In This Issue
Making the grade: Student Health SurveyA few summers ago, I started running on all gears. I was opening the coffee shop I worked at until 9:45 a.m., getting off in time to make it to a 4-hour condensed summer class and from there I headed off to my internship in Woodbury. After organizing microfiche for a few hours (...it wasn’t the most educational internship), I headed back to Wisconsin where I worked until midnight with a promotions team in different locations every week. And I loved it: I was making progress with my degree AND making amazing cash, but understandably it started to wear me down. It wasn’t until mid-August, when my throat was so swollen it hurt to breathe and I could barely lift the milk pitcher to the steamer, that I went to the doctor. The lab results came back positive: yup, MONO. Four letters that spell death to any work or social life.“Haven’t you noticed how tired you must be?!” the doctor admonished as he wrote out a prescription for Vicodin to ease my throat. Dude, I’ve been tired since approximately the eighth grade, I would have responded...
January is National Mentoring Month
In honoring all mentors and mentoring relationships in our communities, GEMS (Guiding, Empowering, and Mentoring Students) Mentoring Program along with other supporting organizations and programs at the University will be sponsoring mentorship events in the middle of January. Mark your calendars and join us for these events. Events are free and open to the entire university community...
Local music: Dan Wilson
Minnesota has nurtured a multitude of entertainers; many most of us are unaware of. When you ask the Minneapolis populace who comes to mind when naming off homegrown famous people, typical answers are Bob Dylan, Prince, and Bob Dylan. Unknown to many, there is a prominent gentleman who lives right under our noses—smack dab in the heart of Minneapolis. He has a Grammy award, 2 million albums sold worldwide and a newly debuted solo album under his belt. And he doesn’t go by the name of Prince (or the symbol, for that matter) or Bob Dylan. His name may not even ring a bell. He’s Dan Wilson; a former lead singer of the indie rock band, Semisonic. You know, that song that plays incessantly at the end of the night when you’re leaving the bar or sports game, “Closing Time?” It’s the fixture that’s meant to give visitors the hint that it’s time to go home...
Forget summer reading lists: curl up with one of these page-turners
The Book Everyone’s Talking About: What is the What by Dave Eggers
You know you’ve made it when Oprah wants to talk to you. Dave Eggers worked with Valentino Achak Deng to create this fictionalized account of Deng’s life as one of the so-called Lost Boys.
Barely eight years old when civil war in Sudan killed his family, Deng and thousands of other homeless children set out walking across the country to reach amnesty across the border. Eggers, who constructed the book based on Deng’s scattered memories, parallels the journey with Deng’s experience of being tied up and robbed in his own apartment...
New mixed-media art exhibit
Metropolitan State University Third Floor Gallery is pleased to present Mixed Media: The Faculty Show. The exhibit opens with a reception on Thursday, Jan. 29, from 4–7 p.m. and continues through Feb. 27. Gallery hours are Mon.–Thur., 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; and Fri.–Sat., 11 a.m.–4 p.m. The gallery is located in the Library and Learning Center, 645 East Seventh Street, Saint Paul. This exhibition features the creative works produced by a number of Metropolitan State’s arts instructors. From paintings and drawings to films...
Give the gift of life in the New Year
With the holidays freshly tucked behind and the arrival of a brand new year upon us, it’s a given that our thoughts are routinely inundated, to say the least. Inundated with firm determinations for 2009, finding a financial equilibrium after ALL-of-that-shopping, the awaiting of a new president and a new administration … for many of us, it’s easy for the smaller issues to ease their way through our fingertips. But sometimes the things we deem small are actually quite big in the scheme of things. Did you know that January is traditionally designated as National Blood Donor Month? Historically, January is the most neglected month of the year for blood donation collections, hence severely shorting the nation’s blood inventory. Why should I donate blood, you ask? The answer is easy: you can save someone’s life. More than 4.5 million hospital patients need blood transfusions every year within the United States and Canada.Every day, roughly 39,000 blood units are required...
