29 Carving Accessible Pathways into the Natural Soundscape A day with the Young Sound Seekers
19 Ampers&nd with Raey Block SOARing to new heights with a student adventurer
08 Finding Feathers: A Glimpse Through the Binoculars of Audubon at Stetson Where Bird-watching meets environmental Stewardship
When one semester comes to a close, a new semester is just on the horizon. But that interlude of end of semester slump and winter break can make things seem a little dull. I hope that within this edition of The Reporter you can find new ideas, opportunities and answers that you may not have seen before. I am so proud of all that the Executive Board and the staff writers have accomplished this semester and am looking forward to how we continue to explore into next semester!
Editor-in-Chief, Ali Burgess ’25
Finding your footing near the end of the Fall semester can be tough. It feels like the assignments never end–and that’s before the hurricane makeup days. But it is also rewarding to use the semester as an opportunity to try new things and discover your interests. Throughout these pages you will find some hidden gems at Stetson, whether it be bird watching, research, or The Reporter itself. The staff put a lot of care and effort into making this edition a fun and interesting look at Stetson’s adventurous side. So grab your binoculars and turn the page!
Managing Editor, Reagan Shivers ’26
Change is scary. Fear is boring.
In our last issue of The Reporter, we celebrated the comfort of what’s safe and familiar. But this time around, I invite you to switch to an alternative view: embracing the unknown, thinking outside the box, going on a side quest and welcoming a little adventure. As someone who usually has a plan, I’ve learned that exploration isn’t about knowing what’s ahead—it’s about embracing the mystery and finding value in the journey itself. In this edition of The Reporter, dive into stories of bold choices, fresh perspectives and maybe even take a moment to touch some grass. I hope you find a spark here that inspires you to wander, question and grow. After all, adventure isn’t just out there; it’s a mindset. This one’s for the brave, the curious and everyone willing to take that first step.
Executive Editor, Sara Ward ’27
Exploring new horizons can help us find new things to be passionate about in life. Whether this is academically, personally, or professionally, it is important to identify the boundaries of your expertise, and sometimes, push yourself to discover something new! Exploring through learning new things is how I choose to push myself. Sometimes it can be really exciting, and other times it can be really scary to take that step. But, I've found it's always worth putting in the time to learn more about myself and what I can accomplish. As for you, Dear Reader, I hope you can be inspired by this edition to explore, discover, and create!
When it comes to joining Hatter Network, we are never not excited about someone wanting to join our ranks. If you want to write, The Reporter is the place. If you like to appreciate art, music and writing, Touchstone Literary Arts Journal is where it’s at. If you want to create your own podcast, or learn how to use the tech in our radio station, WHAT Radio is there. Hatter Network is an extacurricular media program run by students, for students, to provide them with the information we think they need to know, or an outlet for their creative endeavors.
If you’re interesed in getting involved, please email our Editor-inChief, Ali Burgess, at ajburgess@stetson.edu or apply on Engage.
The Reporter, as part of Hatter Network, is the oldest collegiate magazine in the state of Florida. We publish four times per year, twice per semester. Florida Sun Printing prints 300 copies per issue on 8.5 x 11 inch, 80# Gloss Test. Most body text is set at 11 point Adobe Garamond Pro or Times New Roman with 13 point leading set with a combination of regular, italic and bold. All pages are designed using Adobe Creative Suite Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign. For additional information please visit hatternetwork.com.
Questions or concerns can be mailed to 421 N Woodland Blvd. Deland, FL 32723 or emailed to hatternetwork@gmail.com.
Finding Feathers: A Glimpse Through the Binoculars of Audubon at Stetson
Where bird-watching meets environmental stewardship A Peek into the Publication Process
The steps and the staff that bring TheReporterto life
Reading Between the Lines: Stetson’s Eye on Prepositions
Researchers take a look at reading habits
Ampers&nd with Raey Block SOARing to new heights with a student adventurer
Match Me if You Can: Exploring College Romance in the Age of Dating Apps
The search for genuine connection
Exploring Identity Through Fashion
Discovering how fashion brings freedom
Carving Accessible Pathways into the Natural Soundscape
A day with the Young Sound Seekers 08 10 15 19 23 26 29
reporter
Ampers&nd with Raey Block SOARing to new heights with a student adventurer 19
Written by Breanna Gergen Graphics & Layout by Michelle Marshall
Launched as one of the fruits of American Conservatism in 1905, the National Audubon Society has since been pioneering the preservation of native bird species. Here on campus, the recently-integrated Audubon chapter at Stetson fosters a sense of exploration and discovery for its members. It is led by student President Katie Hill under the supervision of Megan Martin, President of West Volusia’s Chapter.
