BY YAHYA KARIM

When buying a car, most people consider a number of factors. One of the more important factors people consider, is the safety of the vehicle. In many cases people have never driven that vehicle, or even a vehicle from that specific brand. Safety has become a major concern, especially with the new era of electric vehicles. So which electric vehicle has proven themselves to be the safest on the road?

First of all, there was a study conducted by the Affinity Lawyers over a multi-year period. During this time, they calculated the number of crashes per every 10 thousand cars sold. This ranking provided a clear look into the crash trends of different EV vehicles.

At the top of this list, was the Ford Mustang Mach-E. This vehicle recorded three crashes per every 10 thousand that were sold. Despite the vehicle’s growing popularity over the past couple of years, it has still kept its crash rates extremely low. Making it a great choice for safety conscious drivers.

In second place is the Subaru XV Crosstrek, which is an extremely popular model, having sold over one million units by 2022. This model had 3.62 crashes per every 10 thousand vehicles sold. With only 40 recorded crashes from 2020 to 2022, the Subaru XV Crosstrek proves that buying a popular vehicle does not mean you have to miss out on safety.

Volkswagen’s ID.4 takes third place, recording an impressive 7.13 crashes per every 10 thousand that were sold. The ID.4 that had 28,031 vehicles sold, only recorded two crashes. This makes it a wonderful option for people looking for a safe and reliable EV.

In fourth place, we have the Nissan Leaf. The car only recorded a crash rate of 8.36. Over 150,000 units of this car have been sold, and in that period, 15 crashes happened. While it may not be the safest EV car on the market, it still maintains a strong reputation for being safe and reliable.

Taking the fifth spot is Porsche’s Taycan. 20,533 units sold, and only two crashes recorded, it has a crash rate of 9.73. The Porsche Taycan proves that luxury EV cars can still be a safe option for you and your family.

Rivian’s R1T, takes sixth spot on this list. With 9,900 units sold and one crash, it has an impressive crash rate of 10.10. The Rivian R1T has proved itself to have a promising safety record now, and in the future.

Other models that made the list include: the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which ranked seventh with a crash rate of 11.27, the Tesla Model X in eighth with a rate of 12.42, the Tesla Model Y in ninth at 12.65, and the Tesla Model 3 in tenth with a crash rate of 15.00. While still popular, these models have higher crash rates compared to the top contenders.

As EV vehicles continue to take over the automobile scene, it is important that you choose a safe and reliable vehicle.

BY AMARI SUKHDEO

When I first picked up M. NourbeSe Philip’s Zong! I had no idea how to approach it. It wasn’t like any book I had ever read. The pages didn’t flow with neat, linear sentences; instead, they were scattered with fragmented words and phrases that seemed to: float, tumble, or drown across the space of the page. At first, I felt lost, unsure of how to read, or even understand what was in front of me. As I pressed on, that feeling of confusion began to mirror something deeper—an emotional and visceral reaction to the horror that the book explored.

Zong! is based on a horrifying historical event: the massacre of over 130 enslaved Africans aboard the Zong ship in 1781, who were thrown overboard so the ship’s owners could claim insurance for “lost cargo.” The only documentation of this atrocity is a cold, detached legal text from a court case, Gregson v. Gilbert. Philip uses this legal record as the foundation for her poetry, rearranging and breaking apart its language to reconstruct the unspeakable.

As I read, I realized the fragmented structure was not just artistic, but necessary. The disjointed, scattered words mimic the chaos and destruction experienced by the people aboard the Zong. The way Philip draws out words across the page sometimes leaving long stretches of silence forces you to feel the weight of that silence. It’s overwhelming. The gaps make you pause, leaving space for the unspeakable to sink in. The repetition of certain phrases made me feel as if I couldn’t catch my breath. It was disorienting, and at times it even made me feel physically sick when I thought about the reality behind the poetry.

What struck me most was how Philip uses language, or the breakdown of it to evoke the unspeakable trauma of the transatlantic slave trade. There is no straightforward narrative here because there cannot be one. The atrocity Philip is engaging with defies simple storytelling. By breaking apart the words and scattering them like debris, she mirrors the loss of lives, cultures, and identities that slavery inflicted. This wasn’t just a book to read, but an experience to endure, one that pulls you into its chaos and refuses to let you look away.

