Kyle Olson

Opinion

Finding faith in study abroad

By Kyle Olson | December 1

Today is the last day of the study part of my time abroad. Not that I spent much time studying or that my classes were difficult, but, like all of you, I will be happy to finish another semester. Unlike most of you, though, my next trip is not hometown-bound. I will not be back to Stafford, Va., until January, with just barely enough time to hug my family hello and pet my dogs before I load up the car, say my goodbyes and drive down to Chapel Hill to move into a dorm I have never lived in — the day before the semester starts.

Opinion

I'll be a United States-er abroad

By Kyle Olson | November 15

As soon as I said the word I knew I had made a mistake. I watched uneasily as formerly friendly faces morphed into more hardened countenances. As I frenetically struggled to explain myself, I silently cursed myself for being so careless. Because really, I knew better. Everyone who has ever taken a Spanish class knows better. It is such a convenient little cognate, though, so much more fitting and easier to say than the alternative, just a little –o at the end…

Opinion

American politics is going South

By Kyle Olson | November 1

As any good college student does on a daily basis, I procrastinated the other day. While squandering untold precious hours of my quickly dwindling time in Argentina, I came across one of the most outrageous foreign political dramas I could possibly imagine.

Opinion

Foreign theories while abroad

By Kyle Olson | October 13

My host dad has a penchant for conspiracy theories. Most are passed on to me at the dinner table and seem to come at just the right moment for me to nearly choke every time. Some are pretty mundane and, to be honest, not very original. He insisted that the moon landing was faked. This little heresy can easily be attributed to an excess of History Channel and is not that shocking.

Opinion

Make food your deciding factor

By Kyle Olson | September 12

When choosing where to study abroad one must weigh the many options carefully. The plethora of cities, countries or regions in which to spend a summer, semester or perhaps a year abroad affords us — as students at the greatest university ever — the privilege to be choosy.

Opinion

Livin' la vida absurda, abroad

By Kyle Olson | August 30

When I awoke this morning to the screeching banshee howl of a cat named Betty, I knew that I was not at home. I drowsily got up, ate breakfast and went up to the roof of my apartment building to try to get my wits about me.

News

Graduate master's students showcase quirky works at the Ackland Art Museum

By Kyle Olson | April 8

UNC graduate students used the unconventional subjects of hunters, clay boxes, beds and submerged speaking in an exhibition that marks the culmination of their two-year Master of Fine Arts degree program.

News

CUAB's $1 concert series provides study break

By Kyle Olson | March 31

One dollar won’t buy a soft drink from a vending machine. But the Carolina Union Activities Board is putting on a concert series at venues around campus throughout the next month for exactly that amount.

The Ackland Art Museum is showcasing an outdoor exhibit of photos taken by young girls living in Kibera.

News

Ackland showcases African photography on lawn

By Kyle Olson | March 19

The art at the Ackland Art Museum is going out tonight.An exhibition of photographs depicting daily life in Kibera, Kenya, one of Africa’s largest and poorest slums, will be displayed from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight on the museum’s lawn.

News

Video games are 'the norm,' says gaming expert at CHAT Festival

By Kyle Olson | February 21

Gaming expert Jesper Juul posed an unexpected question: “Can video games make you cry?” in his speech Friday afternoon in the Union auditorium.He answered it with a slide of a South Korean man tearfully mourning his loss in StarCraft, an example of the potential emotional investment involved with competitive gaming.