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Features

Ana Jabur and Isa Papa

Should We Read Terms and Conditions?

5/13/2025

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By: N. Jannuzzi
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Every time we download an app, buy something online or even sign up for a website we are all asked to one thing: Agree to the Terms and Conditions. However, most of us don’t hesitate and continue to scroll through those endless paragraphs and click on “Accept” and continue doing whatever we are doing. Nevertheless, have you ever stopped to wonder “What exactly am I agreeing to?” 
So why don’t we read them? 
 Let’s be honest, many of us do think they are quite boring, as they are rather long, confusing and full of complex legal terms. We also quite often make the mistake of trusting these companies, but maybe by reading this article you might change your mind. 
You may not believe it, however some companies have tried to sneak ridiculous clauses into their own Terms and Conditions! Some examples include Amazon’s Zombie Apocalypse rule. Amazon once had a rule in their game software terms and conditions, stating that all rules would be lifted if a zombies took over the world. It was meant to be a joke, however it quickly raised concerns about legal documents and its relevance to people. Another example was made by a store called Gamestation, and in one of their legal documents, they stated a rule that was that anyone buying agreed to give their immortal souls, it was supposed to be an April Fool’s Joke. Yet, many felt threatened. Finally, many companies have recently tried to add in their terms difficult cancellation polices, which tend to aim in an older public who might have some difficulties with that.  However not all companies used these Terms for bad: a company once wrote in their terms that anyone that was using their Wi-Fi, would have to perform a good deed, such as giving someone a compliment etc., and many did! A company also offered free money to whoever read their terms.  

Companies have been known to hide those ridiculous, sneaky and unfair clauses to their legal terms. Some might do them as a joke like you can see in the examples stated above. However, even though it might be boring and sending a message of no harm, it’s always good to read those Terms & Conditions and keep an eye out to avoid real consequences and serious issues. 
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Why Naps should be Socially Acceptable for Adults

4/24/2025

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By: I. Krakowiak

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Why is it that naps are totally acceptable for kids, but once you hit adulthood, suddenly a midday snooze is "lazy"? Let’s be real: naps are elite, and they deserve way more respect. In fact, a short nap can be the secret weapon to productivity, creativity, and just being a functional human being.

Studies show that even a 20-minute nap can improve mood, memory, and alertness. But despite the science, there’s still this weird stigma. You're either "not working hard enough" or "wasting time." Meanwhile, overworking is what is expected of you and feeling absolutely drained all the time is becoming normalized. Truth is, our bodies aren't meant to be active 24/7. Naps are a natural energy reset. Instead of fighting through the post-lunch slump or zoning out in front of a screen, why not just take 20 minutes to reboot your brain?

And let’s not act like naps aren’t the coziest thing ever. Curled up under a blanket with the afternoon sun peeking through the window? Bliss. In a perfect world, every workplace would have a nap room, and nobody would judge the person who dips out for a power snooze. Napping isn't lazy — it's self-care, and honestly, it should be celebrated and embraced in adult life, because everyone needs a rest break throughout the day!

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eBook vs Print Books

4/23/2025

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By: S. Gebara

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As the world evolves and technology advances, the nostalgic smell of a brand-new book becomes just that—a memory. The comforting feeling of flipping through physical pages, watching your progress unfold, or holding a book that’s been weathered by time is becoming less common. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
 
In fact, it’s a sign of progress.
 
While printed books will always have their charm, eBooks offer something arguably more powerful: accessibility, convenience, and sustainability. In a society where we carry the world in our pockets, why shouldn’t our entire library fit there too?
 
Whether you’re on a train, waiting at the doctor’s office, or lying in bed at 2 a.m., your favorite stories or textbooks are just one tap away. There’s no need to carry around heavy books or make a trip to the library—just download and read.
 
Let’s be honest—lugging around three or four textbooks is no small feat. With eBooks, you can carry thousands of pages without breaking your back. The practicality is unmatched.
 
Personally, I’ve found eBooks incredibly handy when I’m bored. It’s almost effortless: I just unlock my phone and there it is—a book waiting for me. No need to remember to pack it. No worrying about bookmarks. And on the plus side, I’ve been able to hit my reading goals much faster.
 
