Page 2 – The Waltonian

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful: Breezeway.

Breezeway is the underrated underdog of the on campus eateries at Eastern. It’s there when nothing else is, it’s open late and is perfect for satisfying the late night hunger that most college students experience after they accidentally skip dinner due to an overwhelming study session.

Breezeway is the perfect option for any student living on the Gough side of campus. For commuters and Eagle/Sparrowk students, breezeway might feel like a bit of an unnecessary trek, but for the rest of Eastern’s students, Breezeway is the nearby, convenient location for any late night urges.

At Breezeway, its not about the quality of the food, but it’s about the environment, the people, and the prime late night study snacks.

While the menu options may be limited, they are not exactly intended to be eaten as a full meal on their own, and honestly, there are about as many menu items available at Breezeway as there are at Zime.

It really all comes down to personal preference and which foods you like more, and which foods you are craving. I am writing this article while chowing down on a turkey melt from Breezeway, and I had a chicken caesar flatbread from zime earlier. I would not have been able to have both of these options available to me at all time throughout the day.

I am a night eater, so being able to get warm food later in the day, after the dining commons closes and while Zime is starting to wrap up for the night, is very convenient, and I don’t have to walk all the way across campus to do so.

I used to either drive to Wawa or Doordash something when I found myself with a craving for food late at night, but I have recently started switching my routine to Breezeway instead. The luxury of being able to use my meal swipes for some of the best mozzarella sticks, well, triangles, is an absolute steal, and helps me make the most out of my required student meal plan.

There is no denying the distinct change in atmosphere that comes in entering any of the dining options on Eastern’s campus. Breezeway is no exception.

Breezeway has two different atmospheres depending on the time of day, if you go early enough, its nice and quiet and you get your food rather quickly. If you go later in the evening you’re welcomed into a lively atmosphere of conversations galore and maybe even some healthy competitions using the pool table.

Random squares have been gracing the feeds of multiple social media platforms, especially facebook. The growing trend is not some secret code, but instead this latest internet sensation that has taken the nerdy, word lovers by storm is none other than “Wordle”.

“Wordle” is a word game that was created by Brooklyn software engineer, Josh Wardle.

The game begins the same every round: users have six guesses to guess a five letter word from scratch. For each word, if a player guesses a letter in the final word, the letter turns yellow. If they guess a correct letter and in the correct spot in the word, the letter turns green. Users keep going until they either guess the word of the day, or run out of tries.

The word of the day resets every 24 hours, right at midnight, and each day the word is the same for everyone. The only day this was not true was the day “Wordle” switched from being its own website to being a part of the official New York Times website. That day many users still logged onto the original “Wordle” website, which can now only be accessed via a former active link for the website. It can not easily be searched as it was once able to be.

“Wordle” was first released in October of last year, and has since amassed millions of daily users. What started as a personal project for Wardle has now become an internet sensation in a matter of months. Wardle sold the platform to the New York Times for an undisclosed but low 7 figure deal.

Since the spike in popularity of “Wordle”, many websites have been actively trying to recreate the experience of the simple game, and some even trying to intensify the game.

One of the most memorable recreations are “Wordle Unlimited”, which is the same basic concept, just with unlimited words, so users do not have to wait until the next day to play again. This website also allows for users to create custom wordles which can be sent to friends and family, or posted on social media to share.

“Quordle” and “Octordle” are two fan favorites as well. “Quordle” has users solving four words at once with nine total guesses, and “Octordle” has users solving eight words within 13 guesses. These websites are certainly for the more intense players as they are a much stronger challenge than the original game. Solving one word at a time can be tricky, but solving many words at the same time with a technically smaller number of chances per word is especially a doozy. For most people that do the puzzles such as “Quordle” and “Octordle”, they sometimes spend hours on the one puzzle, writing everything out and being able to make guesses meticulously.

Some of the “Wordle” spin offs have little to nothing to do with the original game; for example: “Heardle” is a new version of the game designed for music lovers. “Heardle”, while it may be modeled after the ever popular “Wordle”, is more of a music guessing game than word guessing. It is played in rounds, and after each round the user guesses a song that will be from a list of already given songs. While “Heardle” may be riding on the coattails of “Wordle’s” fame, people that like “Wordle” because of the word game aspect may feel some disappointment towards “Heardle”.

Regardless of what “Wordle” game you play, there is a version out there for everyone (even one called “Fartsle” if you are into toilet humor) and most people on the internet will tell you it’s worth checking out at least once.

Sources: The New York Times

Saying no may be one of the hardest things a person has to do. I always find myself struggling to say no to someone who needs me, or even if someone just asks to hang out. I struggle a lot with this word, and the fear that if I say no to someone, I would be letting them down in some capacity, and it makes me feel awful.

There is no easy way to train yourself to say no, believe me, I have tried. However, saying no can be a vital part of maintaining one’s mental health. “No” can be used in any situation, such as turning down an overtime shift, or even just hanging out with your friends.

I love my friends, and I love spending time with them, but sometimes life becomes overwhelming, and I need to allow myself to say no to making plans. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like them, or don’t want to spend time with them. It just means I need to be able to make time for myself before getting back into the world again.

I am very much an introvert, and staying in my room and spending time alone with myself is something I need to do to recharge my social battery. Being able to say no to situations that will deny me time to myself is something that I need to be better at so I avoid overloading myself.

Saying no is not a form of weakness. It does not indicate that you don’t care, and it should not be something that you feel bad for saying. Using the word “no” sets boundaries in relationships, and allows people to acknowledge their comfort levels in a safe way.

