Category: Opinions
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Stella Lefty and the Problem with Nepo Babies
Emma Bono ’30 Staff Writer Over the past few weeks, there has been lots of discourse about an up-and-coming artist named Stella Lefty, and her song “Boston.” Sharp-eared TikTok users noticed that this tune’s chorus sounds extremely familiar to Noah Kahan’s hit song “Stick Season,” resulting in Kahan getting a…
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Album Review: The Great Divide by Noah Kahan
Will Hick ’27 Staff Writer Well over a year later, and yet, I’m back! This time around I will review the highly cherished Noah Kahan album, The Great Divide (TGD), which was released in April of this year. Similarly to his previous albums, TGD combines folk-rock and indie to create…
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Yes Grateful, Not Dead: The Jam Band’s Impact Beyond The Sub-Culture
Catherine Cox ’29 Staff Writer The classic jam band Grateful Dead has been around since the mid 1960s, making its mark on the rock and blues scenes that accompanied the hippie sub-culture of the era. The sub-culture that the band found themselves creating the soundtrack to developed into its own…
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On the Quest for Worcester’s Coziest Cafes: iKrave Cafe Review
Olivia Hernandez ‘29Staff Writer A few Saturdays ago, I began my journey to finding Worcester’s coziest cafes, venturing to various establishments across the city in search of the best food, drinks, and cafe environments Worcester has to offer. I started this quest at iKrave Cafe, located on 517 Park Avenue…
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Sinking our Teeth into The Lost Boys*
*Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie! Anjali O’Brien ’30 Guest Writer The Lost Boys has taken Broadway by storm, earning twelve Tony nominations, winning four, and gathering a devoted fanbase in just the short time it has been open. Yet, there are critics who believe there never…
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Looking Forward to Fall
Siobhan Smith ’30 Guest Writer This Tuesday, September 22 marked the Autumnal Equinox, or the first official day of fall. For me (and I’m guessing many others based on the ‘favorite season’ polls on dorm door whiteboards), this is very exciting. For the past couple of weeks, I have been…
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The World Cup’s Profound Impact on a Divided Nation
Julia Kane ‘27 Opinions Editor The United States is packed full of passionate sports fans: Philadelphia Eagles fans lighting the streets on fire and brawls between Knicks and Celtics fans. The country’s sporting scene is also notorious for being less involved in soccer, or football, which is the dominant sport…
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The Marginalized Middle
Doug Bauman ‘29 Guest Writer Somewhere in between the shouting matches of party politicians and the extreme views of either wing, there has always been another group in American politics. It’s a group that rarely has its voice heard, and it’s debatable that they even have a voice at all.…
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Trump Wants a United Ireland. Should America Have a Say?
Kimberly Von Randow ‘28 Opinions Editor When President Donald Trump visited Ireland this month, he was asked a question that has divided the island for generations: Does he support a united Ireland? His answer was unusually direct. “I’d love to see it unified,” Trump said alongside Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin…
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Class Consciousness vs Religion
Can they survive together? Giancarlo Orsini ‘30 Guest Writer Class consciousness, the awareness of one’s placement within social or economic classes, an understanding which helps not only to uplift but habitually enables what we know is inequality, to be disrupted. This fact causes routine clashes with religion in its many…
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A Substantial Take on The Ozempidemic
Addy Woodbury ‘29 Guest Writer As I go about my daily life, I can’t help but notice the influx of concerningly sculpted faces and skeleton-like bodies. I feel a dark, lifeless energy when I look around at overly lethargic individuals who seem like they physically can’t muster the strength to…
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The Legacy Of LCD Soundsystem: Those Who Are “Influenced” Bring In An Unaware New Fan Base
Catherine Cox ’29 Guest Writer The band LCD Soundsystem defined the indie sleaze era of New York City at the beginning of the 21st century, with their unique electronic sound bringing a new vibe to the music scene of the city. Led by James Murphy, the band’s electronic sound made…
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I Read, Therefore I Am
Kimberly Von Randow ’28 Opinions Editor There was a time not too long ago when being a reader simply meant that you read. You picked up a book on the train, stayed up too late finishing a chapter, read the morning news, or wandered into a bookstore and left with…
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More Than a Border: What Ceuta Reveals About European Immigration
Lily Deforge ’28 Guest Writer I went to Spain to learn the language, study international politics, and gain a new perspective from the professors and students of the University of Granada. I did not expect the lessons to start right outside my window. In late July 2026, over 72,000 migrants…
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Linguistic Connection: A Newfound Value in Language Learning
Julia Kane ’27 Opinions Editor Growing up in my suburban Massachusetts town, each student had to pick between Spanish, French, and Italian as their language to learn and continue into high school. As my mom studied in Granada, Spain, and taught me the numbers in Spanish while she braided my…
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Flop Rida
Fiona Greaney ’29 Chief Opinions Editor Who’s four hours late, shirtless, and won’t stop talking about an afterparty at the lot? Flo Rida. Who’s more corny than that line? Also Flo Rida. It was too good to be true. Small Massachusetts liberal arts colleges come a dime a dozen. One…
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The Stories We Miss
Fiona Greaney ‘29, Chief Opinions Editor On September 10, 2025, conservative activist and Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Orem, Utah during a talk at a college campus. Thousands of eyes were on him, soon to become millions when the moment was repeatedly shared on social media,…
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Are Movies Good Again?