Beyond convenience, eBooks are eco-friendly. Each digital download means one less tree cut down, less ink used, and fewer carbon emissions from shipping. And if you’re like me and your bookshelf is overflowing, eBooks are a guilt-free way to keep reading—without adding to the clutter.
 
Of course, the love for physical books is timeless—and rightly so. But in an age where time is short and the world moves fast, eBooks aren’t just a substitute—they’re an evolution. Just as vinyl and Spotify can co-exist, so can paperbacks and pixels.
 
One doesn’t cancel out the other, it enhances the reading world for all.

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Why #BookTok is Overrated

4/23/2025

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By: A. Lotufo

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If you’ve heard of the popular names Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Holly Jackson, and Lynn Painter (and maybe even read some of their books) – you are probably on BookTok. Of course, these authors have proven their excellence by being awarded various prizes; but they’ve also trended on TikTok immensely. The hashtag #BookTok, with almost 53 million videos under it, has been known for motivating people of all ages (especially teenagers) to finally pick up a book and get into reading. Parents and teachers should be happy… shouldn't they?

However, the disadvantages of BookTok are clear – and it sometimes might even be dangerous. Many children (despite the company’s guidelines) tend to have access to TikTok. With BookTok being one of the most dominating topics on the app, children are sometimes exposed to books which are targetted to much older audiences. This is partially due to the YA (young adult) genre. These books are mainly for people which are 12-20 years old, which presents a large issue. At 20 years old, not only are you an adult, but you also have a lot more maturity to be able to read books which elaborate on major, triggering topics (such as domestic violence).

There have also been various complaints about the fact that not all books have age-ratings, making it extremely difficult for parents to monitor the reading material of their children. Moreover, many books are being criticized for their lack of trigger warnings. Many books which are constantly trending (which have no age-rating) have topics which could trigger not only a young community, but many adults. Now if there is no age-rating for these books, nor trigger warnings, children on BookTok and parents might not be aware of the emotional and intense themes present. 
 
So, is BookTok overrated? There still is the need to address many of its problems – but the TikTok platform has also drastically increased the amount of teen readers; that is extremely beneficial and positive for stress-reduction and concentration. Moving forward, the normalization of age-ratings, trigger warnings, and more specific sections (instead of the broad range of ages that YA genres include) can help create a more specific target audience for each book to allow people to still enjoy their favourite #BookTok books. 

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The Modern Art Week of 1922

4/8/2025

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By: L. Roschel
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The Modern Art Week of 1922 is often celebrated as a groundbreaking event that revolutionized Brazilian art, literature, and culture. However, despite its legendary status, the event was not entirely embraced by everyone. Indeed, many contemporary critics, modern observers and upper class-men who visited museums hold opinions that challenge the popular narrative surrounding the movement. 
The event shocked part of the population and brought to light a new vision of artistic processes, as well as the presentation of a “more Brazilian” art. This is because there was a break from more academic art, contributing to an aesthetic change and the Modernist Movement in Brazil. Mário de Andrade was one of the central figures of the Modern Art Week of 1922. He was alongside other organizers: the writer Oswald de Andrade and the artist Di Cavalcanti in addition to Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti and Zina Aita. 
The impact was so aggravating that some reports of the time suggested that audiences reacted negatively, with some openly mocking the presentations, protests and even attempts to commit artists to mental hospitals due to the fact they deviated from the norms of society at the time. This alienation led some to question whether the event did more harm than good in promoting modern art in Brazil. Rather than inspiring the public, the movement created a greater divide between traditional and modern artists.
Brazilian Modern Art involved the absence of formalism, a break with academicism and traditionalism, criticism of the Parnassian model, the influence of European artistic avant-gardes (futurism, cubism, dadaism, surrealism, expressionism), the valorization of Brazilian identity and culture, and nationalist and everyday themes. The new art explored during the 13th, 15th and 17th of February caused even more strong emotions in the audience. For example, on the third day the theater was emptier, there was a musical performance with a mix of instruments, performed by the Rio de Janeiro native Villa-Lobos. The musician went on stage wearing a tailcoat and a shoe on one foot and a flip-flop on the other. The audience booed, thinking it was an insult, but it was later explained that the artist had a callus on his foot.
These artists together transformed in just three days the concept of art that was defined at the time and what Brazilian Art meant. They were insulted, mistreated and humiliated, however they never stopped going after what they believed in, further enriching our culture with magnificent works with their controversial, unpopular and debatable opinions.
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Finding Great in the Everyday

