July 19, 2021

MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021

MNDAILY.COM

STUDENT GOV

HOUSING

New graduate student leadership talks goals Richard Gonigam and Rielle Perttu Swanson took office on July 1.

By Sonja Kleven skleven@mndaily.com Minutes after the first executive board meeting of their new term as the speaker and president of the Council of Graduate Students (COGS), Richard Gonigam and Rielle Perttu Swanson sat down with the Minnesota Daily on July 9 to share their goals and priorities for the upcoming year.

Gonigam, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, and Swanson, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Animal Sciences, took office on July 1. Over the next year, they said they will continue to advocate for the provost’s task force on advising in graduate education and policies that affect international graduate students.

How does it feel to be elected as speaker and president of COGS? Gonigam: “I’m in an interesting scenario in that I got here in August. So, I’m not only new to COGS, but new to the University of Minnesota. Not many people get to say, even in their graduate career, that they’re co-leading an organization and responsible for representing the interests of 12,000 employees and students at one of the largest state systems in the United States, or that they’re responsible for managing that kind of nonprofit. So, it’s a little cliche, but I’m a little honored. It’s also an interesting time to be in this role. There is a lot of uncertainty as to how things are going to move forward and how our organization itself is going to function in the next year, but it’s exciting.”

Swanson: “Looking back on being in undergrad, I never expected this. So, exciting. Scary.”

What unique perspectives do both of you offer to the Council?

Gonigam: “The work that I did at my undergraduate institution spanned really broadly across student affairs, department level administration, college level shared governance and the senate and student government at that university. One of the unique things that I have is a really wide breadth of experience in different shared governance systems and different styles. Not just differences between the [University of Minnesota] and University of Illinois, where I went, but differences at different levels, even, and an attention to See STUDENT Page 2

Who owns Southeast Como?

Houses in Southeast Como sit in the afternoon sun on Monday, July 5 in Minneapolis, Minn. (Audrey Rauth / Minnesota Daily)

Patterns of investor landlords in SE Como differ from those in the rest of the metro area.

By Emalyn Muzzy emuzzy@mndaily.com

A new study found that between 2005 and 2020, the percentage of single family rentals increased by over 10% in North Minneapolis, Southeast Como and parts of St. Paul, with Southeast Como’s rentals changing due, in part, to an aging homeowner population and localized investor landlords.

The Urban Institute researchers published a report titled “Who Owns the Twin Cities?” in which they investigated who owns homes across the metro area and how property ownership has changed over recent decades. They found there has been a growing number of investor landlords, or landlords who own more than three properties,

and an increase in single-family rentals. As a result, poor and BIPOC residents have been displaced.

Some investor landlords in Southeast Como are Go Gopher, Miles Group and Elmwood Properties.

“One thing we definitely know is that investors like to concentrate their focus,” said Yonah Freemark, senior research associate on the project. All three companies condense their rentals to the neighborhoods surrounding the University of Minnesota, including Southeast Como.

The increase in investor landlords The report found that investor

New PSG leadership discusses advocacy plans Pres. U.J. Bhowmik and VP Victoria Anderson took office on July 1.

By Sonja Kleven skleven@mndaily.com In June, the Minnesota Daily talked with the new Professional Student Government (PSG) President U.J. Bhowmik and Vice President Victoria Anderson about their goals and priorities for their term.

Bhowmik is entering her second year as a Juris Doctor candidate in the University of Minnesota Law School, and Anderson is enrolled in two master’s programs in the School of Public Health — the master’s of public health and master’s of healthcare administration.

How do you feel about being elected as PSG’s president and vice president?

Bhowmik: “First, we’re so excited and so honored that we were elected. I know there were people running who then dropped out prior to the election so we were the only people on the ballot, but it’s still really cool.”

Anderson: “I think what we’re most looking forward to is hearing the student body’s needs and how we can assist with them. Also, it’ll be nice since U.J. and I are in different programs, we can have an interprofessional background for president and vice president since we vary between three different programs, so we have a little diversity there.”

What are your goals for the See PSG Page 2

Left: Photo courtesy of U.J. Bhowmik, the Professional Student Government (PSG) president. Right: Photo courtesy of Victoria Anderson, the PSG vice president.

ADMIN

‘A small step in the right direction’: activists react to Chauvin’s sentencing

Regents hold first meeting of 2021-22 academic year The board also discussed the search for a new chief auditor.

By Marlee Louden and Maia Irvin mlouden@mndaily.com, mirvin@mndaily.com

Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. Some Minneapolis residents felt relieved, but some activists felt that Chauvin deserved more time.

Chauvin will serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison and will have an opportunity for parole after serving 15 years. Judge Peter Cahill sentenced him for second-

See HOUSING Page 2

PSG

JUSTICE

By Hanna Van Den Einde heinde@mndaily.com

landlords are concentrated in North Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, Central St. Paul and Como.

“Of these rental homes, an increasing number are owned by major corporations, typically incorporated outside of the Twin Cities,” the report said.

Tony Damiano, a University of Minnesota post-doctoral research fellow who helped with the project, said the foreclosure crisis in the late 2000s impacted North Minneapolis heavily. He said that in their research, the project team mainly focused on North Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The Hennepin County Government Center, on Sunday, Feb. 28. The trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd, started on March 8 2021. (Shannon Doyle / Minnesota Daily) degree murder, though he was also convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April.

Jae Yates, an organizer with Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCCJ4J), said they were disappointed with the sentencing.

“This is a person of power and privilege who killed someone… so it felt like probation was really lenient and the 22 and a half years

was very lenient as well, considering the severity of what happened,” Yates said.

The average sentence for second-degree murder is 12 and a half years, but the prosecution was seeking a 30 year sentence based on the aggravating factors in this case.

