It’s that time of the semester again. The assignments are piling up, your sleep schedule is a disaster, and motivation is nowhere to be found. Midterms might be over, but burnout is very much alive.

Here’s some honest, practical advice to help you stay afloat when everything feels like it’s sinking.

In Class: show up and tune in

It sounds obvious, but go to class. Even when you’re tired. Especially when you feel behind. Being present makes a huge difference not just for attendance, but for understanding what’s actually going on.

While you’re there, ask questions. Clarifying even one confusing point can save you hours of frustration later. And when it comes to note-taking, don’t try to transcribe every word. Focus on the key concepts, examples your professor emphasizes, and anything that seems like it’ll come up again.

After class, take a few minutes to recap what you learned, mentally or in writing. If you’re having trouble identifying the main ideas from the day, go back to your notes and ask: What’s missing? What’s the professor emphasizing?

Outside of Class: do what you can (seriously)

Yes, you should do the reading. But if you’re buried under work, skimming is better than skipping. Get a general sense of the material so you’re not totally lost.

Try to keep a consistent schedule. Set aside a few specific hours each week dedicated to studying or homework. Don’t be afraid to take that time; just like you’d schedule time for a job, practice, or hanging out with friends, your education deserves the same priority.

General Advice: function over perfection

Let’s be real, you can’t do it all. So don’t try to. Do what matters most, and don’t beat yourself up over the rest.

• Sleep. Figure out how much sleep you need to function, then aim for one extra hour on top of that. Rest is not a luxury, it’s how your brain processes and retains information.
• Stop overthinking. Worrying about what you should be doing often takes more energy than just doing the thing.
• Use a planner or calendar. Whether it’s a physical notebook, Google Calendar, or your Notes app, having a system to track your deadlines and responsibilities helps more than you think.
• Make a to-do list. Write down everything — not just school stuff, but errands, emails, meals, whatever is taking up brain space.
• Prioritize. You probably won’t get done with every single to-do on your list. Decide what can slip through the cracks and what can’t. That’s your priority list.
• Make time for yourself. Even 15 minutes of downtime can help reset your brain. Watch a dumb video. Take a walk. Zone out. You need it.
• Give yourself wins. Make small, achievable goals. You may not be able to do it all, but don’t be afraid to celebrate what you do accomplish.

Final Thoughts

College is hard. It may seem like everyone else has their life together, but I promise they are just as stressed as you.  No one expects you to be perfectly organized, well-rested, and on top of everything all the time. But small, consistent choices can keep you from burning out completely. So if you’re reading this with three tabs open and a quiz you haven’t studied for… take a deep breath. Pick one thing on your list. Start there.

This story is developing and may be updated with additional information.

The student and staff directories of William Jewell College have been published to the public-facing internet and are searchable on Google and other search engines. The information in these directories—which includes students’ full names, Jewell email addresses, and ID file photographs—has been available since at least Thursday, Oct. 2 and may have been available earlier, according to a source familiar with the matter, granted anonymity by The Hilltop Monitor. As of the time of publication, both directories are still online and publicly available.

According to Jewell’s data classification and handling standards, directory information, such as names and email addresses, are considered level 4 data and can be legally revealed to the public. Photographs are considered level 4 data if they are posted in an official College publication. It is unclear whether the College intended “publication” to mean College-issued news and media (such as press releases) or anything public-facing produced by the College.

Physical descriptions of students, which are easily obtainable from photographs, are considered level 3 data, meaning they are for internal use only and ought not to be published. Employee ID numbers of Jewell employees, also easily obtainable from the staff database, are likewise listed as for internal use only.

William Jewell College is also required to comply with federal law, including the Family Educational Rights and Policy Act (FERPA). Under FERPA, “directory information” (such as name, email, major, etc.) can be legally published. Any student who has requested confidentiality under FERPA (also known as setting a FERPA flag) cannot have their information published as part of the directory. The Hilltop Monitor does not know of any students who have set such a flag (which is by design, as their information would be private). 

