3.3.21

HAMLINE UNIVERSITY | ST. PAUL, MN | 3.3.21 | VOL. 131 | NO. 13 | HAMLINEORACLE.COM

Global plans for the future in uncertain times Study abroad applications are now open for the summer of 2021, though plans are still COVID-19 pending.

distancing and event planning.

As of now, no country appears to have a vaccine requirement for entering. Currently, most airlines and countries are requiring either/both a COVID-19 test and/

Anika Besst Senior Reporter abesst01@hamline.edu A year since students were recalled from their spring semester study abroad, applications have opened at Hamline for study away opportunities this summer.

“For right now, things look promising in certain countries, in other countries not so much. It is sort of like a waiting pattern that we’re in,” said Kate Meyer, faculty lead and study away coordinator in the Global Engagement Center (GEC). “Applications are open, but again, we advise students that it might not happen and to have a plan B ready to go just in case.”

Since last spring, the GEC has been frequently checking international conditions to ensure safety and the best possible outcome for students. Their checking includes things like determining dormitory situations and social

PHOTOS | AUDRA GRIGUS, ORACLE TOP: One of the many temples at the Ancient City located in Samut Prakan, Thailand. This was one of the many sights that a group of Hamline students saw during their study away during J-Term of 2020.

BOTTOM: A sunset view on Kata Beach in Karon, Thailand, a popular tourist destination.

or a quarantine period.

Prior to COVID-19, anywhere from 100-120 students would be traveling in any of the over 100 different partner options or 20+ exchange options Hamline has established.

Partner options are still operating in some capacities, however, Hamline is not approving travel at this time and has not been for the past number of months.

Some programs and applications may require a down payment. The GEC understands the financial commitment this can be and a few years ago, Hamline made the switch to have students pay for the cost of the program and the application fee when the semester begins.

It works similarly now. If the program does not run as previously planned, students are not out their money on the Hamline side and the GEC works with the program providers if students have paid any fees with them. They work to waive it or put it toward a different term.

see STUDY AWAY page 2

Confronting patterns of inequity A community conversation event discussed the necessity of supporting students of color and improving their campus experience.

Nicole Ronchetti News Reporter nronchetti01@hamline.edu The first community conversation of the spring semester, titled “Addressing Student of Color Experiences in Higher Education” discussed one of the most relevant topics currently facing universities and students across the country. The event took place virtually on Feb. 24 and

brought in a variety of speakers and experts to talk about the realities of race and racial experience on college campuses.

The main speaker of the program was Lori Patton Davis, who has done extensive research on the subject and now teaches at The Ohio State University. In her presentation, Davis emphasized the importance of recognizing the different realities that white students and students of color face daily at universities, and the inequity that often results.

“It’s important for all of us to understand the gravity of our social context,” Davis said. “It’s particularly real for those of us who experience the brunt of it.”

Davis’s presentation centered on these differences as well as how to approach and address them. One of the primary recommendations for how to do this was by not

being afraid to acknowledge the reality of this disparity and by sharing and communicating how students’ experiences might vary.

“We’re talking about calling attention to patterns of inequity,” said Davis, “and about taking personal responsibility for disrupting those patterns.”

In addition to Davis, the conversation also included the perspectives of Hamline professors, Mycall Akeem Riley ‘12 Hamline graduate and senior Rose-Marie Athiley.

see INEQUITY page 2

2 News

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Study away (continued from front)

EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION Editor-in-Chief Carmen Danz Managing Editor Molly Landaeta News Editor Audra Grigus Business Manager Elizabeth Lowe Ad Manager Julien Halabi Design Editor Melanie Hopkins Social Media Director Ella Smith Web Editor Aidan Stromdahl Opinion Editor Mien Le

“That has really helped with some of the early financial burdens and roadblocks... for students trying to figure out this study abroad,” Meyer said. “A lot of our program provider friends have been very flexible because they also understand that even $75 is a big chunk of money for a student so it’s not going to be to waste. It will either be used for another term or hopefully, we can work to get it refunded.”

Last spring, the GEC was able to scholarship students who experienced extra expenses due to flight fees or other needs.

“I think that is something we are going to have to do more going forward in the world that we are in. It just shows that emergency planning is critical,” said Meyer. “So far Hamline has done a decent job but I think having more budgets to extract students should we need to without having to worry about finances is something I think is a win-

win for everyone.”

Institutionally, professors are beginning to plan study away programs for the semesters in the near future. Hamline tries to offer three to four faculty-led study away programs each year.

Letitia Basford, Associate Professor and CTL Faculty Director in the Education Department, is in the process of planning a trip to England about global migration slated for this August. If COVID-19 conditions do not improve, the program will be postponed to the January term of 2022.

Ryan LeCount, associate professor and chair of the Sociology Department, has plans for teaching away in Hawaii in January 2022.

He is also considering proposing a 2022 May term in Argentina.

