October 10, 2019

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SERVING THE UMN COMMUNITY SINCE 1900

NATIONAL ISSUES “I think that we should wait and see ... because it was really serious to mention a presidential competitor and asking for foreign aid.”

“...I think no matter what political party you are, I feel like for anybody really this kind of behavior is unnacceptable.”

“I don’t know constitutionally what would make him necessarily impeachable, but I do believe that he is unfit to lead.”

NATHAN HARMAN Senior from Illinois

AASHAY DESAI Freshman from Plymouth

ERIC BOEHME Sophomore from St. Paul

Students weigh in on impeachment inquiry

University students represent a wide variety of opinions about the recent developments.

BY JASMINE SNOW • jsnow@mndaily.com PORTRAITS BY SYDNI ROSE • srose@mndaily.com

“I think it’s really telling that this is the incident that is pushing the Democrats to impeach ... it doesn’t feel really genuine.”

“The fact that like him investigating Joe Biden ... is what sort of crosses the line is kind of disheartening, you know?”

“I’ve been so busy. I haven’t been able to keep up with it whatsoever ... I am angry with him as a person.”

THALYA REYES Second year Ph.D. student from New Jersey

ALEX PROVAN Ph.D. student from Pennsylvania

JULIA CARPENTER Junior from Wisconsin

u See IMPEACHMENT Page 3

DIVERSITY

Report calls for diversity in English dept.

The report recommends prioritizing salary equity and promoting training for faculty and students.

BY MICHAEL MCGOUGH mmcgough@mndaily.com

The University of Minnesota’s English department should take steps to address diversity within the department, according to recent report. Included in the report are recommendations for moving forward which include prioritizing salary equity and encouraging students, staff and faculty to pursue diversity training.

Departmental weaknesses identified in the report include failing to retain faculty and staff of diverse backgrounds, gender inequity and a lack of diverse representation in required course materials.

Faculty assembled the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee in the spring to help the English department craft a three-year plan to improve diversity within the department. The report and its recommendations draw attention to departmental issues that members of the committee identified and provides a direct response to the department’s current and past relationship with diversity.

The pay disparity is also an issue, said Qadri Ismail, a professor and the chair of the EDI Committee. On average, the four male associate professors make nearly $6,500 more per year than the seven women at the same level, according to the report.

The report addresses a lack of diversity in courses and calls into question whether the department should continue to require undergraduate students to take a course on William Shakespeare.

“We have a very Eurocentric curriculum centered around Shakespeare,” Ismail said. “The ideology of the English department can be summed up in three words: white writers matter.”

To deal with this, the report recommends that the department teach a diverse range of material u See ENGLISH Page 3

MENTAL HEALTH

Veterinary students, faculty take action on mental health Veterinarians are at greater risk for dying by suicide than the general population.

BY EMILY SIZEN esizen@mndaily.com

The University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine recently implemented new policies to help students with their mental health and other stressors, amid increasing awareness of high suicide rates among veterinarians across the country.

For the first time this semester, all classes for first-year CVM students are pass/fail in an effort to ease the transition into the vigorous program. In addition, the college began implementing

a policy last month that gives fourth-year students established working hours during clinical rotations.

At the University, veterinary students often take anywhere from 25 to 30 or more credits per semester — an amount many University students take in a whole year. Additionally, many students pursuing their doctorate degree end up leaving veterinary school with around $200,000 in debt.

Some in the school, including students and faculty, say high rates of suicide among veterinarians compared to the general population have in part contributed to the new policy changes.

Veterinarians have a higher risk of dying by suicide compared to u See VET SCHOOL Page 3

Erika Wehmhoff, Student American Veterinary Medical Association Chapter President, and Jessi Coryell, SAVMA Chapter Delegate, pose for a portrait on the St. Paul campus outside the Ben Pomeroy Building on Monday, Oct. 7. (Jasmin Kemp / Minnesota Daily)

STUDENT LIFE

CRIME

Reports of sexual assault at U trend upward in recent years Officials say increased awareness and resources are responsible for the uptick in recent years.

BY TAYLOR SCHROEDER tschroeder@mndaily.com Dr. Barbara Kappler, director and assistant dean for International Student and Scholars Services, poses for a portrait in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Sydni Rose / Minnesota Daily)

UMN sees significant increase in international enrollment After seeing a decrease from 2017 to 2018, the U saw a 63 percent jump in first-year intl. students.

BY JIANG LI jli2@mndaily.com

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus saw a significant rise in undergraduate international freshmen enrollment this fall after combating a substantial

drop last year.

As of fall 2019, the number of freshmen living in a foreign country when they applied to the University increased about 63 percent compared to last year, according to the Office of Institutional Research.

However, the 2018 freshmen enrollment for the same demographic shrunk nearly 30 percent compared to 2017, according to u See ENROLLMENT Page 3

The number of reports for crimes like rape, fondling and burglaries on campus have increased over the last three years, according to a University of Minnesota report released late last month.

Many attribute the rises in sexual assault reports to increased awareness and resources.

Every year, the Security and Fire Safety Report is released in compliance with the Clery Act. The federal statute mandates any college or university receiving federal funding to release crime statistics and timely warnings of threats to public safety on campus.

From 2016 to 2018, the number of reported rapes on the Minneapolis campus has risen 150 percent, from 10 to 25 incidences.

Reports of fondling in that time period jumped from eight to 22 on the Minneapolis campus, although four reports of fondling were not

included in 2016 data because the locations of the incidences were undisclosed.

“We can see legislative changes and sexual misconduct policy changes have influenced practices here on campus. These numbers may reflect increasing awareness and more students utilizing our resources,” said Dan Alberts, University director of Clery compliance.

In 2018, the Minnesota Student Association launched the “It Ends Here” campaign as part of a larger effort in collaboration with former University President Eric Kaler.

The campaign aimed to raise awareness about “how to support victim-survivors and how to be a stronger ally when someone discloses their situation to a loved one,” said Gurtaran Johal, MSA Sexual Assault Task Force chair, in an email.

UMPD also adopted medical amnesty in 2018, a policy that prohibits police officers from citing sexual assault reporters for underage drinking or drug use. The Minneapolis Police Department adopted a similar policy in January.

Katie Eichele, director of the u See SAFET Y REPORT Page 3 VOLUME 120 ISSUE 12

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Data privacy policy under review

BY SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON shendrickson@mndaily.com After about two years of advocacy by the Minnesota Student Association and other students, the University of Minnesota policy concerning student data privacy is eligible for a comprehensive review, with potential amendments being drafted for the first time since 2011.

The current policy makes some student information publicly available without the student’s consent, unless the student specifically suppresses it.

The information is kept on the searchable “People Search” database, and makes information public, like name, address, phone number and enrollment status, along with other personal information.

This review is the next step toward long-awaited changes on the issue of student data privacy. It

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will take into consideration student voices as the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost drafts potential amendments to the Student Education Records Policy.

“We’re optimistic now that the potential amendments moving forward would be … keeping student information protections at the forefront,” said Austin Kraft, MSA student representative to the Board of Regents, in an interview

with the Minnesota Daily.

Kraft drafted the data privacy resolution and has been in talks with various committees on the process for many months.

The point of a comprehensive review, as defined by the University Board of Regents, is to determine whether or not the policy “is still needed” and still “align[s] with the strategic direction and mission of the University.”

In a resolution passed

by MSA in December 2018, students laid out what changes they want made, including regulations surrounding external requests and limiting student information access only to internal parties within the University.

Potential policy changes will not take place until the amendments go before the Board of Regents, which will likely not be until May 2020, said Marlo Welshons, an assistant to the Provost, in an email.

“The policy is undergoing a comprehensive review on its regular cycle, and as such, we are working through the consultation process to determine what amendments should be proposed...” Welshons said in an email. “This includes considering the resolution from the Minnesota Student Association, along with feedback from other faculty, staff, and student groups on all campuses.”

