fortnightly student magazine
volume 16 — issue 1
race & gender in 2016 election
p. 8
Q&A: emerging filmmakers
p. 16
best trends from NYFW
p. 11
dream collabs
p. 20
stadium village takeover
p. 13
nash gallery - women and money
p. 22
want your ad here? cheap rates. thousands of readers. con tact Effi e Mog us u at emog u su @wakem ag .org
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 1 pioneer hall horror stories
p. 7
race & gender in 2016 election
p. 8
brexit, slow and steady
p. 10
best trends from NYFW
p. 11
goodbye, summer
p. 12
stadium villiage takeover
p. 13
Q&A: emerging filmmakers
p. 16
MN tonight
p. 18
making art from tragedy
p. 19
dream collabs
p. 20
nash gallery - women and money
p. 22
3 reviews
p. 23
©2016 The Wake Student Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Established in 2002, The Wake is a fortnightly independent magazine and registered student organization produced by and for students at the University of Minnesota.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the 15th (That’s right, 15th!) year of The Wake magazine, and thank you for picking this up and/or reading it online. We were overwhelmed with the interest and membership in first meeting of the year, as we barely had enough room to fit new and old members in our normal Folwell classroom. This issue’s feature is a nostalgic look back at the restaurants the campus recently lost in Stadium Village, including Big Ten, Espresso Expose and Bun Mi, and we take a look at the new high rise apartments taking over the area. Aside from that, we have a great mix of content to kick off the year. We look at the campus Farmer’s Market, visit a puppet cabaret at the Mask Theater, and reveal a never-before-seen letter from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin. This issue has plenty more to offer on the content, art, and design front, so dig in! Alex Van Abbema Editor-in-Chief
The Wake was founded by Chrin Ruen & James DeLong. Disclaimer: The purpose of The Wake is to provide a forum in which students can voice their opinions. Opinions expressed in the magazine are not representative of the publication or university as a whole. To join the conversation email avanabemma@wakemag.org.
The Wake Student Magazine 126 Coffman Memorial Union 300 Washington Avenue SE Minneapolis, MN 55455
EDITORIAL:
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PRODUCTION:
THIS ISSUE:
Editor-in-Chief
Alex Van Abbema
Executive Director
Lianna Matt
Photographers
Managing Editor
Abby Richardson
Creative Director
Kate Doyle
Colleen Kue, Kellen Renstrom, Xavier Wang
Cities Editor
Erik Newland
Art Director
Taylor Daniels
Voices Editor
Emma Klingler
Designers
Andrew Tomten
Sound & Vision Editors
Olivia Heuskinveld
Kellen Renstrom
Shawnna Stennes
Olivia Novotny
Online editor
Carson Kaskel
Finance Manager
Chris Bernatz
Copy editor
Alex Wittenberg
PR/Ad Manager
Effie Mogusu
Laura Beier
Social Media
Holly Wilson
Chelsea Reynolds
Web development
Laurel Tieman
Faculty Advisor
Julia Holmes Editorial Interns Avery Boehm, Bella Dally-Steele, Gabby Granada, Hannah Kloos, John Blocher
Production Interns Brooke Herbert, Grace Steward, Megan Smith, Rakshit Kalra Art & Design Interns Emily Hill, Helen Teague, Lindy Wirth, Katie Heywood, Megan Smith, Xavier Wang, Weiying Zhu
Illustrators Emily Hill, Helen Teague, Katie Heywood, Lindy Wirth, Madison Digiovanni, Taylor Daniels, Weiying Zhu Back Cover Megan Smith Contributing Writers Abby Richardson, Alex Van Abbema, Annalise Gall, Avery Boehm, Bella Dally-Steele, Ben Halom, Celine Bogner, Chris Shea, Claudia Althoen, Cody Perakslis, Colin Miller, Ellie Swanstrom, Emily Martens, Gabby Granada, Hannah Kloos, Helena Mueller, Isabella Murray, Jack Davis, John Blocher, Katee Meindl, Lianna Matt, Liv Martin, Liv Riggins, Lydia Crabtree, Sammy Brown, Shawnna Stennes, Taylor Sharp
C O LLE E N KU E
Our Wake staff visited many music festivals this summer including Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner of The National’s Eaux Claires. This photo is from Bon Iver’s headline set in August at Eaux Claires performing his brand new album “22, A Million” for the first time.
Political Haikus
WINK ! ONE-PAGE MAGAZINE
BY COLIN MILLER Donald J. Trump’s erotic musings: Lying Hillary, Let me nurse you back to health Live to fight again Why can’t I just have What Barack and Joe must have? Sizzling sex appeal I hate these rumors About me and Ivanka But could you blame me? Media elite, Muslims and hispanic folks Why don’t they like me? That’s right, I forgot They’re too jealous and stupid To know they love me
can you guess the phrases?
answers on back page
We asked you: What’s the best alternative to the Floco party bus? P G. 4
Hijacking a Gopher Chauffeur (35.42%)
The bus from “My Neighbor Totoro” (35.42%)
A boat (25%)
A yellow stretch Hummer limo (4.17%)
OCT 3 –16
CITIES
Situated on the Greenway between Fifth Avenue and Portland Avenue, CityKid Cafe is a recent addition to Urban Ventures’ roster of programs and social services for urban Twin Cities neighborhoods. The cafe sells cold press coffee, kombucha and fresh produce, with proceeds going towards other Urban Ventures and CityKid Cafe programs, according to staffer Sarah Holle. Urban Ventures currently has 12 programs aimed at ending cycles of intergenerational poverty, including parenting and financial literacy programs in Spanish and English, after-school and summer enrichment for students grades K-8, and job readiness training. Additionally, UrbanVentures holds free community events in the Twin Cities throughout the year. Some recent events include Siempre Padres Picnic, an opportunity for Latino families to share a meal and games in Powderhorn Park, and Community Day on the Greenway, which invited the public to tour CityKid Farm’s hydroponic greenhouse, participate in crafts and games, and sample healthy meals. Enterprises such as the CityKid Cafe, CityKid Farm and CityKid Mobile Food Market are also integral parts of Urban Ventures’ programming, providing an opportunity for youth and adults to learn new skills. Staffer Sarah Holle characterized CityKid Cafe as a ‘point location’ in the larger group of programs, bringing potential Urban Ventures participants in through perks such as low-price vegetables and free summer meals for children. Participants in CityKid programs or people receiving food stamps are eligible to buy a bag of fresh, local vegetables for $5 in what is otherwise a food desert—or an urban area lacking affordable fresh food.
TAY LOR DANIEL S
Prior to this summer, these operations had run at lower volume through CityKid Mobile Food Market, a food truck that sells produce throughout the Central and Philips neighborhoods. The transition to a permanent location has required the cafe to raise production volume and demand to meet the increased fixed costs of a permanent site. Holle cited appealing to both Greenway bikers and the local community as one of the largest pieces in making CityKid Cafe’s permanent location sustainable going forward.
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For more information on CityKid Cafe, Urban Ventures, donating or volunteering with these programs, visit urbanventures.org.
TAY LOR DANI E L S
The new addition aims to end cycles of poverty in Twin Cities neighborhoods
BY LIV RIGGINS
Incarcerated men and women fight back against labor practices
Urban Ventures Adds CityKid Café to List of Programs
Prison Strike
T H E WA K E
BY JACK DAVIS An eerie morning silence hung about in America’s prisons on Sept. 9 as incarcerated women and men refused to report to their work assignments in protest over mass slave labor. A few groups of the estimated 24,000 conscientious objectors across 29 prisons were met with respect, but guards forced many to work, beat them, put them into solitary confinement, and transferred them to other facilities, according to the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC), a working group within the Industrial Workers of the World labor union. In fact, knowing how they are doing is difficult. Media access to prisons is restricted and permission to interview inmates is not constitutionally guaranteed, according to the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press. An IWOC blog wrote that administrators placed many facilities on lockdown in response to the strike, which disrupts prisoners’ abilities to access communication. Many socially invisible prisoners walk among us: one in every 108 Americans was in prison in 2012, according to The Sentencing Project. Furthermore, blacks and Hispanics are the majority of those in prison, with white people only representing 32 percent of the incarcerated population, according to Bureau of Justice statistics. Both for-profit and state-run prisons pay as little as 40 cents an hour, and several states such as Texas and Alabama even legally permit uncompensated labor. Consider further that 47 percent of prisoners are charged with nonviolent crimes of poverty, like property theft or selling drugs, according to The Sentencing Project. More than opposing unjust labor practices, the strike is also about incarcerated peoples organizing together, with the help of the IWOC. “IWOC on the outside is currently quite small, but has over 800 incarcerated people actively involved in organizing on the inside,” said Jessica Garraway, an IWOC organizer. “If even 10 percent of these continue to organize when they regain their freedom, the movement against prison slavery and capitalism at large will grow exponentially. The potential for the anti-capitalist movement to be more working class and more people of color is clear,” Garraway said. Those who wish to get involved can reach out to IWOC in the Twin Cities.
