January 30, 2017

Page 1

TOP HEADLINES INSIDE:

U STUDENT’S PHOTO PROJECT EMPOWERS WOMEN PAGE 2

■■ U startup receives $7M for cancer treatment

ALI MILLER INTERVIEWS WOMEN ABOUT STRUGGLES.

■■ Gophers hockey takes third at North Star Cup

ApoGen hopes to develop the drug for cancer therapy. PAGE 2

The men’s team lost to UMD but beat Bemidji on Sat. PAGE 5

RAIN AND SNOW HIGH 37° LOW 32°

U OF M

MINNEAPOLIS

ST PAUL

EARLY WEEK

FOOTBALL

JAN. 30 - FEB. 1, 2017

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

POLITICS

Panel to rule on U football players’ fate within week A committee will decide whether to uphold the recommendation to expel some, suspend others. BY CHRISTOPHER AADLAND caadland@mndaily.com

A three-person student panel will decide by Friday whether 10 Gophers football players will be punished for their alleged involvement in a September sexual assault. The players — accused of sexual assault and harassment — pleaded their cases to the panel in all-day, closed-door hearings last week after the University of Minnesota’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action recommended in December that five players be expelled, four be suspended and one be placed on probation. EOAA of ficials found it “more likely than not” that the players had violated the school’s conduct code during a Title IX investigation by allegedly committing sexual assault and/or sexual harassment at an

Ilhan Omar recaps first weeks at the Capitol

u See HEARINGS Page 3

LEGISLATURE

Highway protest proposals could stiffen penalties If passed, new legislation would require protesters to pay police costs in highway obstructions. BY BELLA DALLY-STEELE Idally-steele@umn.edu

Highway protesters in Minnesota could face stif fer penalties if two proposed bills are passed at the state Legislature this year. Rep. Nick Zer was, R-Elk River, introduced the bills Jan. 19 and 23 and was met with animosity from Minneapolis residents who claim they infringe on free speech. The bills would make par ticipants of “an unlawful assembly” or “public nuisance” accountable for the cost of police responses to the events and charge those who obstr uct highways with a gross misdemeanor. Some say the bill unfairly targets political dissent — highway protests in particular. “Let’s be real, this bill isn’t just about protest. It’s specifically black protest they r afraid of and want 2 repress …,” Black Lives Matter Minneapolis tweeted on u See HIGHWAY Page 2

CHRIS DANG, DAILY

Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minneapolis, answers questions for the Minnesota Daily in her office on West Bank on Friday.

Omar, the U areas’s representitive, sat down with the Daily Friday to talk about her goals, the school’s budget request and President Trump. What’s it been like being the first Somali-

BY RYAN FAIRCLOTH rfaircloth@mndaily.com

American lawmaker in the U.S.?

As the 2017 Minnesota Legislature’s session

It’s been great. I think for me there’s a lot of

ramps up, newly elected Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Min-

… talk about freshman and the learning cur ve,

neapolis, sat down to talk with the Minnesota Daily.

but I find that I know a lot of the people in the

Omar, the University of Minnesota area’s

caucus, and I’m able to maneuver around and

House member, talked about her transition

[I’m] kind of getting a really good star t. We’ve

into the legislature, her goals for the session

figured out a way to keep the community en-

and her thoughts on Donald Tr ump’s presi-

gaged and keep the conversations going. So it

dency and how it could impact Minnesota.

doesn’t really feel like we’re starting, it feels like

u See ILHAN Page 8

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Report tackles U minority mental health disparities The report found that minority students face different barriers when seeking mental health care. BY DAVID CLAREY dclarey@mndaily.com

Minority students at the University of Minnesota face barriers when seeking mental healthcare their non-person of color counterparts don’t face. As college campuses boost mental health awareness, students from minority groups have worse access and quality of care, and the

HEALTH

University joint committee of the Council of Graduate Students and Professional Student Government conducted a report to assess how the school’s mental health resources serve minority students. The report is based on interviews with 15-20 undergraduate and graduate students. Common concerns included micro-aggressions, cultural barriers, faculty-student relationships and administrative concerns, said Kelly Wallin, one of the report’s co-authors. The committee plans to deliver the report to the Board of Regents and administration later this month. Last semester, the same committee

delivered a resolution to the administration calling for a reworking of mental health services at the University. The pressures of college are an integral play a big role in mental health, said Richard Lee, a University psychology professor. Lee has researched the way ethnic identity can play into mental well-being, and said that the difficulties a student faces in college can vary based on a variety of demographic characteristics. Students of color may face difficulties trying to find ways to succeed in a trying u See REPORT Page 3

Chef uses cooking class to improve public health After she received a grant, chef Jenny Breen started the class to use nutrition to prevent illness. BY OLIVIA JOHNSON ojohnson@mndaily.com

MEAGAN LYNCH, DAILY

Professional chef Jenny Breen helps Katelyn Erickson cut a sweet potato at The Good Acre in St. Paul on Jan. 17.

Knives moved hesitantly across cutting boards, and beginning cooks chucked parsnips — or maybe they were carrots — in the oven, while others whisked savor y sauces and dressings. That was the scene at The Good Acre in St. Paul on Wednesday evening. Since last fall, Food Matters, a graduate-level class for new cooks has been offered by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing. Taught by chef Jenny Breen and

University assistant professor of medicine Kate Shafto, the class promotes healthy eating as a strategy to improve public health and prevent chronic illnesses. The class teaches healthy cooking techniques and recipes to health care students and future health professionals once a week for six weeks. Breen, the co-founder of the class, has been a chef for over 25 years and started the class last fall. “It is a unique approach,” she said. “I call this applied nutrition.” Breen said she and her co-founder received a grant in 2016 to create the class, and the pilot version last fall was only offered to medical students. Shafto, who teaches with Breen, is a u See CLASS Page 3 VOLUME 117 ISSUE 34


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