“The pandemic has made it clear just how much it is possible to integrate remote interaction and learning into all that we have historically done in physical spaces together,” said LeCount. “I have begun to imagine a lot of possibilities for the pre-travel portion of the courses in team building, course instruction and discussion, and even

“meeting” people, places and groups we might spend time with later — and doing all of this via Zoom or otherwise virtually. This might be a great supplement to what we’ve done in the past.”

Leif Hembre, professor in the Biology Department, is also in the process of creating a study away program for January of 2022 in Belize. He has led this before in recent years. The latest of which was during the Zika virus. The organization this program works through, Monkey Bay, handled that situation carefully and safely.

“I think probably lots of students are eager to do some real stuff, not to say that we can’t learn through distance learning but I know for myself being able to do actual experiences in the world is something I’m excited about and I’m happy that we’re starting to do a little bit more now...” said Leif. “I’ll be ready and willing academically to lead the course should it be allowed.”

With any questions or concerns, the GEC can be reached at: gec@hamline.edu or by phone at (651) 523-2245.

Sports Editor Cathryn Salis A&E Editor Olivia Koski Variety Editor Andrea Lindner Copy Editors Eliza Hagstrom, Lydia Meier Illustrator Leo Coughenour Senior Reporters Kelly Holm, Anika Besst, Robin Doyscher Reporters Nicole Ronchetti, Sarah Sawyer, Ethan Hermann, Jilly Wortman, Leslie Perez, Jack Fischer, Z Martinez, Leslie Perez, Lyla Lee, Kathryn Robinson, Hayden Hayes Senior Columnist Emily Brown, Will Nelson Columnists Hafsa Ahmed, Andrew P Weston, SJ Welch Senior Photographers Melanie Hopkins, Antonio Risso Photographers Emily Lall, Cait Quinn, Aidan Stromdahl, Dasiyah Franklin-Carter Distributor Robin Doyscher Advisers David Hudson, Trevor Maine

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PHOTO | AUDRA GRIGUS, ORACLE The Buddha statue at the Ancient City located in Samut Prakan in Thailand. Ten students traveled with Professor Suda Ishida to study environmental journalism and report on real-world events.

News 3

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Inequity (continued from front) This event was the first of three scheduled community conversations this semester. Each event is designed to encourage dialogue around important issues and engage students and staff alike in thinking about their experiences and the experiences of others.

“How do we talk about those differences in a way that allows me to be just as much informed about your experiences as you are being informed by my experiences,” David Everett said, the associate vice president of inclusive excellence at Hamline and the host and organizer of the event.

The importance of conversations like these is something that has been particularly stressed during the pandemic, which has limited the student interaction and community engagement that typically happens both in and outside of the classroom.

“It’s a huge challenge,” Everett said, “a lot of the really good conversations don’t happen in the classrooms, they happen in the dorms, in the student centers.”

With the community conversations, Everett hopes to provide an opportunity for similar conversations and to create a space where important topics can be discussed with the attention that they deserve.

“There has to be some level of intentionality about how we create those opportunities and moments,” Everett said. “It’s an opportunity to share and obviously to learn, but also to talk about what we do next.”

The upcoming community conversations will take place on March 24 and April 21. The topics will be “Leadership During Crisis” and “Engaging Immigrant and Refugee Experiences in the Hamline Community.”

Clarification

On 2/24, the Oracle ran the story “Supporting BIPOC peers near you.” For this story, information related to each business should be attributed to their respective websites: facebook.com/ghettogardner, blackgarnetbooks.com, soulbowlmn.com, trioplant-based.com and goldenthymeonselby.com.

Upcoming community conversations Leadership During Crisis: How Leaders Navigate Contemporary Challenges Wed., March 4, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Engaging Immigrant and Refugee Experiences in the Hamline Community Wed., April 21, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Both of these events can be accessed by the same Zoom link.

Meeting ID: 920 8408 3948 Passcode: PtPhx9

HAMLINE STUDENTS HONOR PEOPLE AT HAMLINE WHO HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR YOU! NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE 2021 WESLEY AWARDS Nominate a Fellow Undergraduate Student, Faculty Member or Staff Member for a 2021 Wesley Award!

Nominated individuals should exemplify: Hamline’s mission, core values and vision Hamline’s dedication to high quality and vigorous academics Commitment to leadership, service and making the world a better place Commitment to advancement of diversity, innovation, integration, and transformation within the Hamline community

,

For more information about the Wesley Awards, to view nomination guidelines, or to nominate the person of your choice, please visit the Dean of Students Office website at https://www.hamline.edu/offices/dean-of-students/wesley-awards.html.

Please note that all application forms are online.

4 Puzzle

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

WORD SEARCH | LEO COUGHENOUR, ORACLE

A&E 5

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Bush basement bands The music space in the basement of Bush Memorial Library is now claiming the unused T.V. studio and transforming it into a recording studio.

Lyla Lee A&E Reporter llee23@hamline.edu In the past couple of months, Hamline University has welcomed a new addition to the basement of the Bush Memorial Library. The music department has developed a space for students to record and practice music. The space has also been used to hold in-person courses to ensure that students have access to the equipment they need.

