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THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021

Chauvin defense: prone position not risky

Big Ideas Challenge awards big bucks to students

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Showcasing many innovative products and future business ideas, students competed in Minnesota State University Mankato’s annual Big Ideas Challenge Tuesday.

This annual competition features students creating and then pitching innovative business ideas to a team of judges. This year’s finalists included Smart Beehive, Hearing Glasses, Smart Kart, Tocco VR, Downed Duck and The Foodpack group.

Teams go through many stages of development once selected as a finalist in March. Selected teams are assigned mentors who assist with final pitches and business plans. There was also a Q&A portion of the competition last Friday where judges asked teams about their products.

During this year’s virtual competition hosted by Mark Masters, viewers were able to watch the competition on YouTube Live, where each business pitched their products one last time.

In total the Big Ideas Challenge awarded $19,000 to various winners.

Yvonne Cariveau, the first Director of Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship within the College of Business at MNSU, shared why this competition is so mean-

The attorney for the former officer charged with killing George Floyd says several studies suggest police can safely use their bodyweight to hold a handcuffed suspect facedown on the ground — or prone — as Floyd was in the last minutes of his life.

But those findings aren’t universally accepted and have been contradicted by a parade of law enforcement and medical experts central to prosecutors’ efforts to convict Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT FLOYD’S POSITION? Bystander and surveillance camera video shows Floyd on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back, pinned to the ground by three officers.

Chauvin was closest to Floyd’s head, and a use-offorce expert testified that Chauvin applied pressure to Floyd’s neck area for 9 minutes, 29 seconds.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson suggested Chauvin’s knee was not on Floyd’s neck for that entire time, but moved to his upper back, shoulder blades and arm.

WHAT DID PROSECUTORS’ EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE PRONE POSITION? Medical experts testified for the prosecution that the prone position cuts lung volume, reduces oxygen levels and makes it harder to breathe.

They also pointed to Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, his body being pressed against the hard asphalt and his head being turned to the side as factors that prevented Floyd from breathing, resulting in his death.

WHAT RESEARCH IS THE DEFENSE USING? Nelson leaned on studies conducted by doctors at the University of California San Diego that concluded prone positions are not inherently risky.

By JULIA BARTON Staff Writer

From live stream

ingful.

“Entrepreneurship is a difficult path with no guarantee. It takes perseverance and belief that you can change the world, even if it’s just a little,” Cariveau said. “These new ventures may fail or may succeed but the support all of us provide to these young innovators, will highly benefit them and all of us for years in the future.”

The Big Ideas Challenge started back in 2015 and thus far has had over 40 finalists present their ideas.

Emmanuel Adeyemi, one of the first participants in the Big Ideas Challenge and now graduate fellow for the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, said the program inspired him.

“Dr. Cariveau’s passion

for entrepreneurship is inspiring and very contagious.

I myself am more of a mentor than a student now and I absolutely enjoy working with the students who participate in the Big Ideas Challenge. The past two years I’ve learned so much from the program and I’ll be taking all of that knowledge into my future endeavors which I am truly grateful for,” Adeyemi stated.

The competition was separated into six categories: high technology, agriculture/food/ beverage, people’s choice, and the first-, second- and third-place winners.

Winning the high technology division along with a $4,000 check was Hearing Glasses. This product turns speech into text that you are

able to read within the glasses themselves. The product is aimed toward people who are hard of hearing or deaf.

The agriculture/food/beverage winner went to Smart Beehive, which was awarded $3,000. Their plan of action is to install temperature and humidity sensors within beehives to help bee farmer’s monitor hives and ultimately make beekeeping easier and save bees from dying.

Smart Beehive also won the people’s choice award ($2,000). Viewers voted live during the competition.

As for the top three winners, third place went to Smart Beehive ($2,000), second place winner Hearing Glasses ($3,000), and the first place grand prize winner: Tocco VR ($5,000).

Empowering Mavericks win election despite historically low turnout

By MAXWELL MAYLEBEN • Editor in Chief The Student Government election results are in, with Empowering Mavericks, the only party on the ballot, taking home the majority of the positions.

Senator Reauna Stiff and Speaker Kara Svercl have been elected to be Student Government president and vice-president posts, respectively.

The two campaigned on platforms designed to advocate for off-campus students, student basic needs, a diversity platform and more.

“Reauna and I are very grateful for the student body’s support and are excited to get to work. We are confident in our team and are eager to start going after our campaign promises.” Svercl said in a statement after the election.

A total of 15 students were elected into senate positions, leaving 16 vacant spots. The Student Government will aim to fill vacancies next semester.

The election had one of the lowest, if not the lowest, voter turnout in MNSU history, with only 298 students filling out ballots.

The following are statements issued by several of the elected senators for next year’s Student Government.

Results from the 2021 Student Government senate elections.

Jack Wheeler, Student Body At-Large “I am extremely grateful to be returning to Student Government for this upcoming year. We have a great team and I am

ELECTIONS on page 2

2 • MSU Reporter

News

J&J vaccine to remain in limbo while officials seek evidence

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Biden to pull US troops from Afghanistan, end ‘forever war’

ANDREW HARNIK • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

JESSICA HILL • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine will remain in limbo for a while longer after government health advisers declared Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot — and if so, how big the risk really is.

The reports are exceedingly rare — six cases out of more than 7 million U.S. inoculations with the one-dose vaccine. But the government recommended a pause in J&J vaccinations this week, not long after European regulators declared that such clots are a rare but possible risk with the AstraZeneca vaccine, a shot made in a similar way but not yet approved for use in the U.S.

ELECTIONS

continued from page 1 confident in our abilities to make change at MSU. Some issues I want to address are to continue to make progress on the proposed ‘Greek row,’ establishing the foundations of a law readiness program within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and cheaper parking passes for students.”

Patrick Flynn, Residential Life “I’m proud to be representing my fellow on-campus students this upcoming year, along with the terrific slate of people elected to various positions within Student Government.

“Along with the platform I ran as part of with Empowering Mavericks, I am com-

At an emergency meeting, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrestled with the fact that the U.S. has enough alternative shots to vaccinate its population but other countries anxiously awaiting the one-and-done vaccine may not.

“I continue to feel like we’re in a race against time and the variants, but we need to (move forward) in the safest possible way,” said CDC adviser Dr. Grace Lee of Stanford University, who was among those seeking to postpone a vote on the vaccine.

Authorities have studied the clots for only a few days and have little information to judge the shot, agreed fellow adviser Dr. Beth Bell of the University of Washington.

“I don’t want to send the message there is something fundamentally wrong with this vaccine,” Bell said. “It’s a very rare event. Nothing in life is risk-free. But I want to be able to understand and defend the decision I’ve made based on a reasonable amount of data.”

These are not run-of-themill blood clots. They occurred in unusual places, in veins that drain blood from the brain, and in people with abnormally low levels of clot-forming platelets. The six cases raised an alarm bell because that number is at least three times more than experts would have expected to see even of more typical brain-drainage clots, said CDC’s Dr. Tom Shimabukuro.

mitted to the development of future student leaders, as well as improving experiences of all students at MNSU — particularly those who would be considered non-traditional students.

“Student leadership going forward is of the utmost importance. With the last couple years being rapidly changed by the simultaneous crises we face, specifically here in Minnesota, there are fewer students participating in a traditional on-campus experience. While we may have had a successful election, filling 16 positions within student government, we still have 19 seats that are vacant for next year. This is in addition to the executive vacancies for next year from student groups across campus, such as RHA.

“So, as we move forward, if anybody is still considering taking part in any sort of leadership position, I would highly encourage it. It is a fun way to give back to the Maverick community, and can help you be better prepared for a future beyond school.

“Get involved, look out for one another, and Go Mavs!”

Frank Vondra, College of Arts & Humanities “I felt the election went rather well, the only political party was unopposed, so they did not have to try very hard.

“I plan to help oversee the merging of the College of Arts & Humanities with the college of Behavioral sciences. I also have a plan for the Reporter itself that I hope to be able to look into and be-

ELECTIONS on page 3

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will withdraw remaining U.S. troops from the “forever war” in Afghanistan, declaring that the Sept.

11 terror attacks of 20 years ago cannot justify American forces still dying in the nation’s longest war.

His plan is to pull out all American forces — numbering 2,500 now — by this Sept. 11, the anniversary of the attacks, which were coordinated from Afghanistan.

Soon after Biden made his announcement, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels said the alliance had agreed to withdraw its roughly 7,000 forces from Afghanistan, matching Biden’s decision to begin a final pullout

by May 1.

The U.S. cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results, Biden said.

The drawdown would begin rather than conclude by May 1, which has been the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.

“It is time to end America’s longest war,” Biden said, but he added that the U.S.

will “not conduct a hasty rush to the exit.”

