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Space — frequently described in religious, historical and mythological contexts as physical extension of heaven and the divine — is something humanity has always sought out to reach. But that trip comes with many perils and dangers, so much so that you might question if it’s reasonable to make that journey at all.

“Risk! Risk is our business. That’s what this starship is all about. That’s why we’re aboard her,” said Gene Roddenberry from Star Trek.

In terms of scale, the dangers of space travels are, quite literally, out of this world. NASA has categorized these lethal risks into five core hazards: space radiation, the physical distance from earth, microgravity and gravity changes, isolation and confinement, and hostile closed environments. Astronauts are exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation from galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events, drastically increases the long-term risk of cancer. Astronauts also experience accelerated muscle atrophy and bone loss, cardiovascular deconditioning and vestibular disruptions that cause motion sickness and balance issues upon returning to a gravitational field. They also are prone to sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression and interpersonal friction with their crew mates due to being in such a confined spaced for long periods of time.

Not to mention, the training and preparation the crew does before launch is grueling. The crew will spend hundreds of hours in exact vehicle mockups learning to operate all onboard systems and executing mission procedures. Instructors routinely introduce emergency malfunctions. In preparation for spacewalks (EVAs), astronauts spend roughly 10 hours underwater in massive facilities like the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) wearing weighted, pressurized spacesuits to stimulate microgravity.

However, one might say that not traveling would be a missed opportunity for humanity. Not only due to the educational value space travel provides, but also to its tendency to surmount social hurdles and restrictions. Spaceflight has historically shattered gender barriers in STEM, inspiring diversity and leadership at a global scale by shifting public perception of female capabilities. Like when Soviet cosmonaut and doctor Valentina Tereshkova flew in 1963 and Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, dismantling the pervasive social narrative of the time that physically and mentally demanding careers were exclusive to men. “A bird cannot fly with one wing only.” Dr. Tereshkova said. “Human space flight cannot develop any further without the active participation of women.”

Another example of space travel enabling social progression is NASA’s “hidden figures,” which were brilliant African-American female mathematicians and engineers that worked for NASA during the Jim Crow era. The intense pressure NASA faced to beat the Soviet Union during the “Space Race” forced the agency to leverage underutilized talent, enabling these “hidden figures” to transition into pioneering roles in computing, management and engineering. And this shared effort required to win the “Space Race” led to further equally, with black and white women being permitted to work together in the same integrated offices.

“To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage, single-handed, in an unprecedented duel with nature—could one dream of anything more?” Said Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to orbit Earth.

The most recent major spaceflight taken place was NASA’s Artemis II crew to the moon. This flight successfully launched on April 1, 2026, sending four astronauts around the Moon and returning them safely to Earth by April 11, 2026. It was a very significant historical moment, as it the first crewed flight to leave low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972 and marked the first woman, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, to travel into deep space and journey around the moon.

Space travel serves as an inspiration to the entire world, As the crew witnessed the far side of the moon, the entire world was watching them from below. What’s most captivated viewers was the humility and emotion spoken by four astronauts speak about their experience. This flight marks a historical and inspiring moment for us all, as their words remind society that this otherworldly and remarkable mission was accomplished by people like you and me. “I found it really refreshing to see how people have followed the mission,” says Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen of NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. “What I have seen has brought me more joy and more hope for our future.”

So while space travel might not be the safest thing in the world (haha), its merit to society is undeniably potent, both for social progress and inspiration. “If you can’t take love to the stars, then what are we even doing?” Said Amit Kshatriya, NASA Associate Administrator.

College football used to be about staying loyal to one school. Players would commit, grow, and finish their careers in the same place. Now with NCAA Transfer Portal, things have changed. Players can leave and join new teams much easier, and that has had a big impact on the game.