Saying no to people has been one of the best things I have done for myself, and not saying no is one of the most detrimental things I have done for my mental health.

This is not to say that saying yes is a bad thing. Saying yes to things you want to do and things that you know will make you happy is great. Using the world “yes” is not something someone should refrain from doing. However, being able to say no in situations where you don’t want to do something, or don’t have the energy to do something, is completely valid and should be respected.

In the right situation, saying yes can be just as fulfilling as saying no. It simply depends on the situation, and your mental state. For me, staying in is what helps me with my mental health. For others, it could be the opposite and going out helps them, which is perfectly fine. Everyone is different, so it makes sense that healing our mental health is not a “one size fits all.”

Having to say no to a friend, especially who is hurting, is hard. But in order to be there for someone else, you step up for yourself first. Saying no allows you the opportunity to breathe and regroup, so you are able to help someone else in the future. If a person takes on the worries and responsibilities of themselves and others, then they are going to run themselves into the ground. An overload of much stress, especially when it is more than your own, is a lot for just one person. Not to mention, incredibly unhealthy. Saying no gives you the power to control your responsibilities.

All of this being said, I am terrible at saying no for myself. I am a people pleaser, and I will overexert myself and my energy if I get caught up in saying “yes.” I am scared and anxious that I will let the people closest to me down, and if I say no, they will never ask me to do something for them or with them again. If that is the reality, and your friends stop asking you to spend time together after one “no,” then maybe you need to find different friends. But I urge you to remember; saying no every so often for yourself is not a bad thing, and should not be viewed as such. Saying no gives an individual the space to regroup and refocus, so they can say yes the next time.

For Valentine’s Day, Warner Library hosted several on campus Valentine’s events: a movie display, a staff and faculty Valentine’s card board, and a blind date with a book.

The event I was most excited for was by far the blind date with a book; after seeing the rise of book blind dates in libraries and bookstores all over social media, I could not wait to see what I would get.

If you are unfamiliar with a blind date with a book event, it works by having a selection of books that have been wrapped so there is no way to tell what the book looks like or what the title is. There is a brief description of the book on the wrapping, and readers can decide whether they want to read it or not based on the description. Once a book is selected, the reader can either check out the book (if in a library) or buy the book (if in a bookstore).

The stand was set up near the outdoor entrance to the library, and over half of the books had been claimed by the time I got there on the second day of the event.

Despite the half empty display, there were still plenty of books left on the display, which meant plenty of options to choose from. The book I ended up choosing had the description of “This book is not so much a romance novel as it is a classic tragedy. Know that before you read a book that is 900+ pages.”

The book ended up being Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. At the time of writing this article I have not yet finished it, but so far I am pleased with my choice.

The other books on the shelf all looked rather interesting as well, and honestly I would have happily grabbed any of them. One that particularly caught my eye was one that was just described as “A” in a large red font which one can only assume was The Scarlet Letter or something based on it.

Overall, the blind date with a book experience was very fun and very easy to navigate. The books seemed to be of a wide variety, and there were plenty of options even when half empty. The librarians did a fantasic job of putting the display together and organizing the entire event.

If you were unable to participate in the library’s Valentine’s events, do not be deterred; the library is always doing something interactive and fun. Just keep on the lookout for announcements!

Recently, a few popular artists, such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have decided to pull their music from the Spotify platform after comments from Joe Rogan were made on his podcast, which shares the platform.

While I personally do not agree with Rogan or his commentary, I do think that it is a bit excessive to completely remove yourself from and banish a platform that really has nothing to do with the comments being made.

Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, is currently exclusive to Spoitfy users, and the company has refused to remove Rogan’s inappropriate content, leading to Young and Mitchell’s outrage and removal of their music.

While I understand that Rogan’s comments can be harmful, it is easy to ignore him, and to simply not listen to his podcast.

Rogan has even gone as far to apologize for his commentary, however Young and Mitchells content remains off of Spotify.

I’ve written before about how it can be possible, and should be encouraged to engage in open discussion with others, rather than assume a hateful attitude. This is something that people of all political ideologies are guilty of, and should be discouraged from. I know this idea may be difficult to do in this situation, but still not impossible, and I believe an open discussion could have avoided some of the harsh outcomes of this situation.

On any platform, whether is be social media, streaming, or even television, there are going to be other creators and users that believe in, and discuss things that we may disagree with. I personally believe that if it is possible to ignore that person, and easy to avoid their content if you dont want to see it, then it should not really be an issue.

Rogan is not an overwhelmingly popular celebrity. He does have his fans, and a very successful podcast, but I have never had an issue with seeing his content when I did not want to, and even if I had, it would be very easy to click “not interested” and go about my day.

I do understand why Rogan’s commentary was harmful, spreading false vaccine information is not okay, however, Rogan even came forward and apologized for this action, which I believe should be taken seriously. An apology does not remove the situation, but acknowledging guilt, and being willing to hold an open mind to what was done wrong is seemed to be what Young asked for in the first place.

I feel like following Young’s ideology of removing himself from the platform feels like the equivalent of removing a left leaning news broadcasting company from cable television because a right leaning news broadcasting company also occupies the same company. Just because they’re on the same cable service, does not reflect the views of that service, nor will it affect viewership of either news company.

In conclusion, it is truly up to Young, Mitchell and any other artist removing Spotify content whether or not their art stays on the platform, and while it is important to respect their decision to do so, I still find it pointless for them to remove their content over commentary that in no way will be reflective of their music, and will not be pushed upon their fans if they remain as uninterested in Rogan’s comments as I am.