“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result,” said Biden, who delivered his address from the White House Treaty Room, the same location where President George W. Bush announced the start of the war. “I am now the fourth United States president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth.”

Biden’s announcement marks perhaps the most significant foreign policy decision in the early going of his presidency.

He’s long been skeptical about the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. As Barack Obama’s vice president, Biden was a lonely voice in the administration who advised the 44th president to tilt towards a smaller counterterrorism role in the country while military advisers were urging a troop buildup to counter Taliban gains.

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Thursday, April 15, 2021

News

Student Gov: Administration award named after Davenport

MSU Reporter • 3

Senator Spotlight: Paula Bejarano

By JENNA PETERSON

File photo

News Director

By MAXWELL MAYLEBEN • Editor in Chief The 88th Student Government of MNSU had their second to last meeting yesterday via Zoom.

A large amount of the time from this meeting was designated as a question and answer session with outgoing University President Dr. Richard Davenport.

The president spoke to the senate as a sort of goodbye to the student leaders, reflecting on his time at the University.

“It has been a privilege to be able to serve as your president” said Davenport, noting his 19 years in position at MNSU. Davenport went on to say that this year’s students have gone through a very unique year of schooling.

“It is important for you as students to remember the difficulty that we have been through” said the president, instilling the importance for students to understand the historical significance of living through the pandemic as students.

When asked about his plans for life after retirement, Davenport described various plans including looking to purchase an RV to travel the country.

His retirement plans did not, however, include cooking. Davenport even pulled in his wife, Mary Davenport, to jokingly critique his kitchen-skills.

“I think there is a difference between wanting to cook, wanting to learn how to cook, and being allowed in the kitchen to cook.” said the president’s wife, with a wink in her eye.

Following the question and answer session, Student Government President Andrew Trenne put forward a motion to change the name of the “Administrator of the Year Award” to the “Dr. Richard Davenport Administrator of the Year Award.”

This motion was seconded

by Vice-President Arnavee Maltare, and passed unanimously by the senate.

The meeting then moved into an open forum, with the Vice-President and Chief Information Officer Mark Johnson spoke about projects coming from IT Solutions, including small booths around campus for Zoom classes, updating computer labs, and improving Flex Sync courses with microphones and projectors in classrooms.

After senator reports, Senator Minahil Khan spoke to the goals discussed at the Technology Roundtable discussion, including the creation of a liaison position between IT Solutions and Student Government. These objectives were voted upon, and unanimously approved by the senate.

ELECTIONS continued from page 2 gin.”

Joseph Novak, Residential Life “I am extremely happy to be elected and excited to continue working in student government. I also encourage any students reading this to feel free to reach out to me at any time to help influence change.”

Lelti Asgedom, College of Education The election was kind of stressful and fun at the same time. I was able to gather most of the votes I needed, and I am very grateful that

I got elected as the College of Education senator. I am ready to put my plans for change in motion and help the MNSU community move forward.

Colin Hanke, College of Arts & Humanities “I’m excited to begin working with the entire Empowering Mavericks party to improve college affordability, COVID-19 resources, parking lot reform, diversity/inclusion, and to fight for international students at MNSU. I’m excited to see what the fall brings!”

Being an international student hasn’t always been easy on campus, and Minnesota State University, Mankato junior Paula Bejarano knows this all too well. These struggles were one of her key factors to joining the campus Student Government.

“I was struggling finding resources, and I knew others were facing the same problems. I learned how difficult off-campus housing is and the paperwork was confusing,” Bejarano commented.

Belarano wanted to do something about it.

“My friend was running for vice president and she mentioned that if I already know the issues international students are struggling with, I should go for it and run for Senator. Because of her influence I followed her advice and just went for it.”

Being involved in the Student Government requires senators to actively create solutions to student problems through projects. Right now, Bejarano is working on two key projects to better the lives of both students and faculty at MNSU. In her first project, Bejarano is improving the off-campus housing experience to help students receive a better variety of housing options.

Right now, students of all backgrounds struggle to find housing that meets all of their financial and personal

FABIO CASTEL GARCIA • The Reporter

needs, and Bejarano, along with other senators, doesn’t believe students should have to worry about that.

Her second project focuses more on academics.

“I feel like since everything is online due to COVID-19 the professors struggle with online tools. I’m looking with the statistics department to guide the professors through the locations and functions of these online tools. Sometimes they waste time in class trying to understand these tools and we want to prevent that,” Bejarano explained.

Although she is only a junior, this will be Bejarano’s last semester as a senator since she will be furthering her career experience in an internship. Despite this, Bejarano says she has learned a lot through her time in the student government and will carry it on in her future.

“I’m a shy person, so joining this organization was a really challenging process for me, since I have to speak up in front of everyone and talk about my goals and ideas,” she said. “This experience has pushed me out of my comfort zone and has really pushed me to work on my weaknesses. That’s the greatest thing the Student Government has helped me with.”

Being involved within this organization has given great opportunities to its students to grow personally and professionally.

“Sometimes I wasn’t aware of the things happening around campus, and being part of the government allowed me to know about these issues. This organization has also helped me prepare for my future career opportunities,” Bejarano commented.

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4 • MSU Reporter

News

Daunte Wright: Doting dad, ballplayer, slain by police

Via AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS Daunte Wright became a father while he was still a teenager, and seemed to relish the role of a doting young dad, his family and friends said.

A family photo shows a beaming Wright holding his son, Daunte Jr., at his first birthday party. Another shows Wright, wearing a COVID-19 face mask and his son wearing a bib with the inscription, “ALWAYS HUNGRY.” Wright, 20, was fatally shot Sunday by a police officer in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. As protesters and civil rights advocates called for justice and police accountability over his death, his family asked people to also remember his life.

“He had a 2-year-old son that’s not going to be able to play basketball with him.

He had sisters and brothers that he loved so much,” his mother, Katie Wright, said Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”

His aunt, Naisha Wright, said he was “a lovable young man.”

“His smile — oh, Lord — the most beautiful smile,” she said.

An older cousin, Mario Greer, said he and Wright loved seeing each other on holidays, especially on the Fourth of July, when they liked to shoot off Roman candles together.

Wright attended three different high schools, including Edison High School in Minneapolis, where he was voted “class clown” as a freshman.

Jonathan Mason, who worked as a youth development specialist and mentor at the school, said Wright was a gregarious, popular student who had many friends.

“He was a charismatic kid. He would joke with you, and he was so witty,” Mason said. “He was one of those kids that everybody looked up to.”

Wright played on the

freshman and junior varsity basketball teams, and was known for having a good left-hand shot, Mason said.

During mentoring sessions, Wright would talk about what he hoped to do with his life, Mason said.

“He said, ‘I want to be an NBA player, I want to be a fashion designer, I want to be a business owner,’ ” Mason recalled. “I said, ‘If you grow up, you can be whatever you want to be.’”

The two also talked about how Black men should behave during encounters with police, because of the history of Black Americans being shot by police during traffic stops and other encounters.

“I talked about if they pull you over, make sure your hands are on the top of the steering wheel, don’t reach for anything,” Mason said.

“He would always say, ‘Man, why we gotta do all that just for people not to kill us?’ ” Wright moved to Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis in 2018, where his sister is also a student. Principal Yusuf Abdullah said he left after one semester and then went to Stadium View School.

“We got to know Daunte really well through his sister.

Many staff worked with him through the years, trying to build a relationship with him, connect with him,” Abdullah said.

He said Daunte wasn’t a difficult kid, but had some of the typical issues of teenagers: “A troubled life? No. I think just along the lines of a teenage life.” He wouldn’t elaborate.

“He was a good kid — excitable,” he said.

Police have described the shooting of Wright as “an accidental discharge” that happened as officers were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant after stopping his car for having expired registration tags.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

More COVID state shutdowns unlikely ASSOCIATED PRESS When one of the nation’s top health officials this week suggested states dealing with a spring spike of coronavirus cases should “shut things down,” the remark landed with a thud.

Even Democratic governors and lawmakers who supported tough stay-at-home orders and business closures to stem previous COVID-19 outbreaks say they’re done with that approach. It’s a remarkable turnaround for governors who have said from the beginning of the pandemic that they will follow the science in their decision-making, but it’s also a nod to reality: Another round of lockdown orders would likely just be ignored by a pandemic-weary public.

The political dynamics have changed markedly in recent weeks as vaccination rates have grown, warmer weather has returned, and the public and business owners have become increasingly vocal about reopening schools and loosening restrictions around social gatherings.

“I think we have a real compliance issue if we try to go back to the sort of restrictions that were in place in March and April of last year,” said Pennsylvania state Rep. Mike Zabel, a Democrat who had supported previous shutdown orders by Gov. Tom Wolf, a fellow Democrat. “I don’t think there’s any appetite for that in Pennsylvania at all.”

