President Hanson hosted her annual Con-versation with the President this past Tuesday. This year’s conversation consisted of Hamline’s achievements last year and her plan to guide Hamline into the future. She greeted and shook hands with a crowd of community members, fac-ulty and staff. The event consisted of two parts: a twenty-five minute speech, followed by a Q&A.

President Hanson gave an informative speech discussing Hamline’s achievements over the past year, followed by a brief overview of the current higher education national sector and Hamline’s plans for future growth and development for the next few years. Once again, Hamline is ranked 1st in Minnesota and 9th in the region by U.S. News & World Report. Hanson smiled when announcing Hamline’s new ranking as 126th in the nation for Best Grad Schools, moving up 25 places from last year.

Hanson then discussed the insecure higher education market, still suffering from the reces-sion. In battling the weary outlook, it is her goal to continue to offer the programs that students

want, keep a curriculum that is affordable to students and be cost efficient. In pursuit of this goal, she addressed the three-year plan enacted by the Board of Trustees. Over the next few years, Hamline will be evaluating all academic and administrative programs through the use of market research to develop and support academic strengths. With this, Hanson said she hopes to make data-based decisions in discern-ing which programs are worth expanding and which will be downsized or eliminated.

Students and faculty were given time to inquire about different issues facing Hamline after Hanson’s speech. Questions were raised regarding new opportunities for fundraising, the need for curriculars and co-curriculars to work together and keeping campus enticing so that students want to stay here. Hanson responded that co-curriculars are an integral part of the process and should work together for high-impact learning. She reported that fundraising is starting to recover, and the endowment plan that was pulled back in 2008-09 is recovering. To the fear of a low retention rate, Hanson responded that Hamline must “walk our talk” in being the open, diverse campus we say we are.

One attendee, HUSC President-elect junior Lucas Dolan, was satisfied with President Han-son’s conversation.

“Overall I thought what President Hanson presented seemed to be a responsible solution to a budgetary crisis,” Dolan said.

Hamline’s marketing department has recently taken on a number of projects that unite student activity and involvement in professional environments. One of these proj-ects specifically includes a rela-tively new task force known as the Hamline Student Marketing Agency (SMA). According to Director of Stra-tegic Communications JacQui Getty, various members of the marketing department have contributed to this student task force and their recent work with local company General Mills, specifically with the compa-ny’s social media outreach strate-gies. Getty explained that Jeff Rich, Director of Marketing and Enroll-ment was the mind behind the con-cept of the SMA.

“Essentially, before this project started with General Mills, Jeff Rich had presented an idea of creating a student-run marketing agency where staff members would advise them on their internship experi-ences and they could apply their skill sets to projects in which involved businesses around the Twin Cities,” Getty said. “We thought it was a great idea, and I had a contact through General Mills and presented them a few projects in which our SMA could be a part of if they agreed on them.”

Getty said that General Mills agreed to these plans, and the proj-ect was initiated last fall.

Rich’s idea of a Student Marketing Agency was inspired by his previous work at the College of St. Scholastica.

“I brought the idea of the SMA to Hamline after conducting a class in which applied similar concepts that created partnerships with fac-ulty and students, where they could work on marketing projects with outside businesses,” Rich said.

Rich saw a high level of interest in the class and thus presented the idea to Hamline, where he is now the executive sponsor of the SMA and General Mills partnership.

According to Getty, the six stu-dents who currently make up the SMA are working with General Mills’ recruiting department, which is known as “General Mills Careers.”

Senior Katie Drews, a member of the SMA, explained her role in the agency and talked about the specific strategies they are working on with the recruiting department.

“I’m the student leader, so I basi-cally direct and manage the team of interns we have. It ranges from freshmen to seniors, and we’re spe-cifically constructing social media content for General Mills on top of

The recent viral trend of web videos displaying variations of the Harlem Shake has sparked controversy over what is considered racism and cul-tural appropriation today. Hamline recently opened up a discussion over this trend in hosting the event “The Harlem Shake as Blackface: A Criti-cal Look at Cultural Appropriation” on Tuesday, March 13 in room 112 of the Anderson Center.

The discussion was moderated by Dr. Anthony J. Nocella II, profes-sor at the School of Education, and included a series of nine panelists representing various areas across the nation as well as a few from Hamline. Three of the panelists contributed to the discussion via Skype.

In a dimly lit room with vivid photographs and artwork related to the Harlem community displayed in a slide show, along with a screen showing the three panelists contrib-uting to the discussion via skype, more than 80 attendees and over 20 people viewing live stream watched and listened to the discussion. The panelists shared personal stories of their backgrounds in which the Harlem Shake played an important role. They also gave analyses of how this video trend can be viewed as the modern day black face and rein-forces cultural appropriation that has been attributed to the history of white privilege.

First to speak was filmmaker and actor Chris McGuire, who spoke about his observations of people in Harlem and the responses to his famous YouTube video series etitled “Harlem Reacts to ‘Harlem Shake.’”

“I saw what the people in Harlem had to say about these videos, and it wasn’t too happy. There was a lot of racism exhibited in a lot of the com-ments on the videos in response to the people who were expressing the importance of the original Harlem Shake to their history,” McGuire said. “Here’s a group of people who are defending an important part of their cultural history, and their expression and honesty is being undermined by racism in these comment sections.”

McGuire also highlighted the pride and value that the original Harlem Shake held for the people of Harlem.

Public intellectual, author and hip-hop scholar Dr. Daniel White Hodge, professor at North Park University, related McGuire’s state-ments to his inclusion of the story of hip-hop to the discussion. Hodge explained how hip-hop as culture

Real world experience in media

Harlem Shake stirs up controversy

Hanson holds conversation,outlines plan for uncertain future

Aaron Marciniak Reporter

PHOTOS | RACHEL JOHNSON, ORACLEPresident Linda Hanson spent an hour delivering a speech and answering questions posed by students and faculty.

Student-run media agency works with General Mills.

Panelists speak and offer critiques of viral video trend.

Jordan Fritzke Associate News Editor

see SHAKE page 4

In her annual address, the presidentdiscusses budget issues and fieldsquestions.

Hamline professor plans a unique summer painting retreat in Jamaica.

see A&E page 7

Art Abroad

HAMLINE UNIVERSITY | ST. PAUL, MN | 3.19.13 | VOL. 125 | NO. 20 | HAMLINEORACLE.COM

see SMA page 4

Jordan Fritzke Associate News Editor

INCIDENT LOGEDITORIAL & PRODUCTIONEditor in ChiefPreston Dhols-Graf

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Sports EditorJosh Epstein

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Copy ChiefJackie Bussjaeger

Copy EditorsEmily Klehr, Rock LaManna

Senior ReportersJena Felsheim, Gabby Landsverk

ReportersAustin Abramson, Breanna Berry, Amane Kawo, Aaron Marciniak, Brittany Rassett, Sarah Schneekloth, Sarah Sheven, Kristina Stuntebeck, Gino Terrell

ColumnistsDon Allen, Jake Barnard, Steve Merino, Cal Sargent

PhotographersMarisa Gonzalez, Rachel Johnson, Andrew Maas

IllustratorsBre Garcia, Anna Monin,Kristina Stuntebeck

Web Editor Sam Reimann

Ad ManagerDon Allen

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2 News The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

Safety and Security crime prevention tip

When walking alone, make sure to be aware of your surroundings. Headphones, for instance, can block your ability to hear someone approach you.

Keep your car maintained, and keep your gas tank at least half full, especially in the winter.

Never leave your personal belongings unattended, even for a minute, when in public places. Thefts can happen very quickly.

Call x2100 for a safety escort 24 hours a day.

March 8, 8:38 a.m. Clean-up Request An RA from Osborn Hall reported that there was vomit in a sink in a fourth floor bathroom. ABM was contacted for clean-up.

March 8, 12:38 p.m. Stolen VehicleHamline o!cers and Saint Paul Police o!cers took a report from a student whose car was stolen from Englewood Avenue. No camera footage was available of the area.

March 8, 7:24 p.m. Forgotten MerchandiseA student reported that a rack of T-shirts for sale from the law bookstore was left outside the store after it was closed. O!cers placed the rack of T-shirts back in the store.

March 10, 2:36 p.m. Parking ViolationsSt. Paul Parking Enforcement was contacted to ticket vehicles parked on Hewitt Avenue that were blocking tra!c.

