April 12, 2018

UMPD TRACKS SHARP RISE IN AUTO THEFTS PAGE 3 THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2018

LATE WEEK

CASES HAVE INCREASED OVER 30 PERCENT SINCE LAST YEAR.

MNDAILY.COM

POLICE

u See COP FUNDING Page 9

UMPD $6,649,185

$319,006

9,000,000

6,000,000

3,000,000

$318,307

Purdue

Wisconsin

University of Michigan

Michigan State

Nebraska

Maryland

Illinois

0

Indiana

As departments across the University of Minnesota continue to cut administrative spending, the school’s public safety budget has stayed stable.

Started in 2014, University President Eric Kaler’s announced his Operational Excellence plan — a goal to cut $90 million in administrative costs by 2019. While departments like the University’s libraries, coordinate campuses and other administrative

12,000,000

University of Iowa

BY MADELINE DENINGER mdeninger@mndaily.com

departments have slimmed down, the University has determined its public safety department can’t afford any cuts.

“If we were forced to cut our budget, we would have to eliminate a police officer position because there is nothing else in their budget that would be significant enough to make a difference,” said Julie Tonneson, associate vice president and budget director at the University.

She said there is no plan to cut public safety spending in the coming year.

Mike Berthelsen, vice president of University Services, said while some departments can find ways to streamline their process, public safety’s needs have to do with

University Security

Ohio State

While the U policing budget will likely increase, it’s still far from the top of the Big Ten.

UMPD COMPRISES MOST OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET

15,000,000

University of Minnesota

After administrative cuts, U police budget steady

BIG TEN PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGETS,

BY UNIVERSITY

Public Emergency Communications Center

*All schools listed are Big Ten circuit campuses. Northwestern University, a private university, is not required by law to release its data.

SAILING

Other public safety needs $,1829,651

SOURCE: MN DAILY REPORTING

STUDENT GROUPS

Taming harsh conditions

Residence hall groups hang out courtesy of U Students in dorms can register their group to get free snacks, supplies and other kickbacks.

BY MAX CHAO mchao@mndaily.com

E v e r y m o n t h o r s o , a g ro u p o f Middlebrook Hall residents gather in a dorm room to socialize over cans of LaCroix sparkling water paid for by the University of Minnesota.

The group, called “La Cry,” is one of over 350 residence hall student groups at the University — the highest number since the Housing and Residential Life Groups program started five years ago.

“There were so many people on my floor that drank LaCroix and I always joked that we should just make a club and get LaCroix for free,” said freshman Julian Kinneavy, founder of the club.

In 2013, the Housing and Residential Life office started offering small amounts of housing funds to finance student groups.

The funds can be used for things like games, EASTON GREEN, DAILY

u See DORM GROUPS Page 3

Matt Granstrom, left, and Ryan Sigurdson practice starting drills with three other sailboats on Wayzata Bay on Tuesday, April 10.

The UMN sailing team has performed well this season, despite freezing weather.

BY ERIK NELSON enelson2@mndaily.com

The club sailing team calls it a bubble.

It’s a small space surrounded by ice right by the dock that’s big enough for their boats to sail on. With Minnesota’s late winter, the team has gone back and forth in that small

pocket of water, practicing fundamentals on Lake Minnetonka.

Though the team’s season is underway, commodore Bailey Adkins said it’s tough to sail in cold and snowy conditions. The club took a trip to Florida during the University’s spring break in April to prepare for the season.

“It’s hard enough as it is to keep up your sailing skills in the winter towards the springtime in the midwest because there’s no way to do it,” u See SAILING Page 5

GREEK LIFE

Political talk is a split subject for UMN’s campus Greek events Many members of fraternities and sororities are split on how to approach policy activism.

BY ELIANA SCHREIBER eschreiber@mndaily.com

After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Florida in February, a University of Minnesota fraternity was discontent with an apparent lack of healthy discussions on gun control in their community.

The fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, took initiative and held a discussion at the end of March.

But not all fraternities and sororities on campus are quite as open to discussing political issues as Kappa Alpha Psi. Policies regarding discussion of political issues differ from one another at chapter-sanctioned events and meetings across the University’s councils and Greek

EASTON GREEN, DAILY

ABOVE: Coach Cappy Capper whistles the count down for starting drills during practice. RIGHT: The University of Minnesota sailing team puts a boat into the water for practice on Wayzata Bay.

u See POLITICAL GREEKS Page 3

BUSINESS

U students create Adderall alternative Two student entrepreneurs hope to hit the market running with an all-natural ADHD alternative.

BY J.D. DUGGAN jdduggan@mndaily.com

ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY

Students Shoubhik Sinha and Andrew Koblas pose for a portrait on Monday, April 9 at the Carlson School of Management. The two partnered up in their Entrepreneurship in Action course to form a business selling NeurOwl, a supplement that combines caffeine and L-theanine to produce five hours of jitter-free energy.

Scores of college students turn to drugs each year to manage coursework and other stressors.

Two University of Minnesota seniors have created an all-natural supplement to boost cognitive function without health risks posed by drugs like Adderall.

Shoubhik Sinha and Andrew Koblas began developing NeurOwl — a blend of 100 mg caffeine and 200 mg of nootropic amino acid L-theanine — in October. Sinha presented NeurOwl to the University Entrepreneurship Club last week, and the partners hope to get the product into Maxwell’s

Market in Marcy-Holmes by the end of next week.

“Every student gets tired,” Sinha said. “I would sometimes drink Mountain Dew or Coke, but I don’t like coffee, I don’t like tea. … I feel like there should be better options out there. Then I did some research on nootropics; they’re basically a category of chemicals … [that] improve human cognition and performance.”

The combination of caffeine and L-theanine “boost performance on rapid visual information processing, word recognition tests, attention and improve overall mood,” according to NeurOwl’s webpage, which cites various scientific studies.

While caffeine is correlated with alertness and improved focus, L-theanine has proven in general populations to reduce anxiety and counteract the “jitters” associated u See NEUROWL Page 4

VOLUME 118 ISSUE 53

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THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018

MN DAILY

EXTENDED WEATHER FORECAST THURSDAY FRIDAY HIGH 51° HIGH 40° LOW 37° LOW 25° Mostly cloudy

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Rain and snow

SATURDAY HIGH 28° LOW 22° Snow

SUNDAY HIGH 33° LOW 18° Partly cloudy

MONDAY HIGH 39° LOW 20° Sunny

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Thursday, April 12, 2018 Vol. 118 No. 53

An Independent Student Newspaper, Founded in 1900.

2221 University Ave. SE, Suite 450 Minneapolis, MN 55414 Phone: (612) 627-4080 Fax: (612) 435-5865 Copyright © 2018 The Minnesota Daily This newspaper, its design and its contents are copyrighted.

1861 Confederate shore batteries open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Bay, initiating the American Civil War. HISTORYCHANNEL.COM/TDIH

U sociology student recognized U student receives the Mestenhauser Student Award in late February.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER Mike Hendrickson Editor-in-Chief mhendrickson@mndaily.com (612) 435-1575 Kathryn Chlystek Business Operations Officer kchlystek@mndaily.com (612) 435-2761 NEWS STAFF Nick Wicker Managing Editor nwicker@mndaily.com Cedar Thomas Managing Production Editor cthomas@mndaily.com Jack White Sports Editor jwhite@mndaily.com Gunthar Reising A&E Editor greising@mndaily.com Alex Tuthill-Preus Multimedia Editor atuthill-preus@mndaily.com Maddy Fox Assistant Multimedia Editor mfox@mndaily.com Sheridan Swee Copy Desk Chief sswee@mndaily.com Molly Tynjala Assistant Copy Desk Chief mtynjala@mndaily.com Harry Steffenhagen Visuals Editor hsteffenhagen@mndaily.com Jane Borstad Visuals Editor jborstad@mndaily.com Desmond Kamas Chief Page Designer dkamas@mndaily.com Rilyn Eischens Campus Editor reischens@mndaily.com Olivia Johnson Campus Editor ojohnson@mndaily.com Ryan Faircloth City Editor rfaircloth@mndaily.com David Clarey Features Editor dclarey@mndaily.com =

BY DAVID MULLEN dmullen@mndaily.com

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After her uncle was unable to get a heart transplant in the U.S. and died when she was young, University of Minnesota senior Prashasti Bhatnagar decided to change the world through health care accessibility.

Bhatnagar, a student from New Delhi, India, was one of three students awarded the Josef Mestenhauser Student Award at the end of February.

Bhatnagar will leave a legacy of new programs for international students and a four-part workshop series, which ends Friday. However, the program will continue next semester after her graduation.

The award, called the Excellence in Campus Internationalization award, recognizes students who contributed significant time and energy to improving international education and campus life.

