June 21, 2021

MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2021

COVID-19

U receives $1.5 million for COVID-19 drug trials

MNDAILY.COM

MSA

MSA advocates for all-electric vehicles

Researchers will use over-the-counter drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms.

By Maia Irvin and Marlee Louden mirvin@mndaily.com, mlouden@mndaily.com The University of Minnesota Medical School recently received $1.5 million in funding to operate the first COVID-19 trial in the country to treat symptoms of the virus using widely available drugs.

The trial, which began in January, is continuing after receiving $1.5 million in additional funding earlier this spring. The goal of the trial is to find treatment for a range of symptoms of COVID-19, like shortness of breath, coughing and loss of taste and smell, using preexisting and safe drugs.

“This being an outpatient trial using medications that are relatively inexpensive and widely available … is very significant,” said Katrina Hartman, a University medical student and research coordinator for the trial. “If these are proven efficacious, it would be really amazing for the world to have available.”

The findings could have positive implications for people who are not able to receive a vaccine, but contract COVID-19, according to Carolyn Bramante, University professor in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and the primary investigator for the trial.

“Some new strains of the virus may evade immunity from some of the vaccines,” Bramante said in a University press release. “Additionally, worldwide vaccine availability will take time, and not all individuals may get the vaccine. Thus, we feel we should study safe, available, inexpensive outpatient treatment options as soon as possible.”

Although the research team only has preliminary findings so far, the results look promising, said Daniel Fraser, a University student who works as part of the research team.

“You could see [from the data] that many people were having less extreme symptoms,” Fraser said.

Researchers used computer modeling and observational studies to determine which existing drugs may be effective treatments for COVID-19. Designing a new drug to treat the virus would take more time and money and would not be as available to the public, Hartman said.

The three drugs used — metformin, fluvoxamine and ivermectin — are commonly used as a treatment for diabetes, as an antidepressant See COVID-19 Page 2

Illustration by Mary Ellen Ritter

The University expects to slowly add electric vehicles to fleet.

By MaryKate Fenstermaker and Sonja Kleven mfenster@mndaily.com, skleven@mndaily.com In March, a Minnesota Student Association (MSA) resolution requested that the University of Minnesota purchase only electric-powered vehicles when adding to its vehicle fleet.

In addition to only purchasing electric vehicles (EVs), Jack

Flom, author of the resolution and MSA’s representative to the Student Senate Consultative Committee, requested that the University define EVs as battery-powered (not hybrid or biodiesel) and provide an updated sustainability report each year going forward.

“The future is, obviously, electric vehicles,” Flom said.

“I think that my mindset was that instead of doing incremental stuff that costs a lot more, we could just jump right to the destination that costs about the same, if not less, to just buy electric vehicles.”

Flom met with Ross

See MSA Page 2

Dental group focuses on changing culture The group was formed after George Floyd’s murder in May 2020.

By Nathanael Ashton-Piper nashtonpiper@mndaily.com A new student group in the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry is looking to continue the effort to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the school.

The group, Better Together, hosted its first event on May 25, exactly one year after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis.

Arpun Johal, a third-year student in the school and one of the group’s founding members, said Floyd’s murder prompted the group’s formation.

“Last year, I feel that many

Illustration by Mary Ellen Ritter people did a lot of reflection about racism and the political climate in the U.S.,” Johal said.

“From that, we noticed that there was a lot of work to be done in our own careers to help with the larger civil rights movement.”

The group’s first meeting covered recent hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, anti-Asian racism, the experiences of Asian dental students at the University and how to become a better ally to Asian

students and patients.

Since May 2020, hate crimes against Asians in 16 of the country’s largest cities and counties are up 164%, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State University San Bernardino.

New York City saw the largest increase in such reported crimes against Asians with a 223% spike in early 2021.

Johal said it was important to cover this topic at the first meeting given the spike in hate crimes and anti-Asian sentiment in the country.

“We wanted to capture the moment and have these discussions when the whole country had just experienced these events,” Johal said. “The concepts are more likely to hit home if the topic is fresh; people are

See STUDENT Page 2

ART

Regents consider 1.5% tuition increase in budget

CLA hosts discussion on the power of art, role of museums The discussion is part of the college’s “What’s Next?” racial justice series.

The board will vote on the budget on June 29th at a special session.

A 1.5% tuition increase for students at the University of Minnesota was proposed as part of the administration’s 2022 operating budget during the June Board of Regents meeting held Thursday and Friday.

The tuition increase would raise fees by approximately $200 for Minnesota residents and over $450 for nonresidents on the Twin Cities campus.

Challenges to an all-electric fleet Both Allanson and Berthelsen demonstrated support for more EVs in the fleet, with Allanson adding that the University will start to gradually purchase more EVs “over the next few years.”

However, Allanson said challenges such as charging

infrastructure for a fleet, upfront costs, manufacturing limitations, harsh winters and market availability create obstacles to only purchasing EVs, as the MSA resolution requests.

There are 35 charging stations for EVs available for public use on the Twin Cities campus, according to Shane Stennes, the University’s director of sustainability.

Although these stations provide adequate charging infrastructure for personal vehicles, Allanson said that the University does not have the capacity to

STUDENT GROUP

REGENTS

By Matthew Voigt mvoight@mndaily.com

Allanson, the director of Parking and Transportation Services (PTS), and Michael Berthelsen, the vice president of University Services, along with other administrators in May to discuss the feasibility of MSA’s proposal.

University of Minnesota Board of Regents held a public forum in MacNamara Alumni Center on Friday, June 11. (Alice Bennett / Minnesota Daily) Although some of the regents questioned the idea of increasing tuition, most regents agreed that decreasing tuition or holding it flat was not sustainable due to financial constraints.

University President Joan Gabel said the $4 billion budget proposal, which includes the proposed tuition increase, reflects the “spirit, resiliency and shared sacrifice” of the last year,

while also reflecting the $172 million budget deficit resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board will vote on the budget proposal at a special meeting scheduled for June 29.

Regents weigh in on the tuition increase proposal “I don’t like it, but I can get See REGENTS Page 2

By James Schaak and Nathanael Ashton-Piper jschaak@mndaily.com, nashtonpiper@mndaily.com After George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts (CLA) started a roundtable discussion series that aims to address “critical and complex” questions about eliminating institutional and systemic racism.

The series, titled “What’s Next?”, had its fifth installment on June 9 with a discussion sponsored by the Weisman Art Museum.

Moderated by Dr. Karen Mary Davalos, a professor and chair of the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies at the University, the discussion examined the power of

art and museums in the advancement of racial justice and explored how art museum leaders view their roles differently in the aftermath of Floyd’s murder.

Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell is the head of public programs at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. and was featured as a panelist for the discussion.

“I believe that museums and art making are intimately linked in the advancement of social and racial justice,” Bryant-Greenwell told the Minnesota Daily. “Although museums are founded on problematic histories and ideologies, if we look at how a museum should function today and serve 21st century audiences, I think that it is inherent in our mission that we do cultural justice and racial equity work.”

As of 2019 over 82% of museum curators and archivists were white, according to Data USA. See ART Page 2 Volume 121 Issue 14

2 Monday, June 21, 2021

MSA page 1 charge a whole vehicle fleet.

In a 2017 letter to the Minnesota Daily voicing support for EVs, Allanson noted that each charging station can cost between $8,000 and $10,000. That money will come out of PTS’ budget unless otherwise subsidized by state or federal grants, he added.

In the same year, the University purchased six all-electric Chevrolet Bolt vehicles as a pilot test to see if EVs would operate well in the fleet.

“One of the issues that we discovered through that process was that Minnesota’s cold winters significantly impacted the range of those vehicles,” Allanson said. “We also learned that charging those vehicles in the winter was a challenge.”

Environmental impact Although the vehicle fleet does contribute to the University’s total carbon emissions, the contribution is small compared to other factors, Stennes said.

Student page 1 still thinking about it and are more likely to take action.”

Zayna Jan, another third-year student and founding member of Better Together, created a toolkit for bystander intervention that students can review and utilize.

“I wanted [the toolkit] to be something that people can look at easily and understand quickly — and for it to be dental school specific,” Jan said.

Giving students the ability to share their stories has already been effective. Incidents of racism are often suppressed by students of color and thus these situations can go unnoticed by the majority of dental students, she added.

“Education and open discussion is the first step, and we are trying to get people involved and just listen,” Jan said. “Whether people acknowledge them or not, these things affect the way people treat their patients … it does affect the line of work that we do, and I hope that sparks something in people.”

Diversity in dentistry Dr. Naty Lopez is a professor in the school and is the assistant dean for admissions and diversity, equity and inclusion. Lopez applauded student efforts

Regents page 1 there,” Regent Dave McMillan said in response to the proposed tuition increase at the meeting. McMillan chairs the Finance and Operations Committee, which oversees discussion of the budget proposal.

The 1.5% tuition increase is below the current rate of inflation, which ranges from 2-5%, according to Julie Tonneson, associate vice president and budget director.

Regent Darrin Rosha voiced his concern over the proposed tuition increase at the meeting and discussed the need for the University to stay competitive with the prices of peer institutions.

“When I think about quality public education, that’s also affordable,” he said at the meeting.

Moving forward from the pandemic Tonneson said the budget will focus on moving forward from the pandemic.

“As opposed to last year, which was kind of a standstill budget due to uncertainties around the pandemic, the budget we

Less than 1% of the University’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from the vehicle fleet, while other factors like fossil fuels used to heat buildings and people commuting to and from campus make up the majority of total emissions.

Of the 823 University vehicles across all five campuses, 41 are hybrid and seven are fully electric. There are 559 vehicles on the Twin Cities campus used for purposes such as maintenance, rental services and construction.

Though hybrid cars emit fewer pollutants, traditional hybrids still operate with one electric motor and one gasoline engine.

“Instead of just baby stepping into the future, we should jump into the future,” Flom said. “Because hybrids are obviously, you know, baby steps, but we are going to have to replace them eventually.”

EVs run solely on a battery and do not use oil, gasoline or have an internal combustion engine. They are also shown to not only decrease air pollution, but drastically reduce

the cost of charging when compared to average gasoline prices, according to the US Department of Energy.

over the past year and said she looks forward to continuing the conversations.

“What has been so important about this last year is that we have responded to the current events as a grassroots movement instead of a top-down approach,” Lopez said. “[Students] were not just satisfied with learning about bias and discrimination, they wanted to be prepared as future health care professionals to work with a diverse patient population.”

As of spring 2021, students pursuing a doctor of dental surgery were 62% white. The next largest racial group was Asians at 12%, while Black and Hispanic students made up around 2% of the student body respectively.

Lopez said that the dental school is not yet where it wants to be in terms of structural diversity within the school.

Many of the patients receiving care in the University dental clinics are from marginalized backgrounds. Having a student body that is more reflective of that patient population is difficult because of the cost and extra preparation necessary for students to reach dental school, Lopez said.

The projected four-year cost of attendance at the school for non-Minnesota residents graduating in 2024 is almost $511,000.

For Minnesota residents it is just under $343,000.

Along with other students, Jan said it was conflicting to ask the dental school to admit more students of color because they believe the current environment and culture would not be entirely beneficial for those students.

“Why would you put more students of color into an environment that they are not safe in or are not going to thrive in?” She said.

are proposing to you… allows for movement forward,” Tonneson said at the meeting.

Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Myron Frans said the University should take the opportunity to move strategically as the administration develops the budget proposal.

“Big events require big responses,” Frans said at the meeting. “I’m really excited about the opportunity coming out of this really tough year… to making some strategic decisions to put us on the right path for a long time, not just a few years.”

The University also has $15.5 million dollars in proposed state funding built into the budget, although this funding is yet to be passed by the State legislature.

The budget also proposed a 1.5% increase in compensation for staff and faculty. This is below the current rate of inflation and comes after a freeze on merit raises and salary cuts throughout the last financial year.

allow members of the University community to give feedback on the budget proposal. Many of the speakers were current staff and faculty at the University.

Mostafa Kaveh, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, said the proposed 1.5% salary increase for faculty and staff is just a starting point.

“A 1.5% modest compensation increase, when we’re in a highly competitive environment for talent, is a step in the right direction, but it’s just a start,” Kaveh said at the meeting.

Phil Buhlmann, a chemistry professor at the University and outgoing chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee also supported the salary increase at the public forum.

“Please remember that half of the employees at the University of Minnesota earn less than $60,000,” Buhlmann said. “Please remember that the faculty were team players [during the pandemic].”

The regents are accepting written feedback from the public on the proposed budget on their website until June 23.

Abbey Machtig contributed to this report

Feedback from the University community The board held a public forum Friday to

More universities on the path to zero-emissions The University of Michigan plans to acquire more EVs and have an all-electric bus fleet by 2035. Their plan would involve purchasing multiple Electric Bluebuses at the cost of around $750,000 each.

The University of California predicts that EV or hybrid vehicles will account for at least half of all its new lightduty vehicle purchases by 2025.

“There are some burdens and obstacles to overcome in that space as well, but we are optimistic about the trajectory that electric vehicles are on and the commitments that manufacturers are making to them,” Stennes said.

“We do believe that this is going to be sort of the wave of the future and that we will be headed that direction. It is mainly a question about ‘when and what vehicles’ and ‘how’, and less about, ‘if.’”

Pushing forward Better Together wants to host at least one monthly meeting going forward, Jan said.

Lopez said she believes the dental school’s students, faculty and staff have turned the last year into an opportunity for positive change.

“You can see the coming together of different groups, and I think that is the key — for the school to believe and think that this is our work, not just the work of one group,” she said.

With Juneteenth around the corner, Johal said Better Together hopes to cover topics relating to the Black community in the coming month.

“We want to continue to provide space for students to be able to share their experiences,” she said.

James Schaak contributed to this report.

Assistant Professor of Internal Medecine and Pediatrics Carolyn Bramante poses in a medecine storage room in her clinic on Tuesday, June 15. Bramante is the principal investigator for COVID-OUT, a nationwide COVID-19 outpatient trial for which the University of Minnesota hosts the lead study site. (Shannon Doyle / Minnesota Daily)

COVID-19 page 1 and as a treatment for parasitic infections, respectively.

Since all three drugs are safe to use, researchers are able to test different combinations to determine the most effective treatment, Bramante said.

Additionally, the three drugs are already known to be safe for pregnant women, especially metformin. This allows pregnant women to participate, making it the first COVID-19 treatment trial to do so.

Art page 1 And though advancing diversity is important for the industry, Bryant-Greenwell said that real change will need to be separate.

“There is a certain distinction that needs to be made across the field,” she said. “I am pleased that we are using the term racial justice, but often racial justice is conflated with [increasing diversity] and other things that are not rooted in change-making. Racial justice tells us that harm is happening and that harm is the default or the norm.”

Katie Luber is the director and president of the Minneapolis Institute of Art

“Pregnant women are a group that [is] not very often studied because of the risks that come along with studying them,” Hartman said. “So it would be really important to have a treatment option [for them].”

To take part in the trial, participants must have recently contracted COVID-19.

Bramante said researchers are focused on enrolling participants as soon as possible after their diagnosis in order to gain the best results.

Currently, researchers are recruiting participants through phone calls and on-

line advertisements, according to David Odde, a University biomedical engineering professor and a co-investigator in the trial.

Bramante said the research team plans to complete the trial by the end of the year, and that she is hopeful there will be beneficial results. Regardless, the findings will positively contribute to the world’s research on COVID-19, she said.

“Whether we find any benefit or not from the trial, the findings will be helpful for all the science around the pandemic,” Bramante said.

(MIA) and also served as a panelist for the event.

Luber’s tenure as the director and president of MIA began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been defined by both COVID-19 and community pleas for racial justice in Minneapolis, she said.

“Change in this space is going to take a long time,” Luber said. “We need to make sure that we are not just spending the dollars of today on the problems of today. We need to carve out places for programs and positions that will make this progress possible for years to come.”

Luber added that 27% of the MIA’s board of directors is now made up of individu-

als from underrepresented groups, up from “no diversity” eight years ago.

Additionally, MIA raised $5 million in the past year to endow a new position for a senior diversity, equity and inclusion officer. Endowing the position ensures that MIA will be able to retain the position for years to come, Luber said.

“I went out and found the money to make sure that this was a longitudinal change for us,” she said. “That first person we hire might stay for three years or 30 years — we just do not know. But I want to make sure that there is a person after that. That longitudinal piece is critical to the success of racial justice work in our institution.”

Q&A with the hosts of the ‘Fake Adulting’ podcast A&E spoke with the hosts to discuss FOMO and more.

By Nathanael Ashton-Piper nashtonpiper@mndaily.com While everyone was deciding where to spend the next four years of their lives for school, Minneapolis creatives Ananda Cordova Stuart, 20, and Meara Molitor, 20, had a different idea for their future in mind. They both envisioned a gap year with an emphasis on work and travel. That is, until the pandemic came and plans changed.

In February of 2020, Cordova Stuart and Molitor posted their first podcast episode and, since then, amassed a following of over 500 Instagram followers, averaging around 400 listens per episode, and connected themselves with small businesses and creatives in Minneapolis.

A&E spoke with Cordova Stuart and Molitor to discuss FOMO, heartbreak and taking the road less traveled.

Where did the idea to start the podcast come from?

Molitor: My senior year of high school was super rocky. Long story short: a lot of things happened and my dreams changed. I decided to take a gap year, and two weeks before I left for a trip to Bali, I got dumped. I was at my lowest of lows and I did a lot of crying on my own on the beach, in the airport, and in a lot of random places and through that I kind of was like, ‘I’m learning so much

about life right now,’ and I was kind of in this weird inbetween stage where I had to act like an adult because I didn’t go to college. When I was sitting on a beach on my trip, it hit me: I was like ‘I’m literally just fake adulting’ and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I need to use that.’

When you started the podcast, what was the intention behind it?

Cordova Stuart: We thought that it was going to be for my friends, Meara’s friends, and our family, mostly updating them on what’s going on during our gap years. Then after a couple episodes we realized that most of our support — and our supporters — started to come from people who weren’t our closest friends or family. It was coming from people who had followed us both on Instagram for a while.

Molitor: The intention was to talk about gap years, travel, our work, seeing we were both working full-time jobs, and mental health. We ended up talking a lot about relationships in general because I was going through a break up as she was experiencing her first real love.

Also, in our “Dear Men” epsiode I talked about an assault that happened to me that I had never talked about before. All of a sudden I felt like I had this safe space to be able to talk. Since doing that I’ve gotten the support that I needed, and others reached out saying it helped them too.

What were some of the challenges you faced with doing this podcast when all your other friends were

in school?

Molitor: At the time, I think we both felt super alone. Taking a gap year is kind of an isolating feeling because all of the people you know are doing what they’re “supposed to do.” I never had anything or anyone giving me advice about this or telling me reasons why this was a good idea, so we decided to be that voice for the people.

Cordova Stuart: We wanted to emphasize talking about taking the road less traveled. It’s so easy to be like ‘It’s my decision right?’ We saw all those college freshmen parties, dorm life and meeting your friends — we watched that and we wanted that. We had extreme FOMO. What does being a Fake Adult mean to you?

Molitor: Our first ever definition is adulting with imperfections. A fake adult is someone who tries to be the best they can every day and do ‘adult things’ but still makes mistakes. A fake adult is someone who does things like run errands, work hard for their money, apply for jobs, but has no idea how a mortgage works. It’s also a lot of “you should be doing this, you should be doing that.” A lot of people our age can relate to some degree that we’re independent and we’re supposed to be doing things on our own, but no matter what’s going on, at any inconvenience, your first instinct is to call your mom — even though my mom was just saying the other day she also feels like a fake adult.

This interview has been edited for length, grammar and clarity.

Daily Review Monday, June 21, 2021 Vol. 121 No.14 An Independent Student Newspaper, Founded in 1900.

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3 Monday, June 21, 2021

English professor, diversity advocate Qadri Ismail dies Professor Qadri Ismail impacted many students and colleagues

By Maia Irvin mirvin@mndaily.com Professor Qadri Ismail, a rigorous and beloved University of Minnesota English professor, spirited debater, fierce advocate for the oppressed and loyal friend, died the last week of May. He was 59 years old.

Ismail died of natural causes, according to Sayyid Markar, Ismail’s nephew.

Ismail was an influential presence both in and out of the University community as a professor and journalist.

“I think losing Qadri was a tremendous loss for the [English] department and the U of M community at large,” said Halima Samatar, a recent graduate from the University, who studied English with Ismail. “He was willing to sacrifice how people saw him … in order to advocate for what was right.”

A Reputable Professor In spring 2020, Samatar decided, with some reservation, to take a course with Ismail. Ismail taught courses focused on literary theory and postcolonial studies within the English department.

He had a reputation in which some students loved him and others went to their advisers in tears, Samatar said. She took on the challenge though, a decision she said she did not regret.

“Starting from the first day, he kept students on their feet,” Samatar said. “I always left feeling challenged … [and] inspired.”

Samatar took another of Ismail’s classes this past spring. She said she wanted to end her college career with a professor she enjoyed, truly learned from and respected.

“He taught us to

aggressively question everything,” Samatar said.

“He really practiced what he preached. That’s something that made a lot of us respect him.”

While Ismail was a challenging professor, he was also a caring mentor, according to his past students.

During her first semester in the English doctoral program, University student Nyla Numan said she felt overwhelmed with her courses and behind her peers.

“Qadri reminded me that it would take time … before I felt more comfortable and familiar with the material,” Numan said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “I found Qadri to be a brilliant teacher and caring mentor.”

Moinak Choudhury, another English graduate student at the University, said Ismail was also generous with his time.

“He made an active effort to [check in] — asking me both about my professional work here and my family back in India,” Choudhury said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “He was keenly aware of the difficulties of beginning a new chapter in a foreign country.”

From Sri Lanka to Minnesota Born on November 7, 1961 in Sri Lanka, Ismail studied English at the University of Peradeniya before pursuing a career in journalism.

He became a prominent journalist during the Sri Lankan Civil War, when he worked as a reporter for Time Magazine and the Sri Lankan Sunday Times newspaper. Ismail was known for his fearless criticism of the government and daring fieldwork, during which he was shot in the neck, Markar said.

After being shot, Ismail attended graduate school at Columbia University as a Fulbright scholar in 1989.

In 1997, Ismail accepted a position as a professor at the University of Minnesota, Markar said.

It was at the University where Ismail became infamous as a rigorous intellectual and fierce debater with students, colleagues and close friends.

