Claire Kunzier, Editor 

The characters on this show are not good people, genuinely. I love each of these characters, minus Nate and Cal Jacobs, but they’re all so shitty and do such shitty things especially to the people they care about, as well as to strangers. These are my opinions and the characters are different from the actors, so this article is in no way a reflection of my opinions on the people who perform these characters. Now that I’ve said that, I would physically fight Nate and Cal Jacobs as well, I think each of these characters needs a slap in the face. 

Season one, we saw Maddy literally engage in consensual sexual activity with a random guy to get back at Nate after they broke up. Then she spun the story that she blacked out and accused the kid of sexual assult on a minor and got him sent to jail, all for her shitty boyfriend to not get in trouble for literally choking her out. Maddy is not an angel when you look at her actions to help Nate, who is the worst person ever, who emotionally cheated on her with Jules and used her best friend as a sneaky link. As much as Cassie sneaky linking with Maddy’s ex in season two is one, against girl code and two, just shitty behavior, it’s pretty on brand for her considering she cheated on her boyfriend in season one. 

Cassie. Our poor girl with major daddy issues, poor decision making skills and no backbone just got caught by the one person that will f*** her shit up. Girly is gonna lose Maddy and Kat, her two best friends over a guy who is just using her and emotionally manipulating her *screaming and crying and throwing up.* Kat, who doesn’t really do anything wrong and actually is a pretty good person with bad friends, just needs to break up with Ethan and deserves much more screen time, period. The same with Lexi, who is about to put Cassie and her friends on blast with her play. 

I AM HOLDING OUT FOR FEZ AND LEXI. Lexi, our unproblematic queen, who does need to, like her sister Cassie, get a spine and stand up for herself more, and Fez the drug dealer with a heart of gold. The power couple we need and want from this show. Fez is a pretty decent person, but he does sell drugs, so he is not the best person to most people, I am not most people and he’s my favorite character. 

SPEAKING OF DRUGS. Rue, our narrator, the performance that deserves another Emmy, is something else. Obviously her struggle with addiction is what majorly influences her actions and drives her to act out in order to fulfill her needs. Her mom and Gia are the only two people who truly are looking out for Rue and deserve better. After her overdose at the beginning of season one, you would think her friends would pay more attention to her and what situations she is put in, but no. They actively bring a recovering addict into party scenes where drug and alcohol use is happening and while Rue can always say no to going to these events, what teenage girl wants to spend her weekend inside while all her friends are partying? If one of her friends even just took a second to pay attention to her, they could’ve seen how destructive it is to Rue’s progress to go to these parties with the environment and substances that would cause her to relapse. Elliot is a product of Rue going to a party, he didn’t know of her addiction at first, but clearly when she almost goes into cardiac arrest after taking too many drugs there’s an issue there. He fuels her issue by enabling and participating in her drug habit, unlike Fez who calls her ass out and will not sell to her if she is being destructive. 

The true villain of Rue’s story is Jules. Jules herself is fine, not the best person, but is horrible to her partner especially in season two. With the two getting back together in the second season after dating in season one, you would think Jules would know when Rue is using, but she doesn’t care to pay attention to her partner. It is certainly not her job or any of the other characters’ jobs to babysit their friend, but she is clearly high and has been clearly high the whole season. Taking five minutes to actually pay attention to Rue by any of the characters, they would’ve been able to see their friend had relapsed. While the excuse of pot could be a possible explanation to her actions, smoking or eating majiuanna is very different from the drugs that Rue’s been using in season two. You’re telling me that Jules, who is dating Rue, seeing her everyday didn’t notice that her girlfriend was doing HEROIN, FENTANYL and various PILLS. On top of her ignorance of a person she is in a relationship with, Jules cheated on Rue with Elliot, the same person that has been enabling Rue’s drug use. Jules cheated on the person she “loves” and continued to have a physical relationship with Elliot after he told her that Rue relapsed and he was doing drugs with her. Then she turned around and told Rue’s mom about her girlfriend’s drug use and dumped all the drugs, really just sending Rue into debt with a drug dealer. Jules just f***ed Rue’s life and Fez’s life all because she decided to jump in at the last second, a last ditch effort without any context and dumped 10k worth of drugs. 