“To realize that the choices we make, whether it be on Stetson's campus, or in our local residences, is crucial for the environmental health.”
Students may have recently seen the club’s presence in the form of pink plastic flamingos with a sign bearing the hashtag, #SpotTheFlock dotting the Stetson Green. Through various bird-watching activities and nature trail hikes, the club seeks to utilize nearby resources, namely the Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center, to evoke admiration for the natural world. The club is both an outlet for bird-lovers and a vessel for protecting the Floridian beauty which surrounds our campus.
President Katie Hill ’25 is a senior majoring in Environmental Studies. Hill has always possessed a passion for nature and served as student ambassador for the Society last year, which made her an ideal candidate for leadership of the campus’s new club. “I liked how Audubon engages with the community at Stetson,” said Hill. “Here on campus you can actually see your work unfolding in front of you. Audubon’s goal is to protect birds but
also to expand into other related projects. It is for anyone who has a love for nature.”
In adapting to her newfound role this semester as President, Hill integrated multiple bird-watching walks for her members at the nearby Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center. During these, students stumbled upon pink-beaked Ibis, Palm Warblers and Eastern Phoebes. They also enjoyed complimentary donuts, coffee and were able to earn cultural credit. “We discussed bird behaviors and tried to identify some of the bird calls we heard,” said Hill. “The flooding [from Hurricane Milton] brought out a lot of activity with the wading birds that we probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It was a quiet day and it was perfect.”
Yet, the allure of discovering feathered friends is not the only reward in being an Audubon member. The Society also nourishes a welcoming environment for adventure lovers as well. Whether it was a hike through the cypress trees
“Just come out to a bird walk. It is low stakes, but high reward.”
or a lesson on conservation, Hill kept a few things up her sleeve right until the semester’s end.
On Friday, Nov. 1, the club hosted an educational Birding 101 lecture at the Gillespie Museum with Director Kristen Mattson providing cultural credit for students. Hill also hints that the on-campus flamingo sightings are far from over. They are promoting the current Audubon art exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona.
Between these events and semesterly bird walks, Hill is determined to nurture her students’ love for wildlife. For Hill personally, “Audubon at Stetson has made me a better photographer and a better bird-watcher, but it is not just about birds. It helps you look for the small things…I want to provide a space, and a moment in time, for people to reflect on and appreciate the environment around them. ”
Stetson’s Audubon Society is fortunate not only for its leadership but also for its mentorship as well. Megan Martin, President of the West
Volusia Chapter of Audubon, has taken the blossoming student organization under her wing. A well-versed veteran of Audubon’s mission, Martin describes the broader mission as “To realize that the choices we make, whether it be on Stetson's campus, or in our local residences, is crucial for the environmental health.” In fulfilling her role as advisor for Stetson’s chapter, Martin declares she is here to pass on that torch to the next student to keep their initiatives going. Undeniably, Audubon at Stetson is fortunate to possess such ample leadership to guide them as they leap from the nest. “It is truly a boots-on-the-ground organization,”Martin concluded. Through the lens of their binoculars, members of Audubon at Stetson are endowed with the freedom to explore. Whether that exploration be traipsing through local forests in search of fleeting feathers or finding a more introspective discovery of a passion for conservation. Interested students are advised by Hill to “Just come out to a bird walk. It is low stakes, but high reward.”
