LET’S GO DODGERS: winning the World Series and what it does for the marketing team

On October 27th, 2020, the Dodgers made history with a victory that ended a 32-year long string of defeats, bringing new hope to Los Angeles County. Despite facing the adverse challenges that have come along with 2020, the team completed the momentous task of finishing the world series, trophy in hand. Over the years, the Dodger’s popularity has spread internationally and the team’s merchandise sales have begun spreading beyond national borders. By ending the “draught,” as their losing steak was called by many fans, the Dodgers are predicted to gain new fans outside of the United States, ultimately leading to Continue reading LET’S GO DODGERS: winning the World Series and what it does for the marketing team

Saved by the Bell: Socioeconomics and the American School System

Professor Terry Beck links a jamboard into our class’s zoom chat. He offers his students prompts and asks us to drop a virtual sticky note on a plane, each corner labeled “strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree”. Each prompt discusses the involvement of socioeconomics on student performance. Slowly, colorful stickies populate the page, scattered across the axes. We spend the class discussing our interpretations on the American school system, standardized testing, and socioeconomics. In preparation for class, we read Richard Rothstein’s article “Why Children from Lower Socioeconomic Classes, on Average, have Lower Academic Achievement than Middle-Class Children”. Frequently, academic achievement Continue reading Saved by the Bell: Socioeconomics and the American School System

What’s next for small businesses who lose business to big corporations?

Eighteen hours ago, Graeme Campbell published an article titled “Community? Nike doesn’t care about your family run store” which dives into a family run sports store which had a partnership with Nike for more than fifty years. As of earlier today, Nike has decided to put their fifty year partnership on the back burner and cut ties with the Bronx based sporting company. Owner, Moe Stein, stated how he “knew Nike when they had nothing” he also feels that Nike is “putting down the Bronx because its not an elite place for them.” Although this is pretty sad, the 92-year-old Continue reading What’s next for small businesses who lose business to big corporations?

Leafy Luxury: The Market for Rare Houseplants

Almost everyone likes, or at least tolerates, houseplants. Most homes are shared with a plant or two, but in recent years, the practice of cultivating massive populations of indoor plants as a hobby has taken hold in the USA and Europe. There is no one catalyst for this surge, but the consequence is apparent. No more are plants just a means for production of a fruit, or a flower. Rather, in the eyes of their owners, they are unique individuals as well as receptacles for emotional projections. Not only do more and more people want to own a large collection, Continue reading Leafy Luxury: The Market for Rare Houseplants

Small Businesses During COVID-19

Life has changed since lockdown. Even though businesses are beginning to open their doors, occupancy limits and mask mandates serve as reminders that the pandemic is still present. CNBC stated that as of August 31st 163,735 small businesses indicated on Yelp that they closed due to the COVID pandemic. While the number of temporary closures has decreased since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of permanent closures has increased. How can consumers support their community businesses while still social-distancing? Forbes offered some suggestions such as: Order to-go from restaurants Order delivery from shops Buy gift cards or credit for Continue reading Small Businesses During COVID-19

There’s no such thing as a free lunch–but there is free Hulu

Well…I broke. Over a year ago I wrote about how I continued to purchase individual songs from iTunes rather than subscribe to Spotify Premium or Apple Music (read the article here). Now, two years older and in the middle of my last semester of undergrad, I decided to take advantage of my student status and subscribe to Spotify Premium, which just conveniently offers ad-supported Hulu in addition to a premium Spotify account. The past sixth months of pandemic life changed the way I viewed streaming services. First, it was the Netflix subscription in April (I missed the Tiger King era). Continue reading There’s no such thing as a free lunch–but there is free Hulu

Why is college football back during COVID-19?

As we know covid-19 has changed our lives completely, forcing us to scramble for and cling onto anything that can get us back to normal, or at least make us feel that way. One of those things are the re-emergence of college football or in better terms, sports in general. We seen sports everywhere before the pandemic hit and was just a normal part of life. In the earlier months of the pandemic it was clear that it was a threat to all sports and  a big question that was asked was whether or not they will be back this Continue reading Why is college football back during COVID-19?

Is Tiktok Worth Downloading?

Tiktok is one of the most popular social media platforms among Gen Z-ers and millennials. This video app allows you to share short videos, ranging from dance challenges, conspiracy theories, makeup tutorials, storytelling, memes, music, and everything you could possibly think of in between. These videos are shared with your friends and other app users in a matter of minutes. Tiktok’s rising popularity has increased ByteDance’s value to about $75 million dollars and with over 500 million users joining the app monthly it’s only continuing to rise. Overall, it seems like an exciting app, but its success has come with Continue reading Is Tiktok Worth Downloading?

Tim Duy and The Fed’s Response to COVID Pandemic

Thursday, September 24, 2020 University of Oregon professor Tim Duy spoke to the University of Puget Sound economics department on the Federal Reserve’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Duy is a UPS alumnus, and continued at University of Oregon to receive his M.S. and PhD in economics. His blog Tim Duy’s Fed Watch keeps readers up to date on new monetary policy and Federal reserve updates. Duy split his presentation into two parts: first, the direct response of the Fed to the pandemic; second, the innovations that the Fed implemented to update its policy for post-pandemic monetary policy. “This is Continue reading Tim Duy and The Fed’s Response to COVID Pandemic

Back to School: Education During a Pandemic

The culmination of September marks the end of back-to-school month, and while some quarter-based universities are just sending out their syllabi, most elementary through high schools are wrapping up their first month of classes. The current pandemic calls for states, school districts, and superintendents to make a difficult decision: do in-person classes resume? Those in favor of in-person classes argue that students will receive a higher quality education than that provided remotely, and also state that remote learning would require parents to either work remotely or take time off work to stay home with their children. Proponents of remote learning Continue reading Back to School: Education During a Pandemic