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C IT IES
THE WAKE
THE OLDEST “SOCIAL MEDIA”
With all the ways of obtaining music, news and entertainment today, from television, to podcasts, to streaming services like Pandora and Spotify, broadcast radio might seem like a thing of the past. But for many community organizations in the Twin Cities and around the nation, a new type of radio may offer a new way to provide engaging, locally focused content. This new type of radio, called Low Powered FM radio, or LPFM for short, works by broadcasting on unused FM frequencies at a very short range, with a power of under 100 watts and a typical extension of less than five miles. LPFM isn’t really new, but a law passed in 2011 by the Obama administration, the Local Community Radio Act, opened the door for nonprofits to utilize this previously illegal technology. So far, four community LPFM radio stations have begun operating in the Twin Cities with the help of a network called Twin Cities Community Radio, as well as national organizations like Prometheus radio, whose volunteers travel the country helping to set up local radio stations.
A RT BY H E L E N TE AG U E
The rise of community radio signals a change in how we share and receive information BY BEN HALOM
These stations are 98.9 FM (KSMP) in South Minneapolis, 94.1 FM (WFNU) in Frogtown (West St. Paul), 104.7 FM (WEQY) in Dayton’s Bluff (East St. Paul), 101.7 FM (KALY) serving the Somali community. Most of them are run by local nonprofits, such as WFNU, which is run by the Frogtown Neighborhood Association and Center. Traditional radio broadcasts allow these organizations to get content to their neighbors in a way that new forms of media simply cannot. I spoke to a Julie Censullo, a station manager of WFNU, who said that last year, when they ran solely on web streaming, they would go to neighborhood festivals and “have to explain” who they were to attendees. But since August when they got their radio signal up, people come to them and say, “they’ve heard [them] on the radio.” For a project like WFNU, which aims to have 100 percent community produced content, the instant exposure that real radio provides is invaluable. Julie said, “it gives us legitimacy,” and makes people excited to make content and be heard on the radio.
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OCT 3 –16
T H E WA K E
CITIES
PIONEER HALL HORROR STORIES After more than a year of debate, the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents voted to move forward with a $104.5 million, much-needed renovation to Superblock’s notorious Pioneer Hall. While living in the antiquated dorm, residents have experienced a myriad of complications. These are their stories. “I came back after Winter Break to a broken heater,” said sophomore Simon Brown. “I spent the first night without heat because I thought it would be fine, but I woke up in the night multiple times very, very cold. Since it was the weekend they had to call an emergency person to come and it was a very drawn out process. Eventually the guy came in and he was like, ‘well I got your heater to work, but there are no settings on it so you can either have it off or on full blast.’ I had the heat on full blast for a couple days.” “Moving in was a lot of work because of the lack of elevators, and the first few weeks my roommates and I had around six fans going nonstop because of the lack of air conditioning,” said sophomore Erin Schwister.”
BY HANNAH KLOOS “Also, in the winter our windows were more open than they probably should have been, as we didn’t have any control over the temperature or amount of heat we got in our room.” “There was puke on both of the bathroom stalls for three straight days and no cleanup,” said sophomore Samir Ferdowsi. “Also, during second semester the air filtration system broke along the north side for two weeks. People started asking me if I had a dead animal in my room.” “We didn’t have a bathroom door in one of the stalls for about a month at one point,” said sophomore Carston Hernke. “The laundry room was just generally disgusting. Whenever there was a fire alarm there were doors all over that would slam shut really loudly. We had to walk up a flight of stairs and then back down just to get to our room so we used the emergency exit door literally every time we left.”
E M I LY H I L L
Survivors tell their tales
“People started asking me if I had a dead animal in my room”
LOCAL GROWERS THRIVE AT THE On campus market runs every Wednesday until October 12th BY EMILY MARTENS
KATI E H E YWOOD
As summer comes to a close and watermelons fall out of season, there is still opportunity for students, faculty and the entire Minneapolis community to get their produce locally and organically. The On Campus Farmers’ Market started in the early 2000s to promote health and well-being. Since 2015, the market has called the McNamara Alumni Center patio home and is hosted by the Employee Benefits Department (EBD) of University Human Resources.
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If going to enjoy the atmosphere and the game cart is not enough incentive, local farmers selling everything from fruits to veggies to flowers love the support. “Dining services brings a grill in the summer and students and families come to play on the lawn.” said Michelle Johnson of the HR department. The EBD will be ready to answer any questions and even have fun give-away opportunities throughout the remainder of the season. Jeff Nistler of Nistler Farms, located 30 miles west of the city, has been at this market since long before its
location change. “I don’t exactly remember when it was,” said Nistler, “but I have been selling here as long as this market has existed.” One of his many repeat customers claimed “this man is the best sweet corn salesman here.” Aside from their adored corn, the family keeps one dozen bee colonies in order to pollinate the vine crops and produce fresh honey, which he sells mostly at the University. “The bees were initially supposed to pollinate my produce but the honey is one of my best sellers.” Cornercopia, located in the St. Paul campus, is a student-run educational farm. The farm welcomes students to come see the workings of a functional local farm. From soil to sustainability, Courtney Tchida, the head of Cornercopia, teaches courses on multiple facets of farming. Snow will be here in less than 60 days and campus will say farewell to the fresh, local produce for the winter. Every Wednesday between now and Oct. 12, the market will be taking place. Live music, fresh produce, games and frisbees are calling! Missing this amazing opportunity would truly be a rotten idea.
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C IT IES
THE WAKE
PANELISTS DISCUSS IMPACT OF RACE AND GENDER ON 2016 ELECTION Religion predicted to have a lesser influence BY BELLA DALLY-STEELE
Mary Vavrus, professor of communication studies, spoke first, positing that Trump’s seemingly inexplicable nomination and Clinton’s demonization can both be drawn back to the sexist standards enforced by entertainment media, where women are held to an unrealistic standard of beauty and comportment, while men are glorified for toxic displays of dominance and aggressiveness. Vavrus asserted that Clinton’s failure to adhere to these standards has made her an easy target for sexist criticism, while Trump’s excessively violent attitude has, against all odds, won him a stable base of supporters. In her address, Sociology Professor Enid Logan dug deep into the white male psyche, explaining how the Trump voting bloc was drawn in by Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, which plays on a historically popular campaign trick used to harness the “anger
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found among white American men’s perceived loss of racial, gendered and global dominance.” Later, Logan explained #iguessimwithhergirl, a hashtag phenomenon used by displeased voters who plan to vote for Clinton, not because they support her politics, but because they wish to prevent Trump’s election. Finally, Religious Studies Professor Jeanne Kilde took the stage addressing the recent fracture in the historically right-leaning Evangelical voting bloc. Kilde explained that while some Evangelical groups are “not willing to abandon the Republican Party, which they see as the only party of Christians,” many other Evangelicals are unwilling to vote for Trump due to his character, which they perceive as unsavory, thus splitting the vote. Kilde also touched on the impact of the 2016 election on American Muslims, who Trump has consistently targeted in speeches.
A RT BY W E I Y I NG ZH U
Thursday evening at Northrop Hall, University of Minnesota professors Mary Vavrus, Enid Logan and Jeanne Kilde gathered to discuss the intersection of Race, Gender and Religion in the 2016 election. The event attracted a mix of nearly 80 spectators made up of students, faculty, and citizens of all ages. One by one, the professors approached the podium, each analyzing a different aspect of this year’s perplexing presidential race.
