The Wake

Rapson Hall is hosting an art exhibition starting January 16 and running through February 17. Architecture + Graphic Design boasts a collection of work that blends the boundaries between two different disciplines. The exhibition is sponsored by WPA inSeattle. The show is located in the HGA Gallery in the commons outside of the Dean’s office in Room 101. Along the front and back of a long row of panels are brightly colored signs in various shades of primary colors. On theses panels is a compilation of 48 photographs of buildings and structures that demonstrate the work of WPA, Inc. and similar design firms.The phrase “Flexible and Adaptable Permanent and Integrated Democratization of Information” is written across one side of the panels. Twenty-four of the 48 photographs are displayed on this side. Each photo is …

Read more →

On the landing of the steps outside the Regis Center for Art, atop a trailer flatbed sits a large, red “A.” Part of the “A Project” by Minnesota artist Peter Haakon Thompson and a component of the current exhibit inside the Katherine E. Nash Gallery this month, the “A” symbolizes a system like that of Scruff McGruff—the Crime Dog and pal—but for artists. Instead of posting a sign in the window to indicate that a house is safe for kids, the idea is for artists and art supporters to display a window sign with the red “A” (provided in the exhibit), in an effort to tighten the connection between and among artists and community.Two years after writing a grant proposal to the University of Minnesota’s Graduate Research Partnership Program, curator Rachel Breen posed questions about …

Read more →

The entrance to “Dinkytown Histories: Multiple Stories, Multiple Meanings,” makes it immediately clear that what I am looking at was student-created. A large poster at the front of the room says the exhibit was created by University of Minnesota students in a public history course, but I don’t need to read the sign know that. Scattered about the room are numerous tri-fold posterboards with construction paper slapped on.As I walk around, I can’t help but wonder why the shiny plaques, huge murals and marble pillars displaying works of art that are typical of exhibits and museums are missing.Although what I first noticed was the amateur nature of the exhibit, it didn’t take long before I realized how much work these students put into it. Behind all the posterboard and colored paper is the history of …

Read more →

It’s the most controversial plant in existence and a subject with no clear right or wrong. Some believe the topic is completely taboo. Others find it absurd that there is any controversy at all. Your church youth leaders might like you to think of it as poison for both the body and soul, and your school administrators fashion it as the fast track to ruining your life. Ricky Williams thought it was worth walking away from fortunes in the NFL. And one of the’08 presidential front-runners, Barack Obama, is an admitted former user. One set of parents will send you straight to boot camp for coming home with a pair of red eyes and a smoky sweatshirt while another will recognize it as simply a part of growing up. Whatever your opinion, Café Scientifique: The …

Read more →

The Wienery
I’ve come to quite appreciate the irony of actually having to use a greasy spoon at this West Bank staple. Really, Al’s Breakfast has nothing on the hole-in-the-wall that is the Wienery, both in terms of grime and quality. While the specialty is obviously the Chicago-style hot dogs, breakfast food is where the Wienery shines—and it’s dirt-cheap, too.Mitch
Stop by Palmer’s and order a “Kool-Aid drink” from Mitch (the bartender with a cancer tattoo on his neck). Get lucky and he may upgrade you to a pint glass free of charge. And while you may fancy yourself quite the boozer, this drink will still probably leave you naked on the St. Paul campus. The Hideously Deformed Hobo Who Occasionally Wears a Paper Bag on His Head
I wish I were joking. While normally …

Read more →

Want to jumpstart your career, meet new people, begin networking, boost your confidence, learn a new language or become familiar with a new culture? Those are only some of the benefits listed by those who have studied abroad. “The objective,” American Field Service President Tachi Cazal says, “is to look at the differences in the world, to appreciate [them], to learn to look at the world from a new perspective.” Cazal spoke at a discussion entitled “The Power of International Exchange” at Cowles Auditorium on November 29. “There are so many things that we learn, sometimes without noticing it,” says Austrian Ambassador to the United Nations Gerhard Pfanzelter, who also spoke at the discussion sponsored by the Minnesota International Center, AFS and the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs. “[Studying abroad] gave me and Tachi the …

Read more →

“Energy may be the most important problem of the 21st century,” Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt says to an attentive audience in the Coffman Theater. The chemical engineer says that the United States is in a precarious situation. “We could choke our economy over energy.” “In your kids’ lifetime,” Schmidt goes on, “we got to have made the switch. We better make the switch.” The switch he’s referring to is renewable energy, informing his audience that oil is running out and now is the time to make the transition to realistic practices. “There’s no question about it. We’ve got to be sustainable.” Fortunately for Minnesotans, the state is leading the nation in the exploration and utilization of renewable energies, Schmidt says. “Minnesota is in amazingly good shape.” Some 20 percent of the energy used in the …

Read more →

With final exams just around the corner, it can often be difficult for students to adequately prepare for the upcoming holiday season. There is just not enough time to ace all of those exams as well as pick out that perfect gift. With the amount of time consumed with studying for and taking final exams, students tend to only have a small window of opportunity in which to purchase thoughtful gifts and bake loads of holiday treats.Student organizations, Retail Association of Undergraduates (RAU) and Damn it Tastes Good (DITG), are teaming up in an effort to reverse this trend. They are protesting final exams by organizing a walk-out. The walk-out is scheduled to take place at noon, on Thursday, Dec. 14, the first day of finals. In a joint statement released on Monday, the organizations …

