By Claire Boston | Multimedia JournalistI’m deaf, but you wouldn’t know it. Not unless you saw my cochlear implant, or CI, when I had my hair in a ponytail, or if my battery died and had to explain why I couldn’t hear anything anymore. My speech is excellent and sounds completely normal, which isn’t always the case for CI users. Around middle school, I stopped mentioning that I am deaf when meeting people. Most of my classmates knew at that point, and I didn’t think it was really necessary to state that I’m deaf when meeting someone unless it was…

By Claire Boston | Multimedia Journalist We’ve all been there: You have a book you need to read in three days, but all the stores are sold out. You have a project due next class, and you need one last piece, except it cannot be found at your local craft store. Or maybe you got bored during your history lecture so you browsed around some online shops and stumbled upon a pair of boots you have to have. All of these dilemmas have one easy solution: You place on order online and check two-day shipping. As a society, we have…

By Claire Boston | Multimedia JournalistChances are, if your study spot of choice is a coffee shop or you follow the latest coffee trends, you’ve heard of oat milk. Oat milk is the latest in a wide variety of plant-based milk alternatives available to consumers. Over the last few years, plant-based milks have gained popularity, and now, even some people who are not lactose-intolerant or vegan prefer plant-based milk to dairy milk. Oat milk is a vegan and dairy-free milk substitute that is made from oats. Since it is fairly new in the non-dairy milk industry, it is difficult to…

By Claire Boston | Multimedia JournalistIt’s no secret that plastic is damaging our planet – and quickly. Pictures of the effects of plastic consumption on the environment have been circulating the internet for years now. In the last few months, many companies have announced plans to eliminate plastic straws. Some of these companies include Starbucks, Hilton and American Airlines. In fact, even Baylor, through an Aramark initiative, has cut straws from its dining halls. Most of these companies plan to ditch plastic straws in favor of biodegradable options like paper straws. However, if you have ever used a paper straw,…