The ugly face of anonymity

January 27, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Behind the computer screen, mouse in hand, we all feel safe. Without face-to-face interaction, there’s no fear of retribution or need for justification. Things said—or rather, “typed”—online are available for view at all hours of the day for the entire world. Even when deleted, online comments can be found by almost anyone. Some have lost […]

Axe the XXX

January 21, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes Brittany M. Plothow, Opinions Editor @brittanyplo Last year, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced plans to implement an Internet ban on pornography sites throughout the UK. This meant that all pornography sites would be blocked by default and users would have to opt-in through their Internet service provider in order to […]

Utah is fabulous

January 13, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes Hell has frozen over and pigs have flown. On December 20, 2013 a federal judge ruled that Utah’s constitutional amendment ban on same-sex marriage was a violation of federal guarantees of equal protection. By doing so same-sex marriage was made legal in the Beehive state. The Utah government fought back and a Supreme Court decision […]

Women and the Priesthood

January 6, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes Photo by Laura Fox The Ordain Women movement is stupid. I fancy myself a feminist, but I often have to follow that sentiment up with a qualifier. I’m not that kind of feminist. Feminism has been twisted and molested from what it once was. The feminist movement originally aimed for equality between the sexes, especially […]

Society, double standards, and sexual expression

January 6, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes There remains a social double standard when it comes to men, women and expression of personal sexuality. Media is the biggest factor in social constructions and expressions of sexuality. If we take a look at music we easily see this double standard. It is a common appearance to see women portrayed as backdrops or playthings […]

From “Blurred Lines” to “Fifty Shades of Grey”

November 25, 2013

Reading Time: 4 minutes “Fifty Shades of Grey” is a New York Times best seller and is the best selling paperback of all time, beating out the beloved “Harry Potter” series. And that is what is wrong with the world. “Fifty Shades,” which has been described as “mommy porn” and “erotic romance,” is the story of a 21-year old […]

The plight of the vegetarian wolverine

September 28, 2013

Reading Time: 2 minutes God bless Jamba Juice. The employees there have come to know me by name and exactly when I’ll be stopping by for my morning fresh-squeezed juice. I converted to a vegetarian diet over the summer, partly for health reasons and partly due to personal choice. Since returning to campus I often get frustrated as I […]

riding for cancer

Riding for Cancer

July 28, 2013

Reading Time: 2 minutes By Brittany Plothow Staff Writer   There’s no such thing as too much good karma, but Utah County offers tons of opportunities to add to your bucket. Running tends to be very popular in Happy Valley and every weekend tends to have some kind of 5k or half marathon fundraiser. A change of pace is […]

Blue Tango: A night in at Ozz

October 10, 2011

Reading Time: 2 minutes Last Thursday night I was at Ozz Billiards in Provo when I heard Michael Bublé coming from behind a thick black curtain that separated the building in half.   “I feel very Mad Men right now,” I said to my date. Curiosity eventually overcame us and we wandered past the curtain. What we found was […]

Thanks, Shep Studio, for de-poofing Provo

August 29, 2011

Reading Time: < 1 minute If you ever decide to ditch the Utah Poof, visit Shep. Since opening its doors in August of 2001, Shep Studio has proven that even people in Provo want a metropolitan-style salon. Shep’s hip, modern environment is one you’d be more likely to see in New York City than Utah Valley. Hosting a staff of […]