Emotionally, Zong! left me gutted. I found myself sitting in silence after finishing a section, trying to process the sheer weight of what I had just encountered. It’s not just the content, the unimaginable cruelty of throwing people overboard but the way the form makes you feel it. The confusion, the suffocation, the overwhelming nature of the text—it’s as if the book forces you to inhabit even a fraction of what those aboard the Zong might have felt.

Zong! isn’t an easy book to read, but it isn’t meant to be. It’s a book that confronts you with history in a way that no straightforward narrative ever could. By refusing to conform to traditional forms, Philip gives voice to the voiceless and makes space for mourning, reflection, and acknowledgment.

BY KAHA GEDI

Did you know that we can live one second of our lives without social media? Yes, I would have never guessed this truly rare phenomenon to be true!

Fortunately, it’s possible because people, including me, who spend more than two to three hours per day mindlessly scrolling are getting way out of hand. Recently, I found an amazing Forbes article titled “3 Things You’ll Notice During Your First ‘Digital Detox’—By a Psychologist.” In this article, I will be talking about the benefits of a ‘digital detox,’ and how taking a break from social media and screens refreshes our minds and routines.

We spend a sizable chunk of our day wasting time, checking our phones too early in the morning, and mindlessly scrolling through social media networks like: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. No matter how hard we try, we just cannot put it down. Forbes states that as the new year approaches, we will be reflecting on our habits, and goals, and ask introspective questions like “What will I change?” However, one question we do not ask enough is “What do I actually like?” This question is so simple yet now in the “digital age” we might have difficulty answering it.

The article talks about how much time is spent on these networks to the point that we have become out of touch with real-world activities that used to bring us joy. As well as, if we considered taking a break from social media entirely by deleting these apps off our phones, except the ones needed for work, or school of course like: YouTube, TikTok, and others (you would know more than I do), for at least a week, we’ll notice three things in our lives.

First, you will notice just how much time social media occupies in your day. You will reach for it, but then be met with the realization that you’ve deleted it. This happens quite often especially if this is your first detox because you can’t just get rid of something that’s been ingrained into your schedule so quickly. You also will notice how much it has held you hostage. Spending 45% of our waking hours on screens, which is nearly half our day excluding sleep, has extreme consequences such as: cognitive declines, slowed learning, lowered self-esteem and increased severity of mental health symptoms. This isn’t surprising, because more commonly than not people obsessed with social media use it to fill a void in their lives and ignore what they can’t seem to handle, or face. This can cause avoidant coping mechanisms.

According to Verywellmind,com, “Avoidance coping is a form of coping in which a person changes their behaviour to avoid thinking about, feeling, or doing difficult things. It involves trying to avoid stressors rather than dealing with them, which might seem like a great way to become less stressed, but this isn’t the case. More often than not, confronting a problem, or dealing with a stressor is the only way to effectively reduce the stress it causes.”

Secondly, we will find that the overwhelming amount of time we have will force us to explore old hobbies we used to enjoy whether that be: reading, writing, painting, etc. However, these activities feel harder, or less satisfying than they used to. Research suggests that excessive screen time can impact our cognitive abilities and enjoyment levels, making it harder to partake in hobbies that we used to enjoy.

Social media and the internet are designed to activate our brains’ reward systems, providing instant but shallow satisfaction. This constant “instant gratification” can make us not want to do other activities that require patience and focus. Over time, this can lead to anhedonia, which is the loss of pleasure in previously enjoyable activities. With a digital detox, people often find that past activities feel less immediately rewarding compared to scrolling on their phones. This change highlights how dependent we’ve become on screens for quick bursts of pleasure.

The first couple of days in the digital detox can be uncomfortable. Without the regular dopamine hits from social media, people often experience: boredom, restlessness, and even frustration. However, pushing through these moments gradually allows for a deeper reconnection with your favourite activities and yourself. While it may feel challenging, this process can be rewarding as people rediscover the satisfaction of completing a task, or engaging fully in a hobby without distraction.

Once it’s over, people find themselves using social media more mindfully, and they have a better chance of having: improved sleep, reduced anxiety, and an overall better mood. The detox helps us recognize that we indeed can live without hours of screen time, and how much life there is to live, even just in one day.