Bhatnagar, who is studying sociology and minoring in public health and social justice, said she spent the past four years at the University working closely with the Center for Community-Engaged Learning.

“I was their only international student in their office, so my presence really helped us focus on how we can better serve international students,” she said.

Bhatnagar said she recognizes that transitioning to a new continent can be

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Senior Prashasti Bhatnagar poses for portraits in Mondale Hall on Monday, April 9.

difficult, and used her own experiences of loneliness and hardship to ease the transition for international students at the University.

She’s created several workshop series in past semesters. This semester’s workshop series explored topics focused on politics, identity, the American myth and volunteerism.

Bhatnagar’s other program, the Racial Equity Discussion Partners Program, started in fall 2016 and pairs professional staff with students to encourage discussion of global issues and topics.

Katie Peacock, the assis-

tant director for the University’s Community Partnerships and Engaged Learning, said she nominated Bhatnagar for the Mestenhauser Award because of her commitment to student success.

“All four years of her undergrad, she has demonstrated her serious commitment to social justice both on and off campus,” Peacock said, adding that she’s unsure what the CCEL will do without Bhatnagar next year.

Along with her involvement in internationalizing the campus, Bhatnagar has worked with policymakers at Hennepin County and worked in the offices of

former Sen. Al Franken and Gov. Mark Dayton.

She wanted to be involved in health equity efforts after experiencing her own health issues her sophomore year, she said.

“It made me reflect more on why I wanted to be involved in health equity because access to care was something very important to me,” Bhatnagar said.

Bhatnagar plans to attend Georgetown University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for her graduate studies, with a focus on a dual degree in law and public health.

Before graduating, she

ANANYA MISHRA, DAILY

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will finish her senior project, which researches health burdens on chronically underserved populations.

“She is keenly aware that so many aspects of health are socially determinate,” said professor Susan Craddock, Bhatnagar’s honors project mentor.

Craddock added that the project is unique and looks at partnerships between health care and law.

“She is doing work that is directly helping them to know better about what’s working,” she said. “I don’t know a whole lot of undergraduates that have a whole lot of impact with their projects.”

Eliminating water pollution below ground UMN researchers attempt to prevent water pollution by trapping PFAS.

BY WESLEY HORTENBACH whortenbach@mndaily.com

A new development from University of Minnesota researchers could filter harmful chemicals from groundwater, preventing the compounds from reaching wildlife and humans.

The process, which is set for field testing later this year, could be useful in limiting contamination from chemicals known as PFAS. The chemicals drew national attention this year when the state of Minnesota settled a years-long legal battle with manufacturing giant 3M Corporation over PFAS contamination in the east metro.

The research team, headed by University associate professor of environmental health sciences Matt Simcik, has found a way to trap PFAS below ground.

Researchers drill a well into a contaminated aquifer and inject a nontoxic chemical compound with the opposite electric charge of PFAS to make the harmful chemicals stick to the soil, allowing the PFAS-free water to flow through the aquifer.

PFAS chemicals can harm fetal brain development, said Yousof Aly, a recent water resources science Ph.D. graduate who was part of the research into the method. Some studies have linked the chemicals to increased cancer risk and other negative health outcomes, but these find-

ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY

Environmental Health Sciences associate professor Matt Simcik poses for a portrait on Wednesday, April 11 in the Mayo Memorial Building on East Bank.

ings have been contested by some experts.

“Although it doesn’t actually change the color or taste of the water, it then creates another problem because it’s harder to detect,” Aly said.

3M started using PFAS chemicals about 70 years ago to make products like non-stick cookware and fast food wrappers. Areas near these manufacturing facilities are often contaminated because products containing PFAS release the chemicals into the ground when they break down.

Until the 1970s, 3M dumped these chemicals into Twin Cities landfills.

The state of Minnesota filed a lawsuit over the pollution in 2010. In 2017, the state

updated the suit to include allegations that residents of Oakdale experienced higher rates of cancer, and fertility and reproductive issues as a result. The state reached an $850 million settlement with 3M in February.

Last month, the Minnesota Department of Health required Lake Elmo to shut down its wells and a water tower because of excessive PFAS contamination.

The legal case against 3M was helpful in giving scientists more information on the topic and also increasing public awareness of PFAS contamination, said University environmental law professor Alexandra Klass.

“Scientists can’t gener-

ally do that on their own,” Klass said. “The only reason most people outside the east metro know about the problems with these chemicals is because of the lawsuit.”

Right now, drinking water contaminated with PFAS chemicals has to be filtered either by a facility or with carbon filters in residents’ homes, Simcik said.

“There really isn’t a way to treat this while the water is still in the ground. It needs to be pumped to the surface and treated using granular activated carbon filter,” said Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokesperson Walker Smith.

These expensive processes are not reliable since they don’t always catch all the chemicals, Simcik said.

His work aims to solve this problem at the source.

“The groundwater has not been cleared. What they have done [through filtering] is provided clean water but not removed it from its source,” Simcik said.

Aly said the method would reduce costs by removing chemicals from water earlier in the process, eliminating the need for carbon filters.

Plus, removing PFAS chemicals from groundwater would benefit fish and plants by preventing the chemicals from reaching their habitats, Simcik said.

Simcik is working with the U.S. Department of Defense and will be testing the method in the field later this year.

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EDITORIAL BOARD Aleezeh Hasan Editorial Board Member ahasan@mndaily.com Ray Weishan Editorial Board Member rweishan@mndaily.com Mike Hendrickson Editor-in-Chief mhendrickson@mndaily.com BUSINESS Genevieve Locke Sales Manager glocke@mndaily.com David Keane Controller dkeane@mndaily.com The Minnesota Daily strives for complete accuracy and corrects its errors immediately. Corrections and clarifications will always be printed in this space. If you believe the Daily has printed a factual error, please call the readers’ representative at (612) 627–4070, extension 3057, or email errors@mndaily.com immediately.

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U.S. Postal Service: 351–480.w

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Auto thefts up 38 percent in Marcy-Holmes area

3

Politics a split topic at Greek life events

JACK RODGERS, DAILY

Parked cars along 12th Avenue Southeast in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood. Auto thefts in Marcy-Holmes are up 38 percent from last year.

The theft reports have seen a sharp jump amid chilly temperatures.

BY HANNAH OVCHARCHYN hovcharchyn@mndaily.com

The never-ending Minnesota winter seems to be affecting more than students’ motivation levels. Auto thefts near the University of Minnesota are on the rise, according to police reports.

The Minneapolis Police Department recorded a total of 105 stolen vehicles between the beginning of the year and April 9 in the second precinct, which includes University neighborhoods Marcy-Holmes, Como and Prospect Park. Roughly a fifth of all second precinct auto thefts have occurred in Marcy-Holmes.

Marcy-Holmes auto thefts have increased by 38 percent compared to the same time last year. MPD Second Precinct Crime Prevention Specialist Nick Juarez said the increase is partly due to the frigid weather. Many students will leave their cars running to warm up during the winter months, which leave them vulnerable to theft.

Last year, Minneapolis’

winter was short and balmy: the average high temperature in April 2017 was between 50 and 60 degrees, according to AccuWeather, Inc. A year later, many students are waking up to start their cars in below freezing temperatures – the average teetering around 30 degrees so far.

The University of Minnesota Police Department said they have not noticed a significant trend in auto thefts on the large campus.

Vehicles are rarely stolen on campus since the majority of University parking areas are contracted or have a gate, UMPD Lieutenant Chuck Miner said. “[Thieves] would have to hassle with getting it out of a paid parking lot,” Miner said.

Although the University is nationally ranked low in public safety, car thieves are deterred from the bustling campus. The Marcy-Holmes neighborhood – amid an uptick in robberies – is much quieter and presents easier opportunities for cars to be stolen.

The increasing density of Marcy-Holmes and the high price of parking contracts have pushed residents to park on city streets, which are often poorly-lit and not frequently patrolled.

The neighborhood has

also seen a rapid growth in its student population, a fact that could help explain the increase in auto thefts. Students from rural or suburban hometowns may not know basic measures to prevent themselves from falling victim to crime in Minneapolis, Juarez said.

“Many drivers leave their keys or spare key in the center console, under the visor or under the seats,” Juarez said. Some car thieves are lured by valuables kept in the vehicles’ front seats, leading to an attempt to open a car door or trunk latch.

UMPD Chief Matt Clark said students should not worry if their car goes missing. It is not infrequent for thieves to steal a car and joyride around, Clark said.

These cars are typically found blocks away from where they were stolen and returned to the owner.

Clark said new technology, like GPS systems, makes it easier for police to track stolen vehicles, though older cars lack such technology.

