The Wake

The mood fluctuates from comical to contemplative when the Students for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms meet at Big Ten Restaurant and Bar for drinks and discussion.Students for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is a group that was formed nearly a year and a half ago by conservative-leaning university students.Group member Orlando Ochoada claims credit for suggesting the name to the group’s founder, Bob Gindorf. “Everybody knows that Bob Gindorf has never in his life came up with a good idea by himself,” jokes Ochoada, who said he recommended the name when Gindorf said he was going to start a student group in support of Second Amendment rights.According to SATF president Marty Andrade, the group’s activities include visiting the shooting range. “We went through a lot of ammunition that day,” says Andrade recalling the crew’s latest trip …

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This column is the first to result from the newly codified relationship between Radio K and The Wake. In this space, expect to see feature stories of all types from the Radio K news department, music reviews and discussion from the Radio K music department, and a university radio perspective on both the university and on radio.In turn, Radio K is pleased to air “The Wake-Up,” which you can hear on Friday mornings at 8:45 each week that The Wake hits news stands. “The Wake-Up” is a five-minute news feature from The Wake.This first column is an introduction to Radio K, in what has already been one of the more interesting years of its existence.Radio K in 2005Recently, the five-member administrative student service fees subcommittee tried to slash the budgets of several “U” groups, in …

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Homeless. What are the first images that spring into mind? Ideas may vary slightly but overall many people hold the same concept of a homeless person. Everyone sees them passing through Dinkytown. They’ll ask for some spare change or if they can bum a cigarette from passers-by. A majority of the responses are a simple “No, sorry,” or completely ignoring them. Such responses are due to the lack of awareness and education in our community. One effort on campus brought together a few small student organizations to present the Washington Avenue Bridge Sleepover. Students were invited to sleep on the bridge overnight, just to be in the shoes of a homeless person for one night. Although the evening’s weather was relatively mild, the event was more than about just being homeless for one evening. “It’s …

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University students probably do not think about Guatemalan farmers regularly, especially during the foggy morning walk from dorm room to cafeteria. But have you ever wondered who’s behind your morning caffeine fix? Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, a student advocacy group dedicated to promoting community issues, is on a statewide campaign to educate students and integrate fair trade products into Minnesota colleges and universities. In a recent study titled “Student Knowledge and Support of Fair Trade,” MPIRG found that students were overwhelmingly in support of fair trade.At the University of Minnesota, MPIRG found that 69 percent of students surveyed are familiar with the term “fair trade.” Seventy-nine percent said that they would purchase fair trade products if they were available on campus. Zach Johnson, a sophomore studying chemistry, supports fair trade by purchasing certified …

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Fraternities often get a bad rap. When someone is described as a “frat boy,” a few images immediately spring to mind. These usually involve a big, athletic guy holding a beer can who is perhaps not the most intellectual guy on the block. And although the expanse of any non-Greek’s knowledge may be limited to who hosts a better party, behind every kegger there is a group with a rich history and a commitment to communityimprovement. While fraternities for white men have existed since 1776, black fraternities were not formed until the early 1900s. At Cornell University, a predominantly white Ivy League school, the few black who were privileged enough to attend, were returning in smaller numbers each year.According to Quinton Bonds, president of the “U’s” chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, …

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West of the Mississippi River and between the bricks and mortar that make our campus lives the art fostered by the West Bank Arts Quarter – home to the innovative student group the Arts Quarter Collective. As one treads the pavement past Anderson Hall and Wilson Library the arts get closer. There, near the edge of the West Bank Campus, the visual and performing arts are housed and separated by walls and university departments. But these physical divisions disappear when the Arts Quarter Collective meets for their unique events. The student group acts as a catalyst for interdisciplinary artwork and collaborative arts events, developing a forum for art creation and discussion at the university. Collaboration is the driving force behind the Arts Quarter Collective’s work, as is building a community for artists. “It offers an …

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On the last day smokers were allowed to light up indoors in Minneapolis, March 30, Wake reporters interviewed the livid, the victorious, and the indifferent.After a series of complex ordinances, individuals in Minneapolis face a $300 fine for exhaling cigarette smoke in bars, restaurants and bowling alleys. The city will issue businesses a $200 citation for the first violation, and the fine will double for each subsequent violation, up to $2,000, according to the city’s Web site.The cities of Bloomington and Golden Valley passed similar bans, as did Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Each county and city may have different methods of enforcement and varying penalties.Stub & Herb’sBy Grant Boelter“It smells like pipe from half a block down,” exclaimed a patron of Stub & Herb’s on the eve of the citywide smoking ban.An …

