Hsu starts her day at 8 a.m. and doesn’t leave until 10 p.m. She balances graduate school and serves as the dance captain and costume chair for the university’s K-pop dance group, Charger K-pop Dance Crew.

But one of her passions is Halloween costumes.

Growing up, Hsu’s mother designed group costumes for the family to wear. When her mother stopped after high school, Hsu took matters into her own hands. She entered a performing arts school surrounded by a constant flow of creativity, where Halloween was not a holiday to be missed.

“I went to LaGuardia in Manhattan, and you know, everybody was performing arts, everybody there was creative as hell, and Halloween was a big thing,” Hsu said. “You didn’t dress up, you were weird, you were the odd one out.”

Hsu began experimenting with special effects makeup, and transformed herself into things such as a cracked doll and a devil costume with a split jaw and large teeth. By her freshman year, her skills had increased so that she could create makeup simulating an injury with a hanging eye.

What got Hsu started was a costume depicting a Clicker, a blind, mutated zombie-like creature with a fungal growth covering its head from the video game and HBO series, “The Last of Us.” The detailed costume earned her recognition when the franchise’s official Instagram account featured her work on their story.

“In terms of how something looks and how accurate it is the actual thing, I think the Clicker has been my favorite,” Hsu said. “It got recognized or at least the Instagram for The Last of Us. They put it on their Instagram as a story, and I thought that was pretty cool.”

Driven by a desire to improve, Hsu created an even more ambitious project the following year: a massive Freddy Fazbear suit, the iconic animatronic bear from the horror video game franchise, “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

“So I ended up making this giant suit that I guess got a lot of attention on campus and I was like, ‘Oh wow, I can do this,’” Hsu said.

Following Freddy, Hsu engineered a dinosaur costume that proved to be an intense technical challenge that included an internal framework of PVC pipes jerry-rigged with zip ties and topped with heavy upholstery foam. Hsu designed the head of the dinosaur to pivot and look up and down using a Home Depot bucket lid mechanism. The weight however, caused the structure to collapse.

“It was a mess,” Hsu said. “The dinosaur cost the most and we just ended up throwing it out.”

Hsu spent as many as 14 hours a day making the costume. She estimates it took about 300 hours to complete.

“I really only spent 30 minutes walking around on campus, it was a rainy day, and it was really heavy and the pieces weren’t fitting together so I just, it had to go,” Hsu said.

But the 300 hours of work weren’t a waste. The experience allowed Hsu to work with more tools in the makerspace. She worked alongside other students to learn mechanical movement and weight distribution to assist her in future projects.

“I didn’t like the dinosaur, but I learned structural things,” Hsu said. “I learned how heavy the materials should and shouldn’t be. Now I can translate the errors and mistakes that I made in that into a new project and go ‘Okay, well I learned a skill from this and I made a mistake in this, how am I going to change that?’” she said.

After graduating last semester and leaving the dinosaur behind, Hsu is back at the university as a forensic technology graduate student. During the summer, she spent time working in the New York City morgue, an environment that inspired her next creative project. The idea came during a car ride, where she connected her time spent around real dead bodies at her summer job with her upcoming return to campus.

“I was like ‘Wait, I’m going back to school. Zombie, what can I do?’ And then I was like, ‘Oh! Charlie, Charlie’s a mascot,’” Hsu said.

The result is her current project: a decomposed version of Charlie the Charger, the university’s mascot.

For Hsu, the creative process behind her works begins with a sketch.

“Everything starts with a drawing for me,” she said. “I don’t really think I’m a great drawer like an artist-ish. Sketching. I don’t think I’m that great at that, but to me that’s the easiest part of all of this. If I can’t do that, I can’t do this.”

After sketching her designs, she starts brainstorming materials to use. To make the heads for her costumes, the process involves gluing foam blocks together and then shaving the material down to the desired shape. For Charlie, Hsu took the original round shape of a head and shaved it down to mimic the elongated features of Charlie.

“I kind of just see something and I’m like, ‘How can I mimic it?’ I think I’m pretty good at essentially copying things,” she said. “So it terms of the armor for Charlie, I just kind of saw a picture of it and I was like, ‘Okay, well it’s a piece here and a piece here, and I just need to hot glue it.’”

While she holds a passion for crafting, her focus still remains on her academics.

