March 15, 2022

TODAY

M avericks win

56˚

at nattys page

10

30˚

It’s gettin’ hot in here, so take off all your coats!

ST U DEN T RU N NEWS SINCE 1926

TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022

MSUREPORTER.COM

NO MORE MASKS With the mask mandate being lifted, life on campus feels ‘normal’ again.

By ALEXANDRA TOSTRUD Staff Writer

By JENNA PETERSON and RADIT MAHMUD Staff Writers

On March 7, Minnesota State University, Mankato President Edward Inch sent out an email to the MSU community stating the campus-wide mask required is now lifted.

This decision was made after recognizing the Blue Earth County transmission rate has significantly decreased in the past week, as well as guidance from the Minnesota State system office.

This follows recent loosening of guidelines, as just four days ago, Inch sent another email to the campus community stating, “Starting Monday, March 14, there will no longer be a proof of vaccination or testing requirement for students living in residence halls or other designated activities.”

Some students, however, may still be required to have the vaccine or go through weekly testing due to the MMB and NCAA requirements.

Inch mentioned that, regardless of county-level data, people can still wear masks and their decision should be respected and supported by the rest of the campus community.

This news has been applauded and appreciated by many on campus.

Mahdi Hassan, a graduate

DYLAN ENGEL • The Reporter

Although masks are no longer required, MSU students are allowed to still wear them on campus grounds.

student at MSU, said, “I am happy and a little concerned about the email we received from President Inch. Happy because it has been a few long years with a mask mandate and COVID in place, now it will surely be nice to not have my face and nose covered all the time.”

Hassan added, “Some people are not vaccinated, and that is somewhat a concern for the rest of the people. I hope we all stay safe.”

Other students are questioning the timing of the Uni-

versity’s decision.

Renee Rockwell, a senior majoring in education at MSU said, “I am not attending any classes in person yet. Though I am fully vaccinated, I wasn’t feeling safe about going back to school.”

While Rockwell may not be attending classes in person yet, she is looking forward to the change for the fall semester.

“I am looking forward to doing most of my classes in person for the upcoming fall semester. With the recent guidelines in place it is truly

great that we won’t have to wear masks anymore,” she stated. With the new guidelines in place most of the campus community is expected to get rid of masks in classrooms and public places on campus.

For those who are looking to get a COVID-19 vaccine or get tested for COVID-19, Student Health Services will be offering these to the campus community.

For more information about vaccine dates and testing times, visit the health services’ website.

Staff Writer

The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded Minnesota State University, Mankato, along with three non-profits, a $224,744 grant to create leadership opportunities for agricultural students, encourage hands-on learning, and promote collaboration between the college and the greater community.

The three non-profits that will be partnering with MSU Mankato on administering the grant are the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches’, Minnesota Venture Farms; MY Place Mankato and Model Citizen Farm in Paynesville, Minnesota.

The grant will benefit MSU students by creating real world

leadership opportunities and direct experience in agriculture.

“We’re putting students in the driver seat and they are utilizing the coursework they are doing and what they’re doing is actually applying it and practicing it in real time,” said Christine Mollenkopf-Pigsley, who is one of the principal investigators for the grant along with Shane Bowyer.

The grant will allow the organizations involved to provide tours of farms, gardening programs over the summer, and career education to both K-12 and college students considering a career in agriculture.

MY Place and Minnesota Venture Farms will provide at risk-youth the ability to participate in a summer gardening program where they will have the opportunity to grow and

MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter

‘Kato receives big grant for Ag in Action Program

By JEREMY REDLIEN

Women’s History Month celebrated on MSU campus

Shane Bowyer is the director of the AgriBusiness & Food Innovation Program.

consume agricultural produce themselves.

Model Citizen Farm will give farm tours to K-12 students to help educate on sus-

tainable and innovative agricultural practices.

Each year, MSU-Mankato will host an Ag in Action GRANT on page 2 

The month of March is dedicated to women’s history in the United States, a celebration of women’s contributions that has been acknowledged by each president since 1995.

Students and faculty here at Minnesota State University, Mankato, have prepared multiple events for interested students to learn more and empower their peers.

Women’s History Month began as a single week in 1981 with a law by Congress and evolved into the monthlong celebration held today in 1987.

The observance aims to promote education about women in American history as an in-depth study, as well as spread awareness for violence against women.

Globally, March 8 is recognized as the International WOMEN on page 7 

MSU alumni now works for the T-Wolves

By BAYLEE SORENSEN Guest Writer

Minnesota Timberwolves ticket project manager, Jared Hensch visited Minnesota State University, Mankato on March 3 to share his professional work experience with students.

Hensch, an MSU alumni, graduated in 2011 with a degree in sports management and a minor in marketing.

During his time at MSU he worked as an ad representative at The Reporter, the Delta Chi fraternity and Sports Management Club.

Hensch touched on his time as a student at MSU while also sharing his experience as a sales representative at The Reporter.

“I wish I had networked more with peers (other sports management majors) alongside the traditional networking with co-workers and fraternity members,’’ said Hensch. “Learning, becoming better at what you are doing TIMBERWOLF on page 7 

2 • MSU Reporter

News

European Union imposes 4th set of sanctions against Russia

Outlet Ukraine State Emergency Service via AP

In this photo released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service press service, firefighters evacuate an elderly woman from an apartment building hit by shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 14, 2022.

By RAF CASERT Associated Press

The European Union announced late Monday that the 27-nation bloc has approved a new set of sanctions to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

France, which holds the EU presidency, said the bloc “in consultation with our international partners, has approved a fourth package of sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in the aggression against Ukraine, as well as several sectors of the Russian economy.”

The French presidency said in a statement that the bloc also approved a declaration to the World Trade Organization “on suspending the application of the most-favored-nation

clause for Russia and suspending the examination of Belarus’ application for accession to the WTO.” If Russia is suspended, its companies would no longer receive special treatment throughout the bloc.

The announcements were in line with what leaders had announced at the Versailles summit last Friday, that a stringent package of sanctions would be upcoming if Russia continued its invasion of Ukraine. The exact details of the latest package of sanctions will only be known upon publication in the EU’s official journal.

Since the war started last month, the EU has adopted tough measures targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s financial system and its high-maintenance oligarchs.

The Minnesota State University, Mankato Reporter is a student-run newspaper published twice a week, coming out on Tuesdays and Thursdays of the fall and spring semesters. If you have a suggestion, complaint or would like to point out an error made in the Reporter, please contact the Editor In Chief Maxwell Mayleben at maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu.

Editor in Chief.................................................. Maxwell Mayleben

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

COVID-19 outbreak doubles in China Associated Press

China’s new COVID-19 cases Tuesday more than doubled from the previous day as the country faces by far its biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.

The National Health Commission said 3,507 new locally spread cases had been identified in the latest 24-hour period, up from 1,337 a day earlier.

A fast-spreading variant known as “stealth omicron” is testing China’s zero-tolerance strategy, which had kept the virus at bay since the deadly initial outbreak in the city of Wuhan in early 2020. China has recorded more than 10,000 cases in the first two weeks of March, far exceeding previous flare-ups.

No new deaths have been reported in the multiple outbreaks across China, and the case count remains low compared to many other places in the world.