The court originally See JUSTICE Page 2

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents met Wednesday for their first meeting of the 2021-22 academic year. They discussed several important issues and updates, such as the Twin Cities campus master plan and the search for a new chief auditor.

The board also discussed Gov. Tim Walz’s June 26 higher education bill, which gave the University $38.5 million in funding.

The bill was 82% of the funding the board requested, University President Joan Gabel said.

The bill also expanded

eligibility for low and middleincome families to receive state grants, especially those not eligible for the Pell Grant, Gabel said.

Twin Cities campus master plan update The University’s Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Myron Frans also provided an update and sought insight from the board on the University’s campus master plan. The plan outlines the physical development of the Twin Cities campus and will address questions of growth, capital renewal and interactions with the community, Frans said.

“The campus plan acts as a guide for us to invest in our campus,” Frans said at the meeting.

“Perhaps the most important of all is that it establishes a vision for the future in the near-term and long-term.”

See ADMIN Page 2 Volume 121 Issue 15

2 Monday, July 19, 2021

Housing page 1 “The foreclosure crisis disproportionately impacted communities of color through predatory lending practices, which then resulted in huge amounts of foreclosures that took place on the north side,” Damiano said.

Banks and governments ended up with many foreclosed houses that they did not know what to do with.

“This often resulted in bulk sales of multiple homes, oftentimes below market value to large institutional investors,” Damiano said.

These investors then either sold them or rented them out. Southeast Como sees this same pattern of investors buying homes to rent, but in a different way.

In Southeast Como, investor landlords tend to buy houses from the aging homeowner population, said DeWayne Townsend, co-chair of the Southeast Como Improvement Association Land Use and Development Committee.

PSG page 1 upcoming year?

Bhowmik: “I want to have more collaboration with [the Minnesota Student Association (MSA)] and [the Council of Graduate Students (COGS)].

I know we share a space with them at the [University] but, when I was in MSA I remember I literally didn’t know what PSG was. We’re so often overlooked because we’re a smaller community. I’m really excited to do more stuff in collaboration with [MSA and COGS], because together our voices seem to be more amplified. There’s a lot of full-University issues that impact professional students as well that we don’t really get as much of a say in because MSA especially is pretty loud with what they need. But, our needs sometimes differ.”

Anderson: “I think that’s a really good question because we’re actually going to be in person this year so it’ll be a little different for everyone to come to school. Mostly just to be involved with the students and the community at the [University]. Seeing what they need and how to address it by rolling out certain resources and policies that they have in mind, from what they need, so we can basically just listen to the community in that regard.”

What are some of your hopes for PSG as an organization this fall?

Bhowmik: “For me, at least internally with PSG, I wanted to kind of echo that sense of community as an organization. I want everyone to feel like they are doing something that matters. And in the past I feel like people have this dissociation, especially with Zoom PSG, it was really difficult to get people to want to be there — and [PSG leadership] did a great job. But, internally I think we want to make everyone feel

Justice page 1 recommended four aggravating factors: that Chauvin abused a position of authority, that Chauvin treated Floyd with particular cruelty, that children were present during the crime and that Chauvin committed the crime with active participation of three other officers, according to Cahill’s sentencing memorandum.

Cahill granted three factors, but said that children being present during the crime was not a reason for an upward departure. He said that although children were present at the crime, they were free to leave at any time and did not indicate any evidence of trauma during the trial.

Within the sentencing memo, Cahill referred to the children as “all four of these

“What’s concerning is that when you have a senior citizen who’s been living in a house on a fixed income for 60 years and now has to go to a nursing home, the family is left with this house. They just want to get rid of it,” Townsend said. “They don’t want to have to update it or bring it up to code or any of that stuff. They just want it out of their hands.”

Townsend watched this happen to the property next to him. After his elderly neighbor sold his home to a corporation, the house changed. Townsend said before, it was a single-family house that had potential to be a starter home, but after construction, it had tons of bedrooms which catered to UMN student renters.

Another difference between investor landlords in Southeast Como and North Minneapolis is where they live. In the student-heavy neighborhood, the majority of landlords live within 25 miles of their rental properties, meaning they’re within the Twin Cities area, according to Townsend.

In contrast, the three largest investors in the Twin Cities are nationally owned corporations based elsewhere in the country, according to the report. The fourth largest is based in Bloomington, but works nationally.

With the rise in investor landlords, there is potential for exploitation of tenants. “Who Owns the Twin Cities?” included research on investor-owned singlefamily rentals in Southern California that found many tenants experience poor management, increased rent and higher rates of eviction.

Miles Group, a local investor landlord, has had problems maintaining their properties, with multiple rentals having city code violations.

“To some degree [investor landlords provide] more opportunities for people to live in neighborhoods that historically required people to own,” Freeman said. “At the same time, they may have some negative attributes like reducing the number of homes available for purchase.”

as comfortable and be as flexible as possible. So, I’m definitely thinking if we do have in-person meetings, we will be doing a hybrid version, so people can attend from home, if possible, and that way we will have the maximum attendance, and everyone can get the information they deserve to be able to hear.”

Anderson: “I think the main one for me is to be community-oriented for the students, just to ensure that they have access to the proper health services that they could need, potentially.

And then also assisting with mental health, specifically while being back on campus for the school year since the pandemic has started.”

people in my specific class of 50 people have had children in the last year as we’ve been on Zoom. And them being on Zoom has actually made it more accessible for them to be able to attend classes in times they may not have been able to. The childcare facilities at the [University], it’s great that we have that, but I think we need more of that because it needs to be affordable, especially for students. And I want to create a way that we can keep the hybrid format for students. I think it’s just having that kind of exemption, now that we know it’s so possible to just record a class, why shouldn’t we have that option for all of our students? It’s not a unique issue for professional schools. That’s kind of my biggest thing — we’ve learned so much, we shouldn’t just go back without bringing what we learned in the last year and a half.”

