Thistles and thorns: EdBoard takes on 2022
At the close of each year, The Tartan reassesses the year’s events. Thistles go to people and events that had a positive effect on the campus community and society at large; thorns go to those that have negatively impacted the campus and our society.
A thistle to Carnegie Mellon for increasing the wages of student workers. For how expensive this university is, there is no reason why students should be working for below a living wage.
A thorn to the Craig St. Chipotle for never having food (especially chips). It’s frustrating when orders are incomplete due to some level of incompetence. We understand working in food service can be difficult, but it’s hard to justify always being out of food.
A thistle to Paul Dano’s Riddler in “The Batman.” Some members of the staff may like you more than others, but without a doubt, your performance stood out in an excellent movie.
A thorn to Ron Desantis for being the Governor of Florida. The “Don’t Say Gay” bill is a major step-back in the fight for equal rights. How are people supposed to learn from history if it’s not being taught?
A thistle to “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” and to Daniel Craig and Rian Johnson both agreeing that they’d like to continue working together on Benoit Blanc stories. Much of the Tartan staff greatly enjoyed your movie, and we look forward to seeing what comes next.
A thorn to Amazon for not being able to ship holiday gifts before break. Sometimes last-minute gifts are a must, while other times we have to wait unnecessarily long for a simple gift for a friend. The inconsistency hurts.
A thistle to the Spotify graphic design team for the incredible Wrapped layouts and design. Year after year, we anticipate seeing what we spent the last year listening to, and your work always brings smiles to our faces.
A thorn to everything becoming a subscription model. Why can’t we just make a one-time purchase of something and own it? We don’t want to have to continually pay for something we might rarely use.
A thistle to TAs in office hours carrying classes, filling in for gaps in content and alleviating students from the misery of answering poorly worded questions. Without you, students would be much worse off.
A thorn to 70-degree weather in November. Though the warm weather is appreciated, it’s a sign of a larger problem: global warming. We hope we are not one of the last generations that gets to live in a comfortable climate.
A thistle to Craig St. Starbucks unionizing! Unionizing is an important part of workers’ rights. Unions are fundamentally needed and a great demonstration of democracy in the workplace.
A thorn to finals being on a Sunday. Sunday is supposed to be a day off for students to relax and study if needed. Who thought it was a good idea to make it an exam day?
A thistle to Scotch’n’Soda’s production of “Something Rotten.” Without question, Scotch’n’Soda has put on another great show that many members of our staff enjoyed watching. From the props and costumes to the actors and musicians, everyone and everything involved was fantastic.
A thorn to Ye and those who still support him. Enough with the antisemitism and racism.
A thistle to the My Chemical Romance reunion tour. Many members of our staff enjoy your work and it was great to see them in-person and releasing new music.
A thorn to Vladimir Putin. Your invasion of Ukraine is completely unjustified and has resulted in senseless violence and loss of life. Your presidency is filled with corruption and human rights violations; you are nothing short of a war criminal.
A thistle to Lou Reed, and everything he’s done. His music is often truly exceptional, and he’s done so much to promote the idea of the “cool Jew” into public consciousness.
A thorn to the U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Bodily autonomy — including choosing abortion — is a fundamental right.
A thistle to having a real fall break. It was much needed and members of our staff were very relieved to have a break in the middle of the semester. There’s no denying being a student is a lot of work, and fall break helped alleviate some of that stress.
A thorn to the 112 staff for making students feel panicky about a class they don’t really care about.
A thistle to South Korea and Japan in the World Cup. South Korea beat Portugal and Japan beat Germany and Spain, both securing a place in the knockout stages of the tournament. Fans can look forward to potential deep runs towards the quarters, semis, and perhaps even finals.
A thorn to Qatar for using slave labor for the completion of World Cup stadiums. Soccer is a unifying game, but its enjoyment should never come at the cost of human lives.
A thistle to protesters everywhere who are fighting for change. In Iran and China, protesters are risking their lives to fight for what they believe in: freedom for the government. We honor all those who have lost their lives in their struggles and hope for quick change.