TOP HEADLINES INSIDE:
FOR FIRST-YEAR, PIN-MAKING PROJECT TIED TO EDM PAGE 6
■ Student magician hones craft on campus
BADGES HOLD A RANGE OF MEANING FOR FANS.
■ Coach Richard Pitino signs extension with U
First-year Arman Shah’s persona hinges on his tricks. PAGE 3
Minnesota’s basketball coach is signed through 2022. PAGE 7
U OF M
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MINNEAPOLIS
ST PAUL
FINAL SPRING ISSUE
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
MAY 4, 2017
ADMISSIONS
LEGISLATURE
In final state bills, funding for U is down from request The final proposal at the Legislature is 13 percent of the U’s ask.
Freshman
Transfers
8,000 6,000 4,000
u See ADMISSIONS Page 4
Maryland
Nebraska
Iowa
UC Berkley
Minnesota
UCLA
Michigan
Washington
Purdue
Wisconsin
Florida
Rutgers
Ohio State
0
Texas
2,000
Illinois
More students than ever want to study at the University of Minnesota, but the school’s admission standards have become stricter, pushing thousands to outof-state schools and two-year colleges. The stringent admissions process allows the University to adver tise that its students score higher on standardized tests, a marketing tactic colleges nationwide use to distinguish themselves.
Meanwhile, the University is admitting a rising number of transfer students who don’t report high school grade point averages or ACT scores. As a result, the University’s advertised scores don’t accurately reflect the entire student body. And the University has limited the number of Minnesota high school students admitted, taking higher achieving students from outside the state
10,000
Indiana
BY KEVIN BECKMAN kbeckman@mndaily.com
TRANSFER STUDENTS AT THE U COMPARED TO OTHER BIG 10 SCHOOLS
Penn State
Students often transfer later when their scores aren’t considered.
12,000
Michigan State
High ACTs trump residency as admissions tighten at U
SOURCE:UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
HEALTH
BUSINESS
At Burrigato, couple fuses culinary interests
Report calls on U faculty to confront stressors
Opened by two University of Minnesota alumni, the Dinkytown eatery has averaged around 100 customers a day since April 20.
A U mental health report presented 100 suggestions for staff.
BY RYAN FAIRCLOTH rfaircloth@mndaily.com
BY RILYN EISCHENS reischens@mndaily.com
The Minnesota Legislature’s funding plan for the University of Minnesota is less than 13 percent of the school’s request and less than the original House and Senate recommendations. A final higher education omnibus bill, which included $18.6 million of the University’s $147.2 million requested increase, was approved by a conference committee Monday after a week of negotiations between the House and Senate. In a news release Monday night, University President Eric Kaler said the bill is disappointing for the school and Minnesotans. “This level of funding means students will pay more, research initiatives will be compromised and our contribution to Minnesota will be lessened,” he said in the press release. Originally, the House recommended the University receive $20 million of its request while the Senate pushed for a $29.6 million increase. Funding was lower because the House had to cut its overall budget target to align more with the
A University of Minnesota task force released a repor t Thursday with more than 100 recommendations for instr uctors and administrators to structure their courses to suppor t student mental health. In a 26-page report, the task force outlined suggestions encouraging faculty to pace coursework and interact with students exhibiting signs of mental illness, among other recommendations, in hopes campus-wide changes will follow. I n s t r u c t o r s , U n i v e rsity of ficials and students for med the Joint Task force on Student Mental Health last year in response to rising concerns around faculty response to student mental health. Still, faculty will require additional training, like workshops, before making adjustments. “We’re recommending that faculty take advantage of lots of oppor tunities that already exist and then suggesting that there be more of these oppor tunities made,” said task force co-chair and University biology professor Sue Wick.
u See FUNDING Page 3
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
Burrigato co-owner Korra Ektanitphong prepares an asian burrito for U.S. Bank employee Alex Beaulieu at the new Dinkytown restaurant on May 3. BY MIKE HENDRICKSON mhendrickson@mndaily.com
University of Minnesota alumni Korra Ektanitphong and Daniel Ringgenberg faced a persistent problem in their time as students on campus — where do we eat? Ektanitphong, 29, always wanted Asian food and Ringgenberg, 25, often wanted Chipotle, so they decided to launch a business venture that married both of their culinar y interests. On April 20, Burrigato opened at 314 15th Ave.
SE in Dinkytown. The restaurant takes dishes from Thailand, Japan and Korea and puts them into a burrito or bowl in under five minutes. “You usually have to sit down [for Asian food]. It’s a full 30-minute to an hour experience,” Ektanitphong said. “We really wanted to develop a concept that is authentic Asian food that is fast and convenient.” The restaurant completed a soft launch April 20 and Ektanitphong — a co-owner and founder along with Ringgenberg — said there would be a bigger opening in September when the new school year starts.
u See BURRIGATO Page 3
u See TASK FORCE Page 10
CAMPUS
For U landcare department, hiring students is a struggle Facilities management usually hires 100 student workers each spring but is 50 short this year. BY DAVID CLAREY dclarey@mndaily.com
CARTER JONES, DAILY
Asian languages and literatures and physiology freshman Jacob Miller, left, and microbiology and biochemistry sophomore Tanoa Thome spread mulch outside Coffman Memorial Union on May 2.
The University of Minnesota landcare department is about 50 people short as its employees begin work for the spring. The division hopes to hire and train a green-thumbed workforce of roughly 100 student workers in mowing, planting, fertilizing, mulching and more. But over the last three years, the team has seen less interest from students, forcing their staff count to hover around 95. Even missing just a few workers makes keeping up with duties difficult.
“It stretches us out,” said super visor Doug Lauer. “We wind up hiring through the whole summer … [but] never hit our target.” The division is responsible for mowing lawns, pulling weeds, trimming shrubs, cleaning litter and other campus maintenance. The worker shortage causes problems across the board, said former landcare director Lester Potts, who retired Monday after a 40-year tenure with the department. He said problems show most in mowing duties. When the weather warms, lawns need to be cut twice a week instead of once. “It’ll be a struggle to keep up there,” Potts said. “Not having enough people to u See LANDCARE Page 10 VOLUME 117 ISSUE 59
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Daily Review
Thursday, May 4, 2017
THIS DAY IN HISTORY 1994 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reached agreement in Cairo on the first stage of Palestinian self-rule. HISTORYCHANNEL.COM/TDIH
MUSIC Thursday, May 4, 2017 Vol. 117 No. 59
An Independent Student Newspaper, Founded in 1900. 2221 University Ave. SE, Suite 450 Minneapolis, MN 55414 Phone: (612) 627-4080 Fax: (612) 435-5865 Copyright © 2016 The Minnesota Daily This newspaper, its design and its contents are copyrighted. OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER Dylan Scott Editor-in-Chief dscott@mndaily.com (612) 435-1575 Elizabeth Luke Business Operations Officer eluke@mndaily.com (612) 435-2761 NEWS STAFF Chris Aadland Managing Editor caadland@mndaily.com Allison Dohnalek Managing Production Editor adohnalek@mndaily.com Emily Polglaze Sports Editor epolglaze@mndaily.com Jack White Assistant Sports Editor jwhite@mndaily.com Sophia Vilensky A&E Editor svilensky@mndaily.com Alex Tuthill-Preus Multimedia Editor atuthill-preus@mndaily.com Maddy Fox Assistant Multimedia Editor mfox@mndaily.com Haley Hansen Copy Desk Chief hhansen@mndaily.com Sheridan Swee Assistant Copy Desk Chief sswee@mndaily.com Harry Steffenhagen Visuals Editor hsteffenhagen@mndaily.com Cedar Thomas Visuals Editor cthomas@mndaily.com Brenna Bast Chief Page Designer bbast@mndaily.com Jackie Renzetti Campus Editor jrenzetti@mndaily.com Ethan Nelson City Editor enelson@mndaily.com Nick Wicker Policy Editor nwicker1@mndaily.com Jessie Bekker In-Depth Editor jbekker@mndaily.com Lucy Carey Social Media Manager lcarey@mndaily.com =
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Lucas Wasieleski shines a light on Festi Daze products at as Dalton Milbrandt discusses his favorites on Thursday, April 27 at The Exchange in Minneapolis. The pins have become a cultural symbol and collectible for EDM music fans.
CAMPUS BRIEFING
Dirty dorms could lead to prolonged health effects A recent study reveals that fire retardant in dorms could be harmful to students’ health. BY SAMIR FERDOWSI sferdowsi@mndaily.com
Dirty dorm rooms have always been a hassle, but a recent study shows dusty floors might have other risks. A study by Dr. Robin Dodson of the Silent Spring Institute released last month shows carcinogens in fire retardants used on dor m fur nitur e can work its way into dust in the room. The build-up can potential-
ly lead to dangerous levels. In animal studies, flame retardant chemicals showed potential links to cancer. But a University of Minnesota professor said the link in humans is inconclusive. “It’s ver y dif ficult to make an exact confirmation on whether or not this will cause cancer,” said Edgar Ar riaga, a University chemistr y professor. He said multiple factors should be considered to find the risk of
cancer from chemicals like these, especially amount used. For some chemicals used in fire retardants, the level of toxic material must be over a certain threshold to have any ef fect on humans, Arriaga said. “You might even be washing your hands with soap that has potentially been associated with cancer,” he said. The University doesn’t require flame retardant carpets in the residence halls, said University spokesperson Tim Busse i n a n e m a i l . H o w e v e r, it is present in some
“It’s very difficult to make an exact confirmation on whether or not this will cause cancer.” EDGAR ARRIAGA University chemistry professor
dorm furniture. “Flame retardants are an impor tant par t of fire safety,” Busse said. “The University balances concer ns about flame retardants with the need to maintain fire safety.”
