March 18, 2021

Opinion: Women’s safety page

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THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021

Edward Inch named MNSU president-elect

A look into quarantining on MNSU campus

By MAXWELL MAYLEBEN Editor in Chief

Minnesota State University, Mankato is prepared to provide isolated living quarter for students with COVID-19 or who have come into contact with someone who tested positive. The first option, however, is for students to quarantine at home if possible.

When a student has tested positive or has come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, they are instructed to call a healthcare provider and start quaranting immediately.

The campus provides a hotline to Student Health Services that is available during regular business hours. To get more information or to schedule a COVID test, contact them at 507-389-5591.

If you need assistance after hours it is highly recommended that you call the Mayo Clinic Health System at 507625-4031, which is a 24-hour COVID-19 Nurse Line.

If reported directly to the campus you will receive a phone call from a Residential Life staff member who works with students who need to quarantine. The staff member will go over your options and discuss the next steps based on your individual situation, whether it’s returning home or quarantining/isolating on campus. If you choose to isolate in one of the quarantine dorms there is no additional

In a video presentation sent to students yesterday, President Richard Davenport and Chancellor Devinder Malholtra introduced Dr. Edward Inch as the president-elect of Minnesota State University, Mankato.

“Dr. Inch has the academic credentials, experience, leadership skills, and vision required to guide Minnesota State University, Mankato into the future,” said Malhotra.

While this was far from a normal presidential search — the process usually is accompanied by a series of campus visits and in-person meetings — this search was mostly done via Zoom meetings to ensure safety during the pandemic.

“The Zoom meetings we had were engaging, enthusiastic, and they were welcoming,” Inch said in the video presentation. “My takeaway was that this institution inspires a sense of pride, potential, a sense of opportunity in that everyone, from the faculty to the staff to the students to the community to the system, has a commitment to the success of Minnesota State University, Mankato.”

Inch has served as provost and vice president of academic affairs at California State University, East Bay, a university of similar size to MNSU. According to a statement issued by the University on Wednesday during his time at Cal State East Bay, Inch worked to improve student outcomes, reduce equity gaps and increase access.

Before Cal State East Bay, Inch served in several different positions at various other institutions such as California State University, Sacramento, Capital University in Ohio, and Pacific Lutheran University.

Inch will succeed current University President Richard Davenport July 1. Davenport is the third-longest serving president in MNSU’s history.

“I hope to inspire pride and optimism about our work together,” Inch said in his closing remarks, “and the future of this campus within all of you.”

By JULIA BRENDEL Staff Writer

FABIO CASTEL GARCIA • The Reporter

cost for doing so.

“We are definitely prepared if we need to move students to isolated dorms. We have plenty of housing, so if we see a spike we are more than capable of taking in students and making sure they get better and then send them back into their normal routine here at school,” said Anna Sunderman, MNSU’s Isolation Coordinator.

“Being adaptable and open has been a big lesson I learned through all of this and also taking it in as it comes to us.

With the uncertainty of everything, the biggest thing is making sure the students have support when going through all of this and being able to accommodate them as much

as possible,” Sunderman continued.

The main quarantine dorms are located in Preska and Stadium Heights, the off-campus apartments, provide these spaces needed for quarantine. Currently there is only one student in the quarantined dorms for their isolation period.

After being situated either at home or on campus students should call the Campus Reporting Hotline at 5073892030 to know how many days they will be staying in quarantine. The Minnesota Department of Health highly suggests a 14-day isolation period to ensure the highest level of safety.

As for accommodations,

Residential Life will offer tons of resources if you are not able to quarantine at home.

This includes moving assistance to and from a temporary room assignment, meal deliveries to their room door Monday-Friday where students can expect to receive breakfast delivered around 8:30 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m., and dinner at 4:30 p.m.

Regarding the weekend, students will receive a re-heatable brunch with their dinner delivery the night before and a hot dinner around the normal weekday time at 4:30 p.m.

When it comes to other everyday tasks such as mail

CAMPUS on page 6

Student Government prepares for budget meeting

By BAILEY BRENDEL Staff Writer In Minnesota State University, Mankato’s weekly Student Government meeting held over Zoom on Mar. 17, things appeared to be picking up for the organization as their large budget meeting begins next week.

The presentations began shortly after roll call was completed.

The first to present was Student Health Services with their budget report. This service provides many resources to students. Among the list is the medical clinic where they provide many quality and affordable health services to all

File photo

MNSU students.

The clinic, pharmacy and health education are the three areas the facility focuses on.

Some services provided are medical exams and consulta-

tions, access to affordable medicine, and psychological healthcare.

It is an important service to have on campus, especially during the time of a

pandemic. Some of the statistics reported that 86% of the patients are off-campus and 65% of all students were non-international students at the heath service.

Their goals for the next year are to continue to expand telepsychology or using a virtual system to meet with students, support mental health initiatives on campus, adapting to the changing needs of the pandemic and to plan for a health services facility.

Although they have not received an increase in budget for the past three years, the health service is pushing

GOV on page 7

News

Police seek motive in Georgia attack on mainly Asian women

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Senator Spotlight: Joey Novak

MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter

2 • MSU Reporter

MIKE STEWART • Associated Press A make-shift memorial is seen outside a business where a multiple fatal shooting occurred on Tuesday, Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in Acworth, Ga.

ASSOCIATED PRESS A white gunman accused of killing eight people, most of them women of Asian descent, at three Atlanta-area massage parlors was charged with murder Wednesday in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community that’s increasingly been targeted during the coronavirus pandemic.

Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police that the attack was not racially motivated and claimed to have a “sex addiction,” with authorities saying he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation. Six of the victims were identified as Asian and seven were women.

The shootings appear to be at the “intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia,” state Rep. Bee Nguyen said, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House and a frequent advocate for women and communities of color.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that regardless of the shooter’s motivation, “it is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop.”

Authorities said that they didn’t know if Long ever went to the massage parlors where the shootings occurred but that he was planning to go to Florida in a plot to attack “some type of porn industry.”

“He apparently has an issue, what he considers a sex addiction, and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places, and it’s a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,” Cherokee County sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker told reporters.

When asked whether somebody could have sexual encounters at the businesses, Bottoms did not answer, saying she did not want “to get into victim blaming, victim shaming here.” She said police have not been to the parlors in her city beyond a minor potential theft.

Sheriff Frank Reynolds said it was too early to tell if the attack was racially motivated — “but the indicators right now are it may not be.” Neither he nor Baker clarified their statements, and Baker did not return a text message seeking more details.

Cherokee County authorities say Long was charged Wednesday with four counts of murder and one count of assault.

The attack was the sixth mass killing this year in the U.S., and the deadliest since the August 2019 Dayton, Ohio, shooting that left nine people dead, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

It follows a lull in mass killings during the pandemic in 2020, which had the smallest number of such assaults in more than a decade, according to the database, which tracks mass killings defined as four or more dead, not including the shooter.

Many suspects who commit mass shootings have a history of violence against women. The killings horrified the Asian American community, which saw the shootings as an attack on them, given a recent wave of assaults that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States. The virus was first identified in China, and then-President Donald Trump and others have used racially charged terms to describe it.