Written by Natalie McCoy
Graphics & Layout by Michelle Marshall
From the Gutenberg press to Google Docs, the publication process of Stetson University’s The Reporter, Florida’s oldest collegiate publication, has transformed since its genesis as Th e DeLand Collegiate in 1887 . Feasible as it is for Hatters reading this very article to fancy print magazines a fad of the past and imagine staff writers mooring over outdated typewriters – much like “Miss Lizzie Webb,”
editor-in-chief of the inaugural 1887 publication, might have – I fear that the modern publication process is shrouded in mystery from Stetson’s student body. Well, we are not in black-and-w hite Kansas anymore! Let us pull back the Stetson-green curtain, explore the editorial, and peek into The Reporter’s current publication process, shall we?
The Reporter ’s staff consists of an Executive Editor, Managing Editor, News Editor, Arts and Culture Editor, Copy Editor and staff writers. The Executive Editor (currently Sara Ward, ’27) oversees The Reporter, communicates with Hatter Network and The Reporter staff, works with the Creative Team, pioneers the production of the print magazine, edits, makes executive decisions and writes her own journalistic works. The Managing Editor (currently Reagan Shivers ’26) works diligently with the Executive Editor to ensure that each magazine creates cohesive and professional content. She manages the Section Editors and staff writers and meets with the Creative Team all the
while writing her own content. Th e Reporter employs editors in specific disciplines as well: the Copy Editor (currently Katie Eudy ’27), News Editor (currently De’Vanese Jean-Baptiste ’26) and Arts and Culture Editor (currently Nico Alonso ’26). These editors carefully review the entire staff’s articles - including their own - to verify that the pieces published are factually sound, up-todate with current events, and represent art and culture with reverence and respect. Staff writers synthesize story ideas to showcase the soul of Stetson University and the DeLand community. It is their duty to investigate, conduct interviews, write and, ultimately, report! The Reporter’s Creative Team is led by the
Creative Director (currently Michelle Marshall, ’26) and an innovative team of photographers and graphic designers. The Creative Director oversees the design process, communicates with the Executive Editor and Managing Editor, makes executive creative decisions and designs pieces herself. It is the Creative Team’s artistic vision that gives each article an eye-catching aesthetic appeal, bringing journalism from traditional Times New Roman font to cutting-edge technicolor. “As the creatives, we bring the story to life and actually come beyond the text to create something a bit more visually appealing than a block of text on the page, right?” said Marshall.
The Reporter publishes two to three print editions per semester. The fall semester traditionally features an editorial-style orientation edition to kick off the school year. In the newsroom, where staff members of The Reporter meet weekly, the process in which a magazine is produced is fondly nicknamed the “mag cycle.” Dear readers, I now invite you into the publication process, which, as you will soon discover, you are an integral component of. A mag cycle can be broken down into ten simple steps:
Every print edition of The Reporter has an overarching theme, “like consumerism, renaissance, our most recent edition was the theme of comfort,” said Creative Director Michelle Marshall. This theme is established during the first production meeting of the mag cycle. Staff members propose themes they feel are inspirational and relevant to campus and community life. The theme is then voted on by staff members.
With the theme in mind, The Reporter staff then pitches story ideas and assigns articles to each member. These articles can range anywhere from interviewing a professor about their idiosyncratic Stetson Hat collection to educating readers about how cutting state funding for the arts has impacted the DeLand community - so long as they remain loyal to the theme and are written from a posture of genuine inquiry.
Thus begins the quintessential journey of journalism: investigation! Staff members get out on the field to research, interview, poll and scout out the support for their story.
Once the groundwork has been laid, the staff clickety-clacks away at their computer keys and, finally, reports!
I like to think of the editing process as a sort of creative crucible; only under its heat can the articles be refined into their most precious potential. Each piece undergoes four stages of fiery editing, reviewed by an editor as follows:
a. Section Editor (A piece is assigned to either the News Editor or the Arts and Culture Editor, depending on its content!)
b. Copy Editor (Fact-checking!)
c. Managing Editor (Evaluating language and AP style all the way!)
d. Executive Editor (Adding that extra flair of professionalism, making sure no more edits must be made!)