Google phishing scam arrives at U The school warned it doesn’t request social security info through email. BY NATALIE RADEMACHER nrademacher@mndaily.com
An email virus disguised as a Google Doc hit campus emails Wednesday afternoon. The phishing scam also impacted Google email accounts across the country. “We are investigating a phishing email that appears as Google Docs. We encourage you to not click through, [and] repor t as phishing within Gmail,” Google wrote on Twitter. The issue was resolved at 2:30 p.m., Bernard Gulacheck, University interim vice president and chief
information of ficer of information technology, said in a campus-wide email Wednesday evening. The phishing email was sent to all contacts in affected email accounts if a user clicked its link. Since all University email accounts are on one ser ver, the virus was shared with many school email accounts. Gulacheck’s email urged students not to click on the link. Staf f are working to prevent the message from spreading, the statement said. Emails on University accounts experienced delays in sending due to the vir us, according to
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“We’ve removed the fake pages, pushed updates through Safe Browsing, and our abuse team is working to prevent this kind of spoofing from happening again. We encourage users to report phishing emails in Gmail.” GOOGLE
the email. On Twitter, One Stop Student Ser vices warned students that the school doesn’t ask for social security or bank account information over email. In a statement Wednesday, Google announced steps that it has taken to counter the hack. “We have taken action to protect users against
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an email impersonating Google Docs, and have disabled of fending accounts,” the statement read. “We’ve removed the fake pages, pushed updates through Safe Browsing, and our abuse team is working to prevent this kind of spoofing from happening again. We encourage users to report phishing emails in Gmail.”
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U of M Professor dies in car crash Robert Morrison died Tuesday in the Czech Republic. BY NATALIE RADEMACHER nrademacher@mndaily.com
A professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine died in an auto accident in the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Morrison was with his wife and several companions when they were in a car crash north of Prague, according to a statement from College of Veterinary Medicine. Two other people died in the crash, the Associated Press reported. Mor rison was in the Czech Republic for a swine health management conference in Prague. Morrison, who started at the University in 1986, created and ran the Swine Health Monitoring Project, which provides weekly updates on the health of more than 50 percent of sow herds in the United States. He also coordinated two internationally acclaimed swine health management conferences: the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul and the Leman China Conference in Nanjing, China. The conferences are named after University professor Dr. Al Leman, Morrison’s graduate advisor, according to the University’s statement. “Dr. Morrison was an international leader in the swine industry. This is a tragic loss for the strong team of students and faculty that Bob helped us build,” said College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Dr. Trevor Ames.
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EDITORIAL STAFF Grace Thomas Editorials & Opinions Editor jthomas@mndaily.com Anant Naik Senior Editorial Board Member anaik@mndaily.com BUSINESS Catherine Vaught Retail Sales Manager cvaught@mndaily.com Emily Vermeulen Creative Director evermeulen@mndaily.com CORRECTIONS The Minnesota Daily strives for complete accuracy and corrects its errors immediately. Corrections and clarifications will always be printed in this space. If you believe the Daily has printed a factual error, please call the readers’ representative at (612) 627–4070, extension 3057, or email errors@mndaily.com immediately. THE MINNESOTA DAILY is a legally independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and is a student-written and student-managed newspaper for the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus. The Daily’s mission is: 1) to provide coverage of news and events affecting the University community; 2) to provide a forum for the communication and exchange of ideas for the University community; 3) to provide educational training and experience to University students in all areas of newspaper operations; and 4) to operate a fiscally responsible organization to ensure its ability to serve the University in the future. The Daily is a member of the Minnesota News Council, the Minnesota Associated Press, the Associated Collegiate Press, The Minnesota Newspaper Association and other organizations. The Daily is published Monday and Thursday during the regular school year and weekly during the summer, and it is printed by ECM Publishers in Princeton, Minn. Midwest News Service distributes the 13,000 issues daily. All Minnesota Daily inserts are recyclable within the University of Minnesota program and are at least 6 percent consumer waste. U.S. Postal Service: 351–480.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
3
Student practices his magic on campus First-year student Arman Shah has built a reputation for his magic tricks. BY NATALIE RADEMACHER nrademacher@mndaily.com
With a deck of cards in hand, Arman Shah searched for students to practice his magic on in Coffman Memorial Union. The first-year computer science student has built a reputation with his magic tricks. He can be found in dining halls with his props most nights, but other days he just approaches students and asks if they want to see a trick. It works — most of the time. “I get a lot of no’s and a lot of yes’s,” Shah said. Shah has recently started performing live through the University’s Comedy Club. The self-taught magician credits his skills to hours of practice and YouTube tutorials, but he often practices new jokes and tricks on students around campus.
He’s also the youngest member of the Minnesota chapter for the International Brotherhood of Magicians. “I wish I could’ve been doing what he was doing when I was his age,” member Noah Sonie said. Shah’s creativity and humor shows in his trick designs, Sonie said. The two are collaborating on tricks that combine mind-reading with comedy. “It is unique because we are combining something that is serious and personal with something funny,” Sonie said. “[Shah’s] main focus is not the magic; it is entertaining people.” In Cof fman, passersby joined spectators as Shah made car ds disappear. Within minutes, the group tripled in size to about 20 people. “I have never seen anything like it before,” said Cam Anderson, a journalism senior. After Shah was done, neuroscience junior Jeremy Lund approached him to show the progress on his own new trick.
“[Shah] inspired me to do my own research on magic,” Lund said. Before Shah goes out and shows off his skills to fellow students, he practices them in his dorm. Sometimes, he’ll practice until 2 a.m. His roommate, freshman accounting student Ben Kautzky, can verify. The two have been friends since middle school, so Kautzky says he has seen the ups and downs of Shah’s magic career. “His awkwardness [sets him apart],” Kautzky said. “He prides himself on that … makes jokes about it. You rarely see people play that.” While he enjoys the performing aspect, Shah has also used his magic to flirt. Some of his cards have his name and number on them. For Valentine’s Day, Shah made a YouT ube video where he asked girls around campus to be his Valentine’s Day date using magic card tricks. “It hasn’t worked yet, b u t m a y b e s o m e d a y, ”
Diversity statements in hiring are wrong, says Oregon professor But U professors say the statements reinforce schools’ diversity initiatives. BY RAJU CHADUVULA rchaduvula@mndaily.com
Mandating that faculty members support university diversity initiatives may betray an ideological bias, according to an Oregon Association of Scholars report. The report, released in March, said imposing hiring “diversity statements” can be detrimental. But while some professors at the University of Minnesota say these statements shouldn’t be used as litmus tests for faculty hires and promotions, they are not inherently biased. Several schools across the country require diversity statements, the report said, which stipulate that faculty members and potential hires point to how their work addresses issues of race, gender or other inequalities. The University doesn’t use diversity statements in its hiring process, but College of Education and Human Development professor Rebecca Ropers-Huilman said she doesn’t think their use is inherently biased. “The critique that they are making, it seems to me, is that anything that draws attention to minoritized identities within this countr y, and specifically within higher education, is
somehow ideological,” Ropers-Huilman said. The repor t claims requiring these statements violates the mission of a university and introduces an explicit left-wing ideological bias to higher education. About 20 universities, such as Carnegie Mellon University, the University of California system and several Oregon universities, use diversity statements in their hiring process. Bruce Gilley, an associate political science professor at Portland State University, said requiring faculty to acknowledge where they stand on diversity during hiring is wrong. Gilley, who’s also part of the Oregon Association of Scholars, said faculty should be decided on scholarship, teaching and if a potential hire will be a good fit for the campus. Adding diversity statements unnecessarily asks faculty for their ideological leanings, he said. Gilley said diversity statements also impose on the academic freedom universities are supposed to allow since they might be used to screen out professors. Ropers-Huilman said while the statements should not be used as tests for hire, she doesn’t believe that’s their intent. “What I see them as saying is ‘Will you be able to work with all of our students?’ and I think people should be asked [that],” she said.
The report also says that “the more corrosive and insidious effects of the broader diversity agenda should not be ignored.” Gilley said initiatives like diversity statements tend to reduce American pluralism to group identities. “[Diversity initiatives] use group identities for markers for individuals [like] you’re ‘black,’ you’re an ‘Asian,’ you’re a ‘woman,’ and diversity can be seen in many different ways more than just group identities,” Gilley said. But Ropers-Huilman and professor Michael Goh said trying to reinforce diversity isn’t based in an agenda. “[The report is] another example of folks with dominant ideologies saying that ‘our views are neutral and everybody else’s are ideological,’” Ropers-Huilman said. Goh, who is associate vice provost in the Office for Equity and Diversity, said recent efforts like the CLEAR Hiring and Race, Indigeneity, Gender and Sexuality initiatives show the University has increased attempts to attract and retain diverse faculty. Goh said as universities launch diversity campaigns, they shouldn’t use diversity statements in hiring faculty members. “We’re doing our students and disciplines a disservice if we don’t bring in people with different perspectives and backgrounds,” Ropers-Huilman said.
Funding bill 13 percent of U’s request Funding u from Page 1
Senate’s, said Rep. Bud Nor nes, R-Fergus Falls, chair of the House Higher Education Committee. But the funding could be restored depending on negotiations between Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature, Nornes said. Dayton previously said he would veto the Legislature’s higher education spending bill unless it came closer to his $96.8 million recommended increase to University funding. Will Dammann, Minnesota Student Association director of gover nment and legislative affairs, said lawmakers didn’t prioritize
“They’re really sticking it to the students of our state right now. For some reason, the Legislature has a bone to pick with the University.” WILL DAMMANN MSA director of government and legislative affairs
higher education. “They’re really sticking it to the students of our state right now,” Dammann said. “For some reason, the Legislature has a bone to pick with the University.” Dean Johnson, chair of the University’s Board of Regents, said the Legislature’s “ill feelings” toward the University will hur t the state. “I expect there are a number of legislators who do feel and believe that the University doesn’t feel enough financial pain from time to time,” he said, adding that many lawmakers think the school is financially inefficient. Some DFL lawmakers are concerned with the effect the proposals made by the Republican-controlled Legislature will have on higher education. “We’re looking at a bill that … is going to raise tuition 4 to 5 percent at the University of Minnesota,” Sen. Greg Clausen, DFLApple Valley, said at Monday’s meeting. In a joint statement, the conference committee’s DFL members, Clausen and Rep. Ilhan O m a r, D F L - M i n n e a p o lis, said they were concerned how deliberations were conducted.
“Negotiations related to policy and budget provisions in the final repor t were done behind closed doors in meetings at which minority members were either not invited or invited at the last minute,” the statement said. A measure in the spending bill would penalize the University if it didn’t make its student ser vices fee optional. Many student leaders across the University system have opposed the policy. The measure’s author, recent University graduate Rep. Drew Christensen, R-Savage, has said the purpose of the policy is to reduce the cost of a college education, especially for students that can’t or aren’t interested in participating in groups or using ser vices funded by the fee. The fee funds student groups and ser vices like Boynton Health, the Aurora Center and the Minnesota Daily, which receives some of its funding from the fee. The mandator y fee was $432.18 per semester this academic year. “I would say in its current form, I … would encourage the governor not to sign off on it,” Clausen said in an interview Monday.
