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(04/15/21 12:30am)
This is an opinion article. Any views expressed belong solely to the author and are not representative of The Cluster.
Right now, a group of Mercer students is trying to charter a chapter of a Christian fraternity called Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) on our campus. Mercer cannot allow this to happen.
On the surface, there seems to be nothing wrong with allowing BYX into Mercer’s Interfraternity Council (IFC). According to their purpose, BYX exists to “establis[h] brotherhood and unity among college men based on the common bond of Jesus Christ.”
As our long Baptist heritage indicates, Mercer has a large Christian presence on campus. We also have a robust IFC program consisting of eight fraternities that exist to “promot[e] scholastic achievement” and “provid[e] for social, recreational and civic activities” among their members. BYX therefore seems to comply with the goals of both Mercer as a whole and IFC specifically.
However, a cursory Google search of the organization quickly reveals the reason Mercer cannot allow BYX to charter a chapter on our campus: the fraternity has a long history of openly discriminating against the LGBTQ+ community.
For example, before a member can join the fraternity, he must sign a statement agreeing to the organization’s Honor Code. As recently as 2014, this agreement stated that “the organizational position of BYX is that we believe sex is a gift of God to be enjoyed only inside the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. Therefore, we forbid such activity as fornication, adultery, and homosexual conduct.”
Furthermore, not only does this overt homophobia exist at the organizational level, but individual chapters also perpetuate this hatred against their own members. For example, current and former members have allegedly had their membership revoked at BYX’s Vanderbilt chapter simply for being gay. And this behavior is not unique to Vanderbilt - similar accusations have been made against chapters at other schools, such as the University of Oklahoma.
As part of Mercer’s student life, fraternities and sororities are expected to contribute to Mercer’s “community of respect.” Their role on Mercer’s campus is unique. In my experience as a member of a Panhellenic sorority, fraternities and sororities at Mercer are generally less elitist and more welcoming than their state school counterparts. Mercer’s Fraternity and Sorority Programs (FSP) consists of a large number of students of color, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Indeed, Mercer Campus Life has clearly made a concerted effort to distance itself from the negative associations people often have with fraternities and sororities. For example, if you go on any Admissions tour, you will learn that Mercer has FSP, not Greek Life. If someone is interested in joining the FSP community, they don’t rush, they go through recruitment.
These small changes highlight a larger trend in the Mercer administration’s overall attitude towards fraternities and sororities. They are eager to show how our school’s FSP community is different from the toxic organizations that are leading some to call for universities to “abolish Greek Life.” By rebranding our Fraternity and Sorority Programs, Mercer’s Campus Life draws a line between our university’s “community of respect” and other schools’ communities of elitism, racism, homophobia, sexual assault and substance abuse.
Since this is the case, how can BYX contribute to this “community of respect” when they openly discriminate against fellow students and members of other sororities and fraternities on campus? How can Mercer allow an organization to join IFC, a council that includes members of all sexualities, when this same organization promotes hatred of gay men?
Mercer must not allow BYX to join our campus. It is not important whether or not the individuals who hope to charter this chapter are openly homophobic. What matters is that they are supporting an organization that fundamentally opposes members of our Mercer community as a whole and FSP members specifically.
If Mercer wants to justify the continued existence of FSP in a time when universities across the country are answering the call to abolish Greek Life, they must take a hard stance against the toxic traits associated with fraternities and sororities. If Mercer’s administration allows BYX to charter a chapter on campus, they are essentially admitting that they only care about FSP’s image, not its actual behavior.
Hate has no place in our university or our Fraternity and Sorority Programs, and neither does BYX.
(03/07/21 5:00am)
Like many college students, my food budget is somewhat limited. So when Instant Pots first started getting popular, I was skeptical. They cost between $50 and $100, and I couldn’t see them being very useful. I assumed that it would just take up the already limited space in my dorm.
However, after seeing hundreds of Instant Pot recipes on Pinterest and reading articles about how useful they were for busy workers and college students, I finally caved and got one last year. Now, after owning my Instant Pot for over a year, I can’t believe I ever thought it would be useless.
The Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, but it’s also so much more than that. It can pressure cook, slow cook and saute foods. It works on a timer system, which means to pressure cook or slow cook your food, you just have to set the amount of time and the level of pressure you want to cook it at.
