This week in The Lamron…

After more than three decades of dedicated service to SUNY Geneseo, esteemed English, and Creative Writing professor Rachel Hall is retiring from her full-time teaching position. Earlier this week, Hall sat down for an interview, reflecting on her career, experiences, accomplishments, and future plans.

Starbucks is traditionally known for its green siren logo. Now, the corporation will also be known as the first United States coffee chain to allow customers to use their own personalized cups when placing mobile orders. 

College students have a lot on their plates, and when it comes to their mental and physical well-being, things can get tricky— especially when we talk about sexual health. Sadly, this group is more likely to face problems like unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than others. To give you an idea, people between the ages of 15 and 24 account for more than half of all STIs in the US, even though they only make up about a quarter of those who are sexually active. 

On Thursday, Feb. 6, Dr. Alexandra Oprea from the University at Buffalo’s philosophy department came to SUNY Geneseo to present on “How to Be a Good Democratic Citizen.” This was the inaugural talk of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) Lecture Series. 

On Feb. 1, 2025, a random Saturday night in the middle of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks decided to shake the National Basketball Association (NBA) to its core. The Mavericks sent point guard Luka Dončić, power forward Maxi Kleber, and power forward Markieff Morris to the Lakers in exchange for power forward Anthony Davis, shooting guard Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. The Utah Jazz helped facilitate this trade by acquiring point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2025 second-round picks. This is likely the biggest trade in NBA history, so here is a breakdown of its implications.

Despite best efforts to convince you otherwise, true democracy does not exist on college campuses. Even with seemingly democratic institutions on campus, such as the concept and practice of shared governance, the existence of the Student Association and College Senate, etc., the administration does not have a culture or respect for an honest, representative democracy. The Student Association can only suggest, not implement, policies that directly govern students' rights and responsibilities. 

When Kim Kardashian lost a noticeable amount of weight, people online immediately jumped to proclaim that skinny was ‘in’ again. The expectations of women’s bodies shifted— now we were no longer expected to have that excellent hip-to-waist ratio (that many seemed to turn to surgical procedures to obtain). Instead, we had to lose that weight and change our shapes to fit an ever-changing body standard.