CHARLES REX ARBOGAST • Associated Press A recent spike in coronavirus cases in some states has led one of the nation’s top health experts to suggest that governors could “close things down” like they did during previous surges.

COVID-19 cases have been increasing in Pennsylvania, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows it has one of the highest per capita case counts in the nation over the past week.

Even so, Wolf’s administration said it “has no plans at this time to reinstitute any shutdown orders.” It instead noted that mask-wearing, gathering limits and social distancing remain required as the state gradually reopens.

Other governors also are staying on course to reopen society as they simultaneously expand vaccine eligibility, potentially complicating President Joe Biden’s efforts to conquer the pandemic.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has pleaded unsuccessfully with the Biden administration to

redirect more vaccine doses to her state as it struggles with the nation’s highest COVID-19 case rate. But the CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said Monday that vaccines wouldn’t immediately quell a surge because they take up to six weeks to take full effect.

“The answer to that is to really close things down, to go back to our basics, to go back to where we were last spring, last summer and to shut things down, to flatten the curve, to decrease contact with one another, to test,” Walensky said.

That didn’t seem to sway Whitmer, who kept tough restrictions in place for months when cases surged last year but has been reluctant this time to go beyond the mask mandate and capacity limits.

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Thursday, April 15, 2021

News

MSU Reporter • 5

ASSOCIATED PRESS Shields that shattered upon impact. Weapons too old to use. Missed intelligence in which future insurrectionists warned, “We get our president or we die.”

As Congress pushes for a return to normalcy months after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, a damning internal report about the deadly siege is painting a dire picture of the Capitol Police’s ability to respond to threats against lawmakers.

The full report obtained by The Associated Press before the department’s watchdog testifies at a House hearing casts serious doubt on whether the police would be able to respond to another large-scale attack.

The Capitol Police have so far refused to publicly release the report — prepared in March and marked as “law enforcement sensitive” — despite congressional pressure.

Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, who heads the House Administration Committee, said last month that she found the report, along with another she had reviewed, “detailed and disturbing.” The inspector general who prepared it, Michael A.

Bolton, was scheduled to testify before Lofgren’s committee Thursday.

The Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday that the siege was “a pivotal moment” in history that showed the need for “major changes” in how the department operates, but it was “important to note that nearly all of the recommendations require significant resources the department does not have.”

Bolton found that the department’s deficiencies were — and remain — widespread: Equipment was old and stored badly; officers didn’t complete required training; and there was a lack of direction at the Civil Disturbance Unit, which exists to ensure that legislative functions of Congress are not disrupted by civil unrest or protest activity. That was exactly what happened on Jan. 6 when supporters of then-President Donald Trump violently pushed past police and broke into the Capitol as Congress counted the Electoral College votes that certified Joe Biden’s victory.

The report also focuses on several pieces of missed intelligence, including an FBI memo sent the day before the insurrection that then-Capitol

JULIO CORTEZ • Associated Press

Stinging report raises new questions about Capitol security

Police keep a watch on demonstrators who tried to break through a police barrier at the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington. A blistering internal report by the U.S. Capitol Police describes a multitude of missteps that left the force unprepared for the Jan. 6 insurrection — riot shields that shattered upon impact, expired weapons that couldn’t be used, inadequate training and an intelligence division that had few set standards.

Police Chief Steven Sund told lawmakers he never saw. The memo warned of threatening online postings by Trump backers, including one comment that Congress “needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in” and blood being

spilled.

“Get violent ... Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest,” read one post recounted in the memo. “Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.”

A separate report prepared by the Department of Homeland Security in December alerted the police to messages on a blog where people appeared to be planning for Jan. 6.

6 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, April 15, 2021

SPRING 2021 EDITOR IN CHIEF:

MAXWELL MAYLEBEN maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu

Mayleben: Local, student businesses are vital

MADISON DIEMERT

madison.diemert@mnsu.edu

Opinion

By MAXWELL MAYLEBEN Editor in Chief

As we look at the recent Big-Ideas Challenge, it strikes a feeling in my heart that will always ring true, especially after my experiences at MNSU. I am a Business Management Major with a minor in Entrepreneurship, and with that, I have become hyper aware of other student’s ventures in entrepreneurship.

Whether it be a full blown business or just a “side-hustle”, it is imperative for us to support those young people in our community who show the initiative to build something, no matter how ambitious.

Students our age have begun to see that with the skills they are learning in college, they are able to create new solutions to problems, and in turn, make a profit.

These companies, or whatever you want to call them, can be amazing opportunities for these students to make money, but even better opportunities to learn about the business world.

Our University offers great ways for students to exercise these entrepreneurial muscles, with programs like the IBE Program, Big Ideas Challenge, or the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s “1 Million Cups”.

These experiences are only successful if we support them.

It is crucial, and ethically much more sound to take part in these small business-

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

Flickr photo

es, especially when compared to the massive companies that are the alternative.

While yes, occasionally, there is a price difference that comes from buying in a local

neurs a source of income, you are investing in the community that we are all a part of.

I think the world would be a little better off if we made a habit of buy-

“I think the world would be a little better off if we made a habit of buying from lemonade stands.” setting vs from massive retailers like Target or Amazon, but that with that price difference comes an investment.

When you go and buy a hoodie from an IBE Company, or share the website of a local business, you are not only giving these entrepre-

ing from lemonade stands.

Richer is the community filled with small business, than one ruled by corporations. While corporations have a place in today’s world that is undeniable, small business creates the culture and fosters creativity within a community.

So, the first step to creating amazing entrepreneurs who can go on to create amazing businesses, is to support them when they are small and learning.

Now, when I say companies, I mean this could be anything from an easy online side-hustle gig like drop-shipping to a fully fledged storefront business.

The crux is creating a personal goal to support the businesses that directly impact our communities.

Fostering a culture in ourselves where we support each other’s growth and prosperity is how we, as a student body, city, or even state can go from being a stationary society, to a thriving and healthy community.

“What is your favorite local business in Mankato?”

Compiled by Fabio Castel Garcia

MACKENZIE COLE, JUNIOR “My favorite one is the Fillin’ Station.”

TYLER MAKELE, FRESHMAN “I like Tandem Bagels. I use to go there on Sundays after church.”

PAUL STRICKLER, GRADUATE STUDENT

BRYCE MCCONVILLE, JUNIOR

KRISTA GILLICH, JUNIOR

“Indian Palace! The chicken curry is the best.”

“Jake’s Stadium Pizza is my favorites.”

“I really like Mom & Pop’s Ice Cream.”

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.

• Letters exceeding 400 words may not be accepted. The Reporter reserves the right to edit letters to fit space or correct punctuation.

The Reporter reserves the right to publish, or not publish, at its discretion. Letters must contain year, major or affiliation with the university, or lack thereof. All letters must contain phone numbers for verification purposes.

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

Thursday, April 15, 2021

News

MSU Reporter • 7

Humanitarian crisis feared in St. Vincent amid eruptions Ongoing volcanic eruptions have displaced about 20% of people in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent as a U.N. official on Wednesday warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.

Between 16,000 to 20,000 people were evacuated under government orders before La Soufriere volcano first erupted on Friday, covering the lush green island with ash that continues to blanket communities in St. Vincent as well as Barbados and other nearby islands.

About 6,000 of those evacuees are considered most vulnerable, said Didier Trebucq, United Nations resident coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

“So we are facing a situation with a great deal of uncertainty, and also a humanitarian crisis that is growing and may continue for weeks and months,” he said.

Trebucq said that based on certain information and preliminary estimations, 20,000 people are “estimated at risk of food insecurity, given the loss of the assets in terms of livelihood like fisheries, or agriculture.”

Some 4,000 people are

temporarily living in 87 government shelters, while others have relocated to hotels or the homes of friends and family, officials said. Trebucq noted that many shelters are lacking basic services including drinking water.

He said priority number one is water, which is being transported from nearby Caribbean nations and other contributors since water systems shut down in many parts of the island.

He said priority number two is meeting the needs of the 4,000 people in shelters, including cots and basic supplies, sanitation, hygiene and emergency latrines.

“We are dealing with a crisis within the COVID crisis,” Trebucq told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York in a video briefing. “Many health facilities have been affected by the ashes.”

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said Wednesday during a press conference broadcast by local station NBC radio that people need to strictly adhere to COVID-19 measures to avoid outbreaks.

“We cannot have that at any time, and most of all, at this time,” he said.

He also said a big issue is

ORVIL SAMUEL • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

People clean volcanic ash from the red roof of a home after La Soufriere volcano erupted, in Wallilabou, on the western side of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, Monday, April 12, 2021.

trying to determine the needs of those staying in hundreds of private homes across the island, adding that registration of those evacuees is ongoing.

