Emily Raymundo, Instructor in English: Chicken Nugget Day is not that great. The lines are too long, and they just don’t do it for me. Because we serve ourselves buffet-style, they’re not hot and crispy—nuggets are always best when they’re fresh. No matter what, it’s the fresh-out-of-the-fryer crispness that’s important to a good nugget. I have not tried the Commons soy nuggets, but in general they are just okay.
Troy Turick, Instructor in Mathematics: I like bow ties because if I’m helping a student, I don’t want a tie hitting their face. Also, I don’t want to get it messy when I’m writing on a whiteboard or chalkboard and get marker or chalk on it. Bow ties are neat and tight. They don’t make a mess. It’s logic.
Kate Dolan, Instructor in Physical Education and Assistant Dean of Students: Summer to fall is the best seasonal transition. Fall in New England—the temperature is just right, the leaves are turning, and it’s field hockey season. Everyone’s in a really good mood. People are excited to be back. There are new kids who bring new energy. It’s just a good time.
Emma Frey, Instructor in History: Chocolate is better than fruity candy. I don’t know why. It just is. Fruity candy just doesn’t taste like fruit—it tastes like artificial sweetener. On the other hand, chocolate is smooth and rich. European chocolate, in particular, is the most flavorful.
Ryan Lam ’24: Listen. Orange candy is the best flavored candy. Better than grape, strawberry, and all the others. It’s the most interesting. Starburst? All red taste the same—except for orange. Mentos? They all taste the same—except for orange. All other flavors are boring. Orange is the only one that’s distinct and creates an incredible flavor that is not too sweet, yet still exciting.
Karla Aouga ’24 and Justin Parker ’24: Wendy’s is better than McDonald’s because McDonald’s doesn’t have the fo’-for-fo’.
Justin Parker ’24: Cereal before milk. 4C hair is literally the blueprint. Anyone who eats Arby’s can’t be my friend.
Karla Aouga ’24: The ranking of social media goes TikTok, Instagram, then Snapchat. No arguments.
Guilherme Lima ’24: Spoilers are not okay. They take away from the experience by giving me unnecessary details. Watching something after being spoiled means you don’t experience something the way that creators intended their work to be experienced. Feeling the surprise or sadness is the best part.
Aviva Cai ’24: Spoilers are okay. They are a way for me to find comfort. I relate so much to the characters in a movie, book, or show. Through knowing the spoilers, I can prevent myself from watching movies or shows that are too emotionally taxing. This way, I don’t feel overly sad or surprised during the experience. I feel safe.
Mateo Schneider ’24: Red Delicious apples are the worst kind of apple. They have no flavor compared to the likes of Granny Smith or Honey Crisp. They instead taste bitter, making them an unappealing fruit.
Jack Swales ’24: Honey Mustard can and should be allowed on salads. You all should try it. The hate the combo gets is unjustified. It’s just another dressing you’re adding to contribute more flavor. Balsamic vinaigrette is the same in a way—combining two things to create something delicious. It gives the salad an extra kick of pizazz and boosts the sweetness. Makes the croutons nice and sweet too. It’s amazing and if you disagree you’re wrong.
Leo Peters ’24: Jelly Bellies are the best candy. They are so succulent. My favorite flavor is licorice, and my least favorite one is buttered popcorn. There are so many other delicious flavors as well, and every bite is like a new experience. Also, if your favorite candy is Sour Patch Kids, you are basic (but it’s okay to be basic).
Guilherme Lima ’24: Instagram > Snapchat. Instagram does everything that Snapchat does and more. Snapchat stories and spotlight are budget versions of Instagram stories and reels. I don’t like chatting through Snapchat, and Instagram does that pretty well with DMs. Also, Snapchat gets repetitive real fast.
Maggie Qi ’24: I don’t like Jackson Pollock. I just think he’s overrated. He says his splatter paintings have meaning but they actually don’t. You can’t say they’re bad because you could do it—because you didn’t. But just look at them! He’s also just a terrible person. He’s my least favorite artist.
