Outstanding Student Employee: Evan Dieringer

Outstanding Community Service Organization: Habitat for Humanity

Outstanding Community Service Individual: Brittany Bohm

Outstanding RA’s: Jenny Kjin, Liz Pritzl, Trevor Tanck

Most Improved Student Organization: Criminal Justice Club

Outstanding Advisor: Nate Dehne

Outstanding Student Organization: Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC)

Outstanding Student Leaders: Jenny Kjin, Braden Woods, Kim DeJong, Brittany Bohm

Outstanding Greek Organization: Zeta Chi

Greek Scholarship: Phi Delta Omega & Dylan Kelly

Outstanding Academic Organization: Accounting Club

President’s Choice Award: Heather Haeflinger

Outstanding Seniors: Emma Drake, Jessica Eichner, Robert Frias, Kaylin Olson, Rebecca Mayo, Heather Haeflinger

Congratulations to all of the award winners. Your efforts have been noticed.

Coming into Wolf there was a significant amount of hype to see if he followed in the same direction as Goblin, or if he reverted back into the style that he exhibited in Bastard. The simple answer to this question is yes, he brings back some of the past stylings of the past while progressing somewhat into uncharted waters.

From the moment of the first beat drop, you can immediately acknowledge the production value of the album. While not exceptional in any sense, the production value on the album is higher than most Odd Future projects. The use of many high-hats contrasted against dark bass lines allows for elegantly disguised dirty beats.

Tyler once again wonders into his unusual lyrical style, contrasting homophobic, violent, depressive, political, and love emotions. This combination is very interesting, but in some ways really misses the mark. With Earl Sweatshirt emerging as the most prominent rapper out of Odd Future, it seems that Tyler has settled for simply maintaining his tenets as an artist. While Tyler possesses the most unique voice in the entire rap game, he has not terribly evolved his style as an artist. While it might be hypocritical to criticize him for a lack of progression while praising him for maintaining the same style, Tyler could really become one of the premier artists today if he managed to fully take advantage of the limitless potential that he possess.

The overall highlights of the album are Domo23, Colossus, and Rusty. But these tracks are not all of the best parts of the album, but because of strange styling of the tracks it is very hard to fully embrace some of them. Bimmer was the single most interesting part of the album, yet it was hidden at the back end of a seven minute track. Building on this, the way in which the tracks are ordered really confuses me, as it does not nearly flow as well as it could have. Instead this creates an awkward stream of songs that do not properly fit, almost like as if they were puzzle pieces shoved into any location that they would remotely fit.

I have been extremely critical of this album, but in the end this is a good album. This is my largest issue with the album; it never really lives up to the hype of the potential that it had. Tyler has established himself as one of the biggest rappers today, but he has not yet evolved into one of the best rappers of the age. While he has a vast amount of potential, it is becoming more apparent that it probably will never be realized.

Since the release of MOTM, Kid Cudi has moved slowly away from his rap roots of his earlier work into a transitional rap-singing hybrid that somewhat resembles Drake. While his style certainly has elements taken from MOTM 2 and WZRD, it seems with age Cudi has fleshed out this style. His ability to take over a song from a singing perspective, such as the song Immortal, shows his growth in this aspect of his repertoire. While he never really shows his ability to rap at a spectacular level, this aspect is not nearly as important as in previous releases. His progression as an artist away from strictly rapping is readily apparent, and because of this development this does not really manifest itself as a problem in the album.

This is not to say that there are not issues with the album. During some periods of the album it began to drag on, and the pacing leaves something to be desired. Along with this, the inclusion of Michal Bolton on the album was yet another interesting creative decision. While the song does not fall on its face, and fits ascetically with the rest of the album, it was just a bold choice that did not fail nor work particularly well. While several of the songs manage to mesh themselves together, the album really does not have any songs that stick out as being of real bad quality.

From a production standpoint, Kid Cudi did a great job when putting forward both the sampling and instrumentals. While not perfect, his production values have clearly gone up significantly in the past few years, and this result is put front and center. There are multiple tracks that display high production values, my personal favorites being Girls, Young Ladies, and Just What I Am.

