Staff at the Center for Multicultural Initiatives Speak on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Oakland University’s campus

By: Makaila Gaston

Staff at Oakland University’s Center for Multicultural initiatives share information on their office as well as their thoughts about how diversity, equity and inclusion is being handled on OU’s campus. 

Lightening The Load: How Oakland University Is Making College More Affordable

Evan Fisher

College is painfully expensive. Based on Oakland University’s cost of attendance spreadsheet for 2022-2023, the total cost is over $60,000 for four years without including books or housing.

 According to usnews.com, their report shows that the average cost of tuition alone is over $39,000 for four years.

Colleges offer ways to help out with the cost of tuition and books through scholarships, but the process for applying for them can be challenging. 

Oakland University students share feelings about their privacy and social identities

By: Makaila Gaston

When it comes to human interaction, it’s difficult to always know the best approach to take, especially when it comes to matters of intruding in others’ personal lives. Curiosity is generally seen as pure innocence but, is this always the case? Even as society moves to a space of increased liberation and tolerance, personal feelings of privacy when it comes to inquisition should continue to be considered.

Nine students, who wish to remain anonymous, on Oakland University’s campus were asked a series of questions surrounding their feelings about privacy when it comes to their social identities.

These students were initially asked if they were comfortable sharing what identities they self-identify as. The students willingness to speak shows that they have a level of comfort with the topic and is important to note in the results.

The potential impact of student loan forgiveness

Arianna Heyman

Photo courtesy of the New York Times.

Student Loan Debt has become a crisis in the United States of America. Currently, the cumulative federal student loan debt is at $1.6 Trillion for the 45 million borrowers across the country. 

As Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan is being contested in the Supreme Court (SCOTUS), students across the country are waiting on bated breath for a decision. 

According to Nicole Belk, Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at Oakland University (OU), nearly half of the student populus has student loans from the federal government. 

Student Financial Services remark on Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan

Arianna Heyman

On February 28, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), began hearing oral arguments regarding President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan. 

The plan, which would relieve qualifying college students thousands in student loan debt has been a hotly contested issue. 

After the plan was implemented,  the Biden administration received multiple lawsuits from republican led states and loan service providers such as Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). 

My experience learning virtually this year

By William Jones

Photo/American Psychology Association

The 2021 winter semester was part two of a virtual learning experience for myself and other students. Along with virtual learning, there is emotional stress for students wanting normality at Oakland University. 

The year was different, with guidelines being stricter to students having lesser hybrid classes. It feels like a prison with students questioning if they could see their friends in person. 

Anxiety, loneliness, depression, and other mental illnesses create a barrier that students are vulnerable. Stress is the main factor of the negative emotion with homework and other responsibilities at home that trigger depression. 

Virtual learning through my perspective

By Samantha Sayles

Most college courses remain virtual due to the pandemic. There’s no telling when college education will transition back to normal.

I have attended Oakland University for four years. The past year has been vastly different with  more online learning. Before the pandemic, I took online classes in the winter to commute less in the snow. 

Online classes were different then—they were asynchronous. It was easy for me because I could go at my own pace as long as I turned in assignments by the end of the week.

Oakland University students share life experiences with hearing loss

By Cayla Smith

Alyssa Polizzi, Senior

Alyssa Polizzi, senior Biology major, discusses her experience losing her hearing and embracing the challenge as time went on. (Photo/Alyssa Polizzi)

Alyssa Polizzi wasn’t born with hearing loss, but was admitted to the NICU because of a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, this occurs when the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen, fails to close in prenatal development. The opening allows the contents of the stomach, intestines or liver to move to the chest, affecting the growth and development of lungs. 

To treat the secondary problems because of this, the medicine she was prescribed, unfortunately burned off inner ear follicles.

“We didn’t know this until the end of first grade, when I showed signs of not being able to hear the teachers properly,” Polizzi said. “I was yelled at a lot by the teachers when I’d get out of my seat and go up to them so I could read their lips better. By second grade, I finally got hearing aids.”

Understanding anxiety and how to cope

Photo/Cayla Smith

By Cayla Smith

This past summer I had a series of really bad panic attacks — the worst they had ever been. I was in a constant state of anxiousness, and I had at least 30 panic attacks over the course of two weeks. 

Panic attacks can drape you with tears, fatigue, loss of appetite and a pain in your chest that makes you feel like you’re dying, even though you don’t know what that feels like. 

There was one panic attack — in particular out of the thirty— where I thought it would  land me in a hospital bed. My heart rate would not go down, I couldn’t breathe no matter how many breathing exercises I tried so hard to do and I couldn’t figure out what was making me have such an uncontrollable panic attack.

Sign language interpreter challenges and tips

By Katie Rockett

A sign language interpreter stands beside Governor Whitmer during a press release in July 2020. Sign language interpreters have gained visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic due to frequent updates and broadcasts. (Photo/WLNS News) 

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, many jobs shifted online. Some careers had a tougher transition than others based on the nature of the job, including sign language interpreters. 

The importance of interpreters is often ignored by members of the hearing community, but the pandemic has brought new visibility to the field. 

According to the Frontier, political announcements have frequented the news this year, and next to the speaker is often a sign language interpreter. The key difference is that they are not off to the side like they would have been at in-person events and speeches.