Gun control is one of America’s most politically divisive topics and a point of contention at all levels of conversation, from informal student discussions to legislative battles. Second Amendment purists tirelessly aim to protect the right to bear arms and have spent nearly two years blocking a vote for universal background checks.

If you want to go viral on YouTube, a popular way to do it is by filming college admissions results. In YouTuber Kyle Tsai’s video, which garnered over two million views, he films his reactions to various application results from 23 of the top universities in the country, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and more. Fortunately, Tsai achieved incredible success in the college admissions process and is currently attending Princeton. However, the admissions strategies exhibited in videos like these damage the college admissions process and illuminate a dangerous truth about Generation Z’s extreme focus on success.

If I mentioned a movie released this year that had higher gross earnings than blockbusters like Thor: Love and Thunder, Elvis and Lightyear, I’m sure people would be shocked to hear that Minions: Rise of Gru was the movie in question. The Minions movie was an incredible commercial success and it paved the way for the Despicable Me franchise to become the first animated movie franchise in history to gross four billion dollars. This comes as a shock to teen and adult viewers, though, as this prequel to a spinoff has nearly nothing to offer in terms of a deep, thoughtful storyline.

A common political archetype for students at UM is the self-proclaimed “socially left, economically right” individual. Many students believe in socially progressive values, such as access to abortion, gun control and LGBTQ+ representation, but don’t voice the same support for the economic policies that would bring those ideas to fruition. Economic and social values are inextricably intertwined, and the disparity in ideals only serves to impede social progress.

“Quiet quitting” essentially means compartmentalizing one’s work and life. Those embracing this concept go to work, do their job and return home to engage in a far more fulfilling home life rather than continuing to do their job outside the office.