After their initial addresses, the three professors answered audience questions, ranging from the difference between liberal and conservative racism, to how the crisis of capitalism has influenced the election. Following the event, audience members eagerly approached the lectors for one-on-one conversation.
OCT 3 –16
T H E WA K E
VOICES
Ain’t No Party Like a Third Party Cuz a third party vote don’t count BY CHRIS SHEA The American electorate is angry. This election may well be the most polarizing in U.S. history as more and more Americans are considering protesting against the current lineup of candidates by opting not to vote, writing in alternatives like Bernie Sanders, or voting for third-party candidates. For those of you thinking that you are shaking up the two party system by not voting for the two major nominees, you are not. Third-party candidates simply do not have a chance of winning in 2016. Why? The answer lies in something that political scientists call Duverger’s Law, which states that the way a country’s electoral system is structured usually determines how many competitive parties that country will have. In the United States each congressional district gets only one legislative seat, which is also known as the single-member district. When a candidate wins that seat it makes it so there are only two dominant parties. The winner-takes-all nature of single-member districts allows for coalitions to form around elections and the odds of winning that election are much higher if only two parties exist, allowing each to bring as many people to its side as it can.
Look no further than the 1992 election. Independent Ross Perot took 19 percent of the popular vote, yet because he did not take a majority in any of the states, he got no electoral votes.The main way for a third party to succeed in the U.S. would be if there was a major defect from one party to another, but that would only make the old party crumble and the former third party would take its place. The last time that happened was in 1860. This is America, and you should be able to vote your conscience and let your voice be heard. But if you think that you will shake up the system by voting against the two parties, just know that it won’t have the greatest impact.
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LINDY WIRTH
The winner-takes-all system also applies to presidential races because of the Electoral College. With each state, whichever candidate gets the most votes wins all of that state’s electoral votes.
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VO IC ES
THE WAKE
Brexit, Slow and Steady Why Europe has some stressful years ahead
WEIYING ZHU
TAYLOR DANIELS
To Russia, with Love
Trump caught red-handed and red-hearted BY COLIN MILLER Amid controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s e-mails, one message of particular interest was recently discovered on republican candidate Donald Trump’s personal server. The Wake has obtained this document and provided it below for the sake of transparency.
BY CODY PERAKSLIS The Brexit surprise has caused continuous turmoil in Europe. So, what has happened since the UK voted to leave the European Union on June 23 of this year? Not much. The result of the referendum led to the resignation of then Prime Minister, David Cameron. The new Prime Minister, Theresa May, along with the EU Select Committee, needs to decide on a strategy for the Brexit negotiation. The UK negotiation plan will be kept secret until next year, when the country officially begins Brexit talks with the EU. After negotiations commence, the UK and the EU have two years to reach an agreement about how to handle all aspects of their relations. The deal requires unanimity from the now 27 member states and the UK. It is possible to extend negotiations, but the UK wants Brexit to be settled by 2019. Until a deal is reached, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit may cause markets to be sporadic and generally worse off in Europe, especially in the UK. Though both parties want the negotiations to be over as soon as possible, they have competing interests that may make a speedy deal nearly impossible.
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The UK wants a deal that will mitigate its trade losses while keeping its borders and regulations distinct from the EU. The UK economy may be strong, but it relies extensively on the EU, giving the EU more power in the negotiations. The EU wants the deal to deter other member states from defecting. With recent terror attacks in Europe, many member states demand stronger borders, an initiative that runs counter to the purpose of an interconnected Europe. Some countries, including Poland and Hungary, resent the power of the EU and will try to protect the UK. Other countries, including Germany and France, want to keep the EU united by making the new trade agreements damage the UK economy. Fear of another world war led to the establishment of the EU, and now those fears are fading from memory. Likely, Brexit will weaken the hold of the EU on its member states, while the UK will leave with only light economic pains.
Dear V, Campaign is going great, save for the losers and haters trying to undermine me— DISGUSTING! These unprofessional media types are as corrupt and unfair as they are soft and pathetic. Telling lies about me, bald faced lies. I hate bald things, especially as someone with thick, luxurious, naturally-grown hair that was not produced by pouring asbestos in a cotton candy machine. I’ve always admired your hair, especially with the wind blowing around it when you ride your horse (not through it, I know you’d never let anything blow through you, kroshka. You’re hard and resilient like a Siberian potato). Makes me wish I was a horse—and not just because one trampled a Mexican groundskeeper at the Trump National Doral Miami. I think he was Cuban. Still probably a drug dealer; he handles the lawnmower bags of grass very naturally. Great guy though, he and his family loved me. You know how well I do with the Hispanics. I miss your strong body. I miss your vodka breath. Not many know this, but I actually had Trump Vodka distilled to match the taste of your mouth in the morning. Can’t wait to be back in Moscow, hunting bears and prisoners you make dress like bears for being gay. You always have the most creative approach to puns. Love that! Just last week I told my son-in-law Jared Kushner—he runs that awful magazine The Observer (I’d rather observe it in the trash, LOL!)—I told him, “I figured out why Jews don’t eat pork. Cannibalism is the 613th commandment!” It was very funny, people loved it, Twitter ate it up, I sold a million hats. Anyway, just wanted to let you know I’m thinking about you. We’ll see what the future holds, after all, your initials are already VP... Best wishes, D Xoxo P.S. Heard Bernie might be back on the Dem ticket, can you explain socialism to me again before my next speech?
OCT 3 –16
T H E WA K E
VOICES
The Best Trends from NYFW has come and gone again, and it did not disappoint BY AVERY BOEHM BY: AVERY BOEHM New York Fashion Week, otherwise known as the Super Bowl of fashion, is a source of inspiration for the trends of the coming season. The garments on the runways not only influence what clothes celebrities choose to wear, but also what clothes reach shopping malls across the country. The styles shown on the runway this year gave fashionistas and shoppers many trends to work into their wardrobe. Some of the best of these trends can be found below.
White This season, all variations of white were visible on the runway. From minimalist wide-legged slacks at Derek Lam to Rag & Bone’s sporty chic head-to-toe white ensemble, white garments ruled the catwalk. Elizabeth and James featured pieces that ranged from long, simple matching sets in shades of ivory to a flowing silky gown in a rich champagne tone. Oscar de la Renta showed a collection featuring numerous crisp white frocks in a wide variety of silhouettes and fabrics. These white garments give a fresh look to any wardrobe. White adds a combination of simplicity and affluence to the demeanor of a shopper that cannot be achieved by another color. Statement earrings Models for Proenza Shouler wore shoulder grazing inverted U-shaped earrings in white, black, silver and yellow hues. These large accessories added movement to the runway. Delpozo featured the extra-long ethereal earrings made of delicate white, green or pink flowers. These sizable accessories give an air of elegance and make accessorizing an outfit almost effortless. They are a great pairing to a simple garment, or they can be worn to compliment a maximalist’s style.
TAYLOR DANIELS
Feminine details Feminine pieces ruled the runway this season. Shows across fashion week contained crochet and lace details, floral prints and appliques, flowing fabrics, and a rainbow of beautiful colors. Women’s fashion is having a pretty femme moment, while putting a modern twist on some classic styles. While the shows feature delicate and feminine styles, the shows offer a sense of strength; the modern woman can be both beautiful and strong.
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Altuzarra showed a series of whimsical printed pencil skirts and bustier tops. Shirt dresses, blazers, trench coats and other classic silhouettes juxtaposed the more whimsical aspects of the garments. Many of the garments were in colorful gingham prints as well. Some of the dresses and other pieces in the show had embroidered sequin fruit on them. Altuzarra mixed touches of whimsy and ladylike flair for this spring/summer season.
