It’s May already? I’m graduating in two weeks? How did time pass by so fast, especially in these last few months? For some of you, these next few weeks mark the end of your college experience and for others just the beginning.

Working with Liana on these last 26 issues has been an absolute pleasure. Despite her telling me that when we first met she instantly thought, “I’d never be friends with that girl” (I will never let that go), we’ve developed such a strong friendship and amazing working relationship. Thank you Liana for putting up with my poor singing, crying, and constant dancing…sometimes all at the same time. I hope we’ve continued to serve the Bulletin and hold it to the same high standards as previous editors. Mostly, though, I hope we’ve created a paper which may have sparked in some feelings of fondness or anger, but ultimately made students want to pick up an issue each week.

Everyone has a different college experience, but at the root of it all, I hope you have all made the most of your time here at UNH and have seen yourself grow academically and spiritually. I know that I would not have traded the last four years of my life for anything. My time at UNH has allowed me to have so many wonderful experiences that have enriched my education and sparked my research interests, which have lead me to enter an international Master’s program this fall.

Serving as a staff member of The Charger Bulletin for all these years has helped me develop my voice as a writer, learn some serious time management skills, and forced me into caffeine addiction. Although this paper frequently plagues my nightmares, it will always hold a special place in my heart. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had within the paper all of these years. I am especially appreciative to everyone on our awesome staff that has week after week proved their dedication to this publication.

I hope that all you readers enjoy the many changes The Charger Bulletin underwent this year. I send my very best wishes to the incoming Editor-in-Chief Liana and Assistant Editor Sam. I have no doubt that you both will do a phenomenal job, and I look forward to seeing your progress next year! Congratulations to the Class of 2013 – we survived!

Well, here it is…the last issue of the Charger Bulletin for the year. It’s an odd feeling to tell you the truth. No more editing, no more article lists, not spending my Sunday afternoons cooped up in the Office of Student Activities. Although this comes as a huge sigh of relief with finals approaching, I’m going to miss working at the newspaper on a daily basis. As I’m writing this, I realize many of the people (hopefully) reading this editorial are seniors, are my friends, are people I won’t see on a daily basis once classes resume in August.

One of these fantastic people is Elizabeth Field, the current Editor-in-Chief. When I received the position of Assistant Editor last spring and met Liz for the first time, I had no idea we would form such a strong friendship (if staying up until 2 a.m. and singing Taylor Swift at the top of our lungs whilst editing the newspaper doesn’t make us soul sisters, I don’t know what does). I could never have gotten through every twist and turn that has come our way this year without Liz’s help and guidance throughout this entire process. As much as it saddens me to see her graduate and move to Ireland for grad school, I am confident she will succeed in anything and everything she does in the future.

We have come so far and accomplished so much in the past year; we have seen Charger Bulletin grow and expand in ways we never thought possible. To me, Charger Bulletin was, and still is, my pride and joy. I have spent more hours this year slaving over my office desktop than I have on actual schoolwork. And while some may see this as a problem in the long-run, I am thankful to have the opportunity to produce something I am truly passionate about. I came to UNH knowing I wanted to work toward a career in journalism, and being a part of the newspaper has only made my experience at UNH that much more enjoyable.

Looking back on this past year, I find myself overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunity to be Assistant Editor and even more grateful to be named next year’s Editor-in-Chief. Also, I would like to congratulate Samantha Mathewson, who will be the new Assistant Editor for the 2013-2014 school year. I know, without a doubt, that she will be a great asset to Charger Bulletin and bring a new, creative perspective to the newspaper.

Good luck during finals everyone, and have an even better summer. Until next time, loyal readers.

College is the time in your life when you finally get to make decisions for yourself, and one of the those decisions is what you plan on studying to later get a career in the field of your choice.

When coming to the University of New Haven, I planned to study communications and photography so that I could later become a photo journalist. However while that was my initial choice, it opened the door to so many amazing opportunities that I never could have expected.

I have studied abroad in one of the most beautiful countries (Iceland) for photography and photojournalism. I might be biased because that is the only country outside the United States that I have visited, but it truly and surreally is beautiful. It gave me a medium to work with that I would have never been able to predict or expect to receive in a classroom. It has further interested me in pursuing a career in travel writing and photography, because I am sure there are many more beautiful places in this world outside of Iceland.