On a college football team, a jersey used to mean everything. When a player chose a school, it felt like a promise something that would last for years. However, that promise isn’t staying the same. With the transfer portal, players now have the chance to leave one team and join another whenever they feel it’s the right move. The transfer portal created by the NCAA, allows college athletes to enter their name into a system where other schools can recruit them. “This means that we are now living in a world where more than 25 percent of all the scholarship football players in FBS are entering the portal annually!” This phenomenon has given players more freedom than ever before. If they are not getting playing time or feel like they don’t fit, they can find a better opportunity somewhere else.

This change has helped many players. Some athletes who were once overlooked have transferred to new schools and become stars. It gives them a second chance to succeed and shows what they can really do. However, the transfer portal has also changed how teams are built. Instead of only recruiting high school players, coaches now look for experienced players in the portal. Teams can improve quickly but adding new talent, sometimes rebuilding their whole roster in just one season.

At the same time, this can hurt smaller schools. They may develop a great player, only to lose them to a bigger program. This creates an unequal system where stronger teams can keep getting stronger. When I interviewed a person he says that he feels like “the transfer portal has improved and helped college football.” He also goes on to say that “bigger schools can build their teams easily and be more competitive against other teams.” The last thing he said was that “this can help the fans be able to be more engaged with the team and the players that are on the field on Saturdays.”

Another impact is the loss of team chemistry. When players are constantly coming and going, it can be harder for teams to build strong connections. Fans also find it harder to follow players when they don’t stay at one school for long. Now with players transferring from different school have less time to adjust, which can lead towards miscommunication and inconsistency on the field. It also affects leadership, since experienced players may leave and new ones may not be ready to step up right away. While the transfer portal creates more opportunities, it can make teams feel less stable and connected.

The transfer portal has completely changed college football in ways we never thought it would. It has given players more control over their future, allowing them to leave situations that don’t benefit them and find better opportunities in other places. At the same time, it has made the game faster and more competitive, with teams able to improve quickly by adding experienced players. However, this constant movement can also make college football fell less stable, as rosters change often and teams have less time to build chemistry. While the transfer portal creates new chances for success, it also brings challenges that continue to reshape the way the game is played and experienced.

Have you ever walked into a cafeteria and seen so many good options for food that you just pick whatever food is the most familiar to you? If I’m being honest I don’t really like burgers and that kind of thing. If I’m in a massive food court with a bunch of cool options, I’m going to what is most familiar to me, even if I don’t like it that much. This phenomena can also be seen in day to day life with the way that people, particularly Gen Z, takes in information. Everyday you scroll on your phone, but how many of those reels can you remember? Seven? Five? Two? One? None? No one learns anything new, they simply reset to how they were before.

When asked multiple students said that they looked at around 200 short form videos per day. Only remembering 10 from that long scroll, and looking into none of those short form videos. They admitted that they found those videos interesting or worth looking into, but when asked one person said that she, “just didn’t see the point when I’m already seeing so much other stuff when I just scroll.” But people who only looked at 100 short form videos or less stated that they were more interested in the videos that they saw.

On average most people remembered around 12 to 13 videos, if they watched around 100 per day. Looking into two to three of those videos which they remembered. In my research those who were asked said they only watched around 100 reels, remembering significantly more than those who watch 200+, some even remembering 30 of the videos they watched. Out of the 30 videos they watched, they remembered only 10. The final person asked about this said that she only watched about 50 short form videos and remembered half of that, of the half remembered they looked into 15 of those stories told in those videos.

The more information that people consume the less, and less they can process. This concept is called information overload. When we consume lots of stimuli, like short form videos, and we process none of it, we learn absolutely nothing. It’s not that you can’t process that information, it is simply that you’re not giving yourself the time to think about what you learned. Lots of people will simply forget about all of the things that they saw, it is like spring cleaning for your brain. But nobody really wants to process information that much, because it’s not as stimulating to think about the cool stuff you’ve seen, it is stimulating, however, to see more videos which you will forget about in five minutes.

