The Wake, Issue 9, Spring 2015

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 9 | MAR 23 – APR 5 Amateur Weird Beer Review PG. 13 Q&A with B.O.Y.F. PG. 16 Q&A with Greta Morgan PG. 18

THE WAKE STUDENT MAGAZINE | VOLUME 14, ISSUE 9 Meatless in Minneapolis PG. 5 Degree in 3 PG. 7

The Wake’s Official Amateur Weird Beer Review PG. 13

Somoliphobia PG. 10 Why Does Media Representation Matter? PG. 11

EDITORIAL: Editor-in-Chief Grace Birnstengel Managing Editor Lauren Cutshall

Copy Editors Sara Glesne, Lindsey Pastrorek

Cities Editor Emily Mongan

Editorial Interns Kevin Beckman, Shawnna Stennes, Alex Van Abbema

Voices Editor Kayla McCombs

Faculty Adviser Chelsea Reynolds

Sound & Vision Editors Alex Nelson, Sara Glesne

Art Interns Breanna Vick, Breck Hickman, Andrew Tomten, Olivia Novotny, Cera Nelson, Kate Doyle

Art Directors Lizzie Goncharova, Max Smith

PRODUCTION: Executive Director Kelcie McKenney

Social Media Manager Abby Richardson

Head Designer Amanda Gentle

Finance Manager Nels Haugen

Graphic Designers Kayla Lutteke, Erin Slayton, Becca Sugden

Distributors Ryan Condron, Chris Roebber

Web Manager Carter Gruss

Production Interns Sam Gordon, Caleb Vanden Boom, Alexa Orak, Cara Desmond, Jake Merritt

Public Relations/ Advertising Manager Jennifer Burns

THIS ISSUE: Illustrators Lizzie Goncharova, Breck Hickman, Breanna Vick, Andrew Tomten, Olivia Novotny, Max Smith, Cera Sylar, Caleb Vanden Boom Contributing Writers Carter Jones, Cara Desmond, Aaron Wolde, Jeff Knoespel, Kevin Beckman, Annalise Gall, Erik Newland, Emma Klingler, Russell Barnes, Carson Kaskel, Olivia Huesinkveld, Chance Wellnitz, Lauren Cutshall, Kelcie McKenney, Emily Morgan, Alex Nelson, Shawnna Stennes, Karl Witkowiak Back Cover Caleb Vanden Boom Cover LIzzie Goncharova

Q&A: B.O.Y.F. PG. 16 Q&A: Greta Morgan PG. 18 50 Shades of Gravy PG. 21

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Greetings Wakelings, Minnesota and the U are both filled with an assortment of oddballs who can’t seem to grasp the concept of seasonal changes. For instance, today I saw the alarming combo of a man jogging around Lake Nokomis’s shores in ultra shortshorts while I also witnessed an ice fisher on that same body of water. Either we’re overly excited for the future or we are clinging desperately to the recent past, it appears.

Regardless, after conquering either your first or one in a series of dreadful Minnesotan winters we emerge into the sunshiney, green-grassy world we had almost forgotten existed. Congrats Wake readers, you have reached the holy grail of spring and summer in Minneapolis.

While you might be whittling down your final midterm days in the sub-basement of Wilson or under the stained glass windows of Walter Library, let The Wake guide you in these luminous weeks that you’re not yet allowed to go outside and enjoy. Or, just follow The Wake’s M.O. and make time to venture out because frankly you probably deserve it and this wacky world merits some observation too.

©2015 The Wake Student Magazine.

All Rights Reserved.

Established in 2002, The Wake is a fortnightly independent magazine and registered student organization produced by and for students at the University of Minnesota.

The Wake Student Magazine 126 Coffman Memorial Union 300 Washington Avenue SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 The Wake was founded by Chrin Ruen & James DeLong.

From the critical distinctions between a Qdoba a Chipotle burrito to the existence of an actual vegan butcher shop (no Toto, we’re not in Portland anymore), we’ve got our eyes about town for ya, so kick back in the semi-warm glow of the early spring sun and cross your fingers the snow doesn’t unexpectedly interrupt your tanning session.

Also keep a wakeful eye on us as we gear up for our birthday show on April 16, where dolphins and kindness will abound.

Cheers, Sara Glesne S&V Editor

Disclaimer: The purpose of The Wake is to provide a forum in which students can voice their opinions. Opinions expressed in the magazine are not representative of the publication or university as a whole. To join the conversation email gbirnstengel@wakemag.org.

www.wakemag.org facebook.com/thewakemagazine @the_wake wake-mag.tumblr.com thewakemagazine

ONE-PAGE MAGAZINE

Drugs Are Bad, Mkay?

WAKE RANTZ

by Breck Hickman

Oh, you just took your shoes off in class? Good.

I’m glad you’re making yourself at home. Because this classroom full of strangers and an instructor is definitely your home! What’s next?

You’re going to bring a mini fridge and start watching Netflix? Listen: I’m trying to learn, and your ill-fitting white and grey Fruit of the Loom socks are distracting. File this complaint under “annoying things people do in class” with eating a full meal, painting their nails (yep, I’ve seen it), and taking selfies.

To the people sitting behind me in class, please stop talking about your grades. This is college, not high school. Do you expect us to ask you to post it on the fridge? Do you feel the need to tell the class how hard you thought you failed, and to follow up with how well you did?

Is that really necessary? No. So quit bragging about your set-the-curve worthy grade and let us learn-- and try and fail and succeed-- on our own. Besides, your mom probably wants to hear all about it anyway.

I didn’t think the perfect study spot existed. I thought it was mythical and only from cheesy college films where it is either beautiful fall or gorgeous but never cold winter all the time. But it’s real! Perfect study spots totally exist. And I’ve found mine! It’s quiet and it has lovely natural light. It doesn’t smell stale and it isn’t too crowded. It’s my new favorite place. And if you think I’m going to share it with you, you’re sadly mistaken.

I Want You to Join Together With the Band

Yik Yak’s Greatest Hits

By Carter Jones

By Cara Desmond

When Yik Yak isn’t festering with racism and sexism it can actually be pretty funny…

Scarlett Johansson and Este Haim have banded up with some gal pals to create a pop-punk girl group.

They recently released their first single: an upbeat, dancey song called “Candy.” Given the greatness of their collaboration, here are some other artists that could make awesome music together:

“Every time I cross the bridge I think of what it must’ve been like to be an explorer and find the river and just be like ‘lol fuck’.”

“I really wish the crosswalks had sensors to tell if someone wasn’t listening when it told them to wait. ‘I TOLD YOU TO FUCKING WAIT!’” “Only when the lint from the dryer comes out a deep maroon color can you be called a true Gopher.”

“I wonder if President Kaler yaks… If he did, it’d probably be something like, ‘wishing I was turnt at Mesa right now :/’” “No mom, they still haven’t posted grades from last semester.”

“Everyone’s all Minnesota nice until it’s time to get on the bus.”

ANNOYED WITH SOMETHING? Send your 10 to 150-word rant to rants@wakemag.org and yours might be in our next issue!

Lorde and Taylor Swift: Though at first glance they are seemingly incompatible, both artists have proven their flexibility within the pop genre. In this case, mixing sugar and spice might turn out alright.

Beyoncé, Sia, and Nicki Minaj: These three are some of the most talented and hard working people in the music industry. Together, they have amazing creative possibilities.

20.59%

Waiting inside a restaurant or store for the bus to come

8.82%

Running to class Spiking your coffee Unintentionally cuddling on the bus

4 | MAR 23 - APR 5

Janelle Monáe, Bruno Mars, and Mark Ronson: Imagine an album full of jazzy pop songs like “Tightrope” and “Uptown Funk.” The only downside to this is that people might hurt themselves from dancing too hard.

47.06% 23.53%

What’s the best way to stay warm in the winter?

THE WAKE CITIES

MEATLESS IN MINNEAPOLIS

THE HERBIVOROUS BUTCHER OFFERS THE VEGAN MEATS YOU NEVER KNEW YOU WANTED

By Aron Wolde On a sunny Saturday noon, my sister and I ventured to Sisyphus Brewing to visit a shuffleboard tournament and pop-up shop hosted by new kid on the vegan block, The Herbivorous Butcher.

Compelled by our young, hipster tendencies, we had decided to try some meat-free meat from the Herbivorous Butcher, with a pairing of both dark and brown ale courtesy of Sisyphus. With the clattering and cheering from the shuffleboard tournament behind us accompanying our taste test, my sister and I were happily surprised by the vegan meat substitutes they had to offer.

The Herbivorous Butcher, the stomach/brain child of sister and brother combo Kale and Aubry Walch, has been making food since June for the Linden Hills Farmers Market. As the two began to consistently sell out of their meatless meats, they decided to open a brick-and-mortar vegan butcher shop—the first in the nation. With as much money as many other young entrepreneurs (none), they decided to fund the butcher shop through the crowd sourcing site Kickstarter.

After asking for a $50,000 donation, the internet helped supply the siblings with an ample $61,000, making it the most successful vegan Kickstarter ever. Now with both the means and opportunity, the Walches are ready to open up shop. The Herbivorous Butcher shop is expected to open in late April or early May. And while many vegans, vegetarians, and foodies are excited about the meat substitute, others are skeptical. It was The Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon, who said it frankly: “I read about a brother and sister in Minneapolis who are opening the world’s first vegan butcher shop,” he said. “Yeah, at the butcher they promise to kill all the flavor, but in a humane way. If you boil it long enough, there’s no flavor. Tastes like nothing.”

