January 9, 2018 by MSU Reporter

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Minnesota State University Mankato

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TUESDAY JANUARY 9, 2018

Cold temperatures got you feeling blue? These tips will help you beat the winter blues and keep your spirits up

MADISON DIEMERT Staff Writer Winter is well upon us and isn’t going away any time soon. That means it’s time to hunker down and stay as warm as you can, if you haven’t already been doing so. But with all this hiding from the cold weather, it’s not unsurprising if you’re feeling a little… blue. “Winter depression” is a real thing, and a lot of people experience it. Or, as it is more commonly called, the “winter blues.” This is when you’re feeling more down than usual during the winter months, but there is a way to beat this. Actually, there is more than one way, and if you’re someone who suffers

Photo by Alissa Thielges

from the winter blues, this is the article for you. Here are a few of my favorite ways to stay happy and content, even in the dead of winter: 1. Start a new series on Netflix (or whatever streaming service you use)

Getting invested in an entirely new story and world can distract you from the blistering winds around you. 2. Start a new book That is, if you like reading. This is similar with starting a new TV series. You can immerse yourself in a totally

different reality than your own and in doing so you can forget about the crappy weather for a minute. Bonus points if you read a book that takes place in a warm climate. 3. Start a new hobby This one might be a little

hard, but you could try anything from calligraphy to learning a new instrument. If you’ve got something lying around that you haven’t tried yet, now is the time to get on it. 4. Start a new tradition with friends For example, every Wednesday night last winter, my friends and I would get some food and go to a friend’s house. There, we would spend the night watching movies, listening to music, doing homework, anything to keep us busy. And it was better because we were together. You could try going to a restaurant once a week to meet up with friends, or even try a group Skype/ call if you are too far from each other to hangout. 5. If you’d rather embrace the cold weather than run away from it,

BLUES PAGE 2

Summer jobs and internships can boost your resume

MARJAN HUSSEIN Staff Writer The festive season has unfortunately come to an end, thus the time to get back into the swing of classes and focus on studies has begun. The different courses offered at Minnesota State University, Mankato aid in developing skills and sharpening students into well-rounded individuals, so they can bring their big ideas to life. The various courses however tend to focus mostly on issues from a theoretical standpoint. Learning different

TODAY’S FEATURED STORIES

concepts and understanding the material of a given course is essential, but it can only provide a piece of the pie. Acquiring prac tical experience, especially in today’s society, is vital for one to really make an impact in the job market. Internships along with job-related experience give an added advantage and provide one with valuable experience. Although summer may be some months away, it is never too early to start thinking about internships or jobs that could prove to be highly beneficial. Internships give one firsthand, real-life experience, adding value and allowing a student to put to work the various concepts learned in class. Internships are also a great way to build networks

and establish connections that will without a doubt be useful in the future. Internships have a plethora of benefits to students, one of them being that they provide

first look at the interns that happen to be conversant with the working of the company and would be willing to take the position. Internships also act as

“Internships also boost a student’s resume as an employer will see that they took the time to gain some experience in the field.” the opportunity for hire. Internships are excellent ways for one to get their foot in the door of an organization. Whenever a position opens in an organization, managers

the best way to try out a career and see whether it’s truly the best fit. Although some degrees may not have a mandatory requirement for students to complete

February off-year elections

Men’s basketball win big over break

Review: The Elf struggles with redundancy

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an internship, gaining experience from an internship gives good insight on the potential career pathway one plans to take. The internship or perhaps even part time job in relation to the degree in pursuit by a student enables them to make a clear decision on whether to continue or change pathways. Internships also boost a student’s resume as an employer will see that they took the time to gain some experience in the field. Students should also make the most of internships or part time jobs when they come about as it is a rare opportunity to make a mark on whatever industry