This is where the Creative Team truly bedazzles The Reporter’s publication process:
a. The Creative Director meets with the Executive Editor and Managing Editor to discuss the magazine’s decided theme and brainstorm how to use visuals to ignite the imaginations of The Reporter’s readers.
b. The Creative Director has the opportunity to read over individual articles and ask questions about what each author has envisioned for their article’s design, be it color theme, pop-culture references or Pinterest boards. She communicates her findings and overall vision with the rest of the Creative Team.
c. The photographers begin by attending a few newsroom meetings and are then paired with writers to create a photo story for each article. These stories should embody the theme of the magazine as a whole and tell the sequential story of a given piece. After the photos are taken, the photographers edit them and pass them on to the Spread and Graphic Designers.
I like to think of the editing process as a sort of creative crucible; only under its heat can the articles be refined into their most precious potential.
d. The Creative Director assigns articles to the Spread and Graphic Designers according to their passions and creative strengths. The Spread and Graphic Designers format the text and photographs using Adobe InDesign, giving life to the fonts, taglines, colors and vectors buzzing about each page. This is reviewed during a draft day by the Creative Team staff.
e. Finally, the Creative Director compiles the whole magazine by drafting a composite visual layout of magazine content, from front to back and everything sandwiched in between.
The Executive Editor, Managing Editor, and Creative Director meet for a final magazine approval. They review the print edition page by page, keeping a keen eye for typos and creative consistency and edit accordingly. Once final touches have been made…
The Creative Director sends off the magazine to be printed at Florida Sun Printing, a full-service printer that has been working with The Reporter for 61 years!
Of course, completing a mag cycle occasionally calls for cupcakes and confetti! Now, this is where you come in… The Reporter is written for YOU! Each edition is printed and distributed across the Stetson University campus in stands found in facilities such as the Carlton Union Building, Du-Pont Ball Library, Flagler Hall and Elizabeth Hall, for your reading pleasure. Get to know your university, your peers and professors and your local community. Go forth and read!
The publication process of The Reporter is a perennial penning of Stetson University’s historyfrom the writings of 1887 editor-in-chief Miss Lizzie Webb to the wise words of 2024 Executive Editor Sara Ward, “Everyone has a story that deserves to be told. I am beginning to learn that those stories have a time and a place but if The Reporter is able to supply a sufficient story for someone who wants to show their passion for writing or someone who has ideas for how to feature the Stetson student body, we are the perfect place to do so.”
among
Written by Katie Eudy Graphics & Layout by Maria Latour
Without By despite during except from into into of Out over Through to underneath up upon with within against across
Who are you going to the CUB with? With whom are you going to the CUB?
You might have been told that proper English must use the latter, as the first sentence ends with a preposition. preposition stranding is when a sentence ends with a preposition or a word that usually precedes a noun, like “to,” “with” or “at.” preposition stranding is common in spoken and informal English but many argue that it is a no-go in professional writing.
Dr. Michael Eskenazi and his team of psychology research assistants are trying to answer the question: “Does it really matter?”
A Stetson University psychology professor with a PhD in experimental psychology, Eskenazi is in his 12th year of teaching. He focuses on language processing and the reading process.
Eskenazi is currently working on a study to settle the preposition stranding debate and decide if preposition stranding disrupts the reading process. He works with seven Stetson undergraduate students in the
REAiD Lab (Reading, Eye-tracking and Individual Differences Lab) to study participant responses to sentences with and without preposition strands.
“Participants’ eye movements are monitored using an eye tracking machine,” explained Eskenazi. “The eye tracker measures eye positions on the screen 1000 times a second and is accurate down to the individual pixel on the screen.” The eye tracker collects data about the participants’ reading habits, including the time they spent reading, which words they looked at the longest and if they re-read parts of a sentence.
“Going back basically indicates that there was some comprehension problem,” said Eskenazi. “If you get through the sentence straight through, pretty quickly, everything is fine. You understood it.” So, Eskenazi will use the eye tracker data to decide if preposition stranding disrupts readers.
research assistant in the REAiD Lab. When he first joined Eskenazi, Giorgioni worked on the “initial research” phase of the study; he read a variety of language processing research to decide where their project would fit in. Their research team looked for a “gap” in language processing research - or a topic that current research does not cover. “It’s our chance to do a study about it, to fill in the Gap, to give more knowledge about the gap,” said Giorgioni. Now, Giorgioni and his peers have moved into hands-on work, and are trained to use the eye tracker technology. Giorgioni and his peers must follow strict procedures in the REAiD Lab to get accurate screenings, going as far as avoiding being too nice to participants. “We want to be specific with the instructions that we’re saying. If we were overly friendly, it could affect how happy they are,” said Giorgioni. “And
if they’re too happy, too excited, or in a very good mood or in a very bad mood, then that might be affecting how quickly they’re reading or how they understand the sentences.”
