Ed Column

by Sarah McCall ’26 on March 19, 2026

Editor's Column

Hi Friars! I hope you all had a great spring break! I just got back from San Juan, Puerto Rico with eight of my friends. We spent our trip going to El Yunque National Forest, exploring Old San Juan, and enjoying time by the beach. It was a nice distraction from the real world.. However, just because I was able to sit on the beach for a few days does not mean the world stops. This concept is something that I have been struggling with for awhile. How can a person appropriately respond to global, national, and local tragedies while maintaining their own mental wellbeing and success in this world?

Last semester, after the shooting at Brown University, students at Providence College were distraught for a few days, yet the completion of a semester and the joy of holidays easily overtook these feelings and students moved on. I too went home, celebrated birthdays, holidays, and spent time with my family. Yet, some families had a completely different experience. They were in mourning of family members lost, still reeling from the pain caused by gun violence. This shooting was such a deep tragedy, yet members of the same community were able to move on after a few days.

I don’t fault those who moved on. Instead, I just aim to understand why that is. I believe a lot of it has to do with the consistency of events like this. I am not only referring to gun violence, but also actions taken by the federal government, global inequality, environmental tragedy, and global conflict. There is constant hardship in our communities, and it can be difficult to focus on every event and dedicate time and energy into mourning. For example, the morning after the shooting at Brown, I opened my phone to receive any updates that may have come overnight. However, instead of immediately seeing information about the shooting at Brown, all I saw was information about a shooting in Bondi Beach, Australia. There was no time to process one shooting before another became the top story, hours later. Not to mention how many other tragedies happened that night that couldn’t make the top story on the New York Times app.

It is deeply exhausting to engage with these tragedies due to their emotional toll and the consistency in which they occur. Therefore, I think it is important to recognize the need to maintain mental wellbeing. It is so easy to feel burnout and helplessness towards a situation. It can create complacency, always feeling worn down by the world. A consistent state of mourning does not allow for the time or ability to get up and make change. That is why I feel it is important to find this balance. Humans are tied together through community and happiness. Finding that for yourself will help you assist in ensuring its existence elsewhere.

Because I was able to feel authentic happiness exploring a new place with my friends, I want everyone else to experience that happiness. That, then, becomes my motivation for inciting change and working with my community to create a better world. Finding balance is hard, and I am still working on it, but I know it is mandatory for humanity’s sake.

Ed Column

by Olivia Gleason '26 on February 27, 2026

Opinion

Hi Cowl readers! I hope everyone got through this week’s blizzard safely and without too much trouble. With how it looks outside my window right now, it’s near impossible to believe that spring break is only a little over a week away, but here we are.

For the past several years of my time as a Providence College student, spring break has always meant an opportunity for escape. Every year, I’ve viewed it as a chance to go off the grid for a week—to tune out my school and work notifications, to tap out of the news headlines, to generally take a step back from my reality. This escape is always paired with a sense of guilt for me, though. If I’m tuning out the world entirely, taking this time for myself, am I being a responsible citizen? Is ignoring the news in such a politically charged world a choice I have the right to make?

I think that there’s an unspoken pressure, especially among college students, to be constantly informed and engaged, to always have a take. Upon further consideration, though, I, for myself, have decided that there is a balance that can be struck between staying in-the-know and avoiding utter burnout.

Political engagement was never meant to be a 24/7 commitment, but our technologically-defined world has made it so. Democracy depends on participation, on engagement with what is happening around us, but this participation is only valuable when it is sustainable. When we consume information in a constant, unfiltered stream, we don’t become more effective citizens; we become anxious ones.

With this in mind, spring break to me offers a rare opportunity to practice a quick dose of intentional disengagement. Logging off for a week does not erase our values or undo our commitments. Instead, I think that stepping back from the chaos of everyday life once in a while allows us to return to our personal lives and the world around us with a sense of clarity and refreshment. As spring break approaches, I challenge you to escape the algorithm. Read a book simply for pleasure. Have a conversation that doesn’t end in debate. Sit somewhere without refreshing a news feed. When we return to campus, we can reenter both campus life and civic life with a renewed vigor for knowledge and engagement with the world around us.