Marchesa’s ethereal gowns floated down the catwalk. The dresses were made oftranslucent fabrics in shades of sky blue, blush, pink, gold and black. The garments were laden with impeccable detail, such as floral appliques, gems, sequins, fringe and masterful draping. The show was nothing short of a fairytale. While the fanciful garments on the runway may seem impractical for everyday life, the romantic feel of the garments can be applied to daily dressing. A good attention to detail can enable any shopper to master this trend. Ruffles Delpozo showed garments with origami-like folds, poufy elbow length sleeves, ruffle covered dresses and blouses, and peplum waists. The show emphasizes the importance of shape in a garment. See by Chloé took a more subdued approach to the architectural style with delicate ruffle-hemmed shirts and maxi dresses. Rodarte dresses were a flurry of layered ruffles made of flowing transparent fabrics and lace. This trend seems intimidating at first glance, but people ranging from a variety of aesthetics can master it. For the timid shopper, this could include a simple ruffled skirt, while an edgy fashionista can experiment with this trend through flouncy sleeves or a blouse with a rufflecovered front. American girl Classic American styles popped up on the runway this fashion week. Shows like Coach 1941 featured grunge styles, such as leather jackets adorned with patches, fur, chains and feathers. Even the accessories had a badgirl style with fringed purses and fringed and studded boots. Many of the pieces in this collection also had a classic Western vibe. Anna Sui featured Western styles in her collection as well. Her jackets had classic fringed chests; however, the jackets provided a modern twist in their color. Many of the jackets were not only black, but they also offered hues pink and purple. The collection had varsity letter jackets and cowboy boots. The models wore their hair in 1950s beehive styles, and their makeup had a modern grunge appeal. There is a little rock and roll in every shopper out there, and this is the perfect time to let an edgier side of style show through.
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VO IC ES
THE WAKE
Fear Fear and and Reform Reform
Why justice for military sexual assault is so hard to come by
BY ANNALISE GALL Sexual assault in the military has long been an issue. The topic was brought back into light at NBC’s town hall this month on national security issues, where presidential hopeful Donald Trump defended his tweet that violations are to be expected in an institution where men and women work side by side. “ 26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military—only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?” he tweeted in 2013.
It seems that change will only come once the fear of victims to bring their case forward is no longer overshadowed by the fear of commanders to have their power taken away.
TOP ART BY TAYLOR DANIELS
Why is sexual assault in the military an institutional problem? We do not “ expect” assault to occur in offices, schools or other professional environments where men and women work together. Unlike other institutions, the military has been given a slide in that they are allowed to handle cases from within—despite proven ineffectiveness. Three out of four service men and women who have been sexually assaulted lack enough confidence in the military justice system to come forward and report the crimes committed against them. There is widespread fear among survivors to report due to inherent conflicts of interest and biases framed by the current military chain of command’s sole authority over deciding which cases go to trial.
Moving the decision of whether to prosecute serious crimes from the chain of command to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors would be a sensible step in the right direction. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act has attempted to do just that, but it was recently filibustered for a second time even after earning the bipartisan support of a majority of senators. The few dissenting votes stem from Pentagon-backed reports which cherry picked cases to lead lawmakers into believing that military officers were more likely to punish sex offenders than civilian forces. While this scripts an unclear narrative of sexual assault in the military, it does make it clear that our nation’s defenders are more interested in defending the sanctity of the military—even President Obama has not pushed support for the bill.
Goodbye, Goodbye, Summer Summer BY CLAUDIA ALTHOEN
Taking one last walk through our summer memories
The last few weeks of May were our own. The fog from our minds was lifted, and we pondered the possibilities beyond May. Bright, early, the days of June were filled with crisp mornings of mowed lawns, feet running on sand-hot pavement, and eyes half-closed waiting for the sun’s rays to bathe the curtains in its yellow-white light. Afternoons were a time for sticky fingers from dripping ice cream cones, red lips from crunchy watermelon, and reading in a hammock until our eyes drifted closed. Shrieks of laughter rose with the smoke of campfires as friends and family gathered close to hear the story one more time. Blithe and breezy, the days were never ending.
couldn’t fry August from our minds. Last minute checklists swam in our eyes. Lunch dates and dinner dates squeezed in—making up for lost time? “ I lost track of time, but it’s good to see you now.” Early morning beeps and buzzes get us out of bed. Summer is behind us, but golden leaves will soon spiral down before our eyes.
Pop, crackle, BOOM. Fireworks signaled the end of the infinite time loop of June. Like the plumed seeds of a dandelion, we were plucked and swooped away. Work, travel, volunteering, shadowing, interning, classes (did we finish that lab report?)—everyone busy, everybody spinning from place to place. “ Where have you been? It’s been too long...”
Trails, parks, lakeside and oceanside. Toes dipped in muddy creeks while surrounded by vivacious green. Frothy toothpaste clouds wandered in our daydreams. Gold and pink layers dipping into the fringes of night reminded us that August had arrived in its silent way—too polite to be a bother. Keeping the calendar to hot July
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MADDIE DIGIOVANNI
“ It’s crazy and hectic, but I’ll see you soon!”
OCT 3 –16
ART BY WE I Y I N G Z H U
T H E WA K E
FEATUR E
At the end of August, four businesses in Stadium Village closed: the 8-year-old Bun Mi, the 25-year-old Espresso Exposé, the 40-year-old Village Wok, and the 62-year-old Big 10 Restaurant and Bar. Taking their place in 2018 will be a 27-story luxury apartment complex, complete with over 10,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level along Washington Avenue. The arrival of these apartments, intended for non-student professionals commuting to downtown Minneapolis for work, mirrors various other higher-end complexes that have popped up in Stadium Village over the past several years. As demolition commences this fall, we say goodbye to some of the oldest buildings in the neighborhood and part of campus’s wealth of nearby small businesses. BY ABBY RICHARDSON
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OFF-CAMPUS CULTURE AND COMMUNITY Big Ten’s food isn’t what student groups like HvZ miss after the restaurant’s closure. BY LIANNA MATT Big Ten was one of the University of Minnesota campus’s food staples, providing everything from subs to Cajun burgers to ice cream sundaes. In spring 2016, though, it was a battleground for the Assassins game put on by the student group Minnesota Association for Zombie Enthusiasts (M.A.Z.E.), best known for their Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ) game. Assassin M.O.s of choice such as spoon shanking were running rampant, players were being killed, resurrecting themselves, and being killed again, and the admins running the game had to declare the restaurant the only non-residential safe zone all in one hour. For people new to campus, the love for Big Ten restaurant might have seemed overblown, but it provided what a lot of the new food chains on campus have to live up to still: a place that was a little lively, a little homey, and a lot welcoming. “HvZ started going to Big 10 as a part of our initiative to expand the social element of the group outside of the game itself, and partially as an offshoot of another student group that Alex [Taylor] and I were officers of,” Andy Graber, one of the leaders of HvZ along with Taylor, said. HvZ had a cult following already from its biannual, weeklong games—think Nerf guns and orange head bands—but Big 10 really helped move it to “a closer gathering of friends instead of just acquaintances,” as Taylor put it. They started forming a trivia team and had weekly battles against another Big Ten regular, the marching band, and the regular meetup helped people make friendships outside of the weeklong game camaraderie. “It’s going to be hard to keep the same sense of kinship without somewhere similar to Big 10 for us to congregate at,” Taylor said.
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Hearing the two leaders talk about it, the words they vuse do not describe anything particularly mindblowing or novel. “It was a nice place to have a chill social environment where we could talk and get to know each other over some reasonably-priced food and drink,” Graber said. “We always felt very welcomed there,” Taylor said. “The best was just knowing that we had somewhere to meet up every week, have a couple drinks with a large group of close friends, and let the stress of everything just fade away over the course of the evening.” So what made it so special? There were some logistical benefits. At Big Ten, students above and below the drinking age could hang out easily, which is an issue that the group is having in some of the other locations it is trying out. According to Graber, Big Ten also had the elbow room that places such as Stub and Herbs, Sally’s and Blarney’s lacked on their busier nights. Still, there’s definitely something intangible that connected HvZ to Big Ten; the feeling of affection for the restaurant probably grew as the group’s community did. It was in the routine; it was the hangout; it was a part of their campus culture like it had been for many other students over the years. Mustering up motivation to find another place to try to recapture that feeling is hard to do when the group didn’t willingly give up Big Ten to begin with, Graber said. The students who make up HvZ are just some of many who wish that Big Ten could keep on adding to those years. It’s a small business legacy that even people who have never been to the restaurant can appreciate and, at risk of being melodramatic, mourn over.