“Most of us strive to deflect confrontation, whereas I think he almost sought out confrontation,” said University professor and close friend Vinay Gidwani.

Ismail used argumentation as a way to teach his students how to carry through and stand by their arguments, which was a critical aspect of his teaching, according to University Professor Ajay Skaria, another close friend.

Outside of seeking out arguments and teaching his students and colleagues how to debate, Ismail enjoyed simple things in life.

“He was an amazing cook,” Gidwani said. “He did a lot of cooking for [other] people.”

Assistant Professor V.V. (Sugi) Ganeshananthan said Ismail was one of the first people to welcome her to the English department when she started at the University in 2015. Ismail would cook Sri Lankan food for her, which meant a lot to her as another person of Sri Lankan descent.

“It was a lot of food that I grew up with and wouldn’t have had a lot of places to get here,” Ganeshananthan said.

Ismail loved watching cricket and would stay up late to watch matches in India and Sri Lanka, Skaria said. He was also passionate about art and owned a collection of paintings by various Sri Lankan political artists.

“He was somebody who was capable of both intellectual rigor and enjoying the pleasures of everyday life,” Skaria said.

Ismail was more than a caring professor, vigorous

Photo courtesy of a friend of Ismail. debater and exceptional cook. He was also an unabashedly fierce advocate for the oppressed, according to those who knew him.

A Fearless Advocate Ismail became the chair of the English department’s first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee in 2019 and advocated for changing the curriculum, among other EDI matters.

“He was outraged that the department still had a Shakespeare requirement,” Skaria said.

Ismail loved Shakespeare, but he wanted to reduce Eurocentrism within the department. Ismail advocated for removing these requirements because they single out authors like Shakespeare as the true author of the English language, Samatar said.

“He didn’t play the performative game [with] terms like diversity, inclusivity … those words meant a removal of any

trace of any inherently Eurocentric, exclusive ideas,” Samatar said.

It was through all of this — Ismail’s caring and generous but blunt and argumentative nature, as well as his advocacy — that he impacted his students.

Samatar said the atmosphere in Ismail’s classroom embodied higher education, as he fostered conversation, learned from his students and welcomed differences.

“He’s an example of what higher education should look like,” Samatar said. “I’m so thankful that I took not just one, but two classes with him because that experience is immeasurable.”

Ismail was buried at the Garden of Eden Islamic Cemetery in Burnsville on June 2 and is survived by his mother, brother, sister, nephew and three nieces. A formal tribute to his life will take place at the University in fall 2021.

Do I bring my mask? Twin Cities summer events are back, but what will they be like A&E gives the rundown of local summer highlights.

By Frankie Carlson fcarlson@mndaily.com

After a year and a half of masks and social distancing, in person events are back on. Here is a run down of local summer happenings and how they will be different for the summer of 2021.

Juneteenth Celebrations: (June 13 – 19) Juneteenth celebrations are on for the summer of 2021. From the 13 through the 19 of June, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will be hosting several events leading up to and on Juneteenth, all of which will enforce minimal restrictions related to COVID-19. The schedule of events is set to include literature readings, drive-in movie screenings and virtual community panel discussions, as well as live music and kite-flying in Bethune Park.

Pride: (Lead up events: June 9 – 27 — Pride Festival: July 17 – 18) It is truly not a summer in the Twin Cities without Pride, and after an unspeakably difficult year the celebration is back on. The Grand Marshal MASKqueerade Party event will be held at two locations for smaller gatherings, and

Illustration by Hailee Schievelbein the Rainbow Run 5k will go off in groups of 250 at 9 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., etc. for spacing of runners. For the Pride Festival itself, booths have been removed along the lake side of Loring Park to ease congestion.

Stone Arch Bridge Festival: (June 19 – 20) The yearly art and music gathering on and beside the historic Stone Arch Bridge will be going forward for 2021 with minor changes to the usual arrangements.

With live music, a culinary arts market and a local car show, there is something for everyone. Artists’ tents will be spread out — offering a good amount of space between each tent — and all of the large music events have been scaled back.

While the event typically features several stages with a full lineup of performances stretching into the evening, this year there will be two stages featuring primarily acoustic sets of one or two performers.

Loring Park Art Festival: (July 31 – Aug. 1) Mark your calendars for the weekend of July 31: The annual community arts festival and market is back in full swing. A bustling art celebration across from the Walker, this event will once again be bringing local art, delicious food and a fun loving atmosphere to the Loring Park neighborhood.

There will be hand sanitizers throughout the park and there will be limited entertainment and activities to eliminate gathering points.

“The safety of our guests, artists and partners is paramount,” said Pat Parnow, director of the event. “We are working closely within the guidelines set forth by the CDC and the State of Minnesota, and we have been strategizing and sharing best practices with art festival directors locally and nationally for many months.”

Uptown Art Fair: (Aug. 6 – 8)

Come August, the streets of Uptown will be bustling with artists and art lovers once again. As the second most attended event in Minnesota, this event will be packed with folks selling and purchasing visual art of all kinds. The executive director of the Uptown Art Fair, Jill Osiecki, commented on the uphill climb to put on this event after having only recently been given the green light by the state.

“The real challenging thing is that we’re planning an event, essentially in two months, that normally takes us a full year,” Osiecki said.

“The fair impacts so many different people, not only 300 plus artists, but also our community. We feel it’s super important to make it happen.”

Minnesota Renaissance Festival: (Weekends Aug. 21 – Oct. 3) Granted the current condition of the pandemic continues to improve as expected, organizers at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival will once again open doors to their fantasy kingdom in Shakopee, Minnesota. The director of marketing and events at Mid-America Festivals, Stephanie Whipps, shared how the organizers are still unsure what restrictions will look like for what will be the festival’s 50th anniversary summer.

“We are hopeful to have a normal renaissance

festival experience, but will do whatever we have to do.

If we have to operate with some restrictions, then we will,” Whipps said.

Rock the Garden: (Canceled) Unfortunately, this cherished Twin Cities music festival will not be taking place this summer. Due to the difficulties of scheduling during the pandemic, it will likely be another year before music lovers can once again gather on the Walker Art Center grounds for a day of loud music and high spirits.

Minnesota State Fair: (Aug. 26 – Sept. 6) Whether your fix is a bucket of Sweet Martha’s cookies, a ride on the giant slide or wandering into random RVs you could never afford, the great Minnesota get-together is coming back with all of the foods and events you’ve been missing.

At this time, the State Fair does not anticipate daily attendance limits and masks will not be required for fair guests; however, organizers are strongly encouraging the use of masks for those not fully vaccinated, the Minnesota State Fair announced.

Additional announcements regarding the 2021 Minnesota State Fair, including the free entertainment lineup, new foods, full Grandstand lineup and more will be released in the coming weeks.

4 Monday, June 21, 2021

LOCAL

Local LGBTQ-owned businesses to support during Pride Month Support these community businesses all year long.

By Grace Davis gdavis@mndaily.com In June we celebrate Pride; a month that honors countless folks who paved the way for the lives of LGBTQ folks today: Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and Stormé DeLarverie to name a few. The physical celebration of Pride takes place over a couple days at the end of June, but there are so many ways to show love and honor what LGBTQ folks bring to our community.

One way is finding small, local and queer-owned businesses to support. A&E rounded up five different businesses you can check out this month — and every other month — from a Tarot reader, Curly Hair Salon to a delicious pie shop.

Curl Power Salon @curlpowersalon 5015 Ewing Ave S, Minneapolis & 8 East Franklin Ave, Minneapolis Curl Power Salon is a salon with an emphasis on

Julian Korger poses at their St. Paul house on Saturday, June 12. (Shannon Doyle / Minnesota Daily) cultivating self love and confidence. Owned and founded by Rosie Jablonksy in 2016, Jablonsky has a team of curl specialists that provide customized cuts, colors, styling and curl coaching sessions working with all ages.

Along with the fully functioning salons, Jablonsky operates a Curl Camp, which is a “hands on workshop for parents and caregivers to learn how to cultivate strong healthy self-care routines for curly, coils and wavy haired children.” In her Ewing location in 2020, Jablonksy added the plant and art shop Here We Grow for the purpose of “continuing to create more ways to engage with the communities around

me and my businesses and build in ways to foster joy.”

Blue Collar Supper Club @bluecollarsupperclub A pop-up dining experience — follow IG for upcoming event details!

Julian Korger grew up in a very conservative and Catholic household, “where queer and trans identities were not an option to explore, understand or even have language to describe,” they said. It was only through being a part of a queer community as they got older, that Korger said they found permission to love, value and be themself.

Because of this, they wanted to open a space where others could feel the same sense of belonging.

Ever since their first event — a horror-themed supper club hosted in 2015 — Blue Collar Supper Club (BCSC), Kroger’s underground gem, has thrown over 25 clubs and created over 90 unique dishes (fan favorites include their pineapple smoked ham or their strawberry cheesecake “fruit pizza” ice cream). BCSC strives to create an environment that welcomes new people and supplements a space to authentically create bonds with new people and create strong relationships.

Pie & Mighty @pieandmightymsp 3553 Chicago Ave, Minneapolis Pie & Mighty, a small pie shop with the tagline “putting pie into the hands of people who need it” because they believe everyone needs pie, has been operating since 2017 but didn’t open their physical location on Chicago Ave until March 14 2020 — yes, two days before the whole state was told to stay home.

Co-owned by partners Rachel Swan and Karen “Ratchet” Mattison, the pie shop has garnered a

subscription-based pieloving community with their tiny, but mighty kitchen!

Customers can now go into the shop for slices and other treats when they are open Thursday through Saturday.

With a high pie demand and their radically small team, the owners have implemented the Pie Loop lottery, where you’re able to submit a pie request, and hopefully, by the grace of the pie gods, receive a pie. If you’re lucky enough, maybe you’ll receive the Apple Cranberry Pecan Crumble, Swan’s personal favorite, which she said is, “just sweet enough to be dessert — also totally appropriate for breakfast.”

Big Mouth Tarot @bigmouthtarot Look to Instagram and their website for bookings!

Nicole Mayefske is a Minneapolis-based tarot reader and Reiki II practitioner (Reiki is a Japanese form of alternative therapy and medicine that focuses on the transfer of energy from the practitioner’s hands to the palms of the patient). Nearly seven years ago, Mayefske picked up a tarot deck on a whim from a metaphysical

shop in Appleton, Wisconsin and went into the practice recreationally. She performed readings on family and friends and received such positive feedback from them that she decided to turn it into her own business. Her focus is a “you do you” approach to tarot, she said. She not only gives readings, but teaches tarot reading classes as well.

Scout @scout.stp 327 7th St W, St Paul & 3925 Market St, Edina Scout, co-owned by partners John and Ben Thompson, is an apparel and gift shop with a planet positive focus. The St. Paul location opened in August of 2018, and they recently opened an Edina location this past April.

Scout carries an array of planet positive brands and instills an overall focus on using environmentally conscious materials, manufacturers and contributers. Scout prides themselves on being a queer-friendly space that “welcomes anyone who is interested in having a handsome style” explains the Thompsons.

ALUM

UMN alum’s catering company feeds underserved areas

Chopped & Served provides fresh and nutritious food.

By Megan Phillips mphillips@mndaily.com

When Imani Jackson was a child, she was a picky eater, often refusing to eat specific foods at dinnertime. Today, she runs a successful catering business where she uses her love of cooking to provide fresh, sustainable food to marginalized communities in the Twin Cities.

