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Delaware football dominates FIU in historic CUSA debut 5:00 AM (4 hours ago)

In its first-ever Conference USA (CUSA) matchup, Delaware football, the -5.5 point underdogs, would go on to dominate the Florida International University Panthers at Pitbull Stadium in Miami, showing everyone that they not only belong in their new conference, but should be feared by their opponents.

Both Delaware and FIU entered this game after major wins defined by their ground game. The Panthers were coming off a big win in the Shula Bowl against Florida Atlantic University, their first win in the series since 2016. During the game, CUSA Offensive Player of the Week Kejon Owens ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

At Delaware Stadium, however, the ground shook as star running back Jo Silver ran all over the University of Connecticut defense, going for career highs of 179 yards, two touchdowns and a 70-yard touchdown run.

In the absence of starting quarterback Zach Marker, Nick Minicucci was given his third consecutive start of the season. Delaware was also without star receiver Jake Thaw for the second consecutive week.

Delaware began the game with a 68-yard 12-play offensive drive to the FIU seven-yard line, allowing them to score the first points of the game off a 24-yard field goal by kicker Nate Reed.

FIU began their first offensive opportunity of the game with a dynamic passing and running game and a huge 39-yard run from Owens, showing a promising future for the Panther offense. That future would quickly change as Delaware safety Mysonne Pollard grabbed a redzone interception, preventing FIU from scoring any points in their first drive of the game.

Unfortunately, Delaware squandered their offensive opportunity as it could not get any offense going and saw a quick three-and-out. In response, FIU scored a quick touchdown on a three-play drive that involved a 47-yard pass to wide receiver Alex Perry and a two-yard touchdown run from Panthers quarterback Keyone Jenkins, giving FIU a 7-3 lead.

Delaware would then have another trip to the red zone that would go into the second quarter. The quarter started with an unsuccessful fourth-down conversion for the Blue Hens’ offense.

In a quick turnaround, the FIU offensive drive came to an abrupt and familiar end on the third play as Pollard caught his second interception of the game.

Delaware would not make the same mistake they did after the previous turnover. To the excitement of the Blue and Gold faithful, they would have a five-play drive ending in a 14-yard touchdown run from Silver.

FIU struggled on offense with a drive ending in back-to-back penalties, setting up for a tough third-and-18 that they were unable to convert. This marked the first drive of the game that brought Panther punter Trey Wilhoit onto the field.

The story remained the same when FIU committed a 15-yard facemask penalty on the second play of the drive and a 13-yard pass interference penalty on the seventh play of the drive, setting the Blue Hens up at the two-yard line. Minicucci would then throw a two-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nick Laboy for his first endzone reception of the season.

Delaware forced an FIU three-and-out with a big third-down sack from defensive tackle Keyshawn Hunter. In spectacular fashion on his first career punt return, wide receiver Kyree Duplessis returned the punt 68 yards to the house for the third Blue Hen touchdown of the game.

For the rest of the second quarter, both offenses would fall stagnant as FIU would go three-and-out again on offense. The Blue Hens had their first turnover of the game off of a Minicucci interception to FIU defensive back Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine. 

On the final drive of the half, the Panthers attempted to put their second score on the board, but were unsuccessful due to a missed 46-yard field goal by kicker Robert Czeremcha.

Going into the second half of the game, Delaware was looking great as they held a 24-7 lead and had been the better team on both sides of the ball thus far.

To start the second half, FIU received the ball and ran a long and methodical 13-play, five-minute and 27-second drive that resulted in their first points since the first quarter. Czeremcha was able to put a 35-yard field goal through the uprights to make the score 24-10.

Delaware responded with heat on offense through their own long and methodical 12-play, six-minute and 33-second drive. This drive featured multiple Blue Hen running backs after Silver went down with an injury, making Viron Ellison Jr. the next man up. 

Ellison played well, rushing for 11 yards on two attempts in this drive and setting up a 16-yard completion to wide receiver Sean Wilson that would place Delaware in the endzone. Laboy found the endzone for a career-high second touchdown reception off of a 14-yard pass from Minicucci, giving the Blue Hens a 21-point lead over the Panthers.

FIU responded on another long drive leading into the fourth quarter, going 75 yards in 11 plays. This drive was mainly characterized by a huge 53-yard run from running back Anthony Carrie that put FIU at the Delaware four-yard line. After three unsuccessful offensive plays that amounted to a loss of one yard, Jenkins was able to find Perry for a five-yard touchdown. FIU unsuccessfully went for a two-point conversion, making the score 31-16.

Delaware would then take the field for their only offensive drive of the fourth quarter. A time-eating seven-minute and 31-second drive that resulted in another touchdown score for the Blue Hens. 

Delaware got off to a hot and early start on the third play of the drive with a 36-yard pass to Duplessis putting the Blue Hens in Panther territory. The drive was a tremendous effort from Ellison, who had 20 yards on six runs and 15 yards on two receptions. Ellison also caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Minicucci to make the score 38-16.

FIU then took their final possession of the game, going 74 yards all the way to the Delaware goal line, only to face a brick wall Blue Hen defensive unit that held them off on the final two plays of the game. Delaware’s dominance was reflected by the final score of 38-16.

The contest was not even close, yet coming into the game, the Blue Hens were the heavy underdogs. Delaware outplayed the Panthers on offense, defense and even special teams.

Duplessis was awarded CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week after an outstanding performance, returning a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown and accumulating 125 all-purpose yards through the air, on the ground and his punt return.

The win gave Delaware a 3-1 overall record and started them at 1-0 in conference play. As of week nine, Delaware has a 3-3 overall record and a 1-2 conference record and are now tied for eighth place in CUSA with New Mexico State.

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Delaware football dominates FIU in historic CUSA debut was first posted on October 23, 2025 at 8:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

Photo Gallery: Delaware Soccer beats D3 Neumann University 10-0 22 Oct 7:17 AM (yesterday, 7:17 am)

Managing Visuals and Layout Editor Larissa Veronica Heather and Photographer Michael Boyer photographed Delaware’s dominant victory over D3 school Neumann University on Oct. 14.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware Soccer beats D3 Neumann University 10-0 was first posted on October 22, 2025 at 10:17 am.
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Noise of Newark: Colors of fall 21 Oct 8:00 AM (2 days ago)

Photographer Wanning Wang spent the week photographing the changing colors on Delaware’s campus.

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Noise of Newark: Colors of fall was first posted on October 21, 2025 at 11:00 am.
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Mosaic tries something new: Ugly Dumpling 20 Oct 6:00 AM (3 days ago)

Last spring, I heard all the buzz about the newest arrival to Main Street: Ugly Dumpling. Its opening in April captured the attention of Newark residents, with various locals reviewing the restaurant on TikTok. 

I was intrigued by Ugly Dumpling’s offerings, but never got the chance to try them myself. I had a heavy workload at the time (and was scared of long wait times because of how popular it seemed) so I missed out. But this semester I finally decided to visit the restaurant and see if all the buzz around their food would live up to the hype. 

I decided to go for lunch, in hopes that the restaurant wouldn’t be too crowded. To my delight it wasn’t. As soon as I walked in, I was amazed by how beautifully decorated the restaurant was. 

They made great use of ambient lighting, art and contemporary interior design. Close to the host stand and bar, there was a room where cooks were preparing dumplings. The walls are made of glass, allowing customers to see their work. Another fun detail was the bamboo steamer baskets that were placed around the restaurant as decoration. The unique interior design of the restaurant added to my enjoyment of the trip. 

Our server was really nice and emphasized her role in guiding our dining experience. She went through the menu, explaining that most items were meant to be shared. This was great, considering I was with two friends. There was a wide variety, including appetizers, dim sum, soup dumplings and main dishes. Everything looked amazing and the descriptions were very appealing, which is why my table ordered basically an entire feast – and I’m not joking when I say feast. 

The following list includes everything we ordered: pork and shrimp shumai, chicken soup dumplings, Ugly Dumpling sampler, spicy chicken wontons, noodles with shredded beef and sishito peppers, shrimp fried rice and orange chicken.

All the dishes we ordered were delicious, but three stood out to me. The chicken soup dumplings were my favorite because they were extremely flavorful and the proportions for each dumpling were satisfactory. My second favorite dish was the orange chicken, which had the perfect balance between sweet and tangy and had an excellent crisp. The spicy chicken wontons earned the final spot in this list because they had a burst of flavor, a touch of spice and tender chicken. 

Although all of the dishes were tasty, my least favorite was the pork and shrimp shumai because it lacked flavor. The texture also wasn’t the greatest as it was extremely thick and meaty, making it hard to chew. If I were to go to this restaurant again, I don’t think I’d be ordering this dish, but that’s just my personal preference.

Overall, each dish was tasty and the portions were quite large. My friends and I weren’t able to finish everything. Had I not been full, I would’ve finished everything on that table because the flavors were captivating.

Oddly enough, what topped off the experience was the restroom. It wasn’t as decorative as the restaurant, but it still had a clean look. The stalls were the type where you couldn’t see between the cracks of the door, which is always a plus. Right next to the sink, there was a mouthwash dispenser along with tiny cups. I imagine this comes in great use to anyone on a first date who doesn’t want that garlic to haunt them later on. The bathroom was truly the cherry on top.

My experience at Ugly Dumpling was wonderful. It was such a gorgeous restaurant with so much to offer in terms of flavor. There is still so much left for me to try, so I will definitely be returning and hopefully make my way through their menu. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone, as they have a diverse menu and it’s a great place for a group of friends or family to visit.

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Mosaic tries something new: Ugly Dumpling was first posted on October 20, 2025 at 9:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

Photo Gallery: Thousands join “No Kings” protest in downtown Newark 19 Oct 5:00 AM (4 days ago)

Thousands took to downtown Newark on Saturday afternoon, joining a second nationwide “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration.

Demonstrators gathered on the North Green, where organizers and elected officials addressed the crowd. Speakers included state Reps. Cyndie Romer and Mara Gorman, both Democrats representing Newark, and Mike Brickner, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware.

Protesters marched down Main Street, drawing honks of approval from motorists and a small group of counterprotesters.

Similar demonstrations were held across the First State, including in Wilmington, Lewes, and other Delaware communities, as part of coordinated protests nationwide.

According to organizers, more than 2,500 rallies took place across all 50 states on Saturday as part of the second wave of “No Kings” demonstrations, drawing millions of participants nationwide.

The movement began earlier this year as a show of resistance to what organizers describe as “authoritarian overreach” by the Trump administration.

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Photo Gallery: Thousands join “No Kings” protest in downtown Newark was first posted on October 19, 2025 at 8:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

Noise of Newark: Buildings and architecture 19 Oct 5:00 AM (4 days ago)

Photographer Hannah Paliath captures buildings and architecture on campus

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Noise of Newark: Buildings and architecture was first posted on October 19, 2025 at 8:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

Photo Gallery: Delaware women’s ice hockey falls short to Penn State 18 Oct 5:00 AM (5 days ago)

Photographer Zach Tapper captures Delaware’s loss to Penn State

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Photo Gallery: Delaware women’s ice hockey falls short to Penn State was first posted on October 18, 2025 at 8:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

A love letter to my locs 17 Oct 5:00 AM (6 days ago)

To my locs,

Words can not express how much you mean to me. Over three years ago, you became a part of my life and as I have changed, so have you.

You are a mosaic of colors that remind me of the many past versions of myself. Your roots are dark and curly, made up of the same thick coils that took years for me to learn to love. Your ends are hues of brown from sophomore year when I needed a change, mixed with blues that faded into greens after getting tired of the color brown a year later and dyeing you in my dorm bathroom.

I have watched you mature and grow. Soft coils that used to dangle by my ears and tickle my face are now thick locs that hang down my back and swing as I walk. 

Nurturing you for these past three years has taught me a lot about myself. You taught me patience – you can’t always get what you want in an instant. Sometimes, the best results take time and once you achieve them, the wait is well worth it.

You taught me to love myself at all stages. During this time, I have learned to stand taller and hold my head higher, no matter what I was going through or what my hair looked like.

Lastly, you reminded me of something I thought I had lost: my love for my hair.

I was born with a head full of curls that seemed to get thicker and thicker as time went on. We had a love-hate relationship and I would always say they had a mind of their own. 

It took me a while to embrace them. I spent many Saturdays in a salon straightening them out to avoid dealing with them (and the tears that came with getting them styled). But at the same time, I loved them and I hated that I was ruining them – so, I stopped.

Afros, braids and twists became my new norm as I embraced my natural hair. My hair was thick, coily and beautiful. I often felt like my hair walked into the room before I did because it was usually one of the first things people noticed about me.

My hair was my whole world for years and I was happy. Until it literally felt like my entire world revolved around my hair. I soon realized that I could not take any more nights spent in the bathroom on the verge of tears, covered in product and loose strands of hair. My worst nightmare was coming true: my hair was beginning to feel like a burden, rather than a gift. That was until I met you.

When I was so close to just chopping off everything that I had worked so hard for, you showed up and showed me that I just needed to change my approach. I still loved my hair, but I could no longer love it in the form that it was in. 

So, to my locs, I say thank you. Thank you for growing with me. Thank you for sticking by me as I rebuilt my confidence from the ground up. Most importantly, thank you for allowing me to fall in love with my hair all over again.

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A love letter to my locs was first posted on October 17, 2025 at 8:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

University police union cites safety and pay concerns amid continuing contract talks  15 Oct 5:00 AM (8 days ago)

The University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD) is facing a mounting set of issues as their union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 (FOP 7), continues contract negotiations.

Their prior collective bargaining agreement, which expired in June, outlined wages, benefits and the relationship between the union and the university. With that contract expired and negotiations ongoing, issues surrounding pay and officer retention have come to the forefront. 

UDPD currently has a staff of 48 officers, down from the 54 mandated by the department. One of the main reasons for this decline has been incommensurate pay with other local agencies.

The starting salary for UDPD officers is just over $63,000, as compared to Newark Police Department’s (NPD) $81,781.

However, during negotiations the university has continued to argue against increased salaries.

According to Lance Chandler, president of FOP 7, the university’s approach to pay comparisons has caused tension. The university has chosen to compare UDPD officers’ salaries to other university employees rather than to those of other police departments.

“They have said it at least two or three times in our negotiations that our paychecks come from the University of Delaware, and we have to be comparable to everyone else at the University of Delaware,” said Chandler.

Chandler said that while the union is advocating for better compensation, its concerns stem from the reality of the manpower shortage and subsequent safety issues. He emphasized that their argument for higher pay is in response to worsening retention as officers leave the department to work for other, higher-paying agencies in the area.

“The last thing I want to do is sound like we’re screaming we’re way underpaid and everything,” said Chandler. “But unfortunately, because of the nature of everything throughout the state of Delaware that’s part of the problem. We’re comparing ourselves to the other police agencies in the state of Delaware, because that’s who we lose people to.”

Pay, however, is not the only issue taking a toll on officers. Long hours and back-to-back shifts have also become more frequent.

“I ended up working a total of a 17-hour shift,” said Chandler. “It’s not safe if you have a high-stress call come in and you don’t know whether you’re getting an officer that’s two hours onto their shift or 16 hours onto their shift.”

The minimum number of officers required to be on call Monday through Thursday is four, while on the weekend it is five.

