opinion

Here to help

By Bret Belden · Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016

Starting college means starting a life where your path and direction are unpredictable. The people you meet over the four years you’re on campus will start to shape your life and change you, sometimes for the better, but sometimes for the worst. College relationships are more adult-like than anything one could experience in high school. Sharing the freedoms of being independent with someone else is new territory for most students and can be wonderful, but slightly overwhelming. Now, there are no parents or school counselors to monitor behavior and becoming trapped in an abusive relationship can easily go unrecognized.

What team? Wildcats

By Bret Belden · Monday, Sept. 12, 2016

Think back to “spirit days” in primary and secondary school. The excitement of getting dressed up, walking in the halls and feeling the electric energy bounce through the corridors. The anticipation for the big game and pep rally distracting your brain in math class; memories of school spirit are some of the best.

Editorial: The Earth without art is ‘eh’

By Bret Belden · Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016

One of the best parts about college is that a student’s schedule is mostly made up of personal interests. After declaring majors and minors, with the exception of the required discovery courses, classes are tailored to a student’s strengths and talents. It is often the case that after a student completes the required arts credit, that student will never again attend a UNH arts event. We at The New Hampshire think that’s a trend that should change.

Beyond the classroom

By Bret Belden · Friday, Aug. 26, 2016

As a senior, the first thing I have truly realized, and it dawned on me just recently, is how fast my time here at the University of New Hampshire has passed. I can remember rather vividly, with nostalgia and angst for the future, moving into my freshman year dorm room. It was horribly hot out and I had so many things to move in, not understanding how small my room was going to be. I had mixed feelings of anticipation and dread. These were momentous times. No more parents to tell me to do homework or to find a group to join. Teachers weren’t going to be there for me every step of the way. No bells to dismiss me from class. No knowledge of where to go and who everybody was. That feeling of anxiety over something so serious and new held onto me for a little while, but eventually we all learn to adapt and survive. It’s learning how to survive in an active and positive way that really makes the difference.

Obama’s swing and a miss

By Bret Belden · Thursday, March 24, 2016

President Obama was the first sitting American President to visit the Island of Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. It really goes without saying that this is not because of some odd coincidence that past presidents of the freest nation on Earth have chosen to skip over the island throughout history.

‘School Hard’

By Bret Belden · Thursday, March 24, 2016

"Grade 9,” by the Barenaked Ladies, is a song that was released in the early 1990s and is all about first impressions and the crazy whirlwind that is high school.