issue 1// vol 46 Text me first dangit » Please, stop it with unprompted phone calls Janis McMath Senior Columnist I the wise words of the Swedish-British singer Mabel, “Don’t call me up.” Seriously, STOP calling me without texting me! I know that humans in 2019 seem to have gotten used to unprompted phone calls but I believe we need a serious change because of the tools we have now. If we're using cell phones, we are ALL capable of texting each other first and in my opinion, it is a very necessary courtesy that should be common. Calling someone without texting beforehand is rude because it assumes that people should always be “on” and ready to pick up the phone at any time to have a conversation. | am not always available to pick my phone up. For example, I might be at the library studying in the quiet section, Tarantino's time 1s up ona walk on a noisy road, at a party with friends, or literally having sex. We are all constantly in scenarios when a phone call does not make sense, so why do we just keep calling each other unannounced? I'm looking at you, employers and coworkers. Stop treating my phone line like a direct-access line and text me about your problems first! A lot of simple issues coworkers have called me about could easily be resolved by text. Calling also puts me on the spot whereas texting me gives me time to mull over the question and put some thought into it. Some will argue that a phone call is easier, and sure it is—to the person who is calling and is ready for a conversation. That mindset is completely inconsiderate of the receiver of the call and how difficult it may be for them to pick up the phone. I don't see why people can’t text me first, ask me if I’m available for a phone >» Quentin Tarantino needs to stop making movies Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief think it’s finally safe to say Quentin Tarantino is washed up. After hearing all the hype for his new flick Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (OUTIH), I was ecstatic to see it for myself. As a huge fan of his earlier work, I was expecting an epic story about the Manson family murders complete with the crude Tarantino-esque gore I’ve grown so fond of—or at least a movie that would at least make up for the tedious atrocity that was The Hateful Eight. Alas, I was bitterly disappointed. Instead, I had to sit through three hours of Brad Pitt driving and close- ups of dirty feet. Considering how long the director’s career in filmmaking has lasted and how long-winded and disappointing his last two films have been, I hate to admit it, but Tarantino can’t make good movies anymore. No doubt he had some talent earlier on in his career. Who can deny the obvious classics like Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, and Reservoir Dogs? However, his newer films like OUITH, The Hateful Eight, and even some parts of Django Unchained I find to be long, drawn out, and unengaging (especially so with the first two). It’s clear tT § It is as easy as “Can I call you?” and a text back that says “Yes, Tee ROB ebb LUC toma call, and schedule a time. It is as easy as “Can I call you?” and a text back that says “Yes, in 10 minutes.” | also reject the idea of “Oh I'll call them first and if they can’t pick up I'll just text them.” NO! That is just as disturbing and distracting. If you call me and I’m not interested in picking up, I still have to be distracted by my phone ringing for the next minute or so. I have to manually turn of the ringer if I don’t want to hear my stupid Game of Thrones ringtone, but a text message is easy to ignore since the sound is so small and brief. Additionally, if you call me and I am sleeping, my ringtone will wake me up. to me that he is losing his touch with what made his earlier movies so great, and he should quit while he’s ahead. Tarantino’s films used to be full of heart and passion, good story telling, interesting characters, and fantastic underrated actors. With his last two films, it’s clear he has lost all of the charm and grit his other movies carried so gracefully. Now it seems he only hires the same generic actors, draws out these slow and boring plots, and relies on the same old tricks we've seen in his films over and over again. Furthermore, I know Tarantino has done some long movies in the past and I’m used to my fair share of lengthy THROWBACK opinions // no. 15 i a “iS Asmall text message tone is easy to sleep through. I really think this is a necessary shift in our mode of communication so that a direct phone call can be reserved and universally understood as an emergency situation. If we were all courteous enough to text one another about when we want to set up a phone call, a direct phone call could hold much more meaning and people would know that they needed to pick up the phone ASAP. So don't call me up, don’t call me up— send me a friendly text message first. movies, but his last two movies were long, slow, and just never got interesting—save for the last 20 minutes. If you're going to ask me to sit in a theatre for almost three hours, youd better make it worth my time. Unfortunately, Tarantino's past few films have not done that, and with the direction he seems to be going, I don’t think they ever will again. Tarantino said he was going to retire after making 10 movies, possibly ending ona Star Trek project, but I say don’t waste everybody’s time. Retire now. Please, for the love of God, stop making more movies. Ifyou ask me, he should have retired after Django Unchained. Cemeteries need to be put to rest >» They're a waste of space, resources, and bad for the environment Jessica Berget Opinions Editor Originally Published November 19, 2018 obody knows what happens after you die, but everyone has some idea of what they want to do with their bodies after they’ve passed on to the other side. There is an option for everyone's death discretion—whether it be a natural burial, donating your body to science or medicine, cremation, planting your ashes with a tree, making them into gems, a vinyl record, an eternal reef, or even shooting your ashes into outer space. With so many alternatives to traditional burials, I think it’s about time we as a society stopped using cemeteries. Graveyards are a wasteful and antiquated concept as well as being harmful for the environment. People have been burying their loved ones in caskets since time immemorial—but methods of body disposal have changed and evolved since then, so it seems logical to me that we keep up with the times. Cemeteries often take up a lot of land that could be used for people who are alive and could actually use it. This is land that formaldehyde, glycerin, and phenol are all ingredients used for embalming. The fumes of these chemicals alone are enough to irritate the eyes, nose, skin, and throat. Furthermore, could have been used to build formaldehyde is a housing for students ~ potential carcinogen or people in and lethal in high need, schools, or ~ concentrations, and literally anything L phenol is toxic if productive, but ingested, so it’s they’re full of dead probably not people. Additionally, . good that these because of people's silly re things are superstitions and the ake being put havoc burials wreak on the ect into the soil environment, once graveyards are established, the land can't be used for anything else. Burying dead bodies has been part of our society for so long that people don't twice about the consequences or the toll it could have on the environment. Turns out the chemicals that are used for burials in both the body and casket are incredibly toxic. For instance, and contributing to groundwater pollution. Even more concerning, according to an article published by Berkeley Planning Journal, about 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid are buried with the dead in the US every year. It’s not only chemicals we have to worry about being put in our soil—think of all the materials we bury in cemeteries every year. It has been reported that an estimated 14,000 tons of steel vaults, 90,272 tons of steel caskets, 2,700 tons of copper and bronze caskets, 1,636,000 tons of concrete vaults, and 30 million board feet of hardwood caskets are buried in the US every year. I understand that burials are a religious practice for many, but natural burials are a better and less invasive alternative. Another problem plaguing cemeteries is that there isn’t enough room to bury everyone who dies. Cemeteries in Canada are running out of space and a 2013 survey found that nearly half of the graveyards in the UK will be filled to capacity in the next 20 years. Considering the consequences that come with using cemeteries, I think everyone should seek alternative means for their final resting place. Everyone is going to die one day but we're not getting any more land, so consider a less invasive or more eco-friendly method for your disposal.