There are very few traditions that show American pride more than camping around a hole in the February cold, awaiting a clueless groundhog to predict the weather for the upcoming six weeks. At least, that’s the case for fans of Punxsutawney Phil, the unsung hero of weather predictions in the United States and arguably the most well known of all the weather-predicting animals. Although cute, it is time to move on from a groundhog predicting the weather — or at least time to elect a new mascot. 

Those of us who are familiar with the sporting world are also familiar with the immense impact of the recent retirement of Tom Brady from the NFL. Even those who are unfamiliar with the sporting world are likely familiar with the weight he carried in the sporting community. You do not have to love sports to know Brady's name, and this is because the culture surrounding athletes encourages hero worship on a level that goes beyond the world of sports to permeate the entire sphere of popular culture.

The pandemic affects everyone. Many people have lost their jobs and have had to depend on unemployment checks to ensure they can continue to buy food and pay rent. However, earlier in the pandemic, rent prices were relatively low, and there was more leeway for those who needed to pay rent — everyone was struggling. However, now that fear of the pandemic is lessening and vaccine rollout is in full swing, the leeway that renters experienced over the past two years is gone. Rent has been continuously increasing, and as a result, people are beginning to lose their homes or are forced to downsize in order to continue to afford their necessities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had resounding effects on all of us to varying degrees. Some people have experienced the profound loss of someone close to them, while others have lost their job or their home. It’s hard to quantify just how much this virus has taken from us, but one thing is certain: It’s affected our mental health as a nation.

Former President Donald Trump presents as a law-and-order candidate amid his reelection campaign, but few instances during his time in the office or the year following his defeat have supported this claim. In the last few months, Trump has continued to demonstrate his complete disregard for the rule of law time and time again.  The rule of law is vital to a well-functioning democracy because it maintains order and holds everyone, including the president of the United States, accountable. In America, no one is above the law, not even the president. Laws are not meant to be bent or blatantly ignored just because a president thinks they can, and in doing so throughout his four years, Trump eroded the rule of law in America perhaps more than any American president in the past.

It’s been almost two years since the pandemic hit America and changed modern life. Nothing has been the same since those fateful days in early March. And I, for one, am sick of it.  It would be one thing if progress were happening — Maybe I could understand if cases were going down. But they’re not. Cases are higher now than they’ve ever been.

Words are powerful; they always have been. Revolutionary texts like Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” are integral to the founding of the United States. There’s a reason that freedom of speech is the very first amendment to the Constitution. In a day of prevalent social movements and political events, it is expected that everyone has an opinion on everything. And, of course, differing opinions are good and beneficial for democracy. With anyone able to get a Twitter account and say whatever they want, the internet is constantly flooded with more words than anyone could ever read. The constant expectation for people to speak up about everything, however, is harmful. 

Teachers in schools across the country are begging their respective school boards to better follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. This plea is often overlooked by school boards, and there are still few harsh mandates being placed on school districts despite the growing rate of COVID-19 cases.  After reading this the question about why so many different counties have different mask mandates and also about the way that so many people use their freedom of speech to fight against these mask mandates when they are there to protect everyone including those against them.

In recent years, the internet has become a hotbed of misinformation. In 1710, Jonathan Swift mused that “falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.” Three centuries later, and this quote still rings true, especially on social media platforms where the truth often goes unchecked by the everyday user. COVID-19 plunged us face-first into an era that exacerbated this issue even further, giving rise to misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, the coronavirus itself, ostensible treatments like Ivermectin and ultraviolet therapy, mask sentiments and more.

Following the emergence and sustained spread of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, our nation has been hit with a slew of complex issues stemming from the deadly disease. No issue has been more prominent and dangerous than the spread of COVID-19 misinformation that has seemingly become common practice for attention-seeking media personalities across the country. Two years into this unprecedented health crisis, it seems that many among the media have taken it upon themselves to act as self-declared medical experts. There are no two better current examples of this than Fox News host Tucker Carlson and immensely popular podcaster Joe Rogan.

Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. Two columnists debate the...

If you go into a hospital in order to get a medical procedure, such as surgery or even cosmetic surgery, the government never seems to ask questions or discuss the legality of receiving such procedures. Abortions, however, have multiple federal and state laws regulating them, and legislators frequently try to push back to ensure people cannot receive abortions without meeting specific criteria. Why is this the reality? Why are the choices of a person who wants to end a pregnancy — regardless of the reason — questioned by the government before they can even begin the process?