Now I am welcoming my newest adventure. While I am staying in the U.S. for this one, I am just as excited about it. I knew I wanted to start writing for the school’s newspaper when I first arrived as a freshman. In addition to it being one of the many steps along the path to later becoming a journalist, it has strung the right chord, not only in preparing me for the future but truly finding what I love to do. I will be the Assistant Editor of the Charger Bulletin next year, and this is a risk I am more than willing to take.

This position will be challenging and it will be hard, but most of all it will be fun. I look forward to my late nights of putting a paper together for the study body at UNH. I encourage everyone to welcome a challenge. Make something that is easy just a little more complex, simply because it will test you. When you see that you can overcome that, you will soon see that you are more talented than an A on a test could ever prove to you.

Sliding by is fine for high school. But we are all in college now, and it is the time to take risks, welcome challenges, and either fail miserably or succeed to great lengths you never thought possible. I promise that if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it; personally, getting the Assistant Editor position is proof of that

It’s that time again. For some of us, this concludes our first year at college. For others this will be the end of their college career. As it’s time to say our goodbyes and farewells, I’d like to take the time to thank everyone for this chance to write for the paper this year.

I entered UNH as most do: a confused, naïve freshman. Now that a year has passed, I leave a confused, naïve sophomore-to-be. When I got here, I immediately took up an interest in writing for the school’s paper: it had been something I’d wanted to do since high school, and now I had been given a setting to do it. And if my endless articles haven’t proved it, I kind of have a little bit of a tiny little fascination with films. Movies to me have always been about bringing people together, whether it’s making them or watching them. Movies have an uncanny ability to not only tell us stories, but tell us ones that we like to see ourselves in.

I remember my first article was a review of The Expendables 2, and since then I’ve seen many movies I wouldn’t have been able to, had I not had the advantage of writing for the paper. I have seen some great films, and I’ve seen some great films to mock. I want to thank whoever has read this paper and supported the writers who dedicate themselves to it. I have felt my writing ability improve and my awareness improve as well.

And not only that, but it has supported and expanded my love of film. In fact, I take this love of film so serious that I am hoping to transfer for next fall to study film directing. Though I don’t know where I’ll be next year, I can only hope for the best. If this is to be my last article, then I’d just like to make sure that everyone understands how much I appreciate what this paper has done for me personally, professionally and socially. Although a simple goodbye would probably suffice, I leave you guys with a Jimi Hendrix quote: “The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye…until we meet again.”

So until we meet again, stay sassy UNH.

Thinking about how I felt this time last year makes me smile. Exactly a year ago, I was confused, nervous, anxious and a little bit sad. Confused because I didn’t know where I wanted to go to college, nervous because I had no clue of what was to come, anxious because I was scared to leave my friends, and sad because my high school years were coming to an end.

But as the end of this year, my freshman year, approaches, I realize how truly (for lack of a better word) silly I had been. I really had nothing to worry about. Classes were hard, as I suspected, but manageable. Getting involved on campus was also very easy; UNH has a very warm, inviting sense of community, and there’s a place for everyone.

If I could go back a year and give myself some advice, I’d tell myself not to be so nervous about everything. Everyone is in the same boat; all freshmen go to college scared, confused and feeling slightly alone. No one realizes that everyone feels the same exact way, and I wish I had known that then; I wouldn’t have been so reluctant to break out of my shell had I known.

I’d also tell myself to be shy about nothing. Being shy gets you nowhere, but by being bold, you get wonderful opportunities and memorable experiences.

I’ve done many great things, met a lot of awesome people, and pushed myself more than I thought I could this year, but there are a lot of things I’ve realized I still want to do. Go Greek, go to more events on campus, and go to more sports games. I’m happy that I still have three more years to do everything on my college bucket list.

As I put pen to paper (or rather, finger to keyboard), I can’t help but think of everything that has happened over the past year. This has been such an eventful year, not just for me, but for UNH and everyone here. There were the typical events: namely construction projects and staffing changes that occur every year. Two tragedies this year hit us very close to home, one in Newtown and one in Boston. But of course, as our community always does, we came together and became stronger as a result. Hurricane Sandy and Snowstorm Nemo came by and left their mark for a little while, but that too had passed us. And Charger Nation still stands strong, as it always has and will continue to.

While the passage of time here on this campus affects everyone, the rest of this message is mainly for my fellow students in the Class of 2014. In just a few short days, the Class of 2013 will be graduating. And then it hit me…well, actually it first hit me when I submitted the yearly budget proposal for the Class of 2014’s senior week, my final act as the Class of 2014 Treasurer (thanks for the amazing three years!). What had hit me was that we’re going to be seniors. Coming to UNH, I remember being told time and time again how quickly these years pass by, and sitting here three years into that adventure, I can’t help but sit amazed at how true this statement is.