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Luxury On-Campus Apartments for Professionals: a Big Bet Are these luxury apartments different enough to work? BY ALEX VAN ABBEMA The University of Minnesota campus has seen a boom in apartments in recent years, with The Bridges, WaHu, and other apartments being erected as an option for students. However, a new group of luxury 27-story apartments that will be taking over Washington Avenue in 2018 are offering residency to a different target, the working professionals on the University campus. This raises a looming question: Who will actually live here, both immediately and long term? If working professionals aren’t attracted to the new complex, it will be difficult for the apartment to fall back on students due to its luxury status. “There is some risk because it hasn’t been replicated here at the University, and it’s a larger project so the lease up will take more time than a typical 150 unit deal,” said Ted Bickel, vice president at Colliers International, a commercial real estate company. Bickel admitted that a lot of professionals would not want to live in a traditional student housing project, but that this is still a niche worth pursuing. “When you look at the University, it’s one of the biggest employers in the state,” Bickel said. “Even if you could appeal to a very small fraction of the faculty of graduate students and the employee base that the U holds, I don’t think you’d have trouble filling up one project.” There are obviously some benefits for young professionals to live in Stadium Village, as it’s right by the light rail, and it’s walkable to most employers. Bickel said that this project is different than similar projects constructed at other major universities since campus is so close to a major city while other campuses are generally on the outskirts or rural parts of their town. Even though Stadium Village is losing a swath of independent businesses due to the project, the apartments will still offer 10,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. It’s unclear what this space will offer as of yet, but they may be the first step to replacing the closed restaurants, along with Stadium Village culture.
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FEATUR E
Camille Galles
John Blocher
When I got hired at expo, I was just looking for a lowkey job to help pay rent. I was unexpectedly welcomed into an inclusive community that supported me so much this summer. Both our staff and regulars were bright lights in my week. Expo really felt like a community center, and we also made great drinks :) I only worked there for three months, but I feel infinitely lucky to be part of Expo’s history.
I went there maybe two times. The coffee, as I recall, had overtones of tar. But it sure was in a handy spot! You could be cool, in the public eye of everyone on campus, sitting there on the corner of Washington and Harvard next to the light rail. People used to study in there. They had a great many outlets for personal use. It will soon be lost in my memory. I wish I could’ve given it another shot--no pun intended.
former worker
Eileen Connly
writer
&
former worker
Working at Bun Mi was something I had never experienced before, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The small kitchen with no air conditioning in the summer was a challenge. The confined area brought me closer with my coworkers and helped during busy hours. I worzked as a cashier, there were 2-3 hour periods where I would not move, constantly taking orders from customers. We had our system down, and it worked. It was a tightly run ship, and I loved it. From the managers to the cashiers, it was a big family and I miss the closeness that was Bun Mi. I didn’t just go there to work, I went there to spend time with my friends. We had a variety of tasty sandwiches and appetizers. There was nothing on the menu I didn’t like. There were so many new customers that became repeat customers during my two years working there because the food was amazing. The Bun Mi special was my favorite and nothing will ever compare to those Cajun fries with spicy mayo sauce. Oh those fries! I can’t say enough about Bun Mi. We had them cater my sisters grad party and it was a huge hit. I will miss this place as an old employee and a customer.
Carson Kaskel
Abby Richardson
During my time at the University, I only had a chance to visit Bun Mi and Village Wok. Both just once. Each place left undeniably incredible first impressions. So much so that I forgot to ever return, but that’s my loss, and it keeps me up at night as I contemplate my life decisions, and those of whoever the hell wants to build those luxury apartments.
Bun Mi’s fries are unlike any that I’ve been able to find near campus. They might be the best on this planet, frankly. Golden, crispy, and dipped in their spicy mayo that comes on the side…I can’t imagine a better fry. I will sorely miss you, Bun Mi.
online editor
managing editor
Joel Gagnon
aerospace engineering major I really liked going to Big 10 subs and enjoying a good quality sandwich with friends. I’ll always remember how generous they were with the amount of lettuce on their subs -- to me this is something that really set them apart from the other sub places near the University. I think the lettuce is what I will miss the most now that they are gone.
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Q & A
Jake Nokovic and Aidan Hutt
Recent U of M graduates create short film “King Park” and peer into the tension of police brutality BY SHAWNNA STENNES
P H OTO S BY KE L L E N R E N ST R O M
The 17 minutes of “King Park” were crafted over the span of a year by Jake Nokovic (director), Aidan Hutt (producer) and Cody Sandberg (cinematographer). The story follows three kids reacting to a police officer being accused of murder and their attempt to seek justice. After graduating from the University of Minnesota last spring, the filmmakers set out to create a film that was relevant to the conversations surrounding them. The Wake sat down with Jake Nokovic and Aidan Hutt a few days before the film’s premiere; they reflected on the satisfaction of maintaining high standards and spending the early hours of the morning trying to make things happen.
The Wake: How did you guys meet one another and decide to collaborate? Jake Nokovic: We had all been working at the same place on campus called LATIS, it’s in Rarig Center, it’s an equipment check-out room. Aidan Hutt: Yeah, we were all the exact same age doing the exact same thing. JN: A big part of it was that we were all graduating, it was fall of senior year, and we were like, we gotta do something. So that fall, going into the winter, I started writing something and then we got together and sort of molded it to what it is now. What was the inspiration for the storyline? JN: We started thinking about it fall of 2015, that’s kind of right around the time that a lot of the huge events were happening here with the Fourth Precinct and Jamar Clark. I just started thinking about that stuff and how a potential drama could come to a situation like that and I have a lot of friends who are, I don’t want to say anti-police, but… AH: I would say anti-police. JN: Yeah, anti-police for sure. Actually at the time I lived pretty close to the Fourth Precinct, within a few minute drive, at night there’d be helicopters and shit and I would just hear way more activity from police cars and everything. So that was all sort of stewing. I just remember laying in my room and hearing police cars going by with their sirens on and that stimulated some ideas. AH: I remember when we met up relatively early, we wanted to semi raise the bar at least, out of the stuff that students were making at the time. So we wanted to make it as best as we could technically, but we also wanted to make it relatively meaningful and not just something entertaining to watch. At the time, I felt almost obligated to do something that at least involved race to some capacity just because I couldn’t go a week or even a couple days without talking to someone about that topic.
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Q & A So the film premieres on September 22nd at the Parkway Theater, how are you guys feeling about that? AH: I’m gonna fucking cry. JN: At what point? AH: I don’t know, dude, I’ve just been thinking about it. It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work and like, failing. It’s gonna be nice to see everyone there and see it in a theatre. I’m also moving to New York like four days later so it’ll be the last time I’ll see a lot of people so it’s kind of a big moment. JN: Yeah, it’s a big turning the page, next chapter kind of thing. AH: This was for sure the best thing I’ve ever been a part of. And that was our intention across the board, now we can use this as a calling card moving forward. But also, just having this experience, I feel a lot better going forward. Cause we kicked ass; it took some time and it was hard as hell but we did it. JN: Yeah it was hard, all for seventeen minutes which is the funniest thing. Like, I watched it from start to finish with no brakes last week for the first time in a few months ‘cause I’ve been editing it, and it goes really quick. I was like, oh my god we spent like hundreds of hours on this and up till 5a.m. But it’s good, it’s worth it, I think it’ll show up.
What were the most difficult moments in the filming process? AH: Just late nights, like one day we shot at 8 a.m. out (in Van Cleve Park) then we filmed from 2 p.m. till like 3 or 4 a.m. in West St. Paul. We were on our feet the whole time trying to make things actually happen. JN: It just took so long to finally get the script that we were happy with.
