ver the past couple of weeks since the Spring 2022 semester started, there have been 10 different emails informing students about the “COVID-19 positive cases on campus,” followed by a standard few paragraphs about how to stay safe from transmission of the virus. With the new Omicron variant looming, there have been a couple of scattered emails informing students of how SSU’s administration has decided to follow through with the remainder of the semester.

Each year, when recruitment rolls around, students of Greek Life are faced with the task of ensuring student’s safety, while still upholding the Greek Life reputation. Due to some fraternities’ past actions, the school has started to become much more strict on the dangerous recruitment activities that students participate in. Hazing will not be tolerated at all here on our campus, and the school is well aware that actions happen behind closed doors, and cannot always be monitored. In honor of Max Gruver passing away 4 years ago due to a hazing incident, Sonoma State Sorority and Fraternity life has stepped up to stop hazing.

Winter break normally allows students to go back home to spend time with their friends and loved ones, but 2020 has came with a number of changes. Nearly all students were already home throughout the entire fall 2020 semester due to stay-at-home orders, but winter break gave students a much needed break from classes over Zoom.

In the past couple weeks, President Donald Trump has worked tirelessly in an effort to discredit the election results, as Vice President Joe Biden has pulled ahead in many states. Trump’s campaign team has recently bombarded his supporters with emails, with ‘critical requests’ for donations to Trump’s Official Election Defense Fund.

Recently, the opioid epidemic that is going on in America has come to a full head, and very few of these companies are willing to step up and take responsibility for the damage that has been caused. Purdue Pharma, which is the company that manufactures OxyContin, has pleaded guilty to criminal charges that are directly related to the marketing of the product. OxyContin is a highly addictive painkiller and is partially responsible for the public health crisis still going on to this day. Due to their product marketing, Purdue Pharma is currently facing penalties of roughly $8.3 billion, which was announced by the Justice Department this past Wednesday.

Two years ago, California proclaimed Oct. 12 as “Indigenous People’s Day,” dedicating one day of the year to the indigenous peoples that call California home to this day. Over the past few hundred years, many indigenous peoples have faced unimaginable challenges, and it is important to celebrate the many who have lost their lives due to colonization. In addition to those who died, it is also equally important to celebrate and recognize those of indigenous origin who have survived and thrived in the past, present, and the future.

From a threatening pandemic to raging fires, there is disaster at just about every corner. While many are stuck inside, whether it’s due to quarantining or bad air quality, television and streaming services seem to be the main source of entertainment. It’s not uncommon to wonder how much of a backlog of pre-COVID-19 television that hasn’t aired yet, and how production has truly changed during this time in our history.

While many of us are going to be stuck inside for most of October that doesn’t mean that Halloween is canceled amid 2020’s coronavirus crisis. In 1998, the Family Channel (now known as FOX) began airing its version of 31 Days of Halloween, which is a programming block specifically designed to take viewers to a “land of enchanted and eerie movies” all month long. Since 2016, Freeform has taken over the schedule for this monthly Halloween celebration, with spooky movies such as Halloweentown, Gremlins, and The Mummy.

Like wildfire, the cryptic #FreeBritney hashtag spread over social media quickly, leaving many fans and users wondering exactly what is going on. Was she arrested? Is she dead? Luckily, neither of those options apply to the story that was released about pop sensation Britney Spears.

While concerts are currently a no-go, production companies are struggling to find ways to garner support for popular musicians. Every September, iHeartRadio has a yearly festival that they host and it often features a variety of different artists with music from every genre. This year, however, it has become more and more difficult to host a large festival due to COVID-19.

“To be young, gifted and black… We know what it’s like to be told that there’s not a screen for you to be featured on.” This is a quote from the 2019 SAG Awards, and Chadwick Boseman, an extraordinary actor, producer, and director, knew how to use his platform correctly during an acceptance speech. Many awards that he accepted were followed by speeches about racial injustices, among other social issues, and he refused to keep his opinions silenced.

During the pandemic, you may find yourself bored while you’re stuck inside, or yearning for a new form of entertainment to keep you busy. With in-person cinemas falling in popularity due to the pandemic, it is important that we find a safer and more sanitary to view films when they are released. The drive-ins are a great source of entertainment, and it’s even better because of how easy it is to social distance.