Jackson founded Chopped & Served in 2017, a year after she began attending courses at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. The company’s mission is to aid in community youth development by providing quality, nutritious meals with a long-term goal of leading young people successfully to postsecondary education.

Chopped & Served hosts pop-up events, cookoffs and community outreach programs throughout the year along with their regular catering service events.

Following the murder of George Floyd, Chopped & Served hosted several popups throughout Minneapolis to provide fresh food to hungry children and families in surrounding neighborhoods. Jackson said they were there to create a safe space for residents amid the unrest.

Chopped & Served continues to serve meals in the city through paid gigs and food donations from local businesses. In July, they will be hosting a pop-up in George Floyd Square. Currently, Jackson said they are focused on what the future holds for food and social justice, including a possible physical location for the catering business.

“The real work is just beginning,” Jackson said.

In 2019, she transferred to the University of Minnesota and graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Human Rights and Justice with honors.

According to Jackson, her adviser told her it wasn’t “ideal” or “realistic” for a student to work full-time with a complete course load. This only encouraged her to work harder.

“No statistic can tell me what I can and cannot do,” Jackson said.

As a first-generation college graduate, breaking down barriers is not new to Jackson. Growing up, she lived a “survival lifestyle” with her mother and two siblings, living in Section 8 housing and frequently relying on food pantries and shelves for essentials.

“Activism was my calling

because I saw my mom struggle,” Jackson said.

Imani attended her early school years at a Spanish immersion school in St. Louis Park, a western suburb of Minneapolis. In 2014, she graduated high school where she played three sports — soccer, track and field and basketball.

Jackson’s mother, Tirzah Zimmerman, said Imani’s drive for activism comes as no surprise to her because Imani showed early signs of being a go-getter, unafraid to go after her dreams.

“She was always on the move,” Zimmerman said.

According to Tirzah, when Imani was 4 years old, she taught herself how to ride a bike. “I went outside and she was riding the neighbor’s bike without training wheels,” Zimmerman said. “She’s pretty amazing.”

Through Chopped & Served’s work, Jackson met

Photos courtesy of Lamar Ballinger of Imani Jackson, executive chef at Chopped and Served. her boyfriend of a year and Phillips said. “And we did.” a half, Tyler Phillips, who Phillips said he focuses on is also passionate about the physical and mental part serving underprivileged of training, while Jackson communities. focuses on the diet aspect, They met when Jackson teaching about nutritional reached out to Phillips to science and the importance collaborate with his coaching of quality food intake. He said and mentoring business, they make a good team and Totally Committed, to host a he’s constantly impressed youth event teaching health with her accomplishments. and wellness ideas to young “She’s very passionate people who may not be about changing the narrative educated on these topics. when it comes to Black and “She said she thought we underprivileged youth,” could create magic together,” Phillips said.

ART

Local organizations continue efforts through artwork exhibition The festivities went on strong with readings, food and painters.

By Frankie Carlson fcarlson@mndaily.com “It’s more than the media shows you.” “Hold police accountable.” “We deserve peaceful justice.”

These are just some of the phrases that stood tall on South Nicollet Avenue Saturday afternoon. Set on display for the public to see were the wooden murals created during the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing social reckoning and uprising.

The boards were assembled and exhibited as part of the Backyard BBQ, a Whittier neighborhood community event hosted

by Pimento Relief Services, Save The Boards MPLS, Memorialize the Movement and the Whittier Alliance.

The groups organized the occasion with the hopes of building community

Organizers Zellner-Smith and Shepherd hold a Save the Boards sign on Saturday, June 6. (Shannon Doyle / Minnesota Daily) and healing through joy by offering an afternoon of food, music and celebration.

Despite the over 90 degree heat, the festivities went on strong with live poetry readings, free Impossible Burgers courtesy of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen and live painters adding to the already remarkable display of visual art.

The several plywood murals stood in the center of the blocked-off section of the street, showcasing various colorful portraits, intricate artist tags and samples of text begging for justice for George Floyd and abolition of the Minneapolis

Police Department.

This was the second time in the past month that Save The Boards and Memorialize the Movement have assembled the boards for an exhibition. On May 22, the two organizations co-hosted an open-air art exhibit in Phelps Park, featuring nearly 150 pieces of artwork that both organizations have worked to locate and store over the past year.

“Our first event was definitely a little more focused on being reflective and sensitive to what bringing out all those boards might feel like for

some people,” said Save The Boards founder Kenda Zellner-Smith. “With this event, we want to celebrate Black joy, and we want to honor Black laughter and being carefree while existing as Black. Those are things that often get overlooked because of the climate and the turmoil that’s gone on against Black people in this country every day.”

CEO of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen and Executive Director of Pimento Relief Services, Tomme Beevas, echoed the importance of maintaining a space for healing amid continued suffering and trauma.

“Even with the pain, we know we still have to celebrate life,” Beevas said.

“We all have to keep moving onward and forward to ensure that we can continue to create better humans, a better planet and a better community as a whole.”

Both Save the Boards and Memorialize the Movement will continue activating the boards for future community events. Founder

and executive director of Memorialize the Movement, Leesa Kelly, is currently looking into organizing summer events that would feature the boards in partnership with Twin Cities neighborhood associations and organizations.

“I don’t want to be the person who just stored them in a warehouse and never brought them out again,” Kelly said. “I want to make sure that we can continue this movement and continue this protest through the murals and honor the original purpose of them. We will definitely be out all summer and all fall participating in as many arts and community events as we can.”

In addition to finding pop-up display locations, there are also plans to find permanent exhibit spaces — both physically and virtually — for the boards.

One of the long-term goals of these panel reservation organizations is to create a digital archive of the boards they have collected, which, between the two, total over

800 boards. Both ZellnerSmith and Kelly champion the idea that the boards immortalize this historical moment of social change and civil rights.

The boards “aren’t the beginning of this movement, and they’re not the end of the movement.

They aren’t going to make change, but they are a piece of the story that is necessary in order to get to that point where change can happen,” Zellner-Smith said.

Kelly expressed her dedication to this work and her commitment to ensuring that the boards are not forgotten.

“We are largely unpaid for this work, and we don’t do it for the money,” Kelly said. “We don’t do it for the clout or the media or public attention. We do it for the love of our people. I do it for the love of my people.

If I can continue to activate these murals which were created as an act of protest, and somehow contribute to this movement, this global civil rights movement, I’m gonna do it.”

5 Monday, June 21, 2021

ARTS

GeekCraft Expo Twin Cities: Local makers from all corners of Geekdom The market exhibited local artists’ niche, nerdy goods.

By Macy Harder mharder@mndaily.com Whether it was an Animal Crossing hat, a “Hamilton” dish towel or a “Pulp Fiction” painting, GeekCraft Expo Twin Cities had something to offer for fans across a wide variety of niches.

After being rescheduled in 2020 due to the pandemic, this year’s GeekCraft Expo, held on June 5 and 6, brought individuals from all corners of the geek community back together again, creating a sense of connection between vendors and patrons alike.

Inside the Minneapolis Convention Center, patrons waited in line to enter the event. Some shuffled through their belongings and pulled out vaccine cards; upon doing so,

fully-vaccinated attendees received a “vaccinated” badge to wear, though this was not a requirement for admission.

After being checked in, patrons explored the aisles, spoke with exhibitors and browsed the assortment of unique and quirky items around them.

These events have been held across the country since 2016, when GeekCraft Expo was founded by comic book writer Daniel Way and former Ubisoft Community Manager Kimberly Matsuzaki. The markets offer a curated assortment of geek-themed goods produced by local makers and artists.

Way, who not only serves as the event director but also wrote Marvel comic books like “Deadpool” and “Wolverine,” said that GeekCraft was built with the goal of showcasing local small businesses in mind. “We want everyone who’s making this stuff to be able to do this full-time

Patrons look at handmade crafts being sold at the Geek Craft Expo held at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Saturday, June 5. (Shannon Doyle / Minnesota Daily) successfully,” Way said.

He explained that this element of craftsmanship contributed to the event’s popularity, as patrons can find functional items that are unique and not massproduced.

“You can walk around GeekCraft and you can find things you’re going to need, like an oven mit,” Way said. “You can get one that’s made by hand and is extremely good and will last a long, long time, and it looks like the Infinity Gauntlet.”

Carly Beyer, a patron at the expo, said the event allowed her to “grow as a geek,” and created a sense of community among those in attendance. She said it can be hard to open up conversations about certain interests when you don’t know if the other person is interested in the same thing. But at the expo, this wasn’t the case.

“It feels like even though I don’t know a lot of people on a first name basis, it doesn’t feel weird to open any conversation,”

Beyer said. “I don’t feel like I have to have an entire explanation prepared for a specific fandom, because they totally know it.”

Carsten Aloin has attended various conventions for over ten years, but this was their first time attending a GeekCraft Expo event. For Aloin, the appeal of the expo was the opportunity to interact with artists and makers in person, rather than simply buying from them online. They also appreciated how the event catered to an array of different fandoms.

“You get a much wider variety of items,” Aloin said. “Especially given that the term geek is very broad.”

Charlie Couture, the artist behind Zombie On Canvas, described his work as “a love letter for cult films.” His table at the expo displayed heavy pop art pieces depicting scenes and characters from “The Shining,” “Edward

Scissorhands,” “Pulp Fiction” and a plethora of other iconic films.

The GeekCraft Expo was Couture’s first in-person art show since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and he said he felt a bit rusty.

“It sucks with the pandemic, where it’s like every art show feels like it’s a comeback show,” Couture said. “It’s a culture shock, for sure.”

University of Minnesota alum Wren Rivers has sold hand-painted, geekthemed kitchen towels since 2016. Her business, Crafty Rivers Emporium, offers various designs inspired by “Harry Potter,” “Doctor Who,” “Hamilton,” “Game of Thrones” and other popular fandoms.

This year’s expo gave Rivers a chance to reconnect with other businesses and customers that she recognized from past events.

“I like being able to see my nerdy, geeky people again,” Rivers said.

MUSIC

A big summer of new music ahead for indie punk band VIAL The band’s new songs debut amid the return to live music.

By Megan Phillips mphillips@mndaily.com It’s going to be a hot summer for the Minneapolis indie punk band VIAL. Along with the release of their newest single “Roadkill,” the band announced the release date for their longawaited sophomore album, “LOUDMOUTH,” on Tuesday with plans to release two other singles in late June and mid-July.

Featuring 12 tracks, “LOUDMOUTH” will be released on July 30, followed by an album release show at the Fine Line on July 31, the band’s

first live performance since the pandemic began.

“LOUDMOUTH” offers a glimpse into what VIAL went through after the recording of “Grow Up” and how they’ve developed together as a band, according to keytarist Taylor Kraemer.

“It’s a lot of angry, punkier songs,” Kraemer said.

According to the band, the title refers to being unapologetically outspoken and unwilling to cross personal boundaries for the sake of others.

Bassist Kate Kanfield said some of the angriest tracks are about the negative experiences the four of them had while playing at local shows when the band first began performing live.

Quarantine gave

the band space away from the music scene, allowing them to reflect on instances where they felt taken advantage of at times.

“With that space came reflection,” Kraemer said.

“And with reflection came some really angry songs.”

Erik Aas, a close friend of the band, said he remembers the band forming when he was roommates with Kanfield and later practicing their instruments in the living room.

