see PROTEST page 3

Mindfulness Meditation teaches the healing power of Zen relaxation.

HAMLINE UNIVERSITY | ST. PAUL, MN | 10.9.12 | VOL. 130 | NO. 6 | HAMLINEORACLE.COM

ACTIVISM

Homecoming honors students old and new

PHOTO | PRESTON DHOLS-GRAF, ORACLEStudents, faculty, alumni gathered around the Anderson Center during the President’s Circle Dinner. The group staged a protest in response to President Linda Hanson and the Board of Trustees’ decision to not take a stance against the marriage amendment.

Programming Board hosts events throughout homecoming week to drum up Piper pride.

Daniel Schauer dschauer@hamlineoracle.com

Hamline celebrated its annual homecom-ing game and alumni weekend with a range of events throughout the week, including a comedian, hypnotist and student dress up days, sponsored by Hamline University Programming Board (HUPB). The events kicked off Sunday, Sept. 30 with the annual Leadership Summit and culminated with the homecoming dance on Saturday Oct. 6.

This year’s homecoming followed the same structure as last year with events hap-pening each day of the week, primarily at night. Last year was the first year HUPB put on many events during the week apart from the alumni activities. Senior Program Assis-tant Heather Hammond said she is glad they were able to continue the volume of events they added to the schedule last year and that they were well-received by students.

“If you were to compare this homecom-ing to two years ago ... it’s hugely different,” Hammond said. “We treat homecoming week now as we treat our welcome days. It is a huge event for us. We are always doing things throughout the entire week and really celebrating what it means to be a Piper and

the Hamline spirit.”While some things changed very little

from last year, the way HUPB planned events had changed a lot, according to Hammond. She said last year HUPB had a dedicated homecoming chair that planned all of the events, but this year they had the entire board involved in planning.

Another new addition was Hammond’s own project, a service event where students went out into the Midway community and volunteered for Ginkgo Coffeehouse, The Epilepsy Foundation and the St. Paul Library. Hammond said it was important that they added a service event to homecoming week because it is a big part of being a Piper.

Special Events Program Assistant Isaac Mullin said the goal of the homecoming events was to get students to come out and express their pride in being a part of Ham-line. Mullin said their new slogan this year, “A little something for everyone,” has helped them plan events that cover a variety of stu-dents’ interests.

“I think it’s been very successful. We’ve actually had great turn out, not even just with homecoming events, but all year all of our events so far have had wonderful turn-out, which I think is due in part to our efforts to actually make sure that we’ve got events that are inclusive to everyone,” Mullin said.

Hammond said the fact that students were sticking around and going to events meant last week was a success for HUPB and homecoming.

SEEKING PEACE

see VOICES page 5

PHOTO | ANDREW MAAS, ORACLESt. Olaf and Hamline players wrestle for a touch-down pass in the homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Klas Field.

Activists reach out to new audienceSecond protest in two weeks targets President’s Dinner.

Preston Dhols-Graf pdholsgraf@hamlineoracle.com Taylor Seaberg tseaberg@hamlineoracle.com

protesters recently flocked together for a second time since Pres-ident Linda Hanson’s announcement that Hamline would not take an offi-cial stance on the proposed marriage amendment. The group met at 4 p.m. on Thursday Oct. 4 at Old Main, and then proceeded with signs and banners to the Anderson Center where alumni, trustees, donors and administration members would soon gather for the annual President’s Circle Dinner.

Fifth-year student Tessa Mortenson, a prominent figure in the recent pro-tests, marched toward the Anderson Center with megaphone in hand.

“We’re going to go walk over to Snel-ling and Englewood and greet all the people who are coming into the Ander-son Center, and that includes the Board of Trustees, the president, all the major donors, and other people who have been invited, and we’re going to wel-come them in with our signs so they can start a conversation on the inside,” Mortenson said.

Many of the faces seen at the rally were already familiar from the Sept. 25 protest outside of Old Main. However, there were many new participants, many of whom were not Hamline undergraduates.

Misti Germundson, a doctoral stu-dent at Hamline’s School of Education, was one of several graduate students in attendance.

“I’m upset about [Hamline] not publicly denouncing the amend-ment. I think they need to join Augs-burg and Capella University, because Hamline is a liberal education university,”Germundson said. “By not opposing this amendment, they are not being inclusive of all their learning community.”

Germundson later gave a speech, as did many other members of the group. The orators included Hamline students, faculty and alumni as well as community activists.

The core message behind all the speeches was to oppose the amend-ment, and many speakers condemned Hamline’s decision not to take a stance. However, each speaker illustrated their argument differently.

A commonly encouraged notion was that the protesters were making a difference.

“I don’t think the faculty, students, or staff are going to stop until we win...it’s very clear they [President Hanson and the trustees] are not liking these protests, and if they don’t like these protests then they need to change their position,” said Dr. Anthony Nocella, visiting professor at Hamline’s graduate School of Educa-tion.

FESTIVITIES

INCIDENT LOGEDITORIAL & PRODUCTIONEditor in ChiefPreston Dhols-Graf

Managing EditorHannah Porter

Senior News EditorExecutive Staff

Associate News EditorMaria Herd

Local EditorLaura Kaiser

Opinion EditorSteven Rotchadl

Arts & Entertainment EditorMegan Bender

Sports EditorJosh Epstein

Voices EditorLaura Kaiser

Copy ChiefJackie Bussjaeger

Copy EditorsJake Barnard, Katie Knutson

ReportersLiz Berge, Jena Felsheim, Jordan Fritzke, Maria Herd, Sabrina Kennelly, Gabby Landsverk, Brianna Mason, Brianna Rassett, Alex Renshaw, Taylor Richter, Daniel Schauer, Nicole Scheier, Taylor Seaberg, Emma Snyder, Gino Terrell, Melissa Thompson, Sofia White

ColumnistsJake Barnard, Danielle Jagelski, Steve Merino

PhotographersMarisa Gonzalez, Andrew Maas, Alana Profit IllustratorsBre Garcia, Anna Monin, Kristina Stuntebeck

Web EditorSam Reimann

Ad ManagerErik Myster Adviser Professor David Hudson

POLICIESThe Oracle has been published by Ham-line students since 1888. The paper is funded through a student fee levied by the university’s Student Media Board. We are a public forum. The opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the student body, faculty or staff. We do not discriminate in employment.

Our mission

To cover news, trends, events and enter-tainment relevant to Hamline under-graduate students. We strive to make our coverage accurately reflect the diverse communities that comprise the student population.

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The Oracle welcomes corrections of quo-tational and factual errors. Please send such commentary to: editor@hamlineoracle.com and place “Correction” in the subject line.

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2 News The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

Safety and Security Crime Prevention Tips

Always have your keys ready when you approach your vehicle or front door.

Ignore and walk away from panhandlers or tell them that you will call the police.

If being followed, cross the street and go the other direction.

Know where businesses and public buildings are located and their hours of operation

Sept. 28, 10:24 a.m. Wildlife disturbanceSecurity dispatchers received a report of a hornet’s nest located on the ground outside of the Security o!ce door on Hewitt Avenue. Facilities was contacted for removal.

Sept. 28, 12:12 p.m. Carbon monoxideO!cers responded to a carbon monoxide detector going o" in the Pride House. A worker from the Heating Plant took readings and determined that it was a false alarm.

Sept. 29, 9:58 a.m.Welfare checkA sta" member from Facilities reproted that a student was sleeping outside of Sorin and asked if an o!cer could check his well-being. An o!cer spoke with the student, who was just waiting for a friend to arrive.

Oct. 1, 11:40 p.m. Plumbing assistance A student reported a continuously running shower head on the third floor of Peterson Hall. An o!cer turned the shower o".

Oct. 2, 11:35 p.m. Missing laundryA student complained to Safety and Security that her laundry had been removed from a washing machine in the Drew Hall laundry room. A Resident Advisor was contacted to speak to the student. The laundry was recovered from under a pile of other clothes in the room.

Oct. 4, 7:47 p.m. Drug investigationO!cers responded to a report from a caller that a person in Bush Library had overheard a conversation about a potential drug deal. O!cers identified the individuals and found no drugs.

Broken pipe causes flood in the basement of Bush Memorial Library.

Nicole Scheier nscheier@hamlineoracle.com

A pipe burst in the basement of the Bush Memo-rial Library on Friday Sept. 28, flooding the archives.

Processing Librarian Frances Singh, was the first person to encounter the incident. While in the elevator, she heard water running. Upon dis-covering about two inches of water on the floor, Singh informed a superior and Facilities Services was contacted.

“Fortunately, Frances discovered the water when she did,” archivist Candy Hart said. “If the water had gotten higher, it could have filled up the elevators, causing more damage.”

Dating back to 1880, the archives contain information about university records, personal

papers and student publications such as the student newspaper and yearbooks. There were thirty boxes on the floor of the archives containing new informa-tion that needed to be processed.

The documents in the boxes suffered little water damage. No information was permanently lost or damaged. All the wet boxes in the archives had to be removed in the hallway up toward the computers in order to dry them and to prevent further damage.

“Facilities did a great job. Every person in facili-ties was working and everything was taken care of fast,” Hart said.

Once facilities arrived at the scene they utilized suction machines and dehumidifiers to clean up the water. Facilities also worked on replacing the pipe. According to Facilities, the break in the pipe was unavoidable.