The U.K. recorded more than 444,000 cases in the past week. Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous city that tracks its outbreak separately from the mainland, reported 26,908

GRANT from page 1 event that will bring K-12 students from the Greater Mankato Area and Minneapolis to Mankato for the purpose of allowing MSU to collaborate with the community.

According to the Mankato Free Press, the event will feature educational stations put together by MSU students in the agriculture and leadership class that will provide informa

Chinatopix via AP

Residents line up for COVID-19 test in Yantai city in eastern China’s Shandong province Monday, March 14, 2022.

new cases on Monday alone.

Nearly three-fourths of China’s new infections were in Jilin, a province in the northeast that reported 2,601 cases.

Smaller outbreaks have hit more than a dozen provinces and major cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

Jilin has barred residents from leaving the province and from traveling between cities within it.

The 9 million residents of

Changchun, the provincial capital and an auto manufacturing hub, have been locked down since Friday as authorities conduct repeated rounds of mass testing both there and in the city of Jilin.

More than 1,000 medical workers have been flown in from other provinces along with pandemic response supplies, and the province has mobilized 7,000 military reservists to help with the response.

tion on agriculture and health and nutrition.

This year, the Ag in Action event will be held on April 27 in Sibley Park.

One goal of the grant is to promote collaboration between MSU Mankato and the Greater Mankato Community. “It’s a cool way for MSU Mankato to also be involved in the community. I personally think it is very important that the college

is fully engaged in the community,” said Mollenkopf-Pigsley.

The grant is two years in length, but Mollenkopf-Pigsley expressed the hope that the program would continue longer than that.

“Our goal is to integrate this kind of student-led projects and service learning into our ongoing efforts,” said Mollenkopf-Pigsley.

Nursing Programs at Every Level

News Director ������������������������������������������������������������ Julia Barton News Writers...................................Jenna Peterson, Ashley Opina, .................................................... Jeremy Redlien, Radit Mahmud, ............................................... Alexandra Tostrud, Hafsa Peerzada Sports Editor �������������������������������������������������������������� Kole Buelow Sports Writers........................... Karson Buelow, Muhammad Ayan Variety Editor ���������������������������������������������������������Emma Johnson Variety Writers....................................Syd Berggren, Lilly Schmidt Media Director ����������������������������������������������������Mansoor Ahmad Photograhers.....................................Emily Lansman, Dylan Engel ............................. Maddie Behrens, Dylan Long, Ajay Kasaudhan Advertising Sales Manager ������������������������������������Baylee Sorensen Advertising Sales Reps..................... Shelby Gabbert, Emily Toland ......................................................... Cora Eichten, Sam Ladendorf

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Whether you’re starting or advancing, we have the undergraduate and graduate Nursing programs to fit your goals and support to help you at every step. Enroll now.

Business Manager �������������������������������������������������������� Jane Tastad Advertising Design/Production Manager.....................Dana Clark

The Reporter will correct any errors of fact or misspelled names in this space.

Formal grievances against the Reporter are handled by the Newspaper Board.

Mankato Campus | 507-625-6556 | rasmussen.edu

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

News

MSU Reporter • 3

Seoul’s leader faces choices over North Korea

By KIM TONG-HYUNG AND HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press

After winning a bitterly contested presidential election, South Korean conservative Yoon Suk Yeol will enter office facing a quickly growing North Korean nuclear threat — and with few easy choices ahead to deal with it.

A former prosecutor with no foreign policy experience who kickstarted his political career nine months ago, Yoon will face a turbulent moment in global affairs and the decades-old standoff with the North, over which many experts see Seoul as having lost leverage under the policies of outgoing President Moon Jae-in.

It appears Yoon will be tested quickly, possibly even before he starts his presidency in May. North Korea often attempts to rattle new administrations in Washington or Seoul with major weapons demonstrations and has been signaling a resumption of long-range missile testing this year.

Yoon, who narrowly beat out a liberal ruling party rival in last week’s election, has rejected pursuing “talks for talks’ sake” and vowed to be sterner with Pyongyang, as the North’s accelerating weapons tests in 2022 show a renewed strategy

KIM HONG-JI • Pool photo via AP

South Korea’s president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a news conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea on March 10, 2022.

of brinkmanship to pressure Washington and Seoul into giving it badly needed relief from economic sanctions.

But despite Yoon’s desire to do something different from the dovish government of Moon, there’s no “silver bullet” policy his administration could adopt

for dealing with North Korea, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University.

Improved “inter-Korean relations” will largely depend on the willingness of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to engage with diplomacy and negotiate

sanctions relief for denuclearization steps, he said.

“Such willingness is unlikely to materialize until coronavirus risks decrease and domestic economic pressures increase,” he explained. North Korea has conducted nine rounds of missile launches in 2022 alone, with

signs of more to come. State media said Friday that Kim Jong Un instructed officials to expand a satellite launch facility to fire a variety of rockets. His comments followed a pair of missile firings in recent weeks that the U.S. and South Korean militaries linked with the development of a new intercontinental ballistic missile system that could be tested at full range soon.

South Korea’s military has also detected signs that the North is possibly restoring previously detonated tunnels at a nuclear testing ground that was last active in 2017.

North Korea’s stubborn efforts to cement itself as a nuclear power and win economic benefits from a position of strength may present daunting challenges for Yoon. Amid a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations with Washington and pandemic border closures, North Korea has clearly stated it has no intentions to include Seoul in discussions about its nuclear weapons program, which Kim sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

Although Yoon plans to restore South Korea’s leverage by bolstering its alliance with the U.S., North Korea seems further down the priority list for Washington, which is preoccupied with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an intensifying rivalry with China.

4 • MSU Reporter

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Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

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MSU Reporter • 5

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UT ABO EE FR THE T O L

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ANNUAL PUBLIC HEARING

??

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ABOUT GREEN FEES

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Parking & Transportation Policies, Budget, and Capital Improvements

Thursday, March 17, 2022 CSU 203 • Noon -1:15 P.M.

ABO ELEC UT T VEH RIC ICLE S

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Face-to-Face Meeting

Please email your comments or concerns to: david.cowan@mnsu.edu by 10 a.m., March 17, 2022.

Hearing Docket 1) Review of Proposed Income ($1,496,000) and Spending Plans ($1,635,375) for 2022-23.

• Includes a 3% increase in Permit prices for Gold (From $340 to $350) and Purple (From $216 to $222), an 8% increase for Residence Hall Light Green (From $280 to $302) and Dark Green (from $216 to $234) permits.

• Assumes $1 Million commitment to resurface this summer Lot 1 (Residence Hall Dark Green area of 471 stalls) – payback of internal loan in four to five years.

2) Lot 22 Orange Space & Free Lot Update: • “Free” overflow for Lot 23 (a.k.a. “Free Lot”) users – first 4 weeks of Fall Semester.

• Reduce the Orange semester charge of $76 to $35.

• No ban on employee use of Lot 23 (a.k.a. Free Lot).

• Registration still in place for users of Free Lot.

3) Electric Parking Vehicle Users: • Charge $3 per hour for “idle time” for electric vehicles which have fully charged.

• Include 30 minute “grace period” to allow owner to transfer vehicle out of lot 11A. • They can either buy a parking permit to park elsewhere, use Flowbird curbside stalls, or park in the Visitors Paylot.

4) Green Transportation Fees Proposal: • Fee of $438,310 requested to keep current bus routes active for 2022-23. Hourly rate @ $103 estimated vs. $102 this year.