Anderson: “We take mental health very seriously. I think that’s a big one during this time, for sure. And ensuring that [students] have access [to mental health resources] through Zoom and not only in person is really important because of health insurance and access, it’s hard for them to be able to get that from the [University] online versus inperson. Like I was saying, it is important to me.”

What impact do you hope to have on PSG and the University after your terms end?

Bhowmik: “Just kind of creating a sustainable intergovernmental structure, and being able to have more openness of communication with COGS and MSA. Because we’re all here for similar reasons, even if our priorities may be different at times. I want to create something that lasts and a culture of that to keep going forward.”

Anderson: “Definitely listening to the students because I think that’s how we tie down the information. And just hoping to have a really positive long-term impact on PSG and the University by ensuring that we understand how the student body feels.

Just kind of teaching them that we can have different people from different programs on the board; U.J. and I knew each other beforehand, but just encouraging that along the way is I think important, too.”

Are there any initiatives that you feel strongly the student body knows your stance on?

Bhowmik: “An example I love to give is that three

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Bhowmik: “Just that everyone can feel comfortable reaching out to us directly on our personal emails or even the professional email. I am a big fan of actually interacting with people. I am very happy to go talk to someone in person if they don’t feel comfortable writing out a concern.

I’m also going to make sure we have anonymous forms available.”

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

young women,” which was “problematic” according to Mary Moriarty, former Public Defender of Hennepin County.

“I think there was a lot that was problematic about his conclusion,” Moriarty said. “First of all, the aggravating factor only requires the children to be present, it does not require that there be proof of trauma.”

Jess Sundin, a member of the TCCJ4J, said she was disturbed by Cahill’s decision to not consider this factor.

“Those young people are changed forever… They were in a crowd of people begging for George Floyd’s life for 10 minutes,” Sundin said. She added that she wants to see change in policing and accountability.

J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree mur-

der and manslaughter. The trial is set for March 2022.

“Going into it, they are facing exactly the same sentence theoretically that Chauvin did, so the stakes are very high for them,” Moriarty said. “On the other hand, they played different roles and we don’t know what the jury will make of the roles that they played.”

Trahern Crews, a member of Black Lives Matter Minnesota since 2015, said that although the conviction and sentencing of Chauvin sets a precedent for other officers, he thinks people need to keep fighting for justice.

“If we don’t keep pushing and keep on fighting for justice, these things will keep happening,” Crews said.

“There’s still some issues that need to be addressed here, but I definitely do think it’s a small step in the right direction.”

Student page 1 detail that comes with that.

It requires a tremendous amount of not only strategic thinking but also really rigid non-strategic thinking when you’re trying to accomplish an advocacy goal because there are defined responsibility areas. There are people, committees and processes for many of these things already. It’s important to be able to simultaneously be very rigid, because we have to stay within our constitution or within [Robert’s Rules of Order], or within the way we go about things, and also flexible enough to develop a strategy that allows you to move forward and reach a productive conclusion with administrators.”

Swanson: “I never was in [undergraduate] student government. So, being in graduate student government is completely new to me. I was the representative to the Board of Regents before my role now as president, so that was my first introduction into student government.

I’m like a non-traditional graduate student in the perspective that my funding has been insecure for the last five years I’m going on now.

I’m aware of what it’s like to experience funding issues [as a graduate student] …

Throughout my graduate experience, from my master’s to my Ph.D., we’ve just been putting together different funding sources. So if the department had a teaching assistantship, I would take that; if they had a lecture role available, I would take that. I’ve been a research assistant every summer to get through. Putting on all those different hats and blending into those different experiences have made me diverse when it comes to understanding graduate student issues.”

What are some of the [internal] goals that you have for the next year?

Gonigam: “The goals for this year are, and they’re going to sound a little blasé, but it is bringing graduate students back into the fold of our organization. We have three missions. The first is the advocacy that we do on behalf of graduate students, the other two are our grants program and providing a social space for graduate students. One of the big differences between our education and an undergraduate education is we’re very siloed. Had I not met Rielle through this organization, I would have probably literally never seen her ever on

Admin page 1 Some of the big ideas within the plan include creating a more inclusive environment, enriching the student experience and increasing accessibility by rethinking the campus’ physical environment.

For example, buildings like Peik Hall are identified for demolition to provide more green space on campus, said Greg Havens, the principal planner from Sasaki, the outside firm working with the University to develop the master plan.

The plan focuses on enhancing the University’s status as a leader across Minnesota and will look for opportunities to provide new academic and research facilities, as well as new on-campus housing sites, Havens said.

Several regents raised concerns about the opportunities for student housing. Regent Darrin Rosha said increasing student housing is an immediate concern and should be addressed before other goals, such as developing more research facilities.

“Finding an opportunity to advance student housing immediately is really [critical] … as I look at

campus … So, for a lot of graduate students, the only opportunities that they get to interact with students outside of their college and in other fields is our programming. And that hasn’t been there for an entire year, nor has our grants program.

That’s the largest portion of our budget and a tremendous amount of the money that we collect goes back to supporting graduate students. So, part of my goal is to just bring COGS back up to speed and get us back engaged with our constituents.”

How do you think the COGS organization has fallen short in the past and how do you plan to improve?

Swanson: “Previously, I feel like participation has been low just because people haven’t felt confident, welcomed and included in the organization. These are things that, moving forward, Richard and I really want to focus on — getting up our engagement, having people want to come to these meetings, participate and feel like they’re actually being heard … I also feel we have really good directors coming in for this year. I feel like that will also change our environment in COGS for people who want to be more involved. Historically, COGS had a reputation where people didn’t feel like they could speak their voices or be included. That’s something that I don’t think will be an issue with the incoming directors.”