The idea seems odd, and even a bit too contrarian.

But with all of that said, the food is remarkably good and capable of generating a buzz. At the Sisyphus event, a large crowd, all of which were ordering and sampling the “meats” at their leisure, joined my sister and me.

After an hour the BBQ ribs quickly sold out, and my sister and I had decided to order in bulk. After purchasing the teriyaki jerky, Italian sausage, morning sausage, and pepperoni for $26, we quickly went home and tried the food.

Before unwrapping the ornamental brown wrapping paper, followed by the necessary plastic wrap, we read the packages’ information. Placed proudly on the front is a sticker of The Herbivorous Butcher with outlines of the Walches on each side. On the other side of the package is another sticker with a few of the nutritional facts.

The sticker contained a statement disclosing how the “meat” could possibly be vegan, how it was manufactured in a factory containing peanuts and soy, how it had lots of protein (but no exact amount), and, most importantly, the ingredients. There aren’t any hyper-synthesized items, colors, or chemical compounds; simply the few other foods that the meat is made of.

When reading the list of ingredients, one is struck with the ability to actually understand what the food is made of. Since the meats are precooked and essentially vegetables, grains, and fruits, we decided to eat all the products, excluding the jerky, first raw, and then cooked.

BREANNA VICK

ey-glazed piece of meat I’ve ever had. The same is true for the Italian sausage, but not for the pepperoni, which was disappointing.

The meats are tasty, easy to chew, and excellently seasoned with spices and sauces—the jerky especially so. But when biting into the “meat,” you can almost immediately tell that it isn’t meat. The nostalgic texture of real sausage, jerky, and pepperoni was betrayed after the first bite.

After eating the uncooked “meat,” we then tried it cooked. With a frying pan and a few minutes, the fauxmeat crisps up and the flavor increases radically. The sausages were almost ten times better than they had been just moments before without heat.

The flavors of the meat-free meat are noticeable immediately, almost to the point where they pass the meats they are meant to imitate. The honey in the morning sausage is greater than any other hon-

Within a half hour, my sister and I had devoured all of the food, making us wonder why we hadn’t bought more and, most importantly, when our vegan super powers would activate.

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THE WAKE CITIES

SO YOU WANT TO WORK AT A STARTUP…

NEW APP DEVELOPED BY U STUDENT CONNECTS STARTUPS WITH YOUNG TALENT

By Jeff Knoespel Pull out your phone and look at some of the apps you have. There’s a good chance Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, or Yik Yak are among them. What do all of these apps have in common? They were started by small groups of people, sometimes only two or three, but have become multibillion-dollar companies in a very short period of time. Wouldn’t it be great to have worked for one of them from the beginning? Now, thanks to a University of Minnesota student, there’s an app for that.

Wes Zheng, a computer science junior, together with Sachin Mangalick, is the mastermind behind new smartphone app Startup Finder that is set to launch in fall 2015. Startup Finder promises to match startups looking for qualified people to help them succeed.

So how does Startup Finder work? If you have ever used Tinder, you’re at an advantage. All a user has to do is sift through internship position cards.

After setting up a profile about yourself, you get a virtual ID card that has a short description of your interests and experience. You then look through several startups that have virtual cards as well. If you find one of the startups interesting, you swipe right to directly

apply in the app. Not interested? Swipe left, just as you would on Tinder.

“It won’t find you a girlfriend or boyfriend,” Zheng said, but it works nearly identically to the popular dating app. However, instead of socially questionable rendezvous, you might end up with an internship at an explosively expanding company.

“I have this passion to work for a small company, a company that is growing,” Zheng said. “There were these companies like Snapchat that were small startups and now they are a lot bigger and serve a lot of people.”

Zheng wanted to cater to college students, to pair ambitious young people with ambitious companies to help them make something great.

“A lot of people have this passion to work at these small companies, and one day this company might grow really big. But there is no software or app that can help people accomplish this, so why don’t we start one?” Zheng said.

It has been three months since he started developing Startup Finder, but Zheng has not been short on

finding startups for app users. With many new employers signing on to the app every week, Startup Finder is well on the way to its own startup success.

Zheng knows these employers are looking for a certain group of people to help make their small company successful. He said these startups are looking for quality of work over quantity—they are looking for people who are truly passionate about succeeding in the hyper-competitive economy that we live in today.

Zheng said the most common majors startups look for are marketing, management, and engineering, but it all depends on the company.

One of the startups looking for interns on Startup Finder is Party Drop, an app that lets you plan a party in minutes just from your phone. They’ll deliver everything you need right to your door, from cakes to decorations. Another startup, Rock Lake, is a Minneapolis based entrepreneurial private equity firm, Captain Claim is a company that uses technology to help people get the most out of their insurance claim.

“I wanted to build the bridge to connect them,” Zheng said, adding that he wants to change how people search for a job. “We are trying to limit the amount of unnecessary information.”

As for Zheng, he has a few other ideas for apps that are waiting in the wings. “I find a need and then I find a solution to that need,” Zheng said. But as a startup itself, Zheng is focusing on making Startup Finder successful before springing into action on another app idea.

When it launches in a few weeks, Startup Finder will be available exclusively to University students who have Apple devices, meanwhile students can sign up through an email list on its website to receive internship positions through email. Zheng sees a bright future for Startup Finder. He hopes to soon expand to other platforms such as Android and Windows devices. He also hopes to expand Startup Finder to other universities as soon as possible.

It’s the dream of many to work at a company that has aggressive growth on the horizon, and it could soon be as easy as swiping right to like.

You can check out Startup Finder’s website at www.startupfinder.io.

6 | MARCH 23 - APRIL 5

FLICKR / MIKE

THE WAKE CITIES

DEGREE IN 3

COLLEGE OF DESIGN’S PILOT PROGRAM MAY PAVE THE WAY FOR YEAR-ROUND CLASSES

By Kevin Beckman University of Minnesota students may soon have the opportunity to graduate in less than the typical four years. For students participating in the College of Design’s Degree in 3 pilot program, that opportunity is already a reality.

The pilot program allows graphic design and retail merchandising students to earn their degree in less time by studying for eight consecutive semesters, including summers. Graphic design students who entered their programs in fall 2013 or fall 2014 are eligible to participate, along with retail merchandising students who entered their programs in fall or spring 2013-14 or fall or spring 2014-15.

Degree in 3 is great for students looking to save money and willing to work hard, Rachel Kelly, graphic design student participant, said.

“I was able to work the same amount of hours over the summer, even with those summer classes,” Kelly said.

“Many of the students have She added that her summer classes were small and allowed for a lot of one-on-one time with her teachers. reported that they enjoyed not having to catch up in the fall after summer Nicole Folgate, another Degree in 3 participant, said break. There is a smoother that while there are a lot of positives to the program, development of knowlit should be stressed that students need to be open to edge and experience,” flexibility and planning ahead.

ANDREW TOMTEN Dr. Bye said.

“There aren’t as many courses available in the summer, President Kaler noted a few challenges to yearand some major-related courses need to be taken in a round schooling in his 2012 State of the University certain order,” Folgate said. “It can be really difficult to address, namely managing financial aid for students get everything in.” during the summer.

“But I would say that the positives far outweigh the “The financial piece is probably the only disadvantage,” negatives,” she added.

Dr. Bye said. “Most financial aid is not set up to support attending class during the summer.”

Dr. Elizabeth Bye, Head of Design, Housing, and Apparel for the College of Design, said finishing up Graphic design program director Sauman Chu said it’s a degree early gets students into the workplace too early to talk hypothetically about implementing sooner, which can have a real financial impact. She similar programs within other majors until the pilot is also pointed out a more fluid transition between complete in 2017. semesters for students in the program.

LIVING IN MINNEAPOLIS: MIRACULOUS OR MONSTROUS? RESIDENTS’ TAKE ON THE ATLANTIC’S “MIRACLE” CITY CLAIM

By Annalise Gall A recent article in The Atlantic has garnered a lot of attention for hailing Minneapolis as a “miracle” city, stating that “No other place mixes affordability, opportunity, and wealth so well.” The story references impressive studies and legislation that seem to support this bold claim—but what do the people who actually live here think?

Minneapolis resident Danielle Luke agrees that “it’s a blast living here.” With plenty of Fortune 500 companies to work for, entertainment facilities to enjoy, educational opportunities, and affordable housing, she enjoys the “freedom” the area provides.

But despite of all the positives, Luke believes that “sometimes the city isn’t the place to live for everyone.

It has great things to offer, but so do other places.” She seems to be hitting on a point which countless others

have brought up; while Minneapolis could be considered a Midwestern oasis for some of its residents, it certainly is not for all.

Dr. Doug Hartmann, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, points out that “the racial gaps, whether it’s for housing, education, or incarceration, are pretty severe and extreme.”

As is often the case, when one group flourishes, another is left behind. The gaps between African Americans and upper class whites are particularly startling.

Minnesota is a leader in racial student achievement gaps, with test scores differing by up to 30 percentage points. By some measures it is also the worst state for financial inequality, with WalletHub estimating a near 300 percent poverty rate gap for African Americans.

