The Wake

You know you’re from Minnesota when the seasons change during the course of one lecture. Watching the faces of students coming out of a lecture on Oct. 11 was entertaining. Some were shocked, others angry, and a few were filled with excitement. When these students went into class, it was fall. When they came out, it looked more like February.While most would agree that October is too early for snow, true Minnesotans know that anything is possible. A scene like this quickly brings to mind the infamous Halloween Blizzard of 1991, which serves to easily identify the out-of-state students. But if you are in fact one of those out-of-towners who does not remember this Midwestern milestone, here it is. It started during the afternoon of Oct. 31, 1991 and over the course of the next …

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The MacLaurin Institute is a Christian study center serving the University of Minnesota – “bringing God into the marketplace of ideas.” Dr. William Monsma, a physicist-theologian from the University of Colorado, founded it in 1982. Each year the institute brings 10 to 15 Christian scholars to the U of M campus, along with holding a conference each year presenting a distinctly Christian alternative. The U of M’s latest speaker, Mustafa Akyol, is a Muslim writer based out of Istanbul, Turkey. Akyol, 34, graduated from Bosphorus University. He travels around the United States and the United Kingdom giving seminars relating to Islam and modernity. In Turkish “Akyol” means “the white path,” a theme present throughout his career.On Friday, Oct. 20 Akyol spoke about the Pope and Islam. His lecture dealt with the Pope Benedict’s …

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It was all smiles and positive thinking at the first annual Northland Bioneers Conference, held at Minneapolis Community and Technical College over the weekend of October 20-22. A newly annual three-day interactive presentation, the conference is dedicated to spreading knowledge about the environment, health, social justice and holistic spirituality.I arrived on the second day of the Northland Bioneers Conference open-minded but three-and-a-half hours late. The majority of patrons were already in small workshops learning about the various aspects of environmentalism, sustainable living and social change. Glancing at the schedule, I quickly glided through the main room, past booths representing different biofuel, organic food and environmentalist groups and up three floors to the classrooms. I was immediately struck by the friendliness of the events staff and audience. The usually people attending events that support any …

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Nineteen years ago, half a million people marched in Washington, D.C. to fight for gay and lesbian rights. Celebrating that day and continuing the fight for rights and awareness, the University’s Queer Student Cultural Center (QSCC) holds National Coming Out Week events each October. This fall, the QSCC’s keynote speaker asked supporters not to forget the children of gay and lesbian couples – because they too are marching through the homophobic world.“QueerSpawn,” is what keynote speaker Abigail Garner calls herself. The daughter of a gay father and a straight mother, Garner is a professional advocate for not only the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) community, but also for their children. There is no exact figure for the number of children who have grown up in GLBT families over the past two decades, but estimates vary …

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I remember my first experience with Homecoming. Excited to be at such a massive university, I was ready to participate. But the events were geared toward the Greek system, making it difficult and awkward to fully enjoy Homecoming as a newcomer and a commuter student. Without a sorority or residence hall to lead the way towards activities, I was without direction. I don’t remember a lot about that fall, but I do remember the Homecoming parade that went down University Ave. It was chilly and was raining on and off throughout the morning, and I found a spot in the heart of frat row. A few houses were elaborately decorated with facades in front of the house held up by scaffolding to go along with the year’s theme. As the floats went …

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Candidate: Tim Pawlenty
Running For: Governor
Party: Republican
Top Priorities: Economic growth, education and public safety
Experience: Minnesota Governor, 2002-present
Hometown: South Saint Paul, Minn.
Family: wife Mary and two daughters Anna and Mara
Favorite Sport: Hockey
Quote to Note: Earlier this year Pawlenty declared, “the era of small government over” in an interview with the Star Tribune. “Government has to be more proactive, more aggressive,” he went on. Pawlenty later claimed he was quoting New York Times columnist David Brooks and said that he meant he actually just wants to make government more effective. Right.Candidate: Mike Hatch
Running For: Governor
Party: Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Top Priorities: Providing the middle class better access to healthcare and education
Experience: Minnesota Attorney General, 1998-present, Minnesota DFL party chair, 1980-1983
Hometown: Duluth, Minn.
Family: wife Patti and three daughters …

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As I sat silently in my seat, poring over my Spanish flash cards, I took a moment to peep around my surroundings. It was Monday, Oct. 9, and I was in the Coffman Bookstore, awaiting the arrival of heralded author, renowned radio personality, master storyteller and (as of most recently) international movie star, Garrison Keillor. There were representatives from most age groups present; however, those on the wrong side of 50 greatly outnumbered those of us on the right. Small smatterings of college students were seen here and there. There was a group of freshmen in front of me, discussing the new Michel Gondry movie. To my right was a fellow in his fourth year studying a bit of Arabic and in the very front I spied a wide eyed freshman who could be found …