Chandler, like many other officers, is required to work a double shift if there are not enough officers on patrol to meet the minimum, something he said has already happened three times this semester.

He underscored that for officers working that double shift, it does not account for the drive to and from work – for Chandler, an hour and change up and down Route 1.

Another part of the equation, Chandler said, is mandatory overtime, including football games and commencement. Such overtime has increased over the past seven years he has been with the department and has become difficult to manage amid staffing shortages.

“Now, because we’re short people, we have some people who have to do three or four a school year,” Chandler said. “Guys like myself and Robert, who are on patrol, we only have two weekends off a month.”

While both Chandler and Robert Pappa, vice president of FOP 7, agree that more officers should attend crowded events for safety’s sake, they said it ultimately comes down to the simple supply and demand of officer availability.

“However, [the university is] decreasing our staffing levels so we have less officers to handle this increase in demand, which is becoming a little bit challenging, and we are starting to see some of our officers getting a little burned out from all these mandatory overtimes,” Pappa said.

The union first notified the university of its intent to negotiate a new contract on Jan. 5, 2025, with a second notice sent on Feb. 25. Despite repeated outreach, the university did not respond until April 22, more than three months later. 

The first meeting between the union and the university was held in late April, where they discussed ground rules and expectations. Formal negotiations followed throughout May and into late June. 

During the June 23 session, just a week before the contract was set to expire on June 30, the university told the union it could no longer negotiate and would need time to issue a response before talks could resume – negotiations did not pick back up until Aug. 29, more than two months later.

“We believe it’s while the interim president was coming in, and she was getting reacquainted with everything, and they were trying to get organized on their end,” said Pappa. “But we’re not sure why there was that two-month delay in our negotiations.”

The university and FOP 7 negotiate through an outside labor attorney contracted by the university, along with a labor relations attorney and legal counsel employed by the university as well.

FOP 7 is not the only union on campus in the midst of negotiations.

Professors unionized under the university’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter at the university are also preparing to renegotiate their contract in the coming months, but do not work the same hours or days as police officers.

The same goes for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Locals 439 and 3472, which represent custodial workers, groundskeepers and technicians.

The commitment for UDPD officers to be on campus consistently, while a part of the job, has added to the increased urgency of establishing a new contract.

“We are the only department in the University of Delaware that is there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every holiday, every time the university shuts down over Christmas to New Year’s, we’re there,” Chandler said. “Facilities aren’t there. Faculty is not there. Staffing is not there. But we’re there.”

Pappa added that UDPD officers’ duties extend beyond campus, assisting the Newark Police Department and other agencies when requested.

With Interim President Laura Carlson stepping in in July, both Chandler and Pappa expressed hope for not only a change in how officers are treated, but also in how administrators interact with the department.

Chandler said there has already been a noticeable shift, noting that there have been no demands for UDPD to provide escorts for the president.

“One of the things that seems to have changed big time is the current interim president has not called the police department and demanded a ride to the football games,” said Chandler. “Has not demanded to be picked up from the Philadelphia airport by the police department.”

With contract talks still ongoing and the possibility of those talks heading into meditation, Chandler and Pappa both hope to get a fair deal out of the new contract.

Both officers said that more overtime means less time with their families, an expected part of the job, but one that becomes increasingly difficult as the hours add up.

“As Chandler was saying, weekends, when most of these events are held, we’re ideally off every other weekend,” Pappa said. “So when that’s taken away from us, either at the last minute or unexpectedly, it does impact family life in a negative way.”

In a statement to The Review, the university said that they are actively working towards an agreement that benefits the university community. 

“The University of Delaware and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 are working in good faith and actively engaged in ongoing negotiations,” read the statement. “We are making progress toward an agreement that prioritizes the safety of those who live, learn, and work at the University. We have not reached a final agreement at this time and will provide updates as appropriate.”

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University police union cites safety and pay concerns amid continuing contract talks  was first posted on October 15, 2025 at 8:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

An investigation into social media’s public urination epidemic on campus 14 Oct 5:00 AM (9 days ago)

The university is no stranger to campus-wide outbreaks. “Frat flu” seems to spread like wildfire during the first few weeks of every semester, nearly as fast as gossip on Yik Yak. But now, students are witnessing the spread of something far more unorthodox: public urination.

Just a few weeks ago, anonymous TikTok users began posting videos of themselves in which they appeared to urinate on well-known campus landmarks. These locations included the Nubian goat sculpture near Caesar Rodney dining hall, the stairs of Memorial Hall, the Magnolia Circle fountain and several other recognizable spots around campus. 

In an effort to get to the bottom of this, we asked students around campus what they knew about the phenomenon. 

“I think it’s pretty jacked up – I mean, I’m not tryna be stepping in no piss,” Riley Pritchett, a junior attending the university, said. “Someone’s gotta catch him. Or something bad’s gonna happen.”

The question of whether the urine was authentic was a hot topic of discussion. 

“I don’t know, man, I mean it seems kind of clear to be real piss, but like, who knows?” Liam Mackenzie, a sophomore, said. 

Alec Ader, also a sophomore, said, “Maybe he’s like … really well hydrated.”

James Massa, a fifth-year student, said, “It could be either; it honestly could be real or just like water or whatever.” 

Some students weren’t convinced the video showed actual urine.

“The f—? F— you mean fake pee? Where do you get it from, the pee store?” asked Lucas Castle, an engineering student. 

“I think if it’s fake, he’s probably just, f—ing like, squirting a water bottle in there or whatever,” Massa said. 

“He’s got some yellow dye – but like, does it smell bad?” asked Castle. 

“It’s a video, you’re not gonna smell that in a video,” Massa explained. 

“Fair point,” conceded Castle. 

As of now, the jury is still out on whether these accounts are actually urinating or simply employing the use of different water-dispensing props – water guns or water bottles with perforated caps being most common.  

One account, the self-dubbed “UD Piss Bandit,” posted a video of themselves in front of Perkins Student Center dispensing a bright red stream onto the road, leading concerned viewers to question the perpetrator’s health. 

“Well, I would say we should check the locations that he pissed on, and we should see if there are any halls around there where he could live, cause he probably does it to claim his territory,” suggested Mackenzie. 

This is exactly what we did. 

UDelaware Pisser Public Urinations:

1st strike: Nubian goat statues between Allison Hall and Caesar Rodney Complex – Aug. 31

2nd strike: North steps of Memorial Hall – Aug. 31

3rd strike: Front lawn of Alpha Phi house – Aug. 31

4th strike: Mentor’s circle – Sept. 1

5th strike: Wings of Thought statue – Sept. 2

6th strike: Morris Library sign – Sept. 2

7th strike: Magnolia Circle fountain – Sept. 2

8th strike: Lamp post, unidentifiable location – Sept. 2

9th strike: Second lamp post, unidentifiable location – Sept. 2 

10th strike: Redding Hall front bike rack – Sept. 3

UD Piss Bandit:

1st strike: North steps of Memorial Hall – Aug. 1

2nd strike: Academy St. in front of Perkins Student Center – Sept. 2

3rd strike: Outside Caesar Rodney Dining Hall’s front entrance – Sept. 3 (Video was later deleted)

4th strike: Sidewalk in front of Perkins Parking Center – Sept. 4

5th strike: Wings of Thought statue – Sept. 6

6th strike: Lil Bob parking lot – Sept. 7

There is considerable overlap between the strike locations of the two major accounts, which both focus on central campus. 

Based on the clumping of the UDelaware Pisser’s strikes (three on Aug. 31 and five on Sept. 2, all of which took place at night) and our knowledge of the standard human bladder, we can reasonably assume that the UDelaware Pisser’s streams are not composed of real urine. 

Looking at the relatively circular path formed by the UDelaware Pisser’s first seven strikes, it is entirely possible that the first nine strikes took place on the same day (strikes 8 and 9 were uploaded the same day as strike 7). This provides insight into the Pisser’s two most likely areas of residence.

The first: Since both strike 1 (start of circular path) and strike 7 (end of circular path) take place right outside of Caesar Rodney Residence Hall, there is a notable possibility that the UDelaware Pisser resides there. 

This would mean that strikes 8 and 9 were also recorded in the immediate area since they were posted as part of a montage in the same video with strike 7. It would also suggest that strike 10 was an isolated attack and not part of a broader movement pattern. 

The second: The Pisser may live in Redding Hall, since the last recorded strike took place at the bike rack outside of the front entrance. Given the already clustered nature of the Pisser’s strikes, it is reasonable to assume that the Pisser in fact recorded all strikes in the same night, starting at the goat statues and circling all the way around the South Green and eventually back to Redding. 

This would mean that strikes 8 and 9 must have taken place somewhere along the linear path shown on the map between strikes 7 and 10. 

We reached out to the UD Pisser over TikTok for his motive. He replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy.”

We have no evidence to suggest whether the UD Piss Bandit is or is not using real urine in their videos, nor can we assume any conclusive whereabouts based on their strike patterns. While the red stream in their second strike may raise some eyebrows, red urine can be a side effect of certain health conditions. We recommend the UD Piss Bandit consult a urologist at their earliest convenience. 

We reached out to the Piss Bandit for comment on his actions. “My Bladder is an unassailable instrument of destruction. Beware.”

Another account, the “UD Piss Hunter,” has taken it upon themselves to investigate the matter. We reached out to this account for comment, but have not yet heard back. 

As of now, there has been no comment by the university’s administration. Time will tell if the pissers will face justice.

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An investigation into social media’s public urination epidemic on campus was first posted on October 14, 2025 at 8:00 am.
©2022 "The Review". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at eic@udreview.com

Opinion: The pain you can’t see 13 Oct 9:00 AM (10 days ago)

September is Pain Awareness Month — a reminder to support people who live with chronic pain and push for more resources for a community that has too few.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, chronic pain is defined as pain you experience that has lasted for more than three months. Some have flare-ups, but most people experience the pain almost everyday. Imagine, a pain that never goes away. Unfortunately, this wasn’t something that I had to imagine. It was my life. 

In sophomore year of high school, I hurt my right heel. It was a simple injury – I banged it against something and it bruised. The thing was, the pain didn’t go away. Not after a day, a month, or a year. 

During the first month, I did countless X-rays, MRIs and CT scans. All results showed a healthy, normal foot, but the pain persisted. By this point, I was walking solely on my left foot and the toes of my right. I was mentally and physically exhausted. 

Doctors, the people who I looked to for answers, were stunned. In attempts to fix my problem, I went through steroid injections, nerve blockers, physical therapy and a Platelet Rich Plasma injection. 

After six months of still feeling hopeless, the pain from my right foot also traveled to my left. How? I have no idea. Now, left to walk on my tippy toes, doctors finally diagnosed me with a disorder called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). 

According to the McGill Pain Index,the pain of CRPS ranks 42/50, a score higher than that of a stab wound. CRPS pain is constant and there is no cure. This was everything a 16-year-old girl wanted to hear. 

Still, I continued walking solely on my toes for a year and a half. I continued with treatments and physical therapy, knowing I might never return to my full ability.

Eventually, finding the right therapy and medications were game changers for me.

I stayed persistent even when nothing was going my way. I gained mobility back in my heels. I was able to put pressure back on my feet. Who would’ve thought that I would be thankful for my feet? Walking is a privilege I had never thought of – but now I will not take it for granted. 

I still get painful flare-ups and in those moments I feel hopeless. I question if it’s really a flare-up or if my pain will come back and be a constant in my life again. But still, I persist. 

Not everyone is as lucky as me. Not everyone finds relief. 

I want to take this time to honor and support those who deal with pain in their everyday lives. Even though September is Pain Awareness Month, many deal with this pain every day of the year. It doesn’t disappear on Oct. 1st. We should be extending support to this community year-round, acknowledging that for many, pain lasts a lifetime.

So what can we do now? 

We never know the true pains someone may be experiencing. My chronic pain disorder was invisible to the public. No one knew I was struggling unless they saw how differently I was walking or I told them. 

We all need to recognize that pain disorders exist and that they are not easy to deal with.

Let’s come together and listen, offer support and spread awareness for those who are suffering, now and forever.  Remind them that they are not alone – something sophomore year me needed to hear. 

Cayla Mutchnick is an opinion columnist at The Review. Her opinions are her own and do not represent the majority opinion of The Review staff. She may be reached at caylamut@udel.edu. 

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Opinion: The pain you can’t see was first posted on October 13, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
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Personal essay: The blessing of sisterhood 13 Oct 6:04 AM (10 days ago)

There were two young girls, one looked to be a year or two older than the other. They both had blotchy faces, big smiles and light hair – touched by the sun, in the way that most everyone does when they’re a child.

The older girl, in the front, was wearing a sparkly green-and-purple princess dress with a tiny tiara and heels a few sizes too big for her. She spun in the mirror and swished her skirt, staring at herself in the reflection with a look of pride and excitement. 

The little girl in the back watched her in awe, curled up on the bed in her striped shirt and mismatched blue flower leggings. 

I watched the shaky video camera footage as the girl in the front turned to the girl behind her and said something. The younger girl giggled and nodded her head vigorously. She responded with words that weren’t quite formed, the way that children speak before they really know how to. The older girl understood, though – she always did. 

It was footage from the first time my younger sister and I had a real conversation. 

I didn’t know it then, but in my oversized heels, I was talking to the person who would become my whole world. 

Sisters understand each other in a way that they aren’t understood by others. They share clothes, memories and family secrets. They grow alongside each other and take each other’s great and not-so-great attributes. They learn to love, protect and understand each other before they know their times tables. 

My sister is my lifeline. I would, without a doubt, not be the person I am today if it weren’t for her. 

She’s the one who first taught me the kind of person I didn’t want to be – from the first time I took her toys, watched her face crumple and realized how easily small actions could hurt someone. She’s also the person who taught me the kind of person that I do want to be – when I shared my McDonald’s chicken nuggets with her and her little face lit up, and for the first time, I learned the power of giving. 

She has unintentionally taught me how to love someone more than I love myself. 

My sister was the first person I got into a real fight with. I was able to say things to her that I wouldn’t dare mutter to my friends, or anyone else in my life, because family relationships tend to be elastic. Your friend can become a stranger, but your sister will always be your sister. 

She was also the first person that I had a true heart-to-heart with, hiding under the tablecloth of our dining room table, where I was able to reflect and see things in a light that I never allowed myself to before. Shielded from the outside world by the white linen, I made the biggest realization of my life at the ripe age of six: that it was okay to be scared and to not always know what to do – and that I didn’t have to figure it out alone.

After 18 years of having my sister by my side throughout everything, I had to move away from her. It was the biggest heartbreak I’d known at the time, going from only knowing a life with her next to me to one where she was four states away. 

The second I got into my packed-to-the-brim Toyota Sienna to come to school, I felt like I left a piece of myself behind.  

Our relationship changed in the sense that I was no longer able to drive her to school, sports practices and the gym every day. We couldn’t be honorary members of each other’s friend groups or leave the house together when our parents were pissing us off. But we learned to manage, sending video updates whenever we could and calling every once in a while. The worst part was that I was entering a brand new chapter in my life that suddenly, she wasn’t part of. 

After a while, I realized that she actually still was. She was there in the songs I listened to on my way to class and on the thirty-minute incline walk we used to dread. 

She was in the dining hall with me when I made a yogurt bowl that I knew she’d drool over, with honey, granola and strawberries, and laughing by my side when I made a joke to my new college friends that I knew would’ve had her cackling. Though she wasn’t physically present, I felt her presence all around me. 

