July 31, 2019

RESEARCH

Infinity & beyond

A UMN researcher is taking part in a project that will place a radio telescope on the moon.

The University of Minnesota is taking part in a NASA-funded project to prepare for the next moon landing in 2024.

The project will place the first radio telescope on the moon, which will allow researchers to learn more about the moon’s environment and conditions. The unmanned radio telescope will be on the near side of the moon, which is the side closest to Earth, but researchers said they hope to one day put a telescope on the far side

Local artists drive the 25th ArtCar and ArtBike Parade

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“It’s been a long-time fantasy to put a radio telescope on the moon, especially on the far side where there is no radio interference from Earth,” said Keith Goetz, a University physics professor leading the project.

The project, which was announced earlier this month, is a collaboration between several universities, including the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Minnesota. The researchers said they hope to send their technology to the moon in about two years to prepare and conduct research before humans travel there again.

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ADMINISTRATION

Medical School position to bring more inclusivity

The school is conducting a search for its first vice dean of diversity and inclusion.

BY FARRAH MINA fmina@mndaily.com

In an effort to advance diversity, the University of Minnesota Medical School announced it will be creating a new administrative position for equity and inclusion.

Following the announcement earlier this month, the Medical School is conducting a national search for the position of vice dean of equity and inclusion, which is co-chaired by Michael Goh, vice president of equity and diversity, and Anne Joseph, Wexler professor of medicine and vice chair of the Office of Faculty Affairs and Diversity in the Department of Medicine.

Goh and Joseph are currently seeking nominations for search committee members who will “represent the breadth and diversity of constituents and stakeholders inside the medical school and the broader university community,” Joseph said in an email. They aim to have the new vice dean position filled by spring 2020.

Many medical schools across the nation struggle to create a diverse student body, and the University’s Medical School is no exception. In the fall of 2018, about 80 percent of students in the school identified as white or unknown, according to data from

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STUDENT GROUPS

The student group launched the campaign to honor Zahra Mohamed, who died in January.

BY FARRAH MINA fmina@mndaily.com

To honor the late president of Students Devoted to Marginalized Communities, the University of Minnesota student group launched a fundraising campaign earlier this month to build a water well in Somalia in Zahra Mohamed’s name.

Mohamed, who died in January after being struck by a car, founded the student group in the fall of 2018. Her passion for community service and development propelled her to create the student group with a mission to serve minority communities.

“Since Zahra was passionate about development, especially in East Africa ... we all thought that a well was the best way to honor her,” said Hibo Wehelie, a friend of Mohamed’s and an SDMC board member.

SDMC plans to host a basketball tournament to raise funds to contribute to the building of the well, Wehelie said. It is also taking individual contributions online via a donation link, which is shared on SDMC’s social media platforms. The group hopes to raise the $3,000 necessary for the well.

In order to build the well, the student group is working with the American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa, an organization Mohamed was volunteering with.

COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY Decorated bikes lead the Minnesota ArtCar and ArtBike Parade on Saturday, July 27 at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.

NEIGHBORHOODS

BY J.D. DUGGAN jduggan@mndaily.com

Despite concerns from some members of the Cedar-Riverside business community, city officials insist a proposed African market will vitalize the neighborhood, following the lead of other Minneapolis public markets.

Ward 6 City Council member Abdi Warsame and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced a proposed Cedar-Riverside public market last month. Warsame disputes fears of gentrification and increased crime, which some in the business community have recently raised. The request for proposal, one of the first steps in the city’s development process, will be issued in August. Warsame said he hopes to get ahead of the inevitable further development of Cedar-Riverside.

“The idea is to prevent gentrification and also use the culture of the neighborhood. And use it as an advantage to the community,” Warsame said. “I think it’s very important to be intentional about how you develop things.”

The public market is part of a larger vision to turn the area around the namesake crossroads of Cedar and Riverside Avenues into an “Africa Village,” branding the region as a cultural destination, Warsame said. Backed by public marketplace research, he said the market will support neighboring businesses and new entrepreneurs.

The vision includes a small business incubator, a commercial kitchen where vendors can rent space, a farmers market and, if housing is part of finalized design, affordable living units.

“The businesses will be led by the community; ... the face of the businesses will be African people that live in this area,” Warsame said.

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The construction of the well will also correspond to a concept in Islam called sadaqah jariyah, or ongoing charity, which is believed to benefit the deceased after death

According to her younger sister, Aliya

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CHRIS MCNAMARA, DAILY Parking lot A in Cedar Riverside as seen on Thursday, July 25. The lot stands to be renovated for commercial development under Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

In 2024, the University of Minnesota will help NASA send the first radio telescope to the moon.

After president’s death, group raises funds for water well

Despite backlash, some say the market will curb gentrification and mitigate crime in the area.

which would allow them to explore how some stars and galaxies began.

BY KATRINA PROSS kpross@mndaily.com

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, takes the first close-up images of the moon. HISTORYCHANNEL.COM/TDIH

New ordinance to affect Airbnbs

Minneapolis.

BY IMANI CRUZEN icruzen@mndaily.com

A new city ordinance would limit short-term rentals, primarily Airbnbs, in Minneapolis.

Following resident concerns and city pushback against short-term rentals in a downtown Minneapolis apartment, Ward 3 City Council member Steve Fletcher is looking to change city requirements for property owners. Fletcher said short-term rentals can take housing off the market and drive up rental costs, among other issues.

The Vicinity apartments in downtown Minneapolis, owned by Sherman Associates, originally planned to lease 94 units to short-term renters through a company called Sonder. Sonder would act as the long-term tenant and facilitate short-term leasing through Airbnb. The Vicinity is currently under construction with completion set for the fall. Sherman Associates could not be reached for comment.

The plan upset residents who were concerned with the aspect of too many short-term residents in the

neighborhood, Fletcher said.

“The neighbors felt like it might lead to living around a lot of people who didn’t care as much about the health of the neighborhood,” Fletcher said.

Residents were also concerned with how the plan would affect the low-income families who would live in the apartment, where 20 percent of units will be affordable to residents.

“They were keeping all of the affordable units, and then they were going to surround the low-income families that move into those units with short-term rentals,” Fletcher said. “Then that didn’t feel

fair to them.”

In response to the concerns, Sherman Associates and Sonder reached an agreement to decrease the number of units used for short-term rentals to 25. But Fletcher said The Vicinity is not the only reason he wants to address short-term rentals in Minneapolis. He said he knows of at least a dozen more buildings downtown renting their units out in a similar way.

When housing is taken off the market, negotiating becomes more difficult for renters, Fletcher said.

“I think when you’re see-

ing apartment buildings put a lot on there, I’m going to have the same concern that I have with Vicinity, which is that, if you take student housing off the market, that makes it a tighter market, and that props rents up and I don’t want to see that happen,” Fletcher said. The city ordinance, spearheaded by Fletcher, would increase regulation for short-term rentals. This could include imposing new fees and regulating where short-term rentals can exist.

Airbnb declined to comment because the ordinance is not yet finalized.