Ed Column

by Olivia Gleason '26 on February 5, 2026

Opinion

Hello Cowl readers, happy February! I hope everyone is staying warm despite the biting cold days we’ve been having and the copious amount of snow that seems as if it will never go away. As a student living in off-campus housing this year, I’ve been witnessing the city of Providence’s snow cleanup job firsthand for the past week, and I have my frustrations. For several days after the storm, I was unable to drive my car safely out of my driveway as my street still had several inches of compacted snow on it. Even as I am writing this ed column, my two-lane street is still more or less a one-way street because of how much snow still persists past the sidewalks, and each time I drive my car on it, my wheels become impacted with slushy snow. I completely understand that this was the biggest storm Providence has faced in years, and I am so grateful to the workers who go out to clean up the streets. However, I believe that the city could have done a much better job at organizing its resources to get this done more quickly, and for that, I am left feeling frustrated with the city’s mayor and other political officials.

This got me thinking about how healthy it is to have qualms with your representatives. This storm left me questioning if more could have been done to keep residents safe and get them back to their usual routines. In today’s incredibly polarized political climate, I think it has become a widespread norm for individuals to turn a blind eye when a political figure they support does something they might disagree with or that frustrates them. We see it daily with Republican members of Congress who refuse to speak even the smallest ill of the President, we see it on the news and in interviews, and we see it in our daily political conversations. In short, much political discourse has been reduced to either supporting a politician completely or not at all.

I think that such an approach to politics is incredibly unproductive. Our democratic system was built to include several checks on its representatives, to make them at the will of the voice of the people. Instead, today, many individuals cannot think to admit it when a politician of their party messes up or promotes a policy that they disagree with. To do this is perceived to be a betrayal of their entire party and system of beliefs, when in reality, it is nothing of the sort. Disagreeing occasionally with a politician you generally support is necessary to democracy, and it is necessary to bring about positive political change. Without such disagreement, without such pressure from the citizenry, politicians have nothing to hold them accountable—no matter what they do, they know that their base will offer them blind support.

In short, I was frustrated with Providence this past week, but this doesn’t mean I have betrayed them or my own political affiliations. Taking issue with your representatives once in a while—or even all the time—just means that you care enough to demand better from them for a better society. Holding them accountable, especially when you generally support them, is an act of civic responsibility. We must be willing to participate in thoughtful criticism, to voice frustration along with praise, if we want to get the most from politics.

Ed Column

by Olivia Gleason '26 on January 22, 2026

Opinion

Welcome back to The Cowl and to the spring semester! After a restful break, the return to college is often thought of as a return to normalcy. Oftentimes, though, this return can feel incredibly unfamiliar and disjointed: new classes, new daily routines, and even new living situations for some are all a part of this transition back to school. As a senior now entering my fourth spring semester, I have felt the stress and discomfort associated with this so-called return to normalcy every year, even with the genuine excitement I always feel coming back to academics and time with friends. As this is the last time I am coming back for the spring semester, I hope that I can alleviate some of this stress for others, even if on a small scale.

Getting into a new routine at the start of the semester can be incredibly daunting. In many ways, it feels as if we spent an entire semester getting used to our schedules, becoming comfortable with our day to day life, just for the familiarity to be upended. Particularly as a freshman, I remember how rattling this was. Suddenly I found myself having to navigate an entirely new set of courses, in new academic buildings, with new classmates I barely knew. Even as a senior, this transition can feel like freshman orientation at times.