Aas initially expected VIAL to remain a DIY band, creating music for the love of music, as with the crowdfunded garagerecorded “Grow Up,” but TikTok proved to have other plans.

Over quarantine the band went viral on TikTok and gained followers from

around the world, which enabled VIAL to promote their music on a global scale. Now the band has over 120,000 followers and 2 million likes on TikTok, according to their account.

“It’s phenomenal to see your friends absolutely kill it,” Aas said.

Emmet Lang said he saw the band for the first time in the summer of 2019 and he “immediately fell in love with their music.”

In the eight months leading up to the pandemic, Lang said he attended almost 20 of VIAL’s shows, eventually becoming close with the band after interacting at the end of shows.

“I feel an immense amount of pride,” Lang said of their success and upcoming album release.

Minneapolis-based pop-punk band Vial poses for a portrait on Monday, June 7. (Shannon Doyle / Minnesota Daily) “They really do deserve it.”

Drummer Katie Fischer said performing live this summer is going to be in stark contrast to before the pandemic as the band transitions from small house shows to popular packed venues.

“It’s a little overwhelming,” guitarist

KT Branscom said.

In just two years, VIAL has moved from performing at house shows and recording in garages to performing at the Fine Line and recording their second album in a studio alongside a producer.

“Shit is starting and it will not be stopping,” Kanfield said.

MUSIC

Concerts make long awaited return to Cities The shows bring a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy.

By Macy Harder mharder@mndaily.com Good news, music fans: The next few months are going to be jam-packed with great tunes and mosh pits as concerts return to the Twin Cities.

As Minnesotans get vaccinated and the state lifts mask mandates, local venues have decided to open their doors and reintroduce in-person shows this summer, bringing back an aspect of pre-pandemic life for fans, artists and the venues themselves.

Ashley Ryan, director of marketing at First Avenue, said there are currently no COVID-19-related restrictions at the venue.

First Avenue’s associated venues — 7th St Entry, Turf Club, Fine Line, Palace Theatre and the Fitzgerald Theater — are also following First Avenue’s lead.

“I think it’ll look and feel pretty normal,” Ryan said. “We feel like with what we’re hearing from the state, we can kind of get back to what would feel like business as usual.”

First Avenue recently announced a slew of shows scheduled for this summer beginning July 2, and Ryan said they’ve already seen strong ticket sales.

“I think there has been a real collective feeling that you get when you go see a live concert that’s been missing for a lot of people,” Ryan said. “There’s just a lot of joy and emotion, and I think people are ready to have those experiences again.”

Live music has already returned to some Twin Cities venues, including West Bank’s own Palmer’s Bar. The outdoor patio at Palmer’s has hosted a handful of performances since April, which are scheduled to continue throughout the summer. On the calendar is Palmfest, a weekend of five shows that will begin Friday, July 30.

After being shut down

First Avenue venue sits empty on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (Audrey Rauth / Minnesota Daily) for over a year during the pandemic, St. Paul’s Amsterdam Bar and Hall reopened its doors in April and brought live shows back at the beginning of June.

Brenda Peters, venue operations and entertainment manager at Amsterdam, said the venue has held free shows from local artists on its smaller stage. It will bring back larger, ticketed shows starting June 18.

Since shows have returned, Peters said the turnout at Amsterdam has blown them away. “People

are just so eager to see music,” she said. “It’s kind of incredible.”

Following the current government guidance, there are no mask requirements or capacity restrictions in place at Amsterdam Bar and Hall.

Ethan Lambert is a third-year strategic communications student at the University of Minnesota. Lambert is a passionate music fan and serves as vice president of the University’s Music Sharing Club.

Lambert, who went to concerts somewhat

regularly before the pandemic, is excited about their return. “I’ll definitely appreciate live music more when it’s back,” Lambert said. “It’s going to feel pretty surreal.”

He feels that shows are being reintroduced at just the right time, given the number of people that have been vaccinated. “If there was a concert happening tonight, because I’ve been vaccinated for a while, I would go,” Lambert said.

Tom Coyer, a fan of local musicians, said he doesn’t have any concerns about COVID-19 in terms of attending concerts this summer, as he feels that things are trending in the right direction.

“That’s really the whole point of everyone getting the vaccine,” Coyer said, “returning back to doing the things we were doing before.”

The Varsity Theater could not be reached for comment but has several events on the calendar.

University music lovers can visit the beloved Dinkytown concert hall as soon as July

30, when Vintage Culture will take the stage.

The return of live music will also bring back an important aspect of prepandemic life for artists: performing.

Local indie musician Bob Kabeya — fans may know him as the lead singer of Miloe — is headlining a show at the 7th St. Entry on Sept. 9 and opening for the band “Beach Bunny” on their North American tour in fall 2021.

Kabeya said he’s looking forward to performing again, as it boosts his confidence as an artist. “It’s empowering to write these songs and then watch them exist outside of your brain and recognize that other people know the songs too,” he said.

After Kabeya released his “Greenhouse” EP in October 2020, he wasn’t able to perform his new music in person due to the pandemic. “It was a little bit weird to put out music without having shows,” Kabeya said. “I missed people and missed the energy.”

Editorials & Opinions

6 Monday, June 21, 2021

COLUMN

The painful relatability of SOUR Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album contains songs that cut right to the core.

A

Tara Brankin s someone who is about to encolumnist ter their final year of college, I have not spent a lot of time reminiscing about who I was at 17, because frankly, I think I was a little insufferable. But I vividly remember what music I listened to when I felt like the world around me was caving in or when I felt deeply misunderstood

by my peers. Most of what I listened to were songs written and performed by men who whine about how not getting the girl they desired was tearing them up inside. However, the pain and anger in their voices were what I was relating to, not the lyrics. I also occasionally listened to Lorde, an amazing female artist, but her songs left me feeling more pensive and nostalgic than anything else. I did not realize it at the time, but I never came across a female artist who encapsulated the frustrations of being a teenage girl, at least not one who was actually a teenager while writing her songs. Then, at 21 years old, I heard “Brutal” by Olivia Rodrigo for the first time.

For those who have been living under a rock, Rodrigo is an 18-yearold songwriter and actress who first achieved fame when Disney cast her in the television series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” While appearing in the show made Rodrigo popular, I first heard of Rodrigo when she released her now renowned single, “Drivers License,” at the beginning of 2021. The song became a staple on my Tik Tok “For You” page, and not only was it stuck in my head constantly, but

like many others, I became a little too invested in the petty teen drama that inspired “Drivers License.” Basically, Joshua Bassett, another actor in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” broke Rodrigo’s heart by choosing to date Sabrina Carpenter.

While I am long past my teenage angst phase, the songs on SOUR, particularly “Brutal,” which explores the anger and anxiety that comes with being a teenage girl, resonated with me.

The songs forced me to think about who I was at 17 and how, if SOUR had come out when I was in high school, it would have been all I listened to, particularly because I would have found it so relatable. From capturing the frustration with stupid teenage boys, to anxiety over not being good enough for peers and the world in general, Rodrigo can channel emotions that are difficult to vocalize effectively. While some may find Rodrigo’s songs immature, I think that they are incredibly accurate, and teenagers should not be expected to possess the maturity of people who have gone through their adolescence.

It is rare to find an artist who can vocalize teenage angst while also being a teenager themselves. As Pitchfork

writes in their review of SOUR, “Like [Rodrigo’s] seeming newness, her earnestness, the heartbreak baked into her ascent, it’s one of the qualities that makes her easy to root for.” While Rodrigo is obviously a major celebrity and lives a life very different from mine at 17, SOUR proves that no one is too famous or too successful to avoid heartbreak, anger and crippling anxiety. I think it is clear that Rodrigo will have a very long, successful career, given how poignant and impressive SOUR is. And based on my TikTok “For You” page, I am definitely not the only one who possesses this sentiment.

Oh, one last thing, I think it would be best if Joshua Bassett stayed off the internet for a while.

Tara Brankin welcomes comments at tbrankin@mndaily.com.

COLUMN

Let’s give accessible health care a shot The link between economic stability and public health has never been clearer.

F

ree donuts from Emily Eaton Krispy Kreme. columnist Drinks from Anheuser-Busch, America’s largest brewery company. “Shot for Shots” programs, where you get a vaccine and chase it with a free drink. Or, you can kill two birds with one stone(r) with “Joints for Jabs.” These are just some of the incentives established by city and state governments across the United States to get people vaccinated against COVID-19. Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio even announced a $1 million dollar lottery for vaccinated residents. To some, this may seem like an extravagant waste of money, but as Gov. DeWine explained in an interview with The Washington Post,

“The real waste at this point in the pandemic is a life lost to COVID-19.”

It only took 15 months of masking up and staying inside for state governments and national corporations alike to agree that a price tag cannot be put on human lives. Actually, that’s not quite right. It took 15 months of economic stagnation, supply chain disruption, unemployment and civil unrest for governments and corporations to understand that they stand to profit significantly from mass vaccinations and a return to normalcy.

With the exception of anti-vaxxers, we are looking at a bipartisan solution to the current pandemic. According to a Pew Research survey from the summer of 2020, a majority of Democrats view the reduction of infection rates as key to economic recovery. Many Republicans believe we need to reopen regardless of infection rate in order to spur economic recovery. The more citizens who receive vaccinations, the more rapidly we can fully reopen. We can have our cake and eat it too, but only if people actually get vaccinated.

If government institutions, large businesses and our political parties see the benefit of providing citizens with free and accessible vaccinations for this pandemic, this same logic can easily be applied to other illnesses and preventative care. The estimated annual cost of influenza in the U.S. ranges from $1 to $5 billion dollars a year — which does not include lost wages, childcare costs and other unforeseen expenses. Without insurance, a flu shot can

cost between $40 and $70 dollars at your local pharmacy. That may not seem cost prohibitive, but fewer than 50% of Americans regularly get a flu shot.

Let’s do some quick math here: over the last few months, most of the nation has worked to establish easily accessible, sometimes unorthodox testing sites and vaccination centers. If we keep these centers and sites open and functioning — regardless of the state of the COVID-19 pandemic — with the goal of repurposing them for different illnesses depending on the season, we could reduce infection rates across the board. While free or lowcost health care is seen as an unnecessary expense by some, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that the economic repercussions of not listening to public health officials are far more severe. Maintaining and improving upon the infrastructure established during this pandemic may seem costly when we are not in the midst of a pandemic, but the human lives saved and long-term financial gain stand to outweigh the cost. I apologize if you thought I was going to actually do math here.

It is now clear as day that economic growth and stability are not just about the stock market, gross domestic product and other complicated economic ideas. At the end of the day, our economy functions because people are able to go out into the world and work. A healthy, capable workforce is the keystone species of the economic biome. Without it, the entire system is disrupted. With mobile, accessible

locations, local public health departments will be able to cater effectively and efficiently to their community. Not only would overall quality of life be improved in a nation notorious for atrocious health care, but the workforce would be stronger than ever. If and when the next pandemic strikes, we will still have the health care infrastructure we need to fight back.

Americans should get more out of these past 15 months than anxiety about crowded spaces and a hatred of Zoom. We have the opportunity to fundamentally change the way health care works in this country and reap the economic benefits of doing so. By repurposing the infrastructure we’ve established to fight more than just the COVID-19 pandemic, we can keep people in the workforce, ensure children stay in school and cultivate a healthier nation.

