While most of us spent our summer relaxing by the pool and procrastinating on our summer reading, the world kept turning. Summer 2015 had many important events, both exciting and frightening, that made for headlines that almost everyone was aware of. Here is the Media Office top ten list of headlines that shaped our summer.

10. Warriors win first NBA Finals since the 1970s: The Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavilers to bring the Finals trophy back to the Bay Area. Lead by the NBA MVP and Davidson College pride and joy Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors beat LeBron James and the Cavs in 6 games (4-2).

9. Two journalists murdered on live television in Virginia: Although this tragic occurrence took place just last week, this shockingly horrifying event was picked up by every major TV network within minutes of it happening. A former employee, Vester Lee Flanagan II, shot and killed both reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward on live TV.

8. Freak Shark Attacks Target Southeast: Over the summer eight shark attacks were reported off the coast of the Carolinas. Seven attacks resulted in injury and one resulted in death. Beaches all over the Carolinas were closed due to fears of attacks, but it did not slow tourism; swimmers and surfers alike still took to the beaches despite the hazardous conditions.

7. Floyd Mayweather beats Manny Pacquiao: This fight, coined ‘Fight of the Century’, packed the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and attracted millions of pay per view viewers on May 2^nd. Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather walked away with the win after his intense defense strategy kept Pacquiao from landing too many solid punches.

6. Greece Votes to Reject Bailout from Eurogroup: 61% of Greece citizens voted to reject bailout terms with other members of the Eurozone to keep them from bankruptcy on July 5^th. Greece has a 25% unemployment rate, their debt rose upwards of 350 billion euros (395 billion USD), and citizens were only allowed to withdraw 60 euros per day due to failing banks.

5. USA Women’s Soccer Team Wins World Cup: The United States defeated Japan on July 5^th in Canada for their first World Cup win since 1991. The United States came out strong in the first few minutes to score several points leaving Japan in the dust.

4. Confederate Flag Debate: It seemed as though this summer you couldn’t log onto Facebook without seeing a post or picture about or of the Confederate flag. The Confederate flag started to get an unprecedented amount of publicity in the news and social media after the Charleston shooting. The South Carolinians called for the removal of the flag from the statehouse that had been flying high since the 60s as a symbol of anti-civil rights feeling. Governor Nikki Haley signed a bill to take down the flag and was removed on July 10^th in front of a crowd of thousands.

3. 2016 Primaries: The 2016 election is still a year and a half away, but the primaries are in full swing. Although the first candidate, Ted Cruz, declared his candidacy for the republican bid back in March, several others have declared since then. As always, you can’t have politics without scandal; republican frontrunner Donald Trump has made several controversial comments; the most notorious being his remarks about illegal immigrants and Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly after the Republican presidential debate. Democratic leader Hillary Clinton has had her fair share of bad publicity too with her recent email scandal. Between the polls and gossip surrounding the candidates, the 2016 primaries couldn’t stay out of the news.

2. Supreme Court Rules that the Constitution Recognizes Gay Marriage: On June 26^th the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote that gay marriage was legal nationwide; states can no longer ban gay marriage. This greatly anticipated and high profile case, Obergefell v. Hodges, made it to headlines around the world.

1. Charleston Shooting: This appalling shooting that killed nine people on June 17^th at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC during a prayer service unfortunately makes it to the top of our list because of all of the publicity, support, and controversy that surrounded it. Dylann Roof fatally shot nine members of the historically African American church ranging from 26 to 87 years old. He fled the scene, thus launching an all-out manhunt to find him. He was found the next morning and arrested in Shelby, NC. Roof later professed that he carried out the mass shooting in hopes of starting a race war.