While these technological advances may help retrieve stolen vehicles, adopting personal safety measures is the best deterrent, according to MPD. “It’s simple; just don’t leave your car running,” Juarez said.

DAILY FILE PHOTO

PHC President Kaela Juarez speaks to the Minnesota Daily on Friday, Nov. 17, 2017.

Political Greeks u from Page 1

organizations.

“We can definitely talk about these social issues within our programming,” said Kappa Alpha Psi President Malik Day. Day said the fraternity often hosts discussions about national and international issues, under the conditions that members and participants be respectful of others’ opinions in the process.

A few months ago, the fraternity hosted a discussion about Colin Kaepernick, an alum of Kappa Alpha Psi, and his kneeling during the national anthem.

Among National PanHellenic Council fraternities and sororities, NPHC President Samson Ghirmai said not all organizations agree on which national and international issues they will associate with.

In the Panhellenic Council, President Kaela Juarez said PHC sororities typically refrain from talking about political issues at

sponsored events or chapter meetings to make sure all members feel included.

But informally, sometimes members discuss politics among themselves or in the house, Juarez said.

Max Hurst, president of Delta Kappa Epsilon, said within his fraternity and across Greek life, organizations are diverse and made up of people with a variety of differing political viewpoints.

“You learn a lot by hearing from different perspectives,” Hurst said. “One of the things that I value about being in a chapter with guys with varying views is being able to learn from them, and getting a handle on what different people think.”

Hurst agreed that his fraternity tends to talk about politics informally, and not necessarily at formal events.

He said one of the values of Delta Kappa Epsilon is the promotion of active citizenship, which could translate to making sure members are politically informed and engaged.

In the past, Hurst said

“One of the things that I value about being in a chapter with guys with varying views is being able to learn from them, and getting a handle on what different people think.”

MAX HURST president of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity

members of his fraternity have gotten together to watch the presidential debates and the State of the Union, and many stay to discuss it informally afterwards.

“We’re all about having intellectual conversations and making sure everybody is well informed,” he said.

“There’s definitely ways where having those kinds of discussions can be really helpful for personal development or professional development.”

Residence hall student groups get funding for LaCroix, cereal, sushi Dorm groups u from Page 1

art materials and, most commonly, food.

After 303 groups were created its inaugural year, the program didn’t see the same turnout in the following years, averaging around 250 total groups each year from 2014-2017. This year, there are 353 groups — 91 more than last year.

HRL began the program to encourage students, especially freshmen, to make

new friends and pursue face-to-face interaction with peers, said Kristie Feist, assistant director of HRL. “We know when students don’t feel like they belong where they live, that doesn’t feel good. And that directly impacts whether or not they stay at the institution,” Feist added.

Some of these groups are focused on specific goals and issues, like a Red Cross club that organizes blood drives, but many are unorthodox, ranging from a

group dedicated to watching ABC’s “The Bachelor” while eating sushi to the Knights of Cereal, a club for cereal enthusiasts.

“I think it’s really nice, especially if you take advantage of it … I like it a lot because it fosters community,” said freshman Bridget Robertson. Robertson leads a club called Fruitful Studying, where she and her friends are given fruit to eat while studying together.

All clubs go through an application process, and, if

approved, are eligible for approximately $50-$150 of their hall’s student-paid room and board funds per semester, depending on the size of the group, the hall in which it is held and the amount of groups already created, Feist said.

“They make [applying] super easy. … To my knowledge, they’ll basically approve anything,” Kinneavy said.

This ease of accessibility is by design.

“We know every hoop that a student has to jump

through is another barrier to them actually completing the process,” Feist said.

This year’s interest spike is not the result of additional advertising of the program, but is possibly due to early adopters of the program influencing their peers, she said.

The residence hall-hosted student group system is relatively unique among universities. The system was developed to help students get involved on campus without much commitment, Feist said.

“[It’s] something that’s a little less risky, easier to get involved in because it’s directly where they live,” she said.

Although he recognizes the novelty of his group, Kinneavy believes these groups are important to the culture of the University.

“I think they just appreciate that people are spending time together and interacting with each other, which is kind of what the club’s about,” he said. “I say it’s a joke club, but really it’s the same as any other club.”

4

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Minnesota farm incomes drop for fifth straight year

NeurOwl u from Page 1

with caffeine.

“That’s something … core to our mission and our principles. Having everything that we do ... backed not only by one study, but cross-referenced by multiple medical journals, various doubleblind studies,” Koblas said.

The two business partners met and started NeurOwl as part of a seniorlevel course called entrepreneurship in action. Students use the first few months to generate business ideas before the class breaks into groups to work on their businesses.

A Carlson School of Management advisory board then critiques the business, challenging the goals and viability of its model to decide if it’s feasible or “a silly class project,” Koblas said.

Koblas and Sinha have m a rk e t e d t h e p ro d u c t through Facebook, promoting it as “caffeine without the crash” and a “simple alternative to a coffee or energy drink.”

When the two tell consumers that NeurOwl is

ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY

Students Andrew Koblas and Shoubhik Sinha discuss plans to distribute their product NeurOwl, which they began selling through their entrepreneurship in action course on Monday, April 9 at Carlson School of Management.

an alternative to Adderall, Koblas said it “really sparks a … big interest in the product.”

People who use Adderall can experience anxiety and depression, Koblas said, while NeurOwl users don’t report such symptoms.

“We want people to … question, at least think through the decision of taking Adderall and that there are other options out there for … staying up late … [and] being productive,” he said.

Dave Golden, director of public health and communi-

cations for Boynton Health, said campus Adderall abuse is a “significant problem,” and many students who take it do not need it.

Golden offered some alternatives to “study drugs,” citing sleep and stress management as most beneficial for cognitive performance.

Effective stress management can result in a higher GPA, he said.

“It’s those students that develop the skills to really manage their stress that seem to be a lot more successful,” Golden said.

200000

150000

100000

50000

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

0 2011

ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY

Students Andrew Koblas and Shoubhik Sinha created a business selling the supplement NeurOwl through their entrepreneurship in action course at the Carlson School of Management.

In line with national trends, farmers’ incomes in Minnesota dropped for the fifth straight year in 2017, according to recently released data from the University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota State.

The data shows that among all farm types, about one third of farmers lost net worth in 2017. A decrease in income has been a problem for farmers since about 2013, and because of overproduction, high cost of equipment and changes in the international agriculture market, experts say the situation will not improve anytime soon.

“Farmers came out of 2012 in strong financial shape after the Recession.

Since then, farmers have had the highest costs and are feeling the pinch. ...

Their net worth is slowly bleeding away,” said Extension economist Dale Nordquist.

On average, crop farm p ro f i t s f e l l n e a r l y 5 0 percent in 2017, to about $23,700. Profits decreased significantly for corn and soybeans, despite higher yields than the year before.

Livestock farms also saw income decreases, especially dairy farmers who are, on average, operating at a loss and considered to be under the most financial stress. Experts do not anticipate these farmers’ finances will improve next year, either.

Plunging incomes are caused by overproduction, expensive equipment and farming methods, Nordquist said.

The prices for agriculture products are either equal to or less than production costs, so farmers can’t make an adequate profit,

250000

2010

BY KATRINA PROSS kpross@mndaily.com

MEDIAN NET FARM INCOME, CONSTANT 2017 DOLLARS

2009

Crop farm profits fell nearly 50 percent from 2016 to 2017, to about $23,700.

2008

U students create Adderall alternative

SOURCE: MINNESOTA FARM BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION

said Ed Usset, a professor from the University’s Department of Applied Economics.

This decrease in income is not exclusive to Minnesota, and it is a significant national issue, Usset said.

Countries worldwide are producing large amounts of crops, so the U.S. is not the sole provider to other countries. Plus, worldwide supply has caught up to the demand for agricultural products, he said.

Now, experts expect farmers will encounter more financial stress because China has imposed tariffs on U.S. crops, like soybeans, Usset said.

A report from the United States Department of Agriculture predicts prices will continue to decrease nationally. Net farm income is expected to drop nearly seven percent from 2017, to about $59.5 billion, according to a February release analyzing data from earlier this year.

This would be the lowest net farm income level in dollars since 2006. Production expenses are also expected to rise in 2018 due to increases in fuel, oil, interest and hired labor, according to the USDA report.

However, some farming communities can adapt to the financial stress by expanding to industries outside agriculture, said Kent Olson, professor and associate dean for the University’s Extension Center for Community Vitality.

Some communities have invested in manufacturing and tourism in their area to rely less on agricultural products and diversify their economies, Olson said.

Still, this income decrease is affecting rural communities across the country and will continue to be a problem as trade relations intensify, Olson said.

The data collectors hope that this information will provide more awareness for farmers who are struggling nationwide.