The professor for mass communications at Piedmont University, Joe G. Dennis. “Some people are overwhelmed, they just tune it out, retaining nothing.” he states, “The human mind is only ment comprehend so much. That is why a phone number is limited to ten numbers, because those are the ones we can call to memory instinctively. Because we have been processing those numbers for so long.” As we can clearly saw earlier, the more you consume the less you retain, and the less you care. The death of curiosity is when people think they know everything. Dennis also addresses this saying quote, “curiosity is human, however, just trying to get information told to them which they agree with, is not.” This is also a problem which has a made people generally more apathetic about the things they see around them.

They see so much and then when they look it up, they get a fluffy feel good answer. It makes people not care, because why would they? The answer they found on Google AI agreed entirely with their previous sensibilities, so they can just “trust their gut.” Dennis states that, “You will stop pursuing a difficult truth when ai or your for you page says exactly what you want to hear.” Causing people to become numb and not think critically, the death of curiosity is when no one cares, and when everyone thinks they are smarter than they are.

Hey y’all, my name is Reese Johnson! Growing up, life has taught me many valuable lessons which have shaped the person I am today. The lesson I still carry today is to focus on the ones who clap so loud for me that I don’t notice the ones who do not. I can become easily discouraged by the ones who willingly choose to walk out on me, but I have learned the importance of the ones who choose to support me.

Throughout my life, I have faced family problems that taught me resilience and independence . While I would never wish for anybody to go through what I did, I am thankful for the person I became due to my circumstances. I learned the importance of the people who show up for me, even when they have their own struggles.

Through every failure and every success, the one thing that has carried me through is my faith in Jesus. My faith has brought me out of the darkest of time., I truly believe if it weren’t for Jesus I would not be here today. He gives me purpose and brings light to any situation. Through every trial, I am reminded to trust Him in the season that I am in, even if I don’t know the next step. He leads me to peace and teaches me the stillness of sitting in His presence. Whether it be a win or a loss, I choose to praise the Lord for where I am, because my worth is not in an outcome, it is in Him.

College tuition, student loans, piles of money for average education, and…wait – free education across seas?

Trigger warning: Admissions.

One large stress factor for students in America is the admissions process in their senior year of high school.

Essay this. GPA that. Clubs and sports and test scores this.

It can quickly get suffocating. Universities across seas still have an admissions process of course, but schools tend to focus more on grades and test scores of classes related to the intended major of the student compared to the complex route the U.S. takes. This way, students are able to focus on their specialized interests and skills and truly prepare for higher education before they even graduate high school.

American universities have great pieces to offer and provide incredible opportunities for students, but may not be worth the heavy costs that come attached with exceptional, cost effective schools in Europe.

Forget the “American dream” for a moment. Instead, switch to the mindset “when in Rome” and head on over.

College Affordability: US vs Europe

Loneliness is killing people.

Not slowly, not quietly.

It carries the same heath risks as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

This epidemic is not affecting the younger generations sitting in their rooms on their phones, but targeting the generation that has been on this Earth much longer, the generation that has lived, laughed and loved. But now they spend their days trapped in facilities. For them the most exciting thing they get to hear is the background noise of a TV, the most exciting thing to see is the outside of a window. They yearn for somebody, anybody to care, to show up, and to just sit with them for even 15 minutes.

“Some days the loudest thing in my room is the TV, and I’m not even watching it, I just like to leave it on so it feels like someone’s there,” said Dorothy, 82, a resident at a senior care facility. “When someone sits down and actually looks at me, not through me, that’s my everything.”

Senior isolation has become one of the fastest growing public health crises in America. Studies link chronic loneliness to the same health risks as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, yet for many elderly residents, days pass without a single meaningful conversation. As families continue to grow busier and senior living facilities fill up, an entire generation risks being forgotten.

The reality is that these people are at risk of serious health issues, both physically and mentally. “People think loneliness is just sadness. It’s not,” said Marcus, 34, a caregiver. “I watch it affect them physically. They stop eating. They stop wanting to get up. It compounds everything. I have 12 residents on my floor, I wish I could sit with each of them for an hour. But that’s just not possible for me to accomplish alone, there’s not enough hours in the day.”