For most of us, next year will be our final year at UNH. It will be our last “hurrah” as Chargers before taking on the title of alumni. It’s certainly a scary thought, but also a very exciting one. That being said, it’s something to think about a little later since we still have a year left. For now, what we should be doing is thinking of how we’re going to make this next year the best one of all. As seniors, we will be the leaders and the ones with the most experience. The UNH experience that other students may now be going through is what we’ve already been through. This is our opportunity to leave our mark on this campus and decide what kind of impression we will be making.

Personally, I am very honored to have been elected Treasurer of the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) for next year and will do whatever I can to make my impact. But this is ultimately a team effort, and all of us have to come together. Let your senior class officers or the USGA know what you’d like to see done. Every voice counts, but you have to let it be heard!

The stress of finals is brewing and everyone’s tension is rising. I know it is not just me because everyone seems to be getting out the claws lately when they get mildly annoyed. However, you cannot get mad at anyone in particular because everyone is freaking out about something. There is the stress from finals and term papers pushing everyone over the edge, causing some brief conflicts between friends, roommates and even teachers.

I know at the end of the school year, every year, I get stressed. My roommates are stressed too. I am the type of person who gets quite annoyed at everything, though. Whether you’re stressed about school, friendships, crushes, family or finances, it adds up and really gets in the way of your life. You suddenly are negative about everything because everything annoys you. And I am also the type of person who, when I get an attitude from someone, I will ignore it to an extent. But if I am already annoyed you will most certainly get an attitude back.

Try to ease up on taking stress out on others if you’re feeling like this. You may not even notice it, but you could be being rude to people without even realizing it. If everyone just relaxes and takes a breather before getting annoyed with people we could all be a tad less stressed. Then we wouldn’t be worried about losing a friendship too.

Some stress management tips my friends and I have been implementing are things like listening to music, going into another room by yourself, coloring or any mind games. You can get apps on your phone to keep you busy. Things like Sudoku, Temple Run or Solitaire can help get your mind off stress and try to relax. A lot of these games also can increase your reaction times and memory. Lately though, coloring and talking out the issues seem to be the best way I’ve found to cope with stressful situations.

If all else fails, try talking to your parents, have some of your favorite foods, or go for some retail therapy. Every little thing that boosts your mood gets you away from flipping out on someone who is a really great friend to you.

Letter to the Editor

It is coming to be the end of the year and, probably like many students on campus, I have gone overboard one too many times. In the end, I have decided that I like myself a lot better when I am not drunk at all.

I am done stressing about what I did and did not do when I was blacked out. I am the type of person who advocates that if you cannot handle your liquor, don’t drink. I have slowly realized that I can’t handle past a certain point and I do not want to get to that point anymore.

I have still been casually drinking but it has been a sip here and there. Even at home there is drinking socially. When you don’t have in mind to get drunk and forget something, you don’t go overboard and you don’t have a bad time.

Personally, I have to keep it in my head that I am not allowing myself to get drunk anymore. One drink is enough for the night, if that. I have been metaphorically slapped in the face too many times by my intoxicated self and I need to realize that me + alcohol = bad time.

Now that I have cut back tremendously on drinking, I am keeping my liver healthy, not killing brain cells, and I am happier knowing how I spent my night. I haven’t been on the floor, crying, or yelling at anyone in weeks and that makes me much more comfortable with myself. I hate how some people get when they’re drunk and I’m sure I would hate myself drunk if I could see it.

If you make a drunken mistake I’m all about taking responsibility for it. You drank too much and made a mistake, no one made you do that. If someone did make you drink or do something stupid then they probably aren’t worth being around, but think about what made you listen to them. If they are forcing drinks into you without you knowing then they are probably not a very good person, and they should be removed from your life. If they are convincing drunk you to do things that sober you wouldn’t do, focus on what you can do to change and maybe talk to them about being smarter about someone else’s life.

Another bonus to the lack of drinking—saving money!

Now I’m not saying that you should never drink alcohol, I’m just saying I am happier when I’m not drunk and out of control. Maybe it is because I like being in control of my life or maybe it is because it just personally doesn’t agree with my body, but either way, I am satisfied being the designated driver/babysitter of my friends. I like making sure no one is getting themselves into trouble the way I did.