Can we expect you guys to take a position on police brutality in “King Park?” JN: No, we kind of set out to just make a fiction story that’s based in the real world, but it’s definitely not like the film has a strong position or a strong message. If anything we try to present both parties just to get the audience thinking and talking. The main goal, as far as the end result, is to be neutral. AH: We’re not trying to be like, here’s the situation and here’s what you should think about it. It’s like, here’s the situation that we know we’re experiencing peripherally and we want to use that energy and try and peer into that tension and paint a picture. JN: Yeah, we have our own opinions and everything, it’s not like we all have a neutral opinion on the topic, it’s just the film that we wanted to keep that way. Why did you guys choose to tell this story in a short film length rather than as a longer piece? JN: I always think when I watch movies, especially student films, “this could’ve been half the length,” it seems so slow sometimes. I really just want to make it scene by scene, fast pace.
AH: That was a lot me just being like “I like it but… I think this is what it means and I don’t know if that’s what we wanna be saying.” So it was tedious and I was probably like a pain in the ass but I don’t know, it worked out. JN: No, I think it’s good that we did that. AH: Yeah I’m happy we did it, ‘cause I’ve had collaborations where there’s disagreements and everything goes to shit. Whereas this was like we were disagreeing on something specific but we both want the same thing and we trust each other. JN: I think we realized it was high stakes a little bit ‘cause it was our last year and we had access to all this equipment and we didn’t want to put out a half-baked thing. We wanted it solid. AH: I’ve had a lot of projects where I’m like “I mean I did it, but I wish I would’ve changed this, this, and this… or I’m not proud of this…”. At this point there’s nothing I can say that I wish we’d change, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
What do you guys have planned for “King Park” in the future? JN: Definitely submitting to film festivals. But, I don’t know, I’m ready to get on with the next project. And since we had such a small crew, it was basically three guys that made 95% of the film. It was like we spent so much time making it and so much of our energy and constant focus, that, ya know when you spend so long on something it’s like you never even wanna hear it again. I’ve watched the movie like 500 times, I’m ready to move on, while at the same time appreciating it.
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Combustible Company’s BLUEBEARD’S DOLLHOUSE A preview of the new immersive theater experience coming to St. Paul.
BY HELENA MUELLER Fairy-tales and murder mysteries are two genres that are normally not paired together, but are coming together to create a fantastic theater performance. Coming from the Combustible Company, Bluebeard’s Dollhouse is an immersive theater experience that will be taking place at the historic James J. Hill House in St. Paul. Combustible Company is a fairly new theater company whose mission is to “use actors’ physicality to create visceral performances that spark the imagination and ignite conversation.” Bluebeard’s Dollhouse will be their second evening-length production after their first production called Herocycle which was performed in 2013. Bluebeard’s Dollhouse mixes the stifling relationship of Nora and Torvald from Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and the murderous tales of Charles Pernault’s Bluebeard with the audience following them every step of the way. Instead of sitting in a seat, audience members will walk with the cast through the house as the story unfolds around them. Kym Longhi, the director and writer of Bluebeard’s Dollhouse, speaks to the psychological nature of this performance and “the beauty that may
be found in the strange”. She has melded these two stories to hit on overarching themes of gender roles and labeling, specifically how those two come into play within relationships. Longhi also asks for the audience “to be open to a new experience of theater, and to view the scenes as pieces of a puzzle that can be assembled in multiple ways.” She hopes that audiences will trust themselves to interpret the "theatrical clues" that they see in every room, and that they will think about it long after the show is over. Combustible Company aims to challenge the audience to think more deeply about the space that they are
in. By setting the performance in the historic James J. Hill House, the audience steps into the high class societal status that Bluebeard lives in and are transported to a different time and space. Although most fairy tales accomplish this transportation of readers through their imagination, the audience will now be able to engage in this fantastical setting in person. Bluebeard’s Dollhouse will start showing on September 30 and will run through October 15 with two shows every Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and 9:30 PM.
Live From Minneapolis, IT’S MN TONIGHT The Sketch Comedy Show Minnesota Never Knew it Needed BY GABBY GRANADA
TAY LOR DAN IE LS
When I heard that MN Tonight was a sketch comedy show similar to that of SNL’s Weekend Update, my first response was that of any non-Minnesota native, “Is there really enough content to report on?” After all, this is the land of 10,000 lakes, Target, Mall of America... 10,000 lakes… Target... Mall of America… there’s (probably) a longer list, I just forget the rest. This up-and-coming sketch show weaves comedy and surprisingly very real and very serious current events into every episode. It tackles the task of entertaining viewers while informing them on issues in Minnesota such as opioid addiction, transgender rights, liquor laws, and even the discrepancy surrounding local employees being taken advantage of at Target Field. The show is filmed live at the Minneapolis Telecommunications Network in Northeast Minneapolis, and their second season, which is underway, can be streamed on their website mntonight.com. What makes MN Tonight so great is that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is: “the only
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news comedy show that cares about Minnesota for a whole show.” It’s comprised of a small army of improvers and comedy writers, and although they might not be of much use in battle, this tag-team of comedians has the potential to become a force to be reckoned with. The bi-weekly show is witty, charmingly awkward, and careful of taking itself too seriously. Episode by episode, MN Tonight is proving to be the sketch comedy show Minnesota never knew it needed but is better off with than without. After all, thanks to MN Tonight, I now know that the question “Is funner a word?” is googled more in Minnesota than in any other state. (In all honesty, I can’t say I’m surprised). MN Tonight successfully captures the inimitable state of shopping malls and parka-wearing people in under 30 minutes, a seemingly impossible feat, and for that it deserves some kind of medal. Any medal will do. How about “First Place for Sketch Comedy Show that Reveals the Funner Side of Minnesota.” We can make that fit on a medal, right?
OCT 3 –16
Making Art from Tragedy
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TAYLO R DA N I E L S
T H E WA K E
Is there an ethical line being crossed? BY KATEE MEINDL Victims of tragedy, whether in the form of something as horrific as a terrorist attack, a hurricane, domestic abuse, or sexual assault, tend to carry the pain of the event with them in the aftermath, and are constantly reminded of it through various triggers. Many of those affected by such tragedy are claiming that any art made from suffering is irreverent, or lacking respect for the tribulation. In one form or another, the query is this: is making something so beautiful out of something so ugly crossing an ethical line in further traumatizing victims of said tragedies? Some would argue that art in its provoking nature, when made from such tragedy, is nothing more than a trigger for the victims of said event. For example, the iconic and equally controversial photograph taken by Thomas Hoepker on Sept. 11, 2001, depicts a group of people sitting and chatting, seemingly unaware or unconcerned, on a park bench while the twin towers of Manhattan’s World Trade Center are up in smoke in the background. This photo and others like it, portray an apathetic attitude towards the national tragedy, which is what adversaries to the idea of making art in the midst of such an event are considering. Not all art made from tragedy is of a mocking nature or interpretation, however; some art is simply made to explore the grief felt in accordance to
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the event. An example can be found in Columbia University graduate Emma Sulkowitz’ controversial performance art piece, Ceci N’est Pas Un Viol (“This is Not Rape”). The graphic video, published in 2015, depicts a seemingly consensual sexual encounter that quickly becomes volatile. Sulkowitz’ video, intended to work through a personal experience, inform others, and disprove a common misconception about rape, was taken down by hackers the following week. The website was back up and running soon after, and yet this is what cannot be separated: the offensive and the beneficial, causing inevitable opposition to the art form when following such triggering topics.
got it done in a few hours,” Vitek said, on her short video montage that she created in response to the horrific event. When asked what her purpose was behind creating the video that she posted on her personal Instagram, Vitek said, “It was partially for myself and partially for the awareness of others. It was a release for me to be able to let go of my grief through making the video. It was my way of saying, Orlando wasn’t all who was affected.” When making art to express one’s own grief, and to convey such a raw, honest emotion felt in accordance to the event, any possible backlash caused may seem like an inescapable outcome of attempting to do justice to such a tragedy.
