September 2017 Edition - The Metropolitan Student Newspaper

September 2017

Psych class raises $63K to erase lunch debt ‘Philando Feeds the Children’ fundraising campaign honors memory of Philando Castile KATHRYN GANFIELD Staff Writer

In the first few weeks of the fall semester, Pamela Fergus and the 32 students in her PSYC 212 class have already taken community engagement to a new level. Thanks to them, nearly all the lunch debt in the St. Paul Public Schools will be retired.

Their online fundraising campaign, “Philando Feeds the Children,” has raised over $63,000 from more than 1,800 donors.

“The little seed for it got planted this summer when the police officer was acquitted [in the shooting death of Philando Castile]. Which shocked me and everyone. I am angry. What do I do with my anger?” said Fergus, community faculty in Psychology. “I realized there had to be some way to connect with people who were as upset and angry and outraged as I was at the whole situation.”

Fergus decided to offer a new option to fulfill the diversity experience requirement in her fall course, Introduction to Diversity and Ethics in Psychology.

She heard that Philando Castile would personally pay for kids’ lunches at his job as cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in St. Paul. It made her wonder how much debt the school incurs from unpaid lunch accounts.

“I read J.J. Hill usually at the end of the school year is about $1,000 in debt, and this year it was $4,000. So times have gotten harder for people. I thought I could offer this as one of the assignments [for PSYC 212] and see if we could pay off debt for J.J. Hill,” said Fergus.

Her class accepted the challenge and set an initial fund-

Photo by Kathryn Ganfield

Pamela Fergus and the students of PSYC 212, Introduction to Diversity and Ethics in Psychology, meet Mondays at the Midway campus. The class is a pre-/co-requisite for the Psychology major and satisfies the Racial Issues Graduation Requirement (RIGR). raising goal of $5,000. Fergus created a fundraising page on youcaring.com and posted the link (youcaring.com/jjhillschoolandotherschools-914378) on the class D2L site. “I thought I was thinking big,” she said.

“Then something happened— all of of a sudden I couldn’t keep up. I get a little email every time somebody donates. If I walked away from my phone and came back, there would be 15 emails,” Fergus said. “By the end of one week [on September 3], we had $54,000. More than ten times our initial goal.”

Success came from students using social media to promote the fund. “I’ve been sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. And then a lot of my friends have been sharing it too. It’s really cool to see everyone come together,” said Jessica Fuentes, an Individualized Studies major.

“I’ve been putting it everywhere that will let me post it on their pages. I reached out to some big name people,” said Ronnie Erickson, a Psychology major.

She hopes their efforts will gain the attention of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” “I’m working on

it. I am super proud to be a part of this. I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful thing,” Erickson said.

The campaign has garnered state and national media attention, including from WCCO-TV, Star Tribune, Huffington Post, Salon and Time.

In class, Fergus guides students in considering ethical considerations around poverty and race.

Some online commenters have criticized the fundraising campaign, saying parents should not be let off the hook on paying for their children’s lunch accounts.

“And there’s the moral ques-

tion: do we punish the kid because their parent made a bad financial decision? If you pare everything back, don’t these kids deserve to have lunch and the school deserves to have the lunch paid for?” Fergus said.

Heather Moenck, a Psychology and Social Work major, said the fundraising effort has been inspiring and motivating to her as a student and citizen. “It’s bringing the [concepts of ] ethics and diversity to a real situation for us, where we can really relate to it. We can actually change it. Instead of sitting by, reading about poverty and feeling helpless. We have an active hand.”

With their initial goal far surpassed, the class is setting their aims higher. A St. Paul Public Schools supervisor told them the district-wide debt is $45,000 to $60,000 per year related to the lunch program.

“We decided as a class that’s our new goal,” said Fergus.

Lawyers and a finance expert have volunteered to make “Philando Feeds the Children” a nonprofit organization. “We are lucky to have that help, because none of us thought it was going to get this big, when we had a $5,000 goal,” said student Ronnie Erickson.

Later this fall the class will visit J.J. Hill to eat lunch with elementary students and present the school with the funds to pay off their lunch debt.

The fundraising campaign has the support of Valerie Castile, Philando’s mother. “Valerie told me she couldn’t imagine Philando finding anything more appropriate than other people helping to feed those kids,” said Fergus.

“What a terrible thing to get in the way of education, to be ashamed of how your lunch is paid for. That’s the last thing kids need to worry about,” said Fergus. “For us, this is local. We want to help those school kids.”

Green light for campus greenhouse renovation Minnesota Legislature and donors fund GROW-IT Center for research and community collaboration JOEL VAILLANCOURT Guest Writer

A vacant greenhouse next to the Library and Learning Center on the St. Paul campus will gain new life thanks to a $400,000 appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature. By 2019, the building will become the GROW-IT Center, an inclusive research center for students, faculty and the community.

GROW-IT is an acronym for Gateway for Research, Outreach, Workforce Development, Innovation and Teaching.

`The greenhouse will be renovated extensively. Three research bays will be converted into one large growing space. An additional restroom will be built and an office will be moved. A front room will host workshops and classes.

Professor Mark Asplen of the Natural Sciences Department has overseen the scientific side of the project. The planning team believes that the GROW-IT Center will be a boon to students studying a variety of subjects, from chemistry to nursing to psychology. “You’re going to have scientists working right next to psycholo-

gists and people in other programs,” said Asplen. “Being close together can build collaboration.”

The building has a long history as a space for scientific research. Commissioned and built by the Minnesota Biological Pest Control Research Program in 1998, it was used to study the impact of invasive insects.

In 2008, the recession forced the Minnesota Legislature to implement budget cuts and shutter the site. Later that year, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture transferred the property to Metro State.