I know a lot of people have gotten to this point of sobriety. They drink and drink and drink until they make too many mistakes, or they feel sick every time. I have gotten to that point. I hope not many people have to get to that point, that they can just be smart about it from the start, but that is how I used to be and I spiraled away from the safe life. Now I am back and I am content with being safe.

Unfortunately for myself, I will not be attending the University of New Haven next year. With my time here, I wanted to bring forth some new challenges. I was thinking of ways we could improve our school.

One thing I wanted to look into was the donation of excess food to homeless shelters. When we finish our food at Bartels, what happens to it? What happens to all the food they cook when no one takes it? I understand that we are not going to scrape our plates and give our leftovers to the homeless, but what about the food that no one ever gets served to them? I feel we should come up with a system to donate it.

Another thing I had in mind was to create a greenhouse or some way to grow our own food. A lot of my friends go to school in the middle of nowhere, but one of my friends goes to school at Green Mountain College in Vermont. There, they have their own farm where they grow their own food. I think this would be a cool idea to have; however, I am not sure that we would be able to have the same growing power that Vermont’s climate does. That’s where the idea of a greenhouse comes in. Maybe we can grow little things that we use in every food dish, like garlic, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, etc…

Another idea was that the food that we do scrape off our plates can maybe become a compost pile. We must waste so much food here at this school, and I just think it would be a good idea to be able to use these things to our advantage. I was eating brunch the other day and my friend asked why they were using plastic plates. They were so concerned because plastic takes years to decompose. I said it’s better than the Styrofoam plates they sometimes use in replacement for the regular plates. Plastic takes a long time to decompose, but Styrofoam never really decomposes.

I just wish we could work towards a greener environment here at UNH. On campus we have clubs dedicated to this journey, and I only wish I could help if and when I am able to return to campus.

I also wish we could have a bit more community service just for the fun of it. I think we should try to help out children in orphanages or in hospitals. We can give them makeovers, give them baskets, or just have a karaoke night so they can get away from their troubles. Everyone could use a break from stress, and I think activities like this would be a fun way to do so.

The University of New Haven recently made the switch from Matrix to Banner Self Service for the fall registration process. Matrix was a nightmare; Banner seems to be a dream. Here are, in no particular order, five reasons why Banner is much better than Matrix.

1. No error messages, no lags, no freezing and no refreshing necessary: Using Matrix was a hassle; it was frustrating, exhausting and left everyone in a cranky mood. Thirty seconds into registration with Matrix meant instantaneous crashes and error messages; the refresh button was your best friend. With Matrix, registration day was a dreaded day. With Banner, registration was a breeze.

2. Didn’t have a Hunger Game-esqe feel to it: Last semester, I sat next to my laptop, Katniss braid in and bow beside me, waiting for the clock to turn 6:01 a.m. so I could start my journey towards the Cornucopia and into the blood bath. This semester, I casually waited for my time slot to open, and proceeded to register for classes as a normal human being, not as a tribute preparing for battle. If UNH sticks with this Banner process, we’ll all be able to kick the bow and arrows under the bed for good.

3. Registered for all my classes in a single shot: With Matrix, you have to go through an exhausting process of switching back and forth, searching for each individual class, but the same does not hold true for Banner. As soon as I logged in, I was brought to the Add/Drop page, where I was able to enter in all my CRN codes at once. Since I was annoyingly over-prepared with a color-coded Excel spreadsheet (don’t judge), I was able to enter in all six CRN codes and click register. I was immediately put into four of the six; if it were not for the fact that two classes had already been filled, I would have been done right there and then, at 7:10 a.m.

4. Didn’t have to wake up at 5:30 a.m.: Although this technically might not have anything to do with either Matrix or Banner, it’s still a wonderful perk that I’m associating with Banner, which, therefore, is a reason its better than Matrix. Last semester, registration began at 6:01 a.m., and I had to wake up at an ungodly hour to prepare by bow and arrow and fix my braid (I mean, the sun wasn’t even up yet). This semester, registration started at 7:01 a.m., meaning I got an extra hour of sleep. I still had to wake up way too early, but at least the sun was up with me this time.

5. I’ve remained considerably calm throughout the entire process: I made it through the registration process in one piece; I didn’t rip out any hair, didn’t shatter my phone by throwing it in frustration, there were no tears and no yelling. Surprisingly enough, I left the situation relaxed and happy with my schedule.