GLAMOROUS GETAWAYS ON A BUDGET

by: vivian yang | design: samantha fuss

Welcome to college. The place to experiment your identity, make unforgettable memories, and meet your life-long friends…or whatever. Your time on campus will feel like a blink of an eye. Here, you are going to meet people that make you fall in love with life and the ones that make you question everything you’ve ever known. Here are a few special characters you will meet at Syracuse University.

1. The Day Ones

Think orientation buddy or the first person you met in your freshman dorm. You guys went to the dining hall together for the first time. You guys depended on each other for everything in those beginning stages of adjusting to college. They usually turn out to be the people you trust the most on campus…or you move on and forget about them after two weeks—no shame in going down either path.

2. The Campus Celeb

They are the talk of the town (the town being Syracuse, NY). Every time their name comes up, the whole room will have stories to tell. They walk through campus with an unmatched flair. Their calendar is packed with facey events, but they are choosy with their presence. Even when they have a pair of shades on, every passerby will do a quick five-second stare. 3. The Strictly In-Class Bestie

Your schedule aligns with theirs perfectly. You always sit next to each other and do projects together. You exchange stories over the weekend when the professor isn’t talking. They make Mondays feel like Sunday mornings and ease the pain of monotone professors. But once you walk out of that classroom, you guys go back to different worlds.

4. The Roommate from Heaven

Woah, shockers, some people love their roommate. These people respect your boundaries and space, just as they expect you to do so as well. They allow you to be yourself at home and never comment on your decisions and actions. They are not afraid to speak up and deliver clear communication. And, most importantly, you guys know how to have fun together.

5. The "Sleep When You're Dead"

Even if no sign of life is left on their face, their body will still be at the dance floor. They will most definitely roll their eyes at you or send you a text, “I will drag you by your hair out tonight,” when you tell them, “I think I might stay in.” They are the life of the party, and they seem to bring out the wildest version of yourself.

6. The "one"

They made you believe the scenes from The Notebook are true. You imagined spending the rest of your life with this person. They are your best friend; you have never felt like this with anyone else. Sometimes, it works out; sometimes, they are just the “ones” that taught you how to love yourself more.

7. Trust Fund Baby

If you are sitting behind them in class, they are most definitely adding just one more thing to their shopping cart, so their total adds up to a thousand dollars to qualify for free shipping. Their dorm room looks like an ad for Dormify, and their entire personality tells you where their hometown is. The point is Trust Fund Babies rock.

8. The Irish Goodbyer

They live by the fact that they are independent and probably will do whatever it takes to convince you that they are “cool.” They seem to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. You can never fully get a hold of them, and in a heartbeat, they have left the party without leaving any trace of evidence they were ever there.

9. The Lifelong

You went through hell and back, and finally, you met your lifelong. This person will always pick up the phone no matter the circumstances. This person lights up when you walk into the room and is your best friend. They showed you what a true friendship looks like, and everything feels easy when you’re with them.

This list can go on and on…and on. College is the time to meet people that make you look at the world in a different light and recognize the beauty of it all. It will take endless laughs and countless tears, but soon, you will realize you have found yourself while finding your people. Lately, our news platforms and social media feeds have been overloaded with current events, political propaganda, and attempts at spreading awareness of injustice through reposted content. It doesn’t take a genius to comprehend that our country, “America the Great” (or not so great, recently) has been struggling to overcome some tough obstacles: the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the immense amounts of gun violence all over the country, and the lack-of-fact in the news. All maintain an avid media presence and many opinions across multiple platforms.

As females (or feminists) it is difficult to know where we fall in all of this – where can we let our voices be heard – and even more importantly, where can we be taken seriously? With the clear lack of female leaders and politicians (as compared with men of course), it’s nearly impossible to see that our presence is vital to a political and news-educated society. And by the way, these statistics are confirmed as Pew Research centers confirms the 117th Congress (most recent congress) has a record percentage of women, with 27%. Only 27%, and that’s a record! Where is our representation? UGirl is here to clarify that there is a place for women in politics and that we are not only welcomed, but needed. The first step in figuring out our female identity in the political world is staying up to date and not feeling guilty or unwelcome sharing our opinions because they matter.

We know the stigma: girls are too emotional to be a part of politics. Girls are too sensitive and politically correct, and we’re ‘know it alls’. Girls conform to certain beliefs to impress a crowd and don’t have their own opinions, like men do. It’s time to end these stigmas and know our worth. If you know what you’re talking about, then it’s badass to educate our male counterparts. As said, hot girls stay up to date in the news. You can develop your independent female political identity by catching up in your freetime. There is so much out there to explore and learn, and many sources to gather information from. We recommend reading or watching from both sides of the political spectrum and keeping an eye out for inaccurate news reporting, which is an unfortunate and realistic risk in the media nowadays.

Secondly, in order to explore your political identity, you have to know your rights as a woman in this country, and know our history. Although the feminist movement has made significant strides in the effort to end sexism in all corners of society, it is still a present issue. Even moreso, we’ve seen this reflected in many of our states, which have quickly made access to services like abortion difficult to access or simply unattainable.

Acknowledging that we as women are inherently disadvantaged in the political world is vital to fueling the anger we should feel, as well as pushing us to make our own difference in the world because of the strong female voices we have.

Knowing your stuff is hot, and so is using your voice to talk about it. Women need to use their voice to make a difference because the feminist point of view is so important, especially now. Now it’s time for you to start your own journey of feminist political identity exploration because this country needs your opinions.

Exploring 0ur Female Political Indentity