I came into this album with the great hope that Cudi would return to his roots, as Man on the Moon is one of my favorite albums, and almost single handedly changed the way I looked at modern rap. Looking back, I realize that this was an extremely nostalgic thought, and that progression is the basis for all artists. No one wants to make the same music year after year (pop music excluded), and this is where Cudi manages to succeed on Indicud. He does look to his successes and the failures of his past, but moves forward to different things. Whether they are better or worse is a matter of taste, but one thing is for sure—the quality is still there in large doses for those who are looking.

“The decision to leave was not an easy or quick one,” Helion said. “I had been thinking about it for many years, but over a few weeks in March, it just hit me like a ton of bricks that this was the time. It was not going to get any easier to make the change.”

Helion has been a psychology professor at Lakeland College since she joined the faculty in 2007. During her time at Lakeland she has not only been a professor, but also has done much traveling worldwide trying to cut down disparities in health care both domestically and internationally.

Feeling that her ambitions and heart are moving on, Helion is going onto the next chapter of her life.

Graduate assistant football coach Joey O’Brien said, “Helion was a very personable professor that exemplified the mission of Lakeland College through her dedication to the students. She was a professor that I could rely on. It really makes me sad to hear that she is leaving Lakeland.”

Helion comes from a small town in South Dakota and grew up in an area that consisted of less than 300 people. From these beginnings, Helion worked her way up the academic ladder.

Originally taking college classes to earn a promotion, she was inspired by a captivating advisor to go onto bigger and better things. She succeeded in academics, earning a master’s degree in psychology at Brown University (2003) and her Ph.D. in health/social psychology at UW-Milwaukee (2007).

To understand Helion, you must understand her strong moral beliefs that drive her to work towards medical equality. She is strongly driven to work toward a world where everyone has accessible healthcare and believes that this problem is much more common than most people assume.

Helion said, “I’m very passionate about health disparities—I get really fired up when I think about the lack of access to healthcare some people experience or the lack of knowledge that prevents people from getting proper care. It’s happening in Africa, but it’s also happening in our own backyard.”

Helion has spent much time traveling the world for a multitude of reasons. In the past few years she has traveled to several remote areas of Africa to help give HIV workshops that addressed several different topics such as prevention, nutrition, and how to deal with the stress of living with HIV. Other nations she has visited include Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Cambodia, and South Korea.

Following her extensive time at Lakeland, Helion has a large range of possibilities in her future. She is looking to make a large impact in the public health sector and is working for the betterment of everyone.

In the next few years she plans to work directly with several non-profit organizations in Africa or to earn a master’s degree in Public Health.

Dr. Elizabeth Stroot, division chair of social sciences and associate professor of psychology, said, “It is really courageous of [Helion] to be moving on and pursuing her dreams. I have no doubt that she will find a place where she fits in perfectly. She will dearly be missed as both a coworker and a friend.”

Helion is sad to leave Lakeland, but she believes that this is the best decision for her.

The toughest part about this split was that Helion really loved Lakeland and put forth a great amount of effort to assist any student needing help. This sense of dedication drove her to have close relationships with students.

Anne Garvery, a former student of Helion, said, “She was an inspiration. Her personality was full of passion and wit. She helped change how I looked at psychology. I really enjoyed the bond that I had with her as a professor, an inspirational figure, and as a human being.”

Stroot said that while the psychology department is changing, the requirements to graduate will still be the same. In the future they will look to change some of the curriculum based on the new professors’ areas of research and interests.

Everything was so complicated. No matter what I did I just kept hitting road blocks.

I didn’t know who would kill the New Musko. From the janitor to the cheerleader, everyone had an alibi. Pretty soon I was going to say the New Musko did it himself!

Frustrated, I walked away from Wehr. I could not be pacing for too much longer.

Not only was my head pounding, the people in Wehr started looking at me strangely. I did not need them thinking that I was the killer. I never killed anyone and I was not going to be the one to blame for this.

I needed a break, so I started to walk to my room. Before I even left the front doors of the Wehr Center, the fear of the Muskrat came back.

Every little sound would make me jump thinking that the Muskrat was there. The slightest movement from the water puddles would cause me to change my path.