Others would contend that art is a medium of expression that can be used to guide not only the artists but the audience through such difficult times. Art can offer an alternative and perhaps more meaningful way to teach about an event or issue, one that can communicate the emotion of the tragedy past that of which a simple explanation is capable. When interviewed, Samantha Vitek, an Environmental Science Policy and Management major here at the University, commented on her own artistic reaction to the Orlando shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub. “One day I woke up, and I thought, I need to make this. I need to get this done. It was something I felt so passionate about that I
This is an issue that grapples with the combination of trauma triggers and censorship, a sensitive pair. The fact is that all art is subjective, prone to different interpretations and different responses. If one is always concerned with the reaction their art will receive, their art will suffer in sincerity. To address the issue that creating art from such a tragic event poses on those who might be triggered by it, trigger warnings could be put into place, for certain provoking material. So, is making art from tragedy crossing an ethical line? As Francesca Cacapossela, a contributor to the Creator’s Project, said, “Pieces created in the midst of grief might just be redeemed by their rawness.”
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RESOURCES FOR YOUR UNTAPPED ARTISTIC POTENTIAL Under the radar (and mostly free) resources for all your creative dreams BY CELINE BOGNER TAYLO R DA N I E L S
Many students are unaware that the “fees” we pay encompass a vast array of overlooked and underutilized resources that are essentially free to us because we’ve already paid to use them. There are dozens of amenities provided to CLA students through several organizations in the Rarig Center on the West Bank Campus. One of these institutions, called the Liberal Arts Technologies and Innovation Services (LATIS) provides CLA students with all of the equipment needed “to make a full feature length movie,” said Jacob Kramer, an assistant equipment manager at LATIS. Anyone in the College of Liberal Arts can rent professional audio and video gear, reserve a room with a full lighting grid, or record a live broadcast in a newsroom-style TV studio. According to Kramer, students have often recorded albums, filmed documentaries, and produced their own short films using LATIS equipment.
COLLABS THAT SHOULD HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED
According to TV studio coordinator Laura Cervin, LATIS exists to “enhance the use of technology among students, increase digital literacy, and increase access to technology,” providing them with the materials they need to fully realize their creative potential.
Because some pairings are just common sense
Another “secret service” that students can utilize is the XYZ lab in the Art Digital Fabrication Resource Center. Here you can find laser cutters, routers, and even a 3D printer that students can sign up to use by appointment. While not technically free (it costs 50 cents per minute to operate the laser cutter and five dollars for 15 minutes of router operation), the ability to use this equipment at all is a rare opportunity that interested students should really take advantage of.
BY LYDIA CRABTREE There are many collaborations that are second nature; ones that are blatantly obvious, whether it be because the artists are in a relationship with each other or because they have collaborated in the past. Collabs like Drake and Rihanna, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, and Ariana Grande and Mac Miller are so overdone. Here are some fresh ideas of who needs to collaborate next:
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• Chance the Rapper/Beyoncé: We all saw Chance have a mini fan-girl moment when Beyoncé snuck up on him during an interview at the VMAs. Since Chano got that excited from a little spook from Beyoncé, imagine what kind of lyrics they could write together. • Raury/Willow Smith: Their shared philosophy of saving the Earth and spirituality would make for a match made in music heaven, with lyrics about the icebergs melting, the stratosphere, and aliens. • The Chainsmokers/LANY: The Chainsmokers usually feature not-sowell-known artists with unique voices; LANY’s lyrics and unique vocals with a Chainsmokers beat would make for the ultimate party song. • Childish Gambino/Tyler, The Creator: Tyler, The Creator has been creating some interesting art lately including a poorly done water-color painting of Donald Glover. Tyler’s spontaneity in his raps + Childish Gambino’s clever comparisons (ie: “set the game ablaze, I’m an arcade fire”) = perfection. • Melanie Martinez/The 1975: The 1975’s new aesthetic (which is more pink, and the music more feminine and poppy) and Melanie’s child-like vibe would mesh together nicely to create songs about dying, break-ups, and love. • BØRNS/Lorde: Lorde hasn’t made music in a while, and Garrett (BØRNS) is a lyrical god, writing lyrics such as “drive through the time zones, escape out of my mind’s own home”. Lorde’s enchantingly low, ringing voice harmonizing with BØRNS’s naturally tenor voice would be mesmerizing. His concert last year in the Grand Ballroom in Coffman was under-appreciated to say the least, so a collab with Lorde would bring BØRNS up to the celebrity status that he so deserves. • Arctic Monkeys/Lana del Rey: Alex Turner’s kick-ass guitar skills and Lana’s dreamy vocals would make music for listening to while chain-smoking cigarettes in a dark alley dressed in all black clothing.
Next time you daydream about creating a movie of your own halfway through a disappointing drama on Netflix or envision yourself actually contributing to your favorite style of music instead of just listening to it, consider a trip to the Rarig Center. As a student, you have all of the resources you need to make your creative dreams into realities right here in your own backyard (unless you live on the St. Paul campus, which has plenty resources of its own!).
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WHY WE MISS TUPAC While America struggles, few rappers seem interested in speaking up BY JOHN BLOCHER Born Lesane Paris Cooks in East Harlem in 1971, his name was changed a year later to Tupac Amaru Shakur, after the 17th century Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against the Spaniards. It must have been that Tupac’s mother, a Black Panther herself, saw something special in the boy that could change the world.
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Undoubtedly he did. He was rap’s first superstar, and for the last 20 years or so, America has been unable to shake its fascination with the genre.
CREATIVES CONGREGATE FOR CONVERSATION Breakfast lecture series allows locals to discuss stories of expressive success BY ISABELLA MURRAY While Minneapolis acts as a northern hub for creatives of all kinds, involvement within their community may seem daunting. Such established communities seem to only be mobile within themselves; the Creative Mornings discussion series acts as a welcoming, unpretentious alternative.
Late in his life, 2Pac began to promote two mantras whose ideologies are still of great importance in rap music today. These are: “Money over Bitches” and “Thug Life.” Yet earlier in his life, he must have cared about much more than that. Tupac was an art school kid. He acted in plays, wrote poetry, and danced ballet. He read Shakespeare and Machiavelli. His early musical work, too, has more than just a streak of intellectual activity. His first album, “2Pacalypse Now” covers everything from inner-city violence (“Trapped”), to child neglect (“Brenda’s Got a Baby”), to black liberation, (“Words of Wisdom”) and finally, to loyalty, trust, and tough decisions (“If My Homies Call”). These themes continued to develop throughout his next two albums, “Strictly 4 My N*****” and “Me Against the World.” Aside from the issues he was addressing in his raps, Tupac’s personal life was no picnic either. Prior to being shot dead in 1996, he was shot five times in November of 1994. He also served a nine-month prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault, a claim he defended vehemently. Whether due to the trauma of being shot, time spent behind bars, peer pressure from his gangsta-rap-centric label mates, or simply the lure of money to be made, 2Pac took refuge in the Thug Life. Sept. 13 marked 20 years since his death, and while we still remember “I Get Around” and “California Love,” some of his more down-to-earth tracks have become lost in our collective consciousness. The chilling reality is that much of what he was talking about in the early ‘90s is still plaguing America today. Our movements today could use a soundtrack, and for all their fun-loving flare, it’s hard to imagine many of our contemporary, mainstream MCs coming to the fore.
The Minneapolis branch of Creative Mornings, an international monthly breakfast lecture series designed for creative communities, allows local members of a more artistically inclined community to become inspired together. Nate Beck, the owner of Minneapolis food truck, Natedogs, led last month’s lecture at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. These talks are historically held in creative spaces throughout the Twin Cities. Past lectures have been hosted by The Weisman Art Museum, The Bell Museum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
The transparency of Beck’s success is why Creative Mornings attracted his insights. Volunteer chapter host for Creative Mornings Minneapolis, Tess O’Connor, is devoted to selecting humble speakers with explicit directional advice.
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September's creative morning was focused on the idea of magic, as Beck himself uses magic tricks to attract customers to his business. "Remember people’s names as much as you can," said Beck, "Actually make a physical connection with people and remember the reasons why you do what you do." Beck left the audience with a recipe for success.