“A silver lining for the archives is now there is more space for boxes,” Hart said. “Since archives are always in the basement, there is always a possibility of water damage because there is not enough space for them.”

Student body elects a fresh set of representatives with an improved voting system.

Taylor Richter trichter@hamlineoracle.com

The Hamline University Student Congress elec-tions on Sept. 25 and 26 were a good start for the upcoming year, according to sophomore Lucas Dolan, the HUSC Economic Affairs Committee Chair.

Eleven new representatives were elected into the HUSC community, and there is plenty of excitement, Dolan said.

“I’m pretty excited because I think there will be new ideas brought in from the first-years. I’m pretty confident in the new representatives,” senior and HUSC Vice President Brendan Ruter said.

Along with fresh ideas, the new representa-tives also filled positions and brought more attention to HUSC, Ruter said.

According to senior and Political Affairs Chair AJ Capul, HUSC is still looking for a Manor repre-sentative.

“More people ran, and all seats were filled except for the Manor Hall Representative,” Dolan said.

Dolan said this was an improvement from last year’s elections and there were no problems with rules and bylaws this year.

According to Ruter, no one ran for senior class representative. However, there was a write-in candidate who has now accepted the position.

“People who wanted to be in HUSC are already involved. They might have other things

going on and not have time to,” Ruter said about the lack of a senior candidate.

However, there was a good voter turnout of the senior class, according to Dolan.

Even without a candidate to represent their year, the seniors, and all other students, had an initia-tive to vote. This election offered a chance to win a free Xbox or an iPod Touch. The two winners were chosen randomly from students who voted.

“We’re still in the process of drawing winners and distributing the prizes,” Ruter said.

After the voting period ended, the students thought the process to be a bit easier than previous years, according to Ruter.

“We used a different voting app and overall, it was good. We got the application from RHA so it actually saved us money,” Ruter said.

According to Dolan, HUSC plans to continue to advance their election techniques in order to make the process flow smoothly and attract more voters.

BRIEF

New faces in student congress

BRIEF

Archives inundated but intact

Correction

In the 10/2 issue of The Oracle, we credited “Hamline ranks top of the state” to Maria Herd. In fact, the story was written by Liz Berge.

Also in that issue, we included a quote in Prof. Marcela Kostihova’s Letter to the Editor. This quote was not intended to be a part of her let-ter.

The Oracle regrets these errors.

2012-13 HUSC REPRESENTATIVESFirst-Year Representatives: Kyle Kvamme, Nathan Rock, and Kimberly Tram

Sophomore: Jeremiah Osokpo

Juniors: Kyle Anderson, Ben Bennett, and Alana Profit

Senior: Merit Stewart

Heights Residence Hall: Allissa Heim

Drew Hall: Mackenzie Bledsoe

Sorin Hall: Cole O’Brien

Manor Hall: Vacant

PHOTO | ANDREW MAAS, ORACLE

Junior Glenn Dwor-sky-Rye competes in the annual Alumni meet which took place on Saturday, Oct. 6. Current and former swimmers and divers tested their skills against each other in the Bush Center Pool. A second student/alumni competiton, the Burgundy-Gray meet, will take place on Friday, Oct. 12.

News 3The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

Sixteenth annual Commitment to Community speech draws a sell-out crowd of students, sta!, faculty and Midway community members, and leaves many without tickets.

Brianna Mason bmason@hamlineoracle.com

Michelle Alexander, author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarnation in the Age of Colorblindness,” addressed a full house at Hamline United Methodist Church last Thursday. Tickets for the event ran out early last week as members of the surrounding community flocked to hear Alexander. Alexander’s book focuses on African American men in the United States correctional system.

Tene Wells is one of the many local residents who attended Alexander’s speech. She feels that Alexander’s book reflects the daily reality of life in many African Ameri-can communities.

“We really need to create a movement, an experience that we see every day in the African-American communi-ties. I just wanted to hear that from [Alexander],” Wells said.

Wells saw the speech advertised online and got her ticket a few weeks in advance as did many of the attendees.

The premise of Alexander’s book is that the United States government is using our current correctional system as a replacement for the old Jim Crow system, under which Afri-can Americans were separated from Caucasian Americans. Alexander explains in her book how this is ingrained in our correctional system from the bottom up as well as how this system continues to negatively affect African Americans

even after they leave the correctional system.Many of those at the event as well as Alexander herself

spoke of a desire to see widespread social change across the country as more people become aware of the inequality within our correctional system.

Nekima Levy-Pounds is a professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School who focuses on social and criminal justice. She hoped that people came away from Alexander’s speech ready to enact social change.

“I think the broad turnout shows people are interested in this issue,” Levy-Pounds said. “They’re engaged, now they’re informed and hopefully people will be moved to take action to address some of these disparities that exist.”

Levy-Pounds is the chair of Brotherhood Inc., a non-profit organization that works on behalf of young Afri-can American men who have been in the criminal justice system or are at risk of entering the system. Brotherhood Inc. sold fair-trade coffee at a book signing event held after the speech.

It wasn’t just members of the Midway community who were profoundly affected by Alexander’s message. Heather Hackman is an independent consultant on social justice who spoke to Hamline Law School staff and faculty earlier this year. She learned about the event and decided to come back to hear Alexander speak.

“[Michelle Alexander] is an outstanding speaker in the sense that she conveys the message clearly but so power-fully and provocatively in terms of what racial justice actu-ally will take. That’s why I came,” Hackman said.

The event was hosted by Commitment to Community, a student organization that works to raise awareness of diversity, and was required attendance for most First-Year Seminars (FYSEM). According to Professor Kathryn Bur-leson, who is teaching her first FYSEM this semester, part

of a FYSEM is showing first-years exactly what diversity at Hamline means.

“For me diversity fits in [FYSEMs] very nicely so we can talk about what does diversity mean at Hamline, what does diversity mean as a student, as a citizen,” Burleson said.

However, because of the large local turnout several FYSEMs were unable to get tickets, which forced professors to find a substitute event. Burleson e-mailed Carlos Sneed, director of the Hedgemen Center, several weeks before the event asking to reserve tickets. Sneed wrote back that they were unable to reserve tickets because they felt that if stu-dents picked up their own tickets they would be more com-mitted to attending.

After he was told that there were several FYSEMs without tickets, Sneed worked with Commitment to Community to provide showings of Alexander’s original speech throughout the week of Oct. 8.

Shining star showcases service

Interest exceeds capacity at keynote speechKEYNOTE ADDRESS

Additional Showings- Wednesday, Oct. 10; 4:30 p.m. in Law School 101 spon-sored by HU School of Law

- Thursday, Oct. 11; 11:30 a.m. in Drew Science 118 spon-sored by the Hedgeman Center

- Thursday, Oct. 11; 4:15 p.m. in GLC 100E sponsored by Student Activities

- Thursday, Oct. 18; 4:15 p.m. in GLC 100E sponsored by the Wesley Center

- Thursday, Oct. 18; 7:00 p.m. in GLC 100E sponsored by PRIDE BSA

MEMORIAL

Campus installation celebrates Hamline’s history of service.

Daniel Schauer dschauer@hamlineoracle.com

A leafless tree sits in the middle of a gran-ite star outlined by angled granite benches and perforated aluminum panels that light up at night marked by a sign that reads “The Kenneth H. Dahlberg - Memorial to Service.”

The nearly complete memorial sits just outside the Anderson Center and is meant to honor Hamline’s commitment to service and former trustee Ken Dahlberg who made a substantial donation to the Ander-son Center, according to Director of Facili-ties Operations and Horticultural Services Ken Dehkes.

Dehkes said the memorial was designed by Oslund and Associates who also worked on the Blue Garden Wall and helped Ham-line create their 20-year master plan. The memorial is named after Ken Dahlberg, a former trustee board member and recipi-

ent of an Honorary Doctorate in Humani-ties in 2002, who passed away last year.

The star that surrounds the tree is made of granite and represents the star the Army Air Corps uses on their airplanes. The alu-minum panels are eleven feet nine inches at their peak to represent the 119 Hamline students that served in the Civil War. The central tree is a butternut and represents the time in his youth when Dahlberg sold the fruit of the tree to his neighbors in order to help his family through the Depression, according to Dehkes.

According to Dehkes, the design also represents other forms of service beyond the military and Dahlberg’s life. The five points of the star each represent one of Hamline’s core values: service, humanity, education, community and faith.

“We didn’t want just a ‘military memo-rial’, but in his life history [Dahlberg] was very involved with service,” Dehkes said, “It was more of that spirit of service, the things that the Wesley Center does, that I think drew him to wanting to be involved with Hamline.”

Dehkes said there will be a dedication ceremony later this month.

PHOTO | LAURA KAISER, ORACLEThe Kenneth H. Dahlberg - Memorial to Service, seen from the terrace of the Anderson Center, is illuminated at night, highlighting the points of the star which represent Hamline’s core values.

PROTEST: “It’s what we have to do.”(continued from front)

Several members of Hamline’s CLA faculty were in attendance. Kristin Mapel Bloomberg, professor and chair of the women’s studies department, was one of those who spoke to the assembly, using a megaphone to be heard over the blustery autumn weather. She cited examples from Hamline’s past to strengthen her message.