Gonigam: “I think in the past the model for how we deal with advocacy has been, in some ways, a little bit top-down … That process works well, and it’s not like it doesn’t provide opportunities for representatives to bring things into the organization, but I don’t think there’s any reason that we have to restrict ourselves to that. I would be much happier, and I think the organization would be much more engaged … if we have tried to focus more on a bottomup approach. If we tried to more accurately capture what is going on at the individual units and individual programs, and then bring those concerns up. Even if it’s something where it doesn’t work with people bringing things up, having that better connection with individual programs and individual units at the bottom level will improve our ability to know when something is happening.”

How would you implement the bottom-up approach rather than top-down?

this, a lot of this is out in the future,” Rosha said at the meeting.

Regent James Farnsworth and Regent Dave McMillan also raised concerns about the lack of affordable student housing available through the University.

“Yes, the private sector has made great investments … but there’s a severe concern among students about affordable housing,” Farnsworth said at the meeting.

Recommendations for the plan will come before the board for final action in December.

Establishing a search committee for new chief auditor Gail Klatt will be leaving her position as chief auditor for the University, a role she has held for more than 25 years. With Klatt’s leave, the board will have to choose a new chief auditor for the first time in nearly three decades.

“She’s known for being an honest and dedicated colleague,” Gabel said at the meeting.

An auditor reviews and verifies the accuracy of the University’s financial records, ensures compliance with tax laws and protects from fraud. For example, the University’s Office of

Gonigam: “Part of the bottom-up approach is interacting with [graduate student groups] and forming relationships with them.

And when I say that, I really do mean real and I going and chatting with the presidents of those groups, or going into their meetings, or members of our executive committees going to their meetings and having an opportunity for them to directly speak with us, to learn about us and to have a direct line into the governance process. I don’t know if that’ll be enough — I don’t know if just giving people a voice will be enough, but I know that it hasn’t been done in the past so that’s a good first step.”

Are there any initiatives on behalf of graduate students that you plan to advocate for right away?

Swanson: “So, currently we’re working on the provost’s task force on advising in graduate education.”

Gonigam: “Graduate students lie in a really weird area — we’re part employee, part student. The way that ends up playing out is we’re students when it’s convenient for the University and we’re employees when it’s convenient for the University … That’s something that I think is tough to realize about graduate education — how different it is than undergraduate education and how, as a result, graduate students are a significantly, I don’t want to say a significantly more vulnerable population, but I think I’m fair in saying that. Graduate students are the largest employee class across the University of Minnesota system.

So, the provost initiative on advising in graduate education is an attempt to have a conversation at the university level about ways in which policy can be developed and applied and ways in which we can change the environment in higher education, or at the very least at the [University] around graduate advising and around graduate education, to make sure that graduate students are treated fairly. And to make sure that we’re treated with the same deference and respect that employees and faculty are … The big thing with the initiative is the adviser has a tremendous amount of power, and our weird status between student and employee means there are not a lot of safeguards for us, academically or as employees. That’s one of, if not the big initiative, for the next year.”

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Internal Audits verified that funds from the CARES Act were distributed to students in compliance with federal guidelines last year.

The board approved the composition of the search committee in charge of finding the next chief auditor on Wednesday. This committee will advise the board as they choose the next chief auditor, said Brian Steeves, the board’s executive director and secretary at the meeting.

The committee has 11 members, three regents and eight senior University leaders with special knowledge and expertise for this search, Steeves said. The three regents on the committee will be Regents Mary Davenport, Mike Kenyanya and Steve Sviggum, who will chair the committee.

Once the board has narrowed down finalists, they will ask student government organizations across the system for their input before selecting the next chief auditor, Steeves said.

“The charge of this committee is extremely, extremely important,” Sviggum said at the meeting. “Our goal will be to find someone so the committee does not have to be formed for another 27 years.”

3 Monday, July 19, 2021

LOCAL

St. Anthony Main Theatre is back The closest movie theater to campus has reopened.

By Sophia Zimmerman szimmerman@mndaily.com Slick red vinyl seats, hushed whispers as overhead lights dim, an occasional slurp of someone’s Diet Coke and the smell of stale popcorn that lingers in the air long after the audience has dispersed — these are the bits and pieces of the American movie theater experience that set it apart from streaming the latest hit from the comfort of one’s own living room.

They also happen to be the things that you’ll find have remained constant at the St. Anthony Main Theatre, which reopened at the beginning of the month after a year-long closure.

The theater opened for one month last summer after its

initial shutdown in March 2020, but ended up closing shop once again due to pandemic-induced delayed film releases.

Audiences have been steadily flowing in as the theater eases into inperson screenings with a 75% capacity limit in each screening room. In fact, the theater had its most successful weekend in years after its July 1 opening, according to MSP Film Society publicity manager Kelly Nathe. The Film Society reported over 500 attendees during the theater’s first week open — no small feat for the independentlyowned theater.

“There’s sort of this visceral energy of people coming in and running into each other at the movies, running into other film-lovers and having conversations about the films,” said Nathe.

The Film Society has expanded to two of the

theater’s five screens instead of just one, allowing opportunities for more independent screenings.

The Film Society is currently showing “Summer of Soul,” “Riders of Justice” and will soon include “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain.”

Other movies playing at the theater include “The Forever Purge,” “F9: The Fast Saga,” “Black Widow” and “A Quiet Place Part II.” More information and tickets can be found here.

“It’s encouraging that people are happy the theaters are opening and they’re coming back,” Nathe said. “I think people are sick of sitting on their couches and streaming.”

Streaming services grew by nearly 50% during the pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Given that they provide households with instant access to most films, going to

A bustling Main Street of St. Anthony Main on Sunday July 11. (Shannon Doyle / Minnesota Daily) an actual theater to watch a movie these days is centered around the atmosphere.

