GOPHERS FINISH SECOND CONSECUTIVE SWEEP PG 6 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2018
EARLY WEEK
VOLLEYBALL HAD TWO CONFERENCE WINS THIS WEEK
MNDAILY.COM
FOOTBALL
Winfield Jr. injured, out for season
ADMINISTRATION
EXAMINING ACADEMIC FREEDOM
The defensive back suffered a foot injury against Maryland, sidelining him for the year. BY PAUL HODOWANIC phodowanic@mndaily.com
Minnesota announced Sunday that defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. will miss the rest of the 2018 season. Winfield Jr. injured his foot in the first quarter of Saturday’s 42-13 loss to Maryland. The Gophers said the sophomore will have surgery on his foot on Monday. “We are heartbroken for Antoine,” head coach P.J. Fleck said in a statement. “I know he will keep his oar in the water, keep moving forward and will work tirelessly to return to the field next season.” Winfield Jr. was a key piece in Minnesota’s defense and special teams this season. He collected a fumble recovery, 16 total tackles, a punt return for a touchdown and a game-sealing interception against Fresno State. The Woodlands, Texas native was in a similar situation nearly one year ago. Winfield Jr. was poised to have a breakout season, but was injured in the fourth game of the 2017 season — a loss to Maryland — and missed the remainder of the Gophers’ 5-7 season. The team will shift focus to next year, as Minnesota intends to file a waiver with the NCAA that would grant a sixth year of eligibility and give Winfield Jr. three more years with the Gophers.
Following a delayed reproductive health care fellowship, UMN committee reviews potential academic freedom infringement. BY AUSTEN MACALUS • amacalus@mndaily.com
Faculty at the University of Minnesota are investigating whether a delayed Medical School fellowship violated academic freedom – the latest response to ongoing controversy surrounding the reproductive health training, which would have included abortion procedures. Several members of the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee expressed concern that the University’s decision amounted to an infringement of academic freedom at the committee’s Sept. 14 meeting. Some raised concerns about the political motivations behind the decision. The committee’s official statement says academic freedom “is the freedom, without institutional discipline or restraint, to discuss all relevant matters in the classroom, to explore all avenues of scholarship, research, and creative expression, and to speak or write on matters of public concern.” The fellowship, funded by the Reproductive Health Access Project, was approved by a faculty member last fall, according to a University spokesperson. The year-long program would have placed a doctor who had finished residency in a community
care clinic to learn and provide reproductive healthcare, including services for birth control, sexual transmitted infections, miscarriages and abortions, said Lisa Maldonado, executive director of RHAP. The University removed the position from its website last May following backlash from anti-abortion lawmakers and advocates after Campus Reform, a conservative news organization, published an article on the issue. Medical School Dean Jakub Tolar said in a letter to lawmakers that the grant-funded fellowship was delayed one year while administrators “examine the value of this training in the context of our mission along with the values of the community.” The committee will examine if that decision was a step too far, said Jessica Larson, the committee chair. The committee, she said, wants “to maintain an open and unimpeded reasonable access to ideas for teaching and scholarly work.” However, there isn’t much information available about the University’s decision beyond media reports, Larson said. The committee plans to meet with administrators from across the University, including
STATE GOV.
Regents look to widen criteria for its nominees As positions open this coming year, Regents suggested new criteria at a recent meeting.