Kraft said it is motivating to know that the Provost’s office is making progress since a comprehensive policy review does

not happen everyday.

“Years of student advocacy on this topic ... have built on students’ growing awareness of t h eir information privacy and on students’ very reasonable expectations for how their information should be protected,” Kraft said in an email.

Sina Roughani, however, a University student who has been heavily involved in the talks surro u n d i n g s t u d e n t d a t a privacy after a presentation he made for an MSA forum meeting back in 2017, said he is not as excited. He said he would rather see a change in what is defined as student directory information, not just who has access to it, as proposed by MSA. “It is exciting to see this step taken toward reinvigorated policy for protecting student information,” Kraft said in an email. “I look forward to seeing how this advocacy, which centers students’ concerns about privacy and safety, is realized in University policy.”

First-year law class enrollment increases UMN law school recovers after a recession-related enrollment decline.

BY NATALIE RADEMACHER nrademacher@mndaily.com

The University of Minnesota Law School saw another increase in enrollment this year.

This is the largest entering juris doctorate class the school has had in the past eight years. The school is recovering after a decline in enrollment following the 2008 recession.

Reasons why enrollment is bouncing back at the law school range from a strong economy, the school’s high ranking and the current political climate, according to students and those in the industry.

The “Trump bump” theory Coined the “Trump bump,” many speculate the rise in law school enrollment across the country can be, in part, attributed to the political climate. The idea is that some students, upset about actions by President Donald Trump, feel motivated to create change and are going to law school to do that.

While there is no way to

prove the “Trump bump” theory, it has been widely discussed.

“The current political climate has caused some people to be so angry about the way things are going in society and politically,” said Dave Killoran, CEO of PowerScore, a company that helps students prepare for exams such as the LSAT. “One of the strong ways to make an impact is to go to law school, become a lawyer and fight for what [you] believe in.”

Law schools are reporting that in applications, students are indicating that law school is a political vent for them, Killoran said.

“It is a good way to get involved and be able to make changes,” said Tori Seaver, an entering University Law School J.D. student.

While there is speculation about the “Trump Bump” theory, University Law School Dean Garry Jenkins said that on a national level, law school applications declined last year. This decline indicates that the political climate may not have been the largest force affecting applications.

“I’m not sure if the ‘Trump Bump’ is true anymore,” he said.

The law school’s prestige The University’s Law School is ranked as the 20th best law school in the country this year, according to a report by U.S. News.

Jenkins said the Law School’s high employment rate after graduation and exciting programs are factors contributing to the rise in applicants. The school saw an eight percent increase in entering J.D. applications last year.

The school has one of the best programs for human rights law, according to Annika Cushnyr, an entering J.D. student. It is a big reason why she decided to go to the University’s Law School.

Dan Remington, a second-year law student, said he chose the University partly because of the school’s high employment statistics.

At the Law School, over nine out of 10 students graduated last year with full-time, long-term, J.D.-required and advantaged jobs.

Jenkins said he thinks the high employment rate is due to an improved job market and the work of the school’s career services.

Following the 2008 recession, enrollment numbers at the Law School dropped. The entering J.D. class in 2015 had 174 stu-

BY EMMA DILL edill@mndaily.com

Prospect Park residents and local officials gathered Friday to discuss improvements to pedestrian accessibility near the Glendale Townhomes.

The Walkable Community Workshop, hosted by the Minnesota Department of Health, addressed resident concerns about unsafe intersections and pathways throughout the community.

The Glendale Townhomes was one of four communities across Minnesota selected to host a workshop. The community will also receive up to $5,000 from the Department

of Health to implement safety improvements, which could include adding walkways and traffic signage.

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, which manages Glendale, and the Minneapolis Health Department applied to hold the workshop and secure the funding.

Glendale was selected because of its commitment to implementing pedestrian improvements, said Ellen Pillsbury, an active transportation coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health who coled the workshop.

“We were really looking at [the] community’s readiness and capacity to work on this once the workshop is over,” Pillsbury said. “The workshop is really a starting off point usually. It helps get people organized and excited, but then the real work happens … ”

Some residents attribute safety concerns to an increase in traffic brought on by new student apartments along Delaware Street SE. Current signage and other safety measures have not kept up with the area’s increasing density, said Ladan Yusuf, a Glendale resident and community organizer.

“We’re just here trying to make sure that we’re not taken over by cars and we can walk down the street without getting hit,” Ladan Yusuf said. “[The neighborhood] was low density and now it’s high density. So that has to be accommodated.”

Malik Yusuf, an assistant property manager at Glendale, said traffic poses a risk to young students who cross Delaware Street SE and other intersections daily to catch the school bus or walk to nearby schools.

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First year students Annika Cushnyr, left, and Tori Seaver, right, study in Mondale Hall on Oct. 7. (Liam Armstrong / Minnesota Daily)

dents, a low over the past decade.

During the time of low enrollment, the school did not lower their standards to let more students in, which could affect their prestige and national ranking.

Low enrollment contributed to financial shortcomings in the school, causing a deficit.

The school is on a threeyear plan to pull itself out of the budget deficit and is currently on track to meet its goal.

A recovering economy The past few years, enrollment numbers at the Law School have been returning to where they were

before the recession.

Remington said he thinks more people are going to law school because the market is doing well.

While it was dampened for a long time, things are looking good now and employment numbers are up, he said.

While enrollment is up now, Killoran said that within a few years they could go back down again.

The number of people interested in law school fluctuates over time.

“Sometimes it is the economy, sometimes it is television shows. They get people excited and they want to be a lawyer,” Killoran said.

Pedestrian safety upgrades coming to Prospect Park Residents gathered to discuss how to improve safety in the neighborhood.

120 No. 12

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MSA advocates for student data to be protected by new policy suggestions.

Thursday, October 10, 2019Vol.

“There isn’t something flashing telling vehicles, ‘hey, kids are crossing.’ There is no stop sign,” he said.

Residents also expressed concerns about a walkway, referred to as the ArthurWilliams cut through, which connects the Glendale Townhomes with Prospect Park.

Currently the entrance is fenced off due to a crumbling retaining wall nearby. This creates a divide between Glendale and the rest of the neighborhood, said Ward 2 City Council member Cam Gordon.

“There’s a major barrier between public housing here in Prospect Park and the rest of the neighborhood,” Gordon said. “Generally a lot of people want to improve the connections and get rid of this barrier and [the] feeling that they’re separate neighborhoods from each other.”

The cut through provides a connection between the neighborhood and makes it easier and safer for Prospect Park residents to safely walk to Stadium Village and the University of Minnesota, said Evan Roberts, chair of the Prospect Park Association’s transportation and safety committee.

Moving forward, residents will work with the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority and the Minneapolis Health Department to implement the improvements using the funding. Despite the group’s relatively limited budget, small changes to the area’s current infrastructure can promote pedestrian safety and community connections, Roberts said.

“Where can we improve incrementally based on what’s already on the ground?” he said. “Small things can make a huge difference.”

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Thursday, October 10, 2019

Impeachment u from Page 1

On Sept. 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

The inquiry is a response to President Trump’s liaison with the Ukrainian president regarding an investigation into possible corruption connected to Joe Biden. The Minnesota Daily reached out to students across campus and asked about their thoughts and feelings on the proceedings.

Julia Carpenter Junior from Eau Claire, Wisconsin “I’ve been so busy. I haven’t been able to keep up with it whatsoever ... I am angry with him as a person. I think his dealings are really inappropriate. I don’t know what’s on about the actual terms of the impeachment though. I would be fine to see him go.”

Nathan Harman

Alex Provan

Aashay Desai

Thalya Reyes

Eric Boehme

Senior from Bloomington, Illinois

Second year PhD student from Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Freshman from Plymouth, Minnesota

Second year Ph.D. student from Passaic, New Jersey

Sophomore from St. Paul, Minnesota

“I know that the president had a call with the … president of Ukraine.