CARTOON BY NATALIA POTERYAKHIN

I have to start wearing Chapstick again.

Emily Eaton welcomes comments at eeaton@mndaily.com.

Editorials & Opinions

7 Monday, June 21, 2021

COLUMN

Duncan and the Grand Old Flag Two flags are better than one, right?

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h i s J a n u a r y, Emily Eaton Rep. Jeff Duncolumnist can, R-S.C., introduced the Old Glory Only Act for its third year on the House of Representatives floor. Currently, embassies and consular posts who wish to fly unofficial flags must seek approval from the State Department. Under this legislation, the Secretary of State would be tasked with ensuring embassies and consular posts only fly Old Glory — the official flag of the United States. If you’re confused, don’t worry: the State Department already has the authority to ensure embassies only fly the American flag. The Old Glory Only Act seeks to limit the flags the State Department could potentially approve.

In a world of Department of Justice subpoenas, infrastructure bills

and China’s impending economic supremacy, it seems frivolous to devote the time and energy of our elected officials to flag regulations. But, Congressman Duncan is right on one account: flags, as symbolic as they may be, hold power. That does not mean we should limit the flags our embassies and consulates can fly. Instead, we should harness that symbolic power as a means of advancing policy goals.

June is a month to celebrate and honor the LGBTQ+ community in the United States. Secretary of State Anthony Biliken recently reversed the ban on LGBTQ+ pride flags at embassies and consulates that had been put in place by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Not only does Congressman Duncan’s proposed legislation further politicize the role of the State Department, but also it prevents the United States from taking subtle, but clear stances on human rights issues like LGBTQ+ freedoms and protections. In March, the Vatican ruled that the Catholic Church could not bless same-sex marriage. This month, the U.S. Embassy in Vatican City flies the rainbow flag.

In Namibia, colonial legislation criminalizing sodomy remains in place. On June 1, the U.S. Embassy in Namibia tweeted a video of the pride flag flying below the stars and stripes, with the caption #EqualityforAll. Small actions like these allow the United States to regain a shred of its former identity as a beacon of freedom and hope for all. Flying the pride flag in nations that seek to limit the freedoms of their

citizens maintains our nation’s identity as a positive force for global democracy.

U.S. embassies under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proved that there are ways around the LGBTQ+ flag gag rule. Embassies in Nepal, Mongolia, Tel Aviv, Seoul and Chennai found loopholes around the rule, hanging pride flags from the facades of buildings and tying them to fences. Essentially, Representative Duncan’s proposed legislation is pointless.

But, just as a pride flag waving below Old Glory outside of a U.S. embassy could inspire hope in some, ensuring that exact instance cannot occur sparks fear for others. It was only 52 years ago that the Stonewall Riots erupted in the streets of Greenwich Village, New York City. Already, 2021 has been labeled the worst year for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States by the Human Rights Campaign. As much as I would like to disregard the Old Glory Only Act as an ineffective waste of time, it is another attempt to chip away at the rights and freedoms of Americans who identify as LGBTQ+. Human rights are a slippery slope; if we allow this to slide under the radar, it paves the way for continued suppression and denial of basic rights.

At first glance, Congressman Duncan’s proposed Old Glory Only Act seems relatively harmless, if somewhat idiotic. Underneath, it is an insidious attempt to undermine the humanity of the LGBTQ+ community, not only in the United States, but across the world. As the classic saying goes,

actions speak louder than words. Saying that the U.S. is a leader in human rights and supports LGBTQ+ communities is very different from publically allowing that imagery to be associated with our diplomatic missions abroad.

Our nation is built on the ideal of freedom. It’s a convoluted and difficult goal to strive towards, but it is nonetheless important. Allowing embassies and consular outposts the option to fly or not fly the pride flag is inherently more democratic than ensuring that only the American flag can fly.

Emily Eaton welcomes comments at eeaton@mndaily.com

COLUMN

What I really wanted for my birthday this year Marijuana should be legal, and the war on drugs should end.

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Zach Courtney omething I have long had, and columnist hope I never lose, is my instinct to ask why. “Because it’s always been that way,” has never been a sufficient answer to me. I have a radical philosophy: For a law to be made, there needs to be a good reason for it.

The criminalization of marijuana and other drugs has always been one of those things for me. If someone smokes marijuana, why does that mean they belong in jail? If someone struggles with a

cocaine addiction, why does that mean they belong in jail?

A week and a half ago, I turned 21.

For many, this would be a magical week.

Turning 21 usually means drinking too much and remembering too little. I don’t drink, and I don’t plan to anytime soon. But why does the magical age of 21 mean I can drink alcohol, a drug that kills more than 95,000 Americans each year, but can’t smoke marijuana, a drug that kills virtually no one every year?

The number one reason I hear as to why marijuana needs to be criminalized is that it is just too dangerous. But is marijuana really that dangerous?

The short answer is no. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a marijuana overdose is “unlikely.” Furthermore, some reports have shown that the legality of marijuana has led to a decrease in opioid overdoses.

Not only do people not die from marijuana, but the drug might indirectly be saving lives.

The reason marijuana is vilified isn’t actually tied to how dangerous it is, or to the myth that it is a gateway drug to harder drugs. It is tied to the Nixon administration and the infamous War on Drugs. Here is a stunning quote from President Nixon’s chief domestic

adviser, John Ehrlichman, that explains the Nixon administration’s thinking: “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the anti-war left and Black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

I suggest reading that quote again.

President Nixon’s number one policy item — the War on Drugs — was not focused on marijuana and other drugs, but putting Black people and hippies in jail.

My stance on marijuana — that it should be legal — shows the libertarian side of my politics. I just don’t see the need for the government to decide what Americans can and can’t consume on their own time, especially when there is no evidence that Americans can or do die from marijuana.

So, the question still remains: Why does the magical age of 21 mean I can drink alcohol, a drug that kills more than 95,000 Americans each year, but can’t smoke marijuana, a drug that kills virtually no one every year?

If it hasn’t been made clear already, there isn’t a good reason. The criminalization of these drugs was, quite literally, rooted in racism and imperialism.

The War on Drugs solved a problem, just not the problem of marijuana. It solved the problem of anti-war lefties and Black people wanting change, so our government disproportionately targeted both. Today, Black people are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than white people, despite similar usage. So, for my birthday, I don’t want to smoke marijuana or even to have a beer. I want nonviolent drug offenders to be released from prison. It’s been long overdue.

Zach Courtney welcomes comments at zcourtney@mndaily.com

COLUMN

Was I always so awkward at parties?

A little self-care goes a long way to help us get back to pre-COVID “normal.”

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Matthew Doty here I sat, teecolumnist tering on the edge of normalcy. All that was demanded of me was to walk through a waist-high wooden gate and into a backyard and I would be back to the blissful, pre-pandemic state of social nirvana that I had fantasized about for a year. I was at my first post-vaccination social gathering with a few friends that I had met last year before the lockdown, the type of friends that I was excited to be making as a freshman, but did not know well enough to keep in touch with during isolation. The first thing I did? I forgot the name of the first kid that came up

to me to say hello. I substituted with a “good to see you, man!” Though neither of us mentioned it (thank God), we clearly both understood the blunder I had made and opted to simply continue rekindling. I will spare you the details and promise you that the rest of the night followed the same pattern. Despite my giddiness to see these almost-close friends, my jokes did not land, conversation topics refused to connect organically and I found myself exhausted by the energy I had to put into conversation. The triumphant return I had expected to make was a flop.

As a frenetic extrovert, I was a little confused by and more than a little concerned for my own social skills.

For those of us who are fully vaccinated, the world may be getting back to some semblance of what it was like pre-pandemic. As of June 9, 48 U.S. states have fully lifted mask mandates.

This, combined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s postvaccination guidance allowing for “resum[ing] activities without wearing a masks or physically distancing” in places that do not have mandates, means that these types of casual social gatherings are likely to be more common in your life very shortly if they are not already.

This is good news. This is the news we have collectively been waiting on for the last 15 months, and it seems (though I say this cautiously) that we may be making major headway toward

the end of the pandemic in the U.S. With these much anticipated changes in mind, it is easy to fantasize about normalcy, and I do not blame you if you do; it is good to be hopeful about what lies ahead. However, it is also important to remember that while getting vaccinated and lifting mandates gets our foot in the normalcy door, it does not erase this unprecedented experience from our lives. It may take a little time before some of us are back to our normal, social selves.

Because, believe it or not, we are not all just waking up from a fever dream ready to get back to life as it was. The lockdown had and will continue to have salient effects on our psyche. This was presented by a large observed uptick in symptoms of anxiety disorders in U.S. adults during the pandemic. Even if you did not feel acute symptoms, the chronic stress of dealing with separation from loved ones, new formats of work/school and other large overhauls of normal life impair functioning of the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain broadly responsible for our social skills. These changes took time to occur in our brain and it will likewise take time for us to correct them.

Science aside, this makes intuitive sense. No matter how much FaceTiming you did, no matter how many outdoor masked gatherings you attended or phone calls you made to relatives, it is impossible to deny that social

interaction was sparse for the almost year and a half that we were relegated to our houses. We are out of practice.

Just like with anything else, it may take us a moment to shake the rust off of our social skills before we are out there commanding the room like the prepandemic charisma machines that I know we all were.

Understanding that “normalcy ” takes a lot more than lifted mandates is important, and being forgiving to ourselves and others as we all socially readjust is a must. If you are fully vaccinated, and feel comfortable seeing people again, keep in mind that we are all coming out of a potentially traumatizing situation. With time will come comfort, as is so often the case. In the end, the reason we miss pre-pandemic life is because we (or at least I) miss all the activities we used to do and the people we used to see, and we need to remember to enjoy them, even if we have to put up with growing pains for a little while. For now we should take it slow, forgive ourselves and get used to embracing a little awkwardness.

Matthew Doty welcomes comments at mdoty@mndaily.com.

Editorials & Opinions

8 Monday, June 21, 2021

WOMEN’S DIVING

Gophers diver Bacon takes takes second place with Cook in women’s synchro

Bacon and Cook collected a total of 871.50 points.

By Allie Dullum and Michael Lyne adullum@mndaily.com, mlyne@mndaily.com

Gophers CSCAA Diver of the Year redshirt senior Sarah Bacon placed second with synchro teammate Kassidy Cook Thursday night at the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, after totaling 871.50 points over their 15 dives throughout the preliminary, semifinal and final round of the women’s synchro 3m springboard.

Bacon and Cook fell short of qualification for the Tokyo Olympic games this summer after placing second behind Alison Gibson and Krysta Palmer after the pair earned a total score of 899.82 points over their 15 dives.

Preliminary — Sunday, June 6 On Sunday morning, Bacon and Cook competed in the preliminary round of the women’s synchro 3m springboard event, totaling 266.46 points to finish second and secure a spot into the semifinal round.

The duo’s best dive of the preliminary was their last dive. While they had a miss early on in the competition, they pulled together a score of 68.40 on their synchro forward two and a half somersaults, one twist pike dive.

Bacon and Cook also saw similar success in their third dive after earning 67.50 points on their synchro inward two and a half somersaults pike dive.

Although the duo found success on dives three and five, the judges awarded Cook a balk on dive two that cost them a significant amount of points as they scored 32.40.

A balk in diving is when

Kassidy Cook (left) and Sarah Bacon (right) compete at the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials on Thursday, June 10.