For Dorothy the isolation deepens after family visits become less frequent. “I have four grandchildren.” She said, “I see them at Christmas if I’m lucky. They’re busy. I understand that. But understanding it doesn’t make the quiet go away.”

Dorothy is not alone. Researchers estimate that more than one-third of adults over 45 report feeling lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults over 65 are considered socially isolated, numbers that only have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic forced care facilities to restrict visitation for months at a time.

Some volunteers are stepping in where staffing falls short. Linda, 58, began visiting residents once a week after retiring and quickly found the relationship went both ways. “I started coming once a week and now I can’t imagine not coming,” she said. “Dorothy saved me as much as I saved her, honestly.”

For Marcus, the solution starts with simply showing up. “Being able to talk to someone outside of these four walls, even for 10 minutes, changes a person’s whole day,” he said. “We just have to decide they’re worth that 10 minutes.”

From Duolingo to ChatGPT, AI has been festering itself in the educational field more and more everyday. AI promises a mix of both opportunities and dangers, but whether or not society will be able to properly regulate its use will determine the aptitude of generations to come.

“AI use longterm will be harmful to both student and teacher advancement,” said Kirt Jolly, an elementary school teacher for over 10 years. “The student will continue to lose important critical thinking skills due to its use.”

AI, specifically generative AI (GenAI), has become a prominent issue in schools. AI was first entered schools immediately after the public release of ChatGPT in 2022. By 2023, it was widespread among students to complete their homework, formal implementation and structured guidelines followed shortly after, with institutions officially incorporating GenAI into the curriculum.

“Over reliance on AI tools and platforms can put children and youth’s fundamental learning capacity at risk,” said a yearlong, global study conducted by the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education. The article went on to say that, “with limited safeguards and a risk of inaccurate information, can lead to diminished learning experiences.”

Brookings’ study went on to report a major concern on AI: it doesn’t just harm students’ cognitive development, but actively places them at risk of mental decline. This decline occurs from one of the main risks with AI, as students’ repeated use comes with the threat of developing a strong dependence, creating a vicious cycle to their maturation. As students use AI to “offload” their cognitive tasks, and a “positive feedback loop emerges where they see positive results in terms of grades and in time and effort saved.”

This increased dependency and lack of mental stimulation eventually results in “cognitive atrophy,” which has longterm consequences such as diminished critical inquiry, increased vulnerability to manipulation, decreased creativity and greater risk of internalizing shallow or biased perspectives.

This idea is supported by the National Library of Medicine, which reported that “reducing critical thinking as adolescents rely on AI tools instead of their own thoughts and ideas, which may inhibit young people’s cognitive development.”

But AI does hold some benefits in the education system, according to Brookings’ study, proper use can provide teachers with extra time in their busy days by taking care of menial tasks, “enabling more high-value interactions with students.”

According to the National Public Radio (NPR), AI can utilized to assist students with their reading development, especially for students that are learning a second language. “AI can adjust the complexity of a passage depending on the reader’s skill, and it offers privacy for students who struggle in large-group settings.”

However, AI has proven to be a very dangerous tool, especially to our youth, so society must be cautious about its utilizations if its to properly take advantage of its aid. “If regulated properly, it can be a great teaching tool…” Jolly agrees. “The unfortunate issue is things like this are never regulated with the precautions needed for it to be an effective tool.”

The loudest reaction in my living room wasn’t when Georgia scored the game-winning touchdown. It was when a meaningless 3-yard rush ruined someone’s parlay.

“Are you kidding me?” my friend yelled at the TV.

At first I thought he was upset about the game. He wasn’t, Georgia was winning. The season wasn’t on the line. Nothing had changed except the fact that one player had failed to reach a statistical milestone he needed for a bet.