Officials also urged those remaining in communities closest to the volcano to evacuate as soon as possible, noting that the explosions are

ongoing and causing new pyroclastic flows.

“I don’t want them to die like that,” said Richard Robertson with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center. “It’s not a nice way to go.”

Friday’s explosion produced only ash, but pyroclas-

tic flows have multiplied as the volcano shifts shape with each new eruption, some of which have been stronger than the one recorded last week. Robertson said volcanic activity is expected to continue for days or even weeks.

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News

EXPLAINER: Chauvin defense suggests prone position not risky

Via AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS The attorney for the former officer charged with killing George Floyd says several studies suggest police can safely use their bodyweight to hold a handcuffed suspect facedown on the ground — or prone — as Floyd was in the last minutes of his life.

But those findings aren’t universally accepted and have been contradicted by a parade of law enforcement and medical experts central to prosecutors’ efforts to convict Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT FLOYD’S POSITION? Bystander and surveillance camera video shows Floyd on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back, pinned to the ground by three officers.

Chauvin was closest to Floyd’s head, and a use-offorce expert testified that Chauvin applied pressure to Floyd’s neck area for 9 minutes, 29 seconds.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson suggested Chauvin’s knee was not on Floyd’s neck for that entire time, but moved to his upper back, shoulder blades and arm.

WHAT DID PROSECUTORS’ EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE PRONE POSITION? Medical experts testified for the prosecution that the prone position cuts lung volume, reduces oxygen levels and makes it harder to breathe.

They also pointed to Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, his body being pressed against the hard asphalt and his head being turned to the side as factors that prevented Floyd from breathing, resulting in his death.

WHAT RESEARCH IS THE DEFENSE USING? Nelson leaned on studies conducted by doctors at the University of California San Diego that concluded prone positions are not inherently risky.

Prosecutors showed jurors one photo of participants in a 2013 study laid on their stomach on a gymnastics mat, hands and feet tied together behind them. A discshaped weight rests on a towel covering one of the 25 volunteer’s bare back while researchers monitored the effect on his heart

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff dies in prison ASSOCIATED PRESS Bernard Madoff, the infamous architect of an epic securities swindle that burned thousands of investors, outfoxed regulators and earned him a 150-year prison term, died behind bars early Wednesday. He was 82.

Madoff’s death at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, was confirmed by his lawyer and the Bureau of Prisons.

Last year, Madoff’s lawyers unsuccessfully asked a court to release him from prison during the coronavirus pandemic, saying he suffered from end-stage renal disease and other chronic medical conditions.

One of those lawyers, Brandon Sample, said on Wednesday it was believed Madoff died from natural causes related to his failing health.

For decades, Madoff enjoyed an image as a self-made financial guru whose Midas touch defied market fluctuations. A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, he attracted a devoted legion of investment clients — from Florida retirees to celebrities such as film director Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon and Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.

But his investment advisory business was exposed in 2008 as a Ponzi scheme that wiped out people’s fortunes and ruined charities. He became so hated he wore a bulletproof vest to court.

The fraud was believed to be the largest in Wall Street’s history.

Over the years, court-appointed trustees laboring to unwind the scheme have recovered more than $14 billion of an estimated $17.5 billion investors put into Madoff’s business. At the time of Madoff’s arrest, fake account statements were telling clients they had holdings worth $60 billion.

Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to securities fraud and other charges, saying he was “deeply sorry and ashamed.”

After several months living under house arrest at his $7 million Manhattan penthouse apartment, he was led off to jail in handcuffs to scattered applause from angry investors in

LOUIS LANZANO • Associated Press Bernard Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died early Wednesday, April 14, 2021.

the courtroom.

“He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values,” former investor Tom Fitzmaurice told the judge at the sentencing. “He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife ... could live a life of luxury beyond belief.”

Sample said in a statement that the financier had “lived with guilt and remorse for his crimes” up until his death.

“Although the crimes Bernie was convicted of have come to define who he was — he was also a father and a husband. He was soft spoken and an intellectual. Bernie was by no means perfect. But no man is,” the lawyer said.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin sentenced Madoff to the maximum possible term.

“Here, the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of irresponsible manipulation of the system is not merely a bloodless financial crime that takes place just on paper, but it is instead ... one that takes a staggering human toll,” Chin said.

A judge issued a forfeiture order stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments, and $80 million in assets his wife, Ruth, had claimed were hers.

The order left her with $2.5 million.

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News

MSU Reporter • 9

Iran’s supreme leader: Vienna offers ‘not worth looking at’ ASSOCIATED PRESS Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday dismissed initial offers at talks in Vienna to save Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal as “not worth looking at,” attempting to pressure world powers after an attack on the country’s main nuclear enrichment site.

The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in the Islamic Republic, came after a day that saw Iran’s president similarly ratchet up pressure over the accord.

European powers meanwhile warned Tehran its actions were “particularly regrettable” and “dangerous.”

The talks already have been thrown into disarray by a weekend attack on Iran’s main Natanz nuclear enrichment site suspected to have been carried out by Israel. Tehran retaliated by announcing it would enrich uranium up to 60% — higher than it ever has before but still lower than weapons-grade levels of 90%.

“The offers they provide are usually arrogant and humiliating (and) are not worth looking at,” the 81-year-old Khamenei said in an address marking the first day of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Iran.

He also criticized the U.S. and warned time could be running out.

“The talks shouldn’t become talks of attrition,” Khamenei said.

“They

Via AP In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wearing a protective face mask, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Khamenei said Wednesday that the offers being made at the Vienna talks over his country’s tattered nuclear deal “are not worth looking at.”

shouldn’t be in a way that parties drag on and prolong the talks. This is harmful to the country.”

Speaking to his Cabinet, an impassioned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the first-generation IR-1 centrifuges that were damaged in Sunday’s attack would be replaced by advanced IR-6 centrifuges that enrich uranium much faster.

“You wanted to make our

hands empty during the talks but our hands are full,” Rouhani said.

Rouhani added: “60% enrichment is an answer to your evilness. ... We cut off both of your hands, one with IR-6 centrifuges and another one with 60%.”

Rouhani also accused Israel of being behind the Natanz attack and threatened to retaliate.

In Jerusalem at a Memorial

Day commemoration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to reference Iran.

“We must never remain apathetic to the threats of war and extermination of those who seek to eliminate us,“ he said. Israel has not claimed the attack, though it rarely does in its ongoing shadow war against Tehran.

The talks in Vienna are aimed at finding a way for

the United States to re-enter Tehran’s nuclear agreement with world powers and have Iran comply again with its limits. The accord, which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from in 2018, prevented Iran from stockpiling enough high-enriched uranium to be able to pursue a nuclear weapon in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Late on Wednesday, the European Union said formal negotiations would resume Thursday in Vienna.

Rouhani in his comments Wednesday insisted Iran is still hoping that the Vienna talks lead to a negotiated settlement over its program — and the accompanying lifting of punishing sanctions. Khamenei as well said he believed in his negotiators, but kept up the pressure on the West in his remarks Wednesday night.

“They must do what we say first, and we are assured that it’s done, then we will do what is we are required to do,” he said.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom, all parties to the nuclear deal, only hours earlier issued a joint statement Wednesday expressing their “grave concern” over Iran’s decision to increase enrichment.

“This is a serious development since the production of highly enriched uranium constitutes an important step in the production of a nuclear weapon,” the countries said.

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News

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Biden’s gamble: Will pulling troops revive extremist threat?

ASSOCIATED PRESS At its start, America’s war in Afghanistan was about retribution for 9/11. Then it was about shoring up a weak government and its weak army so that Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida could never again threaten the United States.

Now it’s about over. With bin Laden long since dead and the United States not suffering another major attack, President Joe Biden is promising to end America’s longest war and move on to what he believes are bigger, more consequential challenges posed by a resurgent Russia and a rising China.

Even so, by withdrawing the remaining few thousand U.S. troops in Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Biden is taking a calculated risk that extremists in Afghanistan can be countered by U.S. and partner forces elsewhere in the region — and that he won’t become the president who underestimated the resilience and reach of extremists who still aim to attack the United States.

CIA Director William Burns told Congress on Wednesday the U.S. unavoid-

ALEX BRANDON • Associated Press Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it.

ably will lose some intelligence leverage against the extremist threat, although he suggested the losses would be manageable.

“The U.S. government’s

ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. That’s simply a fact,” Burns said. “It is also a fact, however, that after withdrawal, whenever that time comes, the CIA and all of

our partners in the U.S. government will retain a suite of capabilities, some of it remaining in place, some of them that we will generate, that can help us to anticipate and contest

any rebuilding effort.”

There were 2,500 to 3,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan when Biden took office, the smallest number since early in the war. The number peaked at 100,000 during President Barack Obama’s first term.