That’s the thing about sisters – you don’t have to physically be with them for them to be with you. I’ve often heard that if life happens as it should, your parents leave you too early and you meet your fiancé too late, but your siblings are with you throughout it all. 

My biggest blessing in my life is my sister. So for those of you who have one, text them that you love them. Let them know how much they mean to you and that you don’t know where you’d be without them, though they probably understand. They always do.

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Personal essay: The blessing of sisterhood was first posted on October 13, 2025 at 9:04 am.
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TV Review: “Building the Band” 13 Oct 5:58 AM (10 days ago)

*This review contains spoilers for “Building the Band”*

Ever since I was a kid, I have been obsessed with reality singing competition shows.

 I started watching “American Idol” when I was six years old, and since then, I have faithfully tuned in season after season. Despite being a diehard fan of the show, I have found the recent seasons of “American Idol” to be seriously lacking in drama. 

As soon as I saw the trailer for Netflix’s “Building the Band,” which is a reality singing competition where aspiring musicians form bands and compete against one another, I knew I had to watch it. Plus, the fact that Liam Payne was one of the judges had me sold.

The show is formatted unlike anything I have ever seen before. All 50 contestants sit in soundproof booths and can hear their fellow contestants performing, but they cannot see them. Each contestant has ten “likes” that they can give to other contestants, and following the solo performances, contestants can chat with people that they liked and get to know them better. If they get along, they can form a band with one another. 

While there are 50 solo contestants, only six bands consisting of three to five members can be formed. Once a band has been formed, they perform together for the first time. After the performance, the band members finally get to see one another and see how they will look together.

The bands live and work together throughout the entire process, focusing on everything from vocals to choreography to forming their image. Following that, they perform in elimination rounds until there is only one band left, with the winners receiving half a million dollars. 

The format of the show felt like a mix between Netflix’s “Love is Blind” and NBC’s “The Voice.” While I have to give props to the show for the creative format, at times, I found it to be a little confusing. In order to truly understand the format and the rules, I had to pause the show and look up the show’s rules online, which was frustrating.

I also did not enjoy that the show was edited out of order. There were a few times when bands began to form before all of the contestants’ solo performances were shown. I also found the pacing of the show to be uneven, as the first four episodes seemed to drag on while the other six were extremely fast-moving.

However, I did find myself sucked in by the drama between contestants. For example, a major story arc of the season was the budding romance between Conor (who my sister and I referred to as Temu Harry Styles) and Alison, who are members of different bands. Their romance caused tension among their respective bands and almost led to Conor’s band breaking up.

While I loved the drama and pettiness, I found myself being most entertained by the genuine talent and chemistry of some of the bands. I was thoroughly impressed with both SZN4, the only band composed of both men and women on the show, and 3Quency, an all-girl trio that went on to win the show. 

I thought the fact that the judges (Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child and Liam Payne of One Direction), mentor (Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls) and host (AJ McLean of The Backstreet Boys) were all members of successful bands added a sense of authenticity to the show. It was evident that their expertise was helpful to the bands. 

I also enjoyed the fact that they were willing to offer constructive criticism, as opposed to “American Idol,” where every comment from the judges is overly positive, even when it is obvious that a performance sucks.

Overall, I enjoyed “Building the Band” and hope it gets a second season. I would recommend the show to anyone looking for an easy, fun reality singing competition to get invested in.

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TV Review: “Building the Band” was first posted on October 13, 2025 at 8:58 am.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware volleyball rallies to defeat Middle Tennessee in reverse sweep 13 Oct 5:17 AM (10 days ago)

Photographer Jenna Kaufman captures Delaware’s win over Middle Tennessee in a reverse sweep.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware volleyball rallies to defeat Middle Tennessee in reverse sweep was first posted on October 13, 2025 at 8:17 am.
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The truth about taking a GLP-1 12 Oct 5:00 AM (11 days ago)

I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life. The way I’ve viewed food, even as a child, has been different from others. To me, food was a treat, a comfort, an emotional support, an escape from boredom, something to enjoy or indulge in – I never saw it as fuel. 

I started dieting young, as I carried a little extra weight as a child. I wouldn’t say I was a fat or heavy kid – I was just pudgy. But as I started dieting, my relationship with food changed. I felt like I was being deprived of something I loved. Having not even reached middle school yet, I didn’t understand why I couldn’t eat what I wanted. 

I began hiding food. I would sneak downstairs in the dead of night to raid the pantry or take snacks from school and hide them in my room. This is where my binge-eating habits began. I gained more and more weight, something my grandmother couldn’t explain, but also something that didn’t affect me. I was so unbothered by the weight I’d put on and was oblivious to how my body was changing. 

Things took a turn when I got to high school. This is where I became painfully aware of other people’s bodies compared to mine. I limited my eating to an extreme, pairing Chloe Ting workouts every night with the Trisha Paytas water diet for weeks. 

I lost 30 pounds in one month and dropped four pant sizes. As unhealthy as that sounds, I was still overweight. In the years following, my unhealthy eating habits fluctuated. I would go through periods of eating, binging, and purging, which led to gaining, losing and maintaining weight.

Halfway through my sophomore year of high school, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is a hormone disorder that makes losing weight incredibly difficult. I noticed that the only way I was losing weight was by starving myself. But I loved food. Even by eating a healthy, balanced diet and working out regularly, my weight stayed the same. 

Fast forward to my freshman year of college, I hadn’t just put on the freshman 15, I put on the freshman 30. Between the transition to dining hall food and switching birth control, my hormones were all out of whack and I couldn’t regulate them. 

I spoke to the nutritionist on campus, exercised regularly, ate in a caloric deficit and joined the Healthy Hens program, but nothing was helping. There was nothing more frustrating than dedicating myself to living a healthier lifestyle and my weight staying the same. 

I knew it was going to be hard to lose weight with PCOS, but I still wanted to try to lose it on my own. I reached my heaviest this past winter and came to the realization that I needed help. I was willing to try anything – even Ozempic. 

I knew going into this that I would have to swallow my pride. There’s such a big stigma attached to Ozempic, as celebrities used it as an “easy weight loss” alternative for years. Others have used GLP-1s and lied about it, profiting off of their advertised diet plans and workout classes while failing to mention the assistance of the GLP-1. But at this point, I was desperate and I knew I needed a leg up. 

I consulted with a doctor who prescribed Zepbound, which is a GLP-1 similar to Ozempic. For the first time in a long time, I was actually excited. I knew this medication gave results. I knew I could get the ball rolling on my weight loss journey with this medication. 

The only thing that scared me was the needles, but that was an easy thing to get over. The medication is in an EpiPen-style injector, so all I have to do is remove the cap, unlock the safety feature, place it on my skin and click the button.

After my first week, I lost five pounds. My appetite was curbed, I had no desire to eat greasy foods, and the best part – the food noise was gone. I was no longer constantly thinking about what I was going to eat and when. That part of my mind was at ease, so I could focus on eating food for fuel, instead of enjoyment. 

After a month of being on Zepbound, I lost 15 pounds, fit into my jeans from freshman year and felt so much healthier and happier. After two months, I could finally comfortably cross my legs. Here I am now, seven months into treatment and I’ve lost over 30 pounds. I still struggle a lot with my body dysmorphia – something I’m still trying to work on – but I’m more confident than I’ve been in years. 

Being on a GLP-1 is by no means an “easy way out.” I don’t care what people say. It will never do all the work for you – you need to put in the work yourself. I’ve worked just as hard as I did before, but this time, I’m seeing the results. I still have a long way to go to reach my end goal, but I will never be ashamed of the path I’m taking to get there. There’s no shame in needing a little extra help – there’s only shame in lying about it.

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The truth about taking a GLP-1 was first posted on October 12, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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A look ahead for the Student Multimedia Design Center 10 Oct 12:02 PM (12 days ago)

At the university, there is only one place where students can record a podcast, borrow a microphone or reserve a studio with professional cameras all in one stop: the Student Multimedia Design Center (SMDC).

Located on the lower level of Morris Library, the SMDC is available for use by all students and staff. With over 70 computers and six studios, the space offers software and equipment for a variety of multimedia projects.

The studios can be used for creative projects such as podcast recording, audio editing, digital art creation and music production with software like GarageBand and Logic Pro. Studio lighting, greenscreens, microphones, backdrops and cameras are also available for students who are looking to use a studio for a video or photography project.

Students can request a studio up to a week in advance by visiting the SMDC service desk. Studios are available to reserve for up to two hour time blocks.

SMDC computers are equipped with editing software such as DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop, Blender, iMovie and Adobe Premiere Pro. 

These computers can be found in Room B, each individual studio and the center’s open area, with software offerings varying by room. Students should view the Student Multimedia Design Center’s website’s software list for information on where to find specific programs.

The SMDC also allows students to check out equipment for a three-day window. The technology available to borrow includes microphone kits, cameras, laptops, backdrops, tripods, headphones, voice recorders and lighting kits. Students can check the availability of equipment, as well as a full list of offerings, on the Student Multimedia Design Center website.

In addition to digital resources and software, the SMDC offers poster printing, scanning and even lamination services.

For students with little experience creating media, the SMDC also offers consultations at no charge. The consultations, which usually last between 15 minutes and an hour, span a variety of topics such as digital photography, graphic design and video editing. A collection of project guides are also available on the website with information about the center’s software and equipment.

In the spring, the Student Multimedia Design Center will be evolving into the Research Design and Data Commons (RDDC).

While the space will continue to offer the same multimedia creation services that students have relied on, it will expand to include a focus on research communications and data. The RDDC will offer support for data analysis, visualization and collection.

“That’s going to be our core focus,” Daniel Peart, head of the Research Data and Design Commons, said. “The research communications, which is kind of evolving what has already been here, and then the research data services, which is really building on that.”

Room A, previously a computer lab, will become the Data Analysis and Visualization Lab with high performance work stations for heavy data processing and coding. It will also include new data processing software. Studio 2 will also be given a high performance work station, allowing it to offer both multimedia and data software.

The change comes as a response to a campus-wide need for more research support and accessible technology for both undergraduate and graduate students.

“We’re going to support equity across campus in terms of research,” Peart said. “Some departments have resources available, but some other departments’ students may need things that they don’t have access to. We’re going to be the central, interdisciplinary center that can help accommodate them.”

By the fall 2026 semester, the center hopes to expand its data reproducibility and curation support. 

Though the SMDC will be taking on a new name, Peart emphasizes that the center is expanding, not changing. In the future, students will be able to utilize both the multimedia creation equipment and research resources all in one place.

Peart hopes students who utilize the RDDC will walk away with a better understanding of both how to both approach a research topic and the benefits of learning how to use these research tools.

“We’re going to start doing a better job of helping people understand why they should do things, not just how,” Peart said.

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A look ahead for the Student Multimedia Design Center was first posted on October 10, 2025 at 3:02 pm.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware women’s ice hockey defeats Holy Cross in a close Sunday matinee game 10 Oct 5:00 AM (13 days ago)

Photographer Lauren Allen Captures Delaware Women’s Ice Hockey’s Win against Holy Cross

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Photo Gallery: Delaware women’s ice hockey defeats Holy Cross in a close Sunday matinee game was first posted on October 10, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Personal essay: Therapy is for everyone 10 Oct 5:00 AM (13 days ago)

Conversations about mental health aren’t easy. No one wants to dive into the deepest, darkest corners of their brain. 

These conversations often bring up feelings that people would much rather suppress and, typically, the people in their lives who they feel most comfortable opening up to aren’t fully equipped to deal with these things. This is why therapy can be an extremely useful resource to manage those stressors.

When I first decided to seek out therapy, I was a junior in high school. It was in the middle of the pandemic and, like many others, I found myself falling into a funk. I had to battle with myself every morning to drag myself out of my bed and into my dining room, where I sat on Zoom all morning. The assignments piled up, yet all I could think about was how much I missed my friends, family and extracurricular activities. It became hard to find the motivation to do anything but lie in my bed.

Since I was 16 at the time, I had the opportunity to sign up for counseling services through my school’s wellness center without needing parental consent; it was a decision I could make completely on my own. I had thought about being in therapy before, but never knew where to start. So, with this opportunity right in front of me, I decided to take a leap of faith and begin the process.

It was nerve-wracking at first. Opening up to a complete stranger is just as hard as it sounds. But the first appointment simply focused on getting to know me as a person, which made the minutes pass quickly and the overall vibe feel more relaxed. After my first session, I was extremely relieved and, honestly, surprised. I didn’t realize how good it would feel to talk to someone whose literal job is to listen to you ramble.

I continued seeing that counselor for the rest of junior year and the entirety of senior year. As time went on, I got progressively more comfortable and even started to look forward to our sessions every week. But, obviously, I couldn’t continue seeing her forever. When I graduated, I mourned the loss of one of my most helpful mental health resources.

When I entered college, I returned to my old ways of managing my mental health on my own. It was going great, until it wasn’t. After a rough first semester, I knew that it was time for me to utilize my resources again. This is when I began counseling through the Wellbeing Center in Warner Hall.

I got lucky again and, at my first appointment, was paired up with an amazing counselor who made me feel seen, heard and validated. Throughout the many ups and downs of my college experience, she has been there to guide me through it all.

Now, writing this as someone who has been in therapy for multiple years, I can say with confidence that therapy is for everyone. There is a lot of stigma surrounding getting help with mental health issues, but whether you just need a tool to manage everyday stressors or someone who can help you unpack complex feelings, therapy is incredibly useful.

As a college student, taking care of your mental health is extremely important. You’re constantly met with new situations and challenges to overcome. You’re regularly navigating social, academic and financial struggles and sometimes you just need an unbiased person to talk to.

So, as the weather changes and the leaves turn, I urge you to prioritize your mental health. 

When things get stressful around exam time or the seasonal depression starts to creep in, remember, there’s no shame in recognizing you need a bit of help.

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Personal essay: Therapy is for everyone was first posted on October 10, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware misses potential game tying field goal as time expires 9 Oct 10:00 AM (13 days ago)

Managing Visuals and Layout Editor Larissa Veronica Heather and Photographers Maddy McManus and Nik Anna captured Delaware’s game against Western Kentucky University.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware misses potential game tying field goal as time expires was first posted on October 9, 2025 at 1:00 pm.
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Delaware men’s soccer off to flying start in 2025 season 9 Oct 8:21 AM (14 days ago)

The university’s sports fanbase has struggled to define this new era of athletics as the Blue Hens depart the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and move to other conferences around the country. Feelings of optimism, excitement and fear of the unknown are all common.

 Regardless of your perception of the move, it is probably best described by the title of Bob Dylan’s song, “The Times They Are-A Changin’.” 

Such is true for the Delaware men’s soccer team. The Fightin’ Blue Hens, under Coach Tommy McMenemy, had one of the most geographically drastic conference transitions, leaving the CAA to compete in the Summit League. 

The Summit League, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, comprises teams from across the country, including UMass, Omaha and Denver. 

Although Delaware lost some key players from a formidable 2024 squad, especially leading scorer Sam Donnellan, Coach McMenemy brought in a string of new players to help bolster the team. Before arriving in Newark, McMenemy was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Michigan – and is regarded as one of the best recruiters in the country.

