The Jan. 28, 2024 fight for the NFC Championship title came down to the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions, as they battled it out at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the home field of the 49ers. Things were not looking good for quarterback Brock Purdy and the 49ers, as they found themselves at a 17-point deficit by halftime, but they persevered and performed a miraculous comeback, outscoring the Lions 27-7 in the second half. The 49ers clinched the NFC Championship with a final score of 34-31, advancing to the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for the AFC Championship game. Many people doubted the Chiefs’ ability to stop the Ravens’ explosive offense, but the Chiefs’ defense, coached by Steve Spagnuolo, was able to put pressure on quarterback Lamar Jackson and hold the Ravens to 10 points, tied for their season low. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes along with tight end Travis Kelce made an unstoppable duo, with Kelce scoring the first touchdown of the game to give the Chiefs an early lead. The game ended with a final score of 17-10 with the Chiefs claiming the AFC Championship title and moving on to compete in the Super Bowl yet again.

As Super Bowl LVIII approaches, we can look back and see what happened the last time the Chiefs and the 49ers competed against each other in Super Bowl LIV. Patrick Mahomes became the Chief’s starting quarterback in 2018 and has since led his team to the Super Bowl in four of the previous five seasons, winning two of them. Super Bowl LIV was Mahomes’ first appearance in the Super Bowl, and though the Chiefs were down early, Mahomes’ offense scored 21 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to win 31-20. 

This will be a challenging matchup between two teams led by talented young quarterbacks and two of the league’s top ten defenses, with both teams proven to be able to handle comeback situations. Chiefs fans hope to see their team win their second consecutive Super Bowl, while the 49ers aim to win their first Super Bowl since the 1994 season. Super Bowl LVIII will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. (CT) with Reba singing the National Anthem and Usher performing for the halftime show.

You might wonder why this article is about only the U.K. That is because I received one of the worst pieces of news that I could not be granted an EU tourist visa due to the complications of applying in a third country (a different country than my citizenship). Instead of backpacking through eight countries in the EU as I had planned, I was stuck in the U.K. during a six-week break. Although the situation wasn’t ideal, it gave me an idea of making a bucket list to visit all four kingdoms of the U.K. Even though I was not able to visit the warm beaches of Southern France, take the train through Switzerland, visit the most famous music academies in the world or see the Pope (joking), I still fulfilled my travel goals by visiting many breathtaking regions of the U.K. 

Please sit back and enjoy a photo album of my silly, 10-minute-planned journey.

I spent countless hours at this exact desk doing reading assignments  and writing essays. You may wonder where this desk is. It is row U in the top-level reading room of the Old Bodleian Library looking straight to the Radcliffe Camera during the sunset. 

This is the only picture that features my everyday life. Now, we will move forward to the break.  

England – The first kingdom I visited as I attended the University of Oxford.

My best friend and I went to “The Nutcracker” ballet show performed by The Royal Ballet in London during Christmas time. It was an unforgettable night because besides the amazing ballet, we also froze on the street during our 45-minute-walk to the bus stop to go back to Oxford. We both got really sick the next day. 

I was sitting in the back garden of Pembroke College – University of Cambridge. It is pretty, I must say; I still recommend visiting Pembroke College – University of Oxford (no bias here).

Scotland – The gloomiest kingdom 

Glenfinnan Viaduct This is the famous bridge that takes Hogwarts students to Hogwarts on the 9 ¾ train in the Harry Potter movies. 

As I was standing on the same spot when I took the picture of the bridge, this was my view on my left-hand side. It amazes me how scenery can look so different, yet so similar, when you stand on top of a hill.

Ireland – An extremely green kingdom with extremely friendly people.

This was my first solo trip. To this day, I still remember the feeling of packing all my belongings in a small backpack before a very long journey to a different island.I made some amazing friends during the trip. I also got compliments on my old-school film camera. Due to financial reasons, I still haven’t developed those photos I took. 

This grass field was the comfiest surface I have ever laid on. I took a 10-minute nap on it while listening to the ocean waves crashing into the shore.

If anyone is obsessed with the TV show “Derry Girls” like me (I’ve watched it 4 times), you will recognize this street as the one the characters walk up and down every time they go to school. I have to say, the street looks so much better without cars. 

Wales – kingdom of dragons – although I did not see any dragons.

My friends and I had four days before school started again. As any normal person would do, we booked ourselves a trip to Wales and explored the Snowdonia National Park.

My best friends and I rewarded ourselves with a nice bag of chips (crisps – like the British) for lunch after hiking up this “tiny” hill. We rated the lunch a 5/5.

I took this picture after three hours of hiking. We got lost. Our bus stop was on the road that runs along the ocean – as you can see, we were really far away because you can’t even see the road. Instead of walking back to find the trail, we went off trail to go straight down the hill. As we walked down more, we scared all the sheep away. That was the moment we decided to turn around to find the actual trail to go back  and it took hours.

Obviously, this is not the end of my U.K. journey. I have many more stories that I would love to share with you. 

If you want to hear more, please visit The Hilltop Monitor again as more articles will be written and published every week.

On April 7, 2023, Tupperware Brands released a statement regarding recent efforts for financial assistance, partners and investors.

Tupperware Brands Corporation wrote, “In addition, the Company is reviewing its real estate portfolio for property available for potential dispositions or sale-leaseback transactions, and is exploring right-sizing efforts, monetization of fixed assets, cash management, and marketing and channel optimization, to preserve or deliver additional liquidity.”

The following Monday, shares for the company dropped nearly 50%. Reportedly, the company is struggling to appeal and stay relevant to younger generations. Although there was a comeback in Tupperware during COVID-19 pandemic, sales fell again after quarantine from around $500 million to $300 million in the past 3 years. On top of this, Tupperware’s stock price dropped from $97 per share to $1.26 per share in just 10 years.