Asplen also envisions the site as a space for collaboration between the university and East Side community where the needs of residents can inform the university’s research. “We want to have the community inspire the research in collaboration with the faculty, and work together so that they already know why the research is important,” Asplen said.

Jodi Bantley, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship (ICES), said the GROW-IT Center will be an “urban agricul-

tural gateway” for the East Side.

The neighborhood is classified as a food desert, defined by the American Nutrition Association as “a part of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods.”

Bantley explained that the project is a natural next step for a neighborhood with a history of community agriculture.“There’s a very strong movement of organizations on the East Side that includes urban farmers that started

See GROW on page 2

News

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September 2017

Assoc. Provost Doug Knowlton mourned

By SCOTT LINDELL Staff Writer

Dr. Douglas D. “Doug” Knowlton, Associate Provost for Student Success at Metropolitan State University, died July 5. He was 67 and a resident of St. Paul.

Knowlton came to Metro State in July 2013. He was serving as Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, but missed day-today interactions with students.

He jumped at the opportunity to work on a campus again.

He brought with him a wealth of university leadership experience. Knowlton was a former president of Dakota State University, and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of University of Minnesota, Crookston.

“He was well-respected across the system,” said Greg Mellas, director of Metro State’s Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship (ICES).

A seasoned leader Knowlton made an impression on campus with his friendly and personable manner.

Colleagues valued Knowlton’s experience, wisdom and the work he had done at other institutions. He had a knack for keeping meetings productive and on schedule, Mellas said.

As associate provost, Knowlton oversaw the departments that support student success. He worked with advisors, the Center for Accessibility Resources, the Dean of Students, Healthcare and Wellness Services and the Student Parent Center.

A relationship builder Earlier this year, Knowlton was part of a nine-person search committee to hire a new chief advancement officer. When Rita Dibble was selected, Knowlton arranged a coffee meeting for her and the search committee.

This gathering gave Dibble a chance to reconnect with people she met during the screening process. It was a “warm way to welcome her to campus,” said Greg Mellas, ICES Director.

Before College of Sciences Dean Tom Nelson died last year, Knowlton wanted Nelson to know that everyone at Metro State was thinking of him. He gathered colleagues to put together a gift bag with cards and notes. “Doug would think of it and suggest those types of things,” said Mellas.

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan State University

Associate Provost for Student Success Douglas Knowlton died July 5 at the age of 67.

Knowlton understood the importance of relationships.

“He would make people feel valued outside their contributions as employees,” said Mellas. Knowlton often took time to chat with coworkers just to see how they were doing. “People loved that,” Mellas said. “They admired Doug because of that.”

A counselor at heart Mellas also described Knowlton, a trained clinical psychologist, as being “deeply concerned with how people feel.”

Colleagues considered Knowlton a calm presence and a counselor at heart. “People will remember Doug for how he made people feel,” Mellas said.

President Ginny Arthur recalled a story that “epitomizes Doug’s characteristics—kindness, generosity and compassion.”

On a summer morning in June, a man was sitting in the reception area next to the offices in

Great Hall. He was crying. “He was a little bit confused, lost, did not realize that this was a university, but thought this was a place that could help him,” Arthur said.

Knowlton noticed the man and stopped to talk with him.

During their conversation, Knowlton found out that the man was homeless and needed assistance. He walked him up the street to First Lutheran Church, which provides services to the homeless. Knowlton also gave him a bus pass so he would have the transportation he needed.

“A willingness to take time out of his day to make sure that someone was cared for. A lot of people would tell stories about that, about Doug,” Arthur said.

An advocate for students Knowlton often assisted students with their academic and personal issues. He was empathetic to hard-working students and the challenges they faced.

“Doug clearly cared very much about students,” said Arthur. “That is why he decided he wanted to come to a campus. He was very compassionate. In dealing with students, he was always understanding. He responded to students promptly. He helped lead them through the process.

He really mentored students that he came into contact with.”

She said students would seek out Knowlton as a mentor even after their problems were resolved.

In addition to his associate provost duties, Knowlton volunteered to tutor students in the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE). Dr. Jules Thompson, CAE Director, noticed Knowlton’s aptitude for helping students with their coursework.

He was “so talented at setting his students at ease,” she said.

“He was so accepting, really encouraged people’s creativity and problem-solving skills,” Thompson said. “He was about empowering students to do their best work.”

Professor Suzanne Nielsen, Communication, Writing and the Arts Department and tutor coordinator noted Knowlton’s “unassuming” nature when meeting students. “He had a very casual demeanor with students, which made them very comfortable,” she said.

A lasting impact Knowlton taught PSYC 300 Abnormal Psychology on Wednesday evenings during summer semester. His students are grieving from the sudden loss, Nielsen said. “Students loved him.”

Thompson credits Knowlton for building community at Metro State by making everyone feel welcome and encouraged. “He really understood the significant role that student support services can play in a student’s life and in a student’s experience in higher education,” she said.

“I was trained as a wordsmith,” said Thompson. “I’m a trained rhetoric scholar and words fail me in this situation because the loss is so devastating.”

Knowlton is survived by his wife, two sons, two grandchildren and a brother.

Memorials may be made to the Metropolitan State University Foundation, Attn: Doug Knowlton Memorial Gift; Dakota State University Foundation, Attn: Dr. Douglas and Sharon Knowlton Endowment; or Central Presbyterian Church.

GROW-IT Center slated to open in 2019 GROW from Page 1 early healthy food movements, sustainable agriculture and farm to table practices,” she said.

The university’s decision to work with the nonprofit community organization Urban Roots will provide those working in the GROW-IT Center with a “rich educational opportunity,” according to Metropolitan State President Virginia Arthur. Urban Roots is located at 463 Maria, just steps from the greenhouse.

