Photojournalist Whitney Abrahamson searched high and low amongst the St. Thomas student body for hair styles that stand out. She found seven unique styles from blue streaks to twisted hair.

Photojournalist Morgan Neu asked St. Thomas seniors what they wanted to do before graduation. From running through the fountain to reflective walks around campus, seniors expressed themselves through their bucket lists.

On May 3, 2013 at 12:50 a.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity near the Como Park area in St. Paul. A St. Thomas student, initially reported as missing off campus, later came to the Public Safety office and reported she was safe.

On May 3, 2013 at 1:43 a.m., Public Safety responded to a liquor law violation at the Arches. An underage intoxicated non-St. Thomas affiliated individual was sent off campus with a sober caregiver.

On May 3, 2013 at 3:41 a.m., Public Safety documented damage to property in Morrison Hall R3 Garage. A St. Thomas vehicle struck a small post while exiting the garage, causing minor damage to the vehicle.

On May 3, 2013 at 8:54 a.m., Public Safety documented a suicide at off campus location in Eden Prairie. The Eden Prairie Police Department reported a former St. Thomas student committed suicide.  

On May 3, 2013 at 10:35 a.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity at Augsburg College. The Augsburg Dean of Students Office reported a St. Thomas student hosted an unauthorized meeting recruiting students for a business opportunity.

On May 3, 2013 at 2:12 p.m., Public Safety responded to a medical in Cretin Residence Hall. A St. Thomas student who was not feeling well was escorted by an officer to Student Health Services.

On May 3, 2013 at 6 p.m., Public Safety documented a medical in Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. A St. Thomas student reported he was struck in the face and injured a tooth while performing in a student event that was held in AARC on a previous date.

On May 3, 2013 at 11:10 p.m., Public Safety documented a theft in Anderson Student Center. A St. Thomas vendor’s megaphone was stolen during a St. Thomas sponsored student event in ASC.

On May 4, 2013 at 1:42 p.m., Public Safety responded to intoxicated persons outside of Morrison Hall. Two intoxicated St. Thomas students of legal drinking age were sent off campus with a sober caregiver.

On May 4, 2013 at 1:30 a.m., Public Safety documented damage to property in Morrison Hall. The glass pane of one of the interior first floor elevator lobby doors had been struck and was shattered.

On May 4, 2013 at 1:08 p.m., Public Safety and the Saint Paul Police Department responded to a neighborhood complaint at the intersection of Dayton Avenue and Finn Street. The driver of a party bus was advised not to make drop offs in residential streets.

On May 4, 2013 at 5:30 p.m., Public Safety documented a theft on the 2000 block of Grand Avenue. A St. Thomas student reported her secured bicycle was stolen from a fence outside of residence on the block.

On May 4, 2013 at 6:59 p.m., Public Safety reported damage to property on the 2100 block of Summit Avenue. The rear passenger window of a vehicle parked near the St. Thomas shuttle stop was found smashed.

Between May 4 and 5, Public Safety documented criminal sexual conduct on the 2100 block of Dayton Avenue. A St. Thomas student reported they were sexually assaulted at a residence on the block.

On May 5, 2013 at 1:40 a.m., Public Safety and Residence Life responded to an odor of marijuana in Ireland Residence Hall. An underage student and an underage guest consumed alcohol, and another guest consumed alcohol and possessed marijuana and paraphernalia.

On May 7, 2013 at 6:37 a.m., Public Safety reported suspicious activity in Morrison Hall R2 Garage. A St. Thomas student’s parked vehicle was found to have an inappropriate image traced in dirt on the vehicle.

On May 7, 2013 at 7:45 a.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity in Murray-Herrick Campus Center. Campus Mail Services staff reported a St. Thomas student received a package related to a personal business, possibly in violation of St. Thomas policy.

On May 7, 2013 at 12:55 p.m., Public Safety and the Minneapolis Police Department responded to an intoxicated person outside of Schulze Hall. An intoxicated non-affiliated individual, sleeping near 11th Street and Harmon Place, was escorted from the area by the MPD.

On May 7, 2013 at 3:20 p.m., Public Safety documented harassment in Morrison Hall. A St. Thomas student reported she received several threatening electronic messages from a second student she was formerly in a relationship with.

