What I got out of the experience, how you can do the same, and why you should.

Editor's note for the March 2017 issue of Reporter.

Journalists and the community must work together.

A letter from Thomas Lasalle: "How RIT Hockey saved me from the depths of depression during a troubling time in my life and grew on me rather quickly." 

I recently finished reading “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” by Chris Hadfield, one of the most decorated astronauts in history and the first Canadian to walk in space...

I know I don't need to reiterate this, but it has been a painful election cycle for all of us. Finally, while this issue is still on stands, the beginning of the end will take the nation by storm. We will either have our first woman president, or our first reality television star. I'll let you guess which one I'm rooting for. 

I know that our generation tends to feel like democracy is a failure. We see those who are suffering, and we see that they are all too often the product of a system that has let us all down...

A letter to the editor about the recent election.

We need to stick together if we're going to get through the next four years.

Thoughts on the results of the election.

A response to a Views piece by Bailey Gribben on the subject of the legality of fanfiction. 

I've seen people be critiqued on just about everything: their hair, their outfit, their choice of major, their hobbies, hobbies they don't have. I've seen people be judged for reading and for not reading, for enjoying something a little too much or too loudly or in the wrong way, for not smiling, for saying the wrong thing, for not saying anything. I've heard bystanders comment on every aspect of someone's life that they know nothing about.

I've been those people, too – both the judger and the judged. I've asserted my opinion about others' pastimes or habits or lifestyles, and I've been caught in the act by the object of my editorialization...

We live in a culture full of technology that claims to unmask, disambiguate and demystify the obscure. We have Netflix to give us access to movies that would have otherwise been hidden to us and social media to connect us with people to whom we would never have otherwise had the chance to speak. We in the developed world have access to education, information and entertainment in unprecedented volumes.

We are pretty bad at taking advantage of the wealth of resources available to us. We take for granted the ability we have to see, essentially, whatever we want to...

My first ever editor's note ran in the Orientation Issue two years ago. It encouraged the students to wake up, get involved and get a little mad about the world around them. For my last editor's note, I want to encourage students to do one of RIT's buzzwords: innovate. 

Here at RIT we throw that word around a lot, and I think that not many of us have stopped to consider what that word really means. I think that innovation can mean a lot of things, but for me, innovation means new beginnings or new starts. 

Innovation has never meant more to me than now as I'm facing graduation...

St. Patrick's Day is nearly here, which means the luck of the Irish is upon us. Or is it? 

I'll tell it to you straight - I don't really believe in luck. At least, I've never felt very lucky myself. Not that I'm not grateful; I have a wonderful life and amazing friends and family who surround me and support me. I go to one of the best schools in the country and I have a significant number of achievements from my time here thanks to the people who work here and support me. I just don't think that necessarily makes me lucky. I've never won anything off the radio or in a raffle, which by my definition is the epitome of luck...

Recently it was made known to the campus that decisions had been made at the administrative level to arm a portion of RIT's Public Safety on campus in anticipation of a possible dangerous situation. It has been made known that these long guns would not be used in any situation other than one in which there is an armed intruder on campus attempting to harm students and faculty. 

I'm not going to comment on whether or not I agree with the decision to arm Public Safety and train them in the use of guns because, ultimately, I don't know that having guns on campus will make RIT's campus any safer or more dangerous...

I'm preparing right now to graduate and actually begin a real life. These are my last few weeks of college, and this is my last issue of Reporter. It's been real.

At this point, I'm stuck in a loop of constant reminiscing on days past. A lot has changed in the world, and in my life since I was young, innocent and optimistic about the future. It's a kind of fond self-reflection. I think we all do it; take a look back at ourselves and how times were so great back before you had responsibility, or real concerns at all. We remember because it gives us hope that things were once better and could be again, or that things have truly improved...

Arming Public Safety is a great step, but we need to allow people with concealed carry permits to start carrying their guns on campus. 

Students that are upset about Public Safety arming a portion of their officers should be  upset because of past issues with the department.

It's great that we're taking measures to stop a mass shooting, but why aren't we improving RIT's Counseling Center to prevent mass shootings as well? 

RIT is a private university, so we shouldn't prevent Robin Thicke from performing here.

It's a great time time to be alive. That's not to say things are necessarily good, or life is necessarily easy. On the contrary, while the reader of this editorial is likely preparing for at least a decade of student debt while barely able to afford a proper meal, it may not seem like a great time to be alive. Likewise, when we tune into CBS or CNN to yet another leaked video of police beating unarmed black men and women, when hyper-conservative zealots are still trying to shut down Planned Parenthood and when LGBTQ+ folks are still subject to near constant attacks, it can seem like a pretty dim time to be alive...

People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. 

An Op-Ed concerning our recent Rochester SlutWalk article.

A formal apology for offensive content on the back of the Distorter.

Several days ago a Buzzfeed article was circulating throughout my Facebook newsfeed with the title "A Christian Blogger Stopped Wearing Yoga Pants for Her Husband so She Wouldn't "Entice" Men." 

Aside from the incredibly long, horrible title and the fact that it irks me that some people consider Buzzfeed to be a credible news source, this article really bothered me. Veronica Partridge, the subject of this article, explained that she was chatting with some friends about leggings and "...how when women wear them it creates a stronger attraction for a man to look at a woman's body..." thus increasing the amount of objectification they may feel...

I just finished looking through your newest edition, the Body Issue.  Overall I thought that it was a well written and interesting edition.  However, I think that your choice of cover art totally sends the wrong message about the stories inside and the message that you were trying to convey.  No one looks at the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit addition and thinks, “Wow I feel so much better about my body.”  In fact it has the opposite effect. 

The cover photo that you chose is just another unrealistic expectation of what the ideal body type should be for a man...

I wanted to tell you that I really resonated with your letter. I have held the same opinions about the hourly limits, wages and stipends. I'm glad that someone has had enough gumption to speak out about it. I wanted to tell you my story; it's a little personal but it's nothing I'm not open about or too ashamed of. 

A little bit about me; I am a third year film student out of five years (I changed majors and was set back a year) and like you, I have multiple jobs on campus. Money has always been an issue for me, having grown up in poverty. Because of this, I can't get any support from my parents and there are multiple loans that I will never qualify for...

I currently hold five different jobs on campus, including my Editor in Chief job here at Reporter. In addition, I hold an off campus job and attend school full time. 

At the time of writing this, I have five more days until I am paid again for my work on campus. I also have $10 in my bank account to last me until then. 

What I make here at RIT is what I have to live on. If I run out of food, I don't eat. If my computer breaks, I make do with campus technology. If my car stops working, I have to find a ride to school and hope that my schedule lines up with someone else. 

On Oct. 10, our news section published an article regarding workers' rights here on campus...

To whom it may concern,

My name is Erich Lehman, co-curator of WALL\THERAPY. I also work full time here at RIT, which is where I read the article with Alex Vadas in your September 2014 issue. While Alex is absolutely entitled to his opinion about our efforts, I was troubled by a number of factual inaccuracies that he chose to share that were not fact-checked by the writer.

In regards to WALL\THERAPY, Alex had inquired twice about being a muralist. Both times our roster for each event was booked, and I asked him to send samples of his work, but he never did...

I am writing in response to the letter to the editor by Ms. Martha Vargas Bogliani regarding Message Center Remembrances. 

There is no doubt that the death of a student is a traumatic event that impacts the entire community. To serve the needs of the family, students, faculty and staff, it is our protocol to send a campus wide notification to share information available to the University of the untimely passing and to inform the community of the support services available. In all cases, it is our intention that such messages are done with the utmost respect to the deceased student and their family...