And in that, he basically asked to have the Ukrainian government look into a corruption scandal involving Joe Biden. ... He also publicly asked China and Ukraine again repeatedly to look into it.

I think honestly ... it’s basically like it’s expected at this point. I feel like it’s been kind of a habitual thing with this presidency, this administration. It’s been really chaotic, and this is kind of the culmination of it. It doesn’t really surprise me one bit, and I’m glad that it’s finally like the straw that broke the camel’s back, because I think that no matter what political party you are, I feel like for anybody really this kind of behavior is unacceptable. I support the impeachment inquiry.”

“For me as ... a black woman from the Caribbean it was really like — I think it’s really telling that this is the incident that is pushing the Democrats to impeach Trump when there were so many other things that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats could have moved forward with the Trump impeachment.

You know, he said ... and has done a number of racist, sexist things. He’s assaulted women, etc., etc.

But those weren’t the things that people were pushing for, for impeachment at that time. It’s like, in this incident when Joe Biden becomes a part of the, you know, of the situation, then it’s like ‘okay, we need to like defend other people’ and so, like, in that incidents like it’s not — it doesn’t feel really genuine.”

“I feel that it’s definitely a corrupt action on Trump’s part. I don’t know constitutionally what would make him necessarily impeachable, but I do believe that he is unfit to lead.

He was unfit to lead prior to this, and this just shows even further that he’s even more unfit to lead in that he’s focusing on trying to discredit one of his potential political rivals rather than actually solving problems within the United States and without ... destabilizing our allies as well.”

Enrollment data from the University’s International Student and Scholar Services.

In response, the University enhanced its overseas recruitment strategies and collaborated with the Immigration Response Team to provide guidance and help for both current and potential international University students. NAFSA: Association of International Educators also developed a campaign to encourage a national recruitment strategy for the University.

Officials said the upswing is partly attributed to various campaigns and measures they have taken to fend off the decline.

Many University recruitment staff travel outside the United States to specifically develop relationships with high schools, providing opportunities for high school students and their families.

“We have looked at all the communications that we are sending to prospective students to see how we can be more specific ... to answer their questions about what is really like to study here,” said ISSS Director and Assistant Dean Barbara Kappler.

Last fall, the University had staff or alumni recruiting in 37 different cities worldwide.

Sophomore Liyuan Zheng, an international student from China, said he came to the University following his friend’s advice. Zheng also said the tuition, academic reputation and living expenses

are among the main factors for him when he chose where to study.

“The tuition [at the University] compared with [the] U.K. is relatively low, I would say,” Zheng said.

Prateeth Nayak, a University master’s student from India, shared the same thoughts, saying he heard about the University from an upperclassman who used to study here. The University’s research-oriented programs attracted him to the University.

In 2018, roughly 6,000 international students were enrolled at the University’s Twin Cities campus, sharing 12 percent of total University enrollment, according to ISSS. Kappler said international students are an indispensable group on campus for academic communication.

“I think that the commitment is there for our institution to be prestigious throughout the world and to be a world-class University,” Kappler said. “To have that commitment for that internationalized education is really critical.”

However, challenges like fluctuating currency rates and multiple study abroad options may also make enrollment numbers unpredictable in the future.

“Each of these numbers are human beings,” Kappler said. “They are those who made these decisions. It is a really powerful decision to come to another country for your entire degree program, and I am just really thankful that students are seeking those opportunities.”

issues, both students and faculty are working together to promote mental health and wellness throughout the college.

Wehmoff and fellow third-year veterinary student Jessi Coryell are executive board members of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association at the University. This student-run organization works on a national level with the American Veterinary Medical Association to advocate for veterinary students.

Last year, SAVMA representatives voted on an initiative that established working hours for veterinary students as they work on clinical rotations, typically their fourth year. In September, the CVM began implementing this policy that gives students one day off for every seven days of work and grants students a 30-minute break for every six hours of work during clinical rotations.

Other student organizations, like Just Breathe, are giving veterinary students a space to take time away from school work and decompress.

At meetings, students do what Wehmhoff calls “random, fun, mini mental breaks” like yoga or tea parties.

“It’s okay to do things for yourself ... even if it’s just little things” Coryell said.

The CVM also hosts Wellness Wednesdays every month, where students can talk and learn about the issues that face the veterinary community and how to address them.

The school also works to connect alumni mentors with

current students. Wehmhoff and Coryell both said that they have formed a close working relationship with their alumni mentors and that the program helps reduce feelings of isolation and fatigue.

“It’s nice to have someone who has understood and been through that course load as well to say, ‘You can make it. I made it [and] you can make it too,’” Wehmhoff said.

Athena Diesch-Chham is a social worker for the CVM, and this year, she has taken on a larger role in working with students to address mental health issues and promote wellness.

Diesch-Chham gives lectures throughout the year and has created a “process group” for veterinary students. In the group, students are encouraged not to vent about their problems, but to analyze and work through them.

“Each individual school [nationwide] is just trying a lot of things to see if we can get our students to a healthier place,” Diesch-Chham said.

“I firmly believe the only way to have healthy veterinarians is if we’re not breaking them in vet school.”

Malone said that many veterinary students knew they wanted to become veterinarians by the time they were 3 years old, and the school is working to help them achieve these lifelong goals and thrive in the field.

“If we can get the skill set down, decrease the debt, decrease the workload, create the environment, maybe we won’t be losing so many [veterinarians],” Malone said.

“I’ve read like 80 different articles on it just trying to put the pieces together ... I think for me, the call coinciding with the aid, especially during an election year, I think that merits a reasonable investigation from Congress.

I think, at best, it was a really bad gaffe on the part of the president to mention … [a] potential competitor in the 2020 race in a phone call for an investigation. At worst, it could be acting intentionally against the interest of the U.S. So I think right now is too early to say what’s going on. I think we’ll have to wait and see with cool heads, you know, just trying to get the facts of what was the intentions of the White House when they did this … I think that we should wait and see, because I do want to see more transparency on this, because it was really serious to mention a presidential competitor and asking for foreign aid … a sort of quid pro quo situation.”

“I find it very hard to care a lot about it. Just because, you know, if it’s not one thing it’s another.

There are a lot of really bad things that Trump has done since being president and the fact that like he’s putting people in cages and sort of preaching rule of law all over the place.

The fact that like him investigating Joe Biden or pushing for an investigation of Joe Biden who’s a very powerful person himself is what sort of crosses the line is kind of like disheartening, you know? All these are the things that Trump has done that have been like incredibly racist and incredibly violent should have been enough to remove him from office.

But obviously to the people running the impeachment campaign, it’s not and so in that sense, it’s like disappointing disheartening and it’s hard to sort of care.”

University researchers work to prevent violence against women in Colombia The pair has done years of research that was shown to the United Nations.

BY NIAMH COOMEY ncoomey@mndaily.com A University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs professor and her colleague are working to impact legislation to prevent violence against women in Colombia.

After years of research and field work, associate professor Greta Friedemann-Sánchez and former University masters student Peggy Grieve presented to the United Nations. They are now working to publish their policy report and are communicating with the Colombian government about their findings and suggestions they have for change.

Grieve and FriedemannSánchez have focused their work on intimate partner violence, a specific type of domestic violence.

Jennifer Prestholdt, deputy director of The Advocates for Human Rights, explained that Colombia is susceptible to higher rates of this kind of violence because it has suffered from ongoing violent conflict.

By doing a literary review and conducting interviews throughout Colombia, they found that family commissioners — who are the individuals tasked with

issuing orders of protection for victims of violence — are often overworked and sometimes lack adequate funding.