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Every summer, eager and nervous incoming freshmen flood the University of Minnesota campus to take part in a required two-day student orientation, led by current students clad in maroon and gold polo shirts. This program is meant to offer a smooth transition into the University community in order to maximize academic success. Students come prepared to meet fellow classmates and staff members, register for classes and enjoy their very first dorm-living experience. Hopefully these students gain a sense of community and support as they enter the college world. It is here that these young minds can listen to experienced college students talk about how to survive their first year and make it fun while they’re at it. But few people realize the time and effort that goes into the program that leaves a lasting …

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More than likely the United States will never be one nation for liberty and justice for all. Everyday, people are divided into race, class and gender, but wealth is also added into this division. Rose Brewer, professor of African American and African studies at the University of Minnesota, co-wrote a book that looks deeply into the wealth divide of five different racialized groups. The Color of Wealth: The Story behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide lays out the obstacles for Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans by government actions or inactions. The book also looks at details that have boosted the white population’s wealth status through public policy.At Coffman Memorial Union Bookstore on Wednesday Oct. 4, Brewer had a book signing discussing her book and her personal experiences. At first glance, it …

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In case you missed the barrage of political commercials on TV and the radio lately, or if this semester you don’t have one of those professors who enjoys getting up on his or her soapbox to lecture about the importance of getting involved in your community. Or, if you somehow managed to dodge all of those ever-present student activists distributing highlighter-colored flyers on the Washington Avenue Bridge or in Coffman, someone should remind you that there is an election coming up. It’s on Nov. 7. And you should vote.Here come all of the excuses: I don’t care about politics. Politicians are all the same anyhow. I don’t even know where to vote. No one is going to convince you that you should care about politics. If your tuition skyrockets again or the draft is reinstated …

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“It is a great pleasure to be with you,” former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday, Oct. 3 when he spoke at Northrop Memorial Auditorium. “At this stage in my life and career it’s a great pleasure to be anywhere,” he said, followed by laughter from the crowd. Powell continued by talking about the transitions that we make in life. Powell joked about a time when he had his own 757 and the red carpet that went with it. “One day you’re the Secretary of State and the next they give your plane to ‘Condi,’” Powell joked.After retiring from the United States Government, reality set in while eating breakfast with his wife. It was a shocker for both when they realized he was going to be home all day. In an effort …

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The four American designers highlighted in the exhibit at McNeal Hall on the St. Paul Campus emerged in the 1940s and are considered monumental in closing the gap between European and United States fashion. Together, Norman Norell, Pauline Trigere, Geoffrey Beene and Bill Blass transformed America into a flourishing world of fashion in a post-World War II environment.Norman Norell was born in 1900 in Indiana. He broke new ground by translating French couture into fresh-looking, ready-to-wear apparel. He made New York’s 7th Avenue garment district the rival of Paris at the end of WWII. By 1928 he had become the head designer for highly respected fashion designer, Hattie Carnegie, who imported European designs for inspiration. In 1960 he started his own label and perfected the jumper and the pantsuit. He has been called the Rolls …

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Nov. 21, 1981 marked the last Golden Gopher football game played on campus grass. The Gophers led in the fourth quarter only to fall to border-rival Wisconsin 26-21 at Memorial Stadium. A year passed, and the home team moved off-campus to the newly-built Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. Ten years passed, and empty lots replaced an aged athletic amphitheater. Home field advantage became a memory.Nearly twenty-five years later and with Stadium Village a little quieter, the groundbreaking of the new TCF Bank Stadium on Sept. 30 brought football fever on an unseasonably warm afternoon. U of M supporters walked, the band marched, and Goldy scootered onto the flat parking lot at Oak and 4th S.E. that, by the start of the 2009 football season, will be the foundation for a 50,000-seat, open-air …

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Across the Midwest, hundreds of immigrants and refugees are detained in county jails contracted by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, these immigrants spend months, even years in remote detention facilities, isolated from attorneys and criminalized by society. They face obstacles in due process and are often refused basic rights.Barbara Frey, director of the Human Rights Program on campus, along with the Midwest Coalition of Human Rights, is working to change all of that through education and advocacy. In a lecture at Elmer L. Andersen Library on Sept. 26, Frey touched on the many issues facing non-citizens in the Midwest. According to Frey, the “post-9/11 climate of fear” is an issue that faces non-citizens of all races. Workers’ rights issues such as low wages or failure to collect workers’ …

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You may not have heard the names John James, Jeff Johnson, or Lori Swanson, but come No. 7 you will have to decide which of these three you want to be Minnesota’s next attorney general. This year the “AG” race was noted early on for its drama, following Matt Entenza’s withdrawal and subsequent scramble by DFLer’s to replace him. The response of the candidates has been to keep low profiles. Swanson won the DFL endorsement in the Sept. 12 primary and faces Republican nominee Johnson and Independence Party candidate James in the race. Entenza’s withdrawal was certainly the most high-profile event in the attorney general race. He withdrew amidst complaints from Republicans that he violated ethics laws after failing to report expenses paid to investigate the current attorney general, Mike Hatch, who is now the …

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