Working with Eskenazi gives Giorgioni the chance to explore the research world and decide what he wants to pursue postgraduation. “I want to take [the] chance to explore different forms of research, different disciplines within psychology, different professors, everything,” said Giorgioni. Through their research assistant-professor partnership , Giorgioni explores the psychology field first-hand, getting a feel for what he is interested in and gaining careerspecific skills while Eskenazi gets to foster the next generation of researchers here at Stetson University. Their team also helps us decide which side of the preposition debate to be on.
“I want to take [the] chance to explore different forms of research, different disciplines within psychology, different professors, everything,” said Giorgioni.
Written by Michaela Hawthorne Graphics & Layout by Maria Latour
I sat down with Raey Block ’25, Stetson
Outdoor Adventure Recreation (SOAR) council member, to learn about the adventure advocate and her passionate perspectives on exploration.
It means getting out of the norm, going past what you see every day or going past what is expected. You can explore anywhere, even somewhere you already know. If you just walk around, actually pay attention to your surroundings. See what plants there are, see adventure in what you see every day. It
doesn’t have to be going out far to an actual park or hike or doing something but I also love to do that. It’s just going somewhere new, having a new experience or you can even explore somewhere you’ve already been, just by looking at it in a different way.
Could you tell me about the opportunities that SOAR provides for students?
SOAR offers discounted rates–very discounted rates to go on outdoor adventure trips for Stetson students. Some of those are just day trips where you would go on a hike or kayaking or paddle boarding, canoeing. Then others are longer trips like Fall Break and Spring Break. Last Fall Break, we actually went to West Virginia. In January, we’re planning on going to a ski trip in North Carolina. No matter where you go, it’s beginner-friendly. You don’t actually have to have outdoor experience to go on SOAR
trips, which is really nice. We provide all the gear. The rates are discounted so it’s much less to go on the trip, as it would be if you were going on your own. And it provides an opportunity to go with people who do know about the outdoors. You’re not just being, for lack of better words, thrown to the wolves, you’re gonna have people there who can actually help you out and are trained in safety measures and stuff like that. That’s definitely a benefit, especially if you like exploring in groups.
Why would you say that outdoor recreation is important?
Something I’m big on is “challenge by choice.” It’s a terminology I heard when I was working for Adventure West Virginia and it’s something I still live by, both in an outdoor recreation setting and not. There are always gonna be things that challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone, and it needs to be your individual choice and autonomy to decide, are you gonna choose to challenge yourself or to stay in your comfort zone? So if it’s out of your window of tolerance, it is
okay to step down, but be aware that you’re doing that. Or, be aware if you can step out of your comfort zone a little bit more and challenge yourself. So that challenge by choice is a really big thing. I think it’s really important whether you’re doing an outdoor activity or not. But I think outdoor recreation definitely helps you recognize that and develop that within yourself. And also, it’s just fun, honestly, new experiences.
Would you say that it’s especially important as a college student to explore the outdoors?
Oh, definitely. I mean college, I’ve realized, is so much of being inside. It is so much of indoor classrooms, being on your computer, going to work. Most of what we do is inside, obviously, like our dorms or our apartments are too. I know a lot of times when I’m not intentionally being outside. The only time I’m really outside is when I’m walking to class
and that’s not enough time to be exposed to the sunlight. Respectfully, we all need to touch a little bit more grass. There are times that I just freak out and I’m having a rough day. I just have had too much screen time. I need to touch grass. And you know what? When I go outside and just sit outside for a little bit, I feel better. Crazy how that works.