INTERNSHIPS PAGE 3

Have a story idea or a comment? EMAIL

News Editor Alissa Thielges alissa.thielges@mnsu.edu

2 • MSU Reporter

News

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

US hits record for costly weather disasters: $306 billion WASHINGTON (AP) — With three strong hurricanes, wildfires, hail, flooding, tornadoes and drought, the United States tallied a record high bill last year for weather disasters: $306 billion. The U.S. had 16 disasters last year with damage exceeding a billion dollars, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday. That ties 2011 for the number of billiondollar disasters, but the total cost blew past the previous record of $215 billion in 2005. Costs are adjusted for inflation and NOAA keeps track of billion-dollar weather disasters going back to 1980. Three of the five most expensive hurricanes in U.S. history hit last year. Hurricane Harvey, which caused massive flooding in Texas, cost $125 billion, second only to 2005’s Katrina, while Maria’s damage in Puerto Rico cost $90 billion, ranking third, NOAA said. Irma was $50 billion, mainly in Florida, for the fifth most expensive hurricane. Western wildfires fanned by heat racked up $18 billion in damage, triple the U.S. wildfire record, according to NOAA. Besides Texas, Florida

Photo courtesy of The Associated Press and Puerto Rico, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina all had more than $1 billion in damage from the 16 weather disasters in 2017. “While we have to be careful about knee-jerk cause-effect discussions, (many scientific studies) show that some of today’s extremes have climate change fingerprints on them,” said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd, a past president of the American

Meteorological Society. NOAA announced its figures at the society’s annual conference in Austin, Texas. The U.S. averages six of the billion-dollar weather

The increase in billiondollar weather disasters is likely a combination of more flooding, heat and storm surge from climate change along with other

“The weather agency also said that 2017 was the third hottest year in U.S. records for the Lower 48 states.” disasters each year, costing a bit more than $40 billion annually.

non-climate changes, such as where buildings are put, where people move and

how valuable their property is, said Deke Arndt, NOAA’s climate monitoring chief. “Perhaps it is time to mandate urban development in a more resilient and sustainable manner given the increasing frequency of weather extremes, especially along the nation’s coasts,” Susan Cutter, director of the University of South Carolina’s Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute, said in an email. The weather agency also said that 2017 was the third hottest year in U.S. records for the Lower 48 states with an annual temperature of 54.6 degrees (12.6 degrees Celsius) — 2.6 degrees warmer than the 20th century average . Only 2012 and 2016 were warmer. The five warmest years for the Lower 48 states have all happened since 2006. Arndt said the U.S. — which has had above normal annual temperatures for 21 straight years — is showing the same warming effects as the rest of the world. The burning of coal, oil and gas emits heat-trapping gases that change Earth’s climate. This was the third straight year that all 50 states had above average temperatures for the year.

Art exhibit by MNSU faculty member to be displayed at Conkling Gallery Jan. 8-29 Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato Associate Professor David Rogers’ art exhibit, “One Letter Leads to Another,” will be on display in Minnesota State Mankato’s Conkling Gallery (located in Nelson Hall 139) from Monday, Jan. 8 through Monday, Jan. 29. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Gallery

hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday as coverage permits. Please call 507-389-6412 to ensure the gallery is open. A gallery reception is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. in Conkling Gallery. Rogers is a faculty member in Minnesota State Mankato’s Depar tment of Art. Information on

BLUES

Continued from page 1 try winter activities like ice skating, ice fishing, sledding, skiing, snowboarding, etc. If you’re not totally into physically demanding activities, you could do things like watch Christmas lights or visit places that have ice sculptures. Again, there are a multitude of things you could try in order to keep your spirits up during the

winter. These are just a few ways I keep myself from becoming mopey and sad during Minnesota’s harshest months, and hopefully this list will help more people than just me. Keeping yourself busy and distracted from the cold, dreary environment really can do a lot for your mental health while you wait for the earth to warm up and the temperatures to rise. Here’s to summer!

his work is available at davidrogersdesign.com. In a preview of the exhibit, Rogers wrote that exhibit represents the various typebased projects he created during his 2016-17 sabbatical. “Letterforms and words have always played a vital role in my self-initiated projects,” Rogers wrote. “With this show I aim to highlight how one creative endeavor fuels

the next. In all, I’m exploring the shape of letters, the meanings of words, and how language is used to make sense of our lives.” For more information, call the Minnesota State Mankato Department of Art at 507389-6412. The complete 2017-2018 Conkling Gallery Schedule, list of artist residencies and lecture series is located at http://

w w w. m n s u.e d u /a r t d e p t / exhibitions.html. The Minnesota State Mankato Department of Art is part of the University’s College of Arts and Humanities. Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,712 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which comprises 31 state institutions.

