Suddenly, College: Summer Stuff to Do

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

It’s almost summer break, which for college students generally means finding a full-time job so that we can make the money to attend school for another semester. That being said, there’s more to summer break than working yourself to the bone – sometimes with summer classes on top of a job. Sure, it’s 3-4 months of making money, but (at least for some of us) it’s also 3-4 months where you don’t have homework. In the spirit of making the most of all that spare time, here is a list of things you could try out. Continue reading “Suddenly, College: Summer Stuff to Do”

Recipe: Cowboy Grub

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

Here at the UAS Whalesong, when you see an article and it says “recipe” at the top, have no fear. This is not a Mom Blog, where I talk for pages and pages about fond memories of sitting on my grandmother’s wraparound porch in the South with a glass of iced tea, while you frantically scroll and scroll, scanning for the list of ingredients that will let you know that the recipe has actually begun. All you have to read is this lead-up that tells you what this recipe is and why I wrote it for you. Continue reading “Recipe: Cowboy Grub”

Allegiant: Gadzooks

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

WARNING:
The following review contains spoilers! Read at your own risk.

When I first came to UAS in 2012, I had little to no interest in the movie franchises following popular young adult-genre books. I had not read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, or Divergent by Veronica Roth, and I didn’t want to. But then I fell in with Rachelle, the head of the UAS Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) club, and it ended up being our “thing” to go and see the movies of each series as they came out. We’ve finished watching the entire Hunger Games series, and recently went to go catch the most recent installment in the Divergent film quartet. We thought it was going to be the final movie in the series, but apparently they decided to split the series into 4 movies so that they could make more money and wouldn’t veer too far away from the YA film norm of “final book divided into two movies.” Which, if you think about it, is kind of amusing – after all, Divergent is a series literally dedicated to being unique. Even so, I’d have to say that the 3rd movie is my favorite so far. Continue reading “Allegiant: Gadzooks”

Chai-Yi-Yi

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

The first time I tried a chai latte, I was skeptical. I don’t much care for the flavor of tea by itself, and I was confused by the concept – was it just tea and milk? Was it a chai-flavored latte? Still, it was cold outside, and I’d gone into the Rookery for a hot drink. While I didn’t want coffee, I didn’t want plain tea either, and a chai latte seemed like it would be a good compromise. And it was! Unfortunately, it also cost me six dollars, which is a lot for one drink. Consequently, I resigned myself to the thought that chai lattes would be an infrequent indulgence, and moved on. Continue reading “Chai-Yi-Yi”

Self-Defense: Kung Fu Fighting Optional

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

When people hear the words “self-defense,” they think about a lot of different things. This makes sense; there are a lot of different forms of self-defense. You can defend yourself by being a trained martial artist, by keeping a gun on your person, by carrying a fairly sizable knife, etc. While those are great precautions to take, it’s also important to know the basics of how to defend yourself if you’re ever attacked. While some of the following may come across as being common sense, it never hurts to repeat information that might save your life some day – so, without further ado, here are some self-defense tips that I learned as a Shotokan karate student that don’t require you to be proficient at martial arts or with a weapon. Continue reading “Self-Defense: Kung Fu Fighting Optional”

Deadpool: Four or Five Moments

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

Deadpool was a Fun Movie. Personally, I don’t think there are enough of those these days; movies try so hard to be Gritty, to make us Care About the Conflict, to make us Feel Our Mortality and to be Emotionally Gripping. Deadpool takes this trend, throws it out the window, and then also shoots it and sets it on fire, because: why not? This is not to say that Deadpool isn’t any of the things I just mentioned. After all, Wade Wilson (who becomes the titular character) is dying of cancer. This does not a fun time make. And the film does not make light of that; usually a flippant jackass, Wade has some serious scenes where he and his fiancée deal with the fact that he does not have much longer to live. It’s also worth pointing out that this very issue is what drives him to do the things that turn him into Deadpool. And if you know Wade Wilson and Deadpool at all, you know that he is rude and crude and, from an objective standpoint, entirely unlikable. Continue reading “Deadpool: Four or Five Moments”

Linked In (Ideally, To A Job)

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

You know how, on that one show, that one guy probably says some other stuff, but is best known for saying “winter is coming?” This is like that, except that it’s a completely different season and I’m not Sean Bean.

Summer is coming, and that probably means that you’re looking for employment – whether it’s seasonal, “hoarding cash for next school year” employment, or “I’m graduating in 2 months and people won’t stop asking me what ‘my plans are’ and mostly they are to make money I guess??” employment. We all know that in order to get a job, you need a résumé – but that’s not what this article is about. Well, sort of – it’s about the online companion to your résumé, that you should probably start working on while you are busy being a good student, making future professional connections, and gaining job experience. Continue reading “Linked In (Ideally, To A Job)”

Review: REC Center Gear at Cowee Meadow

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

The Whalesong has a staff meeting every week, and at one of our recent ones, our editor mentioned the Rec Center in passing.

“They’ve got new backpacks and outdoor gear in that are available for rental,” he said. “One of you could write about that.”

At first, I didn’t speak up, mulling over the idea’s article potential. I had already seen the Rec Center posting about their new gear on various social media outlets, and I wasn’t sure I could write a whole page of single-spaced 10-point about their new backpacks. But then it occurred to me that I had an upcoming camping trip for a class, and it would be the perfect opportunity to test the Rec Center’s new gear. Continue reading “Review: REC Center Gear at Cowee Meadow”

Recipe: Apple Pie Bites

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

Time and money are two major considerations for your average college student. In this case, we don’t have time to bake or eat an entire apple pie on our own – we could make time, but that would cut into our time for other things, like sleeping and eating real food. That being said, I thought I would share with you all a recipe I found on how to make apple pie bites – all the tastiness of a whole pie without having to bake and figure out something to do with a whole pie. Continue reading “Recipe: Apple Pie Bites”

UAS Online, But Like, Cool

Alexa CherryBY ALEXA CHERRY
For the UAS Whalesong

I don’t think it can be said that any UAS students really like UAS Online. I personally don’t have anything to say against the site’s technical setup, except for its occasional propensity to crash exactly when I need to turn in assignments. Largely, I think any dislike stems from the fact that most students only use the website for school. And while higher education is a gift for which we should all be grateful, let’s be real – there are things we would all rather be doing than homework. (Well, most of us; I know at least one freshman who puts my senior-year study skills to shame. You keep doing you, Karey.)

The main UAS website is also kind of boring, largely because we either don’t use it at all, or only use it to locate information – like a professor’s E-mail address, or the Egan Library page so we can do research. So, when most students hear about “UAS Online,” they kind of tune out. But wait! Don’t leave yet! In this article, I’m not going to be talking about UAS Online – I’m going to discuss UAS, online. Continue reading “UAS Online, But Like, Cool”