By Reese Bizzell Last Saturday, mine and my classmates in John Powell’s general studies began our day earlier than most. At 7:30 in the morning, we took a one-hour bus ride to one of the fifteen Seedleaf locations in Lexington to provide a helping hand.
Seedleaf is a community gardening organization dedicated to teaching people the art of gardening, providing fresh food to places that lack food security, and reinforcing community. Our main task of the day was to lay cardboard around plots of soil, then shovel mulch on top of it. We were making great progress and having tons of fun when the first drops of rain began, but that wasn’t going to stop us. We continued working until lightning forced us to take a short ride to shelter in Greyline Station, an old bus station that was repurposed into a nice mini-mall --- the perfect destination for a bunch of teenagers. We played ping pong and visited shops while we waited for the rain to blow over, then went back to work. We began to make more great progress before the sky became angry again. Rain started pouring down monsoon-style, completely soaking us. The worst part was that our bus was nowhere to be seen, so we had to walk back to Greyline. Thankfully, it was only a five-minute walk. We resumed our mini-mall actions (and even joined an impromptu yoga session) while we waited once again for the rain to die down, but it sadly never did. Our day at Seedleaf was cut short, and we got on the bus sopping wet, but we left with new knowledge about food deserts and the importance of gardening in urban areas, and knowing we had contributed to a great cause.
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By Summer Smith I am not a vegetarian. But a good friend of mine is vegetarian and everyday she eats nothing but a little salad. That sounds so boring! So I decided to launch my investigation into the vegetarian selection in Cowan. I think it’s important to preface this article with the fact that it took me 3 whole weeks to gather all the content I needed. Due to the vegetarian options being so unpredictable, I found myself subconsciously avoiding meal time so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. That being said, I think I’m probably more picky about my food than most people, so I’m not saying the vegetarian options are bad, but they are certainly not picky-eater friendly. On days that I decided to go vegetarian, I found myself eating almost the same thing every time. Rice. Fries. Noodles. Cheese. Bread. Potatoes. All of these things were really good for what they are, but naturally I got burnt out on them very quickly. I’m not adventurous enough to try things like vegetarian tofu, but I’ve heard by word of mouth that it was not very good…
Overall, my personal opinion is that being vegetarian in Cowan is not satisfying or sustainable. By Jack Jurjans This article is an opinion piece As scholars approach their senior year, many will be participating in their first Presidential election in 2024. The Republican Primary is heating up as more and more candidates enter the race. As of the date of publication, there are 14 serious candidates running, and only one will face President Biden next year. The situation is unique. The last time a former President ran for non-consecutive re-election, primaries didn’t exist in the way they do now and Teddy Roosevelt ran on a third party against his former Vice President William Howard Taft in the Republican Party. Now, Americans have a discarded President—who falsely and persistently claims he won re-election—campaigning on retribution as a member of the party that he altered drastically. Republicans are at a time for choosing, and must decide whether to move on from Trump or stick with the universally known man they’ve made the face of their party. A majority will tell you they’d prefer someone else, but because there are so many other options, it could be that he prevails as the nominee regardless.