March 10, 10:32 p.m. AltercationSafety and Security was contacted to handle an altercation between two roommates in the Hamline Apartments. Residential Life sta" decided to separate the individuals for the night.

March 12, 11:31 a.m.Minor InjuriesO!cers took a report from a sta" member who had slipped on ice and fallen in front of Bush Library. The sta" member had minor injuries but did not require medical attention.

March 14, 2:03 a.m.Noise ComplaintO!cers responded to a noise complaint in the Hamline Apartments. The disruptive party was accommodating and quieted down.

PUBLICATION NOTICE The Oracle will not be publish-ing over Spring Break. Look out for our next issue on Tuesday, April 9!

Sirens ensure campus safety

Siren noises rang out across campus three times last week as Safety and Security tested Hamline’s outdoor emergency communication system, the carillons system. According to Direc-tor of Safety and Security Jim Schumann, when the system was tested this month, a component that issues a bell-like sound was not function-ing properly. Schumann said this sound signals a verbal announcement.

When Safety and Security found that the system was not functioning correctly, they worked to fix the problem. After modifications were made, the system was tested three times to assure it was working properly. Each test of the system lasted for about three seconds. Schumann said that the campus was not formally notified about these tests because of their brief duration. He said if the tests had lasted longer, Safety and Security would have sent out a cam-pus-wide email.

“Everything is working correctly now,” Schumann said.

Schumann explained that the carillons system broadcasts siren sounds as well as live or recorded announcements made from the Safety and Security office in the event of an emergency. The system has three speakers which broadcast sound across campus. One is mounted on Old

Main, another by East Hall and a third by the physical plant on Simpson Avenue. The system is designed to alert people who are outside, but Schumann said the sound is loud enough to hear inside buildings.

“You can hear the sirens all over campus,” Schumann said.

Schumann said that Hamline hasn’t used the system in at least two years, but it is most often used in the event of severe weather. Hamline will use the system if the City of Saint Paul issues an alert. Schumann added that the system would also be used in the event of a fire.

Schumann said that in the event of an indoor emergency, such as a fire, messages will also be broadcast inside buildings through the fire system. Safety and Security also distributes emer-gency messages through e2campus.com, a web-site which allows students to receive emergency messages via voicemail, email and text message. Students can register for this service at www.e2campus.com/my/hamline.

Carillons siren system tested multiple times after Security fixes a malfunction.

Sarah Sheven Reporter

Hamline kicked off its second annual Pipers Going Places series last Tuesday, March 12, to help first-years and sophomores in their upcoming academic year. The Center for Student Success & Transition revamped the program this year and made it into a convo hour lunch series to attract more students. It was also changed to incorporate sophomores into the program, rather than focus-ing solely on first-years.

Domingo Coto, a graduate assistant in the Center for Student Success and key player in the program’s development, said the inclusion of sophomores into the program was a much-needed change because there are few events after first-year FYSem Throwdowns, and sophomores are still in need of support.

“This year, we decided to include second-year students because we feel they also need some support. We don’t want them to fall off the grid, in a sense,” Coto said. “You do have resources and people who will support you. We are here for you.”

He said that they included a student panel to give students peers they can look up to and seek advice from.

The student panel consisted of juniors Taylor Williams and Keyonis Johnson and senior Caty Bishop. All three students had to answer a series of questions and give the undergrads in atten-dance advice on how they can improve their experience at Hamline and begin to prepare for the future.

According to Bishop, it is important for stu-dents to take time to get to know their advisors because they can be some of the most beneficial resources to go to, though she admitted that it could be difficult for new students to see beyond their academic status.

“When you have good relationships with your

advisors or department members, it’s super help-ful,” Bishop said. “Think of them as people rather than scary professors on a pedestal.”

Williams also stressed the importance of building a relationship with professors because it allows for a better understanding of the professor’s interpretation of a subject and makes communi-cation easier.

“I feel like the more you get to know professors, the more you can learn from them,” Williams said.

Williams also advised students to take a variety of classes and get involved in different organiza-tions to find out where their interests lie.

“It’s good to branch out a little,” Williams said. “You never know what you’ll get out of it.”

Johnson, who admitted to spreading herself too thin between involvement with organizations, academics and work, also encouraged students to get involved, but cautioned them to keep track of what is important and not put priorities on the back burner.

“Be involved, but not too involved. Don’t over-book yourself to where you’re exhausted,” Johnson said. “You have to remember that your first prior-ity here at Hamline is to be a student.”

Some additional student resources that the panel mentioned specifically as being helpful for new and experienced Hamline students were the Writing Center, Student Account Services and the Career Development Center.

Faculty representatives Milyon Trulove and Jenny Roper said that a successful student needs to be willing to seek help from sources like those mentioned above but must also set goals, perse-vere, be responsible and mature and have emo-tional intelligence.

The next Pipers Going Places lunch will be held on Thursday, April 4. Students who attend three of the four lunches will earn $50 to the bookstore or in declining balance. All first-years and sopho-mores are encouraged to attend.

For more information on the program and how to register, students can visit the Pipers Going Places page on Hamline’s website.

Fellow students give advice

Kristina Stuntebeck Reporter

Lunch series guides students to academic and extracurricular success.

CAMPUS LIFE

SAFETY AND SECURITY

ILLUSTRATION | BRE GARCIA, ORACLE

News 3The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

Dolan & Conliffe meet with Hamline communityHUSC

HUSC held a meet-and-greet gather-ing at the HUB in Bush Center on Wednesday, March 13. The event was a social opportunity that gave students a chance to ask questions about activi-ties and organizations that HUSC is currently involved in and receive answers directly from the President-elect Lucas Dolan and Vice President-elect T. Corbin Conliffe. Students trickled in to meet with the current HUSC members and the newly elected leaders over food and refreshments provided by the organization.

According to Dolan, the event was also for students who were inter-ested in applying for executive board positions next academic year to gain additional information about handling the duties for each executive position’s responsibilities.

“Many of the students who came to the event were there for more informa-tion on how to apply for the several positions we’re looking to be filled as opposed to questions about our ongo-ing projects and issues on campus,” Dolan said.

The specific positions include sev-eral committee chairs, treasurer, secre-tary and technology coordinator.

One project that Dolan did speak

about during the event was his goal for improving the student organiza-tion registration process by making it easier to establish new organizations. This project is in collaboration with the Dean of Students Alan Sickbert and the Director of Student Activities Wendy Burns.

“There are problems with registra-tion of student organizations, espe-cially with new ones. So we want to figure out exactly what the problems are and how we can go about fixing them before next fall,” Dolan said.

Conliffe spoke on how he plans to adapt during the term of his newly elected position.

“I am just trying to squeeze out as much as I can out of my term; it is going to be a lot of work,” Conliffe said.

By 7:30 p.m. the formal greetings had ended and the social portion of the event was in full swing. Students came in for refreshments and took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and speak with Conliffe and Dolan about their plans for the coming year.

Dolan explained the benefits of being a part of HUSC for both him and future applicants.

“HUSC is really great to be a part of because you can learn about the vari-ous people and resources on campus, how decisions are made, I think it has made me a better citizen overall within the Hamline community,” Dolan said.

HUSC President-elect and Vice President-elect provide answers.

Austin Abramson Reporter

PHOTO | MARISA GONZALEZ, ORACLEVice President-elect T. Corbin Conli!e and President-elect Lucas Dolan meet with students in the HUB.

Jordan Fritzke Associate News Editor

Provost Eric Jensen publically announced in January that the “Green Dot” bystander intervention program would be introduced to campus this semester. The proclama-tion came after a Hamline basketball player was arrested for punching a woman while on a team trip to Spokane, Wash. Because they had originally intended to initiate the program much later, Hamline’s Green Dot implementation team had to scramble. As a result of their efforts, Green Dot’s Direc-tor of Training and Development Jennifer Sayre will be visiting campus on Wednesday, March 20 to deliver two keynote speeches and introduce the program to campus. They keynotes are scheduled for 10:20 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. in the Bush Center ballroom.

The Green Dot Violence Prevention Strategy was written several years ago by Dr. Dorothy J. Edwards, now the director of Green Dot, etc. Inc. According the their website, Green Dot is “dedicated to effective intervention and prevention of power-based personal violence.” Green Dot gets its name from the idea that acts of violence repre-sent red dots on a map, and green dots can cover those up by preventing and diverting violence.

