“Our teacher was scared of the word ‘penis,’” said second year Psychology major Lauren Harradine. Well, not necessarily scared, she clarified. “But she couldn’t say it without laughing really hard.”

When your sex-ed teacher can hardly talk about the topic due to their own embarrassment, it can be difficult to learn the information about sex that you need, and eventually hope to use. Even when sex-ed includes information about STIs, condoms, birth control and consent, there is quite a bit that is still not brought up...

For 15 years Jennifer Hayes worked as a staff interpreter at RIT for the science/engineering team, spending her last few years as part of the liberal arts core team...

On February 9, five of RIT’s photography professors hosted the twenty-ninth annual Big Shot, an organized photo shoot where volunteers bring flashlights to illuminate High Falls in downtown Rochester. The goal was for students and community members to bring flashlights, light them simultaneously and light up High Falls. Above the Falls was the CSX railroad, who participated in the photo shoot by bringing a train from their world headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. 650 volunteers held up their flashlights in 19 degrees Fahrenheit to produce a successful photograph...

Illustration by Jordyn Carias

 In his State of the Union Address, President Obama mentioned using controversial executive order to sign into law a new minimum wage for federal contract workers, the Washington Post reported. The law was recently signed into place on February 12 and will take effect in 2015. Obama has now urged Congress to increase the minimum wage for all hourly workers by 2015; a move that will be debated in both the House and Senate...

While most students were using their month off from school for rest and relaxation, a select few opted to take another available opportunity: intersession classes. Starting on January 2 and ending on January 22, students had the opportunity to take a single class in a short-yet-intense three week format consisting of five-days-a-week, three-hour classes. This style of teaching was not possible back in the quarter system and is the first time RIT is attempting it.

The selection for teachers and classes started last year with a variety of training sessions for interested teachers. Professors that wanted to teach a class had to submit a proposal to be approved...

Various professors, sustainability directors and architects from colleges in the Northern New York region came together to discuss and learn about the sustainability efforts at this year’s sustainability conference, held January 29...

Ah, Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air and you are going out with your significant other for a holiday drink. Wait, you don’t know where to start? Well come by each day leading up to the Day of Love for a new drink recipe each day including feedback from our tasting team.

For each drink, we rated the drink on its appearance or first impression, smell, taste and whether or not it was Valentine’s Day material.

Photography by Seth Abel 

Rank: Second Place

Rating: 4...

Ah, Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air and you are going out with your significant other for a holiday drink. Wait, you don’t know where to start? Well come by each day leading up to the Day of Love for a new drink recipe each day including feedback from our tasting team.

For each drink, we rated the drink on its appearance or first impression, smell, taste and whether or not it was Valentine’s Day material.

Photograph by Seth Abel

Part of a “His and Hers” Valentine’s Day drink duo. The ratings difference between the “His” and “Hers” drink were so drastic, we rated them them separately...

Ah, Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air and you are going out with your significant other for a holiday drink. Wait, you don’t know where to start? Well come by each day leading up to the Day of Love for a new drink recipe each day including feedback from our tasting team.

For each drink, we rated the drink on its appearance or first impression, smell, taste and whether or not it was Valentine’s Day material.

Photograph by Seth Abel

Rank: Fourth Place

Rating: 2...

According to the Guttmacher Institute in New York, the abortion rate in the United States is the lowest it’s been in 40 years, when the operation was legalized...

Ah, Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air and you are going out with your significant other for a holiday drink. Wait, you don’t know where to start? Well come by each day leading up to the Day of Love for a new drink recipe each day including feedback from our tasting team.

For each drink, we rated the drink on its appearance or first impression, smell, taste and whether or not it was Valentine’s Day material.

Today, we’ll be looking at two of the lowest rated from the six drinks we test tasted, because who gets excited about the least favorite drinks?

Photograph by Seth Abel

Rank: Sixth Place

Rating: 1...

RIT’s conversion to semesters has affected more than just academics; athletic teams have felt this shift as well. All RIT sports teams were represented by the Athletic Administration and considered when the change was voted on. However, not all teams are feeling the same effects. Some teams are experiencing little change, some are encountering challenges and some are benefitting from the conversion.

For a few sports, semesters helped scheduling efforts. Bill Garno, head men’s soccer coach, and Mike Cahill, head men’s and women’s swim coach both said that the change to semesters is a positive move for RIT and their athletes...

When Student Government (SG) President Paul Darragh, a third year Software Engineer and Vice President Nick Cifranic, a third year Information Security and Forensics major, ran for office they had a list of major goals they wanted to accomplish before the end of their term. The list included a bike sharing program, convincing more professors to use myCourses and other minor goals such as videotaping some classes. Reporter met with Darragh to find out where the President and Vice President stand on these goals and what they plan to do for the rest of the academic year.

The bike share program is expected to start on March 31 with 20 bikes available for students to use...

We’ve all thought about it. But Pew Research reports that only one in ten people have actually signed up for an online dating site or app...

At the January 31 Student Government (SG) meeting, there was a presentation on future smoking policy changes and elections were held for for GCCIS and CAST senators.

Donna Rubin, assistant vice president for wellness initiatives, and Mike Stojkovic, assistant director for wellness, presented changes for policy C16.0 which affects smoking on campus. The current form of the proposed policy would ban all forms of tobacco products, such as cigars, cigarettes, dip and pipes, as well as e-cigarettes on all university managed property.