Allie Encarnacion ’24: Misogyny and toxic masculinity need each other, just like racism and white supremacy need each other. Societal expectations of what femininity is can only be opposed by societal expectations of what masculinity is. It’s not a very complex idea, just that we need to constantly be rejecting the contrast and comparison (misogyny versus toxic masculinity, or white supremacy versus racism) in order to uplift ourselves and everyone else simultaneously.
Iris Guo ’23: I really don’t like lasagna. Lasagna has both tomato sauce and cheese and both are kind of bad. Any kind of cheesy pasta is bad. Take mac and cheese—why is the cheese always so orange? The flavors of cheese are also always too strong. If cheesy pasta got rid of the cheese I would like it. Or at least use a lighter cheese—like more buttery than cheesy.
Leilani Glace ’25: Quite frankly, plane tickets for small children, between the ages of zero to six, should cost more. Children are noisy and on a thirteen-hour flight—or even a five-hour flight—passengers should have the right to peace and quiet, the right to sleep when they want, and the right to read a book in relative silence. However, because planes are communal, paying extra to board children, who are very likely to disturb other passengers, is a reasonable request.
Amy Oku ’25: People who wear rubber sandals with fuzzy socks outside in the winter with a full-on outfit are a red flag. If they’re wearing a full outfit, like a nice shirt and pants, but also wear socks with sandals—they need to make a decision. They should not go full out, but then not go full out.
Valencia Zhang ’25: People who wear flannel pajama pants out in public have major issues. Specifically, the blue-and-white Andover ones. I totally support it if you wear them, but don’t. First of all, it’s winter time. We’re living very far from the equator, and flannel is so thin. It’s certainly a fashion statement, but is it worth spending 40 dollars from the Campus Closet for this? You had to walk to GW to buy it. That is a decision that I cannot respect.
Michael Ma ’24: Pets are overrated. They take too much time and effort to take care of, especially if you live alone. I can grow to like animals but only if I’m not taking care of them. I also tend to fall out of love with pets if I see them do disgusting things. Pets licking an owner’s mouth? I just think—ew.
Grant DeHoog ’25: I don’t think that the green boxes were that bad. They were convenient and you could drop them off in a bin by your dorm. They got your food a little soggy but so do DoorDash and GrubHub.
Jaeho Lee ’24: It’s called a water bottle, not a coffee bottle… we all need a wake-up call. Caffeine is not going to cut it in terms of staying healthy and awake, even if it’s readily accessible in Commons. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make my double-packet mix coffee.
Posey Beckwith ’24: Beds should be clean at all times. We sleep in them, and sleeping in someone else’s or our dirt is gross. We should stick to rules to keep our beds clean. First, no street clothes, no shoes. Second, always shower before you get in bed. Finally, you should be pretty much the only person allowed on your bed.
Alice Fan ’23: Lasagna is, quite frankly, a type of cake. Structurally, it has the dough/flour-based layers, as well as the semi solid sauces, such as tomato sauce—the inner cream and filling. Lasagna also has toppings, such as cheese and the occasional dried parsley leaf, which serve as the frosting and decorations on the top of a cake. What more do cakes have?
Loulou Sloss ’22: I know it’s getting cold, and that college in your northeastern hometown (or the one California school you visited on your way to Hawaii one winter) makes a pretty cozy sweatshirt, but please, for the sake of the Seniors, maybe put them away for the next couple months. We are very stressed about the college process, and being unexpectedly reminded of the school I am applying to can sting. It’s no one’s fault (except the dang CollegeBoard) that it is this stressful, so please don’t feel bad about your past “groutfit” choices. All I ask is that, until early to mid December, you switch to the Black Dog Cape Cod crew neck or maybe rep the school we all know and love, Exeter.
Kiran Ramratnam ’22: Recreational space travel is unreasonable. The money going to extraterrestrial projects would be of better use if redistributed to help people actually on earth. Recreational space travel, such as Elon Musk’s Blue Origin program, uses individualism in a way that gives certain people with immense economic capital a “once in a lifetime experience” while doing nothing for the greater global community.
Editor’s Note: Ryan Lam ’24 is a Subscriptions Manager for The Phillipian.