CARTER JONES, DAILY
Kayla Selbitschka reacts to a trick performed by computer science freshman Arman Shah in Coffman Memorial Union on April 27. “It’s too much for my brain,” Selbitschka said.
Shah said. So far, his tricks have gotten him admitted to one frater nity par ty, he said. “Dr unk people ar e hard ... Their attention span does not last more
than 10 seconds, so you have to keep bringing them back,” Shah said. With three years until graduation, Shah is still considering his prospects. But for now, he plans to keep bringing his magic to
students around campus. “It would be cool to be a per former someday … ver y unrealistic. That is why I am at college,” Shah said. “It is fun to do, and I am excited to see where [magic] takes me.”
Couple melds cuisine at Burrigato in Dinkytown
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
Ed Eubanks prepares an asian burrito bowl at Burrigato, a new restaurant in Dinkytown, on May 3.
Burrigato u from Page 1
Bur rigato has a total of four employees, including Ektanitphong and Ringgenberg. He said the restaurant has averaged almost 100 customers a day since it opened. “We did not do any real marketing of any sor t,” Ringgenberg said. “We’re just relying on students and word of mouth.” The restaurant only has five dishes as Ringgenberg said they wanted to keep the menu small because Asian restaurants often have too many choices. There are dishes with pork, beef or chicken and a vegetarian option. Both founders attended the University and left in 2013. Now dating and living together, the two
met in a Japanese class they took in 2010. After Chilly Billy’s Frozen Yogur t closed in October 2015, Ringgenberg said the two secured the lease for the storefront and signed it in November 2016. Constr uction finished in April and the opening came shor tly after. To Ektanitphong and Ringgenberg, it was impor tant to have authentic Asian food at the restaurant. Ektanitphong is from Thailand and has been cooking for 20 years. “We really want to focus on an authentic experience even though we’re doing a fusion,” Ektaniphong said. “All the dishes we ser ve, we expect you’d be able to find the same dishes of the same taste in their respective countries.”
Even though they see Burrigato as a fusion restaurant, Ringgenberg said the only fusion they do is packaging the food into a burrito format. The Himalayan, located just a block away from Bur rigato, is a similar style restaurant that wraps Nepalese food in naan bread. “Our food, we’re hoping, sets ourselves apar t from other bur ritos or wraps places,” Ektanitphong said. “The burrito thing is not just what we’re about. We’re also about authentic Asian cuisine from Thailand, Japan and Korea.” Burrigato doesn’t cur rently employ any students, but Ektanitphong said they plan to hir e mor e for the r estaurant’s grand opening in September.
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Thursday, May 4, 2017
As U grows more selective in admissions, residents left behind UNIVERSITY ENROLLMENT OVER TIME
12,000
Admissions from Page 1
instead, some members of the Board of Regents say. “[Past boards] wanted to improve the reputation of the University by becoming more selective, meaning they wanted students from all over the place to come here,” said Regent Michael Hsu. ButUniversity administrators have faced pressure from state legislators to admit more in-state students. The number of Minnesota students is still about one percentage point above the board’s goal of 65 percent of undergraduates, though that has decreased ever y year except for one over the last decade. Some regents say the number should be as high as 75 percent. But when regents voted last year to appr ove an enr ollment strategy through 2021, the board decided to c o nt in u e r e c r u i t i n g stude nts sco ring a 28 on their ACT — and didn’t include transfer student scores in that resolution. Because of stringent admissions standards, guidance counselor Bill Stock at Lincoln High School in Lake City, Minnesota urges University hopefuls to have a backup plan. “You’re still encouraged to apply if you want to go there, because if you don’t apply, you never know,” he said. “But being that they [have] such a high rate of nonacceptance, we always encourage them to have other options.”
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4,000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
The ACT’s role The average ACT scores and high school grade point averages repor ted by admitted fr eshmen have in creased in ever y University college since 2000. This year’s first-year College of Science and Engineering class scored between a 30 and 34 on their ACT, nearly 10 points above the state average. Admissions counselors have been more selective to compensate for betterscoring applicants, said Bob McMaster, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. When an application is submitted to the University, it undergoes a rigorous review process. Each application is read at least twice by admissions staf f, who look at ACT score, high school GPA, extracur ricular activities, demographics and personal circumstances, such as which classes were of fered at their high school. The University enrolled 1 in 4 freshman applicants in 2005. Ten years later, the number fell to 1 in 8. The University is using higher average test scores to help attract higher-ranking high school students, McMaster said. The University also plans to continue to emphasize higher ACT scores when enrolling students. But the adver tised scores don’t account for transfer students — 33 percent of the student body — if they’re coming to the University with 26 credits or two full-time semesters under the University’s rules. And the University doesn’t track transfer student ACT scores, so getting an
“They live here, their parents pay taxes here, and they’re liable to stay here,” Nornes said. “I think it’s a win-win when that occurs. It just makes sense, and most people would agree with that.” BUD NORNES State representative, R-Fergus Falls
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SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION actual average of the entire student body is impossible, Hsu said. “That number is really meaningless,” he said. “It’s a totally gamed number because we don’t put an asterisk by it that says this is only for two-thirds of our student body.” For Prior Lake High School students, it’s tough for those in the top half of the class — those with at least a 3.2 GPA — to get into the University, said guidance counselor Joseph Larsen. “From the feedback we hear from students about where they get accepted or waitlisted or denied, for our students to get into the U, it almost seems like it needs to be higher than that,” Larsen said. Hsu said he’d like to see the University consider making the test optional in the admissions process, allowing freshman applicants to submit an application without an ACT score. ACT scores, graduation and retention rates are lower among Minnesota students than nonresidents. And although GPAs, test scor es and home state are impor tant while crafting an enr ollment strate g y, H s u s a i d o t h e r f a c t o r s l i k e in-state and nonresident tuition and on-campus housing availability also play big roles in discussions around balancing enrollment
‘We can’t accept ever ybody’ Recent enrollment numbers show the school is admitting fewer freshmen applicants. In fall 2007, 71 percent of undergraduates hailed from Minnesota. In fall 2016, that number fell to about 66 percent, according to the University’s Office of Institutional Research. Meanwhile, applications more than doubled in the last 10 years. Transfer students are taking up spots instead. Transfer students make up roughly
TWIN CITIES APPLICATIONS AND ENROLLMENT
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SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
“You’re still encouraged to apply if you want to go there, because if you don’t apply, you never know,” he said. “But being that they [have] such a high rate of non-acceptance, we always encourage them to have other options.” BILL STOCK Guidance counselor at Lincoln High School
one-third of the undergraduate University population — among the highest in the Big 10. In 2015, nearly 3,000 students transferred to the University — a number that has increased for a decade. “With this whole array of community colleges and even [Minnesota State] … students have the option to spend a couple years getting their liberal education requirements out of the way, tr ying to determine what they want to major in. Then if they’re successful there … they can come back into the University as a junior,” McMaster said. About 35 percent of transfer students are students who were rejected when they applied as freshmen, “It’s a second oppor tunity for them,” he said. “Our goal is to admit, not to reject students.” Emily Zarnoti, 18, is waiting on her second chance. The Minneapolis resident applied to the University’s College of Liberal Arts for the fall 2016 semester but enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire after landing on the waitlist. Zar noti said she graduated high school with a 3.56 GPA and a 23 on her ACT. Now, she’s tr ying to transfer by fall 2017. “I’m happier when I visit the U of M than at Eau Claire,” she said. “I just feel like I’d be better off at the U.”
Fulfilling the land-grant mission
Though many administrators and r egents say they take pride in the University’s selectiveness and say it should be maintained, some say they worr y that higher admission standards might push residents to competing schools. North Dakota State University, one of the University’s strongest competitors, enrolls an average of 6,474 Minnesota freshmen each year. About 6,500 Minnesota residents enrolled at the school — North Dakota’s only research institution — in 2016. Admission standards are looser at NDSU, which seeks applicants with a high school GPA of 2.75 and ACT score of 22. Despite passing an enrollm e n t s t r a t e g y l a s t y e a r, t h e U n i versity’s enrollment balance debate has continued. According to the University’s charter, the school’s mission is to “provide the inhabitants of [Minnesota] with the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of Literature, Science
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ADMISSIONS BY THE NUMBERS
20,500 FRESHMAN APPLICATIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY IN 2005
46,000 FRESHMAN APPLICATIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY IN 2015
25.3 MEDIAN ACT SCORE FOR FRESHMEN ADMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY IN 2006
28.2 MEDIAN ACT SCORE FOR FRESHMAN ADMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY IN 2015
21.2 STATEWIDE AVERAGE ACT SCORE SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS AND MINNESOTA OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
and the Arts.” Nonresidents surpassed Minnesota applicants in 2012, and the gap is still widening, leading some to question whether the school is ser ving the University’s best interests as a land-grant institution. Rachelle Her nandez, associate vice provost for admissions, said priority is given to in-state students. “It’s about making sure that our Minnesota students know that we want them here, that we want them to stay in our state,” she said. Still, Regent Richard Beeson said he worries the University is falling shor t of its land-grant mission. “I really do worr y about losing kids out of the system,” he said. Legislators have said tax-paying Minnesotans should have an easier time getting their children into the University, Hsu said. Studies nationwide show students graduating from college tend to stay in the state where they studied. That’s why Rep. Bud Nornes, R-Fergus Falls, who chairs the House Higher Education Committee, advocates for prioritizing resident admission. “They live here, their parents pay taxes here, and they’re liable to stay here,” Nornes said. “I think it’s a winwin when that occurs. It just makes sense, and most people would agree with that.” Christopher Aadland contributed to this report.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
5
MUSIC
Bridging the musical gap While interpreters connect the deaf and hearing worlds onstage, the interpretation takes center stage. BY KATIE LAUER klauer@mndaily.com
W
hen Shawn Vriezen interpreted the national anthem for the Minnesota Wild Stadium Series hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks last February, his hands were in stark contrast against his black shirt as he signed the patriotic lyrics in his native American Sign Language. “I was able to really show [the words] in ASL and have the rockets going up and everything,” Vriezen said. “It all seemed perfectly timed, providing me with a moment of awe. It felt to me as if my signs were controlling the fireworks.” Vriezen is a certified deaf interpreter. He interprets for concerts and live performances, but music is just one of his many specialties. His job, he said, is to connect the deaf and hearing worlds. “There’s always going to be that gap,” Vriezen said. “A CDI’s got a big responsibility in terms of creating that bridge and decreasing the gap that exists.” Vriezen was the first CDI to interpret music in Minnesota. With the help of a hearing interpreter teammate, monitors, headphones and extensive music research prior to the event, he can fully share
the music’s stor y. A metal music fan, Vriezen said his deafness provides an advantage when translating what’s happening on stage.
