The Wake Issue 9 Spring 2018

fortnightly student magazine

volume 17 — issue 9

Midnight Shits and Giggles

p. 7

Q&A: Manchita

p. 16

Empowering the Female Body Through Art

p. 9

Dear President-Elect Donald Trump

p. 18

Planning for the Unknown

p. 11

Is the U Really Unsafe?

p. 20

Personality Types Personality Types

Morgan Wittmers-Graves

VOLUME 17, ISSUE 9 EDITORIAL: Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Cities Editor Voices Editor Music Editor Online editor Copy editors Multimedia Editor Multimedia Producer

Emma Klingler Jake Steinberg Megan Hoff Tala Alfoqaha Liv Martin Alex Wittenberg Chris Shea Kikki Boersma Gracie Stockton Julie Malyshev

Editorial Interns: Claire Redell, Emily Ness, Farrah Mina, Hannah Haakenson, Luci Bischoff, Maya Ulrich

BMM EBZ

PRODUCTION: Executive Director Production Manager Creative Director Finance Manager PR/Ad Manager Social Media Manager Art Director Designers

Web Manager Distribution Manager

Holly Wilson Olivia Novotny Kate Doyle Rakshit Kalra Sophie Stephens Grace Steward Katie Heywood Andrew Tomten Kellen Renstrom Megan Smith Nikki Pederson Cassie Varrige

Production Interns: Darby Ottoson (PR), Jamie Rohlfing, Macie Rasmussen, Art Interns: Emily Hill, Jade Mulcahy, Jaye Ahn, Lauren Smith, Mariah Crabb, Natalie Klemond, Peyton Garcia, Sophie Stephens, Stevie Lacher

THIS ISSUE:

Š2017 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 was founded by Chrin Ruen & James DeLong.

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 eklingler@wakemag.org .

The Wake Student Magazine 126 Coffman Memorial Union 300 Washington Avenue SE Minneapolis, MN 55455

Writers Alexandria Davidson, Andrew Tomten, Austen Macalus, Caitlin Anderson, Emily Ness, Emma Klingler, Farrah Mina, Hannah Haakenson, Hannah Olund, Jocelyn Gamble, Karl Witkowiak, Liv Martin, Maya Ulrich, Megan Hoff, Megan Smith, Sowmya Narayan, Sylvia Rani Art 1 Andrew Tomten, 2 Jade Mulcahy, 3 Will Hanson, 4 Claudia DubĂŠ, 5 Sydnney Islam, 6 Morgan Wittmers-Graves, 7 Stevie Lacher, 8 Will Hanson, 9 Jade Mulcahy, 10 Peyton Garcia, 11 Ruby Guthrie, 12 Peyton Garcia, 13 Ruby Guthrie, 14 Katie Heywood Cover by Tessa Portuese

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wink! one page magazine

u can yo e beat th maze?

1

Check out our artist’s online!

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Claudia DubĂŠ claudiadubedesign.com

Katie Heywood katieheywood.com

Stevie Lacher stevielacher.com

Morgan Wittmers-Graves morganwittmers-graves. myportfolio.com

Peyton Garcia peytongarciadesign.com

Will Hanson willnhanson.myportfolio.com

INSIDE 6 7

UPCOMING EVENTS

Letter from the Designer

3/28

Midnight Shits and Giggles

w/ Tact, Pinched

Gully Boys

3/31-4/29 The Wolves

A

A soccer team of 9 girls navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors.

Mortimers

8

My Grandfather Turned Into a Tiger

9

Empowering the Female Body Through Art

MayDay Across the World

Film screenings about MayDay and how it has inspired similar festivals across the world.

Margaret Glaspy

10

Intermission

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre

First Avenue

11

Planning for the Unknown

3/29

4/6-29

14

21st Century Apothecary

3/28

Laila Biali

Jungle Theater

C

w/ 26 BATS!, Maria and the Coins

Art by Jaye Ahn

Turf Club

16

Q&A: Manchita

3/30

18

Dear President-Elect Donald Trump

TedxUMN: A Tale of Twin Cities

19

Can You Tell a Rupi Kaur Poem from a knock-off?

15

20

Is the U Really Unsafe?

21

To My Most Esteemed Representative...

22

Six Reviews

B

4/5 w/ Buck Meek

Mermaid Hour: Remixed

A new chamber musical exploring the gender continuum through the prism of a pre-pubescent transgender biracial girl.

Mixed Blood Theater

McNamara Alumni Center

3/30

A

Jeremy Messersmith w/ Monica LaPlante First Avenue

3/31

B

2018 Be Heard MN Youth Poetry Slam Finals Literary, poetry, and spoken word featuring MN poets between the ages of 13 and 19.

Stepping Stone Theater

THE WAKE

C

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Letter from the Designer Hello! If you noticed the title, you might be a little confused. I know designers sometimes seem like the “Elf on the Shelfs” of staff – you see us during the day and you’re not really sure about what we do, but you wake up the next morning and we’ve designed all the writing and art into this very publication. But we’re here, I’ll promise!

Before my time as a designer for the Wake, I was one of the managing editors of my high school newspaper, and the editor-in-chief of the high school literary magazine as well (yes, I had both these roles simultaneously). I wrote articles, designed layouts, took photos, edited every single page, and even created some editorial cartoons. I loved putting my heart and soul into every part of my publications, and a few days later, getting to hold my small, paper child in my hands. And while wearing so many hats wore me down every now and then, I appreciated getting to be a part of every step.

This was part of the reason why becoming “just” a designer was a strange thought to me. I started at the Wake last year as an art intern, and officially became a designer this past August. And while not following each article and art piece to its final stage has been a weird adjustment for me, I’m enjoying my focus on “just” the design.

And I say “just” for a reason – back in high school, design was an afterthought. We poured our time into making content and editing each detail, but when it came to layout, we just threw everything together as quickly as we could. And not to say it was bad (I have awards that disprove that), but it was just underappreciated. We didn’t have design editors, we just had section editors who also laid out the pages in InDesign. Now, working with three other designers who care just as much about this magazine and how it’s seen by our readers as much as I do is so nice. I love our little design team – we’re fun and dedicated people and I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else on this magazine (So Kate, Andrew, and Kellen…don’t graduate! Please?).

I see most visual makers in the same light. Many artists and designers I know are such hard-working, charismatic, passionate people. They appreciate proper spacing between letters, and find the time to make drawings and posters for people when they barely have time to make work for themselves. When most people say “this is weird…I shouldn’t put this out in the world”, these people say “this is weird…but that’s what I want because it’s nothing like anyone has ever seen”. They’re (generally) not boastful and often underappreciate their own talents.

Maybe you already knew this. Maybe your subconscious had an inkling about this but you pushed past it in .5 seconds by scrolling so fast through your Instagram feed.