“If you’re doing something in the greenhouse, you’re going to be interacting with members of the community,” said Arthur.

There will be an emphasis on teaching residents about urban agriculture and methods of growing their own fruits and vegetables.

President Arthur believes that having students work together can prepare them for

life beyond college. “In real life, we have to interact with people from different backgrounds,” she said. “In real life, your problems are never segmented.”

The transformation of the greenhouse into the GROW-IT Center has been many years in the making. In 2014, talks began at Metro State among members of the faculty and administration about what a renovation of the greenhouse could look like.

Now, in 2017, things are looking very good for the proposed GROW-IT Center. Architectural plans for the project have been drafted, and nearly 75 percent of the funding has been secured.

In total, around $700,000 has been raised between the legislative appropriation and private donations. CHS, sponsor of the St. Paul Saints baseball stadium, donated $235,000.

Bantley estimates that the final cost will be $1.1 to $1.2 million.

Photo by Kathryn Ganfield

Formerly the site of a biological pest research facility, the greenhouse will be renovated and expanded to include classrooms and space for plant cultivation. Governor Mark Dayton signed off on the legislative appropriation for the GROW-IT Center on May 30, 2017.

Opinion

September 2017

The Metropolitan welcomes submissions of commentaries and letters to the editor. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity and clarity. The deadline for publication in the next month’s edition is the 20th. Please specify your connection to Metro State. Submit to TheMetropolitan@metrostate.edu.

Charlottesville on my mind MITESH RAI Guest Writer

There comes a time when we are forced to face our deepest, darkest fears. And it is during these times that the true nature of our being presents itself. For me, that time came on August 11, with the spectre of white nationalists marching with torchlights on the University of Virginia campus.

They had foregone the pointed white hoods of their forebearers. Instead, they proudly bared their faces and clenched their fists. I could tell they had raged among themselves in their “safe space” of the internet for far too long. Not anymore.

The clarion call of ‘now or never’ had been rung by their leaders, Richard Spencer and David Duke. It was time for them to stand up and defend their version of the United States of America—red-blooded, white-skinned and blue-eyed.

Their chant of “White Lives Matter” was heard around the world when they marched. It was met on campus by students in a counter-protest. Heated arguments led to pushing and shoving, kicks and punches, clouds of pepper spray.

Their march continued through downtown Charlottesville the following day. The violence escalated. Heather Heyer, a Charlottesville paralegal, was there to stand up to hate and discrimination. A white nationalist plowed into the crowd of counter-protesters and killed her.

Photo by Bob Mical, Flickr Creative Commons

Mourners gather at Heather Heyer’s memorial in Charlottesville, Virginia. Heyer was killed when James Fields Jr. drove his car into anti-racist protesters of the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally on Saturday, August 12.

Where does that path violence lead us?

One of the greatest opportunities afforded to citizens in a democratic society is the ability to speak for, or against, a matter dear to their respective hearts. The ability to voice one’s opinions without the fear of repercussions is the ultimate freedom any human can and should practice, in my opinion.

When rational human beings agree to disagree, great conversations can take place. But in today’s world, in Charlottesville, that seems like an idealistic scenario.

How did we get here? Or, even more importantly, how can we get out of this rut?

The answer, my friends, is not blowing in the wind. Not even close. The answer, instead, is of

right here, among higher minds at Metro State. It’s in the safe space of our college campus where we can discuss and debate all of these ideas. After all, we are at the altar of learning. It befits us to listen, discuss and test all kinds of thoughts and theories.

So, I say if a white nationalist wants to explain to me why his race is superior to all other races of the world, he better have concrete facts to back that up. What are the chances he is here on our college campus, itching for a debate? I better start preparing.

Rai is an Individualized Studies major and Secretary of the Student Senate.

Views expressed are his own.

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Campus News Briefs Student Senate and administration subsidize Metro Transit “College Pass” Thanks to subsidies from the Student Senate and university administration, Metro State is selling Metro Transit’s “College Pass” to enrolled students for $100 instead of $175.

On September 8, the Student Senate unanimously approved an allocation of $25,000 from their reserve funds to subsidize 200 passes for both fall and spring semesters, and 100 for summer.

University administration will contribute $25 toward each pass.

“We don’t want transportation to be a barrier to [students’] education. Offering or subsidizing a bus pass is a really great way to make it affordable,” said Senate President Dhibo Hussein. “It doesn’t matter whether you bike, bus, swim. However you get to class, we want to make sure that is an affordable way for you to get there.”

Metro Transit fares will increase by $0.25 per ride starting October 1. At the University of Minnesota, the “U-Pass” transit pass for their students increased from $100 to $114 in response to Metro Transit’s fare increase.

Transit passes are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis at Gateway Student Services locations. They are valid for unlimited rides on Metro Transit buses and light rail from August 15 to December 31.

To purchase a College Pass, students must present a valid photo ID. They must be enrolled fall semester and cannot have any financial holds on their accounts..

Students are advised to register their College Pass online at metrotransit.org/register. If a pass is lost, replacement cards cost $20 if registered, $175 if unregistered.

Student Senate sponsors St. Paul mayoral candidate forum on Sept. 22 Metropolitan State will host the six leading St. Paul mayoral candidates for a forum on Sept. 22, 6 to 9 p.m. in the Great Hall in New Main. The participating candidates are Melvin Carter, Elizabeth Dickinson, Tom Goldstein, Pat Harris, Tim Holden and Dai Thao.

“We had one objective: increase political participation on campus and the East Side,” said Student Senator Andres Boland, one of the organizers of the event.

He said the forum will be “town hall style.” He encourages students to attend for a civil, respectful discussion with candidates.