WELCOME BACK

E N D TS! U T S

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

News

MSU Reporter • 3

JFK airport tries to catch up, vows to probe weekend of woes NEW YORK (AP) — Frazzled travelers snoozed on floors, and dozens of suitcases sat unclaimed as a welter of wintry problems — from a snowstorm to a burst water pipe — extended flight delays at Kennedy Airport into a fourth day Monday. The agency running the airport vowed to investigate the fiasco. Andrea Collavo and his girlfriend were supposed to fly home to Italy on Friday after a vacation in the U.S. but still were trying to get into the air Monday. They had spent days shuttling back and forth to hotels, waiting in a terminal, calling airlines and finally boarding a plane Sunday only to have it spend two hours on the tarmac and then turn back because of an equipment problem, a frustrated Collavo said. “I can understand: Yeah, it’s a mess because of the weather. But it seems that they’re not very well organized,” he said. “There’s a big lack of information.” More than 115 flights of the day’s roughly 600 were canceled, and about 100 were delayed at one of the nation’s busiest airports. And the weather brought a bit more freezing rain, sleet and snow Monday night. “What happened over the weekend was a completely

unacceptable performance,” said Rick Cotton, executive director of Kennedy Airport’s owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He pledged to bring in outside experts and investigators to dissect the breakdowns and improve communication and contingency plans. “We intend to identify what went wrong, why it went wrong ... and we intend to fix it,” Cotton said. As officials hoped to get the airport back in order, Mariani Silva hoped to get out of it. She’d spent the night at Kennedy after arriving around 7 p.m. Sunday for her flight home to Brazil. “I’m trying to go back to Sao Paulo since yesterday, and I’m still in the airport, sitting on the ground,” she said, hoping to get on a plane Monday evening. Other passengers tried to get hold of their luggage. At points, scores of suitcases were lined up in cordonedoff areas without their owners. Cotton said the Port Authority had told airlines and the companies that run terminals to get bags and passengers back together fast. The trouble began when a winter storm blasted New York and snarled air travel on Thursday. As the skies cleared, unusually cold weather shot

Former U.S. Foreign Service Officer Tom Hanson to speak at MNSU Jan. 13 Mankato, Minn. – Tom Hanson, who spent 25 years as a U.S. foreign service officer, will give a presentation titled “The U.S. Election and its Effect on U.S. Foreign Policy” Saturday, Jan. 13 from 1-3 p.m. at Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Ostrander Auditorium, located on campus in Centennial Student Union. The event is free and open to the community, and free parking is available in the Visitor’s Lot across the street from Centennial Student Union – one block north of Stadium Road and Ellis Avenue. Hanson’s presentation at Minnesota State Mankato follows his speaking at foreign policy conferences in Europe in recent weeks. He has spoken in Mankato on foreign policy previously during the past three years. The audience is encouraged to be involved

in a question and answer session after his address. Hanson is a worldwide speaker on the state of the world. He is a 25-year veteran of Foreign Service, having served in East Germany, France, Norway, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and Mongolia. He also served on Foreign Relations Committees in both the U.S. House and Senate and was director for NATO and European Affairs at the Atlantic Council of the United States. He is currently a Diplomat in Residence at the Royal D. Alworth Jr. Institute for International Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth. More information about Hanson’s presentation is available on the Mankato Area Lifelong Learners website. Those with questions may call 507-389-2011 or email lifelonglearners@mnsu.edu.

in, creating what the airport operating agency called a cascade of problems over the weekend. Temperatures around the airport were in the teens and single digits Saturday and Sunday, hitting just 4 degrees around 8 a.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Frozen equipment, luggage-handling problems and staff shortages slowed down operations on the ground. As flights got backlogged, gates clogged up, and some arriving passengers waited on the tarmac for hours and ended up being bused to terminals. Other flights were diverted. One plane even clipped another outside a terminal amid the difficult conditions early Saturday.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many passenger-filled planes at JFK sat on the ground long enough to risk a possible U.S. Department of Transportation fine. The threshold is more than three hours for a domestic flight and four for an international one. Then, around 2 p.m. Sunday, a water pipe broke . About 3 inches (8 centimeters) of water gushed onto the floor of Terminal 4, suspending its international flight arrivals for a few hours. The terminal was completely up and running again four hours later, and flights resumed normal operations by 9:45 p.m., according to JFK International Air Terminal LLC, the company that runs

the terminal. Cotton blamed the weekend of woes primarily on poor communication between international airlines and terminal operating companies. Brian Kelly, CEO of The Points Guy travel website, pointed to rocky coordination among the different companies that run the airport’s terminals. They’re independent of each other, and that can make it difficult, if not impossible, for an airline operating at one terminal to find a gate at another. “I didn’t think JFK could one-up itself, but it certainly did,” Kelly said. “They need to get all the terminals working together because this can’t happen again.”