OLIVIA NOVOTNY

This, in addition to the increased clustering of the poor in downtown areas, is certainly not “what’s right with Minneapolis” as proposed by The Atlantic.

So what’s a city to do? For starters, have a conversation about these disparities. Taking a look at who is missing out on the “miracle” is the first step to opening the doors for them. The strengths of the Twin Cities do not have to overshadow the weaknesses, nor do the downfalls have to undermine the accomplishments. Rather, the two should work as a team, revealing what needs to be accomplished and how it can be.

Praise unleashed by The Atlantic should not be seen as inaccurate, but instead only a partial print of a larger picture—a picture that is still a work in progress.

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THE WAKE CITIES

POLICY FOR POSITIVE CHANGE NEW MSA GUIDELINES STRENGTHEN AND CLARIFY HOW SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES ARE HANDLED

By Erik Newland The odds are high that you know someone who has been a victim of sexual assault, or may even be a victim yourself. The Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education reports that “22 percent of individuals who identify as women and 5 percent of individuals who identify as men from the University of Minnesota have reported experiencing sexual assault.”

The University of Minnesota deals with cases of sexual assault through the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity, using guidelines for handling these cases that have been criticized for being confusing and inconsistent. In the past, those found guilty of direct physical sexual assault have been let off with punishments ranging from academic probation to having to answer questions from a counselor, rather than being suspended or expelled.

National policies have been inconsistent, but new efforts by the Minnesota Student Association (MSA) are about to give those guidelines an overhaul.

On Feb. 24, changes proposed earlier this school year were voted into policy by the MSA. With this policy change, MSA hopes to make the rules for punishing those who violate the sexual assault policy more consistent and easier to understand.

The minimum sanctions resolution specifies that individuals found responsible for rape will be expelled or at least suspended when the victim is still on campus, in order to “protect victim/survivors from further trauma by limiting their interaction with their perpetrator.”

Katie Eichele, director of The Aurora Center, said what she appreciates most about the new procedure is that “it takes into consideration that each sexual assault is unique.”

MSA President Joelle Stangler, who was the main author of the changes, explained them as being meant to match the sanction to the crime. Some of the minimum sanctions for verbal or physical assault have also been raised.

Stangler agreed that we need to improve how we deal with sexual assault, but said that more policy

8 | MARCH 23 - APRIL 5

changes are not the right answer. Policy only comes into effect after a crime occurs, and preventative measures are handled by a different task force assembled for things like raising awareness.

Writing new policy and getting it put into effect is a long and complicated process. Stangler said that a challenge facing student government is that often the administration will take over an initiative, and the student body won’t get a say in it afterwards.

“We start something and then they lock us out of the room,” Stangler said. Instead of trying to change policy, she said that the criminal justice system at the University should be strengthened. Some law enforcement officers don’t take sexual assault to be as serious an issue as it is, she said.

The responsibility of universities to handle sexual assault cases in conjunction with law enforcement goes back to the United States Education Amendments of 1972. Among these amendments, Title IX states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” which at first helped create equity in school athletics.

Complex as it may be, policy is just as important as the laws that work to prevent and actually deal with the crimes. Eichele said changes in policy definitely affect how The Aurora Center works, and that easily understood policy is especially important for the organizations that actually put it into action.

Eichele also said clear, concise policy answers the question: “Where is it in writing that the University should follow that process?” and makes it easier to train new professionals who work with sexual assault cases.

Changes in sexual assault policy are set to take effect next fall. The added clarity and consistency will help the University give the right sanctions to the accused, support the victims, and hopefully prevent further crimes.

The work is far from done, however, and MSA and the University will continue to work on improving how we deal with the crime of sexual assault.

According to Eichele of The Aurora Center, the language of this law was vague, and around 2011, universities and schools began to interpret it to include academic equity, gender violence, and LGBT issues.

“Title IX, from a civil rights perspective, has put a lot of pressure on higher education, especially when it comes to investigating sexual assault cases and supporting the victim,” Eichele said.

MAX SMITH

THE WAKE VOICES

FIT TO BURST

PRISON OVERCROWDING AND THE EFFORTS TO REFORM

By Emma Klingler To address the issue of overcrowding in prisons, the government has introduced several federal sentencing reforms such as the Drugs Minus Two amendment, which allows those incarcerated for drug offenses to have their sentences reexamined. The process of determining a sentence works on a point system, and the subtraction of two points can significantly decrease 0the length of a sentence.

Right now, America is experiencing its lowest crime rates in twenty years. The rate of homicide, for example, is nearly half of what it was in 1991. However, the number of individuals incarcerated in American jails and prisons right now is higher than any other country in the world.

It’s eight times higher than in 1970, meaning nearly 1 out of every 100 adults in America is currently incarcerated. As television host and political satirist John Oliver puts it: “The only other thing that’s grown at that rate since the ‘70s is varieties of Cheerios!”

Another act that is currently being examined but has yet to pass is the Smarter Sentencing Act. If passed, this act would cut mandatory minimums for a variety of crimes in half, helping to deal with the overcrowding in jails and prisons. However, it is important to note that only 10 percent of those incarcerated are in federal prisons.

Some reforms are being made at state level as well, such as California’s elimination of the three strike law.

Although there has been a boom in the number of prisons in recent years, it is not enough to keep up with the growing number of occupants.

Veronica Horowitz, a PhD student studying the American system of punishment here are the University of Minnesota, weighs in on the cause of this influx of inmates.

“For the past 4 decades, we have been sending people to prison at higher and higher rates for longer periods of time, and more people,” Horowitz said. This seems odd, considering the relatively low crime rates. Horowitz goes on to explain: “We’ve passed laws so that more people get sent to prison for things they wouldn’t have been sent to prison for in the past, and people stay in prison longer,” she said.

These sentencing laws include laws involving mandatory minimums, which are established minimum sentences for specific crimes; three strike laws, which often result in life sentences for felons with previous felony convictions; and expansion of life without parole among others. Instigation for these laws comes from several sources. One of the biggest drivers was the war on drugs in America, partnered with the tough-on-crime movement that began with the Nixon administration and continued through Clinton. Though these efforts cannot be deemed successful, the policies they invoked are still in effect today, and are significant contributors to the high incarceration numbers.

Due to the excessive inmate content of American prisons, a number of reforms are currently being enacted to improve living conditions and sentencing. One reform that has garnered a lot of attention

CERA SYLAR

is the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The purpose, as stated in the Act, is to “provide for the analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape…and to provide information, resources, recommendations, and funding to protect individuals from prison rape.” Although PREA was passed with unanimous support from Congress, there are many critics who question the efficacy of the act.

“It’s my impression that although the bill was passed with good intentions, it hasn’t had as much impact in action,” Horowitz said. The problem lies in the lack of efforts made to enforce the implementation of reforms within the prisons as a result of the data collected, according to Horowitz. Prison rape continues to be a huge problem in the prison systems, with an estiamated 4 percent of inmates reporting having experienced sexual assault during their sentence.

One of the biggest contributors to the overcrowding of the jail and prison systems is the incarceration of criminals for minor offenses, such as drug offenses and prostitution. Currently, there is a lot of debate centered on the worth of imprisoning individuals for crimes such as these. A number of people, like Horowitz, believe that these people should not even be criminally charged.

“I think that many things that are currently minor offenses should not be criminalized in the first place.

In particular, victimless crimes,” Horowitz said. Despite the relatively low severity of these crimes, the aid for minor offenders post-incarceration is almost non-existent. Whereas for violent prisoners there are interventions such as halfway houses, there is not much that is made available for those who committed drug crimes and prostitution.

Unfortunately for these criminals, their record makes it extremely difficult to get jobs or even entrance into higher-level education systems. As progress continues to be made to eliminate the overpopulation of prisons, more efforts need to be directed to programs for the rehabilitation of former inmates back into society.

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THE WAKE VOICES

SOMALIPHOBIA

A NEW FORM OF ISLAMOPHOBIA

By Russell Barnes With Al-Shabaab talking about the possibility of a terrorist attack at Minnesota’s own Mall of America, I can understand how some people freaked out on my Facebook feed. What I couldn’t understand was the rampant Islamophobia that was dominating the pixels of my Macbook Pro’s screen.

These freakouts were not your standard, “Oh my god, I’m scared for my life.” No no no no no. It was more along the lines of, “These Muslims are going to kill us all.”

All I could do was sigh in disbelief.

Some people were very quick to note that the Minneapolis metro area has the largest Somali population in the country. Sure, that’s true. Many of these same people would go on to say that an attack on our city is inevitable and that members of the Somali and Muslim communities are more likely to be members of ISIS, so… “Watch out.”

Public opinion hasn’t been favorable towards those associated with Islam. As a matter of fact, public opinion polls by the Pew Research Center show that Islam and Muslims themselves are seen less favorably than they were after the 9/11 attacks.

Despite this, the local Somali community has actually been making efforts to reduce the recruitment of young men by terrorist organizations. This has been highlighted in the media multiple times. A KARE 11 broadcast said that “over a dozen” have been recruited

by Al-Shabaab to fight. Yet, it was also stressed that Minnesotans should reach out to the Somali community instead of polarizing them within our society.

How are Somalis being polarized?