The event is open to the public.

Election day for municipal and school district races is November 7. Absentee voting begins September 22. St. Paul voters will use ranked choice voting for mayor, in which they indicate their order of preference for up to six candidates.

Prayer rugs available for borrowing at Student Center Four prayer rugs are now available for student use at the St. Paul campus. They are stored at the welcome desk in the Student Center lobby. They may be checked out with a student ID. The initiative to bring prayer rugs to the Metro State campus came from Heather Moenck, the Student Senate Vice President. Moenck discovered this service for Muslim students while visiting Minnesota State University, Mankato.

After receiving approval from Student Senate and university administration, she found a classmate willing to donate prayer rugs. The program began in May. Muslims offer formal prayers five times a day. The prayer rugs provide a clean, personal space for praying, kneeling and bowing.

“In the future, we are going to hopefully have them available in more buildings and eventually at other campuses,” said Moenck.

For more information, please contact the Student Senate at student.senate@metrostate.edu.

Editorial: Respond to Charlottesville with RIGR Metro State seems so far from the fray. Our campuses hold no symbols of the Confederacy and white supremacy. Our library’s rainbow signs declare “All Are Welcome” in English, Arabic, Hmong, Somali and Spanish. Our college classrooms are filled with perhaps the most diverse student body in the state of Minnesota.

We are every color and creed. We are allies.

Together, we forge an anti-racist community.

Charlottesville could never happen here.

And yet...

Someone scrawled racist graffiti in a restroom in the Library and Learning Center in December 2014.

Every year, a member of the university community is recognized with the Anti-Racism Legacy Award. Past recipients include Professor Nantawan Lewis, Ethnic and Religious Studies, and Professor Daniel Abebe, Individualized Studies.

We rightly honor them. They do righteous work. But does the fact that they work so hard expose an underlying and troubling truth? Perhaps they work so hard because we are not the community we think we are?

We must acknowledge that the fight for justice is far from over— on every campus, in every community, southern or northern, homogenous or diverse. So we cannot not rest on our laurels at Metro State. In the torchlit face of Charlottesville, we must ask: what can we do?

Words are welcome. President Arthur issued a strong statement of solidarity with the University of Virginia. She called out white supremacy, Neo-Nazism and the Ku Klux Klan by name. There was no moral equivalency suggested here at Metro State; no “many sides.”

But words alone are not enough. We—we students—must take action. If we want to live and learn as an anti-racist community, we can’t just wish that into be-

ing. We must create it with RIGR. Metro State implemented the Racial Issues Graduation Requirement (RIGR) for all incoming students starting fall 2016. RIGR-approved classes are a minimum of 3 credits and focus on race and racism.

The Minnesota State system’s Office of Equity and Inclusion honored RIGR with their award for best practices in February 2017. When he visited our campus in July, Interim Chancellor Devinder Malhotra lauded RIGR as “a good model… that exposes all students to a better understanding of how to live and learn in a diverse world.”

We can hope other institutions will follow our lead and develop a racial issues requirement of their own; but first we must show that we as students embrace it. We must register for RIGR. There are 35 RIGR-designated courses or sections offered this fall semester alone. Most are upper division, and can fulfill other

GELS requirements. Not surprisingly, many Ethnic Studies classes meet RIGR requirements. But so do some courses in Criminal Justice, Management, Psychology, Social Work, Writing and more. There are RIGR courses for everyone, no matter their major.

RIGR is not about indoctrination; it is about respect. RIGR does not mean rigidity; it means credibility.

So let’s fill every section of every RIGR class with students.

And not just those of us admitted since fall 2016 for whom it’s a requirement. Make it your priority to fit it in your schedule.

Sit up front, engage with your professor and your classmates.

Meet the demands of a RIGR class and face your “personal, moral, civic, and professional responsibilities” to respond to racism.

There were ugly, devastating days this summer; there may be more ahead. But don’t stay home and eat cake. Get to class.

Student Life

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September

Meet your student senators

Dhibo Hussein President Major: Chemistry

Heather Moenck Vice President Major: Psychology

Mitesh Rai Secretary

Neeraj Gautam Public Relations Director

“Senate can make actual changes.

We can bring issues forward. But we need student participation to make it happen.”

Major: Individualized Studies

Major: Computer Information Technology

“My top priorities are to work to keep tuition affordable. And I want to help the Student Parent Center, Veteran Services and the LGBTQ Student Resource Center take root here at Metro State.”

“I want to hone in on programs like healthcare and multicultural resources.

Let’s dig in and see how they operate and how we can make them better.

Let’s put these at the forefront.”

“I want Senate to collaborate on health and wellness efforts. Let’s introduce students to a healthy lifestyle, to yoga and meditation. If they start here, it will be a habit for the the rest of their lives.”

Jessica Maistrovich Treasurer

Chris Atemkeng Senator

Aftab Osman Senator

Bijesh Bajracharya Senator

“I would love to get a mascot for our school. I believe that it encourages school spirit and unity, plus it’s just plain fun!”

“I want to work on diversity issues. I think Metro State is doing pretty well on that on that. No matter your race, no matter your ethnicity, you are welcome here. Senate can be supportive of that by getting people to talk to each other.”

“The biggest thing I want students to know is that Senate exists. We can make a difference. We can maximize and optimize students’ voices.”

“What do I like best about being a senator? Dealing with all the students and communicating with all types of students from different backgrounds.

Helping students in whatever they want to achieve.”

Juan Gomez Senator

Nagma Garane Senator

Tina Martinez Senator

Vanneck Tiako Senator

“I want to decrease student fees and offer better health and wellness options for students.”

“I would love to see a daycare on campus for student parents to use. I see a lot of students limiting their education because they need to care for the kids.”