“It’s definitely making sure you know what you need to do at what point and to also know that this stuff, the costume stuff, doesn’t really matter. My degree does,” she said.

The post Meet the UNH student transforming foam and fabric into Halloween magic appeared first on The Charger Bulletin.

The debate was broadcasted live on WFSB and CT Insider, and moderated by WFSB’s Erin Connolly, with panelists Susan Raff and Dan Haar of CT Insider. A few days before the debate, CT Insider allowed Reddit users to submit potential questions for the moderators.

In opening statements, Fazio, a state senator representing the 36th district, targeted Connecticut’s cost of living.

“Tonight, families are struggling,” Fazio said. “They’re suffering under the fourth highest energy bills, the third highest taxes, and the highest unemployment rate in the entire country. Governor Lamont had eight years to fix it. Instead, he broke his promises and made every single one of those problems worse.”

Lamont, who is running for a third term as governor, said, “Eight years ago I came into the office, inherited $2 billion budget deficits as far as the eye can see. Then we ran into COVID. Now we have Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran driving up the cost for everybody.”

Lamont emphasized that despite the hardships, he championed eight balanced budgets in a row as governor and he said that Connecticut has one of the fastest growing economies in the country.

Affordability was the first major topic after opening statements. Raff asked Lamont if another term would bring different results on costs of living.

“Only one guy has cut the income tax we cut that for the middle class,” said Lamont. “We eliminated income tax for most working families eliminated income tax for most seniors. You talk about electric rates. They’ve gone up all around the country. Well, Connecticut is one of the very few states that actually reduced electric rates.”

Fazio pushed back against the claim and said, “Now from the sound of it, Governor Lamont is living in an entirely different state than the people I talk to on the campaign trail.”

Fazio gave an example where he met a woman from Torrington who couldn’t afford to pay her bills anymore and needed to take a third job to do so.

“He’s [Lamont] raised your taxes by $3 billion including on food, including on your paychecks, including on online purchases,” said Fazio.

When asked about costs of energy bills from companies such as Eversource, Fazio pledged to eliminate hidden taxes and fees and cut energy bills in total by 20%. He proposed achieving this by removing Connecticut’s public benefit charge on energy bills.

Lamont opposed the plan. “All you’re doing is shifting it over to the backs of the taxpayers,” he said.

Lamont suggested increasing oversight on the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, a quasi-judicial panel that oversees electric, water, natural gas and telecommunications companies, while trying to ensure that taxpayer money is properly going towards efficiency and upgrading grids controlled by Eversource.

Fazio fired back, alleging that Lamont has texted Eversource’s CEO and that he told him to “not leave town” until a billion-dollar deal was in place.

When asked about foreign policy impacting prices of gas and diesel, Fazio advocated for a gas tax holiday which would cut prices by 25 cents. Lamont, however, disagreed and said that the money for a tax holiday must come from somewhere, and that deficits would occur if it would be enacted.

Candidates were asked if they supported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Fazio said that he believes ICE must be stopped when they overreach on people’s rights and civil liberties, but said that Lamont’s policies have hurt public safety and are going too far left. He also attacked Connecticut’s Trust Act.

Lamont claimed that he worked with ICE, the DEA and FBI to deal with some of the most dangerous criminals in the state and said Connecticut is one of the safest states in the country. However, he opposed ICE rounding up people who have not been convicted of crimes and gave examples of ICE activity among parents at school bus stops in Danbury.

Lamont was asked if any large AI data centers would be built in Connecticut, and despite Haar mentioning the governor signing a bill giving data center tax breaks, Lamont said that the state will likely not build any of them and called out a cancelled one near Waterford.

Alternatively, Lamont said the tax breaks help companies to upgrade their IT systems. He then called out Fazio for being one of few state senators to vote against a bill that restricted what AI chatbots could say. Fazio fired back that Lamont a year ago supported data centers and said that he pushed passing a bill giving complete tax breaks on sales and property taxes for the centers. Fazio pledged to get rid of the tax breaks if elected governor.

Other issues included Flock cameras, policing, roads and bridges, affordable housing and health insurance.

Students who watched the debate had reactions.

“Lamont had a more realistic, grounded conversation with the Connecticut people,” said Jordan Mancuso-Cermola, a junior political science major and secretary of the Southington Democratic Town Committee. “Mr. Fazio is still trying to explain how the numbers behind his unrealistic promises add up. I’m confident Connecticut wants leadership with a clear, realistic plan—not empty promises.”