Assistant Dean of Students and Green Dot implementation team member Patti Klein discussed a few of Green Dot’s key methods.

“It doesn’t have to be something where you have to confront someone; it gives you some strategies...to address situations,” Klein said. “It’s really about the community approach to how to create a safe, caring

community, and how to prevent things that have a negative impact on that safe caring community.”

Before becoming Director of Training and Development for Green Dot, Jennifer Sayre worked as a therapist. She now “pro-vides training and consultation to universi-ties, non-profit organizations, and military installations across the globe as a member of the Green Dot training team,” working closely with a small team of Green Dot staff and board members including Dr. Edwards, according to her bio on livethegreendot.com. A group of Hamline faculty and staff attended a training session run by Sayre last July, and attested to her skills as a speaker and trainer.

As a member of the implementation team, Director of Counseling and Health Services Hussein Rajput was part of that group, and is excited for Sayre to visit campus to spread the message of Green Dot.

“I think she weaves in her personal story and her professional work really effectively into her talk, so you really get a sense of why she’s so passionate about preventing vio-lence on campuses,” Rajput said.

The keynotes will provide an opportu-nity for members of the community to learn more about the purposes and methods of Green Dot.

“When people see Green Dot, they don’t always know what that means initially, so Jennifer will talk more about that but also about how Green Dot reduces violence,” said implementation team member and Assis-tant Director of Gender and Sexual Orienta-tion Initiatives Stef Wilenchek.

According to Klein, Green Dot will be an effective tool for making Hamline a better place.

“Green Dot is really about empowering people to be able to work together to create a violence-free society,” Klein said.

First-year student and member of the Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force Elena Anderson furthered this idea.

“I think people have this perception of sexual and personal violence of, well, what can I do? It shows a way that anyone can approach, and not just for typical student leader type people,” Anderson said.

Sayre’s visit to campus will be important for generating interest and awareness of Green Dot on campus.

“This is the first comprehensive look at the program and first explanation of what it is. Everything else so far has been pretty introductory but this is a more concrete explanation for what they’re trying to do and what will be happening in the coming months,” Anderson said.

A common message shared by the Green Dot implementation team was that anyone can get involved in Green Dot, and it’s not difficult to work for positive change.

“You don’t have to necessarily see your-self as a student activist to get involved. Green Dot is a really inclusive program, and there are lots of ways that people can contribute in meaningful ways to prevent violence on campus,” Rajput said.

Wilenchek emphasized that Green Dot requires a relatively small ammount of effort compared to the possibilities for bettering campus and society.

“The program as a whole is not a huge time commitment, and it’s not just out-reaching to the student leaders on campus, it’s for everyone on campus to understand and get involved in,” Wilenchek said.

In addition to her two talks during the day, Sayre will be meeting with other mem-bers of the Hamline community including coaches, upper administration, the Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force and people who will be doing a longer training in the future.

Those interested will have the opportu-nity throughout the day to sign up for future Green Dot events, including a follow up training that will be scheduled for later in April.

Overall, Green Dot can offer a more positive future for Hamline and the world, according to members of the implementa-tion team.

“If we can stop things from happening, it can be with that positive energy as com-pared to picking up the pieces of shattered lives once something has happened,” Klein said. “If we can prevent something from happening on the front end, that’s what we need to be doing.”

For this reason, Klein as well as other members of the team urge everyone to attend one of Sayre’s talks.

“Why go? If you care about your fellow students, if you care about the community, and how do we stop the bad things from happening? Go, learn about it, understand it a little bit more, try some of the strategies you learn, because even in an hour keynote, you’re going to learn something,” Klein said.

For more information on Green Dot, visit livethegreendot.com.

National Green Dot spokeswoman visits campusBystander intervention program kicks o! at Hamline.

PHOTO | COURTESY OF GREEN DOTJennifer Sayre

Preston Dhols-Graf Editor in Chief

VIOLENCE PREVENTION

itself has been commercialized and how the true foundations and feelings in which it was con-ceived by have been eroded by that.

“Hip-hop is really a culture in itself. The ques-tion is who gets to tell the stories of hip-hop and what are the narratives being told through it. There is a certain understanding to the weight of the lyrics and stories being told by the genre. If you don’t know culture, then you’re just laughing at it,” Hodge said.

Jamie Utt, a public speaker and motivator for creating more inclusive communities, focused on how these Harlem Shake videos are an example of divorcing something from its cultural origins and the ways people can counter that by instead using the power of social media to resist these and similar acts of oppression.

Dr. Don C. Sawyer III, a professor at Quinnipiac University, explained how hip-hop saved his life and why the knowledge of the traditional Harlem Shake is important to understanding the history of black culture.

“I was hurt by the videos,” Sawyer said. “I didn’t understand why it was called the ‘Harlem Shake.’ I did the Harlem Shake. All music in American culture has been influenced and originated from people of color, and dance is an art where the one thing we can control is our body, so when put into cultural context, it becomes more than just a dance for people of color.”

Staff member of the Wesley Center sophomore Mia Jackman explained her reaction to the Harlem Shake videos after a group of students from Ham-line organized their own video.

“At first I didn’t know what to make of it, but that wasn’t the dance. I started looking at articles about it and realized that I wasn’t the only one who felt a little off from the trend,” Jackman said.

President of the Hip-Hop Collective sopho-more Mariah Kenya Cannon explained how these videos have been a way to glamourize the culture of hip-hop and that it is not just harmless fun.

DJ Francisco, a DJ in the Twin Cities, con-tributed to the conversation by adding that the change only starts with discussions like this and what he does as both a DJ and an individual in reaction to the controversy of the Harlem Shake videos.

“As a DJ, I want people to feel better about life after I play music. I choose not to play the Harlem Shake because of that, and there’s DJs who are told what to play and then ones like me who play what we want to play,” Francisco said.

Local spoken-word artist and award-winning poet Ryan Williams-Virden stated his perception of what the Harlem Shake videos further represent regarding cultural appropriation.

“Something the people may not think about is that our American culture seems to have a need for consuming other cultures, and if that’s the case, then this is a perfect manifestation of cor-

rupted capitalism,” Williams-Virden said.The discussion ended with a spoken word reci-

tation by Williams-Virden, final words from Twin Cities artist Antoine Duke and questions from the audience.

The event was sponsored by various groups and organizations including a few from the Ham-line campus itself.

A group of students on campus created their own version of the Harlem Shake. The organizers of the video were asked to express their thoughts on the discussion of the videos, but declined to be interviewed.

The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

creating a year-and-a-half plan for them on how to utilize these sources of media,” Drews said.

Drews noted that using social media marketing strategies is General Mills’ plan to target a specific demographic: young people who are just coming out of college and university programs and looking for jobs.

“Although I can’t speak specifically about the video content because of confidentiality with the company, we are generally focusing on current trends emerging within careers that deal with marketing and business,” Drews said. “Right now, employer branding is huge, and we are helping General Mills find ways to target emerging graduates and undergraduates as prospective employees.”

Drews noted that as students themselves, Hamline’s SMA can provide unique ideas for marketing jobs and internships to that younger audience.

“It’s really interesting to be a part of a project like this because, specifi-cally with General Mills, we are partnering with a department that is cater-ing towards more entry-level jobs or towards a younger audience, and as undergraduates and students in communications or business programs ourselves, we are essentially individuals of the demographic they are seek-ing,” Drews said.

Rich related the project’s focus to how the usage of the internet over the past two decades has become essential to how businesses communicate with audiences.

“I remember still having a typewriter on my desk at one of my first jobs. Social media in marketing is the new thing right now. We saw such an expan-sion with the Internet in the ‘90s, and it has been ideal for marketing and targeting more individual settings,” Rich said.

Rich also noted that while older generations have adopted the ever-grow-ing digital sphere, it is the younger generations who have grown up with it in their everyday lives and can really harness the concepts it was created for.

“We try to focus on where students are really socially active online. Tumblr, for example, is one that we have decided not to use, as it doesn’t seem to be as conducive for our goals in how we help both prospective stu-

dents and students getting ready to join the workforce,” Getty said.Getty, Rich and Drews thought that the growth in the marketing depart-

ment shows how Hamline is providing hands-on experience in careers that are becoming more popular in the job market.

“I think this SMA project is a great reflection on what is happening both at Hamline and in the job market,” Getty said. “The recent addition of the graphic design program is a good example of rising student interest in career areas where they can apply their technological abilities to the careers that are currently out there and the ones they want to be in.”

