Opinion

Gap years: the holy grail to self-discovery

By Willem Quigley

CONTRIBUTOR

In the wake of former Facebook employee and federal whistleblower Frances Haugen’s revelations about the social media’s algorithms on CBS’ “60 Minutes” and subsequent testimony to the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection, the importance of media literacy on the internet has been underscored.

Company documents brought forward by Haguen indicate how Facebook knowingly exposes its users to misinformation but doesn’t use the tools it has at its disposal to stop them.

In an increasingly polarized and chaotic media environment, students must be adequately prepared to discern fact from fiction when consuming news, especially on the internet.

Despite the mainstream narrative that journalism is on the decline, digital circulation numbers have risen sharply in recent years, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. Although it is well known that the circulation of paper copy editions of newspapers is on the decline, these changes simply reflect a transition from the traditional newspaper format to a more dynamic, digital format.

Gathering news from a host of internet sources is nothing new for college students my age as apps like Instagram and Twitter have been beacons of online information since the early 2010s.

According to a Pew Research survey, 86% of Americans say they receive news from the internet often.

Aerospace Engineering junior Connor Quinn stated he gathers all his news from Snapchat simply out of ease and convenience.

Never before has such a wealth of information been so readily available.

The challenge presented for both media outlets and consumers alike is distinguishing between objective truths and deceptive misinformation, which has become an epidemic online. As for current scholars and future leaders, it is imperative that students today are competent in seeking and attaining the truth to better understand the world.

In an interview with CBS’ Scott Pelley, Haguen said “[Facebook] knows it’s accelerating hate, political unrest, misinformation, mental health harms and other problems, but has failed to fix them if it means hampering its own growth.”

Facebook and other social media agencies have no obligation to the truth, as it has been discovered that divisive dialogue between users drives engagement.

Online division sowed by bad actors is not a new concept. It has been well documented how online trolls influenced specific voting blocs with mal-information on Facebook leading up to the 2016 election.

Misinformation, internet trolls and flawed algorithms will not disappear overnight — as we know social media firms profit off of vitriolic and controversial content — which means students must be prepared to filter through the slog of online information to find transparent and objective journalism.

According to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, college students have a broader definition of news, meaning they consider YouTube videos, comedy sketches, political memes and Reddit threads to be accurate sources of information. With a larger pool of information available to students than other parts of the population, it is even more critical that students can discern what is truthful online.

There are numerous strategies students should take when evaluating their social media feeds for news and information.

According to digital content creator Grace Tatter, “as students consume information, they need to be thinking about how they’re going to cross-reference it with other sources, asking themselves what context is missing, and evaluating the source.”

In today’s media environment, everything should be examined skeptically.

Essentially, analyzing the news critically requires constant questioning.

The University of Minnesota library gathered opinions from media literacy professionals and outlined the following questions to ask when consuming media: Who created the message? What are the author’s credentials? Why was the message created? How do I know this information is accurate? Who is the intended audience?

Media content is omnipresent, which is why students must be constantly prepared to critically examine what they read or watch online. This includes fact checking headlines, examining the background and credentials of the media firm or reporter, and reading more than one article about the same issue.

Media literacy allows students to sort through the Internet’s cloud of data, locate reliable sources and identify bias and unreliable sources.

As noted in the book “Understanding Media Culture,” mass-communication messages are developed by individuals, and each individual has his or her own set of values, assumptions and opinions. Accepting media messages at face value can lead to confusion because of all the contradictory information available.

We have the tools to seek trustworthy and credible information and in our digitized world, it is imperative we use them.

It is our responsibility to seek the truth, now more than ever.

Graphic by Hemen Mesfin Fake news is common, making literacy vital.

Willem Quigley is a junior studying journalism. Follow him on Twitter @ willquigz11.

By lindsey Anderson

CONTRIBUTOR

My freshman year at San Diego State kicked off in August 2018.

By September 2019, I had already changed my major three times — accounting for roughly 30 units that will never be factored into my graduation. This is equivalent to an entire year of study that simply won’t count.

At the time, I didn’t mind frequent changes to my focus of study. If anything, it served as a sense of newness to a monotonous schedule of semesterly coursework.

Yet, as a senior in my final weeks at SDSU, I don’t look back on those degree fluctuations with fondness.

My inability to pursue a major was not representative of a curious-minded individual seeking breadth of knowledge. Rather, it was indicative of an individual who lacked clear vision for future pursuits.

My educational goals remained unclear until November 2020 when I moved to the East coast with the freedom of online school.

There, I lived in Northern Vermont, working as a lift operator at a ski resort and writing poetry for fun. I was introduced to a whole new culture — a world that existed so peacefully outside of the mainstream — and was immersed in a nomadic crowd of adventurers and creatives who traveled in search of the true meaning in their lives.

