Tangents and Tirades

by The Cowl Editor on February 28, 2019


Opinion


PC intramural t-shirt.
Photo courtesy of Providence College News.

Extra-Murals: Make Intramurals Casual Again

Joining an intramural team is usually a fantastic way to be active, socialize, and try to win the infamous league T-shirt for the sports’ best team or players. While it can be fun and games (excuse the pun), sometimes getting beaten mercilessly by dodgeballs can take part of the amusement away.

Some teams can be in it to win it all, and they recruit the best of the best, even varsity and club athletes. Stacking teams in this way, mixed with sheer competitiveness, results in an utter beatdown and demolishment of the other teams.

For those teams and players that join for enjoyment only, getting pummelled, despite one’s best efforts, detracts from the meaning and overall experience of intramural sports.

For the more popular sports, like ultimate frisbee or soccer, two leagues are offered. The A league is more competitive, while the B league is more for recreation. While this works in theory, some athletes join the B league for less competition and easier wins. And in less popular sports, no division exists at all.

A solution to this problem could be the introduction of an option when registering a team that identifies it as competitive or non-competitive. The teams can still play in the same league, but know what to expect when game time comes.

A more competitive team can play with less ferocity, managing to gain the win without compromising the honor of the opposing team. The non-competitive team will fully achieve its goal of enjoyment without the embarrassment of a total loss.

—Elizabeth McGinn ’21

 

10 p.m. Mass Time: A (Mass)ive Improvement

Chaplain changed the classic, school-wide favorite 10:30 p.m. Sunday Mass to 10 p.m., due to a survey they asked students to participate in during the previous spring semester.

While 30 minutes may not seem like a substantial difference, the 10 p.m. Mass is far better than the 10:30 p.m. Mass time and saves students a considerable amount of time to sleep and finish up school work for the week ahead.

The 10:30 p.m., now 10 p.m., Mass has always been a student favorite. At this Mass, one should expect the chapel to be packed with fellow Friars, a chorus’ of amazingly talented student singers and instrumentalists, a beautiful homily, and, of course, post-Mass bash.

So, of course, there is a strong reason why PC students prefer the later Mass time over the other options. PC student Maddie Reilly ’20 describes 10 p.m. Mass as “a truly awesome way to end your weekend and start your week.”

Sunday nights are always daunting for students as they are cramming their work in for the week to come while also trying to catch up on some sleep. The chance to get an extra 30 minutes of sleep or extra time to do work before heading to bed is crucial for college students after a busy weekend.

While some may argue that the 10:30 p.m. Mass gives students more time to finish their work before Mass, so far almost a year into this change of timing, the majority of PC students seem to have a favorable opinion of this earlier Mass time and would like it to remain this way.

If you or any of your friends have never been to 10 p.m. Mass, be sure to check it out and see what all the hype is all about.

—Marie Sweeney ’20

 

Procrastination Is Not the Key to Success

With two midterms, papers, and analyses, last week was hectic to say the least. This overwhelming feeling of every line in our agendas being full and the constant feeling of unrest are relatable to many college students.

Another feeling the vast majority of students can relate to is procrastination. In your head you say, I know I have to do this; but do I have to do it now?

It almost seems as if for some people, or at least myself, the more I have to do, the more I find myself leaving everything until the last minute. This results in incessant stress that builds inside us.

You are not calm because you know you have to do something, but you are stressed because you are not doing it. This could have an easy solution that could abruptly terminate your tension.

Start doing the work early. And by early I do not mean early the day it is due, but early as in five days before.

As an innate procrastinator, I know the struggle. Something inside you pulls your body into your bed as soon as you want to start working on that paper or studying for that midterm.

You try to fool yourself by saying, I really do work better under pressure. Some people can procrastinate, but I am not one of them.

As true as these words may be, I would invite you to ask yourself, is procrastinating really worth all the stress?

You are going to end up doing it anyways. Do not be a masochist and cause yourself any more pain than you need to. Start early and leave the excuses behind.

—Angela Bueso ’22


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