u See FELLOWSHIP Page 4
ILLUSTRATION BY JANE BORSTAD, DAILY
“Keeping e-cigarettes out of the hands of youth is an important aspect of tobacco regulation,” Katz said. “The nicotine gets a lot of attention, but there’s a concern about the effect on the brain development of young teens and adolescents ... there has been lead found in some of them, and certainly cancer-causing agents.” One of the greatest worries in the scientific community regarding vaping is that its long-term health effects are yet to be fully understood, said Silvia Balbo, a University professor who co-authored a research paper on e-cigarettes with Stepanov. “We cannot wait 30 years to see the effects of e-cigarettes,” she said. “We have to do something now.” Another concern that prompted the
The impending selection process of four members of the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents began last week with the Regent Candidate Advisory Council (RCAC), a citizen group who are filtering regent applications before lawmakers choose members next session. RCAC uses a statement of selection criteria for potential regents to recruit candidates, and the current board participates in the process by making suggestions to the statement. Some regents said at the September meeting that the language in the 2016 version of this criteria seemed limited. “We shouldn’t be looking for the exact same people with the exact same experience base when we select for the board,” Regent Abdul Omari said at the meeting. The criteria reviewed at the meeting included a section stating future candidates must have professional “experience in the governance and strategic oversight of large, complex organizations.” Regent Darrin Rosha said while experience in governance is a valuable asset on the
u See VAPING Page 4
u See REGENTS Page 2
PUBLIC HEALTH
Federal government sets new regulations on growing vaping trend E-cigarette companies have 60 days to prove that minors can’t access their products. BY LEW BLANK lblank@mndaily.com
The Food and Drug Administration announced a new regulation for e-cigarette companies this month that has received a split reaction from students and faculty at the University of Minnesota. The Sept. 12 order declared that e-cigarette manufacturers like Juul Labs had 60 days to prove that they could successfully keep their devices away from minors. Failure to comply could result in the removal of products from the market and charges against e-cigarette vendors. Some e-cigarette student users
expressed disapproval of the regulation, but it was largely embraced by University faculty with expertise on the health effects of vaping. “The use of e-cigarettes among teens is truly out of proportion,” said Irina Stepanov, a University professor in environmental health sciences. “Hopefully these measures will have the power to stop the spread of use of these products by youth.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, e-cigarettes were regularly used by about 1.7 million high school students and 390,000 middle school students in the U.S. in 2017. Vaping, although not as damaging as traditional cigarettes, can still elevate harm when it comes to the health of youth, said Sherri Katz, a University professor who researches e-cigarettes.
BY ISABELLA MURRAY imurray@mndaily.com
RESEARCH
UMN starvation study bolsters eating disorder treatment in Twin Cities Over 70 years later, UMN researchers follow up on starvation study findings. BY BELLA DALLY-STEELE idally-steele@mndaily.com
A University of Minnesota follow-up study to starvation research during World War II is informing eating disorder treatment in the Twin Cities. In 1944, 36 conscientious war objectors volunteered to be starved as part of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, helping researchers find ways to revive starvation victims overseas. More than 70 years later, University researchers finally published a follow-up to the study in March. The findings are being used to inform eating disorder treatment in the Twin Cities, which some say shows patients that recovery is possible.
Original study leaves room for additional research The 1944-1945 Keys study, lead by University of Minnesota nutritionist Ancel Keys, partially starved 36 men for six months, looking to determine the safest
way to nourish victims after they had been starved in World War II concentration and prisoner of war camps. Though the research soon became a cornerstone in the eating disorder field, its findings focused on the effects of starvation and re-feeding, rather than the organic recovery process. “[The Keys study] didn’t focus on the eating and weight issues and how long it takes to recover [from starvation],” said Elke Eckert, a former University psychiatry professor who lead the follow-up research to the Keys study. “We really are the only study that did that.” Eckert said the follow-up started when she stumbled upon a video of one of the original Keys subjects reflecting on his starvation during the study. The participant in the video reported physical and psychological effects similar to those caused by eating disorders — his comments supported widely-held but unproven theories about recovery, Eckert said. “I thought, ‘Oh my god, if there’s this one [subject] that’s saying this, we should try to get ahold of these men to see if this is common,’” Eckert said. Along with Stanford professor of
Eating disorder treatment group The Emily Program incorporates the Keys Study into treatment curriculum
A 57-Year Follow-Up Investigation and Review of the Minnesota Study on Human Starvation and its Relevance to Eating Disorders Four psychiatry/psychology researchers interview 19 of the 36 Keys Study participants about their experiences during and after the experiment
The Minnesota Starvation Experiment (“Keys Study”) A University of Minnesota study puts 36 conscientious war objectors into semi-starvation to research re-feeding techniques
The Emily Program updates curriculum, increasing emphasis on the Keys Study and the 57-Year Follow-Up
The Emily Program adds information from neurological research to treatment curriculum, “building on” the Keys Study and 57-Year Follow-Up
The 57-Year Follow-Up is published in the research journal Archives of Psychology
SOURCE: MN DAILY REPORTING
psychiatry Regina Casper, University of Minnesota psychology professor Irving Gottesman and then-psychology fellow Susan Swigart, Eckert did just that. This March, Eckert and her colleagues brought the findings of their 2002 follow-up study to the public, publishing
“A 57-Year Follow-Up Investigation and Review of the Minnesota Study on Human Starvation and its Relevance to Eating Disorders” in the scientific journal Archives of Psychology. u See STUDY Page 4
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 72