Today, a conservative who plans to register as a Republican upon his eighteenth birthday will give you his opinion on each of the 14 candidates in no particular order. Though facts will be used as the basis of opinions, opinions are still opinions. Any commending or condemning of a candidate is not intended to be presented as fact. Donald Trump The Former President should not be the face of the Republican Party, nor should he ever be the President of the United States again. Party operatives and donors must consider throughout this primary that Trump is a political liability. Not only did he lose the 2020 election, but he cost Republicans gains in the midterms that should have been so easy to win in an era where the ruling Democratic Party was increasingly unpopular. Trump got involved in the midterms and hand-picked several candidates in crucial swing state races, and those candidates (Herschel Walker and Mehemet Oz) lost. Covering up his weakness as a candidate does not cover up his weaknesses as a governing official. Trump, a Republican, is no conservative. His spending habits were irresponsible, and his dismissive rhetoric regarding the ever-growing national debt was reprehensible. He largely ignored the global pandemic he was supposed to lead the country through, spreading misinformation about bleach-based solutions and taunting people for wearing masks. He prioritizes the “culture war” as opposed to meaningful governance, feeding a problem many candidates seem to have. Most of all, he does not care about Democracy. He lost an election, and instead of conceding, he continued to claim that he won and that Joe Biden overturned the election. His false, heated rhetoric directly facilitated a terrorist attack, one that he did nothing to stop. Trump likes to speak with hyperbolic rhetorical absolutes, but the real absolute is how absolutely unqualified he is for the Presidency. Ron DeSantis DeSantis is essentially running as what voters wanted Trump to be, claiming that he can fight a culture war more effectively than Trump ever could. There is some truth in the idea that DeSantis can govern more effectively. Unlike Trump, he is a relatively young career politician capable of governance. However, he wastes that capability to be more like Trump. Instead of pushing meaningful policy, he has focused his attention on the culture war, passing Florida’s Parental Rights In Education Act, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” and changing the law to punish Disney, a private corporation, for opposing the bill. This violates conservative adherence to deregulation of private business and the First Amendment. He has redirected migrants to rich communities where they won’t have opportunity in order to prove a point and has proposed the idea of removing US citizenship by birthright on American soil. This is all political strategy, and he likely does not actually believe in any of these policies, but neither did Trump. Like Trump, he is using hot takes to further his goals. Can he really be considered a Trump alternative if he is just another beliefless authoritarian Republican from Florida motivated by self-interest? Mike Pence Unlike Trump and DeSantis, and many other candidates, Pence is a remarkably consistent politician. He has always been fiscally and socially conservative focused on what he calls “timeless American values.” There is reason to believe that he is a genuinely good person, and if there’s anything January 6th proved, that matters. On January 6th, he stood up to Trump and chose to uphold the Constitution, verifying in the face of violence that his own ticket lost. On paper, he might seem like the perfect candidate for Republicans tired of Trumpism. He has expressed open support for Ukraine, he is fiscally conservative, subscribes to conservative legal theory, and he is an ideologically driven career politician. However, he is almost too conservative to be electable. He is a staunchly pro-life candidate in a dominantely pro-choice era where abortion is becoming a topic people want to find a middle ground on. In addition, due to his dedication to his “timeless American values,” he’s wrapped himself up in the culture war, claiming those values are under assault. Perhaps, being a rather courteous man to those he disagrees with, he would find middle ground as President, but that is not a guarantee, and regardless, getting to the Presidency in the first place would be especially difficult for him. He is not Trump-adjacent, dissatisfying to one crowd, but he is associated with the Former President due to his Vice Presidency, dissatisfying to another. Nikki Haley It is hard to know what Nikki Haley believes in. For the sake of political safety, she tiptoes around several controversial issues, especially regarding Donald Trump. She has struggled to choose whether or not to be a friend to Donald Trump for years, and she continues to try to have it both ways because she wants to be President. But, if wanting to be President is the only discernable prerogative of an admittedly personable and charismatic, they might not be a great option. Tim Scott As a Senator, Tim Scott has kept largely quiet on the culture war and instead focused his efforts on economic issues. He has proven himself an official capable of serious governance. There have been slight alterations in his rhetoric as a Presidential candidate. In ads, he often touches on transgender issues. This, of course, is political strategy. The difference between him and DeSantis is that he also tackles actual legitimate policy and is at least somewhat ideological. It is not unreasonable to believe that he would govern like he does as a Senator. His participation in the culture war is immensely disappointing, but compared to most others, his involvement is rather tame. If this tameness dwindles down into nonexistence, he could be a great breath of fresh air for the Republican Party. His path to the nomination is tough. He could potentially win an election, but adjacent to Haley, he is perhaps too much of an everyman to garner support. Ryan Binkley The Texas pastor is, unsurprisingly, a deeply religious candidate. That is a tenet of his campaign, and much like Pence, that could prove unappealing in modern political waters. He does have an emphasis on unity and