“I think Fazio won,” said Raymond Keeley, a junior history major. “But it’s not like he did great. Lamont just was really weak. Spent half the time talking about Trump.”

The final debate will be held this Tuesday on WTNH News 8. Viewers will get one final chance to see how the two candidates will lead Connecticut a week before Election Day.

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The ceremony honored the life of Wells, a young Black man whose death sparked conversations about justice, accountability and advocacy. Throughout the evening, attendees reflected on his legacy and discussed the role individuals can play in confronting injustice and supporting one another.

“The event demonstrates students standing together against injustice and using their voices to spark change within our community,” said Clyde Exavier, the assistant director of student engagement.

Exavier emphasized the importance of bringing awareness to issues affecting members of the student body.

“It is important to bring awareness to issues that members of our student body face even when it seems like there has been a conscious effort to ignore injustice by the authorities,” Exavier said.

He also expressed hope that attendees would leave the ceremony feeling empowered.

“I hope that people will remember that there is strength in unity and that no matter what means of suppression they face, they are powerful,” Exavier said.

Among the attendees was Donald Harrison, a senior English major, executive assistant for the university’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter, and a radio host at 88.7 WNHU.

“This event means a lot to me,” Harrison said. “I don’t take it for granted, and it is especially important to me because in a time when Nolan Wells’ name has disappeared largely from mainstream attention, we’re fortunate to have Gamma Alpha Tau who still remembers his life.”

For Harrison, remembrance is only one part of the larger conversation. He believes events such as this encourage students to come together and speak out against injustice.

“One remembrance vigil should lay the groundwork for demanding more justice,” he said. “It makes the student body come together and speak against injustices happening in the world.”

One message that resonated with Harrison came during a discussion on supporting Black students within the predominantly White institution, or PWI, community.

“When Robert told attendees to check in on Black students who attend this campus, being that it is a PWI, I believe it’s crucial that as Black students, we have safe spaces and conversations that edify us,” he said.

As the ceremony ended, attendees were encouraged to continue engaging in meaningful conversations and supporting each other beyond the event.

“I’d say to students that you should get involved and have uncomfortable conversations about injustice in order to help remove indifference around you,” Harrison said.

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Senior Lt. Mykola Melnyk, a Ukrainian combat veteran who has visited the university before, joined Olena Lennon, a practitioner-in-residence, in a panel about the security of Europe, the current front line and advocacy in America.

Blumenthal, a U.S. Senator since 2011, serves on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee. He has visited Ukraine 11 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. The visits have brought the senator into direct conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials.

The panel began with Lennon setting the scene and reminding the audience of ideologies that make the war one of attrition. She provided statistics of Ukrainian public opinion and commentary on changes in European security architecture after the withdrawal of American support, before Melnyk took over.

Melnyk took part in the defense of Ukraine against Russia in 2014 and in the full-scale invasion of 2022, before becoming wounded in combat in the counter-offensive of 2023. After losing a leg, Melnyk was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, one of Ukraine’s highest honors of military service.

“Unfortunately, understanding that Ukraine have not a choice. We must fight, we should fight because we can all win or die,” said Melnyk. “For Russians, it’s interest in the territory, for Russian it’s interest in destroyed Ukraine and destroying Ukrainian like nations, because in my opinion, we are last defender of freedom in Europe.”

Panel members also discussed the recent slowdown of Ukrainian access to Starshield, a military version of the Starlink satellite network crucial for defense against Russia. Recent news reports say that Elon Musk ordered the slowdown.

“Ukrainians accept the need to go to these bunkers as part of their lives now. But the only way they know when the missiles are coming is from the intelligence sharing, from American satellites,” said Blumenthal. “When that’s interrupted, it means they get apartment houses, or places of work or home. They not only destroy infrastructure and buildings but they kill more people.”

Other topics at the panel included Pres. Donald Trump’s waiver of sanctions from large Russian-oil importers such as India and criticism of the White House’s normalized relations with Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin.

“You should care about our national security, which Donald Trump is undermining, because he is siding with Putin,” said Blumethal. “And remember what Putin is doing? Putin is providing intelligence to the Iranians.”