“In the U.S., we take food for granted and don’t realize that food is produced by someone. Most people can’t imagine life without their smartphones, and it’s even harder to imagine the food shelves bare,” Usset said. ”If we can track this, we can know if our producers are profitable or not and if something can be done to help them.”

5

Sports

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018

SAILING

MN DAILY

MNDAILY.COM

BASEBALL

Patrick Fredrickson now a top pitcher with UMN

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Freshman Patrick Fredrickson pitches during the game against St. John’s University on Saturday, March 31 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

UMN’s freshman pitcher earned Big Ten pitcher of the week two times.

BY JACK WARRICK jwarrick@mndaily.com

The University of Minnesota sailing team prepares four sail boats for practice on Wayzata Bay.

EASTON GREEN, DAILY

Sailing club endures weather Sailing u from Page 1

Adkins said. “It’s hard to get people motivated to get out and practice, especially when there’s not a lot of space to be sailing. People think it’s pretty ridiculous that we’ve been sailing at all since its been snowing.”

The club team, however, is still able to compete in Midwest regattas during the cold weather.

The club recently competed in the Laker Showdown, an event in Holland, Michigan. They finished first in Division A after coming in ninth place at the same regatta a season ago.

The team competes in the

Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association, and it has since it joined in 1981. In 1998, Minnesota was reorganized as a club team.

Typically, sailors do two races in a row, which is called a set. Sophomore Cassandra Trask said, because of this, resilience is an important character trait sailors should have in all weather conditions.

“You have to make sure you don’t get frustrated,” Trask said. “If you have one bad set or one bad race, you can’t get frustrated with yourself or the other people on the boat because ... that would ruin your regatta for the rest of the day.”

The team practices at the Wayzata Community Sailing

Center. The center is about 16 miles away from Coffman Memorial Union. Once they’re there, they set up the boats on the lake and the team practices for a couple hours before driving back.

Adkins said she has been sailing since she was 10 years old. She runs the sailing program at Camp Olson YMCA in Longville, Minnesota where she learned the sport she still practices today.

“I wanted to be able to sail in college and see what that environment was like because it’s a cool thing that the U has that,” Adkins said.

“I emailed the coach and came to the first day of practice. I’ve been on the team ever since.”

Sophomore Owen Luter-

bach said he started sailing on lakes in Minneapolis in elementary school.

“I met a lot of great people that introduced me to the competitive team here [at Minnesota],” Luterbach said.

“We hang out together. It’s a lot of fun and my instant friend group.”

Minnesota competed in its first regatta in 1999.

Since then, the team has had to face the water in harsh conditions to race against other schools.

“It’s not the most comfortable thing, but it’s very Minnesotan,” Luterbach said. “It brings out our true character.”

Jack White contributed to this report.

As the cold weather provides postponements and cancellations on the Gophers’ season thus far, newcomer Patrick Fredrickson has been heating up on the mound.

After allowing five hits and one run in four innings in his last appearance against St. John’s, Fredrickson battled the elements and had his best performance of the season.

“It was a good bounce-back performance for myself,” Fredrickson said. “I had my curveball going yesterday, and it was one of the only times this year I could throw it for a strike most [of] the time, and that was important getting some guys out later in the game.”

Fredrickson’s appearance at the plate against Penn State earned him his second Big Ten Freshman of the Week award and his first Big Ten Pitcher of the Week accolade.

He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning with a careerhigh seven strikeouts. The Gophers would go on to take the victory over the Nittany Lions 17-2.

Minnesota has not had a player win the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Award since Toby Anderson took it on May 16, 2016.

“Gotta have talent first and foremost, which he does,” head coach John Anderson said. “I think the impressive part is his composure.”

Fredrickson leads Minnesota’s pitching staff with a 1.48 ERA through 42.2 innings pitched, boasting a 4-0 record. He has the most strikeouts with 38. The next most is junior Nick Lackney, who has 27.

Anderson described Fredrickson as a pitcher unfazed by any troubles he might be having.

“Nothing really bothers [Fredrickson]. In the dugout between innings, he’s talking to the guys, having

BASEBALL PREVIEW

MINNESOTA

VS

PURDUE

WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday WHEN: 12 p.m. Sunday WHERE: West Layafette, Indiana SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

“It’s probably been my best pitch so far this year, [I’m] able to get a lot of lefties out.”

PATRICK FREDRICKSON pitcher

conversations and debates just like he’s not even really in the game,” Anderson said. “He just finds a place, his happy place, where he’s comfortable.”

To get comfortable in his role as a college pitcher, Fredrickson had to change some things when he first started working with the team in the fall.

Fredrickson had his fastball and curveball locked down as solid pitches in his repertoire when he arrived on campus, but he couldn’t throw his changeup for a strike.

Now, however, he said his changeup has evolved into his best tool.

“I learned during the fall that I couldn’t just rely on two pitches, and that I had to learn how to throw a changeup for strikes,” Fredrickson said. “It’s probably been my best pitch so far this year, [I’m] able to get a lot of lefties out.”

Junior Reggie Meyer is the only Gophers pitcher who has pitched more than Fredrickson, with 43 innings tallying a 2.93 ERA. Meyer said Fredrickson has a confidence and control on the mound that he didn’t when he was just starting out in college. “[Fredrickson’s] got some really good control with all three of his pitches that he throws,” Meyer said. “And anytime you can do that, locate more than one or two pitches, you’re going to see a lot of success.”

SOFTBALL

Partain works well with children and softball team The Gophers’ lead off hitter wants to become a family therapist after U.

SOFTBALL PREVIEW

MINNESOTA

VS

IOWA

WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday

BY DREW COVE dcove@mndaily.com

WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday

The future for MaKenna Partain could go many ways, but working with kids will be part of the plan.

“I’m hoping to become a family therapist, more so work with children. I am also minoring in child psychology,” Partain said. “Hopefully [I’ll] be working with children, picking their brains a bit.”

Minnesota’s second baseman is a leader on the field, but her plans after college and softball go further than the game. Partain and the Gophers take on Iowa on the road starting Thursday in another three game Big Ten. The Banks, Oregon native said she’s always had a connection with kids and can communicate well with them.

On top of her interactions and affection for her younger cousins, Partain found a special relationship with a child

WHERE: Iowa City, Iowa

WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

close to the team.

The second baseman would drop everything to see pitching coach Piper Ritter’s daughter, she said, no matter what is happening at the time for her — in softball or in school.

“I love kids, like absolutely adore kids,” Partain said. “I’m just that type of person.”

The Minnesota athletics department puts on the annual HopeDay Festival, a community service event highlighted by student-athletes interacting with kids and families from the HopeKids organization. Partain, one of those student-athletes, said that’s the best volunteer event she gets to do with kids.

“Easily the coolest experience I’ve ever had,” Partain said. “All the teams will each

have stations and we’ll get to interact with all different types of kids and do all of these fun things with them.

It’s honestly one of the best days of the year.”

Partain hasn’t ruled out the possibility of coaching someday as well in the future.

Being a leader with kids can help her in her sport, too.

Partain said she helps encourage the teammates behind her in the batting order to get through their at-bats and play well overall.

“She’s always there for you, she always has your back,” catcher Kendyl Lindaman said. “That’s just a confidence booster for

everyone else on the team.”

Lindaman said Partain’s skillset is complete and is impactful on both offense and defense.

She is third on the team in batting average, hitting .352 and has missed only three games this year. She scored

28 runs so far, almost at a rate of one RBI per game. Partain also is second on the team in stolen bases, 7-8 on stolen base attempts this season.

Head coach Jamie Trachsel said, along with Lindaman, that Partain is calm and cool in demeanor.

Partain said she never likes to get too high or too low and can help the team with her even keel.

“She can do everything, especially as a lead off,” Trachsel said. “She can steal bases, so there’s not much more you could ask for.”

“She’s always there for you, she always has your back. That’s just a confidence booster for everyone else on the team.”

KENDYL LINDAMAN catcher

DAILY FILE PHOTO

Infielder MaKenna Partain swings during a game against Northwestern on Saturday, April 15, 2017 at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.

6

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018

MN DAILY

MNDAILY.COM

ART

Piranha plants, poultry and plenty more

ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY

Stephanie Finch’s phoenix made of all recycled materials, which won the grand prize, is displayed at the Art of Recycling Exhibition on Wednesday, April 11 at Coffman Union. The grand prize winner received a MacBook Pro.

The beauty of recycling takes on a whole new meaning with an annual University exhibit.

BY MARAYA KING mking@mndaily.com

Y

esterday, Coffman Great Hall was flooded with recycled materials come to life, a live band and free food for the annual Art of Recycling competition.

The contest, hosted by the Student Unions and Activities and sponsored

by Coca-Cola, required art pieces made entirely from recycled Coke materials.

