September 3, 2019

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STAFF

University workers voice discontent with contracts

BUSINESS

Dinkytown bike shop to close doors Varsity Bike and Transit will close its doors after 25 years near campus.

BY CAITLIN ANDERSON canderson@mndaily.com

CLEO KREJCI, DAILY

Demonstrators from Teamsters Local 320 gather outside Pioneer Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 21. The group said that more than 30 University employees were unfairly laid off over the summer.

Workers say they feel mistreated by the U after contract disputes.

BY NIAMH COOMEY AND HANA IKRAMUDDIN ncoomey@mndaily.com, hikramuddin@mndaily.com

Some University of Minnesota workers say they feel unfairly treated by the University as conflict over their contract ensues.

Documents obtained by the Minnesota Daily show that more than 30 workers had their contracts shifted from 12- to ninemonth appointments with a

notice of two weeks. Many workers expressed frustration with the shortened contract that left them out of work for the summer of 2019.

Workers in Teamsters Local 320, a local labor union that represents many University workers, showed up with signs and speakers outside of the newly renovated Pioneer Hall on Aug. 21.

Beginning a few hours before Pioneer’s ribbon cutting ceremony, demonstrators gathered outside the entrance with chants of discontent as they walked in circles across from the main entrance.

“U of M, rich and rude, we don’t

like your attitude,” they shouted.

Teamsters leadership say they are in the process of negotiating a new contract with the University and planning further action to express their discontent with the contract changes.

A statement from University Services Vice President Mike Berthelsen said the reassigned workers did not lose working hours, they were simply reclassified as nine-month workers.

“Now, rather than placing employees on leave, employees have been placed on nine-month appointments, in compliance with the contract and consistent with other University employees who

do not have work during the summer,” the statement reads.

Hannah Bernardson, a Teamsters business agent who was present at the demonstration, said she thinks many University workers have been negatively impacted by changes in hours.

Teamsters Business Agent and Organizer Claire Thiele said the cutback on summer hours was surprising for many University dining employees.

“I know there are a lot of people who rely on the summer work. It was kind of a last minute thing where people who thought they u See CONTRACTS Page 2

HOUSING

After two years and $104.5 million, Pioneer Hall reopens to UMN students The renovation includes air conditioning, a new dining hall and more beds.

BY HANA IKRAMUDDIN hikramuddin@mndaily.com

This year’s freshman class is the first to live in the newly renovated Pioneer Hall, which

underwent a two-year reconstruction of the inside of the building while saving the historic exterior.

Only a few days before students were set to move in, Pioneer reopened to the University of Minnesota, following a $104.5 million renovation which includes a new dining hall. Pioneer also boasts new amenities which

CAMPUS

include disability access, air conditioning and more than 50 new beds. With an increase from just under 700 to 756 residents, the dorm is now the second-largest residence hall on campus behind Middlebrook Hall, which houses 910 beds.

The new dining hall has gone to extreme lengths to market itself as new and accessible

to students, with an over $20 million investment by the University into its success.

Pioneer has added an allergen station outfitted with gluten-free dishes, vegan options and more.

“The consolidated dining facility serves all four dining halls in the Superblock, serving u See PIONEER Page 3

With the closing of Varsity Bike and Transit in Dinkytown, Steve Panizza’s lunch breaks will never be the same.

Panizza and his colleague would regularly visit the shop every other Thursday. For regulars, the staff provided not only the biking goods they needed but a personal touch.

“You go in there without any preconceived notions ... and you leave with an idea,” he said. “You can’t get that on the Internet.”

Varsity Bike and Transit, which first opened in 1995, announced its closing in a letter to community members last month.

The shop will close its doors at the end of September. For both transient students and longtime regulars, the loss of a local business tugs at the ever-fading unique fabric of Dinkytown.

“I’ll totally miss the people … the people that come in dayto-day, and then the people that work,” said owner Rob DeHoff.

“You feel like a community in Dinkytown.”

Changes in the area’s business landscape have made it harder for DeHoff to operate the bike shop. The emergence of scooters and ride-sharing services and the prominence of online retail have crowded the market, he said.

“The nature of Dinkytown is changing. It’s hard to describe it, but it’s very obvious … it has a much more homogeneous crowd,” he said. DeHoff said online retail and the area’s increasing car congestion are detrimental to the store.

Rents have increased, making it difficult for businesses that aren’t food vendors or chains to survive, said Chris Lautenschlager, executive director of the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association.

Yet the store survived for 25 years despite the changes around it. Steve Sanders, the University of Minnesota’s alternative transportation manager, said that the store was one of the first to offer electric bikes in the area, which set it apart from other shops.

Competition in the University area included Erik’s Bike Shop, University of Minnesota Bike Center and Freewheel Bike. u See BIKE Page 2

ADMINISTRATION

Diversity, research and outreach are the top priorities for University regents in new year The goals will primarily involve the system’s next strategic plan.

BY DYLAN ANDERSON danderson@mndaily.com

ILLUSTRATED BY HAILEE SCHIEVELBEIN, DAILY

U reaches new high: class on cannabis debuts this fall The CFANS class will focus on the science and impact of the drug.

BY NATALIE RADEMACHER nrademacher@mndaily.com

A new class available at the University of Minnesota this fall aims to teach students about an often-controversial topic: cannabis.

An undergraduate course in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, the class covers issues around cannabis such as its biological makeup, uses and

impact on society and regulations at the state and federal level.

The course was finally approved in July after about a month and a half of going through the approval process. Mary Brakke, an assistant professor co-teaching the course, said it took longer to be approved than courses she has proposed in the past because of additional reviews needed from the University.

The idea for the class, titled “The Science of Cannabis,” came about because of students u See CANNABIS Page 3

As students flood back to campus, University of Minnesota regents are preparing to dive into Joan Gabel’s first semester as president by outlining several priorities for the year.

Baked into nearly all of the Board of Regents’ conversations this year will be developing the next systemwide strategic plan.

Still, the priorities narrow in on more focused areas ranging from diversity and inclusion, the impact of the University’s outreach, tuition and enrollment strategies and the Medical School’s partnership with Fairview Health Services.

Board Chair Ken Powell noted these areas of strategic emphasis do not limit the board as it will work to address a wide variety of topics during the upcoming academic year, such as student mental health, an issue Gabel has embraced in her presidency.

“We want you to learn and achieve, but we want you to stay well,” Gabel told new students at last week’s convocation. “Every member of the faculty and staff are here for you, and you are

TONY SAUNDERS, DAILY

Regent Mike Kenyanya writes down ideas for fiscal stewardship, one of the several pillars discussed at the regents retreat on Friday, July 12 in Faribault.

not alone.”

As Gabel welcomed new Gophers, she emphasized the diversity of the incoming freshman class, saying they are the “most diverse class in a generation, in every way we define that word.”

While Powell said the University is making steady progress in terms of student diversity, the board looks to better understand how to achieve greater diversity across the system, not only among students but faculty and staff as well.

