With summer comes all things hot and fiery. The temperature rises, many nights are spent around the bonfire and we await the Fourth of July fireworks. Maybe we even set off some of our own. The time has come to fire up those grills and experience the greatness that comes with rolling up your sleeves and throwing some burgers on the coals.

For many Luther students, finding a summer job can be quite a feat. But rather than scrounge around their hometowns, some students turn to Luther for their summer job options.

On-campus job opportunities are abundant if students know where to look. One past on-campus summer worker lent his advice.

Imagine walking to class in constant fear. You don’t know when or where the attack will happen, but you know it’s bound to happen. There is a killer on the loose and he’s coming for you.

Cautiously, you walk — keeping your head on a constant swivel for fear that he’ll jump at any second. Then you hear a click and feel a light tap on your head. He’s killed you.

Landscape architect Jens Jensen developed a plan to redesign Luther’s landscape in 1911. Now that it is 2008, Jensen’s design seems more natural than intentional, but every tree planted and every sunlit clearing has a purpose — to preserve the prairie and woodlands of the American heartland.

For over a year Maren Stumme-Diers (‘08) has been known as “the girl with the dreads.” Her hairstyle has given her an identity at Luther, and she is not alone in her choice of an interesting and unique hairstyle. From dreadlocks to mohawks, shaved heads to manly ponytails, Luther students and staff exhibit an array of different hairstyles out of convenience, self-expression and rebellion.

The reputation of “Dirty D” is infamous among Luther students and alumni — most students look at Dieseth as the worst hall on campus. Dieseth’s reputation is maintained by the number of pranks and incidents that occur anonymously in the dorm.

The Jenson Medal is an honor given to “an outstanding senior who best demonstrates the ideals of the college as demonstrated by service to students and to the college community in general,” according to Vice President for Development Keith Christensen’s on the award.

Visiting Professor of English Øyvind Gulliksen returned to Luther this year with a fresh perspective and his usual Norwegian flair. He came from his home in Norway to teach Paideia to the current first year class.

The vast majority of the Luther community has enjoyed the performances of guest artists brought to campus by the Performing Arts Committee and Student Activities Council. Behind these events are many unsung heroes that ensure the artists enjoy their stay, but these heroes are rarely recognized.

Theoretically, every student at Luther has done some research in Preus Library. After all, how could anyone forget the infamous Paideia research paper? When thinking back to that dark time, you may remember all the hours spent doing keyword searches, trying to find a usable primary source. Many of us may have come across a promising title, but when we saw it was located in the Rare Book Room, it was immediately ruled out.

Imagine your brain involuntarily associating musical tone with color or individual letters and numbers with distinct colors. Imagine tasting words.

Any given person will eat between one and two pounds of insects every year without knowing it. They are found in some of the most highly consumed foods in America, such as peanut butter, chocolate, ketchup, macaroni and cheese, fruit juice and popcorn.

For some students, a typical Wednesday evening might include watching “American Idol,” playing Frisbee or doing some last-minute course reading. For a few, Wednesday nights are Model United Nations nights, when a small group of dedicated Luther students meet to discuss current world news and learn about foreign countries.

It is Thursday night at 11 o’clock. The upper-level of Ben Skutnik’s (‘08) apartment shakes violently. Lights flash, high-pitched noises fill the room and a smoke-like substance hangs in the air. Unfinished homework sits abandoned in a corner of the room.

Uncovering artifacts from Luther’s history and making them available for student and faculty research is what Archivist Rachel Vagts and student worker Dana Fine (‘09) do best. Although many items extend deep into the college’s history, other items, such as a sexually explicit Luther vs. Wartburg T-shirt, have more shallow beginnings.