks as she drank her coffee. Yet, no questions were asked. Another group of girls accepted and cheered as they noticed it was minions.

            “Who doesn’t love minions!”

Then I made my way to the rest of the floor. The only person who rejected was a girl I had in multiple of my extra-curriculars. I decided to pursue the interaction a little further, reasoning with her that they were “free” and “no strings” were attached. She just had to take them. 

            “Plus, they’re minions! Who doesn’t like minions!”

She caved and accepted, and I went on my way.

I found the most interesting part ,other than the fact that no one really asked questions and just took them, to be the influence that the popular animated figures of the gummies, the Minions, played on whether or not people took the gummies. Those who objected at first, whether they weren’t hungry or were a despiser of delicious fruit snacks, would do a double take at the box and then reconsider. 

“Oh minions! Sure I’ll take one!”

Maybe Minions trigger a warm memory, one that could warm them up on these chilly winter days. Or, possibly, their roommate is a huge fan of the Despicable Me series, so big of a fan that their room is fully covered with the little smiling faces. If this was the case, they probably wanted to bring a peace offering or a token of their love in souvenir form. 

I would like to attribute my success of passing out all my fruit snacks to the kind demeanor of my smiling eyes and persuasion tactics of making it seem like their idea – as well as the 2010 movie that popularized Bob, Kevin, and Stuart…