On May 8, 2013 at 12:06 p.m., Public Safety reported suspicious activity in Murray-Herrick Campus Center. A non-St. Thomas affiliated individual sleeping in the first floor lounge area was identified by officers and trespassed from campus.

On May 8, 2013 at 8 p.m., Public Safety responded to a medical in Koch Commons. A St. Thomas student who cut her foot while participating in a student event on the Upper Quad was assisted by officers and declined further medical attention.

On May 8 , 2013 at 9:20 p.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity in Morrison Hall. A St. Thomas student reported he received multiple phone calls from a St. Thomas number that was later determined to likely be calls for donations.

Between May 8 and May 9, Public Safety documented a theft from a vehicle on the 2000 block of Portland Avenue. A St. Thomas student reported the front passenger window of her vehicle was smashed and her wallet was stolen.

On May 9, 2013 at 3:33 p.m., Public Safety assisted a St. Thomas student in Flynn Residence Hall. The student’s bean bag chair, initially reported as stolen, was later recovered from a friend’s residence.

On May 9, 2013 at 4:03 p.m., Public Safety documented a hit and run motor vehicle accident on the 2100 block of Selby Avenue. A St. Thomas guest reported her parked moped was struck and damaged, but still functional.

On May 9, 2013 at 4:26 p.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity in 2085 Grand Avenue. A St. Thomas student reported an unidentified St. Thomas student and parents came to her residence and asked to be allowed in and view the apartment.

On May 9, 2013 at 9:29 p.m., Public Safety assisted a St. Thomas parent with a welfare check in Grace Residence Hall. The parent’s student, who the parent was trying to reach, was later found on campus and was safe.

According to Fox 9, the FOX 9 Top Nine Teachers awarded on April 24 received $900 from Control Credit Union for classroom supplies, a Subway sandwich party for 100 friends, and a crystal apple.

Ehalt continued to teach at Broadway High School in Minneapolis, and earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from St. Thomas in 2005.

Broadway High School teacher Opal Ehalt receives the FOX 9 Teacher of the Year award in Minneapolis. According to her coworker, Ehalt is a positive presence in numerous students' lives. (Courtesy of Opal Ehalt)

After 14 years of working at Broadway High School, Ehalt said she was thrilled to receive this award. Her colleague Teah Johnson recommended her to be Teacher of the Year. In her letter of recommendation, Johnson wrote, “Opal has devoted herself to Broadway and the Minneapolis Public Schools TAPP Program (Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting), making her a cornerstone of the school and a leader in the district.”

“It’s really fun to receive this big award after all these years of working,” Ehalt said. “The students have been really excited for this recognition too because I think they feel like it’s a part of them too, and they work really hard.”

According to the school’s website, Broadway High School is a community school for pregnant and parenting students and their children. Its mission is to be committed to the development of each student.

“When a girl gets pregnant … her life has typically been in chaos,” Ehalt said. “Then all of the sudden, they become so motivated to have a better life, so you’re not only impacting just this girl, but her child as well. You get this double reward.”

Ehalt said her background at St. Thomas gave her the education she needed to excel as a teacher.

“I know that St. Thomas is highly recognized, and I felt that it was going to be a quality education,” Ehalt said. “I had taken some classes at other colleges, which will remain unnamed, but I just didn’t feel like they were challenging and applicable.”

Like Ehalt, senior Brian Parkhurst said he also has had an overall positive experience with the St. Thomas’ education department.

“The greatest thing the education department at St. Thomas does for its students comes outside of classroom learning,” Parkhurst said. “Teacher education students are required to three field experiences during which they spend 30 and sometimes 100 hours in classrooms at local schools.”

While going to school at St. Thomas, Ehalt said her class with professor Chien-Tzu Candace Chou that helped contribute to her successful teaching career.

“The class was really about using technology, being creative and thinking outside the box,” Ehalt said. “I don’t think you really get that from a college a lot, the creative thinking. I think that really impacted me a lot.”

Chou said one of the best things about St. Thomas’ education department is that its instructors care about their students, and compromise their instruction based on their students’ own needs.

“I had her in class years ago, but I remember her fondly,” Chou said. “She was always looking for ways to enrich her classroom and to grow as a student.”

