September 3, 2019 Welcome Back

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Welcome back to the U of M

A letter from the editor in chief

BY CLEO KREJCI ckrejci@mndaily.com The Minnesota Daily has served as the University of Minnesota’s completely student-run newspaper since it was founded in 1900. Today we cover some of the very same topics the Daily covered in the early 1900s — the University’s extensive network of students, faculty, staff, alumni and more, all set together in a school the size of a city. To get you caught up, here is a brief recap of some of the biggest stories from the past spring and summer.

The University of Minnesota’s 168th year has been marked by firsts. Joan Gabel is set to take on her first school year as president of the University, the first woman to hold the position following 16 male predecessors. Four new members of the board of regents took seats in May, three of them women, now members of the University’s most powerful governing board. Between Gabel and the four new regents, many are eager to see what steps the University will take after former president Eric Kaler’s eightyear tenure.

Last spring, campus stood still during a regents meeting which ended a months-long debate over whether or not to rename Coffman Union after a faculty-led task force alleged racist and discriminatory practices by its namesake.

In April, the board of regents voted against renaming the building, though decided to take further action to create “ongoing commemorations, educational activities, and/or permanent educational display[s]” about the student union.

During that same meeting, longtime University professor and activist John Wright gave an impromptu sp eech before the board, backed by dozens of student, staff and faculty protesters in

favor of renaming, detailing how the University’s history includes decades of painful discrimination which cannot be forgotten.

Though the regents decided against the renaming, campus is still in limbo with how to move forward. Those who opp ose renaming have argued that there is insufficient evidence to validate Coffman’s alleged actions, which the faculty task force described as racist, despite extensive research into his and other former faculty members’ time on campus in an exhibit called “A Campus Divided.” Those in favor of renaming argue that the building should not carry the name of what they see as a historical figure who took a leading role in racist, discriminatory actions against students.

Many have expressed a commitment to continue the fight for renaming, saying the regents’ decision does not adequately contend with the University’s history.

Students this year are already feeling the effects of a 2 percent tuition increase for resident students, which took effect July 1 after significant debate between the Board of Regents and former president Eric Kaler. The latest tuition hike follows a 10 percent tuition hike for nonresident, nonreciprocity students in 2018.

It is difficult not to notice the shifts in landscape around the U. Pioneer hall’s two-year renovation is complete, welcoming students to its restored interior fit with 756 beds and 850 dining hall seats.

Students in surrounding neighborhoods are experiencing changes, too. Sporty’s Pub and Grill, Varsity Bike & Transit, Kafe 421 and Football Pizza in Como are all closing, or have closed their doors.

In this edition, you can read some of our biggest stories of the summer to get caught up on what you might have missed.

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Table of Contents Meet Joan Gabel

6

UMN, Minn. State funding

9

Sporty’s closure

10

African market protests

12

A taste of El Taco Riendo

15

DACA recipients in limbo

16

Meet the new U regents

18

Med school seeks new dean 21 Ricin reported at Marshall

22

ILLUSTRATION BY JANE BORSTAD, DAILY

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Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Meet the new U president, Joan Gabel Gabel assumed her role on July 1 as the U’s first female president.

ILLUSTRATION BY MORGAN LA CASSE, DAILY

BY KATRINA PROSS • kpross@mndaily.com

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

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Originally published on May 2, 2019.

Joan Gabel has her snow boots lined up in her closet, ready to take on her first Minnesota winter. She’s also ready to take over as University of Minnesota president.

Gabel officially stepped into her new role Monday, following Eric Kaler’s 8-year tenure. As the 17th president and the first woman to hold the position at the University, she said she hopes to hit the ground running.

“I’m very aware of how important it is to other women particularly, but not exclusively, our students and some of our female faculty and the idea that this is absolutely doable,” she said. “So, it’s very important for me to represent that well, and to make sure that as the person who carries that through the first time, that there’s no question that every other woman who would want to do this, every other person who would want to do this has absolute opportunity to do it and every expectation of doing it as well as anyone else.”

Most Big 10 universities have presidents that are men.

Gabel has previously served as the provost at the University of South Carolina and the dean of the University of Missouri’s Trulaske College of Business.

A world traveler and a mother of three, she’s also held positions in higher education in Florida and Georgia, and previously worked as an attorney.

Since b eing selected as the next president, Gabel has been traveling from South Carolina to Minneapolis once or twice a month to meet with University leadership to ensure a smooth transition.