Members of the audience asked Blumenthal questions about European intelligence capabilities, U.S. drone production and the upcoming midterm elections. A model of a Russian jet-powered drone was displayed.

Melnyk also discussed the rapid advances in military technology, changes that he experienced firsthand and why American militaries and others may get left behind if they do not adapt to this new field of warfare.

“I see how war has changed because in 2014 it was war soldier against soldier,” said Melnyk. “In 2025, it was the drone operator against drone operator. I think now started the war drone with AI against drone with AI. And nobody know what we will see in 2027.”

“And the change in warfare in Ukraine is really the change in warfare around the world,” said Blumenthal. “Ukraine has been the pacesetter, been at the forefront of technology and the advancement of unmanned warfare.”

“Ukraine needs to endure on a military, diplomatic, economic and energy front,” said Lennon. “So it’s not just patriot interceptors, it’s not just anti-drone interceptors, it’s not just alternate energy sources, but it’s an all hands on deck approach on every single front.”

The post National Security panel hosts Sen. Blumenthal and Ukrainian combat veteran appeared first on The Charger Bulletin.

The Chargers lost all sets on Friday, with scores of 22-26, 16-25 and 17-25. Throughout the game, the Chargers had a total of 37 points compared to LIU’s 59.

Senior opposite hitter Lauren MacKellar had the most kills with 12 and led defense with 11 digs. The only New Haven ace of the match was by junior setter Zaira Kearns, who also led in assists. Junior middle blocker Josie Foster led defense with three blocks.

The Chargers hitting percentage at the end of the game was .091. Freshman outside hitter Marley Alefaio contributed to this with a personal hitting percentage of .222.

Similar to the previous day’s match, the Chargers lost all three sets Saturday. The final scores were 22-25, 16-25 and 18-25, with the Chargers scoring 47 points total.

MacKellar once again had the most kills on Saturday, totalling 11 and followed closely by Alefaio’s ten. Junior libero Payton Malinoski worked offense with two aces and eight digs. Foster had four blocks by the end of the game.

The second game had a better hitting percentage of .216 for the Chargers. Junior opposite hitter Jordan Northcutt and MacKellar brought up the percentage with their respective personal numbers of .500 and .276, respectively.

The weekend’s matches brought the Chargers overall hitting percentage to .400, meaning that the Chargers are 40% effective at their attacks.

The Chargers will play against Stonehill College from Easton, Mass. on Friday and Saturday. Students can support the women’s volleyball team from the stands in the Hazell Center at North campus. The matches will begin at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m..

For more information on the season and team, visit NewHavenChargers.com.

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The Chargers first goal on Thursday was completed by sophomore midfielder Molly Heras, 13:50 minutes in. The first half ended in a tie, and CCSU took the lead during the second half. Chargers sophomore defense Savannah Reed secured a second goal at 78:04, but CCSU won the game.

During the first half, the Chargers took six shots. They took another three in the second half. Throughout the game, two yellow cards were called on New Haven, one at 55:46 and the other at 67:08.

Senior Jordan Galica played as goalkeeper for the entire game. Of CCSU’s 16 shots, Galica saved five of them, including one near the end of the second period at 81:06.

Following their loss, the Chargers worked hard on defense during Sunday’s game. The game was a tie with neither team scoring any points, despite the 12 shots taken by FDU and three by New Haven. Galica was the goalkeeper on Sunday, saving seven shots.

Next weekend, the Chargers will play against Delaware State University (DSU) on Sunday at Drass Field in Dover, Del.. The game will kick off at 1 p.m.. Out of eleven games played this season, DSU has only won one.

For more information on the season and team, visit NewHavenChargers.com.

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Alix Earle has built a career on sharing her life on the internet, but one of her latest viral moments captured something she’s never done: read a book.

On Sept. 28, when influencer Earle was asked by Interview magazine editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg about the last book she read, Earle answered, “I’ve never read a book. Like, maybe Dr. Seuss?” which caused an uproar of disappointment, considering she’s a college graduate.

Earle graduated in 2023 from the University of Miami and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. During her senior year, she gained popularity from her “Get Ready With Me” videos on TikTok. Her personality and honesty about her personal life appealed to younger audiences, and her followers grew to 8.7 million on TikTok and 5.9 million on Instagram.