INTERNSHIPS

Continued from page 1 one intends to venture into. Internships offer the possibility for growth and learning while on the job. While on an internship, a student should set out to learn as much as they can while employed with that company. Making a good impression and being efficient in one’s work is imperative as the internship or job may act as a bridge to go further

in an individual’s career trajectory. Internships or jobs will undoubtedly have a substantial impact on a student’s college experience if they choose to seize the opportunity. Some internships may prove difficult while others may be in line with an individual’s interests. Either way, the internships act as the ideal platform that

enables a student to see what the real world is about and gain the feeling of what it would be like to work in the job they truly desire. Internships are one of the best learning experiences any college student can get and act as the perfect appetizer right before the main course that is working in the real world.

Meet Bus Driver Bernie Steinhauer

Bernie Steinhauer has two years of service with the City of Mankato Greater Mankato Transit System. He also served in the U.S. Navy for 30 years as a master chief. He works as a team with other bus drivers to help customers arrive on time at their destination. Ride the bus with us—it’s your destination on time. For more information about bus routes or times call (507) 625-RIDE (7433) or 311. mankatomn.gov

4 • MSU Reporter

Tuesday, January 9, 2018 EMAIL THE EDITOR IN CHIEF:

One writer has a reason for hope this election February off-year elections will impact many prominent issues

Opinion

GABE HEWITT

gabriel.hewitt@mnsu.edu OR AT reporter-editor@mnsu.edu

SPRING FALL 2015 2018 EDITOR IN IN CHIEF: CHIEF: EDITOR Gabe Hewitt ........................389-5454 Rae Frame ............................389-5454 NEWS EDITOR: NEWS EDITOR: ÃÃ>Ê/ i }iÃ .....................389-5450 Nicole Schmidt......................389-5450 SPORTS EDITOR: SPORTS EDITOR: iÛ Ê ÀLi ....................................... Luke Lonien ...........................389-5227 A&E EDITOR: Caleb Holldorf .................................... VARIETY EDITOR: Matthew Eberline .................. 389-5157 ADVERTISING SALES: /À>Û ÃÊ iÞiÀ ........................389-5097 ADVERTISING SALES: ReedBoehmer Seifert ......................... 389-5451 Mac .......................389-5097 Brandon Poliszuk ...................389-5453 Lucas Riha ........................... 389-1063 Josh Crew .............................389-5451 Carter Olsen ........................389-5453 Jacob Wyffels ....................... 389-6765 iÊ } Õ ............................. 389-6765

BILL HAMM Staff Writer How will you face the latest Minnesota leadership crisis? Two national senators and one governor to elect in an off-year election. The Bernie movement at a make or break point two years ahead of the next presidential election, and much division among competing Bernie efforts. Cannabis in crisis over Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ threats to attack the legalization of marijuana and new Trumpism every day bring rage and despair; what will you do? As a political enthusiast and organizer, there is no path but forward as we know what we want to leave behind. The opportunity and enthusiasm for change hasn’t been greater since the 1960s. Will you be a part of it? For many of you this will be your first experience at political involvement; for many more it will be the continuation of the effort to elect Bernie or Trump. There has seldom been more incentive to stand up and be heard. This is the opportunity of your lifetime to become

Photo courtesy of The Associated Press

part of the change that will happen, with or without your presence. If you don’t participate, you will wish you had. From publicly-funded higher education and college debt forgiveness, to social justice and racial equality, we have many reasons to stand and demand that our voices be heard. From the highest childhood poverty rate of any industrialized nation to the worst healthcare system, we have a lot to fix in America. After nearly 50 years of stagnating wages and vastly reduced spending power that have undermined our living standard, we have no place to go but to demand better. The political arena is moving toward change, but our presence and input is needed to ensure that