“The programming this semester is a second level of logic which is a digital audio workstation,” Director of the Certificate of Music and Production Program, Professor Jeffrey Bailey said. “The course is advanced but it’s meant to work through some of the workflow issues around importing film and composing to moving pictures and how that all works for T.V. commercials and little films.”

There are many rules and guidelines that the in-person courses must follow due to the COVID19 pandemic. When asked about how the courses are handling the situation, Bailey spoke about the

classroom set up and how it keeps everyone safe.

“Right now we have X’s on the floor where everyone is 6 feet apart and of course, everyone is required to wear a mask. The classes that we’re running have a cap of 10 or 11 students so that there’s plenty of space for everyone,” Bailey said.

In addition, Bailey discussed some of the struggles that the courses are facing due to the guidelines.

“In a collaborative space like that, the most exciting part is the doing and COVID-19 makes it really hard right now to get in there and dialogue, and sing, and play, and read scripts, or read your own personal writing. All of those things are compressed,” Bailey said.

However, the music department remains hopeful and resilient as renovations in the basement continue.

They are not done making the space their new home.

Currently, courses are taking place in room 18 in the basement, but the plan is to transform room 17 into a recording studio.

Even more, Greene acknowledged the opportunity for the department and its continuing development. “[The T.V room] has fallen into a lack of use and lack of support. It was sitting there and not being used. Since we have a lovely gift from a grant, we have some funds to bring that back up and hopefully make it functional for audio visual and creative work,” Greene said.

Regardless of whatever obstacles the department faces, there is still optimism regarding its future,

especially with the new developments both in facility and in curriculum. There are many opportunities for collaborations with other departments such as communications, anthropology, English and so on.

There is hope for opportunities for outsourcing and hosting live musical events by fall 2021, if not, spring 2022. Many things have been put on hold due to the pandemic, but that will not stop the Music Department from reaching its goals.

PHOTO | COURTESY OF JEFFREY BAILEY The basement of Bush Memorial Library will now have spaces for practicing and recording music.

An African-American anthology Editor Gerda Lerner highlights the voices and experiences of Black women throughout history in her book, “Black Women in White America.”

AJ Washington A&E Reporter awashington02@hamline.edu “Black Women in White America,” edited by Gerda Lerner, is an anthology of Black women’s personal narratives that date back to 1811. Recognizing the need for Black people to “define themselves autonomously and to interpret their past, their present and their future,” Lerner compiled this anthology to bring focus to both influential Black female leaders and ordinary women. Lerner divides the book into themed sections based on the accumulated primary sources.

The first theme described in the novel is slavery.

Lerner prefaces the narratives under the subtitle “A Woman’s Fate” by describing the dynamic between the master and the female slave: “Black women frequently fought tenaciously though unsuccessfully against the degrading and hated illicit relationship with their masters. In such cases, they suffered cruel punishment until they succumbed. Frequently this drew upon them the hatred and enmity of their mistresses.”

The narratives in this section showcase the dehumanization and sexual exploitation of Black female slaves and the violent punishment they received from the jealous wife of the master.

Pregnant mothers were mercilessly abused and overworked. Newborn infants were brought to the fields and left in the shade. Some mothers worked with the babies tied with a cloth onto their backs.

There was little to no recovery time for mothers who had just given birth, which resulted in severe physical pain and a high rate of infant deaths. “[One woman has a particularly dismal story to tell.] she had had sixteen children, fourteen of whom were dead; she had had four miscarriages: one had been caused with falling down with a heavy burden on her head, and one from having her arms strained to be lashed…”

Black women were forced to procreate with little to no regard for their health during their term or after.

The master was often the biological father of these children. White women, infuriated by their husbands’ infidelity, would violently take out their jealousy and anger on the victims.

“Twelve Years A Slave” by Solomon Northup depicts the harassment of one slave, Patsey, by her jealous mistress.

“If she was not watchful while about her cabin, or when walking in the yard, a billet of wood, or broken bottle perhaps, hurled from her mistress’ hand, would smite her unexpectedly in the face…”

This racism manifests itself today in our society in the pervasive dehumanization and hypersexualization of Black women.

“Black people at this moment in history need above all to define themselves autonomously and to interpret their past, their present and their future,” Lerner said.

It is with this knowledge that we can understand

how the past has followed us into today, allowing us to take steps now for the future.

SOURCE | AMAZON

6 A&E

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Resilience of Rondo Just a few blocks from Hamline’s campus, the Rondo neighborhood stands. The neighborhood was once known as the heart of the Twin Cities’ Black community until being largely destroyed following the creation of Interstate 94 from 1956 to 1968.

Still, the community has come together to heal and thrive.

Robin Doyscher A&E Senior Reporter sdoyscher01@hamline.edu A poem from the Rondo Oratorical entitled “Preaching Mississippi” described the Rondo neighborhood as “a place where people shared their cares, their sorrows, their shame, their faith, their hope, love, and humanity.” The poem repeatedly asks the question “what’s your glory, Rondo? Cut off, cut on, and driven upon.”

