Culture Arts & Lifestyle

Halle and Hadley Rittgers share what it’s like to be twins Interview and photo by Laura Osterlund Who is older? Halle: I am older by two minutes. How are the two of you similar? Hadley: We both did all the same sports growing up, and we both are passionate about art and science. Hadley: We have similar friends, but we also have different friends. Halle: I would like to say though, with all of this, I feel like we’re kind of equally similar and equally different. I feel like sometimes we’re so much alike, and we are identical and stuff, but we still definitely have our differences, and I think that balances us out a little. Hadley: College has let us find our individuality. Halle: I also think we’re similar just with certain things we like and similar styles, but not exactly the same. Like we still have our own… Keep Reading

Chief Diversity Officer Ruben Rivera discusses exclusive Christianity and tackles what it means to be a reconciler amidst diversity in Bethel University’s community. By Emma Harville Junior Hilda Davis knows what it’s like to be the only one. Pulling up to Edgren Hall at Bethel University her freshman year, she knew that it would be different from Champlin Park, the diverse high school she spent her last four years at. What she didn’t anticipate was the lack of connection she would feel with the rest of the student body because of that difference. Davis was shocked during Welcome Week as white students flooded the campus, but she couldn’t seem to find many students who looked like her. She sat in several general education courses in which she was the only student of color. When she greeted a group of girls on her floor, she was met with little response. Discouraged,… Keep Reading

Ring by spring culture is reminiscent of the 1950s. By Josh Towner Graduation in May. Wedding next February. Then, life. This is the timeline for seniors Tim Rockford and Marisa Griner. The couple met while working for Student Ministries. “I had to talk to like five people to see if it [dating] was okay,” Rockford said, since he was the Director of Student Ministries.   They got engaged after dating for one year and three months. Rockford, 21, and Griner, 22, are getting married much earlier than the average age of marriage in the United States: 28.8. From the outside looking in, the two are taking a huge leap. But from Bethel’s perspective, getting married young is nothing new, as Bethel currently has its highest-ever number of married students enrolled. Nationally, 5.7 percent of women and 4.6 percent of men are married by the time they’re 22 years old, according… Keep Reading

Bethel University freshman uses a rare diagnosis as motivation to become a nurse. By Kate Holstein Anna Bruno managed to push off going to the doctor for one more day. She was busy. Tennis, soccer, track, violin and schoolwork all snuck up to the top of her priority list. What was one more day? A day off from school finally presented Bruno the opportunity to see a doctor. Her mom called to see if her daughter could get in for an appointment they thought would be routine. Sure she was thin, but nothing out of the ordinary. They knew her lack of appetite was concerning, but she had practice — she had school. That appointment would throw Bruno and her family into a frenzy of searching for answers. “After [the appointment] it was a night and day difference,” Bruno said. “All of a sudden I was in the hospital and… Keep Reading