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It’s happened to almost all of us. It’s the week before spring and you’re faced with spending next week in your parents’ basement or bumming around a dead campus. Odds are money is running low, you didn’t have time to come up with a plan, or your idiot friend decided now would be a good time to tell you that he forgot to call and confirm your spot on the plane. At this point the only logical answer seems to be to throw in the towel, crank the thermostat to 90 degrees and rent The Real Cancun. Don’t do it. Heat doesn’t come cheap these days and that rental will permanently set you back about 100 cool points. Break the piggy bank, call the buddies and fuel up the ‘93 Escort. Still lost? Here are …

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Editor’s note: Click here to listen to an audio clip of Welti discussing youth and politics.Andy Welti was preoccupied with the American flag this morning. The 24-year-old is a part of the Committee on Government Operations and Veterans’ Affairs, which will vote on a resolution that would urge Congress to “prohibit physical desecration of the flag of the United States.”Welti made frantic calls to veterans in his home district to get a feel for how he should vote. As a first-term legislator at the Minnesota House of Representatives, Welti wants to make sure he accurately represents his constituents.“Personally I feel it’s freedom of speech. The Supreme Court has already ruled on it. When are we going to allow this issue to rest?” Welti asks. “We should be focusing on the budget. We …

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Kristin O’Quinn knows what it is like to be stressed out. A senior majoring in human resources and development, O’Quinn tries to maintain a GPA above 3.0 and has made the dean’s list for the last three years every semester except one. O’Quinn is also the parent of a lively 3 -year-old boy. Balancing school with family is a constant struggle for O’Quinn. Days start at 6:00 a.m. and do not wind down until 10 p.m. if O’Quinn can get her son to sleep on time. “Time management is critical,” O’Quinn says. Guilt is a constant factor in O’Quinn’s life, but when schoolwork gets in the way of spending time with her son, she reminds herself that she is doing something productive for herself and for her son.“I have a breakdown once a semester, but …

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There’s a chance you received a phone call this winter from Minneapolis’s or St. Paul’s new automated snow emergency calling service, but according to a Minneapolis Public Works Department report submitted to Minneapolis City Council on March 22, the chances are slight.The phone service is the latest attempt by Minneapolis and St. Paul to proactively reach citizens thus lowering ticketing, towing and ultimately to clear the streets faster during snow emergencies, says Mike Kennedy, director of Minneapolis Field Services.A new service this winterMinneapolis and St. Paul use many methods of reaching the public in a snow emergency. Both cities post information on their Web sites, broadcast information on local channels, inform the media and send email notices, Kennedy says. “[The automated phone service] is just another weapon in our arsenal, another tool in our …

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Because of freedom of speech, a Palestinian woman who has lived in the United States since 1996 was able to discuss an unpopular viewpoint — the result of gradual and persistent Zionist victimization of Palestinians in Israel.Isra’ Muzaffer, a second year university PhD student, stood before a group of more than 30 intellectuals on Feb. 11 in Heller Hall. She stood up for what she believes is “ethnic cleansing” in Israel. She outlined the unofficial plan by the Israeli government to build a wall twice as high and three times as long as the Berlin wall. The wall will to slice up the West Bank, making Palestinians segmented in a land they have lived in since the seventh century.In a question and answer section of the lecture, Muzaffer clarified the fact that it is difficult …

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Growing up, I knew one ghost. He was green, chubby and he visited every Saturday morning. He was a friendly ghost and got to hang out with a bunch of guys who made their living searching for other, less friendly ghosts. These guys called themselves Ghost Busters and Slimer was their squishy sidekick. Though they may be a far cry from the goofy Ghost Busters, the university has their own group dedicated to searching for spiritual beings. Their name is a little more serious too.The Paranormal Research Team (PRT) became an official student group back in November, but they have been looking for ghosts for a lot longer than that. “Our goal is to examine hauntings from an unbiased point of view and methodically investigate unexplained phenomenon,” PRT wrote on the student activities Web site. …

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“Why would you work for that piece of shit?” It wasn’t exactly a response that Crystal Lachermeier expected to hear from a classmate when she announced that she would be working for the Republican National Committee.As part of fulfilling a requirement for a service-learning class, Lachermeier, a senior at the “U” who is double-majoring in political science and sociology, interned for the RNC last fall. She pointed to this in-class incident as one of a number of times when she felt discriminated against because of her conservative political viewpoints.Lachermeier and many other students face a unique challenge — being in the political minority on campus. While there hasn’t been a study conducted specific to the University of Minnesota, the general consensus between liberals and conservatives alike is that campus leans a little to the left …

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Online dating services reek of the information age. It seems almost impossible that they existed before people were too busy to leave the office for lunch let alone find a lover. Dating services have been around in one form or another (women didn’t always have it so good) for centuries.During the Roman Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival that celebrated the gods of marriage and religion, the Romans held a date lottery. The women would place love notes into a large vessel and then the men would pick one out. Whomever’s love note the man chose would become the object of his affection.The date of this festival: February 14th. Obviously, Valentine’s Day has come a long way since its inception during early Roman times. Today greeting card companies sell more than $9 million in valentines. …

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