These are the words read aloud by Maya Beechum of the Bush Foundation at a Rondo healing ceremony on July 17, 2015. St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood was known as the center of the Twin Cities’ Black community, but the neighborhood was torn apart to form what we know as Interstate 94. By the 1950s, around 85% of St. Paul’s African-American population lived in the Rondo neighborhood. Besides its large Black population, the Rondo neighborhood was very culturally diverse, with a significant immigrant population — German, Russian, Irish and Jewish residents — intertwined into the neighborhood’s overall culture. The Rondo neighborhood is located a few blocks away from Hamline University, and

PHOTO | EMILY LALL, ORACLE The Rondo neighbohood received an apology from the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2016. Many memorabilia have been built in the community, including a commemorative plaza on Concordia Avenue. extends south into Summit-University Ave., and the State Department of Transportation’s files, the north to University Ave. last remnants of the original neighborhood for the From the years of 1956 to 1968, the Rondo residents of Rondo. neighborhood was systematically demolished Eventually, in 2016, the Minnesota Department throughout its heart in order to make room for the of Transportation formally apologized for the first St. Paul freeway — the I-94. Over 500 families destruction and displacement of the neighborhood. were displaced, alongside many businesses and The same year, the Rondo commemorative plaza was social locations that were lost. One out of every eight built on Old Rondo Ave., now known as Concordia African Americans in St. Paul lost their homes to I-94. Ave. A 1991 KTCA documentary explored how the The Rondo neighborhood has a yearly celebration road had originally not gone anywhere. For a few called Rondo Days, a festival on the third Saturday years there was simply a large strip of road unused of July each year. The festivities include live music, as it was developed. Many neighborhood protests local food and several other community events meant from residents eventually convinced the highway to highlight the arts and culture of Rondo. To the engineers to put the highway into a sunken trench. residents, it stands as a testament to the enduring The thousands of state residents that lost their spirit of a neighborhood torn apart by systematic homes have their former houses catalogued in disenfranchisement.

SOURCE | STAR TRIBUNE FILES TOP AND BOTTOM: The Rondo neighborhood was a thriving community for primarily African-American and immigrant residents.The construction of Interstate 94 demolished much of the original avenue and displaced over 500 families.

PHOTO | EMILY LALL, ORACLE The Rondo neighbohood is bordered by University Avenue to the north, Selby Avenue to the south, Rice Street to the east and Lexington Avenue to the west. Despite the neighborhood’s history of disenfranchisement, the community persists.

A&E 7

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

The college years: learning to embrace alone time Being surrounded by other young adults is thought of as a core experience for college students.

Due to COVID-19, young people are staying in and limiting their social bubble. To some this is hell, but some Hamline students have embraced the opportunity to pick up new creative endeavors.

Sarah Sawyer A&E Reporter ssawyer04@hamline.edu Masks, hand sanitizer, canned goods, bottled water, a bunker, cash...when it comes to prepping for a pandemic, these are some of the first things that come to mind for many folks. But, what about a creative space? A poetry wall? A ukulele?

Junior Cata Osorio thought beyond her basic needs to imagine the isolation of COVID-19 as a time to, in her words, “level up,” and that’s exactly what she did.

“I wanted to be able to depend on myself for entertainment,” Osorio said.

Drawing from past hobbies and longdormant aspirations, Osorio created a master list of possible activities to do in her apartment. To keep it from being overwhelming, she organized possible activities into categories. There are sections for movement, writing, video, games, art and even a category for her cat, Junebug. From the start of the pandemic, she has dressed up in a new outfit every day, make-up and all, even when there is nowhere to go.

“Over quarantine, I made a friend in myself. [Hobbies have] done a lot for my mental health and progress

as a human being,” Osorio said. Quoting from one of her favorite books, “You Are A Badass” by Jen Sincero, “You hold the universe in the palm of your hand.”

Osorio has put many of her artistic creations and affirmations on display in her space, because it is important to her to be surrounded by art. She has no intention of putting aside these endeavours postCOVID-19. In fact, she plans to expand her horizons even further by creating a podcast and live musical performances.

Senior Kaia Ziegler, went into quarantine with intentionality. As she described it, she goes through hobbies in waves or like a revolving door. As an almost meditative practice, Ziegler was drawn to line art. Previously, she had been a fan of adult coloring books.

“It puts my mind at ease to focus on something beautiful,” Ziegler said.

Ziegler jumped on the bread-making train of 2020 as well. She has made around 20 loaves of French bread. One of the more exciting parts of picking up a new hobby is the occasional mishaps that happen as one learns. While getting into bread making, Ziegler accidentally ordered a pound of yeast. She noted that she might try making sourdough.

Noting the sharp increase in screen time most people have had during COVID-19, Ziegler believes that it’s important to be intentional with your time. She stressed the importance that people allow themselves, guilt-free, the time to be away from a screen.