Read more →

Increasing application numbers and rising tuition costs have the University of Minnesota Twin Cities re-examining their policies on education and graduation.Effective September 2007, all incoming freshmen will finish their education in record time, walking in the graduation procession in May of 2009. The university currently has a 13-credit policy each semester to ensure that its students graduate in four years. This is set to change to a two year goal. This means that all students will have to take 30 credits a semester to graduate with 120 credits.Through extensive research, the university has found that 84 percent of its students do not graduate in the four years allotted. “We are very concerned that our students aren’t taking their education seriously,” Bill McPhee, a member of the University administration, says. “Quite honestly, we think …

Read more →

The highly anticipated unveiling of TCF Bank Stadium is set to occur this coming fall in time for the 3009 academic and athletic season.“Sure we’ve had a few setbacks, but the important thing is we’re now on track to reach our goal,” recently unfrozen past University President Bob Bruininks says. His cryogenically preserved body has been in storage since 2018 when he vowed that an on-campus stadium would be achieved within his lifetime.The ostentatious coliseum is reported to be well-worth its staggering $248 billion price tag. Stadium features include: an invisible quasi-dome giving the impression of an open-air environment (the atmospheric carbon monoxide will be filtered by Hyperosmosis™), trampoline-grass turf, 50,000 swivel-chair seating capacity, TCF Bank’s elaborate subterranean vault system and $1 hot dogs. In addition, the stadium will be home to the University of …

Read more →

The University of Minnesota Pure Disco Crew started out this semester as a student organization that had a vision and pair of platform shoes. Despite criticism from some students, faculty and staff, the Pure Disco Crew is out to prove that disco is not dead.A mirror ball slowly rotates from the ceiling of Joel Bergman’s basement and a red laser beam shoots through a cloud emitted from a fog machine. Sounds of trumpets ascend in volume as it blares from the stereo in the corner. “Alright everybody,” Bergman says. “It’s KC and the Sunshine Band. Let’s tear this floor up.”Welcome to another University of Minnesota Pure Disco Crew meeting. At the beginning of the semester Bergman, a second year physics student, was listening to Pure Disco Volume 2 CD when it occurred to him that …

Read more →

Does the thought of eating an apple that contains organisms that have been genetically-modified make your stomach turn over? How about frozen pizza, corn or a peanut butter sandwich? Well, chances are most of the food you eat has been tainted. More than 70 percent of processed foods sold in grocery stores contain ingredients that have been genetically modified, Dr. Jennifer Kuzma, associate director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy, says. But only 24 percent of Americans think they’ve eaten genetically-modified foods, according to a 2003 Pew Initiative survey. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to discover what foods have and have not been modified. “Genetically-engineered foods are not labeled on a mandatory basis right now,” Kuzma explained at Café Scientifique, a science-based discussion on varying topics held at Varsity Theater once a …

Read more →

Students were a broader worldview Friday November 17 by participating in a hunger banquet in St. Paul. The Christian Student Fellowship, a Christian student group on campus, hosted the event to promote awareness of hunger, poverty and the unequal distribution of the world’s resources.CSF provided a unique twist to deliver their message. The 49 participants were given a ticket when they checked in that had a profile of a person and divided them into three groups: the high income, middle income and low income populations. The students were not informed as to which group they would be a part of before they got their ticket.Rebecca Lehmer, CSF’s adviser, spoke about the problems of poverty and what their group is doing to help fight the problem. Every 2.9 seconds, a child dies from hunger, Lehmer says. …

Read more →

“It’s easier to do nothing than do something,” says Mark Hanis, co-creator of Genocide Intervention Network.A grandson of four holocaust survivors, Hanis has reason and motivation to help out those in Darfur and Sudan, to help them find solace and hope during their time of possible genocide. A college student at the time, Hanis heard about Darfur in Oct. 2004. He was shocked that genocide was happening in the 21st century even after the 10-year anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide. Hannis and his classmate decided to skip class, venture to the library and Google Darfur to learn about what was happening. “Most Americans don’t know what’s going on in Darfur because of ignorance,” Hannis says. Two Darfurian rebel groups launched an uprising against the Sudanese government in Khartoum because they were frustrated by poverty …

Read more →

The Center for Neighborhoods is an organization formed in 1994 to strengthen neighborhoods. It promotes innovation, equity and sustainability at the neighborhood and community level. The Center asked the Metropolitan Design Center to assist in coordinating a workshop that will encourage the community to take an active role in making cities more livable.The Metropolitan Design Center is an endowed center that investigates how design can be used to make metropolitan landscapes more livable, workable and sustainable by examining urban design across metropolitan areas through projects, research and education. The Design Center was privileged to have Wendy Sarkissian speak at the U of M on November 8 at Burton Hall. Sarkissian spoke for community members and students, highlighting case studies on design strategies that can make our communities safer and more sustainable. “She is committed to …

Read more →