Getty and Rich’s favorite part of the SMA project has been seeing stu-dents working together to bring their individual abilities to the group on various marketing levels.

Both administrators also highlighted the role of Hamline Public/Social Media Strategist Gail Nosek in the marketing department’s new strate-gies. She has applied her skills to teaching the students how to tell a story through video work.

“Nosek has done a phenomenal job in working with video creation. Right now I believe we have about 138 videos on our YouTube channel and 26 active social media pages that Nosek and the students have built,” Getty said. “I think being so focused on our outreach as a university on social media is important because it gives prospective students a taste of what their possible majors may be like and getting a virtual feel of the atmosphere of Hamline.”

According to Rich, junior Taylor Williams has recently started an ad agency club that gives students more social opportunities for business and marketing careers and hopes this will bring in more interns for the SMA and marketing department in general.

Drews described her overall experience with the marketing department’s recent success.

“It’s been a lot of work, but it’s really rewarding, and we have a lot of fun. It’s such an eye-opening experience where, as a student, you are able to create a network of connections for job opportunities,” Drews said. “As far as Hamline, I think the marketing department is only going to get stronger.”

According to Drews, the SMA hopes to become a self-sustaining organi-zation and eventually provide paid opportunities to students for practicing the application of their skill sets in professional environments. Getty plans to post more opportunities involved with the marketing department within the next couple of months.

4 News

HAMLINE EVENTS

TUESDAY, MARCH 19Violin and Piano: Arman Tigranian & Armen Sahakyan play ShostakovichSundin Music Hall7 - 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20Green Dot Keynote: Jen SayreBush Center Ballroom10:20 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The Defense of Marriage Act: Its Current and Future E!ects on Taxes, Immigration, and Employ-mentSchool of Law, 1054:30 - 5:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 21 FemRock ft. Mayda, Brilliant Beast and Strange RelationsANDC 111/1128 - 11 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22No Events Scheduled

SATURDAY, MARCH 23Dan Hylton LiveGinkgo Co!eehouse7 - 9 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 24No Events Scheduled

MONDAY, MARCH 25No Events Scheduled

SHAKE: “more than just a dance”

SMA: “an eye-opening experience”

TOP PHOTO | LAURA KAISER, ORACLEAbove: Members of the Hamline community hosted a discussion on blackface, including a video con-ference panel of experts. Below: A screenshot taken from the Hamline University Harlem Shake video.

(continued from front)

“It’s really interesting to be part of a project like this because…we are partnering with a department that is catering towards more entry-level jobs or towards a younger audience, and as undergraduates…we are essentially individuals of the demographic they are seeking.”Katie Drews

Senior, SMA member

(continued from front)

Whimsy 5 The Oracle | TUESDAY, March 19, 2013

Puzzles by Jake BarnardAcross1. Exalted figure5. Pointy fixatives9. Sports setting10. Finale11. Male head of family14. Iditarod destination15. Song syllable16. Safety or fishing device18. Square ones don’t fit in round holes19. Special ingredient in cough syrup20. Hush hush, abr.21. Female name, palin-drome22. Climate control24. Dreamy sleep25. Taxi27. King’s clown28. Wrote the book on war30. British naval prefix31. Car assistance organiza-tion33. In other words, abr.34. Short video36. Brightest star in Centau-rus40. Dark and moist41. A noble gas42. Tough and sturdy43. French, “in”

Down1. Irish terrorists2. Discourage3. First number4. Voice box5. Lost fish6. Not vegetable or mineral...7. At ease8. No equal sides, no equal angles9. Hillbilly homeland12. Hill builder13. Grimy urchin17. Give off18. Golf measure20. Information23. Joe or Sopwith26. Crap27. Surrounded by liquid29. French existentialist31. Hominoid32. Escape, evade34. Burn35. Gross37. Visible kissing, abr.38. 12 steppers39. Harry’s ginger sidekick

ILLUSTRATION | BRE GARCIA, ORACLE

That jumbled word game

SCRAMBLE!

Puzzle Contest!Do you have what it takes to become the ultimate puzzle master? Prove you’re smarter than all of your friends by becoming this year’s Champion of Whimsy. Send completed puzzles to Hamline PO box 362 or email the answers to whimsyedi-tor@gmail.com. Make sure to include your name, because whoever successfully completes the most puzzles will win a whimsical prize!

Under the sea! Can you unscrable these aquatic-themed words? Rearrange the gray box letters to solve the riddle.

Why didn’t the judge believe the tuna’s alibi? It was...

We want to hear from you. Letters must be 450 words or less, include submitter’s full name and graduation year (when applicable), be submitted electronically at least three days be-fore publication and must also include contact information. The Oracle reserves the right to edit or withhold publication of let-ters. The content of the Opinion section does not necessarily reflect the views of the sta!.

E-mail submissions to:hamlineoracle@gmail.comWith questions, contact: Drew Science 106 or x2268

Staff Editorial

The president’s new plan

Another year and another conversation with President Linda Hanson, 2013 edition. This time around, the financial antics of the Anderson Center took a backseat to instead focus on

the “edupreneurial,” President Hanson’s word-branding of the Board of Trustees’ three year plan.

The plan for Hamline written by the board, made on November 15, 2012, goes like this: “To align our most distinctive academic programs, teaching and learning delivery methods with market trends, and build financial models that ensure conservative budget planning while inspiring innovation and growth where we have competitive strength.”

Her speech went as expected: a well-crafted Hamline puff piece. She announced a new $1.1 million science grant and budget changes equalling almost $4 million, but it all seemed bitterly ironic when one considers the $36 million capital investment of the Anderson Center finished only one year ago, still not techni-cally paid in full. In sports, she highlighted the emerging women’s basketball team but somehow failed to mention the national media criticism of the men’s team.

Not that it’s wrong to present the good news. Hamline is doing some awesome things that really deserve coverage. But nobody’s fooled by a handful of smiles. These speeches need to mention the bad news as well.

“Keep the faith and face the brutal facts,” Hanson cited from Jim Collins’ “Good to Great.” We at The Oracle agree with that sentiment, but if the President truly believes it, then why did she bemoan the mentioning of St. Thomas’s $500 million fundraising campaign? Let’s face this fact: St. Thomas is doing something right that we aren’t, so maybe we should steal some of their ideas, rather than cover our ears to ignore them.

(But hey, maybe we are stealing their ideas after all. Maybe that’s why we both have big Anderson Centers built in the last few years. Seriously, they have an “Anderson Center” too.)

After her speech, a few excellent critiques popped out of the Q&A session. For example, one attendee asked how Hamline plans to spend $650,000 of “unrestricted undesignated assets” in the next three-year plan, as noted in the president’s slideshow. What is an unrestricted undesignated asset, asked the attendee, and how are we pulling this out of thin air? VP of Finance Doug Anderson chimed in to say that a lot of these “assets” come from the value of Hamline’s property, all while he held a lot of big complicated papers in his hands. That’s hard for us simple students to make sense of. How are we producing money just by owning property?

Somehow, the money’s there, though this whole situation is uncomfortably reminiscent of make-believe debt ceilings. It’s impossible for any of us to really know the financial health of the university; we just hope that the administration understands it much better than us, unlike the banking masterminds who led us down the dangerous path of default credit swaps in 2008.

And that’s why critique is necessary. “People always want what’s best for Hamline,” as the president

put it. True. We at The Oracle don’t deconstruct administrative actions just for the hell of it. We do it because it is our duty as the largest independent source of information at this university. We do it because we want what’s best for Hamline too.

To conclude, President Hanson should not have been left wait-ing for questions in awkward silence. The faculty need to play a larger role in steering this university.

Students cycle through this place year after year, never settling down long enough to establish a permanent voice in the institu-tion. But faculty have that opportunity. One of the reasons tenure exists is so that they can speak out without fears to their job secu-rity. If they aren’t trying to improve their workplace, then nobody will. Maybe the worst is coming to fruition: maybe the Board of Trustees is taking us down a haphazard road in the face of a loom-ing economic crash in the higher education market, and we’re all going to burn and die in a towering inferno. Yet, we’re never going to know that, unless the permanent voices at this institution learn to offer up some alternatives. To those who did stand up and ask tough questions at these conversation: The Oracle applauds you.