“Tupperware has embarked on a journey to turn around our operations and today marks a critical step in addressing our capital and liquidity position,” said Miguel Fernandez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tupperware Brands.  “The Company is doing everything in its power to mitigate the impacts of recent events, and we are taking immediate action to seek additional financing and address our financial position.” 
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) sent a notice to Tupperware Brands for not filing its Form 10-Kannual business report. Tupperware Brands has been given six months to file the report to become compliant again.

Nearly three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, responses from institutions of higher education remain ever-changing. Just ahead of the fall 2022 semester and amid declining local cases, William Jewell College released its 2022-23 Health and Safety Guidelines in July and announced a major revision on Sept. 01.

Compared to Jewell’s previous COVID-19 responses, Vice President for Finance and Operations Daniel Holt explained that this year’s shortened guidelines feature only the most efficient and accurate measures to support community health.

“You will find a much shorter list of guidelines than what was released with Operation Safe [Campus] and Operation Resurgent Campus,” Holt said. “This is intentional, as our community has learned from the past two years the best practices that keep the Jewell community safe and the most frequently asked questions.”

Despite the decline in local cases, some students remain at risk for transmission due to exposure during travel or athletic events. This semester, various small outbreaks affected groups of students, but were ultimately contained as everyone followed appropriate guidelines. Overall, a key point in Jewell’s guidelines encourages students to use campus resources such as the Student Health Center when situations regarding potential exposure and isolation arise.

According to nurse practitioner Courtney Cooper, MSN, FNP-C, CEN, and registered nurse Christina Graskemper, BSN, CPN, the Student Health Center is a centralized resource for students who may need additional support during the pandemic and otherwise. Employed through The Liberty Clinic, Cooper and Graskemper work the majority of their hours at the Student Health Center and provide in-person and telehealth services to students on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

“We provide education to all students regarding when to test and quarantine guidelines,” they said. “We coordinate with student life and dining services to make sure the students that test positive have what they need during the quarantine period. We [also] work with the professors and athletic department to help the students maintain a good academic standing.”

Cooper and Graskemper maintain that services provided at the Student Health Center align with up-to-date policies and recommendations set by Jewell and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition to guidance on testing, they currently offer free, self-administered COVID-19 tests to students who are experiencing symptoms.

“According to the CDC, if a student is having symptoms, [they] should test immediately,” Cooper and Graskemper explain. “[However,] a negative test does not rule out a COVID-19 infection. There is a chance that you can test too soon, which means you tested before the virus was detectable. Therefore, if we have a student in the Health Center who has been sick for less than 24 hours that tests negative, we recommend re-testing once they have been experiencing symptoms for more than 24 hours. …If you have been exposed to COVID-19, but are asymptomatic, you should wait five full days before testing.”

Regardless of vaccination status, Jewell’s guidelines state that everyone should follow the same isolation procedure if sick; however, additional masking requirements are reliant on whether an individual experiences symptoms or not. 

The guidelines are based on a timeline established by the CDC with day zero defined as day that symptoms arose or the day that an individual took the test, whichever occurred first. Importantly, the CDC notes, the day that a positive test result is received may not necessarily be the same day that the test was performed.

As soon as an individual receives a positive test result, Cooper and Graskemper add, they must immediately begin following appropriate guidelines and notify anyone that they were in contact with over the previous two days.

“Individuals need to quarantine alone for days 1-5,” Cooper and Graskemper state. “If symptoms are improving after day five, [they] may be out in public only if wearing a well-fitted mask. [They] need to wear the mask in public for days 6-10. On day 11, you are allowed to be mask-free. If your symptoms are not improving after day five, you are to continue to quarantine at home for the full 10 days.”

Similar to those with symptomatic infections, Jewell’s guidelines instruct individuals experiencing no symptoms to isolate themselves for days 1-5. However, in accordance with updated CDC recommendations, they are no longer required to wear a mask during days 6-10 – a change reflected in the updated version of Jewell’s guidelines that were released on Sept. 01.

In either circumstance, if symptoms develop or worsen at any point, the CDC recommends restarting isolation at day zero. Students who need to isolate but live with a roommate should notify Student Life for temporary housing — a positive COVID-19 test is no longer required for this process.

The Student Health Center also recommends that students check in with their health care provider if they need relief from COVID-19 symptoms during the isolation period. 

Listed in the 2022-23 guidelines and reiterated by Holt, Jewell’s response to COVID-19 is largely dependent on local transmission and infection rates: “In the event of a surge of infection on campus and strain on local healthcare capacities, strategies from previous guidelines may be implemented,” the guidelines document states.

As of late-October, the Clay County Public Health Center reports transmission of COVID-19 in the county remains low with a seven-date case rate of about 63 per 100,000 people. Similarly, the Missouri Department of Health notes low community levels in all of the state’s seven regions. Both health departments state they use the CDC’s guidelines for categorizing and responding to low, medium and high community levels.

Summarizing the week of Oct. 21, the CDC reports 80.9% of U.S. counties and territories are experiencing low community levels. Although many Omicron variants are circling the U.S., the CDC remarks that they still make up a small minority of cases and are being monitored closely.

In the event that Clay County advances to a medium community level or higher, Jewell’s guidelines recommend that individuals at higher risk of COVID-19 symptoms wear a mask as needed. However, with community transmission expected to continue declining, Jewell anticipates a partial return to normalcy this year, writing in the guidelines document that the 2022-23 experience “will resemble pre-pandemic semesters with an increased mindfulness of personal wellbeing.”