She will meet with the University’s Board of Regents next week during their annual retreat, where she and regents will discuss what goals and actions should be implemented.

The systemwide strategic plan was a major talking point at last year’s board meetings. Gabel has been charged to ensure that the plan is created and implemented during her presidency. The plan will focus on how to support students and faculty and will also include efforts to improve diversity and inclusion and ways to uphold the school’s mission. Gabel will work with the board to establish the plan’s priorities.

DAILY FILE PHOTO

University President Joan Gabel listens to Vice Chair Steven Sviggum at Gabel’s first regents retreat on Friday, July 12 in Faribault.

To better orient herself with her new position, Gabel will be attending a seminar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education this month.

Those who have worked with Gabel in the past say she is well-prepared for the role as president.

At the University of South Carolina, Gabel prioritized diversity and inclusion, and enacted a requirement that there be a diversity officer in every academic unit, said John Dozier, chief diversity officer at the University of South Carolina.

“She wanted to make sure that we were doing all that we can to recruit

and retain underrepresented minority faculty across the university and across disciplines,” he said.

Taylor Wright, former student body president at the University of South Carolina, said he met with Gabel while she was provost about once a month, and that she wanted the interests and concerns of students to be addressed.

“Everyone was just absolutely blown away by how poised and how really personable she is and how down-to-earth and intelligent she is at the same time,” Wright said. “She got along really well with students.”

Wes Hickman, the former chief communications officer at the University of South Carolina, knew Gabel professionally and personally while she served as provost. During her time there, Gabel established living learning communities where students could meet and live with others who have similar career interests.

He said she was also involved in the university’s strategic planning efforts. “ S h e’s a v i s i o n a r y l ea d e r, s h e’s somebody who understands big picture strategy and knows how to put a team together … she is student-focused all the way,” Hickman said.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

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Minn. State to receive $180M more than U over next 2 years

UMN regents said they were disappointed the University received about half its ask.

“Together we are responsible for creating the workforce of the future,” Kian said. “I don’t want them to lose out for us to gain more, I want us both to win in the end.”

BY DYLAN ANDERSON danderson@mndaily.com Originally published on June 11, 2019.

After the University of Minnesota received half of its two -year budget request, and much less than Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, regents are concerned about the growing disparities between the two higher education systems.

In the higher education omnibus bill passed last month, the University received about $180 million less for 2020 and 2021 than Minnesota State, continuing a trend of increasing imbalance between the schools dating back to 2014.

“The continued growth in the gap b e twe e n M i n n e s o ta S tat e a n d t h e University of Minnesota is troubling,” said Regent Darrin Rosha.

The state system received ab out $150 million more in funding than the University in the last biennium. In the funding bill for the institutions for 2016 and 2017, Minnesota State’s ap propriation topped the University’s by about $90 million.

Regent Michael Hsu said the University getting half the increase it asked for is disappointing.

“Regardless of the amounts we asked for, we like to see the fact that the numbers overall are even,” Hsu said.

“We’re losing the battle with respect to Minnesota State.”

Regent Steve Sviggum said Minnesota State has a “political advantage” over the University.

“They have more campuses in more districts of legislators,” Sviggum said.

“Representatives and legislators want to

MINA KIAN

Minnesota Student Association president

DYLAN ANDERSON, DAILY • SOURCE: MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE • CREATED WITH DATAWRAPPER

make sure that their local communities are taken care of.”

Minnesota State has 54 campuses throughout the state, while the University has five. This “political advantage” is not new, as the state schools have outnumbered the University in terms of campuses and students before the disparity in funding began.

Mina Kian, the Minnesota Student Association president- elect, said she doesn’t think it should be viewed as the University and Minnesota State pitted against each other for funding, rather the two working to lobby for more higher education funding in general.

“Together we are responsible for creating the workforce of the future,” Kian said. “I don’t want them to lose out for us to gain more, I want us both to win in the end.”

At an Octob er Board of Regents meeting, Rosha questioned whether the initial ask by the University was large enough, saying it seems the state awards funding on a percentage basis, and a large ask could return a larger allocation.

Minnesota State received an additional $81 million, about a third of its $246 million ask, which if granted in full, promised to freeze tuition. The University chose a different strategy, making what it considered a very reasonable request.

“I thought our request was needed and justified,” Sviggum said. “We didn’t ask for the sky.”