So, what’s drawing people back to the theater?

“It’s the popcorn,” second-year University of

Minnesota student Molly Conway said. “That’s pretty much it.”

Beyond popcorn and the chance to spend a prolonged amount of time in a dark, air-conditioned

room, the theater also offers a student discount at the box office.

“It’s good to be able to see the movies again,” theater manager Andy Windels said.

MUSIC

Underground update: Local Afro-fusion artist Obi Original prepares for debut EP release Obi Original prepares for the release of his project “Waves.”

By Frankie Carlson fcarlson@mndaily.com Whether he’s recording, producing, directing or organizing, Obi Original can’t be put into one box.

Over the past three years, local artist and producer Obiora Obikwelu, aka Obi Original, has been paving his own way.

Taking inspiration from a number of genres, Obikwelu has come into his own with a unique dancy, wavey, emotionfilled sound. Growing up inspired by the sounds of African Highlife music, it has been a dream of Obikwelu to help create a home for the Afro-fusion genre within the U.S. as well as in his home city of

Obi Original plays guitar to layer over a newly created track on Sunday, July 11. (Audrey Rauth / Minnesota Daily) Minneapolis.

“I grew up in a space where a lot of contemporary music was your hip-hop, rap, indie music,” Obikwelu said. “And all those I like, but I was in a space where I wanted to really challenge myself to bring a new type of sound to the local arena.”

His upcoming EP, “Waves,’’ is set to drop July 23. Totaling five tracks, Obikwelu dives into themes of love and

all of its complications, silver linings and idiosyncrasies.

Taking inspiration from his time as a theater kid in school, Obikwelu created “Waves” with an emotional narrative in mind.

“I made the EP to listen like a musical, or a play,” Obikwelu said.

“I really wanted to make something that was not too long, but every song was purposeful, every

song had this emotion. I just wanted to show waves of life. Even with people that you love, you still have ups and downs because if it was just a straight line it’ll be stagnant and stale.”

In addition to his solo music, Obikwelu is a cofounder and creative director of artist collective Ozone Creations.

Comprised of six artists, all of whom are first generation Americans of African descent, the group seeks to serve as a Midwestern hub for Afrofusion.

The newest member to join Ozone, local artist Mack OC, has known Obikwelu since childhood.

Mack champions Obikwelu’s unique artistic vision and his drive when it comes to ensuring that each artist in Ozone is at their best.

“Obi has really distinct ideas and he thinks so

outside the box with the stuff he does, you can see it in his craft,” Mack said.

“The kind of stuff that he does is so pre-planned and so premeditated. When we are coming to him with ideas, it’s so easy for him to just be like, ‘Okay this is how we can make this come to life.’”

Local artist Shy-I has also known Obikwelu since youth. He echoes the same sentiments as Mack OC and admires Obikwelu’s dedication when it comes to his work.

“I believe in Obi and his artistic ability to bring positive attention to the state of Minnesota, and to the continent of Africa,” Shy-I said. “He is a large reason for where I am as an artist today, and I know I’m not the only one who would say that.”

As live music continues to return to the Twin Cities, Obikwelu

has been able to perform consistent shows in Minneapolis for the past two months. Obi Original is set to take the 7th St Entry stage on July 24, the day after his EP release.

Obikwelu hopes to continue to create and expand the reach of Ozone Creations. He hopes that the group can be a model for artists in the Twin Cities to demonstrate the power in collaboration.

“I really hope that, you know, at least with Ozone Creations that we’re able to kind of show an example to like artists in the city,” Obikwelu said. “You know you can have that talent, you can have that drive, but you can still be the captain of the ship, at least when it comes to how everything is run. Sometimes it’s like finding the right group of people that can give the same 100% that you give.”

ART

Spreading awareness through art: Art for Water mural to be installed in Lyndale community garden Alex Dresdner creates a new mural for “Art for Water.”

By Frankie Carlson fcarlson@mndaily.com “To honor and protect the water is our responsibility.”

This quote by environmental activist Winona LaDuke sits bold in the top right corner of the Lyndale neighborhood’s latest public art piece. The mural’s artist, Alex Dresdner, chose this quote for the piece because of its clear message: water should not be taken for granted.

Dresdner is the latest artist in the Minnesota Water Stewards “Art for Water’’ program. Developed in 2013, the project trains and assists artists to create work that advocates for awareness of local freshwater resources.

Dresdner set out to create a mural with the hopes that it would inspire members of the Lyndale community to engage in sustainable practices surrounding water preservation.

The mural is set to go up on display in a community garden on the corner of 34th Street and

Nicollet Avenue within the coming weeks.

Co-manager of the garden, Devin Hogan, spoke on the role the mural will play in the public space.

“I think the mural will be helpful in reminding people of the way our water systems are integrated,” Hogan said.

“The lakes are more than recreation or nice things to look at, they’re part of an ecosystem. Part of the role of the garden is to take water that would normally just be storm runoff on a vacant lot and turn it into a way to grow food and sink water into the ground to recharge the aquifers.”

Standing 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide, the intricate blue and green painting displays not only the visual beauty of our local freshwater, but also facts and data demonstrating the importance of clean water policies in Minnesota.

Dresdner organized a live painting event to get the community involved.

On July 7, Zion Lutheran Church offered space for this live mural painting where members of the neighborhood were encouraged to grab a brush and a free meal made with produce from one of the Lyndale community gardens.

Dresdner also looked to the community for input during the design process.

Using an online survey as well as in-person conversations with neighbors, Dresdner gathered suggestions and feedback on what parts of Minneapolis people would like to see on the mural with relation to water.

“A lot of people said that the Mississippi River was one of their favorite parts about the city — and also the chain of lakes — so that’s all going to be in there,” Dresdner said.

