THREE WOMEN GRABBED NEAR KNOLL AREA PG 2 THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019
LATE WEEK
TWO MEN APPROACHED THE WOMEN TUESDAY NIGHT
MNDAILY.COM
CRIME
STATE GOVT.
UMN student sues Chinese billionaire Richard Liu of JD.com, alleging rape
Senate UMN funding ‘falls short’ in bill
The suit, which was filed Tuesday, alleges Liu raped the student in August. BY DYLAN ANDERSON AND MIGUEL OCTAVIO danderson@mndaily.com, moctavio@mndaily.com
A University of Minnesota student filed a lawsuit accusing Chinese billionaire Richard Liu of sexual assault last summer, according to a
RICHARD LIU PHOTO COURTESY OF HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court on Tuesday. The suit files three charges against billionaire Liu Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu, and three liability charges against his company JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce firm he founded. The charges include sexual assault, battery and false imprisonment. In late August, the student attended a dinner in Minneapolis with Liu and other Chinese executives taking part in the Doctor of Business
Administration - China program run by the University. The student was instructed to sit next to Liu at the dinner, where he encouraged her to drink alcohol in excess, according to the complaint. After the dinner, Liu allegedly raped her. In the early hours of Aug. 31, 2018, police were called to the student’s apartment where they found Liu half-naked on the student’s bed before he was questioned and u See LIU Page 3
RENAMING
Worries mount over shifting renaming debate
House and Senate omnibus bills outline differing priorities of higher education committees. BY ISABELLA MURRAY imurray@mndaily.com
Minnesota House and Senate higher education committees rolled out vastly different session priorities last week in their respective omnibus bills. The Senate funds around a fourth of the University of Minnesota’s biennial budget ask in its omnibus bill, while a House companion overfunds the request to freeze tuition. Respective policy priorities also differ. The Senate proposes forwarding legislation related to state grant investment, addressing the state’s workforce shortage and increasing accountability in higher education. The House bill focuses on student services and public safety on campus. “The [omnibus] bill before us leverages … new investments to protect students and families from increased costs by boosting scholarship and grant funds, limiting tuition increases, bolstering successful programs that meet workforce needs and increasing accountability for our public higher education systems,” said Senate higher education committee chair Sen. Paul Anderson, R-Plymouth at a higher education committee meeting. u See FUNDING Page 3
BASEBALL
Former walk-on finds leading role on the Gophers’ rotation Jordan Kozicky walked on the baseball team three season ago and has grown into a key player. BY JACK WARRICK jwarrick@mndaily.com
ABBY ADAMSKI, DAILY
Supporters of renaming say regents’ accusations divert from the primary debate. BY AUSTEN MACALUS amacalus@mndaily.com
After weeks of back-and-forth about renaming buildings on campus, some people at the University of Minnesota are concerned that public focus has diverted from how the campus should reckon with its racist and anti-Semitic history. Supporters and critics continue to trade barbs over a task force’s 125-page report calling to rename Coffman Union and three other buildings. As the conflict continues, concern grows over a distorted conversation about the University’s history. But regents have stuck by their criticism, saying it’s important to get a full understanding of the facts. Some have criticized President Eric Kaler for not taking a more vocal role in
defending the task force’s work and his own “preliminary recommendation” to go forward with renaming. “We are awaiting a forceful and strong statement on his part that says quite clearly those [regents’] statements are incorrect,” said Riv-Ellen Prell, curator of the “A Campus Divided” exhibit who advised the task force. Kaler said he supported faculty at a University Senate meeting earlier this month. However, he demurred on a question about whether charges of academic dishonesty against the task force hold merit. “The situation around this is complicated right now and I think trying to untangle one particular string on top of other strings is a little hard to do right now,” Kaler said at the meeting. For Prell, Kaler’s statements haven’t gone far enough, especially because he appointed the task force and supported its findings. “I think it is time for the president of the University of Minnesota not to take a stand on the naming or renaming, not to question
the right of regents to take a position, but to more forcefully and vigorously defend the task force,” Prell said. University senior Chloe Williams, who started a petition to rename Coffman last year, said accusations against the task force have diverted attention from more important issues. “We’re straying away from how, as [a] university, we can reckon with our history,” she said. “Anti-Semitism and racism was on our campus, and to claim that administrators didn’t perpetuate it is kind of appalling.” William Jones, a member of the task force, said it’s important that people who are not historians feel they can engage in the historical debate. However, he said regents’ bad-faith accusations have largely gone unchallenged in the media. “We can have a disagreement over what happened, but don’t accuse us of lying or being dishonest,” he said. Regent Michael Hsu maintains his u See DEBATE Page 3
When Jordan Kozicky, the Gophers’ new starting shortstop, came to the team as a walk-on three seasons ago, head coach John Anderson didn’t know where he was going to play. “We just thought he was athletic enough that eventually we could make a player out of him,” Anderson said about the junior from Minneapolis. “We knew he was going to have some versatility, and that’s exactly what he’s done for us.” After redshirting and not playing in any games during his first year with Minnesota, Kozicky got his chance when former third baseman Micah Coffey suffered an injury. Later in the season, the team figured out Kozicky could bat; he then filled in at shortstop for Terrin Vavra, who was recovering from a back injury. “Every time they’ve asked me to go somewhere, I’ve never hesitated or told them I didn’t feel comfortable,” Kozicky said. “I like the outfield, I like the infield. I just like being on the field in general. “Basically, my career has been dependent on injuries,” he said. He played last year entirely in the outfield after Vavra, a third-round MLB draft pick last year, recovered from his back injury. Kozicky is back at shortstop after Vavra’s departure and has brought more production at the plate. Kozicky u See KOZICKY Page 4
COMMUNITY
Students give free health care to underserved communities at local clinic U students gain experience by providing health care to the Minneapolis community. BY DYLAN MIETTINEN dmiettinen@mndaily.com
Though the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic is open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. each Monday and Thursday night, it’s typical for a line to form by 5:45 p.m. The line often includes immigrants, non-native English speakers and the uninsured, all seeking no-cost treatment from a primary clinic run by University of Minnesota professional students. In order to combat this congestion, volunteers have been working to cut wait times by 10 minutes through implementing simple yet effective changes. Many solutions, like additional medical supplies and changing the clinic’s layout, were implemented last month to decrease congestion. Ophthalmologist Dr. Martin de la Presa, who volunteers at the PNC, has been working to decrease wait times at the clinic in hopes of making the experience easier for both volunteers and patients alike. “This project is really continuing off a
lot of the work before I got involved” de la Presa said. “You identify different areas for improvement and then brainstorm ways to implement them, improve them and observe results.” The clinic averages 10-12 patients per day and treated 940 last year. On any given day, there are about 35 student volunteers, according to the PNC’s Medical Director Brian Sick. “The students are a transient population,” Sick said. “They are here for a relatively short period of time and there’s constant turnover, so keeping them educated on their role can be a constant struggle.” Another one of the goals of de la Presa’s work was to create documents that outline the specific duties of each position, which has been received well. Students can hold various roles at the clinic. In their first year, they typically learn about all of the duties a clinician has by being a patient advocate. In the following years of volunteering, students can focus on their areas of study or hold leadership positions. Second-year pharmacy student Makoto Hang said he grew up learning the u See CLINIC Page 3
JASMIN KEMP, DAILY
Patty Maglalang, a second-year pharmacy student, volunteers at the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic in Minneapolis on Monday, April 15. Part of her job at the clinic, which is staffed by University of Minnesota students and supervising clinicians, is to counsel patients on correct use of medications.
VOLUME 119 ISSUE 54