What it comes down to is how Muslims are depicted in the media. They are more often showcased on the news as terrorists. We do not see Muslims as ordinary

people who just so happen to have ties to a culture that’s not Christian. They are showcased on the news nearly exclusively as villains. This stereotype gets shifted to other community groups that have largely-proportioned Islamic populations, including Somalis.

ANDREW TOMTEN

But Muslims are making positive waves in our communities. Why aren’t we talking about people like Mohamud Noor, a local activist who gave Phyllis Kahn one of her most difficult challenges for re-election in the state house? Why don’t we talk about the research of the U’s own Abdi Samatar? There are so many people with Somali origin who are positively contributing to society.

It’s time to showcase them and promote people for who they truly are instead of casting them as antagonists.

THE WAR ON SHOTS: WHAT HAVE SCHOOLS DONE? SCHOOL RULES FOR EVERYTHING BUT THE HEALTH OF STUDENTS

By Carson Kaskel We live in a society where it’s against the rules to chew gum in class. However, it’s completely acceptable to not get vaccinated for infectious diseases and sit right next to that gum-chewing delinquent, going unpunished. The “War on Shots” continues to gain national attention—an ethical and moral dilemma of ignorance, putting our nation’s children at risk for catching an easily avoidable case of the plague. As opposition towards conscientious objectors continues to rise, schools have done close to nothing to ensure the health and safety of millions of students.

Instead, they choose to focus on petty policies made for the sake of making rules and causing anger.

Many of the most dangerous diseases are taken care of with vaccinations at a very young age. Most should have been vaccinated before entering kindergarten. According to the Department of Health, in the 2013-2014 school

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year, the average rate of unvaccinated Minnesota Kindergarteners for MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) is 2.8% among conscientious objectors. While this may not appear to be a strikingly large number, it is still nevertheless a health threat to even those vaccinated.

So what are schools doing?

Minneapolis Public Schools has a five-tiered discipline chart ranging from swearing at a classmate to bringing a weapon to school. But where does not being vaccinated and bringing in potentially deadly infectious diseases fall?

That would be level zero. In fact, schools do not have the ability to enforce immunization laws.

We could get rid of a disease here. It’s been done successfully before. Remember the polio scare? Everyone was required to get the vaccine and what do you

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know? We eradicated it. No questions asked. Sure, some may argue that vaccines don’t guarantee one-hundred percent that no one will get sick. But if more people are vaccinated, the protection will be all the more effective.

Unfortunately, instead of joining the cause to help quell the spread of measles, schools are using their authority to keep hats off of students heads.

So who is the bad guy here? Is it the kid who always has headphones in, hat on, and is chewing gum? Or is it the parent who won’t protect their children from dangerous diseases, putting themselves, and society in danger? We may never know. For now though, it’s completely legal, albeit socially, acceptable to attend school un-vaccinated, but heaven forbid you call someone “stupid.”

THE WAKE VOICES

WHY DOES MEDIA REPRESENTATION MATTER?

THOUGHTS FROM THOSE UNDERREPRESENTED

By Olivia Heusinkveld With the Oscars of 2015 being referred to as “the whitest Oscars since 1998,” many people have been discussing the importance of representation in the media.

“I work in the entertainment industry, and the lack of diversity is mind-blowing,” Sadeeq Ali, college sophomore, said. “Shonda Rhimes, writer and creator of shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, was given an award for her ‘color-blind,’ casting choices. The mere fact that an award for this is given out is indicative of how big of a problem this is.”

The lack of racial diversity in media is rampant. According to the New York Film Academy, only 12.4 percent of speaking characters from the 2007-2012 top 500 grossing films were portrayed by black actors, while 75.8 percent of these roles were portrayed by white characters. In fact, 40 percent of the top 100 grossing films from 2012 showed black characters as less than 5 percent of the speaking cast.

Unfortunately, the underrepresentation of certain groups is not limited to people of color.

Making up approximately half of the total U.S. population, women comprised only 30.8 percent of speaking characters in films from 2007-2012.

Even on a global scale, only 23 percent of film protagonists are female.

Even in the films where different races and genders were represented, they were often portrayed in ways that were more subservient and supportive to their white or male counterparts.

Unless you are a white straight male, you may have a difficult time finding people who look and act like you represented equally and completely in the media.

Now comes the question of why this lack of diversity matters.

“Everyone should have characters or images they can relate to. It’s part of how we understand ourselves,” Tate Sheppard, University of Minnesota freshman, said.

Simone Ritchie, a freshman at the SUNY Purchase school who self-identifies as biracial, said she never remembers seeing characters on television “who looked like her.”

“When I was asked to draw pictures of myself, I would always give myself a head of blonde hair until I was about six years old,” Ritchie said. “Why did I want to do this? Because I thought that being blonde was way prettier than having dark

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hair. However, part of me likes to think that if the movies and TV shows I watched showed a more accurate representation of who I was, I might have been more willing to embrace who I was at a younger age.”

In addition to giving viewers a reflection of themselves, the media can also expose viewers to groups of people in a safe environment. Natalie Dulka, a freshman at Concordia University, said that diversity in media can be a way for less understood and underrepresented groups, such as trans and non-binary individuals, to have a voice with which to discuss and present who they are. “The remote nature of media allows for the less exposed, more conservative population to experience trans culture and see non-binary folk and accept that they exist without that reality being forced into their world,” she said. “It provides a safe space for the trans population to express themselves to a less aware audience without fear of retribution or hate crimes.”

Chyenne Thibodo, an alumni of the University, cites comics as a place where she feels underrepresented and isolated from the characters in the stories. “I think of media as cathartic. There is something that reduces my anxiety in someone punching the source of war and incurable disease in the face. That person, though, is more often than not a muscular male,” Thibodo said.

“Girls need to be saved or risk just dying where they stand if they dare follow their own instincts rather than listening to their boyfriend. I’m looking at you, Amazing Spider-Man 2. Girls with body types like mine are, at best, not represented, and at worst, a punch line.”

Without representation of all races, genders, sexes, sexualities, body types, etc., there are stories that we are missing. Without equal representation, there are people who are not feeling heard or seen. In a nation and world as diverse and complex as ours, the last thing we want is to lose the stories of a large portion of our people.

“I want movies where actresses that look like me are cast in leading roles, because there are women who look like that who live those lives in reality. They don’t have a white woman to step in and live out their problems,” Ritchie said. “The media is a monumentally important influence in our lives, whether we want it to be or not. We all absorb it, whether or not we’re trying to. Who are we to deprive young men and women with an image that doesn’t look like them?”

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THE WAKE VOICES

CHIPOTLE VS. QDOBA

THE GREAT BURRITO SHOWDOWN

By Chance Wellnitz A single burrito from Chipotle or Qdoba can feed a family of four for a week. This comes in handy if and/or when B) You realize that neither your parents nor public schooling prepared you for three meals per day on zero-budget, or, B) You come from a family that is affluent enough for you to gorge yourself on state-size burritos yet feel no remorse for ignoring the man outside asking for spare change.

“Get a job!” you think to yourself, before remembering you still have to turn in the rent check your mom wrote for you. She is not going to be happy if she has to pay another late fee.

CHIPOTLE The last time I ate at Chipotle, they had just introduced their tofu Sofritas, a vegan meat substitute. And as I should have suspected, there was an influx of beardsand-glasses clientele since my previous visit.

“Meat?” the Chipotle employee asked the man beside me.

The man scoffed behind his foot long beard, clearly offended. For he had evolved beyond a meat-consuming peasant into the omniscient bearded-Morrissey who stood before her.

The man cleared his throat. “No. Sofritas.”

Then he took his burrito, high-fived Jared Leto, and leapt through a portal into a dimension only vegans can access—satisfied with all the good he’s done in the world by ordering tofu from a multibillion dollar corporation.

I left satisfied knowing that he would shit fire just like everybody else who eats Chipotle.

QDOBA Now if Chipotle and Qdoba were on a supermarket shelf, Qdoba would be the store brand product available for thirty cents less; it’s the Toast’ems Pop-ups you would hide when your rich friends came over to play. You pay off the man asking for change outside just so he won’t tell anyone you’re going to Qdoba.

It’s not that Qdoba is bad, per say.

There are just other, better options.

You know this. Qdoba knows this.

And Qdoba knows that you know this.

Like Chipotle, there may be bearded clientele at Qdoba; however, there is no irony in their facial hair. The people who eat at Qdoba aren’t the type to lecture you on which ancient grains you should be eating; these are people who have experienced life.

And sometimes, life means having to settle for less.

And sometimes you’re in Dinkytown and Chipotle is just too far away.

FLICKR / TALES OF A WANDERING YOUKAI

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FLICKR / JERAMEY JANNENE

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THE WAKE’S OFFICIAL AMATEUR WEIRD BEER REVIEW

TASTE TESTING FUNKY BREWS FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE

By Lauren Cutshall, Kelcie McKenney, Emily Mongan, and Alex Nelson Cover by Max Smith

THE WAKE FEATURE

What do you get if you put a bunch of writers in a room and give them weird beer? Well, words like “pudding-y” for one. “Hella hoppy,” for another. And my personal favorite, “spicy spiciness.” We may not know our beer and we admit that. But we decided to try six of the weirdest beers we could find. We found that beer, in fact, can be really weird.

