Home Blog Page 82

UM’s heat problem: Making the sun less fun

Peter Kellogg
-
0
UM’s heat problem: Making the sun less fun

Students, faculty and staff kicked off this semester while exposed to extremely hot weather. According to the National Weather Service, August had over 25 days reaching 90 degrees or more across Miami. Constant exposure to extreme heat can threaten student health considering it can worsen episodes of stress and tension — a far too common occurrence as a result of schoolwork and balancing extracurriculars. 

The University sparsely advises students to avoid the negative effects of extreme heat by sharing educational content on its wellness center website, but it is not enough to ensure safety and comfort across campus. In addition, the University needs to mandate certain heat precautions and improve the management of water refilling stations on campus. 

First, executive administrators should create a heat stress policy similar to University of Florida’s. 

Managed by the UF Department of Environmental Health and Safety, this heat stress policy holds every department accountable for implementing heat precautions, training for heat stress symptoms, providing easy access to clean drinking water and adjusting work schedules to reduce heat exposure during extreme events. Most importantly, UM has a similar organizational structure as UF and also has an Environmental Health and Safety department suggesting the introduction of such a policy would certainly be feasible. 

In addition to updating the rulebook, the University needs to make physical changes on campus. On hot days, open spaces with unshaded pavement heat up the air around it, becoming dreaded parts of a walk to class. Comfortable lounge and study areas, such as Lakeside Patio or the court yard in front of Cox Science, become toaster ovens due to the large amounts of the unshaded heat-radiating concrete. 

Temporary canvas shadings or tented walkways around campus during hotter months could be a legitimate solution. This temporary shading could be in school colors, adding to campus spirit especially during an exciting football season. Innovative installments like solar powered cooling fans should also be considered — these could even provide an eye-catching stop on a campus tour. 

Most importantly, hot days require hydration. Yet, many fill-bottle stations on campus either don’t work, are extremely slow or show a red light indicating the need for a filter change. These obstacles become a nuisance, disincentivizing students from using these stations which lead to purchasing plastic water bottles instead. 

The Miami Hurricane reached out to the University’s administration for an official statement regarding their efforts for heat precaution.

 “Drinking water refilling stations can be found in many buildings on campus, providing easy access for the community to remain hydrated throughout the day,” said the University in a statement to The Miami Hurricane.

However, it is clear that these essential stations are not monitored. This situation is a simple fix that university administrators and student government should be on top of.  

While there seems to be a lack of common ground, the University has demonstrated consistency for certain vital services which help deal with the heat. Primarily, these services are air cooling systems within university buildings and the Hurry ‘Canes shuttle buses. 

Additionally, the University does well planting and maintaining trees — earning its 11th designation as a ‘Tree Campus’ by the Arbor Day Foundation this past year. Trees can protect us against the heat by shading walkways and the cooling effect of evapotranspiration, pulling water through their roots and evaporating it through their leaves. Lastly, the University’s Student Health Department has contributed to heat precautions by featuring an extreme heat precautionary guide on its home page.

“On campus, every effort is made to provide a safe and comfortable environment maximizing shady areas for the University community to enjoy and seek out during hot weather, which is very much a part of the South Florida experience,” the University said.

The attitude that students  chose Miami knowing its climate is shared by many, including the University. However, not every student or staff member has the same ability to tolerate high heat frequently.  

Weight, age and medical conditions can affect tolerance and risk of experiencing an extreme heat illness. UM has a responsibility to ensure campus is a safe space for everyone who is either a student, employee or volunteer.

These solutions are not all encompassing, but important proposals the University should consider.

 

There are no winners or losers in freshman housing

Birdie Church
-
0
There are no winners or losers in freshman housing

Closer walks to most classes, non-communal bathrooms, more socially connected floors, and Glen’s greeting at the dining hall. These are all things that the Mahoney-Pearson Residential Colleges bring to the table. 

The freshman community at UM is greatly divided into two groups: Mahoney-Pearson and Centennial Village. While the system for who got which dorm was completely random, the residents have seemingly been categorized as the students who “won” and got Centennial. Those who got Mahoney or Pearson are not the losers. What Mahoney-Pearson lacks in sterile, hotel styled rooms, it makes up for with character and community.

As someone who has lived in 11 houses throughout my life, I always had a checklist when picking what room to live in. My priorities were always set on the room’s size, my own bathroom and the closet size.

