When I meet someone new at Gustavus, I am usually asked a rather unconventional question: “Why Gustavus?” This question is asked in a very similar way to: “Where are you from?” It’s asked with intrigue, with shiny eyes, hungry for information. At times, the air of the person on campus asking this Gustavus question, is aligned with the emotive response to my answer to … Continue reading The otherness: why Gustavus?
For a Swedish Lutheran college in the Midwest, Gustavus has a pretty impressive variety of cultural events on campus. Our student body may not be as diverse as our mission statement likes to claim, but those students who are from a variety of ethnic backgrounds still manage to have a strong voice when it comes to their student organizations. As a frequent attendee of events … Continue reading Attend local cultural events
Ever since I was a child I have thrived in academic situations that involved using creativity. I looked forward to Art Class (that came twice a week for less than an hour); I lived for the days in English that we got to do creative writing rather than simply analyzing why a character’s shirt was red on page 146. I was fortunate enough to attend … Continue reading Students deserve creative freedom
Have you ever wondered how ABBA was discovered? Celine Dion? Or where the song Volare came from? Look no further than Eurovision, the Eurasia wide song contest. The most important day of the year is coming up, May 12. You may ask yourself, why May 12? It is not just National Brunch for Lunch Day, it’s the Eurovision Song Contest finale. I was first introduced … Continue reading Viva Eurovision!
Is it truly the end of the United States led world order? A report, primarily supported and sponsored by the U.S. Army’s Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development has concluded what many political scientist have been predicting in the last ten years; the United States led international order established after World War II … Continue reading Will we grab a slice of the new world order?
There is nothing that heightens one’s nostalgia for spring weather quite like a snowstorm in the middle of April. The sun is shining, days are longer, birds are chirping and… there’s snow as far as the eye can see. Most Minnesotans are familiar with this kind of inconsistent spring weather, even though I’m pretty sure it’s been awhile since a snowstorm this big has hit … Continue reading More than spring cleaning
Perhaps the most asinine solution propped up by the thoughtless is to “ban” something. The United States banned alcohol in the early 20th century. Abortions were once banned. “Sodomy” can be added to that list. And, while we’re at it, might as well toss in birth control as well. It makes sense, right? If one wants to reduce an action, just use the brute force … Continue reading Save your smoking gun
The average woman can expect to lose out on nearly $500,000 in the time of her career. “According to new study of Census Bureau data from the National Women’s Law Center, the average woman will make $430,480 less than her male counterpart over the course of 40 years of work. For African American women, that gap grows to $877,480, while for Latinas, it adds up … Continue reading The world shouldn’t be a boys club
For the second year in a row, the President of the United States has proposed the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts. Even though the NEA’s $150 million a year budget is but a tiny fraction of the federal budget, it has been under constant fire from many politicians ever since it was established 50 years ago as one of Lyndon Johnson’s many … Continue reading An education without the arts is incomplete
This year’s Minnesota winter has dragged on and on, and still continues although spring has already (officially) started. This year the cold weather and gusts of wind (it tends to be pretty Gustie up on the hill) kept me in my apartment for as long as possible. When the temperatures finally were no longer in the negative numbers, I jumped for joy. Dressed in my … Continue reading The long awaited Minnesota spring