“Hamline has always vigorously pursued social reform. In the early decades of the twentieth century, immigration restriction, a living wage, the eight hour work day and world peace were debated in and out of class, and our community was urged by one student leader to quote, ‘become active in world’s work,’” Mapel Bloomberg said. “He explained, quote, ‘our influence and atti-tude toward the problem of life is going to shape and determine the attitude of many others.’ That’s a core Piper value.”

One hope of the protesters was to get those attending the President’s Dinner to come outside and speak with them. Although invitees walked in and out of the center past the protesters, only a couple of them engaged in dialogue. One was Board of Trustees member Ann Ness, who also attended the impromptu assembly that followed the protest on Sept. 25. When asked for further explanation regarding the board’s decision, Ness reiterated that they voted and came to a decision they believe to be in the best interest of Hamline.

Although they did not engage the throng of protesters, some others who came out of the Anderson Center were willing to com-ment for The Oracle.

“I’m an alum from both the undergrad and the law school. I’m all for protesting. I think it’s what we have to do,” alumna Robin Dietz Mayfield said.

Dean of Students Alan Sickbert was seen outside speaking with protesters through-out the evening. In response to the chilly weather, he had members of Dining Ser-vices bring out hot coffee, and helped serve it to many of the shivering protesters.

Extra security was arranged for the Presi-dent’s Dinner, including Safety and Security officers on the roof of nearby Sorin Hall and two St. Paul Police canine units. Direc-

tor of Safety and Security Jim Schumann stood outside for much of the evening, and attempted to keep protesters ten feet away from the Anderson Center.

“Overall, it’s been a good group, but you’ve got a few people who want to push the envelope. We just want to make sure the people out here have as good a time as the people in there [the Anderson Center], we don’t have a stake in it,” Schumann said. “It’s good that some people come out and express their opinions.”

A small group of students attended part of the protest to support Hamline’s deci-sion. They brought two signs, one of which said “Linda Hanson is right!,” the other reading “Linda is a thug!! Neutrality Rules!”

“I support neutrality. I think it gives everyone the ability to voice their opinion,” said first-year Dakota Lee, one of the sign-holders.

These counter-protesters stressed that they did not support the marriage amend-ment, but were little acknowledged by the larger constituency.

“The other side came out for a while, but didn’t stay too long, which is probably good. The last thing we want is a battle,” Schumann said.

To conclude the scheduled events of the protest, candles were lit to represent the voices of those silenced by homophobia. Protesters huddled together on Alumni Way for a moment of silence, which was not observed by the counter-protesters, to the frustration of some. The group then listened to final remarks. One speaker was philosophy Professor Stephen Kellert, a vocal supporter of the student protests against Hamline’s decision.

“You are the guardians of the spirit and the soul of this institution. Don’t ever, ever forget that,” Kellert said while addressing the group of mainly students and alumni.

Although candles are banned on Ham-line’s campus, Dean Sickbert told the group they could light them as long as they stayed off the grey stone patio area outside the Anderson Center. All told, the protesters continued their efforts for over four hours.

The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 20124 News

HAMLINE EVENTS

TUESDAY, OCT. 9Keyboard Conversations® with Je!rey Siegel - Spellbinding BachSundin Music Hall7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 10First Generation College Stu-dent Film and DiscussionAND 11212:30 - 3 p.m.

THURSDAY, OCT. 11Medical Tourism for Experi-mental Therapies: An In-Depth Exploration of Stem Cell Therapy Tourism with Profes-sor Glenn CohenSchool of Law 10111:20 a.m. - 12:40 p.m.

MBA Info SessionEast Hall 1066:30 - 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 12John Brandon ReadingGLC 100E7 - 8 p.m.

Hamline Winds Fall ConcertSundin Music Hall7:30 - 8:15 p.m.

International Roundtable Series - “Environmental Stew-ardship: What We’re Doing at Hamline University”GLC 1S11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCT. 13Sheila O’Connor Book Launch ReadingWild Rumpus Bookstore7 - 8 p.m.

Madison Bach Musicians with soprano Amy Haworth of the Tallis ScholarsSundin Music Hall7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCT. 14MOA Scavenger HuntMall of America11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

MONDAY, OCT. 15“We Have Faith” Photo ExhibitGLC Art GalleryOpens at noon. Exhibit runs through Oct. 31.

To have your event featured in the events box, e-mail us at editor@hamlineoracle.com

STAFF PICK EVENTCounseling and Health Services will be sponsoring student flu vaccine clinics to be held on Thursday Oct. 11 and Friday Oct. 12 in the lobby of the Anderson Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

VOLUNTEERING

Statewide activist organization mobilizes Pipers to discuss voting no on the proposed marriage amendment with Minnesota voters.

Jordan Fritzke jfritzke@hamlineoracle.com

Minnesotans United for All Families, a political campaign organization situated in the metropolitan area, has created phone banking events in efforts to persuade undecided voters to oppose the marriage amendment. For stu-dents at Hamline who may be looking for ways to raise their voice specifically to Minnesota voters, MN United hosted the second of several phone banking events on campus on Tuesday, Oct. 2 in the Hamline Law School.

Law student and co-chair of Stonewall Alli-ance Lacy Schumacher discussed her experi-ence in phone banking with MN United.

“I was shocked that the legislature placed this [marriage amendment] to be on the ballot. After that I knew I wanted to get involved. MN United had the strongest outreach. I think it’s incredible that people are willing to talk about it, you think about phone banking as an experience where everyone is going to hang up on you or they’re going to hassle you, but people are willing to have these conversations and people are really willing to rethink their thought pattern on this issue,” Schumacher said. “The conversations I have with voters are usually really pleasant and they really want to figure out what the issue is.”

The overall goal at MN United is to encour-age Minnesotans to converse about why the marriage amendment should be defeated, as MN United believes it would limit the freedom

to marry for committed couples in the state.MN United’s press secretary, Kate Brickman,

spoke specifically about MN United’s outreach to students and younger generations who oppose the marriage amendment.

“The youth program at our campaign works with a younger audience. We know that the younger generation generally opposes mar-riage restriction,” Brickman said. “Here at MN United we have two goals for our volunteers. The first is to make sure that our younger gen-eration is registered to vote and that they go out and vote on election day. The second goal is getting students to realize the power of their own voice as this amendment would limit their voices forever.”

MN United is fighting neck and neck with the percentage outlooks thus far on the ballot. According to Brickman, 30 other states have had similar propositions about marriage on their ballots, and the “no” side has lost every time.

The Youth Organizer at MN United, Yer Lor, explained MN United’s efforts on the Hamline campus as well as the phone banking experi-ence itself.

“There was a lot of energy at the rally, as well as the conference with the president. A lot of students couldn’t come [to the first phone banking event on the Hamline campus in Klas Center the Tuesday following the protests] because they hadn’t eaten all day because of their participation in the rally. Next week we’re doing it again. It’s going to be held every Tues-day 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. in the law school faculty study room,” Lor said.

According to Lor, the phone banking events are usually three hours long. The first hour is dedicated to training new volunteers in and introducing them to how to address other issues associated with same-sex marriage such as religion, civil unions or domestic partner-

ships, and how to connect with the person being called by keeping the conversation con-centrated on the concept of love and what it means to people.

“[Marriage] really is about love and com-mitment to another person. People get to share their personal stories and for many young people that’s important,” Lor said. “For them, their response is often like ‘yay, someone wants to actually listen to my story.’”

Lor also explained why MN United encour-ages their volunteers to open up to the voters they call. In MN United’s research on the reception of efforts to stop Proposition 8, a proposition placed on the California ballot in 2008 stating that the state of California would recognize marriage between only a man and a woman, found that volunteers in phone bank-ing were expressing the importance of equality and civil rights, and did not prove to be effec-tive. Thus, MN United decided to push the focus of persuading undecided voters to vote no by talking to them about what love means. According to Lor, they have seen in their num-bers that one out of every four voters who have been called have been moved in MN United’s direction of voting no.

MN United’s youth organization has recently been setting up other phone banking opportunities on university campuses within the Twin Cities. MN United has also gone to Macalester College for phone banking events. According to Lor, MN United recently hired another youth organizer to help with the focus of phone banking on college campuses, includ-ing St. Catherine University and St. Thomas.

This week’s phone banking event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 10 in the Law School faculty study room from 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. Subse-quent events will take place on the usual Tues-day evenings. For more information, visit www.mnunited.org.

MN United dials up a personal touch

Professors say no to amendmentAMENDMENT

University faculties across the Twin Cities area pass resolutions against the proposed Minnesota marriage amendment on the November ballot.

Maria Herd mherd@hamlineoracle.com

Hamline University is not the only school that feels passionate about Minnesota’s marriage amendment.

Macalaster College’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted on Friday for their school to take a stance against the marriage amendment. Their resolution reads, “The Board feels that this amendment denies basic human dignity and rights to our citizens. Such a denial is antithetical to the mission of the college.”

The faculties of University of Minnesota, William Mitchell College of Law, Gustavus Adolphus College and St. Olaf College have all recently passed resolutions opposing the amendment. Hamline’s faculty voted on a resolution to take a stance against the marriage amendment on Sept. 24. They voted 127-15, with six abstaining. On Oct. 1, Carleton’s faculty passed a resolution taking a stance against the marriage amendment as well. But like Hamline, they are not taking a stance on the issue as an institution.