• Proposal before SAC (Student Allocations Committee and Student Senate). SAC recommended $400,000 on March 2, 2022. In 2018-19, $403, 081 was tapped in activity fees and parking funds for the busing program.

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University. Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact David Cowanr at 507-389-6931 (V), 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY) at least 5 days prior to the event. This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the above numbers. SHOP75OT 3-21

Constituency

Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee

Parking Citation Appeals Board

Administration or Excluded or MAPE (Minnesota Association of Professional Employees)

David Cowan, Advisory Committee Chair

Casey Boone, MAPE

Classified Employees

Katie Roeder

Not Applicable

IFO (Inter Faculty Association)

Seong Jin “Tommy” Kim

Vacant

Student Governemnt

On-Campus Res. Community

Bennett Hanson

Jacob Glogowski

Student Government

Off-Campus Res. Community

Zachary Nichman

Vacant

MSUAASF (Minnesota State University Association of Administrative & Service Faculty)

Greg Wilkins

Jeremy Riesenberg

Ex-officio Nonvoting - Student Financial Services Representative

Jodi Orchard

Not Applicable

Ex-officio Nonvoting - Parking & Traffic Services Coordinator; Parking Citation Appeals Board Liason

Adam Kruger

Appeals Board Liason

Ex-officio Nonvoting - Planning & Construction Department Liason

Nathan Huettl

Not Applicable

Ex-officio Nonvoting - Office of Residential Life

Matt Burns

Not Applicable

Ex-officio Nonvoting - Residence Comm. Assoc. President

Patrick Flynn

Not Applicable

Ex-officio Nonvoting - Grounds Maintenance Department

Mike Hulscher & Adam Morris

Not Applicable

Ex-officio Nonvoting - AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)

Vacant

Deb Sanford

Ex-officio Nonvoting - University Scheduling

Jane Kolars

Not Applicable

Ex-officio Nonvoting - Student Government President

Reauna Stiff

Not Applicable

www.mnsu.edu/parking/hearing A member of the Minnesota State Colleges system and an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University.

6 • MSU Reporter

News

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Editorial

Perspectives

Editorials represent the opinions of The Reporter editorial board.

The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the college, university or student body.

Maxwell Mayleben Editor In Chief Kole Buelow Sports Editor

Julia Barton News Director

A love letter to the movie theater

Mansoor Ahmad Media Director

Emma Johnson Variety Editor

Should campus still require masks?

During spring break last week, Minnesota State University, Mankato President Edward Inch announced in an email that masks would no longer be required on campus. The mask requirement was lifted yesterday, meaning anyone on campus or attending campus events do not have to wear a mask.

This announcement follows a previous email stating that students who live in the dorms will no longer need to show proof of vaccination or go through weekly testing for COVID-19, which also began yesterday.

These decisions were made by the University after closely looking at both the city and county numbers for COVID-19 transmissions, with the numbers continuously decreasing. With the restrictions being lifted, it begins to bring a sense of “normalcy” back to campus, something we haven’t experienced in two years.

Even with the COVID-19 transmission rate dropping, it leaves questions of whether this was the right idea or not. Some things that need to be considered are the time of the announcements and the possible outcomes.

With spring break happening last week, it raises the question as to why this decision was not held off until students return from their respective vacations. With the increased travel, there can be an increased risk of transmission, especially if masks are not enforced on campus.

Instead of announcing the lifted restriction when everyone is away from campus, it might have been best to wait a week after spring break when all of the students are back. This would help the administration collect accurate transmission numbers when the campus community is back together rather than waiting for someone to show up.

In the event that the increased travel from students does increase transmissions in the area and a mask policy needs to be reinstated, the University will find it more difficult to enforce, as students will have become used to their “freedom”.

Even before the restriction was lifted, students could be seen across campus wearing their mask incorrectly or not at all. If we are given the opportunity to go mask-free and then told later on in the semester we need them again, it’s possible even less people will follow this rule than before.

While the lifting of this policy is most likely the right decision when following the numbers, there is something to be said about timing. When it comes to keeping the campus community health, it seems that a week longer of masks would only have ensured that students remained safe after spring break.

ELIZABETH CONLEY • Houston Chronicle via AP

Movie theaters across the country have taken a tremendous blow due to COVID-19. With movie theaters opening back up again, it sparks joy that many have missed during the pandemic.

By MAX MAYLEBEN Editor in Chief

There was a feeling that was missing from the beginning of the pandemic for almost a year and a half, and I couldn’t place it for the longest time.

Then, as I went to the late showing on opening night of “The Batman”, I realized what that empty space was in my heart.

The movie theater.

It was the sound of the arcade games that fills the lobby. It was the taste of perfectly buttered and overly salted popcorn. It was seeing a brand new movie that surprises you at how good it looks. It was the rush of anticipation as the lights dim and the opening credits start.

Throughout the pandemic, we were forced to watch

movie release after movie release on streaming services at our homes. While the home screen is great and has its place for movie nights with friends, it still allows for distractions.

I don’t know about you, but when I watch a movie or a TV show at home, I almost always pull up the IMDB page and follow along with the movie, seeing if I know any of the actors, or reading fun and random trivia.

While this is fun and can sometimes add to the movie watching experience, it ultimately takes away attention from the film. There are so few places in the modern world where we are forced to truly disconnect for 15 minutes, let alone 2 hours for an entire movie runtime.

During that time of pure focus in one direction, there

is an energy that is sustained in the crowd. The fellow audience members feed off each other, you start to laugh harder at the jokes, jump higher at the scares, and cry a little harder at the dramatic climax.

When you are an anonymous viewer in the presence of strangers, the feelings that the movie wants to instill in you are heightened, because you are truly buckled in and are along for the ride the cast and crew have designed for you.

There is something amazing about attending a brand new movie in the movie theater. During the duration of the film, you are left to your own experience, while sharing it with others simultaneously. Movie theaters are where movies are meant to be.

“How do you feel about the mask requirement being lifted?”

Compiled by Ajay Kasaudhan

PROMOSON POUDEL, FRESHMAN

ABIBA SORE, FRESHMAN

JIMYUNG LEE, SOPHOMORE

MATT HOGUE, FRESHMAN

MD RASHIDUL HOQUE, FRESHMAN

NARGARJUN KALLI, GRAD STUDENT

“Feeling free from suffocation.”

“Feeling normal.”

“Feeling so good.”

“I feel more comfortable and relieved walking around.”

“Feels better while walking.”

“Feel more fresh and comfortable.”

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

News

Julian Assange denied permission to appeal by UK’s top court

FRANK AUGSTEIN • Associated Press

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters from a balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, May 19, 2017.

By SYLVIA HUI and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

Britain’s top court on Monday refused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange permission to appeal against a decision to extradite him to the U.S. to face spying charges.

The court said it refused because the case “didn’t raise an arguable point of law.” Assange, 50, has sought for years to avoid a trial in the U.S. on a series of charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a huge trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

The case is now expected to be formally sent to British Home Secretary Priti Patel, who will decide whether to grant the extradition. A British district court judge had initially rejected a U.S. extradition request on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself

TIMBERWOLF from page 1 and networking is important but at the end of the day, you’re still in college, this job should be fun.”