Either way, it’s okay! But what I’m asking you now is to take a minute to appreciate an artist. We’re in one of the most ironic situations of all time – we’re a visually saturated generation with a lot of accessibility to art and design, yet our arts programs are at an all-time low for funds. Being an artist or designer isn’t getting any easier, but it’s more needed than ever. We need art and design to make big statements, to incite change, and to inspire more generations of artists and designers.

I know on a college budget it’s hard to find ways to support the arts, but if we don’t try now, there won’t be as many makers to support in the future. Buying from independent artists rather than big businesses, passing along the names of artists and designers you know to others, or even just reposting or liking work online is a small step in supporting the creators you appreciate. If you can, stop by a gallery showing, visit your local art fair, or get involved with local arts initiatives. There’s a million ways to get involved, just like there’s millions of artists and designers out there.

You’ve already picked up a magazine designed by four of them and filled with the artwork of many others – what’s stopping you?

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Megan Smith Designer

MAR 26—APR 9

CITIES

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Midnight Shits and Giggles Weekly comedy show on the West Bank campus.

BY SOWMYA NARAYAN “To weed!” was not the cry I was expecting to hear to start off my Saturday, but I’ve learned to leave my expectations behind when I come to Midnight Shit. A weekly underground comedy show hosted at the Humble Cup on West Bank every Friday night, Midnight Shit is comprised of four local comedians and a rotating cast of extras who bring free, original entertainment to campus every week.

The Humble Cup is known for having live entertainment regularly, but the café doesn’t pride itself on being a flashy venue for shows.

Half of the room had chairs crammed in front of a dinky stage while the other half continued to be a cafe, filled with students going about their business. Buzzing with activity even at midnight, the atmosphere is always warm and easygoing, the perfect setting for the type of comedy offered

by Midnight Shit. What better way to attract college kids to a business than free entertainment, midnight coffee, and late-night jokes about marijuana?

It’s hard to put a brand on the comedy, and that might just be what makes it so amusing. The

THE WAKE

people on stage are just having a good time being themselves, not trying to pander to a large audience. All the content is put together within one week before the next show and there’s a slot reserved for a bit of improv at each show where the performers take suggestions from the audience. This week’s session included a “Home Alone”-esque home invasion that turned into an adoption, a couple of “doofs” (you’re not allowed to say “goofs” anymore) trying to rob a Perkins, a high school prom with the boy with an iron leg as a date, and two frat boys falling in love to a truly magical rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”

The humor itself is best taken in without too much questioning. If you don’t understand what’s funny, about 9 times out of 10, neither does anyone else.

We’re just laughing at the absurdity. It’s not standup as much as it is a drama, and the performers deliver. They’re unafraid to sing an entire song about wanting to eat a pet dog, call up volunteers to use a primitive lie detector, kiss each other on stage, and blow raspberries on each other’s stomachs. They don’t take themselves too seriously, and it’s a common occurrence to see a few weird faces and voices or impersonations of a dog.

It’s clear that they’re having as much fun as the

audience, which is refreshing to see at any show.

Even when there are technical difficulties and interruptions, they make the best out of them for comedy, and the nonchalance that exudes from working around their unplanned errors makes it all the more fun.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether the bits are scripted or improvised, because they’re all equally comedic. At one point, someone walked into the cafe and interrupted the show to order a sandwich and was pulled on stage. He was interviewed with the lie detector, and it ran so smoothly that nobody in the audience was sure if that was scripted.

Both the comedian and the sandwich guy were just having a good time making everyone laugh.

Anything goes at Midnight Shit.

Watching Midnight Shit is a good way to get some mindless laughs, but to call their jokes mindless wouldn’t do the writers justice. It takes a lot of talent to come up with smart one-of-a-kind content every week and incorporate improvised skits into planned dramas to entertain a crowd of people. The show has a growing fanbase, as they had a larger audience this week than the last time I saw them in November. They’re still worthy of much more recognition—so if you’re looking for some cheap entertainment and a relaxing end to the week, grab a few friends and go check out your local doofs at Midnight Shit this Friday night!

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My Grandfather Turned Into a Tiger Connecting Laos and Minneapolis

BY HANNAH OLUND

Emma, A Match Made in Highbury

The exhibit by Pao Houa Her is showing in a small space in the Midway Contemporary Art Center. Pao Houa Her earned an MFA in Photography from Yale University in 2012 and attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has had many different exhibits around the US and the world, including Michigan, Chicago, New York, Thailand, Cambodia, and Norway.

According to the Midway Contemporary Art description, the exhibit was named after a story of family lore about her grandfather’s death during the Vietnam war. “After dreaming of her husband leaving her [the grandmother] once more the night before she was informed of his death, her grandmother mourned him, telling the universe about their life together; the next morning she found a dead boar on her doorstep. There were sightings of a tiger haunting the village, and every so often the neighbors’ livestock would be left on her doorstep.” The theme of this story is intertwined in the pieces shown.

Jane Austen’s “Emma” is Perfect for Minneapolis’s Vibrant Theater Scene

BY MAYA ULRICH While Jane Austen’s most prolific works are considered to be “Sense and Sensibility” and “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma” is arguably her cleverest. The shrewd nature in which the characters are presented makes for an extremely entertaining melodrama, and its theatrical nature makes it perfect for the stage.

The “My grandfather turned into a tiger” exhibit includes 27 different pieces. There are black and white, still life, color, and lenticular images. Because of her experience with documentary photography, studio portraiture, and still life work, she was able to include a little bit of everything. “She makes slight adjustments—stitching, doubling, and mirroring—or breaks the images apart to create a three-dimensional effect in the lenticulars.”

Independently each has its own aspect and story being told, and even though they are quite different from each other they uniquely fit together to create one main idea. One of my favorites is called “Father the fall of Hmong Tebchaw,” a black and white portrait of an old lady gazing away from the camera immersed in a jungle of plants. The image is split into two halves and separated slightly to create a larger than life effect.

The stage is exactly where this classic story is being exhibited. The Theater in the Round, located just off the West Bank campus in Minneapolis, presented “Emma” through the month of February, and closed out the final weekend of its adaptation on Sunday, Mar. 3.

The Theater in the Round is the oldest community theater in the Twin Cities. This fact is easily recognizable—as soon as you walk through the entrance doors you immediately feel the historic charm of this building.

And, unlike other theaters, you have to walk across the mainstage to get to your seating. This seemed to only further intensify the experience of delving into the world Jane Austen created for the audience. Beyond this effective initial stroll through the scenery and foliage, the use of props was sparse and seemingly unnecessary at times. However, the acting of the cast was more than enough to guide the imagination.

As the audience was taken on a journey through Emma’s misguided attempts at matchmaking, there were many moments of questioning whether she is a likeable character. But, played marvelously by Gabriella Abbot, it seems like there was an inevitability in falling in love with her endearing charms and quick wit. While “Emma” may not be the most well-known novel from the prominent works of Jane Austen, it is still a story that commands your attention through its comedic characters and misconstrued romances.