The attacks began Tuesday evening, when five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor near Woodstock, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Atlanta, authorities said. Two people died at the scene, and three were taken to a hospital, where two died.

About an hour later, police responding to a call about a robbery found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds at Gold Spa, which is in a strip of tattoo parlors and strip clubs in one of the last ungentrified holdouts in an upscale area of Atlanta. Officers then learned of a call reporting gunfire across the street, at Aromatherapy Spa, and found another woman apparently shot dead.

President Joe Biden said the FBI briefed him on the shootings and noted that Asian Americans are concerned about a recent rise in violence, a surge he has previously condemned.

He called the attack “very, very troublesome” but was waiting for answers on the shooter’s motivation.

Vice President Kamala Harris offered condolences to the victims’ families.

“We’re not yet clear about the motive.

But I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people,” said Harris, the first Black and South Asian woman to be vice president.

By BAILEY BRENDEL Staff Writer

In this week’s Student Senator Spotlight, Joey Novak is taking the stage. Novak is an Aviation major with a Spanish minor.

Novak lives a busy life.

Outside of being in Student Government, Novack said he is the Vice President for the Residential Halls Association, a member of an NRHH and is also the Director of Recruiting for College Democrats. He serves on some committees that are related to the Senate as well. He does this all while being in his third year of his degree.

When asked why he joined Student Senate, he says, “I joined Student Government

after last semester when the government was fighting really hard to influence some change, specifically with the kitchens and lounges in my position on RHA.” He further explained by saying, “Working with a lot of senators, I was able to get a lot done and hoped that by joining the Student Senate I would be able to get even more done to help my fellow students.”

Currently, Novak is working on a few projects in order to follow through with his goals.

“I’m working on two big things which is that me and some other senators are trying to get an LGBTQ+ learning community established

NOVAK on page 5

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News

MSU Reporter • 3

2 jurors dropped from Chauvin trial ASSOCIATED PRESS A judge on Wednesday dismissed two jurors who had been seated for the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer accused in George Floyd’s death over concerns they had been tainted by the city’s announcement of a $27 million settlement with Floyd’s family.

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill recalled seven jurors who were seated before the settlement was announced last week, and questioned each about what they knew of the settlement and whether it would affect their ability to serve. Former officer Derek Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, had requested the recall.

The dismissal of only two jurors suggested the impact of the settlement on the jury pool was less than feared, likely reducing the chance of Cahill granting a defense request to delay the trial.

Cahill was careful to ask jurors if they had heard the news of the settlement without giving details, saying only that there had been “extensive media coverage about developments in a civil suit between the city of Minneapolis and the family of George Floyd” and asking if they were exposed to it.

The first dismissed juror, a white man in his 30s, said he had heard about the settlement. “I think it will be hard to be impartial,” he said.

“That sticker price obviously shocked me,” the second juror dismissed said. The Hispanic man in his 20s said he thought he could set the news aside, but wasn’t sure, and after a long pause, Cahill dismissed him.

Cahill retained five other jurors, including a Black man in his 30s who told Cahill he heard about the settlement on the radio Friday evening but could put it aside and decide the case only on evidence presented in the courtroom.

“It hasn’t affected me at all because I don’t know the details,” he said.

Jury selection had been proceeding faster than expected, with opening statements ten-

Japan court says same-sex marriage should be allowed

YOHEI FUKAI • Associated Press

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Court TV via Associated Press Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, defendant and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and Nelson’s assistant Amy Voss, back, introduce themselves to jurors as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over jury selection in the trial of Chauvin Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn.

tatively expected March 29 at the earliest, but the two dismissals could imperil that start date. Nine people had been selected for the jury before Wednesday’s dismissals; 14 are needed.

Nelson called the timing of the announcement in the middle of jury selection “profoundly disturbing” and “not fair.”

Seven jurors remain, including four men and three women. Four are white, one is multiracial and two are Black, and their ages range from 20s to 50s. Fourteen people, including two alternates, are needed.

As questioning of potential jurors resumed Wednesday morning, three were excused, including a man who said he would tend to believe a police officer’s version of events over that of a citizen, and a Black man who expressed negative views about the Minneapolis Police Department.

He said Floyd was an example of another Black man “killed” or “murdered” by police.

He said he used to live in the area near Floyd’s arrest and had seen Minneapolis police sometimes ride through the area and antagonize residents if someone had been shot or jailed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS A Japanese court for the first time ruled Wednesday that same-sex marriage should be allowed under the country’s constitution, a moral victory that does not have any immediate legal consequence but could bolster efforts for legalization.

The Sapporo District Court said sexuality, like race and gender, is not a matter of individual preference, therefore prohibiting same-sex couples from receiving benefits given to heterosexual couples cannot be justified.

“Legal benefits stemming from marriages should equally benefit both homosexuals and heterosexuals,(asterisk) the court said, according to a copy of the summary of the ruling.

Judge Tomoko Takebe said in the ruling that not

allowing same-sex marriages violates Article 14 of the Japanese constitution, which prohibits discrimination “because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.”

The court was hearing a case brought by three samesex couples who were seeking government compensation for the difficulties they had to suffer from not being able to legally marry. The court declined to financially compensate the plaintiffs.

The court’s ruling has no immediate legal effect and same-sex couples are still not allowed to marry. Nevertheless, activists say the ruling is a major victory that could influence similar court cases and help their efforts to push for parliamentary debate and changes to the law to allow same-sex marriage.

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4 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, March 18, 2021

SPRING 2021 EDITOR IN CHIEF:

MAXWELL MAYLEBEN

Peterson: Women are tired of being told to ‘stay safe’ Opinion

maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu

MADISON DIEMERT

madison.diemert@mnsu.edu

By JENNA PETERSON News Director Earlier this month Sarah Everard was kidnapped and killed, allegedly by a police officer, while walking the short distance home from a friend’s house in England.

After the tragedy was spread all over the internet it sparked conversation about how women everywhere are in fear of their lives every day.

This type of news with Sarah isn’t anything new to women, but is one that we need to stop.

The question is, how can we do this?

These types of problems are not in fault of the women.

Many women, as myself, take every precaution possible when in situations like this. Some of these precautions include holding keys in between fingers, walking in bright paths, traveling in groups, and relying on well-known and trusted people for transportation.

Sarah did the same thing.

She was talking on the phone while walking home for the other person to know about her whereabouts and walked on well-lit streets to increase her safety levels. Even doing this, it wasn’t enough.

Sarah opted to walk home because she didn’t trust other forms of transportation, and I understand this decision. Other stories have been shared about women being harmed on trains, buses, and Ubers, leaving a limited number of choices for women to choose from.

NEWS DIRECTOR: Jenna Peterson jenna.peterson-3@mnsu.edu MEDIA/DESIGN DIRECTOR: Mansoor Ahmad mansoor.ahmad@mnsu.edu SPORTS EDITOR: Daniel McElroy daniel.mcelroy@mnsu.edu ADVERTISING SALES: Anna Lillie 507-389-1063 anna.lillie@mnsu.edu FRANK AUGSTEIN • Associated Press People gather in Clapham Common, in memory of Sarah Everard, after an official vigil was cancelled, in London, Saturday, March 13, 2021.