Centennial’s rooms are 200 square feet, compared to Mahoney/Pearson’s which are 240 square feet. There is also a more evident choice when it comes to the bathroom situation. 

Mahoney-Pearson’s bathrooms offer complete privacy, with space to leave your toothbrush, hair products and body wash. The location of the bathroom being a couple steps from bed is supreme for brushing teeth on late nights, and is a major time saver for mornings when you are almost late to class. In contrast, Centennial’s bathrooms are communal, meaning not only can you not leave personal items there, but also you will never know the condition of the bathroom before walking into it. 

Sophia Clark, an Ibis resident, said that Centennial’s location is not always the most convenient. 

 “I like that it is located closer to the gym, because if I lived in Pearson I don’t think I would be as motivated to go, but it does suck because it’s far from my classes” said Clark. 

On the other hand, Pearson resident Shannon Brickley loves living in Mahoney-Pearson specifically for the proximity to her campus obligations. 

“I love the location because when I accidentally sleep in too late, I have such a short walk to class, and to be honest I don’t mind the walk to the gym, I use it as a warmup of sorts,” she said.

Brickley also appreciates the community she has built in Pearson and doesn’t feel that her friends in Centennial benefit from the same built-in social scene. She detailed how she is close with all of the people in her hall and how she feels welcome to walk into her neighbors’ rooms at any time. 

“I love that my floor is social and that there is a huge community within the dorm. A lot of my friends in Centennial have said that they don’t get that feeling in their hall,” Brickley said. 

Despite not loving her walk to class, Sophia still prefers living in Centennial because “it just feels fresher, like the air feels cleaner.” 

Admittedly, living in Centennial feels like living in a hotel. But who really wants to live in a hotel for a year? 

Pearson resident Shannon Brickley said that Mahoney-Pearson “has the appeal of more space, private bathrooms and a welcoming dorm culture at tne end of the day.”

If you are a Mahoney-Pearson resident struggling to enjoy your dorm room, remind yourself that no sleek lobby can compare with the feeling of belonging — or to the simple joy of a fresh omelet from Glen.

No more Ubering: Let freshmen park on campus

Hannah Valdivia
-
0
No more Ubering: Let freshmen park on campus

If you’re a freshman like me, then you’re probably tired of having to take an Uber to the nearest Trader Joe’s or Target just for a roll of toilet paper. 

Yes, I could walk or take the Metrorail, but it would be much easier if I could park my car right outside of my Pearson dorm room. Freshmen should be allowed to park their cars on campus, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. 

“It’s so stupid that we can’t park on campus,” said freshman Hannah Salles. “I spend almost $50 a week on Ubers, it’s insane. I’m just trying to buy my groceries.” 

The new Publix might be within walking distance, but most freshmen-frequented places are not. The average student spends between $40-100 on Ubers in just one week. When you multiply that by four, you get up to $400 a month just on transportation costs alone. 

”I easily spend like $60 on Ubers in one night. It’s ridiculous, especially with how expensive this city and school already is,” said an unnamed freshman. 

Parking is already tight as it is, but with UM’s tuition being nearly $32,000 a semester, it should have the funds to build another parking garage in place of some older residential colleges to get freshmen off the Uber-train and put some money back in their pockets. 

Miami is a big city, and not an easily walkable one. I should be able to use my car whenever I need it, and not have to pay $20 to ride with a stranger, spend $50 to $100 on groceries and then another $20 on the ride back to my dorm. 

As a girl, taking an Uber alone can be scary or uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have to wait for friends to go somewhere or ride back when I’m ready to go home. 

According to a New York Times article, cases of sexual assault or sexual misconduct were reported on 400,081 Uber trips between 2017-2022. While the reality is scary, it is something that most college girls think of the moment she steps into her Uber.

Freshmen could resort to using Freebee instead. However, the service only takes you to certain areas around campus and does not beat the luxury of having a car whenever you want it. 

“The policy to restrict on-campus parking for first-year students was implemented — with the support of Student Government — in the early 2000s,” the University of Miami said in a statement to The Hurricane. “The goal is to maintain safe, accessible, and well-regulated parking for everyone across campus.” 

If UM really wants to make parking safe and accessible for every single student on campus, then freshmen should also be considered. 

If I want to go on a late-night Taco Bell run or go shopping outside of the radius that Freebee offers, I shouldn’t have to pay a crazy amount of money. Rather than leaving students stranded, the University needs to provide parking options for students on or around campus.

