Opinions, Column

Thumbs up Thumbs Down: Week of May 2

Thumbs Up:

  • Room Number Nicknames 
    • Nothing is more wholesome or community-based than referring to a group of people by the number of the room that they currently live in. From 406 to 302 to 113, the nicknames are endless—but also very useful. It’s so much easier to say that you saw 506 at the dining hall than to rattle off a list of everyone in the eight-man every single time you want to mention a group of people who also happen to live together. No matter where you live next year, you’ll always be Gonzaga 231, Walsh 408, or Mod 27A at heart. 
  • Summer Playlists
    • Soon, the playlists that you made in December to try and recreate the feeling of being on Summer Break while in the depth of the Massachusetts winter will be able to serve their true purpose: being the soundtrack to your summer. Nothing sounds better than a perfectly curated summer playlist playing as you lay out on the dock, by the beach, or at the pool while reading a book. Charge up those waterproof speakers, Eagles—you’ll be using them sooner than you think.

Thumbs Down:

  • Early Gasson Bell
    • Running late to class? Think you have a few moments to grab a latte from the Chocolate Bar? The Gasson bell will tell you that you’re wrong. It will ring, sending you into a panic, scrambling to shove your pencils and erasers back into your too-small pencil case in the middle of the Rat so that you can make it to your next class in time. But, it’s more likely that you are correct about what time it is over the Gasson bell. Every day, without fail, the bell rings at least two minutes before it should, throwing off the balance of the space-time continuum and wreaking havoc on the routine of everyone’s days. 
  • Last Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down of the Year 
    • This might be a little bit more meta for some of the usual readers, but it seems fair that the last Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down of the school year merits its own Thumbs Down. Not because Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down is intrinsically bad, but just because it’s a melancholy end to the year. Recapping the good and bad of the week just won’t be the same when all Eagles are scattered to the wind, and the goods and bads of everyone’s weeks are no longer a collective celebration or commiseration. But come fall, we’ll have a full list of new commendations and grievances, so never fear. We’ll be back next year. 
May 1, 2022