That was the moment I realized some fans aren’t really watching sports anymore. They’re watching their gambling slips.

Growing up, sports were simple. My friends and I argued about who would win, who deserved a championship and which players were the best. Now those conversations sound different.

“Did you hit your parlay?”

“What’s the over-under?”

“Did that touchdown cash your bet?”

Somewhere along the way, the game stopped being enough. Sports betting has exploded across America, becoming one of the fastest growing parts of the sports industry. While gambling has made games more exciting for some viewers, I believe it has changed sports fandom for the worse by shifting attention away from the teams and competition, towards the money. Ever since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting nationwide in 2018, sports gambling advertisements appear during nearly every major sporting event, and betting odds are discussed as frequently as scores and statistics.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying sports betting responsibly. For many fans, it adds excitement to games they otherwise might not watch. However, when the financial outcome becomes more important than the actual competition, sports begin to lose what made them so special in the first place.

The influence of sports betting is hard to ignore. According to Front Office Sports, Americans legally wagered more than $147 billion on sports in 2024, a dramatic increase from just a few years ago. As betting has grown, so has its presence in sports broadcasts. When fans are constantly being encouraged to place bets, it’s no surprise that many begin to focus more on their wagers than the teams they are supposedly supporting.

Sports betting isn’t going anywhere, and I’m not arguing that it should. Adults should have the freedom to place bets if they choose. But as sports gambling becomes more common, fans need to remember why they started watching in the first place. Sports are supposed to be about competition, loyalty and unforgettable moments, not just winning money. If we reach the point where a missed parlay matters more than a championship, then sports betting won’t have improved sports fandom. It will have changed it for the worse.

For years, Joe Dennis was always on call. The news didn’t care if he was spending time with family. And it certainly didn’t care that he was shopping for baby strollers with his wife. “We were shopping for baby strollers when I got a call from my contact at GBI, he said, ‘Hey Joe, I need you to come down to Logansville at 5 o’clock tonight,” Dennis said. Like countless times before, Dennis had a choice to make. He could continue the afternoon with his family, or he could chase the story. Joe explained the situation, saying, “I’m having some family time right now, but this is my job, and I need to do this.” For much of his career, journalism dictated Dennis’ schedule. But experiences like that eventually changed how he viewed the profession and led him toward a new role, teaching the next generation of journalists.

While Dennis eventually left the fast-paced world of daily news reporting, he never left journalism behind. Instead, he found a new way to pursue it through teaching. Today, Dennis helps students understand not only how to report stories, but also how to navigate an increasingly complicated media landscape. “I wanted to continue journalism for something that was on a more regular schedule,” Dennis said. “That’s what led me into teaching.”

While Dennis found a more predictable schedule in teaching, his experiences as a journalist continued to shape the lessons he shared with students. Years spent covering the news also changed the way he viewed information itself. “You are overwhelmed with information. I actually struggled with this,” Dennis said.

Having experienced the effects of information overload himself, Dennis believes quality journalism is more important than ever. In a world dominated by social media, he argues that journalism provides something many online platforms cannot: context.

While social media often delivers information through short clips and individual opinions, journalism requires reporters to gather information from many sources and present a fuller picture of events. “Journalism is rooted in principles that other forms of media aren’t,” said Dennis.

Dennis’ view of journalism has evolved in other ways as well. Early in his career, he believed journalists should strive to be completely unbiased. Over time, however, he came to realize that complete objectivity is impossible. Instead, he believes journalists must recognize their own biases and understand how those biases can influence their reporting.

Although Dennis remains passionate about journalism, the most rewarding part of his career isn’t seeing a story published; it’s seeing where his students end up. Former students have gone on to work for organizations ranging from the NBA to the Savannah Bananas. For Dennis, those successes serve as a reminder that his impact extends far beyond the classroom.”Seeing where some of my students go afterwards and how they make an impact is really cool,” Dennis said, “It’s rewarding to know that I helped them get to where they are today.”