Instant Pots are great for any college student because all you need to do is find a recipe and throw in the ingredients, and you’ll have a delicious, healthy meal in an hour or less. You can also set the Instant Pot to stay warm after it finishes cooking your dish, which means you can put in the ingredients in the morning and come home to a tasty meal after a long day of classes.
While an Instant Pot is not cheap, I believe it makes up for its cost by saving money in the long run. For example, I usually use my Instant Pot to meal prep enough food to eat for the whole week. This helps me cut down on my food costs because I can buy ingredients in bulk for a lower price. It also keeps me from being tempted to eat out because I know I already have food waiting for me in my dorm.
To show how versatile and useful an Instant Pot is for college students, I decided to try three Instant Pot recipes.
Cauliflower Tikka Masala
For my first recipe, I wanted a safe option, so I decided to try a meal-prepping recipe. I followed the instructions for an Instant Pot cauliflower tikka masala recipe, heading to class with the confidence that a delicious meal would be waiting for me when I got back.
The recipe didn’t quite turn out according to plan. First, my Instant Pot was flashing the “BURN” message. Apparently the recipe didn’t have enough liquid in it, so my Instant Pot had shut down to prevent itself from overheating.
I felt a little better when I released the steam valve on my Instant Pot and a mouth-watering combination of spices filled my room. How could anything that smelled that delicious taste bad? After tasting a bowl of the tikka masala, I was delighted with the results. The recipe had made me a week’s worth of tasty dinners.
Soy Yogurt
I knew from the “Yogurt” button on my Instant Pot that it was capable of making yogurt, but I didn’t understand how.
After doing a bit of research, I found a recipe with comprehensive instructions on how to make Instant Pot soy yogurt. As the recipe instructed, I whisked together plain soy milk and a small amount of store-bought soy yogurt and set my pot to cook for 12 hours.
The next morning, I opened my pot unsure of what to expect. To my surprise, there was a big bowl of yogurt waiting in my Instant Pot. While it wasn’t as thick as store-bought yogurt and needed to be sweetened before I could eat it, it was much cheaper than the store-bought kind and made enough for me to eat all week. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the yogurt had turned out.
Brownies
For my final recipe, I decided to go completely outside my comfort zone and try an Instant Pot baked good. The concept of cooking cakes and other baked goods in an Instant Pot had always confused me. Why use an Instant Pot when it’s just as easy to bake dishes in an oven?
However, after seeing so many Instant Pot dessert recipes around the Internet, I wanted to see if I was missing out. Clearly other people liked baking in an Instant Pot, so I knew there must be some appeal.
Brownie recipe in hand, I mixed together the ingredients and poured them into a cake pan. Next, I covered the pan with foil and placed it on a trivet above some water in my Instant Pot. I didn’t have very high hopes for my pressure cooked brownies, but I was again pleasantly surprised by the results. As the recipe had promised, the brownies were moist and fudgy.
While I won’t be completely replacing all my appliances with my Instant Pot, I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried some fun new recipes this week. If you’re going to be making some or all of your own meals as a college student, an Instant Pot is a great way to make endless amounts of cheap and delicious recipes.
(02/09/21 5:00am)
I have always been fascinated by TikTok chefs. The 60-second video limit means the dishes come together in an instant through the magic of time-lapse videos and jump cuts, and I can’t get enough.
This week, I decided to move from just watching TikTok recipes to actually trying some. Here are three TikTok recipes you can make from the comfort of your dorm.
Recipe 1: Tortilla Triangles
For my first recipe, I began with a trend I’ve seen all over TikTok this month. I was most excited to try this recipe because it is so versatile. The concept is simple.
Take a tortilla, and fold it in half twice. Next, unfold your tortilla, revealing four equal quadrants. Take a knife, and cut your quadrant lines, then fill each section with your fillings. I decided to go for a Southwest-inspired tortilla. My four ingredients included refried beans, salsa, kale and avocado. However, I saw countless fillings on TikTok, including a variety of sandwich meats, cheese and condiments. After you fill your tortilla, follow the lines of each quadrant to fold it. You should end up with a thick triangle stuffed full of your ingredients of choice.
Now, you’re ready for the best part: cooking it. Like the ingredients, TikTok shows countless ways to cook these tortilla triangles. I decided to cook mine in a pan with some oil, but you can cook it in a panini press, waffle maker or even your dorm microwave. This recipe is the perfect thing to eat between classes because it is cheap, easy and comes together in just minutes.