While conversations around short-term rentals are centered in the downtown area, MarcyHolmes Neighborhood Association executive director Chris Lautenschlager said the neighborhood supports ordinances like Fletcher’s.

“Marcy-Holmes would be in favor of any sort of ordinances that would disallow new developments to be used purely for the sake of Airbnb,” Lautenschlager said.

Prospect Park Association president Eric Amel said there’s a need in the neighborhood for diverse housing models, including short-term rentals. There are currently 10 listings on Airbnb at the Arrow apartments in Prospect Park, listed by the apartment’s property manager.

“I think the neighborhood benefits from a variety of housing types and styles,” Amel said. “So whether you’re an owner or leasing by the year or a more short-term thing or a hotel thing, this is all of value to our neighborhood to have these different modes.”

Fletcher said the city will seek public feedback to get a better idea of the ways, good and bad, that short-term rentals are being used. He expects to introduce the ordinance to the city in the fall.

Initiative creates jobs in North Minneapolis

The teams goal is to build employment opportunities in the underserved region.

BY J.D. DUGGAN jduggan@mndaily.com

The University of Minnesota’s Northside Job Creation Team set a clear goal: Bring 1,000 economically sound living-wage jobs to North Minneapolis by 2019.

The NJCT is a part of the University’s Urban Research and OutreachEngagement Center. The program was sparked during a 2010 North Minneapolis job summit, aiming to reverse the economic disparities facing the most disenfranchised region of the city. In 2013, NJCT set out to create 1,000 jobs in conjunction with numerous local partners, including the

city of Minneapolis. This year, NJCT leadership say they’ve met their goal — although some jobs have moved and some employees have been laid off. More than 1,200 jobs are expected to have been created in North Minneapolis through the program from 2012 to 2020.

“Too long, I think there’s been barriers,” said James DeSota, co-senior director at UROC and director of administration and programs. “It’s part of UROC’s mission to really find ways to transform the way that community and the University can work together to solve critical issues that are facing our communities.”

Of the 1,200 projected jobs, NJCT has supported the creation of 663 jobs in North Minneapolis through the Minneapolis Public School system.

But Bill English, NJCT

consulting project director, said there is still work to be done in the African American-dominated region, which has some of the highest disparities in the country.

“You’re contributing to an economy that is underperforming,” English said. “There’s underutilized talent there.”

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reported in 2016 that African American residents have more than triple the unemployment rate of white residents in the Twin Cities metro.

English said the disparities extend past employment into home ownership and wealth. Much of the wealth acquired by North Minneapolis residents is spent outside of the area due to a lack of adequate resources, making it difficult to elevate the local economy, he added.

Lea Hargett, former president of the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce and an advisor to the NJCT, said the program and its partners have worked to create opportunities reflective of the community’s values.

“The focus is on the right things, the focus is on the community helping itself and the community advocating for itself, leading itself with partners,” Hargett said. “It’s the only way that you ever do overcome. ... If you look at the examples of other communities that are thriving, that’s how they do it.”

She said systemic barriers, like redlining, hold the community back. Redlining is the systematic denial of financial services to a specific region or group of people. In Minneapolis, historic redlining has been well-documented in the form of denying mortgages to black residents, with effects lingering

in present-day disparities.

Documented cases of redlining persist into today.

Last year, the United States Department of Justice reached a settlement with KleinBank, the largest family-owned bank in Minnesota, for alleged redlining in the Twin Cities.

The lawsuit alleged that KleinBank intentionally avoided providing lending services to residents living in predominantly minority neighborhoods from 2010 to at least 2015.

“Communities have been systematically targeted; they don’t have that kind of an opportunity to influence the direction our community takes. Others come in and develop around us,” Hargett said. “So NJCT is being very intentional to make sure that, at least in this little pocket of the Twin Cities, that that isn’t going to happen.”

Students and locals say farewell to late-night staple

door only to soon discover it had closed two weeks prior.

only Perkins,” she said. “If that’s what you want, that’s where you go.”

BY CAITLIN ANDERSON canderson@mndaily.com

Sunday mornings on Riverside Avenue won’t be the same with the recent closure of its Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, a long-standing area staple.

The last Perkins in Minneapolis city limits, adjacent to the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, closed its doors on July 14. Many of its patrons — longtime customers and University of Minnesota students alike — were surprised and saddened. The closure marked the end of years of tradition for some, and for others, the end of their late-night hangout spot.

A slew of people drove inand-out of the barren Perkins parking lot Sunday morning. They slowed down their cars, parked and walked up to the

Some locals frequented this Perkins for their traditional Sunday brunch. University staff member Kevin Haroian, who had been going to the Perkins for the past 20 years, discovered it had closed on Sunday morning.

“I’m originally from Milwaukee, so when my parents would visit, they loved Perkins so I’d take them here,” Haroian said. “It’s been kind of a tradition.”

The location’s convenience brought other patrons to its door. Minutes away from both the West Bank and East Bank campuses, this location often acted as a latenight spot for University students to get cheap and convenient food.

University junior Sophi Heim went to the Perkins after a concert one night at U.S. Bank Stadium to avoid the venue’s steep food prices.

“It’s just a fun vibe at night because who serves breakfast food at night? Like

University students from decades ago also went to the Perkins for the same latenight appeal. Keith Goldberg, who graduated in 1984, said he remembers stopping at the Perkins with his friends for a quick bite.

“One thing I remember is the interesting characters or people you would find in there at that time of night,” he said.

The restaurant’s signature menu items brought in both college students and regulars, said Ally Zastoupil, a junior at the University who noticed the waiters knew people by name.

“I thought it was really cute,” she said.

Denny’s, another popular breakfast restaurant nearby on Lake Street, also closed recently, locals noted.

“I’m very surprised. … It’s kind of like, what’s going on? These big chains can’t make it anymore?” Haroian said.

While this location is the last in Minneapolis, there are other Perkins locations within ten miles in the greater Minneapolis suburbs, said Vivian Brooks, spokesperson for Perkins, in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

“While it is always a difficult decision to close a restaurant, we have a long tradition in this market/state and intend to continue that,”

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she said.

Many of the employees from this location have accepted positions at other Perkins restaurants nearby, Brooks said.

“I can definitely see where people would get sentimental about it,” Heim said. “People get hooked on where they go. ... Taking that away is like more than just taking away coffee.”

If passed, it would set regulations for short-term rentals in

JASMIN KEMP, DAILY

The Vicinity Apartments as seen on Monday, July 29.

The only Perkins Restaurant near the University closed on July 14.

TONY SAUNDERS, DAILY

The now-closed Perkins in Minneapolis on Tuesday, July 30.

Goetz is part of the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment (LuSEE) project, which will collect measurements of electromagnetic phenomena on the moon’s surface. The principal investigator for the project is Stuart Bale, a University alumnus and a physics professor at the University of California-Berkeley.

LuSEE will also research lunar dust, which is a material that can be a concern for astronauts, Bale said. The dust can have sharp edges that can make it dangerous to touch or inhale.