Olivia Zimmerman ‘29 Staff Writer This past weekend I went to see “The Odyssey” for a second time in theaters, and it got me thinking—when was the last time I went back to the theater to see a movie? I can tell you it doesn’t happen often, and it certainly…
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In Pursuit of a Cleaner Campus
Joshua Rosenberg ‘29 Guest Writer We have all seen the aftermath of a Friday night or a weekend of campus fun. Perhaps you have to avoid kicking over empty cans on the way back to your dorm, or maybe there’s the usual mysterious goo keeping your shoes stuck to the…
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Memorial or Disservice: The Biopic Dilemma
Julia Kane ‘27 Opinions Editor While vastly different individuals, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Anthony Bourdain, and Ronald Reagan share a peculiar commonality: being the focus of a film. In recent years, there has been a notable emergence of biopics released to theaters, which some celebrated and others criticized. Biopics, or…
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Why Are We Afraid of the Literary “Hood”?
Olivia Rembert ‘28 Guest Writer In a now-deleted TikTok, Black author @A.J. Alford Books said, “I think I figured out why certain readers don’t want to read books by Black authors. [It] can sometimes feel like the equivalent of driving into or through the hood.” Immediately, my For You Page…
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Superhero Fatigue is Not Real.
Emma Bono ‘30 Guest Writer On July 31, 2026, “SpiderMan: A Brand New Day” opened and has become the third highest grossing film ever, earning a total of $2.345 billion worldwide. Not only has it seen financial success, but critical and fan acclaim as well, with a 91% critics score…
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Tony: Summer Fun
Dan Rentel ’27 Guest Writer “Tony” is an enjoyable summer romp that wants you to forget that it said it would be a coming-of-age story. The movie follows college-aged Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa), who has fled to Provincetown to escape responsibilities at home and to chase after a girl, Nancy…
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Worcester Politics
Jordan Robbins ’26 Guest Writer For this past academic year, I have had the privilege of interning in the office of the Mayor of Worcester, Joseph Petty. During the fall semester, I spent the majority of my time working on Mayor Petty’s re-election campaign, accompanying him to various events, from…
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In Defense of Strawberry Desserts
Marie Meisner ‘26 Guest Writer This past weekend, I had the privilege of watching my dear friend Gavin Klein, the class of 2026 organ scholar, play in his senior recital (an event which would require a second, and much more extensive, Spire article). Following the recital, there was a reception…
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Why We Need to Remain Hopeful
Tucker Scott ‘26 Opinions Editor For one of the countless job interviews that I am sure many of us have been going through now that the spring semester is coming to an end, I was asked a question: What is the biggest problem facing America? The honest answer is that…
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For A January Term
Colette Potter ‘26 Chief Features Editor As I reflect on my four years at Holy Cross, I actually wish I could have taken more classes. Some of the coursework that has challenged me the most has been outside of my majors. I view this as the true asset of the…
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A Discussion on Gerrymandering
Lars Belvin-Larsson ‘26 Opinions Editor A commonality across party lines is the desire to win as many House and Senate seats as possible, but strategies to achieve this end have varied. The upcoming midterm elections have left many Republicans vulnerable to losing their seats in the House of Representatives and,…
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Change Ain’t So Bad
Sean Rego ‘26 Chief Opinions Editor Like many students at the end of their fourth year at Holy Cross, I am both exhausted and excited. I am exhausted from the applications and the waiting; from the years spent on this hill in Worcester attending classes and climbing those daunting steps…
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Margaret Atwood Talk: An Overcrowded Success
Kimberly Von Randow ‘28 Opinions Editor When Margaret Atwood came to speak at Holy Cross, it proved to be a defining moment for the student body. As one of the most influential literary voices of our time, her presence alone was enough to generate excitement across campus. And to be…