by Annie Thorndike Almost all of us know someone who has or currently cuts themselves. It’s become so common these days that some people even joke about it; there’s a popular satirical diagram circling the internet reminding kids to “cut down the river, not across the street.” However, it wasn’t always this way. Cutting and self-mutilation, also known as NSSI (non-suicidal self-injury) was not a popular coping method until very recent years. A few decades ago, medical professionals would have likely reacted the same way as Leonard Sax, M.D, who described it as “weird” when he witnessed a case of self-harm in 1985 as a Psychiatry resident. In the early…

by Elin Johnson I sat in the back seat of the The Bug strapped into a booster seat contraption that rivaled the set up of a fighter pilot. I watched the rain drops slide down the windows, racing each other. Mom pointed at the green beast growing up out of the side of the road. “Mt. Juneau. See that?” I nodded my head stoically. “And you see those, where the snow over hangs?” Again, I nodded. “That’s a cornice.” I decided to break my silence with a solemn interrogation into its importance, since it clearly wasn’t a vegetable frequently paired with peas. “Well, you see, they’re dangerous.” Still unclear of…

by Crystal Dalison I recently received a clipping from the Sydney Morning Herald in the mail. It reported on a study of the Australian brushtail possum population. A rare genetic disease that had previously been found only in Tasmanian possums had suddenly begun to appear within the populations of 5 of Australia’s 6 mainland states. Scientists were attempting to discern whether the gene which carried the disease had mutated independently in all of these regions, which is highly unlikely, or if a number of Tasmanian possums had successfully stowed away on ships bound for various ports. Much to my chagrin, I may be able to provide an explanation for this.…

by Crystal Dalison They found his body hanging in a storage shed behind the general store. He had been there for six months. One day, in mid-August, he had told us that he was going to leave his seasonal job early and go home, and then, two weeks later, he was gone. He worked at the shop, and had been helping to get everything stored away for winter, so he knew which sheds wouldn’t be opened until spring. It got cold early that year, which slowed his decomposition and kept the smell from giving away his hiding spot. For six months, no one looked for him, no one filed a…

by Ryan Terry Talking to Rob is always an experience. Whether he be telling one of his crazy life stories, or explaining one of his conspiracy-esque theories, you will be sure to walk away with some new enlightenment. Seeing my father with all of his siblings was mind boggling. Rob, Ellen, Tim, Steve, Mark, Matt, then the babies: Genne, and Kevin. They had not all been in the same place together for over 25 years, but they had gathered for my Granny’s 84th birthday. The six brothers looked exactly the same. Their faces, noses, ears. All the same. Rob loved to dance. He would always take Linda, his ex-girlfriend of…

by Ryan Terry With the rise of new technology, fresh rules and ethical dilemmas are also appearing. One of the biggest moral problems that has come out of these new technologies is about how to program an autonomous car. Self-driving vehicles are in production at many car companies, such as Mercedes Benz, Tesla, and of course, Google. These cars are already on the road in prototype stages, and although they have all contained safety drivers, they are fully capable on the roads. Google has even programmed their cars to behave differently and more carefully when they are around children. These driverless cars are coming, and we can’t stop it even…

by Noah Zimmer Throughout the years one of the most beloved animals has been living symbiotically with its human counterpart. Dogs receive food and housing while humans gain love and affection. This bond between man and dog may have originated thousands of years ago, but why? Recent scientific studies propose that man’s best friend abuses the very hardwiring of our brain to survive. The human brain is a fascinating organ. Chemicals it produces do many things, like making us run from a lion or compelling us to nurture a newborn child. These innate actions have helped us survive, but other species have learned to tap into our emotionally frail minds…

by Crystal Dalison I write the words to stories, and I throw them away. I do this all day. I write them in my head while I walk to work. I write them in the notebook I keep stashed under the till. I write them on the backs of my comped drink receipts, one sentence at a time, and staple them together for the accountant to find the next day, hoping that my short stories will distract him from the number of drinks I gave away the night before. I write because I don’t have a choice. I write because I am always in danger of getting lost in my…

by Johanna Kumpula Violence in video games has been a controversial subject for years and many are claiming that this uncensored exposure to violence is causing kids to act out and become aggressive. Games like Grand Theft Auto V are supposedly encouraging kids to take to the streets with weapons and commit theft and assault. Now, as an avid lover of games that are normally considered violent, I find this claim suspiciously lacks a substantial amount of evidence. Blaming an object or fictional portrayal for an act of brutality is misguided, especially when there are always other factors to consider. Take the Sandy Hook shooting. Twenty students and six teachers…

by Elin Johnson Every year on the star filled evening of December 24th, our global community is united in our violation. We are assaulted in the most conniving of ways as our homes lose their sanctity and our very morals are shaken. Good Ol’ Saint Nicholas enters our dwellings and corrupts the minds of our children. His very occupation is appalling. He contravenes the work ethic we try so hard to drill into the minds of our youth and disrespects the beliefs we have established in our society. Our very relationship with the legendary man in red is perplexing. Every day of the year we shield ourselves from the outside…