Some of the best new Blue Hens arriving in Delaware this fall include goalkeeper JoJo Elliot Jr., who spent time in the Philadelphia Union Academy, midfielder Liam Penny and defender Colin Kelly.

 McMenemy traveled across the pond to recruit a pair of English midfielders from Leeds, with Freddy Jeffreys and Joe Richards both finding themselves consistently in Delaware’s starting eleven. 

Along with these new stars, many others returned for the Blue and Gold. Marius Stenner, the CAA Freshman of the Year in 2024.  Stenner emphasized the importance of his role and the responsibility it entails.

Both forwards, Stenner and Mikey Johnson returned to Newark. Delaware’s defense of Luke Chatten, Sean Smith, Emmett Kershner and Jan Schroder all provided McMenemy with one of the most experienced back fours in the country. 

“We wanted to revamp our out of possession mentality, and not just in a sense of one v one defending, but unit defending team shape,” Coach McMenemy said. “But we really felt that to be successful in conference and beyond, we need to keep more clean sheets.”

Coach McMenemy noted that there is a need to drastically reduce the goal against average, and that there has been an improvement in multiple areas.

Delaware began the 2025 season on Aug. 21 on their home field at Stuart and Suzanne Grant Stadium, facing off against Le Moyne College. 

Goals from forwards Marius Stenner and Johnson, a clean sheet from Elliot and the Blue Hens’ defense started a trend that defined Delaware’s season early: stalwart defense and finishing opportunities.

The Blue Hens then paired back-to-back four-to-zero wins against Temple in Philadelphia on Aug. 24 and Loyola Maryland at home on  Sept. 2. Facing tough competition from American University and the University of Pennsylvania, Delaware’s defense rose to the occasion, allowing just one goal in the two matches. Delaware won both games, 2-1 and 1-0 respectively. 

Following the game against Penn, the Blue Hens scored nine goals combined and allowed zero in their next two contests between Howard on Sept. 13 and Mount Saint Mary’s on Sept. 16. At that point in the season, the Blue and Gold boasted a 7-0-0 record, the only team in the nation to win their first seven games. 

Delaware would draw their last out-of-conference game against George Washington on Sept. 23, with a score of 1-1. Up next for the Blue Hens was the UMass Minutemen in the first Summit League matchup for both teams.

“We can do all the preparation we want to,” McMenemy said, “but not knowing what it feels like at Denver, what that crowd sounds like, what they’re like on the sidelines, all of those things makes it really exciting to go and do that again in another conference, and do the travel as a team. I think it’s a great learning experience for us together.”

Delaware’s formula for victory –  strong defense and capitalizing on offensive chances – proved true against UMass, leading to a 2-1 win. 

Next on the docket for Delaware is a major conference game at the University of Denver, a squad that made the 2024 College Cup semifinals. Delaware currently stands at 8-0-1 and will face Denver on Oct. 11. 

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Delaware men’s soccer off to flying start in 2025 season was first posted on October 9, 2025 at 11:21 am.
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Opinion: Redefining the value of the designated hitter in modern baseball  9 Oct 5:00 AM (14 days ago)

Bringing the designated hitter (DH) to the National League (NL) was once one of the most debated topics in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Only two years after its introduction to the NL in 2022, Shohei Ohtani became the first primary DH to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. As the MLB evolves, it’s becoming more apparent than ever that the DH position is a pivotal part of every team’s lineup.

Ohtani made headlines before even stepping on the field in Anaheim for his strong pitching and offensive production while playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. However, his most overlooked accomplishment might be breaking the curse of the DH never winning the MVP. 

The star two-way player won two MVPs while pitching and hitting for the Los Angeles Angels, but won his 2024 MVP while sidelined from the mound, recovering from an elbow injury. 

During 2024, Ohtani led the NL with 9.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and became the only player ever to hit 50 home runs and have 50 stolen bases in one season. This once-in-a-lifetime season was what it took for voters to overlook the fact that Ohtani never stepped on the field with a glove during his 159 games played. 

In 2025, he has once again found himself in the MVP conversation – this time rivaled by another primary DH, Kyle Schwarber.. For two seasons in a row, a DH will win the MVP award in the NL. 

Why hasn’t this happened before? It comes down to what the MVP award stands for. 

Inherently, the award should go to the player who is most valuable to their team. This makes hitters the obvious favorite, as starting pitchers only appear once every four to five games and relievers throw significantly less innings in their appearances than starters. 

Although the DH appears in every game, since they do not field, it automatically lowers the amount of WAR they can possibly get. Fielding is a part of the numerator in WAR, meaning the better the fielder, the more WAR they are capable of achieving. Since DHs don’t field, that value is automatically zero, limiting them in comparison to hitters and pitchers, who have a different formula. 

But as baseball has grown over time, the game has also evolved. The inclusion of the DH in the NL allows players like Schwarber to just do what they do best: hit. 

As a primary DH from 2022 to 2025, Schwarber posted a 134 On-base Plus slugging Plus (OPS+) and on average, hit 48.4 HR per 162 games. When he was a primary fielder from 2017 to 2020, he had a 110 OPS+ and hit an average of 35.4 HR per 162 games. 

Giancarlo Stanton transitioned from the NL to American League (AL) before 2022, but still switched to being a primary DH. He is not the player he was during his 2017 season in Miami, but the Yankees slugger still has a .819 OPS in his pinstripe tenure playing mostly as the DH. 

Before an injury-riddled 2025 season, Yordan Álvarez had a .958 OPS from 2021-2024, with an outstanding 165 OPS+ averaging those seasons together. 

Even Marcell Ozuna averaged a 138 OPS+ and 36.0 HR per 162 games played from 2023-2025. 

All together, these sluggers have put together strong careers even without being known for having the best glove or elite speed. It gives players of their skillset a valuable spot in the lineup, even if their WAR isn’t as high as other elite hitters. 

But then there is Ohtani, who can put together a season without pitching or fielding and still manage to secure nine WAR seasons. He breaks the mold of slow running and power-dependent DHs with his elite combination of speed, power and getting on base. These are the qualities that got him the best DH season of all time.

As the sport continues to adapt, there will be a premium of players like Ohtani who are fast and can hit for power, yet not field. Those players will have a major advantage going forward.

 JJ Rella is a staff reporter at The Review. His opinions are his own and do not represent the majority opinion of The Review staff. He may be reached at jrellajr@udel.edu.

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Opinion: Redefining the value of the designated hitter in modern baseball  was first posted on October 9, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Volleyball drops both games in Conference USA opener to New Mexico State 8 Oct 1:00 PM (14 days ago)

The weekend of Sept. 26 and Sept. 27 was slated to be an exciting one for Delaware Volleyball. Led by Head Coach Kimberly Lambert, The Blue Hens began conference play against the New Mexico State University Aggies, the first of their conference schedule.

In the nine prior games leading up to Delaware’s first-ever Conference USA (CUSA) series, the Blue Hens had not played their greatest. They stood with a 3-6 record, losing notable games against Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, Villanova and Penn. 

The Blue Hens earned their third win of the season against St. Peter’s on Sept. 20 in the final game of the Delaware Invitational. The 3-1 score marked the first set Delaware had won in thirteen days. 

Finally warming up again, the Blue and Gold found themselves in the midst of their newest competition – their first-ever CUSA series. 

The Aggies came to the Bob Carpenter Center with a three-game losing streak looming over their heads. Their overall record was 7-6 and they were desperately looking to rebound in Newark. 

The stage was set for the league opener for both of these teams, and the ball was served up for the first time in the Bob Carpenter Center as it ushered in its first CUSA play.

In the first set of the first game, it appeared that Delaware may be riding a new hot streak. The Blue Hens started off with a 25-13 win, seizing control of the contest from the opening serve. The early and dominant set win sent a warning to the Aggies – especially Head Coach Mike Jordan – that adjustments needed to be made. 

Early on in the first set, the sophomore outside hitter for the Aggies, Tess Fuqua, went down with an injury that sidelined her for the rest of the series. Although this is a significant setback for New Mexico State’s chances of winning the series, it may create opportunities for improvement on the offensive side.

The second set was neck and neck the whole way through, but Delaware was rarely in the lead. New Mexico State evened up the set score 1-1, with a 25-21 final score. 

With Delaware pressured to respond in set three and after an exciting huddle by Coach Lambert, her squad dominated the third set to win it 25-14. A string of three service aces by Delaware libero Cadence Nguyen helped pedal the Blue Hens to a 2-1 set lead. 

The fourth set of the game was fierce and New Mexico State won 25-23 in a close thriller. This back-and-forth trade of set wins sent the game to a fifth and final set to win it all.

The stage couldn’t have been better in the CUSA opener for both teams. Every single kill, error, ace and dig elapsed in the game all led up to this final series of plays to determine a winner. 

In the theme of the entire game, the fifth set was extremely competitive. Neither team laid off the gas pedal until the Aggies found an opening and went on a run late in the set to establish a set-point score at 14-11. 

Delaware, desperate for answers, was able to score three consecutive points to tie the game back up at 14 a piece, extending the set and creating a win by two scenario. The comeback was fueled by kills from Asia Murray and Anna Logan Gillens, as well as a service ace by the freshman Thalia Yancey.

The game could go either way and the teams retook the floor after a timeout by head coach Jordan of the Aggies. 

Delaware served up the ball and it was returned as a kill by Kate Sinclair of New Mexico State, shifting momentum back into their favor. A service ace by Aggies’ libero Makayla Martinez ended the game with a final set score of 16-14, with New Mexico State claiming victory overall 3-2. 

This hard-fought, strenuous battle by both sides led up to a second game the next day at noon, leaving just seventeen hours of recovery time between the two matches.

Exhaustion and unfamiliarity with the new schedule and opponents seemed to catch up to Delaware in game two, where they were swept 3-0 by New Mexico State. 

Delaware still had standout performers in the conference opener. In game one, senior Dylan Norris had nine kills and eight block assists – a season-high tally for her. Gillens combined for 25 kills over the series, staying productive and reliable in her outside hitting position. 

The Blue and Gold rebounded against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, sweeping the series and getting two quality wins in Ruston. The Blue Hens took the first game 3-2, and won the second with a 3-1 final score. Delaware will host Middle Tennessee State at the Bob Carpenter Center on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11. 

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Volleyball drops both games in Conference USA opener to New Mexico State was first posted on October 8, 2025 at 4:00 pm.
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Album review: “Wishbone” by Conan Gray 7 Oct 9:40 AM (15 days ago)

I have been a fan of Conan Gray since middle school. I can vividly remember watching his YouTube covers while studying. I can also remember my excitement when his first EP, “Sunset Season,” was released when I was a freshman in high school.

I have followed his career since then and also introduced both my sister and my mom to his music. In all honesty, my sister may be a bigger fan than I am at this point. 

When I heard that his fourth studio album, “Wishbone,” was coming out – I was ecstatic. I had loved each of Gray’s previous albums and was excited to see what kind of songs would be featured on this album. 

Upon hearing the first single off the album, “This Song,” and seeing its accompanying video, I was completely blown away. While I enjoyed the 1980s vibes of his previous release, “Found Heaven,” I liked the fact that “This Song” was more reminiscent of the indie-acoustic vibes of his first two albums, “Kid Krow” and “Superache.” 

Once the album came out, my expectations were totally exceeded. Much like “This Song,” “Wishbone” felt very similar to Gray’s previous releases. However, this album – and its music videos – has a narrative style that is unlike any previous release of Gray’s. 

The album and its music videos tell the story of one singular relationship, with songs detailing when the couple first met, what it was like when they were together and what it was like after they broke up. 

I love when albums have a narrative feeling and the story told throughout “Wishbone” felt very reminiscent of the narrative told in Troye Sivan’s debut album, “Blue Neighbourhood.” To this day, “Blue Neighbourhood” is still one of my favorite albums of all time. 

Out of all the songs on the album, “Eleven Eleven” was the most notable for me. I think that emotional ballads are what Gray does best and this song is no exception. I am also a sucker for when artists call out the title of their album in one of their songs –  and the chorus in this song did just that.

Some other standouts on this album for me were “Romeo” and “Caramel.” These songs were both very catchy and had an indie-pop feel to them that felt similar to Gray’s 2020 single “Maniac,” which is the song that I feel most contributed to his mainstream popularity. 

I found this album’s accompanying music videos to be incredibly memorable for me. As I mentioned earlier, they definitely contributed to the narrative storytelling of the album. The romantic relationship portrayed in the videos had a sense of authenticity that is rare to find in media portrayals of queer young adult relationships. 

I truly loved every moment of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed “Wishbone” and would totally recommend that you take the time to listen to it (and watch the accompanying videos) if you haven’t already.

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Album review: “Wishbone” by Conan Gray was first posted on October 7, 2025 at 12:40 pm.
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Delaware football falls to Western Kentucky in heartbreaking loss 7 Oct 9:00 AM (16 days ago)

A clash of powerhouse Conference USA (CUSA) teams saw the Western Kentucky University (WKU) Hilltoppers emerge victorious over the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens with a final score of 27-24. 

Both teams entered the game with positive records; WKU stood tall at 4-1 overall with an undefeated conference slate of 2-0. Delaware, the newcomers of CUSA, were fresh off a bye week and a dominant win against the Florida International University (FIU) Panthers in Week Three, setting their record at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in CUSA.

The running record of the 2025 CUSA season marked this game as a battle for the top of the league. 

In Newark, Delaware, a sold-out Parents and Family Weekend crowd lined Delaware Stadium as the Hilltoppers’ kicker Jack Cassidy kicked off the football to the Blue Hens. Nick Minicucci, a reliable backup quarterback for Delaware, was at the helm for the first drive of the game. 

The Blue and Gold had suffered injuries in the first couple of games of the season, sidelining many key personnel on both sides of the ball. The bye week helped Delaware regain talent that it had lost, most notably wide receiver Jake Thaw.

Thaw started off red-hot in his return against the Hilltoppers, with a 33-yard reception to move the chains for the first time in the game. Delaware’s opening drive would eventually conclude with a string of short plays to find the endzone off of a two-yard keeper by Minicucci.

The first quarter concluded with the Blue Hens leading 7-0, building confidence against a fearsome opponent. 

In the second quarter, both teams scored a field goal and a touchdown each, putting Delaware on top with a 17-10 lead at halftime. 

 
Leading by a score in an offensive shootout game was massive for the Blue Hens. It placed them in command of how the game would go from here.

Unfortunately for the Blue and Gold faithful, they left Delaware Stadium disappointed about how the rest of the game played out. The third quarter can be quickly recapped by the Hilltoppers’ 17 unanswered points, putting them in a pivotal position to win the game.

The first two possessions of each team in the second half resulted in punts. As offenses seemed to get off to a slow start, both sides made strong defensive adjustments during halftime. The first score of the half was a field goal for WKU, booted in by kicker John Cannon.

Delaware received the ball and looked to generate its first offense of the second half with the typical pass-heavy offense of Minicucci. 

On his second pass of the drive, WKU linebacker Koron Hayward dropped back and caught Minicucci’s pass attempt, returning it as a pick-six touchdown for the Hilltoppers. That great play by the Western Kentucky defense gave them their first lead of the game at 20-17.

Desperate for offense, Minicucci and Delaware head coach Ryan Carty were under immense pressure to put points on the board in the third quarter. 