What I’ve learned over the years, however, is that this change can actually be a source of excitement. Once I taught myself to lean into the discomfort, to embrace the change that was inevitable before me, I found myself viewing the uncertainties that come with the new semester as fresh opportunities for growth and new experiences. Instead of dreading the growing pains that come with entering a new classroom for the first time and getting to know new classmates, I shifted my mindset to see this as a chance to meet new people. Instead of feeling intense anxiety about the thought of having to start over with classes, I decided to view it as an opportunity to exercise skills I have gained so far while learning something new. As simple as these things sound, they have been monumental for me in adjusting to a new semester.

This is not to say that this mindset shift eliminates all struggles associated with a new semester. The transition can still be hard, and it is important to give yourself grace as you lean into the adjustment. Maybe you’re feeling homesick, maybe you’re uneasy about a course you have to take, or maybe you’re just feeling scatterbrained from all of the changes you are experiencing. Whatever your emotions may be, remember that it is more than likely that most people on campus are experiencing something very similar. So as we enter the spring semester, open yourself up to lean on others, embrace discomfort, and get excited to learn and meet new people—speaking from experience, I promise this will make a difference in your life here at PC.

Ed Column

by Olivia Gleason '26 on December 11, 2025

Opinion

Hi Cowl readers! It’s hard to believe that Christmas is only two weeks away and that we have reached our final issue of the semester. The past three months were full of exciting learning experiences with The Cowl as Sarah and I navigated coming into this role together, and how quickly they flew by has gotten me into a very reflective mood.

To me, reflecting on your life feels especially natural in the wintertime, particularly in December as the calendar year comes to a close. This is probably why, ever since I downloaded the Spotify music app, I have always enjoyed the arrival of Spotify Wrapped in December, and it’s almost too perfect timing. For those who have not heard of this before, Spotify Wrapped is a marketing tool used by the music app that provides each user with a summary of their top artists, albums, and songs throughout the calendar year. Every year, as the days get shorter, the campus quiets down, and we prepare ourselves for the new year, Spotify users (and Apple Music users, I suppose) receive this little present on our phones, serving as a miniature time capsule of who we were and who we have become throughout the year.

The music we gravitate to is more often than not a reflection of our emotions, wants, and needs at any given moment. We reach for specific songs, genres, and artists for a plethora of reasons—comfort, motivation, nostalgia, or simple joy, to name a few. Maybe this comfort is found in a Beatles song your dad used to play in the car growing up, or the soundtrack to your favorite Broadway show. Maybe you queue an artist you’ve never listened to when you’re feeling like your life needs a change. Whatever the reason may be, it becomes clear that the music we gravitate towards, and the playlists we build in our Spotify apps, serve as emotional time capsules of ourselves.

One of my favorite parts about the Spotify Wrapped release is getting to share and compare results with friends. In many conversations I’ve had with them, we’ve discussed our frustration with how we might not exactly relate to the results now. For example, one of my listed top five artists is someone I barely listen to now, but was playing nonstop at the beginning of this calendar year. The more I thought about this, though, the more I realized that this disconnect is actually something to embrace and hold close. Something as simple as Spotify Wrapped, by capturing these previous versions of ourselves, can remind us that we are constantly evolving, and that is an exciting thing. I don’t remember exactly when I stopped listening to this particular artist and started gravitating toward others, but this shift is a subtle reminder that I have grown over the course of the year; I have coped, celebrated, learned, and let go through a variety of different songs.

All of this is to say, I think it is worth taking the time to reflect on your life and experiences in 2025 as it comes to a close, and your Spotify Wrapped is the perfect place to start.

Ed Column

by Sarah McCall ’26 on November 20, 2025

Opinion

Hey Cowl readers! I get the wonderful honor of wishing everyone a happy 90 year anniversary to everyone’s favorite part of Providence College: The Cowl! I know how beloved The Cowl is on campus (according to YikYak), so I am sure the PC community will be just as excited as we are for this anniversary. We were able to go to the archives and read some of the old editions this past week. My favorite was an article that criticized every person who was on The Cowl that year by name. The best part was about the two Editors-in-Chief. “Both illiterate,” with one being “of dubious tastes” and the other a “shifty individual with a shifty smile” who is responsible for the “misspelled words and misnamed photographs.” I am truly honored that Olivia and I still maintain that same dynamic from the 1947 co-EICs, Joe Shanley ’49 and Paul Kelley ’48.

