10/06/2021

HAMLINE UNIVERSITY | ST. PAUL, MN | 10.06.21 | VOL. 133 | NO. 3 | HAMLINEORACLE.COM

For an update on COVID-19 resources and information, see page 3.

Starbucks, staffing and scrambling

An in depth look on the movie “The Lobster,” page 5.

Affirming the inner child in all of us on page 8.

ILLUSTRATION | SENA ROSS, ORACLE

For a Piper’s football homecoming recap, see page 9.

The true G.O.A.T. of a stress relieving activity on page 12.

Like many businesses, Hamline’s Dining Services have felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anika Besst News Editor abesst01@hamline.edu Junior Abby White has a weekly routine of getting Starbucks with a friend every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

For White, Starbucks is a “comfort drink,” and, like White, visiting Hamline’s Starbucks is a highlight of many students’ days.

Since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, Starbucks has experienced a few hiccups impacting the Hamline community’s ability to get their cafe treats.

Student-workers speculate that due to the unusual circumstances of last year because of COVID-19, Starbucks and Dining Services were less prepared and staffed coming into this fall than years past.

This was exemplified one day in September when a rumor was circulating that Starbucks was closed due to health violations when in reality it was closed due to understaffing.

Additionally, employees have also been quitting, uch as the Starbucks supervisor.

Senior Khaleese Figaro, who is in her fourth year working at Starbucks, believes last year’s circumstances are responsible for a large part of this year’s turmoil.

“We used to have a lot more people my freshman and sophomore year, and then COVID hit… last year some people didn’t come back because of COVID reasons… so overall we have less staff, but with that being said, we also had

less hours so having less staff members was fine,” Figaro said. “We operated normally, we were open on weekends. Everything was good but then this year coming back, having less staff members, being open for like roughly the same amount of time, but having less staff members with a higher number of students coming back, it was harder to like deal with that transition...I do believe we did a great job and we now have a more full staff, we have to train them, but due to COVID, it was really hard to come back full strength while being like crippled.”

Emma Harrington, who is in her second year of working at Starbucks, has noticed this shift.

“I would just say that it’s been a little more chaotic in terms of, well, last year there was barely anybody on campus,” Harrington said. “So this year with this influx of people and restrictions being lifted, there are a lot more people coming in to get Starbucks, first of all, so it’s just a different experience working there...there just wasn’t as many student workers right off the bat.”

This is similar to what a new Starbucks employee has experienced. Sophomore Taylor Atkins has been at Starbucks for two weeks.

“My first day of training three of the people working were training and there was a huge rush that even some of the people that had been there for a while were having trouble with,” Atkins said.

see DINING page 2

2 News

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

DINING (continued from front)

EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION Editor-in-Chief Andrea Lindner Managing Editor Elizabeth Lowe News Editor Anika Besst Business Manager Julien Halabi Multimedia Editor Jacob “Coby” Aloi Web Editor Aidan Stromdahl Opinion Editor Vacant Sports Editor Cathryn Salis A&E Editor Olivia Koski Variety Editor Eliza Hagstrom Copy Editors Lydia Meier, Jordan Perzichilli Illustrators Abdirahman Ali, Sena Ross Senior Reporters Robin Doyscher, Jack Fischer, Kathryn Robinson, Jilly Wortman Reporters Mia Chiang, Ethan Hermann, Lydia Meier, Ma Shwe Senior Columnist Emily Brown, Will Nelson Columnists Robin Doyscher, AJ Washington, Dean Young Senior Photographers Aidan Stromdahl Photographers Taleah Alldritt, Nathan Steeves Distributor Robin Doyscher Adviser Trevor Maine

PHOTO | NATHAN STEEVES, ORACLE Hamline’s Dining Services are interested in getting more student workers. The unusualness of the past year due to COVID-19 has caused the need for many adjustments across campus.

Not all customers have necessarily noticed the unusualness of staffing. If anything, it coincides with all the pandemic-related stressors people face in every capacity of their life.

White describes almost all of her experiences this year as satisfactory.

“It seems like it’s adequate [staffing],” White said. “At the beginning of the semester it did take a long time to get our drinks, and then they were closed a few times and the last time I went there I got it fairly quickly.”

Starbucks is a work-study position that relies on students, along with their handful of full-time staff. Currently they have fewer fulltime employees because of turnover.

“There have been staff shortages and moments where we should have more people working, but they’re just, we’re students working, we’re busy we have classes we have other orgs that we’re involved in, and it’s not easy to, if someone calls out of a shift, have someone come in because we all have very tight schedules,” Harrington said.

“I would say that there have been some shortages, but I think it helps that we’re getting more people trained currently, so it seems like it’s hopefully going to get better.”

Harrington added that the overall environment feels different than the past year, related to COVID-19 safety, a reason some employees had to leave last year.

“I’m definitely, this year, less worried about getting sick from work which is nice, just because I know that we’re all vaccinated and we all are masked,” she said.

Moving forward, student employees feel things will quickly fall into place while recognizing there are aspects that need to be improved.

Harrington hopes to see communication improve from all sides of Starbucks after this. Atkins agrees with the importance of communication improving.

“I hope that there’s more communication between people, because if this was like a job out in the real world, and you just called in five minutes before a shift and said you couldn’t come in, you’d be fired, but we don’t have enough people to just fire people,” Atkins said.

Figaro thinks it would be beneficial to have more full-time employees since Starbucks cannot pull people from Dining Services when understaffed the same way the Bishop’s Bistro can since Starbucks requires different training and skill sets.