A committee was formed to tackle these changes in October 2012...

The longer people spend on Facebook, the greater the decline in “how people feel moment–to –moment and how satisfied they are with their lives,” according to a recent study conducted by the psychology department at University of Michigan...

Nestled away on a 21 acre parcel of land on an unassuming street in Pittsford, N.Y. sits a beautiful cobblestone house...

“Oh wow, cool, thanks a lot for the, uh, bouquet of roses and giant teddy bear. This is, um, really sweet of you. No, I’m only yawning because I’m just so overwhelmed by my love for you at this very moment. Here, I got you a forced smile and a pat on the back. I hope they’re the right size.”

Do you know who that quote’s from? That’s your crush balking at your piss-poor excuse for a romantic gift this Valentine’s day. Any Joe Nobody with access to his parents’ Discover card and a pocketful of dreams can roll to the nearest “Cliché Warehouse” and buy some oh-so-meaningful gifts from the oh-so-meaningful gift isle...

"Torres" by Torres Review

Alternative Rock 3/5 Stars

For the craft of singer-songwriters and solo artists, 2013 has given us “Torres”, the debut album by Nashville-based, fuzzed out crooner Torres (or Mackenzie Scott as her fr..

comic by Emily DeVault

Hypocorism (noun): a pet name.

Janet’s boyfriend, Tony, would not respond to the hypocorism Fluffy, much to her disappointment.  

“Love is friendship set on fire.” – Jeremy Taylor

In a recent study, it was found that Tylenol or acetaminophen can be used to reduce feelings of dread and social rejection. Participants were given Tylenol before told to remember a painful experience. Those who took Tylenol reported less emotional pain than patients that took a placebo.  

In Korean, wisdom teeth are called Sa-rang-ne or “love teeth...

Illustration by Emily Gage

On January 26, Gracie’s opened a new station called Solutions, which caters to students who have dietary restrictions.

“The new station will be vegan by default,” said Aimee Mitchell, production manager at Gracie’s. “This means we are talking about the absence of milk products and eggs. Also, any sugars that aren’t listed as organic we have to assume aren’t, and we won’t use.”

Mitchell has utilized several sources to find recipes that prioritize allergen free recipes, while also taking vegan and vegetarian individuals into account. “Because this area is so new, we had to start from scratch...

Last year the term “friend zone” was added to the Oxford Dictionary. Although giving a definition to the phrase may seem like validation for the many who have consider themselves to be stuck in the friend zone, I remind you that Oxford Dictionary has provided this same sense of validation to those who believe in Bigfoot, use the abbreviation srsly and believe that their day has been stressy, stressier or the stressiest.

But let’s focus on the friend zone. The friend zone is generally referred to as a metaphorical place where people, primarily heterosexual men, feel they have been mistakenly or inappropriately exiled to by the people who they have romantic feelings for...

On January 20, eight year old Tyler Doohan gave his life to save his family in a house fire in East Rochester. When the fire broke out, Doohan ran to wake his family, saving six members...

Williwaw (noun): A violent squall.

Sentence: Dan shivered to the bone due to the williwaw blowing through Rochester.

“Oaths are but words and words are but wind.”-Samuel Butler

There is an ordinance in San Diego County that only allows their residents to own one rooster, an effort to deter cockfighting in the area.

Oscoda is one county of many in Michigan coined by Henry Schoolcraft, an author who worked with Native Americans. All of the counties named by him incorporated Native American syllables mixed with Latin and Arabic...

Magic in the Making, Geva Theatre Center, 75 Woodbury Blvd

6 – 8 p.m.

Come to the Geva Theatre’s annual open house event and learn about all the behind the scenes effort that goes into putting on a show. Explore the set of “A Christmas Carol” and the rehearsal space. Hear about how costumes, props, sound and lighting are designed and discover the spells behind the theater’s magic.

Cost: free

Stardust Open Ballroom Dance Series, Edgerton Community Center, 41 Backus St

7:30 p.m.

The semester is almost over and it’s time to dance...

On December 16 President Bill Destler hosted the first open forum for the current round of strategic planning. Destler stated that there is typically a new strategic plan every ten years; the upcoming plan informing RIT’s efforts from January 2015 until January 2025. He emphasized that the plan needed to be a community plan approved by the Trustees, and not a Trustee plan thrust on the community.

Destler followed his opening with a look back at prior planning processes and the educational challenges he believed the new plan should address. At the fore of his mind were challenges in K-12 education and the emerging threat of Massively Open Online Classes (MOOCs)...

Worlds AIDS Day is observed every December 1. The day is a way of raising awareness for the global AIDS pandemic and the steps many people are taking to stop it. According to AIDS...

At the December 6 Student Government (SG) meeting, the Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration presented on the organization’s status, the GCCIS, CAST and Greek Senators presented on their midyear progress and administrators shared i..

Every year during the holiday season the United States experiences its greatest period of charitable giving. According to Charity Navigator, 50 percent of all charitable giving goes to religious, educational and arts organizations while the rest goes to charities for those in need. Americans, on average, give 4.7 percent of their income to charities. The average individual donates 24 percent of their annual donation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. For those looking to donate around RIT and Rochester, there are a variety of ways to contribute.

Foodlink of Rochester is part of a regional food bank that has 450 member agencies in a ten-county service area...

Larry Rivers worked as a custodian on the residential side of campus for over 10 years, making sure the halls were clean, rooms were tidy and trash was disposed of properly...