Recipe 2: Gigi Hadid’s Pasta
While my next recipe didn’t start on TikTok, it did become popular due to the platform. This viral pasta recipe comes from a video Gigi Hadid posted on her Instagram story, but it has been recreated in countless TikToks. Technically, this recipe should be made over a stove, but you can just as easily make it in your microwave for a slightly classier twist on instant mac and cheese.
First, cook the pasta you plan to use. I used regular spaghetti noodles, but you can use any kind you would like. Next, prepare your sauce by heating a little olive oil, garlic, green onion and red pepper flakes over a stove or in your microwave. Then add a quarter cup of tomato paste and half a cup of heavy cream to your sauce and cook it all together. Technically, you’re supposed to add a tablespoon of vodka to your sauce at this point, but I left out this step (dry campus!), and it tasted just as delicious.
Recipe 3: Whipped Coffee
This iconic drink, also known as dalgona coffee, dominated my For You Page during the early months of quarantine, but I had never actually made it until now.
To make it, you whisk together two tablespoons each of instant coffee, sugar and hot water. You then add your delightfully fluffy coffee to a cup of milk and ice.
Unfortunately, as a college student, I don’t have access to the hand mixers I saw in most of the TikToks I watched. Instead, I tried to whip together the three ingredients by hand. After 10 minutes of whisking, my fingers felt like they were about to fall off and I was no closer to getting the famous coffee fluff. Despite my best efforts, this recipe turned out to be a failure. Unless you happen to have a hand mixer in your dorm, I would stick with Starbucks for now.
Despite my coffee fail, I still loved my week of trying TikTok recipes. My dishes might not have been as picturesque as the TikTok videos I was following, but they tasted just as delicious. Now that I’ve learned TikTok recipes can be recreated with the things I have lying around my dorm, I’m definitely going to try the next one that comes across my feed, and you should too!
(02/01/21 4:17am)
Like many people, I deal with my pandemic anxiety by crafting. 2020 was the least predictable year of my life, but I’ve never made so many sweaters and earrings. So far, 2021 seems just as turbulent as last year, so it’s a great time to pick up some new artistic hobbies.
Whether you’ve been knitting since you were a kid or you don’t know the difference between macramé and macaroni, artistic hobbies are a great outlet for stress. With the popularity of video platforms like YouTube and TikTok, it’s never been easier to start crafting. After a trip to Michaels and a quick YouTube search, you’ll be ready to start any of these fun, easy and inexpensive artistic hobbies from the comfort of your dorm.
Crochet
As the countless crochet TikToks prove, this craft is absolutely having a moment right now. The crochet hype is completely deserved because this artistic hobby is a great way to have fun making something beautiful and useful. For around $10, you can get a crochet hook and a ball of yarn, which is all you need to get started. I recommend looking up FlotjeTops and crochet.it.aint.so for beginner tutorials and inspiration for more advanced projects.
Crochet is incredibly versatile, so you can make scarves and hats using the same technique you use to make rugs and stuffed animals. For the environmentally-conscious crafter, look up tutorials on how to make your own yarn out of plastic bags or old t-shirts.
Knitting
Knitting is crochet’s slightly less trendy cousin, but it’s equally as fun and easy to get into. Like crochet, all you need is a set of knitting needles, a ball of yarn and a YouTube tutorial. One benefit of knitting is that you can start with basic skills and work your way up to advanced techniques, such as knitting complicated cable patterns into your work. It’s a great artistic hobby for people who like setting goals because you can track your development as you learn new techniques.
Macramé
After you’ve finished your first knitting or crochet project, you might be wondering what to do with your leftover yarn. Macramé is a great way to use up those remaining skeins. All you need for this artistic hobby is yarn, something to tie it on and a string to hang it on the wall when you’re done. You can buy a real wooden dowel from a craft store for a polished look, or you can find a clean stick outside for a more rustic feel. If your dorm is overflowing with houseplants, you can also find plenty of tutorials on how to create easy macramé plant hangers to maximize the light in front of your window.
Embroidery
If yarn crafts aren’t for you, embroidery is a great artistic craft that still produces something you can wear or hang on your wall. You can produce beautiful pieces with just some colored thread, an embroidery hoop and some fabric. While embroidery takes a long time to produce results, it creates beautiful works. Look up design inspiration on Pinterest and make something to hang above your bed, or get creative and embroider some of your jeans for a unique outfit.