The project, of which NASA is funding around $5 million, is among several other unmanned missions that are being carried out in preparation for the next human voyage to the moon. NASA announced earlier

this year that humans will return to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, and that this time, the first woman will also be landing on the moon. Humans have not been on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

The new projects will help NASA build its presence back up on the moon and “get our space legs back,” said Jack Burns, an astrophysics and planetary sciences professor at the University of ColoradoBoulder who is involved in the project. Continuing to explore and learn more about the moon will help researchers prepare to one day reach their goal of traveling to Mars. “The moon is the nearest solar system body to us. … If we can get comfortable living and working in an alien environment like the moon, that will help us develop the technology needed to go to Mars,” he said.

the Office of Institutional Research. For the same semester, international students made up just under 3 percent of all Medical School students. When applying to medical schools, third-year medical student Toni Okuyemi said considering diversity would have been too much of a limiting factor on her options because of the prevalence of diversity issues in medical schools.

“It’s something that you think about for whatever training, medical school, for residency in the future,” Okuyemi said. “But if you look at the statistics, it’s not like you have that many choices.”

The vice dean will be responsible for implementing best practices for the recruitment, retention and promotion of faculty from underrepresented communities, Goh said.

According to Naomi McDonald, a spokesperson for the Medical School, the Medical School partners with the Office for Equity and Diversity to ensure search committees receive implicit bias training. Department chairs in the Medical School also receive a similar training in preparation for conducting faculty interviews, writing letters of recommendation and evaluating faculty member performance.

The new vice dean will also be expected to develop “culturally-responsive” curriculum that addresses existing health disparities, Meagan Pierluissi, a spokesperson for the Office of Equity and Diversity, said in an email.

“Given the Medical School’s expanding reach across Minnesota, there is increasing attention to engaging best practices and scholarship related to working sensitively and effectively with diverse communities,” Pierluissi said.

Okuyemi and thirdyear medical student Meera Sury, both of whom

are co-presidents of the University’s Student National Medical Association, said discussions surrounding diversity and cultural competency are, more often than not, absent from the classroom. Okuyemi said in a field that is highly fact-based like medicine, concepts such as race, ethnicity and socio-economic status tend to fall in gray areas.

“It’s this area that’s new which is kind of interesting because you have well-established physicians and researchers who they practiced all their life without this concept where

they had to think about it,” Okuyemi said.

According to Goh, the newly developed curriculum will be integrated into the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral scholars, residency and fellowship training programs available.

“The position is crucial to the growing need and demand for highly skilled [diversity, equity and inclusion] professionals who can continue to transform the experience of students, staff, faculty, and community members across the University of Minnesota,” Goh said in the email.

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leading up to the announcement of the development, which left them scrambling to be involved in the process. Community members have also said the neighborhood is already too dense, and green space or the alreadyexisting parking should be a greater priority than a market.

“What was really frustrating was that there was a lack of outreach. If it’s a mixed-use space, that could fit with a lot of different needs,” said Jamie

Schumacher, executive director of West Bank Business Association. “But ... a lot of the community felt like this was dropped on them, and they didn’t have input. And they were told, you know, this is a done deal.”

Warsame has pledged to work with the community throughout the development process.

A precedent for public markets

The Ward 6 office is taking loose inspiration from Midtown Global Market, a cornerstone public market with various global vendors

in the Midtown Phillips neighborhood in South Minneapolis. The global market was a communityled redevelopment project undertaken with the help of various nonprofits in the early to mid-2000s.

Gary Schiff, former Minneapolis City Council member who represented the Midtown area in 2006, said crime fell “remarkably” in the region surrounding the global market in the years after its opening. He said the eclectic mix of tenants in the retail space helped the project’s success.

“They wanted anchor tenants who would be

seasoned small business owners, and also have room for startup businesses,” Schiff said. “Between the larger tenants and the smaller tenants, it creates a really vibrant space that then gets mixed with opportunities for music, art and community gathering spaces.”

Similar to the global market, Warsame said he hopes the Cedar-Riverside market’s economic activity is invested back into the neighborhood, building wealth for the community rather than a private developer.

Warsame also said the

proposed location’s current use as a city-subsidized parking lot near two light rail stations is a squandered opportunity, adding no value to Cedar-Riverside.

Alfonso Morales, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and researcher of public marketplaces, said public markets help those with fewer resources to build wealth and carve a place in their community.

But he said community support sours with public markets when they do not meet expectations set forth by those who envision them.

“If you over-promise,

right, you’re gonna be in trouble,” Morales said. Morales said public markets drive traffic to neighboring businesses and have fewer barriers to entry, making them more accessible to entrepreneurs just getting started.

“The marketplaces are where people begin to exercise their imagination. When a person sees a future for themselves, they wonder, ‘Well, how do I move into a brick storefront?’” Morales said. “Instead of having to do all that work, they know they can go to their local farmers market or outdoor market.”

DAILY FILE PHOTO

University Medical School buildings are seen from Washington Avenue during a rain storm on Tuesday, July 16.

“It’s been a long-time fantasy to put a radio telescope on the moon, especially on the far side where there is no radio interference from Earth.”

KEITH GOETZ

University physics professor leading the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment project

UMN grad student tackles triathlons

Rachel Zilinskas, was a seven-time All-American as an undergraduate.

BY JOHN MILLER jmiller@mndaily.com

At the University of Georgia, Rachel Zilinskas was a seven-time All-American long distance swimmer who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic trials. After tearing her rotator cuff her sophomore year, she knew that swimming would not last forever.

“At the end of my college career, I was just kind of tapped out in terms of what my shoulders could handle,” said Zilinskas.

Being a fierce competitor her whole life, the nowUniversity of Minnesota graduate student gravitated toward a sport that she had been watching since an early age. “My mom has done triathlons for a really long time,” Zilinskas said. “I knew it was something I was interested in getting into.”

When she first started training for a triathlon, it was more of a bucket list item that she wanted to check off. That was until she competed in her first race.

“I did my first real competitive triathlon and I did really, really well,” said Zilinskas. “Then I just kind of never looked back from there.”

On July 13, she competed at the CHERRiSH Life Time Tri Minneapolis Triathlon at Lake Nokomis. It consisted of a .93 mile swim, 24.5 mile bike ride and a 6.2 mile run. Despite not winning, she took second place in the International Distance Women’s division. It was one of the best finishes of her career.

“It was a pretty elite race,” said Zilinskas. “I was pretty proud of the second place

SOFTBALL

because it was a pretty competitive field.”

The Indiana, Pennsylvania native trains seven days a week. On weekdays she trains for one to three hours a day and on weekends she trains two to five hours per day. She only takes a rest day once every three weeks. She receives guidance from her coach Andrew Yoder, who is a professional triathlete. Yoder is based out of Pennsylvania; he trains Zilinskas remotely, giving her one to two weeks worth of workouts to continue to help her grow in the sport. Even though

she has an intense training regimen that takes up a lot of time, she doesn’t mind.

“I don’t have much free time and that’s one of the things that make triathlons so great,” Zilinskas said. “It’s great for me to have this outlet that’s both really good for me physically and mentally.”