civil discourse, but without name ID or political experience, people who want that might not flock to him. Besides, there is distrust that politicians will fulfill such a promise. His qualifications are questionable, a politician should hold some governing office before the Presidency. Doug Burgum The North Dakota Governor, in a shocking diversion from many of his colleagues, has done his job. He is a classic midwestern conservative who has outwardly spoken against the Republican Party narrowing its focus on a culture war. He’s a capabale career politician with fiscally conservative beliefs—perhaps the party’s best selling point in a time when Biden is losing popularity because of his economic policy. Regrettably, Burgum quietly passed House Bill 1254 in his home state, a bill very similar to Kentucky’s Senate Bill 150. These bills are often more localized issues, however, and the likelihood of a reserved Burgum going out of his way to get such a bill through nationally as President is low. He could be a good President, but he has not gained enough traction or recognition as a candidate yet to feasibly achieve that. Chris Christie The former New Jersey Governor and Trump aide is now perhaps Trump’s most outspokenly critical opponent. Christie has many of Burgum’s qualifications, but is much more recognizable. He regularly criticizes Trump by name, possibly opening the door for other candidates to do the same. His policy is conservative and right-of-center, giving him some potential appeal to Independents and even centrist Democrats. He believes in traditionally conservative policies like controlled spending, Reaganite foreign policy like assisting Ukraine, and bipartisan sentiments like ending the failed War on Drugs and focusing on rehabilitation to combat drug abuse. Like Joe Biden, he is remarkably open about his political strategy, claiming that criticising Trump is the only way to win against him. He also often boasts that he was able to govern as a Republican Governor in a largely Democratic State. He could perhaps be the most capable President on this list, but his relative unpopularity and former association with Trump could hold him back. Asa Hutchinson The former Arkansas Governor is very comparable to Burgum, a career politician capable of governance without much name ID who is potentially appealing to traditional conservatives and willing to criticize what the Republican Party has become. Just like Burgum, he has had controversial policies that might stain him for centrist voters that might otherwise be on board with his candidacy, namely his COVID-19 policy, which he later backtracked on. However, unlike Burgum, his major policy shortcoming is no longer relevant to the Presidency, as the pandemic has dwindled down and become a much less prominent political issue. Perry Johnson This midwestern businessman is minimally experienced, and his little experience is plagued with scandal. When he ran for Governor of Michigan, he was disqualified from the ballot due to forging signatures on petitions he submitted for his nomination. He is not politically well-versed and is clearly corrupt, solving no problems for the Republican Party. Francis Suarez The Miami Mayor is a financially unconventional cadidate that champions investment in crypto currency. This approach is not conservative, but it does at least adhere to conservative values of free-market capitalism. He is rather openly pro-LGBTQ, a great sign that departs from most other candidates in his party. His political experience is adjacent to Pete Buttigieg, minimal but existent. Therefore, he has not proven himself capable or incapable of political navigation in the federal government. Vivek Ramaswamy This politically inexperienced entrepreneur is resonating with certain right-leaning circles on the internet. He is young, well-educated, and digitally literate, allowing him to campaign in a modern setting. However, his foreign policy proposals throw him out of personal consideration. He proposes surrendering the gains Russia has already made in the Russo-Ukrainian War to end the conflict. This allowance for ruthless authoritarianism and compensation for war criminals is not only a betrayal of conservatism, but it is wholly and entirely un-American, completely discarding him as a respectable candidate. Larry Elder The political commentator and former Republican nominee for California Governor is just another hotshot focusing on hot takes and the culture war on “wokeness.” Similarly to his priorities, his candidacy doesn’t matter. Will Hurd The Former US Representative from Texas is, like some others on this list, refreshingly unfocused on “wokeness.” His refreshing priorities are summed up best by him: “I wish my opponents would focus their attacks on war criminals like Putin, NOT the LGBTQ community.” Sentiments like this would give him a wide appeal nationally, but in a partisan primary, it is unfortunately a political disadvantage. He is young, but he already has plenty of experience, serving 6 years in Congress and 9 years in the CIA. Though he might not have much of a chance in 2024, Americans will likely see him on the national stage later. Despite doubts expressed throughout this article, nothing can be made of current poll data. Any of these candidates has a possibility of garnering the nomination, some just have better chances than others. Politics are unpredictable, especially in the modern era. After all, not many in 2015 would’ve guessed Trump would be President, and the notion of a President Biden was regarded as unbelievable until 2019. Voting should be informed by research on the candidates and personal opinion, not popularity. By Tyler Wayman I have always struggled with patience, or a lack thereof. I have always felt like I’m going too fast when I ought to stop and smell the roses, which Is why I am a member of the speed walking club. It’s because of this impatience that I’ve missed out on several opportunities in my life. It forms an unwillingness to listen to other people because it takes patience to have empathy. We get so caught up in what we want to hear that we miss what is right in front of us. For me, that’s not spending time with my little brother, or not eating dinner together with my family, or not telling my mother I love her enough.