Jewelry Making
If there’s one good thing to come out of 2020, it’s the rise of novelty earrings. During lockdown, turning household items into jewelry motivated me to get out of bed in the mornings. Like many of the other hobbies listed in this article, jewelry making equipment is inexpensive and easy to find at any craft store. To start this artistic hobby, try turning tiny items around your dorm room into earrings or make fun wire rings to wear around campus.
Sewing
While setting up an entire sewing machine in your dorm might be a little impractical (and would probably get you a few noise complaints), hand sewing is a great alternative for any college student. You can find a small traveling sewing kit at almost any dollar store, Walmart or grocery store. You can also find fabric at a craft store like Joann or Michaels, or you can repurpose one of the many free t-shirts you probably have in the back of your dresser.
Like many of the other crafts in this article, sewing is incredibly versatile. While sewing an entire outfit by hand might be a bit much for your first project, there are countless easy Internet tutorials for beginning sewers to make small items like reusable face masks.
(08/29/20 2:11am)
This is an opinion article. Any views expressed belong solely to the author and are not representative of The Cluster.
To be honest, I shouldn’t have to write this.
Like many Mercer students, I was nervous about coming back this semester. On our campus, around 4,000 people eat, sleep, go to class and spend their remaining time within a quarter square mile of each other. How could anyone hope to social distance in an environment like that?
As I thought about the precautions I would need to take on campus—making masks, buying disinfectant cleaner, planning how I would eat without coming into close contact with other students—the thought of parties never crossed my mind. Who could think about partying in a time like this?
Clearly, I underestimated the selfishness of Mercer students.
To a certain extent, I am sympathetic to my fellow students because they are simply mirroring the behavior they see in authority figures. It’s not as if Mercer’s student body is acting completely out of touch with our larger community.
Mercer’s own administration has been disturbingly casual about coronavirus safety through their decisions to continue activities such as Bear Beginnings. Our school made its freshmen eat meals together inside the Fresh Food Company or Farmer’s Market with members of their O-Groups before receiving negative test results, so I understand why students could think this kind of behavior is acceptable.
Expanding the scope of our community even larger, we can see that this unconcerned attitude towards the pandemic comes from even higher authorities. With a governor who attempted to sue Atlanta’s mayor for instituting a mandatory mask policy and a president who refused to wear a mask for months after every leading health organization in the world recommended them, it’s understandable why Mercer students feel they don’t need to worry about the virus. That message is being spread like its own disease at every level of authority, from our school administration to our state governor, all the way up the chain of command.
So, again, I understand why it’s tempting for Mercer students to believe this narrative. It would be wonderful to live in a world where we don’t have to worry about the virus. Personally, I’m already making a list of everything I want to do when this all goes back to normal. But unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in now. We can’t make the pandemic disappear just by pretending it’s not there. Spending time in large groups without masks or social distancing is only going to make this situation worse.
Across the country, schools are shutting down because the rate of infection on their campuses has exceeded their expectations. If Mercer does shut down for the semester or go temporarily online, it won’t be entirely the students’ fault. There’s only so much we can do when we come into contact with such a large number of people every day simply because we live on a college campus with 4,000 other potential carriers. However, we need to take responsibility for the parts of our lives we can control. We need to think carefully about who we are choosing to expose ourselves to.
In my opinion, people who are going to parties and large gatherings right now are incredibly selfish. They don’t seem concerned about the possibility of spreading the virus to immunocompromised or otherwise at-risk students, faculty, staff and all their families. They only seem concerned about “missing out” on their college experience.
If thinking about other people isn’t enough to make you stop partying, do it for yourself.
Thousands of college students are at home right now because their colleges or communities couldn’t keep the virus under control. To any Mercer students who think avoiding large gatherings is no way to spend your time in college, imagine how much worse it would be if you couldn’t be on campus at all. Do you really want to spend another semester Zooming from your childhood bedroom because you couldn’t resist going to a party?
Or maybe you don’t care about being sent home. Maybe you plan to party while you can and count on the fact that if you do contract the virus, you’ll likely be asymptomatic. Unfortunately, that’s not a guarantee. While the majority of people our age who contract the virus experience mild symptoms, 20-year-olds have needed ventilators whose only preexisting condition was thinking they were invincible. There are previously perfectly healthy college students who are now dead because of the virus. Is that a risk you’re willing to take?
Mercer students, if you’re selfish enough to go to parties and host large gatherings right now, please be selfless enough to stop.