“They put a lot of filling of the shifts on the students... I feel like maybe if we had more full-time baristas because right now we only have two,” Figaro said. “I hope that Dining Services reaches out to get more full-timers who would preferably already know what they’re doing so we don’t have to train them too. They can just be there to be a solid person who’s there at a certain time every day, rather than maybe like once a week for three hours or something like most students operate.”

Dining Services were contacted and did not provide a comment.

POLICIES

T he Oracle has been published by Hamline 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 entertainment relevant to Hamline undergraduate students. We strive to make our coverage accurately reflect the diverse communities that comprise the student population.

Corrections The Oracle welcomes corrections of quotational and factual errors. Please send such commentary to: oracle@hamline.edu and place “Correction” in the subject line.

Direct advertising inquiries to oracle@hamline.edu.

The Oracle accepts most print and insert requests.

1536 Hewitt Ave. MB 107 St. Paul, MN 55104 oracle@hamline.edu hamlineoracle.com issuu.com/theoracle1888

ILLUSTRATION | SENA ROSS, ORACLE

News 3

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

Dashboard concerns remain The COVID-19 dashboard is once again a topic of debate amounting to a much larger issue surrounding lack of communication.

Anika Besst News Editor abesst01@hamline.edu

COVID-19 impacts another semester at Hamline with changes being made in regards to policy and safety. One aspect that remains in place is the COVID-19 dashboard.

The dashboard was implemented August 8, 2020 to keep the Hamline community updated on the pandemic’s status on campus. The dashboard’s accuracy has been a topic of debate since its origin.

The dashboard is updated every Tuesday and Thursday by 5 p.m. reflecting cases reported to the university by students, faculty and staff.

One of the largest topics surrounding the dashboard is its accuracy. Senior Summer Carleton finds the dashboard system to miss its mark. “ I think the dashboard is cool in theory, and it has been helpful to some degree, but ultimately it feels kind of... lackluster,” Carleton wrote via email. “I check it at least once a week just so I know what’s going on. The [information] almost never makes mathematical sense... As best as Hamline can try to push students to report their [COVID-19] status, there’s bound to be a handful of people who just don’t bother, either because they don’t know how, don’t have the time or energy… or simply don’t care…Things like the dashboard and shift plan have started to feel just like a legal safety-net to avoid responsibility than Hamline actually trying to keep its campus safe and informed.”

The accuracy of numbers reported has been a topic of discussion for many institutions with these sorts of information boards. “[The numbers] accurately reflect what is reported to us,” COVID-19 coordinator Melinda Heikkinen wrote in an email in response to this topic.

Another concern is what the dashboard is there for and whether the Hamline community understands how to comprehend the information.

“I’m struggling with the information-sharing and the communication. I feel like, theoretically, everybody knows the dashboard exists and that it can be checked. In reality, though, I don’t know that they really do [check] or know what it really is for or how often they should be checking it, or how often it gets updated,” said Jen England, Assistant Professor in the English Department. “Also, what is it really used for? I think there’s a, like a disconnect. Is this a behind the scenes kind of management thing or is this a tool to deliver information? I think there’s just a tension. If a student looks at it, are they going to know what to take away from it?”

One of the largest COVID-19 related changes since last academic year, was the vaccine mandate. However, the dashboard itself has not faced any specific changes since last year.

“The Delta variant has changed the game a bit but the dashboard reflects what has been reported to us,” Heikkinen wrote in an email. “For the safety of the community it is really important for everyone to complete the appropriate reporting form. That way we can ensure we are reporting accurate information, conduct the necessary contact tracing and get people set up for testing.”

The concerns about the dashboard reflect one of the larger issues surrounding Hamline and the COVID-19 situation: the community is frustrated by the lack of transparency and communication.

Junior Ellis Weston does not check the dashboard herself since she hears enough from those around her. Compared to last year, she feels a shift in Hamline’s handling of the situation.

“I feel uninformed about what they’re doing, I feel like last year there were a lot more open with what they were doing, but they could be more authentic.”

This is an opinion echoed by members of the Hamline community in every capacity. England, who has studied and taught communication in depth, wishes things were being handled differently.

“I say this recognizing how difficult all this is, how understaffed everyone is, how constantly evolving the entire situation is, so I think we’ve been incredibly flexible and adaptable… [But] we have to up that communication game, it’s not working right now,” England said. “I think people feel like they’re left in the dark a lot, or they’re getting mixed messages or we don’t know who’s getting what information. I’m not saying it has to be just as like, a dramatic increase in giving information… but something that we can consistently expect and is delivered to everybody… it’s just more consistency and more clarity and communication I think will go a really long way for everybody.”

According to the dashboard, there have been 21 cases of COVID-19 on campus since the beginning of this academic year. These are for students alone, as no staff or faculty have reported any COVID-19 cases. At the time of publishing this article, Hamline was experiencing two reported current cases.

The dashboard can be visited at: https://www.hamline.edu/covid-19/dashboard/.

COVID Resources: an October update

As COVID-19 continues to rage internationally, Hamline’s resources have shifted but are still available.

Anika Besst News Editor abesst01@hamline.edu

Another academic year has begun, yet COVID-19 persists.

Changes to policies have been made, with one of the largest being a vaccine policy implemented at Hamline. This was a decision announced on July 15, 2021 with the option for medical and religious exemptions allowed.

As for vaccine clinics, Hamline is still working to support the community however it can with plans to also provide COVID-19 testing options in place.

“Last year there was an abundance of resources available to us in terms of free testing supplies from the state and widespread testing locations in the community,” Tracey Stoeckel, part of Hamline’s COVID-19 Response team, wrote in an email. “This year the state has less resources to offer us. We are preserving resources at this time by

offering testing on campus only to those who are symptomatic or have a known exposure.”

COVID-19 Coordinator Melinda Heikkinen shared that there will be an increase in testing because of the severity and high-contagion of the Delta Variant.

