Alec Howe

Behind the excitement of new friends and new parties lurks a fundamental conflict in the mind of the American undergraduate: do I learn to better myself or do I learn to get a job? Unfortunately, the classes that support the modern need for quantitatively skilled workers oftentimes do not overlap with those that fulfill the need to understand the human condition. And as STEM jobs have grown increasingly lucrative, the opportunity cost of taking creative writing has grown greater. Are the humanities an anachronism of a bygone era. During his time as President, Obama pushed multiple STEM educational initiatives and constantly reiterated the importance of a mathematically and scientifically literate population. Trump seems to be following in his footsteps. In a recent speech, Trump stated that “the workplace is changing, we need to create new pathways for our citizens to get the best jobs. Greater access to STEM and computer science programs will ensure our [children] have the skills

Purpose I am having a tonsillectomy Tuesday morning, May 15. I wasn't able to find much good data on what to expect on the internet, so I am going to try to relay my thoughts and experience to you through this online journal. Hopefully through this, others who need to go through the operation will be able to have a better idea of what to expect. I'll also hopefully remember to update you with more information in about a year from now, so that you can tell if the surgery actually helped me or not. Sunday, May 13 (T-2 Days) T-36 Hours or so. The trepidation is beginning to set in, but rationally I know that I can handle a week to two weeks of serious pain if it means that I won't have to deal with getting strep constantly. For instance, in the past year (my freshman year at college) I've probably been sick every month to month and a half - call it 6-8 instances in the past 8 months. I went to my pre-op checkup on Friday and everything seems to look good. I am curre