Social media found Earle’s response alarming, where having a disinterest in reading shouldn’t be taught to be a funny quirk or something to relate to. Other users questioned how she was able to complete college without reading a single book, when reading plays a significant role in education and fundamental skills.

“Even if somebody hasn’t ‘read a book,’ people are reading all the time (even on social media),” said Mary Isbell, associate professor of English at the University of New Haven. “But I don’t buy this claim. I don’t know anything about this person, but it seems like maybe she’s making an incendiary claim for attention?”

“I know plenty of people don’t like being told they have to read or should read– I’m guessing perhaps she’s trying to unite folks who have been frustrated by book lovers (and assigned reading)?,” Isbell said. “That’s a shame, but it sort of makes sense in the attention economy, where it might lead to more clicks to take a stance against readers.”

As Earle’s audience is made up mostly of teens and young adults, is this the trajectory of our generation? While it’s not the responsibility of influencers to define their followers’ priorities or educational paths, millions watch Earle’s content for inspiration and entertainment. Public opinions such as hers can mold the followers’ perceptions on what is right, wrong, embarrassing or worth trying.

Social media has changed the way society consumes news, entertainment and education. People no longer have to read through a complete story or a full book. They are able to browse by scrolling through short videos, summary videos or podcasts. These platforms may be a convenient way to get information, but they may not always offer the same depth of understanding from a longer form of text.

“While I am not familiar with the full context of Earle’s admission, I do hope that the controversy inspires her to pick up a book, any book, to gain an experience that she can then share with her many followers,” said Diane Russo, an English professor of practice at the University of New Haven. “Engaging with a written text over an extended period of time offers so many rewards ranging from the mind’s sustained activation to the satisfaction of pushing oneself to complete the full journey through a message or narrative.”

Russo said that an influencer can be an inspiration “to followers, who, for whatever reason, have not read a book or have not done so in a while. I am happy to say that my own students this semester have expressed nostalgia for the moments in their lives when they felt they had more time and opportunity to read, and they are picking up books again.”

The irony of this debate is that Earle’s remark was delivered to audiences through the same digital networks that try to compete for users’ attention. Her short response on not reading became a cultural phenomenon in itself, which proves just how fast influencers and online personalities can affect conversations on everyday routines.

Earle’s viral comment may be as telling of internet culture as it is about her personal habits. In an era of media that prioritizes attention over expertise, influencers or celebrities can attract a number of followers while showing little interest in traditional forms of learning. Whether she meant her answer to be humorous or genuine, there is the takeaway of the importance of reading. This is not just an interview question of whether a single influencer has read a book, but it’s also a matter of if a society engulfed in video content has any place for the patience and curiosity that reading can bring.

The post Alix Earle’s “never read a book” claim ignites online debate about literacy appeared first on The Charger Bulletin.

AI had already been discussed at a USGA meeting in September, with the understanding that student concerns would be relayed to senior faculty. Students had already spoken out about a university Instagram post that included AI-generated content, as well as earlier news of the new AI bachelor’s degree program when Lavoie gave his presentation at Bucknall Theater on campus.

“The tone seemed real dismissive and it didn’t come off like we were gonna be discussing anything, he basically came there to tell us what it is,” said Corey Norwood, USGA senator for Black and African American students and one of the students who spoke to Lavoie at the meeting.

“I feel like it was supposed to come off like an informational context, but it seemed very attitude-based,” said Norwood. He called Lavoie’s comments “combative” and that the school official answered some students’ concerns and said, “a question would be asked, and he would reply with I just said that and this is the reason why and that’s the only reason like why it could be that.”

When Lavoie defended the use of generative AI for the controversial Sept. 12 Instagram post the university made featuring AI generated jewels on buildings, some students called out that such posts were better off made by the graphic design department.

“Now, if you’re going to make the argument that our students should be doing that kind of work, I’ll tell you that’s incredibly low-value work for our students to be doing and we would be doing a disservice to have our students be doing that kind of work,” Lavoie said at the meeting. He asked why that was singled out of numerous posts from the marketing department.

Mohammed Abdur Raquib, USGA senator for Muslim students, said after the meeting. “I know he was trying to say AI is a tool; you need to be familiar with it. I personally think we all need to be familiar with it, but the way which he was expressing his thoughts were not good.”

Raquib said the discussion “should have been focused more on the relation between AI, the university and professors and then students.”