Currently, Zilinskas is training to compete in the Ironman Wisconsin Triathlon, which takes place in Madison on Sept. 8. The race is much longer than Lake Nokomis event, triathletes must complete a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and run

a marathon.

“It’s a lot of sharpening your mind,” Zilinskas said about the longer race. “When I’m training, I’m thinking about a lot of different things. I get lost in being outside and really enjoying that, it’s kind of very freeing.”

Being a triathlete in Minnesota has its challenges, but the University is where she wanted to be to get her Ph.D in biostatistics, according to Zilinskas.

“It was very important to me that I was at a place where I felt comfortable. Obviously not super com -

fortable during -30 degree temperatures,” Zilinskas said with a laugh. “It definitely can be a bit of a disadvantage not having outdoors year round.”

The winter weather makes it tough for her to continue to improve her competitive biking skills, which she just began training for last year. Despite only biking for a year, it’s not her weakest event. That would be running, she said.

Being a swimmer her whole life, her body isn’t used to the constant impact of running long distances, she said.

She constantly deals with runner’s knee and even a hip injury, but she is working to perfect her running form and undergoes physical therapy. She may not have achieved her goal of making the Olympics in swimming, but that’s not stopping Zilinskas from having lofty goals for her triathlon career.

“I would love to qualify for the Iron Man World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii,” Zilinskas said. “That’s kind of been a goal of mine ever since I found out what they were when I was younger and watched them on TV.”

Gophers’ softball signs two new transfers to roster

Autumn Pease and Brook Vander Heide are two new faces on the roster.

BY NOLAN O’HARA nohara@mndaily.com

After their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Women’s College World Series didn’t go as planned, the Gophers softball team looked to strengthen its roster by adding two transfers: pitcher

Autumn Pease and outfielder

Brooke Vander Heide.

Pease, a rising sophomore, attended Idaho State her freshman season. She finished the year with a 10-5 record, a 2.36 ERA and had 115 strikeouts, earning Big Sky Co-Freshman of the Year and second-team all-conference nods. Coming off her excellent freshman season, Pease is ready to move forward with a new team.

“I think I’m super excited for the season, to just be with a new group of girls that is

super competitive,” she said.

“Not only within conference, but within each other, and I feel that they’re girls who really push each other to become the best.”

Pease spoke positively about her time at Idaho State

and said she had a great experience there. The University of Minnesota’s academic opportunities are among the reasons she decided to transfer.

“Ever since I was in, I think high school, I wanted to

become an orthodontist and I was looking at dental schools,” Pease said. “The dental school was a huge aspect that threw me into Minnesota.”

Vander Heide, an incoming senior, previously attended Brigham Young

University. During her three seasons at BYU she saw 300 at-bats, posting a .273 batting average. The rising senior made the WCC All-Academic Team in 2018. After three seasons at BYU, Vander Heide only has one season of eligibility left.

“I’m just excited to go into something new,” Vander Heide said. “For me, it’s kind of like a once in a lifetime opportunity right now because I got one season left, and I might as well just go out there and go big, right?”

Both Pease and Vander Heide have been receiving texts from teammates and coaches since the transfers have been official. They’re ready to get to work, and Vander Heide mentioned her excitement to learn from assistant coach Katie Rietkovich.

“[I’m] super excited that Katie is the hitting coach and was a slapper,” she said. “That’s going to be awesome for me just because I’m a speed player.”

Vander Heide is also look-

ing to approach this season with a different mentality. She said she put aside her social life to focus on academics as well as softball during her time at BYU. She hopes to change that in Minnesota.

“This is one of my last years to play softball ever, and I just want to have fun,” she said. “Obviously, I want to work hard and I want to get to know teammates a lot and get some great friendships, just have a lot of fun with those girls. And then, hopefully we have an awesome year. That’s obviously a goal, right? Do awesome in season and then do awesome in post-season.”

Pease and Vander Heide are the latest additions to the team. The Gophers will also welcome four incoming freshman into the roster: Delanie Cox, Kianna Jones, Olivia Peterson and Sydney Strelow.

Together, the six new faces hope they can be the difference as the Gophers look to return to the Women’s College World Series for the second time in team history.

Meyer hopes to use Team USA experience to power Gophers

The pitcher spent his second straight summer on the national team.

BASEBALL BY CHAD

FAUST cfaust@mndaily.com

In his second stint with Team USA, Gophers junior Max Meyer is doing everything he can to improve his game while simultaneously facing some of the world’s best competition.

“I really worked on refining my change-up because I don’t throw it much during the season with Minnesota”, Meyer said. “I also worked on a two-seam [fastball], I just wanted something that fades more. I’m happy I figured out those two pitches.”

Meyer spent the last two months training and playing on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. He finished with a 1.00 ERA in competitive play. Team USA finished with an 8-6 record.

Gophers pitching coach Ty McDevitt has noticed the changes Meyer has tried to implement.

“He’s refined his breaking ball a lot. People were saying this past season that he had one of the best sliders in college baseball,” McDevitt said. “As good as he’s been throughout his college career, he’s always looking to get better, always trying to make adjustments and get guys out.”

The experience in Team USA baseball is different than college, and is a great deal more demanding. For

Meyer, it’s helped him prepare for professional ball down the line.

“It was definitely a different culture going out there,’’ Meyer said. “Not being able to work out or eat like you normally do, and the time zone as well, it was definitely something I had to adjust to, and it definitely made me a better player. I know that in pro ball you have to fly around the country, so this has really helped me get ready for that and for my future.”

Meyer and his teammates traveled from North Carolina to Taiwan and then finished in Japan.

In his second summer pitching for Team USA, Meyer has thrived in his new role as leader, and is planning to take what he’s learned into

next season.

“I haven’t always been a vocal guy, mostly led by example,’’ Meyer said. “This summer with Team USA, our pitching coach Greg Moore kind of pushed us out of our comfort zone. He had us going in front of the group every single day and explaining drills like there were younger kids listening to us. That helped me get more comfortable speaking in front of a bunch of people, and that’s definitely something I can take into next season”

Meyer will be taking in everything he learned from his summer with Team USA and applying it to next season as he returns as a leader for the Gophers’ new players. Meyer’s biggest personal goal has nothing to do with his stats; it

has to do with winning.

“All I really care about next season is trying to win as many games as we can,” he said. “Last season didn’t go as well as we wanted it to,

so that’s the main thing I’m going to focus on. I was 5-3 last year but all I care about is winning the ball game and doing whatever I can to allow us to do that.”

TONY SAUNDERS, DAILY

Rachel Zilinskas trains in the pool at Cooke Hall on Friday, July 26 after her early morning spin class.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AUTUMN PEASE

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Sophomore Max Meyer pitches the ball on Saturday, May 4 at Siebert Field.

Nailed it: Little Luxuries Nail Lounge highlights talent of local nail artists

With its intricate nail art, the salon empowers its clients and employees alike.

BY BECCA MOST bmost@mndaily.com

At Little Luxuries Nail Lounge in Uptown, a purple chandelier hangs from the ceiling and long rows of colorful nail polish line a side wall.