Freshmen should not be overlooked when it comes to providing students with “safe and accessible” parking. We need to be given the opportunity to travel safely both across campus and the greater Miami area, and that starts with allowing us to have cars and park them on campus.

Julia Thomas keeps it real

Vivian Amoia
-
0
Julia Thomas keeps it real

Julia Thomas is a well-known face on campus thanks to her almost 65,000 TikTok followers. 

Before becoming a popular creator and coming to Miami, the UM freshman attended high school in Dallas, Texas and cheered competitively for eight years.

She started making content her senior year and blew up at the beginning of the summer when she posted a video with her boyfriend Hunter, who plays baseball at Texas A&M. The video received a lot of attention and many people shared their opinions about their soon-to-be long-distance relationship.

“People really liked that video because it was about my boyfriend. They had a lot to say and some people didn’t think we’d make it,” Thomas said.

The backlash didn’t bother her. She knows her boyfriend, who has been with her for more than four years, and her relationship better than strangers on the internet. 

Thomas uses her platform to build an authentic community, posting a mix of content like “Day In The Life” videos, sit-down chats, fashion content and wellness. Her favorite videos are ones where she sits and talks directly to her followers about her life or advice she has for them.

“I feel like people like to put a huge facade up on the internet. It’s nice for people to hear that others struggle too,” Thomas said.

When choosing where to go to college, Thomas chose UM because of the big city but smaller campus community.

Her favorite spot on campus is the Lakeside Patio by the stage where she likes to eat dinner, study and watch the sunset with her roommate. Outside of campus, she loves to explore spots in Coconut Grove, Brickell and South Beach. 

While Thomas shares a lot of her fun experiences on her platform, she makes the college experience as a whole a large part of her content. She gets vulnerable with her audience, even discussing the difficult parts of college like navigating homesickness and having a long-distance relationship. 

So far, she has found the academic transition to be pretty smooth due to her strong time management skills from high school cheerleading. She notes the importance of staying organized since professors aren’t as hands-on as high school teachers.

Despite the negative public opinion about the longevity of her relationship, Thomas shares how positive long-distance has been going for her so far.

“Long distance has actually strengthened our relationship because we have so much to talk about now,” Thomas said.

Her advice for other couples going through a long distance relationship is to communicate daily in fun ways like planning FaceTime dates, making time for visits and not viewing talking as a chore. 

Social media is not an end-all-be-all for her, and ultimately she is at UM to get a degree and have a fun college experience. Thomas is currently studying business undecided, but has a strong passion for wellness and hopes to explore something in that field. 

While balancing being a creator and college student may seem like a lot, she has a good handle on it.

“My plan is just take it day by day and post whatever I’m interested in. I don’t think that stressing about it or getting burned out is what I want to do.” 

Thomas uses social media as an outlet for creativity and building a safe and supportive community.

“I just want to have friends and a community that makes me feel safe,” said Thomas. “If you don’t like me, that’s okay — I’ll find my people.”

Inside the life of Colette Couillard

Keira Faddis
-
0
Inside the life of Colette Couillard

Colette Couillard, lifestyle influencer and UM freshman, was only a high school sophomore when she first went viral. She made a video on a new TikTok account talking about her then boyfriend breaking up with her. 

“I posted it on TikTok, and it went super viral,” Couillard said. “At first I thought it was just funny, but then I realized people were actually following me and interested in my life.”

That single post launched her career. She racked up 500k followers in the months after her initial post. Even after the account was banned, her new account has since caught up to the original follower count, with more than 660k followers. 

The UM marketing major describes her niche as lifestyle. Couillard’s feed offers a glimpse into college life, Miami culture and the realities of growing up online with get ready with me videos and vlogs of her nights out with friends. 

“I’m on my phone all the time, doomscrolling,” Couillard said. “Whenever I see an interesting concept, I take inspiration from it or just think of the things people might find interesting about my life here.”

A typical day for Couillard involves juggling her classes with not only her social life, but her job as an influencer. She posts two or three videos daily, and has already found her routine on campus. 

She usually films a “Get Ready With Me” video in the morning, goes to classes in the afternoon and then scrolls for more inspiration at night. After years of balancing schoolwork and sponsorships, she’s learned how to manage both worlds without letting either side take over. 

“I’ve been doing it since my sophomore year of high school, so it’s just a habit now,” Couillard said. “If I have a big brand deal due the same week as exams, I just tell them to wait one second — school comes first.”

