November 2016 / Vol. 23 - No. 3

Lions’ Roar A Student Voice Periodical

An Abstract Display

November 2016 Vol.23 No.3

This election began on April 12, 2015 with Hillary Clinton’s declared candidacy to be the first female President of the United States. While four other candidates have come and gone since then, she has always been the true front-runner, and heir apparent for the Democratic Party in the 2016 election cycle. On the other hand, businessman Donald J. Trump began his opposition candidacy in the middle of June, amongst throngs of paid-extras and passers-by at Trump Tower in New York. While he did eviscerate 16 other Republican candidates during the primary process, he did so in a manner in which every day Americans soured their perspectives against one another.

However, the scandals about emails, foundations, fraudulent universities, and sexual predatory behavior, have finally numbed the American people into a submissive victim. The wall between two different political approaches to governance has finally risen to impassable heights; the point-of-no-return becoming a distant memory. The simplest answer is: we are exhausted.

The American citizenry never had a chance against the two political juggernauts. According to an October poll conducted by University of Massachusetts-Lowell, nearly a quarter of millennials (ages 18-35) would prefer to see a meteor strike Earth than either of the major 2016 presidential candidates in the White House.

This should send up red flags about the state of our union, but it hasn’t. The two candidates keep on their respective messages of trashing the other. She doesn’t have the stamina. He is unfit to hold nuclear codes.

She is the most corrupt politician in Washington, and has made it her home for more than 20 years; leaving the American people in the depression of her tire tracks. He has taken advantage of everyone he has ever done business, not paid a nickel of income tax in 21 years, and demonstrates the misogynistic attitudes of a character from AMC’s Mad Men. They are both flawed. They are both unfit in certain respects. It is for these reasons; Normandale’s Lions’ Roar will not be making an endorsement for the President of the United States. This may shock students or faculty who read this publication; however, we propose a different school of thought.

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More emphasis must be placed on local government, not federal government. We should care more about our city council members, mayor, state legislatures, and governor. These are the people which have the biggest impact on our daily lives. They decide where our tax dollars are spent locally. Repairing that pot hole on France Avenue, cleaning and maintaining the parks we bring our children, or listening directly to the citizens of a community at an open city council meeting.

These are the honored foundations of leadership, and government. They are the people who care about the traffic problems in your neighborhood, and safety of our streets. They hold the power to change lives.

The election on Tuesday will not be rigged. Tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants will not be voting. Recently deceased Americans will not be able break open their coffins, climb through the six feet of Earth, and cast a ballot at your local polling place.

The American election system is decentralized. The thousands of election sites organized nationwide will be run by your neighbors, your community volunteers, and your friends; they would never jeopardize their official positions to sway the election results of their communities. This election will ultimately be decided by the will of the voters, and the corresponding electoral college.

We want every Minnesotan to vote on November 8.

Even though we will not endorse a flawed candidate, Minnesotans must still make up their minds and choose a leader. Do not protest the election by staying home without making a decision. Without participation in our constitutional democracy, the will of the people is forfeited to those who show up. Even after election day comes and goes, your American culture will be forged by those who participate in the process. Participation can be the salvation of our republic, and we are living in a time when our republic needs saving.

Think locally, make a choice, get involved, and vote.

It’s the only voice of the average American, and we must not let this binary choice become the death spiral of American democracy.

Michael Achterling Lions’ Roar – Editor-in-Chief

3 6 7 We want to document the student’s college experience through the eyes of every student. We welcome all contributions from aspiring journalists and photographers.

Please stop by the office and tell us how you’d like to contribute to your student voice periodical.

Lions’ Roar Office: K1401 (directly across from US Bank) November 2016 Vol.23 No.3

Taking Things Apart and Putting Them Back Together

Matthew Winkler ’s, Accumulation (Island Number 68), displayed at Normandale Community C o l l e g e ’ s F i n e A r t s G a l l e r y. ( p h o t o b y M i c h a e l A c h t e r l i n g )

Story by Michael Achterling

(Oct. 26, 2016) – Matthew Winkler is an artist. He is also a father, and a teacher. The three dimensional constructions, on display at Normandale Community College’s Fine Arts Gallery, are intricate designs using common materials such as: paper, canvas, wood, and printed material. Winkler’s artwork will be on display until Nov. 10.