Beside a workstation full of glittering rhinestones and false nails is a backdrop of purple and white flowers where customers can pose for photos. On the side table is a granite hashtag sculpture featuring the word “boss.”

Open since June 2018, the salon is one of few in the Twin Cities that specializes in nail art.

Owned by Amy Vang and her mother, Nou Yang, Little Luxuries offers a space where clients can take a break from their busy schedules and practice self-care.

“To [our clients], getting a nail service done is a little luxury for them,” said Vang. “In life where there’s so many daily stresses ... this is a way for people to really treat themselves and [let themselves be] taken care of.”

Vang said she worked at a lot of nail salons and spas where she was not allowed to practice nail art on clients because it was a time-consuming process or not even a service the salon offered.

With Little Luxuries, she seeks to celebrate the creativity and artistry of her nail technicians and help people see why it is worth the extra expense.

“It might look so quick and easy to do on the internet, but nail art takes time,” Vang said. “We don’t just slap it on. We put time into the lines we draw. I think people don’t realize that until they actually get it done.”

Vang’s sister and fellow nail artist, Melody Vue, said Little Luxuries gives her the freedom to experiment with designs and really focus on her clients, especially when compared to other salons she has worked for that

are more fast-paced and value quantity over quality.

She has built her own clientele base and has many regulars she sees every few weeks.

“As much as it is a creative outlet for us, [nail art] is a creative outlet for [customers] too because they get to wear art on their fingertips,” she said.

Many of Vue’s clients are inspired by designs they see on social media or those worn by celebrities.

Recently, Vue painted alternating black and white geometric and marbled designs on client Yesenia Casalez, artfully applying diamond rhinestones to the base of the nail.

Having beautiful nails can be an empowering addition to anyone’s look, Vue said.

“Maybe I don’t have my makeup done or I’m not

wearing the cutest outfit, but if my nails are done, I feel put together,” she said.

Nail technician Emmallyn Blomberg specializes in line art and drawing tattoolike designs on nails.

“I used to do drawings and paintings, but I hated how long it would take on such a big [surface],” said Blomberg.

“It take[s] a fraction of the time to finish a piece on a nail than it would on a canvas. And you can wear it too.”

Kristen Hicks, who got her nails done by Blomberg last Friday, said she sees Blomberg every three weeks and has been coming to Little Luxuries for a few months.

Like many of the artists’ relationships with their regular clients, the two have become close and often spend time during

their appointments venting about their day, peoplewatching from the salon’s window or just sharing a comfortable silence.

“I’m a single mom with three kids and I run a bar full-time,” Hicks said. “So being able to come here for

an hour and a half to three hours and do something just for me once a month is great for my sanity.”

Blomberg said one of the most rewarding aspects of being a nail technician is being able to brighten someone’s day with

her work.

“It’s that feeling when you finish a set and someone looks at them and they go, ‘Oh my god! What is this?!’ and you know you … made [them] feel like a whole different person,” she said. “It’s just rewarding.”

‘Every day is a parade in an ArtCar’: Local artists drive in the 25th ArtCar and ArtBike Parade

fully aware of each other’s existence.

“They all thought they were the only one,” she said. “So that was kind of a fun surprise for everyone.”

BY BECCA MOST bmost@mndaily.com

Crowds of people spilled onto the curb of the path surrounding Lake Harriet Saturday evening, setting blankets down on the grass and unfolding lawn chairs.

The weekend marked the 25th ArtCar and ArtBike parade in Minneapolis, featuring a half-hour drive by of some of the most unique cars in the Twin Cities.

As onlookers craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the next car around the corner, a slow line of cars decorated in items like rubber ducks, paint and tiles made their way around the parkway.

Jan Elftmann, known in the community for her cork-covered car, started the first ArtCar parade in Minneapolis.

After making a call for ArtCar artists to participate in the 1995 Lyn-Lake Fair, she discovered a whole community of ArtCar enthusiasts who weren’t

Since then, the parade has grown into an anticipated bi-annual event, with one parade in the summer and another in the winter hosted on frozen White Bear Lake.

For some eco-friendly artists, the parade has also expanded to include ArtBikes, decorated as papiermâché frogs, butterflies and horses. Although some of the ArtCar and ArtBike owners are professional artists, having an artistic background is not a requirement.

“I really think about [some of these artists] in terms of the people who didn’t think about going to art school, but they have this creative urge,” Elftmann said. “And they may be a plumber, or they may work in government or work for Delta, but they have this urge to be creative and an ArtCar gives them this community and this outlet.”

Ruthann Godollei’s current ArtCar is a 1985 Volvo covered in thousands of screen-printed gears and

gadget machinery. She is what the ArtCar community calls a “daily driver.”

Unlike some artists who bring out their cars or bikes only for special occasions like the parade, “daily drivers” take their ArtCars everywhere, from trips to the grocery store, to work, to the gym.

“One thing about ArtCars is it’s open 24 hours

a day, and it puts art in public spaces that is unusual to find,” Godollei said. “It puts art in parking lots, it puts art in traffic jams, it puts art in places [and] with people my gallery shows would never reach.” Having worked on ArtCars for 35 years, Godollei loves that people make their cars completely their own. “It puts a little wedge in

the consumer worship of the pristine auto,” she said.

“It defiles the sacred consumer object of the car and personalizes it, ... transforming an ordinary, everyday utilitarian thing and making it something completely unique, [which] is a wonderful thing to contemplate.”

For Tjody DeVaal, maintaining her ArtCar has been a rewarding journey of trial and error.

Covered completely in dominoes, Bananagrams tiles, plastic poker chips and themed chess sets, she said the “DOMINO TRX” gets a lot of looks on the highway.

“It’s a whole summer hobby,” she said. “Occasionally, I have to replace the ones that fall off.”

DeVaal said strangers will sometimes leave kind notes under the windshield wipers and others will drop off trinkets for her to add to the collection.

“Someone left me a pair of miniature glass Dutch shoes. They put it on the windshield,” she said. “I’m going to put it in a notebook one of these days, along with pictures of how [the car’s appearance has] progressed.”

As the procession ended and the families by the side of the road gathered up their belongings, many still chatted in admiration about their favorite designs and cars. “It’s just a wonderful community of people who dare to work outside the norm of galleries [and] museums,” Elftmann said. “For me, ArtCars become a part of my everyday life. Our saying is ‘Every day is a parade in an ArtCar.’”

The parade brought joy to onlookers via an unconventional, visual medium.

TONY SAUNDERS, DAILY

Nail artist Melody Vue paints Jelahn Prentiss’ nails at Little Luxuries Nail Lounge in Minneapolis on Tuesday, July 30.

COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY Jan Elftmann, who started the ArtCar Parade in Minneapolis, drives her cork car on Saturday, July 27 at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.

6

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019 MN DAILY MNDAILY.COM

COLUMN

Vine influencers led to bad online content

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by detox teas and SugarBear Hair essentials.