The crowd in Delaware Stadium was relentless, cheering and applauding their team at what seemed like one of the most important ventures of the game. 

The strong, versatile offense led by Minicucci started off the drive well. The mobile junior quarterback scrambled for 29-yards and had a 30-yard pass completion to Delaware’s wide receiver Donovan Lewis.

Delaware, now in the red zone on the WKU 14-yard line, would move up another ten yards following a defensive pass interference by defensive back Nazir Ward.

Inevitably, the play call by Delaware was to allow Minicucci to scramble outside and take it into the endzone. It has become his signature play of the season and he had already successfully done it twice in this game.

As Minicucci braced for the hit and dove for the endzone, a WKU helmet came in at the exact right time to force the ball out of Minicucci’s hand and fumble it at the goal line. Attempts of recovery were made by Minicucci and others on the Blue Hen offensive line; however, the ball was recovered in the WKU endzone by Elin Jones, resulting in a touchback for the Hilltoppers.

In a heartbreaking turn of events for Delaware, their two turnovers at crucial points in the game looked like they may have costed all of the energy and momentum that had been built up during both the game and their recent hot streak. 

All hope seemed lost after the Hilltoppers drove the ball downfield to score a touchdown following the turnover, increasing their lead to 27-17.

Minicucci found the endzone with his legs at the beginning of the fourth quarter, keeping Delaware in the game with 9:54 remaining. A series of defensive plays by both teams resulted in a series of punts for both teams.

Delaware’s air-raid offense was once again marching down the field, with back-to-back pass completions to running back Jo Silver and wide receiver Sean Wilson. The two plays got the ball up to the 25 yard-line, setting up a 42-yard field goal try for kicker Nate Reed.

The kick immediately flew wide right of the goal post as time expired, ending the game 27-24 in favor of Western Kentucky. A true heartbreaker in front of all the Delaware faithful and their families. 

Despite the difficulties in controlling the ball and preventing turnovers, many players for the Blue Hens had strong performances. The now 3-2, 1-1 (CUSA) team looks to rebound on Oct. 15 against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. 

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Delaware football falls to Western Kentucky in heartbreaking loss was first posted on October 7, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
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Delaware Department of Labor opposes ICE’s demands for wage records 7 Oct 8:00 AM (16 days ago)

The Delaware Department of Labor is pushing back against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after ICE requested the employment records of suspected undocumented workers at certain, undisclosed businesses. 

Since February, Department of Labor officials have received at least four subpoenas for these records. As of now, only one request has been complied with, which sought information regarding a specific individual. 

Delaware’s interim U.S. Attorney, Julianne Murray, was recently appointed by the Trump Administration and took the Delaware Department of Labor to court. Murray petitioned the court to enforce one of these subpoenas, filed in April by ICE, for the wage reports of 15 businesses in Delaware.

In an Aug. 6 hearing, Jennifer-Kate Aaronson, an attorney representing the Delaware Department of Labor, claimed that the state always planned to fight against the April subpoena to protect the information of their residents. However, the legal team with the U.S. attorney’s office said that the hearing was the first they heard of the Delaware officials’ concerns.

At this hearing, U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly set deadlines in mid-September for both counsels to submit their legal arguments in the case.

This is not the first time ICE has attempted to get involved with the citizenship status of Delaware residents. On Mar. 6, the Newark Police Department and several other Delaware police departments received requests to enter a 287(g) program, which allows ICE to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies. 

Newark Chief of Police Mark Farrall recalled the department’s response to the message.

“We did get it,” Farrall said. “I deleted it.”

“I didn’t even respond to it,” he said. “That’s not something we are interested in doing. You know, our philosophy here is that local law enforcement is not in the business of immigration enforcement. It’s not our job. The thing we need to make sure of is that everybody in our community feels secure and safe to call us if they have an issue.”

Over the summer, the state of Delaware followed suit and officially banned 287(g) agreements in the state through House Bill 182. This prohibits Delaware police departments from working with ICE in any capacity.  

The Newark community is largely made up of the university’s student body for most of the year, and these students may face consequences if employment records are reported to the federal government, more specifically, to ICE.

Students are looking for answers regarding staff and University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD) protocol in case of ICE presence on campus. The issue has become a focal point for the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), a student organization at the university, since eight international students had their visas revoked last semester.

“One of the big trends we are seeing is the sheer increase in surveillance of international students and immigrant communities and [ICE] being able to track everything about their lives, like where they go to school, what they say on social media, where they work,” said Emma Abrams, a senior environmental and resource economics major and co-president of YDSA. 

“If [the wage reports are] given up to the federal government, then that’s definitely gonna have negative consequences for the huge international population we have here,” Abrams said.

Granting the federal government access to wage reports of suspected undocumented workers would likely result in a heightened ICE presence in Delaware areas where the affected businesses are located, despite the absence of formal collaboration with local government and law enforcement.

The university is yet to update their student protocol in light of the recent 287(g) agreement ban. They continue to advise at-risk students to call the university police department if federal law enforcement is seen on campus.

Graduate students are increasingly concerned about the presence of ICE in Delaware, given the university’s large international student population.

“They need to clarify what they plan to do, or what they plan not to do,” said Nora Lucas, a graduate student studying for her PhD in geography. “My department is very international, you know, all my friends are international students. So I care very deeply about people’s safety on campus.”

The desire for clarity on the situation is shared by undergraduate students at the university as well. 

“We should be expecting more of our administration because this is our university too,” said Nithila Chrisostam, a senior psychology and sociology major and co-president of YDSA. “We make it run. And this also every international student’s university.”

The case between the Delaware Department of Labor and the U.S. attorney’s office is still ongoing and is expected to commence in the coming months.

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Delaware Department of Labor opposes ICE’s demands for wage records was first posted on October 7, 2025 at 11:00 am.
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Advice from a bike: Tackling climate change on two wheels 7 Oct 5:00 AM (16 days ago)

Freshman fall of college, I rediscovered my love for biking. It started out as wanting to access White Clay Creek State Park just north of campus, but I soon came to realize, “Whoa, I love this.” Over many rides, including a bikepacking trip across Montana this summer, I had to learn a lot.

But through all the highs and lows, I’ve been able to take the lessons I learned from my bike and apply them to my own life.  Throughout this trip, which was a course focused on climate change and energy policy in Montana, I realized cycling is packed with metaphors and lessons for the very environmental issues we’ve focused on.

My first lesson came from persistent knee pain as I increased my mileage to train for the course. Being able to “Cycle the Rockies” – the name of the course – was scary, since it relied on avoiding injury before the course even began.

After getting numerous tips from friends, bike mechanics and my soon-to-be instructors, I realized I was in way too high of a gear. What I thought were strong, big strokes that propelled me further were actually slowing me down and could have led to serious injury, especially on the hills.

I had to push my pride aside, switch to a lower gear and pedal with more frequent and easier strokes. During the actual course, I hardly had any knee pain, and as we discussed environmental issues, it got me thinking that what I was learning on my bike could also be applied to these policy dilemmas.

The common theme has been that we need consistent, non-extreme efforts to make things happen. We have to put aside our pride and be willing to go in a lower, more manageable gear (even if that slows us down at first).

We need to have a system-wide change, but not so extreme that a knee tears or a community loses its only source of income (like a coal mine). To make real progress, we have to start small and build up from there.

To do that, we must apply another essential lesson cycling has taught me: get to know your bike. Learn how it sounds, shifts, balances and moves, so that when something is off, you can address it before it’s too big of a problem.

Bikes run on many interconnected parts, so one problem can impact the whole system. After meeting with regenerative farmers and everyday locals throughout the state, I’ve realized how important this lesson is for the land and every community.

To know something is wrong with the land and understand what it needs, you have to first listen, watch and learn. That’s how regenerative rancher Steve Charter has been able to restore his soil. Rather than applying fertilizer and pesticides, he has helped it build up its own capacity to produce nutrients for native grasses. Now his grass is thriving, as are his cattle. 

That same fact applies to communities. Every bike, ecosystem, town and person is different and each has their own way of life, culture, people and values. We must try to adapt ourselves to each. Not the other way around.

I understand environmental organizations’ urge to move in and try to implement conservation practices because there is a very real sense of urgency, but that can be dangerous without proper knowledge of the area and its people. 

This can sow distrust and at worst, end up really hurting the community.

Billings rancher Alexis Bonogofsky does not hold the typical political views of her community, but after an oil pipeline burst and flooded her and her neighbors’ lands, she was able to form a strong coalition of ranchers to fight for reparations and reform.

She did this by working with her community members and building trust, resulting in real change that benefited both her neighbors and the environment. That level of human and environmental care is key. You need to have both.

You may not always be successful, though, so my fourth lesson is to hope for the sun, but be prepared for bad weather.

Bikepacking presents a whole host of conditions-based challenges, especially if you have designated places you need to be. It’s physically challenging when the weather isn’t in your favor and the wind is strong, but mentally it’s even harder.

I’ve learned to have a pragmatic, optimistic approach to each day. While I always hope for fair weather, I also always mentally prepare for heat, cold, wind and rain. Talking to our speakers and community members, I realize how vital this mentality is to environmental progress.

Climate change is depressing and it’s easy to fall into a nihilist mentality, but that isn’t helpful nor productive. The common theme when facing these hard and complicated issues is to never give up hope, but in an active, pragmatic way. What’s most important is to keep moving, no matter what comes your way.

And no matter what, you’re not alone. Whether you bike in a group or solo, you’ll find a community of other bikers, hikers and supportive people along the way that want to see you succeed. 

What stood out to me the most on this trip was the capacity of people‘s kindness, especially after I crossed the barrier of initially being a sweaty stranger to having genuine conversations with others about themselves, their background and their honest perspectives. It’s a very humanizing way to travel and leads you to actually spend quality time in each town along the way.

When it comes to environmental progress, it’s vital to connect with and get to know individual community members and where they call home. If you show that you care about other people, and they care about you, then they’ll care about what you care about.

These are just a few lessons I’ve taken away from biking and the metaphors just keep materializing. In short, listen to the world around you and the lessons it has to teach you. The answers are out there, you just have to look, listen and never stop pedaling.

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Advice from a bike: Tackling climate change on two wheels was first posted on October 7, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Student Television Network draws ire of State GOP after Charlie Kirk comments 6 Oct 7:16 PM (16 days ago)

The university condemned its student-run television station, Student Television Network (STN49), this past week after a satirical program included closing credits thanking “Charlie Kirk’s killer.” 

The message appeared during the end credits of “The Biweekly Show,” a sketch comedy program on STN49, which operates under the university’s Department of Communication. Alongside cast and crew acknowledgments, the text offered “special thanks” to a list that included “Cocaine, Amnesty Week, Pollution –  and Charlie Kirk’s killer.”

One sketch, which has since been taken down from YouTube, depicted President Donald Trump arriving in Newark and ordering soldiers to arrest “the Biweekly terrorists” for joking about Kirk’s death. In the sketch, a student was arrested for saying, “More like Charlie Twerk, the way that a** dropped.”

According to the Newark Post, a station member raised concerns over the reference when it  aired during a live-streamed show. 

The station later re-edited the credits to remove the reference before posting a recording online. The clip, including the original credits, has since been removed from STN49’s YouTube channel.

Kirk was killed on Sept. 10 at age 31 while speaking at Utah Valley University as a part of his “American Comeback Tour,” a 13-stop event series at campuses across the country.

He was the founder of Turning Point USA, one of the country’s largest right-wing activist groups. He built his career by appearing on college campuses and debating students and the public, clips of which often went viral on social media. 

Nick Miles, executive director of the Delaware Republican Party, claimed in a tweet last Wednesday Oct. 1 that the “department” was conducting a “cover-up” and said he was told the matter was meant to “go away quietly.”

The Delaware GOP called on the university to investigate the incident, release its findings and take steps to prevent future occurrences in a statement released last week.

“As an alumnus of the University of Delaware, I find this especially troubling,” state GOP chairman Gene Truono said. “Our state’s flagship university must take immediate action to investigate this incident, identify who allowed it, and ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. Silence and cover-ups cannot replace accountability.”

The story has picked up traction on right-wing websites including “The Daily Caller,” which was founded by conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, formerly of Fox News, and Niel Patel, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney. Fox News also picked up the story late last Friday. 

Along with the Daily Caller and Fox News, Newsmax – a conservative cable news outlet – picked up the story with an on-air interview of Miles.

On air, Miles claimed, “A student was wanting to put it out there and expose it but out of fear of retaliation they came to [him].”

In a statement to The Review last Thursday Oct. 2 the university condemned the language. 

“The University of Delaware unequivocally condemns the deeply offensive and insensitive language that appeared in the rolling credits of the live broadcast of a comedy program that was produced by the student-led television station,” the university said. “UD does not condone the use of any language that diminishes the value of human life. Respect and civility are core university values.”

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Student Television Network draws ire of State GOP after Charlie Kirk comments was first posted on October 6, 2025 at 10:16 pm.
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Noise of Newark: Favorite study spots 2025 6 Oct 5:00 AM (17 days ago)

Photographer Wanning Wang captures her favorite study spots on campus.

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Noise of Newark: Favorite study spots 2025 was first posted on October 6, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Poem: Dear Death 5 Oct 9:00 AM (18 days ago)

Dear death, 

I don’t forgive you. 

I don’t forgive you for taunting me with the inevitable, yet unpredictable end. 

I don’t forgive you for sometimes looking more appetizing than life. 

I don’t forgive you for robbing me of my loved ones. 

I don’t forgive you for making me fear you. 

And I don’t forgive you for giving me some level of comfort. 

But most of all, I don’t forgive you for stealing the lives of amazing people, while horrible human beings get to walk the Earth until they rot. 

I am angry. 

But I am also envious. 

You get to walk with people through life – carefully examining when to pluck them from this lifetime – but you also get to walk beside them in the afterlife. 

I will continue to live my life, awaiting the day you take me too. 

And when that day comes, I will be reunited with my friend, who you took at the young age of twenty-two. 

Until then, I will keep his name alive.

Sincerely, 

Jeni

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Poem: Dear Death was first posted on October 5, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
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Chicken Scratch: Flowers of Newark 4 Oct 5:00 AM (19 days ago)

This segment of Chicken Scratch features nature in bloom by Amanda Herpel, Selin Bacaz, Emily Cohen, Hannah Paliath, Wanning Wang, and Gianna Houck.

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Chicken Scratch: Flowers of Newark was first posted on October 4, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware gets dominated by Ohio State 2 Oct 5:00 AM (21 days ago)

Photographer Lauren Allen captures Delaware’s 0-4 loss against Ohio State on Sept. 28, 2025.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware gets dominated by Ohio State was first posted on October 2, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Noise of Newark: Bumper Stickers in Newark 2 Oct 5:00 AM (21 days ago)

Photographer Lauren Allen spent the week photographing cool bumper stickers on cars passing through Newark, DE.

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Noise of Newark: Bumper Stickers in Newark was first posted on October 2, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Opinion: It should be completely free to participate in a club sport at UD 1 Oct 5:00 AM (22 days ago)

When we think of universities in movies, we think of sporting events like football and basketball games. We think of sharing popcorn and a blanket with a beloved friend at the stadium. 

Yet, some students don’t have the time to make full commitments to varsity sports. Thus, universities offer club sports so students can still play on competitive athletic teams.