It is also the last edition before Thanksgiving! So I hope everyone has a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving break! Personally, I don’t like most, if not all, Thanksgiving foods, but I am so excited to have a break and see my family. I am a little bit stressed though because that means senior year is one step closer to ending. I also have two big research assignments due the day before break, so I am not excited for that at all. Just like everything else this year, things are feeling super bittersweet.

Okay, now it is time for my favorite part!!! The random things that have been consuming my brain. I just went thrifting and got two new sweaters! Super excited about that. I also found a framed photograph of Richard Nixon at Savers, so I obviously got that as well. At this point, we have a fairly well-established Nixon Nook in our third-floor living room. I just visited my sister at Fordham University. I started a second crochet project. I am excited for Christmas shopping. And finally, I have been really liking the color orange lately, which objectively is an ugly color, so I am not sure what that is about.

The With Mutual Respect panel occurred last week. Two of my friends and Cowl members were on the panel. All of the panelists did a really good job. My only complaint was that I didn’t have a microphone as well. I thought a lot of the questions were very well thought out, and I really wanted to answer them. So in the spring, I would either enjoy being a panelist or I would want to be given the opportunity to interrupt whenever I see fit to give my two cents. Because obviously my every-other-week 500-word brain dump isn’t enough.

Go into Thanksgiving break grateful for everything. Be grateful that course registration is over, be grateful that it is almost time for snow, and most of all, be grateful for everyone’s favorite organization on campus. I will see you all in the Spring. TTYL!

Ed Column

by Sarah McCall ’26 on November 6, 2025

Opinion

Hey Cowl readers! I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween this past weekend. I am a huge fan of dressing up, so I went all out this weekend. For anyone who saw me, they knew I was in some sort of a wig all weekend. I was Mary Todd Lincoln, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and Ellen Degeneres. I have a disease that requires me to wear an original costume that no one else has ever thought of and involves either a wig or bald cap. Needless to say, I had a very fun Halloweekend.

My ed columns are currently acting as a time capsule so I can come back and see what I was up to throughout my senior year, so I would like to maintain that trend. I just learned how to crochet a week ago and I am working on my first project, a blanket. It is no exaggeration when I say that the best part of my day is finishing all of my work so I can start crocheting. We are watching all of the Star Wars movies in my house right now, and most of my roommates have never seen them before, so we are doing a viewing every night this week. I have dedicated three hours every night to crochet and watch Star Wars, so I am loving life right now.

Crochet has been consuming most of my thoughts lately, but I have a few other things I have been thinking about. I want to get into Legos again, I am not a fan of the wind recently, I love my boots, I miss Barcelona SO MUCH, I am visiting my sister soon, and I am getting accustomed to the new ring placement I have going on since I added a ninth ring to my stack.

I just went to a lecture at Brown University to hear Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak. I really enjoyed listening to her anecdotes about her previous role as Secretary of State and her reflection on the current political climate. It was a very informative and powerful dialogue that emphasized the importance of involving myself in local events and knowing what is happening around me. One of the issues that Clinton repeatedly mentioned is social media and both misinformation and disinformation. Especially right now, it is so important to know what is happening in our world. Time away from phones and engaging with critical thought is so important in preserving our country. I hope to continue going to more lectures and talks both on our own campus and in the Providence area.

This ed column was all over the place, but it’s authentic to where my thoughts have been recently. Thanks for being a reader and as always, join the Cowl! Ciao bella!

Ed Column

by Olivia Gleason '26 on October 30, 2025

Opinion

Hi Cowl readers! This week I’ve been reflecting a lot on how quickly it feels that time is passing—the age-old college senior existential crisis. This was brought on, I think, by Senior Ring Weekend (SRW) occurring this past weekend. Ever since I was a freshman, the event has been something I’ve looked forward to yet also dreaded at the same time, as in many ways, it marks the beginning of the end of my time at Providence College.

