Interviews with 17 former college athletes, insights from previous investigations, and input from experts suggest an alarming pattern of abuse.

By Lindsay Dodgson

Hillary Dole’s first Toque Friday ended with a broken nose and a bloody face.

The event, she told Insider, was an annual tradition for the Cornell University softball team when she joined as a freshman in 2017. All new recruits were instructed to pull beanie hats over their eyes and stand in a line. Then, while they were effectively blindfolded, their teammates and coach yelled at them to run.

“It was confusing, chaotic, intimidating, and I didn’t know what to do,” Dole told Insider. “I ran because the culture [in sports] is such that you just kind of do what you’re told — that’s just how it is when you play on a team. And so I ended up running 40 yards face-first into a brick wall.” …

Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory may join cults, other extremist movements, or find new ways to spread the message of Q, experts said.

By Rachel E. Greenspan and Haven Orecchio-Egresitz

Chat rooms dedicated to analyzing and discussing the QAnon conspiracy theory have been full of confusion and chaos since President Joe Biden was inaugurated on Wednesday afternoon.

While many followers expressed dismay and frustration upon realizing that former president Donald Trump was really leaving the White House, some held onto the idea that Trump, or even Biden, had something planned.

QAnon is a baseless far-right conspiracy theory that alleges former president Donald Trump, while in office, was fighting a “deep state” cabal of human traffickers and pedophiles. Believers thought that Trump would spark mass arrests of Hollywood figures, Democrats, and other powerful people, and they claimed Trump would remain in office for a second term. …

From Kamala Harris’ inauguration outfit to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s collars, here’s a look at political figures’ symbolic outfits and what they meant.

By Darcy Schild

Over the decades, American political figures have sent potential messages and paid homage to history by wearing symbolic colors or signature accessories.

For example, many women in political positions have worn white outfits as a tribute to suffragists.

Wearing white outfits as an homage to suffragists is a tradition that dates back decades. Shirley Chisholm, who went on to become the first Black woman to run for president for a major political party, wore all-white on Election Day in 1968 when she was elected as the nation’s first Black congresswoman. …

Senior Reporter Rachel Hosie used to think she hated exercise, but then she found the ways of moving she loved and completely flipped her mindset.

By Rachel Hosie

“I ate so much last night, better hit the treadmill today!” “I only exercise so I can eat more.” “I did a HIIT class this morning so I’ll have a cookie this afternoon.”

Such common things to say, but so, so wrong.

The notion that exercise should be punishment — for eating or anything else — is widespread in society and has been ingrained in many of us from childhood. …

After he was born, Tully experienced a pandemic and the loss of his great-grandmother. But he — and we — made it through.

By Amy Littlefield

My grandmother was born during the last great pandemic. When I ask her what her mother told her about giving birth during the Spanish flu, she cannot remember. After I give birth, a century after my grandmother was born, I want to know what strength I may have inherited from her mother. But my grandmother cannot tell me the story.

How we tell a story matters.

I work on telling the version of my story that makes it possible to move forward. I work on saying: I gave birth during a pandemic and showed myself how strong I am. I avoid saying what is also true: My grandmother died without ever holding my baby. …

People model their houses after trends from home-improvement shows, making countless spaces almost identical. It robs people’s homes of personality.

By Samantha Grindell

My ideal Saturday morning involves three things: coffee, a bagel, and a “Fixer Upper” marathon.

I love home-improvement shows because they’re the perfect formula for relaxation. Watching experts transform someone’s home can make the stress of any day fade away.

For years, I worshipped these shows, and I became a believer in the power of open-concept floor plans, barn doors, industrial sinks, and accent walls to transform a house into a home.

But recently, I’ve noticed these shows are becoming a bit too powerful. …

It’s hard to determine which skin-care hacks are fact and which are fiction, so we asked experts to clarify some widely debated practices.

By Julia Guerra

There are plenty of myths about washing your face that need debunking, so to set the record straight, Insider reached out to dermatologists to weigh in on some of the most commonly-debated face-washing practices.

Here are some myths about washing your face, and what experts say you should really be doing:

Myth: You shouldn’t wash your face in the shower.

Even though I still hated planks at the end, my core felt tighter after doing them for 30 days straight, and my back felt awesome, too.

By Madison Vanderberg

I tried to plank for five minutes each day for a month and it was far from what I expected.

When I first began the challenge, it seemed like a slam-dunk since I didn’t need any equipment, I could plank at home, and I’ve always thought of myself as relatively in shape.

I very quickly learned that five minutes is an excruciating amount of time to hold plank position and that I have very little stamina and, apparently, a gigantic lack of willpower. …