What the audience wants “Why do this for deaf people? It’s a challenge. It’s not a linear translation, because with music you’ve got a melody that’s woven in between the words,” Vriezen said. “So it’s trying to figure out what that looks like in a visual language, making sure that the flow is there and the intent is there; there are a lot of pieces to it.” Vriezen said he has a good understanding of what deaf concertgoers want from an interpreter. But what is it that they want? Betty Miller, having grown up with music, is one audience member who knows the answer. “I love music, and I love seeing [artists] live,” Miller said. “It’s a completely different environment and a unique experience.” Miller estimates that she’s been to over 500 shows in her lifetime and attends 10 to 12 a year. A lover of Journey, Duran Duran and Adele — whom she’s seen twice — she said she mainly focuses on the action onstage but relies on the interpreter for instrumental and vocal translation.
Miller believes good interpreters are those who first take the time to make the full translation from English into ASL. ASL is a completely dif ferent and unique language from English, and it has its own set of rules in syntax and structure when conveying information visually. Because of this, ideas can be expressed differently than in spoken English; it’s the interpreter’s role to facilitate this communication. “They need to be translating it into ASL conceptually,” Miller said. “If someone says, ‘Hungr y like the wolf,’ and the interpreter signs those words, it doesn’t match what the song actually means.” In addition to portraying the emotion of a song and the correct ASL meanings, she said there are cultural meanings and messages in the music that they need to be aware of. Additionally, interpreters must be able to fully communicate what is happening musically. If the piano player is really good or if there’s a high-pitched guitar solo, Miller wants the interpreter to tell her exactly that. “I’d rather she tell me it’s a high note rather than look like she’s constipated or something,” she joked. At the end of the day, Miller doesn’t want to miss
anything or have the music get lost in translation. She wants the full concert experience. “When I’m paying $300 for a show, I’m going to be really picky about my interpreters,” Miller said. “High-ticket prices mean high expectations.” Vriezen said these many expectations and preferences are elements he can fully understand as a CDI. “Being a deaf person myself, I know that we’re not all the same,” Vriezen said. “We all have different backgrounds. There’s no one-sizefits-all for deaf people that might be in the audience.”
A controversy of focus and function Despite his placement on stage, Vriezen said the interpreter isn’t a show’s focal point — the signed interpretation and intended audience are. While he said it’s not about the individuals themselves, popular articles and videos circulating online have increased interest in interpreters. One such is Amber Galloway Gallego, who has interpreted for big names like Kendrick Lamar and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While fame may bring more visibility to the ser vice of interpreting, Vriezen said it also brings controversy, tokenism and
EASTON GREEN, DAILY
Concert interpreter Shawn Vriezen poses for a portrait in his neighborhood in Minneapolis on May 2.
questions that lack obvious right answers. “I think a lot of the fascination comes from the interpretation itself, so people are drawn to seeing the ASL, whoever [the interpreter] is,” he said. “It ignores the deaf people obviously and focuses on the hearing interpreter only.” Vriezen said that while hearing interpreters do a great job, the community needs to figure out the right balance and partnership. Miller agrees. “When people focus on the interpreter, they tend to think that the interpreters are ‘God’s gift from heaven’ for the ‘poor deaf people,’” she said. “But the interpreter is only there because we requested the
ART
Helping genocide survivors find a voice With Voice to Vision, a coalition of artists, professors, students and survivors use art to preserve stories. BY MADDY FOLSTEIN mfolstein@mndaily.com
I
n the early 2000s, University of Minnesota art professor David Feinberg had an idea — he wanted to memorialize and honor the memories of Holocaust survivors and their families through art. Four teen years later, with the help of collaborative stor ytelling and ar tistic creation, Voice to Vision tells the stories of human rights violations and genocide sur vivors around the world. It all star ted with a phone call. In 2002, Feinberg reached out to Steve Feinstein — the late director of the University’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. “I told him I had this idea,” Feinberg said. “I had a project called Voice to Vision. I told him about five minutes’ wor th and said that we didn’t r eally have it worked out. He didn’t say ‘Come back when you have more information.’ … He said, ‘Let’s do it.’” The main premise of Voice to Vision is taking people’s stories and memorializing them through art, Beth Andrews, the associate director of Voice to Vision, said. Voice to Vision brings in ar tists to help tell sur vivors’ stories. Luis Ramos-Garcia, an associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese studies at the University, has been working with Feinberg on the project for the past few years. Having worked in theater in Columbia,
Cuba, Per u and Spain, Ramos-Garcia brings in activists to collaborate with Feinberg and his team. Ramos-Garcia has also created his own art for the project. “[Feinberg] and his team found that there is an ar tistic DNA within,” Ramos-Garcia said. “He lets us talk about cer tain things that, amazingly, we never talk about. Keep in mind, he doesn’t speak Spanish, so I don’t know how he does it.” Ramos-Garcia’s experience viewing his ar twork was both sur real and reflective. “When you go and see these [pieces] for the first time, you see yourself reflected back,” RamosGarcia said. “I don’t go to a therapist, but if I did this is what I would tell my therapist … because he managed to get the pain that was in there.” The Voice to Vision studio in Como depends on a collaborative atmosphere. “If you wer e to go around and say, ‘How do you create a sentence?’ ever ybody has a word in that sentence to complete the process,” said Paula Leiter Pergament, a visual ar tist and volunteer with Voice to Vision. The project’s collaborative process involves what Feinberg describes as the “wow factor.” In order for sur vivors, ar tists and stor ytellers who are working together to make a decision, the group must agree that the choice has that factor. “T wo weeks after we finish, no one knows what
A&E EDITOR
Sophia Vilensky svilensky@mndaily.com
made ever yone say ‘wow’ because the process is so organic,” Feinberg said. Voice to V ision also involves undergraduate students at the University. Despite being younger than the other volunteers and faculty, students in the Voice to Vision studio are treated as equals. “A lot of the process revolves around discussion, so we’re a part of the community,” said Kristin Anton, a sophomore studying ar t at the University who began doing research with Feinberg as a freshman. Much of the work that Voice to Vision does informs the ar tists and volunteers of new stories and cultures, making the ar tistic creation a lear ning experience for them as well. “The idea of being exposed to other people’s colors and subject matter and sensibilities expands your own knowledge. I star ted this almost 14 years ago; I was about 59 or 60, and I thought I knew a lot about art,” Feinberg said. “It’s opened up a whole new world and a new histor y to me.” Many ar tists and volunteers have found their work with Voice to Vision more impactful and important than other projects. “I spent a week painting with [Feinberg], and I thought I was going to be painting flowers and bunnies,” Andrews said. “Then the first night [Feinberg] showed us [Voice to Vision] and I said, ‘This is what I want to do. I want to forget about the flowers and bunnies.’”
RADIO K TOP 7
1. HOOPS, Worry 2. JFDR, Destiny’s Upon Us 3. KELLY LEE OWENS, Arthur
4. BLOCKHEAD, Do the Tron 5. MOUNT EERIE, Swims 6. SLOWDIVE, Slomo 7. ACTRESS, Dancing in the Smoke
interpreting ser vices, and we want access.” Miller said that because of the misdirection, deaf people become invisible, and their culture becomes appropriated. “[The interpreters] are just relaying information to us,” she said. “That’s all they’re doing — their job. So when people go fawn over the interpreters, they’re really just ignoring the reason they’re there, which is to ser ve the deaf community.” While it drives Miller “nuts,” this misunderstanding and lack of knowledge won’t drive her away from the live shows she loves. “People think the deaf can’t go to concerts,” she said. “But I’m one of those weirdos who go.”
6
Thursday, May 4, 2017
MUSIC
Pinning down personality The efforts of a UMN student and his brother to craft pins for EDM fans reflects a broader trend in the scene. BY KATIE LAUER klauer@mndaily.com
O
ver the last half decade in the EDM scene, the Tuttr up brothers star ted to notice color ful, soft enamel pins featuring intricate ar tist logos, music festival designs and pop culture references on the hats and outfits of more and more show attendees. “We could do that or even better,” said Carson Tuttrup, a graphic design first year University of Minnesota. “Why not just make them ourselves?” So that’s what he and his brother, Spencer, did. “Art is a huge thing in EDM,” said Spencer, who studies business entrepreneurship, graphic design and cross media graphics at Minnesota State University Mankato. “Pin design, creation and individualism can all represent artists that everyone collectively likes.” Taking that idea and combining their skills, the Tuttr ups star ted their business and design collective, CSthetics,
in March. So far they’ve made parody pins of two popular DJs: Marshmello and Slushii. They’re currently working on four more designs. “It’s a ver y interlocking, dif ferent community in the EDM scene,” Spencer said. “You have the Kandi Kids, the gloving and flow ar tists and then you have people that collect pins.” While pins aren’t anything new, the market for DIY and larger pin producers has grown in recent years. The T uttr ups work through local T win Cities company Festi Daze. Owner Jor dan Durand got star ted just like they did: after collecting pins for around four years, he decided to star t his own business. Now, many of his pins are designed by local “kids.” “A lot of these kids have these great ideas, they can do this ar t and just don’t know what to do with it,” Durand said. “They contact me and I help them tur n their ar t into something they can
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
Festi Daze, LLC, a company that sells pins and other apparel at EDM venues, displays products on April 27 at The Exchange in Minneapolis.
actually feel, touch and look at.” He said this tangible element is something pin
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
Festi Daze owner Jordan Durand sells pins to Gianna Bauer and Esai Luna at The Exchange in Minneapolis on April 27. The company sells pins, which have become a cultural symbol in EDM music, and other festival gear at EDM venues.
collectors love, and the people involved only help the culture grow. “For ever y person I see that is collecting pins, I see one new person buy their first pin,” he said. “This scene is constantly growing, and I don’t think it’s going to be going anywhere anytime soon.” As their reach grows, some connect these pins to “raver kids” and dr ug culture, which can give them a negative reputation. However, many who collect pins don’t fall into that categor y. Spencer said only the extreme sides of the EDM spectr um give pins a bad name. “I always have a pin on my hat, and it’s in support of our art,” he said. “It depends on who wears it and how you wear it, I guess. It’s more of an artistic representation.” Despite any reputation, the act of collecting
and trading pins has been associated with music for decades, most notably by Deadheads. Today, pins have gained fur ther momentum in pop culture, especially in online shops like Etsy and PINTRILL. On these websites, the popular “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” character Raoul Duke can be found immor talized in enamel with his visor, cigarette and briefcase. Even emojis can be pinned to clothing: best sellers include the peach, “100” and smiling new moon designs. Regardless, the question still stands — why do people collect and pin these musical and pop culture designs on themselves in the first place? Carson said pins fully encompass ideas of personal “branding” and creative expression, concepts the T uttr ups have held onto when designing.
