Professor suffers brain aneurism; Forte listed in critical condtion

In the wake of numerous other faculty misfortunes this fall, Hamline was struck again with tragedy. While attending a conference at Hamline’s School of Law, Professor Tania Forte complained of a headache only minutes before collapsing to the ground. Paramedics were called immediately and Forte was rushed to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. She was diagnosed with a brain aneurism and was operated on immediately.

At of press time, Forte remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the hospital.
A new addition to Hamline’s faculty this autumn, Forte transferred here from Macalester College. Forte was currently teaching two special topics courses at Hamline: Consumption and Shopping in Global Perspective for the Global Studies program and Global Feminisms in the Womens Studies department.
Forte received her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago before moving abroad to teach at the Ben Gurion Institution in Israel. She has family and friends around the world from France to Israel to Egypt.

Local advocates reach out to victims of sexual assault

In the U.S., someone, somewhere, is sexually assaulted every two and a half minutes.

Sound like a staggering statistic?

Consider this: In 2003, only 40 percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported. In other words,
sexual assault is happening with far more frequency than the statistics reflect.

Incidents of sexual assault often go unreported because victims fear they will face public scrutiny, be labeled as liars, or be told the incident ‘was their fault’.
But incidents of rape and sexual assault are never the victim’s fault.

This countless number of American sexual assault victims are in dire need of mental, physical, and emotional support. Sexual Offense Services (S.O.S) in St. Paul was created to provide just that.
Emily Huenann, Cathy Siegel and Der Her are the three full-time advocates who work with victims of sexual assault in Ramsey County.

Editorial: Returning from conference, a report

Every year, the Oracle travels to a national media convention, run partially by the Associated Collegiate Press, of which we are a member. Our participation in the conference was paid for by the university’s media fee, which is levied by the Student Media Board.

In return for this fee, we feel obliged to relay to you the events of the conference funds.

You, the reader, will begin to see immediate changes in the Oracle. We generated dozens of story ideas from the conference, some of which may appear on these pages.

This also affects the Sports section, edited by Trevor Maine. The section has been moved to include the back page. This allows for more prominent photographs and a better use of color.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: not your father’s detective story

A few weeks ago I scored some free tickets to a movie I had never heard of and come Tuesday night, I set my sights on a movie called Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Having no idea what to expect, clueless of the plot and the actors starring, I came armed to hate the movie. The kevlar vest of apprehension I wore, however, did not last as I left with an aching face and sore stomach because I had been laughing so hard for almost the entire film.

The whole movie, narrated wonderfully by Robert Downey Jr.’s character Harry, also unleashed a barrage of sharp wit.

Beyond the narrative, the cast ensemble was also great and served as more than nobodys who were made for pistol whipping. Harry’s sidekicks, Gay Jerry (Val Kilmer), a local private investigator, and Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), a struggling actress, made a perfect addition to Harry’s quirky style.

Cross country men take MIAC title; women place seventh

The mens cross country team, ranked 13th in the Division III coaches poll, claimed the MIAC title, with five runners in the top 10 of the race, seven in the top 18.

They swept away all other competition as the team that came in second, Carleton, was 27 places back.
The mens cross country team had not won a conference championship since 1977, when current head coach Paul Schmaedeke was a member of the team. The last conference championship title won by any Hamline team was in 1988 by the football team.

Pipers in the top 18 for the men were: senior Jeff Metzdorrf (2, 25:57.95), junior Travis Bristow (4, 26:09.90), sophomore Brandon Gleason (7, 26:21.60), junior Tony Klappa (9, 26:28.20), sophomore Dan Steinbrecher (10, 26:30.55), junior Chris Lutz (26:43.10), and junior Chris Yotter (26:55.85). Sam Hauck from St. Olaf came in first with a time of 25:50.30.

Found in the Crowd: Susie Bou, First-year

“Everyone has a story,” or so the saying goes. Some people share it with their family, others at their weekly counseling session, or maybe even at an Anonymous meeting. Here at the Oracle, we try to provide people with a forum to express themselves too. The Found in the Crowd piece allows someone to emerge from the busy crowds at Hamline and assert themselves in a public sphere.

With this in mind, when its time to write the story, I wander around campus looking for someone who looks interesting. Yet, I’ve found that this a flawed approach. The best stories have come from the people who have ‘found’ me.