“Minneapolis has so much water that it was really kind of hard to narrow it down and I just sort of based it on what’s most important to people in their daily lives.”

Dresdner expanded the project further with the creation of zines designed to educate the community about stormwater runoff.

These zines were made and distributed throughout south Minneapolis in Little Free Libraries.

Senior Communications Specialist for Hennepin County Environment and Energy and Minnesota Water Steward Christina Schmitt explained what the Art for Water program sets out to impart on their artist

Volunteer painting the mural at Art 4 Water event at Zion Lutheran Church on Wednesday, July 7 in Minneapolis, Minn. (Alice Bennett / Minnesotda Daily) applicants and the work they is precious and we all need appreciate and take stops to will go on to create. to do our part to protect it.” preserve local freshwater.

“The primary goal here Dresdner encourages “I’m hoping to kind of start is for the artist to use their those who want to get some conversations of how project as an outreach involved to volunteer people change their practices tool to promote water at the 34th Street and to be more environmentally quality,” Schmitt said. “It’s Nicollet Avenue garden friendly,” Dresdner said. a different approach than, to assist in their efforts to “Everything that happens [for example], installing combat food insecurity upstream affects us, and a rain garden. Art taps a and build community in everything we do affects different part of your brain, the local neighborhood. He everyone downstream so and people react with their hopes the mural made by it’s like they’re all connected hearts as well as their heads members of the community and I hope that that kind of to art, realizing that water will be a reminder to message gets through.”

4

Editorials & Opinions

COLUMN

My choices aren’t your business The government should not have the right to decide whether I have a child.

L

ast fall, I wrote Tara Brankin a column titled, columnist “Let’s not forget about Planned Parenthood.” The piece discussed efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that provides women with services like abortions and access to varying birth control

methods and how these efforts would impact the lives of women across the country. Additionally, Planned Parenthood provides STD testing and breast exams, which I feel is not discussed enough when having conversations about Planned Parenthood.

If defunded, it will become a lot more difficult for women to make the choice regarding whether they’d like to have children.

Over the past few months, efforts have been made to not only defund nonprofit organizations like Planned Parenthood, but to eliminate women’s choice to have an abortion. In May of this year, the Supreme Court announced that they will be reviewing a Mississippi law that would undermine Roe v. Wade, the ruling that guarantees women’s right to choose an abortion. The law, which would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, is a grim reminder that there are individuals who are unwavering in their efforts to put a fetus ahead of women who would be the ones facing the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy.

During Trump’s presidency, he claimed that overturning Roe v. Wade was a priority and was a factor in the new Supreme Court justices he chose: Neil Gorsuch,

Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

These justices maintain conservative ideologies and have expressed anti-Roe rhetoric, further putting the choice to have an abortion in jeopardy.

I am getting really sick of people attempting to prevent women from choosing whether they have children. I am of the opinion that it is absolutely no one’s business what a woman wants to do with her body and that some people’s obsession with “protecting life” is just a clever guise to undermine women’s freedom. I am aware that this sentiment will upset some individuals, but frankly, I do not give a shit. Additionally, I am particularly disappointed with women who seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. If you don’t want to have an abortion, then don’t have an abortion, but don’t project your own ideologies onto other women.

In the same vein, I believe that individuals should not project their religious beliefs onto women who are in their legal right to make a decision regarding their own bodies. As someone who was raised Catholic (but is no longer practicing) and even attended Catholic school, I was exposed to many people who were

vehemently opposed to Roe v. Wade and, more specifically, Planned Parenthood. It was implied with varying degrees of subtlety that Planned Parenthood was an evil, godless organization whose main purpose was to be “baby killers,” with no regard being given to women who did not want to become mothers.

Living in fear that my right to not have a child could be taken away from me is terrifying. I am hoping Roe will be upheld, but at this point, the fact that the Supreme Court is even reviewing Mississippi’s law could become a slippery slope from which more anti-abortion legislation could become a reality. It feels dystopian and wildly unfair.

If you are like me and are also scared of this happening, please consider donating to Planned Parenthood.

Tara Brankin welcomes comments at tbrankin@mndaily.com.

COLUMN

Some thoughts about life after two years at the U Lessons I’ve learned in the first half of college, some of which I actually follow.

A

s an incoming Matthew Doty third-year, I spend columnist a lot of time thinking about the future, whether that means going to graduate school or starting a career or something else. That said, I had not really thought about the fact that college is halfway over until one recent high school graduate asked me if I had any college advice for him. I hesitated for a moment.

Who am I to say? But as I let his question sink in, I realized how much we all learn in that pivotal first half of college. For many of us, it was our first time living alone, and, obviously, there was quite a bit to navigate.

During the couple weeks that followed him asking this question, I compiled some of the biggest lessons I learned about college into a little list.

School Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way.

My first school tip is probably the most important academic lesson I have ever learned: you should probably start taking notes, and if you do not know what to take

notes on, take them on everything. I found that, after four years of basically note-free highschool, I had no idea how to do it.

When I went to study for my first PSY 1001 test, I had taken lecture notes nearly word for word like a stenographer; nonetheless, I did well on the test.

During my first semester of college, I workshopped different forms of note taking until I found one that worked for me, and then I never stopped.

Another practice that has helped me stay focused in class is always picking a frontrow seat (or turning on the Zoom camera in online classes). For fear of sounding like a square or a teacher’s pet, I have to say I do this to keep myself focused, not to gain any brownie points with a professor (some will at least remember your face because you sit in the front of the class, while some will never think twice about it). It always astounded me how many kids were on their phones in college classes, which was impossible at my small highschool. If you are worried about doing this, just sit in front of the class (odds are you are paying a decent chunk of cash to be here, might as well pay attention).