According to Delaware’s Community and Campus Recreation, the university’s club sports are student-run, a way to stay physically balanced, meant to augment leadership skills and build a warm community. But, participation still costs money. It should be free.

Club sports should be completely free because a vast population of full-time university undergraduates do not have jobs. Some students rely solely on their parents to fund their activities and tuition. Adding in club sports could only increase the stress on parents who are fully funding their child’s lifestyle.

The National Center for Education Statistics studied the employment of college students between full-time undergraduates and part-time undergraduates in 2020. It is evident that in 2020, about 37 percent of full-time undergraduate students between the ages of 16 and 24 were employed.  In addition, the percentage of employed full-time undergraduate students between the ages of 25 and 64 was only a little more than 50 percent. 

This makes it likely that students would need an outside source to fund their activities. Although it could be noted that employment was considerably low in 2020 during the pandemic, the same study reveals that employment amongst full-time undergraduate students in 2015 was about 43 percent, not even more than half of their general population.

 Being a full time undergraduate student entails being curious and exploring the college campus around oneself.   Without a job, students cannot self-fund their activities, creating possible unnecessary stress for parents who pay for these full-time undergraduates’ costly tuition.

Another reason why club sports should be free is because some people prefer sports over the limited number of activities available in the university’s gyms. The Carpenter Sports Building (Lil Bob) gym facilitates activities such as weightlifting, basketball, swimming, climbing as well as a variety of dance and yoga rooms to exercise solo. 

Although the provided facilities are useful and greatly appreciated, not everyone enjoys these few sports. Some people prefer other activities such as tennis, ice skating and gymnastics, whether that be due to upbringing or curiosity. 

The Frontiers in Psychology studied the impacts of enjoyment as a predictor of exercise habit, intention to continue exercising and exercise frequency. It found that the impact of enjoyment was a great factor in people’s exercise habits. Doing an activity that one prefers is a key way to sustainable exercise, or in other words, to continue routine exercise for a long time. Thus, when students have access to sports like tennis for free, they are likely to spend more of their time being physically balanced.

Free club sports would also contribute positively to mental health. As an aspect of general health, it can impact physical health and studying abilities. 

According to Better Health, exercise and mental health are strongly related to one another. Exercise can change levels of chemicals such as serotonin, endorphins and stress hormones within the brain, which can improve one’s mood. 

Thus, people who exercise more regularly exhibit greater emotional regulation and less mental illness. Physical activity is a crucial part of a student’s self-care, especially within a busy campus lifestyle that involves finding friends and adjusting to a new routine. 

Taking care of one’s health through a preferred physical activity should be covered by tuition so that students can feel focused throughout the school year and reap the mental health benefits.

Delaware’s Community and Campus Recreation says that “each Club Sport receives a yearly, general allocation from the University to help offset the cost of expenses.”

Although this yearly funding exists, club sports can be further supported through increased funding. The university can work to increase the mental health of students by allowing them to partake in a preferred physical activity whilst also reducing obesity by fully funding club sports.

Club sports can bring numerous benefits to students both in the classroom setting and in their social lives. It also creates a community for students who may be away from home for the first time.

Club sports build friendships, keep students healthy and enrich the campus experience. Cost shouldn’t stand in the way, and they should indeed be free for students.

Sabrina Ballah is a staff reporter at The Review. Her opinions are her own and do not represent the majority opinion of The Review staff. She may be reached at zhongwen@udel.edu.

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Opinion: It should be completely free to participate in a club sport at UD was first posted on October 1, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Advisory committee named as Carlson considered in university’s presidential search 30 Sep 2:14 PM (22 days ago)

On Sept. 19, the university’s board of trustees announced that they will be assessing whether to give Interim President Laura Carlson the permanent position, or to conduct a national search. 

The board has tapped the national executive search firm WittKieffer to assist in the process and host “listening sessions” for faculty, staff, students and alumni in the coming months.

An advisory committee – including board members, senior administrators and the presidents of the Student Government Association and Graduate Student Government – will help guide the assessment, which the board described as an “expedited process” expected to conclude at its semiannual meeting this December.

In statements provided to The Review, Student Body President Katherine Slough and Graduate Student Government President Stephanie Kuntz-McAllister both said that they were incredibly excited and honored to serve as members of the presidential advisory committee.

The board also noted that Carlson will be considered for the position, citing her role in bringing stability and collaboration across campus in the few months since her appointment. 

Carlson took over following the departure of former President Dennis Assanis in late June. She joined the university in 2022 as provost, overseeing operations across its 10 colleges and schools and coordinating student involvement, programming and admissions. 

Before joining the university, she spent more than 20 years at the University of Notre Dame, rising from assistant professor to vice president.

WittKieffer, which has helped select presidents at Rutgers University, Binghamton University and other institutions, declined to comment on its process, citing client confidentiality. 

The Review has also reached out to the board, the Office of Communications and Marketing and the university’s general counsel for details on how the search committee will operate, including the expedited timeline, qualifications and rationale for selecting WittKieffer.

“The listening sessions are designed to identify the qualifications and capabilities the UD community believes are most important for the next president,” the university said in a statement provided to The Review. 

“The committee was appointed by the Board to ensure representation across a number of University constituencies […] WittKieffer was selected based on their expertise in presidential transitions and their successful track record on prior searches with UD and other institutions.” 

The assessment coincides with the “Becoming OneUD” initiative, which launched over the summer to gather input from students, faculty and staff on the university’s mission, culture and operations. 

Town halls will be held across Newark and southern Delaware in September, with additional input collected via Zoom and written forms. 

According to the university, feedback from these conversations will help shape its next strategic plan and inform a new “Campus Culture and Engagement” framework, led by Vice President José-Luis Riera and English Chair John Ernest, which will guide future budget and resource decisions.

The board will meet tomorrow, where Carlson will present what she has heard from the community to help shape the university’s strategic plan.

The university’s next president is expected to be announced at the board’s semiannual meeting on Dec. 9, at the Audion at STAR Tower.

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Advisory committee named as Carlson considered in university’s presidential search was first posted on September 30, 2025 at 5:14 pm.
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Opinion: Staying mentally and physically healthy as a college student is challenging 30 Sep 9:00 AM (23 days ago)

Considering how difficult it is to be a college student already, it becomes even more difficult to make sure we are healthy.

When it comes to mental health, the stresses of school and maintaining a work-life balance are challenging as a young adult. Sometimes I find it hard to make plans with friends and find alone time for relaxation on top of all my classes and work.

The university offers many resources to aid students in mental health, such as the Center for Counseling and Student Development Services (CCSD) in Warner Hall. They host wellness events and offer individual or group counseling. 

There is also Sean’s House, located just off campus, which provides many free mental health services, including peer support. The university also offers 24/7 mental health support  which is very valuable to students with time constraints.

Although there are many resources available, being a busy student can make them difficult to access at times. Especially during the most stressful times, the thought of having to leave my work to take care of my mental health stresses me out even more.

As a young adult, eating healthily is a challenge as well. With many students experiencing financial constraints due to pricey tuition, it can be hard to choose healthy foods. Buying cheaper meals might seem more practical, but most come at a nutritional cost.

Meals that tend to be less healthy also are usually quicker and more accessible to make. 

When I was a freshman, it was tempting to make quick cups of ramen or mac and cheese when a long walk to the dining hall seemed impossible. However, the value of this food isn’t as high quality as a more nutritionally diverse meal. 

Other parts of physical health include staying fit and active. Many students choose to exercise in different ways. Some go to the gym, go for runs, or even join sports teams. 

This can also be very difficult to balance for college students. It may be challenging for some to allocate large amounts of time to recreational fitness each week.

When there’s limited time and a lot of work to do, going out to exercise seems like an afterthought. After a long day of classes and homework, thinking about going to the gym can be such a headache when all I want to do is relax.

Sleep is also essential to physical health, and we often underestimate how difficult it is to maintain a proper sleep schedule as a student. Many college students get little sleep during the week, which can be detrimental to their thinking and focus abilities. 

Regardless of all the hurdles when it comes to staying healthy in college, it is very important to make this a priority. Without good health, getting tasks done can be even harder to complete. 

Overall, it’s important to have a good balance as a student to ensure we make time for things that keep us healthy and thriving. 

Jessica Mehr is an opinion columnist at The Review. Her opinions are her own and do not represent the majority opinion of The Review staff. She may be reached at jessmehr@udel.edu. 

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Opinion: Staying mentally and physically healthy as a college student is challenging was first posted on September 30, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
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University issues all clear after a report of a possible explosive device on campus 30 Sep 8:52 AM (23 days ago)

The University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD) evacuated Gore Hall, Mitchell Hall and Sharp Laboratory on Sept. 30 after police received a report of a possible explosive device on campus.

An alert went out to the campus community at 11:15 a.m. warning of police activity at Gore Hall and telling people to stay away from the area. 

By noon, the three buildings had been evacuated and police had blocked off the surrounding area. Newark Police also closed South College Avenue between Delaware Avenue and Park Place.

In a statement provided to The Review, the university called it a “potential campus safety incident” and said they evacuated the buildings “out of an abundance of caution” and asked students to avoid the area.

Delaware State University reported receiving a bomb threat just before 11 a.m., leading officials to evacuate academic buildings, cancel classes and send employees home for the rest of the day.

Towson University and Morgan State University in Maryland also reported threats, according to the Baltimore Banner.

Gov. Matt Meyer said in a statement that “there is no place for violence in our state.” He added that the state is “monitoring the ongoing situations at UD and DSU” and was in close contact with police at the time of the incident.

The university lifted the evacuations at 1:53 p.m. after issuing an all-clear notification. Police said there was no active threat to campus and that normal activity could resume in Gore, Mitchell and Sharp. South College Avenue also reopened.

The university later confirmed the report was unfounded and said that multiple institutions regionally and nationally received similar reports of potential safety threats. 

“The University is grateful to the members of our UD community for their patience and cooperation and for taking this potential incident,” read a statement provided to The Review.

After students expressed dissatisfaction with the vagueness of alerts sent by the university, Interim President Laura Carlson said the university would re-evaluate its emergency communications.

While other schools, including Delaware State University and Towson University, quickly disclosed the nature of their threats, university officials referred only  to “police activity” and a “potential campus safety incident,”  offering no details.

Dissatisfaction was expressed at a board of trustees meeting on Oct. 1, where Carlson also divulged what she heard from the university community regarding the university’s strategic plan. 

“I think, on the one hand, we assume that if it’s not confirmed, you shouldn’t share it, because that would be scary,” Carlson said during the meeting. “On the other hand, if it’s vague, people fill it in with all kinds of things. And that’s scary, too.”

Carlson praised law enforcement for their response, but noted that the university must find a balance between caution and transparency. 

The board agreed with Carlson, including Shanté Hastings, head of the Delaware Department of Transportation and a member of the board.

“As a parent of a first-year student, I think there is some room for improvement,” said Hastings. “When we say ‘police activity’ that leads you to one idea. Some better wording would have been helpful.” 

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University issues all clear after a report of a possible explosive device on campus was first posted on September 30, 2025 at 11:52 am.
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Beyond the Border: How the World Understands American Politics 30 Sep 7:00 AM (23 days ago)

The U.S. political system is often described as polarizing and difficult to follow. While Americans dominate the conversation, it is important to hear from those outside of the U.S. as well, given how American politics can directly impact the political and economic situations in other countries.

Students from across the world studying through the International Summer University Hessen program in Fulda, Germany this summer shared their perspectives on the United States’ political system. 

Alissia Bagdasarian, a Russian who now lives in Israel, contrasted the openness of the U.S. system with the limits of Russian politics under President Vladimir Putin. 

“As a liberal Russian, we are jealous of you,” she said. “You can make a change as an individual, which is the exact opposite of Russia.”

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russian democracy has had a complicated relationship with democracy, with a brief period of general political freedom in the early 2000s, followed by the current authoritarian system in place under Putin. 

Andi Lopez, a third-year Colombian economics student, holds a much more critical view of the United States and its foreign policy. 

“Throughout history, you have been involved in a lot of things,” Lopez said. “…You want to be everywhere, the world savior. You have made a lot of programs to try to make Latin America better, but it does not happen. Too much power, money and influence in international organizations.”

The media also plays an important role in shaping political perception.

“In Russia, the USA is usually portrayed as fools and hypocrites,” Bagdasarian said. “You don’t know what to do … The Russian media has one narrative, whereas in Israel, there are more perspectives.” 

Israel’s attention to American politics may largely be due to the considerable financial contribution they receive from the U.S. yearly.  

Finland, as one of the newest members of NATO, as well as sharing an 830-mile border with a hostile Russia, also has a vested interest in following American politics

Angelina Ignateva, a Finnish student who studies international business at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences, explained how American politics are less emphasized in Finnish media. 

“We [all look for] election results, and it was a big story on the [political news programs], but nowadays … there are other topics than American politics. We might talk about Americans … influence in the world, but not about American politics,” Ignateva said.  

Students also stressed how shifts in U.S. politics create ripples abroad. Fernandes pointed to how U.S. elections resemble a joke, but when it comes to war and economics people listen.

“I think the politics in America is more of a popularity contest than a means to make your country better.” Fernandes said.

Fernandes said American trends influence domestic politics, pointing to far-right politician André Ventura as an example. She described him as drawing heavily from President Donald Trump’s populist playbook, from speeches to campaign style. 

“[Ventura] took a lot of creative influence from Trump. All the things he does, all the populism, the speeches, are taken from Trump. He decides to do the same because it works,” Fernandes said.

Lopez said Colombia feels that the politics of tariffs –  one of President Trump’s major priorities –  are especially important in how the media portrays American politics in her country.

“At the beginning of the trade war with China this year, Colombia, Mexico and Canada reacted to the tariffs that the USA imposed,” Lopez said. “Due to this, our media was saying that our president was illogical and reactionary. In my opinion that is a better description for Donald Trump.”

Bagdasarian expanded on her perception of America’s impact on her local system where she said candidates are often judged by their stance toward Washington. 

“Whether they support America or not matters to their platform,” Bagdasarian said. “In Russia, those who support Putin support the hatred against the USA, and the media supports this narrative. It only makes their support for Putin stronger. No matter who the US president is, it does not matter. The US is always the enemy.”

The U.S.’s impact on the culture of other countries was also brought up. Lopez pointed to Disney, Marvel and McDonald’s as examples of American companies shaping how young people in Colombia eat, dress and imagine the world.

“For me it is harsh, with the monopoly of enterprises like Disney, Marvel, [and] McDonalds,” Lopez said. “You control what our kids see, what our people wear. It’s hard not [to be] amazed by American culture when you grew up watching Disney Channel [who] always tell you that the USA is just better.”

On America’s global role, students were more divided. Bagdasarian said she opposes “world police” politics but would still prefer U.S. leadership over Russia or China. Fernandes argued that the United States should play a smaller role but acknowledged that many countries are reluctant to oppose it out of economic fear.

Another common topic of conversation was the dominance of the United States’ two-party system, a system much less common compared to the multi-party system of many modern democracies. 

“Compared to Israel, we have lots of parties. I don’t like it in America, as the two parties simplify it too much. I like the system in Israel better … [The two-party system is] very polarizing,” Bagdasarian said. 

Ignateva also noted that frustration, saying she struggled to understand how a country could limit itself to two dominant parties.

