CULTURE

For over fifty years, the beloved character of Hello Kitty has evolved from merely being a simple design to becoming the mascot for one of Japan’s largest entertainment companies. Being a timeless phenomenon, the design has had the ability to consistently charm audiences and serves as a nostalgic figure that inspires contemporary media and trends. As a brand, Hello Kitty uses a blend of cuteness, distinctiveness, and specific marketing strategies to show the intersectionality that can be formed between mass consumerism and online communities.

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Snacks and candy are a staple of our lives. We grew up eating these foods, and for a lot of us, this has not changed. People usually have a  select few go-to snacks. Are you into sweet chocolate, spicy chips, or sour gummies? —  Your favorite snack says a lot about you, whether you realize it or not!

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One of my favorite pastimes is setting down a blanket in a quiet park and scattering a plethora of craft supplies, a few snacks, and a speaker to keep me and my friends company. Nothing compares to watching my visions come to life through homemade jewelry and painted trinket dishes while being brought closer to my friends through a social outing that helps us all explore our imaginations. This gathering is what me and my friends call a “craft picnic,” and the crafts I've made at these picnics have acted as a creative outlet to me for years. 

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In 2024, Monica Barbaro played Joan Baez in “A Complete Unknown,” the Bob Dylan biopic.  However, Dylan wasn’t the main discourse in response to the movie. Joan Baez has been the topic of discussion; where is the major motion telling of her life? Rather than receive that, we ended up with another Dylan movie to add to the pile. However, Baez’s life is truly a marvel — she is a woman that pushes the limits on music and social justice. She attended civil rights marches where she would sing and protest, created her own anti-violence cause, and always spoke her mind in pursuit of human rights and social change. 

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When women enter a traditionally male-dominated space, there is a subconscious feeling of difference. It is a typical human experience to feel the need to blend in with the given environment, to camouflage. Whether for safety or the natural desire to conform, femininity is seen as a weakness when put into a space encapsulated by masculinity. However, femininity is not a weakness, but rather a show of resilience for those who utilize it.

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20-year-old Alyssa Lee is an artist and entrepreneur working and living in Springfield, Missouri. She is a tattoo apprentice at Dreamland Tattoo company, under mentor Maddie Bates, and recently started tattooing clients. Lee’s journey as an artist has been a long one. Growing up, her whole family loved art, her mother specifically was an art teacher, which fostered a highly creative environment in her home. Lee has said on her Instagram and TikTok that she can’t pick a favorite art medium, which is evident through her featuring creations of all kinds.

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In a world of so much violence and unrest, many people forget about the ideas of peace and justice. Many don’t know that we don’t need to live in a world full of nuclear weapons, inflated military budgets, and mass displacement of communities.

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For generations, women have been carrying the weight of the world, literally and figuratively. From societal pressures and household responsibilities to physical objects and emotional labor, women have to juggle it all. They do so, often without recognition, without compensation, and sometimes without even being thanked. This strength, though admirable, is born not from choice but from necessity.

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By Mikayla Buneta

This is not the first time you’ve heard we’re in an age of overconsumption. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest thrift stores, overrun with briskly out-of-style trends, lovingly made with 100% synthetic polyester. Although supply is at an all-time high, demand starts to dwindle once the hype ends. Perhaps scattered about your apartment are six or so Sonny Angels, longing for their mother’s attention. 

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So picture this, you’re getting ready for the first day of classes and notice you will be heading off campus, to a different campus, one called Brick City. Once you arrive, you come to a cluster of brick buildings right in the heart of Springfield, laid out in front of a set of train tracks. You certainly weren’t expecting to be traveling that far from the dorm on the first day. You realize the people around you are all there for the same purpose: this is the arts campus. How exciting, it’s so diverse and so playful, everybody there wants to express themselves through creativity. Fast forward to the end of the semester, you’ve spent countless hours at Brick City, logging who knows how much studio time. You register for the next semester’s classes and realize, I’m going to be here for a while.

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Creating a cost-effective bouquet only requires a few supplies. You will need scissors, something to fasten the stems together such as string, tape or rubber bands, a vase or wrapping paper, and an optional supply of ribbon. 

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I’ve been stressed — I’m sure many of you have been, too. Between student debt, deadlines, trouble with family or friends, and the general state of the world right now, it can be hard to find moments of peace. Oftentimes, I want so badly to just escape and get away from it all. As Paul McCartney so aptly put it “I want a horse, I want a sheep, I wanna get me good night’s sleep, living in a home in the heart of the country.” But I’m not Paul McCartney, and I’m pretty sure you’re probably not either. We can’t afford to just up and move out to a farmhouse, and leave it all behind. That’s why we play Stardew Valley.

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It’s no secret that to make an impact as a new artist in the music industry, you need to be smart about cultivating your sound to be new yet classic, revolutionary but appealing, and personal but not too preachy — an impossible standard that few have the ability to come close to.

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The album “Girl” was created by the artists Coco & Clair Clair in 2024, making this their third album. The two artists met through mutual friends on X, formally and widely known as Twitter. Since then, they have become a triple threat bringing in bits of light electro-pop, hip-hop, and rap into their music.

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Due to how our society currently functions, growing up queer is inherently an unconventional experience. Because information about the LGBTQ+ community is so stifled by many political and religious groups in powerful positions, a large number of queer children grow up without access to knowledge about this part of themselves, leading to feelings of emptiness, uncertainty, and even shame. This is why queer media is — and always has been — so important.

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“Elliott Smith used his melancholic existence to craft intimate lyrics that reflect the complex existential qualities of life. In Søren Kierkegaard's philosophy and Elliott Smith’s music, there are two ways of living: the aesthetic life, which seeks pleasure above all else, and the ethical life, which lives for the greater good. Yet both paths carry emotional despair — they are pain in the extremes and even more so in the indecisions. The answer, however, lies in simplicity: Happiness is found in lowering extremes. Elliott Smith’s album “Either/Or” grapples with these probing questions, exploring the delicate balance between these two ways of living.”

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Maya, aka @Stolenbesos on Instagram, is a 20-something-year-old photographer gaining traction on the internet and social media for her “lobotomy-chic” photography. She recently worked with Emma Chamberlain, taking photos of her lying on the ground, fridge, and staircase of an abandoned building as she sported Adidas Japan Shoes.

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The rise of muscle cars, sports cars, and luxury sedans during the 80s and 90s wasn’t just a cultural phenomenon; it was a statement. Cars like the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and Dodge Charger defined entire generations, becoming symbols of youth, rebellion, and a unique American spirit.

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This is just one of many examples on how literature has acted as a voice for women and feminist movements for thousands of years. Through the ages, authors such as Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Roxane Gay, and Margaret Atwood have all made feminist contributions through fiction and non-fiction writing, and women’s literature has always been closely connected with women’s activism.

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