Brand partnerships have become a part of her everyday life. She’s worked with major brands like DoorDash, Best Buy and Ulta Beauty. Couillard says these collaborations help fund her tuition and even let her go to New York Fashion Week. 

At fashion week, Couillard met Ashtin Earle, the sister of UM alum Alix Earle. Couillard says that Earle sisters are some of her favorite influencers, and even though she has wanted to come to UM since middle school, seeing Alix posting about how fun the school was influenced her in the long run. 

She looks up to Earle’s success and sees her as a role model for the impact she would like to leave on campus. With her growing following, Couillard recognizes that she is starting to become a role model to her more than half a million followers. 

“I went to the Olivia Rodrigo concert and there were little girls coming up to me, and one girl was crying and I didn’t know that I had that effect on younger kids,” Couillard said. “Just knowing that young girls are watching me too is just really special.”

Couillard makes it a point to keep her online presence authentic, but she also recognizes that it is okay to want to keep certain things for yourself. She credits her parents for giving her support growing up to be able to let any hate roll right off her back. 

“I post almost everything, but my relationship is something that I keep private,” Couillard said. “I just don’t want to hear people’s opinions on that at all.”

As for her future, Couillard plans to graduate early and hopes to pursue a master’s degree in business law or political science. She puts her studies first, because she knows social media is not always going to be there. 

“I could lose all my followers tomorrow,” Couillard said. “So I’m making as much money as I can now, investing in my education and seeing where it takes me.”

Sienna Long’s strategy is honesty

Ana Sofia Rodriguez-Garcia
-
0
Sienna Long’s strategy is honesty

Sienna Long is one of the University of Miami’s fastest growing social media stars with 22.9k followers. But she never saw herself in Miami. 

When applying to colleges, Long struggled to picture herself liking UM until she visited her brother, who was a junior at UM, for spring break. During the trip, she fell in love with the school.   

“I came and I stayed with him in the dorms and got to experience the life here, people and energy,” the freshman said. Long’s great experience with her brother is why she decided to apply early decision to the University while also managing her unexpected fame. 

Long’s journey to starting content creation parallels her unexpected move to the University of Miami. One of her first videos that ever went viral was a complete accident. It was the 30th of December 2024, right before the new year! The video was a clip of her sister laughing in bed at Instagram reels which she woke up to find racked up more than six million views. 

 She found her true niche when she made a “Get Ready With Me” video in Spanish. This video along with her First Day Of Classes video transformed her hobby into a career.

When she was first going viral on TikTok, she often stressed herself out over how much she needed to post a day. There were days where the pressure of posting would get to her. 

Eventually she focused on uploading whenever she felt like it. She has a schedule, but if she’s not enjoying what she does, Long says no one will.

“I think I let the pressure of social media and posting three times a day get to me so much in the beginning. I was so stressed all the time,” Long said.“And then I kind of, like, one day I took a step back and said, ‘Girl, what are you doing? This is supposed to be fun.’”

In an industry dominated by artificial personas, Long strives for authenticity. She challenges the “life’s great all the time” stigma and isn’t afraid to be openly vulnerable. 

“I will go on there and be like, ‘I’m not having a good day. ‘I feel like crap,” Long said. 

Her goal is to tell the world that “nobody is perfect” while using her struggles to offer solutions. She states that showing your vulnerable side makes creators human. Long sticks to a dedicated routine of focusing on herself. Things like her “sunday reset” and “mental health days” are vital in calming her down. 

Her drive and determination started at home. Long’s mother who also works in social media serves as her daughter’s biggest fan but also her most honest critic. 

“It’s more like, ‘what can we do better next time?” Long said. “I generally don’t think I would thrive as a human being if my mom just let everything slide.” 

Beyond her social media presence, Long has a deep passion for performing. She grew up a competitive dancer, doing full makeup since she was four years old. 

While she’s left dancing in the past, she still loves to sing. Long credits Tate McRae as one of her biggest inspirations. 

Long has a very resilient attitude towards online negativity. She operates with a powerful mindset stating she doesn’t have time for the negativity. She states that she’d rather have people talking bad about her than not talking at all. 

She speaks about the importance of the mantra “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” it reflects on her journey as a creator. She notes that she’s become a more positive person than she initially was. 

It’s a gesture of passing the love she receives in her own community. You never know how you might brighten someone’s day. Long believes the best way to thrive is to be yourself.

“Be prepared to be made fun of, set your goals and don’t let anything, or anyone, shake your confidence.” 