Family commissioners fall under the local executive branch of government, meaning there is no national oversight from the Colombian Ministry of Justice and Law that helps them interpret law, FriedemannSánchez said.

“Each family commissioner reinvents the wheel,” Friedemann-Sánchez said.

Friedemann-Sánchez and Grieve are now in dialogue with the Ministry of Justice and Law and a group of representatives from different government offices in Colombia.

They are communicating with these entities as a new bill is being issued, and are working with a publisher to get their policy report out to the Colombian people in an accessible way.

While Colombia has good laws about genderbased violence, Friedemann-Sánchez said, the implementation is where the country falls short.

“If Colombia has such good laws, why does the prevalence rate [of intimate partner violence] continue to increase?” she said.

This question guided their research when they began the initial stages back in 2014.

Funding for their work came from the Human

English

Douglas Kearney, an Assistant Professor in the English Department, fields questions from his colleagues in Lind Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Nur B. Adam / Minnesota Daily)

u from Page 1

and focus on developing teaching methods to recruit and retain students from underrepresented backgrounds.

“We wanted to set a scene, given the conditions, but not spend the whole report relitigating things that happened last year or five years ago. We wanted to give context for the recommendations,” said Holly Vanderhaar, a committee member and creative writing program coordinator.

Now that the report has been released, the department will discuss what steps will be taken.

“The report is really valuable in serving as a starting point for discussion,” said Andrew Elfenbein, the chair of the Department of English.

The department has begun to carry out some of the recommendations, particularly with regard to internal communication about diversity,

Safety report u from Page 1

Education, said the center has seen about a 50 percent increase in new clients over the past couple of years, but the number of reported incidents is less than the number of sexual assaults actually occurring.

Reported burglaries have also increased from 26 incidences in 2016 to 48 incidences in 2018 on Minneapolis campuses.

“Not only have we seen an increase in burglaries, we’ve

Rights Initiative, which awarded them a grant in 2017, Friedemann-Sánchez said.

After conducting their research and field work in Colombia, the pair began to work closely with The Advocates For Human Rights, a non-profit human rights organization.

Through this collaboration, they were able to present their research findings to the UN and CEDAW, the committee of independent experts which oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, an international treaty adopted by the UN. Each country that has adopted the CEDAW treaty is reviewed by the committee every four to five years, Friedemann-Sánchez said, and Colombia was up for review this year.

The Advocates have special consultative status at the UN, allowing them to present as a nongovernmental organization, or NGO. Governments can say they have good laws on violence against women, Prestholdt said, but it’s up to NGOs and people like Grieve and Friedemann-Sánchez to highlight the problems with the actual implementation of laws and hold governments accountable.

Two of Grieve and

said Committee Member and Assistant Professor Kathryn Nuernberger.

“The [recommendations] that are easily undertaken right away are being undertaken right away,” Nuernberger said.

Douglas Kearney, a committee member and assistant professor in the department, said the committee had to search for and try to fix gaps in representation within the report as they wrote it.

“We were constantly pushing and trying to figure out where our gaps in terms of representation were on this committee. We are not the whole picture,” Kearney said.

Members of the committee wrote specific sections of the report rather than co-authoring the report in its entirety to “keep a range of diverse voices,” said Mariela Lemus, a committee member and graduate student.

Committee members said response to the report has been mostly positive. It will take a lot of effort to improve equity, diversity and inclusion in the department, Elfenbein said.

“We are committed to working on it, and changes will occur, but they take time,” Elfenbein said.

also seen about a 50 percent increase in trespassing,” said UMPD Chief Matt Clark.

“One of our important initiatives is to have full-time security in the buildings after hours, to make sure once the buildings are closed individuals leave that aren’t part of the campus community.”

The department has seen about a 50 percent increase in trespassing over the same time period alongside the increase in burglaries. The University’s efforts to staff fulltime security in its buildings after hours can help prevent these incidents, Clark said.

Alberts stated the report records crimes by year reported, not the year that crimes occur. Allegations are included whether or not an arrest took place.

Data is compiled through information provided by the University of Minnesota Police Department, local law enforcement and independent reporters.

“We want people to look at and digest these statistics,” Alberts said. “The report has got a lot of really good resources for current and prospective students and employees.”

Joe Kelly contributed to this report.

Friedemann-Sánchez’s recommendations to the committee were slotted as priorities for Colombia to focus on for the next two years. This a rare advocacy accomplishment, Prestholdt said.

“The really exciting thing about this was that they were able to … take that academic research … and then use it for a very practical and immediate impact, which I don’t think happens very often with academic research,” she said. “So we’re excited to see how the government responds.”

Grieve said they saw the success with the committee as a chance to get more information out to Colombia.

“We were delighted with the success, but then we also had the sense that it was an opportunity for more work to take place,” Grieve said.

Friedemann-Sánchez said the Colombian government is hoping to have the bill ready next month, as Nov. 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

While the pair is not closely involved with the legislative timeline, Friedemann-Sánchez said, she and Grieve will be back in Colombia to continue their work with the government as soon as they are invited for further discussion and presentations.

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the general population, according to a 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Female veterinarians in particular are up to 3.5 times more likely to do so than the general U.S. population, the study found.

In light of these statistics and rising mental health concerns, the University is starting these policies to help students, as many believe that mental health issues start in graduate school. In addition, the school has increased the amount of scholarship funding given to students each year in an effort to reduce stress surrounding debt.

“When you see the credit numbers, when you see the debt numbers to the income numbers, when you see the suicide rate … you can see where [the] picture starts to paint,” third-year veterinary student Erika Wehmhoff said.

As a lead mental health advocate in the college, Erin Malone, CVM’s assistant dean of curriculum, said course load, debt and the job environment are all contributing factors to the increase of mental health issues within the field.

“A few years ago, we started seeing the numbers of veterinary suicides and the levels of anxiety and depression, and we knew it was affecting the vet students too,” Malone said. “It’s a high-quality, highworkload program.”

In order to address these

u from Page 1

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Sports

MNDAILY.COM

MN DAILY

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019

HOCKEY

Fresh-faced Gophers ready for season In Motzko’s second season, the team’s roster features 11 incoming freshmen.

BY JULIANNA LANDIS jlandis@mndaily.com This year the Gophers men’s hockey team will take the ice with a much younger look than last season.

The Gophers lost 11 players from last season to either graduation or professional signing and have replaced them with 11 new freshmen in addition to a large returning sophomore class.

Currently, 70 percent of Minnesota’s roster is made up of underclassmen.

While the talent of the young core is something to be excited about, the losses from last season have made an impact on special teams.

“We had a really good power play last year — they’re all gone,” head coach Bob Motzko said. “That unit that led us, there’s not one of them here. We were No. 1 in the conference in penalty kill, they’re all gone except for [Ryan] Zuhlsdorf and [Tyler] Nanne.”

With only a few practices under their belts, the team is still working on the makeup of both the penalty kill and the

power play.

Freshman forward Bryce Brodzinski said the team was “definitely in for one” with so many newcomers on the roster, but is confident in the work the team has put in so far and thinks the freshman class is good enough to play right away.

The transition to the college game, and college in general, has been made easier by having a number of teammates going through the same e x p e r i e n c e s , B ro d z i n ski said. With the regular season nearly upon them, first year players are eager to begin playing.

“We’re all super excited about the season,” Brodzinksi said. “I think we’re really looking forward to getting at it right away, and hopefully turning a few heads.”

Motzko emphasized during the Gophers’ media day that the team is in a period of transition, and that finding the roles where players fit best will take time.

With the season just beginning, the team has only had about three weeks of practice and the inexperience of the roster shows, he said. Once the season is underway, Motzko said, the little things will sort themselves out.

Forward Ryan Norman skates after the puck at 3M Arena at Mariucci on Friday, Mar. 1. The Gophers defeated Arizona State 5-1.