Hensch spoke about the sales side of his experiences as well as the relationships that he had developed.

“The time you put into it is what you are going to get out of it. A key reason for this is the factor of report which is created through building relationships,” Hensch said.“People buy from people they like.”

Starting working for the Timberwolves in the sales department for group events, he shared that rejection is a big part of sales.

“You’re gonna hear no, but that just means you’re closer to the next yes,” said Hensch. 

if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. U.S. authorities later provided assurances that the WikiLeaks founder wouldn’t face the severe treatment that his lawyers said would put his physical and mental health at risk. In December, the High Court overturned the lower court’s decision, saying that the U.S. promises were enough to guarantee that Assange would be treated humanely.

Monday’s news narrows Assange’s options, but his defense team may still seek to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights. Nick Vamos, the former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, said Assange’s lawyers can also seek to challenge other points that he had lost in the original district court decision.

Barry Pollack, Assange’s U.S.-based lawyer, said Monday that it was “extremely disappointing” that Britain’s

The Minnesota Timberwolves has a competitive sales department that feeds off of each other’s successes.

Hensch shared “We had a system when you put through a sale it plays music and gifts, it’s a little too much. But a sales cliche, you get energy from energy.”

Joined by co-worker Cameron Klade, who is also a MSU Alumni, he pitched in sharing a piece of his professional work experience.

Currently, he is a premium sales manager for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While at MSU he also was a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity and Sport Management Club. Klade received his degree in sport management in 2016.

Klade and Hensch touched

Supreme Court is unwilling to hear the appeal. “Mr. Assange will continue the legal process fighting his extradition to the United States to face criminal charges for publishing truthful and newsworthy information,” he said. Assange’s British lawyers, Birnberg Peirce Solicitors, said they can make submissions to the Home Secretary within the next four weeks, ahead of her making any decision.

American prosecutors say Assange unlawfully helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk. But supporters and lawyers for Assange argue that he was acting as a journalist and is entitled to First Amendment protections of freedom of speech for publishing documents that exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

on how sales are full of cliches because “they are just so true.”

One of the biggest cliches Klade shared was, “Don’t get too high on the highs or too low on the lows, try and keep a steady mind.”

Students found this visit from Timberwolves employees to be beneficial.

“Getting insight on how things work in an industry is helpful to understanding what you want to do,” said Ryan Kemna, a senior at MSU, majoring in business management.

“Understanding that starting at the bottom is important, you will have that shared experience and understanding to foster a successful environment,” shared Kemna when voicing his takeaway from the visit.

MSU Reporter • 7 WOMEN from page 1 Women’s Day. Laura Harrison a Gender and Women’s Studies professor, and is the current Chairperson of the department at MSU. “Women’s History Month was born from women’s suffrage and the labor movement.

There were primarily immigrant, working-class women who were demanding fair wages and livable working conditions because they were dying in garment factories.

They were working in factories where the doors were chained and a fire would start, and hundreds of women were dying,” says Harrison.

“Sometimes when people think about women’s history, they think about memorizing the names or the dates or certain key figures. Women’s historians and gender scholars would really push back on that being the purpose of Women’s History Month. It’s about revisioning and rethinking history, from the lived perspectives of women and other marginalized groups whose history has not been centralized,” she continued.

Mai Ker Thao is the graduate assistant for the Violence Awareness and Response Program.

“I’m Hmong, and I grew up witnessing a lot of Hmong women not really having a voice. It’s been ingrained in their minds that women are second-class citizens to men, and that mindset has led to such a huge domestic abuse issue within the community,” she says.

“We have to give credit where credit is due, and women have played a huge role in making history all over the world.” 

DRIVERS • • • • •

&

Throughout the month of March, the Women’s Center on campus will be sponsoring numerous activities relating to women’s empowerment and women’s history.

Liz Steinborn-Gourley is the director of the Women’s Center and has overseen the planning for the events.

“The theme this year is ‘Lift Every Voice’. We’re doing a photo campaign during the week of March 14. Students will be tabling on Mav Ave so that you can take a whiteboard and write how you’re lifting either your voice or about a person in your life who is doing that for others,” Steinborn-Gourley said.

“We’re taking pictures and we’ll put them in the gallery display by the campus bookstore. We will have a brief program in the ballroom where students talk about a woman who is a role model to them.

We’re hoping for a global perspective at that event.”

Other planned events for the month include painting portraits by numbers, trivia, a focus on women-serving student organizations, and a book discussion of All About Love

by Bell Hooks.

Mounkoka Goma, a senior who was involved with planning some of the women’s history events.

“We don’t give enough credit to women. It’s a good way to remember what women have been doing over the past year and the past century: what they did, how it impacts the world, what they’ve done to help other people. It’s a way to remember,” she says.

Students can find exact dates and times on the university’s website under the Women’s Center page.

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8 • MSU Reporter

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SPORTS

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Swim team brings home All-Americans

By KARSON BUELOW Staff Writer

Photos via Maverick Athletics

Women’s track placed first at the NCAA D-II Indoor Championship while claiming three additional individual titles and nine All-American honors.

The women’s track and field team made history by winning the indoor national championship

By KOLE BUELOW Sports Editor

The Minnesota State women’s indoor track and field team captured their first national championship this past weekend at Pittsburg State University. Just a year ago the Mavericks finished second place at the NCAA Championships, redeeming themselves this year with a 58-point finish.

“The reason I came to MSU five years ago was the ability here at Mankato to win national titles,” said head coach Michael Turgeon. The coach now

adds his first indoor national championship seeing his “fiveyear plan turn into fruition seeing the women win a national title.”

The Mavs bring home nine individual All-American honors and three national championships to Mankato. The three individual titles were split two and one between Makayla Jackson and Denisha Cartwright. Jackson, a sophomore from Milwaukee, Wis., became the NCAA Division II 60 meter dash National Champion with a career best time of 7.34, beatTRACK on page 11 

Turriff and Mason place first at Championships

By KOLE BUELOW • Sports Editor Two Minnesota State wrestlers headed to St. Louis this past weekend to compete in the 2022 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.

Senior Trevor Turriff and junior Darrell Mason made the trek to Missouri, coming back as national champions. Turriff claimed the national title at 174 pounds while Mason claimed the national title at 285 pounds.

Turriff came in seeded fourth in the 174 pound division, winning his first match by a major decision 11-3 over Pitt-Johnstown’s Brock Biddle. He then moved on to fifth seeded Ty McGeary of West Liberty, where he won 7-2 before winning in sudden victory over No. 1 seeded Austin Eldirdge of Nebraska-Kearney 9-7 in the semifinals.

With the win, Turriff advanced to the 174 pound championship for the second straight time to face third seeded Andrew Sams of Indianapolis. No. 4 Turriff would

Maverick Athletics

Junior Darrell Mason finished the season 22-0 in the 285 pound weight class on Saturday after defeating reigning champion Andrew Dunn.

eventually claim his first national title by a 3-2 decision over Sams, claiming All-American honors for the second year.

A few weight classes later, it was Mason’s turn to claim the national title.

Mason came into the tournament seeded second in the 285 pound weight class, and he started off the tournament with a 5-2 decision over Gannon’s Freddie Nixon. Mason then dualed AJ Cooper of Fort Hays State, who upset seventh seeded Jacob Robb of Mercyhurst the prior round.