“That’s what we’re doing with our pins,” Carson said. “We’re taking the brands that we like and the pins that we enjoy, and then we add a little bit of our own personal flair to them.” No matter the reason, these fun and creative ar t pieces are being pinned down by many. “I think that’s why people like pins — because they’re dif ferent enough, and that’s cool,” Carson said. “Represent the things you love, but then have your own little twist on it.”
“For every person I see that is collecting pins, I see one new person buy their first pin.” JORDAN DURAND Festi Daze owner
ART
The colorful world of academia Professor Schumacher’s coloring book, “Doodling for Academics,” finds humor in the world of academia. BY MADDY FOLSTEIN mfolstein@mndaily.com
A
mid the recent coloring craze, you may have colored secret gardens, mandalas or swear words. Julie Schumacher, a professor of English and creative writing at the University of Minnesota, now presents a satirical, academic approach to the world of coloring: “Doodling for Academics.” “I’ve been in academia for 25, 26 years,” Schumacher said. “I love my job, and on the other side I see the crazy aspect of it.”
Schumacher’s most recent novel, “Dear Committee Members,” offers a look at the struggles of academics told through letters of recommendation written by the protagonist. In “Doodling for Academics,” the theme — and snark — continues. “I got an email from an editor at the University of Chicago Press that said, ‘every other press is doing coloring books … even though we’re an academic press, we want to get in on the action,’” Schumacher said. She wasn’t tasked with creating the illustrations for the book, a job that fell to Lauren Nassef, an illustrator
“The process here was really evolving, and the pages grew from conversations between [editor Kristen Raddatz], [Schumacher] and me.” LAUREN NASSEF Illustrator
CULTURE COMPASS /
from Chicago. Instead, Schumacher wrote the captions and instructions for Nassef’s illustrations and activities. “I sor t of assumed it would take me no time at all,” Schumacher said. “It took months, actually. It was a lot of back and forth with the illustrator. We realized it shouldn’t just be a coloring book — that it should be a coloring-activity book. So we needed things that the colorer could do that weren’t just with crayons.” Schumacher had to look to other activity books for inspiration. “I spent all this time in Michael’s craft store looking at books that were similar,” Schumacher said. “It took a lot of thought to come up with these crazy items.” For Schumacher and Nassef, the process of creating the coloring book offered a welcome break from more traditional projects. “I’m used to working with very strict guidelines to
illustrate finished books,” Nassef said. “The process here was really evolving, and the pages grew from conversations between [editor Kristen Raddatz], [Schumacher] and me.” The text and images in “Doodling for Academics” connect in a way traditional writing and illustrations do not. “I think that it was surprising for me to learn so much more about how text and image work together when you’re making something closer to a graphic novel or comic,” Nassef said. “This book is not that in any way, but it’s closer in that the text and image need to relate and interact and support each other in a more complete way.” Highlighting Schumacher’s humor, the detailed illustrations let Nassef stretch her creativity. One illustration features a fridge in an on-campus office. “I loved working on the fridge because I was allowed to let my imagination
“I think that here at the University we’re all so busy staring at a screen. ... To put that away and to do something ... I just think we’re so busy on a screen that we don’t engage in the physical world and do something with our hands.” JULIE SCHUMACHER Professor of English
go wherever, trying to come up with what all sor ts of academics from different departments might be sticking in a refrigerator on a college campus,” Nassef said. As one might expect, some illustrations have roots in Schumacher’s experiences on the University campus. “The English department has been hoping to one day move into Pillsbur y Hall [ … ] because we’re kind of squatters here in the IT building,” Schumacher said. “I do have some critiques there about humanities buildings versus gleaming, new science labs.”
Whether the amateur artists who approach “Doodling for Academics” are academics themselves or not, Schumacher hopes the book is a break from the grind of daily life. “I think that here at the University we’re all so busy staring at a screen,” Schumacher said. “To put that away and to do something — like playing kickball or knitting or playing the French horn or sleeping in a tent somewhere — I just think we’re so busy on a screen that we don’t engage in the physical world and do something with our hands.”
By Katie Lauer, klauer@mndaily.com
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The Art of Vodka
MPR Open House
Secondhand Hounds at Up-Down
Alcohol can be art too, apparently. This second-annual celebration will bring in bartenders and spirits from local breweries so you can enjoy sips while appreciating artwork. While the price is a little steep, just think of it as another expensive bar tab to celebrate the end of the semester.
Are you still arguing against #fakenews? Now is your chance to see where completely legitimate magic happens. With tours, meet-andgreets and “mocktails” in MPR’s downtown St. Paul building, the open house should be a quality time — no subscription needed.
Dogs, arcade games and charity. Name a more iconic trio — I’ll wait. Alongside the beer and pizza available, all proceeds from Up-Down’s 25-cent games will go to Secondhand Hounds — a local animal rescue. SHH at Up-Down is set to be a great day for all.
Where Minnesota Public Radio 480 Cedar St., Saint Paul Hours 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Cost Free
Where Up-Down Minneapolis 3012 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis Hours 1 - 5 p.m. Cost Varies
Where The Museum of Russian Art 5500 Stevens Ave., Minneapolis Hours 6 - 9 p.m. Cost $50 - $65, 21+
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Sports
7
@MNDAILYSPORTS
SOFTBALL
Hot hitting could end 26-year drought Minnesota has not won a conference title for the regular season since 1991. KYLE STEINBERG ksteinberg@mndaily.com
In 1991, Nir vana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was a new release, New Kids On The Block took the stage at the Super Bowl halftime show and the Minnesota Twins won their most recent world series. It was also the last time a Gophers softball team won a regular-season Big Ten Championship. That could change this weekend, when the fourthranked Gophers (48-3, 18-1 Big Ten) travel to University Park, Pennsylvania to take on Penn State (22-29, 8-12 Big Ten) for a chance to clinch the title on their minds. “It’s so cool that that’s something we’re playing for this weekend,” said right fielder Maddie Houlihan. “It gives me chills.” The Gophers have been dominant all season, losing twice to seventh-ranked Washington and once to Illinois. While Minnesota’s pitching —as expected — has been a strength this season, perhaps a bigger factor in the Gophers’ success has been their offensive production,
SOFTBALL PREVIEW
VS NO. 4 MINNESOTA (48-3, 18-1 BIG TEN)
PENN STATE 22-29, 8-12 BIG TEN
WHEN: 5 p.m. Friday
WHERE: University Park, PA
WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: University Park, PA
WHEN: 12 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: University Park, PA SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM
particularly from the heart of the order. Kendyl Lindaman, Houlihan, MaKenna Partain and Sydney Dwyer batted in spots three through six for Minnesota to anchor a lineup that ranks third in the nation in scoring at 7.25 runs per game. “It builds confidence seeing the success [the other three] are having,” Dwyer said. Those four hold the top four batting averages on the team and are led by Lindaman, a freshman who has provided a fireworks show this season. She broke the program record for most home runs in a single season with 16 and leads the team in batting average (.430) and slugging percentage (.914), while placing second in RBIs (64). “She’s had such a great year,” Dwyer said. “It’s crazy
to think about where she’s going to be next year and her junior year and senior year.” Houlihan, last season’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, battled back from a relatively slow start to hold a .407 batting average while tying for the team lead in doubles with 14. Now a sophomore, she is excited to see the play of Lindaman and Partain, both candidates for Big Ten Freshman of the Year this season. “It’s just such a testament to the work that we put in, and the work that [head coach Jessica] Allister puts us through,” Houlihan said. “She can mold you into what a Gophers softball player is … It’s awesome that freshmen can come right in and make a big impact.” The heart of the lineup gives the Gophers con-
CARTER JONES, DAILY
Gophers sophomore Maddie Houlihan hits the ball against Purdue at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium on April 30.
fidence in their ability to score, as the four players have combined for 204 of Minnesota’s 345 RBIs this year. That scoring ability has the Gophers in position for a title. Since Allister took over in 2011, the program has gone from as low as ninth in the Big Ten to winning two Big Ten Tournament titles and reaching its first-ever NCAA Super Regional. A regular season conference title would mark another milestone in the
“It’s always special to win championships…it would be a huge accomplishment [to clinch the regular season title].” JESSICA MERCHANT Associate head coach
program-building process. “Coach Allister has the unique and special ability to expect the kids to work as hard as they can ever y single day to make Minnesota softball
great,” said associate head coach Jessica Merchant. “It’s always special to win championships…it would be a huge accomplishment [to clinch the regular season title].”
MEN’S TENNIS
BASKETBALL
Gophers men’s tennis earns a bid to the NCAA tournament
Pitino receives contract extension through 2022 BY JACK WHITE jwhite@mndaily.com
Gopher men’s basketball head coach Richard Pitino received a contract extension through the 2022 season on Wednesday. “I’ve seen accountability, commitment and focus from ever y student-athlete and member of the men’s basketball staf f, led by Coach Pitino,” Athletics Director Mark Coyle said
COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY
Felix Corwin returns the ball at the Baseline Tennis Center on Friday, April 21.
