The Wake

How close do we sit to complete world destruction? According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, six minutes. While the figure might seem ominous, it’s actually an improvement on where our position was one month ago. On Jan. 14, citing a more “hopeful state of world affairs,” the BAS moved the minute hand of …

Read more →

Upon arrival in London earlier this semester I found that my accent instantly marked me as Minnesotan. Not to the Brits—they think I’m Canadian—but to the other American students here. Before I even tell them I’m from Minnesota they ask, “Do you have a booooaat?” with knowing smirks on their faces. Yes, I have a boat, but I don’t say it like that. At …

Read more →

Please take a moment to look down at your shirt. Have you worn it before? If yes, congratulations! You are not only living economically in the recession, but you are stylish and trendy—a real recessionista! It may have taken twenty years, but you’re a cool kid now.

Sarcasm aside, the current glorification of recessionistas in the media is inescapable. Prominent recessionistas include First Lady Michelle Obama and …

Read more →

Lately, I’ve been having strange sensory distortions and feel like a walking poster for “this is your brain on drugs.” I called my sister the other day and drunkenly told her how much I love her and how cool I think she is and how I just really, really love her. The only problem is that I’m not on drugs or drunk at all—I’m just really tired. Night after …

Read more →

Every day, politicians toss around phrases like “energy independence” and “reliance on foreign oil,” disparaging America’s addition to the tainted gold. With the economy faltering and tensions ubiquitous in the oil-rich Middle East, citizens and government officials alike talk about how the United States can sustain itself on domestic alternatives.

In the “Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government” the Energy Information Administration …

Read more →

The Seward Co-op’s new building, now located at 2823 Franklin Avenue, boasts a sleek storefront as green as the services they offer to the community. Having moved to a spot just blocks east of its former location, the large store invites shoppers to browse the new layout. 

The expanded space gives room for more of everything—more bulk goods, a larger deli, a meat counter with a butchering …

Read more →

“We’re all a little bit odd and a little bit quirky.” It’s an astute observation of a decidedly original campus organization founded just last March.

The Campus People Watchers have three main goals, according to Secretary Ted Hagmann. As a non-profit, non-creepy organization, the group watches people and enjoys learning about humanity and society. Second, they hold events in which others can watch them do things outside the …

Read more →

Though the band carries his name, Jay Walker wasn’t initially sure he wanted to be part of Jay Walker and the Misdemeanors. The band, then consisting of Michael Reynolds (guitar), Iaan Reynolds (bass), and Brendan Troy (drums), was looking for a singer and Jay was looking to do anything but sing. Still, Jay figured he’d give the group a try—and …

Read more →

It was late night on Friday the 24th and the hushed whispers began permeating the packed house. “The cops are out there man, let’s get out of here.” As the word spread, people began to slip out the door and into the streets.

Driving home through Marcy-Holmes required weaving in and out of police vehicles which were blocking the road. “What’s going on? Is it okay to drive through here?” The sheer number of cop cars …

Read more →

“This isn’t flag football.”

The bewildered young man took in the scene that played out in front of Carlson. College students clad
in red and blue with flag belts on their waists dodged through the night. There was no ball, nor any goal lines in sight. No player had time to answer, and he was left to walk away in confusion. He had unwittingly stepped into a match of the game called Bucket Wars.

It started …

Read more →

Angelina Jolie did it—so did Johnny Depp and Princess Diana. According to recent research studies, between 10-20 percent of college students do it too. Self-injury is an increasing phenomenon in today’s young adult culture, but it’s often misunderstood.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the majority of those who self-injure are adolescents. Risk factors include depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, eating disorders, and other mental health conditions. Victims of childhood trauma are especially likely to self-injure—those …

Read more →

It was a compassionate act in more ways than one—the free food benefited both humans and their four-legged friends on September 18. Compassionate Action for Animals kicked off a busy fall schedule of events by hosting its fifth annual Vegan Food Giveaway on the West Bank Plaza. CAA volunteers
handed out Alternative Baking Company cookies, Tofurky sandwiches, Tofutti ice cream, chips with nacho cheese and salsa, dark chocolate, and many other vegan items. It wasn’t the …

Read more →

“IT AIN’T EASY BEING GREEN.” Kermit the Frog may have struggled with living in a world devoid of green, but he’d be quite fashionable today. Increased environmental awareness is everywhere–from the “Tree Hugger, Planet Lover” canvas bags at Target to the stainless steel water bottles that reduce plastic consumption.

Popular culture reflects the Green Movement—or one might argue, culture encourages an eco-friendly lifestyle. Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” opened in 2006 and won an …

Read more →