Whether the College intended to release this information or not, publishing the directory to the internet is quite concerning. Publicly posting students’ identification photos, college emails, ID numbers, and full names may enable stalkers or others who wish students ill to track and harass them. It is the opinion of the author that the College should either redact public-facing information to not include student photographs, or take the directory off the public-facing internet.

The Hilltop Monitor asked College administrators whether the release was intentional, for how long directory information has been available, and how the College intended to protect student and staff privacy. College administrators did not respond to a Hilltop Monitor request for comment.

If you are a student who has set a FERPA confidentiality flag, please check if your info is available via search engines and, if you are comfortable doing so, please inform the Hilltop Monitor (via the Story Suggestions page) or Student Senate of any concerns.  

Sébastien Lecornu was appointed Prime Minister of France on September 9, before resigning 26 days later, stating that “the conditions were not right for governing.” Like his two predecessors, Lecornu did not have a parliamentary majority and was therefore unable to govern effectively. In other words, he anticipated a vote of no confidence that would have prematurely ended his term. 

However, in a surprising turnaround, President Macron reinstated Lecornu just 48 hours after his resignation. This unprecedented decision illustrates Macron’s stubbornness and may foreshadow his own political downfall. The French Fifth Republic seems increasingly fragile, as this constitutional crisis reveals a minority party clinging to power while refusing to compromise. As a French citizen, I find this situation deeply troubling, as it reflects a growing divide between the political elite and the general population.

What’s Different About the Lecornu II Government?

Twenty-four hours after he resigned, Lecornu appeared on national television to discuss the political impasse in France. In front of millions of viewers, he outlined, in an unconvincing manner, what he considered to be the “necessary conditions” for the next government: a cabinet based on compromise with the main parliamentary parties and ministers motivated by serving the nation rather than their personal ambitions. His words raised hopes that he might finally break free from Macron’s influence and appoint ministers more representative of the political diversity of the National Assembly. 

However, these expectations were quickly dashed. The partisan balance in Lecornu’s new government remains virtually unchanged: All ministers come from a center-right party that has historically been allied with Macron. 

Although Lecornu promised a streamlined and more autonomous cabinet of about 25 ministers, the new government has 34 ministers, all from the same political circle. He also promised that no ministers with presidential ambitions would be appointed, but Gérald Darmanin, a likely future candidate, remains in place.

Lecornu presents his administration as “technical,” but technocracy does not necessarily mean neutrality. Expertise alone does not guarantee independence from Macron’s overall agenda. The central challenge lies not in the competence of ministers, but in the president’s persistent interference in parliamentary affairs. Macron’s repeated interference contradicts Charles de Gaulle’s institutional vision, which called for the president to remain above political divisions.

The dissolution of the National Assembly, briefly considered in recent weeks, was ultimately abandoned as it would only have benefited the far right, projected to gain even more seats in recent polls. Meanwhile, two urgent issues dominate the government’s agenda: the budget and pension reform, both of which risk reigniting public discontent.

What Can We Expect from Lecornu Going Forward?

The absence of an absolute majority for any single party makes governance impossible without coalitions or alliances. This is precisely why Lecornu resigned, but he will ultimately be forced to make compromises if he wants to survive the vote of no confidence already scheduled for the end of the week.  In his address to the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 14, Lecornu announced that he would suspend the pension reform adopted by Macron a few years ago in order to secure the support of the Socialist Party (PS), without which he would not have enough votes to pass the no-confidence vote. During his 30-minute speech, he also invoked the rhetoric of “duty” and “mission,” presenting himself as a pragmatic leader ready to “act in response to crises.” His formula for renewal consists of “political innovation” and governing “with the Assembly, not against it.” However, what he claims to be political innovation is in fact the normal functioning of the legislative branch, which, according to the Constitution, is separate from the executive branch.

He also repeated the phrase “I will propose, you will debate, you will vote” seven times, presenting his renunciation of Article 49.3—used to pass laws in Parliament—as a gesture of democratic openness. Article 49.3 of the Constitution allows the executive branch to bypass Parliament to pass a law in the event of a negative vote. The use of this article is highly controversial and has been invoked numerous times over the past decade. By renouncing Article 49.3, Lecornu hopes to restore trust with Parliament and make it more sovereign, or at least that is how his statement is understood.