Pulse

change favors the majority not an elitist minority. Will we secure living wages and universal income in a future where increasing automation is stealing so many jobs? With every setback comes the potential for innovation and change. Infrastructure and the repair of environmental degradation hold great potential for future employment. Education and innovation are the building blocks that must be utilized to fight our way back from the disparity and hopelessness that surround us in society today. We have only to look at suicide rates, addiction rates, homelessness, and poverty rates to see that helping others will be a major component of putting Americas future back on a sustainable path. There is no shortage of willingness

to meet this challenge in the young adults of today either, and for this reason I hold highest hopes for our future. Political caucuses will be held Tuesday, Feb. 6th. Your presence and voice are needed to push for the changes we all need. To that end I, and others, will be helping you prepare with caucus training, resolution building and exchanges, petition drives, and legislative debates. You may join with those of us promoting and presenting this information or just attend so that you too will be more effective in your efforts toward change, as change we must. Politics only evolves when the demand for change is loud enough to be taken seriously. How loud will you be?

“What class are you looking forward to most this semester?”

NICHOLAS EARP, CIVIL ENGINEERING

JOE NELSON, ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

SAMBRIDI PRADHAN, BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

“Intro to Geology.”

“Field experience.”

“Introduction to LGBT.”

BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER: MANAGER: Jane 389-1926 Jane Tastad Tastad........................... .......................... 389-1926 AD. DESIGN/PROD. DESIGN/PRODUCTION AD. MGR.: MGR.: Dana Clark Clark........................... .......................... 389-2793 Dana

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Compiled by Cassidy Dahl

ASHA CHAUDHARY, COMPUTER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

JOCELYN ROTHMEIER, URBAN AND REGIONAL STUDIES

“Introduction to Theater.”

“Trigonometry.”

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

MSU Reporter â&#x20AC;¢ 5

6 • MSU Reporter

News

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Democrats move to offense on health care; seek ‘big ideas’ WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are shifting to offense on health care, emboldened by successes in defending the Affordable Care Act. They say their ultimate goal is a government guarantee of affordable coverage for all. With Republicans unable to agree on their vision, Democrats are debating ideas that range from single-payer, government-run care for all, to new insurance options anchored in popular programs like Medicare or Medicaid. There’s also widespread support for authorizing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, an idea once advocated by candidate Donald Trump, which has languished since he was elected president. Democrats are hoping to winnow down options during the 2018 campaign season, providing clarity for their 2020 presidential candidate. In polls, health care remains a top priority,

and that’s expected to lead to higher premiums in 2019. But bipartisan legislation to stabilize insurance markets doesn’t seem to be getting traction. Obama’s former health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, says she sees Democrats reclaiming a core belief that health care should be a right guaranteed under law. “Coverage for all is as much of an organizing principle for Democrats as eliminating Obamacare is for Republicans,” said Sebelius. “But it turned out that (Republicans) didn’t have any idea what that meant. I think Democrats have a much clearer vision.” Time will tell. Here’s a sample of ideas under debate by Democrats and others on the political left: —Medicare for All: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders made single-payer, government-run health care the cornerstone of his campaign for the 2016 Democratic presidential

Photo courtesy of The Associated Press

empowered to negotiate prescription drug prices. Medicare-X would be available as an option through HealthCare.gov and state health insurance markets. Enrollees could receive financial assistance for premiums and copays through the Obama health

Photo courtesy of The Associated Press

particularly for Democrats and independents. “We’re tired of just playing defense,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the party’s 2016 vice presidential candidate. “It is now time to talk about the next big idea. It is a good time for everybody to put their big ideas on the table.” His offering: “Medicare-X,” a new public insurance plan using the government’s marquee health care brand. Rising Democratic ambitions come as a cloud of uncertainty lingers over former President Barack Obama’s health law. While major provisions have survived the GOP onslaught, some Republicans are vowing to go for repeal again. Congress has ended the health law’s requirement that most people get coverage,

nomination. It remains the most talked-about health care idea on the left. Financing would be funneled through the tax system. Individuals wouldn’t have to worry about deductibles, copays or narrow provider networks. Although state-level attempts to enact single-payer care have foundered because of the large tax increases needed, about one-third of Sanders’ Democratic colleagues in the Senate are co-sponsoring his latest bill. —Medicare-X: The legislation from Sens. Kaine, and Michael Bennet, D-Col., would allow individuals in communities lacking insurer competition to buy into a new public plan built on Medicare’s provider network and reimbursement rates. Medicare would be

law. Eventually, Medicare-X would be offered everywhere for individuals and small businesses. —Medicare Part E: Yale University political scientist Jacob Hacker has proposed a new public health insurance plan based on Medicare, for people who don’t have access to job-based coverage meeting certain standards. It would be financed partly with taxes on companies that don’t provide insurance. Consumers would pay income-based premiums. Hospitals and doctors would be reimbursed based on Medicare rates, generally lower than what private insurance pays. “The crucial part of this is that you have guaranteed health insurance, just like you have guaranteed

