September 12, 2019

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UCLA TRANSFER KYLIE MILLER HOPES TO FILL ROLE ON VOLLEYBALL TEAM PAGE 4

LATE WEEK THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

MNDAILY.COM

SERVING THE UMN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900

NEIGHBORHOODS

FACULTY

Student concern of professor scandal leads to class removal Internal investigations found Gianluigi Veglia violated the University’s sexual harassment policy. BY MICHELLE GRIFFITH mgriffith@mndaily.com

KAMAAN RICHARDS, DAILY

“Elijah the Nonprofit” plays an original song on his custom guitar in Dinkytown on Saturday, Sept. 7. Elijah intends to use his love of music to start a program for troubled youth in the area.

Home, on Dinky’s streets

Where pasts vary, a sense of community flourishes. BY DYLAN MIETTINEN dmiettinen@mndaily.com

In Dinkytown, it can be heard long before it’s seen: the drumming and singing of Chris “Zannman” Zann and a man known exclusively as Elijah the Prophet. Though Zannman’s drum top is slightly torn, he makes do by pounding on its side and rim with a rock in one hand and a spice bottle in the other. Elijah’s drum is actually made from a painted and

sticker-clad guitar, what he calls a “community project.” Passersby sometimes stop to listen to the music, some glance down and smile, while others just disregard the makeshift band entirely. A few look ahead and speed up. While homeless individuals have resided near the University of Minnesota area for decades, many say Dinkytown has seen a noticeable increase in the past few years, reflecting city-wide trends. Shelter counts in January 2018 and January 2019 showed a 50 percent increase in homelessness in Hennepin County in the past year. Zann, who is working on a book about homelessness in and around the Twin Cities, says he likes to stay in the Dinkytown area be-

RESEARCH

Doctors give more opioids later in day Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Harvard University carried out the study. BY GWIWON JASON NAM gnam@mndaily.com

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and Harvard University demonstrated that primary care physicians are more likely to prescribe opioids later in the day and when they’re running behind schedule. This is the first national study that has looked at opioid prescribing over the course of a day. “We did this study because there’s this widespread concern in the medical community that time pressure in medicine can change the way that physicians make decisions for their patients,” said Hannah Neprash, a lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the University’s School of Public Health. Researchers studied a large electronic database of physician visits to examine how physicians’ prescribing rate changed with patients that they saw later in the day or whose appointments started behind schedule. “We looked at a national database whereas prior studies have only used data from single centers, and no one has yet examined what happens as appointments run behind,” said Dr. Michael Barnett, the study’s co-author and assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers found that prescriptions of two non-opioid forms of pain treatment, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and physical therapy, don’t follow the same pattern. “NSAIDs and physical therapy referrals are first-line options for many types of pain,” said Dr. Mitesh Patel, director of the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit and an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “By showing a similar pattern did not exist here, it means that time of day is impacting opioid prescribing and not u See OPIOIDS Page 3

cause of the sense of community. “We are a community, we survive by collectivism. It’s equity,” Zann said. “We’re about peace, love and tranquility and making sure that nobody is hungry or thirsty or freezes to death. Here, it’s a community of brothers and sisters.” ‘Regular fixtures’ in Dinkytown While there is no foolproof way to gauge the amount of homeless individuals who use campus facilities or may stay for periods of time on or near campus, according to the University of Minnesota Police Department, at least one incident report is filed per day relating to a homeless individual, with an increase during winter months. u See HOMELESSNESS Page 3

After multiple graduate students voiced their concerns over a professor’s past conduct, a University of Minnesota course was canceled only days before the fall semester began. In 2017, tenured instructor Gianluigi Veglia violated the University’s sexual harassment policy as found in two Universityconducted investigations, according to a notice of proposed discipline letter. The Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics removed the course, called Introduction to Modern Structural Biology - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, after it received multiple complaints late last month about Veglia teaching the course. In a 2017 report from the office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, female students in his lab alleged Veglia had sexually pursued and made comments toward them, commenting on their clothing and appearance. Veglia denied these allegations, among many others. The EOAA recommended Veglia be suspended from the BMBB department’s graduate program through the 2019-20 school year, but he is currently teaching a course in the chemistry department. Right now, Veglia is allowed to teach any course, should he be assigned, according to BMBB Department Head David Bernlohr. The NMR class, which is only offered in the fall, has not been taught in over a year. Veglia is one

of the few instructors who can teach the class because it requires a specific skill set, according to department staff. Veglia’s assignment to teach the NMR course was brought to students’ attention when they tried to register for the class, said fourth-year graduate student and BMBB graduate program student representative Michael Lopresti. Bernlohr said it was “indicated” to students last year that Veglia would teach the class, this was the first time this year those in the program had heard Veglia was teaching a BMBB class, Lopresti said. Bernlohr also said the faculty collectively made the decision to assign Veglia as the course instructor. When asked why the department did not let students know Veglia was going to be teaching in the BMBB department again, Bernlohr said, “We probably should have.” “I think we had communicated a year ago that he wasn’t going to be teaching last year and would likely teach this year. … We didn’t think it would be a surprise, but obviously that wasn’t something that all the students realized,” Bernlohr said. The lack of communication about Veglia’s class assignment harms the already fragile relationship between the department and the students, said Kelly Wallin, a fifth-year BMBB graduate student. “There’s been no acknowledgement to the general graduate student body that this happened, it wasn’t supposed to happen … and someone is going to make sure it isn’t going to happen again,” Wallin said. Mistrust grew between students and the BMBB department u See HARASSMENT Page 3