“Are we seeing that same kind of progress when it comes to grad

students and faculty? And if that is not happening, we would like to start to understand why and what we can do to promote greater diversity across the faculty,” said Powell, who took over as board chair in July.

Powell, a former chief executive officer at General Mills, spoke of his own experience in private industry, saying more diversity in senior roles could be motivating to new employees. He said the same is true at the University, believing the more diversity among u See REGENTS Page 2 VOLUME 120 ISSUE 1

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1783 The United States, Great Britain, Spain and France sign the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the American Revolution.

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The Gophers run on to the field at TCF Bank Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 29. Minnesota defeated South Dakota State 28-21.

Regents u from Page 1

faculty and staff, the more students of diverse backgrounds will feel comfortable on campus.

Minnesota Student Association President Mina Kian said she is very excited to see diversity and inclusion as one of the board’s priorities, saying it’s an issue the board has not addressed enough in the past.

“I think that there is so much room for growth in the way that we choose to not only invite these folks to come into our community and serve in our institution, but find ways to maintain them,” Kian said.

Another mainstay of MSA’s focus is controlling costs for students and illustrating to the board the impact of tuition increases.

This year, regents look to bring in external input to evaluate tuition and enrollment strategies and come up with a multi-year financial framework to balance the excellence of the University with affordability for students.

Regent Michael Hsu said these discussions are a primary interest for him,

Contracts u from Page 1

were going to have work over the summer didn’t,” she said.

Some past negotiations between the University and Teamsters have been

Bike u from Page 1

With over 8,000 bikes on campus on any given nice day, bikes are still a significant form of transportation on campus, especially for students, Sanders said. Sam Syberg, a University student and store regular, said his way of life is “biking, no matter the weather” – a sentiment expressed by many of those who frequented the shop, including DeHoff.

The yellow-colored storefront will remain a memory for many who still continue to use its

DAILY FILE PHOTO

The Board of Regents listens to President Joan Gabel speak at the regents retreat on Friday, July 12 in Faribault.

and he hopes to have a systemwide strategic plan before next year’s budget discussions ramp up in the spring. Hsu said he believes the University can admit more students and maximize tuition revenue without a hike for students.

“Everybody sitting in a seat is more money for us,” he said. “If we have empty seats let’s fill them up with Minnesota kids, and if

we can’t fill them up with Minnesota kids, then fill them up with other kids.”

These conversations will certainly include one of the most frequent topics of the board: controlling administrative costs.

Powell said using external resources that specialize in controlling costs and managing revenue can further inform the discussion around such costs as well as

successful, Bernardson said, such as when the Teamsters negotiated a pay raise. She said the conflict between the University and dining workers has been ongoing in the past.

“When the workers raise their voice, they shut them down,” she said.

The Minnesota Daily made multiple requests for comment about the conflict, but due to the privacy of pending negotiations, the University was not able to provide further information at this time, according to University Spokesperson Meagan Pierluissi.

products. Looking at spare parts at the store’s liquidation sale, Panizza came across brightly-colored brakes.

“I didn’t need them, but just as kind of a reminder of them, I can say ‘Well, that reminds me of Varsity,’” he said. “They bring their personality into the bike shop and that feeds into the community. Without that, you’re without one more element to draw off of.”

KAMAAN RICHARDS, DAILY

Signs advertise store closing sales at Varsity Bike and Transit on Thursday Aug. 29.

enrollment and tuition.

A priority Powell sees as a carryover from last year regards the University’s partnership with Fairview, expanding on the deal reached last fall which will bring the medical school $35 million in the first year.

The board wants to develop a plan for M Health Fairview based on quantifiable goals such as research

JACK RODGERS, DAILY

dollars and national rankings. They also want to focus on the amount of research in certain areas like medical technology, an area Powell said is a “natural” given the robust, local medical device industry.

Regents seek to elevate the national reputation of the University to a top 10 research institution while promoting opportunities addressing specific challenges faced by the state.

Powell said using the research and teaching capabilities of the University can be a large part of its outreach mission.

Powell cited several programs from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to 4-H programs across the state that serve Minnesotans, but admitted that some of them may be out of date and need to be refreshed. To properly assess these programs, regents need to have a robust measure and understanding of the current impact of outreach.

“Are there programs that are good programs that are outdated and need to be modernized to stay relevant?” Powell said. “It’s that kind of conversation and we really haven’t been able to do that.”

“I know there are a lot of people who rely on the summer work. It was kind of a last minute thing where people who thought they were going to have work over the summer didn’t.”

CLAIRE THIELE Teamsters business agent and organizer

EDITORIAL BOARD Ariana Wilson Editorials & Opinions Editor awilson@mndaily.com BUSINESS Jacob Kenyon Sales Manager jkenyon@mndaily.com David Keane Controller dkeane@mndaily.com =

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Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Pioneer

PIONEER HALL

BY THE NUMBERS

u from Page 1

approximately … 10,000 meals a day,” said Regent David McMillan during Pioneer Hall’s opening addresses on Aug. 21.

In the 1930s, Pioneer was made up of two townhomes which were retroactively built into each other to create one single building, said Kevin Ross, the senior project manager of the building. This created poor air circulation, which the campus tried to fix by knocking down certain walls and adding others.

Ultimately, these changes left the historic building with a confusing layout and difficult for students to navigate, Ross said.

Prior to the remodel, the building’s single freight elevator and steep stairs made the building difficult for disabled students to traverse.

“Not everybody, depending on your needs, could be in Pioneer,” said Mike Berthelsen, vice president of University Services.

With the addition of SureHands lifts, a feature that will help raise an individual in a wheelchair into their bed or shower, the hall now offers two

Cannabis u from Page 1

interested in learning more about the cannabis industry. Over the past four or five years, there has been a growing number of students showing an interest in working in the field, Brakke said.

“We are hoping to give students an opportunity to explore areas of interest in a place where they can get informed feedback from us, other students and people who work in related fields,” Brakke said.

The class will dive into how science drives public policy, something assistant professor Peter Morrell, who is also co-teaching the course, said has been a challenge with the cannabis

$104.5 million PUT INTO PIONEER HALL’S RENOVATIONS

756 BEDS IN PIONEER, AN

INCREASE FROM 700 BEDS

$20 million INVESTED BY THE UNIVERSITY 10,000 meals A DAY SERVED IN THE CONSOLIDATED DINING FACILITY

SOURCE: KEVIN ROSS, SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER

f u l l y a c c e s s ib l e ro o m s under the Americans w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s Ac t .

Ad d i t i o n a l l y , t h e h a l l added a second elevator to further help those who have difficulty walking up flights of stairs. Hallways have also been widened to better accommodate

wheelchairs. Pioneer has gone from being “our least accessible to probably our most accessible residence hall on campus,” Berthelsen said.

Several residence halls don’t have single rooms, however, extra singles have been added in Pioneer

to accommodate students with special needs, such as those with mental health conditions like anxiety or depression, who might want to live alone, Berthelsen said.

