CAMPUS JAZBA IS MIX OF CULTURE AND DANCE PAGE 5 MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018
EARLY WEEK
STUDENT GOVT.
The voters’ guide to the U elections
THE BOLLYWOOD-FUSION EVENT SOLD OUT THE ORPHEUM.
MNDAILY.COM
HOCKEY
U HEADS TO NCAAs
The all-campus elections start Monday and end Wednesday. BY ELIANA SCHREIBER eschreiber@mndaily.com
The University of Minnesota’s student government elections are March 5-7, and the following election guide includes all items on Monday’s ballot. Any undergraduate, graduate, professional or PSEO student who pays the student services fee can vote in the election, including those studying abroad, nondegreeseeking, part- or full-time students. The ballot will include the following: MSA President and Vice President Presidential candidate Dobbs DeCorsey and vice presidential candidate Larranz Guider are not a part of the Minnesota Student Association and hope to include more outside perspectives from non-MSA students. Both are active members of the University’s speech and debate team. Their platform is based on making MSA more inclusive and accessible. DeCorsey and Guider’s initiatives include low-sensory study lounges, more study spaces on the St. Paul campus, micro-aggression training and addressing Boynton Health mental health complaints. Presidential candidate Simran Mishra and vice presidential candidate Mina Kian have both held positions in MSA since their first year on campus. Specifically, Mishra and Kian want to increase resources for international students, set advisory boards for input from students u See ELECTIONS Page 2
HEALTH
Boynton sees jump in mental health visits About 13 percent of students who pay student service fees use the mental health resources.
MAX OSTENSO, DAILY
The Gophers celebrate their empty-net goal late in the third period to seal their victory in the WCHA championship game against Wisconsin at Ridder Arena on Sunday, March 4.
The Gophers defeated No. 1 Wisconsin to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.
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The Gophers celebrate their victory in the WCHA championship game against Wisconsin at Ridder Arena on Sunday, March 4.
BY MAX BIEGERT mbiegert@mndaily.com
Hockey sticks, gloves and helmets from Minnesota flew in the air as the players and coaches rushed to embrace each other, horn blaring to signify the end of the third period. In the moments during that celebration, thoughts of missing the NCAA tournament disappeared. No. 7 Minnesota (24-10-3) stunned No. 1 Wisconsin (30-4-2) 3-1 in the WCHA Final Faceoff Championship Sunday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Taylor Williamson, who is just six months removed from being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, scored the goahead goal in the second period. Goaltender Sidney Peters and the defense took care of the rest. Peters had her second consecutive game with more than 30 saves. She had 31 u See HOCKEY Page 4
BY MICHELLE GRIFFITH mgriffith@mndaily.com
Mental health visits at Boynton Health this semester are up 18 percent compared to the fall. Experts attribute the jump to increased openness about mental health and awareness of services on campus. As more students seek these services nationwide, some colleges have adapted their programming to keep up with the growing demand. “In college and university settings, students are actually coming in with an expectation that part of their educational experience will involve some variety of counseling or therapy,” said Gary Christenson, Boynton’s chief medical officer. For the last several years, demand for mental health services on campus has increased. Boynton’s Mental Health Clinic has seen a 20 percent increase in visitation numbers this year compared to last year at this time, Christenson said. While Boynton struggled to keep up with growing numbers of mental health patients in the past, resulting in long wait times for
MAX OSTENSO, DAILY
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STATE GOVT.
Bill could revise selection process for University of Minnesota Regents Legislators raised concerns over the current process, which some said leads to the wrong choices. BY MADELINE DENINGER mdeninger@mndaily.com
State lawmakers are reconsidering how members of the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents are elected. The House and Senate higher education committees heard presentations last week on the Regent Candidate Advisory Council’s role in the election process amid multiple bills introduced to the Legislature that would look to modify the RCAC’s role. The RCAC recommends candidates for each of the four vacancies on the Board of Regents to the Legislature every two years. A joint convention made up of lawmakers
from the House and Senate higher education committees also screen the candidates and later vote on the finalists. Bills introduced to both the House and Senate would modify the process. A bill introduced by Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville, chair of the Senate higher education committee, would amend current law to allow the RCAC to only make recommendations for the Board of Regents’ atlarge seats. State lawmakers would preside over the selection process for the Board of Regents’ congressional district seats. The bill will be heard in front of the Senate higher education committee on Thursday. Another bill, introduced in the House and Senate last session, would repeal the RCAC. Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, coauthored the house bill. He said the RCAC recommendation process is political and
does not always look for candidates to best serve the public’s interest. “I always looked at the regents as the premier public body that should … hold the University accountable for its actions,” Pelowski said. “And I don’t think that’s a type of regent that the Regent advisory council wants to put in place.” But Lois Josefson, vice chair of the RCAC, said at the Senate presentation that the process is inevitably political. “It’s a position of esteem, authority and direction for the state. That becomes political no matter what you do about it,” she said. While the Legislature has final say in the election process, the RCAC serves as a screening for candidates. University Regent Darrin Rosha said the current process requires candidates u See REGENTS Page 3
RESEARCH
University group looks to redesign firefighter gear to ease use by women Many of the uniforms’ staples are designed mostly for men, but this shows most in the gloves. BY KATRINA PROSS kpross@mndaily.com
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
Apparel studies senior Emily Seifert circles Apparel studies Ph.D. candidate Nokyeon Kim to complete a 3D scan of her hand at McNeal Hall on Feb. 27. The scanner, which runs off an iPad, makes a virtual 3D model of the subject to help create uniforms for occupations like firefighting.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota’s College of Design want to make clothing better suited for female firefighters. As part of the five-year study, the team is working to improve women’s firefighting gloves, which often don’t fit women’s hands correctly. The researchers hope their improvements will also help the fit of women’s clothing in other male-dominated careers. The researchers are conducting a pilot study of hand dynamics to analyze how to create the best fit for women’s gloves, said researcher Robin Carufel. The team will then begin to compare the hand patterns to determine how to best make gloves effective and comfortable. The team will soon begin attending conferences and speaking to female firefighters
in focus groups to get more information about their clothing needs, said lead researcher Linsey Griffin. Griffin said if departments want to recruit female firefighters, they must provide clothing that fits correctly, as this can be a barrier to safe and accurate work. For example, a chest strap can be painful across a woman’s chest, especially if she has larger breasts, and can lead to injury, Griffin said. Because careers like firefighting are dominated by male employees, the clothing is designed for men’s bodies and not women’s, Carufel said. Even if clothing is labeled “uni-sex,” it still often fits male bodies better, she said. “Clothing, like their gloves, [is] usually one size fits all, which is something you can’t have in an industry like this,” said researcher Emily Seifert. Minneapolis Fire Department Deputy Chief Melanie Rucker said in her 18 years of firefighting experience, women’s clothing has improved, but many articles still aren’t u See FIREFIGHTERS Page 3
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 44