“I don’t know how a country can have only two parties … It’s very hard to choose from two different parties if they’re completely opposite from each other, and that’s why I wonder why there aren’t more mixed-value parties,” Ignateva said. 

Though students did not hold the same perceptions of the United States’ politics, all agreed that America’s political and economic power make it an important player to observe, regardless of nationality. 

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Beyond the Border: How the World Understands American Politics was first posted on September 30, 2025 at 10:00 am.
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Photo Gallery: Volleyball trails New Mexico State in close game 30 Sep 5:00 AM (23 days ago)

Photographer Lauren Allen captures Delaware’s loss against New Mexico State on Sept. 26, 2025.

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Photo Gallery: Volleyball trails New Mexico State in close game was first posted on September 30, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Hello 50 – reflecting on my journey with The Review 29 Sep 9:00 AM (24 days ago)

JENI NANCE

If you had told me three years ago where I’d be today, I never would have believed you – Co-Managing Editor for a section I had no idea existed before I joined The Review. With this being my 50th piece, reaching this milestone during my senior year is bittersweet. I feel like I have so much more to offer and such little time to do it. 

The spring semester of my freshman year, I was walking around Perkins during the involvement fair, looking to join a new club. I hadn’t been involved in much during my fall semester and thought I was missing out. While on the phone with my foster mom, I mentioned that I passed a booth for the student newspaper. Having graduated with a degree in journalism and written for her own college paper, she urged me to join, telling me I could just quit if I didn’t like it. 

That same semester I was enrolled in an introductory journalism course and thought, “Why not?” At this point, I wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to pursue journalism. It was a big dream of mine to write for National Geographic, but it always felt so out of reach and I was debating on choosing another profession. 

That night I signed up for their email list and filled out my application – which was the best decision I ever made. 

I started out in development, which is where all the new staff writers begin their journey at The Review. During each meeting, the development officer oversees the new reporters and trains them to write in AP style. Development staff writers must write and publish three articles before they can graduate into a section. 

Writing my first piece was an experience that I’ll never forget, covering Harrington Theater Arts Company’s performance of “Little Women.” I was completely out of my comfort zone trying to come up with interview questions, muster up the courage to interview people and write a full-fledged article, which I’d never done before. 

Since this piece was covering a theater performance, it would fall under the Arts and Culture section. Arts and Culture objectively covers art, music and pop culture. With these constraints, I wasn’t able to give my opinion on the show. 

Sharing it with the development officer, I had no idea what to expect. I was overwhelmed with comments on my article, rewording sentences, grammatical corrections and placing quotes. I had so many edits, it made me question if I was good enough to continue. But I decided to stay. I knew I could only improve. 

I quickly learned that Arts and Culture wasn’t for me. I wanted to take a more creative approach to my writing, so I began exploring with Opinion. My next article was an opinion piece on how Disney’s live-action remakes suck. I found a little more creative freedom in this section, but still wasn’t entirely happy writing in this style. 

My third piece, which I graduated from development with, was a book review on Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us.” Now, this is what I wanted to do. 

From that moment on I was an avid writer for Mosaic, which is more creative writing based. I’ve tried new restaurants in Newark, done bathroom crawls, reviewed albums, movies and books – even written the occasional poem and personal essay. 

My articles were becoming more and more popular, some getting hundreds of views a month. One of my favorite pieces is “Farewell, Adele” which ended up getting over 55,000 views in about four days. People started writing their own letters to Adele under my own, which melted my heart. 

My editors kept telling me how much my writing was improving after watching me grow from my days in development. I got more comfortable writing in AP style, learned the ins and outs of journalism and even re-explored another section. I finally found my place and my people at The Review. 

This past spring, a big portion of our staff graduated, which left me and my Co-Managing Editor Aliyah Jackson, to run our section. It was honestly such a full-circle moment for me to earn this position. I’ve made lifelong friends, built connections and gained experience in a field I love. And now here I am, writing my 50th article. 

I’m going to spend the next few months writing as much as I can. I can’t begin to imagine a world where I’m not writing an article, sharing my thoughts, feelings and personal experiences. I hope I can continue to publish after I graduate, but for now, I’m going to enjoy this moment. Thanks for being there with me and supporting me during this journey! 

With Love, Jeni

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Hello 50 – reflecting on my journey with The Review was first posted on September 29, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware loses historic first Ice Hockey CUSA game against Long Island University 29 Sep 6:00 AM (24 days ago)

Editor-In-Chief Ethan Grandin captured Delaware’s loss on Sept 26, 2025.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware loses historic first Ice Hockey CUSA game against Long Island University was first posted on September 29, 2025 at 9:00 am.
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Poem: All the apologies I’ll never receive 25 Sep 5:19 AM (28 days ago)

You know that familiar ache.

The stinging pain in your chest that startles you in the shower,

A harsh opposition to the water droplets that gently caress your skin.

The pain that burns your insides as you lie in the dark, 

Halfway hoping that it’ll dissipate when you turn on the light

Yet fully knowing it won’t.

The pain that you always think is gone, until it isn’t.

You’ve carried it with you for so long that when it appears, you almost say,

“Hello, old friend.”

Is it regret?

No. 

You did the best you could at the time.

There’s no reason to regret that.

Is it sorrow?

No. 

You stopped letting that one rule your life a long time ago.

Is it anger?

No.

Well…

Maybe.

But you’re not an angry person — We know.

I mean, you get angry.

But not for nothing.

Like when a dog that has been repeatedly kicked finally decides to bite.

And suddenly, that cute, quiet dog that everyone once loved is a monster.

Ungrateful.

Crazy.

No one considers that maybe that dog had muzzled itself for so long until it could no longer stand it. — This isn’t about a dog, is it?

No.

This is about me.

This is about all the apologies I’ll never receive.

The ones that I prayed would one day come. — They never did. You eventually stopped praying.

The ones that were mine.

The ones I deserved, yet ended up giving instead. — You had no choice. You did what you had to.

The ones that I carry with me every day,

Knowing that I’ll never get that text message or read that letter.

And I definitely won’t hear those words leave the lips of the ones who should be saying them.

So with that, I say, “I’m sorry” to myself.

I’m sorry the world hasn’t always been kind to you.

I’m sorry your presence once felt like a burden and not a blessing.

I’m sorry you must move through the world with a heart that has been glued, stitched and bruised.

And I’m sorry for all the apologies that you’ll never receive.

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Poem: All the apologies I’ll never receive was first posted on September 25, 2025 at 8:19 am.
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Biden School awards South Carolina Representatives Brandon Cox and Jermaine Johnson Sr. for bipartisan effort to commission a monument for Black Civil War hero  24 Sep 9:32 AM (28 days ago)

The South Carolina Statehouse grounds have long been home to statues of white men, many of whom are tied to the Confederacy and Jim Crow era. State Representatives Brandon Cox, a white Republican, and Jermaine Johnson, a Black Democrat, are reshaping that narrative by commissioning a new statue for Black Civil War hero and legislator Robert Smalls. 

Their bipartisan legislation earned them this year’s Biden School Civility in Public Service Award, sponsored by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative.

“The significance of this is that we’re honoring a man who’s long overdue for honoring for what he’s done for our state,” Cox said. 

Born enslaved in Beaufort, South Carolina, Smalls was sent to Charleston at age 12 to work on the city’s docks. By the start of the Civil War, he was piloting the Planter, a transport ship contracted by the Confederate army. 

One night while the white crew members were ashore, Smalls applied his dockside knowledge to fire up the Planter’s boilers. Using proper hand signals and a broad-brimmed captain’s hat to disguise his identity, Smalls guided the ship past Confederate forces to freedom before surrendering it to the United States (U.S.) Navy. 

The Planter was reassigned to blockade duties for the Union, where Smalls rose from pilot to captain of the vessel he had seized. 

Postwar, Smalls returned to Beaufort and bought the home where he had once been enslaved. More notably, he founded the South Carolina Republican Party, was elected to the South Carolina State Assembly and Senate and served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

As a legislator, Smalls authored state legislation that established the first free and compulsory public school system in the U.S. 

 “This man, he was a hero, but he was also an equal,” Johnson said. “He was an equal in terms of […] being somebody who wanted to see the good come out of South Carolina and see the good for all people.” 

When choosing the recipients for this year’s award, Timothy Shaffer, the inaugural SNF Chair of Civil Discourse and director of the SNF Ithaca Initiative, was especially moved by the work of Cox and Johnson. 

“When I was hearing them … I was just struck,” Shaffer said. “Especially in the climate that we’re in, hearing from a Democrat and a Republican and how they got so many other people to sort of buy into this was really – it was powerful.”

The significance of this legislation is heightened by South Carolina’s Heritage Act, which Cox says makes it likely that Smalls’ statue is to be the final one allowed on the Statehouse grounds.

Beyond their unusual success in passing bipartisan legislation, Cox and Johnson opened up at the award ceremony about their own unconventional paths into politics. 

Raised in Southern California, Johnson experienced homelessness, transfers to multiple different high schools and the murder of his brother; all before earning a basketball scholarship to the College of Charleston and going on to play professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) G-League (formerly known as the D-League) and overseas. 

After returning to South Carolina, he was encouraged by state Representative Joe Neal to run for office. In 2020, he made history by unseating a 22-year incumbent to become the first Black and youngest representative of South Carolina’s House District 80. 

“I literally went from homeless to the House of Representatives,” Johnson said. “My story is improbable. Sounds impossible. But it’s possible. And I want to give young people some hope that they can be me. They will be me one day.” 

Cox faced his own challenges, attending 14 different high schools before leaving in the 11th grade to join the military, later building a career and starting his own business.

Despite their unorthodox paths, Cox and Johnson see themselves as the only two capable of passing the legislation to honor Smalls because of the mutual respect they have each earned in the General Assembly with both the Democratic and Republican parties. 

“One of the phrases that I hate is ‘I’m going to reach across the aisle,’” Johnson said. “I walk across the aisle. I sit on the other side, I talk to them, bring them back to the middle and we figure this thing out. And I think we need to have more of that.” 

Although Smalls achieved much in his life, Cox and Johnson opted for simplicity, designing the statue to portray him as an equal among the other figures memorialized on the Statehouse grounds. 

As a champion of public education, Smalls will be positioned on the side of the Statehouse where school buses drop off students for tours, ensuring that they will walk directly past the monument when they arrive. 

This placement is particularly meaningful to Johnson, who believes it is important for students to see Smalls’ statue alongside the others on the Statehouse grounds and form their own understanding of the monuments and their complex histories.

In a state shaped by its Republican supermajority and deep racial history, efforts like this are rare, and the Civility in Public Service Award highlights the importance of such a collaboration.

“I doubt that he could have gotten it done without me, and I doubt I could have gotten it done without him,” Johnson said. “It can only happen together, and we have to show more of that.”

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Biden School awards South Carolina Representatives Brandon Cox and Jermaine Johnson Sr. for bipartisan effort to commission a monument for Black Civil War hero  was first posted on September 24, 2025 at 12:32 pm.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware loses 1-2 against Florida International University 23 Sep 5:00 AM (last month)

Managing Visuals and Layout Editor, Larissa Veronica Heather, and Photographer Michael Boyer capture Delaware’s loss against Florida International University on Sept. 21.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware loses 1-2 against Florida International University was first posted on September 23, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware against Saint Peter’s 22 Sep 5:00 AM (last month)

Photographers Zach Tapper and Jenna Kaufman captured Delaware’s win against Saint Peter’s on Sept. 20.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware against Saint Peter’s was first posted on September 22, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Personal essay: The man on the corner 21 Sep 9:00 AM (last month)

A few days ago, I was sifting through my camera roll when I stumbled upon an abundance of pictures from a time I visited New York City with my friends.

I had forgotten to delete the in-between pictures – the ones where someone has not fully reached their pose or not yet perfected their smile, the corners of their mouth not quite tipped up to rest below their cheeks in a cheery enough fashion. 

As a member of both the photo and the 21st century, I instinctively zoomed in on my face to analyze my in-betweenness. My smile was there, but my eyes had a faraway look in them, like I had seen something that I could not shake, even as I attempted to dismiss the tug of my conscience with an artificial grin, an artificial laugh.

As I began to ponder the reason for my faulty smile, the memories started flitting back to me: The four of us had just walked up the street and turned the corner, waiting for the walking light to turn green. Sitting on the corner, in between two stores sat an older man, with a cardboard sign, the words “seeking human kindness” etched on to what appeared to be a pizza box in shaky black Sharpie. 

I distinctly remembered the pang I felt in my heart, how the hairs on my arms rose up as if they were chilled, even though it was a boiling 90 degrees out. I could see the man’s smile lines, though they looked like they hadn’t been put to use in a good while. 

I began to pull out my wallet to find a few dollars to spare when my friend put her arm up to prevent me from doing so, telling me that the man could be using the money for drugs or, worse, might not even be homeless. He could be using homelessness as a fallacy, a mere act to take advantage of the vulnerability of the human race. 

As the trip went on, I could not stop thinking about the old man, wondering what it would be like to live on the streets, to not have a family to go home to, to not have a home to go home to. 

A human can essentially react three different ways when coming across this man on the corner. 

A person can be apathetic; they can feel nothing and simply go on with their day, barely acknowledging the man nor giving him a second thought. 

Most people will probably be sympathetic; they will feel pity and potentially a bit of sadness. Perhaps they will feel compelled to donate a dollar or two. Most people will react in this manner because most people have not been homeless and therefore may find this situation difficult to relate to. 

But beyond being sympathetic, a person can be empathetic. This does not mean that they lend the man on the corner a great sum of money, or any money at all, for that matter. But an empathetic person will consciously think about the man. They will relate to the man, and if they are unable to relate to the man, they will attempt to put themselves in the man’s shoes. They will make an effort to feel for the man, beyond surface-level pity, beyond donating to the man solely to feel like a good person. 

My senior year of high school, I bought a prom dress. My dress was red – not a bright red, but a full red, dark and deep, with dim pink undertones. The design was simple and slightly basic, but the burgundy color complimented my olive skin, the contrast between the two shades so fitting. 

I remember buying the dress when I was shopping with my friend. She had pointed out another dress that she claimed looked the same as the one that I wanted and was a little bit less expensive, suggesting that I buy that one instead. Though I tried to explain to her how much the slight variance in color truly differentiated the two dresses and how the deep red color of the dress that I wanted was vastly different from the bright, even artificial color of the dress that she pointed out, she didn’t understand.

 It may sound like I am completely overanalyzing the shade of a dress, and perhaps I am, but the point is that the difference was subtle but allowed the two dresses to be completely distinct from one another. 

This difference is not unlike that of sympathy and empathy.

The two words can often be mistaken for synonyms, and not astonishingly so. They contain six of the same letters, in the same place, in the same position and on the surface, they appear to be quite alike. Through my discovery of empathy – and what distinguishes the feeling from that of sympathy – I have realized that empathy is less of a synonym to sympathy, and more of a synonym to understanding. 

Empathy is the burgundy dress: Slightly dark, but deep and true. Empathy is attempting to put oneself in the shoes of the man on the corner to understand what he is going through, to try to understand what it would be like to live on the streets, to not have a family to go home to, to not have a home to go home to. 