Mason claimed an 8-4 win over Cooper, claiming a spot in the semifinals. He then got his shot at No. 3 Central Oklahoma’s Shawn Streck, defeating Streck by a 3-2 decision to advance to the championship dual.

Mason would have to defeat reigning national champion Andrew Dunn of Kutztown in the final, and he did just that, claiming a 5-3 decision over Dunn for his first national title at 285 pounds. With the WRESTLING on page 13 

The Minnesota State swimming and diving team had a successful weekend as they sent several team members to the NCAA Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C. As a team the Mavericks sent swimmers Nicole Beckman, Darah Coleman, Anja Enervold, Kate Flynn, Emily Goodman, Abby Gronholz, and Olivia Meinberg for their respective individual events along with divers Sydney Hanson, Ayla Taylor, and Aspen Warnygora. MSU also sent Ella DeFever as a relay alternate.

The Mavs competed in the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 400 medley relay, and 400 freestyle relay team events. Head coach Nate Owens spoke about the atmosphere and experience of being at the NCAA championships. “The championship is such a big meet, it’s electric,” Owens said.

“Over 45 institutions are competing, and there’s a ton of world-class swimmers.”

Day one of the championships opened with Flynn earning All-American honors with a 50 freestyle time of 23.19. She is the first Maverick to earn All-American honors in the 50 freestyle since Cecilia Hake and Cheyenne Rova, who claimed the title in 2017.

Several other Mavs earned All-American honors the first day, as the 200 medley relay team of Gronholz, Coleman, Beckman, and Flynn finished eighth with a time of 1:42.12. This is also the first time since 2010 the Mavs earned All-American honors in the 200 medley relay.

After the first day of the Championships, the Mavericks tallied 39 points and sat in 11th place overall.

The NCAA Championships continued onto day two as the Mavs competed in three different events.

Gronholz, Coleman, Beckman, and Flynn competed again, this time in the 400 medley relay event. They finished in 14th place with a time of 3:45.36. Hanson also competed in the 3-meter diving event, finishing in 17th place with a score of 372.55.

Flynn and Beckman also competed in the 100 butterfly event. Flynn posted a time of 55.96 while Beckman posted a 57.10, neither qualSWIM on page 11 

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Sports

MSU Reporter • 11

Men’s hockey advances to CCHA championship game

TRACK WINS ‘SHIP

Maverick Athletics

Sophomore Makayla Jackson claimed two individual titles in the long jump and 60 meter dash at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championship.

TRACK from page 10 ing out her previous school record of 7.41 that she set in 2020. With the win, Jackson became the first ever Mavericks runner to claim the national title in the 60 meter dash, and added on All-American honors for her top place finish.

Jackson also won the individual National Championship in the long jump for Minnesota State, leaping for 20’ 4.25” in the event to claim her second title at the Championships and third All-American honor after placing sixth in the 200 meter dash. With her winning jump, Jackson set another personal and school record.

Cartwright, a sophomore from Nassau, Bahamas, became the 60 meter hurdles 

MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter

Freshman forward Will Hillman (19) earned his first career collegiate goal for the Mavericks in their matchup against Northern Michigan in the CCHA semifinals to notch his second career point.

By KOLE BUELOW The Minnesota State men’s hockey team completed the semifinal round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament this past Saturday against the Northern Michigan Wildcats. The Mavericks came into the series with three wins out of four against the Wildcats on the season and would look to capture their fourth win to advance to the CCHA championship game for their chance at a Mason Cup. As Saturday rolled around, 4492 people packed into the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center to watch the two battle for the final time this season. MSU got off to a quick start, holding a 5-1 shots advantage in the first five minutes of action and brought an 8-4 advantage into the ten minute mark. Sophomore winger Connor Gregga got the Mavs on the board first at the 13:43 mark, scoring a nice top shelf goal after dangling around a NMU defender.

Only 23 seconds later the Mavericks would score again, when sophomore forward David Silye collected a pass in the slot and fired the puck into the

top corner of the net to claim a 2-0 lead. MSU would ride the 2-0 lead for the rest of the period, entering the first intermission holding a 13-6 shots advantage. Minnesota State really opened up the scoring in the second period, started off first by standout junior center Nathan Smith on the power play. Smith was able to bury the puck over Northern Michigan goaltender Charlie Glockner’s right shoulder, finishing off a nice tic tac toe passing play at the 5:08 mark.

Senior Julian Napravnik would enter the penalty box for tripping at the 7:55 mark, and the Wildcats would capitalize on the power play. NMU brought the puck into the zone behind the Mavericks’ net and swiftly passed it to a net-crashing Alex Frye who would tap the puck over senior netminder Dryden McKay’s shoulder to remain within two. The Wildcats’ momentum would not last long. Junior forwards Brendan Furry and Ryan Sandelin would create a fast break opportunity at the 10:53 mark, where Furry eventually ripped a shot off the netminder’s left pad but it was quickly rebounded by Sandelin to bring the MSU lead to 4-1.

The scoring would not end

there, with senior defenseman Andy Carroll getting in on the action at the 13:55 mark.

Carroll collected the puck from junior Cade Borchardt at the top of the zone, dangling a stick-less NMU defender before burying another nice wrist shot to the top corner of the net.

Only 31 seconds would go by before another Maverick goal, where freshman Will Hillman would find the back of the net for the first time as a Maverick. It was an awkward goal for Hillman, who was tangled with a Northern Michigan defender in the slot when he collected the puck. Hillman spun around and blindly wristed a shot top shelf, collecting his first career goal and second career point.

Minnesota State would ride a 6-1 lead into the final period of play, and would continue their scoring woes on the power play. At the 12:14 mark, Napravnik would collect his third point of the night, burying a nice pass from Smith.

With the assist on the Napravnik goal, Smith would surpass 100 career points as a Maverick. MSU head coach Mike Hastings commented on Smith’s career milestone.“If you want to upset [Nathan] HOCKEY on page 13 

SWIM from page 10 ifying for the championship or consolation heats. At the end of day two, the Mavericks sat in 16th place with a total of 45 points.

The Minnesota State Mavericks moved onto day three with four members competing in two different events. Gronholz and Enervold both competed in the 100 backstroke event. Gronholz tied for 10th place in the prelims to advance

to the consolation final, while Enervold finished 32nd. Gronholz would go on to claim ninth place in the consolation finals and secure All-American Honorable Mention honors.

At the end of the third day, Minnesota State owned 17th place with a score of 54. The Mavericks entered day four competing in five different events.

For the swimming events, Flynn finished in 19th place in

the prelims of the 100 freestyle with a time of 50.98. Enervold recorded a 2:03.05 in the prelims of the 200 backstroke, placing 27th.

Goodman also competed in the 200 breaststroke prelims, where she placed 25th with a time of 2:20.91.

Enervold, Meinberg, Goodman, and Flynn competed in the 400 freestyle, finishing in 17th with a time of 3:28.88.

Sports Editor



National Champion, hurdling with a time of 8.39. Cartwright clinched the second national title from a Maverick in the 60 meter hurdles with her win, while also claiming All-American honors. Cartwright follows Altoniece Williams as the only other MSU athlete to claim the national title in the 60 meter dash, with Williams claiming her title with a time of 8.37 back in 2017.

