The student news site of Allegheny College

The Campus
The student news site of Allegheny College

The Campus
The student news site of Allegheny College

The Campus
Jay Shank

Jay Shank, Junior Opinion Editor & Layout Editor

Jay Shank, ’28, is from Pittsburgh, PA. She is majoring in Creative Writing and double-minoring in Education Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies. This is her second year as a staff writer, and she especially enjoys writing op-eds. When she is not writing, she is probably making (and drinking) coffee at Grounds For Change, taking trips with the Outing Club, or hanging out with her friends!

All content by Jay Shank

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Jay Shank and Maddox Brown • January 24, 2026

Jay Shank: Good luck comes from dealing with bad luck I need to start carrying around a penny. A lot of people say that bad luck comes from breaking superstitions — breaking mirrors, stepping on cracks...

The former incinerator located on the first floor of Walker Hall that used to burn residents’ trash will be converted into a bathroom as part of the ongoing renovations in Walker and Brooks Hall.

Brooks elevator renovations delayed

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • November 7, 2025

The renovation of Brooks Hall to add an elevator is currently stalled, as Physical Plant waits for the approval of new permits after learning its previous construction plans were not feasible. The project...

The government is needlessly starving families

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • November 7, 2025

Update: On Tuesday, Nov. 4, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he will not fund SNAP benefits until the “Radical Left Democrats” end the government shutdown, directly ignoring a court order...

The interior of Reis Hall, once featuring a rotunda design created by architect Charles W. Bolton, will be transformed into two classrooms and a common space for students.

Reis Hall construction delayed by one month

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • October 3, 2025

On their way to class, students peer over the green fence surrounding Reis Hall to see what might be going on outside the building. Construction on the building began in January 2025 and is planned...

Ravine-Narvik Hall has been brought online to house sophomores this academic year.

Residence Life changes affect students

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • September 26, 2025

Implementing pet-friendly housing, re-opening Ravine-Narvik Hall, changing the housing lottery and barring sophomores from living in independent housing are just a few of the changes the Office of Residence...

STOP! Do absolutely nothing!

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • September 26, 2025

The other day I remember running into the same professor in three different places: Grounds for Change, Oddfellows and at my job at French Creek Coffee & Tea. The same day, on my way up from work,...

Review: Mac DeMarco, alone with his guitar

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • September 14, 2025

The Canadian singer-songwriter, Mac DeMarco, has done it again with his newly released album “Guitar,” featuring 12 tracks that run just slightly over 30 minutes. This is his sixth full-length album...

How to travel (from a first time traveler)

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • April 18, 2025

This past weekend, I went on my first solo trip ever. I turned 19 on April 14, so I decided as a treat to myself I’d visit my friend in Princeton, New Jersey. In the excitement of the moment, I decided...

The importance of the humanities

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • April 11, 2025

I have recently grown an attachment to the state of Oddfellows Hall: the mold, the building feeling as if it will fall apart, the once-suspected gas leaks and the state of the boilers. But I’ve been...

Oddfellows Hall, ‘The Money Pit’ of Allegheny

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • February 28, 2025

As an avid fan of Tom Hanks’ 1980s romantic comedies, there’s a film I genuinely laugh out loud at every time I think about it. “The Money Pit” is the story of a fixer-upper where the needed repairs...

Shank's younger self at Starbucks for the first time in 2018.

Getting coffee with my younger self

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • February 21, 2025

I met my younger self for coffee. It’s 2018 and it’s her first time at Starbucks. I can buy my own coffee now, and she relied on the gift cards she got for being overly involved. It was a $10 gift...

Love is simple. So why did dating get so complex?

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • February 14, 2025

Recently, I was walking to McKinley’s with a close friend of mine. I asked her about her relationship — she’s engaged — and how it started, because my own love life was looking pretty bad for the...

Construction equipment sits in front of Reis Hall. Construction on the building has been ongoing since the first week of the semester.

Reconstructing Reis Hall

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • February 7, 2025

The green fencing around Reis Hall has taken up a considerable amount of space, but not for nothing. On Jan. 12, Physical Plant began the 18-month project of renovating Reis Hall, the former second library...

New year, same unrealistic expectations

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • January 24, 2025

“New year, new me” flooded social media and echoed through public spaces after the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. I’m sure most people have said they’re going to be new versions of...

Expensive insurance … for student success?

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • November 22, 2024

One thing I’ve noticed as a freshman on this campus is that the college fails to recognize students’ struggles to pay for their healthcare. Arguably though, the student health insurance, which students...

Alumni: How politics have changed

Jay Shank, Staff Writer • November 1, 2024

As the 2024 presidential election nears and the atmosphere on Allegheny’s campus seems to get more tense, alumni from multiple generations reflected on the political climate when they were students. “Civility...

Attendees gather around the table painting their pots while sipping on coffee.

International Club hosts their first open tab event

Jay Shank, Contributing Writer • October 4, 2024

The smell of coffee beans lingered on the second floor of the Henderson Campus Center as students painted their home countries’ flags on pots and ordered free drinks at Grounds for Change on Wednesday,...

The presidential debate does not inspire hope

Jay Shank, Contributing Writer • September 27, 2024

Every lounge TV on campus was lit up with ABC News on Tuesday, Sept. 10, as the two presidential candidates went face-to-face in the second 2024 presidential debate — the first for Democratic candidate...

Alumna performs ‘As Good As It Gets’

Jay Shank, Contributing Writer • September 27, 2024

Alumni, faculty, families and students settled into the seats of the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre as Liz Colarte, ’17, put on her one-woman show, “As Good As It Gets,” during Allegheny’s Blue...

Aidan McGrory, ’26, hauls a toilet that his team found in the forest toward the trash trailer during the annual French Creek Cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 7. This year, in addition to teams working along the creek, students spent time cleaning up the Weyel Estate.

Glass bottles, license plates and ceramic toilets

Jay Shank, Contributing Writer • September 13, 2024

The annual French Creek cleanup event happened once again on Saturday, Sept. 7. Groups of students, including sports teams like men’s lacrosse and women’s track, formed teams and adventured into different...

A PSA to freshmen who want to go home

Jay Shank, Contributing Writer • September 13, 2024

I interviewed someone for my journalism class recently about her adjustment to campus, and she seemed to have no issues with move-in, especially none with making friends. While I love that she’s enjoying...

Jacy Diaz named PAC Defensive Player of the Week

Jay Shank, Contributing Writer • September 13, 2024

Jacy Diaz, ’26, was recently awarded Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time since she started playing for the women’s volleyball team. She received...

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