For the longest time, SRW felt light-years away, and in all honesty, it still did even at the start of this semester. Even though I was prepared in the material sense, having ordered my dresses and shoes weeks in advance, I had not processed the fact that my first milestone as a PC senior had arrived. When the realization finally hit me, I was hit with a sense of anxiety as I felt that my time to make meaningful memories at PC was slipping away.

All of this came into deeper perspective at the ring blessing mass on Sunday, when Father Jordan Zajac, O.P., gave a homily discussing memories and their meaning as time passes. What stood out to me most was when he explained that the process of time fading memories from one’s mind actually reveals what is most important, as the memories that remain are those that, whether it occurred to you or not in the moment you made them, are the ones that matter most. These memories that stick around are not always the ones you would think they would be, either—they aren’t always from days that you reached a milestone in your life, or found out some great news, or celebrated a big event with family or friends. More often than not, they are the in-between moments, those that felt utterly insignificant at the time. They come from the moments when you felt free and completely present.

I think that is what I’m slowly starting to accept as a senior, as I continue to approach milestone moments: you don’t need to pressure yourself to hold onto every moment or to make every event a monumentally memorable one, because the times that matter are the ones that will stay with you anyway. This takes the pressure off moments like SRW, when you might be feeling the incessant need to capture every moment and make the most of it, because in reality, all you have to do is be present. This is something I’m going to have to continue grappling with throughout my senior year and beyond, but it’s helping me to recognize that there is beauty to be found in the passing of time and the fading of memories. We don’t get to decide what we remember most, but what we do remember are moments that reveal something meaningful about ourselves, our surroundings, and the people we have shared our lives with.

Ed Column

by Olivia Gleason '26 on September 25, 2025

Editor's Column

Hi Cowl readers! I hope you are settling into your fall schedules and finding some time to rest and recharge as the semester gets busier. As I settle into my senior year, I have found myself reflecting on how my habits as a student have changed from when I first set foot on Providence College’s campus three years ago. I’ve always been someone who puts their studies first. My time as a high schooler was marked by what felt like endless hours of homework and studying as I juggled AP courses, athletics, friends, and family, and more often than not would intentionally miss out on time with people I cared about and time for myself in exchange for more time for schoolwork. This came with consequences: over the years of living out this attitude, I basically developed a mindset that equated success and hard work with extreme burnout.

I carried this mindset with me into the first semester of my freshman year at PC—it was what had given me success in the past, and most importantly at the time, it was familiar. At a point in my life where everything felt so uncertain and alien, my studies were something I could dive into headfirst with an all-or-nothing approach, and I took this opportunity at full force. While this gave me successful academic results, as it had in the past, I found myself feeling less fulfilled than I had in high school. No longer surrounded by my family or hometown friends, spending this much time on schoolwork without giving myself time to recharge or socialize was affecting me more deeply. Slowly, somewhere in between that first semester and the fall semester of my senior year, I recognized this and took small, baby steps to remedy this dilemma.

These steps were far from monumental on their own. In fact, all of them are incredibly simple and easy for me to implement into my daily routine. Sometimes, this looks like carving out some time in my day to catch up with my roommates and ask them about their classes or life happenings; sometimes, it looks like lighting a candle and putting on quiet music while I read a chapter from a novel I’ve been meaning to start; sometimes, it looks like going out to eat with friends. When implemented altogether, such simple things as these have provided me with the ability to succeed academically while also avoiding constant burnout and unfulfillment. In fact, creating a more balanced life for myself has given me a deeper focus on my education, as I am now much more intentional about how I spend my time when I do dedicate it to schoolwork.

All of this is to say, make sure you are taking time for yourself and unwinding once in a while this semester—even if this looks like a 20-minute chat with a friend. Burnout is real and inevitable at times, but it can be alleviated by putting yourself first in simple ways.