The sophomore also competed and earned All-American honors in the 60 meter dash after placing eighth in the event with a time of 7.50. Turgeon commented on the success of his two national champion runners saying, “their ability to compete and be consistent in TRACK on page 12 

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12 • MSU Reporter

Sports

Baseball goes 7-2 in Florida invite

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

MSU handball claims first combined national title

Submitted photo

The MSU club handball team won their first combined national title with the men’s team also claiming first, and the women, second.

By KOLE BUELOW Minot Athletics

Junior infielder and pitcher Nick Altermatt (5) was honored as the NSIC Player of the Week, collecting 10 RBIs, while maintaining a .500 batting average in 12 at-bats during the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational.

By KARSON BUELOW Staff Writer

The Minnesota State baseball team completed a successful week in their trip to the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational in Davenport, Fla. Their trip to Florida was the Mavericks first time in action this season, due to their games against Missouri-St. Louis in late February being canceled.

The Mavs opened their 2022 campaign on Mar. 3 with a convincing 17-4 victory over Gannon University. Their win over Gannon was highlighted by a three-run home run in the fourth inning by sophomore infielder Jackson Hauge. The Mavericks later capped off the victory with another three-run homerun, this time coming from senior catcher Ben Livorsi in the fifth inning.

MSU returned to action the next day to take on University of Findlay in a pair of games.

Game one against the Oilers would see a dominant second inning by the Mavericks, which opened with a two-run RBI triple by Livorsi and ended with the Mavs up 5-0. Minnesota State would go on to win that game 6-2 before dropping game two by a final score of 5-15.

The Mavericks continued their tournament with weekend games against Tiffin University on Saturday and Northwood

TRACK from page 11 and out every day” sets themselves apart from other competitors across the nation.

“Her very first jump was her personal best… Jackson set the lead for the meet, as soon as you do that it really shuts the competition down. Everybody starts chasing you, you don’t have to chase the competition,” explained Turgeon. “She was the first event to go that day, it really spring-boarded the rest



University on Sunday. The Mavs would start out strong against Tiffin with a second inning solo home run coming from Livorsi. MSU would allow Tiffin to score six runs before putting up two more of their own. Minnesota State dropped that game 6-3.

Sunday’s game against Northwood started out close with both teams recording one run in the first inning. The Mavs started to get hot in the fifth inning as junior outfielder Ryan Wickman recorded an RBI triple to put the score to 2-1.

Minnesota State would add more runs as they defeated Northwood 5-1. The Mavericks returned to action Monday against D’Youville College. Five different Mavs earned runs in Monday morning’s game as the Mavs defeated the Saints 9-4.

Minnesota State’s game against Concordia University, St. Paul on Monday was postponed due to inclement weather.

Mankato looked to continue their run the next day taking on University of the Sciences. Livorsi continued his hot streak opening the second inning with a solo home run. The Mavericks would pour on the runs against the Devils, defeating them in seven innings by a score of 21-0.

MSU continued play the next day taking on Notre Dame College. Midway through

of us and took the pressure off everybody to help them go out and compete.”

Junior jumper Flore Gracia, senior thrower Brea Parron, senior thrower Katie Taylor, and the 4x400 meter relay team consisting of Rose Gaye, Rose Cramer, Cartwright, and Sherona Stewart helped earn points towards the National Championship as well. The MSU men’s indoor track and field team finished sixth at their Champi-

the opening inning, the Mavs would find their first points coming from a two-run home run by infielder Nick Altermatt.

Six innings and 14 runs later, the Mavs would add to their commanding lead with another two-run home run coming from sophomore infielder Adam Schneider. The Mavs would dominate the Falcons, winning 21-3.

The next day, Minnesota State returned to the field one last time for a match up with Seton Hill University. Altermatt would open up the scoring for the Mavericks in the first inning with a two-run RBI double.

The Griffins would respond in the second inning, tying up the game at 2-2 off an RBI double by catcher Tanner Froehlich.

With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Altermatt would score off a throwing error, putting the Mavs up by one.

Midway through the seventh inning, Livorsi would see his fourth home run of the tournament, putting MSU up by two. Seton Hill would add a solo home run in the eighth inning, but it was too little too late as Minnesota State took the game by a final score of 5-4.

Minnesota State concluded their road trip with a 7-2 record at the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational. Altermatt was also honored as the NSIC player of the week.

onships, earning 27 points on their way to their top-10 finish. Six individual Mavericks earned All-American honors at the meet, helping mark the 11th time in team history the Mavs finished inside the top10. Minnesota State’s best finishes all came in third place, where junior Nicholas Hudson, senior Deveyonn Brown, and sophomore Tanner Maier claimed All-American honors in their respective events.

Sports Editor

Thirteen men’s players and eight women’s players competed for Minnesota State in the most recent United States Handball Association’s Collegiate Handball National tournament in Springfield, Mo. The tournament was the 69th tournament held for handball players where the Mavericks claimed their first combined national championship. With the win, MSU snapped a 30year streak of the winner either being Missouri State or Lake Forest College.

Handball head coach Michael Wells was relieved when the Mavericks edged out the win this year. “We came within three points of winning it the year before… this year we won by three points” Wells said.

“It’s been what we have been trying to do for a while now. It feels great.”

The final point total came down to the Mavericks at 4492 and Missouri State at 4489.

Wells explained that three points is the difference between winning one match and losing that match throughout the whole tournament.

The MSU men’s handball team claimed an individual championship themselves as well, edging out Lake Forest College 2258 to 2241. The women’s handball team came close to their own national title, claiming a runner-up bid to Missouri State University 2289 to 2234.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Sports

MSU Reporter • 13

WRESTLERS PLACE FIRST

Maverick Athletics

WRESTLING from page 10 win, Mason finished the season undefeated at 22-0 while also claiming All-American honors and the Outstanding Wrestler award of the tournament. With the results, Minnesota State finished seventh in the standings with 39 points. MSU wrestling head coach Jim Makovsky now adds Mason and Turriff to his list of national champions and NCAA All-Americans which now stands at 10 and 95 respectively in his 29 years with the team.

“Technique, talent, and conditioning are all factors. But the number one thing is they have a focus. It may sound a bit weird

but I do not know if everyone does,” explained Makovsky on why Turriff and Mason were so successful this season.

“They wanted to be national champions, they were committed to doing it… They proved that it could be done here and they gave the rest of the team a blueprint.”Makovsky knows the impact winning a championship has on his wrestlers, but also knows there is so much more to life than winning a national title. “They are both hungry, humble, and smart guys… I think they will keep it in perspective, that the best is still yet to come.”

HOCKEY from page 11 Smith, lock the weight room,” Hastings said with a laugh. “He does a lot of his own building physically and it draws a lot of confidence to his game… He is a very hungry player right now.”

The Mavs would round out the final five minutes of the third period with another goal on the power play from senior defenseman Wyatt Aamodt to

down the Northern Michigan Wildcats by a final score of 8-1.

This marks the second straight game the Mavs have scored eight goals. Hastings commented on the offensive success saying, “We’ve been able to utilize our depth. It does not matter which group is out there… they are being rewarded for playing the game the right way. They’re being selfless and sharing the puck.”



MADDIE BEHRENS • The Reporter

Senior guard Maddy Olson (10) helped lead the Mavericks to their best season in recent history. The team recorded a 21-7 overall record and made the NCAA tournament while Olson provided 9.5 points per game.

