Lauren Simenson

11 Oct 2017

Rhett and Link can still bring out the mythical best in us all

During the years of 2008-2010 there was a global recession, Captain Richard Phillips was rescued from Somali pirates by the Navy SEAL team, and the iphone 4 was released by Apple. The years of 2008, 2009, and 2010 were not only a time of great change and trauma for the world but for me as well.

11 Oct 2017

Media speaker Farrah Fazal exposes social injustice through storytelling

One in five people living in the largest refugee camp in the world, the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, have family living in Minnesota. Recently, one of those five refugees, a 3-year-old girl named Anfa, went from having family members in the Minnesota heartland to being there herself.

04 Oct 2017

Desensitization to violence raises questions for gun control in America

Guns are all over America. In practically everyone’s homes, mine included, in movies, sold in the toy aisle, enmeshed into our cultural values and norms, and prominently shown on our tvs.

04 Oct 2017

Hump Day Café combats students’ mid-week blahs with bagels, coffee

Wednesday is quickly becoming the best day of the week for UW-River Falls students. Each Wednesday morning starting at 9, free coffee and bagels are available to anyone who wants them in the Involvement Center, located in the UW-River Fall’s University Center.

27 Sep 2017

‘Zeitgeist’ fusion five draws a big crowd for coffee concert series

The William Abbott Concert hall, in the UW-River Fall’s Kleinpell Fine Arts Building, hosted the dramatic sounds of new music group Zeitgeist this past Friday. The concert, which was the latest installment of the Music Department’s Frances Cohler Coffee Concert Series, featured musicians Heather Barringer, Nicola Melville and two UWRF professors, Pat O’Keefe and Patti Cudd with special guest violinist Marc Levine.

27 Sep 2017

Local hospital experience raises concern for national healthcare

At the end of last semester there was a lot going on at once. For starters, my junior year was finally coming to a close, summer was almost here, and the United States also happened to be embroiled in some of the first early fighting over repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. I was also going to weekly doctor appointments to investigate if I had a serious pre-existing heart condition. 

20 Sep 2017

Public behavior raises doubts about country's future

It was not only a summer of bad movies; I’m looking at you Emoji Movie. It was also a summer of bad behavior at the movies.

20 Sep 2017

New sustainable justice minor cuts across disciplines and careers

Psychology, computer science and accounting students might not have a lot in common, but starting this semester at UW-River Falls, some of them are sharing the same new minor – sustainable justice.

03 May 2017

Publishing opinion pieces denouncing climate change can be damaging

The Student Voice and the New York Times, two papers never before mentioned in the same sentence, now have something in common. Recently, both papers have published opinion pieces denying the validity of climate change.

26 Apr 2017

Trump's first 100 days highlight spreading of fear, hate

Trump’s first 100 days have been anything but a success. I would characterize this first chunk of his rule by the 100 headaches I have succumbed to because of his antics or the 100 nights I have gone to bed worrying about what America would be like tomorrow.