Abby Foster, Writer

It is that time of year again. The time of year when college campuses across our nation, come alive with nervous newbies excited, yet terrified about what lies ahead. Are those movies depicting college life real? Are professors scary? Will I make any friends here? If you are sending someone away to college for the first time this fall, here are few things I recommend they do to make the most of their college experience. These hacks are not only based on my personal experience as a student but on over fifteen years as a college student services professional. A fun job if you can get it! College can be an epic experience. Unfortunately, only about half of the people who start college will earn a degree. Researchers who look into how and why students stick around have found that the students who get involved on their college campuses in some way are more likely to finish their college degrees. So here are some hacks to getting involved and sticking around long enough to finish co...

Today is election day and for the first time in my voting career, I just cast my ballot for a woman for President! In honor of this historic day, here's a little piece I wrote a few months back.  This  summer  Hillary  Rodham  Clinton accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for President of the United States. While anyone with access to a  newspaper, television or  a ny  other type  of media saw this coming months ago, the day this announcement was made caused quite a stir ring of emotions   among my feminist friends. Rightfully so, this is a huge accomplishment for women.  One f riend  commented   on social media  that  any  feminist who cares about politics should  " have tears in their eyes at this moment " .    I h ad  to confess that I did not.    I have nothing against Hillary Clinton. Nothing against feminism. In fact, quite the contrary.    ...

‘Bad Moms’ is billed by its marketing team as a “hilarious new comedy”. Not one to easily fall prey to marketing hyperbole, I was skeptical, but anxious to see this light summer movie nonetheless. I expected it to be a nice break from the delta summer heat and thought it might be good for a few chuckles. I was delightfully surprised. ‘Bad Moms’ is a good movie with heart. It gives audiences more than cheap laughs and a contrite message about motherhood. Sprinkled in amidst the drinking, and lewd “un-mom” like behavior this movie packed some powerful messages. Messages about more than motherhood. This movie is a cinematic statement on what it means to “succeed” in our society. What it means to be a good mom, a good student, a good employee, a good person. It makes us take a second look at the ideal suburban, soccer mom with over-scheduled kids. It makes us think about our schools and what it is we want our kids to get out of them. Is it enough that they be able to ace a standardize...

“We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child.” Jennifer Aniston   I couldn’t agree more. I am not an actress. I am not a model. I am not a celebrity of any kind. I am a single woman . I have   no children .    Like  Aniston, I too want to participate in the larger conversation on how society views women. I particularly want to focus on the societal view of single women.  And like Aniston,  I too am fed up. F ed up with the  prevalent  societal  belief  that a woman is incomplete without a mate.  F ed up with friends, fami ly, co-workers, casual  a cquainta nces   insistent on  “fixing” my single status.  This sends the message that  a woman should not be single.  That it is unnatural.  Fo r a variety of reasons, I am a woman in my forties who has never married  and is childfree .    My single, non-mom status is  shocking, contrary,...

With my buttered popcorn and a Diet Coke I settled into the cushioned theater seat, snuggling into my favorite cotton sweater and eagerly awaited the opening of the Ghostbusters reboot. Summer movies are always filled with promise. Action packed or comedy, their promos promise an exciting diversion from the summer heat. Summer reboots often bring an extra special anticipation. Like a summer festival or family reunion. There is the promise of seeing old friends or distant, sometimes eccentric relatives. And like any family reunion, it sounds like a good idea, but in reality it can go either way. I took in the Ghostbusters reboot with high expectations. After seeing the original no less than fifty times (I spent 1988 babysitting a four year old) I was anxious to see how the new heroines would fair against those slimy spirits. In the original, it was Bill Murray’s dry deliveries that got me through repeated viewings. If I had to do it over again with the reboot, it would likely by Ka...

Last week I sat down to write my blo g  which was going to be about my latest dilemma:  Hulu or Netflix – which one stays and which one goes?  But then, all hell broke loose. Two more black men gunned down by police officers. Police officers overseeing a peaceful demonstration in Dallas gunned down by a sniper.  My original blog topic was now rendered  beyond trivial.    What was going on in this country  was big.  Important.    Like many Americans I’m tired of the sadness. Tired of the  anger .  Tired of the same debates over and over again with no change.    Inevitably, like driving past a car accident, I can’t help but glance at the posts and comments on social media.  I know I shouldn't. I know it will haunt me for the rest of the day, but I can't help myself. The c omments  demonstrate just how much we view, perceive and understand the events in our society based on our...