Pressure on tuition The University’s O p erations and Maintenance budget, primarily used for its education mission totaling about $1.6

billion, is funded entirely through state appropriation and tuition.

“When the state can’t invest at the levels we’ve asked for, it does put pressure on tuition,” said Brian Burnett, senior vice president for finance and operations.

When adjusting for inf lation, the state provided the University the equivalent of $160 million more toward the Operations and Maintenance budget in 2007 than it will in 2020.

In 2007, the budget was funded by about half from each funding source, but this past year tuition shouldered 63 percent, or almost a billion dollars, of the total.

After receiving less than was requested from the state this session, President Eric Kaler has proposed a 2.5 percent increase on undergraduates on the Twin Cities campus, less than the 3 percent increase cap the state requested.

“It’s a little bit oxymoronic or ironic of the legislature to not fund our request … and then ask us to hold tuition to a certain level,” Sviggum said.

Hsu said he thinks raising tuition is the easy answer to budget shortfalls and feels the University needs to do more to make hard cuts.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Sporty’s Pub and Grill in Comoarea closed at the end of June

The Southeast Como dive bar has been a part of the area’s scene since the 1960s.

BY IMANI CRUZEN icruzen@mndaily.com Originally published on June 19, 2019.

Sporty’s Pub and Grill, a longtime haunt in Southeast Como, is closing this summer to make way for a new restaurant.

The bar’s last day of operation will be June 30, said owner Chris Chistopherson.

A new restaurant, Como Tap, is expected to open at the location of 22nd Avenue Southeast and Como Avenue Southeast in late August.

Christopherson’s lease for the bar, nicknamed Sporty’s for decades, will end in July after unsuccessful renewal negotiations. Renewing the lease would have included a substantial rent increase that Christopherson found unsustainable, he said.

During negotiations, Christopherson said he received a letter informing him the lease would not be renewed.

“This is not my intent, it breaks my heart. Because I feel like we’re allowing an institution to die,” Christopherson said.

“But I understand it, I understand business. I understand maximizing profits and I don’t know that I’d have done anything different if I was in Joe’s spot, because he owns the building. He operated Sporty’s for 14 years.”

The building’s owner, Joe Radaich, operated Sporty’s from 1998 to 2012, when Christopherson bought the business.

Radaich will open Como Tap with former Sporty’s employee Jana Kern, who served at the location for about 16 years.

Kern even served Christopherson and his family when they visited before he purchased the business.

“The way the server operated towards us, to the food that we had, to the music,

A sign for the Sportsmen’s Inn hangs inside of Sporty’s Pub and Grill on Como Avenue in Minneapolis on Monday, June 17.

so just the whole atmosphere kind of came together,” Christopherson said. “I was just like, ‘I could hang out here all day.’”

The building carries a history dating back to the early 1900s, when it was the Como Inn. The location’s first bar opened in 1963, eventually absorbing the neighboring grocery store and barbershop — changing hands and names several times.

Multiple staff have worked at Sporty’s for years, including Kern and other staffers who worked there before Christopherson acquired the business. The bar is frequented by many regular customers, including

a man who always sits at the same spot, Christopherson said.

“I’ve met people from so many walks of life, in so many places. I’ll be wearing my Sporty’s hoodie in other states, and have people be like, ‘Hey, Sporty’s, yeah,’” Christopherson said.

Former University of Minnesota student Seth Campbell said Sporty’s has been a “social hub” for him where he has met friends while playing trivia.

“It’s the first bar that I ever really felt like, ‘that’s my neighborhood bar.’ And so it hurts to see that it’s not going to be there

DAILY FILE PHOTO

for me anymore,” Campbell said. “I hope that the new place is able to still fill that niche, but new things are weird. People don’t like change, myself included.”

While Sporty’s wasn’t former University student Michael Fogarty’s first bar choice when hanging out in Como, he said it had a positive reputation among college students.

“It was kind of that beloved Como dive bar and so, it’s definitely sad to see it go,” Fogarty said. “But I’m hoping the new place that opens up can hopefully stand on its own and add a new dimension to the bar scene in the area.”

metrotransit.org/umn

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

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African market draws community concerns from Cedar-Riverside The proposed mini-mall was part of a greater vision for an “African village.”

BY J.D. DUGGAN jduggan@mndaily.com Originally published on June 19, 2019.

Local officials rolled out a vision for an “African village” in Cedar-Riverside last month, but not all neighborhood residents agree the project is best for the community.