“Before COVID[-19], I thought of going on social media as a mind break. It’s not,” Ziegler said.

One strategy Ziegler picked up is knitting during online meetings. This is an activity that allows her to

PHOTO | AIDAN STROMDAHL, ORACLE One of junior Asha Salah’s hobbies is calligraphy, which she was drawn to and recently started during quarantine. Besides calligraphy, Salah is also experimenting with painting, bullet journaling and learning new languages (French and Russian) and their orthographies.

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PHOTOS | COURTESY OF KAIA ZIEGLER TOP: A line art illustration by senior Kaia Ziegler — a product of social distancing.

BOTTOM: Ziegler has picked up knitting, which gives her eyes a break from the screen during online meetings.

STAFF PICK OF THE WEEK TOPIC: Dessert Kathryn Robinson Variety Reporter

still pay attention to the speaker while also taking her eyes off the screen. So far, she has been able to knit a baby blanket for a newborn relative — a priceless gift. Currently, she is working on a graygradient adult blanket.

While some have made new creations, others have dove into old ones, very old ones. Junior Asha Salah picked up calligraphy during quarantine. Drawing from several different styles of calligraphy, Salah has cultivated a love for this slowly dying art form. She has a wide collection of pens and experiments with different kinds of paper.

As a linguistics minor, Salah’s love for scripts and alphabets has led her to dabble in a variety of languages. From ancient Greek to Russian, she has explored the linguistic world. She does not have the direct intention to ever be fluent in these languages, she just loves to learn about the vast landscape that is human languages.

Ice cream cake “It might be hard for cake lovers to accept the cake-less ice cream cake, but once you bite into a piece, the lack of real cake doesnt even matter anymore.”

8 Opinion

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Profit from suffering

Robin Doyscher Guest Columnist sdoyscher01@hamline.edu

Let’s talk about Oreo’s trans-inclusive tweet — and why it’s bad.

C APITALISM , ONE OF the most insidious and dehumanizing economic systems ever known to man, has but one social strength — it is absolutely brilliant when it comes to pandering to the acceptable politics of the day.

The instance I’m referring to, and the inspiration for this lovely article, is the Oreo company’s tweet “Trans people exist,” a seemingly uncontroversial statement let loose onto the internet on Feb. 25, 2020, at 8:40 p.m. And, of course, the usual string of “wow, Oreos suddenly got political, why do I have to recognize the humanity of a group I’m not a part of?” tweets were released by many users concerned that an entire group of people existing was too political for them. Hearkening

back to the boomer Facebook meme of a man nonchalantly addressing societal problems before brushing them aside by saying “I just wanna grill for God’s sake!”

However, the worst part of this internet encounter was that Oreo, as a brand and as a company, earned woke points for this highly non-committal, obfuscated statement. I saw many retweets praising the Oreo company for this bold stance on protecting the rights of a disenfranchised group.

One Twitter user even tweeted about Oreo’s parent company, Mondelez International, which was given a perfect workplace equality score from the Human Rights Campaign.

Said user was ignoring the fact that Mondelez International, alongside Hershey, Mars and Nestlé are all being sued by a human rights group called International Rights Advocates, who is filing the suit on behalf of eight Malian men who were victims of child trafficking — forced to harvest cocoa on the Ivory Coast. Now, it could just be pure coincidence that this totally based and redpilled move

by Oreo comes at the same time they’re literally being accused of utilizing child slavery, or this could be the latest in a long line of exploitative companies slapping progressive politics on their awful practices the way one slaps a bandaid on a scraped knee.

Do you know what’s in the headlines now? Oreo’s

‘inclusive’ trans tweet. The cool thing that Oreo did, not the fact that Ivory Coast children are being forced to harvest cocoa for multimillion dollar corporations that are using palm oil in their products — the major driver of deforestation of many of our earth’s most biodiverse forests.

As a trans woman, a phrase I always feel conflicted about uttering in moments like this is “no thank you.” I do not want my identity, one born out of a community oppressed by society, to be affirmed by a corporation that will gladly turn around and oppress those who aren’t able to get on social media and make some sort of snarky tweet about how eating Oreos helps human rights somehow.

I n e v i t a b l y, w i t h a l l marginalized identities, capitalism finds a way to profit off of the performative allyship afforded to these communities.

Simply acknowledging trans people does nothing to advance transgender liberation, and stepping on the backs of a community to elevate corporate interests also at the expense of literal children forced into inhumane conditions is one of the most disgustingly dystopian pictures painted of our modern day society.

But hey, at least Mondelez International is being transi n c l u s i v e t ow a rd s t h e i r child slaves. A true win for intersectionality.

Speakout What do you think about celebrating Black History Month?

Ridwan Mohammed Sophomore “Celebrating Black History Month is fun. I like it because it makes a lot of Black people excited and they just are their most authentic and extra selves. It’s cute. It’s almost like a holiday.