Ever since I was a young teenager I have constantly been told by my parents on what I should and should not do when out and about to make sure I’m protected. And I appreciate that, they want to ensure their child will not be harmed.

Students at Minnesota State University, Mankato are also on edge when it comes to traveling around campus, especially once it gets dark.

Campus security reports show that there have been frequent stalking instances on campus, specifically around Julia Sears dorms and Stadium Heights.

We then need to talk about how these reports are being dealt with and how the Univer-

sity will address these issues not only now, but in the long run. Student safety should be a priority on campus at all times.

We need to redirect the conversation from how women can protect themselves to how men can stop harming women and being held accountable for their actions. I’m tired of being told new ways to save myself when I’m doing everyday activities and constantly being on edge, and I know other women are as well.

To first teach men about these issues we must tell the stories of violence against women and how it impacts not only their lives, but the other women who

hear about it. While hearing about this, men also need to believe survivors. Their stories won’t mean anything if they’re not being believed.

Speak up against violence, no matter where it’s at or who is causing it. One thing that keeps men from doing this is the societal standards of toxic masculinity, but getting over this barrier will allow for a secure environment.

Advocating for stricter laws in government against violence will also help women feel safe with where they’re at. If these types of laws are implemented then it will help others realize the seriousness and degree of fear women are in.

“How can we help women feel safe?”

Compiled by Samuel Adjidjonu

OYINDAMOLA KAYODE-AJALA, SOPHOMORE

JACOB KULIG, SOPHOMORE

MARIA PETRAZZINI, FRESHMAN

STERLING PADULA, JUNIOR

PARKER ADAMS, FRESHMAN

“It has to do with “If there was a presentation to “Just have to learn to support “We should have harsher conversations about consent “From a very young age, we show past victims’ experiences women in everything, we have sentences, more investigations, and sex. Many issues that can start teaching boys that in the school’s auditorium, it to inform men more about the provide more rape kits, and come with lack of knowledge women are not objects and will teach men more about issues in society.” make it a safe space for women is the lack of education.” should be treated like human.” protecting women.” to tell their story.”

Logan Larock 507-389-5453 logan.larock@mnsu.edu Baylee Sorensen 507-389-5097 baylee.sorensen@mnsu.edu Olivia Haefner 507-389-1079 olivia.haefner@mnsu.edu BUSINESS MANAGER: Jane Tastad 507-389-1926 jane.tastad@mnsu.edu ADVERTISING DESIGN/ PRODUCTION MANAGER: Dana Clark 507-389-2793 dana.clark@mnsu.edu

• If you have a complaint, suggestion or would like to point out an error made in the Reporter, contact Editor in Chief Maxwell Mayleben at maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu.

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.

• The Minnesota State University Mankato Reporter is a studentrun newspaper published twice a week, coming out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Reporter generates 78 percent of its own income through advertising and receives approximately 22 percent from Student Activities fees. The Reporter is free to all students and faculty, but to start a subscription, please call us at 507-389-1776.

Subscriptions for the academic school year are $55.00 and subscribers will receive the paper within three to five days after publishing.

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THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THE MSU REPORTER ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OR STUDENT BODY.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

News

MSU Reporter • 5

Multilingual team helps Berlin immigrants fight COVID-19 ASSOCIATED PRESS Three times a week, Aliye Tuerkyilmaz hits the markets and busy shopping streets of Neukoelln to hand out informational flyers on the coronavirus pandemic to residents of the German capital’s crowded immigrant neighborhood that’s studded with minarets, kebab stores and hookah lounges.

The 48-year-old Turkish immigrant who speaks four languages is part of a team of five street workers enlisted to explain the dangers of COVID-19 to people often not reached through traditional channels in an area where infection numbers have regularly been among the highest in the city.

“Especially the older immigrants don’t understand German, some are illiterate, and some are still not aware of the health risks and regulations regarding the pandemic,” Tuerkyilmaz says as she roams through a Turkish market along the Landwehr canal where many had come to pick up fresh vegetables, chicken and bread.

There are a combination of factors that have made Neukoelln a virus hotspot in Berlin, where low incomes mean that living quarters are often cramped, public transport is frequently the only option, and jobs are commonly in high-risk areas such as the food service industry.

But it was the lack of in-

MARKUS SCHREIBER • Associated Press People gather in Clapham Common, in memory of Sarah Everard, after an official vigil was canceled, in London, Saturday, March 13, 2021.

formation making it to the residents that prompted the formation of Tuerkyilmaz’s “intercultural educational team,” or IKAT, in September by the Berlin NGO Chance BJS in coordination with district officials.

The hope is that they will be able to break through the lack of communication, which not only has to do with language barriers but also a deep distrust of German authorities fed by a sense of nonacceptance, says Kazim Erdogan, a community leader with Turkish roots.

“If we can’t create a sense of belonging together in normal times, if people are existing next to or even against each other, then it is not possible to create this sense of togetherness now,” Erdogan says.

Around 35% of Berlin’s 3.6 million residents have immigrant roots, primarily from Poland, Turkey, Arabic countries and the former Soviet Union. In Neukoelln, almost half have a foreign background.

The district’s number of coronavirus cases per

100,000 residents is currently at 4,828, compared to a citywide average figure of 3,575.

A study published by the Berlin state health authority in February indicated the hardest-hit districts were those with more unemployment, a greater share of welfare recipients and lower household income.

The incidence of COVID-19 also rose in line with the percentage of people with a family history of migration and greater population density — factors that are linked to poverty.

NOVAK continued from page 3 in the residential halls,” he says.

“The other project that I’m working on is trying to work with Cindy, who is the Dean of the residential halls, in order to get a few revisions made to guest policies.”

Though this is Novak’s first semester as a senator, he is enjoying his time so far.

“I’m just very grateful for a lot of the connections that I’ve made with my fellow senators,” he says. “I’m just glad for a lot of the friends that I’ve made that I would then go on to hang out with and make great memories with outside of Student Government.”

He continues on to say, “There’s a lot to get done and there’s not a whole lot of time in the world to get all that, but I’m going to try my hardest to get as much done as possible.”

Moving forward into the rest of his time at MNSU and in his career, he is going to take the skills he has learned in the Student Senate with him.

“I would say that the biggest skill that I took away from being in this is organization and project management,” Novak says.

“It’s a lot to make sure that I’m not like selling anything short and I’m able to give myself 100% to everything that I’m involved in.”

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6 • MSU Reporter

News

FABIO CASTEL GARCIA • The Reporter

CAMPUS continued from page 1

or package service, laundry, trash service, phone calls, and pharmacy medication, MNSU has a system in place to protect staff members that are picking up and delivering to the students in quarantine.

Students can place their dirty laundry in linen bags and MNSU staff will pick up the bags and have it cleaned by a local vendor. Clean laundry will be returned to the student within 1-2 days and dropped off at their room door.

Trash service disposes of their trash that is set outside their room door and then the cleaning staff can take it out for them.

Pharmacy services are provided upon request or if they are prescribed. MNSU staff will pick up prescriptions from the Pharmacy located in Student Health Services and deliver them to the isolated room.