However, by joining Minnesota United for All Families in taking a stance against the marriage amendment last August, Augsburg College has led the way for colleges and their faculties to take a position on the amendment.

Augsburg’s public declaration of opposition was not based on votes from students, faculty or a board, but rather on President Paul C. Prib-benow’s decision. However, Pribbenow said the Executive Committee of the Augsburg Board of Regents supported his choice.

“I have been criticized for not engaging a more broad-based discus-sion on campus before making the decision, but sometimes I believe that it is important to discern the values of the institution (that is part

of my role as president), take a stand publicly (which too many colleges and universities seem unwilling to do), and then be willing to engage in civil conversations about why we believe this amendment is wrong,” Pribbenow wrote in an e-mail to The Oracle.

In his e-mail to the Augsburg community, Pribbenow said that the stance affirms the college’s non-discrimination policy. He said that not everyone in the community agrees with the college’s position, but that he is speaking on behalf of Augsburg’s institutional mission and values. And he still encourages “ongoing civil and respectful dialogue about these important issues for our state.”

Pribbenow also stressed the fact the response to his decision has been overwhelmingly positive, including philanthropically. According to Pribbenow, alumni who had not previously donated decided to support Augsburg after the decision was made.

“Some will give and already have given because of the decision — probably a few thousand dollars to date; others will choose not to give (and may not tell us why). The few who have said they will curtail giving have not actually given in the past,” Pribbenow wrote.

Pribbenow believes he has received over 150 positive responses through letters and e-mails, and countless positive shout-outs on the street and at the state fair. He said he has received approximately 10 negative responses.

“The negative responses were generally very much opposed to gay marriage and often used faith-based arguments against our position. A couple questioned whether a college should take such a stand,” he wrote.

According to Pribbenow, the positive responses mostly fell into three categories. The majority of them were thankful to Augsburg for standing up for the rights of all people to marry the one they love. Some people appreciated the stand against the constitution having the power to limit freedoms and a few praised the role of a higher education as a critical voice on an important public issue.

Pribbenow firmly believes this was the right decision for Augsburg. Although he respects “that other institutions will not come to the same decision.”

Voices 5 The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

Looking for a quiet, calm place to clear your head and relieve stress after a long day of classes? Mind-fulness Meditation may be just what you need.

On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays anthropology Professor Marc Anderson offers silent medi-tation in the Wellspring on the third floor of the Anderson Center. This class offers a peaceful hour where students are able to come in, clear their minds, and then get back to their busy lives stress-free.

Have little to no experience? That’s okay! Anderson will walk through the meditation tech-niques with the class, and help you feel welcomed into the group.

There is no cost, and accord-ing to Anderson the benefits are clearly worth the hour of quiet.

“It reduces stress, boosts your immune system, and your blood pressure goes down. So, there are immediate physical benefits, but they are associated with psycho-logical and emotional benefits. You will develop insight about yourself,” Anderson said.

Anderson, who is an ordained Zen priest with the Clouds in

Water Zen Center in St. Paul, shared his hopes for the medita-tion sessions this year.

“I’m very interested in getting enough students this year to form a student association for mind-fulness meditation. So, I’d like to invite all students to try it out,” Anderson said. “It really does relieve the stress and pressure, and it actually makes you work better.”

Come and try Mindfulness Meditation, a peaceful place to clear your head and escape from your everyday life.

Step-by-step guide to

Zen Meditation

1. Sit tall: Sit on the floor or in a chair or on a stool. Try to sit cross-legged and on a cushion. Imagine a thread attached to the top of your head pulling your back, neck, and head toward the celling.

2. Relax your body: Close your eyes and scan your body, relaxing each body part one at a time. Begin with your toes, feet, ankles, shins and continue to move up your entire body. Don’t forget to relax your shoulders, neck, eyes, face, jaw and tongue, which are all common areas for us to hold tension.

3. Be still and silent: Now that you are sitting tall and relaxed, take a mo-ment to be still. Just sit. Be aware of your surroundings, your body, the sounds around you. Don’t react or attempt to change any-thing. Just be aware.

4. Breathe: Turn your attention to your breath. Breathe silently, yet deeply. En-gage your diaphragm and fill your lungs, but do not force your breath. Notice how your breath feels in your nose, throat, chest and

belly as it flows in and out.

5. Establish Mantra: A mantra is a sound, word or phrase that can be repeat-ed throughout your meditation. Mantras can have spiritual, vibrational and transfor-mative benefits, or they can simply provide a point of focus during meditation. They can be spoken aloud or silently to yourself. A simple and easy mantra for beginners is to silently say with each breath, I am breathing in, I am breathing out.

6. Calm your mind: As you focus on your breath or mantra, your mind will begin to calm and become present. This does not mean that thoughts will cease to arise. As thoughts come to you, simply ac-knowledge them, set them aside, and return your attention to your breath or mantra. Don’t dwell on your thoughts. Some days your mind will be busy and filled with inner chatter, other days it will remain calm and focused.

“It reduces stress, boosts your immune system, and your blood pressure goes down. So, there are immediate psychological and emotional benefits .”Marc Anderson

Anthropology professor

Sofia White swhite@hamlineoracle.com

MEDITATION

A peaceful placeMindfulness Meditation o!ers a way for students to relax.

INFORMATION | http://stopandbreathe.com/2011/03/04/meditation-101-a-10-step-beginners-guide/

MINDFULNESSMEDITATIONWhen: M 9pm - 10 pm, T 11:15 am - 12:15 pm , and TR 6 pm - 7p m

Location: Wellspring room on the third floor of the Anderson Center

ILLUSTRATION | BRE GARCIA, ORACLE

T T F S S MW

A hand-picked selection of the best Twin Cities music concerts and events.

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Beach HouseFirst Avenue

CalexicoFine Line Music Cafe

Balmorhea

Beth OrtonTaking Back SundayFirst Avenue

Alanis Morissette

WidowspeakLeftover SalmonFirst Avenue

The Soft PackPeter Holmes

Center

San Cisco Grimes

White Rabbits

Regina Spektor

6 A&E The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

Deep in the basement of Bush Library you can hear a soft thud if you listen closely. If you follow that sound, you will be led to a hidden TV studio which masks a majority of the sound. There you will find a group of people, ages apart, sharing one common bond: music. Religion Professor Mark Berkson finds great happiness in his band, Ibaba. “To produce music together is totally a joy,” Berkson said. Ibaba is a cover band consisting of five members: Addie Pike (’11) on vocals; Brian Johnson (’87) on bass; Berkson on guitar/vocals; Melanie Galloway (’10) on drums; and Ricky Carlson (’10) on keyboard. What sets this band apart from other local bands is the history behind their formation. In fact, this band is completely made up of Hamline alumni and current faculty/staff.

The band started off in summer of 2009 with five songs. They thought of themselves as a collaborative project since it was a mixture of both students and faculty. Since then, a few of the original members left and Carlson and Pike joined. When deciding on a band name, Galloway reminisced how they had come up with a list of ten possible ideas. “The Sweater Vests was an option; Mark loves his sweaters,” Galloway said. They had looked online to make sure the names weren’t taken, and found that all had been but one: Ibaba. Berkson explained that the word “Ibaba,” meaning “downstairs”, comes from the Tagalog language of the Philippines. “Since we practice in the basement of the library, we thought it works. It’s got this sort of ‘underground’ feeling to it too,” Berkson said. When choosing songs to cover, Ibaba looks into the band’s broad range of musical influences, Berkson explained. As the band consists of a variety of ages, they have covered both younger and older music. They cover songs from Adele to the Beatles to heavy upbeat punk.

“Mark does a fantastic version of ‘Too Afraid to Love You’ by the Black Keys. We make Mark dedicate it to his wife at every gig, whenever we play it,” Johnson said. With each song they cover, they try to add their own unique and distinc-tive style. Ibaba’s harmonizing skills and abil-ity to reach numerous vocal tones allows for them to perform a wide variety of songs, as their dynamic stage presence contributes addition-al liveliness to whatever they play. During their busy periods (their term for being consistently booked), Ibaba sometimes performs up to three times a week. Through their Hamline connec-tions, they’re asked to play for campus events, but prefer a balance between Hamline events and club gigs. Outside of Hamline, they’ve performed at O’Gara’s, Tif-fany’s and at the Highland Music Festival, all located in the Twin Cities. Although they currently don’t have any shows scheduled, they are work-ing on recording a demo for club owners in order to get more gigs. “It would be fun thinking of origi-nals. We’ve got songwriters in this group,” Berkson said.

They cannot make CDs while they are still doing cover songs due to copyright issues. Regarding their hopes for the future of the band, Berkson joked that he’s after a Grammy. “There’s no ‘Behind the Music’ spe-cial with us yet,” Johnson added. The youngest three say they can’t predict what the future will hold. However, Pike will be leaving the band soon for a trip to South or Cen-tral America for the Peace Corps. “My goal is to just savor the mo-ments we have right now. I want to just play and enjoy it, get out and have concerts,” Berkson said. Berkson further elaborated on his admiration for Ibaba. “This is a great refuge from every-thing else, all the work we do in our lives. It’s a beautiful escape to just play together,” Berkson said.