The previous year I had declared a major in rhetoric and writing studies that was, at the time, just as transient as those that came before it. But the realizations born out of my life experiences in Vermont eradicated any hesitations about pursuing a degree in writing.

Had this experience materialized sooner, my focus of study would have been much clearer from the get-go — saving myself and my family thousands of dollars on 30 units of tuition that now, aren’t worth a dime.

The beauty in online school was that I was presented with these opportunities to travel and live in places previously unknown to me — experiences one only tends to have when taking time off from school.

For me, online learning was the gap year I never decided to take, and trust me when I say I wish I would have done it sooner.

Frequent degree changes similar to my own are commonplace amongst a majority of American college students. Between 50 and 75 percent of American students enter college undecided or change their major at least once.

Most American college students enter higher education with minimal life experiences and a lack of self-awareness, both of which are leading causes of confusion in educational pursuits.

Taking a year or two off from school — whether it be after high school or during college — allows students to explore themselves beyond the classroom. A growing sense of purpose and a newly acquired self-awareness cultivates an inspiring environment for students to create an exciting future for themselves.

It is then that these discoveries can be translated into the classroom where the students’ education can be effectively applied to their desired path — keeping many students motivated and on track to graduate with few wasted units.

This newfound intent and passion in one’s studies is one of the key components that can make a gap year so impactful for students.

So, for those of you who may be struggling with your vision or the intention in your studies, allow yourself the time and space to explore the possibilities of what it could become.

Take some time off for self-exploration: work odd jobs, take up a new hobby and meet the people you’ve been dying to know; dive into the ideas you’ve always been curious about and dissect the questions that keep you up at night — exploring them until you find their answers.

Through these experiences, you’ll discover the ideas that make you tick — surprising you and inspiring you to fight your path forward.

It may be uncomfortable for some to delay college graduation beyond the four-year mark, but what you’ll take away from this adventurous chapter are the experiences unattainable within the classroom.

So take the chance, seize the gap year and watch your true life unfold.

Lindsey Anderson is a senior studying rhetoric and writing.

Associated Students (A.S.) is currently accepting applications for the following volunteer leadership position

ELECTIONS COORDINATOR

Request an application at as.sdsu.edu/govt

DEADLINE: FRI, OCT. 22, 2021 @ 4:00PM

Radiohead’s ‘Spectre’ was a masterpiece, 007 missed out

Graphic by Shalika Oza

We need to give Radiohead’s version of ‘Spectre’ its deserved attention.

By morgAn rAy

STAFF WRITER

It’s strange how world shattering epiphanies always happen late at night.

It was around 11 o’clock on a Saturday night. Earlier that day, my dad had scored tickets for the recent James Bond film “No Time to Die.” I’d been watching these movies with my dad since I was a kid and I had promised my editor a review on it, so Bond was on the brain.

I was aimlessly scrolling through YouTube when, as if by chance, a video appeared: Listening In’s “How Radiohead Wrote the Perfect Bond Theme”.

Radiohead?

Since when was Radiohead involved with a Bond theme? If this were any other night, I would’ve skipped over this video but I had nothing else to do, so I took a chance. Turns out, Radiohead were the original pick to do the theme for “Spectre,” (which was also titled “Spectre”), and they had postponed production on their then-upcoming album to work on it.

With this knowledge, I hit play; and the song began.The piano kicked in and the narrator began to speak about chords and bars, but all I could hear was the piano. As soon as I heard Thom Yorke’s unmistakable voice cut in, the rest of the video cut out. I immediately paused it, hunted “Spectre” down on Spotify and sat there as its melody washed over me. The hair on my arms didn’t just stand on end, they seemed to sway while chills ran over me in waves. I was bewildered — how in the world was this song cut?

I could repeat what others have said: that it sounds at home in both a Bond film and a Radiohead album. That much is true and it really does sound like the sexy, spy cousin of “Pyramid Song” or the equally forlorn spouse of “Exit Music (For A Film).”

I could say that but for me, it’s about what I see.

There’s a mental image that appears when I hear “Spectre” — that of a Victorian Gothic couple slow dancing as their manor burns down around them. It’s a fitting image the more I think about it: this track is dark, mysterious, mournful, romantic and fatalistic.

“The only truth that I could see, is when you put your lips to me.”

It’s in the way the strings lurch as guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s film scores tend to do, almost like it’s melting in and out of the shadows. Or perhaps it’s the way the lyrics bemoan the hollowness of Bond’s soul, having lost everything he’s held dear by this point, “my hunger burns a bullet hole, a spectre of my mortal soul,” as well as his inner insecurities, “fear puts a spell on us, always second-guessing love.”

There’s the melodic dichotomy in the notes of “Listening In”’s video: the merging of the classic with the current, much like what “Spectre” did with the reintroduction of Blofeld and the sinister, eponymous organization. Lastly, that final, Bond-esque flourish at the end. That parting shot before it fades from view — its mission accomplished.