ACTIVISM

Activists, UMN students show support for alleged Richard Liu victim Attendees supported the alleged victim, a University student, at a hearing Wednesday. BY EMMA DILL edill@mndaily.com

Members of a feminist group and University of Minnesota students showed support for a student and alleged rape victim of Chinese billionaire Richard Liu at a hearing Wednesday, Sept. 11. The hearing is the first motion in a civil lawsuit filed by University student Liu Jingyao against JD.com founder Richard Liu. Liu Jingyao was publicly identified as the alleged victim when she filed the suit against Richard Liu in April. Activists and students watched the court proceedings and took photos outside the courtroom with a sign that expressed support for Liu Jingyao and referenced the #MeToo movement. Activist Xiaowen Liang flew to Minneapolis from New York City to attend the hearing. Liang, a recent law school graduate, organizes for the group Free Chinese

Feminists, which arranged the gathering. Liang said showing up to the hearing allowed her to voice support for Liu Jingyao more directly. “I felt like it’s very important to have actual, in-person support. I want to let people know that the support’s not only online,” Liang said. “There are actual people who will show up for this case who really believe in Jingyao.” Rose Liu, another activist, flew in from Washington D.C. to attend the hearing. Both Rose Liu and Liang said they wanted to change the images and narratives that surround media coverage of the lawsuit, which has centered around Richard Liu. “To have his face be the image that’s representing this issue makes it seem like it’s one about individual misbehavior when really, for us, the issue is much bigger than that,” Rose Liu said. “It’s one that’s important for Chinese women and women more generally.” The alleged incident occurred in August 2018 when Liu Jingyao was invited to a dinner with Richard Liu and other Chinese executives who were taking part in the University’s

EMMA DILL, DAILY

Demonstrators, two of which are from the group Free Chinese Feminists, stand outside the courtroom inside the Hennepin County Government Center on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The four were showing their support for Liu Jingyao on the first hearing of a civil case brought against Richard Liu.

Doctor of Business Administration China program. Liu Jingyao, who was volunteering with the program, was the only volunteer invited to the dinner, a “business networking event” meant to “honor” volunteers. The 21-yearold was the only female at the table

of male executives, according to court documents. After dinner, Richard Liu allegedly raped Liu Jingyao in her Minneapolis apartment. Richard Liu was not criminally u See LIU HEARING Page 3

STUDENT LIFE

University students bid final farewell to Centennial dining hall Centennial Hall’s dining facility closed ahead of Pioneer Hall opening its renovated dining hall. BY MICHAEL MCGOUGH mmcgough@mndaily.com

Centennial Dining Hall closed its doors this summer after feeding students, staff and faculty at the University of Minnesota for years. In it’s place, Pioneer Hall now houses Superblock’s sole dining hall. Pioneer Hall reopened this fall after undergoing a $104.5 million renovation that added a new dining facility to the building. Now, Pioneer Hall is responsible for feeding the more than 2,800 residents of Superblock — which also encompasses Frontier Hall, Territorial Hall and Centennial Hall — on the University’s East Bank campus. Prior to Pioneer Hall’s renovations, Centennial Hall and Pioneer Hall both operated dining facilities

JACK RODGERS, DAILY

From left, Mike Lau, Roudra Bhattacharya, Nathan Hafey, Matt Legler and Jeevan Prakash enjoy a meal in the newly renovated Pioneer Dining Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 11. Pioneer replaces Centennial as the only dining hall available to students living in Superblock.

simultaneously. Now, with the absence of Centennial’s dining hall, Superblock is adjusting to having just one dining hall.

Freshman Kevin Vang said that the line to eat at Pioneer’s dining hall can stretch out the residence hall’s front doors. Milli

Sandhu, another freshman, said she had difficulty finding the vegetarian options because the dining hall was busy. Meanwhile, many students must bid farewell to Centennial’s dining hall, which some say helped them adjust to life at the University by providing warm food and a place to socialize. After senior Carson Mummert transferred to the University, Centennial Dining Hall served as a place to spend time with friends between classes. “I used to go there with my friends a lot a few semesters ago,” Mummert said. “The food was super good, and it was convenient.” Mummert’s fondness for Centennial is mirrored by other students who speak nostalgically about the dining hall. Junior Peter Goncharov said it’s “too bad” that Centennial Dining Hall closed. Goncharov spent a lot of time u See CENTENNIAL Page 3 VOLUME 120 ISSUE 4


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