3/28/2025

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By. O. Astor
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We all talk about the many great inventions, discoveries, and ideas women have brought into the world. From Marie Curie and her discoveries of the elements radium and polonium to Amelia Earhart who was the first person to fly non – stop across the United States - we’ve all heard of them. So, for this month, I wanted to take time to talk about some lesser-known women who have all made important contributions and invented simple, everyday things we take for granted. I hope this article will be as surprising and interesting as I have found writing it.
First up, the hairbrush! Lyda Newman was a black American inventor and hairdresser. She was frustrated with the design of the hairbrush available in the 1890s. They were all made with animal hair, leading to poor hygiene, low durability, and cleaning difficulties. Furthermore, they were too soft and fine to treat the thicker texture of African hair. Newman proposed using synthetic fibers and an openable compartment in which you could easily discard all the gathered dust and hair after each use. This meant hairbrushes were cheaper to produce, and easier to manufacture. While this may not seem so important, her design is used as the basis of all hairbrushes today and changed the hair care industry to be more inclusive of different ethnical hair textures.
Next up, windshield wipers. Now that’s something I know we all take for granted. In 1903, Mary Anderson was stuck in traffic in New York City. It was snowing, and her taxi driver had to keep getting out to clean the window. And so her idea was born. She proposed a lever inside the vehicle which controlled the spring-loaded arm connected to a rubber blade. This would remove rain or snow, and, as cars became more common, her invention was adapted to fit different models. She made driving safer, easier, and more practical.
And lastly, the chocolate chip cookies we all know and love! Ruth Wakefield was a nutritionist and an enthusiastic baker. She and her husband ran a small inn called Toll House Inn. Wakefield managed the cooking and menu of the inn, and, overtime, Toll House Inn became known for its simple yet uniquely creative dishes and especially, their desserts. The inn started with seven tables but were soon serving more than sixty.
Wakefield and her cooking assistant were experimenting with different variations of pecan drop cookie dough, however, Wakefield felt there could more interesting variations. She planned to add plain no sweetened chocolate drops to the mixture to serve when welcoming new guests. However, when she started to bake them, she discovered she was out of plain bakers’ chocolate, and so resorted to using her only option: Semi – Sweet Nestle bars. She chopped them into small bits and sprinkled them around the dough. At first she believed they would melt too much and spill out into the dough mixture, but instead she found they kept their shape and became the warm, melty, and gooey treat we love. Soon after, she and Nestle made a deal in which her recipe could be printed on the back of Nestle chocolate bars, in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate.
I hope this serves as a reminder that you don’t need to be a scientific genius to make a huge difference in the world. Whether it be a simple cookie recipe that makes someone smile on a bad day, or a hairbrush that makes your morning routine just that little bit easier – small things make a huge difference. Women consistently throughout history have demonstrated this through creativity and perseverance, and so, maybe all of us can try to be a bit more like them.
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The Ideal Body

3/28/2025

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By: A. Lotufo
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“[The designer] took one look at my body and kind of snickered and laughed”, Australian model Sarah Stephens says in a Vogue interview, while opening up about a casting when she was only 17. Beauty standards change from decade to decade, from country to country, and even from app to app. But what we don’t notice is that beauty is different from person to person – and these standards are not only unrealistic, but unhealthy. 

73% of teenage girls aged 13-17 feel self-conscious about their bodies. While many may argue that these numbers simply relate to hormones, social media is definitively a factor. On social media, teens are exposed to a variety of bodies, and when they see people that fit the “standards”, people may begin to question their own looks. Social media is often promoting unrealistic methods to lose weight, gain a certain body shape, build muscles and more. Moreover, editing images create a false perspective on how bodies can look. 