Finally, I would say that you should get comfortable with shifting your long-term academic goals. I feel like everyone tells us this at orientation and welcome week, but few of us actually internalize it. Throughout life, most of us have switched up our answer to what we want to be when we grow up quite a bit, and that tendency does not change just because you start your college path. Follow your current interests, and trust what they tell you. Projecting into the future is a tricky game, but finding, and then doing, something that interests you or makes for fulfilling work may make it a little easier.

Social I am not sure what the world has told you about who is in your group and who is

not, but college is the time to figure that out for yourself. It is time to define for yourself what puts someone in your “in-group” and what puts them in your “out-group.” Make sure that you know what you really value in people, then surround yourself with that type of person; design your social circle with intention, based on your own values.

Additionally, try your best to make your out-group (those you see as fundamentally different from you and your peers) as small as possible.

Furthermore, when you have started to make these new friends, you may feel some anxiety about how you present yourself to them. My advice is, of course, to be yourself. I add that not only is it just more relaxing, but my theory is that it will actually help you find friends that you will relate to more. If you show someone your true self and they do not like it, that is fine, because you probably do not want to spend much time around them either: you probably have different ideas of what you want your friendships to look like.

Self With all of the life shifts that happen when you start college (especially if you live in dorms), it is very easy to have a mind that runs a mile a minute monitoring your homework, your new friendships, extracurriculars; it may get exhausting. My advice is to understand when you should listen to and trust yourself, and when you may need to take a breath. I found myself in the habit of over-planning to the point where I could not even think straight about what I needed and wanted to get done. When something like this would start to happen, I found it was best to just turn my brain off and relax: these were just not times to trust myself.

Learning when to take a breather is important; pay attention to your stress levels and how they affect your behavior.

Lastly, one of the most important things I have learned in my personal life since

starting college is to figure out how fear determines your actions. This is a broad statement, I know (a little vague, too). Really what I mean is that sometimes, especially in unfamiliar situations, we can make decisions based on unfounded fear or worry. For example, early in my college career I missed opportunities to connect with people because I was worried about how to present myself to them. Should I have worried? According to my own paragraph about being yourself, no. The power of fear or worry is not anything that we can completely rid ourselves of; it will always play some sort of a role. However, my advice is to pay attention to those hesitations.

Ask yourself: are you scared of something?

Should you be?

A lot changes day to day during that transition to college life. Everyone is going to learn different, sometimes conflicting lessons based on the challenges they encounter in that transition. These are some of mine. When I get the advice question, I clearly have a little repository to reach into, but my overarching advice is always be ready for a surprise. College will never be what you think it will be. In all parts of life (for me school, social, and self) do your best to prepare for what you can, and accept what you cannot predict; uncertainty can be pretty exciting.

Matthew Doty welcomes comments at mdoty@mndaily.com.

COLUMN

What kind of mayor does Minneapolis need right now?

After an unprecedented year, election season is just around the corner.

A

fter a year of Emily Eaton turmoil and upcolumnist heaval, the citizens of Minneapolis will pick their next mayor on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The battle for mayor of Minneapolis is bound to be a contentious one. Incumbent Jacob Frey is running for reelection, but he faces two prominent challengers: Kate Knuth and Sheila Nezhad.

Minneapolis hasn’t put a Republican in the mayoral office since 1973.

The Democratic-Farmer-Laborer Party (DFL) has a stronghold on Hennepin

County, with 70% of voters going for Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election.

While it may not be the most bipartisan to look only at Frey’s fellow DFL challengers, it certainly makes the most sense. The question going into this race is simple: What does Minneapolis need right now?

This is often, and incorrectly, reworded as “who” do we need now. The policies are more important than the person — though I think that’s a lesson many of us learned in 2020. Our political leaders are people. No matter who is put into office, they will make mistakes at some point. When considering who to rank as your number one (because Minneapolis is a beautiful utopia that uses ranked choice voting), it’s critical to look not just at the background of a candidate or how well spoken they are, but what change they have actually made and the concrete plans they have moving forward.

Current mayor Jacob Frey has the incumbency advantage, but his first term in office was rife with crisis: the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and subsequent summer of racial reckoning kept the administration (and its public relations department) on its toes. Despite all this, an August 2020 poll conducted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune found that Frey held onto

an approval rating of 50 percent. His tumultuous first term wasn’t enough to knock him out of the running, but it also hasn’t guaranteed him reelection.

Frey’s focus for much of his original campaign and time in office was affordable housing. Candidate Kate Knuth is also honing in on this issue. In a state with remarkably brutal winters, providing residents with accessible housing is truly a matter of life or death. Frey’s website outlines his four pillars for affordable housing, including increasing pathways to housing, protecting renter’s rights, and creating more affordable housing units. He doesn’t outline how he plans to do those things. Knuth’s website sports fourteen bullet points of in-depth steps, many of which fall into one of Frey’s four categories — just with more detail. Knuth also ties in environmental and equity issues in her proposed pursuits. Our third potential candidate, Sheila Nezhad, outlines a few vision statements without actionable steps. Nezhad’s website also just screams “girlboss,” even if she’s focused on accessibility instead of gatekeeping.

While this is just a singular issue, it is representative of how the candidates would take on a term as mayor.

Knuth is incredibly straightforward and in-depth, Nezhad is a big-picture thinker and Frey walks somewhere in

the middle of the two. The question is, then, what do you want accomplished in Minneapolis over the next few years?

What issues matter the most to you?

And which candidate has the best plan to confront those exact issues?

We’ve still got time before the mayoral election, during which the candidates will likely try to differentiate themselves strongly enough to actually stand out. That’s easier said than done when they’re all part of the same party in an overwhelmingly liberal city, but I’m sure they’ll try anyway. As the race progresses, I have something to ask of you: Vote with your head, not with your heart.

Emily Eaton welcomes comments at eeaton@mndaily.com.