“Minnesota is supportive of the arts, and through the organization MN Artists there are many calls for exhibitions,” said Winkler. “It’s a great opportunity to have a show, share it with students, and for

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Matthew Winkler adjusts, Accumulation (Island Number 68), before his artist talk and reception held at Normandale’s Fine Arts Gallery. (photo by Michael Achterling)

someone who lives in Rochester, it’s a great opportunity to have my work shown in the cities.”

Winkler’s abstract designs focus on the interplay of physical, pictorial, and perceptual space.

Also, he explores the shifting

relationship between positive and negative form. While engaging with the environment within each gallery to provide unique lighting and shadows, Winkler allows differing artistic viewpoints within the same exhibition space;

providing unique depth for his work.

His piece Accumulation (Island Number 68), which spans from the ceiling of the exhibition gallery to the floor, was created by using more than 130 pieces of 20X20 white paper with three detailed laser cut designs.

“I love the different meanings, or different interpretations of the work,” said Winkler. “I want it to look different from different angles. You can see through it. The lighting changes throughout the day, and the work changes; that’s what excites me.”

Winkler has had multiple exhibitions in Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Long Beach, California, home of his alma mater California State University at Long Beach.

Also, he received an Individual Artist Grant, in 2014, from the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council. In 2011, he received a Graduate Exhibition Scholarship from California State University, and the Beverly G. Alpay Memorial Award from Palos Verdes Art Center in California.

Winkler said, “Being able to draw is a very small part of making art. If you are interested in image making, in any way, I would recommend taking an art class. Everyone is an author, maker, or artist in many ways now with broadcasting things on social media, so thinking about how to do that in a purposeful, creative, or critical way, is a good way I think about making art.”

Matthew Winkler ’s, What Can it Prove?, displayed at Normandale Community College’s Fine Arts Gallery. (photo by Michael Achterling)

Matthew Winkler ’s, Hangs Down, displayed at Normandale Community College’s Fine Arts Gallery. (photo by Michael Achterling)

November 2016 Vol.23 No.3

Matthew Winkler’s artist biography, and information is displayed at Normandale Community College’s Fine Arts Gallery. (photo by Michael Achterling)

Matthew Winkler’s, We Are Far Away, displayed at Normandale Community College’s Fine Arts Gallery. (photo by Michael Achterling)

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Matthew Winkler’s, Untitled (Island Number 68), displayed at Normandale Community College’s Fine Arts Gallery. (photo by Michael Achterling)

T he Joys of a Ukelele

Story by Amy Lee Aloha! I still remember the first time I played a ukulele. I’d been playing guitar for a few years, and ukulele wasn’t so different, except for one thing: it was so much happier. As soon as I began strumming it, all of my stress evaporated. Since then I’ve been hooked on ukulele, so I am going to explain why you should learn to play this instrument.

But first of all, what are ukuleles? They’re small stringed instruments, similar to a guitar, but much smaller and with a more joyful, energetic sound.

I got my irst ukulele a little bit over three years ago. Since then, playing uke has taught me many skills, and picked me up after countless rough days. It turns out, learning to play an instrument has many benefits. Making music can

lower blood pressure, decrease heart rate, reduce stress, and lessen anxiety and depression. This makes playing a ukulele especially beneficial to college students! A friend of mine left to college this year without her ukulele, thinking she could get by without it. But she is now having her mom send it all the way across the country because she misses the uplifting and stress-reducing qualities of her fun little instrument.

Learning to play a ukulele would be an excellent choice for any college student, because playing them is such a great way to destress.

Not only that, but ukuleles are also easy to learn. I have never taken a ukulele lesson in my life, and yet I can still play the instrument relatively competently.

I’ve learned everything I know either by experimentation or by watching YouTube. This also makes them cheaper than other instruments, since you won’t have to pay for lessons. Not only that, but ukuleles are actually quite cheap. You can

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get a decent ukulele for under $50, which is an amazing price compared to the cost of a french horn.

And lastly, my favorite thing about ukuleles is that they have such a cheerful sound. As the famous ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro put it, “If everybody played the ukulele, this world would be a much happier place.”

Once you own a ukulele, you’ll be able to learn covers of your favorite songs, and maybe even start writing your own! You can turn songs that wouldn’t normally be cheerful in to happy-go-lucky tunes, just by playing them on a ukulele.

So what’s holding you back?

I have shown that learning to play the ukulele is affordable, easy, and fun! So I would like to challenge you to go learn to play the ukulele, because after all, “if everybody played the ukulele, this world would be a much happier place.”