(Jack Rodgers / Minnesota Daily)

Even with the inexperience the roster has, Motzko said he feels the relationships between the coaching staff and players are stronger than they were last year. Last season was Motzko’s first

with the Gophers after taking over for former head coach Don Lucia. Now, with the staff in their second year at Minnesota, Motzko said he is more comfortable in his role and has a clearer vision for the team.

“I have a good feel right now,” Motzko said. “I’ve been doing this a while so I know where we’re short right now, and I’m good with it.”

After a 2-2 tie in an exhibition game with Mount Royal on Sunday,

Oct. 6, the Gophers now focus on their first regular season series. They will travel to Colorado Springs, CO to play their first opponent, Colorado College, for a two-game series on Oct. 11 and 12.

VOLLEYBALL

Pittman’s defensive prowess key to U’s success Minnesota’s middle hitter has led the team in blocks the past two seasons.

BY NOLAN O’HARA nohara@mndaily.com Coming off two big wins against then No. 10 Oregon and No. 1 Stanford in the middle of September, the Gophers’ Regan Pittman was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. It was a dominant performance by the middle blocker, recording seven blocks against Oregon and seven more the following night against Stanford.

Pittman’s strong defensive performance continued when the Gophers returned home to take on Clemson. She recorded five blocks in a hard-fought match, and also contributed offensively with nine kills.

Her performance helped Minnesota win their

fourth-straight match, a streak now sitting at nine matches.

A year removed from leading the team in blocks and blocks per set, it appeared Pittman was simply building on a trend she started her first two seasons. She has a different perspective.

“As a team, we really worked on it in the spring and it’s something that has not always been the best part of my game,” Pittman said after the match against Clemson.

In her redshirt freshman season, Pitt man was third on the team in blocks with 110. She built on that in her sophomore season, leading the team with 121 blocks and earning All-American and All-Big Ten honors. Her past success didn’t stop Pittman from putting in the preseason work.

“I worked on it a ton this spring. I put a lot of effort into my blocking this spring,” she said.

T h a t h a r d w o rk i s paying off for Pittman and the Gophers through 12 matches this season. She leads the team with 49 blocks and has a team-high 1.26 blocks per set. Her 1.26 blocks per set ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 44th nationally.

With Pittman leading the way, the Gophers’ play at the net has been a factor in the team rattling off nine straight wins, including their 4-0 start to Big Ten play.

Pittman said she can see the strides her game has taken since last season.

“Yes, absolutely. I can see more, I’m able to block more, I have a lot more solo blocks,” she said.

Pittman’s impact for the Gophers goes beyond her strong defensive performance. She has 103 kills this season, third on the team behind outside hitter Alexis Hart and opposite hitter Stephanie Samedy. Her .397 hit percentage ranks second

Middle Blocker Regan Pittman jumps to spike the ball at the Matrui Pavilion on Saturday, Oct. 5.

(Nur B. Adam / Minnesota Daily)

on the team and sixth in the Big Ten. Pittman continues to hit at a high clip, even with a shorthanded rotation that’s forced her out of position the last few matches.

For Pittman, playing out of position isn’t an issue.

“It’s just the game of volleyball,” she said. “It is what it is.”

Pittman and the

Gophers will need to continue to play all-around volleyball in a difficult Big Ten conference. It won’t get any easier for a team with NCAA Championship aspirations.

CROSS COUNTRY

For women’s cross country, Thomsen embodies the Gophers culture The redshirt sophomore clocked her career-best 5K time at latest race.

BY BRENDAN O’BRIEN bobrien@mndaily.com Minnesota’s women’s cross country team has always focused on building a culture based on developing every member of the team to become the best runner they can be.

Redshirt sophomore Jaycie Thomsen is one of the team’s runners who most represents this philosophy. Thomsen was a Division I caliber runner, but not a top recruit in high school.

However, she has worked her way up to become one of the Gophers’ most important runners.

“She’s just a worker,” head coach Sarah Hopkins said of Thomsen. “She’s a blue-collar worker that’s willing to do a lot of stuff a lot of other people aren’t willing to do to get better.”

In 2018, Thomsen suffered an injury that prohibited her from

Redshirt Sophomore Jaycie Thomsen competes in the Oz Memorial at the Les Bolstad Golf Course on Friday, Sept. 6. (Kamaan Richards / Minnesota Daily)

training the summer before her first season competing with the team. After being able to train this past offseason, she is now starting to reap the rewards of her strong work ethic.

Earlier this season, Thomsen was the Gophers’ third-best runner at the Roy Griak Invitational and

clocked a personal-best 5K time last weekend at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.

At the beginning of her time at Minnesota, Thomsen said it was challenging to balance cross country with her education and personal life. Now, Thomsen has

been named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar a n d e a r n e d Ac a d e m i c All-Big Ten honors along w i t h b u i l d i n g s t ro n g relationships with her teammates and others outside of cross country.

According to Hopkins, Thomsen thrives from training and is very driven

to improve.

“Usually I’m the kind of person where if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it 110 percent,” Thomsen said. “I’ve kind of thrown myself into running. I just love it so much. I love to train, and I love the process.”

Thomsen, who said she

always try to work hard for not only herself but her teammates, has found cross country is much more of team sport than people realize.

“The team culture is awesome,” Thomsen said.

“Because we’re not one of the biggest recruiting schools, we get a lot of girls who come here ready to d e v e l o p a n d w o rk r e ally hard. I think that just makes for a really good team atmosphere and a really good team culture.”

Thomsen and the rest of the Gophers are excited how the first part of the season has gone, the team’s latest performance vaulted them in the national rankings. They are now ranked 18th in the country. But for the remainder of the season, Thomsen is focused on doing her part in helping achieve the team’s goals.

“She’s very driven and has a very specific kind of focus, and I think that’s just a super great quality,” Hopkins said. “She is really starting to believe in herself and know what she’s capable of and scratching the surface of that.”

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MNDAILY.COM

MN DAILY

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019

FASHION

An original take on skater style

The brand Flavor World is expecting another drop of merch this winter.

BY KSENIA GORINSHTEYN kgorinshteyn@mndaily.com

You may have seen stickers with an italicized “F” printed in front of a bright blue and red yin-and-yang-like symbol.

They’ve been popping up around the Twin Cities campus, from lamp posts to bus shelters near Folwell Hall to street lights by the light rail tracks on Washington Avenue.

These stickers aren’t advertising a band or zine. They are the logo for an up-and-coming local clothing brand called Flavor World.

Creator Drew Kinkade began the brand, originally named “Flavor,” when he was in seventh grade. His first Tshirt was an iron-on design with the brand’s name, but the “O” was replaced with a chocolate donut. It faded after only a few months of wear.

“Me and my friends just wanted something that represented us,” Kinkade said.

The brand itself also faded out for a few years before Kinkade revived it while enrolled as an engineering student at the University of Minnesota.

“I was just drawing all the time,” Kinkade said. “I didn’t like [engineering]. It was very bland. At the same time, I was starting this brand again, and

Drew Kinkade works on screen printing t-shirts for his clothing brand, “Flavor World,” in his garage in the Como neighborhood on Monday, Oct. 7. (Sydni Rose / Minnesota Daily)

it was like a no-brainer.”

He eventually decided to quit school in full pursuit of building the brand, which grew to be Flavor World.

The brand’s merch resembles skater style, with tie-dye t-shirts that say “FLAVOR WORLD” across the chest and dad hats branded with “FW.” Kinkade’s creative style has resembled his personal style as Flavor World evolved.

“A lot of my drawings are

just wacky stuff. It doesn’t really make sense,” Kinkade said. “Nothing is photorealistic. For a while, it was really troubling to me, because I felt like I was supposed to be drawing things that I saw in the world. But then I created the concept of Flavor World.”

What started as iron-on designs were then refined even further as Kinkade developed his brand.