Prizes include Gopher Gold gift cards from $50 to $500, and the grand prize, a Tablet Pro with pencil and keyboard.

Charlotte Elo, a member of the SUA’s Arts & Culture committee and one of this year’s judges, said the entrants are evaluated based on three principles: creativity, construction and their use of recycled CocaCola materials.

Megan Blooflat, a contestant majoring in architecture, said she spent over 14 hours on her Super Mario-themed piranha plant.

“I told my parents to stop drinking Mountain Dew

and start drinking Sprite,” Blooflat said with a chuckle. “My dad gave up after three weeks.”

Competitors Nels Shafer and Jinglun Li found alternative ways to gather supplies.

The pair went through recycling bins on campus to find cans of the exact shades they needed for their suspended, geometric “Elefante,” Shafer said.

Covered in Band-Aids, they admitted shaping and hot-gluing the aluminum was not only painstaking, but at times painful.

Jennifer Lachapelle, a recent transfer student,

held her own at the competition despite not being in the College of Design like the majority of the participants.

Lachapelle, an applied economics major, said she heard of the event before she came to the University of Minnesota.

“I love this type of stuff, I knew I was going to go hard on this project,” she said.

She worked for two months on her tree, or “giant broccoli,” as she said, which stands almost five feet tall, adorned with a birdhouse and bushels of “leaves.”

Also an employee of Comstock residence hall, Lachapelle said she went “racooning” to find her cans around the dorm.

The grand prize winners of the last two years each made a dress out of recycled materials, an idea that seems to be outdated at this year’s show.

Heidi Woelfle, graduate of the Design school, won in 2016 for her recycled dress, which she says took her only three hours.

Woelfle currently manages the Wearable Technology Lab in the College of Design. “We integrate technology into clothing-based

garments,” she said.

Erin Coyer, a senior studying biomedical engineering, won the grand prize last year for her dress, inspired by Woelfle’s.

“I have actually made a lot of dresses out of recycled products before; it’s an interesting hobby of mine,” Coyer said.

Tricia Schweitzer, an adviser for SUA, said this is one of the biggest art events for spring semester.

With Spring Jam and finals coming up, this is an excellent way for the students to give back and showcase their talents, she said.

MAGAZINES

The pink print — ‘Stories to Live’ Local art and literary magazine Paper Darts’ seventh print volume was released last week.

BY SOPHIE VILENSKY svilensky@mndaily.com

J

oan Didion once wrote, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”

Paper Darts, a literary magazine founded in Minneapolis, took this idea a step further — they added art.

“Stories To Live,” the seventh physical volume to come out of the Paper Darts universe, was released April 4, about a year after its previous counterpart.

“Each magazine is basically a short story collection, but by a bunch of different writers,” explained managing editor Alyssa Bluhm, a class of 2014 University of Minnesota graduate.

There are also interviews, poems and (so many!) illustrations.

Paper Darts was founded nine years ago

by University alumnae Meghan Murphy, Regan Smith and Jamie Millard.

Today, Murphy still works as editor-in-chief of the publication.

For this issue, Murphy directed her team, lovingly dubbed “the Octoladies” (we’ll get to that), with a specific Leslie Jamison quote: “No woman’s anger is an island.”

As made especially evident in their recent volume, the Paper Darts team searches for stories people can find themselves in.

Pieces from people who may not often be able to share their perspective are prized in the magazine’s canon — for many contributors, this is their first-time publishing.

“We only have three white men in this issue,” Bluhm said. “Three token white men.”

Of course, she says, Paper Darts’ stories aren’t always explicitly feminine.

But some are.

As an introduction to the Paper Darts universe, Bluhm recommends a piece from “Stories to Live” — “Good Girls” by Maryse Meijer.

The story is written from the perspective of a dog who follows a group of

girls around. The dog has hazy memories of his life as a man.

“It’s about gross feral instincts,” Bluhm said.

The Paper Darts team is made up of volunteers.

Besides Murphy, the group is spearheaded by an imaginary little lady that hangs out at the top of the magazine’s website — the Octolady.

“She’s our — I don’t want to say mascot — [ … ] our little constant lady that’s holding us together,” Marah Walker, the magazine’s social media coordinator and story editor, as well as a fourth-year English student at the University, said. “She inhabits the weird, bizarre stories that we publish.”

In its online life, Paper Darts is constantly providing new content — two or so stories a week is the goal.

For its print editions, the Octoladies curate a selection of work from the year that they “can’t imagine not seeing in print.”

Sold online and at select retailers nationwide

A&E EDITOR

RADIO K TOP 7

Gunthar Reising greising@mndaily.com

1. FRANKIE COSMOS, Apathy 2. SHOPPING, The Hype 3. RATBOYS, After School

COURTESY OF PAPER DARTS

(including Magers and Quinn in Uptown), the seventh print issue is wonderfully, explicitly pink. Inside and outside.

The cover features

work by Laura Callaghan.

On it, four women sit.

Three of them are holding men’s heads and the fourth holds a book.

Guess which one is

4. SUPERHEATER, Under My Skin 5. CURRENT JOYS, In A Year of 13 Moons 6. SOCCER MOMMY, Last Girl 7. SUPERORGANISM, The Prawn Song

smiling.

“Nothing in here is apolitical,” Walker said. “It’s all really charged, and I think that’s what’s important about it too.”

Thursday, April 12, 2018

CULTURE to CONSUME

7

FILM

By Sophie Vilensky

Listen to this: Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness Are you struggs to func?

That’s struggling to function in Jonathan Van Ness lingo.

The “Queer Eye” icon’s podcast features a new hot topic every week that the host is curious about. The opioid epidemic, the beautiful Antoni Porowski’s origin story, the Armenian genocide, Lizzo … all are discussed.

You know you were curious too!

Read this: Mary Oliver poetry Tell me everyone, what the heck are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?!

In a time of lingering seasonal depression and grayscale landscapes Mary Oliver’s poetry can be a bit of a saving grace. Bird songs, summer air and natural water features. Read me to sleep, Mary?

Follow this: @el_peego Laura Perlongo has been my best kept Instagram/Snapchat secret for about a year now (maybe not a secret, I show her feed to everyone). The New York/LA based artist is married to Nev Schulman of “Catfish” fame and posts a consistent stream of premium #content. Her toddler, Cleo, is the best. Just wait.

CULTURE COMPASS

By Sophie Vilensky

Friday Friday the 13th @ MPLS Tattoo Shop This Friday, Minneapolis Tattoo Shop will be having discount deals for their flash tattoos. If you’re not superstitious, then head down to choose from one of their flash designs for $31! Get there early though, the lines have been known to get long.

Where Minneapolis Tattoo Shop, 2211 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis Hours 11 A.M. — 8 P.M. Cost $31

DAILY FILE PHOTO

University alumnus Brady Knudson sells movie tickets at the St. Anthony Main Theatre on April 5, 2016. The theatre is one of the venues hosting the 37th annual Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival from April 12-28.

A guide to this year’s Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival See over 250 films from around the globe in about two weeks.

BY MADDY FOLSTEIN mfolstein@mndaily.com

T

only cinema can communicate,” said Peter Schilling, the publicity and outreach coordinator for the Film Society of

he 37th Annual Minneapolis St. Paul Interna-

Minneapolis-St. Paul.

tional Film Festival opens tonight. The festi-

This year’s festival will also celebrate the work of wom-

val will screen over 250 works of film through

en in film, with around 100 films directed by women screen-

April 28, including 150 features and 100 shorts.

ing throughout. “The opening and closing night films are

“The film festival really allows people to

also both directed by women,” Schilling said.

see movies from around the world and cultures in a way that

Do you have your festival schedule ready?

Saturday ‘Indoor Winter Market’ I’m not going to pretend this will be nearly as fun or exciting as a nice springtime farmers’ market would be. But it’s still important that we eat our produce. Over 40 local farmers, artists and food vendors will be present. Dumplings from Gorkha Palace, funky oatmeal from 3 Bear Oats … maybe waiting for summer fruits isn’t all bad.

Where 704 South 2nd St., Minneapolis Hours 10 A.M. – 1 P.M. Cost Free

Sunday Music at Bordertown This is Bordertown’s last livemusic event of the semester, so how are we just finding out about it? Save your busy work for Sunday and head over to the coffee shop for a little entertainment while you fill in study guides. The shop is also boasting new spring drinks — fingers crossed for lavender lattes!

Where Bordertown Coffee, 315 16th Ave. S.E., Minneapolis Hours 3 – 6 P.M. Cost Free

World Cinema

The festival’s focus on world cinema for 2018 is Chasms and Bridges: Cinema and the Search for Common Ground, which draws from films that examine global and ideological divides. “[Over 70] countries are represented in these films [so] people can really experience what the world has to offer cinematically,” Schilling said.