As U.S. war casualties have declined, so has the American public’s attention. The war was barely mentioned during last year’s presidential contest, and pulling the plug may prove politically popular.

Yet worries remain. Stephen Biddle, a Columbia University professor who has advised U.S. commanders in Afghanistan, says it’s possible al-Qaida could re-establish its base structure in Afghanistan once the Americans and their coalition partners leave. The Taliban in Afghanistan pledged in a February 2020 agreement with the Trump administration that they would not allow al-Qaida or other extremist groups to use Afghan territory to threaten the United States.

But that deal may be imperiled by Biden’s decision not to complete the withdrawal of forces by May 1, as the Trump administration had promised.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

MSU Reporter • 13

Mavs to face Upper Iowa on the road

By KOLE BUELOW Coming off of a three game series against Minot State this past weekend, the Minnesota State baseball team was ready to play their next double header series against Minnesota-Crookston this past Tuesday, April 13. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate as Crookston experienced rain and snow, postponing the games.

Then, Wednesday night, the games were cancelled due to COVID-19 testing protocols within the Crookston program.

The No. 15 Mavericks will next be set to play against the Upper Iowa Peacocks this weekend in a three game series. Minnesota State is 18-4 on the season and sits in second place in the NSIC standings with a 15-3 conference record. The Peacocks, however, have been having a more average season, going 11-11 overall, with a 9-8 conference record, putting them at eighth place in the NSIC. Outside of individual achievement, the Mavs have put up some great numbers this year. The Mavericks boast one of the better resumes in the NSIC, sitting first in team pitching and third in team batting.

Maverick Athletics

Staff Writer

Jon Ludwig holds a 5-1 record on the year with a 2.45 ERA and 24 total strikeouts.

Mavericks’ pitchers combine for the best ERA in the NSIC, while also having the most wins, saves, and second most strikeouts. At the plate the Mavs have the third best batting average and third best total runs in the NSIC. Upper Iowa comes into this game 11th in team bat-

ting and sixth in team pitching, while sitting middle of the pack in the NSIC standings. The Peacocks have only played four games against top five teams coming into this weekend, but they will give the Mavericks a run for their money this Saturday and Sunday, as they managed

to hold down Crookston to a 1-0 loss earlier this season.

Inside these great teams are some really amazing players. As far as batting goes, Mankato has the fourth best batter in the NSIC in Joey Werner while Upper Iowa rosters a top 15 batter in Jake Hilmer.

Werner has a .425 batting average to go along with his 28 RBIs and six home runs, and Hilmer, a .364 batting average with 9 RBI’s and leads the Peacocks with 18 runs. Expect both of these superb batters to make a big impact in the three game series.

As far as pitching goes, both teams also have a player or more in the top 10. The Mavericks hold a committee of pitchers in the top 10 of pitching stats in the NSIC, including No. 6 Collin Denk, No. 8 Nick Altermatt, and No. 10 Jon Ludwig.

Duncan Snider for Upper Iowa leads the team and lands 18th in the NSIC in terms of ERA with 3.51. Jarrett Ramer also leads the Peacocks in opposing batting average, allowing just .231, of hits while he’s on the mound.

The Mavericks will look to take over the lead from Minnesota-Crookston in the NSIC standings while they took a momentary break to recover from COVID-19.

No. 18 Mavericks will end road trip at Concordia-St. Paul

By DANIEL McELROY Sports Editor

Coming off a series where the Mavericks were swept by the No. 1 team in the country, Augustana, the softball squad gets ready to play Concordia-St. Paul tonight in their fourth straight series on the road.

The Mavericks improved to No. 18 from last week’s rank 20 after going 2-2 in a pair of series against Wayne State and Augustana. MSU holds a 17-6 record throughout the year, while remaining in eighth in the NSIC standings with a 6-4 conference record.

Their opponents, the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears sit a few spots ahead of the Mavericks with a 7-3 record in conference play, despite having a 13-11 overall record.

CSP had a similar week to the Mavs last week, playing Au-

Maverick Athletics Carly Esselman has a .405 batting average with 22 runs scored and 12 RBI’s this season.

gustana and Wayne State on the opposite days that MSU did, dropping both games against the Vikings, and taking one out of two against the Wildcats.

Although Minnesota State has the advantage throughout

history with a 54-20-2 record, CSP took the previous two games by scores of 4-0 and 4-3 in St. Paul.

Through 23 games this season, the Mavericks have scored 132 runs, averaging 5.74 runs per game. Carly Es-

selman leads the effort with 22 runs scored on the year, while responsible for 12 more RBI’s. Esselman ranks third on the Mavericks with a .405 batting average and leads the team with eight doubles.

Torey Richards leads the team in batting average with .447 reaching on almost half of her 76 at bats. Her batting average is good for seventh in the NSIC. She also has the eighth highest OB percentage with .500. Richards continues her great batting performance with a steady eye, drawing seven walks, tied for the most on the Mavs.

Minnesota State has a third batter that stays above .400 at the plate in Hannah McCarville, currently batting at a .429 average, good for ninth in the NSIC this season. McCarville has been swinging

ROAD TRIP on page 14

LA’s Donald accused of assault ASSOCIATED PRESS A lawyer and his 26-year-old client told Pittsburgh police Wednesday that Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald and others assaulted the man at a nightclub last weekend, causing multiple injuries Attorney Todd J. Hollis said his client, De’Vincent Spriggs, needed 16 stitches and suffered a broken orbital bone in his head, a broken nose and a sprained or broken arm at a bar on East Carson Street in the city’s South Side.

“We believe there was a misunderstanding that Mr. Spriggs bumped into Mr. Donald and Mr. Donald escalated the matter, leading to my client’s assault moments later,” Hollis said.

Hollis said Spriggs, who lives in another state, was taken by a friend to a hospital for treatment. The alleged attack occurred around 3 a.m. Sunday, he said.

Hollis released a photo that showed Spriggs with facial injuries and swelling.

Hollis and Spriggs filed a criminal complaint with Pittsburgh police on Wednesday.

“They did a preliminary investigation and they’re going to look into the matter and get back to us as soon as they have more information,” Hollis said.

Police released a blotter post that said they were summoned early Sunday afternoon to Mercy Hospital, where a man with face and arm injuries told them he had accidentally bumped into someone at a South Side bar.

“He says that male and another ended up punching and kicking him,” police wrote. “The complainant admits to throwing a bottle of alcohol, but didn’t know if he had hit anyone.”

14 • MSU Reporter

Sports

Thursday, April 15, 2021

MLB moves pitchers mound in minor league experiment

Claressa Shields to make MMA debut with PFL on June 10

JAKE MAY • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LYNNE SLADKY • Associated Press Boston Red Sox’s Jackie Bradley Jr., hits a two-run home run off Houston Astros pitcher Josh James during the sixth inning in Game 4 of a baseball American League Championship Series in Houston.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Major League Baseball wants to see if moving back the pitcher’s mound will increase offense.

MLB will experiment with a 12-inch greater distance between the mound and home plate during a portion of the Atlantic League season in an effort to decrease strikeouts and increase offense.

The pitching rubber will be moved back to 61 feet, 6 inches starting Aug. 3 during the second half of the independent minor league’s season.

“It’s a direct response to the escalating strikeout rate, where you’re giving the hitter approximately one one-hundreth of a second of additional time to decide whether to swing at a pitch, which has the effect just in terms of reaction time of reducing the effective velocity of a pitch by roughly 1.5 mph,” said Morgan Sword, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball operations. “The purpose of the test and hope is giving hitters even that tiny additional

piece of time will allow them to make more contact and reduce the strikeout rate.”

In 2019, the last full season, strikeouts set a record for the 12th consecutive year at 42,823, up 33% from 32,189 in 2007. Strikeouts exceeded hits the last three seasons after never occurring before in major league history.

MLB calculated the average fastball velocity last year at 93.3 mph and estimated the increased distance would decrease the equivalent to 91.6 mph.

The mound has been at its current distance since 1893.

Strikeouts declined from 8.5% in 1892 to 5.2% in 1893 and the batting average increased from .245 in 1892 to .280.

Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer compared these changes to the lowering of the pitcher’s mound from 15 inches to 10 for the 1969 season.

“We’ve got to do something to get more offense in the game, whether you want to talk about the mound being moved back a foot, whether

ROAD TRIP

continued from page 13 for the fences all season long with the second most home runs on the Mavericks with four, right behind Sydney Nielsen with five.

Not only do the Mavericks excel in batting, but they roster two of the best pitchers in the NSIC in Mackenzie Ward and McKayla Armbruster. Ward holds a 10-3 record on the year, while Armbruster is at 7-2.