Regular phone calls to check in on the emotional wellbeing of the student is common and MNSU encourages students to reach out for

support services if needed.

Evan Taylor, an MNSU freshman who spent time in an isolated dorm room, said, “While being brought to the quarantine dorms they told you what to bring, but they couldn’t do much to help since they couldn’t get close to me.”

Taylor’s experience lived up to the expectations he had.

“The rules were to stay there for 10 days after your first symptoms and you are not allowed to leave the dorm,” he said. “I only received the food and trash service since I wasn’t there very long. Overall the experience was super boring while staying in the dorm days on end.”

Other items that are included is a mini fridge, microwave, Kleenex, thermometer, toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo), hand soap, paper towels, cleaning supplies and trash bins, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, linen bag for laundry service, toilet paper, and bottled water.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Warnock: GOP voting restrictions resurrect ‘Jim Crow era’ in the US ASSOCIATED PRESS Sen. Raphael Warnock, whose election as Georgia’s first Black senator gave control of the chamber to Democrats, used his first floor speech on Capitol Hill to blast a wave of Republican-backed measures that would make it harder to cast ballots in states around the country.

Warnock noted Georgia’s and the country’s history of allowing voter suppression against minorities and the poor, and he warned that some Republican lawmakers are trying to reopen those chapters with “draconian” restrictions he cast as a reaction against Democratic victories like his.

“We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights and voter access unlike anything we have seen since the Jim Crow era,” Warnock said Wednesday. “One person, one vote is being threatened right now. Politicians in my home state and all across America, in their craven lust for power, have launched a full-fledged assault on voting rights” and on “democracy itself.”

The first-term senator’s speech followed Senate Democrats’ introduction of a sweeping election law overhaul, called the “For the People Act,” that could override many of the restrictive measures that Republicans are pushing at the state level. Warnock is the Senate bill’s lead sponsor. The House passed its version in the previous Congress and again last month on a 220-210 vote that fell along party lines.

Democrats cast their legislation as a way to render most of the state GOP moves moot. Republican leaders insist their approach, which follows former President Donald Trump’s false assertions that the 2020 elections were “rigged,” is needed to prevent voter fraud and reassure voters that U.S. elections are legitimate.

Warnock blasted that reasoning

ALEX BRANDON • Associated Press Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., left, accompanied by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., speaks during a news conference, before the vote on the Democrat’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Washington.

Wednesday as part of a “big lie of voter fraud as a pretext for voter suppression.” He added that “the same big lie led to a violent insurrection on this very Capitol,” as Congress met Jan. 6 to certify President Joe Biden’s victory.

Republican lawmakers in Georgia and other states are considering severely curtailing absentee voting; eliminating automatic and same-day voter registration; and cutting back on early voting opportunities, including Sunday “souls to the polls” voting days that are especially important to Black churches where parishioners lean overwhelmingly Democratic.

Democrats’ federal bill, among other provisions, would make automatic voter registration the norm nationwide, effectively forbid racial and partisan gerrymandering of district lines, establish national baselines for absentee voting, make it harder for states to remove irregular voters from the rolls and expand public financing of elections.

Separately, Democrats in Congress want to restore key sections of the Voting Rights Act that required certain states and local jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination.

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Thursday, March 18, 2021

St. Patrick’s Day to be largely virtual in NYC for 2nd year ASSOCIATED PRESS A largely virtual St. Patrick’s Day was planned for New York City on Wednesday, one year after the annual parade celebrating Irish heritage was canceled because of the pandemic.

Although the city’s usual huge parade with floats and marching bands was canceled, Mayor Bill de Blasio joined parade leaders and several dozen National Guard troops in marching up Madison Avenue early Wednesday morning to keep the tradition alive.

A live broadcast of the St. Patrick’s Day Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral took place. A virtual parade featuring clips of marching groups from past years was to follow at 10 a.m., according to the parade organizers’ website, and an hourlong show streaming on Facebook at 11 a.m. included performances by singers Andy Cooney and Moya Brennan.

Multitudes of people usually line Fifth Avenue for New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, which traces its roots to the 1760s.

The city was just starting to shut down to halt the spread of the coronavirus on St. Patrick’s Day 2020, and de Blasio waited until days before the parade to cancel it.

News GOV continued from page 1 for the increase this year as salary accounts for 75% of the overall budget. They are pushing .08 cents per credit hour to help suffice the rent increase of 2.5% for the rent of the COVID-19 center and a $1,000 increase to employee health insurance costs.

“I believe that the proposal by Student Health Services is more than reasonable,” said Senator Joey Novak. “Medical treatment and mental health are especially important, and personally I am in favor of the proposed increase.”

The next to present was Academic Affairs with a budget reduction proposal. They started with a $2 million budget in an effort to reduce their costs for the next year. To help with that, they eliminated 27 faculty positions, fixed term hires, investments in student support and more.

They have been undergoing many revisions, small group discussions, and open forums to figure out what is needed within the budget.

The plan is to cancel searches for various positions, cancel positions for people who will be departing and an additional $150,000 cut

in administration. The organization will be working on an ongoing process to figure out what they need to do in order to help students succeed.

The next presentation came from Provost Matt Cecil and Vice President of Finance and Administration Rick Straka on the online tuition differential.

They are looking at what it would cost to remove the online differential cost that would lead to an increase in tuition. A 2.85% increase in tuition would allow them to break even to what it costs to pay for online courses. It is believed that it would be cheaper for students to remove the online differential fee with the increase of tuition.

The Athletics Fee Advisory Committee was next to present on the intercollegiate athletics fee. There are currently 18 Division II and two Division I athletic programs at MNSU. Student athletes are paying for about 75% of their education.

This program sustains more than 900 student participants within the community. They are currently at the lowest budget allowance compared to the rest of their Minnesota State counterparts and one of the largest

MSU Reporter • 7 programs in the Minnesota State program. They are proposing a 2% increase, or 4.08/credit hour increase.

This will help keep up with the increases in costs and the decrease in revenue the athletic department experienced during the pandemic.

“Regarding the 2% Increase for Intercollegiate athletics, I agree with the 2% fee increase for intercollegiate athletics,” said Senator Jack Wheeler. “Although this will only increase the per credit budget by around 8 cents for students, I believe that it will help our athletics continue to be successful.”

Wheeler continued on to say, “I would not agree with this fee if our hockey were not as successful as it was. I think that our Division I hockey team here puts a good face on what it means to play a sport here at MNSU.” After all topics were discussed, the meeting transitioned over to senator reports.

The first to present was Senator Audrey Hopwood.

She is working on bias training for the Community Advisor selection committee as well as trying to incorporate more diversity to the campus community. She is working hard to provide this type of

training to help Residential Life better choose future CAs. They are going to be testing this method by using the desk staff interviewers as a trial run before it will be used in the CA interviewers.

The next to present was Senator Mendonca. He is communicating with Senator Alimo for projects within the College of Business.

His main focus is providing real world experience for students within the University. He is also working on a student ambassador program in the COB, developing a strategic plan for new adaptive education styles and working to create job opportunities for students, especially international students.