The conversation became more heated when students voiced concerns about data centers, where Lavoie said, “The solution to the problem is to build data centers in the ocean.”

In a later interview, Lavoie said, ”Somebody brought up an objection about data centers use water. And they take away water from people who need water. That’s a myth. That is not in fact true. I don’t know of any evidence that actually states that.”

According to Lavoie, who works with Pres. Frederiksen, at least 49 university leaders are already considered AI-literate and Microsoft business-certified, 44 projects are currently ongoing to implement AI in various ways and five colleges have already submitted their drafts of how faculty plans to use AI.

“We’re going to go out, and we’re going to say, anybody that’s on the staff and admin, 60 individuals are going to have to become AI certified,” Lavoie said. “Non-negotiable. You have to become AI certified. Some people retired, some said ‘I don’t want to do this.’”

With universities nationwide, uncertainty exists especially in the balance between an authentic need for AI literacy and quick profits.

Student apprehension remains high. For Lavoie, this is simply part of a trend in public reactions to new, developing technology.

“We’ve lived this movie before,” he said. “And we’ve done it with personal computers, the Internet, smartphones, and now AI. And we’ll continue to do it. This isn’t anything special. It’s just the next phase of technology we have to learn how to deal with.”

While it may be true that people, such as university senior leadership, have lived long enough to experience multiple technological revolutions and their impacts, the students have not. The question remains: How will this one be different?

Lavoie speaks of AI integration within the context of a top-down approach.

“In the process that we followed, students are last and students are last intentionally, because we cannot ask you to do what we do not understand, we cannot govern what we do not understand and we cannot expect you to understand what we don’t understand,” said Lavoie. “My objective in that meeting was to explain the process that the university is going through to adopt artificial intelligence, knowing full well that we have not yet gotten to students and it was deliberately done in that way shape or form.”

Abdur Raquib said he took issue with the way the plan was presented.

“One thing that stayed with me from his speech, he mentioned that next fall the class of 2031 would be here and when they graduate you don’t know what industry would look like,” he said. “So, I’m not really against what he was saying, but how he was saying it and what he mentioned after it and his views on AI.”

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“To help students unwind during midterms, I am hosting a self-care night,” said Gabriel Aliendro, a senior genetics and biotechnology student and residential assistant (RA) for Westside Hall. “The event gives residents an opportunity to take a break from studying and unwind through receiving free self-care items such as face masks, eye masks, squishy animals and various fruit-flavored tea bags.”

Aliendro said the goal of the event was to create a relaxing and welcoming environment for students to recharge and connect with their peers. Olivia Yankanin, a senior psychology major with a concentration in forensics and fellow Westside RA, enjoyed the self-care events, and saw them as an effective way for students to clear their minds and relax.

“I really enjoy the events that offer the opportunity to build your own self-care or de-stress kit with tea, face masks, stress balls, you name it,” Yankanin said. “One of my co-RAs actually hosted one of those recently and it had a great turnout. I always find them really effective because I’m able to select items that work best for me and that I actually like, plus the actual process of picking out items is a lot of fun and usually helps me decompress.”

Along with self-care events, RAs in all residence halls have hosted events to give students a break from studying. Celentano and Dunham RAs hosted Celham Palooza! on Oct. 14, where students participated in lawn games for friendly competition and enjoyed ice cream with friends. Throughout the first two weeks of October, Bixler RAs helped students unwind with relaxing arts and crafts and a movie night.

Yankanin and Aliendro shared what helped them through the week and how they decompressed after exams.

“My friends are honestly my biggest help during midterm week,” said Yankanin. “I love having the support system of people who are all going through the same thing, and I love that we’re all able to make each other laugh and lighten the mood around it even when we’re all feeling super stressed or tired.”

Yankanin said she believes the best way to get through exams is to surround yourself with friends who help balance studying and laughter. For Aliendro, after a stressful week of exams, fall break gives time to catch up on rest and hobbies that had been put on hold for studying.

“After midterms, I usually de-stress by taking time to rest, spending time with friends, listening to music, going to the gym, and catching up on hobbies like reading comics,” he said. “I also try to get enough sleep and take a break from academic work before focusing on my next task.”

To stay up to date with residence hall events, visit the Charger Connection page on the university’s website.