Like fine wine descriptions, beer explanations are often foreign to us. Have no fear, we’re here to explain some of the weirdest beers in the most recognizable ways.

We’re amateurs when it comes to beer (what are hops, again?) and we know some of you are too. Our most common critique was some variation of “Mmm” and we certainly had some truly thoughtful comments such as, “Smells like beer.” Huh, imagine that.

From dessert beers, to beers infused with tea and pretzels, and to beer that really just tasted like soda, join us on the The Wake’s liquor store tour of weird beers.

O-GII TEAINFUSED BEER

KNOT STOCK

Furthermore Brewing: Black River Falls, WI — 5.5% Emily: It’s clearing my sinuses. Hoo! Kelcie: I like the taste but I am feeling that pepper in the back of my throat.

Alex: Tastes kind of metal-y.

Lauren: I feel like it tastes like you’re drinking beer with your over-peppered meal and you’re just like, “Oh damn, let me wash it down!”

Pepper Beer: something new to add to the list of things you would never think of. Labeled on Furthermore’s website as “a most particular pale,” Knot Stock lives up to its name. With a distinct, unmistakable pepper flavor, the beer isn’t something to be had with just any meal. It’s not something you drink to relax. Rather, Knot Stock holds its own as a conversation topic and party trick in and of itself. Knot Stock is a one bottle kind of beer—you won’t want too much of it. But if you’re into back-of-your-throat heat and “spicy-spiciness,” Knot Stock should be your go-to weird beer.

BAAAD BOY: BLACK WHEAT ALE

Milwaukee Brewing Co.: Milwaukee, WI — 9.2%

Sheep’s Brewing: Sheboygan, WI — 5.5%

A: That’s zen as fuck.

E: It could be my hometown bias, but also the fact that it’s named after like a Japanese cartoon monster.

K: The packaging’s cool, it’s light enough where I feel like someone who isn’t big on beer would be comfortable trying it.

L: Like iced tea.

L: It’s really smoky, but not in like a smoky cabin way, but like in a house fire way.

A: Yeah, not smoke in like a French roast, Starbucks Reserve way, but like a “holy shit get the fire extinguisher” way.

E: This is just hella hoppy.

K: This is blacker than my soul. I don’t know what to think.

Leave it to America’s Beer Capital to take flavorinfused brews to the next level. If you’re ever stuck in that limbo between breakfast and happy hour, Milwaukee Brewing Co. has your back with O-Gii, a wheat beer infused with tea from Milwaukee’s own Rishi Tea. The beer and tea flavors are perfectly balanced, without one overpowering the other like some of the other flavored beers we tried. It tastes light and refreshing (one reviewer noted that “it feels like clouds”), like the perfect beer to crack open on the porch on a hot summer day with a slice of lemon on the glass. But for its entire refined flavor, O-Gii doesn’t take itself too seriously—the packaging features a Godzilla-like creature sipping on a glass of beer while smiling mischievously. As one reviewer put it, “That’s the face I want to be making when I’m drinking this beer, because it feels like I’m getting away with something.”

Don’t be fooled by this beer’s coffee-like aroma...

Baaad Boy Black Wheat Ale knows exactly who he is. This is a bold, smooth, thick, and smoky ale that is brazen in its identity. For that reason, it’d be near impossible to consume more than one of these bad boy’s in a night, but that is not to say there isn’t a time and a place (and a type of person to whom) this beer belongs (read: dads. Or like, lumberjacks). I’d choose this beer if I had just come inside from a long day of hunting deer and I’m pairing it with a well-done steak.

In just about every single other situation, though, I’d go with a Miller Lite or something.

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THE WAKE FEATURE

ROGUE VOODOO DOUGHNUT PRETZEL, CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY ALE ROGUE:

Newport, OR — 5.4%

A: It tastes like an Uncrustable. I’ve actually never had an Uncrustable but this is how I’d imagine they taste.

L: What would you even pair this beer with?

K: A drunken single girl’s night. This is a post-breakup beer.

E: Just go with vodka. This is like Ben and Jerry’s and alcohol.

Overwhelming: that’s the first word that comes to mind after tasting Rogue’s Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry & Chocolate Ale. Based off of a chocolate doughnut with raspberry filling and a pretzel stabbed through the heart—like a voodoo doll—this beer has a lot of flavors to take in. It smells potently of pretzels, but only tastes of chocolate, raspberry, and a hint of coffee with a weird onslaught of after tastes coming in at the end. If you’re looking for a beer to pair with dessert or doughnuts, as Rogue’s website suggests, or something to confuse your taste buds with a vast array of flavors, this sugary and complicated Doughnut Ale might be a good pick for you. But, if a complicated sweet brew isn’t your thing, maybe pass on the Voodoo Doughnut Ale.

WELLS STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING ALE

DECADENT CHOCOLATE ALE

Charles Wells Brewing: Bedford, UK— 5%

Atwater Brewery: Detroit, MI — 5.5%

E: It smells like Christmas!

K: It does do a very good job at putting its name together.

A: Imagine this as like, a root beer float.

L: It’s very pudding-y.

K: Guys, I’m a lightweight. It’s got alcohol, I can tell.

E: Already? It’s a Dixie cup full of beer.

A: Are you like on Klonopin or something?

L: We’re going to start calling you Dixie Cup now.

If dessert beer is a thing, then Sticky Toffee Pudding must be perfection. While other beers may brag of their “toffee notes,” it doesn’t always come through. But Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale does not lie. Not only does it taste like a dessert on its own, but its sweetness is multidimensional, without losing that bit of beer bitterness. The ale smells as good as it tastes and it’s classy in a way that doesn’t surprise you when you learn it’s from the UK. If chai tea lattes are the Christmases of coffee, Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale is the Christmas of beer.

Some things (like, unfortunately, Rogue Voodoo Donut’s gagworthy “Pretzel/Chocolate/Raspberry” Ale) taste exactly like their descriptors. One sip of that shit and you’ve got a fiesta of fake pretzel, chocolate, berry, and beer syrups in your mouth.

For Atwater Brewery’s “Decadent Chocolate Ale,” however, this is not the case. I’m not entirely sure how these beer-makers missed the mark so disastrously, but this beer is neither decadent nor chocolatey. If I’m being honest, it’s not even really Ale-y. It seems like these flavor-challenged Michiganians eschewed any chocolate flavor at all in favor of a more delicate, (sickly) watered-down mud taste. Seriously, this beer tastes like flat, weird, chocolate(?) Pepsi. May be poisonous.

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THE WAKE Q&A

Q&A: B.O.Y.F.

By Alex Nelson Minneapolis’ buzzy new-wave pop band, B.O.Y.F., is a trio of bright musicians promoting positivity and groovy-ness with their eccentric and harmonious tunes.

Formerly known as “White Boyfriend,” they changed their name to “Before Others, Yourself Forever,” retaining the light-hearted humor of the first name but eschewing its sharp snark in place of a message of self-love. They released their (at the time, self-titled) debut LP “White Boyfriend” in January and have rightfully enjoyed love from Radio K, 89.3 the Current, and crowds across the Twin Cities. The band, consisting of Nicky Leingang (synths), Dan Hansen (bass), and Katharine Seggerman (drums), is adored for their delightful synth-pop and wonderfully satiric thematic content. Be sure to catch them performing at The Wake’s 13th birthday party bash at the Triple Rock Social Club on April 16!

The Wake: You guys went to Yale before you came here. Was there anything specific about the Minneapolis music scene that drew you here or did you just like this city? What’s the story behind that move?

NL: I had been visiting here for a number of years because my brother lived here. I’m from North Dakota originally, so for breaks I would fly to Minneapolis (because it’s a lot cheaper than going to ND), spend a few days here with him and then drive home. He was in punk bands for a long time so I was exploring the Minneapolis punk scene. I basically wanted to come here for that. I convinced Dan and then as soon as Dan and I were both going to move here, Katharine decided to too.

The Wake: How long had you started the band over at Yale before you moved here?

DH: We actually didn’t know each other when we were all in school together. Well, Nicky and I did. I was playing in a band in New Haven after college trying to start playing music there. I got a band together to play some of my solo stuff and Nicky was in that for a while, and then Katharine was playing with us. There were like eight of us sometimes, but the three of us were the ones who practiced most regularly and kind of found a different sound when we started playing together.

The Wake: Is there a certain type of sound that you guys are going for? Across your music, the genres and styles are pretty diverse between the songs. It’s still really coherent, but it sounds like there’s not a particular genre that you guys can be pinned down to.

I’m curious—where does an idea for a song start?

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FACEBOOK.COM_YOURWHITEBOYFRIEND2

KS: I feel like it’s more song-based than genre. All three of us write songs in the band, so, there’s that.

That definitely makes it more diverse than bands that have one songwriter.

NL: My songs usually sound pretty ‘80s. It really changes a lot from whatever song that we come to the band with. Once we all kind of add in our different levels, sometimes it can end up in a really completely different place than where it started. Like, Katharine starts writing her songs on banjo, so then, if you start writing on banjo but then remove the banjo, add some bass and drums… it’s like a completely different song.

The Wake: Do you have any specific artists that inspired you sonically when you wrote “White Boyfriend”?