So why was the song “Spectre” rejected from the film “Spectre?”

Allegedly it was deemed “too melancholy” for the final product, which I find painfully ironic. The 007 series hasn’t been afraid to get melancholic. Anyone who’s seen “On Her Majesty‘s Secret Service” or “Casino Royale” is aware of that.

Dare I say “Spectre” didn’t even deserve this song? The film wasn’t a cringe fest like “A View to a Kill,” but it wasn’t 007’s most memorable outing either.

Don’t get me wrong, the Sam Smith song they ended up using is wonderfully orchestrated, but it pales in comparison to the elegiac beauty that is Radiohead’s aspirant theme.

When Thom Yorke resigns “Spectre has come for me” in the final lines, the feeling is mutual because “Spectre” has come for me too, but I surrender willingly.

Morgan Ray is a junior studying journalism and media studies.

Advocate for yourself, no one else will

By AlyssA PhilliPs

CONTRIBUTOR

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned recently is you have to advocate for yourself because you are the only person who can truly do so.

I know this to be true in part from the strong support system of people who have advocated on my behalf and demonstrated this through simple acts such as texting me “Have a great day” when I am about to experience something stressful. I’m lucky these people hold me accountable when I am not treating myself well because I certainly lack the skill to recognize when I need to treat myself better.

At both my graduate and undergraduate institutions, I studied creative writing (and still do) while spending the majority of my working career teaching and mentoring.

While the connection between creative writing and rhetorical writing may not immediately be clear, I fell into mentoring and teaching naturally. I received that initial email requesting applications from creative writing majors and I applied because the mentoring position five years ago came to me.

Now, completing my second semester of teaching, I realize there was truly no reason for me to teach other than it was the option most readily available.

When asking myself why I signed a contract to continue doing work that causes me stress and anxiety, I noticed I felt an unwarranted sense of loyalty to my employer and, what’s worse, I felt compelled to continue because I’m good at what I do.

Before I listened to loved ones asking me why I prioritized a job over my mental and physical well-being, I didn’t think it was possible to be good at a job that caused you stress and anxiety — why would I get anxiety from a job I was more than capable of performing?

By staying in a job I knew didn’t serve me, I took a passive role in my own life and failed to prioritize myself; it simply never occurred to me that I needed to advocate for myself.

Mentoring, tutoring and teaching were the types of jobs made available to me and that’s why I took them. As an undergrad, it’s not hard to imagine emails soliciting my exact kind of expertise for any pay was attractive, which is another reason why it didn’t take long for me to believe I owed something to these positions and institutions offering me ways of paying rent.

When I started graduate school, the natural next step was to teach, given the years I had spent mentoring and tutoring — all of which were enjoyable even if they weren’t my passion.

During my first semester, I fell into the same routine of endorsing a position that didn’t endorse me.

Now, halfway through a semester of working a job that causes me disproportionate stress in comparison with pay, I realize I made an implicit assumption in working this job: other people have a stake in my well-being, so I don’t need to take on that job, too.

To be clear, this is true to an extent. If I talked through my constant anxieties and imposter syndrome with my superiors, I likely wouldn’t be counting down the days until I’m released from my contract with so much anticipation.

The bottom line is: I have developed a sense of loyalty to my employers simply because they pay me, which is never a reason to seek comfort where none exists. Yes, I can continue working my current job, challenging myself and, in my opinion, succeeding at performing my contracted duties. However, I’ve had to learn that being good at a job is not enough of a reason to stay nor is a strange sense of loyalty inherently built on the exchange of money for goods and services.

While it has been difficult to constantly remind myself I have nothing to prove nor do I owe loyalty to my employers, I certainly wish I had learned this before the semester started.

I had to learn to advocate for myself because no one else can prioritize me the way I can, no matter how much they care.

Alyssa Phillips is a second year graduate student studying creative writing.

Graphic by Aaliyah Alexander

EDITOR IN CHIEF Catlan Nguyen

MANAGING EDITOR Trinity Bland

NEWS EDITOR Katelynn Robinson

OPINION EDITOR Aaliyah Alexander

MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Noe Sandoval

ASST. MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Karina Bazarte

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Ryan Hardison

ASST. ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Cristina Lombardo

SPORTS EDITOR Jason Freund

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Andrew Finley

ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Amanda Orozco

PHOTO EDITOR Noelani Sapla

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mackenzie Stafford

ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jayne Yutig

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hemen Mesfin

STAFF WRITERS Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo Lucelis Martinez Austine Tarke Adam Correa Nick Coppo Morgan Prickett Morgan Ray Brittany Cruz-Fejeran

SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Juan Daniel Avila

CONTRIBUTORS Kennedy Humphrey Alyssa Phillips Willem Quigley Lindsey Anderson

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GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST Luis Valenzuela

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