It hurts to hear someone you love so deeply tell you that you can do better or find more time. It hurts when that person assumes you don’t love them and it makes it harder to prove to them that you do. I saw this impatience play out on the opening day of GSP. I didn’t know how to feel. What I thought was restlessness were just my feelings being shrouded by impatience. I was, like I’m sure many of you were, terrified. I was scared of leaving my family, scared of having to meet new people, and scared of failing. I was ready to pack everything up and go home. It didn’t help that I stubbed my toe the day prior. I was getting impatient, but I stuck it out and I have to say I’m glad I did. All 37,300 minutes at the GSP have been crazy. I challenged myself to go out of my way to take intellectual risks and meet new people, even if I didn’t want to. I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many individuals from across the commonwealth and because of this, I’ve learned a lot about empathy. I’ve realised that without empathy you truly cannot connect with people. My time here has taught me to respect and even value the lives of other people. There is no room for impatience. Shutting someone out, or not giving them a chance, solely because of my selfish behavior, is only depriving me of learning about them, about myself, or showing them I truly care. By Jack Jurjans Most of us men would agree that the notion of being a warrior is sick. We have a thirst for strength driven by relentless testosterone. Many of the fictional and real world heroes we look up to would be considered as such, so why wouldn’t we want to be as well? It is an admirable thing to be a warrior.
The best warriors are not only accomplished, but humble regarding those accomplishments as well. When I was younger, I mistook that humility for denial. Sometimes in my elementary and middle school years, I would feel the need to socially withdraw as my thoughts would fall into a miserable spiral. But I wasn’t depressed. I wasn’t anxious. I couldn’t be. I couldn’t dare compare my problems to that of people who have suffered immensely in their lives. I was depressed. I was anxious. The pandemic taught me that. I fell into the worst depressive episode of my life in the summer of 2020, and as soon as I started to get better, I went through a breakup, and I sank even lower. Needless to say, I cried. I cried a lot. I never really was much of a crier, but when I did I was used to holding those tears back “like a man.“ But that is a weak strategy, and eventually the pain becomes too much to resist. The day I was diagnosed with depression was perhaps the best day of my life. This diagnosis, as well as the medicine and therapy that came with it, meant letting myself be hurt and letting myself be helped. And so recovery came along. Since then, I’ve sunken to levels almost as low, and I’ve experienced more happiness than I knew possible. Life went on. Then, last winter, I assistant directed my school’s production of Footloose. There was toxic treatment and borderline bullying going on in the cast, and I had the power to say something, but I was scared. Eventually, with enough of a push from my friends, I did say something to the whole cast. I was visibly shaking, and though my words were powerful, my voice was timid. I thought it was pathetic. After that speech, the bullying stopped. My teachers remarked how commanding I was. My friends told me how incredibly brave and strong I was. But I was timid. Well, maybe that wasn’t a weakness, instead, maybe it was a strength. Footloose taught me through lyric that “if there’s anything worth a fear, it’s worth a fight.” My fear, my sadness, my love, all of my emotions show that I care. Fear proves a willingness to fight. My tears are a public declaration of war defending what I cry for. Manhood isn’t about fearlessly winning over losing. Manhood is facing your fear, taking your losses, and staying in the fight, like a warrior. By Kaylin Lafferty GSP is a program that emphasises community, so the scholars have no shortages of shared experiences. We share community meetings, showcases, iconic speeches from Bryan, and completly equal housing experiences (as a Northside scholar once said to a Yerkes scholar. May they rest in peace). But just as important is the place where we share all of our meals - Cowan.
