The Daily Gamecock's 2024 Editor-in-Chief Kate Robins encourages readers in her letter to reflect on their own personal growth in the new year. "Setting goals and creating expectations for yourself will always be important, but it’s okay to take the time to recognize and appreciate your growth," Robins writes. "It’s okay to tell yourself — and others — that you have worked hard to be where you are."
Social media can be harmful because of misinformation, but it is also very valuable in spreading important, accurate information — especially in academia. Opening up academic works online can help prompt change by promoting social literacy.
In support of Palestine and Gaza, many people are beginning to boycott a range of businesses and are demanding an end to hostilities with the Israeli army. While some may believe that it is pointless, we must boycott to help Palestine and Gaza.
Uncensored America President Brendan Connors said that Laura Loomer's visit to the University of South Carolina highlighted campus free speech issues. Similar events turned violent at Penn State, raising concerns about the ongoing First Amendment challenges in universities.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly developing and integrating itself into the workforce, calling for a demand to understand its functions. But AI doesn't purely work to benefit us, as artificially generated "deepfakes" begin to circulate social media everywhere.
The end of 2023 means moving on for editor-in-chief Sydney Dunlap. But Dunlap said students should focus on all that 2023 was and all that 2024 can be.
"There is an urgent need for wage reform at the University of South Carolina due to rising living costs and stagnant wages, which disproportionately affect students and employees," columnist Shannon Kavaja writes. "The university's labor coalition and union are raising awareness and advocating for change, emphasizing the importance of student participation in rallies and petitions to address the issue and ensure fair treatment of workers."
Students continue to take advantage of the Cockpit points system and as a result, demonstrate a false sense of school pride. This undermines the integrity of other fall semester sports and invalidates the hard work that other non-football athletes endure to put on their best performances.
"Forever chemicals" get a lot of public attention for how they affect American drinking water, but the presence of other chemical hydrohazards in our water sources should raise concerns at the University of South Carolina and across the U.S. Disinfection byproducts, in particular, are much more present in water and a cause for health concerns.
Columbia's stand-up comedy scene is lively and diverse, despite it not being well-known. Its many venues, which frequently host comedy shows, helps showcase the talent of a variety of comedians while appealing to different audiences.
For many individuals, reading has become a chore. It is time that students re-engage with books for fun by reading whatever they want. No matter what book it is, non-fiction or not, the process of reading will help students grow and learn.
"There was a lot of uncertainty at the start of the pandemic about how classes would be conducted and how professors would shift from their current teaching methods to a full-fledged online platform," columnist Varsha Gowda writes. "The system has come a long way since 2020, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to fully benefit students from online learning."
The Daily Gamecock's 2023 Editor-in-Chief Sydney Dunlap thanks her staff in her final letter in a print edition." It feels surreal that this will be the last time my signature will sit at the bottom of a page in a print edition. For a while, I’ve tried to think about what I wanted to write about, and I finally decided that it would be best to finish with what I’m proudest of — my team."