Ibaba: Musical ambassadors of Hamline UniversityHamline alumni and faculty collaborate as a musical group to bring entertainment to the campus and the metro.

MUSIC

Brittany Rasset brasset@hamlineoracle.com

“This is a great refuge from everything else, all the work we do in our lives. It’s a beautiful escape to just play together .”Mark Berkson

Religion Professor

PHOTO | ANDREW MAAS, ORACLE From Left: Ricky Carlson on keyboard, Brian Johnson on bass, Melanie Galloway on drums, Mark Berkson on guitar and Addie Pike on vocals.

“There’s no ‘Behind the Music’ special with us yet.”Brian Johnson

Director of Media Services

A&E 7The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

COMPETITION

For those who may not have heard, the annual lip sync competition is one of the biggest and most advertised student-organized events on campus. All contestants are current students, alone or in a group, who are given 10 minutes to perform their best rendition of a song or musical compilation. The winners are decided by a panel of judges based on criteria such as lip syncing ability, creativity/originality, and crowd reaction, and the best act of the night takes home a $250 cash prize. Within these rules, there’s a lot of room for creativity, according to senior Ben Honda, who has remained the undefeated lip sync champion for all four of his years at Hamline. “I think that the lip sync is one of the biggest and most creative ways that students can come together for a couple short hours, and in my opinion it would be one of the most entertaining things that happens on campus,” Honda said. This year Honda decided to take advantage of the large crowds drawn to the events by integrating a political statement into his performance. His piece, a choreographed routine to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” featured an ensemble of

female students from Pride Black Student Alliance dressed in masculine shirts and ties, while Honda himself underwent a transformation from street clothes into drag halfway through the song. His costume included Gaga-esque clothing, high heels and, with the help of senior Leah Barton, vivid makeup and glitter. Honda and company concluded their dance number by presenting signs denouncing the discrimination of the upcoming marriage amendment and encouraging people to vote no. This statement received a standing ovation from the crowd. Honda said that his message, although potentially controversial, was meant to be one of inclusivity and empowerment. “I want to say that the LGBT community is something that should be celebrated, people that should be respected, and that the upcoming marriage amendment is not only disrespectful, but that it dehumanizes the community,” Honda said. Co-performer and senior Salisa Grant said she felt their message was extremely successful. “I think it went over really well ... we wanted to win, but really wanted to make a statement more than anything else. That’s what we did, and I’m really proud of us,” Grant said. Other students also expressed approval of the message. “I liked their message...it was great, it was powerful,” said sophomore Dani Wasnick, who also competed. Senior Yer Vang agreed, adding

that Honda’s group was one of her favorite performances of the night. “I really like what they did up there, promoting what they believe in,” Vang said. But Honda and company were by no means the only act that excited the crowd. Sophomore Logan Schumacher took second place, earning a roar of applause when he shaved his head onstage during his Brittney Spears-themed compilation of songs. Another group prepared a full-band simulation of an OutKast song, complete with faux-guitar, keyboard and drums, and ran into the crowd during the song. The Student Activities Board, who organized the competition, got in on the fun with a group performance of “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry, ending by spraying the audience with Silly String and crêpe paper. Another favorite of the evening, senior Eric Siegel won third place by shocking the crowd with liberal applications of condiments...to himself. Siegel removed his shirt onstage and proceeded to cover his body with paint, peanut butter and Nutella, and rubbed whipped cream into his hair, all while lip syncing to “Somebody I Used to Know” by Gotye. Siegel, who has also competed for the past four years, said that he aims to be as shocking and silly as possible for his performances. “Any chance I can go in front of a bunch of people and do ridiculous things and possibly win a prize to do those ridiculous things, I will

take,” Siegel said. “I go up there for shock and awe.” Even Dean of Students Alan Sickbert, who showed up for the fun, said Siegal’s act was particularly interesting. “It’s always entertaining,” Sickbert said. “I really kind of liked the food act...it took a lot of courage [to do that.]” Although Siegel and Honda have had a friendly rivalry over the year, Siegel had nothing but good things to say about Honda and other performers. “Ben is not only a superb dancer by himself, but he brings in a lot of backup, so you never know

what he’s going to do,” Siegel said. “I have seen some pretty impressive dances, and some pretty impressive musical pieces.”Honda said this year, the lip sync was less about competing with other students, and more about a community coming together to share an important message about diversity. “This year, it’s not a competition anymore. It’s a platform to make my stand. And this is one of the places where my voice is really heard, so I would rather lose knowing that I took a risk than win just knowing that I danced really well,” Honda said.

PHOTOS| ANDREW MAAS, ORACLE Top Right: Eric Siegel covered himself in various condiments during his performance.Above: Ben Honda and PRIDE Black Student Alliance take a stance.

Performers creatively expressed more than just their desire to win.

Gabby Landsverk glandsverkr@hamlineoracle.com

Lip sync competiton brings bold statements

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:editor@hamlineoracle.comWith questions, contact: Drew Science 106 or x2268

Staff EditorialPreston Dhols-Graf | Editor in Chief

Hannah Porter | Managing Editor Steven Rotchadl | Opinion Editor

Wait, what did you say?

The accusation of “arguing over semantics” is familiar to many. It’s a phrase denoting pointlessness, irrelevancy and nitpicking.

Actually, semantics can change meanings entirely. One of the most famous examples is grammatical: the difference between “Let’s eat Grandpa” and “Let’s eat, Grandpa,” an example many of us probably heard in elementary school. Those are two rather different concepts, only one of which The Oracle would endorse.

As a news organization, we pride ourselves on getting the semantics as accurate as possible. That’s why we want to empha-size the semantic rift between students and administration con-cerning the marriage amendment, a rift that lies in the word “neutral.”

President Hanson and the Board of Trustees did not take a neutral stance. They took no stance at all. There’s a difference. Informed students need to recognize the difference if they wish to debate and converse on the issue appropriately. To paraphrase Bob Klas, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Hamline is not “sit-ting on the fence,” as neutrality would imply. Instead, they walked away from the “fence” entirely. In response, some protesters have posited that to walk away from a fence, one must be on one side or the other.

Many have been accusing the president and board of adopting neutrality. However, the administration never employed the word “neutral” to describe their position. The Oracle diligently avoided all references to it in last week’s issue. We realized the big semantic difference between neutrality and not taking any stance at all.

The question then becomes, what is that semantic difference? How is “not taking a stance” different from “neutrality?” That’s hard to say. Neither the administration nor the students have done a very good job of defining it.

To find out, the student body will have figure out where all the varying interpretations of this whole controversy are coming from, what the semantics of it actually mean, and whether or not those semantics even matter.

We’re not sure they do matter after all. If the amendment issue is framed as political, as President Hanson has suggested it could be, then yes, it certainly matters, and the university is doing the right thing by staying out of it entirely.

But we at The Oracle do not see this as a political issue, and neither do many students. Marriage is a basic civil right. If that’s the case, as we propose, then the difference between “not taking a stance” and “neutrality” is moot. If you see it as a civil right, then neutrality — or nothing at all — implies an administration and Board of Trustees idling by while and already marginal-ized group of citizens are at risk of being further barred from an inalienable right.

One of the most important concerns in all of this is that stu-dents stay aware of these semantic differences. They might seem minor, and sometimes they are, but other times they are not. To stand toe to toe with the powers that be in debate requires a stu-dent body that educates themselves correctly. The assumption that “not taking a stance” means “neutrality” is false, and all those involved should not draw such conclusions so readily.

Instead, students, staff, faculty and alumni should be seeking out and attempting to understand the wide range of interpreta-tions derived from this issue. It is only after seeing many points of view that we can come up with the fairest solution. The Oracle’s interpretation of the events is only one of many, and we encourage you all to come up with your own, so that we define as a group the terms within the amendment controversy. Remember the little things like semantics. Those little things are a big part of what define this debate over marriage, not only at Hamline but for all of Minnesota.

“No, I didn’t. It really didn’t seem that important, it didn’t seem like a big deal to me.”

“Yeah, I did, because I knew someone who was running and I wanted to elect them.”

“Yes, I was a member of HUSC so as a member we try to promote other people’s votes. I guess I like to lead by example.”

“I did not. Mostly because I didn’t know that many people so I didn’t really know who to vote for.”

SPEAKOUT Did you vote in the HUSC elections?

Michael Martin Sophomore

Phoenix MonginFirst-Year

Dan MolitorSophomore

Ellen HenryFirst-Year

8 Opinion The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

PHOTOS | MARISA GONZALEZ, ORACLE

Bundle up, storm’s a-comin’

JAKE BARNARD

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 4, I was ejected from the student center. I, a student, was ejected from the student center. At the time, I was quietly reading my notes on Rawls’ conception of a liberal democratic state (I’ll allow you to draw your own ironic conclusions once you’ve finished reading) when a man dressed in a snappy form-fitting suit and red Converse high-tops asked me to leave the building unless I was a part of the night’s event. It was the President’s Circle Dinner, a formal affair to which prestigious and likely-to-donate alumni are invited. I, a graduating senior of Hamline, was politely asked to leave the student center in order to make room for a crowd of well-dressed and well-intentioned alumni. Because I was approached congenially and respectfully, I took no offence by the request.