According to Ehalt, it’s all about differentiating curriculum at Broadway High School. The students are very diverse and it’s important to the teachers to be compassionate about what their individual needs are.

“In some of the classes that I took at the University of St. Thomas, we learned about diverse learners, and I learned a lot about dealing with diverse students and where they’re at,” Ehalt said. “I think a reason why I’m successful is because of what I learned. I can understand where my students are coming from.”

Chou remembers Ehalt as an inspiration to her classmates.

“She always had a passion for her students and always cared for others first,” Chou said.

Anne Becken can be reached at beck9626@stthomas.edu.

Preschoolers and toddlers from the Child Development Center prepared a special Mother’s Day surprise for their moms thanks to Greenhouse Manager Audra Otto.

Otto hosted four groups of children Wednesday for a flower planting event in honor of Mother’s Day at the John R. Roach Center Greenhouse.

Otto established the Mother’s Day event that former Greenhouse Manager Steve Trost first began. After Trost’s retirement, the greenhouse staff was unable to put on the event last year. As the new manager, Otto thought the program was a good idea for outreach into the community and should be continued.

“I want the greenhouse to be a point of connection with the surrounding neighborhood community and with students, faculty and children of the neighborhood,” Otto said.

The children were split into groups: “Roadrunners,” “Lightning Bolts,” “Busy Bees” and “Doodlebugs.” Each group planted flowers in six-inch round pots to bring home for Mother’s Day Sunday.

Rows of annual flowers, including various types of violas and marigolds, lined a wall of the greenhouse. At the potting station, student volunteers assisted children filling pots with soil and three to five flowers of their choice.

The preschool-aged children also got a tour of the greenhouse and all its individual rooms. Otto said although the children learn about nature frequently at the CDC, they do not know about many of the exotic plants found in the greenhouse.

Volunteers focused the toddlers on the tactile aspects of gardening such as the feel of the dirt and the smell of the flowers.

Freshman Acadia Stephan helped at the event as one of five student volunteers from the biology and environmental studies programs.

Stephan said she decided to volunteer at the event as a part of the Green Team because the team “likes to get involved and do things around campus.”

Otto said she hopes the children will come away from the experience with a deeper interest in nature.

“I hope it sparks their curiosity and that when they bring their plants home that they talk about plants and what they learned with their parents,” Otto said. “Hopefully they’ll end up planting them in their garden eventually.”

After Wednesday’s success, Otto wants to put on the event annually to keep kids involved and interested in gardening and nature.

Morgan Neu can be reached at neu92582@stthomas.edu.

Looking for a great outdoor patio experience and great food? Photojournalist Whitney Abrahamson found five prime spots all within 20 minutes of St. Thomas.

Whitney Abrahamson can be reached at abra9894@stthomas.edu.

On April 28, 2013 at 1:49 p.m., Public Safety documented a narcotics violation on the 100 Block of 6th Street. The Minneapolis Police Department reported a non-St. Thomas suspect who exposed himself and urinated in public was arrested for narcotics.  

Between April 28 and April 29, 2013, Public Safety documented a theft outside of Alumni and Constituent Relations. A St. Thomas student reported her secured bicycle was stolen from the bike rack on the northwest corner of the Alumni and Constituent Relations building.

On April 29, 2013 at 1:22 p.m., Public Safety documented an aggravated robbery on the 1900 block of Marshall Avenue. The St. Paul Police Department reported unidentified armed suspects robbed at an individual in their residence on the block.

On April 29, 2013 at 2:14 p.m., Public Safety and the Minneapolis Police Department responded to a robbery outside of Terrence Murphy Hall. An unidentified suspect, who pushed a St. Thomas student to the ground and took her phone, fled the area on foot.

On April 29, 2013 at 3:05 p.m., Public Safety responded to a medical outside of Brady Educational Center. A St. Thomas employee who received a head injury as a result of a fall was assisted by officers and taken by a family member to an area hospital.

On April 29, 2013 at 3:59 p.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity in Morrison Hall. The Dean of Students Office reported an offensive social media post about a St. Thomas employee.

On April 29, 2013 at 4:06 p.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity on the St. Paul campus. A non-St. Thomas affiliated individual, who was reported to match a suspect description in a previous bike theft, was identified by officers.