Fun and games and stereotypes

He walks quickly, carefully avoiding eye contact with those he passes. His face is splotchy, his hair is greasy and it lies limp on his pale forehead. He makes a bee-line for his dorm room and once there he barely acknowledges his roommate before plopping him-self down at his desk. There’s a half full can of Mountain Dew within arm’s reach and he takes a sip while putting on his headset and turning on his monitor. For the next seven hours, he’ll be basked in the harsh glow of his screen and he’ll dexterously tap away at his keyboard.

The stereotype above is of a gamer. You probably know one, you probably know several, and they probably don’t fit that description very well. As video games have exploded in popu-larity in recent years, the old ste-reotypes have become tired and outdated. The interactive genre of media has had to battle cen-sorship and obscurity but has nonetheless emerged as a power-ful force, both artistically and eco-nomically. Of course, there are still gamer specimens that fit the typi-cal mold. Tempted as you may be to ridicule or pity such a creature, try to enlighten yourself and real-ize that they are engaging in the media sensation of our lifetimes.

There have been plenty of bumps along that road to promi-nence though. Video games have been blamed for all sorts of things. Some, like contributing to a sed-entary and socially isolated life-style, are fairly well deserved. Others, like shooting rampages, are unfounded and reactionary. Violence has played a prominent role in video games since their inception, the most well known example being the Grand Theft Auto series.

The franchise is remarkably graphic. In any given session,

the player might beat up (or hire) hookers, drive on the sidewalk spewing pedestrians astray in a shockingly realistic fashion, or engage in a Rambo-style police massacre. Like any good piece of media, GTA has multiple layers. Violence plays a prominent role, but it sits alongside poignant political and social commentary. The commercials that play on the radio stations are hilariously dark satirical jabs that could give Col-bert a run for his money. Unfortu-nately for GTA, and violent games in general, too few people bother to see past the blood.

Video games make a conve-nient scapegoat for people who aren’t willing or able to consider the real problems with a society obsessed with arming itself to the teeth. An excellent example of this phenomena is the NRA’s recent condemnation of violent media, especially video games. It’s ironic that those dedicated to the preservation and widespread distribution of deadly weap-ons are opposed to their depic-tion in video games. It’s also sad that anyone would be so eager to censor what is becoming an increasingly expressive and acces-sible form of media.

A big part of the success of video games has to do with their popularity among continually expanding demographics. Accord-ing to the ESRB, the organization responsible for rating games for their age-appropriateness, 41 percent of all video gamers are female. Think about that the next time you see that sweaty weirdo rushing to his computer; there’s probably a girl out there for him, or at least like him. The average age of a gamer is also older than one might expect at 30 years old. The Nintendo Wii had been a sur-prisingly big hit at

nursing homes as a low risk physi-cal activity.

So why the popularity of video games across genders and gen-erations? For starters, many modern video games are compli-cated narratives with engrossing plots and characters that a gamer can become easily emotionally invested in. Some of these, like The Witcher series, are epic tales that the player can influence with their own decisions. Gamers are first presented with a believable world, and then must act in a way that suits their desires for that world.

Strategy games, on the other hand, can be extremely intricate exercises that demand a surpris-ing amount of patience and cog-nitive ability. Anyone who’s played through a Total War or Civilization campaign on the hardest difficulty can tell you that it’s no cakewalk. Without careful planning and attention to detail, twenty odd hours of playtime will result in catastrophic failure.

At the other end of the spec-trum are simple pick-up and play games like the sports series for the Wii. These are games that are easy to learn but difficult to master, and they’re excellent group activities. They’ve done wonders to draw in new gamers because of their intrinsically social nature and physicality.

Stereotypes exist for a reason. There are still plenty of antisocial geeks sitting in the dark playing World of Warcraft, but they hardly represent the average gamer. Fur-thermore, the games they play don’t do justice to the diversity of experience video games make possible.

‘Video games make a convenient scapegoat for people who aren’t willing or able to consider the real problems with a society obsessed with arming itself to the teeth.’

JAKE BARNARD

“I’m going to Red River Gorge in Kentucky to rock climb. It’s going to be gnarly.”

“I’m going to San Francisco for the Queer in the Com-munity Catalyst Trip.”

“I’m getting my wisdom teeth out.”

“I’m not sure, but I might be going to Colorado.”

SPEAKOUT Where are you going for spring break?

Jake Elliot BlairFirst-Year

Emily Seymour-AndersonSenior

Lydia YahnkeFirst-Year

Dan MolitorSophomore

6 Opinion The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

PHOTOS | ANDREW MAAS, ORACLE

Opinion 7The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

I am a racist person. I live in a racist society. This is not some-thing I take lightly, and I try to deconstruct and overcome my own racism every day. This is not noble; it is merely the decent thing to do. It’s very hard to admit that we are racist, that we have racist thoughts, that we perpetuate oppression. Most white people will never have to admit this. It’s very easy as a white person in a white-dominated society to ignore the power differences that our social system maintains. That does not excuse this ignorance though. We need to be less concerned with being called racist and more concerned with dismantling racism.

Whiteness gives people the idea that they have the authority to dictate what a marginalized community (that they are not a member of) should care about. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am referring to the intense discussion around the Harlem Shake that has been happening on campus recently. This is not just about the “You should do the Harlem Shake” column in last week’s issue because I’ve heard many of the problematic aspects of that column imitated elsewhere. This is a larger problem. While the condescending humor in that column turned plenty of people off, many of the points made were not inaccurate in and of themselves.

It’s true that black people who are disproportionately affected by poverty probably do care a lot more about surviv-ing from day to day than about appropriation of the Harlem Shake. As many before me have already pointed out, it defi-nitely is a privilege to be able to engage in these types of dis-cussions. Does that mean that we should not be talking about it? According to much of the black community, no. This argu-ment derails the conversation and misses the point. It’s also true that there are grave problems we need to deal with in this country, like the prison-industrial complex and our education system, among others. Does fostering a conversation around the Harlem Shake phenomenon mean that we are not also fighting against these oppressive systems? No! In fact, many of the people concerned about the cultural appropriation mani-fested in the Harlem Shake have been resisting this oppression for their entire lives. The black population gets to decide which

issues are worthwhile because they are the ones who have to navigate racism on a daily basis. For a white person to assert that black people’s resistance isn’t worthwhile is just another example of dominance that is falsely believed to be our right.

Just because our increasingly digital world is revealing more cultural appropriation, that doesn’t mean that we should allow it to happen, though perhaps there are instances where it’s justifiable. The appropriation of the Harlem Shake for revolutionary protest in Egypt and Tunisia might be one of those instances, but for lack of knowledge on this aspect of the discus-sion, I will defer to the black commu-nity. Perhaps what we can all agree on is that the Harlem Shake videos aren’t just an insignificant fad. Clearly they’re meaningful or they wouldn’t have such a widespread audience.

The appropriation of the Harlem Shake (and cultural appropriation in general) shouldn’t be so easily dis-missed. Anyone who attended “The Harlem Shake as Blackface: A Critical Look at Cultural Appropriation” event with an open mind, ready to listen and learn from the black community who is affected by this video phenomenon, knows this. As one of the white panel-ists at the event, Jamie Utt, aptly wrote on his blog, “appropriation is when someone of privilege or power takes a cultural expression from another group without their permission and divorces it from its history and meaning.” This is where the harm lies. It causes erasure and takes power away from black culture.

Cultural appropriation of African-American traditions has been occurring for hundreds of years; this isn’t the first instance of it that has faced criticism from black activists. This is merely one of the very few times that wider (i.e. white) society has paid attention to such criticism—and most of

that attention is negative, which signals that this resistance is making people uncomfortable and that what is being fought for has real meaning in people’s lives. The momentum gath-ered from this global discussion can be used to fight larger systems of oppression, and this would be accomplished

more easily if the black community didn’t have to constantly defend against people derailing and thus damaging the unity and effectiveness of the movement.

The point is that the Harlem Shake video phenomenon is cultural appropri-ation, which is a covert form of racism that endorses and obscures individual racism. Individuals are then blinded to other instances of racism, which reinforces all those larger oppressively racist systems. Every instance of harm, whether overt or covert, is connected. That’s why it’s so dif-ficult to achieve true equality. We have to eliminate so many different forms of oppression at once that we begin to put these harmful instances of racism on a hierarchy—deeming some worthwhile and others insignificant. But it is not our place as white people to arrange these hierarchies, and doing so fails to break down racism and instead, perpetuates it.