Medicare or Social Security,” said Hacker. He’s working with Democrats in Congress to turn the concept into legislation. —Medicare at 55: Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has introduced a bill that would let older adults buy into Medicare starting at age 55. Enrollees would be eligible for subsidies under Obama’s law. They’d also have the option of picking a plan through Medicare Advantage, which offers private insurance options. —Medicaid Buy-In: Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., have introduced legislation that would allow states to open their Medicaid programs up to people willing to pay premiums. Although Medicaid started out as insurance for the poor, it has grown to cover about 75 million people, making it the largest government health program. Expect more ideas as the year unfolds, said Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and a former top

aide to Obama as well as Hillary Clinton. “Almost every Democrat is talking about truly universal health care,” said Tanden. Some Republicans are taking note. In a recent floor speech, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Democrats “think they have good ideas and they’re just proven wrong by the facts.” Barrasso aimed his criticism at Sanders’ single-payer plan. “Democrats who are pushing for a Washington takeover of America’s health care are still not coming clean about the rationing of care that it would cause,” he said. But in Sanders’ home state of Vermont, primary care physician Dr. Deborah Richter says she believes it’s only a matter of time before the Unites States adopts singlepayer. Activists who failed in an earlier attempt in the state are now focused on passing a plan that would cover just primary care. “I think the next election will be a move to the left,” said Richter. “I feel it might be possible for us to do it in phases.”

MSUM STUDENTS, FACULTY & STAFF Mankato Area Lifelong Learners presents a FREE community event, Saturday, January 13th at 1:00 p.m. Ostrander Auditorium in the Centennial Student Union. A question and answer session will follow. The presentation will feature Tom Hanson, a 25-year U.S. Foreign Service diplomat, and a worldwide speaker. His topic is the U.S. Election and its effect on U.S. Foreign Policy. Hanson is Diplomat in Residence at Alworth Institute for International Affairs at UMDuluth. He is chair of Minnesota Committee on Foreign Relations and co-chair of the ChinaAsia Business Association. He comes to Mankato from a recent weeks-long speaking tour to the U.K., central Europe, Georgia and the Ukraine. COME AND LEARN!

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

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Minnesota Vikings in line to make deep playoff run

The Vikings playoff journey begins this Sunday against Brees and the Saints

COLTON MOLESKY Staff Writer For the first time since 1998, the Vikings reached 13 victories in a season, closing out a successful 2017 year with a 23-10 win over the Chicago Bears during Week 17. This team is the second unit in franchise history to hit the 13-win mark for the season. Not only did they rebound as a unit this year, after suffering from a disappointing 8-8 season last year, but also an injury riddled start to the 2017 campaign. “The last five years, in the NFC, one of the two teams who had the first-round bye in the playoffs represented the conference in the Super Bowl, so it’s big,” said head coach Mike Zimmer on get-

ting the second seed, shortly after the Vikings win over the Bears. “Being the number one defense is a big achievement and they’re impressive marks. But you cannot do that if your offense isn’t running the football and you can’t do that if your defense is out there all the time. It’s a nice stat for the defense and these guys take a lot of pride in it but this is about the team, so whatever records the defense sets or the offense sets, it’s about the team. After the Vikings defeated the Bears last Sunday at home, the 13-3 Vikings have now secured home field advantage, and a first round bye in the playoffs, which seems now even more meaningful after the unfortunate injury to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Carson Wentz, who was an MVP favorite this season for the number one-seeded Eagles in the NFC before tearing his ACL. With the star in the city of brotherly love going down, the road to the Super Bowl could very well

end up going through Minneapolis, MN. The Vikings, who already boast the number one total defense in football, allowing a slim 15.8 points per game, now have the comfort of playing at home. Despite the injuries to their own key players, such as starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, and rookie starting running back, Dalvin Cook, the team weathered through the adversity, shaking off setbacks that could have derailed a lesser team, with players like quarterback Case Keenum and running backs Jerick McKinnon & Latavius Murray stepping up to play. “We have a lot of guys that can make a lot of plays, throughout every phase, from wide receiver to tight end to running back,” said wide receiver Stefon Diggs after the season conclusion. Adam Thielen and him have been a solid core for an offense with plenty of turnover this year. “It’s a grind for us every day, if people want to