Half Moon empanadas is a generational campus staple

Vivian Amoia
-
0
Half Moon empanadas is a generational campus staple

You are sure to find a fuchsia-colored stand with a half moon logo while walking through campus to a class in Dooly or the School of Communication. Half Moon empanadas have been a large part of UM since they opened their first on-campus kiosk in 2011.  

Half Moon was founded in 2008 by husband and wife Juan Zivala and Pilar Guzmán Zavala. Their first takeout-centered store opened in Miami Beach where joggers and tourists would grab the popular Miami treat. People loved the food, however the store was not as profitable as they planned it to be.

After attending a street food festival and selling all their empanadas, they knew the kiosk model was the way to go for their business. 

Half Moon’s philosophy is to, “nourish the hustle and heart behind every journey.” 

“Everything we do is built around our philosophy of ‘grab-and-go greatness,’” Marcella Lissandrelli, Director of Retail Operations at Half Moon said. “Just like our food, our team is all about leveling up, moving forward and being ambitious.” 

Half Moon now has 25 kiosk locations nationwide, including spots at major airports like Miami International Airport. It also just opened its first-ever store this past June in South Miami, located at 6625 S. Dixie Hwy.

The University kiosk menu includes a variety of empanada flavors ranging from sweet to savory, as well as a coffee and tea.

The three sweet empanadas are Dulce de Leche, Guava and Cheese and Nutella. The savory empanadas include Beef, Chicken, Ham and Cheese and Bacon Egg and Cheese, with Spicy Chicken being the most popular savory flavor. All empanadas are priced at $4.67. 

Half Moon takes pride in its empanadas. Employees dice the meats, make the white sauce for the spinach empanada, cook the bacon, egg and cheese with real omelette-style eggs and slow roast the pork with BBQ sauce and guava. 

The drink menu includes espresso, cappuccino, cortadito, a Cuban-style espresso drink, hot tea and even hot chocolate. It even serves organic coffee catered towards fueling college students.

“My favorite drink is an iced latte with almond milk,” UM freshman Gaby Wakszol said. “They have amazing coffee.” 

Half Moon also sells empanada and drink combos. Combo one has one empanada and one soda or brewed coffee for $6.81, and Combo two includes two empanadas and one soda or brewed coffee for $9.95.

“A box of empanadas is ideal for a dorm get-together, watching a game or movie with friends, or even tailgating before kickoff,” Lissandrelli said.

Half Moon views Miami as its home and they plan to continue to build here and stay true to their fast, convenient, delicious philosophy. Their vision is to make the empanada as iconic as the burger or taco in America. 

You don’t need to be an empanada lover to like something at Half Moon, it has something for everyone.

UM freshman Zach Yadegari helps more than 10 million people stay fit

Keira Faddis
-
0
UM freshman Zach Yadegari helps more than 10 million people stay fit

Before even stepping onto UM’s campus, Zach Yadegari was running a multimillion-dollar startup. His app, Cal AI, has been downloaded more than 10 million times and brings in millions of monthly revenue. And he’s just getting started. 

Yadegari was seven years old when he began coding. By high school, he had created his first successful gaming website and sold it for $100,000, so he was no stranger to startups when he co-founded Cal AI. 

Cal AI is a calorie counting app that utilizes artificial intelligence to do the hard work of manually inputting information for you. There are two subscription options, where users can pay either $9.99 per month or pay for a year in advance, averaging to $2.49 per month. With a subscription, users can track their weight, measurements and nutrition goals, as well as track water intake and exercise.

Yadegari went viral earlier this year after posting his college rejection results on X. His post reached more than 28 million people — including the mayor of Miami — for being turned down by every Ivy League school despite his competitive resume: a 4.0 GPA, 34 ACT score and a multimillion dollar company. 

“At that point, I decided if I’m not going to go to the best place academically for startups, then I’m going to the best school socially — and that’s the University of Miami.”

He created Cal AI after trying out other calorie-counting apps during his freshman year of high school. 

“I learned pretty quickly that the best way to actually put on weight isn’t by working out. It’s really in your diet,” Yadegari said.
“So, I started to track my calories with one of the most popular apps at the time, but it sucked.”

That’s when he decided to collaborate with a friend, Henry Yangmack, to build something that helps people reach their fitness goals even if they don’t have time to put every ingredient from their meals into a tracking app. 

“When all of these new AI tools started releasing, I had the idea to make an app where you could just take a picture of your food and it would do all the work for you,” Yadegari said.

