College students in Walled Lake react to another semester online

Several students in Walled Lake, Michigan, a city about 20 miles northwest of Detroit, said they have been put through the fire when classes moved online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, leaving them stressed out and voicing their opinions on the workload they have been getting these past few weeks. College students in Walled Lake, which has about 7,000 residents, said they’re like many students in Michigan who are stressed with the added work this semester has given them. Tasks at hand

“I feel like in some ways my workload has doubled even though I’m taking the same amount of credits as I usually do,” said, Emily Goins, an Oakland Community College student. “Learning in a remote environment is very different from learning face-to-face, and personally it is a lot more difficult to retain the information when I am teaching it to myself.”

Oakland Community College (OCC) – Highland Lakes Campus located in Waterford has remained closed for months only allowing calls to the offices of OCC. Credit: Lance Limbo

Oakland University student Sophia Borruso agrees.

Children discuss returning to school after the governor’s Return to School guidelines released

Courtesy of Brandi OrrisEmma, Olivia and Jack Oriss’s masks

With summer halfway over, children are beginning to consider what life will be like if, when and how return to school. Jack Orris is not happy about having to wear a face mask while attending school. Orris, a seventh grader at St. Frances Cabrini Middle School in Allen Park, says that he does not like wearing face masks because they feel hot on his face. He is not alone.

Williamston High School fights the vaping epidemic

Michigan made history as the first state to move toward a flavored nicotine vaping ban on Sept. 4, with other states like New York, Massachusetts and Oregon following shortly after. 

With an increase in vape-related deaths being reported across the nation, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) with the help of her Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun concluded that underage vaping constitutes as a public health emergency. 

Under Whitmer’s orders, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued rules detailing the ban, including the prohibition of flavored nicotine products in stores and online and misleading marketing strategies claiming the products are “safe.” Whitmer also ordered the Michigan Department of Transportation to outlaw vape advertisements on state billboards. 

Timeline of the 2019 Michigan vape ban. Graphic by Claire Heise. “As a governor, my No. 1 priority is keeping our kids safe,” said Whitmer in a statement on Sept.