The Forester, Issue 1
Welcome to The Forester’s first issue! We’re a weekly newsletter for students at Lake Forest College, with new issues coming out every Friday.
Conversation Starters
By Isa Hinojosa
When you’re with your friends and it seems like all normal conversation has been exhausted, get to know them a bit more by asking some of these questions. Whether you’re waiting for the next Metra, sitting on the floor with your roommate before bed, or on a long bus ride to a game with your teammates, use these questions for more in-depth conversations.
What gets you motivated to do your work?
Which fictional character do you feel represents your personality?
If someone wrote a movie about your life, what would you want the theme song to be?
Which member of your family are you closest to and why?
What was the happiest day of your life?
On-campus Event - The Vagina Monologues
By Merle Klemm
There are some issues in the world that we’re all aware of, but don’t feel comfortable addressing. Some of these problems include sexism and violence against women. These are not subjects we want to have to keep addressing each semester on our campus.
And yet, when students paint a wall with vaginas on one of the buildings to raise awareness about these issues, the college administration proceeds to wipe all of the paint off, as these images and words are “too explicit”. These are the very same people who walk by numerous drawings of male genitalia on different surfaces at school, seeming as if they may not even be able to see them anymore. Ironic, is it not?
The Vagina Monologues is an event in which students are sharing experiences they have had as we continue to live in a world that holds onto certain sexist beliefs. A world in which women’s bodies are still too taboo to be talked about openly and where it seems like depictions of women’s bodies are wiped off of walls because the sight of them makes people feel uncomfortable.
Does that upset you? Make you laugh? Irritate you? Confuse you? Come to the Vagina Monologues to find some answers and lots of additional questions.
When: Friday and Saturday, 7:30 pm
Where: Hixon Hall, South Campus (the building behind Moore Hall)
Forester Sports Recap (March 11 -18 )
By Mark Rice
As the spring season kicks off here at Lake Forest College, here is a recap of the latest sporting events.
Tennis dropped their match to Morningside University, 6-1.
Women’s lacrosse fell to Madonna University, 12-8.
Softball split its doubleheader on March 11 with a win over Lakeland University, 5-4, and a loss to Messiah University, 4-2. The Foresters dropped both games to Illinois Wesleyan, 9-6 and 6-2, respectively, and split their doubleheader with Washington University (Mo.) with a 3-1 win and a 7-1 loss.
Looking ahead, men’s lacrosse has a game at Calvin University at 12 p.m. on Saturday March 19, and tennis will take on Judson University at 5:30 pm Saturday at Lake Forest.
The Batman Movie Review
By Emma Ramirez
The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, is a thrilling, Gothic, mystery that sees Batman more than living up to his title of “World’s Greatest Detective,” while backed by music like Nirvana and “Ave Maria.”
It’s only Bruce Wayne’s (Pattinson) second year as a vigilante, which sets the tone for the rest of the movie, as he’s still grappling with grief and realizing what kind of effect he’s having on Gotham; this is all while facing his first major villain: The Riddler (Paul Dano).
While both action and fist-fighting are sprinkled throughout the movie, there are plenty of tense scenes that will keep you engaged for the movie’s three-hour run time, albeit, you might start to fidget in your seat a little once you’ve crossed the two hours and thirty-minute threshold.
The cinematography is beautiful with only a few hiccups, and you might even recognize some of the locations Batman is cruising through if you’ve ever visited Chicago or England. The Batman is the perfect movie to see in theaters, whether you’re a long-time fan of the hero or just looking for something beautiful, intense, and dark to watch.
Demons Dwell in the Treetops
By Sergio Bardesi-Texocotitla
Back in his first year, Lake Forest College student W.S. was settling into a routine of classes, exercising, and studying.
One day, he noticed a startling presence: a black squirrel. He had never seen such an “unnatural squirrel” back home, but he continued with his day.
Later that week, he went to the recreation center and saw the squirrel.
“Startling,” he said.
Then, in the same week, whilst headed to his dorm, he noticed the black squirrel standing outside … seemingly waiting for him. Dread grew inside of him. He called it, “a demon.”
The following week, while on a walk with a friend from Wisconsin, he pointed out the squirrel to his friend, noting its unnatural qualities.
“Dude, that’s just a species of squirrels,” his friend said.
He ended his story: “I felt dumb, but I still think they’re unnatural.”
Weekly Music Recommendations
By Jane Wood
LOCAL
“Whimsy” by Corn on My Dinner Plate
INDIE/ALTERNATIVE
“Sweet Tooth” by Mom Jeans.
POP
“Baby” by Charli XCX
LFC’s V-Day Mural Controversy
By Katie Fagan
Vagina. Does that word make you uncomfortable?
That was the question on campus when an activism mishap took place in Lake Forest College’s Mohr Student Center on March 17.
V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls with an objective to help people become more comfortable with the sight of vaginas and the conversations surrounding them.
The Lake Forest College Health and Wellness center brought the movement to campus and had an informational table set up in the Student Center. A student also painted a mural of diversified vaginas with the words “Pussy Power” around them in celebration.
However, the administration removed the mural that same day because the vaginas drawn were deemed too inappropriate for campus. Students are upset with the administration's claim as the purpose of the movement is exposure and celebration of vaginas to create an environment that is comfortable talking about women’s bodies and the unfortunate violence that comes along with them.
A student that witnessed the interaction asked, “How is it okay for a man to tell a woman that vaginas are too inappropriate?”
Clairo Live at the Riviera Theater
By Delfina Jorgensen
As concerts come back in 2022, one of the many in Chicago this week was that of artist Claire Cotrill, better known as Clairo.
When arriving at the Riviera Theater, the line to get in was long but shrunk quickly once the doors opened. Soon enough I was there, inching my way to the edge of the stage. Of course, that didn’t work, but I still secured my spot about six people away from the front of the venue.
The lights dimmed at 7 p.m., and the crowd began to cheer for opener Arlo Parks as her soothing voice set the audience’s mood for Clairo.
At 8:15 p.m., sunlight lamps turned on and the rest of the stage went black. With one spotlight on Clairo, the audience screamed as she opened with “Bambi,” a song from her sophomore album “Sling.”
She finished the show with two of her most popular songs: “Pretty Girl” and “Sofia.”
By the end, one of the audience members, Miles Wells, mentioned that the only critique he had was that the audience wasn’t dancing. As for myself, after seeing her live, I rescheduled my plans for the next day so that I could do it again.