Last week’s column promoted some veiled racism, which many people in my social circle endorsed. I cannot ignore this. White people need to hold ourselves and each other accountable for our racism, because as feminist theorist bell hooks astutely asserted, “If we do not change

our consciousness, we cannot change our actions or demand change from others.” It’s up to all of us to create a more equi-table society wherein everyone is recognized as fully human. It’s time to take a step back and look inside ourselves so we can begin to see the ways we fit into a racist society, and also how we can change it.

Academia’s epidemic: Hamline’s latest flu season is Senioritis

It’s hard to imagine that at this time last year most of the snow was gone, everyone was wearing shorts, and all the people who had given up smoking for the winter were back at it in full stride. As much as I am ready for some 60/70 degree weather, perhaps it’s best for that to hold off a little longer for the sake of my grades.

Senioritis is not a disorder confined to squirrely high school students anxious to be free from the shackles of required schooling. This disorder plagues the senior class of every college and university, and it’s contagious. It begins when seniors can see the light at the end of the tunnel and therefore lose their focus and motivation.

I’m sad to admit that if you are not a gradu-ating senior, you will probably find this article to be rather dull, considering it will be at least six months before any of these feelings start to hit you. This column is directed to the class of 2013. Although, we all become seniors eventu-ally so I’m sure there’s a thing or two in here you can relate to.

So to my fellow seniors, we are almost there. By the time this hits the newsstands we will have (including weekends) 67 days left until graduation. Yikes. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t freaking out. The thought of not having a job and moving back into my parents

basement seems awful. Also, the thought of leaving Hamline, a place where I have felt safe and welcomed by everyone for the past four years, a place where it’s cool to have intellec-tual conversations in passing, frightens me.

However, at the same time, I couldn’t be more ready to leave. For starters, I feel very anx-ious and fed up with aca-demia. I am not really sure how to describe it all, but it has really started to hit me in the past few weeks. Homework no longer seems like a pri-ority and classes which are centered around the-orizing concepts which no one seems to be able to offer up valid solutions has become a bore. As much as I love Hamline, I’m ready for something else.

And then as I men-tioned before, there’s the weather. In less than a week spring break will be upon us and by the time classes resume I can only hope that the weather will be well into the 40s and 50s and constantly on the rise where it eventually peaks at 76 and stays there for the next 80 years (I can dream, right?). In all seriousness,

the weather is getting nicer and the thought of staying inside, reading articles and highlight-ing my life away becomes ever more unap-pealing.

On top of everything else going on in my life, a large contributor to my senior slide is

the fact that I have been fighting an illness for a good three weeks now. The last thing that is on my mind when I’m feel-ing even slightly under the weather is diving into homework. To be honest, all I want to do is turn on Netflix and plow through season after season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

I suppose what I have just offered would be three main contrib-uting factors to Seniori-tis: being fed up with academia, improving weather conditions and illness. What can we do to overcome this? How can we insure that we

not only enjoy the last couple months of col-lege, but also maintain the grades we are capa-ble of? In my mind, the best way to do it is to think about everything in perspective.

Let’s start with being fed up with academia.

Sure, like myself, you may be annoyed with constant theorizing, but if grad school isn’t in your future then you have 67 days left of it. Forever. Right now that probably seems like an obnoxiously long time, but I can almost guar-antee that six months to a year after gradua-tion all of us are going to miss the structured classroom.

Next we’ve got the weather. Yes, I know, Minnesota winters are long and if you’re not originally from here they’re even longer, but it’s not like this is something new. Every year we are aware of the fact that states not too far from here are currently in the 60s, 70s and 80s while we still wear hats and mittens to go grab coffee. As the weather gets nicer and nicer we all feel as though we have catching up to do, but the sunshine isn’t going anywhere. We have an entire summer to be outside all the time, for now, do your grades a favor and don’t neglect your classes too soon.

This brings us to feeling sick. There’s not much that any of us can do about this, but all I have to say is be smart about it. If you’re feeling sick enough to miss class you should probably also be sick enough to miss St. Pat-rick’s celebrations.

Seniors, we’re almost there. Anyone else who fumbled through this column, you can be pretty excited too, I guess. The most important thing to remember about the final stretch is to find a balance between fun and work. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go prep my bike for spring.

‘The point is that the Harlem Shake video

phenomenon is cultural appropriation, which

is a covert form of racism that endorses

and obscures individual racism. Individuals are then blinded to other

instancs of racism, which reinforces all those larger

oppressively racist systems. Every instance of harm, whether overt or covert, is connected.’

The truth about Harlem Shaking

CAL SARGENT

STEVE MERINO

‘What can we do to overcome this? How can we insure that

we not only enjoy the last couple months of college, but also

maintain the grades we are capable of?

In my mind, the best way to do it is to think

about everything in perspective.’

T T F S S MW

Spring Break Picks!

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

26 27 28 29 30 31 1

StarsFirst Avenue

Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams (film screening)

DeathtrapThe Jungle Theater

Moth StorySLAM

Pete Whitman X-tetThe Artists’ Quarter

Confidentially Yours (Tru!aut Film Series)The Trylon

A Dialogue: Noah Baumbach Willow

DucktailsTurf Club

Delhi 2 Dublin

Center

Hey Ocean! Caitlen Rose

Little Green Cars

People Get Ready

Center

8 A&E The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

Everyone likes free stuff, especially college stu-dents. Sometimes, though, freebies aren’t enough of an incentive to go to an event.

Casino Night, a yearly Hamline University Pro-gramming Board (HUPB) event, was last Saturday, March 16. From 8 to 10 p.m. in the Kay Fredericks Room at Klas, students gambled with $3000 provided by Las Vegas Tonight, which they could cash in for raffle tickets or poker chips. The event had free food, free gambling and a chance to win free prizes. How-ever, only about twenty to thirty people showed up. Students who attended the function last year felt that this year’s turnout was lower, but overall the night was still considered a success.

With Blackjack, Texas Hold’em, Red Dog and Beat-the-House, there was something for everyone. The

music was also fairly inclusive, featuring well-known hits by artists like Journey and Bon Jovi. As for the food, there was a wide selection of desserts, as well as the typical cheese and crackers.

There was also a selection of prizes including a DVD set that included “The Hunger Games,” “Brides-maids” and other recent movies, a digital picture frame and an HP printer, to name a few. There were ten lucky winners, and considering the low number of people who showed up, the odds of winning a prize were very good.

Overall, those who attended the event felt that they had fun. Quite a few people said they had previ-ously gone to the function.

In spite of the misfortune of some gamblers, they were glad to practice their skills without risking any real cash.

All in all, HUPB’s event was a hit. The atmosphere mimicked that of a real casino, the dealers were pro-fessional, and it provided a nice way to relax before midterms. Even those who didn’t go home as winners left feeling that they’d hit the jackpot.

Casino Night

PHOTOS | ANDREW MAAS, ORACLE

CAMPUS EVENT

Annual social event held in Klas Ballroom includes gambling, prizes and snacks.

Jody Peters Reporter

Inspired by the Biology/Art J-Term trip to Jamaica, Hamline Art Professor Andrew Wykes is hosting a week-long workshop in Jamaica this summer.

The workshop will mainly deal with color and aspects of light in regard to landscapes.

“We’ll talk about the changing aspects of light because the light’s always changing there. It can get cloudy, sunny or rainy. So we’ll talk about how to deal with a variable climate,” Wykes said.

All lessons will be taught outside at an estate called Bromley at Walkerswood, Central Jamaica.

The workshop is partnered with Bromley for this trip. Wykes found out about the estate during the J-Term trip to Jamaica that he co-instructed earlier this year.

According to Wykes, art history is an important part of the workshop, and the lessons will focus on past painters who dealt with scenery.

“It’s important to have a dialogue with those paint-ers—in other words, always drawing from art history. We’re always understanding that what we do derives from artists before us,” Wykes said.

According to Wykes, the point of the workshop is to take the students further with their artistic abilities while getting them to engage in landscape and not make assumptions about what they’re seeing.

“In a sense, I’m getting them to open up their eyes a bit,” Wykes said.

Although Wykes plans on having the workshop run for six hours a day, there will also be afternoon excur-sions offered.

“One of the excursions is to visit a pretty well-known Jamaican sculptor, and we will be able to look at her work and talk to her,” Wykes said.