Once I found myself outside, I began to take offence. It was cold. It was so cold that I wished I had packed an extra pair of mit-tens and a fleece jacket. I don’t blame the administration, I don’t blame the attrac-tive man in red shoes, and I don’t blame the pushy and dismissive grey-haired Safety and Security officer. I blame myself. I had foolishly neglected to bundle up on a chilly early October night in Minnesota. If for some reason you have chosen to cling to my often rambling and shamelessly sarcastic opinions, hear this. Bundle up Pipers, we’re in for a cold winter.

If this is your first winter here, you’re in for a grueling few months. I recommend carrying an extra pair of mittens and a scarf at all times. Maybe you grew up with the cold, maybe this is old news. Have you experienced the Hamline winter? It’s a little less physically dangerous, but no more predictable than the Minnesota winter. A cold snap might strike at any moment, much like a man in red shoes could ask you to leave a building superfi-cially designed for your use.

You’ll need warm clothes, no prepara-tion is too extreme. Long underwear is a gift from the gods, as are wool socks. In the middle of January, skin can easily freeze after ten minutes of exposure. Beyond the obvious concerns of hairless endothermic mammals, keep in mind the specific perils of the Hamline winter.

Consider the metaphoric winter we find ourselves enveloped by. We’re coldly ignored by the president and the Board of Trustees. Regardless of your stance on any given political issue, do you believe that the board and the president will repre-sent the student body when push comes to shove? Do you think that the Ham-line administration will lend a shoulder when your (metaphoric) car is stuck? Do you trust them to assist the student body through their post-adolescent trials and tribulations?

If I may wax poetic, don your hats of skepticism. They’ll shield you from bliz-zards of patronization that blow from the president’s office. Protect yourself with multiple layers of facts; they’re hard to find but they’re warm like wool. Even when they’re drenched by a rain of mis-information they’ll serve you well.

Do you drive to school? Parking and driving will be a frustrating adventure. You’d better learn the winter parking rules. Keep reading The Oracle for updates regarding parking policy in St. Paul. In addition to being knowledgeable of where to put your car, keep in mind the places you yourself are and aren’t allowed to go. You may protest ten feet from the student center, but you may not go to a Board of Trustees meeting. You may not use the dining hall during the president’s dinner; instead, you may eat an overpriced meal at the Walker Fieldhouse.

Enough of this thinly veiled criticism. What’s truly important is that you bundle up for the winter, especially those of you who haven’t experienced one at Hamline before; it’s unforgiving and uncaring. If you don’t prepare yourself, you’ll regret it.

‘Do you think that the Hamline administration will lend a shoulder when your (metaphoric) car is stuck? Do you trust them to assist the student body through their post-adolescent trials and tribulations?’

Neighborhood noise patrol

Opinion 9The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

Coincidences

Have you ever seen the presi-dent’s office? It’s a pretty place. I was summoned by the president herself to discuss my somewhat-assump-tive antics writing for The Oracle, a couple weeks back, right before the amendment issue blew up.

The president had interesting things to say, but more consequen-tial were my questions about layoffs. After so many weeks of asking every-body the same question, “Where did we lose student services?” not even the president will answer.

All I wanted was clarity. All I still want is clarity. Students invest thousands of dollars to pay for the salaries, buildings and resources of Hamline University. They have the right to be skeptical about their investment and deserve transpar-ency.

When I asked for specifics on lost services, President Hanson said, “I’d be happy to have another interview with you, I could get my materials in front of me, and go right down the list.” She also told me that she’d check the list to see if any of the layoffs affected student services or academic experiences. “And none of these positions, to my recollection, and I’d be happy to check the list, directly impacted student services or academic experience,” Hanson said.

But they have impacted us. There have been many rumors about where the cuts are, but I only have one thing confirmed: we lost one (overall) full-time position at the writing center. That’s a cut that directly impacts student services.

A few days later, I e-mailed the president asking for the promised list. She denied it to me, citing “personnel privacy issues,” and so I never saw any list. Hanson wrote in response, “As I read over your questions, it appears you are going back to topics of staff posi-tions and restructuring that were covered extensively last spring.” All she would write about the list is that “of the net 12 people, four took other positions at Hamline, 25% were from the School of Law and the remainder were from a number of areas.”

I received very few specifics oth-erwise. In one of her answers the president wrote that “this infor-mation [specific cuts and criteria for those cuts] was clearly shared at the budget advisory committee forum and in my open forum com-munity meeting on May 11. We were very open about the need for these actions and believe we communi-cated well in the spring to ensure that it was very clear to faculty and staff that position adjustments would be happening.”

Since The Oracle was late to the party, we’ve been left out of the loop on a multi-office restructuring that resulted in 12 affected positions. That’s not fair. It is the newspaper’s obligation to cover that.

Let’s think of the bigger picture, the bigger “loop.” Two Tuesdays ago at the infamous amendment dia-logue, the comment that revealed the most was one short remark by Professor Sharon Preeves. She speculated that President Hanson announced the no-stance con-veniently right before the faculty passed their resolution — a resolu-tion arguing for the administration to take a public stance. Provost Eric Jensen assured the audience that “the issue of timing was coinciden-tal.”

Well, is it a coincidence that the layoffs at the end of last year hap-pened under interim provost Dean Matachek, freeing the new provost from claiming responsibility?

Is it a coincidence that in plan-ning the writing center portion of the new Student Success Center, the director of the Writing Center was not consulted, even when she asked to be involved? She has since resigned and accepted a position at U of M.

Is it a coincidence that one of the Board of Trustees members is asso-ciated with US Bancorp, the owner of US Bank, the fifth largest bank in America? Look at the top left corner of your student IDs — US Bank.

Is it a coincidence that McGough Companies, which has a represen-tative on the Board of Trustees, was chosen to build the $36 million Anderson Center, along with other buildings on campus?

If big decisions are shrouded in ambiguity, skeptical students will jump to cynical conclusions about the university’s economic motiva-tions, whether these conclusions are warranted or not.

Perhaps I’m just being a blub-bering fool. That’s my hope, that I’m simply in over my head, making a big stink out of nothing. If that’s the case, then the solution is easy. Tell us what’s going on.

‘Since The Oracle was late to the party, we’ve been left out of the loop on a multi-office restructuring which resulted in 12 affected positions. That’s not fair. It is the newspaper’s obligation to cover that.’

STEVEN ROTCHADL

STEVE MERINO

From a student concerned about the proposed Voter ID amendment.

Hey Hamline,

The Marriage Amendment isn’t the only civil rights issue on the ballot this year. On November 6th we will also be voting on the Voter ID bill. This bill has the potential to prevent 700,000 United States citizens from voting.

This bill would require citizens to present a state-issued ID with your current address at the polls in order to vote. It might seem benign, but think about your own situation. How many students reading this right now have a state-issued ID with their current address? Not very many. Most have an address from their parent’s house where they used to live. And don’t think you can just put your Hamline address on the state issued ID. Mail box numbers aren’t allowed.

This bill would also do away with same-day regis-tration as we know it. Citizens would be required to provide IDs they never had to before, and if they can’t they can only cast a provisional ballot. They would have to come back later — after the election is over — and provide their information to see if their ballot

counts. If the election is over, what’s the point? The point is their vote wouldn’t count.

The Secretary of State’s office also estimates the bill will cost Minnesota $50 million. No one has a plan for where that money will come from, because the entire bill hasn’t been written. (That’s right, we’re voting on something that hasn’t been finalized. There could still be changes after it has gone into effect.) And that $50 million has to come from somewhere. Will it be from the state, raising our income tax or slashing programs? Or will it be from the county, increasing our property taxes? Money doesn’t appear from thin air.

Think about this on Election Day. What will Min-nesota be like if 700,000 of us can’t vote? How can democracy function without us?

Dianna FieldingSenior, SociologyCLA (‘13)

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Hamline has somewhat of a bad reputa-tion for being located in a neighborhood that is both unsafe and unwelcoming to students. I hate to break it to everyone, but it’s possible that Hamline students are, in fact, the reason negative activities such as break-ins and violence occur around our small campus.

During my four years at Hamline, this is the first year that I have lived far off campus. My first year I lived in the Heights and then my sophomore and junior years I lived in a house on the corner of Hewitt and Hamline Avenues. During my time living on and around campus, I felt rela-tively safe walking around the neighbor-hood; how I miss those 2 a.m. walks to SA.

During my junior year, however, things started to go downhill a bit. There was a two week period where my girlfriend, a housemate and a neighbor all had the windows of their cars smashed and things stolen from inside. Some may say that this is just the result of living in a city, but I would argue that Hamline students have more than prompted this type of behavior, and in some cases, have become involved in the vandalism that happens around our campus.

While in my first year at Hamline, I was like many other Hamline students. I walked around the neighborhood at night making a ton of noise because there was nothing better to do. I really did feel safe in this community. Now though, we have students walking around campus and the neighborhood, being rude to members of the community. A few weeks ago anthro-pology Professor David Davies wrote a letter to the editor explaining his encoun-ter with two Hamline students and how they were openly rude to him even after he identified himself as a Hamline professor.

These two students don’t necessarily represent a large portion of the Hamline community, but when they identified themselves as Hamline students, they opened up criticism to wider generaliza-tions about the entire student body.

One thing that is important to take into

consideration is the fact that Hamline is located right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Many schools don’t face that same challenge. I bring this up for a couple of reasons.