(Courtesy of USA Diving) a diver initiates a motion to begin their routine but discontinues it before takeoff. This miss proved to be costly because balks cause a two-point deduction per judge and their score was cumulative throughout the three rounds of competition.

To round out their preliminary total, Bacon and Cook scored 49.80 points on dive one and 48.36 points on dive two.

Semifinal — Sunday, June 6 On Sunday night, the duo competed in the semifinals of the women’s 3m synchro springboard, improving their total score from the prelims by collecting 306.93 points for the round and totaling 573.39 cumulatively to secure a spot in the competition’s finals.

Bacon and Cook started the night slowly but quickly

got into form for their last three dives of the night.

Once again, their best dive of the round was their fifth and final dive. Their forward two and a half somersaults, one twist pike earned them 73.80 points from the judges.

The duo also found success on dives three (inward two and a half somersaults pike) and four (forward three and a half somersaults pike), scoring 69.30 and 66.03 points.

To conclude their total in the semifinal round, Bacon and Cook scored 50.40 on dive one and 47.40 on dive two.

Final — Thursday, June 10 On Thursday night, Bacon and Cook competed in the final round of the women’s synchro 3m springboard, searching for a first-place finish and qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The duo totaled 298.11 points.

They entered the final

round trailing behind firstplace leaders Gibson and Palmer by 21 points.

As Bacon and Cook approached their final fives of the competition, they improved their score of each dive. They scored 72.90 points on their fifth dive (forward two and a half somersaults, one twist pike) of the night and 62.31 on their fourth dive (forward three and a half somersaults pike).

To conclude their totals from the final round, the pair scored 60.30 on dive three, 51.60 on dive two and 51.00 on dive one.

With only five dives left in the final round, Bacon and Cook couldn’t climb their way to the top as Gibson and Palmer extended their lead to 28.32 points by the end of Sunday’s competition.

A few misses in each round proved costly for the duo in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Abdoulaye Thiam is ready to bring the Gophers a show Abdoulaye Thiam is the eighth transfer to join the team

By Tony Liebert aliebert@mndaily.com After one season at Indian River State College (IRSC), 6-foot-3-inch guard Abdoulaye Thiam took to Twitter to announce his intentions to transfer to the University of Minnesota late last month.

Thiam, an Orlando, Florida native broke onto the basketball scene in high school, where he attended Dr. Phillips High School. He would flourish and quickly develop into one of the best prep talents in the state.

During his senior season, Thiam would net 34 points en-route to a Florida Class 7A, District 3 championship victory over Ocoee High School.

“He’s one of the best shooters in the state,” said Dr. Phillips head coach Ben Witherspoon after the game.

Following a successful high school career, Thiam would opt to go the junior college route. After receiving very few scholarship options he would ultimately choose to stay home and attend Indian River State College located in Fort Pierce, Florida. The Pioneers compete at the NJCAA level, and Thiam saw it as an opportunity to work hard.

“Coming to JUCO [junior college] right away, you have to work right away,” Thiam said. “Everybody’s main goal is to go D1 obviously, so you have to come here [JUCO] with a set mindset, everybody is trying to make it out of JUCO.” Thiam did just that. In his first season of collegiate basketball he averaged 15 points and 3.7 rebounds per-game on remarkable

shooting numbers of 56.1% from the field and 48.5% from beyond the arc.

He would lead IRSC to the national junior college tournament in his lone collegiate season. He performed best under the bright lights, recording 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 shooting from beyond the three-point line in a win vs. the College of Southern Idaho to reach the Elite Eight.

After a three point loss the following game, Thiam would receive a handful of Division One offers after the completion of his first collegiate season. Most notably Buffalo, Kent State and Coastal Carolina would all offer before the University of Minnesota.

“My mindset was always ‘I am going to go D1,’” Thiam said. “I never doubted that I was not going to go D1.

I didn’t really start getting looks until we started

making a tournament run, then I started having a lot of high major schools calling me.”

Thiam ultimately landed with the Gophers and first-year head coach Ben Johnson. The athlete took to Twitter to officially commit to the school on May 21 saying, “Let’s work.”

“Right now they’re in a rebuilding process, I would love to be a part of that,” Thiam said. “I like the school. I love the coach. I picked Minnesota because right now I feel like a lot of people are doubting the school; they’re thinking the basketball squad is falling apart, and they can’t get good recruits.”

The Gophers are entering a season with nine new players and counting, with Isaiah Ihnen as the lone returning player from last season. Thiam is well aware that it will likely be a rebuilding process

Men’s head basketball coach Ben Johnson. (Photo by Kelly Hagenson / Courtesy of Gophers Athletics) heading into head coach Ben Johnson’s first season at the helm, but he is not shying away from the opportunity.

“Every recruit that we got, even the walk-ons, is a great fit, I am liking it,” Thiam said. “A lot of people have doubts about us and they don’t even know what is about to happen, so we just close our eyes, put our heads down and just work.”

When Thiam arrives in

Dinkytown, it will be the first time that he has visited the land of 10,000 lakes. The Orlando, Florida native has seen snow only one other time, but he has already talked with some teammates to help him get acclimated with Minnesota and Gophers basketball.

“People are going to watch, and we’re gonna bring a show,” Thiam told new teammate Parker Fox.

SOFTBALL

Gophers softball ends postseason bid with loss to UCLA Minnesota was just two games away from moving on.

By Matthew Kennedy mkennedy@mndaily.com The no. 24 Gophers softball team headed west in pursuit of a long postseason run, but they were unable to advance past regional play.

The team lost to powerhouse UCLA, ending their season.

After earning a 2911 record in the Big Ten conference Gopher softball finished second place and secured an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. Playing in the Los Angeles regional, Minnesota dropped their first game against Fresno State on Friday, May 21.

With two wins on Saturday, May 22, the Gophers were set to face UCLA in the final Sunday.

Minnesota’s other Saturday win over Long Beach St. put them against UCLA for the Sunday final, where they were narrowly defeated 2-1.

Friday, May 21 On Friday, the Gophers were involved in a tense pitching duel against Hailey Dolcini one of the “top pitchers in the nation,” according to Gophers Head Coach Piper Ritter. Dolcini

pitched a 1.01 ERA in the regular season with a 21-4 record. Amber Fiser took the circle for the Gophers. Fiser was a part of the 1-2 starting pitcher punch alongside Autumn Pease.

Through five innings, the game was scoreless.

Minnesota’s lone hit came with an Ellee Jensen lead off single in the bottom of the first inning.

In the sixth inning, Fresno St. finally broke the tie as a pair of singles put runners on first and second base with one out. After a sacrifice bunt

by Adrianna Noriega moved both runners to second and third base, Hayleigh Galvan was hit by a pitch, making the bases loaded with two outs.

Up next to bat was Schuylar Broussard, who singled to right field bringing home the Bulldogs’ runners from second and third base. This made the game 2-0 Fresno St. The inning concluded after Center Fielder Natalie DenHartog threw out pinch runner Liliana Mejia at home off of a Avery Lawley single.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, MaKenna Partain singled to CF and DenHartog walked, making a lucrative comeback opportunity for the Gophers down by two.

But the next three batters all failed to reach base before the inning ended.

In the top of the seventh, Fresno St. added to their lead with Miranda Rohleder scoring from first base off of a Keahilele Mattson double to right field.

The final half-inning of regulation didn’t bode well for the Gophers with Dolcini pitching a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Sara Kinch, Sydney Strelow fouling out to the catcher and pinch hitter Chloe Evans striking out.

Dolcini finished with a complete game shutout, striking out 13 batters. Fiser pitched all seven innings for the Gophers, allowing 3 earned runs.

Fresno St. won 3-0 and advanced to play UCLA in the winners bracket while the Gophers would face Long Beach St. in the losers bracket.

The message in the locker room after the game was to “stay alive” by taking one game at a time, focusing all of their energy on that matchup to get to play another game, according to Ritter.

Saturday, May 22 On Saturday, the Gophers made quick work of Long Beach St, winning 11-0. A solo home run by Kinch and a grand slam by Natalie DenHartog were the highlights of the game. Fiser pitched six shutout innings and Ava Dueck sealed the win over pitching in the

final inning.

After the Gophers’ first elimination game victory they would proceed to rematch Fresno St. after the Bulldogs lost earlier in the winner’s bracket to UCLA. The Gophers would need to defeat Fresno St. to move onto the regional final.

Minnesota got off to a hot start quickly, with DenHartog homering to deep CF off of Dariana Orme that brought in two runs in the first inning, giving the Gophers a 2-0 lead.

That home run was DenHartog’s second straight long ball after hitting a grand slam in her final at bat versus Long Beach St. Ritter talked about DenHartog’s surge at the plate on Saturday.

“For her it’s all about timing. She worked most of yesterday and today on being on time for the pitches she wanted to hit,” Ritter said. ”So when you get that swing off and see the ball as well as she did today, it feels good.”

In the bottom of the first inning, Mattson hit a solo shot off of Gophers starting pitcher Pease to cut the lead down to one and through one inning the score was 2-1.

In the third inning, DenHartog knocked in another RBI from a single to center field, allowing Partain to score. The lead returned to two runs for the Gophers, ahead 3-1 over the Bulldogs.

Fresno St. answered with

a double by Mattson, who scored two runners from second and third to tie the game at three apiece.

In the top of the fourth, Strelow homered to center, bringing home Kinch. The lead extended to 5-3 Gophers in the top of the fifth with a Partain home run to left field.

Fiser was tasked to close out the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. She got out of a bases loaded jam with a defensive play, knocking a hit from UCLA’s Mattson in the air with her glove. The ball ricocheted to the Gophers short stop Carlie Brandt to throw Mattson out, winning the game.

Sunday, May 23 After a scoreless first inning, Pease hit a batter by pitch but still gave up no runs in the second inning while in the circle for Minnesota.

Megan Dray hit a leadoff home run to left center to give the Gophers a 1-0 lead.

The Gophers continued to attack UCLA offensively and had a bases loaded opportunity to increase their lead but ace relief pitcher Rachel Garcia (150, 0.82 ERA, 137 Ks, 102 IP) halted the Gophers offensive pursuits.

The Bruins took the lead in the top of the fourth inning as Kinsley Washington hit a two RBI single to score Rachel Garcia and Maya

Brady to take a 2-1 lead.

Garcia reached base from a single and Brady doubled down the left field line to reach second base as Garcia advanced to third.

The next three innings featured no scoring, but the Gophers almost tied the game up in the bottom of the seventh inning with Chloe Evans reaching second base on a pinch hit ground ball error by UCLA SS Briana Perez.

With one out and a runner in scoring position, Delanie Cox came to pinch hit for Brant and struck out and Partain flew out to left with two outs to end the ballgame — and the Gophers season — in Los Angeles, losing in a close 2-1 battle.

After the final game, Ritter commented on how much she appreciated the leadership of the fifth-year seniors on the team.

“They meant a lot to me because they have been through so much and their dedication to this program really speaks volumes,” Ritter said. “A lot of coaching changes have occurred during their tenure and they helped our upperclassmen a lot, especially during COVID-19 when team bonding was essential.”

Those fifth year seniors included Carlie Brandt, Fiser, Katelyn Kemmetmueller and Partain.

Sports

9 Monday, June 21, 2021

TRACK & FIELD

Zaltos, seniors shine at NCAA track and field championships

Kostas Zaltos placed third in men’s hammer throw.