“Los Perros,” directed

by Chilean filmmaker Marcela Said, examines the aftermath of the Pinochet regime in Chile. In the film, Mariana, a wealthy woman, becomes increasingly interested in her riding instructor Juan, but slowly uncovers the human rights abuses he participated in years ago.

When: April 15 at 2:30 p.m., April 21 at 9:40 p.m. and April 24 at 4:40 p.m.

Where: St. Anthony Main Theatre “Our New President” is a Russian documentary that covers how President Donald Trump is viewed in Russia.

By combining clips from YouTube and Russian television, director Maxim Pozdorovkin tracks how propaganda influences the perception of reality.

When: April 14 at 5 p.m., April 18 at 9:15 p.m. and April 23 at 9:30 p.m.

Where: St. Anthony Main Theatre (April 14 and 18), Uptown Theatre (April 23)

Minnesota Made

Though the festival takes a global focus, it includes multiple screenings of films with a local connection.

Directed by Kathy Swanson and Vince O’Connell, “Farmer of the Year” is a narrative feature about Hap Anderson, an elderly farmer from Minnesota. Drawing from both comedy and drama, the film follows Anderson and his granddaughter, Ashley, on a cross-country road trip to his World War II reunion.

When: April 13 at 7 p.m., April 24 at 9:30 p.m.

Where: St. Anthony Main Theatre “Dodging Bullets” will be attended by directors Kathy Broere, Sarah Eds t ro m , J ona t h an T h under and Bob Trench who collaborated with Film North, a Twin Citiesbased organization that supports media artists.

The documentary feature examines how trauma throughout history influences Native Americans today.

Short Films

The festival will also screen short films, including documentary, experimental, animated and narrative cinema.

The shorts are screened in programs, which are grouped by themes like Art that Moves and Docs Unreal. Programmer Adam Loomis, who specializes in short films, is looking forward to works like the documentary short, “Standing Still | Still Standing.”

“It’s about a paraplegic yoga instructor who instructs others who are experiencing disability for the first time and tries to help them feel their bodies … which is super inspiring and really powerful,” Loomis said. “It’s also really special that it’s a local film, and the subject of the film is going to be there.”

W h e n : April 21, 11:40 a.m. (showing in Art that Moves II) Where: St. Anthony Main Theatre

Getting to the Festival

Engaging with the Festival

Screenings are held at the festival’s hub — the St. Anthony Main Theater — and across the Twin Cities, at the Capri Theater, the Uptown Theatre, Metro State University and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

The festival has partnered with Metro Transit this year to offer free transit tickets for festival audiences during the opening weekend. More information can be found at mspfilm.org.

“We really want people from all around town to get here as best they can but also in ways that are sustainable,” Schilling said. “This year, it’s probably even more pressing because, last year, people could … take a bike. But I have a feeling that won’t be the case on Thursday.”

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul also offers an app, which hosts the full festival schedule and additional information — search “Film Society of MSP” on the App Store or Google Play Store.

With such a wide variety of films to view at this year’s festival, programmers suggest exploring new genres throughout the two weeks of screenings.

“It’s such a huge list of films, but we have only four programmers working on the bulk of those,” Loomis said. “I can vouch for everybody that we all really care about what screens, and we are honestly looking for the best stuff we can find for this year. I’m confident that no matter what you choose, it will be interesting.”

What: Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival When: April 12-28 Cost: $8-14 for single tickets ($8 student tickets available at box office only)

When: April 16 at 7:00 p.m., April 19 at 6:45 p.m.

Where: St. Anthony Main Theatre (April 16), Metro State University (April 19)

Illustrations by Harry Steffenhagen

8

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Thursday, April 12, 2018

9

Police budgets stay level as others fall

Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Mike Kjos and UMPD Chief Matt Clark answer questions Tuesday, Jan. 30 after Rashad Bowman’s arrest at the Graduate Hotel.

Cop funding

Public safety’s needs are determined first at a unit level and then reviewed by administrators before going to finance.

The department’s budget for the current fiscal year is around $9.5 million, which has stayed relatively consistent in past years, though varying needs from year to year can impact the number.

In recent years, public safety has been granted additional funding for more officers, including a mental health officer, and a proposed expansion to the Transportation and Safety building, which currently houses the UMPD. The campus police currently has 53 sworn officers and two open positions. The number of officers has gone up incrementally since the department was established.

In order to determine the appropriate number of officers of the department, UMPD takes the University’s location, other public safety departments and student population into consideration, Berthelsen said.

He said there have been a number of incidents on or around campus that required collaboration with other police departments — like the recent Graduate Hotel standoff and protests at Lauren Southern’s event on campus.

UMPD collaborates

u from Page 1

the number of officers needed and the area that must be covered, which leaves little room for funding cuts.

“It’s very methodical.

You need a person there,” Berthelsen said. “You can’t find efficiencies like you could in another process.”

University of Minnesota Police Chief Matt Clark said, given the size of campus and the student body, the department wants to have a minimum of three patrol officers on call at any given time to respond to 911 calls. These officers are in addition to investigators and outreach officers.

“When we’re in full session on campus, we’re the fifth-largest city in the state.

To look at the amount of people and the size of the area, you have to have a 911 emergency response available for incidents on campus,” he said. “The minimum is three, and I wouldn’t want to reduce it any further.”

The University’s public safety department consists of the UMPD, its security division and emergency communications.

University administrators and members of public safety present their needs to the University’s finance department on an annual basis, most recently last fall.

TOTAL OFFICERS

Purdue

Wisconsin

University of Michigan

Michigan State

Nebraska

Maryland

Illinois

Indiana

University of Iowa

Ohio State

University of Minnesota

OVER HALF OF BIG TEN SCHOOLS’ OFFICER COUNTS MEET OR EXCEED STANDARDS

BIG TEN STANDARDS

*Rutgers University declined to release officer count through data requests. Pennsylvania State University declined to release officer counts as well.

SOURCE: MN DAILY REPORTING

with many of the metro police departments, but its most frequent partner is the Minneapolis Police Department.

“We are located in the City of Minneapolis. ... We don’t staff to be able to reply to a very significant issue on our own,” he said. “We have really good working relationships with the other police departments.”

There are also a number of security personnel within the public safety department that aren’t police officers that still contribute to public safety’s presence on campus, Berthelsen said, including programs like 624-WALK.

Around the Big Ten Across the Big Ten, schools use different metrics to determine the appropriate size of staff for their campus, including student population, collaboration with local departments and standards determined annually by the Big Ten’s law enforcement director.

These staffing standards recommend 1.3 sworn officers per every 1,000 undergraduate students.

Benjamin Hunter, superintendent of public safety at Indiana University, said the university’s Bloomington campus police department is seeking to increase its number of sworn officers from 40 to between 54 and 56 in the next five years, pointing to the Big Ten’s staffing standards.

“We’re understaffed for an institution our size,” Hunter said. “Statistically, if you look at FBI data and Big Ten data, we should be around 56 officers. So we’re constantly looking at that data when we put in budget requests.”

According to the standards, the University should have at least 41 officers.

However, while Berthelsen said these standards are taken into consideration, they are by no means the sole factor when the University looks at its staffing needs.

Of the eleven Big Ten schools the Minnesota Daily received data from, eight met the standards.

Like the University, the University of WisconsinMadison said it wants to avoid cutting any officer positions if at all possible.

But unlike Minnesota, Wisconsin has seen cuts to its police department budget in past years and was forced to reallocate spending in 2015.

Despite these cuts, the UW-Madison police

department did not need to cut any officers. Marc Lovicott, director of communications at UWPD, said the department was able to find creative ways to work around officer reductions, including cutting some security staff.

“When we were looking at our budget, it was important for us not to have a reduction in police officers,” he

said. “It was important for us to look for alternative ways to absorb some of the cuts.”

And while some schools across the Big Ten have seen cuts, Berthelsen said it is unlikely the University will follow suit. If anything, the department will continue to grow.

Currently, he said the department is in the process of filling the two positions,

DAILY FILE PHOTO

though it has no solid timeline.

“Incrementally, the institution has exempted public safety from many cuts to make sure we’re not going backwards at all,” Berthelsen said. ”We haven’t had giant shifts, but incrementally have added additional staff, and if I was guessing, that’s probably what I would guess for the future as well.”

10 THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018

MN DAILY

MNDAILY.COM

Editorials & Opinions

COLUMN

EDITORIAL

U shrugs off responsibility after student dies

MPD needs more training and diverse officers

University administrators haven’t been transparent after the death of Mitchell Hoenig.

Phi Gamma Delta fraternity member died in late February after a night of partying at a Gamma Phi Beta event.