Ward 6 city council member Abdi Warsame, who represents the neighborhood, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced plans in late June to erect a Cedar-Riverside public market that would further a vision for an African village.

But some community members said the announcement came as a surprise.

Local community group Somali Mothers of MN held a protest Sunday to rebuke the proposed project’s lack of community engagement and express concern about its potential effects on the dense neighborhood, such as impacts on crime and parking.

“The community didn’t even know before,” said Fartun Del, a founder of Somali Mothers of MN. “And knowing that, that nobody engaged [the community], brings them more suspicion and more anger.”

The proposed market is located on “Lot A,” a city-owned parking lot nestled against the Green Line light rail, across from Mixed Blood Theatre on Fourth Street South. Lot A rests less than a block from the namesake crossroads of Cedar Avenue and Riverside Avenue. The community has discussed development of Lot A for years.

“The African village concept is not just a market,” Warsame said. “Africa village concept is the people that live there.

It’s the people that live in the towers, it’s the African immigrants, the culture, the languages.”

Warsame compared his vision to Chinatown or Little Italy in other cities.

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Youth hold signs protesting the development of a mall in the Cedar Riverside area at a protest organized by the Somali Mothers of MN at Currie Park on Sunday, July 7.

The market would support young African entrepreneurs, especially women of color, and create a regional destination, Warsame said.

Russom Solomon, owner of the neighboring Red Sea restaurant, said Frey and Warsame are “putting the cart before the horse.”

“First, engage the neighborhood, see what is best for this place and what people want. Go through the process,” Solomon said. “We’re not saying the city cannot develop this. They can develop it. But they

have to listen to the community.”

He called the lack of recent engagement “unbelievably unique.”

Warsame said he believes much of the East African community supports the project. Warsame and Frey committed to create an African mall during the 2017 municipal elections, and the current vision for the market was publicly announced in late June 2019 at an East African Business Forum.

“It was in response to community members, the vast majority of Somali and East

African Community members, expressing both a desire and a need for this kind of endeavor,” Frey said.

Warsame hopes the market will be an alternative to other African malls in Minneapolis, particularly those owned

by Sabri Properties, which have drawn criticism for tenant exploitation. Warsame said the Cedar-Riverside market is “for the community, and it’s for the public — not a privately owned entity.”

Sabri Properties was unable to be reached for comment before publication.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2019 Del, who also owns Sagal Restaurant in Cedar-Riverside, said the neighborhood, which is already among the densest in the city, cannot support a mall. She said energies should be focused on mitigating crime.

“My concern is that we need a mall, but we don’t need a mall in Cedar-Riverside, because we already have density,” Del said.

“And to have a mall is going to bring more people, more crime, more drug use.”

But responding to concerns mentioned in the protest, Warsame said the mall will have the opposite effect by adding traffic to the area. The lot is one of the more problematic areas in Ward 6, having been the site of a recent homicide and ongoing drug deals, he said.

Multiple speakers at the protest, which saw over 100 attendees, said the neighborhood should prioritize recreational spaces for youth and elders.

Some community members said the timeline for development is aggressive and will make community engagement difficult.

“It’s a top down decision in the first place. Not very many people are aware of what’s going on,” said Solomon Cherne, a longtime resident of Cedar-Riverside who attended the protest.

The city’s Cedar-Riverside Small Area Plan, approved in 2008, suggests the area should maintain parking and diversify neighborhood housing options.

The nearby Riverside Plaza, which is home to more than 3,500 people, has approximately 850 private parking spaces throughout the complex. Lot A adds about 100 spaces to the area, which neighbors say are important to bring traffic to businesses.

Warsame said the market’s proposal could still include parking to help attract regional visitors.

Ladan Yusuf, an ally of the Somali mothers group and community organizer for the Defend Glendale and Public Housing Coalition, is concerned the project, which will also likely include housing, could gentrify the neighborhood.

This concern was echoed by many protest attendees.

“We want to stop gentrification because this is going to be another luxurious apartment and with a very expensive mall that people cannot afford,” Yusuf said.

Warsame said if housing is built above the market, it would be affordable.

Some residents and business owners are also concerned a new market will create additional competition for African-owned businesses currently in the neighborhood.

“We don’t want it to jeopardize those businesses and bring in a new business.

We have to think of the current businesses and elevate them up and do something for those businesses,” said Osman Ahmed, chairman of the Riverside Plaza Tenant Association.