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S O UND & V I S I O N
THE WAKE
I’ve never counted out the plausibility of my last seconds on earth being in the presence of a puppet (re: R.L. Stine’s “Night of the Living Dummy”). So, when a bunch of “humans” sporting giant papier-mâché puppet heads pulled me into a “friendly” tango outside In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater (HOBT), I knew it might be the end. The cabaret began with a bang of a walking stick rhythmically pounding the ground as the host crept onto the stage, growling his refrain, “Puppetry…puppetry…” Though incredibly daunting, he was not demeaning. He invited the audience to brainstorm puppet names as he fiercely fashioned a Cyclops puppet before our very eyes, silently telling us that with simple tools like duct tape and a snarly broom, we too could be puppeteers. Knowing how to please a crowd, the first act starred a hodgepodge of talking dildos in a modern-day retelling of the medieval morality play “Everyman.” I wouldn’t have pegged dildos as a puppetry staple, but consider my standards raised (betcha thought I was going to say erected, didn’t ya?). The rest of the show proved just as whimsical—from an aerial dancer dangling herself from a tangle of chains in lieu of a marionette to Norwegian puppeteers banging hand drums against a wood stump as they yodeled war cries, I did not yawn once.
TAYLO R DA N I E LS
Home is Where the Puppets Are
BY SAMMY BROWN
In the Heart of the Beast puts on a cabaret as Minnesotan as a casserole Though distinctly strange in its own right, HOBT kept it classically Minnesotan with a modest, lowbrow feel. And considering the all-too-real fact that puppets can be real assholes, I was impressed by their lack of pretentiousness. Moments like recognizing the aerial dancer as the one who poured my Grain Belt before the show and one act’s use of a 2002 model overhead projector to play with silly backdrops and silhouettes left me feeling warm and fuzzy, not unlike your classic puppet. HOBT’s mission is to “bring people together for the common good,” and through its engaging humility and ingenuity, it did just that. After all, what unites people like an advice-giving dildo?
Nash Gallery Features “Women and Money” Exhibit BY LIV MARTIN
New exhibit explores gender inequality and economics through the work of femme artists
X AV IER WA N G
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The newest exhibit at the Nash Gallery on West Bank is titled “Women and Money.” The exhibit features work by female artists, all aiming to expose people to social themes that surround economic inequality between men and women. One of the first works that stands out in “Women and Money” is a piece by Karen Wilcox titled “Penitence.” White button-down shirts hang in an arc above a wash bin with a piece of cloth in it, worn from multiple washes and covered with smudged writing. Some of the barely distinguishable words read “dinner on the table,” “ironing,” and “childcare.” Stark but powerful, Wilcox’s work is one of many at the exhibit that can make gallery goers think about the history of the unpaid, domestic roles society set aside for women. Walk into another section of the exhibit and a familiar face will greet you. This face is Donald Trump’s: orange as ever, but this time made of papier-mâché. Artist Priscilla Otani has embodied Trump in a piñata, already half-smashed. The “guts” spilling onto the floor are dollar bills, and on each one, “You’re fired!” is printed in a loud red.
The exhibit has a variety of works, from multi-media installations to smaller framed images and sculptures. One of the framed works, a collage by Jennifer Weigel, has a lot to say about how women are often seen as objects rather than people. Pasted together are magazine clippings that create the image of a woman’s body, but in place of where a head would be is a cowboy boot. Discounts like “Starting at $17.99” and “Clearance! 50% off!” swirl around the body. Another standout in the exhibit is a print by Tonja Torgerson. Imprinted on the paper, a woman stands with money dripping off of her. It falls to the floor, almost as if she was bleeding it. Around her, the words “Only the wealthy… Get to stay healthy” are written. “Women and Money” is a must-see for anyone who wants to spend 45 minutes gazing at a collection of artwork curated to communicate the realities of gender and economic inequality in the world. The exhibit will run until Dec. 10 at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery.
OCT 3 –16
S OUND & VIS ION
H E LE N T E AGU E
Crystal Castles
KAT I E H E YWO O D
M A D I S O N D I GI OVA N N I
T HRE E RE VIE W S
Amnesty (I) BY JACK DAVIS I have violently cried to Crystal Castles several times a year since their 2008 self-titled debut. Their dark, dissonant, yet heartwarming approach to up-tempo synth-based electronic music tickles the line between manic and depressive, appropriate both on a strungout dance floor and while driving alone to work as the sun rises. Yet, after four years of anticipation since their last release, I regard Amnesty (I) with reservation. While the beats and synth lines have been pleasurably refined, the vocals suffer from the departure of Alice Glass, which unfortunately reflects more upon Ethan Kath as a manipulative producer than upon Alice or her replacement, Edith Frances. Crystal Castles (CC) consisted of Alice out front and Ethan providing synths and production. Alice Glass kicks ass. Oscillating between ethereal and shrill with her vocals, the dark-wave star inspires us to face reality. Two years ago, Alice shockingly announced that she was leaving CC. Ethan followed this by downplaying her creative role in CC, a move reminiscent of a lineage of male artists belittling their female contemporaries’ work, which Alice publicly repudiated. In Amnesty (I), much of Edith’s vocal work is obscured by distortion effects and choppy sample arranging. While we saw this before, their intensity here reflects a new insecurity, as if Ethan wants Edith to be present, but not clearly heard. Edith has a vision, though, and has said that human rights are central to the album. As the title suggests, the album seems to ask for a new start, but yet does not admit anything was wrong. I sincerely hope this new collaboration empowers them both—and all the best to Alice in her forthcoming solo work.
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Befriending “Stranger Things” BY TAYLOR SHARP I was negative 10 years old in the ‘80s, but the appeal of “Stranger Things” has no age. The creators of the show, The Duffers, have the same love for their homages as I did for the references and the details that have a sentimental quality, to which I could relate. Many shots feature bike rides and homages to “Poltergeist,” beloved memories that instantly gave me nostalgic affection for the world, connecting me to the childhood adventures and concerned parents. Their effort makes Hawkins, Indiana as immersive as a nostalgic hometown. The characters are sympathetic, not clichéd. I recalled struggles from my childhood that were similar to Lucas’s problems with Eleven and I felt maternal gratitude whenever Will’s mother appeared onscreen. Will Byers could be my dweebish kid brother, making the mystery all the more urgent and Mrs. Byers’ mission to find him all the more palpable. Their personalities subvert stereotypes enough to keep the familiar from seeming boring—beefcake boyfriend Steve isn’t such a bully after all. The show’s strength is in the balance between the mystery and my affection towards the good people solving it. I wanted them to succeed and to deepen the feeling of camaraderie and the innocent excitement of exploring the unknown. Binge watching is unavoidable. Some mysterious notch or character struggle always developed to draw me in, anything for which I craved the resolution. Though some plot points are left unfinished, now I can’t wait for Season 2 in my Instant Queue.
Frank Ocean Blonde BY ELLIE SWANSTROM Frank Ocean’s 2012 debut album, Channel Orange, was no less than earth-shattering. At just 24, Ocean proved himself a singer-songwriter with depth; his lyrics were original, honest, and multifaceted. His songs were relevant, touching on topics like religious judgment towards the gay community in “Bad Religion,” and the dull lives of California’s young wealth in “Super Rich Kids.” But on top of sophisticated lyrics and a voice that could bring you to tears, Ocean himself is smart, witty, and real. Channel Orange was a movement. But, that movement was back in 2012. Fans waited a long four years before Ocean graced us again with his presence: queue the debut of Blonde. Channel Orange was powerful and catchy— skyrocketing Ocean to musical stardom. But with Blonde, Ocean proves his versatility as an artist, showcasing a subtler sound: the entire album is hauntingly beautiful. The tracks are eerie and intimate, and, in true Frank Ocean fashion, reference dark, controversial matters such as police brutality (“Nikes”) and substance abuse (“Skyline To”). A personal favorite, produced by Pharrell Williams and Tyler, the Creator, is titled “Pink + White”. The track has a surreal—almost druggy—quality, and features Beyoncé on heavenly background vocals. To a hypnotic one-note piano hook and crisp beat, “Pink + White” questions life’s predictability.
This album is not littered with radio-worthy bangers. Some would even venture to say that Blonde is depressing. But true Ocean fans will understand that music should hit both highs and lows, and appreciate his lyrical references and complexities. But alas, at this rate, we might not get another Ocean album until 2020—so get it while it’s hot.
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