According to Wykes, this workshop is best suited

for experienced painters to get more in-depth feed-back on their work.

“It will be hard work. If someone’s going to spend that sort of money, they’re going to really want solid teaching, so I’ve got to be prepared to really work with them,” Wykes said.

Wykes explained that although the workshop is suggested for those who have a background in paint-ing or who have a strong interest in painting, it isn’t strictly for artists interested in being professionals. Nonetheless, Wykes believes it will be a time that will be enjoyed.

“Six hours is a lot of painting time, so they’re go-ing to be tired by the end of the day, but then they can relax in the lovely surroundings of Jamaica. It’s a beautiful place to go,” Wykes said.

The idea for the workshop was brought up by the owners of Bromley. Wykes is currently looking for six more people to sign up for the workshop to make the trip happen.

“They asked if I would want to do a workshop there, and I agreed, so between them and me, we’ve been trying to organize it,” Wykes said. “Now it just relies on getting some people up.”

Wykes said at the moment, there are two Hamline art majors interested in attending.

Although this is only Wykes’ first solo-instruction workshop in Jamaica, he doesn’t fall short in work-shop experience.

“You name it, I’ve taught there: London, Ireland, East Coast. I did a really good workshop in South France ten years back,” Wykes said.

According to Wykes, his workshops are generally about oil paintings of landscapes, but they range from beginning levels of painting to advanced levels.

The workshop in Jamaica will cost $1,500 per per-son, which includes tuition, excursion fees, transpor-tation and accommodation.

“It’s open to anyone who has painted and has a desire to further their work,” Wykes said.

For more information, Andrew Wykes can be reached at his office in Room 204 of Drew Fine Arts or through email at awykes@hamline.edu.

Jamaica: just a brush stroke awayRetreat in Jamaica provides painting students with inspring landscapes

A&E 9The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

Brittany Rassett Reporter

PHOTOS | COURTESY OF ANNA GRESSER AND PATRICK LITTLETop

Bottom

10 Sports The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

Hamline’s Campus Recreation is a service open to all students that is continuing to grow with more students participating and new clubs and ideas emerging.

Lamar Shingles is serving his second term as the Director of Campus Recreation. Under his regime there have been many additions to their services. Recent additions include Rock Star Club (a rock climbing club) and Yoga Club.

“We’re still developing, looking for stu-dents’ wants,” Shingles said.

Campus Recreation also includes intra-mural sports such as flag football, basketball, floor hockey and volleyball.

First-year Kaalid Omar was a participant on the intramural flag football team this past year. Even though his team’s record wasn’t where he wanted it to be, he still had a blast.

“We got to play under the lights [at Klas Field]. It was so dope, so cool,” he said.

Junior Yakasah Wehyee was an active par-ticipant in Campus Recreation in his first two years at Hamline. He was a member of the midnight soccer team, Hamline Rag Race. Wehyee had a passion for soccer and played for his high school.

Due to time constraints of the college life-style, Wehyee felt it wasn’t in his best interest

to pursue an opportunity to play for Ham-line’s men’s soccer team. However, he was still able to play the sport he loved on a flexible schedule basis.

From his experience he learned skills that would apply beyond the soccer field.

“[The] team aspect,” he said. “The collec-tive effort of working toward a goal with other people.”

He feels that his experience has taught him how to effectively work in groups.

Senior TJ Styx has witnessed the growth of the Campus Recreation over the past four years. During his first year on campus a friend asked him if he’d like to join a four-on-four volleyball tournament.

“From there on I did the league every semester,” he said.

Through this experience Styx said he was able to meet new people and network. He said it also helped him become aware of other pro-grams and clubs around campus.

“[Campus Recreation] gives everyone that experience that they’re looking for in college. You want to have fun and meet new people,” he said.

Styx also works in marketing for Campus Recreation. By updating and adding graph-ics to their Facebook page he wants to create awareness for events.

“[We’re] trying to create the best avenues for people to sign up for our program,” he said.

On a grading scale Styx said he would give it an “A+”.

“The program has come a long way,” he said.

Styx talked about out how the sign-ups for events in the past were all done by paper. Now it’s online, which makes registering for events easier, quicker and more accessible for students.

“We’re a competitive program nationwide,” Styx said.

He visited the national conference and felt that Hamline’s program has been more inno-vative than those of other schools that have bigger budgets for their recreation program.

“Lamar Shingles took it to another level,” Styx said.

Shingles has been working on a propos-ing the “sports courts” at Hamline. The sports courts would be an outside outlet that would include courts for volleyball, basketball, tennis and badminton. During the winter, his plan is to freeze the courts for ice skating. Shingles added that they’re working through the process of getting this plan officially announced for approval.

Shingles definitely has Styx’s vote of confi-dence.

“I wish it would have been here my fresh-man year,” Styx said.

He feels that the sports courts would not only help expand their program but also feels that the new attraction would add to Ham-line’s campus.

“I think it would go a long way,” Styx said. “Not only in creating that atmosphere that you want on campus but it would also make students who want to come to our campus that much more interested in coming.”

A highly “rec”ommended opportunityDepartment continues to expand with many activities available to all students, with more on the way.

Gino Terrell Reporter

CAMPUS RECREATION

SOFTBALL

Hamline’s softball team will get their first crack at the bat as they open their season in La Habre, Calif. on Thursday against Puget Sound.

Last season, the Pipers finished 10-26. However, they won nine of their last 14 games to finish the season. Head coach Jim Rubbelke said that his team was really young, and he views the past season as a learning experience.

“This year, going into [the season], we have an idea of who’s going to be playing what positions, what roles [they] are going to play,” Rubbelke said. “Hopefully being another year older and knowing what this level of softball is all about, we’ll be better.”

The Pipers have their first 10 games scheduled in California. He mentioned that the road trip will be challenging because some of the teams they will be facing will be around 20 games into their season, while the Pipers are just starting the season.

“They’ve been outside since day one. Obviously, 20 games being played while we’re only getting two in is a huge advantage for them and more of a challenge for us. When we get outside, we have to use our time wisely out there,” he said.

On their trip to California, they will play in four cities: La Habre, Fullerton, Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles. Rather than seeing the trip as a distraction with all the tourist attractions, Rubbelke is excited to be playing outside in softball weather conditions.

“Getting outside right now is the most exciting thing for us,” he said. “It’s our only opportunity to play.”

He mentioned that he also looks forward to practicing outside. Since the weather condition hasn’t been good for softball in Minne-sota, they’ve held all of their practices in the gymnasium of Walker Field House.

“When we land in L.A. and get to our hotel room, I’m hoping there’s still daylight available, and our first thing is [to] unpack our bags and get out to the field,” he said.

Rubbelke said he feels good about how the team has been prepar-ing for the season.

“It’s probably been the best February practices I’ve had since I’ve been here,” he said.

Rubbelke has had many successful seasons under his belt during his tenure at Hamline, including his first in 2008, when he led the team to a second place finish in the MIAC with a record of 26-14.

The team’s commitment level is one thing that impresses Rubbelke. He explained further, saying they’ve avoided a lot of distraction.

“[Softball] is only part of their [college] experience,” he said. “They’ve done a good job of establishing themselves as wanting to do well this year. Their commitment level is pretty high. They know they can be a pretty good team.”

According to Rubbelke, the goal set out for the Pipers is to make one of the top four seeds in the MIAC to compete in the playoffs.

“From there, our goal obviously is to win the playoffs because it’s our only opportunity to get to postseason play,” he said.

Seniors Bethany Hine and Laura Randall will be returning for another season. Hine, who played shortstop for part of the season last year, has been switched to outfield to join Randall. Both athletes have played since day one and have earned All-American honors in their time at Hamline.

“Having those seniors have a great year for us, both offensively and defensively, is going to be key,” Rubbelke said.

Junior pitchers Lauren Clouston and Brianna Vela are two players that Rubbelke feels will have a breakout season. Rubbelke said they both were thrown in a situation last year where they pitched more than he anticipated. He feels the extra experience they gained last year will help their development.

“We’re hoping for them to have bigger years than they had last year,” he said.

An interesting addition to the Pipers is first-year infielder Jamie Rubbelke. She will be learning the collegiate level of softball from her father. Coach Rubbelke said the they have a good relationship and that the scenario isn’t unusual for them.

“It’s a pretty smooth transition because I’ve coached her the last five summers,” Rubbelke said. “It’s great having her because she’s a great player.”