To wrap up the meeting, Senator Ruiz talked about how she met with the Student Basic Needs Committee to work on increasing advertising in hopes of reaching more students who may need help.

They are working to create a basic needs hub that can guide students to different places on campus that provide the services they may need. She has also made a survey to help combat international students from being discriminated against in the on-campus workplace.

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10 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Mavs host championship weekend

By DANIEL McELROY Sports Editor After sweeping the Ferris State Bulldogs in a hard fought best of three quarterfinals, the Mavericks will take on Northern Michigan University in a single elimination semifinal in an attempt to play for their second straight Jeff Sauer Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the WCHA Championship.

The last time the two teams met, the Mavericks shut out the Wildcats both nights, winning by scores of 5-0, and 4-0.

But it won’t come that easy this time around.

“You can take what happened earlier in the year and kind of throw it out the window,” head coach Mike Hastings said about their last visit to Marquette, Mich. “One, when we played them, it seemed like a year ago. Two, we were fortunate we had gone through a bit unscathed at that time through this pandemic from a COVID standpoint, they hadn’t.”

The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals by taking down No. 13 Bowling Green two games to one, winning the first game 4-3, dropping the next 5-0, and winning the final game of

By DANIEL McELROY Sports Editor

Photos by MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Julian Napravnik (left) leads the Mavericks in points with 25. Riese Zmolek (right) leads the Mavericks in blocked shots with 37.

the series 5-1.

“They’re playing good hockey right now, not many teams go into Bowling Green and take two of three,” Hastings said.

Going into this weekend, the Mavericks have won the last 11 of 12 matchups, with lone loss coming against the Bemidji State Beavers in a tight 4-3 overtime loss.

The team is led by the WCHA Offensive Player of the Year, Julian Napravnik.

Napravnik leads the Mav-

ericks in goals and points with a stat line of 10-1525. In the Mavericks first win against Ferris State last weekend, Napravnik scored his sixth game-winning goal of the season, putting the Mavs up early in the series 1-0. Napravnik also leads the Mavs in powerplay goals with 5and is tied for second in +/- with +14.

Team Captain Riese Zmolek leads the team in +/- with +17, and is excited to be playing at home.

“[We’re] pretty pumped to be in our own building,” Zmolek said. Having the home-ice advantage will be a major factor this weekend.

“Having, you know, not as many fans allowed, but still having our home fans [is] a little bit of an advantage for us.

The winner of Friday’s game will advance to play the winner of the Lake Superior State and Bemidji State in the Championship game Saturday night in Mankato.

Mavs look to continue streak versus Beavers MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter

By KOLE BUELOW Staff Writer The Minnesota State baseball team prepares for their home opening games at Bowyer Field against the Bemidji State Beavers this weekend.

The Mavericks started their season off strong, currently holding a 3-1 record on the season and outscoring their opponents 34-10.

This is good enough for the Mavericks to be tied for fifth in the NSIC standings with Concordia-St. Paul through just four games.

The Beavers, on the other hand, have struggled in their first this season. Bemidji State is 1-4 on the season, holding a 27-83 ratio in runs scored and currently sits last in the standings.

The Mavericks have been great in the past against the

Softball travels to Missouri

Beavers, currently holding a 22 game win streak and a 36-4 record against the Beavers all time. The Mavericks have not lost to the Beavers since 2013, where they were just edged out in 11 innings by a score of 2-1.

Mitch Frederick, Joey Werner, Teddy Petersen, and

Ross Indlecoffer lead the Mavericks in batting to start the season, all currently hitting above or at a .300 average.

Frederick has led Minnesota State in batting this season, batting an outstanding .500 average and 1.683 OPS through his first 10 at bats.

Frederick leads the Mavericks in RBIs along with Petersen at 5.

Indlecoffer has been a great slugger along with Frederick so far through the first four games, currently leading the Mavericks in home runs at 2, and second for the Mavericks in SLG% at .900.

Outside of batting, the Mavericks have had some great pitching from their bullpen. Collin Denk and Jon Ludwig have performed great for the Mavericks in their total three games started, holding a 3-0 record for the Mavs.

Ludwig and Denk have each held opposing batters to under .140 batting averages in their combined three games started, and only have seven total hits allowed in those games.

Ludwig leads MSU with 23 strikeouts in 34 hit at bats.

The Minnesota State softball team will be traveling to St. Joseph, Mo., this weekend, as they take part in the Hy-vee Softball Classic.

The Mavs are 7-2 through their first nine games this season, their most recent loss coming against University of Illinois-Springfield 2-1 in the Emporia State Softball Classic. MSU currently sit at third in the NSIC standings as they will wrap up their last five nonconference games this weekend in Missouri. Winona State and St. Cloud State sits atop the standings with undefeated records of 8-0 and 10-0, respectively.

Minnesota State will begin their weekend with a double header on Friday against Emporia State and Northeastern State. Up until their most recent loss to Emporia, the Mavs won the previous five straight meetings between the teams.

The Mavs have played against Northeastern State just four times since 2015, winning the last three and outscoring their opponent 14-3 across the wins.

Saturday, the team will face another double header starting with Northwest Missouri State and move on to Central Oklahoma next.

The Mavs are 21-6 since 1982 against Northwest Missouri and look to continue their streak against them, as they’ve shut out the Bearcats the last two meetings by scores of 7-0 and 8-0.

MSU is 5-1 since 1995 against Central Oklahoma, outscoring their opponent 42-5 in the span.

The weekend will close out with a game against Missouri Western State on Sunday morning, the host of the tournament.

The Mavericks have three batters hitting over .400 in Torey Richards leading at .483, Carly Esselman at .464, and Hannah McCarville at .458.

McCarville leads the team in RBI’s with 9 and on base percentage of .536.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Sports

Spring football has made it to ‘Kato

MSU Reporter • 11

Mavs head to Wayne State

File photo Jenny Vetter leads the Mavs in scoring with two goals.

By DANIEL McELROY • Sports Editor

File photo The Mavericks last played in 2019, when they played in the NCAA Championship game.

By DANIEL McELROY • Sports Editor The Minnesota State football team will begin their spring season this weekend that includes five scrimmages and one official game.

The last time the team played was in 2019, when the Mavericks went 11-0 in the regular season, made it to the NCAA Division II Championship game, but fell short to West Florida by a score of 48-40.

The Mavericks hoped to redeem themselves the following season after a heartbreaking loss, but were denied the opportunity due to COVID-19.

“We lost a substantial amount of players,” head coach Todd Hoffner said. The team has been actively recruiting players to get another chance at a championship, with some players not playing since their senior year of high school in 2018.

“That’s the beauty of this spring schedule, it’s a great time for new coaches and the players,” said Hoffner. “What better time to bring in a new offensive coordinator than now?”

Hoffner has led the Minnesota State Uni-

versity Mavericks to seven NCAA playoff appearances, and two NCAA National Championship games in 2014 and 2019. In his 11 seasons as the Minnesota State head coach, he owns a 106-22 overall record.

The program has added two coaches to the roster, as well promoting Colin Prosser to Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach from the offensive line coach since 2017.

Houston Jones was named the team’s Wide Receiver coach and Sam Lundberg was named the team’s Tight Ends coach.

