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Thursday, April 18, 2019
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released. He was arrested later that day, according to the complaint. Liu was released 17 hours later and returned to China. On Dec. 21, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman did not charge Liu, writing in a statement that his office did not find enough evidence. Jill Brisbois, an attorney for Liu, declined to comment on pending litigation but wrote in a statement, “based on the Hennepin County Attorney’s declination to charge a case against our client and our belief in his innocence, we feel
strongly that this suit is without merit and will vigorously defend against it.” The student’s attorney is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, according to the complaint. The University program that Liu participated in is designed to cater to top-level executives working full-time in China. The complaint states that nearly all the volunteers for the program were young and female. The student, a volunteer for the program, was invited to the dinner by executive and program participant Charlie Yao without knowing Liu would attend, according to the complaint. Liu allegedly instructed
Yao to invite the student. She was told the dinner was to honor the program’s volunteers and accepted the invitation, but later realized she was the only volunteer invited, according to the complaint. The dinner was allegedly a “business networking event” attended by at least 15 middle-aged male executives in the program and organized and paid for by JD.com. The complaint alleges the student, 21 years old at the time and the only female at the table, consumed alcohol during numerous toasts to the executives. She tried to avoid some of the toasts, but was told by Liu that not participating would cause him to “lose face,”
according to the complaint. The complaint goes on to allege that the student tried to arrange a ride after the dinner when she felt intoxicated but was directed to a limousine rented by JD.com. In the vehicle, Liu “began to grope and physically force himself” on her, repeatedly trying to remove her clothes, the complaint said. She allegedly repeatedly pleaded for Liu to stop. The vehicle arrived at a mansion near the corner of Franklin Avenue and Pillsbury Avenue in Minneapolis and an argument between Liu and the student allegedly occurred. The student said she wanted to go home
before Liu then “grabbed the Plaintiff by her arm and angrily overpowered her and pushed put [sic] her back into the second row of the limousine,” the complaint read. An employee of JD.com who was sitting in the front seat of the limousine moved the rearview mirror so the chauffeur could not watch the alleged assault take place, according to the complaint. The limousine then drove them to the student’s apartment where Liu removed his clothing and became more sexually aggressive, according to the complaint. He allegedly forcibly removed the student’s clothing and raped her.
After the alleged rape, she messaged a friend that she had been raped. The friend called the police and met them outside her apartment where he showed them the messages he received, the suit said. The student said in December that she planned to sue the University, but they were not named in this suit. A University spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the University doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Funding
most significant pieces of Senate legislation for the school. Burnett expressed concern about the required report. “As we begin the process of beginning planned budget reductions, it is often not feasible to publicize what the actions may be prior to the budget [being] approved by the board or [before] final implementation plans are developed,” he said. The House’s higher education omnibus bill allocation of $114 million would address high statewide student debt, the committee’s highest priority this session, said Rep. Connie Bernardy, DFLNew Brighton. Policy bills included in the House omnibus bill focus on issues related to campus food accessibility, mental health support and services for sexual assault survivors. “Minnesota college students need the ability to take advantage of their o ppo rt u nit ies t o learn, achieve and succeed,” said higher education committee vice chair Rep. Laurie Pryor, DFL-Minnetonka. “Unfortunately, experiencing trauma, being unable to access meals regularly and other challenges prevent this.” University junior Natasha Sohni testified about food insecurity on campus at the Capitol this session. “The U of M resides within a food desert, so many students lack access to adequate, let alone nutritious, food options,” Sohni said. Both omnibus bills will be further deliberated on before being sent to a floor vote by May 20.
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DAILY FILE PHOTO
Students relax outside Coffman Union on Sept. 19, 2016. Several groups have pushed for its renaming due to the divisive views of its namesake, former University president Lotus Coffman, but recent efforts have stalled.
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accusation that task force members manipulated the report. “They’ve distorted the conversation for over 18 months and they’ve defamed four prominent members of our University community who are dead, who can’t speak for themselves,” he said. Hsu said advocates are pushing forward with renaming when people don’t know the facts. “If you want to reckon with the history, I think you need to understand that history, not just a part of the history. What they’ve done is only told part of the story,” he said. Regent Darrin Rosha, another vocal critic of the task
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importance of giving back, which has pushed him to volunteer. “We’re offering patients services that they can’t really get anywhere else,” Hang said. Morgan Kerfeld, a second-year pre-med student, currently works as an interpreter at the PNC. The PNC has Spanish interpreters on hand at all times, though they also treat patients who speak Somali, Hmong and Korean, among other languages, according to Hang. Kerfeld said that volunteering with PNC has been the most rewarding part of her undergraduate studies so far. “The moment [patients]
force, said it’s fair for regents to review evidence presented to the board. “The response to the questions that have been raised has been ad hominem attacks on board members for simply raising the questions. I make no apologies for asking legitimate questions about the substance of the report,” Rosha said. He said discussion can’t move forward until there’s clarification about the “actual factual underpinnings.” Regent Abdul Omari, the only regent to currently support renaming, said the accusations have overshadowed other ways to acknowledge the University’s history. For example, the task force also recommended installing historical exhibits in buildings, he said.