Along with the added accessibility, the hall now has multiple commodity

rooms, such as two music rooms, a student kitchen and a game room. There is also a meditation room equipped with a foot washing station.

“This may be the first meditation room that is designed to be a mediation room and not a retrofit,”

Ross said.

To become more ecofriendly, the University has added green roofs to the top of the dining facility to catch rainwater in a sustainable way. By using Sedum, a drought- and sunresistant plant, the building can catch stormwater and utilize it without discharging it elsewhere.

“I am confident that students today and for generations to come will absolutely love living in Pioneer Hall. I am also confident that they will be proud to call Pioneer Hall their home,” said Director of Housing and Residential Life Laurie McLaughlin.

industry because of the lack of research in the area.

“This is a neat chance for students to learn about science, public policy and societal change all within a single vein.”

As state laws around cannabis change and the industry continues to grow, Brakke said there are a growing number of employment opportunities in cannabis research, cultivation and production.

Concern over the legal implications of offering a course about a controversial drug prompted the course to go through a more intense review process than most University classes.

Throughout the course approval process over the summer, there was concern from faculty over the implications if it appeared

the University was teaching students how to grow cannabis.

Cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Schedule I drugs, which also includes heroin and LSD, are considered to have no medical value and have a high potential for abuse.

However, states can create their own laws around cannabis and often have looser regulations around the drug. In Minnesota, cannabis is legal for medicinal purposes only. The District of Columbia and 11 states have legalized the recreational use of cannabis.

Due to concern over a potential loss of federal research funding because of the legality of the drug, the course was sent to lawyers

in the University’s Office of the General Counsel for further review before it was approved.

A course about something controversial, like cannabis, cannot be rejected because some faculty may oppose the topic, said Michael White, an associate dean for academic programs and faculty affairs in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. He said this course had to go through additional barriers because of the laws surrounding cannabis.

Several changes were made to the course following the review by the Office of the General Counsel to make sure the course properly navigated federal restrictions around the drug, Morrell said. The biggest

concern was making sure that the course was not teaching students how to grow cannabis, he said.

Some employment opportunities in the industry in Minnesota revolve around hemp, a part of the cannabis plant used to make products such as rope, certain fabrics and paper.

Growing hemp is legal in the United States.

Part of the education surrounding hemp production is ensuring THC levels are low enough in the plant to avoid crossing over into territory that is federally illegal, Morrell said. THC is the component in cannabis responsible for getting the consumer high.

A challenge to offering a course on cannabis at the University is that it is hard to find faculty who are

experts in the area, Morrell said. Federal regulations around the drug make it difficult for University faculty to conduct research related to cannabis.

“As a result, there are not many people in a position to offer a course like this,” Brakke said. Brakke and Morrell have invited experts in the industry to visit the class throughout the semester and provide insight on the topic.

Morrell said he is excited about the positive feedback the class has received and has not had this many students reach out to him about taking a class before.

“Part of our goal is to offer courses students are interested in being a part of. It is fun having students engaged and excited about coursework.”

Pioneer Hall’s newly renovated dining hall as seen on Wednesday, August 21.

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4

Sports

MNDAILY.COM

MN DAILY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

VOLLEYBALL

Gophers split matches in Big Ten/ACC Challenge The Gophers lost in straight sets for the first time since 2017.

BY NOLAN O’HARA nohara@mndaily.com

It was two very different matches for No. 3 Minnesota as they kicked off their season at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

In the team’s season opener on Friday, Aug. 30 the Gophers defeated North Carolina in three sets: 25-16, 28-26 and 2517. Leading the way for the Gophers were opposite hitter Stephanie Samedy and middle blocker Taylor Morgan, who had a combined 27 kills. Samedy also had a team-high 14 digs and added a pair of blocks; however, it was Morgan who got things jump-started for the Gophers with eight kills in the first set.

“It all started with a great pass,” Morgan said. “A hitter can’t really do what they need to do without a great pass and a great set.”

The Gophers looked to keep their momentum

going on Saturday against Florida State to no avail.

The Seminoles upset Minnesota in three sets: 2517, 26-24 and 25-21. The biggest surprise came in the second when the Gophers took a 24-20 lead before Florida State went on a 6-0 run to capture the set and go up 2-0. The Gophers were unable to recover in the third. Florida State opened the third set on a 4-0 run and maintained their lead throughout.

“I think they served and passed better than we did, and that was kind of the main thing,” head coach Hugh McCutcheon said.

“They did a nice job, they played well.”

It was the first time the Gophers had lost in three sets since losing to USC in the NCAA Tournament in 2017.

Moving forward, the Gophers look to build on the success they had against North Carolina and put their first loss of the season behind them.

“It’s definitely an opportunity for improvement, kind of shows what we need to work on as a team,” Samedy said. “You know, just kind of fuel that fire,

JACK RODGERS, DAILY

Outside Hitter Alexis Hart jumps to spike the ball at the Maturi Pavilion on Friday, Dec. 7. The Gophers were upset by number 15 seed Oregon to lose 3 sets to 1.

you just want to get after it even more as a team.”

It will be a quick turnaround for the Gophers coming off of Saturday’s loss. They will look for a win on Wednesday when

they take on Texas, followed by their first home game of the season against Florida on Saturday at 7 p.m.

“I think it’s going to take us playing our game

consistently, just doing what we do and not really focusing on any other things.

Not focusing on what they’re doing, not focusing on what the score is, just playing Gopher volleyball,”

Morgan said. “I also think it’s going to take our connectiveness, together we can do a lot of things well, so I just think that is going to be a big factor moving forward in all of our games.”

FOOTBALL

Gophers’ defense provides timely stops in win A fumble recovery and pick six in the second half secured the Gophers’ win.

BY NICK JUNGHEIM njungheim@mndaily.com

In its season-opening 2821 victory against South Dakota State, Minnesota headed into the locker room with a 13-7 lead at halftime. The Jackrabbits’ next three drives all ended with touchdowns. One of those touchdowns just so happened to be for the Gophers.

On the fourth play of the second half, South Dakota State’s redshirt freshman quarterback J’Bore Gibbs bobbled a low snap then threw a no-look interception right into the hands of redshirt senior Chris Williamson. With nothing but turf between him and the goal line, Williamson jogged to the end zone, giving Minnesota a 20-7 advantage.

Up to that point, the Gophers seemed to have control, maintaining possession for 19:50 of the opening 30 minutes.

However, just as quick as Minnesota took a 13-point lead, the Jackrabbits seemed to seize the momentum.

“Chris’s interception was absolutely huge at a critical time,” said head coach P.J. Fleck. “We didn’t

execute on the next drive [defensively], we let them drive 90 yards down and respond.”

After a 10-play touchdown drive, Minnesota’s offense could manage only a three-and-out before punting the ball away. Needing just 3:31, South Dakota State then drove the ball downfield again, adding seven more points to take its first lead of the game.