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MAR 26—APR 9

Empowering the Female Body Through Art

CITIES

A Rebirth of Judy Chicago’s “Birth Project”.

BY MEGAN HOFF For the past few weeks, St. Catherine University has had two powerful and intriguing displays of feminist art in its gallery, with signs warning that the space within contained explicit imagery. The first, “The Birth Project,” was completed by Judy Chicago in the 1980s; it was groundbreaking work in the realm of artistic depictions of femaleness and motherhood. The second, aptly titled “After: Birth,” is a collection of art about female anatomy and autonomy inspired by Chicago.

The room for each exhibition was filled with striking pieces. Chicago’s exhibition contained prints large and small, from a huge five-footwide mural to a print just inches tall. The art is all needlework, with a few silkscreen prints and blueprints on the walls as well. Chicago laid out the plans and drawings and collaborated with several needleworkers to create 84 textile units for the project. One needleworker described the process as “creating with Judy’s creation.”

Just across the hall, in the other wing of the gallery, “After: Birth” contained pieces that were more modern and abstract. Curator Jess Larson, who also contributed art, wrote in her curator’s statement about how recent events changed the direction of the project. Starting in the summer of 2016, the artists were fantasizing about the possibility of the first female president. After the overwhelming disappointment of November’s election, the project became a reflection of the importance of trailblazers for women like Judy Chicago and Hillary Clinton.

Upon first glance, a couple of the pieces just look like meaningless shapes. But after circling through the whole exhibit, those works start to slowly reveal themselves. Reading the information about the art helps; knowing an artist’s intention can sometimes clarify meaning. Two sculptures on display were powder-pink and looked like weapons. One looked like a mascara brush but the size of All of the pieces in the room contain acts of a rifle, menacing and creation, with mothers bearing one child or encrusted with crystals. nurturing the entire human race. “Guided by the The other had a tuft of Goddess” shows a woman hovering over the earth hair attached to one with a throng of people outstretching their arms end and a hook at the toward her. As specified in the statement next to other. The artist, Colleen the piece, this symbolizes the need for continued Toledano, describes how nourishment and support, as after birth the child is “not only can these pieces dependent on its mother. function for defense, The most eye-catching (and even disturbing) piece, they are also designed with the idea of feminine “Birth Tear,” was comprised of different shades of shapes and accessories, red thread outlining the violent image of a woman with the intention that grasping her thighs as an umbilical cord unfurls they be fashionable to from her body. There is a tear running from her carry around.” Toledano chest down to her groin, her face is contorted states that her love of with pain, and thick lines radiate from her head. superficial things like According to the information pamphlet on the clothes and makeup artwork, “the first ‘tear’ in the title refers to the do not undermine her perineal lacerations approximately half of birthing power as a woman. women experience . . . the second ‘tear’ refers to the conflict women can sometimes feel about Among the feminine the decision to become a parent.” Portraying the weapons, embroideries graphicness of childbirth and the ambivalence of naked women, and women can have about motherhood, Chicago a large diagram of reconfigures the image of the birthing experience what appeared to be from “magical” and “pure” into rawness and a uterus, there are two strength.

embroidered portraits of bloodstained pads. Both named “Menstruate/Divinate,” there is a small quote underneath each picture of the pad, one being “happiness from an unexpected source.” This is Larson’s work, and she was inspired by “games of chance” such as fortune-telling cards and tea leaf readings, and in her artist statement she says she uses these pieces to “see ways in which women forgo internal and instinctive methods of self-determination for those that are external and encourage conformity.”

Both of these exhibits stirred feelings of selfreflection and wonder, inspired critical thinking about how society has shaped the idea of “women,” and how women themselves cope with these expectations.

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CREATIVE WRITING

Intermission

BY SYLVIA RANI

A sight before we return to our seats, playbills in hand: One winter nomad, bundled in layers upon layers of insulation against the frigid tundra trudges through the unrelenting storm They attempt to secure their hat against the wind but it flies upward and away, past Gold Medal Park and into the great beyond.

The show is starting. We take our seats.

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MAR 26—APR 9

FEATURE

PLANNING for the

UNKNOWN With the end of DACA looming, students and administrators at the University of Minnesota have found there isn’t much they can do.

BY AUSTEN MACALUS

Keila, like a lot of college freshmen, is in the process of planning out her future.

She’s leaning toward majoring in mechanical engineering. She currently works at a dining hall on campus, but she’s already looking at summer internships a few years down the road. An avid nordic skier, Keila is still trying to balance nordic practice, volunteering at a nonprofit near her home, and, of course, school.

But in the back of her mind, Keila knows she can only plan ahead so far. Keila is a “Dreamer,” one of nearly 600,000 young immigrants who received protections under the now-rescinded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA. The program protects undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors from deportation and grants them a work permit.

With stalled action from Congress and the program set to expire, all Keila can do is wait and see. When it comes to applying for internships, pursuing her passions, or even finishing her degree, Keila’s future is simply out of her control. There’s a chance that she might not even be in the United States in a few years, much less at the U of M. Keila lives with her older brother, Isaac, in an apartment in Minneapolis. Isaac, also a DACA recipient, recently graduated from the U with a degree in computer science. He now works at a small app company in the Twin Cities.

Like Keila, Isaac has no idea what the future has in store.

It’s an unpredictable fate they’ve come to accept.

“This whole DACA thing, it’s very stressful, but I can’t do much about it,” Keila said. “I try not to worry about it too much because worrying about it isn’t going to do much.”

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FEATURE

The deadline that wasn’t When President Trump ended DACA this past September, he gave Congress until March 5 to come up with a solution.

DACA recipients are required to renew their protections every two years. Isaac has already renewed his protections twice. His DACA protections expire next August. Keila’s first renewal would be in 2019, if the program is still around.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stopped accepting new applications for DACA when it was rescinded. However, under the Trump plan, existing DACA recipients were allowed to renew protections so long as their protections expired before March 5. At that point, USCIS would stop accepting all renewals.

After six months of back-and-forth between Republicans and Democrats and a brief government shutdown, the March 5 deadline came and went.

“The [March] deadline is a meaningless one in that people have already lost the ability to renew DACA,” Chan said. “People who have DACA, people who used to have DACA, people who were eligible for DACA, are being removed from the U.S. right now, currently, weeks ago, months ago.”

What can the University do?

University of Minnesota administrators are facing increased urgency to protect DACA students like Keila. But there are significant limits to what the U of M can offer. Like undocumented students themselves, there isn’t much the University can do.

A petition last year signed by thousands of students, staff, faculty, and administrators urged the University to become a “sanctuary campus.”

The petition included a series of concrete steps to help DACA students, including providing legal counsel, protecting student data, and preventing the U of M Police Department (UMPD) from coordinating efforts with ICE agents.