“We will arrange for vaccine clinics on campus as needs dictate. As more and more people become fully vaccinated that need will likely decline, but we can always provide locations of vaccine clinics off campus,” Heikkinen wrote in an email. “We will be regularly testing those with approved policy exemptions and anyone identified as a close contact on campus. Anyone who is identified as a close contact while off campus can reach out to us for help in finding testing locations…We will also help anyone who is seeking information, testing or vaccines.”

The most recent COVID-19 vaccine event happened September 21, 2021.

As we enter flu season, Hamline has begun providing flu vaccine clinics happening October 5, 7 and 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines will also be available during this time.

A new app, Docket, has arrived in

Minnesota to assist anyone who has received a vaccine in the state. The app allows users to access immunization records on their devices, including the COVID-19 vaccine. This app is available on the Apple App store and Google Play.

“Students who want a test before going home or before and after travel can find one at Roy Wilkins Auditorium or can order a Vault test by mail,” Stoeckel wrote. “We work closely with [the MN Department of Health] and always take advantage of anything they offer.”

Alternative spaces for those who must quarantine or isolate have also been retained including meal delivery to these spaces and a case management team for those individuals.

Modalities are also different this year with more classes being in-person.

A survey was sent to students from the Dean of Students on September 23 regarding how student’s experiences of more in-person modalities have been going this fall to help better prepare for the winter and spring terms.

“One of the challenges we face this year is the possibility of classroom exposures.

We are at [three] feet distancing in the classroom so if there is a positive case

identified in the classroom the students near them could have been exposed,” Stoeckel wrote. “It is especially important to wear a properly fitting mask and to avoid touching one’s face or readjusting the mask to make sure that you are protected when less than 6 feet from other individuals. If possible, maintain social distancing in the classroom and at any indoor events.”

For all COVID-19 resources including reporting cases, testing and vaccine information visit: https://www.hamline. edu/covid-19/

4 A&E

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

Lip sync legacy continues Homecoming weekend had a successful start with the annual lip sync once again in front of a live audience. Six student performances took place, each one captivating the audience in its own way.

Robin Doyscher Senior Reporter sdoyscher01@hamline.edu Olivia Koski A&E Editor okoski01@hamline.edu Students sat with excited energy as they waited for the show to begin. Cheers rose from the crowd as Hamline alumni Aaron Buergi emerged on stage in drag as queen Erin Bougie. During their time at Hamline, Buergi was well known for their stellar performances.

“It was almost nostalgic for me, because the last time I went, I was a freshman,” senior Annika Roe said. “Seeing Erin MC and host everything seemed very much like the past.”

The lip sync kicked off homecoming weekend on October 1 in the Anderson Forum. Last year, the annual lip sync took place online via virtual submissions, but this time Hamline’s programming board (HUPB) was able to safely bring the popular event back in person. HUPB has seen a lot of changes to its event planning methodology this year, but according to junior Emily Hildebrand, the new

campus rules have been very adaptable.

“So we usually go straight through CEM [Conference and Event Management]. We go through the process of ‘is this an indoor or an outdoor event?’”

Hildebrand said. “I want to give a shoutout to Kelly in CEM. She is wonderful and makes all these events possible.”

The 2020-21 school year brought its own challenges to campus events, but HUPB has been figuring out the best way to make these events happen.

“I’m new to the board this year. I know last year was hard to figure out how to do all these big campus events. We’re taking a lot of precautions but it’s still totally important to make fun events happen on campus,” Hildebrand said.

Before the show began, Bougie informed the audience that performances would be judged based on their lip syncing ability, outfit choices, creativity and crowd response. Students were encouraged to express when they saw something they liked, but to also show every performer love in the piper spirit.

Following an exemplary routine from Bougie to raise the crowd’s enthusiasm, a diverse range of performances took place. Starting out with a throwback, the trio Donna and the Dynamos danced a routine to “Super Trouper” by ABBA. The other group of the night presented an impersonation of Nickelodeon boy band Big Time Rush and their song “Boyfriend.”

“There weren’t as many groups this year, which maybe was a little bit disappointing, because I think that the group dancing is like cool to have everything choreographed. I think that’s way harder,” Roe said.

Each solo performance had its unique flair.

PHOTO | NATHAN STEEVES, ORACLE Donna and the Dynamos kicked off the student performances at the annual lip sync with a sweetly choreographed dance to the classic “Super Trouper” by ABBA.

PHOTO | NATHAN STEEVES, ORACLE T-Money won the third place prize at this year’s lip sync with an energetic performance to a mash-up of songs from the artists Nicki Minaj, Chlöe and Beyoncé.

T-Money did flips and tricks to a musical mix featuring Nicki Minaj, Chlöe and Beyoncé. Journey Out of Apathy underwent three outfit changes during the song “Electric Feel” by MGMT. Jeveu L’Argent brought the sass to the classic “Sweet Transvestite” by Tim Curry from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” To finish off an already fabulous show, Reagan Carpenter had the crowd giving a standing ovation following a performance of “Dance For Me” by Beyoncé.

Columnist for the Oracle AJ Washington, who performed under the stage name Journey Out of Apathy, spoke a bit about the process of conceiving and performing the lip sync routine.

“I decided to perform that song because I find it nostalgic. I have a snapchat video from 2019 of me dancing to that song while I was studying in East Hall.

It’s a very high energy song with amazing synths and guitars,” Washington said.

While each performance brought different choreography and personalities, Washington included a prop: a small room divider from which emerged multiple costume changes.