Ward leads the NSIC in earned run average with just 1.39, .41 lower than anyone else in the conference. Ward also leads the conference in opposing batting average with .171,

you want to talk about different ways of getting rid of the shift, whether you want to talk about substances on the ball,” Hoyer said. “We need to make adjustments. The DH originally came of these adjustments. The mound being lowered came from these adjustments. And I personally am of the mind of — obviously, I love baseball, but I don’t believe the rules are written on stone tablets.”

Many baseball purists oppose changing distances on the field. Commissioner Rob Manfred has been open to considering innovations to a tradition-bound sport.

“That seems pretty drastic, but again I think those are things that, you know, sometimes the craziest of ideas end up having some traction,” New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

“I think that it’s important that you try these things out when you’re trying to consider different things in a league where you can kind of really take some information and see how it works out.”

batter struck out with 136, is second in striking out batters while looking with 39, and tied for third with total wins on the year with 10.

Ward has put up dominating numbers her senior season and looks to continue her performance tonight against Concordia-St. Paul.

Armbruster has been having a phenomenal freshman season with a 7-2 record. She is seventh in the NSIC in ERA with 2.29 and is tied for eighth in wins in the conference. Armbruster had a rough outing last week against Augustana allowing five runs and six hits in just 2.0 innings pitched, but will try and bounce back to her usual self this week.

Two-time Olympic boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields has a date and an opponent for her mixed martial arts debut with the Professional Fighters League.

Shields will fight Brittney Elkin on June 10, the promotion told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The bout in Atlantic City, New Jersey, will be the beginning of Shields’ daunting quest to add MMA titles to her boxing success, which includes professional world titles in three weight classes.

Shields announced her decision to take up MMA late last year, telling the AP she was determined to claim championship belts in both combat sports. She has been training in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at Jackson Wink MMA Academy, the famed gym where former UFC champions Jon Jones and Holly Holm hone their craft.

“I am very excited to cement my legacy as the ‘Greatest Woman of All Time,’” Shields said. “I cannot wait to step into the PFL cage for the first time on June 10 and show the world that I never back down from a challenge.

I have shown I am the best

boxer in the world, and eventually I intend to do the same thing as a mixed martial artist.”

After winning Olympic gold in London and Rio de Janeiro, Shields is 11-0 as a pro boxer. She doesn’t intend to give up her boxing career while pursuing MMA glory, and she unified the four major light middleweight titles last March with a unanimous decision over Marie-Eve Dicaire.

Elkin is 3-6 in an MMA career that has included bouts in Bellator and the PFL. She was arm-barred by two-time Olympic judo gold medalist champion Kayla Harrison in the first round of Harrison’s MMA debut in 2018.

“I know she is a great boxer, but this is MMA,” Elkin said. “I plan to show everyone that I am a well-rounded fighter who can compete wherever the fight takes me.”

The PFL’s 2021 season begins April 23 with the first of six consecutive events at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. Shields’ debut fight is not part of the promotion’s season-long competition format, which she won’t enter until 2022.

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Thursday, April 15, 2021

Sports

Dallas Wings control WNBA draft with rare top two picks

MORRY GASH • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS The Dallas Wings basically control the WNBA draft on Thursday night with the top two picks and four firstround choices.

It’s the first time in league history that a team will choose both No. 1 and 2.

The Wings acquired the top pick in a February trade after being awarded the second choice in the draft lottery.

“It has made draft preparation a little bit easier,” Wings President and General Manager Greg Bibb said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“Typically, you’re trying to figure out what you want to do and what everyone else wants to do, and that impacts what you want to do.

The first two picks, you don’t have to worry about that. It’s a nice luxury to have.”

The Wings also have the fifth and seventh picks as well as the first pick in the second round. This draft completes the second half of the team’s long-term strategy after they traded away Liz Cambage and Skylar Diggins over the past few years.

“We pivoted our roster construct from a few superstar players to one which would be a on-the-fly rebuild,” he said. “We made a decision at the time of those players moving on, rather than take back other WNBA players I knew would be of lesser value to become a speculator to aggregate a number of draft picks.”

The Wings drafted Satou Sabally, Bella Alarie and Tyasha Harris last year to complement their young team.

“If we can have the same

kind of success this year, we have a very talented young core group that joins Arike Ogunbowale, Kayla Thornton, Isabelle Harrison and Allisha Gray,” Bibb said.

“It’s a very talented roster with a window of success that is opening.”

Bibb said that the franchise is looking at a number of players for the top two picks and he hasn’t been shy about heaping praise on Finnish player Awak Kuier.

The Wings also could draft Texas’ Charli Collier with one of the top picks.

Other players expected to go early in the draft include Arizona’s Aari McDonald, Louisville’s Dana Evans, and Rutgers’ Arella Guirantes.

For the second straight season the draft will be held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will be announcing picks from an ESPN studio in New York and players will be at home when they are drafted.

The other picks in the first round are: Atlanta at 3, Indiana at 4, New York at 6, Chicago at 8, followed by Minnesota, Los Angeles, Seattle and Las Vegas. The Washington Mystics currently have no picks in the draft.

With only potentially 144 roster spots in the WNBA and so many players under contract or still on their rookie-scale deals, there are not many spots open for players to make teams. There’s a good chance that less than a dozen draftees will be on opening-day rosters this season.

Chang gets racist tweets after Indians error ASSOCIATED PRESS Indians manager Terry Francona called racist social media messages sent to first baseman Yu Chang “stupid and ignorant” and said they have no place in baseball or “anywhere.”

On Tuesday, Chang shared some anti-Asian postings he received on Twitter after he made a costly error in the ninth inning of Monday night’s game in Chicago. The throwing error allowed the White Sox to score the winning run.

Chang, who is Taiwanese, posted some of the tweets on his account while asking for tolerance. One of the messages referred to the shape of his eyes and another referred to the coronavirus.

“Exercise your freedom of speech in a right way, I accept all comments, positive or negative but DEFINITELY NOT RACIST ONES,” Chang wrote. “Thank you all and love you all.”

He included the hashtag StopAsianHate.

Chang’s tweet included a screenshot of three of the messages. Two of the accounts seem to have been deleted.

Soon after his posting, the 25-year-old Chang received an outpouring of positive responses and support from Indians fans and others across social media.

Francona said he texted with Chang earlier in the day and met with him along with the player’s interpreter before

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PHIL LONG • Associated Press Cleveland Indians’ Yu Chang tosses the ball to pitcher Aaron Civale to get Detroit Tigers’ Akil Baddoo out at first base during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland.

Tuesday’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“First, I wanted to make sure he was OK and that he understands the lunacy or the idiocy that was said is not shared by hopefully very many people, certainly not in the Indians organization,” Francona said. “Truth be told, man, it’s really simple: errors are part of the game.

“But ignorance and racism, they shouldn’t be anywhere. Those comments that have nothing to do with baseball, it’s just an excuse for somebody to be stupid and ignorant. That’s really what it is.”

Francona said Chang was handling the situation well “He’s an extremely mature young man and he’s fine,” Francona said.

With the Indians and White Sox tied 3-3 in the ninth inning and Chicago threatening with two runners on base and one out, Chang fielded a groundball and attempted to get the forceout at second, but hit runner Yasmani Grandal in the helmet.

The ball ricocheted toward the left-field line, allowing pinch-runner Nick Madrigal to score and giving the White Sox a 4-3 win.

Chang, who came up as a middle infielder in Cleveland’s organization, is playing first base for the first time this season. The Indians signed him as a free agent in 2013.

Chang was not in the lineup on Tuesday night, but Francona said Jake Bauers playing first had nothing to do with the error.

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16 • MSU Reporter

Sports

NFL players call for a virtual offseason, shun in-person work

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Pacers HOF coach, Bobby ‘Slick’ Leonard, dies at 88

DAVID RICHARD • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS NFL players were locked out of team headquarters last offseason because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This year, their union wants them to boycott any in-person OTAs. Members of the Broncos, Seahawks and Super Bowl champion Buccaneers said Tuesday they’ll do just that.

“We find ourselves still in the midst of a pandemic with no comprehensive plan to keep players as safe as possible, yet teams are pressuring players to attend voluntary workouts,” that begin next week, tweeted DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association.

“The union has advised players that given the continued risk of exposure and the goal of a full 2021 NFL season, that they should not attend these voluntary workouts,” Smith added. “It is every player’s decision, but our advice is to continue to use an abundance of caution given the current environment.”

Members of the Broncos — who have had 22 players in their building this offseason — and the Seahawks — who had no COVID-19 cases last season — became the first to declare their intention to stay away from the in-person gatherings this spring.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy countered that “NFL team facilities are the safest places in our communities thanks to our comprehensive protocols that were developed in conjunction with the NFLPA and public health officials.”