The University is also working to clarify UMPD policy.

In an email to The Wake, the University provided this statement: “UMPD has not worked with ICE on immigration enforcement. While UMPD does deal with immigration status from time to time when it is pertinent to an investigation – for example, the need to notify an embassy in regards to a foreign national – the UMPD does not contact, detain or arrest based on immigration status.”

The University did not make administrators from University Services or members of the UMPD available for an interview.

Not much to be done Students without DACA protection, like other undocumented immigrants, are still at risk of being deported.

Hill-Dongre said ICE has full authority to conduct raids on and around campus, with or without a sanctuary campus designation.

“I think a lot of people hoped that the sanctuary concept would provide a lot of protection and I think what people have learned is that it doesn’t have a legal definition and it doesn’t have a lot of enforceability,” Hill-Dongre said.

The deadline turned out to be less than binding, delayed by ongoing legal battles making their way through federal court and the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Trump administration’s request to expedite the cases.

Major parts of the program remain in place; most importantly, recipients are still able re-apply for DACA, for the time being.

With significant limitations, many activists switched their focus from stopping ICE to providing resources and support to students who may be targeted.

The complicated legal process may have extended the program, but it also added to an environment of confusion and uncertainty. People don’t know when the renewal deadline is, or if there even is a deadline. Isaac and Keila have no idea if they will be able to renew.

The IRT, for example, started the Dream Fund, which would provide financial support for undocumented students.

The undergraduate student government and faculty members have also called on the University to create long-distance learning that would allow students to complete their degree if they are deported. Additionally, students asked the University to amend the leave of absence policy for DACA students to ensure students would be reimbursed if they cannot complete their degree.

The timeline for the end of DACA protections is unknown, according to Marissa Hill-Dongre, an immigration lawyer and the director of the University of Minnesota’s Immigration Response Team.

Kaler has expressed support for these efforts. In his 2018 state of the campus address, Kaler claimed “the University of Minnesota will do all it can to protect our Dreamers.”

“Who knows if USCIS will keep doing renewals,” HillDongre said. “No one knows how long this window will be open for.”

For Linus Chan, an immigration lawyer at the U of M’s Center for New Americans and Detainee Rights clinic, the legal battles provide little hope for Dreamers. After all, DACA was technically ended

by Trump, even if some of its recipients still receive protections. “[USCIS] is supposed to take [applications], but that does not mean the program is fully in existence,” Chan said.

Chan explained the government is currently sitting on thousands of renewals. As reported by Vox, “At least 20,000 immigrants who applied for the program before the September announcement are still awaiting approval for their applications.”

However, some people, including Chan, would like to see the University be more vocal on the issue.

Although the University did not explicitly designate itself as a sanctuary campus, it did follow through with several of the requests. In response to the petition, University President Eric Kaler created the Immigration Response Team (IRT), which is tasked with ensuring “all who are affected by immigration policy changes have access to resources and support.”

“The University is a very powerful voice in the larger community and the state of Minnesota,” Chan said.

“The fact of the matter is I think the University has been quiet on these issues.”

Guillermo Pérez wants the University to take a stronger advocacy role. Pérez is the president of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity (Alpha Beta Chapter), a historically Latino fraternity, “I do think the University could be doing more, given its political capital,” Pérez said.

MAR 26—APR 9

FEATURE One of the problems is that the University doesn’t want to overpromise and underdeliver, according to Hill-Dongre. “[There’s] lot of support for doing everything the University can do to support students, but it’s hard to make a blanket promise,” Hill-Dongre said.

“Administration is rightfully leery to make a promise that they are not sure that they can comply with.”

It’s further complicated by the University’s reliance on federal funding. The Trump administration has been increasingly hostile toward advocates for undocumented immigrants, even threatening to withhold funds from cities and campuses that declare themselves sanctuaries.

With a college education, without the ability to work A more pressing concern for Dreamers may have to do with finances.

DACA provides recipients with an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which allows undocumented immigrants to lawfully work in the U.S. When DACA ends, so do the EAD protections.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a leading Democratic negotiator on immigration, said he doesn’t think the issue will be resolved until after the midterms. But many Dreamers, including Isaac, can’t wait until the midterm elections; their protections will have expired by then.

“Some of the people who are cautious about sanctuary declarations are cautious out of a desire to protect undocumented students rather than out of a desire to not think about them,” Hill-Dongre said.

“Anxiety is heightened because immigration enforcement is different than it used to be,” said Hill-Dongre. “ICE is really operating under a different mindset.”

Since Trump took office, there’s been a significant increase in the number of raids and arrests by ICE. In the past year alone, ICE raids have increased 40 percent.

Under the Obama administration, ICE mostly focused on undocumented immigrants with criminal records. But under Trump, ICE has begun going after people with no criminal history. In a widely publicized case in Minnesota, an Augsburg professor, who has been in the states for nearly 30 years without a criminal record, is now facing possible deportation.

“There sort of are no priorities any more. Everyone who is undocumented is fair game for removal,” Hill-Dongre said.

For Dreamers, many of whom have lived their entire adult lives without fear of deportation, ICE’s aggressive operation makes for an even more troubling reality.

“It’s kind of scary. Not being sure about anything,” Isaac said. “I can plan all I want, but ultimately a few things are out of my control. The best I can do is hope.”

“It’s hard to undersell how dysfunctional Congress is right now,” Chan said. “This is a program that has over 80 percent approval from the general public … and we still can’t get passed the Senate, much less the House.”

Speaking out on DACA could also draw increased attention from federal immigration officials.

Reports indicate that raids have increased in sanctuary cities, with ICE targeting those who are the loudest in opposition.

The future for Dreamers is particularly concerning because of the federal government’s increasingly aggressive stance on undocumented immigrants.

He’s not sure what will happen.

Ultimately the future of DACA rests in Congress’ hands. But, there isn’t much optimism that lawmakers will find a solution soon.

“Universities are concerned with what the implications of declaring oneself to be sanctuary campus might be from a federal funding perspective,” Hill-Dongre said.

A different mindset

He hasn’t started preparing to leave just yet, although he’s started saving a little more money. If he can’t renew DACA, Isaac says he’ll probably live in Mexico with his grandmother, whom he hasn’t seen in close to 20 years.

As for his sister, Isaac hopes Keila can finish out her degree before protections are taken away: “The best we can do for now is have her focus on studying.”

“The real difficulties students are going to have is continuing with their degrees because of [financial] pressures. That will be the immediate thing that affects everyone,” Hill-Dongre said.

Keila relies on her campus job to pay for a portion of school. Isaac mainly worked his way through school — installing roofs in the summer and, like Keila, working at a dining hall on campus.