Women’s basketball falls to Fort Hays State in NCAA Division II tournament first round

By KARSON BUELOW • Staff Writer The Minnesota State women’s basketball team traveled south this past weekend to take on Fort Hays State in the first round of the NCAA championships. This is Minnesota State’s first tournament appearance since 2015, where they fell to Fort Hays in the first round.

The Mavericks came into the game sporting a 21-6 overall record and 16-5 in NSIC conference play. The Mavs were just coming off a heartbreaking loss to Minnesota Duluth in the second round of the NSIC conference tournament.

Senior guard Maddy Olson talked about the experience playing in the NCAA championships.

“The atmosphere there was crazy,” Olson said.

“There were so many people there and it was super loud. We were really lucky.”

Fort Hays was the first to get on the board with a jumper by freshman Katie Wagner about a minute into the game. Minnesota State would respond with a 6-0 scoring run started by a jumper from sophomore guard Joey Batt. The Tigers would respond with a 9-2 scoring run of their own with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. The two teams would trade baskets for the final four minutes as Fort Hays took a 1512 lead heading into the second quarter.

The first two minutes saw the Mavs cut the Tigers lead to just one. Fort Hays would answer back, going on a 7-0 scoring run.

The Tigers would continue to add offensive

HANDBALL from page 12 put in.”

Wells explained the win came down to the wire on Sunday saying, “We needed one match to clinch the national title and Missouri State ended up losing their match.”

The handball coach found out the team clinched the title during the Mavericks’ final match of the tournament while coaching an injured player. “I told him ‘hey you don’t have to keep competing, we have sewn up the title’ and it was a sigh of relief.”

The handball team puts a ton of effort into their craft and it was a “moment to be proud” for the handball coaching staff. Two Maverick athletes achieved All-American status for their performance in the tournament. Senior Michael Gaulton claimed his fourth All-American status while sophomore Ray Ure claimed his first.

Other Mavs also received awards, where senior Andrew Christiansen was named the Most Improved Player, improving 88 places since the last collegiate national tournament. Senior Claire Hagstrom also received an award, winning the Spirit of Handball award given to two players who show respect, honesty, self-discipline, and

pressure during the final three and a half minutes, leading by 13 heading into halftime. Batt led the Mavs with 10 points in the first half while Wagner led the Tigers with 12.

Fort Hays opened the third quarter with a free throw by Wagner to extend their lead to 14. MSU would not go away silently, going on a 12-5 scoring run and cutting the Tiger lead to just seven.

The final three minutes of the third quarter saw Fort Hays continue their consistent scoring.

They held a demanding 11 pt lead heading into the final frame. MSU was able to find a spark as they opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to pull back to within one point. The Tigers responded by hitting two baskets and regaining a five-point lead.

The Mavs would answer back with a 6-0 scoring run that would see them gain a 61-60 lead over the Tigers. A Fort Hays 6-0 scoring run in the final 53 seconds would send them to the second round, defeating Minnesota State 66-61.

Batt led the Mavericks in points during the game with 21. As a team, MSU shot 31.5% from the field and forced 20 turnovers.

Olson commented about her team and how well they’ve improved over the year and into the final game. “We knew coming into the year that we were going to have a really young group, but everyone did their part,” Olson said. “We did well being resilient and also forced Fort Hays into our most turnovers we’ve had all season.”



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14 • MSU Reporter

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

VARIETY

Leech: ‘Follow the funny’ MSU alum Mike Leech followed the funny to New York to intern for David Letterman

By EMMA JOHNSON Variety Editor

Very few people can say that they’ve gotten to work under their childhood icon. Shortly before graduating from Minnesota State University, Mankato, alum Mike Leech made the jump from Minnesota to New York to intern for David Letterman.

While growing up in Eagle Lake, Leech listened to Richard Pryor and Steve Martin albums along with watching The Simpsons. From an early age, Leech loved to make his friends laugh.

“I was never the big, loud, crazy class clown. [I was the kind of kid] who would whisper a little ridiculous thing to my neighbor and try and make him crack up and get in trouble,” shared Leech.

Leech would stay up past his bedtime and sneak over to the TV to watch David Letterman’s show, the comedian Leech claimed as “his own.” Years later, when Leech needed an internship to graduate, his mom suggested reaching out to Letterman’s show for internships.

“I was just going to intern at KEYC-TV [in Mankato] because I thought it would be an easy A, but my mom selflessly suggested, ‘Since you’re a fan of the show, why don’t you intern at a place where you’d like to have a career?’” said Leech.

“Somehow, I got that internship, moved out to New York and it took me about five to six years working lower level jobs for Letterman before I got promoted to a writer.”

With Leech being from Min-

By LILLY SCHMIDT Staff Writer

Courtesy photo

After graduating from MSU, alum Mike Leech became a writer for David Letterman. Leech is currently a writer for “Fairview,” a cartoon about the mayor of a small town trying to keep the peace despite national controversies.

nesota and Letterman from Indiana, Leech noticed upon moving to New York that Midwestern humor varied differently from the East Coast humor, which includes lots of hand gestures and yelling, that he encountered from his friends who attended Ivy League schools.

“I feel like Minnesotans [think] that it’s almost rude to insist that people laugh at your joke or even know that you’re joking. The ideal joke is something smart and silly that’s just kind of thrown out there as if

it were perfectly normal, and if somebody laughs, that’s great, but if nobody laughs, that’s fine too,” shared Leech. “We don’t want to be a burden on anyone or to make anyone feel that they have to laugh at our little jokes.”

Over the course of the last decade, Leech has found that comedy has changed quite a bit, specifically becoming more thoughtful to groups of people who have been harmed by the power centers of America.

“We call [the process] “punching down” in the writ-

er’s room. ‘Does this joke punch down? Is the target of the joke someone who has no power and is there a way to rephrase the joke so you’re aiming it upward at someone who is powerful and deserves to be cut down to size and can take it?’” said Leech.

“There was a lot more careless joking back in the day. People didn’t pay as close attention to who the joke might be hurting.”

Leech’s most recent project is “Fairview”, a political cartoon on Comedy Central that focuses COMEDY on page 15 

CSU hosts Good Night Gold Dust in Serendipity concert

By SYD BERGGREN Staff Writer

The Centennial Student Union’s Serendipity Series is hosting local band Good Night Gold Dust The band is a regular with the series, being featured at least once every school year.

Good Night Gold Dust has been playing since 2010, with vocalists Laura Schultz and Colin Scharf at the middle of it.

“We’re celebrating our 12 year anniversary this summer.

We had big plans to celebrate 10 years in 2020, but COVID did away with that,” said Scharf.

The pair comes from fairly different musical backgrounds with Schultz growing up in Wisconsin and Scharf growing up in New York. Between Schultz’s folk influence and Scharf’s pop punk influence, they have come together to make music that mixes different genres.

“Coming together and hear-

Paint by number hosted by Women’s Center

Courtesy photo

ing each other play let us see a future for how to meld them,” said Schultz.

Scharf acknowledged that the way the pair approaches music is very different.

“What I love about Laura’s approach to writing music is that it’s the song and the content first whereas my focus is energy and getting people up and dancing,” said Scharf. “When

Laura and I got together, we had to meld the two techniques. We would not be the band that we are without the two of us- we balance each other out.”