On April 29, 2013 at 8:46 p.m., Public Safety documented a neighbor complaint on the 1800 block of Dayton Avenue. A St. Thomas neighbor reported ongoing concerns regarding the residents of an address on the block.

On April 29, 2013 at 9:05 p.m., Public Safety responded to suspicious activity in O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center. A non-St. Thomas affiliated individual viewing offensive materials on a university computer was identified by officers and trespassed from campus.

Between April 29 and April 30, 2013, Public Safety documented a theft outside of Brady Residence Hall. A St. Thomas student reported his secured bicycle was stolen from the Brady bike rack.

On April 30, 2013 at 2:32 a.m., Public Safety and St. Paul Fire Department Medics responded to a medical in Anderson Student Center. A St. Thomas employee who was feeling ill was assisted by medics and declined further medical attention.

On April 30, 2013 at 12:53 p.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity in Minneapolis School of Law. A non-St. Thomas affiliated individual reported they had a negative interaction with a St. Thomas staff member.

On April 30, 2013 7:37 p.m., Public Safety reported theft of services in Lot G. A vehicle parked in the lot was found to have a counterfeit parking permit.

On April 30, 2013 at 10 p.m., Public Safety reported a policy violation in Flynn Residence Hall. A smoke alarm was determined to have been caused by a St. Thomas student burning a candle in violation of St. Thomas residential policy.

On May 1, 2013 at 10:19 a.m., Public Safety and St. Paul Fire Department Medics responded to a medical in Brady Education Center. A St. Thomas student who experienced a seizure was transported by medics to an area hospital for further medical attention.

On May 1, 2013 at 1:32 p.m., Public Safety documented suspicious activity in Morrison Hall. The Dean of Students Office reported an intoxicated St. Thomas student broke into a vehicle at an off campus location.

On May 1, 2013 at 3:25 p.m., Public Safety responded to a medical in Murray-Herrick Campus Center. A St. Thomas student who injured his hand while working at Mail Services was assisted by an officer and declined further medical attention.

On May 1, 2013 at 8:44 p.m., Public Safety reported a suspicious odor in Lot A. A St. Thomas student was found in possession of marijuana related paraphernalia.

On May 2, 2013 at 1:50 p.m., Public Safety reported a suspicious odor in Morrison Hall R2 Garage. An odor of marijuana was determined to be coming from a garage stairwell and marijuana related paraphernalia was recovered.

On May 2, 2013 at 7:56 p.m., Public Safety responded to a fire in Anderson Student Center. A grease fire in the kitchen of the View was already extinguished upon officers’ arrival and no damage or injuries were reported.

Think you’ve seen your fair share of celebrity look-alikes on campus? Think again. Chief Photo Editor Rosie Murphy is back at it again scouting the walkways of St. Thomas in search for more student A-listers.

Rosie Murphy can be reached at murp3250@stthomas.edu.

The Rev. Dennis Dease has been the university president since July 1991 and has only a few months left at his post.

Among farewell celebrations, graduation receptions and end-of-the-year breakfasts, Dease still finds time to spend mornings in his office and stop by the Summit Marketplace for a cup of coffee.

Rita Kovtun can be reached at kovt1547@stthomas.edu.

The St. Thomas dance club PULSE performed two sold-out shows Friday night in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Center. Students had a blast hanging out backstage at “Revolution,” the spring performance.

Head of marketing and promotions for PULSE, sophomore Keeley Norton said that backstage experience is always busy during the show.

“We have a lot to prepare and we have a lot of people to be accounted for,” Norton said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into this.”

The experience was especially stressful for sophomore Maddie O’Brien, whose partner had to cancel because of illness at the last minute.

“Over the course of dress rehearsal, he got progressively worse and I told him, ‘you need to go see the doctor,’” O’Brien said. “So he’s not singing at all anymore, and I found that out about two days ago and had to come up with something on the spot.”

Norton said that seeing all 26 acts come together for the show is a rewarding experience.

“I absolutely love the PULSE shows because you get to see everyone’s hard work pay off finally, and it’s just so rewarding to see everything that people have been working on,” Norton said.

Kayla Bengtson contributed to this report.

Alison Bengtson can be reached at Beng4632@stthomas.edu.