It was the scariest thing I have ever done. I was so terrified. I was so excited but so scared. I had been doing a little bit of Japanese Duolingo but it was not enough. Going to just this entirely new place, I didn’t really know anybody else from Stetson who was going on the trip at the time, either. I felt like, even though I was going with the group, I was kind of going alone, and it was an absolutely incredible experience. If I could go back, there’s not a single thing
We’d like to keep growing our program for sure, still doing what we’re doing with having trips. Hopefully, eventually, we can expand and be able to have more funding so that we can take more people on trips. Because there’s a lot of interest in these SOAR trips and we don’t always have the bandwidth to take as
I would change, except maybe I would have gone to more shrines and temples and maybe gone on more hikes. I didn’t really feel comfortable going alone for some of those things, because obviously we’re 8,000 miles away from home. Being somewhere where you don’t speak the language, and you have no idea how to navigate and you’re just from somewhere so very different culturally is just terrifying but so Interesting. It was wonderful.
many students as we would like. There’s a lot of a waitlist so I would like to see that happen. For now, I really feel that doing what we’re doing, but hopefully on a larger scale as years go by. We’re working on getting bigger with our outreach, social media and marketing.
Written by Nico Alonso
Graphics & Layout by Maria Latour
Gone are the days of cinematic romance, where you’d watch Al Pacino woo Diane Keaton with a hesitant smile and careful words or where you’d find Casablanca-style kisses and that black-and-white poetic approach.
Recently, I read an article in Dazed & Confused Magazine that said romance is dead— and dating apps are the main suspects in the killing. Dazed News Editor, Serena Smith wrote, “Dating apps have sapped much of the romance out of dating. Within such a ruthlessly efficient
system, there’s no room for yearning.”
Sofia Avalo, `26 reinforces this point entirely. She says, “Bring back yearning!”
And that’s exactly the problem: these apps are algorithmically designed to quickly and efficiently facilitate love, flings and everything in between. With our generation constantly adapting to new technologies and social norms, we’re all participants in a grand experiment: Does love really look so different in the digital age?
So what are students looking for around Stetson’s campus? Are we here for a good time or a long time? Well, I asked around and it is fairly split three ways. Some people are looking for long-term romance, some are looking for short-term fun and others are just putting their feelers out to see what awaits them. Although many people have tried dating apps at least once, they don’t all have the same goals in mind. Some feel it’s convenient, while others are still undecided. The potential for connection is enticing, but it’s often interrupted by the quick-swipe culture
and commodification of connection, leaving people divided on whether dating apps genuinely serve as the new meeting ground or just another hurdle in the “race” for love. For Blair Durda ’26, it’s hard to navigate. “I guess you don’t run into the people you’re hoping to run into most of the time,” Durda said. “You’re just finding people who aren’t looking for the same things.”
Perhaps one of the more infamous apps, Tinder is both celebrated and ridiculed for its role in hookup culture and quick-and-easy connections.
Avalo couldn’t help but laugh when asked about what she thought about Tinder. “I think honestly, a lot of people are on there just to hook up and not look for a serious relationship–
Unlike Tinder, Bumble puts the responsibility of making the first move on women, and many are split on how they feel about it. Many appreciate it, however, some don’t love joining the other busy-bees on Bumble, specifically because of its approach to who texts first.
hence why I deleted it so quickly,” Avalo said. Nashaly Peralta, ’26 agrees that romance is put aside for Tinder’s emphasis on quick connections. “You don’t really know the person’s personality,” said Peralta, “It could be, quite literally, a psychopath behind that phone, and you have no idea.”
Avalo dislikes the forcing of women and femme-presenting people to text first. “I didn’t like Bumble that much,” Avalo said.
“I think out of those three [Tinder, Hinge and Bumble,] it was my least favorite. I just don’t like texting people first. Most of my friends who are girls also agree that we just don’t like texting first.”
For students looking for lasting connections, Stetson students have found Hinge has a reputation as the “serious” app. Their tagline, “Designed to be deleted” is a popular reason for downloading the app. Although its profile prompts make for more engaging conversations, not everyone sees it as the “solution” to romance. On the same topic of Hinge, Durda said, “because I’m asexual… that kind of changes things. So for me, it’s been a really good experience.”
For this reason, Avalo has a better opinion of Hinge than other
dating apps. She said, “Hinge– I think– is a little bit better, but some people on there can be very questionable still,” However, she believes this to be a very common theme throughout most dating apps, so she holds no fault against Hinge as a whole. “There’s always a ‘bad bunch’,” said Avalo.
