Opinions

Kayden Schmitcke and Sophia Fafard during their internship at the Morton County News Journal. The pair hold the first summer issues of The Mystician. It’s been a whirlwind of a semester, and so has this last Mystician. Coming in at (36) pages, this hefty, sexy beast contains our blood, sweat, and tears from this semester—literally. We want to send y’all off into the summer with stress, excitement, and nostalgia. Not only did we talk about the growth of BSC since we have be

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and an interesting topic came up. Just one in a two-hour conversation, but it was a good one nonetheless. The topic was, ‘are you okay leaving an event early?’ Whether it is just a chill hangout, a wedding, or, I don’t know, a family picnic. We disagreed which I knew we would. I took the stance of being okay with leaving, and he said he would not want to. Again, due to our personalities, the conversation became about “Th

Humans are incredibly adaptive, as we see countless times throughout history. When a need arises, we rise to the occasion. But what about the reverse? What happens when our needs are met? Modern man can’t even walk 10 miles uphill both ways to school each day anymore! Pardon my bandwagon humor. We proceed. A culture of ease and convenience can yield some benefits in society. We have constant access to the necessities of life in addition to the innumerable comforts we hold d

Sophia & Kayden on a mission to find a brand new kayak launch at Fort Lincoln State Park during their internship at the Morton County News Journal. Summer feels different when you’re a college student. It’s a breath of fresh air, but you also realize that you’re no longer a high school student able to kick back and relax. Now, you have responsibilities. Your days are filled with a job, paying bills you didn’t expect, and spending time with loved ones. Sometimes it is easy t

The future is now. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology have gone viral as millions scramble to test its newest features. Discussions over its advantages as well as debates concerning ethical issues gain notoriety by netizens. While the topic seems new and refreshing, AI holds an old history leading up to what it is today. Discussion over artificial intelligence first began in 1950 by a man named Alan Turing. As an English mathematician and computer sci

In this new age of easily accessible online marketplaces, the demand for retail products has risen tremendously. Popular e-commerce websites such as Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress have expanded their capabilities, allowing virtually anyone to buy and sell from their sites. In addition, online shopping has been pushed by big tech companies and content creators through sponsored advertisements. Product promotions now appear on most websites and search engines, prompting an everla

The year is rolling to an end, and for some, it might start getting harder and harder to not procrastinate on work because you can basically see the finish line, but all year students have been interviewed on the craziest ways they , so today the script will be flipt and mystic media staff will be interviewed. The first person interviewed was Michael Huravitch on some of the ways he procrastinates. He shares that he procrastinates all the time on writing his stories and he w

The digital age has turned us into constant consumers. Our phones are the biggest culprits, providing us with an unlimited supply of entertainment for us to ingest at our leisure. As a result, we become reliant on external sources to think for us. We live for the next stimulation and refuse to think for ourselves. Why memorize when Google has all the answers? Why attempt to articulate your position in an argument when a YouTuber has already done the work for you? We become no

History is often an old fact, something that happened in the past. We also have to remember that we are living in history, though what you specifically did will more than likely not be remembered when looked on from future generations. Let’s look at some major parts of history we’ve lived through. January 2, 2004 - NASA Stardust Spacecraft collected the first comet sample and returned to earth in one piece. This is not the first time a comet sample has been collected but it

As the school year comes to a close, it’s time for the list of up and coming movies and games. As usual, there will be two video games and two movies. The first game on this list is “Elden Ring: Nightreign.” This game will be released on May 30. FromSoftware created this game. It will be released on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. “Elden Ring: Nightreign” is not a sequel to “Elden Ring.” It stands on its own while still taking place within th

Everyone has those little things that drive them crazy, that push all the wrong buttons, that somehow spark an unreasonably intense anger. Those are called pet peeves. We’ve already covered my own pet peeves and Bismarck State College students’ pet peeves, so the only thing left is the Mystic Media Staff’s pet peeves. I went around the office and asked each staff member their pet peeves. Here’s what they had to say. “People not holding the door for those behind them” Editor-

BSC Class with the Sagrada Familia My name is Colton Markel, and I am currently in my fourth year attending Bismarck State College. I am writing this blog post as a way to reflect on the Bismarck State College Barcelona and Madrid Trip over Spring Break 2024. This blog post is my first ever blog post, which I find fitting as it documents my first ever international trip. The BSC Barcelona Madrid trip was one of the most educational, interesting, and fun trips I have ever bee

As the digital age unfolds its possibilities, our campus at Bismarck State College finds itself navigating the waves of technological advancements. With the arrival of artificial intelligence (AI), the landscape of learning and engagement has undergone a profound transformation. Let’s embark on a journey to explore the rapidly growing AI and tech trends on campus and their potential to redefine our academic experience. One of the most remarkable shifts is the integration of

As a teen in the 21st century, it is understandable to attest to the fact that social media does have an impact on mental health. Some attributes of social media are positive, and some attributes of social media are negative. Something negative about social media is constantly comparing oneself to other people. This leads people to have unhealthy expectations about themselves and their progress. These unreal expectations can give people an unhealthy idea of what progress look

What does it mean to be human? Certain qualities present themselves when considering this question such as sentience, self-awareness, biology, morality and community. All these traits, however, may not only be attributed to humans, and one day, AI may become indistinguishable from humans altogether. From this thought, I argue that any humanoid can be human if there is no distinguishable difference between them and other humans because of how we define what a human is. It wo

Today is a rainy day. These days are the ones I take to think about what is going on around me as well as the direction that I want my life to go. It’s the same feeling as the color grey, the age 17, and a Thursday afternoon. Many things that share the same feeling. From my perspective, they all remind me that there is more to come, and this is but a mere milestone in life. Thursday is going to turn into the wonderful Friday, and 17 turns into being the young adult, 18. Grey

Ask any military or political expert before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and they would say that Ukraine doesn’t stand a chance. Russia has 144 million people, compared to Ukraine’s 44 million. Russia has an economy five times bigger than Ukraine’s. In addition, Russia has the second-best military in the world. With all that said, it is shocking that Ukraine has done so well in the first two weeks of the conflict. Russia has failed in capturing major cities; made little t

That is a very bold claim, but mathematically speaking that is the fact. The typical inflation rate for the United States along with most of the western world is 3%. In 2021, the inflation rate is now 7%. Inflation is the increased amount of money circulating in the economy compared to the previous year. If the inflation rate is 7%, that means that there is 7% more American currency floating around in the economy. In other terms, inflation could be described as the decrease o