Many scholars have described trading home-cooked meals for Cowan food as… an adjustment. People who were used to certain flavors at home must now learn to live without it and sometimes that can cause a culture shock. So to prevent bias, we invited scholars who are quaified to dispense Michelin-star-level food reviews to give their opinion on this week’s menu. And our expert reviewers gave their unfiltered opinion on everything. We asked the critics of Cowan to start the taste-test with the side items, where they gave a vicious breakdown of the available items that GSP scholars have been consuming daily. Bread: “Very gluten-y.” Honeydew: “Bussin.” Bok Choy: “Just a little salty but pretty good even if they mess it up a little. It’s bussin.” Fried Okra: “... Bussin.” Watermelon: “Orange? Why is it orange?” Fruit Loops: "A favorite of mine. I get it all the time. Solid 8/10." Watermelon: “Seriously, what am I eating? Can watermelon even be orange?” When we got to the main course, our reveiwers were harsh but fair as they picked apart the flavor profile with awe-inspiring accuracy, bringing up subtle notes that I, personally, hadn’t noticed. Pork Steak: “It’s okay, I guess. A little dry and not super flavorful but, you know. It’s meat.” Mannacotti: “It’s of average Cowan quality. There wasn’t anything bad about it. It’s just pasta with cheese in it.” Chicken Risotto: “Slaps, as always, but there’s some parts that are a little less mixed so you get less flavor.” After a week of grueling examination, our highly-qualified reviewers ended up with a review that everyone mostly supported with the exception of the fries as one scholar described them as, “The perfect blend of golden brown” while another scholar said they were, “Not curly enough” and still yet other scholars quoted the mind-boggling review, “They’re just fries''. But aside from this highly controversial topic, our experts debated the highs and lows of food at Centre and came up with the simple conclusion: when it comes to Cowan, “It is what it is”. It is undeniable that Taylor Swift fans — or “Swifties” — have a large presence at GSP Centre. There is a devoted club (Swiftie Sessions) with many attendees, which proves not only a presence of Swifties among scholars, but among the RAs who run those meetings as well. Whether it be at a dance, in a club, or even in a class, scholars have all heard some Taylor. So, it is needless to say that the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has been a significant part of the Centre GSP 2023 experience. For the unaware, Taylor Swift has lost her first six albums to record labels, so she is re-recording them so she can take ownership of her music, hence the ongoing wave of “Taylor’s Version” albums. Journalists across teams at the Governor’s Scholars Post have come together to review several tracks on this album, and compare them to their original versions. At 33, there is no denying that Taylor is still young, but she’s not a kid anymore. She was a mere 20 years when the original came out, and her youthful ambition and innocence made up a different Taylor. Now, in the midst of a record-smashing tour who has come off a very successful career with an increasing edge to her music (Reputation, folklore, Midnights), her revised Speak Now carries an altered weight.
Each song’s review is written by one individual, who will be listed. “Mine” ‘Mine’ is one of my favorite songs on the Speak Now album, and I absolutely love how Taylor Swift has rerecorded the song. While still encapsulating the feel of the original song, her voice has matured so much in ten years. It is the perfect song to open the album, as it can be looked at from the perspective of Taylor looking back on her younger self. As always, her songwriting is so impressive; the way she can use her own experience and create songs her listeners relate to shows her care of her fans and ability to connect with them. By Blaire Buford “Back to December” Back to December has always been rare in that Taylor shows deep and sincere regret for how a relationship ended. But when I listened to Speak Now TV, I was shocked by the emotional impact of the new version. Taylor mixes her improved vocal control with the perspective that comes with time and it is clear that this song in particular means a lot to her. The song makes sure to highlight her pitch (which is dead center) and follows the central theme of highlighting her singing, but the sad guitar and purposefully shaky breathing serve to emphasize Taylor’s regret in a way only she can. It definitely did not disappoint. By Kaylin Lafferty “Dear John” Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone. Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with? The girl in the dress cried the whole way home. Taylor Swift never fails to impress the first time around and clearly succeeded the expectations the second time around with this song. A lyrical masterpiece written by a hurt 19 year old girl who continues to be filled with anger 14 years later, and that emotion is still very channeled and obvious for listeners. 