First, living in a neighborhood gives Hamline students the opportunity to really become active members of this community. Whether that means attend-ing local music events at Ginkgo or doing volunteer work for the surrounding area, Hamline students really do have a great chance to be become important contribu-tors to this neighborhood.

Second, while it is obviously impor-tant to keep our neighbors happy, you may be surprised to know that if we upset them too much they could go to the city and start asking for changes. It is in Ham-line’s best interest to stay on good terms with our neighbors. The biggest issue is city street parking. Right now, Hamline is experiencing a parking problem. With an increased student body size and higher parking prices, it seems logical that many students, myself included, have opted to park on the street. This may not seem like a problem, but what we need to remem-ber is that the community members can go to the city and ask for stricter parking rules on the residential streets by Ham-line. Recently, the residents living around St. Thomas went to the city and asked that the residential streets surrounding the campus be available for parking only with a St. Paul parking permit. If we aren’t careful, this could happen to us.

What I’m trying to get at here is how important it is for Hamline students to be respectful of the community that we live in and share with many great people. We have a wonderful opportunity to do good and be part of not only a univer-sity community, but a neighborhood. It is important to think beyond what might be a fun Friday or Saturday night and think about what will be best for everyone in the long run.

‘You may be surprised to know that if we upset [our neighbors] too much they could go to the city and start asking for changes. It is in Hamline’s best interest to stay on good terms with our neighbors.’

Hamline’s opponent changed on Saturday, but the story mostly stayed the same.

The Pipers were once again their own worst enemy in their conference matchup with St. Olaf, turning the ball over five times in a 48-14 loss that had some bizarre plays and strong individual perfor-mances.

The wildest play came in the first quarter on a 4th-and-3 for Hamline at the St. Olaf 10-yard line. Sophomore quarterback Kevin Ackerley was hit in the backfield and fumbled, and the ball seemed to have a mind of its own as it squirted out of the hands of various players until the Oles finally jumped on it nearly 40 yards away from the original play.

That set the tone for the game, which had several unusual big plays. In the second quarter, Ack-erley ran all over the field, evading a pass rush before hurling the ball into the endzone, where it appeared to be intercepted by St. Olaf. However, first-year Austin Duncan wrestled the ball out of the defender’s hands on the way down and scored Hamline’s first touchdown in a play eerily remi-niscent of the infamous Packers/Seahawks Hail Mary from a few weeks ago.

The weird scoring plays contin-ued late in the third quarter, when St. Olaf lined up for a 53-yard field goal. It turned out to be a fake that fooled the Hamline defense and their kicker, Lucas Wainman, threw a 36-yard touchdown to Derek McGaffrey.

That made the score 45-14 Oles, but the teams were more evenly matched than the score indicated. Hamline moved the ball effectively most of the game, but had diffi-culty punching it into the endzone

due to turnovers.Duncan and Ackerley both ran

for over 100 yards, combining for 264 yards between them. But Ack-erley also turned the ball over four times. Two of Hamline’s turnovers came inside the St. Olaf 10-yard line.

St. Olaf’s offense proved dif-ficult to stop when they had the ball. The Oles averaged 8.6 yards per play and were often working with a short field due to Ham-line turnovers. Quarterback Dan Dobson had 140 passing yards on 13 attempts, 84 rushing yards, and threw three touchdowns. Running back Michael Thai ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

St. Olaf sits near the top of the MIAC now with a 3-1 conference record. The Pipers fell to 0-4, tied for last with Saint John’s.

Hamline’s next game is this weekend at Concordia. The Cob-bers are 2-1 this season and 4-1 overall.

Turnovers cost Hamline againSt. Olaf capitalizes on Piper mistakes to hand them a 48-14 homecoming loss.Josh Epstein jepstein@hamlineoracle.com

After a 3-1 home loss versus Luther, a team they beat earlier this year, coach Audrey Ludwig says her team needs to be more consistent.

Hamline’s volleyball team faced Luther on Saturday, homecom-ing day. These two teams squared off earlier this year during the St. Kate’s tournament, when the Pipers won 3-2.

Prior to the game the Pipers were undefeated in nonconfer-ence play, with an overall record of 14-6. All six losses came from MIAC opponents.

The Pipers won the first set, but during the second set Luther took control with a 17-8 lead. Ludwig called a timeout to help the team

regroup. After that they went on a scor-

ing run, but at the end lost the set 21-25. After losing the third set they found themselves down 2-1.

In a tightly contested fourth set, Luther began to pull away, taking a 23-17 lead. Ludwig called another timeout to fire up the team for one last rally.

“We can beat this team,” Ludwig said. Her talk appeared to fire up the players.

After the break the Pipers scored four consecutive points, cutting down the lead to 23-21. But Luther sealed the game 3-1, after winning the fourth set 25-22.

“It’s frustrating,” Ludwig said after the game. “We played Luther earlier in the year and won in five and today come here and lost in four.”

She mentioned that they will get another opportunity to play Luther at the UW-LaCrosse tour-nament on Friday, Oct. 12.

Despite sophomore Becka

Moze’s 28 assists, Ludwig felt the teamed struggled in their passing and serving.

“That’s something that’s been more consistent in our previous games,” she said.

To address the issue she said it will be emphasized during this week’s practice.

“We’re just inconsistent and that’s kind of the deal breaker. That’s why we haven’t been able to beat some teams, because we’re up and down, up and down. We need to be more consistent,” Ludwig said.

Ludwing, in her third year as coach, mentioned that fast paced-intense practicing is something that has improved. She said that the team now has more depth and can practice at a very high level, so she expects that to translate into games on a more consistent basis.

She acknowledged that the team’s youth may be the cause of the team’s inconsistencies. How-ever, she said it’s not an excuse.

“We’re halfway through our season and had a lot of reps, a lot of practice; they know the way we train,” Ludwig said. “So it’s on them and expected of them to perform the way we need them to perform. Youth is a part of it but I don’t use that too much as an excuse…they have to be ready to go.”

The team now stands at 14-7. Down the road the team will face a few more MIAC teams, which include Gustavus, Macalester, Saint Mary’s and Augsburg.

Their next game is against Gus-tavus Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

“I feel very confident play-ing Gustavus,” Ludwig said. “We played them in a scrimmage ear-lier this year and beat them too. If we play at the level we can play — pass well, stay consistent — then definitely I expect to win.”

Consistency is the key for PipersHamline volleyball looks to finish their rollercoaster season on a high note.Gino Terrell gterrell@hamlineoracle.com

VOLLEYBALL

FOOTBALL

10 Sports The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

“We’re just inconsistent and that’s kind of the deal breaker. That’s why we haven’t been able to beat some teams, because we’re up and down, up and down.”Audrey Ludwig

Volleyball coach

PHOTOS | ANDREW MAAS, ORACLELeft: Sophomore quarterback Kevin Ackerley breaks open a run against the St. Olaf defense. Ackerley ran for 117 yards in the Hamline loss.Right: Believe it or not, this play be-came a Hamline touchdown. First-year Austin Duncan (28) grabbed the ball from the St. Olaf defender on the way down for a 24-yard touchdown. Duncan had 171 yards from scrim-mage and a touchdown in the game.

MIAC STANDINGSSchool MIAC Overall

Bethel 3-0 5-0

St. Thomas 3-0 5-0

Augsburg 3-1 4-1

St. Olaf 3-1 5-1

Concordia 2-1 4-1

Carleton 1-2 3-2

Gustavus 1-3 2-3

Hamline 0-4 1-4

Saint John’s 0-4 2-4

MIAC Overall Concordia 5-1 7-2-1Bethel 4-1-1 7-4-2Saint Benedict 4-3 5-4-2Augsburg 3-2-1 8-3-1St. Olaf 3-2-1 5-5-2Hamline 3-3-1 8-3-1St. Thomas 3-3-1 4-6-1Gustavus 3-4 5-6Carleton 2-2-2 6-3-3Macalester 2-3-1 6-5-1St. Catherine 2-4 7-5Saint Mary’s 0-6 0-12

MIAC WOMEN’S SOCCER

EDITOR’S DESK

One of the most popular features on pretty much any sports website is their “power rankings,” where teams in a league are ranked by their analysts from best to worst.

It’s easy to see why power rankings are popular: they’re fairly easy to gener-ate and automatically create conversa-tion and debate. I don’t have access to ESPN’s web data, but I’m sure that their weekly NFL and MLB power rankings are some of the biggest click-generators on the site.

Unfortunately, the power rankings also encourage lazy analysis, and have come to represent some of the worst traits of media in 2012. I’ve seen the term “click-bait” a lot to refer to online articles that get a lot of people to click on them but o!er no real content, and power rank-ings seem to fit this bill.

The biggest problem with most power rankings is that they don’t go much beyond sorting the teams by their win/loss record. Sorting by wins and losses isn’t bad if you’re just trying to rank teams on what they’ve done so far, but a true power ranking would focus on being predictive.

For example, the Saints have gotten o! to an abysmal 0-4 start this year. But does anyone really think they’re one of the worst teams in the NFL this season? On a neutral field, they would likely be favored over teams like Arizona that have good records but not the same track record of success.