Although the Minnesota Dream Act allows undocumented students to receive in-state tuition and apply for state financial aid, students would not be able to do work-study or hold part-time jobs on campus without DACA. Without an EAD, Isaac and Keila will have trouble finding work in the U.S., despite their college educations. For Keila, it means finding some other way to pay for school. For Isaac, it means he would likely have to leave the country to find work.

Holding on to hope Isaac doesn’t want it to come to that.

“All of us who are in this current state, America is our home. We want to be full members of this society,” Isaac said.

Keila tries not to think about her immigration status too much. Her mind is busy on studying for her courses. She talks about DACA’s expiration almost as a hypothetical, something that is farther down the road than it is in reality.

But every now and then she can’t help thinking about what a future without DACA would look like. It would likely mean finishing her degree in another country. She hopes she would only be separated from her family for a little while.

Keila tries to think about making the best of such a situation, maybe travelling to Europe for the first time. But she added, “Obviously that’s not what I plan.”

For now, Keila is planning for her future as an American, despite the uncertainty.

“I’m established here. Having my four-year plan of school for four years and then finding a job. That’s what I want to do. That’s what I’ve had in my mind.

That’s what pushed me through high school and hard classes to get through college, to get a good job and a good career,” Keila said. “[The end of DACA] would mess all that up. But I would figure it out.”

Art by Katie Heywood

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CREATIVE WRITING

step inside welcome to my shop my modern apothecary my more-than-convenience store quickly with recklessness and abandon as all the best and worst decisions are made i have everything you want tonics and potions and pills gadgets and gizmos galore i can make you feel everything and anything or nothing if that’s what you came here for i can take you to cloud nine to meet your guardian angel or float downstream with Charon embrace your darkest demons i can teach you to commit addiction keeps one faithful i am a fairy godmother a drug dealer for you pain and pleasure both in one solution i have it all for two

21st Century Apothecary

By Jocelyn Gamble

tell me where you want i can take you there you can taste my sugar poison sickly sweet and rare tell me what you need i can be that too a cure a crutch a drug a fool i’d sell my soul for you i’ll be your top supplier i’ll be your product too because you know i know you know when the heart is in withdrawal from affection and abuse all the fine wine and potions of pleasure are store-bought substitutes and i know you know i know this cruelly sober truth that though this song is tired one-way love on loop the music keeps me human denial keeps you true i know these empty pleasures and miserable pursuits will never make you happy

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i wish i didn’t but i do i know i know i know they will never make you love me they will never give me you

MAR 26—APR 9

ART

Art by Jaye Ahn

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Q&A

Manchita

BY LIV MARTIN I had the chance to sit down with Manchita, the effervescent singer, rapper, and University of Minnesota alumnus. Sipping an Ice House gin and tonic, Manchita told the story of how she got into rapping, of her background as a member of the rap collective GRRRL PRTY, and how she feels the importance of female energy and empowerment is now more essential than ever before. .

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Images courtesy of Manchita

: You grew up on the West side of Saint Paul.

What made you want to stay in the Twin Cities as an adult?

Manchita: Well, that’s an interesting question. I met my dad when I was 18, so like a senior in high school. I wrote him a letter because I found out that he was sick. And, I was afraid that he was gonna die without me getting to meet him. We decided to meet at the glass fish at the Walker in the sculpture garden. And then basically, my plan was after high school to leave and just go to California and figure it out, you know. But once I met him I wanted to capitalize on that relationship.

He ended up going into remission and being okay. So, then I decided to go to the U. I went to the U and right during finals—like my senior year at the U—my dad found out that he had another rare disease. My plan after the U was I was going to spend a year- I was going to WWOOF [work for Willing Workers On Organic Farms] in New Zealand and Thailand and work in an orphanage in Liberia and a home for teens in Argentina. It was all set up and ready to go, and then when I

found out he was sick, I stayed. And I was going to take the GRE and the LSAT and I had this very long plan of letters behind my name that I was going for… because when we’re in college we’re learning how to use our voice, and that’s what I thought my voice was going to turn into. That year after, my dad… he got a bone marrow transplant, so he was in recovery for a long time, and in a lot of ways he’s still recovering. But, during that time, I was working at the U as a research assistant for one of my professors.

: What was your major?

M: Child Psychology and English Literature. So, I had a double major. I was working in a child psych lab doing trauma-focused work, which was really cool and exciting, and we had a big project… whatever, whatever. Just doing work, basically! Ryan Olson basically hit me up one day and was like “Hey, come rap over this track.” I was like, “What? I don’t rap.” But, I went anyway and ended up rapping. Then I was like, “Oh, I need to be making music. I forgot about that.” It’s what I

MAR 26—APR 9

Q&A would do to avoid doing homework, but I always thought it was… it felt too good and like too selfish.

That’s kind of how I ended up staying… just like, my dad and then life unfolding from there, you know?

But yeah, I didn’t think I’d be a local musician.

: How did you discover that you could rap?

M: I was in a long relationship with Michael Larsen, Eyedea. I was into hip-hop and in the mix and in the community. One thing that Michael turned me onto was Freestyle Fellowship from the West Coast.

That shit just blew my mind and Aceyalone was like my hero… like 18-year-old Aceyalone. I learned like all his verses on the Innercity Griots record.

And I would bike around and be rapping to myself. And Michael knew I could rap Aceyalone lyrics. But it was always someone else’s lyrics. I really don’t know how Ryan… He said something really condescending actually. He was like, “You’ve dated enough rappers, I think you can figure it out.” That’s like some super sexist shit to say. He was joking, and I don’t think that’s really why he thought I could rap. He had some sort of hunch or something. He was like, “Come do it.” And, it worked out. We all start somewhere! : What’s the origin story of your stage name, Manchita?

M: Oh! Well, I’ve always had a thing for Don Quijote. My first car was this beater Honda, and I also loved Weezer when I was in high school.

So anyways, my car was “Doña Clara de la Mancha” [the female version of Don Quijote de la Mancha]. So, I was Doña Clara and my partner in crime, El Scorcho, was the car. And, Mancha is a section of Spain—it’s like one of the provinces.

So, a manchita is like a little girl from Mancha.

My family’s from Spain. We’re not specifically from Mancha… but anyways, I was playing on that. Manchita also means stain, or blemish, or spot, or imperfection, or scar… It’s any kind of imperfection which really hit home for me because I felt like this was a side of me that was not… what I was recognizing about rapping was that there was a different part that was coming out that wasn’t quite as kind as I normally felt, if that makes any sense. It was a bit angrier, and it felt like my… I don’t want to say “dark side” because I don’t like the concept of dark and light but it was like my anger… what is hideable… my stains, basically. : Yeah, I looked it up and it said… Well, okay Google Translate is not the best, but–

: So, it’s been close to two years since GRRRL PRTY played its last show. How did you feel about the end of the GRRRL PRTY era?

M: I feel different ways about it. I feel like GRRRL

PRTY was magical for a time and was offering something that was truly, really special. But the thing is that our artistry grows as we grow as people. It became a thing where we didn’t have the time or means to get together to even make music. So, then it was like, we’re just playing music.