Minnesota State will begin the spring season this Saturday in a scrimmage against the Morningside Mustangs in Sioux City, Iowa.

“They’ve been off for quite awhile too. We’re trying to help each other out...Morningside has their playoffs soon, and our development,” Hoffner said.

Their season will continue with three home scrimmages against Gustavus, Grand View, and Southwest Minnesota State, and a neutral site scrimmage against Minnesota-Duluth.

Their spring season will close with an official game against Northern State.

Tokyo Olympics will have a different look ASSOCIATED PRESS Organizers plan to exercise extreme caution when the Olympic torch relay starts next week, knowing any stumble could imperil the opening of the Tokyo Games in just over four months.

The organizers spoke in detail on Tuesday about their plans for the relay, which is scheduled to begin on March 25 from northeastern Fukushima prefecture. The relay will crisscross Japan for the next four months with 10,000 runners carrying the torch.

It’s also a symbolic curtain raiser for the postponed Olympics, and there is no room for error. If the relay stumbles — if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 — it could pull down the Olympics with it and the planned opening on July 23 at Tokyo’s new national stadium. ”The objective of the Olympic torch relay is to enhance the enthusiasm,” said Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the organizing committee who has also been put in charge of the relay.

“We need to balance things out between bringing enthusiasm and preventing COVID-19 infection.”

The relay links all 47 Japanese prefectures

and presents a real risk of spreading the virus, particularly with much of the organizational staff coming from Tokyo, where the COVID-19 outbreak has been most severe in Japan.

There was talk shortly after the postponement of eliminating the torch relay, which has its roots in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. But that was quickly dismissed since the relay nowadays is heavily sponsored by Coca-Cola and Toyota.

Japan has attributed about 8,600 deaths to the coronavirus, far fewer than most countries its size. But there is strong opposition to the Olympics, and much of it is due to the fear of large crowds spreading the virus.

Organizers are expected to announce in the next week if fans from abroad will be able to attend the Olympics. Unsourced reports for several weeks say those fans will be banned.

However, there is strong pressure to let VIPs attend — people who obtained tickets from international federations, national Olympic committees, and sponsors.

The Olympics will feature 11,000 athletes with 4,400 more coming for the Paralympics, which open on Aug. 24.

The Minnesota State soccer team will play against the Wayne State Wildcats this weekend in an exhibition game.

The Mavericks have played five scrimmages and one official game so far this season, in which the Mavericks have a combined 6-0 record. The team’s one official game came against Minot State, where junior forward Jenny Vetter led the Mavericks to a 3-0 win, scoring two goals in the second half.

Since 1998, the Mavs and Wildcats have met a total of 15 times, and MSU has every one of those games. In their most recent win, the Mavericks took down the Wildcats by a score of 4-0 in Wayne, Neb. In the last three exhibition games, the Mavs have outscored their opponents 12-1.

Vetter leads the team in goals this season in the one official game, as well as the exhibition games (where stats don’t qualify for the season). Vetter has two goals in the win against Minot State.

Last weekend, Vetter scored four goals and one assist in the wins.

Brynn Desens is right behind Vetter, scoring the other goal in their 3-0 win against Minot State, and scoring four goals and one assist in last weekend’s win as well.

In 2019, Desens was tied for second on the Mavericks in goals with 10, but led in assists with 16. Desens and Vetter led the team in shots on goal as well with 51 and 144, respectively.

The contest will be just the second time this season they travel on the road this season.

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12 • MSU Reporter

Sports

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Twins stacked again as postseason streak still looms large ASSOCIATED PRESS The Minnesota Twins have returned largely the same team that won the last two AL Central titles and added some accomplished newcomers to help fill a few holes.

For all the familiar spring optimism, the franchise’s historic fall failures loom large.

Even Rocco Baldelli, as easygoing a manager as there is in the major leagues, won’t pretend to ignore that all-time-record 18-game postseason losing streak.

“We have to play better.

We’re going to stand up raise our hands and say that, but I also know that looking in that clubhouse that those are the right guys to do the job. Those are the guys who are going to go out there and win our next playoff game,” said Baldelli, who’s entering his third year with the Twins and has overseen five of the losses.

Hitting was the biggest problem last season. The Twins scored the second-most runs in baseball in 2019 but ranked just 18th last year.

In their two-game sweep by Houston in the opening round of the postseason, they totaled two runs on seven hits.

The Twins will be banking on bounce-back years by catcher Mitch Garver, right fielder Max Kepler and first baseman Miguel Sanó, and healthier seasons for third baseman Josh Donaldson and center fielder Byron Buxton.

The arrival of four-time Gold Glove award-winning shortstop Andrelton Simmons has allowed the offense-oriented Jorge Polanco to move to second base and put .331 career hitter Luis Arraez in the super-sub, multi-positional role.

The only regular who departed was left fielder Eddie Rosario.

“We have a really good offensive group,” Baldelli said.

“We have a lineup that is capable literally of anything on any given day. I enjoy writing out our lineup, believe me. I wish I could say we went out there in the playoffs and did what we expected to do. We didn’t, but I think it’s certainly not far-fetched that in our next playoff game — whenever that may be — that we will be there and be ready to score a bunch of runs.”

NEW LOOK The biggest boost to the pitching staff this year might actually be Simmons, who has been hampered by ankle inju-

JOHN BAZEMORE • Associated Press Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, left, and first base coach Tommy Watkins speak in the dugout before the start of a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Thursday, March 11, 2021.

ries in each of the last three seasons but can field this vital position as well as anyone in the game.

J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker, with a combined 22 years in the majors, were added on low-risk contracts to fill out the rotation. Likely closer Alex Colomé was plucked from the bullpen of the Chi-

cago White Sox, who’ll almost certainly be the primary competitor in the division. Hansel Robles, who had a rough 2020 with the Los Angeles Angels, was another addition with ninth-inning experience who’ll be asked to handle late-game outs along with Taylor Rogers and Tyler Duffey.

The Twins last won a post-

season game in 2004 and haven’t advanced to the next round since 2002. The only team that has been waiting longer is the Seattle Mariners, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2001.

The Cincinnati Reds have not advanced in the postseason since 1995, but they did experience a win in the playoffs as recently as 2012.

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Thursday, March 18, 2021

Sports

Sister Jean thrilled to join Loyola Chicago for NCAA

MSU Reporter • 13

Woods returns to Florida

LEE JIN-MAN • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TONY GUTIERREZ • Associated Press In this March 15, 2018, file photo, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, left, greets the Loyola Chicago basketball team as the Ramblers walk off the court after a win over Miami in the first-round.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Loyola Chicago is back in the NCAA Tournament. And Sister Jean will be there, too.

The 101-year-old team chaplain’s lobbying paid off Tuesday when the school reversed course and announced she will go. That means she gets to watch her beloved Ramblers in person for the first time this season when Loyola meets Georgia Tech in Indianapolis on Friday.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt couldn’t be happier.

“I kept saying to people I want to go not because of myself,” she said Tuesday. “I want to go because of the team. I want to be present for them. I want to be present for (coach Porter Moser) and I want to be present for Loyola. I said you have to remember what happened in 2018.”