Minnesota didn’t make the NCAA tournament in the previous season. BY DREW COVE dcove@mndaily.com
Minnesota’s hot star t and solid season paid of f Wednesday. The Gophers will play in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014-15. “I don’t think that will pose, necessarily, any differ ent challenge,” said head coach Geof f Young. “[The sophomores] have been in some big matches before.” Eight of the 11 players for Minnesota are sophomores or younger, making this their first time to make it past the Big Ten tournament. The NCAA tournament begins on May 12 for the Gophers, and their first-round opponent is Georgia Tech.
Minnesota will play the 17-7 Yellow Jackets at Gainesville, Florida on University of Florida’s campus. Georgia Tech boasts the seventh-ranked singles player in the countr y, junior Christopher Eubanks, and he is teamed with senior Carlos Benito to form the 38th ranked doubles duo in the nation. The last time the Gophers made it to the NCAA tour nament, the team posted a regular season record of 21-8 and made it to the second round but lost to Virginia, the eventual champion. Last season, Minnesota finished with an 8-18 record. The Gophers missed the NCAA tour nament after losing 4-1 in the first round of the conference tournament. Senior Jer emy L ynn and juniors Matic Spec and Felix Cor win were the only three players still on the team the last time they
went to the tournament. “They have added to their games,” Young said. “They’re doing more, looking to get to the net more … and are a little more aggressive with their returns.” In 2015, the Gophers opened up the first round with a matchup against Princeton and won 4-1 but got shut out in the second round against Virginia. This year’s team doesn’t have a 21-8 record but instead a 17-10 record that took them to the second round of the Big Ten tournament. Minnesota’s record is solidified by a strong start and has been steadily improving throughout the season. “By this time of the season,” Young said, “we’ve played so many matches that it’s time to lear n from our mistakes and have a good star t and giving it ever ything we have out there.”
in a statement. “The team’s success on the cour t this year generated a lot of excitement on campus and around the state.” The extension — pending Board of Regents approval in May — adds one year to his current contract. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The Gophers finished 24-10 last season, a 16-victory improvement from the season before. The team also
earned a bid to the NCAA tournament, the first time Pitino had done so as a head coach. “My family and I love living in the Twin Cities and look for ward to continuing to build a strong men’s basketball program on and of f the cour t,” Pitino said in a statement. “The future of Gopher basketball is ver y bright, and I am excited to be a par t of it.”
8
Editorials & Opinions COLUMN
EDITORIALS
A letter of gratitude to the Daily I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned at the MN Daily. Hello, my name is Grace Thomas, and I’ve worked at the Minnesota Daily since the fall of 2014 as a reporter, web editor and now my current position as the editor of the editorials and opinions section. This is my last piece of any kind for the Daily, and I’ve decided to use the space I have left in this paper I hold so close to my heart to pitch myself to the world and speak to what I’ve learned during my time here. My first day as a reporter was two weeks after the death of my mentor, Dominic Postiglione. He gave me my first job at the Source Comics and Games (now in Roseville, then in Falcon Heights) when I was 14. I moved back to Minneapolis that summer from Long Island after a classmate of mine assaulted me and my claims were met with very little response from my former school’s administration. Dominic was a rock for me during the most difficult time in my life, then he was gone. So when I first came to the Daily, I was adrift. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be there, or if I would be able to handle it. I was met by an organization filled with witty, skilled and most of all principled reporters, editors and everything else that you need to make a newspaper with the earned reputation of the Daily.
GRACE THOMAS columnist
My copy was shredded to pieces and built up from the ground, my understanding of ethics in journalism was expanded and reinforced and I learned how to meet the sometimes strenuous expectations laid out in front of me. But I think what I’ve learned most from working at the Daily is the radical empathy required to not just be a top-notch journalist, but a fully realized adult. Jessica Lee, former managing editor of the Daily, current reporter for the Seattle Times, taught me many invaluable lessons, but most of all she taught me to listen to everybody like they have something important to say, because chances are, with all things considered, they probably do. I think that is the most important thing you can do as a journalist and as a creative person, and it is the ideal I strive to reach every day. I’ve learned how to deal with data management systems, write a brief in ten minutes and calm down a source who is angry at you for printing exactly what they said. But the principled perspective, the ethical mindset and the understanding of the amount of work that needs to be done to produce quality, well-reported pieces will always be a part of the person that I am.
My coworkers have supported me at every turn, coming out to my comedy shows, not blinking an eye when I announced I was transitioning and always working with me to create content we are proud of, and that makes a positive impact on our campus and larger community. The perspective I’ve formed here could be invaluable to a number of different types of work, but what I’m looking for is a company that is interested in telling stories for the same reasons we do so at the Daily. To inform our neighbors, near and far, of the world around them with the nuance and variety of voices they need to have as open and curious a perspective as we gain in our reporting. If that sounds like someone you’d like to have around your office, send an email to gracegloriathomas@gmail.com explaining why that’s the case. Thank you all for reading this, thank you to everyone who I’ve ever worked with at the Daily, especially Jessica Lee, Cody Nelson, Marion Renault, Dylan Scott, Josh Jones, Tyler Gieseke, Haley Hansen and Jared Hemming, and thank you to everyone who came before us and built this institution into what it is today. I know I’m going to miss it, but I also know that I’m going to carry it with me every day. Grace Thomas welcomes comments at gjhomas@mndaily.com.
2017 U.S. GUN VIOLENCE Total gun-related incidents: 20,397 Total number of deaths: 5,003 Total number of mass shootings: 117 Data compiled by gunviolencearchive.org
DAILY DISCUSSION Driving: Big changes coming to American roads A major petroleum company last week said it projects that 30 percent of new vehicles sold in 2030 — just 13 years away — will be powered not by gas but by electricity. And that percentage figures to increase in following years. Watt ramifications that would drive in public policy. Minnesota politicians have for years argued over whether to raise the gas tax, with advocates arguing that a sustainable increase in revenue is needed to maintain and enhance the state’s highways and roads. But this kind of heavy increase in EVs would make the gas tax essentially obsolete, with an ever-increasing percentage of the state’s drivers paying nothing. Bloomberg says that by 2020 there will be some 120 electric vehicles on the market as battery technology continues to improve and the prices continue to decline — a pattern much like that of memory chips. A rapid shift to electric power is only part of the wave of change coming to driving. The development of autonomous or “driverless” vehicles is gaining momentum, with established car companies and tech outfits from Silicon Valley alike testing prototypes on public roads. It’s quite possible that the transition to autonomous vehicles will enable a new means of a user fee for highways, with a mileage tax imposed on vehicles annually or even monthly based on what coordinates the vehicle was navigated between. That approach, in turn, figures to raise privacy issues. Gas tax? Highway construction? It’s possible that within the lifetime of some of our readers, not only the internal combustion engine but the freeway itself will be passe — in which case all that investment in pavement will be essentially wasted. Editor’s Note: An expanded version of this editorial was originally published by The Mankato Free Press.
Helen Teague welcomes comments at hteague@mndaily.com.
COLUMN
The importance of funding Optional student fees restrict the school’s freedom to fund important campus resources. It’s the end of the road, true believers. If you’ve been keeping up with this column throughout this semester, I thought I’d wrap things up by dispensing one last drop from Dr. Sharp’s Patented Farm Fresh W.O.W. Tonic (words of wisdom that is). Let’s kick off this jamboree with the University-related saga you and I have been reading and writing about. The Daily reported last week that the state would withhold state funding if the school did not comply with a proposed piece of legislation that would make student service fees at the University optional. Without being routed by systems that aren’t exclusively beneficial to it, the University, as long as it holds constitutional autonomy, will always be able to work within the needs of the students and repel changes outside its best interests. In a scenario where vital programs are already in jeopardy, to withhold funding would tack on another layer of maltreatment for our university, minimizing unnecessarily all the
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Response to recent letter regarding nursing school admissions practices I am submitting a response to a recent letter to the editor, titled “UMN Nursing’s School Change in Transfer Option is Weeding out Diversity,” published in the Minnesota Daily on May 1. The School of Nursing is proud to have students like Mara Smith express concerns about diversity and inclusivity. The school strives to ensure that diversity and inclusion is integrated into the work, curriculum, experiences and lives of every student. Her concern expressed about how the transition to a freshman guarantee program for the bachelor of science in nursing might affect diversity is a concern we share. This is why the school has a strong emphasis on recruitment and admission of diverse students into the freshman nursing guarantee program and for 2017, 24 percent of the
admission offers were to students of color and 15 percent to males. The deliberation and ultimate decision to transition to a full freshman nursing guarantee program on the Twin Cities campus and continue to admit transfer students to the BSN program located on the Rochester campus was multi-faceted. Each year, the University receives almost 3,000 applications from students applying as freshman indicating nursing as their desired a major. Our BSN program has capacity for 104 students per year on the Twin Cities campus. In the past, the freshman students admitted to the Twin Cities campus and another college “took their chances” and hoped they would be able to transfer into the BSN program as sophomores. Obviously, most were denied, meaning students had to change majors, transfer to another college entirely or take their chances and apply again the following year, in many cases resulting in higher cost to complete a degree. Some were reluctant to accept admission to the
THE EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS DEPARTMENT IS INDEPENDENT OF THE NEWSROOM
Thursday, May 4, 2017
TAYLOR SHARP columnist
enticements that bring people and keep people at the school. For dilly-dallyers, such as me, who sometimes struggle to work up the gumption to explore all of the University’s nooks and crannies, every avenue through which you might find yourself perusing remains likely to unveil a passion you discover. Maybe I’m sentimental, or maybe from all the moodiness of the past year, I’m more determined to extract a lesson from it all. But now I want to vivify the quality I find in the University’s many programs that I hope, by keeping its autonomy, it continues to offer. Even on the windiest, peskiest days across the Washington Avenue Bridge, I try to look above times of sluggishness and instead focus on the fact that the University always has the readiness to usher me into something totally captivating. I often think about all those campus groups that many find enjoyable and impactful. We can’t let that change. Taylor Sharp welcomes comments at tsharp@mndaily.com University as a freshman without knowing they would be able to progress as a BSN sophomore. In addition, because of the high demand for transfer to the BSN program, students accepted the transfer offer with a seat at the Rochester campus, but for some, being located in Rochester was not their first choice. Now that the school recruits and admits transfer students into the BSN program with location at Rochester, the school is getting many qualified and diverse applicants as transfers to the BSN program that are choosing the Rochester location. We are particularly pleased that Mara Smith, one of our outstanding BSN students, is an ambassador for the school’s nursing freshman guarantee program. It is students like Mara, serving as an ambassador, who help us recruit diverse students. Christine Mueller, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN Professor Associate Dean for Academic Programs Long-term Care Professorship in Nursing University of Minnesota, School of Nursing
In solidarity with students at St. Olaf College Fed up with continued repor ts of racist incidents on St. Olaf ’s cam pus, a group of the college’s students shut down the school’s cafeteria and boycotted classes earlier this week — before the school cancelled classes on May 1. The protest is the precipice of a string of racist incidents that have occurred at the school over the past year, and have pushed the campus to its tipping point — mirroring similar issues on the University of Minnesota campus and other colleges nationwide. St. Olaf ’s enrollment hovers around 3,000 people, with only 63 black or African American students, according to 2016 enrollment data. Black students have reported various racist incidents, including notes on cars that had pejorative language. St. Olaf College President David Anderson released an email on April 21 comparing the notes found on cars to a form of terrorism. “I have deliberately not repeated my announcement ever y time this person scrawls another racial epithet somewhere because then this person wins,” Anderson continued in his email. “I don’t want to give this person the power to evoke at will a message to the campus from the President.” Emails from Anderson clearly weren’t enough, though, as the incidents kept happening. An endemic problem like racism can’t be solved by of fering a hollow condemnation of the incident or by offering platitudes. After the protest May 1, Anderson agreed to some of the students’ demands and signed an agreement that specified how to proceed with these issues, including racial and cultural sensitivity training and a new policy on racial threats and hate crimes. An email was sent to the student body that night announcing the agreement. According to St. Olaf, there were nine r epor ted acts of hate speech throughout the school year, beginning in the fall. The college administration’s response to the spate of racist acts on campus was overdue and inadequate — Anderson waited too long to enact campus-wide changes. At a campus as small as St. Olaf, which is 74 percent white, nine acts of hate speech is startling — and it’s important to consider those were just the ones officially reported. St. Olaf and other colleges nationwide need to be more proactive in making minority students feel safer. In 2015, the University of Minnesota had a similar — though not campus-wide — protest spearheaded by the student group Whose Diversity? which ended with more than a dozen students arrested after attempting to occupy President Eric Kaler’s office. We stand by students of color at St. Olaf and applaud them for elevating their voices in the fact of injustice. Protest and peaceful acts of solidarity make reprehensible acts — like racial disparities, hate speech and police misconduct — visible to the public. When problems are made visible, we must then hold leaders accountable to enact change. CONTACT THE EDITOR Grace Thomas jthomas@mndaily.com EDITORIALS & OPINIONS DEPARTMENT Editorials represent the voice of the Minnesota Daily as an institution and are prepared by the editorial board.