Girls tend to experience more self-consciousness, because the unrealistic standards are often set by how men portray women. And as social media rises, videos which promote specific body types can go viral, and once you begin watching these videos, your mind goes down a spiral. People might start to question if their bodies are “good enough”, if their bodies are beautiful, and so on. This spiral only continues as consequences escalate. Many teens experience eating disorders (like Anorexia and Bulimia) due to pressure to lose weight. Depression rates are increasing – people compare themselves to social media standards and therefore immediately begin to question their worth. Body dysmorphic disorder is also a major factor – a disorder where you excessively focus on your appearance and body. These consequences are largely due to social media and the variety of information we have access to (which is not always true!) 

These standards of beauty have been around for a long time – from Marilyn Monroe and her “perfect attractiveness” to nowadays supermodels and their weight, like Bella Hadid. These body standards will only worsen if we continue to promote them; they are constantly worsening our quality of life. Beauty is subjective – and women’s figures are not things to be compared. To avoid this worldwide situation from escalating any further, don’t follow people online that make you feel bad about yourself, and never judge or compare people. Be kind always – beauty standards change, which just proves how fake and unrealistic they are. 
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Should Anyone be Praised or Vilified?

3/28/2025

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By: M. Gilchrist
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History books are all full of important men who have changed the world: Napoleon, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton. However, could any of these figures have gotten to where they are today without women?

It is crucial to remember millions of women who are not written about. The women who cooked for their families, organized their household and mothered their children, all were part in enabling the men to build the theory of relativity, antibiotics and even create the telephone. They are the forgotten members of society whose contributions are just as valuable as any person whose name lies in a history book.

Is it important to recognize that human developments are not achieved by individual men or women but are built by many characters working together for the benefit of society. During this week and all our lives, it is crucial to acknowledge all humans equally.
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Should we study the past through the prism of individual men whose names populate the history books, or should we learn the waves of evolution that have run through time. Would the Second World War have been avoided had Hitler died at birth? Or was it because of the social and economic circumstances of the time? A single mark in history must not be pointed at an individual and instead be seen as a collective buildup.
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Beyond the Battlefield: Women's Invisible Work in History