This so-called break is nevertheless timid. The second Lecornu government still relies on the same technocratic core as the first, and its supposed “renewal” masks continuity. The interruption of pension reform may temporarily guarantee the support of the Party Socialist (PS), but the National Rally (RN) and La France Insoumise (LFI)—the two most powerful political forces in the Assembly—are openly opposed to Lecornu. Who knows if his possible compromise with the PS will last? In reality, the PS now holds the balance of power and is the key to the government’s survival.

Conclusion 

The second Lecornu government is marked by a fundamental contradiction: it claims to embody renewal while recycling the same political formulas and the same faces. It promises compromise but continues to defend Macron’s policies. It invokes parliamentary sovereignty but remains dependent on the president’s will. This fragile balance cannot last indefinitely. Unless Lecornu manages to reconcile France’s fractured political landscape, his second term could prove as short-lived as his first and further erode citizens’ confidence in the Fifth Republic. As everyone wonders about the causes of France’s difficult situation, attention is now turning to Lecornu and the issues surrounding his budget proposal. Amid political anger and growing polarization, will France’s political elite be able to find a compromise and reach a consensus on the 2026 budget? Nothing is certain, and Lecornu’s legacy will most likely be judged by the outcome of the budget negotiations.

At about 6:45 on Thursday, October 2nd, I walked into the bathroom on the top floor of Jones Hall and noticed something on the wall. Someone had used period blood, as far as other witnesses and I could tell, to write the f-slur in large capital letters on the wall. I notified the Jones group chat, as well as sending a picture of the vandalism to my RA, and the slur was cleaned off the wall later that same night. The next day, I met with Student Life to let them know about the situation; Ryan West assured me that she had been made aware and Student Life was looking into it. I have received no further updates.

I conducted an interview with Sunny and Cal, a gay couple living on the wing of Jones in which this incident happened. When asked how this incident made them feel, they replied, “Honestly, it just sucks. It’s exhausting… homophobia isn’t new to us – [we] have already dealt with instances on campus before, but this feels different. This isn’t just a queer event getting cancelled, it’s someone going out of their way to do something meant to disgust or intimidate us. It takes a kind of effort and intent that [we] still can’t fully rationalize or wrap our heads around.” While Sunny and Cal reported not feeling afraid for their physical safety as a result of this incident, they “do feel uneasy and…unwelcome. It’s a reminder that there are people here who genuinely don’t see queer students as deserving of respect or belonging.”

Sunny and Cal also reported having spoken to Ryan West and the campus counselor, and they say this isn’t the first time they’ve done so. “Queer people have been targeted here before,” Sunny and Cal state. “[We] moved dorm buildings because we’ve been harassed, and of course there was the drag event being cancelled because of someone that isn’t even a student here… queer spaces and organizations have been shrinking on campus lately, and at the same time, incidents like this seem to be happening more often. It’s hard not to notice that correlation.”

The drag incident Sunny and Cal are referring to happened during the spring semester of 2023 – the Gender Inclusivity and Femininity Team (GIFT) planned a drag queen event which was cancelled by college administrators due to alumni outrage.

“We’re not looking for punishment or anything crazy,” Sunny and Cal state. “[W]e just want to feel like we’re being heard and that our safety and dignity matter as much as anyone else’s. We want to know that there are systems in place to protect queer students from targeted harassment.”

When asked if there was anything else they would like people to know, Sunny and Cal said, “Even if you don’t understand us or agree with us, basic respect isn’t a high bar. Writing targeted slurs in blood doesn’t just affect the people they’re targeted towards. They make the whole environment feel uglier and less safe for everyone. It takes way more effort and energy to do something like that … [than] to just be kind to your neighbors.”

“And to whoever wrote the slur,” they continued, “we’re here if you need to talk. Come grab a Capri Sun and watch a movie with us or something. Hang out with queer people and talk to us before you decide on hate. We promise we’re not that scary.”

Read the full interview here.