Plenty of Hatters often find it funny, yet still rather daunting, that other students on these apps could recognize them, and vice versa. “I actually sit next to a guy in one of my classes that I saw on Hinge and sometimes I’m embarrassed just because he probably also saw me so I’m just trying not to make eye contact with him,” Avalo admitted. “It’s not like I even met up with any of the people from there. So, you know, it didn’t really work for me, but I also wasn’t trying too hard. But, I know a friend that she’s been dating a guy for like, two or three years, and they met on Tinder. So good for them.”
Avalo isn’t alone in this thinking.“It kind of makes me a little nervous, because I don’t want people to, like, come up with assumptions about me based on me being on them,” Durda said.
Peralta had more to say on the aspect of anxiety on dating apps. “Just thinking about going to meet a random person is kind of scary to me,” said Peralta, “...you never know who’s really behind [that profile]. You hear so many horror stories, and you
just don’t want that to happen to you.”
Peralta then says, “That connection you have with somebody initially [in-person] can also be an important part of the relationship; like that first feeling you get of little butterflies, and I guess you can’t get that off a photo. The vibes just aren’t there.”
When it works, it’s great. But when it doesn’t, it’s exhausting, leading many to question whether we’re any closer to a “real” connection. Love in the age of swipes may look different, but it’s not dead—it’s just changing. Whether you’re on Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, or simply letting things happen naturally, remember: real connections are out there. You just might have to keep swimming to find them.
Starting college opens new avenues to start exploring who you are and the person you want to become. This might be through exploring new career options, new friendships or even exploring new clubs and hobbies. Another way of exploring yourself is through your style. Whatever your style may be, everyone should feel comfortable in the way they express themselves.
On-campus resources are available for students to start creating their own style.
Chris Finkle, manager of the Innovation Lab (located in the DuPont-Ball Library), discussed how students are able to express themselves through the different art forms available through this program. “The whole idea of the Innovation Lab is to give people resources that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to,” Finkle said.
The Innovation Lab has two sewing machines, multiple state-ofthe-art 3d printing machines and embroidery and Cricket machines to spark student
masculine, if that’s what you want,” said Martinez. “Being in college, there are no uniforms. Which is great, I feel like it’s a great opportunity for students to find a sense in their own fashion, embracing
"Being in college, there are no uniforms. Which is great, I feel like it's a great opportunity for students to find a sense in their own fashion, embracing their clothing or the pieces that they choose to put together."
their clothing or the pieces that they choose to put together.” She emphasised how many students are now able to freely express themselves without having to conform to whatever barriers there might have been in their past.
Faculty members are also able to explore their fashion sense on campus. Director Of Diversity And Inclusion Erin Doggette expressed her view on the ability to explore yourself on campus as well as her personal journey. “I don’t personally find myself to be fashionable, I just operate based on what makes me feel good,” she explained. “I feel like if you don’t love yourself, then no one else will.”
Doggette then went on to note that her favourite clothing item are her Jordans, because she did not have access to shoes that fit her growing up. “My shoes kind of dictate what my outfit will be, so I wanna make sure my shoes match my outfit,”
Doggette said. For many people shoes are a unisex item of clothing, which allows them to express themselves however they see fit.
Doggette also discusses how she breaks professional norms by creating her own sense of business style. “I wear tennis shoes just about everyday, and as a director in a professional setting, this is not the place,” she said.“But says who? Who says that’s not professional?” She believes students and staff alike should be able to feel comfortable in their professional-wear. Dr. Doggette is proud to have women come up to her and share how she has inspired them to wear what they feel comfortable in while in the workplace. Whether you prefer a Y2k Style like Martinez or a relaxed professional look like Doggette, your fashion choices are meaningful. Fashion does not always have to be innovative, it just has to be
"But says who? Who says that's professional?"not
If a tree falls in the woods, the Young Sound Seekers aim to be around to hear it. The Atlantic Center for the Arts, the nonprofit cofunding Young Sound Seekers describes it as, “an environmental arts program for blind and partially sighted youth.” Dr. Nathan Wolek was able to pioneer the initiative in 2020 through a grant offered by the National Park Services’ Sounds and Night Skies division. “The grant was to do outreach programming for an underserved population,” Wolek explained. “And underserved was a broad term for some population that is
maybe not as well represented in park visitors.”