Sports

5 Monday, July 19, 2021

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Gophers baseball has two selected on day two of 2021 MLB Draft

Gophers Infielder Zack Raabe makes a catch at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. The Gophers fell to Duke 3-7. (Jasmin Kemp / Minnesota Daily)

Incoming Alec Willis and veteran Zack Raabe were both drafted.

By Tony Liebert aliebert@mndaily.com The 2021 edition of MLB’s annual draft continued on Monday, July 12, as two Gophers heard their names called.

Alec Willis was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round and Zack Raabe was selected

by the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth.

Regis Jesuit High School’s Alec Willis was selected No. 211 overall in the seventh round by the St. Louis Cardinals. The 6-foot-5-inch right-handed pitcher became the highest drafted incoming freshman in program history.

Many viewed Willis as the No. 1 high school player in his home state, Colorado. He was dominant in his senior season, recording a 0.77

ERA and striking out 54 batters in 29 innings in 2021. Prior to this week’s draft, he ranked as the No. 130 prospect among draft-eligible college and high school prospects according to MLB.com.

Zack Raabe joined Willis as an MLB selection.

In the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers used the No. 237 selection on the second baseman. He is the highest drafted Minnesota position player since Terrin Vavra was

selected No. 96 overall in the third round by the Colorado Rockies in 2018.

Hailing from Forest Lake, Minnesota, Raabe epitomized Gophers’ baseball throughout his three year career. He was the second of his family to don the Maroon & Gold, as his father, Brian, earned All-America honors during his career as a Minnesota infielder in the 1990s.

Zack lived up to the family name, leading the nation in hits for the 2020

season and leading the Big Ten in batting average, enroute to earning Collegiate Baseball Newspaper second team All-America honors. He followed up his big sophomore season, hitting .315 with 6 HRs and 11 RBI in 35 games in 2021 on his way to earning second team All-Big Ten honors.

According to multiple reports, Willis and Raabe are both expected to sign a contract with the teams that drafted them. Willis’ signing bonus with the

Cardinals is expected to be $1 million. When the official contract terms are reached, he will officially forgo his commitment to the University of Minnesota, without ever playing a game for the Gophers. The value of Raabe’s contract has not been released, but the slot value for No. 237 pick is $175,000.

2021 marks the seventh MLB Draft in a row where a Gophers player was selected within the first 10 rounds.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Plasencia steps away after 25 years with the Gophers

Plasencia was the head cross country coach since 1996.

By Michael Lyne mlyne@mndaily.com

Gophers men’s cross country head coach and men’s track and field assistant coach Steve Plasencia announced Thursday that he is stepping away from his coaching duties after a long, successful 25-year career at the University of Minnesota.

The two-time Olympian has served as the eighth head coach for the Gophers men’s cross country since 1996, served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota track and field program since 2018, and earned a promotion to director of men’s cross country and track and field in July 2008.

Known as “Coach Plaz,” Plasencia had a notable college running career at the University of Minnesota, remaining one of the Gophers’ most decorated athletes. He won the Fred O. Watson Award three times, awarded to the most valuable Gophers

Men’s Cross Country, Oz Memorial Run on Friday, September 8, 2017. Photo courtesy of Gopher Athletics. cross country runner in 1976, 1977 and 1978, and served as the team captain in 1977.

As a 1979 graduate, Plasencia was a three-time cross country and twotime track and field AllAmerican.

Plasencia accumulated 11 Ccoach of the Yyear awards during his time with the Gophers. He was

Midwest Region Cross Country Coach of the Year four times, Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year three times, and Midwest Region Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year and a two-time Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year .

Coach Plaz led the cross country team to 15 NCAA Cross

Country Championships appearances and eight top20 NCAA Cross Country team finishes.

Under Plasencia’s guidance, Chris Rombough (2006) and Hassan Mead (2008, 2009) produced three Big Ten cross country individual championships.

In Plasencia’s first year as the track and field team director, the Gophers

won the 2009 Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Team Championships.

The Gophers and Plasencia followed up their sweep in 2009 by repeating both titles in 2010 and won a thirdstraight Big Ten Indoor Team Championship in 2011.

During Plasencia’s involvement in the track

and field program, the Gophers accumulated 26 Big Ten Individual Champions, 22 Big Ten Outdoor Individual Champions and 82 indoor track and 47 outdoor track All-Americans.

Plasencia’s departure from the Gophers marks the end of his historic 25year era at the University of Minnesota.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Bethany Hasz returning for 2021-2022 season Hasz is utilizing the extra year of eligibility, due to COVID-19.

By Michael Lyne mlyne@mndaily.com University of Minnesota cross country and track and field star Bethany Hasz announced Friday that she is returning for her sixth season with the Gophers for the 2021-2022 season.

Hasz’s decision to

return for her sixth season with the Gophers comes after the NCAA decided to grant athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After finishing fifth at the national cross country meet in 2020-2021 season, I think our team has the potential for even bigger things, which is why I decided to come back for another year as a Gopher,” Hasz said in an email announcement.

“We’re going into next year with a ton of momentum and

an awesome culture. I’m also looking forward to competing on our home track for the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championship.”

Hailing from Alexandria, Minn., Hasz’s return to the Gophers is coming after she had a stellar redshirt senior season. She was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year and won three individual Big Ten Championships, winning the indoor 3,000-meter title, the outdoor 10,000-meter title and the

cross country title.

In June 2021, Hasz competed in the women’s 5,000-meter at the NCAA Championships and finished in third place with a career-best time of 15:30.57. This personal best time has her sitting as the Gophers program record holder in this event.

The Gophers veteran also finished as the NCAA runner-up in the indoor 5,000-meter and collected two First Team AllAmerica honors in her redshirt senior season.

Bethany Hasz competes at the University of Minnesota Track and Field stadium on Friday, April 30.