“I knew that I wanted to dance a bit but didn’t want any strict choreography. I wanted my energy and confidence to carry the performance,” Washington said. “I decided to do a couple costume changes just to keep the audience engaged and because I had a couple of clothing items that I wanted to wear but I didn’t know where or how and the contest seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

The three winners of the night took home a cash prize: third place was T-Money, second place was Jeveu L’Argent and first place was Reagan Carpenter.

“I did really like Reagan at the end,” Roe said. “That was my highlight. I was like okay she won, she won.”

HUPB has several other events planned for October. The Free Farmer’s Market on October 13 will be outside of the Hamline Church, and Anderson Center will host the October 15 film showing of “Halloweentown” and the October 29 showing of “The Conjuring.”

A&E 5

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

Unproductive criticism film review: The Lobster

STAFF PICK OF THE WEEK

How learned pressures can bury us before death: Dissecting “The Lobster” (or explaining why you shouldn’t stress about finding love).

TOPIC: Household Object

Ethan Hermann Senior Reporter ehermann03@hamline.edu If you don’t find a partner within the next few weeks, you will be dead.

Well, not exactly, but the pressures of finding love can certainly make you feel this way, and it is the premise of Yorgos Lanthimos’ darkly comedic romance film, “The Lobster.” Taking on the weight of spurious socially supposed necessities purported through the idealized perception of others can be scary. “The Lobster” takes the complex anxieties from loneliness and the unhealthy habits of forcing love and simplifies them as an absurdist, didactic story.

In a dystopia that parallels our world analogically, adults are forced to find a mate within 45 days or be punished by being turned into an animal of their choosing. For some, this isn’t much of a challenge, for others, their fate is seemingly already set. Forming connections with strangers isn’t always instant, so, without time as an ally, the capability of calculated ingratiation is essentially the determinant of life or death. People are falling for each other because they’re compelled to, not because they want to.

Now, a threat of being turned into an animal probably isn’t anywhere on your list of reasons to find true love (hopefully), but you’re not alone if you’re feeling some tense inclination to propitiate some degree of society’s subliminal directives that assure you that you’re essentially better off dead than single.

You’re not. While single people aren’t being subjected to liferisking trials that force them into relationships, there is an invisible timer pushing us to the same goal and it only finishes once you’ve achieved the goal or when it’s too late and you’re dead.

The presentation of these ideas is a bit bleak, and I know how onerous it can feel to perceive it this way, so I’ll offer some optimism. The aforementioned clock isn’t real; there is no trial.

I know, I know, with all 19 years worth of my wisdom, you could say I’ve become a bit of an expert on the topic of relationships. I mean, thank you, it’s very kind of you to say (and you’d be right) but that’s not where I’m trying to come from or what I want you to take away from this. In the real world of deleterious standards and performative social pulchritude, the world of vicarious living and accustomed instant gratification, perceived intrapersonal value and interpersonal consternation is what you make of it.

This isn’t to say that your feelings are illegitimate, they are absolutely real. Everyone understands that animals have a natural inclination to breed but that’s not the point. You’re not swiping through Tinder at 1 a.m. or burning through your selfesteem by obsessing over your desirability because biology told you to. The innate desire for companionship and/or procreation is healthy; the subconsciously inherited compulsion to replicate what others appear to derive pleasure from is not. It’s the “maybe if I look the right way?” It’s the “maybe if I just said the right thing!” It’s the “they didn’t like me, so I’m a failure.” When you see people happy in relationships then you’re likely to convince yourself that that’s what you need to be happy. Relationships are dope, but if you make it your goal to resolve whatever is creating a hole in you by filling it with an ideal of another person then you’ll only make the hole deeper. You’ll drain your energy and frustrate yourself before you’ll ever be happy. If you want love, the love has to come from you, not an idea.

My goal isn’t to preach the “right” way to go about things because, as shocking as this may sound, I actually am not an expert. I’m writing this with that special intensity of your average sleep-deprived college student on the off chance that it prevents one of you from becoming the lobster. So, here’s something else that’s true. People are just people. The next time you’re on a date or talking to your next Tinder match make sure you keep that simple fact in mind. Part of what’s so pernicious about the certain social reflection I talked about earlier is that it seeps into every

Sena Ross

Illustrator

Fan Cooler

SOURCE | IMDB facet of your social being. “Okay, that’s all fine and dandy but you never explained how this is what we make of it.” Hold on, I’m getting to that. It’s easy to fall into a habit of treating the pursuit of connection like it’s the 45-day retreat from “The Lobster”, but you don’t have to. If you don’t instantly fall in love on your first date, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TURN INTO A LOBSTER. You’re not a failure if you don’t find success right away. If things don’t just work out, it just means that there was no chemistry with that particular person. But there are other people and you have so much time. When you make love out to be this life or death game then it will be a life or death game. Take it from me, the guy with 19 years worth of wisdom.

“Now that it’s officially fall and us sweater lovers have awakened from our long hibernation, I’m finally enjoying the chilly crispy weather.

But some days still get super hot, especially with having absolute no air conditioning in my apartment, and I’ve been in love with my fan cooler. Thanks to my fan, I can breathe, sleep and concentrate for all of my studies.”

AFTER DEADLINE PODCAST Want to learn more about how we bring content to you?

“After Deadline” is the Oracle’s first official podcast. Each episode, the Oracle’s Multimedia Editor Jacob ‘Coby’ Aloi interviews reporters on their process in creating and writing articles.

Did you enjoy last week’s article “What about the Sophomores?”

by Variety Reporter Kathryn Robinson? Then be sure to check out the newest episode of “After Deadline,” “On the Subject of Sophomores,” which explores how the story was developed in time for print.

Available on Spotify and SoundCloud via our website, or by following the QR code.