Who can forget?

Loyola made a surprising run to the Final Four, charming the nation with one last-second victory after another. Along the way, it shined a light on the 1963 team that broke racial barriers on the way to what remains the lone NCAA championship for an Illinois school.

Above all else, at age 98, Sister Jean became a celebrity, with national TV interviews and even her own bobblehead.

It was quite a ride. But it was not clear if she would be along — in person, anyway — this time.

Loyola (24-4) leaped into the AP Top 25 for the first time since March 1985 and hit the 20-win mark for the fourth year in a row. The eighth-seeded Ramblers come in with the nation’s stingiest defense, allowing 55.5 points per game.

“This is what we’ve wanted,” Moser said.

“We’ve wanted to sustain success. We wanted to get it back here. That’s what drives us.”

Having Sister Jean along makes it a little sweeter.

She did not travel to St. Louis for the Missouri Valley tournament, which Loyola won for the second time in four years. Though she is fully vaccinated, there were safety and logistical issues, and it was the same with the NCAA Tournament.

“It was a little struggle going along the journeyed path,” she said, “but I finally said to one of our executives, ’You know, I’m just going to sound like the old woman in the

Gospel who kept after the judge and after the judge for what she wanted. And finally the judge said, ‘Let her do what she wants.’”

Sister Jean acknowledged she has felt “lonely” not being around the team. It’s been “very difficult” for her to watch games on TV because the facility she lives in doesn’t have all the channels. Sometimes, she listens on the radio and follows the play-by-play online.

When she goes to Indianapolis, she will have a nurse and security with her and will eat in her hotel room. She’s not sure where she’ll be seated when Loyola meets ninth-seeded Georgia Tech at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse, one of a half-dozen Indiana venues being used to host the tournament, but she’ll be safe.

She won’t be allowed up-close contact with the Ramblers because teams are isolating. But just being there figures to be a boost.

After all, Loyola playing in the NCAA without Sister Jean just doesn’t seem right.

Had she not gotten the green light to go, Sister Jean had some backup.

“One alum wrote and told me that her husband was willing to drive me down,” she said. “Somebody else told me she was going to sneak me out of the university. And another couple said that they felt they would like to kidnap me and then Loyola would have to search for me. Loyola didn’t know any of those things. I didn’t tell them until after.”

No one will have to sneak out Sister Jean or kidnap her. She’ll be there cheering on her Ramblers, just like in 2018, and that sure will be a welcomed change for her.

Sister Jean hasn’t been on campus since the start of the pandemic.

She starts work at 7:30 a.m. and tries to finish by 3:30 p.m. so she can watch Jeopardy. She keeps in touch with players through emails and leads the team in prayer before each game. She also gives Moser scouting reports.

As for this tournament?

Sister Jean has Loyola getting to the Elite Eight, knocking out top-seeded Illinois and Tennessee besides Georgia Tech, in her bracket. Her pick to win it all? Gonzaga.

“I’m just gonna be so excited when I get there,” she said. “It’s a whole year since I’ve seen them play in a game (in person). I just want to see them. I’ve watched their videos and stuff like that. It’s just gonna be like old home week to me, to see them again.”

Tiger Woods is back at home in Florida to resume his recovery from career-threatening leg injuries he suffered when his SUV ran off a road and down a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs last month.

“Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery,” Woods said in a tweet posted Tuesday night. “I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.”

Woods was injured Feb. 23, two days after the Genesis Invitational at Riviera.

He was on his way to a television shoot for GolfTV a little after 7 a.m. when his SUV crashed into a median, rolled over and ended up on its side near a steep road known for wrecks, authorities aid. He had to be pulled out through the windshield.

He had a lengthy surgery that day at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for shattered tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. Those were stabilized with a rod in his tibia.

Additional injuries to the bones in his foot and ankle required screws and pins.

He was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

for follow-up procedures.

Woods thanked the medical staff at both hospitals for taking care of him.

“I will be recovering at home and working on getting stronger every day,” Woods said in the statement.

A dozen or so players at the Workday Championship in Florida wore black trousers and red shirts — the Sunday colors of Woods for his record-tying 82 victories on the PGA Tour — in the final round.

Woods has stayed in touch through text messages, sending them to Bryson DeChambeau ahead of his Bay Hill victory and to Justin Thomas, one of his closest friends in golf, ahead of his victory in The Players Championship on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy suggested in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that Woods might be headed home to Florida.

“He’s doing better,” McIlroy said. “I think all the guys have reached out to him.

Hopefully if things go well over the next week or so, he might be able to get home and start recovery at home, which would be great for him. See his kids, see his family.

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14 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Art imitates life in Conkling exhibit

By SYDNEY BERGGREN Staff Writer Nelson Hall’s Conkling Gallery is featuring a series of installations from Masters of Art in Studio students throughout the course of this semester, which allows them to showcase the pieces they have curated throughout their time in the program.

The Gallery’s current installation is

by Minnesota State University, Mankato student Tyler Willmore, whose exhibit will remain until the 26 of March.

“Art has always been a big part of my life,” said Willmore.

“I fully intended on drawing for Disney studios or doing something in the arts, but then life happened and that didn’t pan out the way that I wanted it to,” he continued.

Willmore spoke on his journey of switching his college major multiple times before finally graduating from the University of Utah in 2014 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

“I decided that art makes me happy and that was where I was going to stay,” he said.

Willmore moved to Mankato about five years ago and has been working as a production manager at Taylor Corporation, a printing company based in North Mankato.

He was drawn to MNSU due to the locality, flexibility, and the desire he still had to become a full-time artist.

“The department and faculty here have been extremely encouraging and supportive, and there was a lot of flexibility for somebody like myself at this stage in my life,” Willmore explained.

Now that he is in the home stretch of the program, Willmore is presenting a collection of pieces that he has created over the last two years. His

Photos by FABIO CASTEL GARCIA • The Reporter

exhibition, titled “Novaturient”, features landscape oil paintings of places he has visited and have created a significant impact on him. The title itself refers to a certain feeling he hopes to evoke, “places where you can make life changes.”

Willmore described some specific inspirations for this theme, “I grew up in Utah and I have a family cabin close to Yellowstone National Park and Grand

Teton National Park. When I explore wild places such as these, it gives me a sense of peace and reflection.”

Willmore does what he can to capture his experiences in the landscapes and recreate the beauty that he found, as these places hold a large impact on his life.

Traditionally, Willmore enjoys painting on-scene, where he finds a landscape he wishes to paint and pulls

out an easel and canvas.

He does this to capture the true mood and emotion of being in that place.

With this collection being presented, he took these places that he loved and broke them down to their fundamentals.

“I’ve taken these places and broken them down into these fractured pieces... into colors, shapes, lines, and I’m interested in their relationships and the ways they play against each other. It’s like the philosophical part of me that is always questioning my relationship with the land that I’m in,” Willmore explained.

The gallery itself follows a sort of journey with the places Willmore had been, beginning with the Minnesotan landscapes to the left, then moving west to where he grew up on the far wall, then to the right is the deserts of the lower western states, and lastly some up-close visits with nature.

Also included in these paintings is the anxiety and emotions that come with being out in the wild.