After another pair of punts from the offense, the Gophers found themselves still trailing when Gibbs fumbled the exchange on a read option and redshirt senior Winston DeLattiboudere pounced on the loose ball, giving Minnesota possession in Jackrabbits territory.

“I saw the ball and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to go get that thing’,” DeLattiboudere said.

“After I got up and I didn’t want to give the ball to the ref, I was holding it, chinning it so hard.”

Suddenly, the offense which had remained stagnant in the second half sprang to life. The struggling offensive line began opening running lanes.

Redshirt senior Rodney Smith rushed three times for 29 yards down to the 5-yard line. Two plays later, redshirt sophomore Mohamed Ibrahim punched it in for the decisive score.

After a return on the

ensuing kickoff, South Dakota State stood just 53 yards from the Gophers’ end zone with 5:39 remaining. As they had most of the second half, the Jackrabbits moved the ball downfield, but Minnesota stiffened, ultimately coming up with one last big play.

With 1:20 left on the clock, redshirt sophomore Esezi Otomewo and senior Tai’yon Devers converged on Gibbs for a sack on fourth and 10, giving Minnesota the ball back once and for all.

“Our players found a way to go win the game,” Fleck said. “That’s what I’m focusing on, because they could have just laid down, they could have let that happen.”

Thanks to the defense, the Gophers avoided what could have been a painful upset. Williamson’s interception and DeLattiboudere’s fumble recovery helped atone for a night when the Jackrabbits out-gained Minnesota 367 yards to 308.

While the defense has room to improve, that disparity is the result of offensive struggles for Minnesota as well. Behind a shaky offensive line, the Gophers averaged just 3.1 yards per carry on Thursday. Redshirt sophomore Tanner Morgan only mustered 176 yards passing. Sophomore Rashod

JACK RODGERS, DAILY

Head Coach P.J. Fleck observes the game at TCF Bank Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 29. Minnesota defeated South Dakota State 28-21.

Bateman, who stole the show with a one-handed 42-yard touchdown reception, accounted for 132 of those yards.

“Rashod [Bateman] is one of the hardest-working guys on this team,” Morgan said. “He comes into work

every day with an attitude to get better ... he just made a lot of elite plays and showed everybody how explosive he is.”

Moving forward, Gophers will need to improve in all facets as the competition takes a step

up next week. On Sept. 7, Minnesota travels to the west coast to play a Fresno State team that finished at No. 18 in last year’s final AP poll.

“All of them,” Fleck said simply, “We need to improve in all areas.”

FOOTBALL

Gophers win nail-biter over Jackrabbits in season opener A SDSU turnover gave the Gophers a chance to escape with a victory.

BY JOHN MILLER jmiller@mndaily.com

The Gophers were a 14.5-point favorite over the FCS fourth-ranked South Dakota State Jackrabbits heading into the game, but the game ended up much closer than that as the Gophers shook off some rust against their crossstate foes.

“They have a chance to win the national championship in the FCS,” head coach P.J. Fleck said about South Dakota State after the hard-fought game.

After both teams went scoreless in the first quarter, the Gophers jumped out to a 13-7 lead when quarterback Tanner Morgan hit a wide open Rashod Bateman

JACK RODGERS, DAILY

Wide receiver Rashod Bateman carries the ball at TCF Bank Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 29. Minnesota defeated South Dakota State 28-21.

who made a spectacular catch to reel in a 42-yard touchdown.

With the Jackrabbits focusing on limiting wide receiver Tyler Johnson, it opened up lots of room in the first half for Bateman.

He finished the first half with five receptions for 132

yards receiving. However, he would be held without a catch for the rest of the night.

“He’s a special player and you saw that tonight,” Fleck said about Bateman’s performance.

At the start of the seco nd h a lf , t h e G o ph e r s

extended the lead to 12 when sophomore defensive back Chris Williamson intercepted an errant pass from SDSU quarterback J’Bore Gibbs, taking it 43 yards for a touchdown.

The Jackrabbits weren’t going to go down without a fight. They scored on backto-back possessions to take the lead from Minnesota.

Mikey Daniel ran the ball in the end zone from one yard out to close out a 92-yard drive. On the very next Jackrabbit possession, Gibbs capped off a sevenplay, 57-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Heins.

When it looked like the Jackrabbits were going to drive the field again, the Gophers caught a huge break as Gibbs fumbled a handoff and the ball fell right into the lap of Gophers redshirt senior defensive lineman Winston DeLattiboudere.

“I was like, ‘oh my gosh, I got to go get that thing,’” DeLattiboudere said when he saw the ball fumbled.

“After I got up, I didn’t want to give it to the ref. It was an extremely exciting moment.”

It wouldn’t take long after that for the Gophers to jump ahead. Sophomore Mohamed Ibrahim found a big hole to barrel through, finishing off the 34-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run that gave Minnesota a 26-21 lead.

Fleck put the offense back in the game to go for the 2-point conversion, trying to take a seven-point lead. The Gophers drew up the “Philly Special” as wide receiver and former Minneapolis North quarterback Tyler Johnson took a handoff and made an easy throw to the end zone where Morgan was wide open to complete the twopoint conversion, giving the

Gophers a seven-point lead with a little over five minutes remaining.

“I think everybody in the country has that play in their back pocket,” said Fleck about the play.

The Jackrabbits gave the Gophers a scare, driving all the way into Minnesota territory. With the crowd behind their defense on fourth-and-ten with a 1:20 remaining, Gibbs didn’t have enough time to throw as defensive linemen Esezi Otomewo and Tai’yon Devers combined for a sack to give the Gophers offense the ball back, all but ending the game as the Gophers escaped with a 28-21 victory.

“It was crazy, it was insane,” DeLattiboudere said about the noise of the crowd for the defense’s final drive. “Being able to feel that energy and then your teammates feel that energy is classic, it will never get old.”

5

MNDAILY.COM

MN DAILY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

BUSINESS

These Twin Cities women mean business Women-owned businesses celebrate and support their own communities.

BY KSENIA GORINSHTEYN kgorinshteyn@mndaily.com

The Twin Cities boasts a seemingly infinite array of local businesses, lining the streets and tucked away in small residential areas. Women-owned businesses in the Twin Cities offer a number of locally made products and services.

Samantha Rei is a Minneapolis-based fashion designer who pushes herself to create products that will make her clients feel like their most authentic selves.

“I love looking at the reactions in people’s faces and the stories that they tell you,” Rei said. “[Designing] became more than just wanting to monetize it.”

She became one of the first U.S. designers to create a Lolita clothing line, a popular style in Japan.

Rei’s most recent collection, “Ars Moriendi,” is a

culmination of almost 20 years in the business.

To reach this point in her career, Rei found the most help through local organization Springboard for the Arts.

“Fashion is fluid, art is fluid,” Rei said. “Sometimes things go quickly [or] slowly and [my business coach] was able to kind of give us more guidance.”

