Editor's note: The following stories are the second part of Looking Back, a two-part series of first-person blog posts looking back at life the past year. The series is produced by Professor Steve Fox's Journalism 300 course in the Journalism Department at UMass Amherst.

A first-year student versus a senior's experience.

With many social events either canceled, postponed, or relegated to Zoom, it is clear that spending more time on smartphones to stay connected with one’s social circles is quickly becoming the norm.

How do they relate to each other?

One aspect of climate change is that of native insect populations. In Massachusetts, two species that are facing a rapid decline are honey bees and monarch butterflies. However, there are several species that have seen increases in their populations such as southern pine beetles, deer ticks, cockroaches and mosquitoes.  

Commencement will feature four in-person ceremonies with two guests per graduate

While the past academic year has been well known for its administrative failings, behind the scenes of the Student Government Association, now former President Sonya Epstein, experienced a difficult and tumultuous relationship with members of the SGA. The mental health difficulties of dealing with these confrontations, as well as SGA members spreading rumors about them, eventually led to their decision not to run again despite being only a junior.

The Draglagos Jedi Academy aims to turn the antagonism of the lightsaber duel, a notorious big-screen stunt, into a collaborative pastime

Getting vaccinated at UMass? Here is what you'll experience.

According to the 2018 UMass Amherst Waste Management Report, UMass produced 8,103 tons of trash, with 4,889 of those tons being recyclable. Yet, we can not be sure if that amount actually ends up being recycled due to contamination in the recycling stream or a lack of demand from buyers.  

UMass hockey wins national championship, updated COVID case numbers and more.

Only “hundreds” attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s climate strike protest on Sept. 20, 2019. So what is it? Does no one at UMass care? Do young people turn 18 and collectively root themselves in jaded attitudes or is there something more?