Both members have been heavily involved with music since childhood, with Schultz being involved with choir and Scharf with bands.

“I started performing with a band at 15, and we toured all over the state. From the time I was 15 up until now, I have performed almost every week. Its intoxicating,” said Scharf. “If I go more than a week or two without a performance, I get really down. It’s built into my life.”

Schultz has been singing since she was in 7th grade when her parents put her in voice lessons.

“I loved being on stage and performing. As humans, we love being in front of people: its like, ‘I’m here, see me,’” shared MUSIC on page 15 

For three days, March 21-23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Minnesota State University, Mankato students will have an opportunity to participate in a paint-bynumber event. This event, celebrating Women’s History Month, is being hosted by the MSU Student Events Team and Women’s Center in the Centennial Student Union Hearth Lounge.

SET Educational Entertainment member Atlas James explained how the event is a creative way to highlight important women in history.

“We got a bunch of different paint-by-numbers and these kits all have the paint and everything with them. They are for Women’s History Month and there’s different women of history,” said James.

There will be 11 different portraits of famous women in history for students to choose from, and each kit is free. Some of the portraits will include First Lady Michelle Obama, artist Frida Kahlo and activist Malala Yousafzai.

James explained how the Student Events Team reached out to the Women’s Center for the event to take place.

“Bill Tourville correlated with the Women’s Center [for this event] and we all got promotional emails involving the paint-by-numbers. We thought it was a cool idea, and so the Women’s Center worked with us to make it possible,” shared James. “We’ll all be working together to make sure that it goes well and that these people are properly represented for this month.”

Women’s History Month was recognized as a national celebration in 1987.

The month is designed to spotlight women that have made monumental contributions to society.

Having the opportunity for students to learn about these important women during Women’s History Month means a lot to James.

“As a transgendered male, I was born female and that’s something that’s PAINTING on page 15 

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Variety

MSU Reporter • 15

Actor William Hurt dead at 71

Courtesy photo

MSU alum Mike Leech idolized David Letterman by watching his show past his bedtime. When he needed a internship to graduate, his mom suggested reaching out to Letterman’s office since he was a huge fan.

COMEDY from page 14 on the small fictitious town of Fairview. Here, the mayor of the town is doing her best to keep the peace while the people of the town are overreacting to every national controversy, whether it actually affects their lives or not.

When people can get easily offended by certain aspects of comedy, Leech finds that the best practice is to write jokes that poke fun at all sides.

“It buys you a lot of credibility with your audience when they see that you’re not taking sides. It’s making fun of anyone who deserves to be made fun of, regardless of whether they agree with you politically,” shared Leech.

Leech credits MSU for giving him several opportunities to express his creative freedom on campus that helped prepare him for his career.

“Nate LeBoutillier was my Intro to Creative Writing professor, and he was so supportive and really helped me to feel confident in my abilities and 

RICH FURY • Associated Press

William Hurt, the Oscar-winning actor of “Broadcast News,” “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” has died. He was 71. Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement that Hurt died Sunday, March 13, 2022 of natural causes.

By JAKE COYLE

States” as a psychopathologist studying schizophrenia and experimenting with sensory deprivation, Hurt quickly emerged as a mainstay of the ‘80s.

In Lawrence Kasdan’s 1981 steamy neo noir “Body Heat,” Hurt starred alongside Kathleen Turner as a lawyer coaxed into murder.

In 1983’s “The Big Chill,” again with Kasdan, Hurt played the brooding Vietnam War veteran Nick Carlton, one of a group of college pals who gather for their friend’s funeral.

Hurt, whose father worked for the State Department, was born in Washington D.C. and traveled widely as a child while attending boarding school in Massachusetts.

His parents divorced when he was young. When Hurt was 10, his mother married Henry Luce III, son of the Time magazine founder. Hurt studied acting at Julliard and first emerged

on the New York stage with the Circle Repertory Company. After “The Big Chill,” he returned to the stage to star on Broadway in David Rabe’s “Hurlyburly,” for which he was nominated for a Tony.

Shortly after came “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which won Hurt the best actor Oscar for his performance as a gay prisoner in a repressive South American dictatorship.

“I am very proud to be an actor,” Hurt said, accepting the award.

Nevertheless, Hurt never slowed down, piling up credits in the ‘90s and ’00s — Woody Allen’s “Alice,” Wayne Wong’s “Smoke,” Nora Ephron’s “Michael,” Franco Zeffirelli’s “Jane Eyre.”

He received his fourth Oscar nomination for his small but potent role in David Cronenberg’s 2005 thriller “A History of Violence.”

PAINTING from page 14 empowering of course to me, because that is a part of me that will never go away. And alongside that, these people are minorities that deserve to have their voices heard,” shared James. “These influential people have shaped my life as I’ve grown up. Learning about these influential women is very important because they’ve

changed the world around me as I’ve grown as a person, despite anything.”

There will be educational posters depicting why each of the 11 women are influential.

It will allow students to enjoy crafts with a purpose, and perhaps learn something new.

James encourages students to attend the event to take a break from classes and homework.

“Things are getting stressful and this is just a simple little craft you can do where you get to keep your painting as well,” said James.

“It’s something that you can put in your dorm room, your apartment, anywhere that you are, to remind you of these women that are powerful and strong and confident. That’s inspirational within itself.”

MUSIC from page 14 Schultz.

Schultz elaborated about the difference between the process of creating the final product of a song versus the creative process.

“In performance we get to taste that process, the creation.

I always talk about the stress cycle- it is beautifully represented in performing: you get to see the build up of that anxiety and then all the way around the cy-

cle until we’re calm again,” said Schultz.

The pair also touched on mental health helps them within their music.

“Performing has very specific obvious ties to mental health for both of us. The songs are great containers for us to place our worries and sad moments in our lives,” said Schultz.

“As musicians, we have that ability to process and give back those emotions. That’s kind of

an additional plus for me, having people come up after a set and tell you how much it meant to them,” said Scharf.

The pair will be playing a variety of their original songs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16 in the Centennial Student Union Hearth Lounge. The band is also playing at the Blue Boat Friday March 18.

Associated Press

William Hurt, whose laconic charisma and self-assured subtlety as an actor made him one of the 1980s foremost leading men in movies such as “Broadcast News,” “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” has died. He was 71.

Hurt’s son, Will, said in a statement that Hurt died Sunday of natural causes. Hurt died peacefully, among family, his son said.

The Hollywood Reporter said he died at his home in Portland, Oregon. Hurt was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to the bone in 2018.

In a long-running career, Hurt was four times nominated for an Academy Award, winning for 1985’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” After his breakthrough in 1980’s Paddy Chayefsky-scripted “Altered

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pushed me to improve. I really credit him with what little confidence I have in this job,” said Leech.

“I also worked in Memorial Library in the Video Services Department under Jerry Anderson, who was another great, kind mentor to me and he gave me a lot of creative freedom to make funny videos for the school.”

For those who want to pursue writing for comedy, Leech not only encourages practicing writing all the time, but to try and make yourself laugh while coming up with content.

“I made myself a deadline and made myself accountable to people at the show who I told that I wanted to do this. Once I said that, I had no choice. Even if you don’t think you can do it or it’s going to take awhile to learn, you have to take that leap,” shared Leech.

“If something you write is legitimately making you laugh, it will crack up other people.”

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Tuesday, March 15, 2022