Finding resources when starting a non-traditional business can be difficult.

Some Twin Cities women in business have looked to their community for support instead of a meeting room of middle-aged men.

“One reason that we s o u r c e p r i m a r i l y f ro m women-owned businesses is because it’s not just another company,” said Renee Powers of Feminist Book Club. “It really is the backbone of a community.”

Feminist Book Club is a monthly subscription service that Powers started after dropping out of her Ph.D. program and moving to Minneapolis. She regularly recommended books to her friends and on her podcast, so after some

time, it felt right to create Feminist Book Club.

Powers’ business is not a brick-and-mortar shop.

The online subscription service includes a box with the book of the month and c u r a t e d p ro d u c t s f ro m women-owned businesses.

Being surrounded by w o m en a nd non-binar y folks while working on her business has been life changing, she said. “[The community] is a warm and welcoming space and it really embodies that idea of collaboration and not competition,” Powers said.

Karen O’Connor, one of the owners of Mother Earth Gardens in Minneapolis, also sources products from within her community — local, organic growers.

“We’re very purposef u l l y t r y i n g t o w o rk with younger growers,” O ’ C o n n o r s a i d . “There aren’t as many children taking over their parents’ growing operation.”

She bought Mother Earth Gardens with her business partner, then rewrote the business plans and revamped their social

JACK RODGERS, DAILY

Jessica Langhout-Budge checks out a customer at Mother Earth Gardens on Saturday, Aug. 31.

media presence.

“We made the brand more up-to-date so that we focused on both existing gardeners and younger people who might be coming into gardening,” O’Connor said.

As some local garden centers are closing down, Mother Earth Gardens has

actually seen a jump in their sales. They emphasize the importance of buying locally and having a friendly face to talk to.

“We’re really aware of how separated a lot of people feel from [the] community,” O’Connor said. “So, we’re trying to build out a lot in

our store.”

Shopping locally is a skill the Twin Cities has already mastered, but Powers stresses the importance of knowing who your money is supporting.

“When you put capital in the money of women, it can change the world,” she said.

MUSIC

Minneapolis booking agents bring music to the city Booking agents bring local, national and international acts to the stage.

BY KSENIA GORINSHTEYN kgorinshteyn@mndaily.com

The lights dim and the crowd screams. Suddenly, the wave of people behind you crashes in, pushing you forward toward the stage.

Then, the music of your favorite artist or band blasts through the speakers.

But while you were anxiously waiting for the artist to announce this show, they probably booked it six months in advance.

In the weeks leading up to the show, the artist and a booking agent exchanged countless emails, threw around dates and made negotiations. As a booking agent, this is business as usual.

“It feels like I have three feet,” said Emmy Carter, the booking director at the Cedar Cultural Center. “One of my feet is in planning like six months down the road, one of my feet is in what’s coming up next week and one of my feet is in what’s happening tonight.”

The Minneapolis music scene is bright and exciting, with live shows at every venue almost every night of the week. It falls on the

booking agents to keep it this way.

“Earlier in the summer we had sold out Tame Impala at Surly, Tenacious D at the Palace Theatre and shows at [our other venues],” said James Taylor, a booking agent at First Avenue.

“That’s almost 10,000 people in the city on a Tuesday night that decided to spend their money to see live music. That’s really special.”

Twin Cities booking agents come from various backgrounds in the music industry — some were musicians, some worked for nonprofits and others just really loved going to concerts.

“I’m naturally drawn

toward going out and seeing shows and feeling invested in the community of music,” said Icehouse’s booking agent, Diane Miller. “You definitely have to be a music fan and enjoy the live music experience.”

The live music experience could mean luxe after-parties, but a booking agent’s day is a sweet mixture of administrative work and enjoying the fruits of their labor: the concert.

At last year’s Global Roots Festival hosted by the Cedar, Carter remembers feeling nervous that no one would show or the acts wouldn’t be what the festival-goers wanted.

“By the third day, that fear started to kind of melt away,” Carter said. “You’re just looking into the eyes of the artist, and you’re sharing this experience. I was so relieved.”

Knowing how to create a great live music experience involves developing relationships with local acts, too.

“If you released a new song, email me and say, ‘Hey dude, just wanted you to know we just put out this new record,’” Taylor said.

There is no shortage of local acts in the Twin Cities, and a national act might need local support, says Taylor. Keeping agents in the loop makes it easier to

be considered for a spot.

“Everybody wants to see something that’s good and exciting,” Miller said. “If you can prove that you’re capable of doing that, you’re going to start getting flooded with requests to play more shows.”

At the end of the night, booking agents want to help keep live, local music a special part of the Twin Cities.

“Just trying to consistently give audiences and artists an experience that feels really special and really authentic and really human,” Carter said. “It’s part of what enables us to keep those relationships strong and to continue to grow.”

FASHION

Twin Cities trendy resale shops sure to spice up your fall wardrobe A student’s guide to some of the best resale shops near the University.

BY ALEX STRANGMAN astrangman@mndaily.com

Nuanced playlists flood the University Avenue air while fans press and hang Gopheralls, preparing for game day. School is back in session, and as the weather gets cold, the ‘fits heat up.

As much as we would all like to walk into that first class dripping from the Off-White tee down to the Gucci belt, for students on a budget, this simply is not feasible.

Luckily, the Twin Cities is teeming with thrift shopping opportunities. Just a bus ride from the University, four resale shops will make all your fall looks one of a kind.

Corner Store Vintage 900 W. Lake St., Minneapolis Opened in 1974, Corner Store Vintage has a longstanding vibe all its own.

From the Jimi Hendrix mural on the outside wall to the occasional RIPNDIP tee hiding in the racks, George Clinton likely would shop here had he been born 50 years later. While Corner Store Vintage offers a wide selection of sweatshirts, vintage band tees and tops you didn’t even know existed, if there’s one thing it specializes in, it’s pants.

“The heaviest thing we carry is denim. We sell a lot of denim stuff,” store owner

Linda McHale said.

Denim, denim and then some. For the student with a little extra cash and a taste for originality, Corner Store Vintage is the place to go.

Goodwill St. Paul Outlet 553 Fairview Ave. N., St. Paul If you’re looking for a truly unique shopping experience, Goodwill St. Paul Outlet has you covered.

They have a little bit of everything: from knockoff Gucci to Vikings jerseys of obscure players and new merchandise added throughout the day. To make your shopping experience even more interesting, everything is displayed in huge blue bins rather than typical racks.

“The bins, digging through [them]... I felt a little bit like a savage, just ripping through the clothes,” said MCAD student Tate Pham. “The massive amount of bins: that’s what I think is just super cool about this place.”

If giant blue bins don’t pique your interest, the St. Paul Outlet’s price points might. Unlike other stores, you pay by the pound at the outlet, with prices going down as weight goes up.

For frugal shoppers, the St. Paul Outlet’s deals can’t be matched.