You just don’t know when a mutant rat-like thing will chase after you. If you got bitten you could turn into one yourself! Or so I was told.

After the brisk walk, I was able to make it past the suites.

Right by Brotz something started to move that was rat size! It was rat-sized!

My heart jumped out of my throat, and I was practically running to the side door of Krueger. I keyed myself in like an axe murderer was after me. The door opened and I scurried in. I was almost the Muskrat’s next meal.

Getting to my room was a blur. I just remember opening my door and flipping the light on. That is was adrenaline will do to you.

My roommate was not back yet. With this in mind, I turned on some indie music and flopped onto my bed. I had a few moments to relax and then Jessie, my roommate, walked in.

“Did you see that cat outside. She was such a cutie. I even got to pet her!”

“Oh, cool! I have to have you do something for me.”

“What’s that?” Jessie looked confused, but she was the best roommate ever. She was always helpful.

“Can you look through these pictures with me and tell me if there is anything out of the ordinary?”

“Of course, I would love to help you out!”

Pulling out my camera, we sat by our desk. It was time for the investigation to begin again. We flipped through the pictures over and over again. Nothing stuck out to her.

“No, I don’t see anything. What are you looking for?”

“Well, this is top secret stuff, but I am looking for a killer. Did you see one in the photos?”

“Of course I did.”

In shock I started to look at my camera. Before I could make any sounds, Jessie continued, “I saw some killer abs on that fish.”

“Darn, I thought you saw who I was looking for.”

“I still do not know what you are talking about, but no, I did not see any killer. I did not see someone. I did see something though; a fish to be exact.”

Jessie started to giggle, and we talked about our days. She had a long day and needed some sleep, so I turned off my music and shut off the lights.

I needed to go back to the crime scene. I think I knew what was going on.

Quickly running, I got to Wehr. The basketball game was about to begin. I walked up to the cheerleaders and started a conversation.

I did not want him to catch on. It was not a person who killed the New Musko, it was a thing… an animal.

“Hey Musko! I have a quick question for you. Where did you get your hook from?”

With that the Musko started to run. I found the killer. Now all I had to do was chase him. For a fish he could move fast, but my human feet worked much better.

All my force went into the back of the fish. We tumbled to the ground.

“Why did you do it Musko? Why?”

Everyone started to huddle around us. Many started to yell “fight, fight, fight.” If only they knew.

“I killed him because he was taking my position. I may look like a dinosaur but I have the same amount of abs! I worked hard! I kept up morale. All I needed was a stupid hook! But they had to replace me with a shark of all things!”

Silence filled the room and security broke up the mob. I knew something was fishy the entire time.

The End

To read Part 1, click here!

Born in Kenya, Achieng lost both her parents at the age of 7 and was separated from her older brother and sister as she bounced between several relatives’ homes. Circumstances certainly seemed bleak, but Achieng went on to attend boarding school and became the institution’s top student.

Through Lakeland College and the Zawadi Africa Organization, Achieng was given the opportunity to study abroad and become the promising accounting and international business major that she is today.

Unfortunately, the initial transition was more difficult than she anticipated.

“I feel like people go through a lot in life and often times they don’t let others see what they are going through, but I think it’s important to know that they are not alone,” Achieng said of the decision to share her story.

It is clear to see that talking about her trials and triumphs is extremely hard for the Lakeland senior. She is able to smile through the tears and retain composure with the knowledge that her courage might inspire others in similar circumstances.

“When I got accepted to come here, I thought all my major life challenges were over just to realize that coming not only opened the door to opportunity but also new challenges—those that I wasn’t mentally prepared to handle,” Achieng said.

According to Achieng, the Zawadi Africa Organization was a blessing in that it helped her adapt to the basic trials of culture shock and minority status, but nothing could prepare her for the verbal bullying and manipulation she faced as an underclassman.

“When you meet some people, they seem like the sweetest people on earth and just perfect,” Achieng said, “but sometimes the first person you put that much trust in is the first to turn around and say things about you. For me, that was my first time experiencing something like that.”

Coming from a small, close knit village, Achieng had an even harder time learning to cope with betrayal and bullying than perhaps American students who are more familiar with such unfortunate social situations.