It was very difficult to grow together because we didn’t have time to come together. I feel grateful for that experience. But I also know that what I really, really want, and what I’ve always wanted, and what I still want is not to be a solo artist. I want to be on stage with a gang of tight, badass women. That’s what I want. Because you know what? That’s what the fuck I want to see!

I don’t give a fuck. Like, there are crews of men everywhere. Give me a fucking lady crew! And let me see women supporting each other. I don’t want to be a solo… just another singer-songwriter rapper or whatever. I want to be with women, holding each other up. That is my happy place.

So, I’m happy to embark on this journey and make my own music, and I love making my own music. If I could form a new union of strength and womanhood, I would. I think it’s actually really, really a lot more important to present union than solo stardom. And that’s not a stab at anyone— that’s just my personal projection of what I would like to offer the next little girls… is a squad. Female strength and energy coming together like when the Power Rangers morph into the giant dinosaur— that’s what it is! It’s an energy—it’s a force all its own. And, I think it’s really important for women to do that together.

: Who would be your ideal audience?

M: When I think about who I want my audience to

be, I just automatically think about women, and future women, and I think about little girls. I want to make a kids record with a super badass female character that little girls can gravitate to and feel hard as hell and feel that toughness, feel that shit that we gave with GRRRL PRTY, but as little girls, that’s like appropriate. But, then when you say, “Who would you feel most comfortable having in your audience?” I cuss a lot, I’m grinding, I’m not very lady-like, and I grab myself sometimes… like a phantom dick or something. People point it out to me, I’m like, “Ooh, I don’t know what that is.” The people that I would want around are people who are accepting and open minded. I feel like I can create a safe space and so I would expect that from whoever came in return—to be safe and nonhateful, non-racist, non-sexist. One of the saddest moments of my music career was the time that a white woman came up to me, after I performed, and quietly into my ear, she was like, “Thank you so much. We need more white representation in rap music.” And I was like, “I quit! I fucking quit.” I was appalled. It makes me embarrassed and ashamed to be this color and rapping sometimes, because it’s like, I don’t want other people to just think it’s okay. And, what makes it okay for me? It’s such a weird line to explain. I feel bad sometimes when I’ll have young white rappers ask me what advice I have and the first thing in my mind is like, “Just don’t do it. I promise you, just don’t do it.” And that’s horrible! Like, I shouldn’t be telling people who need to make art that they shouldn’t do it. But, there’s so much wrapped up in it, and I have a really big problem with being a role model for people who look at me like that. And, I don’t want to justify anybody’s bullshit. That upset me a great deal. I didn’t perform for a while because it made me so uncomfortable. So, not that person.

Or, not the guy who comes up and is like, “You’re so sexy.” Go home. : Do you have any up-andcoming shows?

M: March 29th at The Whole Music Club. Doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8:00 p.m.

Check out the full interview online at www.wakemag.org!

M: Did you see all of the pictures of people’s puppies and cats? I get tagged in stuff all the time because it’s like a common name for an animal, like “Spot” or “Fluffy” or something. So, they’ll be like “Manchita” and it’s a little dog with a spot on its ear or its eye or on its butt or something.

THE WAKE

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VOICES

Dear President-Elect Donald Trump: I present you with this poem

BY EMILY NESS While you sit in your tower, We stand with the trees.

And when you cut them down, We get down on our knees.

The Earth is our Mother, She is our Queen.

And we’ll stand beside her For as long as she needs.

The air is contaminated, We feel it in the breeze.

And the waters are polluted, From sea to shining sea.

The animals are dying, The people are not free.

And you, Mr. President, ignore Each and every plea.

You came into the White House With little expertise.

And appointed an ignorant Board of Trustees.

You signed off on bills With which the people did not agree And kept the money, So that you could eat.

Meanwhile, the hungry Are left suffering in the streets.

And all you have done Is watch them bleed.

The people deserve better They are dying from disease.

And they only get sicker When you cut funds out of greed.

It’s obvious Mr. President, That you prefer a certain breed.

And it becomes more obvious, Every time you speak.

The United States of America Is no place for a refugee.

And this is the tragic truth, Look at all the Deportees.

Neither is this Nation A place for a parolee These are our people Yet, we treat them as nobodies Most are innocent, That is the reality.

And even despite this, We lock them up without a key.

That’s not all You’ve made fun of homosexuality And it doesn’t make sense Because you love sensuality Perhaps instead, You should look at legality.

And admit that guns Lead to fatality.

The children especially Deserve a president with integrity And not only that, But a president who cares about humanity.

We wish Mr. President That you would fund their reality And give each child a chance To master their ABCs in totality.

The future is not Something we can see.

And nothing comes easy, Nothing comes free.

The MCs are angry, We hear it in their CDs And the world is watching, Just turn on your TV. It is times like these That we should look to Socrates And to his words about the stars, Such as Pleiades We should look to the history Of the Cherokee And to the ways in which we can save The Bumblebee America is not free Until everyone is free And so we need to love each other We need to treat the world kindly It is time Mr. President That you stopped catching Zs And lived up to be A better nominee.

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MAR 26—APR 9

VOICES

Can You Tell a Rupi Kaur Poem from a Knock-off?

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Instapoetry has garnered polarized responses. Are we being scammed by its simplicity, or do its short phrases hit home?

BY FARRAH MINA

You are probably no stranger to someone who moonlighted as a beauty blogger in high school.

Perhaps you’ve been acquainted with a boy certain that he is the next Eminem, and after you’ve heard three minutes of his horrifyingly offensive lyrics on YouTube, you take a minute to question what went wrong. Among these variations of ambition resides a specimen who has built a home of words within the confines of an Instagram page, dubbing it “instapoetry,” leaving in their wake a contentious art form.

The simple, minimalistic style of instapoetry has lent it a fan-base of millions of followers.

Consisting of only a few, concise lines, instapoetry has provided its audience with an easy-to-digest form of poetry. The crowned queen of this practice is none other than Rupi Kaur, the best-selling author of Milk and Honey. Having sold millions of copies of her book, Kaur is among the poets who are reshaping our perception of poetry. In the face of this phenomenon, poetry becomes mainstream.

It comes within the public’s grasp in the span of seconds as they scroll through their newsfeeds.

THE WAKE

With poems as simple as, “give to those/who have nothing/to give to you,” some literary critics are not buying this epidemic form of expression.

The simplicity of the poetry seems to mock the offline poets who take the complexity of their craft seriously. Kaur’s work, especially, has been subject to this criticism. Even if you do appreciate her work, you have to admit—you can’t help but crack up at parodies like, “i was orange juice but you/had just brushed your teeth – rupi kaur.”