Gina + Will 1324 5th St. SE., Minneapolis As Dinkytown’s premier resale shop, Gina + Will gears much of their

Justin Ofori-Atta looks at shoes inside Corner Store Vintage on Thursday, Aug. 29.

merchandise toward the college crowd, often changing inventory with the season to cater to students’ specific needs.

“Rush will happen and [students] need black dresses and white dresses, and the tropical shirts year round for the guys,” said General Manager Danielle Stager.

In addition to all your casual needs, Gina + Will has your professional needs covered, too.

“We really try to find professional wear for the

working professionals in the neighborhood … the basics, belts, you know, things like that,” Stager said.

Gina + Will also offers 15 percent off for students with a valid ID every Tuesday. So if you’re looking to put your U Card to good use, head to Gina + Will.

Buf falo Exchange 2727 L yndale Ave. S., Minneapolis If you find yourself in Uptown, Buffalo Exchange is a must-visit

fo r any ve t eran t h rift shopper.

“We really want to be like a magic store where anyone can walk in and find something they love,” said Anna Weldon, a store manager at Buffalo Exchange.

“We really have everything, from Old Navy to Gucci.”

With a slightly higher price point than other resale shops, Buffalo Exchange is great for students willing to spend a little extra cash in order to really make their wardrobe pop this semester.

JACKIE CORTOPASSI, DAILY

“We really want to be like a magic store where anyone can walk in and find something they love.”

ANNA WELDON manager at Buffalo Exchange

6 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

MN DAILY

MNDAILY.COM

Editorials & Opinions

CONTENT DIVERSITY BOARD

From the Daily’s Content Diversity Board There is no accuracy in media without fair and equitable representation.

T

he need for more equitable and representative news stories has been long overdue. News organizations in Minnesota and across the country are waking up to a critical, persistent problem: their newsrooms do not look like their communities. Newsroom employees are still majority white and male and are less diverse than the average U.S. workplace, according to the Pew Research Center.

The Minnesota Daily acknowledges

that lack of representation in the news is an industry-wide problem that we are not exempt from. As a learning institution, we need to do better to train the next generation of emerging journalists, which means holding ourselves accountable and teaching our reporters to seek out equitable coverage.

The Daily’s new editor-in-chief, Cleo Krejci, established the Content Diversity Board this summer to meet the mission of supporting diversity in our content and in our newsroom, acknowledging that there is always room to improve in our coverage.

We operate on the fundamental understanding that there is no accuracy in media without fair and equitable representation. As a board, we created the following mission statement to guide our practices: “We acknowledge that journalism cannot function as a truth-teller and watchdog without accurate representation of its communities. Therefore, our role is to support the newsroom’s diversity mission statement and ensure our coverage accurately reflects the diversity of the U’s campus and surrounding communities by:

• Acting as a watchdog for accurate and representative coverage • Analyzing coverage to provide a radar for diversity issues in reporting and editing • Providing a space for discussion and debate about ethics and best practices in diverse coverage • Serving as a bridge between the Minnesota Daily and the campus community.”

Our editors have been updating our new content tracker throughout summer publication, which logs every story that is published. From the tracker, we can see if a story highlights an issue important to underserved communities or if it offers a non-majority perspective. The board will analyze data from the tracker to evaluate the scope and balance of our coverage.

Which communities could be better represented? The tracker will give us an overview of our coverage to help answer questions as they arise. We aim to publish a report of the board’s work and data analysis from this year’s coverage.

We also aim to improve the Daily’s

relationship with campus and its surrounding communities to better serve as an open forum for discussion. The board will bring in outside perspectives to teach skills and tell their stories, whether they are media professionals or other groups impacted by media coverage.

Assembling the board is one of many steps to supporting diversity in coverage. As we develop the board, we want to keep the line open to community input. Please direct any suggestions to contentdiversityboard@mndaily.com.

Tif fany Bui, board chair, she/hers Ariana Wilson, outreach coordinator, she/hers Michelle Grif fith, newsroom coordinator, she/hers Cleo Krejci, of fice of the publisher member, she/hers

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Ranked-choice: a fix to our broken voting system With ranked-choice voting, voters rank candidates in their order of preference.

I

’m proud to live in a state with one of the most successful ranked-choice voting (RCV) movements in the country.

In addition to Minneapolis and St. Paul, which have been using RCV for some time, Saint Louis Park voters will be ranking their ballots for the first time this November. Bloomington, Rochester, Red Wing and Minnetonka all are considering adopting RCV too. That’s great, and I hope that soon we’ll be able to use this much more representative voting

system statewide.

We are conditioned to believe in our “first past the post” plurality voting system, which is a fancy way of saying “whoever gets the most votes wins” – even if those votes fall far short of a majority. Plurality voting is an affront to democracy.

Imagine a scenario in which three strong candidates run and split the vote, resulting in the winner receiving just 40% of the vote.

This is commonplace at all levels of elections, including our current president who didn’t receive a majority of the early primary votes that led to his nomination or a majority of the popular vote in the 2016 general election. The current Democratic presidential primary includes 20-plus candidates, with the nominee likely to win without a majority of support. How democratic is a system in which most voters actually voted for someone other than the winning candidate?

This type of vote splitting is a recipe for bitterness, disenfranchisement and

polarization. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way.

With RCV, voters rank candidates in their order of preference. It works like a runoff, but in a single election. After all of the first place votes are tallied, a winner is only declared if those first place votes reflect 50%, plus one. If not, the candidate with the least first place votes is eliminated and those voters’ second choices are now counted. This process continues until one candidate reaches the winning threshold. RCV eliminates the dreaded spoiler problem and lets voters vote for the candidate they like best.

Ranked choice voting does not benefit any political party or ideology. It does require candidates to reach out beyond their base and earn a majority of voter support.

It also removes incentives for hateful advertisements that exacerbate partisanship and sow division. These ads work because they exploit the faults in the current voting system by pitting voters against each

other. But, in the end, we all lose when voters become disenfranchised.

If you want Minnesota to be a forerunner and become the second state – Maine was the first – to give all its voters a healthier and more powerful democracy, then it’s up to you to get active. Call the governor’s office, call your state representatives, talk to your friends and volunteer. Tell them about ranked choice voting: how it works and why it’s better.

Yes, our voting system is broken, but together we can fix it. The future of our democracy depends on it.

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

Kevin Monagan is a senior at the University of Minnesota pursing a Bachelor of Individualized Studies degree in English, political science and psychology and an intern with FairVote Minnesota.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A letter to the Mayor of Minneapolis

The plan for an African Mall will only create problems or worsen them in my neighborhood.

Dear Mayor Frey: The plan for an African Mall that you and Council Member Abdi Warsame wish to impose on Cedar Riverside will only create problems or worsen them in my neighborhood.

It has been dropped on us without warning, without reasonable process, like a bomb.

Officials have made it clear that the basic plan for a building at least ten stories high that would contain the mall and housing is not negotiable.

