Community college parties don’t

lights, loud, unintelligible music and the iconic red cup, comparable to the movies. The very sight gave me the worst case of FOMO I have ever experienced.

The banquets and dances I attended in high school played clean versions of songs, and the punch bowls were definitely not spiked. The closest thing to drugs were the freshmen getting a sugar high off the sour straws the PTA sold.

cynicism is funny, this actually has very troubling implications. Instead of giving those who work tirelessly in the service industry higher pay, they’re just replaced with machines. If other businesses see this kind of model that McDonald’s advertising is pushing and start to roll out their own automated centers, there’s the potential for many people to lose their jobs. You don’t need to pay a robot an hourly wage, just maintenance every couple of months.

This model would be incredibly cost-effective to corporations and the higher-ups, but it spells certain doom for all of those that rely on them as their only source of income.

The world isn’t being taken over by machines anytime soon, but it’s important that this push for automation and streamlining production be pointed out.

It’s fine to have machines there to help with tasks that are potentially life-threatening or dangerous. It’s fine to have a machine help with little things to make going about the day easier, that’s what they’re for.

What’s not fine is pushing for an automated norm that tries to advertise itself as the future, when in reality it’s taking away real jobs that are imperative for middle to lowerincome families in this economic downturn. It’s not fine that people are making light of the push for a better minimum wage that would actually be able to pay bills.. Machines were created for the purpose of making people’s lives easier so they could give a more human aspect to the work they are doing, but now it seems we’ve evolved to the point of machines just taking the work.

I suffer from a chronic condition. It can be debilitating, and there is no cure. It’s a disease myself and so many suffer from. The name is abbreviated to FOMO, but stands for the fear of missing out.

Although community college provides cheap education and free resources, it often lacks in its social scene. If a party scene does exist, it’s almost impossible to find. For prospective students, often the party scene is a major pull factor to the college or university.

Since many community college students go through financial problems, they often work one or several jobs aside from attending school or are parents. This coupled with the little to no access to the social scene, partying is often an experience missed out on.

Television and movies seldom show students studying, and rather focus on frat parties and the social scenes. This portrayal has associated university with ragers, keg stands and promiscuous activity. Though exaggerated, those scenes are somewhat based in truth and events such as those exist.

I recall the first few months of college watching my former classmates’ stories attending massive parties with strobe

However, I recently experienced my first semblance of a college party. And while my friends discussed their experiences at university, I had an epiphany — it doesn’t even sound that much fun.

Perhaps I had gotten so wrapped up in what I believed the college experience to be that I didn’t even think to consider if that would even be enjoyable for myself.

I assumed as soon as I enrolled into college that some dormant gene would activate that would turn me into a “Euphoria” character. But I don’t feel the urge to seek parties and am actually content in my current routine with school and work. Despite my assumption, being in college doesn’t mean you have to go to parties. The societal or self-imposed expectations placed upon a certain stage of life are not guidelines on how to live.

Once I transfer to a university, I anticipate that I will go to parties and enjoy the experience. But for now, there is no rush to feel like I must go and participate in that facet of college life. Until then, you can find me frustrated while decorating an apartment in the Sims because I can’t find a cohesive color palette.

The latest “Scooby-Doo” adaptation has raised some interesting questions regarding the treatment of legacy franchises and whether or not this treatment is sustainable.

For context, Warner Bros. decided to kick off the new year right with the release of “Velma.” A strange and seemingly unnecessary “Scooby-Doo” reboot, reimagining, whatever the executives call it, with 100% less dog and 110% more dark skin! To say this has stirred controversy would be an understatement.

It’s important to note right off the bat that the controversy doesn’t quite stem from the changes in race per se. Fans are showing more concern and frustration over how the studio is devaluing their favorite characters by changing nearly everything about them.

“Velma” is the most recent culprit that springs to mind, but this phenomenon has been happening for quite some time now.

To start, let’s talk about race-bending. The race-bending of characters or race-bent versions of characters is commonplace in media nowadays. From comic writer Brian Michael Bendis’ and actor Samuel L. Jackson’s interpretation of the traditional white Nick Fury, to Christopher Miller’s Miles Morales, an Afro-Hispanic SpiderMan.

The purpose of these race swaps is for the sake of representation, and are meant to give people of different backgrounds characters to connect with. It helps that these characters still retain the pathos and charm of their original counterparts. “Velma” does not do this.

“Velma” takes the classic characters and changes their personalities, their voices, their looks and their dynamics. Not only does this raise the question of why this reboot is tied to “Scooby-Doo,” but it also makes people confused as to who this reboot is for.

A thought experiment called “Ship of Theseus” begs the question of whether or not something can remain the same even if all of its core elements are replaced. Let’s look at Miles Morales again. Miles Morales was created to be parallel to the traditionally white Peter Parker.

Despite being a different character under the Spider-Man mask, Miles still retains the essence and qualities of the character and is all better for it. Velma meanwhile twerks in the mirror, and “Scooby-Doo” himself doesn’t exist in the show.

This sort of thing sets a bad precedent for the future of reboots, reimaginings, retoolings, remakes and other words that start with the letters “R” and “E” because I want to avoid saying other words that start with “re.”

Studios need to understand that you can revitalize (forget I said anything) franchises without changing everything about them. These characters became icons for a reason, and changing everything about them is missing the point.

Legacy franchises achieved their status by captivating audiences with their unique essence. Franchises should evolve, but with respect to the source material. They deserve better. Audiences deserve better.

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