6 minutes and 45 seconds filled with passion, innocence, regret, fury, confusion, and pain that Swift nation personally feels within themselves. If you have never given this song a listen I highly recommend playing the 2010 version of Dear John first to see how the person behind the song changes as she matures and how she represents those feelings very differently in both versions. The first song is fresh wounds she doesn’t know how to navigate so she puts those unsettling emotions into a song, as in Taylor’s Version she has dealt with this situation and has moved on, but something at that depth can never truly be all the way healed and she represents that well. Thank you, stream Taylor’s Version. #Mayerisapredator By Makayla Mastin “Mean” Taylor Swift’s BEST SONG (I will die on this hill) is replicated in a rather faithful way, like many of her alternate songs (arguably aside from “Better Than Revenge,” which I’m sure Molly will touch on). The only real changes in Mean are some slight variations in vocal technique, and of course the maturity of Swift’s voice. Many will claim that her mature voice is preferable—a sentiment I would generally agree with—but whether or not it fits the song better than her early voice is a tough question. In the original, you hear an even younger star vulnerable to backlash decide to be the bigger person despite her youth. Taylor’s Version, on the other hand, has some wonderful bitterness to it. This is mostly due to contextualization of the time, but you can also hear it in her voice. The lyrics "all you are is mean and a liar and pathetic” have a twisted vocal flip that wasn’t in the original. I personally think it is awesome on its own merit, and it is one of the many subtle instances of change. Neither is definitively better, it is simply a matter of what mood I’m in, because either way I’m listening to an awesome anthem denouncing the unnecessary unkindness in the world. By Jack Jurjans “Never Grow Up” Never Grow Up hits so hard as a rising senior. This has always been one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs, even though I’m hardly ever able to listen to it because it makes me cry like a baby. I don’t think this version is much different than the original and I don’t necessarily prefer one over the other, but I do think that Never Grow Up (Taylor’s Version) is more impactful and emotional considering that Taylor is grown up now. By Summer Smith “Better than Revenge” One of the most anticipated songs on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was Better Than Revenge. Better Than Revenge is a song Taylor originally wrote when she was 19 about getting revenge on a girl who stole her boyfriend. Throughout the song Taylor is reminding the girl that karma will come back to her, and Taylor will eventually get her revenge. In the more recent years, Taylor has been known for her advocacy for women’s rights. With this came the anticipated question: will Taylor keep her iconic line “She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress” in Better Than Revenge? When the clock struck midnight on July 7th, many swiftie scholars quickly went to listen to Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version) to see if the lyric change rumor was true. With great sadness, all swifties found out that the rumor was true and she changed her infamous lyric in Better Than Revenge. Taylor decided to change “she’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress” to “he was a moth to the flame, she was holding the matches” which has many Taylor Swift fans upset. While Taylor changed these lyrics to match her own personal values at her age now of 33, it takes away from her female rage at the ripe age of 19. Taylor is recently more known for her fantastic writing in her albums Folklore and Evermore, this new lyric she added feels like something from her mature mind that is seen in these more recent albums, rather than what she felt at 19. Regardless, Better Than Revenge is still a fan favorite within the swiftie community, but we may see more listens still to the original version rather than the new Taylor’s Version, solely because the song isn’t as iconic without that lyric. By Molly Brady “Haunted” Haunted has always been an amazing and well-written song by Taylor and it exemplifies her unique ability to combine storytelling with an emotional impact. The strings come in and hit you with movie-like dramatics and when the chorus hits, Taylor almost gives you permission to fall apart alongside her. But years later, Haunted TV somehow has an even bigger impact. The instrumentals are turned down to make room for her vocals to shine and the control is infinitely more impressive. Her breathing and clarity of tone and pitch make it possible for her to belt out the chorus flawlessly with no cracks. And she does not waver or back off throughout the entire song. Haunted TV is an absolute masterpiece and an essential part of Taylor’s new album. By Kaylin Lafferty "Last Kiss" Last Kiss has always been one of my all-time favorite Taylor Swift songs since I was young. It is one of her most intense and vulnerable songs that