If Fez dies because of this I will be so sad. Homie deserves to have a good and honest relationship with Lexi and maybe he will grow beyond dealing, but no, he’s def gonna catch the shit from Rue’s actions that he told her not to do. Like lowkey idc about Ashtray, but if either him or Fez dies, it’s Rue and Jules fault. While Cassie and Jules have very similar plotlines this season, with them both hooking up with people they shouldn’t be. The consequences of Cassie’s actions is that Maddy wants to beat her ass and is directly affecting her. Jules’ actions have a slight consequence on her with Rue, but Rue and Fez’s life are at jeopardy for being a hero and dumping a suitcase worth of drugs with the worst of it not affecting her life. Overall, these characters need to figure their shit out because someone is going to die, no joke. Sam Levinsten should’ve done so much more with his characters and listened to his actors when they had opinions on the direction their characters were moving towards. As well, if they could stop casting 20+ year olds as teenagers then maybe people would sympathize with the characters’ ages and how they act rather than becoming angered by adults acting poorly. Anyway, Barbie deserves better and that’s on that.

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, I understand and respect the drip of waking up and throwing on anything to prevent the cold from ruining one’s day. Monday, before waking up at 7 a.m. for my lovely 8 a.m. shift, I thought that I would wear jeans and try a little for the first day of the week. Now imagine me waking up to 10 degree weather that early. I wore leggings, a La Salle sweatshirt and my trusty UGG boots, fully showing up to campus bringing back a common high school fit for Claire. The outfit itself is not uncommon for PA cold, so I thought I’d highlight some outfit choices that match post-winter-break, freezing cold and painfully-waking-up energy. 

1. UGGS

You know them, you love them, any form of UGG; boot, slipper, shoe etc. A solid choice for all, the not-animal-friendly clothing and shoe brand really does make the best shoe for not caring and just wanting to be warm. In addition, their clothes usually are rather good for the cold weather. 

2. Hoodie jacket combo 

Now it’s cold cold, but that doesn’t mean you should have to suffer with your puffer jammed behind your back during class. The hoodie and jacket — North Face, Patagonia or whatever light jacket brand you prefer — is a solid way to be warm enough without the lack of arm movement and excess chest heat.

3. Beanies/Hats

All rise the Carhartt hat people who broke that jawn out in October and have worn it every day since. Has it been washed? None of my business, but maybe you should just throw it in with your next load. Hats don’t look good on me, but maybe I’ll break one out on a particularly cold day. The only negatives with any headwear is head sweat and hat hair, so just make sure you’re not going to be doing anything hot or taking your hat off at all. 

4. Dishonorable mention: shorts

“Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did” — “Better than Revenge” by Taylor Swift 

5. High socks

No one should ever roast your socks, because once your toes are numb and your ankles burn, there’s no saving the rest of your body warmth. 

I’m sure that other states also wear these articles of clothing, but it’s also PA and we don’t really care, so yeah. 

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

As a public relations major, learning how to write emails is like half of every class and the other half is sending those emails. I am just kidding, even though emails are a vital part of PR, we learn other things……if you circle back to me in a week I’ll tell you what those things are. 

HAHA, funny, yeah yeah, emails suck. 

There is no good time to get an email and while the content might not always be horrid, the vibe is just incorrect. Receiving an email is like when you order your Starbucks through the app and they tell you it’s ready and it’s not, they’re just missing 90 percent of what you ordered (no shade). Yeah, not excited about that part of my career path, but hey it could be worse. I could tell people I’m a business major. 

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

I try to keep my true opinions that will start unnecessary drama to myself, but Spotify is f***ing stupid. The sI am not a football fan. I have never claimed to be a football fan. But I am an Eagles fan, so you know I love a good underdog. The Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl for the first time in a long time to go up against the Rams this month. Do I genuinely care about who wins? Like no. I am really excited for Tom Brady to finally just leave the conversation as well as the Patriots, also known as the people who lost the Super Bowl to the Eagles in 2018. It would be really nice to see the Bengals win so that the people of Ohio finally have something to be proud of. Joe Burrow might be a good quarterback, but he also is just a nice person to look at especially when he wears his sunglasses. Will I be watching the Super Bowl? Probably not. Go birds. 