On Oct. 19 the Young Sound Seekers enjoyed a slightly improvised excursion at the Gillespie Museum and Rinker Environmental Learning Center. Typically the group enjoys national parks and coastal soundscapes but due to damages at these sites from Hurricane Milton they stayed on campus.
Students from the Conklin Davis Center For the Visually Impaired partnered with Dr. Wolek’s student employees and First Year Seminar students to explore the museum. Coincidentally,
the Gillespie Museum recently debuted its Uncertain Sanctuary exhibit which features tactile sculptures by Judith Greavu that the students enjoyed during setup. Saturday’s lesson focused on sound masking, in this context meaning distracting sounds covering and impacting the intelligibility of others. After laughing through a short “Masking Mayhem” activity, the group moved outside of the Rinker Environmental Learning Center to record examples of sound masking in the natural landscape. The small groups wasted no time moving about the surrounding block and capturing soundscapes with their audio recording equipment.
Capturing sound is of course one of the major tasks for leaders and students alike in Young Sound Seekers. However, the program has created a handful of professional job opportunities for students on campus. Wolek recalls a psychology major who, “ enjoyed working with Young Sound Seekers [and] working with the park service. So much so that she… applied for jobs
at park services…post-graduation and got hired by James County, up in Virginia, doing special audience programming for them.” This is a testament to the platform Young Sound Seekers provides for these students to have conversations about the natural soundscape, which is any combination of sounds created by the natural environment.
Michaela Hawthorne ’26 highlights potential job experience for students interested in photography through her work with Young Sound Seekers. “I also have a more specific role of managing social media,” Hawthorne said, “I'm like, taking pictures, recording lesson plans, so I can document it on the social media posts. And we really do have social media to help, like, promote the program and also show to our donors what we're doing.”
Through the time spent observing the work, it is incredibly rewarding both academically and personally to see sound be explored and explained in a fashion that the average fullysighted individual is not privy to. “I've learned a
lot working with these kids in the Young Sound Seekers Program,” Wolek says. “It's changed how I teach, the kinds of things I teach, and the way that I teach. I have a lot less emphasis on visual things. I have a lot more facility to be able to describe things verbally and sonically.” His experience highlights the importance of initiatives like these in creating a culture of accessibility. By sharing in their lived experience Wolek was able to create an experience that not only caters to blind and partially sighted youth, but one that belongs to them.
As Young Sound Seekers came with a five-year commitment, the grant is expected to expire in 2025. Wolek is currently “in active conversation with the National Park Services about next steps.” Within his team, he expressed that, “Everyone agrees these next steps should involve teaching others what we have developed so we have been hard at work turning our activities into written lesson plans.” These lesson plans are available for access on the National Park Service Website under Exploring Sound.
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It's changed how I teach, the kinds of things I teach, and the way that I teach. I have a lot less emphasis on visual things. I have a lot more facility to be able to describe things verbally and sonically.
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The writers and editors of The Reporter have a tradition of including a playlist along with each magazine issue. The songs on the playlist reflect both the theme of the issue and the mood of the team while creating this issue.
Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
Into the Thick of It by The Backyardigans
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths
New Way Out by Poppy
Self- by Will Wood and the Tapeworms
All or Nothing at All by Harry James and Frank Sinatra
Funkier than a Mosquitos Tweeter by Nina Simone
Golden Brown by The Stranglers
The Big Comedown by Nine Inch Nails
Stick Season by Noah Kahan
Cigarettes Out the Window by TV Girl
Spellbound by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
I Hope You Find Your Way Home by Tyler, The Creator
Ants Marching by Dave Matthews Band
Opiate by Modern Color
I Tend to Digress by Jack Johnson
Queen of the Bees by Jack White
Autumn in New York by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald
Everything is romantic-Charli XCX
Words, Words, Words by Bo Burnham
CATS GROOVE by Kaelin Ellis
Little Brown Dog by Mo Kolours