“I like being able to help students voice their opinions. No matter how big or small their concern is, let us know. No matter what it is, we will always do our best to help.”

“I like getting the chance to work with students, increase public speaking skills and to know more about students and their life on campus.”

Richard Ketelsen Senator

Noemi Rocio Ramos Saico Senator

Andres Boland Senator

John Patterson Senator

“I hope to advocate for fair student fees and encourage students to become more involved with school and decisions that impact their student life.

My priority is to encourage an inclusive environment for all students and staff members.”

“My number one agenda item is to increase the political voice and power of students. I want to encourage students to get involved in local and state government, and bring more elected officials to campus.”

“I want students to have more of a say.

I want to build student autonomous power.”

Major: Applied Mathematics

Major: Computer Science

Major: Computer Science “I am in the learning phase. I’m ready to listen to concerns and problems. I have a long history in graphic design and marketing and I think I can add some things to how Senate presents itself. Students need to know what Senate does.”

Major: Finance

Major: Biology

Major: Nursing (RN-BSN)

Major: Computer Science

Major: Biology & Computer Sci.

Major: Political Science

Major: Computer Science

Major: Computer Science

Major: Ethnic Studies

Not interviewed: Ashley Coyle, Guuled Ismail, Izhar Osman and Hussein Sheikh.

Sit in on a Student Senate meeting. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. in Student Center room 201. All are welcome.

Friday, Sept. 22 Friday, Oct. 6 Friday, Oct. 20 Friday, Nov. 3 Friday, Nov. 10 Friday, Dec. 1

Friday, Dec. 15

Student Life

r 2017

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Find your fun at Fall Fest 2017 Celebrate Metro State’s annual ‘homecoming’ on September 16 at the St. Paul campus

By SCOTT LINDELL Staff Writer

Are you interested in getting more involved on campus this year? Do you wonder if there is more to Metro State than classes and homework? At this year’s Fall Fest, you can discover a multitude of ways to get included in Metro State activities.

Fall Fest is Saturday, Sept. 16 from 12:30 to 4 p.m. in the parking lot at the corner of 6th Street E. and Maria Ave. on the St. Paul campus.

If it rains or snows, the festivities will move inside the Student Center.

Representatives of more than 30 student clubs and organizations will be present at the event. Students can visit organizations’ tables to learn about their mission and membership.

The five student leaders of the University Activities Board (UAB) are the organizers of Fall Fest. Andrew Mueller, Guyo Kotile, Mohamed Nur, Sindy Griggs and Nut-

thar Souvannachack selected “Fall Fun Since ’71” as this year’s theme.

They plan to highlight Metro State’s history since its founding in 1971.

UAB advisor Alysia Lajune said the board hopes attendees will get into the spirit and wear ’70s attire like bell bottoms and tie-dye. “DJ D-Mil is returning to Fall Fest this year and he’ll play a wide range of music that appeals to our diverse audience, including a series of ‘throwback’ chart-toppers dating back to 1971,” she said.

Fall Fest offers a carnival atmosphere, a BBQ cookout, and an event t-shirt. Activities include an inflatable bounce house, photo booth and a 24-foot rock-climbing wall. Entertainment includes break dancing performances by the Metro State Breaking Club.

Fall Fest is open to Metro State students, staff, faculty, family, friends and community members.

Children are welcome. Kid-friendly activities include caricatures, henna tattoos, Jumbo Jenga, giant Connect Four and a dunk tank.

The UAB hopes to build on last year’s “record-breaking attendance,” and see more alumni attendees this year. “Our annual goal is to increase alumni engagement at Fall Fest, so the official welcome will be given by Rita Dibble, Metro’s Chief Officer & Foundation Director, and she will also speak at the Alumni Affairs brunch immediately preceding Fall Fest,” said Lajune.

Souvannachack, the marketing and promotions coordinator for the UAB, said they are planning more events for the day before and after Fall Fest. This may include a dance on Friday, Sept. 15. Students should check OrgSync for up-to-date details.

RSVPs accepted through the OrgSyncwebpagetiny.cc/fallfest17.

For more information on Fall Fest, contact Alysia Lajune at Alysia.Lajune@metrostate.edu. Individuals needing accommodations to attend the event can contact the Center for Accessibility Resources at 651-793-1549 or accessibility.resources@metrostate.edu.

Photo by Scott Lindell

At last year’s Fall Fest, attendees met student organizations and picked up flyers and giveaways.

Individuals visited each table to complete their sign-off sheet and win a prize.

Photo by Scott Lindell

Metro State’s student-run University Activities Board (UAB) carefully selects feature attractions for Fall Fest. The event brings communities and families together for fun activities.

Note: In the August edition, an ad gave the incorrect impression that Fall Fest is organized by the Student Senate; Fall Fest is organized and sponsored by the University Activities Board (UAB).

Join the club!

Meet up with Metro State’s many student clubs and organizations at Fall Fest

•Advocacy, Political Leadership & Service Club •Alcohol and Drug Counseling Student Association •American Sign Language Student Organization •Asian Student Organization •Behavioral Science Student Association •Black Student Union •Computer Science/Information Technology Club •Cyber Security and Forensics Student Organization •Family Resource Network for Student Parents •Haute Dish Art & Literary Magazine •Health & Wellness Student Association •Hmong Student Organization •Human Services Student Association •International Student Organization •Lavender Bridge LGBTQ Student Organization •Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Club •League of Legends E-sports •Math Club •Metro State Breaking Club •Metro State Veterans Network •Metropolitan State University Film Club •Muslim Student Association •National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) On Campus •Nursing Student Organization •Project SAVE (Sexual Assault & Violence Education) •Psychology Club •Pueblo •Student Activity Fees Allocation Committee (SAFAC) •Social Work Student Association •Student Senate •The Adventure Club •The Metropolitan Student Newspaper •Theater Underground •TRiO Student Union •Twin Cities Technical Communication Technical Community (TC3) •University Activities Board (UAB) •VOICES (Voices of Indian Council for Educational Success) •Writer’s Think Tank

6 On Campus Pres. Arthur talks past, present & future at Convocation

September 2017

Metro State faculty, staff and students gather to reflect on accomplishments and challenges, gains and losses RYAN JAY

Staff Writer

President Virginia “Ginny” Arthur kicked off the 2017-2018 school year with her live-streamed speech at Convocation on August 16.