Everyone’s glowing in all their Black magic essence. It makes me happy to see other people happy. Black History Month is a month of good vibes and positive energy. “

Issaclina George Senior “I think it’s [BS] (for lack of a better word) and I don’t celebrate it. I’m Black every day, why is it that I should be more recognized one month over the others when Black people started this country? It doesn’t even make sense. I checked Black people should be a part of history lessons in general instead. We are given a month and they learn about the same thing every month.”

We want to hear from you.

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E-mail submissions to: oracle@hamline.edu With questions, contact: Drew Science 106

Gaofoua Her Sophomore “Black History Month is extremely important for generations to come. It is tied with our American history and we should not dismiss it.

History is crucial for the future if we do not wish to repeat the same path.”

Opinion 9

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Are human rights going out of style?

Will Nelson Senior Columnist wnelson08@hamline.edu

Conversations about racism seem to be slowly declining in number.

I T ’ S BEEN 282 days since the murder of George Floyd, and it would be imperceptive to say that conversations about race haven’t quieted down significantly since its aftermath. Class discussions have been getting less impassioned, and my social media feed seems to be gradually slipping away from infographics and relevant discussions back into song recommendations and dog pics.

It feels like microaggressions don’t get called out like they did last semester and end up sliding past and getting lost in other dialogues.

Even performative activists have

been a little lackluster these past few weeks, with cute BLM t-shirts and smiling protest selfies fading into irrelevance.

With Black History Month drawing to a close, Biden safely in office and the trial of Derek Chauvin, George Floyd’s killer, set to commence on March 8, we as a society are faced with a distinct question: are we going to keep caring about this problem or not?

Are we going to allow caring about human rights to go out of style like neon activewear and see-through handbags?

I’d like to answer with a confident ‘no,’ but I honestly can’t say for sure anymore.

The most surefire way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to keep talking about it ourselves.

That means holding the people around us (including ourselves) accountable for what they say and do.

A person need not look far for places to do so.

“I feel like Hamline has a t e n d e n c y t o re t ra u m a t i z e minority students in the name of growth,” sophomore Ridwaan Mohamed said. “We always talk about how you need to be uncomfortable to grow, but they never let the students who are causing the uncomfortability [to]

be uncomfortable. It feels like they’re protecting [them] and retraumatizing us [minorities] constantly.”

There’s a constant, almost instinctive, hesitancy to make people uncomfortable that manifests itself in difficult classroom situations.

Picture this: you’re in a Google Meets call having an interesting and productive class discussion.

You’ve clicked the little ‘raise hand’ icon in the corner and you’ve got a really good thought that you’re excited to share. Suddenly, the student who was speaking before you says something with racist undertones. No one seems to have noticed. There are people in the class who might have been harmed from the statement, but you’re hesitant to speak up. You’ve seen it happen before: the student who’s being called out immediately gets defensive and the rest of the class is usually spent by them trying to make themselves feel better and the original conversation is derailed beyond hope of repair.

Deep down, you know that you should prioritize the safety of marginalized students in your class above the integrity of the class discussion, but when microaggressions eat up class time by centering the aggressor

and then end up getting brushed off as ‘growing moments’ anyway, the incentive to speak up gets narrow.

If you’re in a position of privilege (i.e. white), not letting harmful comments in class go unnoticed is incredibly important. Responding immediately is a good strategy since there are other students and a professor there who may have noticed the comment too, but sometimes responding later after class can be effective as well.

“You can’t just sweep stuff under the rug by saying ‘we need to learn and grow,’” says Mohamed. “If you’re not acknowledging it as a problem, how are we supposed to heal?”

Mohamed also brought up a Malcolm X quote: “If you stick a knife in my back 9 inches and pull it out 6 inches, that’s not progress.

If you pull it all the way out, that’s not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made.

They haven’t pulled the knife out; they won’t even admit that it’s there.”

Racism hasn’t gone away and if we’re not incredibly careful we are going to stop addressing it in our conversations. Our role in counteracting that starts with Hamline.

ILLUSTRATION | LEO COUGHENOUR, THE ORACLE

10 Sports

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Hamline hockey coach joins hall of fame Natalie Darwitz, women’s hockey coach at Hamline and Minnesota native, has been inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2020.

Jilly Wortman Sports Reporter jwortman01@hamline.edu

PHOTO | COURTSEY OF HAMLINE ATHLETICS

SOURCE | USA HOCKEY Three-time Olympian Natalie Darwitz has been in the hockey world since she was young, introduced to the sport by her older brother and father.

“When I turned five years-old, I said ‘I get to play hockey this year’ and they signed me up and the rest is history,” Darwitz said.

When Darwitz started, hockey was still a very male-dominated sport and she spent a lot of her early years playing against boys.

“I was in 7th or 8th grade in 1998 and that was the first time women’s hockey was in the Olympics, and that’s when I realized there was more to this rather than just being a ‘man’s’ sport, it gave me a lot of hope and opportunity,” Darwitz said.

After seeing women on the national stage, the process began for Darwitz.