DH: I mean, like you said, that album is kind of all over the place stylistically and I think we’re trying to find different ways to keep each other entertained and find different ways to make the really spare arrangement work and sound full. I think one way to do that is to have a really solid repeating groove that the song is built around and other ways to do it are to have really engaging lyrics. There are a lot of different people that

THE WAKE Q&A were inspiring us in that sense.

Katharine and I both really like St. Vincent and Björk, Nicky wasn’t so into those artists when we started, but I think he warmed up to them.

NL: Yeah, I like them.

DH: You were listening to like, some nu-disco and like, new wave inspired stuff and Frank Ocean.

NL: We became friends by playing Joanna Newsome songs together.

KS: And we’ve remained friends even despite that.

NL: Yeah, Katharine doesn’t really like Joanna Newsome. It’s kind of funny, a lot of the music that we like, there’s usually only two people in the band that will really like them.

DH: Katharine’s the only one that likes Krill.

KS: Whatever! They’re Boston, okay! They’re homies.

NL: I like Krill just fine. They’re more punk than Katharine is though which is why I’m surprised that she likes them so much. (Laughs).

NL: I feel like we have to say “Cruel” just because you guys play that song a lot.

DH: We have more than an album’s worth of songs but they’re not all ready for human ears.

The Wake: Do you guys play other people’s songs that you like with each other a lot?

KS: We’re testing them on dog ears though. Those are pretty complex.

KS: Not as much as I wish we did! We’ve been working on a St. Vincent cover for like, a year now.

We just keep not doing it, haha.

DH: The dog loves them!

NL: And a Björk song!

The Wake: So that album’s supposed to come out later this year? Who are you working with?

KS: Whenever I listen to Björk I feel like I have to give it my full attention though. So I’m like, okay, tonight… tonight is Björk night. Then I just like turn off my lights, lie down, and listen to this album.

DH: Oh, and, we have a cover that we do at shows sometimes. Edie Brickell. I’ve been wanting to cover [Kate Bush’s] “Running Up That Hill” for a long time, but then I went to a Wye Oak show last year and they did a really great cover of that. So now I feel like I can’t do that anymore.

The Wake: What is your favorite song of your own to play live?

NL: Right now, “The Devil.”

I think we’re trying to find different ways to keep each other entertained and find different ways to make the really spare arrangement work and sound full.

The Wake: Dan, I notice that when you’re playing guitar, you kind of have like a St. Vincent-esque stance.

DH: I think it’s probably just the heels that I’m usually wearing.

The Wake: Maybe! I don’t know, but it’s like the way that she’s holding her guitar.

DH: She looks badass on stage!

KS: That’s true, I never even made that connection but that does make sense.

DH: I mean… she’s definitely a big influence on me in a lot of ways. I started listening to her in high school.

I love her songs. Love her lyrics and her melodies and her chords and just her whole style.

The Wake: What’s your favorite St. Vincent song?

DH: Oh, that’s a hard question.

KS: “Neighbors.”

DH: Mine is, “I Don’t Want To Come To Your Party.”

And I like playing “Poison Rings” a lot.

KS: I guess it depends on the night. I like playing “She Doesn’t Do Drugs” because it’s just easy for me so I can just relax and focus on singing.

NL: I like “Mr. Smiles” because I get to do some fun singing. The bridge is fun. Dan wrote that song to kind of appease me because I really like disco stuff and singing in my falsetto. That sort of started us almost exclusively singing in falsetto, which is what we do now. Like, our new material has very few low parts. In fact, I don’t think any of my new songs have anything but me singing in my falsetto the whole time.

DH: It’s gonna become “real-etto.”

The Wake: Do you have an entire new album written?

KS: Just about!

KS: Yeah, rave reviews from the dog so far.

DH: We’re thinking of working with Ali from Hollow Boys. We’re also thinking of planning our tour in June, and, we all work so it’s like, finding the hours in between stuff.

KS: It’s a lot to balance.

The Wake: You recorded your last album with Jacob Mullis at the Sound Gallery?

DH: Jacob Mullis and Aaron Baum.

NL: Dan plays with them in Fort Wilson Riot now!

DH: That’s where I’m headed with this bass after this.

We have a show at the Amsterdam [Bar and Hall].

The Wake: What was it like working on that with them in the studio?

DH: I think we probably wore them out a little bit.

NL: It was a lot longer of a process than I anticipated.

It was the first album that I’d ever been a part of recording and it was… a lot. They went miles above and beyond what we had initially expected. Yeah, and Jacob Grun—he’s the main director of the Sound Gallery—he also did a lot of work on mixing.

The Wake: Is there anything that you want readers of the Wake to know about B.O.Y.F.?

KS: We want them to know about the shirt that Dan is wearing right now.

(Dan was wearing a white tank that depicted a kitten superimposed over a satanic triangle/circle symbol with the words “rocker, sucker, fucker,” underneath, except Dan had covered up the f-word) DH: The show later is at Amsterdam; it might be an all-ages show. We can’t have any 18-year-olds seeing the f-word.

NL: Dan wants them to know that he’s still a rocker and a sucker.

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THE WAKE SOUND & VISION

Q&A: GRETA MORGAN

By Alex Nelson Indie-pop sweetheart and multi-instrumentalist Greta Morgan has spent a third of her life playing in a band. She saw early success with The Hush Sound and toured with Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy before she even graduated high school. With The Hush Sound, she released three records of impressive pop gold that was far beyond the band’s years before giving her side project full attention. Her first side project, Gold Motel, was an irresistible, sunshine-y, ‘60s influenced pop group, through which she released two records. Now, Morgan is doing things her way, making music under the curious moniker of Springtime Carnivore. Morgan’s debut, self-titled solo record greeted us this past November, and her solo songs are just as thoughtful, autumnal and blissfully profound as they come. Having just played the 7th Street

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Entry on March 7, we are pleased to feature Morgan as one of this issue’s two artist Q&As. The Wake: Something that has always drawn me to your music is your penchant for writing playfully deceptive songs. A lot of your work is always upbeat and sweet sounding but then under the surface there’s a melancholy lyrical theme…

Greta Morgan: Yeah, like, The Smiths. Or the Cure.

The Wake: Exactly! Can you talk to me about that?

What draws you to that?

GM: When I was in high school I learned about William

Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The counterpoint of dark and light is something that has always appealed to me and so I guess I just worked it into music because of that.

The Wake: I know that you lived in Minnesota for a little bit. Is their anything from Minnesota music-wise that’s influenced you?

GM: You know, I actually went to Summer Camp in Minnesota—that was what my Minnesota experience was. So if anything, that was like being introduced to songs like Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game” and “Winton’s Soldier.” A lot of those really classic folk-like campfire songs.

THE WAKE SOUND & VISION The Wake: You got to work with Richard Swift on this last album and it sounds like you guys really connected and worked well together. Is there anyone else on your list that you’re itching to collaborate with? Artists, producers, whatever?

GM: There’s a lot of musicians who I would really love to write songs with. Paul Westerburg from The Replacements is actually someone I would love to work with someday.

The Wake: Was your solo effort your first foray into production?

GM: Yeah I guess so! So fun! The whole record has been like an experiment. Like it’s all been unfolding as I go. I would go to my rehearsal space in the morning, no Internet, no phones allowed, concrete. Kind of like a concrete bomb shelter. A creative bomb shelter. And when I would close the door it would sort of be like, okay, it’s time to get lost for five or six hours. And I would just sit and write/record and write and record and write and record and then I would leave and go back the next day and kind of be like, what even hap-

The Wake: This was your first time doing a project on your own since you couldn’t find musicians who were interested in working on this with you, so how was it different doing it all by yourself?

GM: Oh, so liberating. Just so liberating! Like, the idea of being in a band appeals to me for the hypothetical future. There’s so many benefits to being in a band.

But I think that this record allowed me to find my voice, artistically speaking. It helped me to find more of my perspective without feeling like I needed to butt heads with someone else about lyric choices or chord choices or arrangement or anything.

The Wake: On the subject of working with other people… a while ago, when The Hush Sound reunited and released “45,” you guys mentioned that you had like eight or nine demos that you were planning on recording and releasing in smaller bursts over time.

Not gonna happen?

GM: Yeah, we listened back and we were just like, “These aren’t very good.” We feel like if we were going to make another record, it would need to be of the caliber that we would hold ourselves to for any individual

I’m not writing this for fans of other bands.

I certainly hope it reaches them, and I hope everybody can enjoy it, but I can never frame that mindset that I’m like, pandering to people.

I’m just not that kind of person. pened yesterday? And I would listen and I would think, “Wow, there’s a song here! There’s a song! I recorded a song yesterday! How did that happen?” Many people have thought that Richard produced the whole record.

I’m amazed and flattered that anyone thinks that my production ability is anywhere near his because he’s so extremely talented, but I think I managed to make the record sound as cohesive as I think I possibly could.

The Wake: Yeah! I can’t pick out the three songs that he produced, you know, so mission accomplished!

Actually, Richard produced Tennis’ album. He worked on that and I think that it kind of sounds really similar.

What you’re doing and their creative process. They had this creative ritual where they would do that; they would lock themselves in a room for hours and work on their album. I just thought of that as you were telling me about your process.

GM: Oh, cool! I don’t know their music as well. Richard played me that one song “Mean Streets” that he produced and I thought that was really cool.

releases. I think a lot of bands who have a big audience can fall back on the idea that their audience would like it no matter what, and we did not want to phone in a record. So it just felt like the stars did not align for us to release that material.