CAROLINE SKOOG columnist

With a stipulation of six seconds or less, Vine ultimately became the most quotable platform, launching “look at all those chickens” and “welcome to Chili’s” into the monoculture. The initial beauty of the service was its execution of the digital egalitarian interface. By allocating the same terms and same real-time editing software to each user, there were no overt indicators at first that one video would go more viral than another. As the platform grew, certain accounts gained social, and subsequently commercial, traction, in effect expanding their internet notoriety across a plethora of social media sites. We know them as content creators, influencers and human pop-up ads.

Since its discontinuation in 2017, the pedestals for Vine stars have been repurposed as YouTubers, Instagram influencers, Twitter personalities and, more recently, TikTok personalities. This is not to say that influencers didn’t exist prior to Vine, but Vine expanded the veneer of ‘celebrity’ to any competent teenager with an iPhone. Which is great, of course. Free exchange of ideas, all voices can be heard, whatever Mark Zuckerberg said that one time. (Kidding.) But internet celebrities’ personal relationships to brands and to their audiences has produced a sort of fame stock market. With each account attempting to amass more followers within the attention economy, internet content has become a commodity that is more about performing a specific lifestyle than it is about the content itself. There is such a high supply of aspiring content creators and a demanding, profitable audience that wants to see the daily activities of internet celebrities; content is hurled at the world without

EDITORIAL

much thought of what goes into content.

It’s weird that the epitome of internet success is being able to hashtag #ad. That is both the route to and trophy of a microcelebrity. As a result, aspiring influencers typically pose as an aesthetically pleasing canvas for brands to paint and perform. After all, that’s where the money is. More than money, however, these figures have our attention. When a profile collects millions of views daily, it’s by all intents and purposes a site of cultural production.

here is no experience comparable to being 14 years old and on Vine during its infancy. Nothing will ever be as candid or funny. I imagine Vine to Millennials and Gen Z is like what Hands Across America was to Gen X and Baby Boomers.Post-grassroots social media, now blended with sponsored accounts and branded profiles, has left us with more content than we know what to do with. Influencers and creators excrete content from their microscopic pores at this point. I know grouping creators and influencers together might aggravate some, but they both create and influence the overall social media landscape.

Despite online figures’ narrative of empowerment and individual entrepreneurship, I think the influencer vision has stagnated the flow of creative material on what could’ve been a revolutionary device for artistic expression. Concepts are packaged and marketed before the content itself gets made. Content creators prioritize relationships with their fans above all because that is the most valuable trait for prospective company collaborators.

Maybe I’m the glass-half-empty type, but I can’t imagine fostering parasocial relationships in order to push SugarBearHair gummies to feel empowering. Sure, the trip to the bank might feel nice, but if you’re carving out an audience for the purpose of just that, why? What is the end game of internet fame? Videos like GIRLFRIEND DOES MY MAKE UP [MUST WATCH] [I FREAK OUT] [REAL]?

There is content in various corners of the internet that is cool and innovative, but it just doesn’t harness the same traction. The younger markets are more profitable, but that is why it is dangerous to conveniently pave out a career path based on the gullibility of children and teens or the insecurity of young women with detox teas and fad diets.

Granted, we all need to do what we need to do to pay bills. However, the lifestyle of an influencer doesn’t teeter on the side of “making ends meet.” It’s a glamorous privilege to sell out and some are even doing it at the expense of young people’s impressionable minds and optimistic outlook.

Caroline Skoog welcomes comments at cskoog@mndaily.com.

In the age of Mueller, media literacy is ever more important

To what extent do media organizations have the responsibility to convey complex topics to the public?

The Mueller Report

For the last two years, it’s been difficult for the American public to distance themselves from the Russia Probe, as the news has routinely inundated us with information about the investigation of the relationship between the United States and Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

In April of this year, after the conclusion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, the report which included the findings was made public by the U.S. Department of Justice. In July of this year, Mueller testified before Congress to discuss the findings of his report.

With the continuous news coverage, books, and coffee-talk political conversations, it seems as though we have all been caught in the mix of a political firestorm.

An investigation such as the Russia Probe — an investigation relevant to all Americans — in theory is a bi-partisan issue; unfortunately, it’s hard to deny that this firestorm has evolved as a partisan issue.

While news coverage has provided the public with important information, political conversations should reflect a language that makes it easier for the public to understand.

Chronicling Mueller’s testimony before Congress earlier this month, the Associated Press noted that “Mueller had made clear in his report that he could not exonerate President Donald Trump on obstruction of justice in the probe. But investigators didn’t find sufficient evidence to establish charges of criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.”

With this summary in hand of the key findings from Mueller’s report, it’s striking that one might encounter continuing coverage that seemingly confirms the certainty that there either was or was not collusion or foreign interference, depending

on which network news coverage is being watched.

The pandemonium surrounding Mueller’s report is crucial for an informed democracy. But, while we all harbor our own personal biases, true news outlets strive to ensure that their coverage accurately represents an issue at hand, and in this case, clarifying confusing information for their viewers who aren’t equipped with as many resources as a standard newsroom.

Reflection

It’s compelling to contemplate how more structure and order might affect our conversations for the better. Rather than battling each other in attempts to expose the truth, a healthy digression into conversations that underscore the details might help us all get to the heart of the matter.

We are not all lawyers, so, to an extent, we must and should rely on second-hand information such as media commentators and political pundits to do the digesting for us.

But, we should be careful to adequately and accurately assess the Mueller Report as best we can. Instead of impulsively choosing sides based on shock value and initial reaction, we should ensure that we are adequately assessing the information presented to us in order to arrive at the proper conclusions.

While there is room for improvement regarding news media coverage of the Russia Probe, as well as our political conversations, news media dutifully serve as a watchdog to the public; without them we would likely be less informed.

LETTER

TO THE EDITOR Relevance of Computer Science in Journalism

doom, the transition into internet and mobile is what propelled them to relevance in the modern world. Furthermore, that this above-abysmal plummeting is scarcely appalling is a not only a beacon of further decline, but also a desperate and damning reminder of making computer science commonplace. The use of a bot today in journalism is only one such exceptional example of computer science’s overarching influence.

The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal have all become household names that can leverage their storied history of credibility to buttress their prospect of survival; but, what of the millions of news outlets that both cultivate talent and convey singular mass media repertoire but remain financially hampered to promote it? If these traditional media outlets have to stay relevant in the acme of technology, they must unconditionally embrace and champion computer science, and the medium to do so must be imbued in the prospective computer scientists and journalists in their overwrought college- going years rather than later. Designing a course that perfectly subsumes computer science and journalism is not entirely an exercise in futility. Many leading universities today, like Northwestern and Columbia, are popularizing this growing fusion to market these courses as part of their dual-major programs. To what extent has it worked is debatable, but the need to standardize this across colleges nationwide is not.

As we continue ruminating on the possibilities of artificial intelligence reshaping society, it has slowly started to become inevitably important that we also start making these courses non exclusive and general purpose so that almost any audience can be equipped with the resources from the outset in their careers to not only disrupt their respective realms of work when the time comes, but also motivate research on applications of the original technologies they learned to leverage to do so.