Convocation is a gathering of the university community at the start of the academic year. It is an opportunity to “mark our students’ passage into higher education, or their progress toward another academic year,” Arthur said. She welcomed new students and colleagues to Metro State.

Arthur lauded the conferral of nearly 2,200 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees during the 2017 academic year, the university’s largest number of graduates ever.

She announced the reaffirmation of accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission this past spring. The next accreditation check comes in 10 years.

Arthur expressed her gratitude to everyone who assisted in the process.“Responding to the feedback from our systems portfolio report, making improvements to our processes, and documenting all that good work, really was a Herculean task,” she said.

Several new grants were announced during Arthur’s speech.

These grants will help pay for student internship stipends, support teacher candidates of color, pro-

vide suicide prevention resources, and sustain a student emergency fund. She also announced a “post-grant support” position, an idea greeted with applause.

Amidst celebratory announcements, Arthur also noted the sudden loss of Associate Provost Doug Knowlton, who died July 5. Arthur remembered him as “a kind and helpful person who was extraordinarily supportive of our students.” She commended Knowlton for his “care and tact,” while dealing with the most difficult of student cases.

Noting the paradox of a non-traditional university with strong traditions, Arthur discussed how to shape the future of Metro State while honoring those traditions. “I find that the founding principles of this university are exactly what position us for an exciting and meaningful future,” she said.

By transforming students into graduates, Arthur said the university can benefit the community. While Metro State is a place for new ideas and sharing, hate or discrimination will never be tolerated in any form, she said. She encouraged students to be a positive force in the world, instilling “universal values of justice, equity, and opportunity for people.”

A video of Arthur’s speech is available at the “MetropolitanState Live” channel on YouTube.

“I don’t see any other higher education institution in the state… that is more capable of serving a diverse Minnesota than Metropolitan State University.”

“We’ve got challenges ahead of us. But I believe that, unlike other universities, who are locked into a traditional model of education, that won’t fare well in the future by their heritage and traditions...

Our heritage, our core principles enable us, maybe even compel us, to take risks and step into the role of an education leader...”

President Ginny Arthur, Convocation address 2017 Photo courtesy of President’s Office

Human Subjects Review Board protects study participants Members ensure Metro State research proposals meet rigorous ethical standards RACHEL HAGEN Guest Writer

Before an experiment can be conducted on human beings at Metro State, it must pass muster with the Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB).

The HSRB is responsible for reviewing research proposals from faculty and students.

The board determines whether any ethical concerns must be addressed by the researcher.

Dr. Therissa Libby, incoming chair of the HSRB and assistant professor of Human Services, strongly believes in the importance of the HSRB’s role in protecting vulnerable populations.

The HSRB was established by university policy #2060 and requires that research study “participants must also be guaranteed freedom from coercion and undesirable consequences.” The board is an advocate against exploitation and malfeasance in all research studies, Libby said.

The HSRB consists of one representative from each college, plus a Metro State senior or graduate student, an administrative member, and an individual who is not affiliated or related to someone within the university. Training is provided to the members, and they are expected to serve three years to gain mastery of the review process. The board meets monthly.

Research proposals are categorized based on their assumed risk factor to participants, and then reviewed by the HSRB in smaller groups. This speeds up the review process in an efficient and effective way.

“Full board review is very rare at Metro,” said Libby. “Most projects are expedited—minimal risk— or exempt. Last year, we had one full board review. About two-thirds of our reviews were

Are student research proposals subject to review?

Yes.

expedited.” The HSRB reviewed 90 proposals in the past year.

Most proposals are exempt because they do not require the direct or indirect collection of human data. Exempt proposals are required to fill out a separate exemption form to be submitted to the review board. Expedited review occurs when minimal risk is perceived in an experiments.

Animal testing is not conducted at Metro State, but a rigorous review process is required for it.

“The only animal research currently done is on organisms that do not fall into reviewable categories. For example, flies and worms,” said Libby. “We don’t currently have the type of animal care and use facilities that support research on, say, rodents. If research at Metro heads in that direction, we will create an animal care and use committee to review those proposals.”

Transparency and accessibility are essential for success of researchers entering the review process, said Libby. The HSRB website provides answers to frequently asked questions and an overview of the review process: http://www. metrostate.edu/student/university-info/university-info/ human-subjects-review-board/

frequently-asked-questions Federal regulations require educational institutions to operate review boards to protect the rights of individuals participating in experiments and guarantee informed consent.

The regulations aim to prevent exploitative experiments like the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. Subsidized by the federal government, researchers recruited impoverished, illiterate black men in rural Alabama to participate in a study in exchange for free health care.

From 1932 to 1972, researchers studied the men yet did not inform them that they were being infected with syphilis. The men were not given penicillin, a drug proven successful in treating syphilis. This not only affected the men participating in the study, but also family members consequently exposed to the disease.

The HSRB is a proactive measure to secure the health and wellbeing of those participating in research studies at Metro State.