6 Word Search

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

PETTING ZOO

GOAT

LLAMA

APPLE

CORN MAZE

CHICKEN

DONKEY

PONY

PUMPKIN

AUTUMN

RABBIT

FEED

ORCHARD

GRAPHIC | ANDREA LINDNER, ORACLE

Opinion 7

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

To Professor Dr. Julia Saunders

Dean Young Columnist dyoung04@hamline.edu

A reflection on the impact and life of chemistry professor, Julia Saunders, from students and faculty.

“She popped up out of the bushes, brushed the twigs and leaves off and said, ‘It’s a catbird!’”

I found myself smiling as chemistry professor Dr. Rita Majerle recounted stories to me about her colleague, Dr. Julia Saunders. Friday marked the memorial for the late Hamline professor, and after the service I was able to hear just a few things that made Julia’s time at Hamline so memorable.

Julia (she always insisted we call her by her first name) was a chemistry professor, and one of the first faculty members I met at Hamline. Only a few months before I enrolled in her class she had received the diagnosis of stage four cancer — though I would have never guessed her battle simply by interacting with her. Never one for self pity, Julia was

continually affable, open and upbeat. She carried a bright ambition and positive disposition everywhere with her; that, and her characteristic yardstick (as my peers will recall) that she always used during her lectures.

Any of my fellow students who knew Julia would be quick to speak of the impact she had in their lives—as a teacher with a gift of communication, and a mentor with a heart for encouragement. I recall the first day of class when she told us that we only needed two things to succeed in her class: effort and attitude.

As the semester progressed, it became apparent she held herself to the same standard.

As with her students, her colleagues felt a deep appreciation for her work. “To me, she exemplified what a teacher should be. She knew how to take a subject and explain it in a conversational tone; she knew how to bring her students to the next level,” Dr. Majerle said.

Chemistry professor Dr. Urvashi Gangal describes her similarly.

“An excellent professor and person. Very brave and courageous,” Dr. Gangal said.

It was hard for me to recognize at the time just how courageous Julia was, due in large part to her disdain for pity; she never wished others to treat her differently during her battle with cancer. Once or twice during office hours, I brought up her health to ask her how she was doing: she thanked me for the concern, but was far more concerned with how she could help me, be it drawing Lewis structures or balancing chemical equations.

Before Dr. Saunders served as a Hamline professor, she was a Hamline undergraduate student, taking classes and doing research with faculty such as Dr. Majerle and Dr. Matachek.

“Julia was the same as a student as she was a teacher: outgoing, talkative, friendly,” Dr. Majerle recalls. Beyond being a chemistry major, she was a dedicated softball athlete and later served as the faculty liaison for the Hamline team.

As Dr. Majerle was telling me stories about Julia,

she mentioned a time she found Julia deep in the bushes outside Robbins Science Center. Curious to know what she was after, she heard Julia exclaim, “It sounds like there’s a cat in there!” At this point I interrupted Dr. Majerle to ask what point in Julia’s undergraduate studies this occurred.

“No—this was when she was a faculty member, ‘’ she explained with a smile.

Julia’s love of nature carried well into her faculty years, and led her to adventures such as digging through the bushes of Robbins to find the source of an animal’s call. Moments later, Julia sprung up from the bushes, covered in twigs and leaves, happily announcing she found a catbird (known for its distinctive “meow”).

Months after I was out of Julia’s course (and shortly before her passing), I found an email in my inbox from Julia. While scrolling through her social media feed Julia found an article about music and the brain; remembering my interest in the topic, she took a screenshot and forwarded it to me, along with wishes for success in the upcoming semester.

This thoughtfulness was but one of the many demonstrations of her care for students for which she was so well known. She treated us like her family.

The Saunders family found a highlight even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Julia was able to spend much time together with her husband (also a Hamline alum) and her two young daughters in the months before her passing. All throughout her battle, Dr. Saunders continued to be active, engaged and positive-minded. Though she is no longer with us, I look forward to listening for the catbirds calling from the bushes outside Robbins, and thinking of Julia’s appreciation for these small moments. I know that students and faculty members alike will continue to miss her greatly and hold gratitude for her enduring impact.

PHOTOS | DEAN YOUNG, ORACLE Professor Dr. Julia Saunders, who also attended Hamline as an undergrad, has been immortalized on Alumni Way. She was known for her encouraging nature and positive attitude inside and outside of the classroom. A memorial was held for Julia over the weekend outside of Anderson for faculty, staff and students to attend and honor her life.

8 Opinion

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

Fish sex and personal identity

Will Nelson Senior Columnist wnelson08@hamline.edu

Meditations on biology’s Red Queen Hypothesis through the lens of personhood.

Picture this: a parasite is introduced to two different populations of the same species of fish, each living in separate, almost identical pools. After several years, one of the populations is covered in black spots and is rapidly dying off, while the other seems almost unaffected. What happened?

The key difference between populations is that one of them bangs.

The Mexican Poeciliid fish has two distinct variations–one that reproduces sexually, and one that reproduces clonaly. It was the pond with the sexually reproducing fish that was able to survive the

parasite. With the exchange of genetic information and the recombination of genes that accompanies sex, they were able to develop a biological defense against the offending parasite more quickly than the fish who simply clone themselves.

What does this have to do with identity and personhood? Worry not, I’ll get to that.

This study, performed by a team of scientists including Robert Vrijenhoek, was one of many that have helped to cement the Red Queen Hypothesis as a legitimate theory in the scientific community.

At its most simple, the Red Queen Hypothesis states that organisms never stop evolving because other organisms–competitors, predators, parasites etc.–are also evolving alongside them. It’s a biological arms race that’s endured since the beginnings of life itself.