The Wake: Sad. You guys talked about how natural it was for you guys to come back together.

GM: That’s probably how it felt! That’s how it felt at the time. We’re always honest with ourselves every step of the way. But when it came time to actually putting out a record, we listened back to it, and it was like… we don’t have a record.

The Wake: What about Gold Motel? Is that closed indefinitely?

like five shows. I think as artists grow they tend to want to like, shed their skin. I’m really grateful for all the support that I’ve had in all these different projects.

The encouragement from that has allowed me to feel even more excited about doing [Springtime Carnivore].

Part of the reason, though, I released this project anonymously, and I have been for like two years, is because I didn’t want to feel any expectations. Like I’m not writing this for fans of other bands. I certainly hope it reaches them, and I hope everybody can enjoy it, but I can never frame that mindset that I’m like, pandering to people. I’m just not that kind of person.

The Wake: With Springtime Carnivore you’ve really penned an alter-ego. Has writing through someone else or the idea of somebody else changed the creative process?

GM: I think people need to sometimes try on a disguise to be able to find their authentic voice. You try and disguise, disguise, disguise, disguise, and then you figure out what feels real about each one. It’s sort of the same thing when young writers are learning how to write.

Your teachers will say, “Try to write a short story like Hemmingway. Now try to write one like Emily Bronte.

Now try and write a poem like Robert Frost.” You start to feel what is natural. Like, “Oh, Robert Frost feels really good to me, why is that?”

The Wake: Can you tell me about your particular songwriting process, then? You’ve been doing many different projects and performing over the years. How has your songwriting process evolved?

GM: I think it’s sort of like collaging. I feel like I’ll be simultaneously reading a book or a piece of written work that’s an influence from which I’ll take a few words. And then I’ll be learning a bunch of records. Like for example, I’ll be learning, like… the John Lennon Mind Games, which was one I learned around the time of this record. And so some of those chord changes, some of the ideas, some feels would make their way into the new recording. A record is an influence, something written is an influence, maybe a movie, or like, an atmospheric energy, kind of like an atmospheric visual might be an influence. And then, something will sort of light the match and they’ll all line up. There will be a synchronistic moment and then it feels like collaging where it will be like, “Cool, that chord from the John Lennon thing, that word from the book I’m reading, this emotion that I’ve experienced, and then also, it should feel like Oregon sunshine,” or whatever! You know, it’ll be something like that.

GM: That’s been done for a while. Yes. Yeah, the hotel’s been shut down. We basically pretty much were done after we made the second record in 2011, so we were really only a band for like a year and a half or two years.

But then we put the record out in 2012 and we played

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THE WAKE SOUND & VISION

SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVALS: THE NEW AND UNCONVENTIONAL SEVEN UNDER-THE-RADAR FESTIVALS IN 2015

By Shawnna Stennes While college kids keep their winter thermostats at uncomfortably cold temperatures and save quarters on off-brand grocery items, music festivals are one of the few big purchases that many of us are pretty ok with handing over cash for. As the early bird tickets begin to sell out and the lineups surface, this could be a great and responsible time to decide which festival(s) you will tackle this summer. Here are a few overlooked festivals that may not be on your radar yet, but are worth looking into.

Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival Weekend Pass: $120 May 22 - 25

at 3,000, the atmosphere is intimate and easygoing; conditions created in the hopes of forming “one single Frendly family.” The 2015 lineup has not been released yet, but past artists include Delta Spirit, Deer Tick, Beats Antique, and Twiddle. The festival also features a skate ramp, a swimming pond, disc golf, and a strong ethos for green initiatives.

Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival General Admission: $135 July 17 - 18 Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Started in 1999 as a way to bring the independent music community together, the Punk Rock Festival is held in downtown Las Vegas and consists of a bowling tournament, pool parties, poker, and comedy to supplement the punk rocking. Featured in this summer’s lineup are Anti-Flag, Dropkick Murphys, and Refused.

This outdoor festival is all ages; studs are permitted.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has teamed up with Aaron Dessner of The National to curate a new music festival in Vernon’s hometown of Eau Claire. In its inaugural year, Vernon and Dessner say they are hoping to “encourage music-genre-walls to melt away.” With a focus on Midwest musicians, the lineup has drawn in a number of Twin Cities favorites including Allan Kingdom, Lizzo, and Spooky Black, as well as the big names of Sufjan Stevens, Indigo Girls, and The Tallest Man On Earth.

What The Festival General Admission: $225 June 19 - 22

WayHome Music & Arts Festival General Admission (camping included): $230 July 24 - 26

Wolf Run Ranch, Oregon

Oro-Medonte, Ontario

Las Vegas, Nevada

General Admission: $225 Surrounded by the Mount Hood National Forest, What The Festival is an interactive music and arts festival taking place over the summer solstice weekend. The music is mostly electronica with artists like Big Gigantic, ODESZA, and GRiZ on the lineup, but just as essential to the festival are the loads of funky amenities including an Asian tea and miso lounge, dance and yoga classes, a hookah lounge, and a makeshift cinema in the forest.

Frendly Gathering General Admission (camping included): $119 June 26 - 27 Windham, Vermont Yes, it’s Frendly, not Friendly. Started by six professional snowboarders wanting to inspire camaraderie through art, sport, and kickin’ back, Frendly Gathering is a grassroots music and camping festival in the mountains of an old ski resort. With a maximum capacity set

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lineup includes Maceo Parker, the Voodoo Orchestra, the Soul Rebels, and guest of honor Ernie Watts, but festival-goers also ought to take advantage of Telluride’s loads of outdoor activities and the brass band parade down Main Street on the last day of the festival.

Hinterland Music Festival General Admission: $75 July 31 - August 1 Des Moines, Iowa

The Hinterland Music Festival will kick off its first year with a mission to “find the beauty in all things urban and rural” at an oasis in the center of Iowa’s capital city. Although inspired by the Midwest backdrop, the lineup reaches from coast to coast with acts including Tennessee’s Old Crow Medicine Show, California’s Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and New York’s TV On The Radio. Other features at Hinterland involve sculpture and art installations, family engagement, and cyclist events.

From the producers of Bonnaroo Music Festival comes another outdoor mega-camping-fest set to premiere this summer outside of Toronto. The lineup is massive with Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, and Alt-J as the headliners and other big-name artists including Modest Mouse, Hozier, and Bassnectar. The festival website claims: “This is not the music festival you think it is,” but gives up few details besides their mission to focus on music, food, art, and film.

Telluride Jazz Festival 2015 Weekend Pass: $170 July 31 - August 2 Telluride, Colorado

Some of the best music in jazz, soul, funk and Latin has been coming out of the San Juan Mountains every summer since 1977 at the Telluride Jazz Festival. Telluride, a small ski town, hosts the festival outdoors in the picturesque Town Park during the daytime and moves it downtown to historic music venues at night. The

CERA SYLAR

THE WAKE SOUND & VISION

YES, WE’RE STILL TALKING ABOUT BJÖRK: A LOOK AT HER NINTH RELEASE, VULNICURA

By Alex Nelson After unfortunately leaking just five days after its announcement, Björk freed (with enthusiasm) her wild beast of a breakup album, Vulnicura, to digital release.

It’s an intense and exhausting trip that makes something like last year’s thematically similar and similarly harrowing Lykke Li record seem like a cakewalk.

Featuring bewitching production from Björk herself, the Haxan Cloak, and Arca (whose fingerprints also grace Kanye West’s Yeezus and FKA Twigs’ LP1), the record is innovative and feels completely of the moment. Björk and Arca reportedly share exhilarating chemistry, and Arca’s penchant for rich darkness plus his signature sonic twists and turns are unmistakably evident on Vulnicura. It’s interesting to hear Björk’s bold and acrobatic vocals above Arca’s thundering production as opposed to the fractured sounds explored by his androgynous, hypersexual, post-human alter ego, “Xen,” (from which his debut album takes its name).

Here, Bjork is raw and viscerally emotive. The record— and Bjork’s voice—is beyond satisfying, but in the

thick of its nine tracks, where it plunges into its darkest depths, it can be particularly draining. Her throaty vocals leap into cavernous spaces, surrounded by sweeping strings and pendulating percussion. Her lyrics are vulnerable like never before, and you get the sense that it’s been cathartically therapeutic for her (“don’t remove my pain, it is my chance to heal”).

I wonder if she walked into the studio with her sketches, belted out what truths her wounded heart could muster up, and coughed that gold onto Arca’s workstation for him to weld into context. It’s powerful indeed, so when paired with the complex melodies, production, and song form that also serve to make Vulnicura such a brilliant feat, it can be disorienting.

Yes, it’s a lot to take in, especially considering the emotional turmoil she so expertly conveys through her vocal aptitude, but it’s unfair to fault the record for its spectacular relentlessness. Disregard the devastating pain that informed this collection of songs and it’s easier and more elating to picture a robust and commanding Björk in all her Nordic grandeur,

taming beasts with her voice on the tundra in some fantastic Dragon Age world.