Sympathy is still a beautiful dress, but brighter and more artificial. Sympathy is realizing that the man on the corner is experiencing a rough time, but rather than attempting to understand his situation, simply feeling relief for yourself that you are not in the same position, living on the corner between two stores, holding the bottom of a pizza box up by the walking light. 

Empathy is comforting your friend who is grieving the loss of a loved one and taking on that same feeling, while sympathy is comforting your friend from a distance so that you don’t have to feel what they do. 

Beyond the dresses and the man on the corner, sympathy is a stepping stone. Everyone is capable of exerting empathy, but not everyone is willing to, so sympathy is often reserved for those who care, but not on the deeper level of feeling, which is okay. 

Sympathy is not bad, for bright red is still a beautiful color and money donated to the greater good is still money donated to the greater good. But empathy is better, for it can drive human relations, human connections and human values.

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Personal essay: The man on the corner was first posted on September 21, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
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Longing for another summer day 21 Sep 5:00 AM (last month)

You were like a summer day – a day with so much warmth as the sun kisses planet earth. A day as serene as they come. I was overwhelmed with nostalgia for summers that felt this way and in some ways, I felt as if I relived a summer daze.

I felt young again, living through memories that were so innocent. An ice cream cone half my size melts and drips. A warm breeze makes my body sway. A beach during sunset – it’s never felt the same.

And just like those summers, they pass in a gentle way. And much like the season, I knew you would never stay. So I watched as time went by and although it makes me feel melancholy, it is so bittersweet. 

You were once a summer daze. I sank deeper with nothing to lose until each wave pushed me further out, closer to the shore. Washing me away to where the seashells collect. Where I find myself again, looking to where the sky and the ocean meet, wondering when the tide will be ready for me.

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Longing for another summer day was first posted on September 21, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Delaware’s offense dominant against UConn in stunning 44-41 overtime thriller 20 Sep 9:44 AM (last month)

For the first time since 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell, the U.S. invaded Panama and Taylor Swift was born, an FBS team came to Delaware Stadium to face off against the Fightin’ Blue Hens. The game was worth the thirty-six-year wait and then some. 

Both Delaware and the University of Connecticut came into the game with a 1-1 record, defeating an FCS opponent in their Week One matchups and falling to an FBS team in Week Two. The Blue Hens lost to the Colorado Buffaloes, while the UConn Huskies fell to the Syracuse Orange. 

Delaware suffered a couple of setbacks before the game even began with star receiver Jake Thaw, who accumulated 177 yards in receiving over the Blue Hens’ first two games, and offensive guard Patrick Shupp being ruled out due to injuries.

These absences, along with those of defensive end Q’yaier Price and quarterback Zach Marker, put Delaware at an early disadvantage against the Huskies. 

Delaware won the coin toss and deferred their possession to begin the second half, giving the Huskies the ball to begin the FBS clash. Delaware’s defense stepped up on UConn’s first possession, forcing the Huskies into a three-and-out, much to the excitement of the many Blue Hen fans that had made their way to Tubby Raymond Field. 

Delaware quarterback Nick Minicucci and company then took the field for the Delaware offense –  a unit that only put up seven points in their prior contest. Desperate to begin on the right foot, Minciucci led the Delaware offense down the field and into the endzone on a seven-play 73-yard drive to put the Blue Hens up early. 

Throughout the drive, Minicucci targeted sophomore wide receiver Sean Wilson. With Thaw’s absence in the Delaware receiving rotation, Wilson saw more action and capitalized, finishing with sixty yards on the day. 

The Huskies answered Delaware’s opening touchdown with one of their own on the next possession. Graduate quarterback Joe Fagnano relied on UConn’s star receiver, Skyler Bell, on the first drive and throughout the game. Bell accumulated more than a hundred yards of receiving in both of UConn’s first two games of the season. 

Running back Cam Edwards finished off the drive with a 51-yard rushing touchdown, leveling the game at seven apiece.

The story of the day was almost certainly the contributions of Jo’Nathan Silver. Silver, a senior running back from New Jersey, saw limited action last year behind star Marcus Yarns and struggled in the Blue Hens’ first two games, rushing for 34 and 47 yards respectively. 

Understanding the need to establish a running game and to take some pressure off quarterback Nick Minicucci, Silver knew he needed to have a massive day. 

On the second play of the Blue Hens’ second drive, Silver rushed toward the left side of the field and ran into a wall of UConn defenders. Remarkably, the running back was able to stay on his feet, bounced outside and turned upfield for a 70-yard touchdown run. It was the beginning of a career day for Silver, who finished with 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Silver shared what the terrific performance meant to him as the Blue Hens are preparing to face the gauntlet of their schedule.

“I’m just really proud of myself,” Silver said. “I worked really hard for this moment. I’m really proud of my O-Line. We had a tough team against us today, and they imposed their will on them [UConn…] I’m really proud of our guys.” 

UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano and the Huskies drove downfield, but were held by the Blue Hen defense to only a field goal to end the first quarter, cutting Delaware’s early lead to 14-10. 

In the second quarter, Delaware was able to string together a series of short plays to get itself back into a red-zone position. During this drive, the Blue Hens were moved forward 15 yards following a targeting penalty on the UConn Huskies. This was one of many penalties that went against the Huskies throughout the game, further propelling the Blue Hens’ field position.

Minicucci was able to recapture the lead two minutes into the second quarter with his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon. 

A second-quarter spar continued between the two teams, trading offensive and defensive blows alike. The Blue Hens were able to capture offensive momentum heading into halftime with a stellar 68-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver  Kyre Duplessis.

The transfer from Coastal Carolina finished the day with 161 receiving yards, integrating himself as a crucial part of the Delaware offense. Following the game, he shared what the fans of Blue and Gold have meant to him.

“It feels great, Newark is a wonderful place and a very tightly knit community that loves football,” Duplessis said. “It feels wonderful to be able to make plays and have that support and love coming in from the fans.” 

The crowd roared and the team rejoiced after his cinematic score. The Fightin’ Blue Hens would take a four-point lead into halftime, with the score being 28-24. 

The third quarter began with defensive excellence from both teams, resulting in punts on the first three drives of the half, but both the Delaware and UConn offenses struggled to jumpstart their offenses after the break.

While searching for an explosive play to gather momentum, the Huskies finally found Bell for a 28-yard reception. That big play helped the Huskies find the endzone for the first time in the second half, recapturing the lead 31-28.

The two teams traded touchdowns from that point on, putting the game at a crucial point with less than ten minutes to go. Those scores were pioneered by big plays from Silver for the Blue Hens and wide receiver Reymello Murphy for the Huskies – both significant players in the battle for each team.

It was the Huskies that struck first in the fourth quarter. Fagnano led UConn down the field, eventually ending up within the Blue Hens’ ten-yard line. 

After a series of short gains, UConn head coach Jim Mora elected to keep his offense on fourth and goal from the Delaware one-yard line. With Delaware Stadium on their feet, Fagnano found tight end Alex Honig for the touchdown and put the Huskies in the lead 38-35.

With time dwindling in the fourth quarter, Delaware’s offense had even less room for error. Minicucci led his team down the field to some success, but after a couple of incompletions on targets to wide receiver Sean Wilson and tight end Elijah Sessoms, Coach Ryan Carty sent out the field goal unit in an attempt to tie the game.

From 47 yards, Delaware kicker Nate Reed missed just to the right, keeping UConn in the lead with less than seven minutes in the game. 

Carty said to Reed after the kick, “We will need you later today.” 

Reed’s missed kick brought back an exhausted Delaware defense that had struggled in the second half to stop Fagnano’s offense. For the first time in the game, it seemed as though the momentum had definitely shifted to UConn. 

These fears for the Delaware fans were justified as the Huskies quickly got to work and found themselves deep into Blue Hen territory after a series of runs by Edwards.

Fagnano and the Huskies’ offense eventually reached Delaware’s 23-yard line at third down with two yards to go to reach the first down. If reached, it could have allowed the Huskies to run out the clock on their way to a victory. Instead, Delaware’s defensive line came up with a massive stop on this third down and prevented Edwards from gaining any yardage. 

This stop put Mora in a difficult situation, but he continued to be aggressive and decided to keep his offense on the field on fourth down. On the biggest play of the game up to that point, Fagnano rolled out and found his tight end Louis Hansen. However, Hansen fell short of the first down mark, which turned the ball back over to the Blue Hens.

With new life, the Blue Hens offense took the field with a little over two minutes left to go and needed a score to tie or win. Hope quickly seemed to fade as a sack and short run left Delaware in a difficult third-and-seventeen situation. 

Minicucci was able to pick up eight yards on the next rush, but it still put the Blue Hens in a near-impossible spot on fourth and nine.

Delaware Stadium, fearful that all the effort the Blue Hens put into this historic day would go to waste, saw Minicucci pass the ball to Wilson. The pass fell out of the young receiver’s hands and when all seemed to be lost for the Blue and Gold , a penalty marker flew onto the field. A defensive pass interference infraction on the Huskies kept Delaware’s hopes alive. 

Minicucci took advantage and found Duplessis for a 26-yard gain, finishing off a career day for the Virginia native. A couple more runs by Delaware kept the clock moving as the offense reached UConn’s 26-yard line. 

It seemed that head coach Carty’s encouragement to Reed was now foreshadowing as the senior from Pennsylvania trotted out for a potentially game-tying 46-yard kick. 

The First State held their collective breath as Reed’s kick wobbled its way to the uprights. A historic day came down to inches as Reed redeemed himself and hit the field goal as time expired, sending the game to overtime. 

In college football, the overtime period consists of both teams getting the ball at the 25-yard line and whoever scores more wins the game. If both teams score the same amount, it goes to a second overtime period.

The Blue Hens won the coin toss and deferred their possession to UConn. Delaware’s goal-line defense showed up again by stopping the Huskies on second and third downs from the two-yard line, forcing them to settle for a field goal to put them up by three. 

The stage was set for Minicucci: a field goal was needed to tie and a touchdown would win. Delaware started off with an outside run to Silver and then Minicucci took over. The Delaware coach powered up the middle on runs to lead to a first down. 

With all options open, Carty elected to stay with his quarterback and Minicucci ran it up the middle, maneuvering around Huskie defenders and pushing his way into the endzone, winning the entire contest.

Minicucci jumped into the Blue Hen Touchdown Club stands right behind the endzone, celebrating one of Delaware’s signature wins this century. 

An incredible football game came to an end with the Blue Hens storming the field after a 44-41 victory over the UConn Huskies. Carty exuded pride for his team after the game.

“I don’t think I have ever been this proud, maybe in my coaching career, certainly not as a head coach,” Carty said. “Everything that we built our program on showed up today. It was not perfect, but we played a lot cleaner than we had in the first two games.” 

Delaware’s center, Steven Demboski, was awarded with Conference USA (CUSA) Offensive Lineman of the Week honors  after the game. The senior captain was on the front line for every single Delaware offensive snap in Week Three after missing the first two games due to injury.

This week, the Delaware Blue Hens (2-1) will head down to Miami to take on the Florida International University (FIU) Panthers in their CUSA opener. 

The FIU Panthers have a dominant senior running back of their own, Kejon Owens. In Week Three against Florida Atlantic, Owens rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns across 19 carries, earning him CUSA Offensive Player of the Week. 

Silver had six more yards and the same number of touchdowns as Owens, accomplishing it over four fewer carries as well. The narrative and battle between the two running backs will be a true test for both teams in their respective conference openers. 

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Delaware’s offense dominant against UConn in stunning 44-41 overtime thriller was first posted on September 20, 2025 at 12:44 pm.
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Album review: “Fancy That” by PinkPantheress 19 Sep 9:00 AM (last month)

When I first listened to “Fancy That,” I was confident it would land a spot in my top albums of 2025. 

As soon as I pressed play and heard the lyrics, “My name is Pink and I’m really glad to meet you,” I was obsessed. The very first line had me hooked, and it only got better from that point on.

Before I review my favorite songs, I want to take a moment to appreciate the entirety of this album. Elements of house music and pop, which PinkPantheress is a master of, shine through every track. Her expertise in this sound is embedded in every beat and melody, which I find intoxicating. And it’s not just the sound that keeps me coming back for more; her lyrics tell fun stories that I want to hear over and over again. 

This is a short album, but it’s mighty. At this point, many PinkPantheress fans are familiar with her short songs. Although some may not enjoy the length, I find that it’s truly special. Her ability to create viral songs is a talent that’s lacking in the music industry. “Fancy That” is a work of art and now holds a unique place in my heart. 

I keep returning to the opening track, “Illegal.” The beat is gentle while still maintaining the vibrancy of PinkPantheress’ iconic sound, setting the tone for what’s to come. 

I enjoyed how she chose to begin with a song that is infused with her unique qualities, including carefully crafted melodies and dreamy ad-libs. Her writing ability also stands out, as this track is about her experience with smoking weed. It’s interesting because originally this song was about a male escort and there are still elements of that storyline. 

Somehow, both of these themes continue to work together throughout this song because there are different ways to interpret the lines. For example, the lyric, “Hey, ooh, is this illegal?” fits both concepts. The bridge single-handedly landed this song in my favorites because it perfectly captures the anxiety that comes from being high. “Illegal” truly showcases all sides of PinkPantheress, which makes this track memorable to me.

Another track I’d like to highlight is “Nice to Know You.” PinkPantheress’ stunning voice shines throughout each chorus. This song shows a different side of her singing capabilities that I enjoy, easily landing it in my top songs. She also writes about letting go of a relationship, making it incredibly relatable. This can be interpreted through the pre-chorus where she sings, “you’re unemotional, you were nice to know.”

I appreciated her exploration of this theme because instead of dwelling on the past, she chooses to let go. Her writing feels somewhat like a reality check, as it gives me more perspective on my own past relationships. The chorus also embodies this because so many technical elements are introduced, giving this part some movement. This is another track that showcases how PinkPantheress carefully crafts her sound and lyrics to tell compelling stories.

To finish this review, I’d like to place a spotlight on my favorite song from this album, “Girl Like Me.” The repetition used in the writing makes this song incredibly addictive; I think that’s a major reason why this song is stuck in my head. The post-chorus stands out to me for these reasons as she sings, “I never like it when you’d do me like that.” 

Although I usually fall in love with lyrics first, “Girl Like Me” caught my attention with its beat and melody. The sound is characterized by spacey and feminine elements that work in harmony. This track has a cosmic feeling and it’s exactly the reason why I’m obsessed with “Girl Like Me.” I’ve been listening to this song all summer long and will recommend it to anyone.

The following are three superlatives for songs I didn’t review that deserve some love:

Best chorus lines: “Stateside” and “Stars”

Most addictive melody: “Tonight” 

Best lyrics: “Romeo”

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Album review: “Fancy That” by PinkPantheress was first posted on September 19, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware Ties Drexel in a close defensive 0-0 game 19 Sep 5:00 AM (last month)

Photographer Nik Anna captures Delaware’s game against Drexel on Sept. 7.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware Ties Drexel in a close defensive 0-0 game was first posted on September 19, 2025 at 8:00 am.
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Photo Gallery: Delaware Volleyball triumphs over Hampton with a 3-0 Win 18 Sep 7:25 AM (last month)

Photographer Nik Anna captures Delaware’s match against Hampton on Sept. 6.

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Photo Gallery: Delaware Volleyball triumphs over Hampton with a 3-0 Win was first posted on September 18, 2025 at 10:25 am.
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