“On my journey, it was just one thing led to another. Whether it was me playing with the boys or me playing high school hockey in 7th grade to making

“The crazy thing is, I go to the Olympics on the world stage and two weeks later I’m back in the classroom raising my hand to go to the bathroom.”

the national team when I was 15 yearsold, it kinda was just one stepping stone after another.”

A f t e r conquering each stepping stone, Darwitz made it to her first Olympics in Salt Lake C i t y, U t a h while a senior at Eagan High School.

“The crazy thing is, I go to the Olympics on the world stage and two weeks later I’m back in the classroom raising my hand to go to the bathroom,” said Darwitz.

During this year, the US Women’s Hockey team won a silver medal. But, there was something that was bigger for Darwitz.

“Getting on the ice and seeing a corner of my friends and family there hit the heart hard, so many people helped me and sacrificed so much to go the extra mile.

They’re a big reason as to why I was there,” Darwitz said.

Darwitz continued to compete in two more Olympics, 2006 and 2010, where the US team won two more medals. There was an overlap during her college career and her time on the US team. While in college at the U of M, she was a three time, All-American athlete.

Once Darwitz’s time playing was

done, she began coaching at her high school alma mater with her father. She then moved up to coaching Division I back at the U of M but returned back to the high school level after two years.

It was not until 2015 when Darwitz joined the Hamline Athletics staff.

“I got a random voicemail from Jason Verdugo,” Darwitz said.

Verdugo was looking for a new women’s hockey coach to revamp the team, and was wondering if Darwitz had any contacts.

He offered her the job and initially she said no, but “over the next few weeks the more and more I thought about it, I knew it would be a good fit for me,” Darwitz said.

Now, it has been six years and the women’s hockey team has made it to two Frozen Fours and have had a national ranking consistently for the last four years.

Sports 11

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

Men’s basketball begins to bounce back Men’s basketball has changed the momentum for the Pipers on the court, setting a new tone for the season and earning another W on their record.

Cathryn Salis Sports Editor csalis01@hamline.edu The name of the game was rebound in the past match between Hamline and Concordia College last Wednesday. After a disheartening defeat three days prior, the Pipers set a season-high record of 88 points in a game, with Concordia only putting 74 on the board. The Pipers took the lead early and maintained it the entire match.

Junior Andrew Jackson led the team in rebounds by putting eight on the board. Jackson also contributed 18 points to the Piper’s lead, setting a new careerhigh for himself, breaking the record he made only one game ago.

Another key player in this match included junior Luke Siwek shooting a game-high of 23 points. Siwek consistently contributes to the team’s success in a big way and has proved to be indispensable.

Head Coach Jim Hayes has recognized Siwek as “our most consistent scorer all season,” and Siwek hit a season high of three 3-pointers made in one game on Wednesday.

Senior Micheal Dillon made a rebound of his own in playing an efficient game immediately after returning to the court from an injury. He contributed 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

The Pipers ended the first half leading the score of 49-29. Hamline’s defense was strong and the offense did its part in maintaining the lead the whole game. They ended with a 54.4% shooting on field, contributed to by the 60.0% from the three.

Additional contributors to the Piper’s success are sophomore Marshall Holland with 12 points and six rebounds, senior Trey Prince with a season-high of nine points and junior Jake Larson with four points and a career-high eight assists.

Men’s basketball hopes to keep this momentum going as the season progresses, as they have lots of talent on the court and know how to set the tone of the game as well as maintain it. For the most up-todate stats and calendar, visit hamlineathletics.com.

PHOTOS | COURTSEY OF HAMLINE ATHLETICS

Alms from the Rec Desk

Amidst a pandemic, services are available to students to offer ways to work their bodies and stay healthy.

Cathryn Salis Sports Editor csalis01@hamline.edu In need of gear for an at-home, COVID-safe workout? Campus is full of resources for students and the Recreation Desk in the Bush Walker Center is one of them. The Rec Desk offers many services, including the ones listed below: • • • •

Instructions to schedule a session in the Aerobic Center or weight room Complimentary yoga mats courtesy of R.I.S.E. Yoga Club Rentable resistance band kits Information on virtual athletic clubs and activities

All of these services are free and available to Hamline students with a Hamline ID. Yoga mats are available while supplies last. Call the desk at (651) 523-2550 or visit in person to check out these great opportunities and offerings from the Bush Rec Desk, open weekdays from 8 a.m. –8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. –8 p.m.

PHOTOS | CATHRYN SALIS, ORACLE LEFT: First year Rec Desk employee Chloe Kucera displays two types of yoga mats the desk is offering to students. RIGHT: Take-home resistance band bags are a new addition to the desk’s offerings.

Variety 12

The Oracle | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2021

80% of students change their minds Various students first declared or changed their majors during Major Declaration Week.

Leslie Perez Reporter lfarreraperez01@hamline.edu Roughly  of college students change their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Many college students in the U.S. change their majors as many as six times before settling on their major of choice. During Major Declaration Week, several Hamline students declared their major for the first time while many others declared a new major.