Perhaps the most painstaking quality of the record is its lyrical chronology. Björk arranged these songs in order of when she wrote them (for the most part). On “Lionsong,” penned just before the breakup, she pines, “maybe he will come out of this loving me.” In the next song (“History of Touches”) she recounts, “I wake you up in the night feeling this is our last time together,” before delving into the album’s ten minute opus, “Black Lake,” where she wails, “my soul is torn apart,” and “I’m drowned in sorrows.” She spends the remainder of this journey scorning her ex-partner and licking her wounds, but for all the healing she does, she doesn’t quite stick a landing of triumph—at least not lyrically. Of course, you might consider her success to be the product of her suffering: her ferocious accomplishment, Vulnicura.

50 SHADES OF GRAVY

BRAVE NEW WORKSHOP TACKLES EVERYDAY DISCRIMINATION ONSTAGE

By Lauren Cutshall

Trigger warning: the following show begins with a flood of trigger warnings, and sketches demonstrating their relevance to everyday life. This spring, Brave New Workshop’s sketch comedy show 50 Shades of Gravy starts off with a self-aware word of caution and follows with material as hilarious as it is thought-provoking: just what the theater’s founder, Dudley Riggs, wanted. “[Dudley] used to say ‘We want them laughing in the theater and talking about it on the way home,’” Gravy cast member and writer Lauren Anderson said.

50 Shades of Gravy does just that. Keeping in line with the theme of controversial topics, Gravy takes a deeper (but hilarious) look at the absurdity of how we treat each other when we’re scared or uncomfortable. Demonstrating the influence of society, the show illustrates how susceptible we are to judging one another’s prejudices.

In one sketch, the audience watches two characters struggle with racial discrimination only to find out that one of the characters is homophobic. The cycle of judgment is a vicious one and we aren’t always aware of it.

And don’t let the title fool you, as it’s merely the creator’s jumping-off point, and a ploy to get the Workshop’s seats filled, cast member Bobby Gardner said. While a few sketches reference the best-selling novels, the bulk of the show is about the micro-aggressions of everyday life.

Through several hilarious and topically relevant sketches, the show reveals the paradoxical nature of our reactivity.

On the one hand, our collective sensitivity seems to be higher than ever; trigger warnings abound. On the other, our hyper-awareness seems to get in the way of daily life.

“If it’s uncomfortable, then that means we’ve done our job,” Gardner said.

With only about a month to write and perform the show, the cast can poke fun at the most recent news events.

Not only does the show include some well-timed Bill Cosby jokes and impersonations, but it also includes a revamped version of Hozier’s hit “Take Me to Church” with “Take Me to Sex.”

Although the show plays off of conversation topics normally avoided, the Brave New Workshop places audience members safely in good hands. So embrace the discomfort and laugh along as the cast reminds you that they’ve been there, too.

As it masters the art of making heavy, sensitive topics into jokes, Gravy isn’t telling us our worries are insignificant.

Rather, it validates them and makes us think of them in a different light.

The audience may experience the discomfort that comes with examining one’s prejudices under a microscope, but actor Andy Hilbrands said the cast works around this discomfort in another way.

“If you believe in the point of the sketch,” Hilbrands said, “That will make you comfortable.”

50 Shades of Gravy runs through May 2.

Tickets range $18 to $36, with student discounts available.

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THE WAKE SOUND & VISION

VIDEO GAMES FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE TIME TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES THE BEST GAMES FOR THE LUNCH BREAK

By Karl Witkowiak With midterms, essays, and work occupying most college students’ time and energy, there is not a lot of give in anybody’s schedule to play a full game on their console or PC. Thankfully, there are plenty of games out there that you can pick up, play for a bit, then abandon and head off to your next class. Check out these games for a quick, easy fix.

BRECK HICKMAN

MINECRAFT: One of the most popular indie games of all time, Minecraft is an easy game that allows you to get lost in your own creativity. A player has two options: survival or creative mode. In survival, the player creates shelter to survive the night until they get more and more materials to build what you want. In creative, you can build anything you want!

And this doesn’t even address the number of mods for the game. It’s easy to hop in and out of, but this game should be approached with caution. Minecraft is dangerously addicting.

POKÉMON 3DS: There are loads of Pokémon games for a variety of handheld consoles.

However, if there is one Pokémon game I would recommend, it would be the selection of games on the 3DS. Those games being “Pokémon X” and “Y,” “Omega Ruby,” or “Alpha Sapphire.” Not only are these the most recent games, but also they’re also the most accessible to newcomers and they have the most to offer. The games are really easy to get into and there are plenty of things to keep you engaged instead of just battling Pokémon, such as Pokémon-Amie, where you can pet your Pokémon. The game is also very easy to save, so you can pick up and play these games anytime.

ANIMAL CROSSING NEW LEAF: You wouldn’t expect a game about being the mayor of a town filled with anthropomorphic animals to be as relaxing and strangely addicting as it is. When you’re not following your real-life schedule, follow your Animal Crossing schedule. Talk with townspeople, go shopping, go fishing, etc. Afterwards, continue your regular schedule. It’s like going into another world where everything is carefree and no stress affects your life.

TETRIS: Obvious choice is very, very obvious. Tetris was the quintessential time-wasting video game over 20 years ago and, even today; it is keeping a firm hold on that title. It’s simple, yeah, but that simplicity makes it a game worth coming back to… but I’m pretty sure all of you knew that.

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THE WAKE SOUND & VISION

3 REVIEWS UKNOWBIGSEAN.COM

BIG SEAN’S THE IMITATION “DARK SKY PARGAME ADISE” THEIMITATIONGAMEMOVIE.COM

DRAKEOFFICIAL.COM

DRAKE’S “IF YOU’RE READING THIS IT’S TOO LATE”

By Ryan Meaney This is officially Drake’s world. The doe-eyed Toronto rapper surprised the world on Feb. 13 by dropping his fourth mix-tape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” a seventeen-track steamroller of murky beats and grandiose self-proclamation.

The tracks are essentially Drake, but with an edge and grime that we had only seen in spurts on previous albums (see “Worst Behavior,” “HYFR”). By releasing the album on a surprise date, Drake essentially took back his power as an artist to do what he wanted with his music, beating the bloggers and leakers to the punch.

That’s what Drake does on this new release: reclaims his rightful place as the king.

Most tracks are Drake at his most braggadocian.

Instead of rhyming about the grind to be the best, he now realizes he’s reached that peak. On the track “Energy,” Drake takes on the Internet as a whole and the trolls who infest it (“I got girls in real life tryna f*ck up my day/F*ck goin’ online, that ain’t part of my day”).

On the track “Used To,” Drizzy tries to make sense of this newfound fame and the perils it brings (“They gon’ say your name on them airwaves/They gon’ hit you up right after like it’s only rap”). Drake is not the type of artist who is afraid to show his true feelings on his tracks. On “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” these feelings stem from a realization that he is no longer the fake rapper from “Degrassi.” He is the artist to be reckoned with.

By Maci Bekele

In a dark movie theater filled with people about to see The Imitation Game, there is a tangible excitement buzzing through the air in anticipation of a film that follows a computer scientist’s life’s work.

Very few movies have the ability to grab you by the throat from the first scene, yet that is exactly what The Imitation Game does. The film is based on the life of Alan Turing, a British mathematician and cryptologist whose contributions were critical in cracking the Nazi Enigma Code, ending World War II two years prior than expected.

The movie shares a common thread with 2001’s A Beautiful Mind. As with John Forbes Nash, Jr., we cannot help but fall in love with Turing, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, “the odd duck” who desperately tries to hold on to his own secret while breaking the most elusive code of the time.

The Imitation Game has amazing supporting actors and breathtaking cinematography, including Keira Knightley as fellow cryptanalyst and Matthew Goode as another member of the code-cracking team. But Cumberbatch’s performance as Turing truly gives the movie its wings. The way Cumberbatch fully embraces his character is exhilarating to watch.

The movie’s message is not hard to decipher. As it is said throughout the movie, “Sometimes it is the people who no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.”

In a world that is constantly trying to make us like everyone else, The Imitation Game reminds us that sometimes being the odd duck out is not such a bad thing.

By Alex Van Abbema With his last studio album, “Hall of Fame,” being mostly hit or miss and performing poorly on the charts, it looked like Big Sean was experiencing a bit of a sophomore slump. His latest effort, “Dark Sky Paradise,” though, is undoubtedly his best album yet and succeeds on almost every level.

Big Sean is known for his oftentimes goofy lyrics, but this record is significantly more serious than his work in the past. Impressive collaborations, production, and even inspiring ballads help to make “Dark Sky Paradise” everything a rap album should be.

The album’s standout track “All Your Fault” features Big Sean’s rap mentor Kanye West overlapped with a sample of Ambrosia’s “How Much I Feel.” The best part of the song is the third verse, where the two trade lines in a true collaboration.

“Paradise,” a track originally released on Soundcloud, features Busta Rhymes-like rapping speed, spot-on delivery, and a fantastic new verse.

Emotional depth and personal growth are more prevalent in “Dark Sky Paradise” than they have been in Sean’s other albums. The title track reflects on Sean’s early days and his journey to the top. “Win Some, Lose Some” also finds Sean dealing with his past relationships between women and his friends.

“One Man Can Change The World” is a surprisingly sweet, yet somewhat cheesy ballad about the endless potential one person has to change the world. John Legend and Kanye West trade off beautiful choruses, and we find Big Sean reflecting on positive influences from his life.

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