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

This is just an article to admire how beautiful and visually pleasing the Collegian Instagram, run by our very own Danielle O’Brien, just truly is. 

If you do not follow the best La Salle organization Instagram, @ lsucollegian, you should because it’s pretty. ❤

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

It’s cold, like really cold, and I don’t want it anymore. If it snowed and it was a good snow, then maybe I would be enjoying myself much more than I am. As a beach person, I am dreaming of a hot day and a cold seltzer, but it’s just not reality, which is sad. At least if it snowed there’d be something I could look at that’s different and exciting, with the lurking possibility of a snow day, who doesn’t love this aspect of the cold. But, because we’re “special” none of the snow hits the ground long enough before rain or temperature spikes cause it to melt away. So until it snow-snows, I would like summer, right now. No more cold toes or waking up too late to start warming up your car and driving cold and blind from the ice buildup. Will it be really hot and sticky in PA in five months? Yes. Will I complain about it being too hot? Yes. But, I’ll be tan which makes it all worth it. 

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

I don’t drink coffee every morning or buy an energy drink to push me through my day, in turn I normally just drink water and maybe a coffee throughout my day. But, there’s something about Diet Coke that creates this feeling of limitless energy that pushes me through a day. You could think this back to the classic early to mid 2000s mom trend of drinking diet soft drinks during our childhood. Especially now in the winter, a can of perfectly chilled Diet Coke after a long morning of doing anything or nothing will 360 your day into something better than it was. Diet soda, like regular soda, is not good for you, but everything in moderation, so savor the life line that is Diet Coke. 

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

Okay. so I love Christmas Music. I listen to any and all versions of the same song over and over again just because it’s Christmas music. I actually have one rule about this type of music: I don’t let myself overdo it during the Christmas season and save the holiday genre for specific listening times. That’s how I keep this group of music held in such high regard, but that’s not what the topic of this article is about. My hot take is: Christmas music, scientifically (I don’t actually know that don’t quote me), makes you happier. No matter when you listen to it, where, what season you’re in, you’re instantly happier. Last year when my dog died, I was only not crying when listening to Christmas music and I cried for the first two weeks of November. I turn on B101 on my drive between classes just to get over the sadness of having yet another class to go to, even if I listen to less than ⅓ of a song. As annoying as it can get when you play Christmas every second from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the moderation of the genre can lead to a quick and easy fix to any emotional turmoil you are having. 

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

As a senior finishing their last fall semester, I gotta start getting all my ducks in a row. Starting with something that literally has nothing to do with my graduation or future, I am looking for new writers for Kicks and Cake! Obviously, I will continue to write for Cake until I graduate in May, which is 100 percent  happening because I need it to, but Kicks needs an editor as of the beginning of the semester. Technically Kicks and Cake are comedy sections, but let’s be real, it’s turned into a Claire ranting section and I am fine with that. As editor, you can bring it back to comedy or satire or whatever you want because you will be the editor. Speaking of becoming an editor, do you know how nice “Editor of the La Salle Collegian” looks on your resume? Pretty okay if you ask me. Look, you don’t have to if you do want to, but I think you want to, so email me and we will get you set up as editor of Kicks or future editor of Cake, kk thanks <3. 

kunzierc1@lasalle.edu 

Claire Kunzier, Editor 

I want — I need a snow day. I know we just came back from Thanksgiving, but I need another day, specifically one where I am trapped in my house because of the snow. There’s lots to do and not enough time to do it (not that I’ll do any work on the snow day) but it’s nice to know there’s an option of doing work. With only like three weeks left in the semester and not a single day missed, I really could use the time off to mentally prepare for all the stress. The frigging sky is a snow sky 24/7, but there’s no snow, like, wtf. Throw us a bone, please, life.