The hypothesis’ name comes from a line in Lewis Carroll’s “Into the Looking Glass”, when Alice is running a race in the Red Queen’s garden but is unable to move anywhere, no matter how fast she runs.

“It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place,” says the Queen. So it is with organisms, constantly adapting to remain one step ahead of the other.

The hypothesis answers the question that lonely scientists locked away in their labs have pondered for centuries; why have sex when cloning is so much more efficient?

It turns out that it’s the most effective way to exchange genes, thus giving organisms that sought after evolutionary edge.

I don’t recommend using that line in bed… maybe if they’re a bio major, they’re into that kind of thing.

The implications of this result also effectively reduce the role of males in any population to a mere

vessel for carrying genetic information. Male power who?

But I think the beauty of this hypothesis extends beyond celebrating sex and irrationalizing the patriarchy. Like so many things in science, it holds a wisdom that transcends academia.

The day that we learned about the Red Queen Hypothesis in my Ecology class, I’d been reflecting as I washed my hands in the strange and magical bathroom on the lowest floor of Drew Science. I was thinking about how much my life circumstances had changed since I’d last been using that bathroom on a regular basis back in my first year. There are a completely new set of people in my life, a new living environment, new opportunities, new ways to spend my time. Almost every aspect of my life has changed dramatically–and I’ve changed with them.

Aren’t we all a little like those scrawny little fish down in Mexico–constantly changing ourselves at the most fundamental level to keep up with the changes around us? While the fish change their genetic makeup to fend off parasites, we change little snippets of our identities–things we value, how and who we love, where we spend our time–to suit the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Fate is the Red Queen, forcing endless change upon our lives and feeding us dry biscuits out of her pocket when we’re thirsty (that’s canon). The only choice we have is to accept the change, eat the damn biscuits and keep running.

Whether or not they understand it, Poeciliid fish live and die by a universal law that so many of humans are too quick to forget; change is perfect and constant–we will never arrive at where we’re going and all we can do is make the most of our fleeting time in transit.

Don’t stop feeding your inner child plicated political structure of the arc ship Zenon and her family lives on, and even predicted the venture capitalist desire to retreat into space with little thought of the common people—seeing as the main villain is a greedy business dude who wants to crash the station for the insurance money.

“I’ve concluded that we really need those spaces for ourselves to let our inner child run free.”

Robin Doyscher Senior Columnist sdoyscher01@hamline.edu

Society places a lot of importance on growing up, but maybe we shouldn’t always give in to the pressure.

There’s a 1999 Disney channel original movie called “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century” that I’ve been hyper fixating on for the past three years now. It’s about the titular character, a 13 year old by the name of Zenon Kar who lives on a space colony ship that orbits the earth. After Zenon is framed for causing trouble and is subsequently “grounded” (which just means she’s sent to Earth for a bit) the movie unravels the com-

Zenon is campy, has little to no budget, has awkward dialogue alongside earnest acting, is full of late 90s slang altered to sound ‘spacey’ (ceetuslupeetus and lunarious come to mind) and it is one of my favorite films of all time. It just takes me back to that innocent time of watching cheesy shows made for kids my age meant to teach us the most basic of moral lessons.

For a while I struggled with not just my love of “Zenon,” but my enjoyment of cartoons, certain video games, comics, art and various other hobbies.

I felt embarrassed that I hadn’t grown out of some of my favorite things, and hadn’t picked up more “adult” hobbies like binge drinking or doing taxes.

And yet, through the continued inner child work I’ve done over quarantine, which mostly included making myself 3 a.m. BLTs and watching cartoons, I’ve concluded that we really need those spaces for

ourselves to let our inner child run free.

The real world is kind of a crapsack right now, and has been for all of the past, and possibly for most of the foreseeable future. If someone wants to get stoned and watch “Avatar: The Last Airbender” why should we, as a society, deny them that? The amount of pressure placed on emerging adults to throw away their ‘childish’ dreams and hobbies to pick up more mature interests is so utterly ridiculous to me.

Hot take here, but those I know who are truly well and settled into adulthood—no matter where that may be—have never let their age or societal pressure force them to not love the things they enjoy. Art aimed at a child demographic is way more universal for some people—since hey, everyone was a child once.

The sole exception being Mel Gibson, who one day sprang fully-formed from a racist old guy’s head with the full intention of being a menace to society.

Look, I get that enjoying art made for children is a point of vulnerability for a lot of people. Kids are cruel, but adults are cold—in a way that makes you feel as though your very values and ideas can be wrong if they don’t slot well enough into what society deems appropriate for your role. But I am here, as an adult, to hereby give you permission to let your inner child run free. Watch cartoons, color with crayons, make elaborate telenovela style plots with calico critters. Just please, let yourself be a kid at heart, because one day we may not be around to enjoy that option.

Sports 9

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

The homecoming of normalcy The Hamline football team played their annual homecoming game on Saturday, ushering in a new wave of school spirit with their success against Saint Scholastica.

Cathryn Salis Sports Editor csalis01@hamline.edu Piper spirit had never been as low as it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the entire world.

The Hamline campus was shut down and classes were almost completely online. Activities were cancelled, sports were postponed and ceremonies were modified to maintain everyone’s safety from one another.

These harsh but necessary changes left everyone in a low mood for many reasons, and the incoming class of first-years in 2020 walked onto an empty campus. With no club meetings to attend or sports to spectate, new students were at a loss as to how to connect to the Piper pride they were promised when they committed to the school.

The class of 2020 graduated with little festivities and left the school feeling like they never truly got the ending they deserved.

Their senior year looked nothing like what they were expecting and felt that loss through the entire school year.

The professors and administrators expressed concern and love for their students through emails and over Zoom calls, but there was always the missing element of physical closeness and touch. It felt like normalcy was getting farther and farther away the longer the pandemic and mandatory quarantine lasted.

Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel was revealed and as more and more people get vaccinated, the closer the community gets to “normal.” One of the marks of return to “normal” times was this y e a r ’s h o m e c o m i n g football game against Saint Scholastica, boasting a huge turnout of students and parents alike and a dub for the Pipers.

“It’s crazy to see all these people, it’s so different from last year but it makes me appreciate this year more,” sophomore Chloe Kucera said. Having never been to a football game before, she was impressed by the amount of student supporters the team has.

The pep band, dance team and NSM student leaders were all present to help encourage the student section to make some noise. The Homecoming court was announced the night before and the court members were wearing their sashes at the game.

“The festivities are very fun and it finally feels like we are in a community,” Kucera said.

The football team also showed up strong and gave the spectators reasons to cheer loudly and often. The Pipers led the entire game, not allowing the Saints to score until the third quarter. In three hours, the Saints only tallied 18 points which was defeated by Hamline’s 34 point end-of-game score.

Despite the pouring rain that soaked the third and fourth quarter, the fans still enjoyed their time together. Older students have been missing the way Hamline used to celebrate together and unlike the first-years and sophomores, they have an idea of what Hamline used to look like pre-pandemic.

“It’s been really fun, it’s so nice to be able to see people out and about and in school spirit again because that was, you know, not possible last year, so it’s been really nice,” junior Maddie Sowinski of the homecoming court said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

This year’s homecoming football game was a great example of how much school spirit Hamline students should expect from their community.

As the year progresses and restrictions are lifted, more and more events can be held and more students can get involved in their school

PHOTOS | AIDAN STROMDAHL, ORACLE The Pipers faced off against the Saints on Saturday, October 2 at Klas Field. This is only the second time in three semesters the Pipers have played in front of fans at their home field. community.

“It’s really exciting, it’s good to see everyone back together and hanging out and cheering on the football team. It’s been a really fun experience, this homecoming,” senior Molly Garin of the women’s hockey team said. “I’m so excited everyone’s able to be back together.”

PHOTOS | AIDAN STROMDAHL, ORACLE Both the dance team, HU Prime, and the NSM student leaders performed at halftime on the field. This was the first performance HU Prime has held for Hamline.

FOR THE MOST UPDATED STATS, RECAPS AND STREAMS, VISIT HAMLINEATHLETICS.COM

10 Sports

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

Women’s hockey welcomes Whitney Whitney Colbert has been named the new head coach for the women’s hockey team and she is ready for a big season.

Jilly Wortman Senior Reporter jwortman01@hamline.edu Hamline’s women’s hockey team has made headlines many times through their success on the ice. This season, they hope to acquire another round of successes with a new head coach, Whitney Colbert.

Colbert may be new to Hamline but she is far from new to hockey as a former Division three athlete. She played for four years at Trinity College in Connecticut.

During her time there, she was an intern for the USA national hockey team. During her internship, she assisted in the 2013 Olympic trials. “ T h a t ’s w h a t really started to spark my interest i n c o a c h i n g ,” Colbert said. “I

always knew I wanted to be a part of hockey in some capacity and then the internship was how I continued to love the sport.”

Colbert has had much experience with winning. She has led past teams to victory after a 55 game losing streak, which might have something to do with her coaching philosophy.

“If you get to know your players, you get to coach them to the best of their abilities,” Colbert said.

She is also looking forward to being in the competitive atmosphere that the Hamline women’s team is a part of.

“The MIAC is a super strong league. The depth of the league is really strong and I’m looking forward to it,” Colbert said.

Colbert is not the only one looking forward to getting the season started.

The women’s hockey players are equally excited about Colbert’s entry into their team. Senior Molly Garin has a positive outlook on her new head coach.

“I think she’s gonna be really good for us, and be really good for the program,” Garin said.

With Hamline women’s hockey having lots of experience with success in the past, Colbert has big ambitions for the team this year.

PHOTOS | COURTESY OF HAMLINEATHLETICS.COM TOP: Senior Molly Garin has played on Hamline’s hockey team for all three of her seasons at HU and is a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. She is excited to work with Colbert and has a positive attitude about the change.

BOTTOM: Women’s hockey starts their season in November and play MIAC games almost immediately, which is not always the case for other sports. The team will start practice soon and Colbert’s coaching and the team’s skills will be on display very soon.

“Our ultimate goal is to win a national championship and that starts with winning our league first,” Colbert said.

Fans of the team might ask how Colbert is planning to accomplish these goals.

“It’s all about being process driven and believing we can have that win-win mentality.

We can win on the scoreboard but we can also win in the small victories, whether that’s good communication or positive energy in practice or blocking a shot in a big moment in a game.

Those moments are really important to me,” Colbert said.

Thankfully, due to the high rate of COVID-19 vaccinations slowing the spread, Hamline fans will be able to welcome Whitney and a regular season this year. Last year the women’s hockey team only played six games and had to cancel six others. The year before they had to cut their season short. Needless to say, it has been a long time since the women’s hockey team has had anything near a regular season.

“I know they’re excited to get on the ice, I think people are just ready to get going,” Colbert said.

There is much anticipation for the season to start, both from Colbert and the players. After many months of waiting, the women’s team will be able to glide back onto the ice for their first game in November with Whitney Colbert leading them into puck battle.

PHOTO | TALEAH ALDRITT, ORACLE Colbert attended Trinity College and played hockey for the school’s team, making her an expert on the Division three hockey player experience. Her unique standing as a former athlete allows her an important perspective on coaching.

