Emma Friend, Photo Chief Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard about Taylor Swift’s new album, Midnights . Midnights is her 10th studio album (12th if you count the re-recordings), and is a re-entrance into what we know and love: Taylor Swift as pop. Those who became fans in 2020 after her releases of folklore and evermore are surprised by her seemingly sudden foray into pop, but pop is the genre Taylor is most comfortable in, as we see in 1989 (2014) , Reputation (201

Kate Tocke, blogger Here at OU we feel at home. Whether you live in the luxury that is Jeff Hall or the not as luxurious dirty south, we all have our ways of making our dorm rooms feel like home. You are either the person who scatters their wall with posters or you leave them barren. There is no in between. Recently everyone at OU – and all over the internet – has seen the familiar Ohio dorm halls on their TikTok for you pages recently, and that is because OU student Stuart

Aubrey Cline, blogger Sometimes keeping-up with your mental health is difficult. As college students, we all experience a range of ups and downs that affect our mental health at the end of the day. From the big class assignments we may have forgotten to turn-in, the quarrels we may have with our roommates or significant others from time-to-time, to the events of the long-awaited weekend rage; our mental health is at a cost. Now, that might sound scary to some – the cost of m

Abby Lindley, PR Director “It’s a pleasure to share one’s memories. Everything remembered is dear, endearing, touching, precious. At least the past is safe though we didn’t know it at the time. We know it now. Because it’s in the past; because we have survived.” (Sontag) I pride myself on having a horrible memory. I forget birthdays and meetings. I forget what my favorite song was two years ago and who I went to my freshman year homecoming with. I am self-aware of how unawar

Image taken from TENSPACE Max Abbatiello, Web Editor Hello everyone! My name is Max Abbatiello and I am the new Web Editor for Variant. I’m grateful to be a part of such an amazing publication! I thought I’d provide a little information about me to introduce myself to you lovely readers. I’m a junior at OU studying Journalism. I like to read, write, draw, listen to music, and play video games. I’d have to say throughout my time in Athens my favorite memory would have to be

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By: Emily Squance , Blogger Located in Rising Sun, Indiana, The Red Wolf Sanctuary (RWS) preserves and protects a wide variety of animals. Even though each creature may come from all walks of life, they are all able to call this non-for-profit home.  The Red Wolf Sanctuary was founded in 1979 on the mission of preserving North American wildlife. They hope that with their efforts in protecting and rehabilitating a wide variety of animals, they’ll allow future generations to

By Emily Squance, Blogger Tucked away behind various trees on Shafer Street, there sits a colorful building with an eye-catching pink and blue sign. Upon first glance Beads and Things may just look like an ordinary bead shop. However, inside you will be immersed in a world of color and creativity. Founded in May of 1990, Beads and Things started out as a dream yet to come to life. Ohio University grad, Joe Merkle, opened the store on 400 dollars cash and few supplies on han

By Ashley Formani Curology and its College Ambassador Program are super excited to share an great opportunity for college students to get access to affordable and effective skincare through their Curology Access Program. Curology is a skincare company that provides personalized skin care treatments. A Curology provider works one on one with each customer to create a personal skin care plan. This may include anything from acne and blackheads to fine lines and wrinkles. Each me

By: Anna Birk, Copy Chief Just as I knew it would, the phase in my New York journey has come where I find myself thinking, “I don’t want to leave. Ever!” It’s as if I long for the city, even though I’m actively watching it pass by from my apartment. I think some of the things I was originally nervous about are the same ones that I’ve come to love: the breeze of the subway as it jerks to a stop at any given station, the pigeons that fight outside of my bedroom window every mo

Photos by Julie Graham

Photos by: Elliott Magenheim, Chloe Challacombe, Mikaela Woods & Evie Sears A collaborative week of events with FACES, a modeling organization at Ohio University, for the first Athens Fashion Week Events included a Makeup Masterclass and a Walking and Posing class. Additionally, we held a Styling Workshop with Ohio University Megan Carter, who works as a professional stylist, designer and creative director in the fashion industry. #ohiouniversity #At

By: Halle Dray Photos by: Madeline Melragon Katherine Jellison, Ph.D., is a U.S. and social history, and women and gender studies expert, who teaches at Ohio University. Jellison is a veteran of academia; she grew up as the daughter of a university administrator and has been surrounded by a collegiate atmosphere since childhood. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and immediately became a professor. Jellison has intensively studied and experienced various soc

By: Amanda White After the decision of Roe v. Wade , there has been a pattern of almost identical legislation put into place in states across the nation to restrict abortion, making access to abortion increasingly scarce. For over a century, women, and those with the ability to get pregnant, have been fighting for their reproductive rights in the U.S., through movements such as The Women’s March. In 1976, after the decision of Roe v. Wade , the Hyde Amendment was legislated,

By: Jordan Schmitt, Editor in Chief With a combined sense of hesitancy and relief, Ohio University students followed the rest of the nation’s attempt to return to life in person this semester. With an urge to vaccinate the population, COVID cases have started to decrease. It was unsure as to whether our semester would follow through as planned, considering the past two years have not gone as planned, no thanks to the pandemic. Regardless, we powered on and cautiously welcom

By Kayla Edwards Photos by Mikaela Woods As we all know fashion is the furthest thing from boring. Mixing, matching and piecing clothing together allows us to express our utmost creativity. When we dress ourselves, we strive to style pieces that please our eyes, draw others in and show the world who we are. The freedom that fashion gives us, allows us to experiment with new things that may be considered outlandish or eccentric. This season, VARIANT Magazine is showing reade

By Jorja Butt Photos by Marin Cook Follow in the footsteps of 100-year-old Iris Apfel and showcase what makes you different. The term “less is more” is the world renowned motto that fashion designers live by. Iris Apfel, however, is a 100-year-old fashion counissuer lives by her own set of fashion rules: “more is more & less is bore.” Upon defying fashion trends for years, Apfel made her claim-to-fame after her wardrobe inspired a 2004 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of

By: Taylor Strnad As a child, it was hard to understand why my mother drank so much. I always thought, “Why won’t she just stop?” As I got older I realized that it wasn’t that simple. Addiction starts differently for everyone. You don’t become addicted to something overnight. For my mom, the risk factors that led to addiction were the stressors of her job, an unhealthy marriage, the COVID-19 pandemic and her only daughter away at school. It was too much for her to cope with

By Anna Birk Photos by Evie Sears & Isabella Brazzale Patterns. Patterns in fashion create a continuous flow of motion, repeating from one form to the next. When those patterns bleed into the social world, however, stereotypes become perpetuated, and certain groups are left out of the narrative. When the Civil Rights Movement began in 1954, The Athens Messenger began to cover the unrest that proceeded. The extent of that coverage, however, was limited for the next several

By: Morgan Podkul Photos by: Ashlynn McKee In 2021, there is a plethora of music genres to choose from for our pleasure. With such a variety of music, one might expect every song to be completely original. It is difficult, however, to determine whether every song is original in its own right. Concepts such as sampling and copying of music have proven to muddy the waters when it comes to determining originality from artists with their songs. Sampling is a popular way for art