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Ladan Yusuf speaks to a crowd protesting the development of an ‘African Village’ in the Cedar Riverside area at a protest organized by the Somali Mothers of MN at Currie Park on Sunday, July 7.

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Ader Hirsi speaks at a protest organized by the Somali Mothers of MN at Currie Park in Cedar Riverside on Sunday, July 7.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

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El Taco Riendo is a tried-and-true community favorite restaurant The restaurant has served inexpensive, tasty Mexican cuisine for over a decade.

BY LIV MARTIN lmartin@mndaily.com Originally published on July 23, 2019.

El Taco Riendo is a mainstay on Central Avenue, a street lined with restaurants with cuisine from all over the world. In the span of a few blocks, one can find Thai, Ecuadorian, Middle Eastern, American-style food and some deliciously authentic Mexican food.

The restaurant opened just over a decade ago. Owner Miguel Gomez’s philosophy has been the same since the start: to serve inexpensive, efficient and fresh food.

Even on a recent 93-degree day, there was a long line of customers at the counter. Joey Himmelspach, who lives nearby, was eating their usual order: a vegetarian quesadilla. Not only is the food low-cost and good, they said, but eating at a local chain helps the community.

“It’s supporting small businesses. It’s helping POC,” Himmelspach said. Their friend, Kevin James, agreed.

“Here the money goes back into pockets ... back into the community. You know where it’s going,” James said.

Himmelspach eats at El Taco Riendo at least once a month — and they aren’t alone. Gomez says the restaurant has many regulars. Cashier Vanessa Ramos says there are some who come every day.

“We are surprised sometimes, because we can have a winter storm and yet we still have customers coming in,” Ramos said.

The menu has been reliable for a long time, too. Favorites include “elote” (roasted corn with toppings), “pastor” (a marinated barbecue pork) and the famous foot-long burrito, made with two 6-inch tortillas (which weighs between 2.5

and 3 pounds).

Though Gomez is from Mexico City, the menu has influences from all over Mexico.

General manager Carlos Morales, from Oaxaca, had a hand in making the special salsa used in the pastor and barbecue dishes.

“I [brought] the recipe from Mexico,” he said. The recipe is secret, but Morales says it has pineapple and is more sweet than spicy.

The restaurant’s walls are painted bright yellows and oranges — “colors from Mexico,” said Gomez, — creating a festive atmosphere.

In March, a new location in the northwest suburb of Crystal, Minnesota, opened. It’s much smaller, having previously been a Subway, but the concept is the same. It, too, features the business’s

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Above: Jose Gonzalez prepares tacos at El Taco Riendo on Central Avenue in Minneapolis on Friday, July 19.

Left: Quesadillas are ready at El Taco Riendo.

logo: a laughing, running taquito — an image hidden in the name “El Taco Riendo.”

“Corriendo means running, because

we are a fast food restaurant. ‘Está corriendo’ means ‘it’s running,’” Gomez said.

“Everybody walks out of here smiling and happy because they have a great meal.”

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Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Upcoming Supreme Court decision creates more uncertainty for UMN’s DACA students The U of M’s Immigration Response Team is advising DACA students to reapply early due to a murky future.

BY KATRINA PROSS kpross@mndaily.com Originally published on July 7, 2019.

With the Supreme Court’s announcement late last month to review the decision to terminate DACA, recipients remain in limbo as they await the program’s fate.

In light of this decision, the general advice given to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is to renew their status just in case the program is terminated, even if their status is not near expiration. The University of Minnesota’s Immigration Response Team is also recommending students consider reapplying early and has funding available to help students pay the filing costs.

Recipients have to renew their DACA status every two years and it costs almost $500 each time. University students can apply for funding to help pay for the costs through The Dream Fund, which is run by the response team and provides funding for students.

However, every DACA student’s situation is different, so not every recipient may need to file for renewal, said Marissa Hill-Dongre, the director of the response team. But the University can help students decide if renewing is the right step to take, she said.

“We want to make sure DACA students are informed about where they stand and that they have reliable information,” Hill-Dongre said. “Immigration advice is different for everyone.”

Created in 2012 under the Obama Administration, DACA protects some individuals who came to the United States unlawfully, such as those who were brought to the country as children, from deportation and provides them eligibility for a work permit. Those who qualified for

ILLUSTRATED BY MORGAN LA CASSE

the program had to be younger than 16 years old when they came to the United States.

President Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he hopes to end the program, sparking nationwide backlash and efforts to keep it alive. Federal courts blocked Trump from ending DACA, and the Supreme Court announced it will likely decide by June 2020 if Trump can terminate the program, according to the Associated Press.

Anne Applebaum, an attorney at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said

their office has seen over 160 cases for DACA renewal in 2019. Legal assistance is not required to renew DACA, but many recipients come with questions.

Applebaum said whenever a decision or announcement is made that creates uncertainty about DACA’s future, the center usually sees a surge of people coming in for help.

“The limbo DACA recipients are forced to live under is highly traumatic, as far as planning their lives, having stability and pursuing their dreams. It’s day-to-day uncertainty that no one deserves and should

have to go through,” Applebaum said.

Having status in the U.S. gives people more standing and confidence to secure rights to housing, credit, jobs and fair wages, said Deepinder Mayell, executive director for the University’s James H. Binger Center for New Americans.

“Status is a fundamental cornerstone in the United States, and is the most essential piece to ensure people can be fully integrated in society,” Mayell said. “[The uncertainty surrounding DACA] creates a great deal of stress and anxiety ... It’s astonishing that it’s being jeopardized.”

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Meet the new UMN regents They have backgrounds in law, higher education and community advocacy.

BY J.D. DUGGAN jduggan@mndaily.com Originally published on June 11, 2019.

Four new individuals joined the University of Minnes ota B oard of Regents on May 9, fulfilling a desire for greater diversity.

Mary Davenport At-Large Representative Regent Mary Davenport has deep ties to higher education, setting her apart from other members of the board and helping her earn bipartisan support from the Legislature. She has spent more than 30 years in the Minnesota State system, working as a dean, vice president and president.

“She leads by trying to grow the people around her and grow the people that she supervises,” said Melissa Fahning, who worked with Davenport for about 20 years in the Minnesota State system.

Wh e n D ave n p o r t t o o k t h e ro l e as interim president of Ro chester Community and Technical College in July 2016, she stepped into a battle among union and faculty leaders. Judy Kingsbury, executive assistant to the president at RCTC, said Davenport facilitated communication and built trust with the community.

At RCTC, Davenport started a president swap day, switching places with the student body president for a day, attending all their classes and allowing them to fulfill presidential duties. This gave her the opportunity to connect with students more intimately and exposed the student president to a career in higher education, Davenport said.

She was awarded 2018 President of the Year by LeadMN, the statewide student association for community and technical colleges. Fahning and Kingsbury said students are always Davenport’s main focus.

ILLUSTRATION BY MORGAN LA CASSE, DAILY

Clockwise from top left: University Regents Mary Davenport, Ilean Her, Janie Mayeron and Mike Kenyanya.

“I’m hoping that, although my background’s in a different system with a different mission, that I can bring that forward and be a positive contributor to the regents and the University as a whole,” Davenport said.

Ilean Her At-Large Representative Regent Ilean Her is known as a trailblazer within the Twin Cities Hmong community. As a first-generation college student and University of Minnesota Law

School graduate, she carved a place for herself as a community organizer with deep roots within her community.

“I’ve been very involved with the community,” Her said. “I do carry with me community expectations of how I will

Tuesday, September 3, 2019 conduct myself, how I will use my voice ... to better the lives of the community and the people who are closest to me that have been disenfranchised for so long.”

Her is a founder and current board member of nonprofit Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together, which works to empower Hmong women.

She has worked in a variety of roles advocating for the Minnesota Hmong community, including spending 15 years as executive director of the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans.

Since 2012, Her has also been the executive director of the Hmong Elders Center in St. Paul.

Consistently acting as a voice of the community at the State Capitol, she plans to carry civic engagement and advocacy into her work as a regent.

“She’s really a change-maker,” said Cindi Yang, board member of Hnub Tshiab. “She’s ... a change agent to empower Hmong women, but also just our community as a whole.”

Throughout the election process, Her emphasized affordability and accessibility of college, especially to those who may have greater barriers. She eventually won the seat with primarily Democratic support.

Mike Kenyanya Student At-Large Regent Mike Kenyanya’s graduation was fast-approaching, and his eligibility for the student seat was in jeopardy as the Legislature struggled to set a date for the regent election. Lawmakers rushed to appoint him in a unanimous vote with just days to spare.