Jokes aside, instapoets who have garnered millions of followers are a testament to their craft. The ability to reach an audience and make them feel something is the essence of poetry. Regardless of where you stand, Nielson Book Research has reported that poetry sales have risen by 13 percent from last year. Whether you are a skeptic or a believer, there is no denying that instapoetry had something to do with the revival of this art—an outcome that should satisfy any poetry enthusiast.

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VOICES

Is the U Really Unsafe?

The University of Minnesota was ranked low in safety, but do students really feel unsafe?

BY CAITLIN ANDERSON

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Emails flashing titles such as “Timely Warning” and “Neighborhood Safety Notice” often elicit a similar response by all of us who encounter them: a slightly curious yet unsurprised attitude. But, all colleges experience a high number of crimes, right? Wrong, at least according to the Star Tribune article that recently highlighted the University’s low safety ranking: 199 out of 243.

Past 9 p.m., as I am briskly walking to my apartment in Dinky, I admit to feeling some anxiety, and increasingly so as a car drives by really slowly—usually just due to the ice. Other students often cite the feeling of nervousness at night, but not at all during the day. The university is located within a big city, so naturally as there are more people, there may be more crime.

“I don’t think it’s fair, we are in the middle of the city,” Chava Bouchard, a student at the university said of the ranking, “you can only compare it to big schools in the city.”

When I first encountered this ranking, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that a university in the passive-aggressive state of Minnesota would not be ranked high. Known for our Minnesota-nice attitude, it seems impossible that we would be deemed less safe than other states’ public universities.

Although the methodology used to rank the U was based upon crime reports by the university, the rank doesn’t necessarily mean the U is dangerous and scary.

“I still feel really safe on campus,” Shannon Carley, a sophomore at university, said, “I don’t usually think bad things are going to happen.”

So, does the rank really matter? Are people really more unsafe? I don’t think so. Students express campus feeling “sketchy” at night, but during the day, they feel completely safe. Although some situations may be more highly publicized, such as those resulting in microwaves being thrown from windows, crime at the U does not seem to be the most pressing issue facing students.

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MAR 26—APR 9

To My Most Esteemed Representative...

A brief and incomplete toolkit for individual advocacy

BY EMMA KLINGLER As you may already know, we are currently in the midst of the 2018 Legislative Session in Minnesota.

And though many of us are busy with midterms and making plans for the summer, there are a number of simple ways in which you can make your voice heard on issues that matter to you.

The Legislature can seem woefully inaccessible at times: committee meetings are during business hours when most people are in work or class, bill language is complex and often deals with minute issues which require an immense amount of background to grasp, and many decisions are made behind closed doors in the end (looking at you, conference committees) making it discouraging to put in the effort in the first place.

But it is so important that you do, so here are just a few tips for making the biggest impact.

Contact your legislators. They are just people, and no matter what their background or accolades, they can definitely learn something from you.

In fact, in attending several of the 2018 session previews, I heard from legislators on both sides of the aisle that they need people to speak up on which proposed bills they support and what creative solutions they may have. Interacting with your legislator can be anything from leaving them a voicemail asking them to support a bill to setting up a meeting to discuss your expertise (you have this!) on a topic that is important to you. Follow

THE WAKE

them on social media, find out what committees they are on, and become their friends. Or at least, let them know who you are.

Get in early. Like college students, legislators have deadlines by which bills need to be approved by their committee. The first deadline, March 22, has already passed. The bills being considered at this point have already passed in their body of origin; a bill that was introduced and approved in the House must receive a hearing and approval in the Senate, and vice versa. The second deadline is March 29, at which point a bill must be approved in both chambers. So, contact your legislators!

This is one of the most crucial times to get public input as it gets much harder (and less likely to be heard) once the bills move to the floor and into conference committees.

Use the website. First impressions aren’t always great, and the Minnesota Legislature website is the perfect case for why it is worth it to look deeper. If you can get past the home page of a thousand links and the jargon-y headers, this website is a wealth of knowledge. Using the tabs at the top, you can find every legislator in the House and Senate, their personal history, their contact information, the committees on which they serve, and their legislative assistant (a very handy resource for getting a hold of your legislator). If there is an issue that is important to you—let’s use higher education as an example—you can search

for a specific committee to see who is on it, what bills they are hearing, and when they meet. For instance, in the Senate, Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee typically meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2:30pm, the committee chair is currently Republican Senator Michelle Fischbach, and they are hearing a number of bills on loan forgiveness and financial aid. And all of that took less than a minute to find.

Get the bill numbers. This is a small but crucial piece in making your pitch to a legislator more effective. You can search for specific bills being heard by topic or committee on the website and find the language of the bill and the bill number.

The bill number is important to have when asking for a legislator’s support because it makes it a lot easier for them to find, particularly if they are not an author or are not on the committee that is hearing that bill. Keeping to our higher education example from above, you can view the list of bills being heard by Senate Higher Education Finance and Policy. Senator Kari Dziedzic—my senator, and likely many of yours—is the chief author of S.F. 145 (S.F. = “Senate File”) which would establish affirmative consent standards in campus sexual assault policy, consent curriculum, and appropriations for sexual violence prevention grants. The partner bill in the House is H.F. 116 (H.F. = “House File”). Armed with those bill numbers, you have a concrete “ask” in reaching out to a legislator.

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SIX REVIEWS

11

9

Policia at First Avenue

Nation of Two

Loma

Vance Joy

Loma

BY HANNAH HAAKENSON

BY SYLVIA RANI

“Nation of Two,” the newly released album by Vance Joy, did not disappoint. After waiting in anticipation

BY ALEXANDRIA DAVISON for four years, Joy finally gifted the world a new Debuting their collaborative album, “Music For The album featuring 13 amazing songs. He captures the hearts of many by keeping the overarching Long Emergency,” the main room of First Avenue theme of deep, fervent love present throughout his opened their doors to Minneapolis synth-pop band Poliça and Berlin-based orchestral collective, whole album. Flaunting his broad vocal range in all of his new songs, Joy reminds his audience that stargaze. Poliça teased tracks off their new album sometimes less is more by occasionally replacing at previous shows, imbuing the audience with the typical instrumentation with his voice to give excitement and anticipation for this debut show. listeners a more intimate experience. His simple As the stage lights slowly faded in, Poliça and melodies attract all types of music junkies, and his stargaze made their way onto the stage to open lyrics, although sometimes cheesy, resonate with the spectacular night with “Speaking of Ghost,” them as well. easing into the passion-filled “Fake Like,” which hints at themes of one-sided yet unconditional While “We’re Going Home” seems to already be love; a perfect song for those seeking a breath. a fan favorite, Joy strums away on the ukulele for The band turned back time to play a Poliça fan one of my personal favorites, “Saturday Sun.” He favorite, “Berlin,” from their 2016 album, “United attempts to pluck the heartstrings of his audience Crushers.” Featuring a heavy baseline and fastin “I’m With You” by slowing down the tempo paced drumming, this song is a collection of rises and adding his famous high notes. As his voice and falls, igniting a sensation within the audience charmingly strains from hitting a high pitch, his that compels feeling and movement. raw emotion and lyrical depiction of love are inextricably entwined when he says, “My darling, One of the most surreal moments of the evening I’m ready to burst into flames for you.” involved the interpretive dancers who came on stage during the song, “How Is This Happening.”