SHARE YOUR VIEWS The Minnesota Daily welcomes letters and guest columns from readers. All letters must include the writer’s name, address and phone number for verification. The Daily reserves the right to edit all letters for style, space, libel and grammar. Letters to the editor should be no more than 500 words in length. Guest columns should be approximately 350 words. The Daily reserves the right to print any submission as a letter or guest column. Submission does not guarantee publication.
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9
Thursday, May 4, 2017
CROSSWORD Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle FOR MAY 2, 4, 2017 2017 FOR RELEASE RELEASE MAY
Edited and Joyce Joyce Lewis Lewis Edited by by Rich Rich Norris Norris and
HOROSCOPES Today’s Birthday (5/4): You’re physically energized this year. Complete issues from the past over spring. Career shifts this summer lead to breakthroughs with home and family. Launch a golden year with your partner this autumn.
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Written by Nancy Black
Aries (3/21 - 4/19): Today is a 9 — There’s plenty of action over the next few days. Plan your moves before dashing off. Hold your temper. Prepare and practice, for later performance.
Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is a 5 — Lay low and take it easy today and tomorrow. Complete old projects. Clean up. Organize and make plans. Avoid snark and grumbling.
Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is an 8 — Relax and enjoy the scenery over the next few days. Have fun with family and friends. Dig up a little romance. Wait to see what develops.
Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is an 8 — Rely on your team through tomorrow. Stay objective in a tense situation. Tempers can clash. Avoid blurting out something hurtful.
Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 7 — Discuss your home improvement ideas with family over the next few days. Don’t let someone talk you into overspending. Relax and consider.
Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is an 8 — Watch where you’re going. Prepare for a test over the next few days. Avoid confrontation with authority figures. Try not to break anything.
Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is a 7 — Study the situation through tomorrow. Things are starting to make sense. Catch up on the reading. Write, edit and revise. Don’t show unfinished work yet.
Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is a 6 — Explore, study and travel over the next few days. Roadblocks could delay action today. Make itineraries and confirm reservations.
Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 9 — There’s profit potential today and tomorrow. You may need to think fast. Avoid making expensive mistakes. Keep your cool, and consider all views.
Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is an 8 — Get into a two-day financial planning phase. Changes necessitate budget revisions. Plug financial leaks. Values get tested.
Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is a 9 — Confidence comes naturally for several days. With strength, you gain options. Save energy and take action later. Plan carefully to minimize expense and fuss.
Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is an 8 — Romance and fun have your heart through tomorrow. Tempers can get short. Avoid irritation and squabbling by getting enough rest.
CLASSIFIEDS To place a classified ad visit mndaily.com or call 612-627-4080. Deadline for submission is noon, 2 days before publication. The Daily reserves the right to reject, reclassify or request changes to any ad. All ads must be paid in advance unless credit arrangements are in place. Do not send credit card information via email. Please check the ad carefully after the first run Daily is not responsible for any errors after that.
ACROSS ACROSS 1 Overlook for 1 Accessory 7 Monte Mario’s Supergirl 5 city Volkswagen 11 Gravy, onfor menus Routan, one 148 At Putanchor into words 15 Somberanimal notice 12 Andes 16 14 German Belgradedirection native 17 15 “Proceed Pinnacle as planned” 16 *Bath towel 18 *“Thinking material ... ” 20 19 *Shakespeare Pilates class play needset on an enchanted island 20 Note from the 22 Period boss in ads 23 21 Lair Data storage 24 Bladed media tool 25 Greek 22 Ancient *Bart and Lisa’s theater grandpa 26 “Thought I should Washroom share,” bowls briefly 28 Pit gunk are “People 30 __-wolf saying ... ” 31 word 32 Candy Saudi’sheart neighbor 32 33 *Busker’s Neeson of the performance, “Taken” films perhaps 35 Rare Hawaiian 38 Specialty goose 40 circulation 36 Vital Huff Post owner component 37 Leave high and 41 Provocative dry ... or, when 42 *They dividedmay intobe three crowned parts, what the 45 __ Alamos answers to 46 “Forgot starred About clues are __”: Grammy- by encompassed winning 40 One of aduet featuring golfer’s Eminem 47 Actor Stephen pocketful 48 crawler 41 Army Mex. ladies 49 43 Stale Loosen, as 52 One lacesin a cheering crowd lava and 44 Spew 54 Moving wheels ash 56 “You as 46 Classic Online livewell?” stream lecture 57 48 *Proven __ Rico long term 49 *“Falcon Crest” 61 Collectors’ actress event, and a hintthe to 52 “Haven’t what’s hidden in foggiest” the answers to 55 “It’s __”: “Nobody starred wins” clues 63 56 Hot Cookie fruit 64 59 Wheels *Book that’s been 65 First name at shortened Woodstock 63 Male with a thick 66 Canadian coin mane 67 off 64 Tick Totals 68 65 First “Yes queen and no”of Carthage 66 Bluesy James 69 67 Performer Believe, aswith a 20 Oscar story nominations 68 Tuckered out
5/4/17 5/2/17
By Craig Stowe C.C. Burnikel
DOWN 1 Tag line? Chowder 2 Many a blackingredient clad teenof “Good 2 Jessica 3 Serious Luck Chuck” downturns 3 Picnic side dish 4 Talk with style Revealing rock 5 University genre officials poison 5 Scorpion’s 6 Ancient Dead Gallery showing Sea kingdom 7 “The Voice” 7 Swiss luxury network brand as a 8 Audited, 8 Quite class heavy 9 Baker’s Circus protection performances 10 Bread machine? “Everything’s fine” 11 Leader of the Many man caves animatedsouth of 13 Country Pussycats Georgia 12 of __: 14 Was 18-wheeler helped and __” 17 “Porgy 13 18 Dutch FormerGolden NBA Age artist forward Lamar 19 lovable 23 Make Coal holder 21 24 Echo Museum with a 25 Electrical unit Goya Gate 26 25 Glitch Sport with silk27 Cosmonaut clad referees Gagarin called gyoji 29 love hath 26 “... Brag madetothee __ 27 Love, Casanova snake”:back “As You 29 Shoot Like It” 30 Ham-handed 30 words 31 Put Takeinto care of
Early Week’sPuzzle Puzzle Solved Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved Monday’s Solved
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
33 Tall Poetic andadverb lean Endless, 34 Gary’s st. poetically 38 Onion or shallot 35 Aspic-coated 39 Fixes, as Fido French chicken 42 Mountain dish climber’s need 36 Tappable 45 Rock’s __image 37 Dermatologist’s Speedwagon concern 47 Still in the sack 39 Accumulates 48 Ballet knee bend 43 Papa Mine output 50 44 Off-road One without 51 rides: 49 “Casino” co-star Abbr.
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DR. DATE 5/4/2017
Dr. Date,
I need your advice on this topic: I’m a guy whose size is sometimes intimidating. I’m 6-feet-7 inches tall and almost 300 pounds. My friends call me “the Human Growth Hormone.” I like working out and I’m proud of my physique, but it’s sometimes hard to find a girl who doesn’t get scared by it. Even when I hit on girls around the gym, who are also tall and muscular, I get denied. What am I doing wrong?
—Gentle Giant
Large and Not-So-in-Charge,
I’m going to let you in on a very, very pertinent piece of information: most girls don’t like to be hit on at the gym. Let me give you some perspective on this situation: You, a large, muscular man, go to the gym to work out so you can maintain your physique — the one you are so proud of. Women go to the gym to work out for precisely the same reason. The gym is a sacred place where both men and women go in order to exert themselves physically, not to exercise their romantic whims. If women wanted to be courted by “gentle giants” such as yourself, they would go the club. My first line of suggestion is for you to move your flirtatious tendencies to places that are more appropriate: a bar, a party, etc. Secondly, your stature itself may be intimidating, but your demeanor can show otherwise. Crack a joke, make someone laugh — laughing is the key to feeling comfortable. Lastly, the good news is that many women like tall, well-conditioned, well-mannered men. A little chivalry and a lot of height can go a long way. Good luck, my friend; there’s a girl out there for you.