As the University of Minnesota-Duluth Student Association’s president for two years, Kenyanya built connections between Duluth and the other campuses.

“You’ll never be more humble than when you walk around the halls of UMD with Mike,” said Allie Ulland, UMD representative to the Board of Regents. “He truly knows almost every student on campus, so he’s just saying ‘hi’ to literally everyone.

He’s very connected to the student body.”

Before serving as student body president, Kenyanya was a student representative to the Board of Regents — his first exposure to the board.

“I saw the impact that you can make on campus by being at the table, by

19 advocating for students to administration, by the legislative advocacy we did — the different policies we’re able to influence,” Kenyanya said.

Earlier this year, he received the UMD Sieur du Luth award for his service to the campus and community.

Kenyanya said some of his core focuses as a regent will include affordability, mental health and graduation rates. He said his previous experience gives him a wide array of perspectives on student issues.

“A lot of the same issues at the boardroom we tackle, we’ve talked about at the campus level,” he said.

Janie Mayeron Fifth District Between her legal experience in mediation and time as a board member to various educational nonprofits, Regent Janie Mayeron offers a unique perspective to the Board of Regents.

With decades in law, including 14 years as a judge in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, Mayeron said she can help the Board direct discussions toward resolution.

“I think I’ve got a skill set that will help us hopefully reach a resolution that will address everybody’s interest,” Mayeron said. “Not because they necessarily agree, but hopefully, because we can find something that works for everybody.”

Mayeron’s passion for music led her to positions on the board of directors for MacPhail Center for Music. She also served as University of Minnesota Alumni Association president from 1993 to 1994, with eight years on the board.

“Her style is very gentle, but very direct.

She’s a pleasant person to work with,” said Larry Laukka, who served on the UMAA board with Mayeron. “She has her ideas and she listens to your ideas. And the outcome is usually a combination. So she’s flexible, but she’s also determined.”

Her experience has earned her the Alumni Service Award. She said forwarding the University’s mission is critical to the health and welfare of the state.

Janie Mayeron saw support primarily from Republicans, but said her position is nonpartisan.

“I recognize we’re elected by individuals who have party affiliations, but that’s not where I’m coming from ... there is no aisle for me,” Mayeron said.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

21

New administrative position to support inclusivity in UMN Medical School The UMN medical school is searching for its first vice dean of diversity.

BY FARRAH MINA Originally published on July 30, 2019.

In an effort to advance diversity, the University of Minnesota Medical School announced it will be creating a new administrative position for equity and inclusion.

Following the announcement earlier this month, the Medical School is conducting a national search for the position of vice dean of equity and inclusion, which is co-chaired by Michael Goh, vice president of equity and diversity, and Anne Joseph, Wexler professor of medicine and vice chair of the Office of Faculty Affairs and Diversity in the Department of Medicine.

Goh and Joseph are currently seeking nominations for search committee members who will “represent the breadth and diversity of constituents and stakeholders inside the medical school and the broader university community,” Joseph said in an email. They aim to have the new vice dean position filled by spring 2020.

Many medical schools across the nation struggle to create a diverse student body, and the University’s Medical School is no exception. In the fall of 2018, about 80 percent of students in the school on the Twin Cities campus identified as white or unknown, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research. For the same semester, international students made up just under 3 percent of all Medical School students.

The vice dean will be responsible for implementing best practices for the recruitment, retention and promotion of faculty from underrepresented communities, Goh said.

According to Naomi McDonald, a spokesperson for the Medical School, the Medical School partners with the Office for Equity and Diversity to ensure search committees receive implicit bias training.

University Medical School buildings are seen from Washington Avenue during a rain storm on Tuesday, July 16.

Department chairs in the Medical School also receive a similar training in preparation for conducting faculty interviews, writing letters of recommendation and evaluating faculty member performance.

The new vice dean will also be expected to develop “culturally-responsive” curriculum that addresses existing health disparities, Meagan Pierluissi, a spokesperson for the Office of Equity and Diversity, said in an email.

“Given the Medical School’s expanding reach across Minnesota, there is increasing attention to engaging best practices and scholarship related to working sensitively and effectively with diverse communities,” Pierluissi said.

According to Goh, the newly developed

“Given the Medical School’s expanding reach across Minnesota, there is increasing attention to engaging best practices and scholarship related to working sensitively and effectively with diverse communities.”