It is a known fact that with every passing year, journalism continues to rot into oblivion. Once a surefooted pinnacle of mass communication, it is now a closely held circus picketed over meager trifles and controlled by affluent conglomerates. In the article, “Does Journalism Have a Future?,” The New Yorker estimates that in the years between 1970 and 2016, roughly “five hundred or so dailies went out of business.” Amid all the news outlets to have somehow scaled past this wall of

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Letters and columns to the editor 2221 University Ave. SE Suite 450 Minneapolis, MN 55414

Aditya Saxena is a senior at the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering and an engineering intern at the Washington Post.

This letter to the editor has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Editorials represent the voice of the Minnesota Daily as an institution and are prepared by the editorial board.

DEPARTMENT IS INDEPENDENT OF THE NEWSROOM

OPINIONS

EDITORIALS & OPINIONS DEPARTMENT

T

In many ways, the diversity of computer science is unmatched. Once an inchoate and arcane subject sidelined by the much more sought-after ‘economics,’ not only has it supplanted it in popularity, but also advanced humanity and greatly uprooted and channeled the plebeian problems of yore into the archives of history. Ubiquitous in nature, limitless in applications, scarcely ever can anything better and so disparate be contrived that so much as holds a candle to it. We have, as a consequence, reached a point in time where it is anodyne to deliberate its commingling with other academic disciplines; but nonetheless, conscientiously remain apathetic to even advancing the very idea of juxtaposition today. I speak here of the confounding bubble of conservativeness that unconsciously deters the fixtures in their realms from acquiescing in this simple and hackneyed adage that ‘technology is a way of life’ and the gateway to technology is ‘computer science.’ Learning to harness it to power innovation is key to amelioration. For example, music composers rely heavily on patterns for their pieces, which computer algorithms can help create (the University of California-Santa Cruz’s “Making the Electrons Dance” is a paragon of this intermingling). The very clustering nature of data science has so often produced such quixotic results in fields like medicine (John Snow’s cholera epiphany) and meteorology (by safeguarding lives from natural catastrophes) that it has been rightly proclaimed as the oil of the twenty-first century by the Economist. Today, computer science singularly holds the ability to perfectly fit into almost any sphere of life and magnify its influence, but the need to do so is so far suppressed that it is hardly ever brought up. So, as an engineering intern at the Washington Post, I have taken the cue to underscore the imperative relevance of it in one of these — journalism — and by doing so, also presented the case for adding a course across all universities nationwide that rigorously combines the two. The purpose of this opinion piece, however, is to not inveigh or call out the caustic lopsidedness in opinions harbored by the many celebrated non -tech industries of today, but to promulgate the need to nix the hem and haw that stymies innovation worldwide in these domains.

HOROSCOPES

Today’s Birthday (7/31): Family, fun and romance highlight your year. Steady practice builds health, fitness and strength. Resolving a physical breakdown this summer leads to a winter energy boost, before a restful phase to consider what’s next. New love surprises you next summer. Savor sweet moments together.

Aries (3/21 - 4/19): Today is a 9 — Fall in love all over again. Enjoy blissful moments with someone sweet. Make a delightful discovery, and count your blessings. Express your gratitude freely.

Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is an 8 — Fill your home with love and creature comforts. Beautify your space and garden. Share something delicious with the ones you love.

Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 9 — Make lists of what you want. It’s easier to create with a clear vision. Review considerations, and choose. Sign on the dotted line.

Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is a 9 — Stash away something of value. Cash flow velocity increases, both in and out. Monitor results for a positive balance. You’re especially persuasive.

Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 9 — You’re getting stronger and more confident. Do what you love. Share your talents with people who appreciate them. Smile for the camera.

Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is a 7 — Consider where you’ve been and what’s ahead. Listen to others, and make your own choices. Face the truth squarely. All’s well that ends well.

DR. DATE

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Black

Written by Nancy

Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is an 8 — Develop and refine your team strategy. Give and receive support. Tap into your community, and participate for the common good for love and satisfaction.

Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is a 9 — New professional doors beckon. The prizes behind them tantalize, but there’s a test. Practice and hone your skills. A rise in status is possible.

Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is an 8 — Education broadens your horizons. Visit somewhere new, in person or through another’s experience. Evolve your ideas through exploration.

Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is an 8 Check the numbers before purchasing. You can work out a financial issue. Collaborate for common gain. Your ideas could get lucrative.

Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is an 8 — You and a partner can take things to a new level. Collaboration flowers with creative ideas and possibilities. Romance is a distinct possibility.

Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is an 8 — You’re especially energized. Make a beautiful transformation. Physical actions get satisfying results. Practice your favorite moves.

Dr. Date, I’m a single sophomore at the U and have been dating around with great success. Problem is, I’m constantly bugged by this one guy who won’t leave me alone. Apparently most people don’t even remember the people they went to orientation with, but I’m doomed to be reminded of him particularly every day.

See, when I went to orientation, there was this guy there with the same last name as a distant relative of mine. It’s not a super common name, but common enough to where I figured it was a coincidence, so I jokingly mentioned if he knew said family member. He told me that guy was his dad, and we had that awkward “oh hey, you’re probably related to me then” thing that you deal with at family reunions. My family doesn’t really contact extended family often so I figured I wouldn’t see him again other than the awkward campus run-in now and again. Except this guy decided to take it upon himself to get my number from a relative instead. He’s been texting me since school started. I wouldn’t mind a ton normally, but I think he’s hitting on me. I doubted it at first (we’re related!) but he literally texted me “Hey I just got Netflix in my apartment, wanna come over and chill?” Every week he tries to get me to come over or go out with him, saying “We’re only probably related, right?”

I don’t know what to do. He’s super insistent and I’m worried he’s going to tell my mom I won’t sleep with my second cousin. Help!

—Incest Isn’t Wincest

Dear Incest Isn’t Wincest, EWWWWWWW. It may be legal in Georgia (and Colorado) to marry your cousin, but dating anyone related to you (even if it’s your second cousin) is just weird. At least you don’t have to do the awkward meeting the parents thing?

It sounds like this guy won’t take no for an answer, so you might have to actually get family involved. Call your parents and ask them about him, maybe come up with a few family blackmail stories you can hold against him. If that doesn’t work, dig your heels in and call his parents. I’m sure his mom would be thrilled to find out that her son wants to sleep with his cousin.

—Dr. Date

Dr. Date, I’ve never been the most camerafriendly. Every time someone attempts to take a picture of me, I clam up and make an awkward face. So when I tried to make a Tinder profile, I quickly realized that I had no photos of just me. I decided to make a cute group photo of me and my friends my profile picture, and the rest of my photos are pictures I’ve taken of flowers, skylines, etc. I thought there wouldn’t be an issue.

However, I’ve been talking to people I swiped right on and I’m pretty sure they think I’m someone else. One guy told me he liked my Mouse Rat shirt that my friend was wearing, and another complimented my friend’s eyes. I’ve got a date this Friday and I’m worried he’ll think he was catfished. What do I do?