“That has also been completely lost,” he said. Prell said the entire conversation about the University’s history has been “distorted” by accusations, which she blames on those who are unwilling to speak up. “It is a distortion that is in the hands of both the absence of regents being willing to speak up on a divided board of regents and the president of the University ... [for] not more forcefully defend the academic integrity of the task force report,” she said. The board’s apparent split on the issue has provoked questions about how regents will take up renaming at their May meeting. Kaler and Board Chair David McMillan said they are working on determining the right path forward.
walk into the clinic, being able to speak in their own language puts them at ease,” Kerfeld said. The PNC provides specialty nights, such as ophthalmology, optometry, audiology, podiatry and women’s health, Hang said. The clinic supplies patients with glasses and medications all free of cost; if they can’t provide services the patient needs, they’ll transfer patients to an affordable location that can. The clinic also offers courses, such as CPR training, and free legal services provided by University law students. While Sick acts as director for the clinic, the PNC is primarily run by a student board. Comprised of more than a dozen students, they help manage finances and community relations and operations
and supervise volunteers. According to Sick, funds for the clinic primarily come from grants, donations and fundraisers. “We are embedded in a culturally rich but relatively poor community. [The patients] don’t necessarily have all the resources, so we try to fill that void,” Sick said. Though Hang said there can be late nights involved, with students often staying until midnight or later, he was thankful for the opportunity to help others in an underserved community. “There is a lot of upfront, hard work from all of the volunteers and a lot of work behind the scenes, so for a patient to tell you, ‘thank you so much, I couldn’t get this care anywhere else,’ that means the world to me,” Hang said.
“Regardless of support for or oppos[ed] to renaming, we must find a way to come together as a community and acknowledge past racial discrimination and antiSemitism that took place on this campus,” he said at the Senate meeting, pointing out “there is not widespread board support for renaming at this time.” But after a long fight for renaming, Williams said the current conversation is disheartening. “It’s just a little disappointing that it has to take so much extra time in order to get to that place, when this issue has been talked about for over a year now,” she said. Jake Steinberg and Dylan Anderson contributed to this story.
The Senate bill, which would increase the University’s base appropriations by $24 million, would do little to meet the demands of the system, said University Vice President for Finance and Operations Brian Burnett at a Senate higher education committee meeting. The Senate bill also states the allocation should allow for a tuition increase of no more than 2 percent for resident students. University President Eric Kaler previously said the school’s full $87 million ask would contribute to a 2 percent increase. “The amount of funding provided would make it very difficult to hold tuition to the 2 percent maximum level directed in this bill,” Burnett said. Anderson said students will instead see increased college affordability through the state grant program. The Senate bill invests an additional $23.4 million into the program, which would expand eligibility to more students and increase the award for students currently receiving money. “We need to solve the systemic problems on the front end so we don’t just keep pushing students out of school with loads of debt that will not allow them to live life and help the economy and prosper,” Anderson said. A bill requiring the University to provide a report to the Legislature with ideas about how to cut administrative costs by 10 percent would be one of the
Minnesota Daily policy is to not name individuals who claim they have been sexually assaulted, unless given permission.
JASMIN KEMP, DAILY
Rachel Thompson and a group of medical students assess the diagnosis for a patient at the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic in Minneapolis on Monday, April 15.
Local businesses face new plastic ban The new ban will be implemented when packaging ordinace exemptions end. BY IMANI CRUZEN icruzen@mndaily.com
Modifications to an existing City of Minneapolis ordinance would ban certain containers found in many local coffee shops and restaurants. The Environmentally Acceptable Packaging Ordinance, or Green To Go, was implemented by the City in 2015. The ordinance banned Styrofoam and other plastic food packaging in Minneapolis establishments, but the City is
nearing the end of several exemptions that allowed certain plastic packaging. Exempted containers, including plastic-lined paper cups and containers and single-serve plastic coffee cup lids made of the material polystyrene, will no longer be allowed after April 22. “We put the exemption in place, kind of expecting alternatives to be created and the market to change and move a little bit towards more environmentally friendly materials, and I think that it has,” said Ward 2 City Council member Cam Gordon. Polystyrene cup lids and Styrofoam are classified as number six plastics. Though replacements for
polystyrene exist, local business owners have expressed concern over the added cost of the ordinance. “There’s a lot of confusing packaging, but my experience with packaging in general is that normally, as you get closer to being more environmentally acceptable and friendly, the price increases,” said owner of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in Dinkytown and Dinkytown Business Alliance President Kent Kramp. “With minimum wage [set to go up in July] and Green To Go, it’s tough to get hit with a couple of these big things during the same time period.” DBA hosted a meeting with a City official earlier
this month to help business owners learn more about Green To Go after they expressed confusion around the ordinance. Kramp said the City has communicated well and has been willing to help as business owners prepare to meet the newest requirements. Minneapolis Health Department Environmental Health Director Dan Huff said the City has given businesses time to find alternatives before enforcing parts of the ordinance. The exemptions were implemented after the City heard public input, which allowed businesses time to use up non-complying packaging and find alternatives. Other op t i ons f o r b u s i ne s s e s
are recyclable plastics or compostable packaging, Huff said. “There’s not a market for number six recyclables available in Minnesota. And so any number six plastic that is put in Minneapolis recycling just goes to the burner,” Huff said. Though he expects to hear similar cost concerns, feedback on the ordinance has been more positive than in 2015, Gordon said. If there are any concerns, business owners should reach out to the City’s Small Business Team, he said. “We’ll still hear back that they may cost a little bit more, and that may be the case for a while,”
Gordon said. “We’re actually trying to encourage people to do some purchasing together, some smaller businesses, because sometimes if you do a larger purchase, you get a much better price.” Even with the potential for increased costs, Kramp said the ordinance meets a public demand for more green products. “I don’t think you’re going to find a single business out there that isn’t affected and having to change packaging, more than likely because this packaging is more expensive than nongreen packaging,” Kramp said. “So, really no business is in a huge rush to make these changes.”