Welcome to the Spirit
The Student Voice
of SUNY Niagara

By Gianna Nichols When school ends and you have a day off of work, many may have no idea what to do with their time. Sure, some will choose to clean their space, or hang out with friends and family, but in some cases people are left with absolutely nothing to do. In these situations,…

By Jacob Chen It has been a grueling semester, you are tired, and you just want it to be over. Maybe that looks like procrastinating your final projects, or being too tired to study for your upcoming exams. Don’t let that be you! Final projects and exams can be a HUGE portion of your grade,…

By Jacob Chen Started in 1983 as Charter One, the American based airline, Spirit Airlines, has been one of the most affordable means of travel for the last 34 years. As of May 2nd, 2026, Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down. What caused the sudden collapse of a major player in the airline industry, and what…

SUNY Niagara faculty confront the promise and peril of artificial intelligence as it reshapes learning, literacy, and the meaning of human thought in U.S. classrooms. By Shen Pe Utz Taa-Neter National Context Across the United States, artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to necessity in higher education. A 2026 College Board study found that 74…

Planning to Earn Your Degree in May? The deadline to apply for graduation in a program is May 16. If you plan to earn more than one degree and/or certificate in the Spring semester, please submit a graduation application for each.  When Will Spring 2026 Final Grades be Available? Spring final grades will be available…

By Lilly Whitsell When you think of “Improv”, you probably think of comedians like Martin Short, Jim Carrey, and Amy Poehler, or you think of an odd show you saw once at a tiny theater; you probably aren’t thinking about work.  The theatrical form of improvisation began in Chicago back in the 1930’s. A social…

By Karleigh K. Mattison The volume goes up before the thoughts can finish forming.  It’s almost automatic. Headphones in. A song already queued. The first few seconds are enough to shift something—attention redirected, silence replaced, whatever was building just moments ago softened at the edges.  For a lot of people, music isn’t just something they…

By Karleigh K. Mattison Some songs don’t let you look away. You can try to treat them like background noise—let them play while you’re driving, studying, half-paying attention—but they don’t stay there. A lyric lands a little too precisely. A melody lingers longer than it should. And suddenly, you’re not just listening anymore. You’re remembering…

By Dre Shaw In 1976, a year that produced some of the greatest albums in the history of pop music, there are two releases that stand in such stark contrast it’s almost comical. The first is Hotel California by The Eagles, released in December of that year. It was an album that was an immediate…

By: Alexia Roberts It’s no secret that shopping malls are slowly beginning to die off, and Buffalo’s malls are no exception. For as long as we can remember, centers like the Boulevard Mall and the Walden Galleria have acted as social hubs and places for friends and families to gather and shop together. Over the…