But Libby sees the work of the HSRB as far more than a safeguard against abuse. “I see the process as not just preventative, but educative. It’s an opportunity for students to engage in critical thinking,” she said.

Independent student research projects involving human subjects must be submitted to the HSRB: - Senior or capstone theses - Undergraduate or Master’s research projects Even if students are the primary investigators, faculty advisors or instructors will sign the proposal as the Responsible Project Investigator (RPI).

Class assignments that gather and analyze data from participants outside class are considered research and must be submitted to the HSRB: - Surveys - Experiments - Focus groups - Interviews Source:MetropolitanStateUniversityHumanSubjectsReviewBoardwebsite

Tech

September 2017

7

Never miss a message: Merge student & personal email JOSEPH T. PARSONS Staff Writer

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed in my two years at Metro State, it’s that most students rarely check their university email accounts.

But did you know it’s official university policy (#1050, no less)?

Students must “use their university-provided e-mail address for university-related business.”

Furthermore, the policy requires that employees “use the official university email system when sending emails of a sensitive and confidential nature.”

As a result, faculty and staff may be unwilling to respond to student messages that weren’t sent from a Metro State email address.

Steve Reed, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technology and Telecommunications, said the reason behind the policy is so the university has an unchanging point of contact to students.

“Phone numbers change … [but a student’s] email will not change.”

“Things that have a real impact on students,” like emergency alerts and class cancellations, may not be received, said Reed. “We cannot uphold our commitment to what we do” without a certain means of contacting students, he said.

So let’s make managing your student email more convenient.

First, I’ll show you how you can receive Metro State emails alongside your primary personal email account. Then, a howto on sending a metrostate.edu email from any email account.

Receiving StarID@metrostate.edu emails The quick and dirty approach: Forward from Outlook.com The easiest way to receive your student emails in any other email inbox is to forward them from Outlook.com. When you receive an email at StarID@metrostate.edu, you will receive an identical copy in your preferred email inbox.

Step 1: Log in to your student email account at outlook.com/my.metrostate.edu.

Click the gear icon at the top right. Under “Your app settings” at the bottom, click “Mail.”

Step 2: In the menu on the left, navigate to “Mail” > “Accounts” > “Forwarding.” Select “Forwarding” and a menu will open in the middle of the screen.

Click “Start forwarding,” and enter the email account where you would like to receive your StarID@metrostate.edu messages.

Connecting with your phone My personal preference is to forward emails to my Gmail account and receive notifications for new Gmail messages. But it is possible to receive new mail notifications directly from your email on your mobile phone. I recommend the guides from Information Technology Services, at metrostate.edu/student/university-info/ university-info/information-technology-services/i-am-new-here/ student-faculty-and-staff-email.

Connecting with your desktop email client You can also connect your student email account to desktop email clients like Gmail, Outlook.com, Microsoft Office Outlook, and Mac Mail.

In Outlook.com, Microsoft Office Outlook, and Mac Mail, you can set up both email sending and receiving simultaneously.

Detailed steps available in the online edition at themetropolitan. metrostate.edu/2017/09/003.

Sending emails as StarID@ metrostate.edu Email is complicated. It’s a mishmash of different protocols for sending, receiving, and verifying identities.

As a result, there are no guarantees. One day Metro State’s email servers may decide that the emails you’ve been sending no longer look legitimate, and will discard them before they ever reach their destination. So if you want to be absolutely sure a message you send from your StarID@metrostate.edu email address reaches its intended recipient, send it directly from the online student email portal.

Photo courtesy of Metropolitan State University See the online edition of this article, available at themetropolitan.metrostate.edu/2017/09/003, for how to send emails from your StarID@metrostate.edu address using Gmail, Outlook.com, Microsoft Office Outlook, and Mac Mail.

Gmail.com It is not possible to add your StarID@metrostate.edu address using the Gmail mobile app. But once you’ve added your account through Gmail. com, you will be able to send messages from StarID@metrostate.edu using the mobile app.

Step 1: From any page in Gmail, click the gear icon at the top-right, and then click “Settings” from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Click the “Accounts and Import” tab and then click “Add another email address” in the “Send mail as” section.

Step 3: Enter your StarID@metrostate.edu and click “Next Step >>” Step 4: Enter your StarID password. (The other information should be automatically filled in

by Google. But if not, the SMTP server is smtp.office365.com)

Step 5: Gmail will ask you to confirm the new address by sending an email to your Metro State email account.

Step 6: Open your Metro State email, find the message from Gmail (possibly in the “Junk Email” folder), and click the link.

Step 7: Click “Confirm,” and you’re set to send messages from StarID@metrostate.edu in Gmail.

Outlook.com Your student email already uses Outlook.com, but it can be tedious to log in to. Connecting your primary Outlook.com account with your school Outlook.com account will save you a lot of time logging in.

Step 1: Click the gear icon at the top-right, and choose “Options” from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: In the left pane, navigate to “Mail” > “Accounts” > “Connected Accounts.”

Under “Add a connected account,” click “Other email accounts.”

Step 3: Enter your email address and password. If you have set up forwarding from your StarID@metrostate.edu account to this @outlook.com account, you may wish to select “Manually

configure account settings” under “Advance Settings.” Click “OK.” Step 3.5: To manually configure account settings, select “SMTP send only connection settings”.

Otherwise, simply click “OK.” Step 4: If requested, you may need to reenter your password, plus URLs for the IMAP and SMTP servers. Enter “outlook. office365.com” for IMAP, and “smtp.office365.com” for SMTP. Finally, click “OK.” Now you can send Metro State email from Outlook.com (and receive it if you didn’t select “SMTP send only connection settings” in Step 3.5).

Microsoft Office Outlook Step 1: Click “File” from the top menu bar and then click the “Add Account” button near the top of the right pane.