He and Yangmack worked on coding the first version of the app for a month before its launch in May of 2024. Family and friends loved the app even before they created the final version.

They knew Cal AI was going to be more successful than anything they’ve made within days of its launch. After its first month, Cal AI brought in $30,000. 

Yadegari said he was cautious of telling everyone he knew about the app’s success, so he kept it a secret. It got harder to hide the $150,000 rolling into his bank account by the second month.

Building off that initial success, Yadegari and Yangmack moved to San Francisco for the summer. They worked tirelessly to keep the app moving by living in their office and hiring their first employees.

“We spent every waking hour of the day in front of our computers, working on this, and just making it great,” Yadegari said. “I think that’s really where the momentum really started to just fly.”

Their work has paid off, literally. 

READ MORE

“We just kept having steady growth, and it lasted until where we are now, doing more than $3 million dollars in a single month,” Yadegari said “It’s kind of surreal.”

Blake Anderson, another co-founder, worked as a mentor to Yadegari when it came to marketing the app. Anderson had success with two other apps, so the team applied his marketing strategy to get Cal AI off the ground.

Their current strategy involves a few hundred fitness influencers who post monthly about the app. Yadegari said that without social media, the app would likely not be as successful as it is.

Cal AI has found its biggest supporters and critics on social media. On social media, Cal AI fights the flood of comments calling the app fake.

Some users say it’s inaccurate because it cannot see “hidden” ingredients, like oil, a calorie dense ingredient. 

Yadegari said that the app on its own is more than 90% accurate, but for “hidden” ingredients, the app automatically uses the “standard amount.” Users are able to manually enter ingredients and alter recipes. 

Apart from just defending his app, Yadegari has had to defend himself from online misconceptions. 

“Some people think I must have had rich parents that helped me through this or that I had investors just give me millions of dollars to scale this, which is not true,” Yadegari said. “All the money that was put into this company was between the co-founders.”

He now lives off campus with more young founders, working on App Mafia, his latest project. 

Yadegari describes App Mafia as a creator house, similar to the Hype House or Faze House, where entrepreneurs make educational and short-form content all about app development. He hopes to “cause a movement” by showing how anyone can build their own software company. 

As for the future of health and fitness tech, Yadegari believes AI will play an increasingly vital role for Gen Z. 

“Traditionally, you’d have to pay for a trainer, but now AI can personalize everything for you,” Yadegari said. “It’s making fitness and becoming healthier easier for everyone.”

Lions & Willows brings sustainable swimwear to UM

Avery Simon
-
0
Lions & Willows brings sustainable swimwear to UM

Jade Abramson, a senior at UM, transformed an idea born in quarantine into a growing business. Her swimwear brand, Lions & Willows, combines sustainability, femininity and strength to reflect her creativity and entrepreneurial drive.

“L&W is a feminist and sustainable brand,” Abramson said. “The willow tree represents feminine energy, so I thought that tied together our two missions nicely.” 

Abramson first envisioned Lions & Willows when she was 16 while quarantining in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. With time on her hands, she began sketching swimsuit designs and researching fabrics, unknowingly laying the foundation for what would become Lions & Willows. By the time she arrived in Miami, that fascination had become a concrete business plan. 

“I came to Miami in order to start the brand,” Abramson explained. “But Miami has definitely impacted how it’s grown over the past two years.”

It is easy to see the city’s influence. The beaches, color and constant warmth of Miami are reflected in the designs. Each collection feels curated for a confident, coastal lifestyle while maintaining a commitment to sustainability and ethics. 

Behind the scenes, the brand runs on values as its aesthetic. Its bikinis are manufactured in Bogota, Colombia, by an all-women team over forty years old. This was a strategic decision Abramson made to support female employment and fair labor. “It was important to us to work with a manufacturer that shares our values,” she said.

The brand also uses recycled fabrics, low-fuel transport methods and an upcycling program to minimize environmental impact. Customers can turn in old bikinis, which are then carefully deconstructed and remade into new designs. The process turns old pieces into fresh creations while offering to receive 10% off their next order from L&W.

The initiative creates a cycle of creativity and accountability, giving customers a chance to participate in the brand’s values. “We want people to feel like they’re part of the brand’s mission, not just buying from it,” Abramson said. 

When asked why she chose to invest in sustainability instead of expanding production, Abramson didn’t hesitate. “I’d rather grow slower and do it right,” she said. She feels that fast fashion moves fast, but that is not the point of her brand. 