fully encapsulates the overwhelming sadness many people experience after a breakup. Last Kiss (Taylor’s Version) is no different. Last Kiss (Taylor’s Version) still holds nearly the same emotion behind Taylor’s voice as it did in its original release over a decade ago. Despite losing the shaky breaths in the bridge she still brings her all to the studio and gives us a blast to the past with the rerecording of Last Kiss. By Amber Bean “When Emma falls in Love” When Emma Falls in Love by Taylor Swift is truly a MASTERPIECE. I saw this theory on TikTok that it's about Emma Stone because of the Andrew Garfield quote when he calls her a “shot of espresso” and I’ve accepted this theory as fact now. I want to change my name to Emma. My favorite lyrics from the song are: “She’s the kind of book that you can’t put down; like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town” and “She waits and takes her time; Cause Little Miss Sunshine always thinks it’s gonna rain.” It’s most definitely a top tier vault track and I love it with all my heart. By Summer Smith "I Can See You" At first listen I Can See You doesn’t sound like your average Speak Now song that would be filled with an acoustic guitar or a rock-esqe ambience. But despite the sound itself, I Can See You still keeps true to the more important aspect of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in that it is entirely self-written by Taylor Swift. The song's lyrics speak on the recurring theme of a possible relationship and the small moments two people share, similar to those mentioned in Enchanted, Sparks Fly, and Ours. It is easily my favorite vault song off Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) because of its unique sound and consistency lyrically with the rest of the album. By Amber Bean “Foolish One” Foolish One is one of six vault tracks on Speak Now and it’s one of my absolute favorite pieces. Taylor has gotten (unwarranted) criticism in the past about the number of her songs inspired by old romances. But this song perfectly represents the emotions that come from outside of a romance, especially the delusion of a “situationship”. She comes in with Dixie-Chick-like harmonies in the chorus representing the voices of reason, saying “You are not the exception”. Later, she acknowledges that although the song’s inspiration might want her, he will give his ring to someone else and at the end of the song, she echoes the voices of reason alone, ending the song by literally changing the tune. Foolish Ones is a remarkable story of growth and taking lessons from the tragedies in your life. And it shows a mature, distant perspective on love that fits perfectly with current Taylor. By Kaylin Lafferty By Kaylin Lafferty Polish poker is a game that has little to do with poker and nothing to do with Poland. But this does little to take from the fun of the game or the importance of its origin. This specific card game has been circulating slowly around the GSP community for years and the scholars helping it spread this year will gladly share how they learned it from GSP alumni.
But the card games craze doesn’t stop there. All across campus you can find games of ERS, rummy, solitaire, UNO flip, dutch blitz, speed, kings in a corner, and more. So many connections have been made through late night games of cards in the Northside lobby. A huge percentage of scholars now carry a deck of cards for their friends. And even if some of these games have more of a tradition at GSP than others, the idea of hanging out and playing cards has become so ingrained in GSP culture that it barely matters. Without our phones we were forced to adapt. When we can no longer pass time with our phones, we talk to people, and we continue to meet more new people until staying locked in a dorm to check social media is anti-social behavior. The general consensus is that being a scholar means being social, which often means cards. There are cards in Cowan, the game room, the basements and lounges of dorms, and anywhere scholars spend their free time. There are points scored, acts committed of both betrayal and friendship, and grudges that get created (and settled). It gets intense. And people notice, as seen in the soccer kid that asked to play cards with my group; no, we did not know him. This is how our community has chosen to develop. As a space where anyone can join in on a card game and find a lifelong friendship, or even just a break from soccer. And the resulting bonds can be seen in faces (of both Kings and scholars) throughout Centre.
By Summer Smith Photo Credits to Yessenia Barajas I’m a scholar, so obviously I like to do scholarly things- like read - and it would never occur to me to nap away my 50,400 minutes of the GSP experience. It would never take me over two weeks to read a 250 page book because I’ve almost always decided to nap instead of read. That is simply not what a scholar should do. So, because I’m such an avid “reader,” I know the best places to “read” on campus. And because I’m so generous, I will share. They are as follows:
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