McCarthy said the league

and players union are continuing talks about holding safe offseason programs.

Except for one minicamp, the offseason programs are voluntary, although most players participate in them and many players have contractual incentives to do so.

In a memo sent to all 32 teams Tuesday which was obtained by The Associated Press, Commissioner Roger Goodell said COVID-19 safety protocols will start to be relaxed as players and other team members get vaccinated.

“The prospect of relaxing Covid protocols in the NFL should help encourage players and staff to be vaccinated,” Goodell wrote.

“Our primary focus at all times will remain the health and safety of everyone associated with the NFL,” Goodell said in the memo, adding that “In light of expanded vaccine eligibility, it is appropriate now to take further steps to educate about and promote vaccine availability and acceptance within the NFL.” He said all clubs should use their stadium as “a vaccination site for club staff, players and eligible family members” either through a vaccination day or by making shots available “on a convenient and regular basis.”

Goodell added that employees other than players need to get vaccinations “unless they have a bona fide medical or religious ground for not doing so” lest they be prohibited from interacting with players.

AJ MAST • Associated Press Former Indiana Pacers coach Bobby “Slick” Leonard watches a banner being hung in his honor during a presentation at half time of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Indianapolis.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Bobby “Slick” Leonard was selected as the ABA’s greatest coach. Hall of Fame player George McGinnis considered him a genius.

On Tuesday, the Indiana Pacers announced that the man who led them to three ABA championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career and was selected a 1963 NBA All-Star had died. No details about the 88-year-old Leonard were provided but he had been in failing health in recent years.

“He was the greatest,” McGinnis said in March.

“He loved all of his guys and, yes, he had his days. If you got on the wrong side of him, it wasn’t going to be a good deal for you.”

But, McGinnis added, there was a big difference between Leonard and Indiana Hoosiers coach Bob Knight:

After Leonard ripped into you and “wore you out, he’d take you out for a beer and say ’You know I love you, I’m doing this for your own good.’”

Leonard became one of the crown princes of Indiana basketball.

Yes, he went 573-534 in 14 seasons as a coach, winning 529 in 12 seasons with the Pacers.

But the legacy went far deeper.

The star tennis player at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School chose to play basketball at nearby Indiana University. He wound up leading the Hoosiers to two Big Ten titles, was a two-time All-American and made the winning free throws to give Indiana the 1953 national championship.

Decades later, he was selected as one of the 50 greatest players in school history

and was part of the Hoosiers’ all-century team.

“He has meant as much as anyone in the state of Indiana when it comes to the game of basketball,” new Indiana coach Mike Woodson said.

“He played the game with great flair. He coached with undeniable passion.

“His smile put everyone at ease. The man was a champion through and through whether it was with the Pacers organization or at Indiana University. Without question, he was a Hall of Fame human being.”

His greatest moments as a professional came with the budding franchise that hired him in 1968-69 and that he worked with for more than a half-century.

“Pacers fans will remember Bobby ‘Slick’ Leonard as the spirit of our franchise,” team owner Herb Simon said in a statement.

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Sports

Tokyo Olympics is marked by footnotes and asterisks in 2021

JAE C. HONG • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS Tokyo pitched itself as “a safe pair of hands” when it was awarded the Olympics 7 1/2 years ago.

“The certainty was a crucial factor,” Craig Reedie, an IOC vice president at the time, said after the 2013 vote in Buenos Aires.

Now, nothing is certain as Tokyo’s postponed Olympics hit the 100-days-to-go mark on Wednesday. Despite surging cases of COVID-19, myriad scandals and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the Games, organizers and the IOC are pushing on.

Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics celebrated Japan’s rapid recovery from defeat in World War II. These Olympics will be marked by footnotes and asterisks. The athletes will aim high, of course, but the goals elsewhere will be modest: get through it, avoid becoming a super-spreader event, and stoke some national pride knowing few other countries could have pulled this off.

“The government is very conscious of how ‘the world’ views Japan,” Dr. Gill Steel, who teaches political science at Doshisha University in Kyoto, wrote in an email.

“Canceling the Olympics would have been seen, at some level, as a public failure on the international stage.”

The price will be steep

when the Olympics open on July 23.

The official cost is $15.4 billion. Olympic spending is tough to track, but several government audits suggest it might be twice that much, and all but $6.7 billion is public money.

The Switzerland-based IOC generates 91% of its income from selling broadcast rights and sponsorship. This amounts to at least $5 billion in a four-year cycle, but the revenue flow from networks like American-based NBC has been stalled by the postponement.

What does Tokyo get out of the 17-day sports circus?

Fans from abroad are banned, tourism is out, and there’ll be no room for neighborhood partying. Athletes are being told to arrive late, leave early and maneuver around a moving maze of rules.

There are also reputational costs for Japan and the International Olympic Committee: a bribery scandal, botched planning, and repeated misogyny in the Tokyo Olympic leadership.

The IOC is betting Tokyo will be a distraction — “the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel”— as the closing ceremony comes just six months before the opening of the boycott-threatened Beijing Winter Olympics.

MSU Reporter • 17

Mobile betting tempts cash-strapped states ASSOCIATED PRESS States around the country are realizing what gamblers figured out long ago: The future of sports betting — and tax money to be made from it — is online.

But they’re also realizing that extra tax money isn’t nearly enough to turn seas of red ink into black. That was the case even before the coronavirus pandemic blew huge holes in state budgets.

Currently, 15 states plus Washington, D.C., offer mobile sports betting, and several others are considering adopting it. New York is poised to become one of the largest markets in the U.S., passing a budget last week that includes mobile sports wagering after years of opposition by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to sign it.

More than 80% of sports betting in the U.S. is done via smartphone or computer, and New York lawmakers grew tired of watching residents drive, take trains or even ride bicycles across the Hudson River into New Jersey to make sports bets — money that went to New Jersey’s casino and tax coffers instead of their own.

“New Jersey in January did $83 million in revenue; New York, which had its highest month ever in history, did $3 million,” said New York Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., who added that 25% of New Jersey’s sports betting business comes from New Yorkers. “The disparity between the states that have mobile sports betting and those that don’t is as wide as the Grand Canyon. How much longer can you sit back and watch money just flow out of your state into another state?”

Important details remain to be worked out on exactly how mobile sports betting would work in New York, and it could be 2022 — Super Bowl Sunday is an oft-mentioned target — before its residents can actually make bets online.

Chris Krafcik, managing director of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, which tracks gambling legislation, said as many as seven additional states could legalize mobile sports betting

WAYNE PERRY • Associated Press Jonathan Price of New York researches picks for the March Madness college basketball championship tournament at the Borgata casino.

this year: Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine and Ohio.

By year’s end, 20 to 23 states could offer it, he said.

In 2019, a panel of experts predicted that 90% of sports betting in the United States will be done over mobile phones or the internet in the next five to 10 years.

But two years later, we’re almost there already: Nationwide, 81% of sports bets are made online, according to the American Gaming Association. For the first two months of 2021, that figure rose to 85%. In New Jersey, the largest sports betting market in the nation, 92% of bets last year were made online.

Mattias Stetz, the chief operating officer of Rush Street Interactive, which operates BetRivers.com and PlaySugarHouse.com in Pennsylvania, said 87% of his company’s sports betting is done via mobile devices in markets where both online and in-person are available.

“It is clear from the numbers that mobile and online sports betting is very important to the overall sports betting industry,” he said.

“Sports fans are enjoying the option of betting from the comfort of their homes.”

It’s also clear that tax money from sports betting, while a welcome addition under the “something is better than nothing” doctrine, is not a panacea for cash-strapped states.

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Thursday, April 15, 2021

Student Events under new leadership, ready for fall

By SYDNEY BERGGREN Staff Writer Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Student Events Team runs on “bringing fun to campus and making sure students have an outlet for stress,” says current SET President Nicole Osborn. “We put on a lot of events around campus aimed towards helping students celebrate their Maverick pride and making the campus one community.”

Osborn, joined by next year’s President and Vice President Tyler Pickel and Madeline Berndt, discussed what being a part of SET is like. When asked about his favorite aspect of being a part of the group, Pickel spoke fondly of his team members.

“I personally love just being part of the team,” Pickel said. “The entire team is made up of students that want to get involved with campus and give back to the campus, so being in this little family is nice.”

Berndt said she realizes and appreciates the impact SET makes on students, particularly on freshmen.

“I have to say that the best part of this organization is you know that you’re making a difference in someone’s life,” she said.

Being a part of the team requires creativity and room for growth, says Osborn.

“You really have to push yourself, as you’re put into a lot of different scenarios,” she said. “None of us have majors related to event planning, but all of us have gained something that we can take into the real world.”

“You learn how to deal with different departments, deal with different agencies, completely planning everything,” said Pickel. “We are planning things on a professional level.”