—Not That One

Dear Not That One, Either your friends stand out more than you in that photo or they think you’re someone else. Neither is a good thing. Joke around with your matches (including the one you have a date with) and ask which person they think you are. If they say something like “The hottie in the Mouse Rat shirt, right?,” you might want to give up on them. But if they seem okay with any of the people, get their Snapchat and throw a cute face filter on to show that it’s you. Seriously, that heart halo filter will make anyone look good.

And in the future, crop your photos. A low-res picture is better than a date asking if your friend is also single.

—Dr. Date

Want advice from the love doctor? Email Dr. Date at drdate@mndaily.com

UMN-based cell research receives grant

The Build-a-Cell network received a $1.2 million NSF grant last month.

BY GWIWON JASON NAM gnam@mndaily.com

An international research coordination network involving University of Minnesota researchers received a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant last month to study synthetic cells.

The NSF grant for the Build-a-Cell Research Coordination Network, an international collaboration of researchers from 11 countries working together across disciplines, is intended to help build a greater network of researchers who are interested in synthetic cells.

A synthetic cell is a “cell of non-natural origin that has been obtained either by modifying a pre-existing cell ... or by assembling compartments that mimic one or more properties of a living cell,” according to an academic review by Cell Press. These cells are also sometimes referred to as artificial cells or protocells.

The researchers will receive the NSF funding over five years, in which they would like to strengthen the network’s internal collaboration.

“It can mean anything from building completely artificial organisms, like my lab is doing, all the way to modifying natural living organisms for biomanufacturing, for making drugs and for studying natural biology” said Kate Adamala, an assistant professor in the University’s Genetics, Cell Biology and Development department and the lead investigator for the research coordination network. “The way most of us understand it is that it’s the ability to engineer biological systems with enough precision that we can do what we want with the building blocks that nature gave us.”

Adamala said she believes their research will aid public health through studying accurate experimental models of the different cell parts and better understanding disease processes.

The Build-A-Cell project has been going on for about two years, according to

Richard Murray, Thomas E. and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology. Murray is a member of the Build-A-Cell steering committee, which helps to organize the Build-A-Cell meetings that are held every six months.

“We have a number of research groups who participate in meetings and are interested in working together to explore ideas around synthetic cells,” Murray said.

Because much of the synthetic cell research is conducted by small, individual labs, the research collaboration network will bring the researchers together, improving the study surrounding synthetic cells, Adamala said.

“As science has become increasingly collaborative and international, mechanisms for establishing teams like ours have become critical to doing exciting science,” said Aaron Engelhart, a University assistant professor in the Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development department and one of the network participants.

In addition, Adamala said she would like to change public perception surrounding the synthetic cell field, because people may think “making life from scratch” is risky.

“People think this is something that perhaps shouldn’t be done because perhaps it might be danger-

ous. We’re trying to use the Build-a-Cell platform to explain that this is really not dangerous,” Adamala said, adding that they were not “crazy scientists.”

The researchers also want to create a regulatory framework, which will include rules and regulations that keep up with the field

to ensure safety.“Making synthetic cells based on biological parts means you have to understand all of the biological parts, and you have to be able to control it,” Adamala said. “You have to be able to do it safely, and that’s kind of another thing that the network’s really focusing on.”

Mohamed, Zahra Mohamed was a sophomore majoring in global studies and geography with minors in AfricanAmerican studies and environmental studies.

“Her first year of college, she used to be home always late,” Aliya Mohamed said, noting it often put her in trouble with their mother.

“She was interested in the whole campus — everything going on on the campus. She used to go to all the events.”

Along with founding SDMC, Zahra Mohamed, who would often insist on being called “Zahro,” was an active member of the Muslim Students Association,

Students for Justice in Palestine and Commuter Connection, said Hanan Farah, one of Zahra’s closest friends. Farah was with Zahra at the time of the accident and sustained severe injuries.

Aliya Mohamed recalled hearing her sister dream about working for the United Nations several times.

“Her interest in global social justice was inspiring,” Farah said in an email. “She had a way to divert energy towards all the tragedies that are constantly popping up while remaining steadfast in her pursuit to eradicate the constant inequities/ injustices around her.”

Farah and Zahra Mohamed met three years ago as volunteers for an

after-school homework help program. When Zahra Mohamed was looking at colleges, Farah gave her her first tour at the University.

“I remember we were walking around a building on the Saint Paul campus and we ran into a family social science counselor...” Farah said. This spurred a 30-minute conversation between Zahra Mohamed and the counselor about a shared passion for serving low-income communities.

Not long after, Zahra Mohamed would help her own sister navigate her way around campus. “I’m the more reserved type,” Aliya Mohamed said. “She introduced me to everyone ... it’s a huge campus, so I didn’t know anything.”

“Zahra was the kind of person who has always been a fighter, she was so tough and bold, an activist through and through,” Farah said in the email. “She had a strong set of morals and she let her values guide her and once she was on a course it would be impossible to derail her. ... She was magnetic and witty, funny, compassionate, and thoughtful.”

Since its founding almost one year ago, SDMC has hosted several events, including a voter registration event in Cedar-Riverside and a donation drive at Coffman Union.

“This well that we are attempting to construct in her honor, will serve as a symbolic aggregate of her work,” Farah said in her email.

Episode 1 - UMN President Eric Kaler's resignation announcement

Episode 2 - Financial Aid and Scholarship Distribution

Episode 3 - Proposed Gender Expression Policy at the University of Minnesota

Episode 4 - Campus-area crime and WAM art rentals

Episode 5 - UMN class designs clothes for girls in Uganda

Episode 6 - Bug diets and Morris' tuition waivers

Episode 7 - Conservative group's bridge mural vandalized

Episode 8 - Women in STEM

Episode 9 - Exploring the University's myth, legends and tall tales

Episode 10 - Midterm Elections Roundup

Episode 11 - UMN responds to football lawsuit, student tenant rights

Episode 12 - Gen Z is the most stressed-out generation, study shows

Episode 13 - How did the U bring home 'the axe'

Episode 14 - Striving for diversity in CFANS

Episode 15 - Living with diabetes as a student

Episode 16 - The government showdown

Episode 17 - Continued tuition hikes at UMN

Episode 18 - The bittersweet life of UMN sugar babies

Episode 19 - Connecting in Cedar-Riverside over free tea and pizza

Episode 20 - The renaming of Coffman

Episode 21 - Legacy taking over Morrill Hall

Episode 22 - A fierce push for student data privacy

Episode 23 - What to do with, how to manage all of the snow

Episode 24 - Understanding eating disorders at UMN

Episode 25 - Supporting students serving mandatory military time

Episode 26 - Cedar-Riverside weighs safety priorities

Episode 27 - Where does the U's water come from?

Episode 28 - Students run free clinic for Minneapolis

Episode 29 - How renaming was rejected

Episode 30 - Controversy over pregnancy centers near campus

TONY SAUNDERS, DAILY Kate Adamala, assistant professor in genetics, cell biology and development, holds up a vial of fluorescent synthetic liposomes in the Molecular and Cellular Biology building on July 25.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALIYA MOHAMED