Achieng also felt completely isolated—her sister, Juliet Atieno, whom she considers her cornerstone, is attending university in Kenya. Achieng truly desired to go home at times or to at least share her struggle in America with those back at her village, but she did not want to worry anyone or let them down as many children back home were inspired by her studying abroad.

Fortunately, Achieng began to adapt to the social issues that surround college life. She learned to be more discerning in who she shared personal information with. She also learned to withstand the words of others and not to fight back, “If you let it consume you then they have won,” Achieng said.

Often this strategy confused the offenders so much that they ceased their efforts.

Achieng also recalled the advice of her late father, “He said you don’t repay evil for evil; you know you are [the bigger person] and everything will fall into place eventually. If someone tells a lie about you, the truth will always come out.”

Achieng eventually found friendship in a fellow student named Hyacinthe Botty-Irie. She could confide in him and encourages all those who are the victims of bullying to look for someone they can trust.

“If there is any definition of true friendship, he is a true friend. When I’m with him and when I’m not present, he is someone I can count on to [respect me],” Achieng said. “I could share [my struggles] with him and he helped me move on. He was a Godsend.”

Achieng made even more friends by joining student organizations like Global Student Association and also found support in various Lakeland faculty members. Of course, her sister back home has always been her angel and the most supportive person in her life.

Achieng shares that Lakeland College and the Zawadi Africa Organization were always there for her and she is eternally grateful for the opportunities they provided her with.

“I had dreams when I was growing up, but my dreams were never this big, such as coming to study in America,” Achieng said. “This was only realizable because of the full scholarship that I received at Lakeland and the support of the Zawadi Africa Family.”

Achieng hopes to remain in the United States to obtain her master’s. She desires to then go back to Kenya in order to begin an orphanage with her sister and further their efforts to give the children in their village the same opportunities they have known.

Achieng strives to help others, whether it is through financial donations to children in Kenya or sharing her story to inspire victims of bullying. She realizes that she has experienced many trials and triumphs in her life, but she would not have it any other way and firmly believes everything worked out for the best.

“Always, always trust in God,” Achieng advises anyone whose life has not always gone as planned. “We may think we have our plans set up, but He has His own plans, and often times they are better!”

The hosts of the evening were Alex Dudek from Japan and James Trazile from Haiti. They introduced the acts, but it was hard to understand them at times because of the sound system. They did try to keep the crowd entertained during the slow transitions and technical difficulties, but it seemed they were unsure how to do so at times.

The night started with a short performance by the Greek life groups on campus. They performed a dance to the Harlem Shake. Some of the people were wearing masks.

CJ Chen then sang a song in Chinese.

Latin America was the next stop on the trip around the world with a mix of dances. There was also a storyline developing during the performances. The story was about passion, infidelity, power, and comedy.

Traditional and modern African dances were performed next. A group of women performed a step dance first and then the men and one woman went after them with a traditonal Ghana dance called Azonto. They were accompanied by African music.

Rick Dodgson went next to represent the United Kingdom by singing a few songs. Before the performance, he put on an “English” outfit, which consisted of the British flag, a hat, and a shirt from England. He also included the audience in his performance by having them sing along and whistle.

The traditional clothing show was next with clothes from China, Africa, Peru, Japan, Thailand, and Romania being showcased. Each woman showed off a colorful dress from her country. The dresses also included the traditional accessories that one would see in that specific country, which included head pieces, shoes, and jewelry. There were also a few men showcasing traditional African clothing.

James Trazile and Camilo Potillo-Yanez performed the song “Me Gustas Tu”, or “I like you.” Trazile played the piano and Potillo-Yanez played the guitar while performing the song in Spanish.

Next, Behnaz Bolhassani showed off her belly dancing skills. Her costume consisted of a green two-piece that was covered in bling and was paired with black leggings. She danced to music from the Middle East.

South Korea also had a performance in the show. David Cho performed the song “Peppermint” with musical accompaniment.

A school favorite also returned for the third year in a row. Japan showed off the fisherman’s dance after a three-minute video that showcased traditional and modern Japan. They were wearing Japanese outfits and were very in sync with each other.