Willmore further discussed, “One of the things I really love is that I’ve created these pieces that from far away really do look like landscapes, but when you get up close you kind of end up getting lost in them. I’m trying to create an impression of a place while allowing you to put it together yourself in your mind.”

The Conkling Gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

If you wish to see the show but cannot attend during regular hours, contact the department at 507-389-6412.

With a two to three day notice, the department is willing to work with anyone who wishes to attend.

Cooking in the Kitchen with Sydney: Sweet potato chips and dip

By SYDNEY BERGGREN • Staff Writer I love sweet potatoes, specifically in a fry or chip form.

I had missed making this savory flavor of potato chips in the air fryer at home, and set out to find a recipe to do it in the microwave to kick my cravings.

The base of this recipe I found at thebittenword. com, and the author of the recipe on this website also had the same struggle that I had been having, which was perfecting the cook time and power level on the microwave.

I tested and adjusted some of her best combinations and I believe that I found the best one.

The dip to go along with the chip is something that I had just come up with on a whim. We are big everything bagel seasoning fans in my house and I had taken a container with me this semester.

Combining it with some sour cream seemed a logical step, and was honestly the best idea I’ve had in a long time.

This is a pretty straightforward recipe. It takes a bit longer than previous ones to put together, but it yields a hefty and delicious snack.

SYDNEY BERGGREN • The Reporter

Sweet potato chips and dip: • Cooking spray, oil, or butter • 1 sweet potato • Seasonings to your liking (salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary, paprika, etc.)

• 2 spoonfuls of sour cream • Everything bagel seasoning

Slice sweet potatoes as thinly as possible (seriously, thin). Lightly coat a microwave safe plate with your non-stick agent. If using butter or oil, it is recommended to also lightly coat the potatoes.

Place potatoes evenly on the plate, not touching. Sprinkle evenly with seasonings of your choice.

Microwave at power level 9 for six minutes, then at additional 30-second intervals until crispy.

To make the dip, simply mix the desired amount of everything bagel seasoning into sour cream.

A fair warning, your potatoes will probably stick to the plate a little bit.

If you have parchment paper, cut a piece to size and just put that down as your first step to prevent this, but it isn’t necessary.

Something that is necessary to the chips cooking properly is your microwave being set at power level 9, however. It took a good amount of experimentation to find that perfect balance to cook them, and this seems to be the way to do it without half burning and half staying soggy.

Overall, this is a great option for those who crave potato chips but are looking for something a little healthier.

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Fueled by fans, ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ hits HBO Max ASSOCIATED PRESS Zack Snyder never really believed that his cut of “Justice League” would see the light of day. It has technically existed since January 2017, but it wasn’t in any shape to be released. It was four hours, in black and white, had storyboards where visual effects were supposed to go and an unfinished score.

“When I finished it, I said, oh well, no one will ever see this movie,” he said.

Although he’s officially credited as the director of the DC superhero mashup with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck’s Batman and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman that hit theaters in the summer of 2017, he and Deborah Snyder — his wife and producing partner — had stepped away from the film months earlier. Relations had strained with the studio, and the pressure was getting to be too much, especially after the suicide of their 20-yearold daughter Autumn. So the Snyders walked away, and Joss Whedon was hired to revamp and finish “Justice League.” The result was both a critical and financial letdown, and, according to cast members like Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg, a toxic environment too.

The Snyders had mostly disconnected from the whole ordeal, but fans wouldn’t stop asking for The Snyder Cut. And their gestures kept getting more and more elaborate: Planes with #ReleasetheSnyderCut banners were flown over the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and during the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. They even leased a billboard in Time’s Square.

Over the years, the hashtag became so ubiquitous, it even turned into a bit of a joke. Why on earth would a studio pay for a redo of an epic disaster?

Well, a few things happened: There was a change of leadership at the studio and suddenly everyone was in search of content for their new streaming service HBO Max. Warner Bros. Pictures Group chair Toby Emmerich asked the Snyders if they could release what they had.

Variety

MSU Reporter • 15

James Levine, who ruled over Met Opera, dead at age 77 ASSOCIATED PRESS Conductor James Levine, who ruled over the Metropolitan Opera for more than four decades before being eased aside when his health declined and then was fired for sexual improprieties, has died. He was 77.

Levine died March 9 in Palm Springs, California, of natural causes, his physician of 17 years, Dr. Len Horovitz, said Wednesday.

Levine made his Met debut in 1971 and became one of the signature artists in the company’s century-plus history, conducting 2,552 performances and ruling over its repertoire, orchestra and singers as music or artistic director from 1976 until forced out by general manager Peter Gelb in 2016 due to Parkinson’s disease.

Levine became music director emeritus and remained head of its young artists program but was suspended on Dec. 3, 2017, the day after conducting a Verdi “Requiem” in what turned out to be his final performance, after accounts in the New York Post and The New York Times of sexual misconduct dating to the 1960s.

He was fired the following March 12 and never conducted again. He had been scheduled to make comeback performances of Brahms’ ”Ein Deutsches Requiem” this Jan. 17 and 21 in Florence, Italy, but the concerts were canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“No artist in the 137 year history of the Met had as profound an impact as James Levine,” Gelb said in a statement. “He raised the Met’s musical standards to new and greater heights.”

Known for bushy hair an an ever-present towel draped over a shoulder during rehearsals, Levine greatly expanded the Met’s repertory

MICHAEL DWYER • Associated Press Boston Symphony Orchestra music director James Levine conducts the symphony on its opening night performance at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. on July 7, 2006.

and was especially praised for his performances of Wagner, Verdi and Berg. He was closely associated with Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and Birgit Nilsson, who spoke on stage at close to 2 a.m. near the end of Levine’s 25th anniversary concert, which stretched on for about eight hours at the Met in 1996.

Levine was beloved by singers for forcing orchestras to bend to their needs.

“Confidence is a tremendous part of an artist’s performance, especially singers, because a singer cannot evaluate what’s happening,” he told The Associated Press in 1996. “It’s in her body. It’s not out here where the piano keys are, or where the cello is. To me, singers are heroic in that respect.”

He became on dominant figure in the media age, making hundreds of audio and video recordings that have been released commercially or distributed by the Met and its media partners.

But outrage ensued when

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the Met in court documents said it found credible evidence that he engaged in sexually abusive or harassing conduct with several people that included inappropriate touching and demands for sex acts over a 25-year period. The Met said it found evidence of conduct that included discussion of pornography, groping, kissing and mutual masturbation.

In one instance, the Met accused Levine of inappropriately touching a musician starting in 1979 and six more times until 1991. In another 1985 incident, Levine was accused of groping and kissing an opera singer he was giving a ride home in his car

against that person’s will. In 1986, Levine sexually abused a 16-year-old and arranged an estimated $50,000 in payments to the person through his brother, the filings stated.

The conductor’s lawyers said at the time that Levine “did not commit any acts of sexual misconduct against any individuals, much less the unnamed individuals.”

In addition to his lengthy tenure at the Met, Levine was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Ravinia Festival from 197393, the Munich Philharmonic from 1999-2004 and the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 2004-11.

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Thursday, March 18, 2021