On Staring
By Heidie Raine
The writer should never be ashamed of staring. There is nothing that does not require his attention.
–Flannery O’Connor
Sitting in the library, looking through the thick-paned glass of the upper-level windows, I am staring. I am squinting and watching and questioning all that passes below. This is what I see:
I see a boy with olive cargo pants and a faint mustache topple off his longboard, roll like a bowling ball and land in the frosted crunch of cold spring ...
On Productivity
By Heidie Raine
We are nearing the end of the semester. Assignments are many. Reprieve is sparse. Writing about productivity feels appropriate.
These are the months where papers and reports begin to clog our Canvas calendars and pile up in the filing cabinets of our minds, making us choose between exfoliating and editing as the hours dissolve and the rubrics flood in. Life becomes a large Google Doc, punctuated by professors’ comments to “stay strong!”
These are the months where I ...
On Embracing What You’re Horrible At
By Heidie Raine
I quit cheerleading after my sophomore year of high school in search of something new—reduced glitter, less time, better people. I found my answer in the form of the cross country team, a lovely athletic group that shared mutual respect, carb-loaded dinners and one goal: run fast. Though unfamiliar, cross country fit my criteria for a new activity:
1. No glitter
2. 45-minute practices
3. An altogether kinder atmosphere than competitive cheer crowd had provided
C...
On Jesus Camp
By Heidie Raine
Career Services sent an email on January 10 telling us to mark our calendars for the Summer Camp Career Fair — the week where neon banners and stock photos of face-painted 4th-graders cascade across the walls of the upper SSC.
I usually find myself delightfully uncomfortable the week that camps come to network and hire, wanting to both learn more and avoid the greeting that follows eye contact. My curiosity presses me to say hello, ask about their grounds, hear how they ...
On Piercings
By Heidie Raine
Like most women in my generation, I got my ears pierced at a Claire’s burrowed deep within my local mall. A woman with chunky, early 2000’s highlights and a hair feather approached me, piercing guns in her hands, and reassured me that it would only feel like a pinch. Then came the click, my raised-shoulder flinch, and two slightly uneven studs—the product of double-fisted piercing guns and a twitchy 3rd grader.
Since then, my number of piercings has increased: doubles ...
Just Sayin’: On New, Nomadic Roots
It started because of COVID, for me. The polite kick-out we received in March 2020 sent everyone into a frenzy as we tried to figure out plane tickets and carpooling partners. Where would we go? For how long? What was happening?
I answered these questions from my then-boyfriend’s basement in Cincinnati, a suitcase of clothes and textbooks (and a cardboard box of my plants) the only company I could bring from my dorm.
Four days later, I continued answering those questions from my ...
On Holistic Learning
by Heidie Raine
POV: It’s mid-October, mid-Paradise Lost in Brit Lit, and you have not read books 8-10. You didn’t even bother to read a summary. You show up, ill-prepared, comatose, a warm body with an empty brain that is ready to sit lifelessly for the next 50 minutes.
Substitute your discipline’s assignments into the quandary. You have not written the lesson plan, have not derived the equation, have not designed the graphic. Bottom line: you have not.
I’m unconcerned, here, ...
On Making Good Shoes and Bridges
by Heidie Raine
Regardless of your job, Jesus would be better at it.
That fact should draw us to our knees in worship. It should also make us consider what influence we grant Him in our 9-5. He’d be a far better nurse, librarian, engineer. He’d build better bridges, teach better lessons.
That question—what impact does being a follower of Jesus have on our work—led me into a liberal arts squabble last week as I listened to a slew of answers I hate:
We tell happy stories in ...
Feminism in Film
Why Hollywood’s empowerment narrative falls flat
by Breanna Beers
The mere inclusion of a female protagonist was once considered box office suicide, especially for major franchises with predominantly male fanbases. Movies like “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent,” and “Captain Marvel” have repeatedly disproven that theory, driven in part by the rise of modern mainstream feminism in the early 2010s. Accordingly, we’ve seen more and more movies with women in the center of the ...
Just Sayin’ – Is Twitter the New Fireside Chat?
By Alex Hentschel
How has the use of Twitter by the presidency affected our political landscape? I know, I know, history and politics is not as interesting as the other fun topics I’ve submitted this semester. But, having done a ton of research on this for my capstone, I found it super interesting – and a lot of people I talked to at least pretended to be interested when I mentioned it to them. Since this is my column, you just have to listen to what I have to say. Heh.
Twitter has an ...