Overall, “Nation of Two” includes an array of Underneath atmospheric lighting, the dancers songs that are perfect for either jamming out or swayed to the melody, surrounded by the slow dancing. Those who are fans of bands such orchestra, as the members of Polçia admired as The Lumineers or Mumford and Sons should from the side. At one point, the dancers enveloped definitely check this album out; it is filled with rich, themselves in a red sheet, threading themselves in earthly songs that immediately put you at ease. and out of it through the song.

Currently in the middle of his world tour, Vance Joy is traveling the world in hopes of sharing his The evening was a work of art curated by newest creations, which I think are a masterpiece. incredible musicians and artists, defined by This album will resonate with many because it incandescent hues and the ethereal vocals of addresses the universal desire to find that “match Poliça front woman, Channy Leaneagh. It was to your candle.” quite an honor to be in the midst of this spectacle of beauty, community, and wonderment.

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Loma’s self-titled debut album is a delicate introduction to the band’s profoundly unique sound. It’s a sound that can only be described as celestial, with Emily Cross’s voice hovering lightly over the ebbs and flows of the group’s acoustics.

It’s difficult to pin down each song, as Loma seems to transcend traditional ideas of music, foregoing a chorus line or structured verses and rather presenting music as a collection of echo-y sounds and fractured lyrics.

Throughout the album, the lyrics presented appear as poetry: sublime and a bit out of reach. The melancholy feel of the album may very well be due to the fact that two of the band’s members, Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski, began the project as a married couple but concluded their relationship before its completion. This made for a challenging creative atmosphere; however, the band’s members forged ahead with it, using the personal turmoil as inspiration to drive the music.

Near the beginning of the album, Cross’s lyrics allude to a happy relationship. In “Joy,” she sings, “Love comes unstuck in the brain… Like a million million waves of joy.” The deterioration of Cross and Duszynski’s partnership becomes evident as the album progresses. In “Black Willow,” the last track, Cross sings “Because the life I lived is dead…

I carry a diamond blade / When you said serve you / I will not.”

The overall tone of the album is somber and mysterious, which makes it the perfect companion to a cup of chamomile tea and an evening of contemplation.

MAR 26—APR 9

SIX REVIEWS

13 14

Chime

12

Dessa

Walk the Moon at Palace Theater

BY MAYA ULRICH Flashing lights, face paint, and sticky, beer covered floors: all a stark contrast to St. Paul’s historic venue, The Palace Theater. The Walk the Moon concert on Saturday, Feb. 24 produced a crowd of eclectic twenty-somethings waiting to be thrown into the high energy atmosphere they knew frontman Nicholas Petricca and his band Walk the Moon would readily bring.

The dance rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio was aiming to please as they played an integration of music off of their new album, “What if Nothing,” and crowd favorites from old albums. They kicked off the night with caffeinated songs such as “Portugal” and “Press Restart,” producing equally stimulating lighting choices, which allowed for a release of some of the palpable exuberance that the crowd contained. They followed these dance anthems with the ballad “Aquaman,” allowing for a brief glimpse into Petricca’s inner workings.

After lulling the audience into this soothing yet emotionally charged atmosphere, Walk the Moon amped things back up with their huge single “Shut Up and Dance,” that made the packed venue go wild. By the time the encore came, it seemed like the crowd couldn’t express its love for this band any further. However, they did just that when they ended with the classic pop-rock anthem and fan favorite, “Anna Sun.” Walk the Moon finished the North American leg of their tour with a melancholic goodbye and a lovely thank you to Minneapolis. These pure moments of connection and improvisation with the crowd made this band all that much more fun to watch.

THE WAKE

Con Todo El Mundo Khruangbin

BY ANDREW TOMTEN Since the release of their first record, “The Universe Smiles Upon You,” Texas indie rock trio Khruangbin has been playing shows around the world. Their new album, “Con Todo El Mundo,” is essentially a sonic passport, throughout which one can hear the influence of traditional Persian music, Thai funk, and Brazilian choro all wrapped in a funky blanket.

Lyrically this album is pretty sparse, but super entertaining. On a couple of tracks the three members drone falsetto “ooh’s” on top of lead guitar lines, and on others they chant segments of dialogue to a strong backbeat. The rap-talking on “Lady and Man” and “Evan Finds the Third Room” sounds slightly sarcastic, but there’s something satisfying about its silliness. Like snippets of a past conversation, the lyrics are ambiguously interesting, serving as an added layer of curiosity to the meandering grooves underneath.

The production of this record is one of the things that impressed me the most upon a first listen.

Khruangbin’s snare sound is distinctly tight and paired with the reverb-heavy surf guitar tone, they have solidified a unique sound as a band. It’s their exotic sense of groove as well as the mix of the guitar, bass, and drums that captures a strange feeling. It’s not really happy or sad. It’s dreamy but not quite psychedelic. This record feels like peoplewatching from a bus stop—calm yet intriguing, and hypnotic in its easygoing foreign sound.

BY KARL WITKOWIAK University of Minnesota alumnus and singer/ rapper Dessa has become a prominent figure of the Twin Cities music scene. She is a part of the beloved rap collective Doomtree as well as a spoken word artist and speaker. As of recently, she was a part of “The Hamilton Mixtape” project and had a flavor of ice cream named after her at the local ice creamery, Izzy’s (which is delicious by the way).

“Chime” is Dessa’s fourth studio album and it traverses through multiple different styles and themes while sticking the landing impeccably. She runs the gamut of identity, self-deprecation, and female empowerment. Dessa has always been a great wordsmith and her wordplay here is no exception. “Fire Drills” delves the most into her identity and role as a woman in rap circles, while “Good Grief” dispels the titular phrase by saying, “grief’s only good when it’s over.” Supposedly, Dessa had her brain scanned in order to contextualize her emotions and feelings towards the situations at hand.

The production also holds its own. Beginning with the tense “Ride,” the album only continues to amp up from there. “5 out of 6” sounds akin to a Doomtree track at its most potent and powerful, while “Boy Crazy” is slower and orchestrated beautifully. Dessa’s performance is also amazing, as usual, bringing intensity and emotion to every track.

She mixes the best elements of her music and performance into one full package in “Chime.”

If Dessa isn’t already a beloved figure in the Minnesota music scene (for some reason), this album will truly ring in the ears of the naysayers.

“Chime” is an excellent return for Dessa and is currently the rap album to beat for the year.

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K(NO)W MORE Fund Aurora 2018 | April 15 - 21