Academics

Heidi Specht • Nov 28, 2018 •8:06 pm

Tearing Down Language Barriers, Building Cultural Bridges

I sit down at an outside table at Easton Cafe, with a hot coffee at my side and a beat-up notebook in front me. Maren, an exchange student from Germany, arrives a few minutes later for our German lesson. “Hallo,” she says to me, “Wie geht’s dir?” “Mir geht’s gut,” I respond. “Und dir...

Caitlin Joyce • Nov 27, 2018 •10:30 pm

Centering Myself at the Won Temple

When I read on the syllabus that my Anthropology elective, “Myth, Magic, and Religion,” required students to do a field study at a local religious practice, I knew I wanted to visit the Won Buddhist Temple here in Glenside. In the past few years, I have had a growing interest in Buddhism, as I...

Lashanna Bryant • Nov 12, 2018 •11:06 am

Arcadia Ventures to Prison

I believe that college should be a time for students to get together, despite their differences, and discuss social issues openly. Arcadia offers many courses and programs that align with this idea, but one, in particular, sparked my interest:  “Inside-Out from the Outside-In,” a class that’s...

Justin Tai • Oct 30, 2018 •3:21 pm

Small Island, Big Dreams

“I don’t care what you want to be, just make sure you graduate from college.” I didn’t know how to feel when my mother said this. I was motivated, but the responsibility felt overwhelming. As I imagined my future, I knew that if I stayed on the little rock I call home (Guam), I would...

Kathryn Jones • Oct 29, 2018 •1:08 pm

Major Joy for a Music Minor

Music was my first passion. I grew up in a creative environment that allowed me to sing and play instruments from the time I knew how to talk. I was in choir and band since it was offered at my school in third grade, and I took every other opportunity to perform throughout my school...

Jessica Derr • Oct 25, 2018 •2:43 pm

‘The Nun Is in Over Her Head’: A Conversation with Sister Helen Prejean

Growing up Catholic and enduring years of CCD, I had an established view of nuns in my head. They were habit-clad, solemn-faced, steely-eyed women, ever ready to put a finger to their lips and shush if someone even looked like they were about to speak in mass. Also lingering in the back of my mind...

Jessica Derr • Oct 8, 2018 •4:48 pm

Gateway to Teaching

In the beginning of my college experience, I had many interactions with well-meaning, usually older relatives or family friends that played out like:     “What are you majoring in at Arcadia?”     “English.”     Then would come every English...

Caitlin Joyce • May 14, 2018 •10:48 am

Finding Inner Peace with Invisible Illness

When one thinks of the phrase “coming out,” usually the first topic that comes to mind is sexuality. However, there are multiple aspects of one’s identity than can be difficult to talk about, elements of ourselves which are not often visible to those around us. These identities can incorporate a...

Shubhechha Dhar • May 9, 2018 •10:34 am

Surviving My First-Ever Yoga Class

Spring break is the most awaited week of the spring semester. While everyone went off to London, Greece, Paris, and many more amazing places, I, on the other hand, did yoga. One of my Journalism assignments for spring break was to write about an activity that I’d never done before. As yoga...

Shivani Mansharamani • Apr 10, 2018 •12:45 pm

1968: Revisiting an Unforgettable Year of Rebellion

1968. It was a year of chaotic revolt against authority: division and disruption at the Democratic National Convention and the nomination of a pig for President of the United States; the Prague Spring and consequent occupation of Czechoslovakia; the Tet Offensive; the assassination of Rev. Dr....

Jessica Derr • Mar 27, 2018 •11:38 am

My ‘Small School’ Experience

Before I got to college, movies and television had instilled in me an image of how classes were conducted. Dwarfed before a lecture hall swamped with students, a single professor would drone on, flipping through slides of their PowerPoint. This professor would not know if a particular student...

Shubhechha Dhar • Mar 9, 2018 •10:57 am

Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

When I used to hear my name being called on in class to answer a question, my face would flush red. My chest would tighten up and breathing seemed like the most difficult thing to do. I feared that I would be judged, criticized, and evaluated based on what I said. And when the professors said...