So far as I know, the only persons in favor of it are you, Warsame, and presumably the likely developer George Sherman who would stand to profit from the project. Sherman controls the approximately 1300-unit

Riverside Plaza housing complex adjacent to the site. For many years he has spent most of the income from Riverside Plaza’s largely governmentally subsidized rent revenues elsewhere in his quite vast real estate empire, utilizing the housing complex as a cash cow. Sherman and Brighton Development obtained the property from the federal government in a highly irregular and extremely questionable transaction from HUD who had repossessed it from the original developer.

The fact that this African Mall plan offers publicly owned land and will require public subsidies to achieve its purpose, along with the short time period between the surprise announcement and the City’s publication of request for proposals, the “engineering” of the process to exclude all but one developer appears to be a little crooked, a little corrupt. As such, it will be yet another chapter in a long history of such non-competitive City development processes in our neighborhood, but one remarkable for its utterly extreme lack of neighborhood-based planning and input. With neither calls for such a project from residents nor from current business and property owners, one can only assume that very narrow interests are the motivators.

And the consequences will be serious for the neighborhood. First, we already have a severe problem here relating to the needs of many children. The Riverside Plaza complex was never conceived nor designed for families with children. In several infrastructure repair projects of past years, Sherman failed to take the opportunity to reduce overcrowding by combining units to make more multi-bedroom apartments. The recreational needs of the complex’s many highrise children are only partially satisfied by the adjacent Coyle Center that needs expansion in order to reasonably meet demand.

The African Mall plan will make the already unusually high housing density here even higher, creating yet more pressure on social service and recreation providers. It will create insurmountable traffic issues on 4th Street where school buses already have problems. Somali mothers immediately expressed opposition when they heard of the plan; they voiced concerns about a mall as a troublesome hangout for teenagers, and they spoke of the pressing needs for more recreational facilities and more green space.

In addition, neighborhood businesses— including Cedar Cultural Center, Mixed Blood Theater, Midwest Mountaineering, Red Sea Bar, Lucky Dragon Restaurant and

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

There should be an exemption for sexual assault prevention training for survivors Those who have survived sexual assault should not have to take the mandatory sexual assault prevention training at the University of Minnesota.

I

would like to spark a discussion regarding the mandatory online course at the University of Minnesota titled “Sexual Assault Prevention for Graduate Students.” Undergraduate students here are also required to take mandatory sexual assault prevention training.

I have taken a handful of these courses

by now and am quite familiar with them.

As a provider in Obstetrics and Gynecology with particular interest for survivors of sexual assault, I reached out to inquire if there was an exemption for them. I was surprised when told that the course was still required for everyone, but given a referral to the Aurora Center for Advocacy & Education for any difficulty experienced while completing it. I appreciate the Aurora Center’s incredible work for being there for survivors, but it seems to me that if the issue for some survivors is the course itself, it would be far more compassionate to have an exemption.

I am unsure what the overall consensus on exemptions is at academic institutions across the country, but have reached out to a few of my previous undergraduate and graduate professors. I also immediately reached out to several of my OB-GYN colleagues to discuss this. Everyone I have spoken with thus far has agreed with my professional opinion that merely referring victims to a

counseling center to help them get through the course is at best insensitive, and at worst, harmful. And is that not the opposite of what our goal is? Perhaps a one-size-fitsall approach to such requirements is easier, but I argue that overall student well-being is worth the effort. I understand the intention of the course is prevention of sexual assault, but I would be grateful if we showed a bit of extra understanding and flexibility in “requirements” for those who have already experienced it. This is not a trauma-informed policy for the University to adhere to.

others—will suffer because of lost or reduced parking for their critical customer needs. Existing immigrant-owned businesses are concerned about competition from new entrepreneurs from outside the neighborhood who will try to establish themselves in a new — probably subsidized — mall.

As a resident of Cedar Riverside for most of the time since 1962, I have not seen such united opposition to anything in our neighborhood since the U.S. Postal Service took away our post office. And the concerns of residents and businesses, the needs of the many children concentrated in a very small urban area, have been completely disregarded.

Mayor Frey, to be a good public servant means attending to the needs of the citizens, not necessarily to whatever you want.

Sincerely, David Markle This letter to the editor has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

David Markle is a long-time resident of the Cedar Riverside neighborhood.

SHARE YOUR VIEWS The Minnesota Daily welcomes letters and guest columns from readers. All letters must include the writer’s name, address and phone number for verification. The Daily reserves the right to edit all letters for style, space, libel and grammar. Letters to the editor should be no more than 500 words in length. Guest columns should be approximately 350 words. The Daily reserves the right to print any submission as a letter or guest column. Submission does not guarantee publication.

letters@mndaily.com Fax: (612) 435-5865 Phone: (612) 435-1578 Letters and columns to the editor 2221 University Ave. SE Suite 450 Minneapolis, MN 55414 EDITORIALS & OPINIONS DEPARTMENT Editorials represent the voice of the Minnesota Daily as an institution and are prepared by the editorial board.

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

Nickey Jafari is a resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Minnesota. She received her M.D. from the University of Kansas and her M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

THE EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS DEPARTMENT IS INDEPENDENT OF THE NEWSROOM

7

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

MN DAILY

HOROSCOPES

Today’s Birthday (9/3): Home and family blossom and grow this year. Discipline with your art, sport or passion delivers satisfying developments. Discover a sparkling winter romance, before team changes require adaptation. Household renovation or relocation requires attention, before friends come through for glorious results. Nurture your garden with love.

MNDAILY.COM

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

Written by Nancy Black

Aries (3/21 - 4/19): Today is a 9 — Increase the stability factor with shared finances. Don’t spend funds in advance. Confess your worries, and collaborate for amazing results.

Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is an9 — Grab an opportunity for extra cash. Advance a lucrative idea. Review carefully before committing funds or energy. Get support from a friend or mentor.

Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is a 9 — Encourage your partner for a common goal. Quick action can score. Practice makes perfect. Collaborate to solve a puzzle. Pool your resources.

Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is a 9 — Dress with extra care. You’re creating a buzz. Learn and teach simultaneously. Prepare for a moment in the spotlight.

Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is an 8 — Practice methodically before speeding up.

Avoid technical mistakes. You may need to move quickly to maintain your advantage.

Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is a 7 — Think quickly and move slowly. Consider options and possibilities. Find solutions to conserve energy and reduce stress.

Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is an 8 — Make a sweet connection. Listen with your heart.

Share an enticing possibility and find new opportunities for collaboration.

Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is an 8 — Talk with your team to come up with simple solutions.

Navigate a change in plans together. Connect with allies to share resources, ideas and data.

Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 7 — Domestic arts, chores and projects provide satisfying results. Get your hands dirty. Nurture your inner circle. You’re gaining points.

Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is an 8 — Collaborate and coordinate with your team for a lucrative prize. Professional projects gain momentum. Completion leads to profits.

Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is an 8 — Consider what you want to say and how to say it.

Establish rules and guidelines, protocols and messaging statements.

Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is a 9 — Take new territory with your partner. Discover fresh terrain together. Travel and explore. Tap into a secret source. Encourage each other to learn new tricks.

DR. DATE Dr. Date,

I have a thing for Gopher sports guys: hockey, basketball, wrestling, football — as long as you have the possibility of being on Barstool Gophers, I’m DTF. I’ve been petitioning Tinder for an athlete filter and have been known to knock on past hookup’s doors after big games.

What can I say, there’s nothing better than stealing one of those maroon and gold hoodies after a long night of celebrating!

But believe it or not, I’ve actually been sticking to one guy in particular. He’s a little bigger than my other partners, but he can cover a lot of ground and is great with his hands, if you know what I mean.

We’ve been hanging out for a few months, and I think I might want to be exclusive, but my friends have a different idea.

See, guys from this team have a reputation of being ... smaller, and not just in the weight room. Some say it’s because of the cold (they just got out of practice, right?), but as someone who’s been around the rink a few times, it’s actually pretty accurate. Thankfully my guy is the exception, but my friends have been laughing at me for even thinking about settling down with someone from the team. Aside from sending a pic to my friends, I don’t know what to do to stop the teasing. How do I prove he knows how to handle his stick?

Dr. Date,

I am dumb. Really dumb. As in, moved into my dorm room a few days ago and hooked up with my roommate last night dumb. I was the only openly non-straight person in my Southern small town, so I think the rush of finding out that there’s more people like me in college and the fact that one of them LIVES with me made me make stupid decisions. From our discussions before the hookup, I know she’s definitely not someone I would want to date, so I don’t know where to go from here. How am I supposed to deal with this?!

—Not That One

Dear Not That One,

Oh god. And there’s no chance you can switch rooms? If not, you made your bed, now you have to lie in it (without your roommate).

Sit down with your roommate and explain that while you enjoyed the experience, you made a mistake, you’d like to move past it and you just want to be friends. Maybe go over to your hookup’s place in the future — and make sure it’s in a different building than your dorm.

—Dr. Date

—Size Doesn’t Matter

Dear Size Doesn’t Matter,

Have you thought about making a graph by team to show how he compares? Some people won’t rest until they see real evidence, but unless you want a sexual harassment charge, stick with the metaphors.

If you want to get a little more serious with this guy, you’ve got to ignore the criticism. Yeah, the reputation is pretty funny, but there comes a point where you have to tell your friends to mind their own business. They’re not going to handle the puck, so why do they need to know?

—Dr. Date

Want advice from the love doctor?

Email Dr. Date at drdate@mndaily. com

SUDOKU CROSSWORD

Last Issue’s Puzzle Solved Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

9/3/19

For strategies on how to solve sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk.

Last issue’s solution

© 2019 Michael Mepham. Distributed

by Tribune Media Services.

All rights reserved.

8

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

MSA president discusses year’s goals Pres. Mina Kian emphasized her top priorities for the school year.

MRUNAL ZAMBRE, DAILY

Mina Kian, President of Minnesota Student Association, poses for a portrait inside Coffman Union on Thursday, Aug. 29.

BY SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON shendrickson@mndaily.com The Minnesota Daily recently spoke with Minnesota Student Association President Mina Kian about the student government’s goals and initiatives for the upcoming school year.

Are there any new goals and initiatives that you are putting into practice this semester, or for the full year?

I previously served as [University of Minnesota’s] student body vice president, and the way that I’ve kind of framed it is that I’m just as encouraged as I was last year. I still have a huge capacity in governing how our organization is run and what we worked on. ... In some ways many of these initiatives that we’re working on are the next phases or the next steps of stuff that we set up last year.

I think a few things that are going to be new this year, we know that the Title IX revisions are going to be coming up this year … We’re just sort of playing a waiting game with [University administration] to see what the [Department of Education] comes out with.

I’m really hoping to work on issues of nation sovereignty and rights, and making sure that Indigenous communities are being respected and also served by our advocacy work. That’s just a constituency that consistently gets left behind.

Exactly what that looks like, I can’t tell you right now.

Our Government and Legislative Affairs team is so strong this year. I know that they’re going to be working on a lot of state-level policy and law changes and just working on passing a lot of bills with our elected representatives.

One of the things I’ve always cared about is [University] admissions practices. We hope to find ways to bring that into the diversity inclusion work that we keep at the forefront and the heart and soul of our organization’s mission and make sure that the campus not only works on supporting students that we have, but open[s] doors to bring in students that historically haven’t had the same opportunities and access to our institution.

How does MSA plan to be involved with the transition of our new president?

We actually have already been involved quite heavily.

I [have had] the opportunity to meet with her a few times.

We’ll kind of be acting as a helper in the transition in her relationship with undergraduate students. I’ve called [Gabel] for meetings quite a few times in the past

month, and now that we’re going into the school year, we have a few standing meetings coming in for the next few weeks as well. One of the things that I truly appreciate about the way that she approaches her work is that she has a very studentcentric focus to her leadership, and she is willing to engage students on new topics and really come alongside our advocacy work. I really do feel like we’ve already established a strong relationship with her office by meeting with them regularly and sending them updates on where we’re at with our initiatives.

Is there ... any particular initiative that [Gabel] is planning on working with MSA? She has already started conversations with us on the initiative of campus dining. Our contract with Aramark is coming up for reviewal this year,

and as we’re looking at finding more sustainable options for our dining halls, she has engaged with us and our administrators to make sure that the student voice is being heard in that process.

She mentioned the issue of tuition when she was running to be president, and so I hope that’s another thing she’s going to focus on in this upcoming year.

With the national changes being made to immigration policy and the new regulations surrounding [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals], is MSA planning to support students who are being af fected by these changes?

Our Non-Citizen Immigrant Task Force was created last year specifically to work on these issues. We work closely with [the University’s International Student and Scholar Services]

and the Immigration Response Team on campus to make sure that we have an understanding of the legal work that they do to support our students. A lot of our work is just making sure that we’re hearing their voices, that we’re getting those resources and a general awareness of this issue out there.

How does MSA plan to work with other Big Ten school student governments?

The GLA team actually has an [Association of Big Ten Students liaison] which is a coalition of the ten student governments that we’re a part of, and we just work on collaborative advocacy initiatives. And we have a lot of work that we do on the federal level together, just because we serve over 500,000 students collectively. Through this channel, we actually had our last conference just a month ago.

How does MSA plan to work with [the Professional Student Government] and [the Council of Graduate Students] this year?

We already work pretty closely ... [and] do a lot of collaboration on issues, like mental health. So, one of my goals for this upcoming year is to set up a strong relationship with all of the executive boards so that we can collectively advocate to our institution’s leaders … and those two groups, because we share a campus with them.

I would say we do have a pretty strong relationship with them, but I also hope this extends to a relationship with more campus leaders in Crookston and Rochester because we’re all a part of the same UMN system.

This interview has been lightly edited for style and clarity.