I had no idea what to expect. But I felt like a schmuck. There I was in a designer jacket, freezing my butt off, standing outside a camper in a snow drift down by the Des Moines River during a particularly brutal winter. I remember feeling ignorant and stupid—why would I show up at a homeless person’s camper in a designer jacket? Why hadn’t I worn something less conspicuous? When would I be able to feel my toes again?

It’s a small world. A very small world. One chilly morning in early February, I frantically sent a text message to Matthew H. Smith, one of Think’s associate editors who wrote the “Homeless in Des Moines” feature story. What prompted the text was a very unfortunate coincidence. I spend my weekends at the Des Moines Police Station monitoring the scanner for shootings, stabbings, fatal accidents, or anything else out-of-the-ordinary.

Over spring break, I took a trip to Phoenix to enjoy some sun before heading back to Drake to finish up my senior year. When I landed, I took a pit stop at the terminal Starbucks. Standing with one person between us was a girl who looked to be a few years younger than me. She was a little taller than I am, had a slender build, her light brown hair was pulled back into a low bun, and she was wearing Army fatigues.

This weekend, I will be graduating from college with Bachelor’s degrees in both Writing and Magazine Journalism. The weather is beautiful, and my finals week was pretty free. I should be jumping for joy. But I’m not. My reason: the economy. Up until this point, the recession hasn’t really touched my life, but all of the sudden it’s after me, and in a bad way. As of this moment, I have three jobs. But when I graduate, I’ll be unemployed.

It’s time to celebrate! In honor of the completion and distribution of a great print magazine and the ongoing success of this here website, we’re having a launch party tonight, May 6, from 5-7 pm, at the Des Moines Social Club. Join us there for a chance to chat with the staff, pick up a free copy of the magazine, and enjoy some hors d’oeurves and drinks.

After much controversy around the signing of State Bill 1070 on illegal immigration by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, the Phoenix Suns basketball team wore their Los Suns jerseys in the playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs on Cinco de Mayo in protest of the bill. The bill “would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.”

Last Friday, I watched copies of Think magazine spit out the end of a $3 million printing press. I was mesmerized by the whole process—astounded at how lasers could etch such fine details into a coated metal plate, ink could cling to that plate in precisely the right spots, and four colors line up perfectly to create a hard copy of our magazine. It was so interesting, in fact, that I made a slideshow of the process.

For decades National Guard soldiers have been called to serve their country outside the borders of the United States. When the National Guard was formed and fought its fights skirmish in 1636, the thought was militia. These men were farmers and laborers, but they also wanted to protect their countryside. Under Title 10, the guard units are referred to as the guards of the borders.

Never before have I ever seen such support for the community as what I witnessed on April 10, 2010. The day started off early as I awoke before the sun rose. It was going to be a beautiful morning—that much I could tell already. My boyfriend and I already had our signs prepared. It was time to go protest. I was excited and scared in equal measures. What if something went wrong?

This month’s health care reform bill also includes some surprising benefits for college students: student loan changes. Put simply, the student loan reform cuts out the middleman by granting students money for college directly from the government. Over ten years, $61 billion will be saved. In this economy, people need all the help they can get to pay for school. The health care reform allows that to happen.