—Dr. Date
Dr. Date,
I’ve been hanging out with this guy for about a month, and we get along
5/4/17 5/2/17
50 Wind In conflict, 52 warning seriously by two indicated 51 Gawk red flags 52 “In Specialty 53 memoriam” 53 Defensive retort piece 55 Relaxed Concerning 54 gait 57 Actress Bitty bit Hatcher Weebiter ones 58 Bitty 59 Shoot Lackawanna’s 60 the lake breeze 60 Academic Word with URL freeze 61 or fry ending Tickedaoff 62 Have good cry
really well. He’s smart and funny, and our conversations o seamlessly. (Plus he’s really hot.) But there is a problem: He hasn’t shown any physical interest in me at all — he hasn’t made any attempts for a kiss, thigh-grab or even a hug! At the end of the night, I always hope he’ll kiss me good night, but it doesn’t happen. We haven’t DTR’d yet, but he always pays for my meals when we’re out and acts like we’re dating. I’m confused. I’m pretty traditional when it comes to ho should make the first move and I’m pretty shy myself, but what’s a girl got to do? Throw myself at him? Does he even like me at all? I’m scared I’ll get rejected if I make a move and he’s not into it.
—Anonymous
Spy Girl,
It may be time to get a little sneaky. There’s a possibility that your beau may want to take things slow, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you have needs that you wish to be met, maybe it’s time to do a little digging. Conducting investigations into a person’s past are not completely uncalled for. Also, it’s fun to play the role of the undercover agent. Who are his friends? Find them. Most likely you know who his posse is. Boys talk, and they’re usually willing to help a sista out. You have questions, so ask away. Maybe his previous relationship ended badly. Maybe he just wants to be friends. Maybe he’s intimidated because he thinks he’s out of your league. However, if all else fails and you’re not willing to go out on a limb and make the first move it’s est to ust talk it out. Everyone wants to avoid awkward conversations, but sometimes they’re best to evaluate whether both parties are really on the same page.
—Dr. Date
Early Week’s solution © 2015 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
10
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Landcare struggles to hire U students
CARTER JONES, DAILY
Asian languages and literatures and physiology freshman Jacob Miller cleans up mulch outside Coffman Memorial Union on Tuesday. “...working outside 40 hours a week is awesome,” Miller said.
Landcare u from Page 1
man the mowers, … it really throws a wrench into things.” Potts said he has seen other hiring lulls in his tenure, but in recent years, students have become less interested in blue-collar jobs. Starting hourly wage for student landcare workers in $10.25 “A lot of people are laying it on millennials,” he said. “Their desires are different.” As the depar tment races to meet its 100-worker summer goal each year, the months in-between are especially challenging for workers. Hiring ef for ts star t in March but don’t finish until late May, Lauer said. “We are usually just skimming by to meet our needs,” Lauer said. “The gardeners that we have on staf f, a lot of time will work overtime in spring.”
Gardener Danielle Ringoe said she’s still looking to fill all the spots on her 10-person team for repair projects. The depar tment has taken on some external contractors as a result. “This is pretty abnormal,” said Ringoe, who worked for the department all four years of her undergraduate studies and returned for a full-time job. The best scenario for the University’s depar tment is finding a freshman, like Ringoe, who’s willing to stick with them until they graduate, Potts said. “Students are here for education, and if we can pr ovide them financial support, it’s a good thing,” he said. The depar tment has started renovating certain sites into naturalist areas, like the urban meadow next to the law school, Lauer said. These areas take less upkeep, but only a few places around campus can be turned into
these kinds of areas. They also still take years to set up, he said. Some colleges’ land care depar tments have moved away from a student workforce, Potts said. At a Big 10 meeting among landcare of ficials, Potts said other colleges were surprised to hear how many students the University employs. “It’s not a reliable workforce. The tur nover is high. You invest a lot in training and educating people,” he said. Lauer said interest from students follows the job market. In 2008, when the state was reeling from the Great Recession, a lack of outside jobs led to student interest being at an all-time high. “It’s amazing when you give people the opportunity to work with their hands,” he said. “Making something go from not looking good to looking really good, it gives you a lot of pride.”
Witnessing arrests can be traumatic for children Exploring the problem The research also About one-third of all chilcould improve dren who have an incarcerpolice-community ated parent witness the parrelations long term. ent’s arrest, Shlafer said.
how traumatic this was for them and gave this really negative, scary perception of police officers. It really severed that trust,” Peterson said.
BY RILYN EISCHENS reischens@mndaily.com
Arrest polices in Minnesota
At 21 years old, University of Minnesota student Tiffany Hamidjaja is conducting research that experts say sheds new light on policecommunity relations. Hamidjaja, a psychology and sociology of law, criminology and deviance senior, has found in her two years of research that most sheriff’s departments lack formal trauma-sensitive policies for arresting parents in front of children. She says she hopes to design training for law enforcement and eventually craft statewide policy. Her study is one of the first of its kind in the U.S., said her research supervisor Rebecca Shlafer, a University pediatrics professor. “We know there are disparities and systemic inequities in where communities are policed,” Shlafer said. “When we consider how children are exposed to police … that’s certainly part of this broader conversation about, ‘do they see the police officers in a way that they’re helping or hurting?’” Research in this field could limit childhood trauma but also improve police-community relations long term, she said. “It’s not something that’s widely-researched yet,” said Bryce Peterson, who led a pioneering study on children and parental arrest for the Urban Institute. “Oftentimes, of ficers don’t necessarily think about how their actions … can affect children.”
“It’s really hard to think about a situation in which experiencing the parent’s arrest could be anything other than traumatic,” she said. “This is an event that sticks with [children], and they have very visceral memories of their parents being arrested.” Peterson said misunderstandings often make officers reluctant to learn about trauma-informed arrest policies. For example, many officers are trained to complete arrests as quickly as possible to limit potential security risks, he said, which can frighten and confuse kids. While the officers are working to protect the children’s physical safety, they can overlook negative psychological effects those actions can have, Peterson said. “A lot of these people are parents themselves, so sometimes it’s just a matter of explaining what the problem is, and it’s amazing how much that can resonate and change practice,” he said. Hamidjaja said officers can take practical steps to limit potential trauma during an arrest, such as handcuffing parents out of a child’s view or keeping stuffed animals and blankets in squad cars. Officers can also ask arrestees if they have dependents, she said. That way, police can ensure children aren’t left abandoned after the arrest. “We’ve heard from several children who have experienced this themselves who … have talked about
In her research, Hamidjaja called every county sheriff’s department in the state. She found most lack official policies. While some sheriff’s offices follow informal policies, there is still no accountability for officers in those cases, she said. Hamidjaja also asked whether deputies would be interested in trauma-informed trainings. While some were enthusiastic, others expressed concern about paying for a training session, she said. Some also said a formal policy or training wasn’t necessary because they had yet to encounter any issues with how officers treated children of arrested parents. This view is problematic, Hamidjaja said, because if officials aren’t proactive, generations of trauma could go unchecked. She finished collecting data two weeks ago and is analyzing the information. She will create an infographic to share with the public this summer, she said, and will design and implement trainings in Minnesota with the help of community stakeholders. Eventually, she wants to work with state legislators to pass laws that mandate these policies statewide. “It’s just kind of like your responsibility to academia to start the conversation,” she said. “It starts a very much needed conversation in our field and it starts a lot of different questions from it.”
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Tiffany Hamidjaja poses for a portrait on April 27, 2017. Hamidjaja is researching the impact of children witnessing the arrest of their parents and the relationship of incarcerated parents to youth violence.
Report gives new guidelines for student mental health in classes
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The report asked professors to adopt practices that reduce stress, like distributing class points across more course material, diverging from previous efforts to increase counseling and treatment services for mentally ill students, said task force co-chair and Boynton Health Chief Medical Officer Gary Christenson. “Instructors are pretty much on the front line,” he said. “We’re not asking instr uctors to be mental health professionals, but … we feel that ever yone has the ability to decrease stigma and to provide a supportive environment.” About one-third of students on the Twin Cities campus have been diagnosed with a mental illness, which can hinder student learning, according to the report. The recommendations come amid increased attention nationwide on providing faculty tools to intervene before a student is in crisis, said Nance Roy, clinical director of The JED Foundation, a national nonprofit focused on young adult mental health and suicide prevention. “It’s about someone who’s in your world on a regular basis, caring enough to reach
out and make a connection,” she said. “If a student reveals an issue that may require professional help, then you have the language or you know who to call.”
‘A balancing act’ The report outlined 13 guidelines for mitigating academic stress, including using sensitive language on the topic of mental illness, giving sufficient time to complete tests and empathizing with students who are juggling multiple deadlines. Still, instructors aren’t expected to compromise academic rigor, Wick said. “I think there may be some people who aren’t going to like some of the recommendations and may think this is imposing too much on them, but to me, it’s a balancing act,” she said. The report also reinforced that instructors must assist students with Disability Resource Center accommodation letters, which has been a point of confusion for many faculty, Christenson said. Disability accommodations are misunderstood nationwide, Roy said. “[The movement is] in its infancy stages,” she said. “[Accommodations] aren’t just extended time on tests or alternative test arrangement. Oftentimes they’re far more
subtle … and not as easy to figure out and implement.”
Institutional support University departments can inform instructors about how to help students, the report says. But effective change requires administrative action, Roy said. The task force is asking University administrators to strengthen policies related to mental health, including allowing priority class registration for disabled students, requiring disability training for instructors and eliminating late-night exams. Task force members recommended the 12-yearold Provost’s Committee on Student Mental Health review the report, Christenson said. They also recommend increased funding and adding faculty leaders to the committee. “We think the committee could have an elevated role, really given more empowerment to advance mental health efforts on campus,” he said. Going for ward, Wick said she hopes the report will lead to lasting change at the University. “We can’t just let this be a paper that sits on the shelf and gathers dust,” she said. “We really will be pushing in whatever way we can to make sure this doesn’t just die.”