Balancing entrepreneurship with academics has been another challenge Abramson said she’s grateful that her major allows her to merge coursework with her company’s goals. Some of her entrepreneurship classes double as project opportunities to test new strategies for Lions & Willows. “It’s hard,” she admitted, “but having that overlap keeps me focused and helps the brand evolve.” 

Still, visibility remains one of her biggest obstacles. She spends countless hours shooting content, managing collaborations, and growing the brand’s online presence. “The hardest part has been getting the brand out there and having people discover us,” she said.

Abramson has leaned on social media to build awareness, with Instagram, TikTok and pop-up markets driving most of her exposure.

Looking into the future, Abramson sees Lions & Willows growing beyond swimwear with hats, claw clips, cover-ups and a men’s swim line. 

Lions & Willows wants to create swimwear for everyone, but is having trouble reaching everyone. Abramson follows her business mantras to push past that doubt and create a one-of-a-kind sustainable swimwear brand.

“Be confident in yourself and your idea,” Abramson said. “You’re the only one who can make your vision come to life.”

Lions & Willows is the result of Abramson’s persistence and purpose. What started as a concept has evolved into a brand with momentum, proving that even small ideas can grow into something lasting when treated with conviction and care.

Nikki Pindor has your attention

Talia Gorelick
-
0
Nikki Pindor has your attention

Everyone who scrolls on TikTok knows Nikki Pindor. At least, everyone thinks they do. She’s a freshman who accidentally killed her dorm fish, cooked for frat boys just to watch the comments explode and posts viral, cringey “Get Ready With Me” videos. 

She calls it trolling and her comment section calls it a train wreck. Either way, her strategy to get famous is working, and it might just be genius.  

In just a month, Pindor went from “irrelevant” to unavoidable, the kind of campus celebrity who can’t leave her dorm room without ending up on YikYak, a social media app where users can make anonymous posts. And the kicker? She’s already making five figures a month while doing it. 

“Song promos go for like $400,” Pindor said, shrugging. “Just for putting it in the background of a video.” Add brand deals, collabs and a manager she casually met at a house party, and suddenly she’s on her way to graduating debt-free. 

How did Pindor troll her way to making $20k a month without losing her GPA or her mind?

Pindor didn’t wait long to test the waters. In her first week on campus, she was like any other freshman. By the second week, she was all over TikTok. 

“I started posting general UMiami content,” Pindor explained. A TikTok about “Pancakes with Pat” got her on people’s Tik Tok For You pages immediately. Then came the infamous fish video. By the third week of classes, people were stopping her in the Mahoney-Pearson dorms for photos. 

“I post controversial stuff once in a while,” Pindor said. “If I want to get an extra boost, I’ll post some ragebait. And those always work.” 

She knows exactly when to stir things up, and it never fails.

“The frat cooking video was pure ragebait,” Pindor said. “I knew people would get mad, and it worked.” The clip showed her cooking alone in a frat house kitchen, sparking mixed reactions online from students who called it cringe and embarrassing. “Yes, I was there alone. Yes, that’s true. But like, I cooked for myself,” she said.

Then came another viral stunt. Pindor made it look like she was flashing her way into a club by lifting her shirt in front of bouncers in a TikTok video. But she really revealed another shirt she had underneath that read, “I heart bouncers.” 

“Honestly, it was kind of a social experiment,” she said. “I wanted to see how bouncers would react — and it worked, I got in.”

But not everyone found it funny. The clip spread fast, earning her a meeting with the dean after someone reported it to the University. 

“I got a bunch of backlash for that one,” Pindor said. “People thought I was actually flashing them.” 

On YikYak, posts debated whether she’d crossed a line. Some posts defended her, others tore her apart. As always, she brushed it off and kept posting.

What makes Nikki so watchable isn’t just the chaos of her videos, it’s her stamina. She posts herself coming home at 5 a.m. on school nights and still making it to her 8 a.m. lectures. It’s not a one off either, she does this multiple times a week, leaving everyone wondering when she studies or sleeps.

Pindor’s schedule itself has become part of the spectacle: nights that stretch until sunrise, mornings in Cox, TikToks dropping every few hours and a flood of brand emails to answer between classes. Even her finances have become a subplot. 

She’s already putting cash into index funds, bonds and bitcoin thanks to some investment advice she got from reddit.

While the money is good now, she isn’t betting her future on it. 

“Obviously, I’m going to stick with school. Because anything on social media comes to an end,” Pindor said. “I need stability, so I’m going to stick with something I know will provide me with a stable career in the long term.” 