In an article published in the Minnesota Daily last ELLEN SCHNEIDER week, the night columnist leading to Mitchell Hoenig’s death was laid out, as well as Greek life involvement in the unfortunate set of events.

However, what strikes me is not the night itself, but the weeks following.

After learning what had happened, I fully expected there to be an investigation and possibly a full-scale media frenzy. But the University of Minnesota was silent.

The media was silent. And any speculation as to what happened, and why, seemed to swept under the rug by University officials and brushed off by tight-lipped sorority girls.

It became quite clear that the priority of the University was not the safety of its students, or the preservation of a promising young man’s memory, but

keeping things quiet. The administration has a responsibility to us, as students, to thoroughly investigate these occurrences and to hold those involved accountable.

The lack of transparency and extreme effort in derailing any investigation into the night of Feb. 22 is quite telling as to their true motives.

The absence of any action, or even the threat of action, should be unnerving. There are stark differences in the way that this University handles misconduct within the Greek community and the way that other universities across the nation react. They do not have our best interest at heart.

When Timothy Piazza, a sophomore at Penn State, died as a result of hazing at a Beta Theta Pi initiation, the chapter was kicked off campus indefinitely. Penn State also hired monitors to do random checks, and imposed stricter rules concerning alcohol. When a Florida State University student died, all Greek life activities were suspended, and the organizations were prohibited from taking part in parties or tailgating at the school’s homecoming.

And yet, at our University, formals and other Greek life activities went on as if nothing had happened in the weekend following Hoenig’s death, and the only investigation into the Gamma Phi Beta date party was conducted by the sorority itself.

This can’t be tolerated.

I want to be clear, I do not blame the Greek community alone. It’s easy to point

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

COLUMN

A

SJP event on Palestine histor y unhelpful and misleading What is the best way to promote peace in the Middle East? Though the answer is not clear, it is certainly not spewing incorrect and anti-Semitic rhetoric to students on campus. On April 2, UMN’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine hosted an event titled “Palestine 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Palestine.” Based on the title and description, I thought the event’s aim was to educate students on Palestinian politics, history and culture. I was wrong.

The speaker, Russ Waletski, spent the first half of his lecture misrepresenting and attempting to debunk the Torah, the holiest book to the Jewish people, by cherry-picking quotes to disparage the values of Judaism. It was clear that his aim was to convince the audience that Jews have no connection to the land of Israel and that Zionism is antithetical to Judaism. Not only is this proclamation blatantly offensive and deeply hurtful to me and other Jewish students, but it is simply incorrect and ignores over 3,000 years of Jewish history. Zionism is not a new concept for American Jews.

The origins of modern Zionism date back to 1897 when Theodor Herzl founded the World Zionist Organization with the vision of securing a Jewish homeland in Israel. Furthermore, the notion that the land was given to the Jewish people after the Holocaust is demonstrably false; the Balfour Declaration of 1917 was the first official document in modern history that recognized the Jewish right to the land of Israel and predates the Holocaust. Jewish people have an indigenous status in this land and when speaking about Jewish history, this must be recognized.

An additional disturbing statement made by Waletski was his gross misrepresentation of Zionism. He claimed that Zionism is a new concept and that Jews returning to the land of Israel is a new phenomenon. This is a particularly insensitive statement. For 2,000 years of exile, Jews pray three times a day while facing Jerusalem, hoping for a return to the land of Israel.

This is simple proof that Jews and Judaism have a deep connection to and desire for this land. It is inappropriate to have a person inaccurately speak about Jewish history who is not a Jewish person or Jewish scholar in any sense. Just as our campus community should not accept such co-opting of another community’s history and identity, our campus should refuse to accept this bigotry toward the Jewish community.

Let me be clear: the Jewish people have and will always have a strong, undeniable connection to the land of Israel. SJP refuses to have dialogue and conversation with Jewish students on campus but continues to hold events that are factually inaccurate and misrepresent Judaism and the Jewish people. UMN SJP, I urge you to host events that focuses on your community, history and culture rather than speaking for mine.

If you truly care about the Palestinian struggle, this should be your top priority.

Instead, the student group plans events led by biased, misinformed individuals who spew anti-Semitic rhetoric.

It is disappointing that there was no mention of any path to peace or improvement of Palestinian conditions during the two-hour lecture, but rather a clear intention to target my people by declaring that “Jews introduced terror to Palestine, not Christians and Muslims.” This blatantly anti-Semitic rhetoric does not open discussion.

Instead, it drive our communities further apart. I reached out via email to SJP asking for an opportunity to voice my concerns about this event and received no response.

This letter has been lightly edited for clarity and style.

Maya Strohm is a junior at the University of Minnesota studying neuroscience. Shay Gilbert Burke is a junior studying management information systems.

a finger at them, as they have a particularly sordid reputation when it comes to partying on campus. But frankly, those behaviors are commonplace in most students’ college experiences. This easily could have been anyone of our fates. The difference, however, is that both organizations involved are University endorsed. They are bound to the University’s Code of Conduct.

The University’s responses to the Minnesota Daily, and to Hoenig’s demise itself, lack any empathy. The notion that our administration is ignorant to the excessive alcohol consumption and drug use that takes place at these events is tired and insincere. It’s time they take responsibility for the misconduct that goes on in the student groups that they sanction.

It’s no secret that some are disappointed and even appalled by the Daily’s decision to publish its article on Hoenig’s death last week. I, however, applaud them. The University has completely disregarded its responsibility to keeping students safe and regulating student groups, and if the Daily is the only entity that is going to hold them accountable for that, then so be it.

The fact that the Daily investigated and god forbid, reported on what happened was more than necessary. Somebody died.

Something should have been done.

Ellen Schneider welcomes comments at eschneider@mndaily.com.

The NFL’s cheerleader problem NFL cheerleaders work under terrible, sexist conditions and should be respected more.

A

N ew Orleans Saints cheerleader, Bailey Davis, was fired for uploading to Instagram what the organization considered too revealing of a photo. If you care to look up the photo UMA VENKATA and compare the imcolumnist modest nature of her attire to her cheerleading uniform, you may perceive a negligible difference. Perhaps I’m too far removed from the football scene, but Norman Rockwell’s wellcovered cheerleaders seem to have given way to sparkly bras, pseudo-skirts and not much in between. What this indicates is that Davis’ employer considers itself entitled to govern her dress on the job, which is expected, but also her personal dress, which most certainly is not.

In an important respect, here is where Davis and her colleagues find themselves in a catch-22. Davis’ Instagram upload was a way for her to advance her career in dance, where cheerleading can be a stepping stone. But if cheerleaders aren’t allowed to market themselves or their portfolios in a way that’s necessary for their particular field, then this restriction plus the four-year limit on their time with the Saints directly jeopardizes their careers — and their incomes.

At the mention of income, the floodgates can open to the newly publicized ills by NFL teams against their cheerleaders. Teams issue patronizing, denigrating handbooks and rules for their female cheerleaders, and have them pay for their own transportation, makeup and stylist appointments and uniforms. Teams prohibit their cheerleaders from contact with the players on the team that they cheer for, under the pretense of “protection from predators.” This

translates to the cheerleaders remaining constantly on their toes, leaving a restaurant when a player walks in and assuming responsibility to prevent contact if a player pursues them in person or follows them on social media. There are plenty of more invasive rules that dictate the minutiae of cheerleaders’ lives — which I highly recommend you read about — before we broach the topic of pay. (The Buffalo Jills’ handbook is a gold mine.)

In April of 2014, five Jills filed a lawsuit against the Bills and the NFL for, among other violations, remaining unpaid for hundreds of hours of game-day cheering, practice and outreach events. Other teams have managed to pay their cheerleaders, though it’s still an embarrassment. Most teams set a flat rate per game—and at the higher end of the range for that rate, the 49ers’ Gold Rush Girls are paid $125 per game, so $1,250 per season, or finally $2.75 per hour. While cheerleaders — roughly 35 per squad— receive a fraction of any given minimum wage, the lowest annual NFL player salary of the 2017-18 season was $2.07 million.

All of this matters because, frankly, cheerleaders are people too. Even concession stand workers make several times more than the cheerleaders’ hourly wage. If so many cheerleaders have stayed this long with so little pay and sickening harassment from drunk fans, there must be some reason that proves to them that they simply cannot advocate for themselves. In an industry that produced Ray Rice and others like him, a culture of female fear and silence is not altogether surprising.

Football players take home exorbitant salaries; how much would it hurt to redirect some of their pay to provide a living wage for cheerleaders? Why has the NFL lasted this long with such an attitude toward women? Do the fans, the ultimate deciding factor, care?

Fans, keep loving the game. But also know what happens on the sidelines.

