The wind rustled through my freshly curled hair as the moon hid behind dense clouds. Leaves had piled up on the porch in crunchy mountains, neglected by my roommates and me. The wood of the deck stair was cold as I sat, staring at my barren backyard, clutching a crystal goblet with the most childish…
Once upon a midnight dreary, while one Corvus corax flew near me, I saw the common raven’s empathic core. A bird adorned for night, a cryptic healer made for flight, misunderstood due to forgotten lore. Distinctly, I remember one Dec. 10th grade, when I first read Poe’s prose. His poems are dense and dark, his…
Every weekend, the house is alive. Kegs are tapped, pong balls bounce and music blares so loud that the night ends with a noise complaint. This is the frat guy’s natural habitat. He thrives on it: the cheers after a perfect shot, the drunk flirting, the sense that he is always in the middle of…
Feminist empowerment has become the anthem of womanhood. We wear it on T-shirts, tote bags and it’s embedded in our vocabulary. We’ve been told from a young age to be independent, ambitious, self-loving and untouchable. But lately, as I sit across from girlfriends who are top of the class, creators and changemakers, I can’t help…
Nannopterum auritum – the double-crested cormorant – is an aquatic bird native to nearly all parts of North America and can be found year-round in Rhode Island. Although rarely seen on the Kingston Campus (but certainly not unheard of), they remain an ever-present fixture at the Narragansett Bay Campus; home to the Graduate School of…
There is a chill in the air this time of year, a kind of eerie feeling that covers itself over campus like fog. The days get shorter and the nights stretch longer. Everything feels more electric. Maybe it’s the way the air turns crisp, or how the moon lingers just a little too long. Watching,…
Tenodora sinensis – the Chinese mantis – is an invasive mantis species found in Rhode Island and up and down the East Coast of the United States. These ambush predators eat just about anything they can get their hands on, including other mantises during copulation – a quirk of ecology that has captured the fascination…
Casual sex was supposed to be just that — casual. No strings or feelings, just two people doing their thing and walking away like it’s just another weeknight. But as I’ve learned, casual is never that simple. It sounds freeing. No expectations, no pressure, just pleasure on your own schedule. The promise of casual sex…
Situationships — relationships that are more than friends but less than committed partners – have become increasingly common in today’s dating culture. They offer flexibility, freedom and the illusion of closeness without the responsibilities of a traditional relationship. But beneath the surface of casual texts and occasional dates lies a deeper social dynamic: men often…
Larus delawarensis – the ringed gull – is a medium-sized shorebird common in most parts of North America. In modern times, ringed gulls are just as common in large parking lots as they are on the coast. This, however, was not always the case. Most people in the lower 48 and the more temperate parts…