The African Dancers came back onstage for another performance. This dance was called Lingala and was performed by the men and women who were dressed in the same outfit. The outfits consisted of black pants and white shirts with colorful sashes. The sashes were worn around the men’s waists and were wrapped around the women’s torsos.

China ended the night with two dances. The first was Tai Chi and featured a visiting professor from China. The Tai Chi dance was relaxing and soothing. A demonstration of Kung Fu concluded the night with 14 people performing in it. This was done to upbeat music.

From America to China, International Night was indeed a trip around the world for the students, faculty, staff, and public who watched.

We ordered a nice little number for our appetizer: a barbeque chicken wrap. Unfortunately, the presentation was simply awful. The wrap arrived, lukewarm, in a wrinkled paper wrapper, which happened to be the only thing holding together this mess of a tortilla snack.It was entirely unappetizing to look at, and the wilted lettuce was not helping.

For one entreé, we ordered a bacon cheeseburger. Well, what did we expect? A sloppy little sandwich with some crispy bacon thrown in. And that is exactly what we received. It was alright, but when one goes out to eat at a restaurant, one expects something more of that meal—the “it” factor. This burger did not have the “it” factor. It is fine for the simple diner for a simple meal, but it’s hardly worth the drive out there.

Opting for a more healthy option next, we ordered ourselves a turkey burger, which we discovered is a pairing of words that was never meant to be. Not only was the turkey dry, but it tasted neither like turkey nor like burger. It left me feeling quite hungry after eating the whole thing in just a couple of minutes. But that’s what you get for being healthy, isn’t it?

So our next move was to add on sides of curly fries and onion rings. Now, curly fries are hard to mess up. You season them with that magical curly fry seasoning, and there’s not much that can go wrong. They were salty and perfectly fried. But even if they were a bit on the crunchy side, we wouldn’t have minded because curly fries are simply flawless.

But onion rings, as we’ve mentioned in the past, can have their faults. In this case, the fault of the onion rings was an overwhelming crunch. The coating was overly-thick and over-cooked. Do you like biting into slices of PVC pipe? Yes? Then you would have loved these onion rings.

For dessert, we ordered two—very cheap—apple turnovers. They had a crispy, flakey outside with warm and gooey center. The cinnamon did not overpower the apple. But the apples were still rather tart. However, the place you could taste the cheapness was when you realized just how little filling your tongue was actually finding inside that little bread-like pocket.

The shake was smooth. It had a nice balance of chocolate and creamy ice cream. It was like a beautiful, chocolatey iceberg upon which adorable little penguins might have huddled, had they been small enough.

Though the shake was impressive, we did have to agree with the evaluation that Hardee’s gave itself: one big star painted on the outside of the big, beige building.

STARS: 1 out of 5, as their logo suggests.

ATMOSPHERE: A separate room was available for parties, possibly an ex-playland. The main seating area was average in quality and too high in quantity to make the small space comfortable.

SERVICE: Patient and efficient, though in a machine-like way.

DRINKS: We recommend the hand-scooped chocolate milkshake.

PRICES: Not too bad until you factor in food quality.

The art will be on display until May 22. While you’re there, take some time to see some of the award-winning pieces.

Guests at the exhibition were encouraged to vote on the piece that would win the People’s Choice Award. The crowd chose Hiroe Terasawa’s colored pencil drawing of Johnny Depp for the award. Terasawa created the incredibly detailed portrait in an illustration class and received an honorable mention for the same piece. She received a second honorable mention for her colorful still life painting featuring a flower and three oranges.

The first place Best of Show award, chosen by the art department faculty, went to Zhiheng Gu for what Bill Weidner, associate professor of art, calls “Triple Self Portrait with Earbuds.” The painting shows three images of Gu in a fanciful landscape including oversized earbuds. Gu says that sometimes when he is painting he loses focus, and he credits music with helping him to regain that focus.

The art faculty awarded second place to Tyler Holman for his pastel drawing of a dog on a bed. Holman’s work often exhibits fresh perspectives on commonplace objects, as further evidenced by his honorable mention for a print featuring the image of a shutter.