Uma Venkata welcomes comments at uvenkata@mndaily.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Altering the personal exemption rules for vaccination

At the turn of the century, the United States declared measles eradicated from our country. Fast forward to 2017, when Minnesota experienced the largest outbreak of measles in 20 years. This outbreak cost Minnesota an estimated $1 million and approximately 90 percent of those infected by this outbreak were unvaccinated children. Only 60 percent of Minnesota children received all seven vaccinations as advised by the CDC, as compared to the national average of 75 percent. This is particularly alarming in the Somali community, where vaccination rates have been declining faster than in the non-Somali population, largely due to anti-vaccination efforts.

Last year, 1,968 Minnesotan kindergartners did not have all the vaccinations recommended by the CDC, and only 5 percent of these children were exempt for medical reasons. In Minnesota, parents can get a medical exemption for their children relatively easily. In addition to medical exemptions for people with conditions such as HIV or pediatric cancer that make vaccination dangerous, subsection 3 of the Health Standards for Immunizations of School Children of Minnesota allows parents to get an exemption by presenting a notarized note saying they do not wish for their children to be vaccinated.

Clearly, non-medical exemptions for vaccinating school children has led to the increased spread of preventable diseases in Minnesota. When children cannot be vaccinated due to medical conditions, the

concept of herd immunity helps protect those students by preventing the spread of disease by creating a high proportion of individuals who are immune to the disease. Other states, such as California, have passed laws that only allow medical exemptions for vaccination to increase the herd immunity and prevent infectious diseases from spreading.

The California Senate passed Bill 277, which outlawed personal belief medical exceptions after the 2015 Disneyland outbreak of measles that infected 159 people. Researchers from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill found that low vaccination rates exacerbated the spread of this disease. Since this law was enacted, the number of children who are unvaccinated has been cut in half. California’s cases of measles have decreased significantly since the 2015 outbreak, and can be largely attributed to the passing of this law.

The success of the California Senate Bill 277 shows that only allowing medical exemptions can be a positive contribution to the community. Minnesota legislation should consider an amendment or new law that bans personal belief exemptions. Our state is a leader in so many areas, especially healthcare, and we need to be on the forefront of protecting our children from preventable diseases.

This letter has been lightly edited for clarity and style.

Sarah Weatherman is a University of Minnesota graduate student pursuing a MBA.

A

mericans’ opinions toward the police remain heavily divided. The path to defeating police brutality, especially regarding race-based discrimination, is continuously debated across our nation and our campus.

The Minneapolis Police Department currently aims to build diversity within their precincts. The main demographic absent from the police force is women.

Only two out of the twenty upper level positions at the Minneapolis police department are held by women, according to a recent article in the Star Tribune. Attempting to adjust this gap, the department is creating recruiting tactics specifically catered to women, such as a video titled “Women of the MPD,” that was created to challenge stereotypes.

While many people will argue that “not all police are bad,” they fail to understand that racially charged police violence is a systemic issue.

Diversifying the police force will not significantly decrease the amount of police brutality. While bringing in more minority officers is a choice we would support, it should not be the only response to police brutality. In the fight against excessive force and racially targeted arrests, it is not enough to bring in officers that are the same skin color as the people most impacted by police brutality.

The problem is the institution of police.

While many people will argue that “not all police are bad,” they fail to understand that racially charged police violence is a systemic issue. Racial profiling and the criminalization of black Americans has remained unsolved since the abolishment of slavery in 1865. The entire policing system within our country is based on targeting black males and other minority groups. Resolving police brutality requires a revamp of the police system entirely.

While the MPD’s intentions are positive, bringing in more women is not enough to make a real change.

Our police departments need to work toward a real solution. Increasing diversity can help people feel safer. The demographic numbers in Ferguson, Missouri, a place often tied to the origins of the Black Lives Matter movement, were uneven.

Within the Ferguson department, 50 officers were white and only three were black.

This imbalance may have played a role in cases of police violence. Numbers like this are alarming and should be improved, but changes need to revolve around more than recruitment. The system of policing needs to change before more people’s lives are taken.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called for an enhanced police presence in downtown’s streets and, while he intends to adjust training methods of the officers, the increase of officers shouldn’t happen until training adjustments are made.

Otherwise, minorities in Minneapolis will still feel targeted. Ending the decades of senseless police killings requires a major change.

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

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

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11

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018

MN DAILY

MNDAILY.COM FOR RELEASE APRIL 12, 2018

HOROSCOPES Today’s Birthday (4/12): Shared prosperity is a recurring theme this year. Envision and create your dream career. Review, revise and plan for summer action, along with household renovation and family sweetness.

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle CROSSWORD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

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 6 — Slow down, and consider your long-term strategy. Keep advancing with regular, small steps. Persistence and determination can realize a dream.

Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is a 9 — Your workload could seem intense. Prioritize and delegate what you can. Don’t drop out self-care.

Eat and rest well to support your physical output.

Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is an 8 — Dream a dream of love. Talk about it with people you respect and admire. You’re making a good impression. Have fun together.

Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is an 8 — Someone nearby sure looks good. Dreams and fantasies no longer seem so crazy; follow the ones that feed your heart.

Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is an 8 — Continue doing the homework to prepare for a test. A professional dream appears within reach.

Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is an 8 — A renovation you’ve long dreamed about can come together. Get your family on board.

Beautify your home.

Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is a 7 — Visualize the perfect trip. Prepare for upcoming travels and studies. Learn about your destination to begin your discovery. Find a sweet deal.

Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is an 8 — Express your feelings in your words, art, music and poetry. Connect, collaborate and share what you’re coming up with.

Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is an 8 — Discuss financial details with your partner. Together, you can get much farther. Collaborate for shared benefit.

Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is a 9 — Follow a lucrative hunch. Put your love into your work, and profit. A plum assignment beckons.

Expenses could also be high. Go for balance.

Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is an 8 — Creative collaboration can flower and bloom. Brainstorm and visualize brilliant ideas and solutions with your partner.

Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is a 9 — You’re getting stronger. A personal dream appears available. Go for it! Make your move. Ask for what you want, and get it.

CLASSIFIEDS The Minnesota Daily must approve all ad copy and reserves the right to request text changes, reject or reclassify an ad. Advertisers are responsible for the truthfulness of their ads.

Advertisers are also subject to credit approval. Corrections are accepted until 2 p.m., Mon.-Fri., by calling 612627-4080. To cancel an ad, call 612-627- 4080.

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ACROSS 1 Jay-Z output 6 Reach great heights 10 Attempt 14 White house?

15 Fair 16 Bear in the heavens 17 Carnivores 19 Invite abbr.

20 Job application fig.

21 Hang around 22 “National Velvet” sister 24 Appliance needed for a hot bath 26 Got the ball rolling?

30 Smooth-talking 31 “60 Minutes” regular 32 Improvised jazz part 34 Element Prometheus stole from Olympus 38 Latvia and Lithuania, once 41 Harbinger of spring 42 “Beetle Bailey” dog 43 1990s-2000s skating champ Slutskaya 44 Davenport’s place 46 1974 hit with Spanish lyrics 47 2015 NFL controversy involving air pressure 52 Italy’s __ Coast 53 Like arf and meow 54 Hallucinogenic letters 57 “Pleeease?”

58 It consists of a couple of couples ... and, when divided differently, a hint to something hidden in 17-, 24-, 38- and 47-Across 61 Writer Shere 62 Avant-garde

4/12/18

By Bruce Haight

Last Issue’s Puzzle Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved Solved

63 Font flourish 64 “Regrettably ... ” 65 Grasps 66 Like horror films DOWN 1 What “nothin’ but net” shots don’t touch 2 Periods 3 Not leave things to chance 4 Foldable bed 5 Succeeds 6 Tuned to 7 Daisy variety 8 Car ad abbr.

9 Botanical source of vitamin C 10 Commuter’s cost 11 “Have a taste” 12 In harmony 13 Kiddie lit elephant 18 Somewhat 23 __ Taco 25 Lover of Shakespeare?

26 Sibilant “Yo!” 27 Its motto is “Industry” 28 “Cheerio!”

29 Jittery condition 32 Curriculum __: résumé

©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

33 Brief writer, briefly 35 Words before and after “what” 36 Dollars for quarters 37 Biblical twin 39 Good times for beachcombing 40 Indefatigable 45 Lummox 46 Lat. shortener 47 Russian country house

4/12/18

48 Online message 49 Crush rival 50 Overcharge but good 51 Chain known for roast beef 54 Actress __ Flynn Boyle 55 Show signs of life 56 Stand up to 59 Laudatory poem 60 Usual Hanukkah mo.

SUDOKU Last issue’s solution

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

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

4/12/2018 © 2018 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services.

All rights reserved.

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Thursday, April 12, 2018