The Wake

Ah, Cedar-Riverside. The mere mention of that hyphenated name is enough to get a rise out of most Minneapolitans, not to mention the ones who actually live there. It is a divisive area, a place that has been characterized as both a colorful ethnic melting pot and a miniature gangland; the last “real” corridor of the city and a bullet-riddled death trap.

This long-running debate is even more pertinent to students at our fair university, whose …

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Illustration by Srijon Chowdhury

I. INVOCATION

Dearest Senior Class of 2008,

As you are already well aware, May is rapidly approaching and much of the anxiety regarding post-college life that was safely stewing at the recesses of our minds is about to manifest itself, plump and ugly, in our newly re-christened adulthood.

The age we are entering headfirst is certainly an exciting …

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Illustration by Ben Alpert

I had a classmate many years ago. We would talk politics on occasion. It rarely worked out.

See, every single time that I tried to raise an objection to or voice an opinion about something, she would yell “think of the children!” It didn’t matter if it was AIDS, war, health care, welfare, etc. It didn’t matter …

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I’m thinking of a number between one and ten. Okay, bear with me. I’m just going to ask you some questions. So: I’m thinking of a number between one and ten. What is it? Now, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “dog?” Now, quick, what neighborhood do you live in?

Strangely enough, that last question is a difficult one for a lot of students. While college is often viewed as this …

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