A part of the 80% statistic, sophomore Laniesha Bisek considered changing her initial major plan.

“My original plan was to major in criminology and criminal justice. I then decided that I wanted to major in sociology instead with a couple minors to go along with it. I reached out to one of the faculty members of the Sociology Department and we set up a meeting to chat about what the sociology major is. We had a great discussion about what this major would have in store for me and the options I had. There were no difficulties with this process at all. There was a lot of great and

clear communication which made the process easy,” Bisek said.

For many students, like Bisek, being unsure of what path to take in their college career can be stressful.

“I felt a little unsure about the major I had originally declared and I have been thinking about if the decision I made was correct ever since the first time. I second-guessed my original plan. This originally caused a lot of stress with feeling unsure about what I wanted to do. Talking about changing my major and then declaring a new one resulted in stress relief and made me feel more confident about what I am wanting to do with my future,” Bisek said.

Bisek found that self reflection led her to sociology. She recommends that students should follow their instincts.

“Really listen to yourself and what your heart speaks to. Make note of what classes intrigue you and push yourself to want to know more. If you don’t feel confident about the current major you declared, take that as a sign and look into more options and see if any other major makes you feel more passionate and gives you more excitement. You have a lot of time to decide on what you want to do and there are a ton of people who are here to help you,” Bisek said.

Some students like Junior Jessie Luévano know what major they wanted to pursue from the very beginning.

“Coming into college, I knew I

wanted to be a [political science] major.

Because I did speech and debate and I read the news, and I liked it. So I was like, ‘Oh, this is for me,’ you know. And so when I got to college, and I started in poli sci, and from poli sci, I also found global studies. And so I’m a double major with poli sci and global studies.

I ended up having global studies because of all the connections to poli sci. From there, I realized that global studies made it so I only needed two more classes to get a history minor,” Luévano said.

While Luévano was set on the Political Science major, she reconsidered the career she wanted after college.

“I came in and wanted to be a lawyer because I feel like most people coming into political science one up, and then as I did internships and stuff, I realized

that I don’t want to be a lawyer, and I want to do policy work. And I learned that through internships and taking classes in political science,” Luévano said.

Luévano says that being a part of the 80% of college students that change their major is not a bad thing. It is normal for college students to change their minds about what path they want to take.

“You can always change your major if you declare, and then you can always, like, go back. And especially if you’re not double majoring or minoring, I think there’s still plenty of flexibility.

So it’s like, take classes with things you’re interested in, go ahead and declare, and you can always change your mind later. Or if you’re going to change your major, not a big deal. You know?” Luévano said.

ILLUSTRATION | LEO COUGHENOUR, ORACLE

Translating identity and beliefs into works of art This year’s Rainbow Keynote focused on identity, activism and the art used to translate it with Terresa Moses.

Z Martinez Reporter aremmersmartinez01@hamline.edu Hamline University’s Sexualities and Gender Diversity Programs collaborated with Spectrum as well as Hamline QTIBIPOC for Rainbow Keynote: Queer Creatives: A discussion on Identity, Activism and the Arts. This was an interactive virtual event open to the public with queer artist and activist of color, Terresa Moses.

Moses is a professor and director of justice at the U of M who is currently a Ph.D. candidate in social justice education at the University of Toronto.

She is also the creative director at Blackbird Revolt — a social justicebased design studio — and a core team member of African-American graphic designers. She has been and will be continuing her participation in the various protests for social change and justice.

In the panel, those who attended had

SCREENSHOT | CAIT QUINN, ORACLE Terresa Moses speaks about how art is a reflection of society and how we digest current events. the chance to hear about how art and design is used to help communicate important and ethical messages, and are especially crucial during this time.

Moses expressed that art is a reflection of what is going on in culture and in society. Art allows people to digest what is happening in the world right now and be able to see things in a different perspective.

Art is used to shape society and can be used as an outlet for many people to express themselves, allowing their voices to be heard in a different manner.

Over the past year, everyone was forced to experience very painful and difficult situations, and the need for their voices to be heard was intensified. Artists,

such as Moses, used their art as a form of translation for what was happening all around them.

“My need to get messages out there that’s going to support and uplift my communities is what influences the art that I do,” Moses said.

Self identities also play a huge role within this concept of using art as not only translation but also for expressing their own identities, and what it is like to be who they are in society. Their experiences and emotions unite within their art and give others the chance to understand what it is they feel and experience on a daily basis. Moses

spoke of how people could use these experiences to find creative ways to discover freedom and liberation.This freedom was extended to the panel, which was made to be a safe place to speak freely and ask questions about the topic of identity and art.

Moses emphasized being able to use one’s voice to push forward during these times and stand up for what we believe in, as is never feeling the need to change ourselves for the benefit of others.

“Don’t silence your voice,” Moses said. “Don’t change your voice to make people comfortable.”

PHOTO | CAIT QUINN, ORACLE These are four things Moses does for her own self care and encourages others to try.