Category: Society

Electric vehicles can reduce emissions, but they do not solve every problem created by car-centered cities. An electric car still takes space, contributes to traffic, requires parking, and can be expensive. For students without cars, cleaner vehicles do not automatically mean easier transportation. This issue matters because it shows how large social changes enter everyday life. They do not arrive only through headlines; they appear in routines, choices, relationships, and the small systems people depend on without thinking. If cities replace gasoline cars with electric cars but keep the same…

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Ocean warming changes more than water temperature; it changes lives connected to the sea. People who live near coasts depend on oceans for food, work, storms, tourism, and identity. When marine ecosystems shift, communities feel the effects in jobs, prices, and safety. For our generation, this issue is not just about policy debates far away. It affects the kind of neighborhoods we will live in, the food we will eat, the jobs we will choose, and the sense of responsibility we carry into adulthood. Warmer oceans can contribute to coral…

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The “Luxury” of Silence I was sitting in the student union today and realized that I haven’t actually heard “nothing” in weeks. Between the constant hum of the HVAC system, the lo-fi beats playing in my earbuds, and the literal thousands of notifications pinging across the room, silence has become an endangered species. It is weird to think about, but true silence is starting to feel like a luxury. If you have the money, you buy noise-canceling headphones to drown out the world. If you are really wealthy, you pay…

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Urban Design and Student Health Have you ever noticed that you feel significantly more stressed when you have to navigate a massive parking lot compared to walking through a tree-lined path? That is not an accident. The way our campuses and cities are designed has a direct impact on our cortisol levels and our overall sense of community. For many students in car-dependent areas, “going to class” involves a stressful commute and a hunt for a parking spot, which immediately puts the brain into a state of frustration before the…

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SHAOJIE YANG

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