November 2016 Vol.23 No.3

G e a r s o f Wa r 4 R e v i e w

JD Fenix (center), Kate Diaz (left), and Delmont “Del” Walker (right), three of Gears of War 4’s main characters. (Photo retrieved from gameinformer.com)

Review by Edmund Sykes Gears of War 4, the follow up to the original Gears of War trilogy, was released on October 11, and was very well received.

Being developed by Epic Games’ offspring studio The Coalition (much like how Bungie handed the Halo franchise to their offspring studio, 343 Studios) and although some elements were left missing, they still were able to pull it off by adding new twists on classic Gears. They increased graphical quality, especially on PC, as they capped the Xbox One version at 60 fps. The graphical limitations from using the outdated Unreal engine, which was beautiful at its time of release, but doesn’t have much more room for improvement. However, this does mean the same flawless cover-tocover system was used, meaning combat hasn’t changed, making many previous fans happy.

The campaign is a little dry, as the character development isn’t nearly as entertaining or unique

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as the original Gears’ trilogy.

Players learn about JD (son of Marcus Fenix, the main character of the first three games) and his squad mates, but they do not hold nearly as much charisma or unique traits as the original crew. The story finally picks up when Marcus Fenix joins in, as he brings some character back into the mix. The game also introduces more enemy types, including a lot of robots as well as the Scion, a race that descends from the original enemy, the Locusts. Unfortunately, to many players, including myself, the robots don’t really cut it in a Gears’ game, as using the lancer’s chainsaw or other normally gruesome executions on robots is not nearly as entertaining as on enemy Locusts or Scion. Gears was always known for being an incredibly gory and violent series. As far as the multiplayer, the gameplay is flawless and very entertaining, not to mention it is cross-play compatible, meaning those on Xbox One can play with their friends on PC. Every match is five vs. five in which one team serves as the COG (Coalition of

Ordered Governments, aka the good guys), and the other as the Scion. There is also competitive play now, which is based around working as a team and being skillful, as damage is decreased and aim assist is reduced.

There are only two modes, Escalation, where there are three rings on the map that must be captured to win, and Execution, which has classic Team Deathmatch rules, except each player has one life, and must be killed by an execution move. In classic core, players can play many different game modes, including King of the Hill, Team Deathmatch, Dodgeball (if teammate kills who killed you, you are revived), Arms Race (teams start with bad guns and collectively get kills to upgrade weaponry), Guardian (like Team Deathmatch, but with an MVP on each team that cannot die), and Warzone (like Team Deathmatch, but each player only has one life per round). Horde mode was also heavily tweaked, by creating what The Coalition calls “Horde 3.0.” Instead of building predetermined

A randomly selected Horde Mode boss, encountered every 10 waves. (Photo retrieved from windowscentral.com)

defensives around a designated base spot, players now have to use the Fabricator, a moveable station that can build defensive structures and weapons, to establish a base of operations in which players cover all points of entry with barriers, turrets, dummies, and more. Horde mode can be played with one to five players, each having a specialized class characterized by cards that grant special abilities depending on the level of the card. Surviving through all 50 waves does prove to be a challenge, especially on harder difficulties, but it is achievable by a five man squad using teamwork and skill.

Like almost every modern game as of this year, Gears has started using microtransactions, meaning that players can spend money to open loot boxes containing skins, skill cards, and in-game boosts. The skins are great, but there are a ton to collect, so the chances of getting a really cool skin aren’t too spectacular. Although the skins do not provide any ingame benefits, the skill cards and boosts definitely do. If you spend

a lot of money on the game, everybody is going to be your best friend in horde mode. It doesn’t mean the game is pay-toplay, but more pay-to-win, as it makes winning easy. Besides the inclusion of micro-transactions, the game is very impressive. It is a massively enjoyable sequel to a successful series, and that’s all we can really ask for as gamers. Gears has lots of great game modes to keep the enjoyment rolling, and

in fact will be releasing the DLC maps (the ones people normally pay for) in rotation so that every player gets a chance to play all the extra maps without all the extra fees.

The pros seem to outweigh the few cons of the game, and that’s why I give Gears of War 4 a 9/10.

It’s endlessly fun and classic gameplay lives up to its hype that the entire Gears franchise deserves.

One of many animated skins. (In-game screenshot taken by Edmund Sykes)

November 2016 Vol.23 No.3