Pipers to open season with California road tripTeam will play a series of games in sunny weather as they look to build on last year’s end-of-season success.

Gino Terrell Reporter

Bethany Hine, ‘13

“[Campus recreation] gives everyone that experience that they’re looking for in college. You want o have fun and meet new people.”TJ Styx

Senior

“[Softball] is only part of their [college] experience. They’ve done a good job of establishing themselves as wanting to do well this year. Their commitment level is pretty high. They know they can be a pretty good team.”Jim Rubbelke

Softball head coach

MIAC Overall St. Catherine 5-0 8-0St. Thomas 4-0 7-0Carleton 5-1 7-2St. Olaf 2-1 3-2Gustavus 1-1 3-1Saint Benedict 2-2 4-2Bethel 2-3 5-4Saint Mary’s 1-3 4-5Concordia 0-3 0-9Macalester 0-3 1-5Hamline 0-5 1-6

MIAC WOMEN’S TENNIS

EDITOR’S DESK

On Saturday night, the University of Minnesota women’s hockey team defeated North Dakota in triple over-time to move to 39-0 on the season.

The game was a rare test for the Gopher women, who have outscored their opponents 207 to 31 this year, making them one of the most dominant teams in college sports history. The question is, are they too dominant?

At some point, when a team is this far above the rest, the story becomes more about the teams they’re playing against. Being a great team is one thing, but the Gophers have rarely even been chal-lenged. That signals that something is wrong with the competitive balance in women’s hockey.

This is a common problem in women’s sports, which still haven’t developed the relative parity that is seen in men’s sports.

A few years ago, the University of Con-necticut women’s basketball team went on a 90 game winning streak, and the same teams are almost always near the top.

Unfortunately, women’s sports already have an uphill climb when it comes to being taken seriously compared to men’s sports. The absurd dominance of a team like this year’s Gophers may help bring attention to women’s hockey, but it’s also reinforcing that they’re facing o! against lesser competition.

Part of this is just the nature of college athletics: a team that wins a lot is going to get the best recruits and usually con-tinue the cycle. With fewer prominent programs in women’s sports, this prob-lem is exacerbated.

Watching the Gopher women try to keep the unbeaten streak going will be interesting, but it would be better to see some legitimate matchups and competition. In that regard, the game against North Dakota was a good start.

There’s not really an easy solution to the competitive balance problem, beyond just having more female players at all levels, leading to more talent in col-lege. It also requires more schools to prioritize women’s athletics, along with the media.

Hopefully the exposure that the Gophers bring to the sport will lead to a situation where the talent isn’t so lopsided.

Too good for their own good

—JOSH EPSTEIN, ORACLE

Sports 11The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

Three gymnasts will represent Hamline at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Associa-tion Championships this Saturday. Juniors Courtney Benson and Kambria Blakely and senior Corinne Stiffler will be headed to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to compete and support one another at this national event.

“It is an honor,” Blakely said. “We will be there to support and cheer on one another along the way.”

Benson will be competing in the all-around competition for the second year in a row. Last year, she earned three All-American honors in the balance beam, the vault and floor exercise.

With an outstanding 2nd place finish in the vault to qualify for nationals, there are high hopes for Benson this weekend.

Blakely and Stiffler will both be compet-ing for their first time at the National Cham-pionship. Stiffler qualified in the balance beam with a score of 9.4. This score earned her a 14th place finish out of 48 individuals.

Stiffler will put an end to her Hamline gymnastics career at the event this weekend. She has one more chance to impress the judges.

Even though Blakely didn’t reach her personal goals for the qualifying meet, the Georgia native has a lot to be proud of.

She not only qualified for the vault with an 11th place finish but also earned a quali-fying score of 9.575 on floor exercise.

“My personal goal for the meet was to finish in the top six for these two events, but I am very thankful that these two finishes helped me qualify for Nationals,” Blakely said.

Blakely also praised the performance of her teammates and said she is excited to compete in both events on Saturday.

“I expect to compete my best on both events and represent my team and my school in the best way possible,” she said.

Although the Hamline gymnastics team failed to win a single meet during the regular season, that hasn’t stopped Blakely, Benson and Stiffler from competing with some of the best college gymnasts in the United States.

Throughout the season, Blakely said she has been focusing on form and adding diffi-culty to her routines, and this week will focus on perfecting those routines.

“I will focus on being consistent with my skills in practice and work hard on each event,” she said.

Blakely also shared her planned pre-meet preparation.

This Friday night, after a big plate of pasta, she will lie in bed and visualize her routines. She will picture herself flying over the mat and moving with grace. She will feel the breeze on her face as she sprints towards the vault and then watch herself flip through the air in slow motion, and finally, she will stick the landing with perfection.

“The day of the meet, I say a special prayer thanking God for the opportunity to compete and to help me do my best,” Blakely said.

Trio to represent Hamline at nationalsTeammates to compete in variety of individual events at UW-Whitewater.

Sarah Schneekloth Reporter

GYMNASTICS

PHOTOS | ANDREW MAAS, ORACLESenior Corinne Sti!er practices her balance beam routine, which scored a 9.4 that qualified her to compete at nationals this year at UW-Whitewater.

Como Park Zoo and ConservatoryDistance from Hamline: 1.9 milesEstimated cost: Free admission (food and other purchases range from $5-10)Website: www.comozooconservatory.org/1225 Estabrook Dr., St. Paul

No list of cheap entertainment is complete without Como Zoo. St. Paul natives are no doubt already intimately familiar with the park, but for unaware out-of-staters: It’s a park, a zoo, a small amusement park and a conservatory all in the same area. Basically, the perfect place to spend an entire day. Pro tip: If you live on campus or in the area, consider biking instead of driving. Parking is likely going to be crazy during spring break.

12 Variety The Oracle | TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2013

Jena Felsheim Senior Reporter

LOCAL

Minnesota staycation destinationsSpring break is fast approaching and for those of us not jetting o! to warmer destinations, staying in Minnesota often equates to staying at home. While sleeping in and watching reruns on the couch is always an option, a staycation doesn’t have to mean resigning yourself to a sedentary spring break. It’s the perfect time to check out some fun and cheap destinations here in Minnesota.

Uptown TheatreDistance from Hamline: 8.7 miles

Estimated cost: $10 per ticketMarch 29 movie: “The Room”

March 30 movie: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”Website: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/Minneapolis/

UptownTheatre.htm2906 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis

The Uptown Theatre is always a fun way to spend a weekend night with friends. During spring break, they will be hosting two midnight show-ings. Tommy Wiseau’s awe-inspiringly bad masterpiece “The Room” is slated for Friday, and the ever-enjoyable “Rocky Horror Picture Show” follows the next night. The crowd during these midnight showings is always infectiously energetic, so be prepared to make a lot of noise and some fast friends.

Minneapolis Institute of ArtsDistance from Hamline: 7.8 milesEstimated cost: FreeWebsite: http://www.artsmia.org/2400 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis

Spring Break is a great excuse for checking out any of Minnesota’s artistic and historic museums. Most museums offer discounts to students, but the MIA is completely free for anyone and therefore an even more enticing destination. The museum updates pretty frequently, so even if you’ve visited in the past, you’re sure to find at least a few new exhibits. However, the rotating special exhibits do require a ticket.

Minneapolis Sculpture GardenDistance from Hamline: 7.7 milesEstimated cost: FreeWebsite: http://garden.walkerart.org/index.wac725 Vineland Pl., Minneapolis

Like the Como Zoo, the Sculpture Garden is a Minnesota staple. Home to the giant spoon and cherry that has graced many a postcard, the Sculpture Garden is a free and fun way to unwind in the middle of the semester.

Macy’s Spring Flower ShowDistance from Hamline: 7.4 milesEstimated cost: Free for the show, possible charges for the eventsWebsite: http://social.macys.com/flowershow/#/minneapolis8th Floor Auditorium, Macy’s, 700 On the Mall, Minneapolis

Although it’s technically spring, Minnesota has a way of lingering in winter. Even though the snow may stubbornly refuse to leave, you can still pretend spring is in bloom by visiting the flower show. Every year, Macy’s hosts the show based around a theme. This year’s theme is India, and the vibrant flowers are sure to be a welcome distraction from the snow outside. The show also sponsors several events during the week, including a performance by a folk chalk artist and a cooking show. ILLUSTRATIONS | BRE GARCIA, ORACLE