PHOTO | COURTESY OF HAMLINEATHLETICS.COM Whitney Colbert is seen coaching a previous team of hers. Before Hamline, Colbert was the head women’s hockey coach at The Blake School for one year. The Hamline women’s team is excited to have her expertise and coaching philosophy applied to their team in the coming season.

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6,2021

Variety 11

Happy Homecoming court

PHOTO | COURTESY OF DEAN OF STUDENTS Four of the five homecoming court winners , left to right, sophomore Caleb Lueders, senior Crystal Camacho, sophomore Mohamed Shukri and junior Maddie Sowinski.

The fifith winner, senior Yee Thao, was unable to attend the event.

Hamline’s homecoming court was announced at the lip sync battle on Friday, October 1. The court had ten students and five winners were announced.

Eliza Hagstrom Variety Editor ehagstrom01@hamline.edu Every year during homecoming week, Hamline announces a homecoming court.

How these students are chosen and crowned is a huge event, yet in order to make this happen this year many factors needed to be considered. “[This event] was framed around the fact that we as an institution have been given the green light to operate with business as usual,” Patrick Haught, Assistant Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development said. “Due to the mask and vaccination policies Hamline has in place.”

The nomination and selection process of the homecoming court involves both students and staff members. Students nominate students that they feel deserve to be a part of the court and exemplify ‘Piper pride.’ “[This event will] give students the opportunity to participate and be involved.”

Haught said. The ten nominees selected for the court were chosen from those nominated by a panel of staff members. Haught explained that who ends upon court is not purely based upon the number of votes an individual receives, the strength of the nominations are heavily taken into consideration. The staff are required to be as unbiased as possible, not allowing outside knowledge of the nominees to sway their opinions. The nominations themselves show the strength and impact that the nominee has on the campus.

Due to Hamline’s size, many of the nominees were known to people on the selection committee. Yet, they are encouraged to only take into consideration what is mentioned in the nominations. So that what a student says in a nomination for another student showing the impact that they have had on your Hamline experience is the most important part of someone ending up on the court or not.

This year there were 337 overall votes on the ten nominees, more than double what last year’s voting turnout was. “Part of that is people being excited about being on campus again,” Haught said. Haught also explained that he believes the marketing across campus this year played a role in the increase in votes. He

specifically mentioned the all student emails and posters across campus.

The five winners were sophomore Caleb Lueders, sophomore Mohamed Shukri, junior Maddie Sowinski, senior Yee Thao and senior Crystal Camacho.

“The effort that the nominators put into the nominations, the strength of students’ involvement, their piper pride and overall the nomination is what makes [a good candidate,]” Haught said.

The winners were announced during the Lip-Sync competition.

Corrections for "Hamline student awarded artistic excellence award" from September 29, 2021 In a photo caption, Emily McKenzie’s sculpture was incorrectly labeled. The piece is titled “Remember Forgotten Emotions.”

McKenzie’s name was also mistyped as Mckenzie.

Variety 12

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2021

Maaaa for goats on campus!

Students were able to relieve some stress and enjoy the company of goats during goat yoga co-hosted by Hamline Peer Educators and the Hamline University Programming Board (HUPB).

Kathryn Robinson Variety Reporter krobinson12@hamline.edu

O n a b e au t i f u l , sunny Tuesday afternoon, instead of the noises of basketball games and friendly competition, the sound of goats could be heard on Mulkern Sport Court.

Nearly 40 students got together to laugh, move their body and enjoy some goat yoga.

Junior Allysa Williamson is the Physical Health Lead for Hamline Peer Wellness. Hamline Peer Educators do much on campus ranging from sexual health to physical activity.

“Our mission is to empower students to make informed decisions about their own health,” Williamson said. “We also hold events like De-stress Fest, where students can learn how to de-stress, Get Yourself Tested, where students can get STI testing for free, and more.”

Williamson was the lead for the event, and a lot of planning went into it.

“Every year, Peer Wellness Education hosts Physical Activity Week to share tips about how to move your body, talk about body positivity, and more,” Williamson said. “After everything students have been through in the past

PHOTO | AIDAN STROMDAHL, ORACLE Goats of many sizes and colors showed up to help the students destress and get in some good stretches.

“I have a really busy schedule right now and I just wanted a peaceful break from the hectic day, and goat yoga seemed like the perfect opportunity for that,” Kimball said.

The event was a stress reliever for many who attended.

“I signed up last minute, and I just thought it would be a fun, silly time,” junior Amanda Kanninen said.

PHOTO | AIDAN STROMDAHL, ORACLE Goats stood on students’ backs during the yoga event. year and a half, we wanted to make this first big event really special while still following safety protocols, which is why we decided on goat yoga!”

The event was certainly special as laughs and smiles could be seen throughout the entire event.

Sophomore Ali Kimball loved the event, and she signed up to relieve some stress.

PHOTO | AIDAN STROMDAHL, ORACLE A goat approaching a very excited Kanninen as they do yoga.

Kanninen and sophomore Katie Mikesell both enjoyed the relaxing break that goat yoga provided.

“Goats are awesome and I love yoga,” Mikesell said. “It made me giggle and it was a good time.”

When asked the highlights of the experience, all agreed that it was, of course, the goats that made it so enjoyable.

“My highlight was having a goat on my back and making a train for the goats to go in between our legs,” Kanninen said.

There will be many more events from Hamline Peer Educators, such as their event Sex in the Dark that is happening on Wednesday, October 6.

7 - 9 p.m. in Anderson 111. Proof of vaccination is required to attend this event.

To find out about more events that Hamline Peer Wellness Educators are providing, check out their instagram page @hamlinepeereducators.

PHOTO | AIDAN STROMDAHL, ORACLE Moves like mountain, bridge and plank gave opportunities for the goats to jump on the participants.