The Forster, Issue 3
Covid on Campus
By Katie Fagan
Covid has changed our lives on campus for what seems like an eternity. Masks have become the new normal, ACPs have ceased, and face-to-face human interaction has been restricted. The world of Lake Forest College had shifted from what it used to be, and our circumstances have made a shift as well.
As of March 21st, 2022, the mask protocols have changed from being required everywhere to being required in only a select few locations. Student events such as Trivia night have begun again, and campus life has normalcy that hasn’t been felt in almost 3 years.
The Covid dashboard on the school’s website shows that there are only 2 student cases and 1 employee case. After interviewing a few students on campus, it is safe to say that everyone is grateful for the low numbers, but some believe it may not be an accurate depiction of campus health. A health and wellness student worker explained that there aren’t many people coming to get tested unless they are involved in a sport. Luckily, there are students still willing to take precautions in case there is an outbreak on campus.
If you were unaware of the Covid dashboard on the school website, here is the link: https://www.lakeforest.edu/about-us/administration/covid-19-information/covid-19-dashboard.
It has weekly updated information about Covid-Cases and protocols on campus.
Before the semester ends, be sure to attend events hosted by SPB and enjoy the gift of human connection again.
Moodle’s Look Into Our Lives
By Lia Fiffles
Moodle: what is it? For the average student the name may sound quite familiar, but for others it may just sound like an unusual word. Moodle is a free learning platform that provides students and teachers with a single system to help navigate, turning in assignments, integrating links and files, sending out communications and more.
Once a user is signed up for a class, Moodle puts you into a group that is ran by the instructor of that course. Through the system, you are able to see who is in your class, their email, class schedule, and the exact time they were last active on Moodle. A bit invasive, right?
Allowing students access to see other students’ schedules, schedules that include the exact time and place they will be, creates a risk of their information getting into the wrong hands.
Moodle is being used by students of a variety of ages. From elementary school students to college students, all of whom who now have access to their classmates’ schedules and activity.
Is this considered an invasion of privacy? Or is it merely additional information classmates should know about one another…
Question of the Week
By Mark Rice
This week for the Question of the Week we asked Lake Forest College students was what their screen times were.
Student 1: 9 hours
Student 2: 4 hours 55 mins
Student 3: 6 hours 30 mins
Student 4: 7 hours 13 mins
Student 5: 5 hours 38 mins
Student 6: 7 hours
Student 7: 4 hours 50
Weekly Song Recommendations
By Delphina Jorgensen
Indie
“i saw you in a dream” by The Japanese House - link to song on youtube:
A song that flows naturally and has really chill vibes. Fun fact, there are actually two versions of this song and the one that is recommended is the newer one. The older version is a bit more raw and upbeat.
Throwback
“Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry - link to song on youtube:
Another feel good song to listen to when you wake up and are looking to start your day on a positive note. I remember when I was in elementary school, my dad would drive me to school and play this on the radio. Good and nostalgic memories.
Alternative
“Rubber Ring” by The Smiths - link to song on youtube:
There is something about this song that makes it an ear worm, which may not get out of your head until you listen to it multiple times. Then, the way it ends with a lady saying, “you are sleeping” gives the song another layer of confusion but still leaves the listener satisfied.
3 Spots Near Lake Forest to Should Visit Before You Graduate
By Basia Urban
Michael Jordan’s Iconic Mansion
Just a short drive from LFC, a visit to MJ’s famous gates is a sort of rite of passage for students and Chicagoans alike. Every student has visited or driven by them at least once in their time on campus, stopping to take pictures or see how close they can get to the quiet property. While it’s rare, the gates are opened from time to time, giving visitors the chance to drive up close to see the famous mansion hidden beyond the thick greenery.
Forest Park Beach
In the past, LFC student orientation used to end with a bang: a beach party at the town’s Forest Park Beach. Because of COVID, though, many current Freshmen and Sophomores missed out on this exciting tradition. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t make it up: Forest Park Beach is just a fifteen-minute walk from campus and offers free entry with a college ID. When the weather’s right, students can enjoy barbecues, swimming, bonfires, and more right in their own backyard.
The Schweppe Mansion
Hidden along the edge of Lake Michigan, the Schweppe Mansion is Lake Forest’s very own real-life haunted house. This eerie old home has been on the market for almost fifteen years, left unsellable by the many local ghost stories surrounding it. While it’s technically only accessible by a private driveway, those who dare to drive up close to it at night have reported seeing things moving in windows and hearing voices from the supposedly abandoned old building.
Image courtesy of Jane E. Wood.
The Asymptotical World Tour Review
By Jane E. Wood
Yves Tumor is an experimental artist from Miami, Florida. They define themselves as a “genderless artist producing genre-less music.” I had a chance to see Yves live Wednesday night, and the experience was interesting to say the least.
The show was at the Metro, and artists Izzy Spears and Doss opened. Spears was first- his music seemed to perplex the crowd a bit, but people still danced and enjoyed the show. Next was Doss. Her electronic music kept the crowd and myself entertained, but by a certain point I was ready for Yves to come on.
After Doss’ set, I was anxious for Yves to come on stage. What followed was instead a pre-Yves purgatory. Fog machines clouded the venue and blue lights illuminated just enough to see. To make matters worse, the fog and lights were paired with loud, ambient music.
If Yves intended for this experience to create anticipation, it only kind of worked. The people around me and I all felt a sense of anxiety from the environment, and you could feel a palpable nervous tension in the room.