The post How resident hall events help students de-stress from midterm exams appeared first on The Charger Bulletin.

While scrolling on TikTok, viewers have likely encountered videos of creators eating large meals in their cars or homes. It is a hard trend to miss, as the hashtags associated with these “mukbang” videos have drawn 8.9 million posts on the platform.

The video genre emerged in South Korea around 2009, though its popularity rose in the 2010s. The term itself combines the Korean words “mukja,” meaning “let’s eat,” and “bangsong,” meaning “broadcast.” The words showcase exactly what these videos are about: a broadcast of someone eating food. As the trend crossed over to Western audiences, this Americanized version of the genre shifted to showcase massive quantities of popular fast-food meals from brands like Chipotle, McDonald’s and Taco Bell.

Behind the viral numbers, university professors warn that the rise in popularity of this content can alter psychological and dietary habits of both the audiences watching, and the creators behind the videos themselves.

“As a culture, we have always been influenced by the media’s representations of eating and body image,” psychology professor Rachel Torello said. “This includes social media. It would make sense that we might see people experimenting with their eating based on representations of both ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ eating behaviors.”

According to Torello, exposure to these videos can lead young people to engage in extreme eating behaviors, such as binge eating or restricted eating. This risk is due to the fact that eating, unlike other behaviors, is an unavoidable part of daily life. Additionally, this content’s influence connects further because many use “social media as a means to escape or avoid one’s real life,” she said.

“Because our survival depends on eating, we may be at increased risk of having these images influence this particular behavior,” Torello said. “Unlike other behaviors, such as substance use, for example, this daily activity (eating) can’t be avoided. However, we might have some control over how much we see.”

Academic research mirrors these concerns. A 2025 study published in the journal, Eating and Weight Disorders, evaluated the digital habits of 329 university students and found a link between compulsive mukbang viewing and unhealthy food relationships. The data revealed that scores for mukbang addiction, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating were higher in those who exhibited disordered eating behaviors. While the researchers took note of an association between problematic viewing habits and altered eating attitudes, they said that it remains unclear whether the videos directly cause these habits or if they are a symptom of preexisting conditions.

While these videos can psychologically impact viewers, the content creators themselves endure physical tolls to maintain the illusion of these extreme eating broadcasts.

Christopher Carnright, a practitioner in residence in the department of rehabilitation sciences and wellness, said that while the stomach itself cannot expand in capacity, repeated binge-eating episodes can alter its smooth muscle elasticity.

“This could possibly influence stomach capacity to the effect that smaller, or ‘normal’ sized meals no longer have the same effect on satiety (feeling ‘full’) that the person was used to prior to binge eating habits,” said Carnright. “Long term, this could promote excessive calorie intake even when not partaking in ‘mukbang’ activities.”

In these videos, thin creators frequently consume thousands of calories in a single sitting on camera. However, Carnright said that viewers should not immediately believe what they see, noting that a creator’s appearance is often the result of camera deception or dangerous off-screen behaviors.

“Just like we used to say before the advent of the internet- ‘Don’t believe everything you see on TV,’” Carnright said. “There is a high likelihood that many mukbang social media influencers are using the same camera tricks that have been used in television for years.”

Carnright also said clever video editing, such as jump cuts to spit out food or time-lapses, are used to manipulate footage of the massive portions being consumed.

“Unfortunately, some influencers may actually be consuming the entire portion of food on camera, but then purging what they ate once the camera is off,” said Carnright. “One influencer was noted to need dental reconstruction after years of mukbang content.”

According to Carnright, damage to tooth enamel is a sign of chronic bulimia, an eating disorder where people eat large amounts of food in one sitting and then attempt to vomit or misuse laxatives to remove the food and calories from their bodies.

“In short, it is not realistic to expect to be able to emulate the chronic binge-eating behaviors of these influencers and still be able to maintain a ‘lean’ body weight unless you are using the same clever off-camera tricks or unhealthy purging behaviors,” Carnright said.

To combat the influx of the extreme food imagery mukbangs provide, Torello suggests viewers should manage their digital environments.

“One’s individual algorithm will influence exactly how much of the content is on any given topic,” Torello said. “For college students who have concerns that they are viewing too much food/eating-related content, it may be advisable to proactively curate one’s own algorithm to limit exposure to potentially harmful or extreme content.”

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