HR Corner: Looking for a new job
Many students throughout the state graduated in Dec. 2008 including many Metropolitan State students. Along with this new pool of graduates in the workforce, there are also those people and students that are looking to change careers or who were laid off because of the flailing economy and need work. Finding a job in an economy such as ours is a challenge, but it’s not impossible. Whether you just need to pay the bills or you’re on the hunt for your dream job, keep in mind some of these tips...
A more mobile university?
The notorious “blue screen of death” laid waste to my laptop right before the semester, sticking me with a 5-year-old (20, in computer years) paperweight and a frustrating beginning to the fall. It was a good run, my 2003 Dell, but I needed a computer and lacked funds to buy a new one. It prompted me to check out Metropolitan State University’s laptops. Good thing I checked out the policy first. The university provides laptops at their St. Paul campus learning center by exchanging your student ID and driver’s license, however, you cannot take them off the campus and your time is up after the battery dies. It’s probably not a good idea to leave anyway, because they have your license. It is a service, however, and I appreciate that it and the computer labs are there. Each of the three campus labs are stocked with plenty of PCs capable of handling any school assignment. My issue, however, is that it’s not convenient to drive to campus each time I need to work...
Beat winter boredom with outdoor activities
January is the time of year everyone gets sick of winter. It’s cold, it’s snowy, there’s no more Christmas or holidays to look forward to. And did I mention that it’s cold? The thing is—most of us choose to live here. So why not take advantage of the cold and snow and engage in some fun winter activities? One thing I learned while living out of state is that there really is a lot to do here in Minnesota when it’s cold and snowy outside...
Letter to the Editor
I read the December article of The Metropolitan about the disagreement between the administration and the Student Senate regarding the printed schedules. Thank you for bringing this issue to the forefront. However, due to a lapse in communication with writer Meghan Dusek, some aspects of our position were not conveyed as accurately or as fully as would be appropriate. I would also like to take this opportunity to address some of the administration’s claims. It should be noted that similar efforts to discontinue printed class schedules have occurred at other state universities. The difference between Metropolitan State and, for example, Winona State, is that the latter has ensured universal online /computer access through their laptop program...
Ellison and Maloney: No credit card increases
Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chairs of the Consumer Justice Caucus, announced today that they have written to the largest credit card issuing banks asking them to hold off on their intended consumer credit card rate increases in light of the current economic recession. “It’s outrageous that financial institutions that received billions in taxpayer aid are leaving struggling consumers out in the cold this holiday season,” Rep. Maloney said. “The federal government has done its part to help Wall Street, but Main Street isn’t seeing the benefits it was supposed to get.” “The federal government has given these banks a collective $300 billion in capital reserves...
New for spring: Haute Dish literary magazine
I was rummaging through the garage one fall morning, and I came across a strange bag shoved in the corner by the previous owner. It read, “Resists deer.” Hesitant about what might live within, I opened the bag gingerly. Inside was a gnarled collection of flower bulbs that huddled together like the shrunken heads of old bearded hippies. Brushing the soil and dust off of the outside label, I was able to make out that this was a sampler pack of spring wildflowers. There were gladiolus, dahlias and various lily bulbs. There was no way to know from the appearance what was what. Not that it would matter. The only flower name I recognized was “lily.” They all stared up so hopeful, as if they might grant three wishes if only someone planted them.
I thought, “We might have a nice surprise in the spring, but there’s no telling what might come up.” It’s winter here at Haute Dish, but we’ve already published the spring edition ...
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s music on the move
The nation’s only full-time orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and proves why their motto, music on the move, is taking them places they’ve never been before. New and old audiences can enjoy the SPCO all around the Twin Cities this season as they show us why they’ve been so successful these past 50 years while demonstrating their promise to enlighten audiences for many more years to come. The orchestra performed their second annual concert on Dec. 21 here at Metropolitan State University. The special concert also featured a traditional Hmong qeej player, courtesy of the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT) which is a partner organization of ASO. There was a high rate of attendance and a hope that the SPCO will return next year to perform on campus again...