3/27/2025

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By: P. Rizzi
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History loves to shout the names of generals and kings, to spotlight its loudest voices... It builds statues for conquerors, writes books about their battles, and teaches their strategies in classrooms. These men are remembered and praised for generations, yet, behind every gun fired, every code cracked, and every battle won, there was a woman whose name we were never taught. She remained in the shadows, unseen but essential.   
Most of us can name several male war heroes present in history with no hesitation. But how many women can you name who helped win wars or who, as the men, made huge sacrifices? Five? Four? Maybe less. That's not your fault- after all, it’s how history was written. But just because their names aren't in our textbooks doesn't mean they didn't shape history, and it most certainly doesn't mean that we can just ignore them.  
This article is about those women. The ones who worked in silence and fought for a future that forgot them. From the cloistered rooms of Bletchley Park to the fields of the Eastern Front, these are the women who kept history moving while no one was looking. 
At Bletchley Park in England, countless women worked tirelessly during WW2 on one of the most critical missions of WW2: breaking Nazi codes. Women made up almost ¾ of the staff and many of them were central figures in the deciphering of the German Enigma code. Among them was Joan Clarke, a extremely talented mathematician and cryptanalyst who helped break the enigma code alongside Alan Turing. Her story appears in The Imitation Game, though the film only briefly explores the profound importance of her real-life contributions. She, along with thousands of other women helped shorten the war by what is estimated to be 2 to 4 years- saving millions of lives.  
Yet their work has remained largely underappreciated- not just because it was classified for security reasons, but because history simply wasn’t written to celebrate women’s achievements. 
Women also played a  key role in the world of espionage, with some becoming the most fearless and effective agents in war. Often overlooked due to their gender, they used society's assumptions to their advantage. Sexism allowed women spies to move unnoticed, gather key intelligence and lead critical sabotage missions. Among the many extraordinary women were Nancy Wake, known as the “white mouse”, who became one of Gestapos most wanted spies for her resistance in France, and Virginia Hall, a top OSS (the American intelligence agency and predecessor of the CIA) agent, who, despite having a prosthetic leg, built vast underground networks and repeatedly evaded nazi capture.  
 These women risked everything- not for glory and recognition, but because they knew what was at stake. And no, they weren't just supporting players- they were vital to the fight. 
While most women worked behind the scenes, others took their fight directly to the battlefield. Nowhere was this more visible than in the USSR. While most Allied countries banned women from combat, the Soviet Union took a different approach, recruiting many women to fight on the front lines in WW2. These women served not only as nurses but as snipers, pilots and tank drivers.  
Lyudmila Pavlichenko, is a prime example amongst the numerous women who served. She is one of the deadliest snipers in history, with over 300 confirmed kills, she has become a powerful symbol for the Soviet Union. Equally heroic were the Night Witches, an all-female bomber group who flew old wooden planes in low-altitude night raids. Their missions were so dangerous that many flew without parachutes (because the added weight could mean death). But they did it anyway, again and again, with extraordinary precision and unimaginable courage. 
These women were not exceptions. They were part of a larger, invisible army of women whose strength, resilience, and intelligence helped shape the outcome of the war. From the skies over Eastern Europe to the rooms at Bletchley Park, and the resistance networks of France, women were not just helping from the sidelines- they were holding the entire war effort together. 
Today, several institutions and leading historians openly acknowledge that women’s roles in wartime have been underrepresented- not because their contributions were insignificant, but because history was documented through a male-dominated lens. For decades, the stories of women who worked, fought, and sacrificed were left out or kept to the margins. But as these stories are finally being uncovered and told, we have a chance to rewrite the narrative- to recognize that women were essential to history. ​
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Women's Literary Disguises

3/26/2025

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By: V. Srur

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George Elliot, George Sand, Currer, Ellis and Acton;  What do all these names have in common? 

Above are women who wanted to be in the field of literature in the 18th century and had to pursue drastic measures to fulfil their desire to publish any form of article or book, which is something that should not require authorization. These names above represent not just writers but are used to disguise some of the best female literature representatives there ever was!  

Most women back then would disguise themselves by writing under a male pen name or publish their work anonymously to avoid gender bias, to increase chances of acknowledgement. For many, it was not to break free from preconceived gender norms, but instead to express themselves in other ways in society at the time viewed as inadequate, so for women to break free of the stereotypes of women’s lack of intelligence and culture, disguising themselves as someone who is usually respected in society would give them an advantage in the selection process to be published.  

Here follows some facts about each author which did not have to persevere through inequality, but did and became successful: 
- Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, more widely known as the French novelist George Sand, authored countless novels and short stories, becoming a literary icon in nineteenth-century Europe. She adopted the pen name "George Sand" to gain credibility in a male-dominated literary world, this allowed her to publish her works without the prejudices faced by female authors of the time. Her works often featured strong, independent female characters who defied societal expectations. 
 - Mary Ann Evans, also known as George Eliot was a major figure in Victorian literature, known for her realistic and psychologically insightful novels. She brought a new level of intellectual depth and moral complexity to the English novel. She adopted the pseudonym to avoid being stereotyped as a female writer. Experiencing the same obstacles as her predecessors, at the time literature by women was still dismissed and ultimately domestic. 
- Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë all became celebrated authors, beginning their careers using the names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. In 1846, they published their first volume of poetry under these names. The sister is known for writing classics like Jane Eyre and Withering heights. The Brontë sisters knew that female writers wouldn't be taken seriously, and might even be criticized by society. After, sending their poetry to the Poet Laureate Robert Southey, Charlotte received a response letter saying, 'literature cannot be the business of a woman's life.' Which made them ultimately consider hiding under male names. 
​
Use them as an example to when you feel you need empowerment to write freely. Their story resulted in this way so women globally can now feel comfortable in writing freely without hiding under pages!

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