If these power rankings went at least one step beyond the records and focused on breaking down numbers or using advanced scouting, they would be worthwhile. But most of the time they feel like lazy conversation starters that are cranked out at the last minute.

ESPN knows that any power ranking will naturally generate discussion because fans get upset that their home team isn’t ranked in the right place. But for the worldwide leader, there should be higher expectations.

So how about a power ranking that actually takes some words and space to analyze the teams? Or maybe some sort of information beyond a one sen-tence blurb.

Or another suggestion: stop doing power rankings altogether and focus on real analysis.

The trouble with power rankings

—JOSH EPSTEIN, ORACLE

Hamline alumna and women’s lacrosse coach Meg Herlofsky (’10) has some big plans involving her specialty sport.

“I’m looking to bring the game of lacrosse back to the reserva-tions,” she said.

Over the summer, Herlofsky worked on a program called Lax-4-Life that sought to inspire young Native Americans with the game of lacrosse. The camp, which took place from July 23 to 27, was a partnership between the Fond Du Lac Band of Chippewa, the Minne-sota Army National Guard and the Minnesota Swarm of the National Lacrosse League.

At the camp, young Native Americans were coached by mem-bers of the Swarm, with a focus on lacrosse as “a way of offering a healthy alternative to much that afflicts our children, to include gangs, drugs, violence and obe-sity,” according to the program’s website.

While the camp had previously focused primarily on boys, this year they included girls for the first time, and Herlofsky was selected to work with them. She says the lessons they learn from lacrosse are extremely valuable.

“Any sport is a phenomenal physical and social outlet,” Herlof-

sky said. “It teaches loyalty, team-work, self-esteem, body image, and healthy living, all of which are very important for young women.”

But lacrosse specifically has a special connection with Native Americans. The sport has a rich history with tribes and played a significant role in Native American culture.

“Lacrosse is also a native sport,” Herlofsky said. “It is spiritual and played for healing. It was played for ‘the creator.’”

According to uslacrosse.org, “[Lacrosse’s] origins are rooted in legend, and the game continues to be used for curative purposes and surrounded with ceremony. Game equipment and players are still ritually prepared by conjurers, and team selection and victory are often considered supernaturally controlled.”

The site goes on to say that the game eventually declined among Native Americans. Over 100 years later, lacrosse is now one of America’s fastest growing sports, although the current version is a bit different from the style played by the Native Americans.

Now Herlofsky is bringing her own project inspired by Lax-4-Life to Hamline, with hopes of reaching out to Native American girls who could be interested in lacrosse and higher education.

Herlofsky says many girls living on reservations tend to not move on after high school, often because they don’t consider higher education a possibility.

Herlofsky said that empower-ing these girls and showing that

they’re wanted has been the most rewarding part of her experience so far.

“I talked to two girls who were looking at colleges and told them they could come to Hamline,” she said. “I want them on my team because they’re strong women with stories. I want them to know they’re wanted and desired.”

Herlofsky hopes to bring five girls from the Fond Du Lac res-ervation to Hamline, where they will get a tour of the campus and a chance to play with the Hamline women’s lacrosse team. An exact date hasn’t been set, but she’s shooting for a weekend in Novem-ber.

Herlofsky’s project has been aided by the Hamline Center for Excellence in Urban Teaching, Javier Gutierrez of Residential Life, Area Coordinator of the Heights Mike Gerold and Coordinator of Campus Recreation Lamar Sch-ingles.

“I couldn’t have done it without them,” she said.

This project is hopefully just the beginning for Herlofsky, who has bigger goals for the future.

“The camp will continue to grow,” she said. “I want to start a formal girls team in Fond Du Lac, build teams from all over, and create a tribal league.”

In the meantime, Herlofsky also continues to coach her lacrosse team at Hamline, which is cur-rently practicing multiple times per week during its offseason.

For more information on the project, email Herlofsky at mher-lofsky@gmail.com.

Lax puts girls on the right trackHamline alumna uses lacrosse to reach out to young Native Americans.

Josh Epstein jepstein@hamlineoracle.com

LACROSSE

On Oct. 6, the game between Hamline and Saint Mary’s kicked off at Paterson Field. Prior to the game, the Pipers were 7-3-1 and still in hunt for a playoff spot. This game was crucial, as their season would be on the line.

This game featured some of Division-III’s top play-ers: sophomore Aileen Scheibner, former 2011 All-MIAC team and currently tied as the league’s leader in goals, squaring off against goalkeeper Miranda Halling of Saint Mary’s, who is leading the league in saves.

The game was deadlocked at halftime with a score of 0-0. In the majority of the second half, the Pipers took control of the ball and kept it in Saint Mary’s end. They finally scored,taking a 1-0 lead. With 11:58 left in the final half, Saint Mary’s struck back, tying the game at 1-1. Exactly twenty seconds later the Pipers drove downfield with a goal of their own to take back the lead at 2-1.

They held on and once again came out victorious. In the end, it appeared that last week’s MIAC Women’s Soccer Athlete of the Week Molly Jacobs was the better goalkeeper. The Pipers improved their record to 8-3-1 and stay alive in the playoff hunt.

After the game, Coach Ted Zingman said the team played well overall and took control of the game.

“I was impressed with our response right after (allowing) the goal,” he said. “Overall a good win for

the team.”Zingman mentioned that he is aware that his cur-

rent team is approaching the school’s record for most wins in a season; they now have eight, the previous mark is ten and that has happened twice. Both marks were set by Zingman in 2007 and 2011.

“It would be nice to break that program record for wins in a season,” Zingman said.

The Pipers have six games left on their schedule. With the team’s hot streak, it’s a possibility that the record could be broken, and that this could be the best squad of girls to ever play for Hamline’s soccer team.

“It’s a really great group of girls,” Zingman said. “They get along so well and how close they are off the field really comes out on the field. It’s just a pleasure to coach them.”

The Piper women only have two games left at Paterson Field as four of the six final games are on the road. Their next game is tonight, Tuesday Oct. 9, at Paterson Field as they face University of Wisconsin-Superior.

A big rivalry game that’s coming up is against the Augsburg Auggies on Oct. 19, which can very well be what the season comes down to. Both teams are cur-rently fighting for playoff contention; this could pos-sibly be the biggest game in the history of Hamline women’s soccer.

“Quite honestly, we’re not focused on that right now…our focus is one day at a time,” Zingman said. “Our focus right now is having a great practice on Monday and get ourselves ready for our game on Tuesday and when Augsburg comes, it comes.”

Hamline stays alive with winThe Pipers get one step closer to a playo! spot and the most wins in team history.

Gino Terrell gterrell@hamlineoracle.com

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Sports 11The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

“It’s a really great group of girls. They get along so well and how close they are off the field really comes out on the field. It’s just a pleasure to coach them.”Ted Zingman

Women’s soccer coach

“Any sport is a phenomenal physical and social outlet. It teaches loyalty, teamwork, self-esteem, body image, and healthy living, all of which are very important for young women.”Meg Herlofsky

Women’s lacrosse coach

12 Local The Oracle | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

PHOTOS| http://www.wabashas-treetcaves.com/, http://maxai-

r2air.com/AIR/hangardance.html Left: The entrance to the Wabasha Street Caves and swing dance hall. Right: A poster that advertises the swing dances at the Commemorative Air Force hangar.

ILLUSTRATION | ANNA MONIN, ORACLE

Jena Felsheim jfelsheim@hamlineoracle.com

DANCE

The Commemorative Air Force Hangar throws two shindigs every year — one in May and one in September. All year round the historic Air Force museum offers tours and flights of their vintage, world war 2 era planes, but on those two days it turns its hangar into a temporary dance floor for swing dancers to get down.

The Wabasha Street Caves offer a unique under-ground experience. The brick-lined caves fill 12,000 square feet and include a carpeted dining area and tiled floors. In the 1920s and 1930s the caves were used to

house a nightclub and a speakeasy that was frequented by gangsters. Today most of their events are themed around the gangster era. Every Thursday night at 6 p.m. the Caves open their door and host swing dances set to the smooth

jazz of local musicians. Just don’t forget the password to get in: “Gus sent me.”

The Twin Cities Rebels Swing Dance Club is a sal-vation for any budding or expert

swing dancer. The club teaches classes on swing dancing and throws events throughout the year. Memberships costs $25 and gets you a slick discount on classes and access to special events.

Experience swing dancing at cool joints in St. Paul.

COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE HANGAR310 Airport Road Hangar #3 Fleming Field

South St. Paul

http://www.cafmn.org/

TAPESTRY FOLK-DANCE CENTER3748 Minnehaha Ave S

Minneapolis, MN

http://tapestryfolkdance.org/index.php/home

TWIN CITIES REBELS SWING DANCE CLUBSocial Dance Studio 3742 -23rd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN

http://www.tcrebels.com/in-dex.html

WABASHA STREET CAVES215 Wabasha St. Paul, MN

http://www.wabashastreet-caves.com/

You have seen it in the old films: the hearty vibration of jazz, the cool cats in their suspenders and fedoras, the gals’ dresses twirling as they dance. Swing dancing is a staple of our collective cultural memory. It’s a child of an era come and gone. But you do not need a time machine to recapture that spirit; swing dancing is alive and well in St. Paul. Instead of just shooting the breeze with your pals all night, pull out your dancing shoes and hit the town.

Locations of the top local swing scenes