That commitment aligns with her 4.85 high school GPA, seven advanced placement courses and top exam scores.

Pindor is chaotic, exhausting and undeniably impressive and maybe that’s why people can’t look away.

Pindor is pulling off what every UM student dreams of: steady paychecks, passing grades and a social life that never leaves South Beach. Of course, the same things that make her viral, also make her vulnerable. 

Most of us can wander into the dining hall for a snack between classes and vanish into the crowd. Pindor can’t. If she steps inside, someone is bound to snap a picture. 

“I literally put on sunglasses and tied my hair back once, just to get a cup of fruit,” Pindor said. “Six minutes later, I was on YikYak with the caption, ‘You can’t hide from us.’”

She’s good at laughing it off, but the attention can still feel suffocating. 

“I feel self-conscious everywhere I go now,” Pindor said. She still appreciates the positive interactions. “I love when people are nice and come up – that’s nice, that’s fun. But sometimes they’re not.” 

At a frat party, two girls shouted at her to get out. On YikYak, strangers speculate about her love life, even posting a blurry zoomed in photo of her walking with her manager and calling it a date. 

“It wasn’t a date,” Pindor said, laughing. “I was literally going to a meeting.” Moments like that are constant reminders that being Nikki means living under a microscope. 

Even wilder was the rumor that she’d been blacklisted from medical school. 

“I’m like 99% sure I’m not actually blacklisted,” she said. “It was just a Yik Yak rumor. At first, I totally panicked but then some actual doctors messaged me like, ‘Girl, med schools don’t blacklist college freshmen unless you commit a crime or something.’”

Even so, the idea that real adults might be watching was a wake-up call. 

“It’s kind of scary realizing that people on the medical board might be seeing my videos,” she admitted. 

Pindor takes all of these negative comments in stride. 

“Even if you’re the kindest person out there, you’re still gonna have to deal with rumors and hate. You just have to be mentally strong,” she said. “It comes with the platform.”

That strength is what carried Nikki through the chaos. The 5 a.m. nights, the YikYak rumors and constant eyes on her. It’s what makes her more impossible to scroll past. Whatever comes next, one thing is certain: everyone at UM will be watching. 

Fact and fiction: how often biopics get it wrong

Lazaro Chavez
-
0
Fact and fiction: how often biopics get it wrong

A biopic, a movie about a real person,  is one of the most fascinating genres of film. They are meant to tell real stories and  also be entertaining enough for audiences. But reality will often be bent to tell the story the “Hollywood way.” 

In trying to do things the “Hollywood way”, these films often distort the truth in the stories they tell, moving things around or even completely making things up. The creative minds behind them will do this in order to fit a narrative arc, whether that be getting to a star’s top hit or most important moment from their life, which undermines historical accuracy and can sometimes spoil what fans know of the celebrities they love.

One of the most notable examples of how biopics may alter details  from Dexter Fletcher’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The film takes several liberties with the timeline of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s life and the band itself. The film depicted Mercury’s diagnosis of HIV prior to the iconic 1985 Live Aid performance. He was actually diagnosed two years later in 1987. The decision is not only  historically inaccurate but also added drama to  Mercury’s performance, fighting the same disease he is advocating awareness for. 

Some fans also criticized the film for its portrayal of Mercury’s sexuality for focusing on his relationship with Mary Austin. Fans argue T and I would too, that the film doesn’t paint the full picture behind one of rock’s biggest icons. 

A film that was truthful and entertaining is Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.” It took the world by storm and made Austin Butler a household name. The film focuses heavily on the problematic history and dramatizes the role of Colonel Tom Parker, which gave the film the necessary umph it needed to be the critical hit it was. Portraying Parker’s discovery of Presley as ‘destiny’ also gave the relationship and fallout between the two even more weight than the real history. However, the  film glosses over Pressley’s controversial relationship with Priscilla, whom he met when she was 14 and he was 24. 

Fans of this genre say that the films are made to entertain, not inform, which is true. after all, it is all about the business of making money. But when filmmakers alter major events or omit defining struggles, they cross from dramatization to distortion. 

Hollywood biopics are great theater, but they shouldn’t be mistaken for truth. If filmmakers want to tell the “true story,” they owe audiences more honesty than spectacle. If  audiences want to know the real people behind the legends, they’ll have to look beyond the big screen.

1...818283...2,126Page 82 of 2,126