Broadway star Karen Olivo protests Scott Rudin silence ASSOCIATED PRESS

File photo

Currently, Pickel holds a position as the Stomper Cinema Chair, which includes coordinating films in Ostrander Auditorium. She says it’s been a challenge dealing with COVID. “We tried it this year, but because of social distancing we saw a lack of interest,” she said. “Instead, we did more drive-in movies and screenings on the football field.”

Osborn said her job as president is to “kind of help everyone be successful in their roles.” She coordinates weekly meetings and recruitment activities along with being a person board members can come to, whether on an event planning or personal basis.

Berndt is currently the Homecoming Partnerships and Promotions Chair.

This role, however, will be discontinued after she vacates it for the newly created role of Vice President. The new role fo-

cuses “mainly on recruitment and online events.”

When each was asked about a favorite event they have helped organize, Pickel said, “Easily the homecoming concert. It is one of our biggest events, as we set up for it starting the day before and then we work throughout the entire time. After the concert we don’t get out until around 2 a.m. from tear-down. It’s a lot, but I really like that type of work.”

Berndt echoed his statement about the concert being a lot of work, but said her favorite event was probably Drag Bingo, which she orchestrated about a month ago.

“It was really fun to work with the drag queens,” she said. “They have so much energy and are so innovative. It was really cool to see what they could

EVENTS on page 19

Tony Award-winner Karen Olivo says she won’t return to “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” once it reopens, saying she’s frustrated by the Broadway industry and especially the silence in the wake of revelations about the behavior of producer Scott Rudin.

“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” is not produced

by Rudin but Olivo in an Instagram video posted Wednesday said she was not coming back to the hit show to make a stand about social justice.

“Social justice is actually more important than being the sparkling diamond,” Olivo said.

“Building a better industry for my students is more important than me putting money in my pockets.”

The move comes a week after The Hollywood Reporter’s cover story on Rudin contained accounts of the Broadway and Hollywood heavyweight throwing glass bowls, staples and baked potatoes at former employees.

Cooking in the Kitchen with Sydney: Microwave Mac n’ Cheese

By SYDNEY BERGGREN • Staff Writer I love mac n’ cheese. Seriously, it’s an addiction.

However, I don’t know about you, but I feel like those little microwaveable cups you get at the grocery store are way too expensive for the mac you get.

They come out to $1 a cup or more if you go for a brand like Annie’s, which is superior in my opinion, and you don’t get a whole lot of actual pasta in your cup.

Buying a box of pasta and a bag of shredded cheese is significantly cheaper, and it only takes a little bit longer to put together.

I have become quite the fan of this recipe over the past couple of weeks as the semester has been ramping up.

While I’m keeping myself busy I’ve found I have less time to make the long walk to the dining hall and I’m more prone to craving comfort food.

This meal has been something simple to throw together before getting right back to reading textbooks, writing papers, or attending lectures.

In a large microwavable mug or bowl, add in the pasta filling mug/bowl less than halfway and add

SYDNEY BERGGREN • The Reporter

Ingredients: • • • • •

Pasta Water 4 tbsp milk 2 handfuls shredded cheese Seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika) • Toppings (meats, etc.)

enough water to submerge all the macaroni, and then some.

Microwave for 4 minutes, then continue microwaving in 1-minute intervals until fully cooked.

Make sure you keep an eye on your pasta while it’s cooking, as the water may boil over.

When finished, drain the water. Stir in the milk and shredded cheese, and microwave for an additional minute to melt. Season, add your toppings, dig in.

Cooking time will vary depending on your microwave and the bowl/mug you use, but this is what worked in both my tiny, dorm sized microwave, as well as the bigger microwave I have at home.

I hope this is useful to those of you who, like me, could eat mac n’ cheese five times a week with no complaints.

Mixing up your pasta with different toppings each time also allows you to enjoy a simple meal with a small twist to it each time.

And while you could always go to the kitchen and make a regular batch, why not make it in your own dorm, where it is acceptable to wear pajamas all day — we all have our moments.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Variety

Rapper Mystikal breaks silence on dropped rape charge

MSU Reporter • 19

The disabled hope their Oscar moment can become a movement

DOUG ROLAND FILMS • Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

RUSTY COSTANZA • Associated Press Rapper Mystikal poses for a portrait in Baton Rouge, La. on Jan. 22, 2021.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Mystikal, convicted almost two decades ago of sexual battery and recently cleared of a second allegation of rape and kidnapping, acknowledges his past puts him in a “horrible fraternity.” But the rapper says he’s ready to move on from the sexually-charged songs of his past and is seeing his career rekindle.

“When I look back and listen to the music, man — I was a nasty lil’ rapper!” he said with a hint of embarrassment in an interview with The Associated Press. “A lot of my music now, I imagine myself rapping it to God and if I can rap it, I’m proud.”

The Louisiana hip-hop legend spoke to The Associated Press in one of his first interviews after first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping charges stemming from a 2016 allegation were dismissed in December. The rapper, who pleaded guilty in 2003 to sexual battery and served six years in prison, initially denied involvement with the woman and spent 18 months in jail before being released on a $3 million bond. Louisiana’s Caddo Parish District Attorney closed the investigation after new evidence was presented to a second grand jury that declined to bring an indictment. The district attorney then filed to dismiss the charges.

The long ordeal “was like a reoccurring bad dream,” he said.

Now he wants to make changes to his career — and life — as he tries to find harmony beyond a troubled past. Though Mystikal says he “can’t go to God” with lines like the dirty

SET

continued from page 18 bring, as well as seeing so many people invested in the game.”

Osborn said she was a fan of the CSU Haunted Takeover event, although she lamented that they were unable to put it on this year due to COVID -19 restrictions.

“I really like it because I’m a very DIY kind of person, and this event requires lots of decorations,” she said. “I also enjoy it because it gets other organizations involved. There’s more people helping put it on than just us.”

opening verse of his hit “Shake Ya A(asterisk) (asterisk),” don’t expect him to start appearing on the gospel charts.

Within days of the case’s dismissal, a blitz of film trailers for Eddie Murphy’s highly anticipated “Coming 2 America” began airing, featuring “Feel Right,” Mystikal’s 2015 smash with Mark Ronson. The New Orleans product said he had no idea the song would be used, but he doesn’t believe in coincidences.

“It felt like God was winking his eye at me,” he said, smiling. “That’s what strengthens my spirituality right now, things like that.”

Mystikal maintained his innocence, but few sought his work. But bookings for live performances are picking back up, and his life story will be featured on the upcoming season of TV One’s popular music docuseries “Unsung.”

Mystikal’s most recent trouble began in October 2016 after his performance at a “Legends of Southern Hip-Hop” concert in Shreveport, Louisiana. According to police records obtained by the AP, Mystikal and a few members of his entourage, including hopeful rapper Averweone “Lil Hood” Holman, partied with Holman’s female friend and her boyfriend.

The victim, who told police they continuously gave her drinks, became separated from her boyfriend for a few hours, the records said. When they reconnected, the boyfriend said she seemed disoriented.

Holman told investigators that he and the victim were both intoxicated and had intercourse.

Looking ahead to the fall, Pickel said their plans, like many other things right now, are a big unknown. The team is anticipating returning to as normal as possible, but acknowledges everything is dependent on what the university gives them.

“We want to give it our all, to give this year’s freshman the college experience they’ve missed,” Pickel stated.

The group is always looking for and welcoming new members regardless of limited events, says Pickel.

The group holds weekly meetings in room 245 of the Centennial Student Union.

Right down to its production design, the Oscars have not always felt like the most welcoming place for the disabled.

“I’ve always seen that stage with its stairs as a symbol that they don’t expect people who had mobility issues to be nominated or to win an award,” said Jim LeBrecht, the co-director and costar of the Oscar-nominated documentary “ Crip Camp.”

“It’s always been this kind of negative tacit statement.”

This year shows signs of change. LeBrecht, who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, will attend the April 25 ceremony. So will Robert Tarango, the deaf-blind star of the nominated short, “ Feeling Through.”

The victors’ podium will be accessible for both. And LeBrecht hopes that will become a permanent change,

both literally and figuratively.

The two films, along with “ Sound of Metal,” nominated for six awards including best picture, have the people behind them hoping their Oscar moment can become a catalyst for Hollywood to stop using the disabled as sources of inspiration, objects of pity, or twisted villains.

“I think that the goal is to alleviate the fear,” Tarango said through a translator, “to open the doors so that executives don’t look at our ability to hear or not to hear and to see that somebody who is blind, deaf-blind, who has any kind of disability is just part of the world and can be part of these films.”

The academy, under pressure, has pushed for greater race and gender inclusion in recent years.

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20 • MSU Reporter

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