Step 2: Enter your email address.

Step 3: Enter your password once requested.

Step 4: Click “OK” Now you can receive and send Metro State email from Microsoft Office Outlook.

For additional details and diagrams, see the web edition, themetropolitan.metrostate.edu.

Metro State offers free films online, on demand Kanopy unlimited streaming service features 26,000 films and documentaries SCOTT LINDELL Staff Writer

Metro State joins 3,000 other colleges and universities in providing students free access to films via Kanopy, an on-demand streaming service similar to Netflix and Hulu. Kanopy makes a collection of more than 26,000 films available to educational institutions and public library users.

To get started, go to metrostate.kanopystreaming.com.

Click “Watch now” on any film.

If off campus, you will prompted to enter your StarID and password. On campus computers, you can play movies without logging in. You can also access Kanopy through the Metro State Library’s “Databases A-Z” at libguides.metrostate.edu/az.php.

Once you are signed in, you can start exploring your viewing options. Use the Kanopy search box to find specific film titles.

Click on the “Subjects” menu to browse titles by genre, including movies, documentaries, instructional films and lessons.

You can stream content to your television via Kanopy’s Roku channel, Apple TV or Chromecast. Apps for Android smartphones, iPhones or iPads are also available.

Kanopy offers many types of

Popular Flicks Movies “Day of the Dead” “Eraserhead” “Scanners” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy “Watership Down”

Documentaries Image courtesy of Kanopy movies: drama, comedy, horror, romance, science fiction, fantasy and more. They also include various indie flicks, world cinema, award winners, classic cinema and short films. For film recommendations, check out Kanopy’s “Criterion Collection,” The New York Times critics’ selections, and audience and staff picks.

Kanopy delivers documentaries too. Topics include ethnicity, identity, politics, current affairs, history, and the LGBTQ

community. Featured documentaries are grouped in themes like “Unified Against Hate,” “Women Leading Social Change,” and Hispanic American stories.

Educational resources and instructional lessons are also available. Kanopy offers videos to help students learn more about the arts, business, global studies, language, health, media, communications, sciences and social sciences.

Students can access “The Great

Courses” lectures on Kanopy.

Popular titles include “Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation Course,” “Secrets of Mental Math,” and “How to Draw.”

Kanopy updates their catalog frequently as they add hundreds of new films each month.

Kanopy also seeks films from emerging filmmakers. If you are a student filmmaker, learn how to submit your film for Kanopy’s consideration at kanopystreaming.com/about-us/filmmakers.

“For the Love of Spock” “Grey Gardens” “I Am Not Your Negro - James Baldwin and Race in America” “In Defense of Food - An Eater’s Manifesto” “White Like Me - Race, Racism & White Privilege in America”

8

Arts & Entertainment

Sepember 2017

Film Space brings best in movies to Metro State C.T. CORUM Staff Writer

Moon and sun make science Metro State staff and students gather outside the Science Education Center to view the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse.

Science students recorded data during the eclipse, including time, temperature, percent cloud cover and cloud description.

What is the only independent theater in St. Paul with a Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) compliant projector? Metro State’s own Film Space, a 300-seat theater located in Founders Hall.

“We have a 7.1 surround system, which other theaters don’t have,” said Paying Lo, who interned for Film Space.

“The sound is really beautiful.”

Film Space officially opened in April 2016 with funding from a $30,000 Knight Arts Challenge grant.

According to Professor James Byrne, program director for Film Space, very few students know that there is a film theater at Metro State. This means that most of the films shown at Film Space go unnoticed by students.

“I had never heard about Film Space before my internship,” said student Jackie Vang, “But I ended up really enjoying some of the films shown.”

Film Space has shown “Hidden Figures,” starring Taraji P. Henson, and “No Blood of Mine,” a thriller set in Duluth, Minnesota. During the yearly Minneapolis International Film Festival, Film Space features works from filmmakers all over the world.

Byrne hopes that as the theater gains popularity and acknowledgement, it will become more influential in the community. To this end, Film Space hosts a number of film festivals including

Image courtesy of Film Space the Northstar Science Film Festival in September and the Cine Latino Film Festival in November.

“I think a lot of the problem is trying to get people who might be interested to know about the theater,” said Vang.

In addition to showing free films, Film Space is also a platform for students to show their own work. Byrne will be hosting an open screen in October for films created by Metro State students. This is an opportunity for screenwriting students to see their work on the big screen.

“The idea of letting any student be able to showcase their work in the theater is a great opportunity to give a voice to people from many backgrounds,” said Lo. Film Space also offers internships and paid positions. Stu-

dents from any major may apply.

“I’m actually a biology major,” Vang said. “It’s mainly because I’m interested in film that I took this internship. It gave me the opportunity to learn about film while still maintaining my biology major.”

Students may contact Professor James Byrne directly for more details about screening opportunities, jobs and internships.

Film Space will show “Blade Runner 2049” on September 29 at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free with Metro State ID. “Blade Runner 2049” stars Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling. It is the sequel to “Blade Runner,” the 1982 sci-fi film based on the popular novel written by Philip K. Dick. “Blade Runner” will be shown at Film Space on September 22 at 7:30 p.m.

Don't Miss YOUR Arts & Literature Magazine!

Look for Haute Dish Fall 17 out on the media racks at all campuses, or read it online at www.hautedish.metrostate.edu Haute Dish showcases the poetry, prose, photography, illustration and digital storytelling of students, staff, faculty and alumni at Metropolitan State.

For more info, visit www.hautedish.metrostate.edu or email us at hautedish@metrostate.edu Next deadline - November 15 for our Spring 2018 issue!

Find crossword solutions online at themetropolitan.metrostate.edu