“It was just a bunch of

little steps of getting carried away,” Kinkade said.

“Like, ‘Oh, I’ll get better at screen printing.’ ‘I’ll just buy nicer shirts.’ ‘I’ll make 30 shirts instead of 20.’ All of a sudden, I’m quitting school for a creative endeavor.”

Kinkade was able to make better quality shirts and hoodies once he switched to screen printing, even adding some coozies and an infant onesie into the mix.

“I’ve never seen somebody so committed to something like that,” said Isaac Dickson, Kinkade’s friend. “In this day and age, you kind of have to go to school and follow the rules. But he’s going out on a limb and has a lot of faith in himself.”

Kinkade’s doodling habit became bigger than expected.

Inching toward 800 followers on Instagram and selling their merch beyond Minnesota,

Kinkade has found creativity to be a force for growth.

“Once I started creating art a lot more intentionally, I started to learn about myself,” Kinkade said.

Flavor World is growing quickly. At its core, Flavor World is a clothing brand, but Kinkade is hoping to expand to other artistic forms, too, like video, music and even a restaurant in the future.

“It’s just cool to see someone doing truly what he wants to do with his life and really following his dreams,” said Jack Matuseski, a friend of Kinkade’s. “I think a lot of us are scared to pursue something that we’ve dreamt up.”

While Kinkade continues to manage the brand, Flavor World knows no bounds. He’s expecting to release another drop of merch sometime this winter.

“I just want [Flavor World] to be this entity that helps bring those things together,” Kinkade. “I want it to be the link that unites all this creative energy to create one big thing.”

“It’s just cool to see someone doing truly what he wants to do with his life and really following his dreams.”

JACK MATUSKI friend to Flavor World Creator Drew Kinkade

MUSIC

Bad Bad Hats has no genre, and doesn’t plan to change The Minneapolisbased band looks forward to sharing new music with a change in line-up.

BY KSENIA GORINSHTEYN kgorinshteyn@mndaily.com

More often than not, a musician’s identity is mapped out in their discography. If you hit shuffle on any given artist’s collection of albums, the sound you hear — whether it be from their first-ever record or their fifth — is pretty much what you can expect.

But if you hit shuffle on Bad Bad Hats, you’ll find yourself making sure you’re still listening to the same band.

“It’s very hard for us to focus on one sound,” said front woman Kerry Alexander.

“I’m so inspired by so many things and I think our sound has become a hodgepodge of various influences. It’s

COURTESY OF TRISTAN CAROSINO

interesting in that way.”

Formed in 2012, Bad Bad Hats has its sonic roots in pop tropes and indie music song structures.

Fate and coincidence brought the members of Bad Bad Hats together. Alexander, bassist Chris Hoge and former drummer Noah Boswell found the music scene in the Twin Cities to be the right place for them.

“Once we were all here, it

kind of made sense to stay,” Alexander said. “We just kept feeling like we were kind of growing something in the Cities. It was a great place to start out as a new band and get better and practice.”

Boswell left the group to pursue a graduate degree after the release of their sophomore album, “Lightning Round,” in August 2018.

Drummer Connor Davison,

a long-time fan of the band, joined in his place.

With a new member came a new source of influence. Alexander’s love of pop, partnered with Hoge’s background in the indie rock scene, paired easily with Davison’s background in orchestral music.

“It’s always just been about curious songwriting,” Hoge said.

Playing with the balance of each genre has produced a dynamic discography that makes the listening experience an active one. It would be hard to tune out the music as background noise.

“The three of us love that we’re able to try different stuff,” Davison said. “We don’t have to do one formula each time. We kind of go about making the song as best as possible, depending on what it needs.”

This was apparent when they began writing for their next album. One of the songs took mere hours to write, ac-

cording to Davison.

“When we demoed it together, it happened so beautifully,” Davison said.

“It’s kind of like magic when that sort of thing happens, when the song just sort of manifests itself so quickly.”

They’ve also adopted a new recording method this time around. Instead of doing separate takes for each instrument, they have opted to play together until they reach the winning take.

“It’s a little bit higher pressure when you’re trying to get the take,” Hoge said.

“You can be less perfectionist about it and just try to enjoy playing songs.”

In their seven years as a band, they’ve amassed almost 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and toured with acts like The Front Bottoms and Margaret Glaspy.

For Alexander, who was a fan of bands like Josie and the Pussycats growing up, fronting Bad Bad Hats has been nothing short of a

dream.

“When I was younger, I was totally obsessed with certain bands and their songs were so special to me,” Alexander said. “That anyone would let our songs be a part of their lives in that way is really very, very cool to me.”

After the release of their latest EP, “Wide Right,” this past March, Bad Bad Hats is looking forward to sharing the work they’ve put into their next album.

“We are definitely improving as we go, which I think is a good thing,” Alexander said. “And I’m glad that people are sticking with us as we grow and learn.”

Bad Bad Hats Winter Ball with Ratboys and Last Import Saturday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m.

First Avenue, 701 N. First Ave., Minneapolis $16 in advance, $18 at the door 18+

ART

At new WAM exhibit, art joins environmentalism The new collection showcases the present, past and future of the Great Lakes.

BY NORAH KLEVEN nkleven@mndaily.com

On Friday, an exhibit which the Weisman Art Museum first coordinated two years ago will finally make its debut in Minnesota.

“Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle” is a traveling exhibit showcasing the history of North America’s Great Lakes system, starting with the Pleistocene Era (2.6 million years ago).

New-York based artist Alexis Rockman’s murals offer a historically accurate view of the past of the Great Lakes as well as a cautionary, apocalyptic view of the future of the lakes — if humans don’t take action now. The detailed and crisp paintings are the result of more than four years of meticulous research.

The project was

ILLUSTRATION BY HAILEE SCHIEVELBEIN, DAILY

commissioned by the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM), where it was displayed in spring 2018.

Dana Friis-Hansen, director and CEO of GRAM, selected Rockman to carry out the project due to his 30-year history of illustrating

environmental issues through artwork, which often include issues surrounding water.

“Rockman’s series celebrates the majesty and global importance of the lakes while identifying factors … that threaten the system,”

Friis-Hansen said.

Among these threats are globalization of trade, pollution and invasive species, according to Diane Mullin, senior curator of the Weisman Art Museum.

Mullin said the mention of the inland sea system is

absent in many discussions of water pollution.

“The Great Lakes is our region. We were excited about [the exhibit] because of the subject and because it really talks about the importance of that water system,” she said.

The show consists of five painted murals, six largescale watercolor paintings and dozens of field paintings, in which Rockman used elements from the Great Lakes region, such as sand and leaves, to illustrate lifeforms of the region.

The largest of the paintings are where Rockman’s signature style — and his detailed research that weaves together realistic images from different time periods — can best be seen. Underwater creatures of the Ice Age are pictured alongside futuristic, pollution-affected beasts and modern human byproducts, such as heavy machinery.

Rockman’s research took him across the Midwest and Canada, connecting him with residents of the region

and researchers at Northern Michigan University, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Minnesota’s own Bell Museum.

While Rockman said he leaves interpretation to each individual who visits the exhibit, the four-year saga of research and creation resonated with him. “[I learned] how precious and fragile the lakes are and how urgent it is to consider them as something worth protecting and cherishing,” he said.

In addition to the Rockman’s paintings, the Weisman will also include an interactive feature, offering specimens from the Bell Museum and a section on Native American education as part of the exhibit.

“Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle”

Oct. 11, 2019 Jan. 5, 2020 Weisman Art Museum, 333 E. River Parkway, Minneapolis Free All ages

6 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019

MN DAILY

COLUMN

Editorials & Opinions

American dash cam

Fewer crashes, more power trips

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MNDAILY.COM

Uma Venkata

he A&E columnist network launched a television show called Live PD in 2016, which can be considered a modernized version of the show Cops. By 2018, Live PD was the most-watched show, excluding sports, by adult demographics. Live PD airs on Fridays and Saturdays, three hours each, wherein the show’s host follows six to eight squad cars from around the country on continuous-feed monitors for all their policing highlights. Filming is presented as live television. The only exception may be blurring out nonconsenting faces, though they solicit and operate with the consent of subjects unfit to consent. The show produces six hours of material per week, and got renewed in the fall of 2017 for 450 more hours. Television networks usually only request 13 or 26 new episodes when they renew shows, but this is the equivalent of 75 episodes.

The subject matter and presentation

are intense. The atmosphere and nature of interactions are starkly defensive. Police officers often provide color commentary that automatically frames the private citizen in question. Officers approach suspects with so much frank, confident and immediate suspicion that, for the viewer, there’s no reason to afford the presumption of innocence.

What the high quantity and partisan quality of Live PD does is act as an answer to recent trends of accountability, like private citizens taping their police interactions and body cams on either side. Cellphone videos of police are to Black Lives Matter as Live PD is to Blue Lives Matter: preemptive defense mechanisms.

Ethical infractions in Live PD’s operating model compound on themselves.

When Live PD is filming, police do not primarily serve and protect. They perform for the camera. Live PD is, at best, a distraction for police officers whose first responsibility is citizens’ safety. At worst, Live PD is an ego trip where the police officer can make a suspect ‘dance, monkey, dance’ on TV. That person will then live with spiraling ramifications for the rest of their lives, no matter the validity of the police officer’s claims. Live PD drives home an automatic guilty suspicion on private citizens apprehended by police.

Suspects’ main worry is that they already look so guilty on TV that their trials are a foregone conclusion. The problem was that the work recorded by Live PD is halfbaked policing anyway.

Live PD pushes police officers to act rash for the camera. In 2017, a man named Frederick West and his friends in Greenville County, South Carolina, were apprehended by county deputies looking for contraband. Live PD flanked them and came back with material they called cocaine in nearby bushes and arrested West on trafficking charges. His charge was

dismissed the following year due to lack of evidence, yet Live PD kept running the episode.

Live PD sometimes blurs faces and sometimes doesn’t. It has taken consent from private citizens under apprehension while they were far too intoxicated or impaired to give consent properly. Live PD has also argued in court that because of its “live” nature, it’s closer to the news rather than reality TV, so it shouldn’t have to ask for consent to broadcast faces.

There are two problems with this. Live news is generally on a 7-second delay in general, but Live PD is on a 10- to 40-minute delay to remove too graphic violence preemptively, to censor and for police to approve all footage. And, ostensibly, to blur non-consenting faces. This theoretically brings Live PD closer to reality TV status. What certainly does that, however, is that Live PD will pocket footage to run on a rainy day for weeks. Using the language “Earlier, Such-and-such County,” it has run footage recorded three weeks prior - in cases like West’s, before or after charges were dropped, this matters. Cell phones recording cops are truly spontaneous; Live PD pretends to be.

Like many other things toeing or ignoring the lines of ethics, Live PD is not the only complicit party. Live PD exists and has wildly grown because viewers provide it a market. Part of Live PD’s model is to live-stream commentary and input from viewers. People not only watch the lives of the poor and vulnerable — to put it simply, no one from Wayzata is apprehended by cops with a Live PD crew — be upended and half-represented as entertainment.

People will also contribute to the melee on Live PD’s social media. Other people who encouraged this behavior were the ancient Romans at the Colosseum, voting on death or survival of beaten gladiators.

Police work is dangerous, vital and

sacred to the safety of American citizens.

Live PD, on the other hand, is voyeuristic entertainment. Live PD corrupts the mission of the police by distracting them and baiting them to act for the camera. Police are capable of much more empathy than the utterly jaded and cynical face they put on television, and Live PD effects torrential new application volumes to police departments — but from Live PD’s presentation of police work, this may mostly be from those seeking power and strength over the weak rather than to be their protectors.

My question is about how someone could consume this show in good conscience. Do people watch it to feel better about themselves? To get the power-trip high vicariously through their perception of police work? Does it bring joy to see weak people truly, viscerally suffer?

Of course, people who watch Live PD are not cruel. I know a few of them — they are wonderful, kind people, to whom Live PD is commonplace enough that either an initial alarm has worn off, or some other stopgap for compassion has been eroded by standard-issue normalization. Losing touch with what used to horrify us is a fairly common theme lately. Live PD does favors to no one. Some cities, like Spokane, WA, have had to ban it entirely because of the downward spiral through which it has put the whole town’s reputation and image. Spokane should have had the foresight to avoid the voyeurism in the first place. We all should have.

Uma Venkata welcomes comments at uvenkata@mndaily.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Regarding the paint the bridge event The vandalism of the bridge does not suggest the University or its community are able to promote diversity or inclusion of all political ideologies.

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he controversy surrounding the College Republicans’ bridge panel is very important to discuss. While many may disagree with the views and opinions portrayed on the bridge panel, the First Amendment protects the speech of the College Republicans so long as it is not integral to illegal conduct, obscene or seen as a threat. Trump’s presidency and the wall are highly controversial topics, and the ideas presented on the bridge panel may make some students or University members feel uncomfortable and threatened. If this were the case, there should have been a University-approved and less destructive way of removing the message.

On the homepage of the University Academic Freedom and Free Speech at the University of Minnesota, former President Kaler claimed, “We are dedicated to promoting free speech while

also fostering a campus climate that supports equity, diversity, and inclusion. This includes a diversity of thought and the ability to learn how to disagree with one another with civility.” This would suggest that University students should be able to civilly talk through their disagreements without the need for vandalism or destruction. Certain degrees of vandalism are illegal in the state of Minnesota, therefore vandalism cannot be considered a civil method of displaying disagreement. The vandalism of the bridge does not suggest the University or its community are able to promote diversity or inclusion of all political ideologies.

The Minnesota Daily Article titled “College Republicans bridge painting vandalized for fourth consecutive year claims” “...some Regents shared they believe conservative students feel like

they do not belong on a campus in a liberal city.” Therefore, if this is true, it suggests the University policy regarding free speech is not being properly executed if the Republican student group is not able to express their opinion in a safe way without being vandalized.

Alexandra Gast is a student at the University of Minnesota.

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

CARTOON BY ROBERT MCGRADY EDITORIALS & OPINIONS DEPARTMENT Editorials represent the voice of the Minnesota Daily as an institution and are prepared by the editorial board.

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7

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019

MN DAILY

HOROSCOPES

Today’s Birthday (10/10): Prioritize family, fun and romance this year. Persistent action grows your stamina and skills.

An autumn fitness challenge or test comes to a satisfying conclusion by next spring, when new circumstances require adaptation. Energy and romantic collaboration surge again next year. Play together.

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 7 — Financial challenges could seem daunting. Handle home repairs or other unexpected expenses. Your outlook improves later. Clean, sort and organize.

Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is an 8 — Evaluate shared financial options and opportunities.

You may need to spend money to make more.

Invest in your enterprise. Cut where you can.

Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is an 8 — You don’t always feel beautiful, strong or witty. Keep doing what you know works, and confidence builds. Express your feelings, and get back in action.

Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is a 7 — An obstacle in your relationship could become apparent. Have patience with your partner. Think before you speak. Support each other.

Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 7 — Stay frugal. Avoid traffic and crowds. Unexpected expenses or delays could arise. Find a beautiful view, then rest and recharge.

Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is a 7 — Restraint serves you well. Push your body too far, and pay the price. Note your physical limitations and boundaries. You’re growing stronger.

Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is an 8 — Don’t stir up jealousies. Practice humility with your team. Emotions could seem close to the surface. Share support and compassion.

Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is a 6 — Get cozy. Be gentle, especially with children and animals. Short tempers could make a mess seem worse. Walk outside, and breathe deeply.

Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is an 8 — Focus on a professional objective. Keep your patience when confronting what doesn’t work. You may need to make a mess to create something beautiful.

Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is a 7 — Patiently unravel a tough situation at home. Listen more than you speak. Abandon a preconception that no longer serves. Prioritize family harmony.

Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is a 7 — Abandon preconceptions about your studies or travels.

Avoid risk or hassle and observe what’s going on around you. Don’t set unrealistic expectations.

Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is an 8 — Postpone important communications. Don’t offer suggestions yet. Poetry offers another perspective. Notice the underlying symbolism.

DR. DATE Dr. Date,

I’ve been into this girl I know for a few months, but I’ve been too scared to truly ask her out. She’s said we should “chill” a few times and I’ll say yes, but then she’ll ghost me until weeks later. I’m still not sure if she’s interested in me and don’t want to get rejected, so I’ve been waiting for her to text first.

Until this week, when I drunkenly texted her asking her to go get a drink with me. It’s probably the most direct I’ve ever been, and she responded within 15 minutes (on a Friday night at midnight), so I was really hopeful! We texted back and forth for a little bit and she seemed enthusiastic about finding a time to meet, until I got this text: “Yeah, check out my Google Calendar and pick a time!”

Dr. Date, OOF. I thought I was always pretty direct in asking her to hang out, and I don’t know if I’m getting curved or if she’s truly oblivious about my interest in her. Our interactions have been a little flirty and I know she’s single — I’m so lost. Should I doom myself to selecting a time to probably discuss homework or pretend I didn’t read her text?

–Taking the L

Dear Taking the L,

Yeah, oof. I don’t know enough about your relationship to say if she’s oblivious or rejecting you, but I know an easy way to find out — ask her. Text her saying “just to be clear, I mean going out for drinks like a date,” and see what she says. She truly may just be super busy and would rather you pick a time (Google Calendar is amazing) without realizing how it sounds.

And if she does just mean as friends, at least now you know and don’t have to keep get ghosted.

–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.

10/10/2019

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

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Faculty weigh in on possible changes to UMN liberal education requirements Plans for reworking the liberal education requirements are being discussed.

BY NIAMH COOMEY ncoomey@mndaily.com As the school year progresses, the Liberal Education Redesign Committee faces difficult conversations about what changes to make to the liberal education requirements at the University of Minnesota.

The committee, or LERC, has been meeting over the past two years to discuss changes to the liberal education requirements.

When their proposed plans A, B and C were publicized in the spring, discussions sparked among faculty. An alternative option, “plan D,” was authored earlier this summer and was proposed by a group of faculty who have expressed discontent with the other proposed options.

Plans A, B and C introduce “ethics” and “quantitative reasoning and mathematics” as fundamental requirements, while eliminating “double dipping,” or double certification classes. “Plan D” largely maintains the current curriculum and keeps double certification classes, while adding the new ethics and quantitative reasoning aspects of plans A, B and C. An online forum made available this semester has allowed faculty to publish critiques and support for the different plans.

The committee also has several upcoming forums throughout the fall semester where the public can weigh in on the discussion.

Committee Chair Sally Gregory Kohlstedt said the committee’s goal is to decide on a plan by the end of this semester.

However, other faculty

members say they want the process to slow down.

Michael Gallope, a professor in the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, emphasized that the plan decided on by the committee should be agreed upon by faculty.

“Changing the University’s curriculum is a massive, expensive operation. It needs the full support of the faculty. A divided LERC that does not agree about their own recommendations and a dismayed public response are signs that it is time to take a step back,” he said in an emailed statement to the Minnesota Daily.

Gallope, among other faculty, authored “plan D.” Kohlstedt said “plan D” has been helpful for the committee to look at in contrast to the other plans.

“I think it’s been a useful foil for us to be able to say, ‘What do they want and are there things in their plan that we want to take a second look at,’” Kohlstedt said.

Professor Sumanth Gopinath, acting president for the University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, expressed concern that the current liberal education requirements have not been put forward in direct comparison with the proposed changes.

“The visualizations of plans A, B and C have never been put up against clear visualizations of what’s there. I think if you want to make an accurate assessment of whether or not you want something to change or not, you should see them all together,” Gopinath said.

Faculty in the CSCL department also expressed concern about plans A, B and C in a memo reviewed by the committee and Council of Chairs

ILLUSTRATION BY MORGAN LA CASSE, DAILY

last month.

The memo emphasizes concerns about several things present in the proposed plan options. One main point of contention was that the proposed plans would potentially allow students to graduate without completing a diversity and justice themed course, setting the University apart from other Big Ten schools, the memo said.

Kohlstedt said she consulted with groups such as the Faculty Consultative Committee and the

Senate Committee on Educational Policy before the plans were introduced to the entire faculty earlier this year. The process was in line with national guidelines for curriculum reform, Kohlstedt said.

“We did feel like we were being engaged in due process. So once we had a report we put it out and now we’re waiting for the response,” she said. “I’m really listening, that’s part of the process, just to really listen.”

Professor J.B. Shank, a member of the committee, expressed that there

has been a divide when it comes to the proposed changes, and that a comp ro m i s e s e t t l e m e n t i s likely.

“The LERC remains, as it has been from the start, deeply divided on a lot of fundamental issues, and as we approach the moment of decision, its not likely that the committee will present a clear unified proposal that will reflect a consensus of the committee as a whole.

More likely is a compromise settlement between competing proposals and points of view,” he said in an email.

“I think it’s been a useful foil for us to be able to say, ‘What do they want and are there things that we want to take a second look at.’”

SALLY GREGORY KOHLSTEDT committee chair, Liberal Ed Redesign Committee

Jean Quam to retire from CEHD dean’s role in August and resume teaching CEHD Dean Jean Quam will retire after being on the staff since 1980.

BY MICHAEL MCGOUGH mmcgough@mndaily.com Jean Quam, the dean of the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development, announced last month that she will retire from the position in August.

Quam came to the University as an instructor in 1980, and served as the director of the University’s School of Social Work for about 15 years. She was

then the senior associate dean and interim dean for CEHD before formally becoming its dean in 2009.

During her tenure as dean, Quam focused on three main priorities: excellence in research, innovation and technology, and diversity and globalization.

Quam said some of the college’s accomplishments during her tenure include holding a conference on first-generation students and the creation of Education Technology Innovations, a program that works with faculty to develop apps and technology.

After stepping down from her position as dean,

Quam said she intends to teach for two or three years before retiring.

“I get very excited about interactions with students, because I don’t get to see students very much in my role as dean,” she said.

In the future, Quam said she hopes members of CEHD will continue to innovate and push boundaries.

“I really encourage faculty, staff and students to be creative and to think about new ways of doing things,” Quam said.

Ryan Warren, the founder and director of Education Technology Innovations, said the college

should continue moving in the direction that Quam has taken it in.

“I think where the college is right now is really needing to find somebody that can enhance and build upon what Jean has established and what she has laid out,” Warren said.

Executive Vice President and Provost Karen Hanson announced last month that she will work with the college to launch a national search for the college’s next dean this fall.

Hanson is accepting nominations for a search committee that will be

responsible for recruiting candidates, screening them and recommending finalists with the help of a national search firm, said Deb Cran, the chief of staff in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

In the spring, finalists will come to the University’s campus for public forums and meetings with CEHD students, staff and faculty, Cran said.

In a public statement, Hanson said the next University provost will name the new dean by the end of next spring semester.

“The next leader is

going to have to understand the breadth of the college, as well as be very willing to take risks to set us apart,” Warren said.

“I really encourage faculty, staff and students to be creative and to think about new ways of doing things.”

JEAN QUAM dean of the College of Education and Human Development

College of Education and Human Development Dean Jean Quam poses for a portrait in her office on Friday, Oct. 4. (Parker Johnson / Minnesota Daily)