After around fifteen minutes of this, the music changed slightly and eventually became the opening song, “Jackie.” Yves was an amazing performer and was impressive to see live. But the crowd, maybe due to the purgatory experience, was extremely aggressive and riled up. This could be due to the fact I was situated in the front and center of the audience, but the experience was unpleasant, nonetheless.
After hearing “Jackie” and a few other songs, my friend and I decided to watch a bit from the balcony instead.
Yves Tumor provided a memorable concert experience. But was the treatment of the audience the best idea? Maybe not.
Free Metra and Art Institute Tickets
By Isa Hinojosa
The Art Institute of Chicago, via terraamericanart.org
Attention all Foresters balling on a budget!! If you speedily click through all emails that are from the school, I have some exciting information for you that you may have missed. In an email sent out on March 28 by Jennifer Larson, Lake Forest announced that it will be reimbursing students for Metra tickets and general admissions tickets to the Art Institute of Chicago for the weekends of April 2nd, 9th, and 16th.
Taking a trip down to Chicago for a day would be the perfect way to welcome in Spring and destress as the semester comes to a close. The Art Institute of Chicago features many unique sections and famous works such as many Monets, Van Goghs, and my favorite; the miniature section in the basement!
In order to receive the benefits of this deal, you must pre-purchase your Art Institute tickets and email the receipt to Kathy Barnett at barnett@lakeforest.edu. Similarly, you must also email your Metra receipt to that address, but it does not need to be purchased ahead of time. The last day you can email your receipts for reimbursement is April 22nd, so make sure you take advantage of this offer while you still can and save $26!
A Student Worker’s Experiences
By Sergio Bardesi-Texocotitla
Jessica Caal, a first-year, international student from Guatemala who previously attended United World College, has worked for Parkhurst since last semester.
From September to December 2021, she worked in Gus and Margie Hart Dining Hall. She transferred to Boomer’s Market in January 2021 and continues to work there.
In the dining hall, she worked as a server, filling up students’ plates from behind the buffet-style sneeze guards. In addition to this, she managed several tasks that kept her and her coworkers consistently busy.
She made small talk with the students and “got to meet a lot of people.” Eventually, she “started hanging out with some people outside of the cafeteria.” She developed more confidence by working there.
In the fall, her pay upset her. There are two managers, one who runs the dining hall and another in charge of Boomer’s Market, the Cyber Cafe, Boomer’s South and Deerpath Cafe.
The dining hall’s manager paid the cafeteria workers $11 an hour, whereas the other manager raised their workers’ wages to $12 an hour in anticipation of Illinois’s 2022 minimum wage increase.
“I didn’t do anything about it,” she said.
As for her experience at Boomer’s Market, “I still have supervisors, but I don’t have to run around,” she said. Since she works alone, she organizes her shift and works at her own pace.
“Overall, my experience has been good!” For her coworkers, she said, “If they’re not students, they’re old people. I have this sensation of belonging, as a family, especially because of our shared culture and language.”
“I don’t regret my decision working at Parkhurst.”
Fun at Wally World at Night
By Domingo Claudio
The handful of times I’ve visited a Superstore Walmart during the day has always proved hectic. Shoppers and workers littered everywhere, the floors full of random items dropped by customers and dirty pieces of cardboard accumulate in the many aisles. The constant noise of carts scraping the floors and conversations from groups of friends and family fill the air.
But none of that seems to happen the times I’ve gone shopping at night.
One night, around 11 p.m., my mother, sister, niece, aunt and I were talking about various things and topics throughout the night until my mother blurted, “Let’s go to Walmart!” she excitingly told us as we sat in the living room. We all instantly thought that it was a great idea and within a few minutes, we all just threw on whatever clothes were in our reach and left for the store.
Finally arriving, we walked to the entrance where my aunt and niece saw those scooters that are mainly supposed to be used by those who need them. But they didn’t care, we didn’t care and the workers didn’t care because the store was practically empty.
Riding around on the carts, my sister, niece and aunt split up to shop in other aisles while my mother and I did the same. We spent around two hours walking through the desolate Walmart having the time of our lives grabbing many items that we probably would never need but it was on sale. After checking out, we all went back home and talked more about our “adventure.”
If you are ever bored and do not know what to do with some friends, here's a tip: go to Walmart at night!
The Adam Project Movie Review
By Jessica Wolf
The Adam Project is a Netflix film that was released fairly recently on March 11th. It tells the story of Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds) who is a time-traveling fighter pilot in the dystopian year 2050. Adam was originally hoping to find his wife, Laura (Zoe Saldaña), who may or may not have died in a car accident on her mission to travel to the year 2018. Instead, Adam accidentally crashes his ship and ends up in the year 2022, where he meets his 12-year old self (Walker Scobell).
Together, the two Adams fix the ship and are saved from Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener), who is the leader of the dystopian world and is trying to take the adult Adam back to the year 2050. The pair are eventually rescued by Laura, who tells them that Sorian went back in time in order to possess the ability to control the future of the planet, as well as time travel. Laura and the two Adams then embark on a journey to stop the evil Sorian and save the world.
Overall, the film is an action-packed sci-fi adventure with the perfect balance of serious scenes and ones filled with comic relief (which Ryan Reynolds is well-known for). The cast puts on an entertaining performance that is an enjoyable watch for all ages.