MEAGAN PIERLUISSI

Spokesperson for the Office of Equity and Diversity

DAILY FILE PHOTO

curriculum will be integrated into the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral scholars, residency and fellowship training programs available.

“The position is crucial to the growing need and demand for highly skilled [diversity, equity and inclusion] professionals who can continue to transform the experience of students, staff, faculty, and community members across the University of Minnesota,” Goh said in the email.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story included comments about the University’s Medical School that have been removed. They were removed because of a misunderstanding between the Minnesota Daily and two previously quoted sources.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

22

The Marshall residents evacuated after unconfirmed report of ricin in the building

Residents were evacuated from the student housing building amid toxin rumors.

BY MN DAILY STAFF Originally published on May 7, 2019.

A Dinkytown apartment complex was evacuated Tuesday after an unconfirmed report of ricin poisoning, according to the Minneapolis Fire Department.

Residents of the Marshall were evacuated around 4:30 p.m. The Minneapolis Fire Department stated it received the report via a 911 call, and one female resident was hospitalized before MFD arrived to the scene.

Bryan Tyner, an MFD spokesperson on the scene, stated ricin needs to be injected or inhaled to be dangerous. The building’s HVAC system was turned off as a precaution, according to MFD. Tyner said the department’s next step will be identifying the substance, and that it’s rare for them to encounter ricin. They do not expect criminal activity at this time.

The incident was contained to the fifth floor of the B building, one of the apartment complex’s three buildings, according to the Marshall’s management.

University of Minnesota student and Marshall resident Mary Korlin-Downs heard the alarm but didn’t evacuate until her gymnastics teammates called her.

“The fire alarms go off all the time here, so a lot of the residents just don’t evacuate.” Korlin-Downs said. “Usually, the Marshall would send out a text or something to say what’s going on and they haven’t yet, so that’s a little concerning.”

An alert sent to residents by building management around 5:30 p.m. stated the building was evacuated “as a precautionary measure while they investigate a potential Hazardous Materials incident.”

The Marshall management sent another alert to residents around 6:35 p.m. announcing they will be providing dinner to displaced residents at Blarney Pub &

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Residents wait outside The Marshall apartments in Dinkytown on Tuesday, May 7 as fire fighters respond to an unconfirmed report of ricin in the building.

Grill until 9 p.m.

Around 6:45 p.m., fire fighters began leaving the scene, but told residents that it may be more than another hour until they are let back into their apartments.

Tyner told the Minnesota Daily that the

investigation is being handed over to the Minneapolis Police Department.

Construction workers and Target employees were briefly let into the building around 6:53 to grab their belongings.

Around 8:24, a hazmat truck arrived

at the Marshall. A police officer said the room containing the substance will be secured, and MPD will work to reduce their perimeter around the building.

Residents began re-entering the building around 9:30 p.m.

SCAN HERE TO START LISTENING

Episode 1 - UMN President Eric Kaler's resignation announcement Episode 2 - Financial Aid and Scholarship Distribution Episode 3 - Proposed Gender Expression Policy at the University of Minnesota Episode 4 - Campus-area crime and WAM art rentals Episode 5 - UMN class designs clothes for girls in Uganda Episode 6 - Bug diets and Morris' tuition waivers Episode 7 - Conservative group's bridge mural vandalized Episode 8 - Women in STEM Episode 9 - Exploring the University's myth, legends and tall tales Episode 10 - Midterm Elections Roundup Episode 11 - UMN responds to football lawsuit, student tenant rights Episode 12 - Gen Z is the most stressed-out generation, study shows Episode 13 - How did the U bring home 'the axe' Episode 14 - Striving for diversity in CFANS Episode 15 - Living with diabetes as a student Episode 16 - The government showdown Episode 17 - Continued tuition hikes at UMN Episode 18 - The bittersweet life of UMN sugar babies Episode 19 - Connecting in Cedar-Riverside over free tea and pizza Episode 20 - The renaming of Coffman Episode 21 - Legacy taking over Morrill Hall Episode 22 - A fierce push for student data privacy Episode 23 - What to do with, how to manage all of the snow Episode 24 - Understanding eating disorders at UMN Episode 25 - Supporting students serving mandatory military time Episode 26 - Cedar-Riverside weighs safety priorities Episode 27 - Where does the U's water come from?

Episode 28 - Students run free clinic for Minneapolis Episode 29 - How renaming was rejected Episode 30 - Controversy over pregnancy centers near campus