Third place was given to Timothy Wiverstad for his quirky seven panel digital art, which he has titled “Beautiful Gentleman.” Wiverstad says he enjoys working with bright colors and dripping paint, which is how the digital art appears. Wiverstad also received an honorable mention for his printed self portrait with Britney Spears.

Other honorable mentions went to Katie LaPlaunt for her self portrait drawing, Yuko Mamiya for her printed “Self Portrait with Wings,” and Jake Belknap for his “Self Portrait with Grenade.”

Weidner; Denise Presnell-Weidner, associate professor of art; and Mark Weber, adjunct instructor of art, selected over 400 pieces for the show from their students’ best work. The work on display represents students with a variety of majors and minors.

In a statement introducing the exhibition, Belknap said that “the viewer’s reaction is arguably the most rewarding part of creating art.”

The students seemed excited to show their peers what they had been working on all school year, which Belknap said was “driven by passion, hard work, and the support of fellow artists.”

“I am humbled by the fact that students think that I do a good job as well as my colleagues. I just try to do my best and so I didn’t expect to ever win any award,” said Frink.

Dr. Elizabeth Stroot, division chair of social sciences and associate professor of psychology, presented the award to Frink.

In introducing Frink as the winner, Stroot said, “He is a master not only of the subject matter, but a master at articulating the complexities of the discipline in clear and simple language.”

Surprised to hear his name spoken at the end of Stroot’s speech, Frink explained, “When Dr. Stroot was speaking, you sit there and you go, ‘Oh, I wish I did that,’ or, ‘Man! I should be taking notes, so I can be doing that in my classes.’ And that’s not just this time, it’s every time you hear that [introductory speech].”

Frink says, “I don’t think we [faculty] really realize what we are doing. You are just doing it because it is the right thing to be doing. It’s what the student needs at the time. You don’t think about how it is seen by your peers, by the student, or by anybody else. You’re just doing it.”

According to Stroot, Frink teaches outside the classroom more frequently than he teaches inside the classroom. Nearly every day, Frink interacts with his students in his office or in the lounge located on the second floor of Chase where he pushes students to think outside the box.

Lindsay Biter, English and biology major, said, “I think he is an outstanding teacher who devotes way too much of his time to helping students.”

Frink’s students describe him as being relatable, prepared, intelligent, straightforward, and giving.

“There are very few professors I know who are willing to give as much time and effort for as little reward [as he gets],” said Biter in explaining why Frink deserved the Underkofler Award.

However, Frink is not of the same opinion as Biter.

“I truly don’t think the award is a faculty award. Students deserve the award. Without hard-working students, I would just be standing up there [in front of class] making lots of noise,” said Frink.

The plaque, however, is not what moved Frink the most.

“What really touched me is they also gave me the letters that the students had written. That was way more valuable as an award than the plaque ever will be,” said Frink.

For this reason, Frink is hesitant to ever place the plaque up in his office. Rather than draw attention to his hard-earned diploma of six years’ labor, Frink proudly shows off his CORE classes’ art projects.

Frink even compares teaching to parenting. “You give an 18 year old the means to be a functional member of society, give them those skills and you let them go. They are our children. I often refer to students as kids for that exact reason, not because they are young, and not because I don’t think they are adults.”

This is the reason why Frink often stresses to his students, “I am not here to teach you but to help you learn.” To Frink, “Successful teaching means that the student has learned.”

Frink is also known by his students and co-workers for having a wonderful sense of humor and an upbeat personality. Stroot says that Frink smiles and laughs often and is frequently in a good mood.

Although Frink may have a good sense of humor, it is his dedication to helping students learn that not only nominated him but awarded him with the Underkofler Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Deborah Mahaffey, senior vice president for educational services for the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, described this award as being designated to those who reflect the college’s “mission, purpose, and commitment to provide the very best in undergraduate education,” as well as demonstrate excellence as a habit.

Mahaffey said, “It’s not one single heroic activity, but rather a high standard of performance that’s demonstrated day in and day out.”

After all, Stroot said, “Teaching is Brian’s normal state of being. It’s what he does. It’s who he is.”