By Michael Lyne mlyne@mndaily.com

Fourteen athletes representing Minnesota competed throughout the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships earlier this week. Redshirt freshman Kostas Zaltos and redshirt seniors Alec Basten, Abby Kohut-Jackson and Bethany Hasz had the best finishes across the ten events.

Zaltos highlights day one — Wednesday, June 9 In the first event of the meet’s competition and his NCAA Championships debut, Zaltos recorded his careerbest throw of 71.21 meters to earn a third-place finish in the men’s hammer throw and was named First-Team AllAmerican.

Zaltos made the topnine cut in the finals after

his first three throws of the competition. His career-best throw came early on in the second round. This throw counted as his final throw as scores do not reset after the cut, where he did not have a longer throw.

Outside of his 71.21-meter throw, Zaltos recorded throws of 69.53 meters, 69.48 meters, 69.37 meters, 68.77 meters, and had a foul in the third rotation of the evening.

Zaltos previously won the Big Ten Conference title coming into Wednesday’s contest and had also won five other hammer throw competitions in the 2021 season.

Zaltos’ redshirt freshman counterpart Kyle Atkinson also made his NCAA Championships debut after competing in the men’s shot put finals, finishing in 21st place after recording his longest throw of 17.45 meters in the first round of the event.

Atkinson threw two other times during the competition, recording a foul in the second round and a throw of 17.13 meters in the third. However,

Kostas Zaltos competes at the University of Minnesota Track and Field stadium on Friday, April 30. (Courtesy of Gopher Athletics) he did not make the final cut to earn three extra throws.

Wednesday night’s competition also included the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals as Basten punched his ticket to the events’ finals after placing third in his heat and 11th overall with a time of 8 minutes, 37.18 seconds.

Throughout Wednesday, graduate student Teddy Frid competed in the first half of the men’s decathlon, finishing in 17th place with 3,781 points.

Frid’s best finish of the five

events came in the high jump, where he placed 10th with his highest jump recorded at 1.95 meters. However, his highest-scoring event was the 100-meters, where he earned 808 points after placing 19th in 11.24 seconds.

In the other three events of the decathlon, Frid earned a 13th place finish in the long jump, 16th place in the 400-meters and 20th place in the shot put.

Kohut-Jackson’s career night — Thursday, June 10 2021 USTFCCCA Midwest

Region Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year Kohut-Jackson, highlighted Thursday’s competition for the Gophers after placing fifth in her heat and 10th overall in the semifinals of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase to advance to the event’s finals.

The redshirt senior earned her career-best time of 9 minutes, 41.20 seconds, improving her Gophers program record in the event.

Kohut-Jackson’s veteran counterpart, Frid, competed in the second half of the men’s decathlon Thursday.

He finished in 14th place with 7,330, moving up three positions in the event’s last five competitions to also be named Second-Team AllAmerican.

On day two of the men’s decathlon, Frid earned three top-10 finishes, two more than he had on day one.

His best finish came in the 1,500-meter run after he finished in fourth place with a time of 4 minutes, 34.74 seconds.

Frid also placed sixth in

the pole vault by clearing 4.71 meters and eighth-place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.79 seconds, earning him 875 points, which was his highestscoring event of the day.

To conclude his decathlon, Frid also placed 12th in the discus (38.53 meters) and 16th in the javelin (44.16 meters).

In the women’s hammer throw finals, redshirt junior Tess Keyzers finished in 21st place after recording her best throw of 63.82 meters, her third-best throw of the season, in the first of three rotations in the event after she did not make the final cut to earn three extra throws.

To conclude day two of competition for the Gophers, the 4-x-400 meter relay team of redshirt senior Val Larson, sophomores Janielle Josephs and Jayla Campbell, and freshman Abigail Schaaffe placed in 12th after finishing with a time of 3 minutes, 36.20 seconds in the event’s semifinals.

They were later named Second-Team All-Americans.

OLYMPIC TRIALS

Bacon falls short of the Olympic team

Bacon was 14.45 points away from qualifying for summer games.

By Michael Lyne mlyne@mndaily.com

Gophers redshirt senior diver Sarah Bacon competed in the U.S. Olympic trials throughout the week of June 6, finishing in third place with a total score of 912.10 across 15 dives throughout the preliminary, semifinals and the finals.

The four-time NCAA Champion fell just one spot short of qualifying for this year’s summer games behind winner Krysta Palmer (1011.95) and Hailey Hernandez (926.55).

Final Round – Saturday, June 12 On Saturday, Bacon trailed the top two divers, Palmer and Hernandez, by 87.15 and 25.90 points heading into the final round.

The Olympic hopeful competed in the final round and was 14.45 points short of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games, finishing in third place with a total

Sarah Bacon prepares to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Thursday, June 10th. (Courtesy of USA Diving) score of 912.10. The 25.90 point margin was too much to overcome with just five dives remaining.

However, the hometown native gave it everything she had; three of Bacon’s five dives scored a whopping 72.00 points or above. It was her best fivedive performance of the trials as she totaled 344.10.

Bacon got off to a hot start with a marvelous inward two-and-a-half somersault pike, earning 75.00 points from the judges after her rotation allowed her to enter the water with minimal splashes.

On dive two, Bacon over-rotated on her back somersault two and a half pike, causing her to enter the water slightly sideways.

As a result, the judges deducted points from her score as she earned 55.50 points. The redshirt senior trailed Alison Gibson by 33.30 points, who held the second qualifying spot, heading into round three of dives.

Bacon continued sizzling on dive three, scoring an incredible 76.50 points on her reverse twoand-a-half somersault pike to cut Gibson’s 33.30 point gap to 19.80 heading into the fourth round of dives.

Following up her magnificent third dive, Bacon earned 65.10 points from the judges on her forward three-and-ahalf somersault pike, continuing to cut the gap and trail new second place

holder, Hernandez, by 18.95 points going into the last round of dives.

The Gophers veteran needed a massive score on her last dive that would give her a chance to finish in the second qualifying spot, and she did just that, scoring 72.00 points on her forward two-and-a-half somersault, one twist pike.

Unfortunately for Bacon, Hernandez scored 67.50 points on her last dive, and it was more than enough for her to hold onto the second-place qualifying spot.

An earlier miss in the preliminary round also proved costly in Bacon falling short of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.

The semifinal round – Tuesday, June 8 On Tuesday evening, Bacon competed in the semifinal round and remained in fifth place after her ten dives with a total score of 568.00. This total allowed Bacon to make the top-12 cut to make the final round of the three-meter springboard finals, giving her a chance to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games this summer.

Bacon’s best dive of the semifinal was her first of the night. With her back toward the water, she jumped and completed an inward two-and-ahalf somersault pike that earned her 67.50 points from the judges, the highest score she had through the preliminary and semifinal.

The hometown native also saw similar success on her second dive. Bacon executed her back two-anda-half somersault pike that earned her a total score of 63.00 points from the judges, which was more than double what the judges awarded her after her miss in the preliminary round.

To complete Bacon’s semifinal round, she scored 57.35 on dive four with matching 54.00s on dives three and five.

The preliminary round – Tuesday, June 8 On Tuesday morning, Bacon competed in the preliminary round. She finished in fifth place with a total score of 272.15 through her first five dives.

This total earned her the opportunity to advance and compete in the semifinal round.

The Olympic hopeful’s best score of the round came on dive four. Bacon dived gracefully toward the water, completing a forward three-and-a-half somersault pike that earned her a total score of 66.65 points from the judges.

Bacon found similar scoring success on her last dive of the preliminary.

She executed a forward two-and-a-half somersault, one twist pike similarly impressing the judges as she did on dive four to earn a score of 63.00 points.

However, the redshirt senior had a miss on dive two that played a crucial role in her falling short of qualifying for the summer games. As Bacon launched off the springboard to complete her back two and a half somersault pike, she did not get a full rotation on her last somersault and nearly landed in the water horizontally. The judges awarded the dive a total of 27.00 points.

To round out Bacon’s preliminary scores, she earned 58.50 points on dive three and 57.00 on dive one.

She trailed the lead diver, Hailey Hernandez, by 32.50 points heading into the semifinal round.

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

Gophers women’s gymnastics stars returning Ramler, Loper and Hooten return for the 2022 season.

By Michael Lyne mlyne@mndaily.com After leading the Gophers women’s gymnastics team to a historic season, seniors Lexy Ramler and Ona Loper are returning to the program for their fifth collegiate season in 2022.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Ona and Lexy have decided to take another year with our program,” Gophers head coach Jenny Hansen said.

“Since their arrival on campus, they have helped build this program to what it is today. Their influence not only on our gym but in the classroom and as role models for our team and our fans is unmatched.”

Ramler and Loper earned the opportunity to

compete for another season after the NCAA announced that all spring athletes could have an extra year of eligibility after the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19.

‘Not being ready to say goodbye’ “While there was a lot of time taken into deciding to return for another season, it ultimately came down to not being ready to say goodbye to the sport of gymnastics,” Ramler said. “I have been so grateful for my past four years here at Minnesota and even more grateful to have the opportunity for another year … I cannot wait to return next year and compete again in the Pav.” Ramler is one the most decorated student-athletes in University of Minnesota history. During her 2021 season, she accumulated a multitude of accolades.

Ramler was the recipient of the prestigious AAI Award, earned the Big Ten

Gymnast of the Year title for a third consecutive year and achieved the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week title six times.

She was also named First Team All-Big Ten, set a new Gophers program record in the all-around with a 39.850 and achieved perfection on the vault and beam.

But the accolade list does not stop there for Ramler. Earlier this season, she won the all-around title at the Athens Regional Final, earned event titles on the bars, beam and the all-around at the Big Ten Championships, won 31 individual event titles, and was named a WCGA AllAmerican in the all-around, vault, bars and beam.

‘An unforgettable journey’ Like Ramler, Loper had a tremendous senior season for the Gophers.

She was named First Team All-Big Ten, earned WCGA All-American honors on the vault, WCGA Second Team

(NQS = 9.975) Floor - Tied for No. 28 (NQS = 9.925) All-Around - Tied for No. 2 (NQS = 39.756)

Courtesy of Gopher Athletics All-American honors on the floor and the all-around, scored two perfect 10s on the vault, and accumulated 12 individual event titles.

Loper said she was also grateful for the chance to be with the program for another season.

“These past four years have been an unforgettable journey and I have learned so much throughout this process,” she said. “It has been so fun to be a part of a program filled with driven and passionate people. I

cannot wait to see what is in store for next year.”

Loper was the Big Ten Floor Champion, the Athens Regional Vault and Floor Champion, and earned a career-high allaround score at the NCAA National Championships after scoring 39.675.

Ramler’s 2021 Rankings Vault - Tied for No. 5 (National Qualifying Score, NQS = 9.950) Bars - No. 3 (NQS = 9.963) Beam - Tied for No. 1

Loper’s 2021 Rankings Vault - Tied for No. 3 (NQS = 9.956) Bars - Tied for No. 17 (NQS = 9.919) Beam - Tied for No. 112 (NQS = 9.863) Floor - Tied for No. 10 (NQS = 9.944) All-Around - No. 13 (NQS = 39.556) The future The Gophers finished their historic 2021 season with a 6-3 record and advanced to the NCAA National Championships for the first time since 2016.

This announcement is massive news for the program. The return of Ramler and Loper should put the Gophers back into very similar territory next season.