Ed Column

by Olivia Gleason '26 and Sarah McCall '26 on September 18, 2025

Editor's Column

Sarah McCall

Hello Cowl readers! Welcome to our first issue and welcome back to campus! I am very excited to be back on campus, even though I spent the entire summer denying that I was a senior. I am reflecting back on everything I have done over the past three years, and I cannot believe how fast it has gone. At the start of my freshman year, I was pretty much mute; I was in a new place, there were all new people, and I had never been away from my family for that long. I was scared. One of my professors noticed this and heavily encouraged me to join The Cowl. I had no idea what to expect, and I didn’t want to flat-out say no to my professor (even though I tried), so I joined as a copyeditor. I would not be exaggerating when I say it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Little did I know, I had just joined the multi-year winner of “Best Section on The Cowl” and would have a crazy place to spend all of my Wednesdays.

Since my freshman year, I have grown into myself and found my voice, both literally and figuratively. My roommates actually struggle to get me to stop talking. That is also my goal with these ed columns: I have an uninterrupted platform to say whatever I want. In preparation for this year, I compiled a list of fun facts so you can get to know me. I am a history and women’s and gender studies double major and am in the Honors Program. My favorite movie is probably The Greatest Showman. I am really into podcasts. Specifically, Long Winded with Gabby Windey and Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. I just got back from studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I have a trampoline in my off-campus house. I was born in Manhattan, moved to Brooklyn, moved to Cleveland, and now I live in New Jersey. I think my favorite animal is a frog, but I am still deciding. And finally, I love the stickers feature on iMessage.

I am so excited for what this year will bring as co-Editor-in-Chief with the best partner I could ever ask for, Olivia. I am so grateful to work with Olivia and the amazing writers, section editors, and obviously the copyeditors who will work tirelessly to make sure we publish each week. Thanks for reading and join The Cowl!

Olivia Gleason

Stepping into The Cowl office as a wide-eyed copy editor my freshman year, I could have never imagined what this newspaper would come to mean to me and my time at Providence College as I enter my senior year. What began as a simple desire to get a sense of the editorial world has grown into so much more: within The Cowl, I have found a community of individuals who share my passion for writing and journalism, a vibrant space for discussion, and an unmatched opportunity to augment the voices of students with a diverse array of interests and beliefs. The Cowl has truly become a cornerstone of my experience at PC, and I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to represent this community and promote student journalism as co-Editor-in-Chief with Sarah this year.

To describe myself in the typical college student nutshell, I am a senior English major and political science minor, a peer mentor in the Honors and English programs, and an editor of the College’s literary magazine, The Alembic. I have lived in Ashland, MA, my entire life and am a Red Sox fan to my core. I have always had a passion for literature and writing and could talk about Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women for days on end. I love fashion, the fall, playing piano, early 2000s TV shows, and spending time with family, friends, and my Coton de Tulear named Aspen. Something I love about The Cowl is that anyone can share any number of passions and personal anecdotes such as these and feel pride in doing so. Our publication is special because it is both a mosaic of journalism rooted in fact and a platform for students to share pieces of themselves with the broader PC community in just about any form of their choosing, from photography and creative compositions to opinion-based writing.

Coming into this role as co-EIC is an endeavor I am so eager to dive into. Learning from The Cowl’s past, engaging with our current staff, and charting an invigorated vision for the paper’s future are all on the agenda for the year, as Sarah and I are intent on nourishing what has made this newspaper a success in years past while also working to extend its possibilities. This is not possible without campus engagement and input—so I encourage you, if you have thoughts about or suggestions for The Cowl, send letters to the editors (editor@thecowl.com), submit pieces for guest writing (or better yet, apply to be a member of the writing staff!), and share the newspaper with others. Good journalism is always important, but it feels that much more valuable in the tensely divided socio-political world we live in today—and such campus engagement will help us to create the best possible version of The Cowl. Thank you for your readership and support. I can’t wait to help shape this year’s publication with your voices at the center of it.