Photo courtesy of The Associated Press

sleep on us, let them sleep.” It has all culminated into what could be a historic run in the postseason, as the Vikings have a shot at being the only team to play a home game in the Super Bowl in NFL history. Now the regular season stamina has to push this team through the playoffs. The road to the Super Bowl starts this weekend for

the Minnesota Vikings, as they face off against the number four-seeded New Orleans Saints, who are coming into this game red-hot, coming off a huge win against the Carolina Panthers. These two powerhouse teams will play this Sunday at 3:40 CT, in what’s shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the year.

Men’s hockey win two more vs. Alaska Anchorage

The MSU men’s hockey team wins two more games to bring their record to 16-6

COLTON MOLESKY Staff Writer The 16-6 Minnesota State Mavericks have won three consecutive games following a road trip sweep of the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. In both games, a decisive offense sealed the games for the Mavericks. The game was all about the third period, with MSU going down early in the first period. They trailed throughout the period but solid defense and a Parker Tuomie goal evened the game at 1-1. After another goal in the third period for the Seawolves, which was the second time they would trail during the game, the Mavericks put on a

clinic. The Mavericks stormed back on a four-goal fury that gave the Mavericks a dominant 5-2 victory. “Every time we came up here over the years, they’re tough points to get, if you can get them,” said Mavericks head coach Mike Hastings after the opening game. “We had big plays by C.J. and Marc to get us a lead, which we definitely needed. Jason Pawloski did a good job, and we didn’t give him a lot of help on the first goal, but I liked the way our guys stuck with it.” The heroics of the offense is what stole the headlines, with 38 shots on goal. However, goaltender Jason Pawloski was able to buckle down in the second period, and a majority of the third to keep the Mavericks in the game despite trailing twice during the game. During the second game for the Mavericks against the Seawolves, it was all offense

for the Mavericks yet again. They racked up 46 shots on goal compared to the Seawolves 11 shots. One of the best scoring freshman in the country, Jake Jaremko, netted the opening goal to give the Mavericks the early lead, which was short lived, as Seawolves Jordan Xavier tied the game up in the opening period. “I liked our star, and we really played a complete game, our power play was the difference,” said Hastings after game two, when the Mavericks went 3-of-5 on the power play. “The power play was great, but our group as a whole finished the game really well, I thought we went out in the third period and didn’t really take chances but still played offense, and finished well.” In the second period is when MSU really started to pull away, with goals from Marc Michaelis and Tuomie snagged goals to go up a

Photo courtesy of David Bassey

commanding 3-1. The game was cleaned up in the final period with a last goal from C.J. Suess to find a short-handed goal. A 4-1 win was the only way to conclude a weekend in which the Mavs outscored Anchorage 9-3. The Mavericks have put together a truly impressive series of offensive performances, with three consecutive wins. They have also

gone 7-1 since their loss to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, outscoring opponents 38-12 in that span. The offensive turnaround has been tremendous for the Mavs, which has been the biggest difference in the Mavericks season. The Mavericks will now play a two-game series against the Alaska Nanooks in Fairbanks, AK beginning on Friday.

10 • MSU Reporter

Sports

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Men’s basketball crank it up over break

JAKE RINEHART Staff Writer The Minnesota State Mavericks Men’s Basketball team has been on a roll since winter break began. Since classes ended on Dec. 8, the team has posted a 7-1 record. The Mavericks started the holiday break with a pair of road wins against the Winona State Warriors and the Upper Iowa Peacocks. Carlos Anderson had a season high in points against Winona State, when he scored 22 points off the bench. What was impressive about Anderson’s performance was that he shot a perfect 10-for10 from the free-throw line, while going 6-for-11 from the field. Anderson finished the game with 22 points while playing 24 minutes. Chris Kendrix also had a great night against the Warriors. Kendrix had a fantastic shooting night, going 5-6

Photo by Mansoor Ahmad

on field goals, including 4-5 from three-point range. Kendrix scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on the night, making this the first time in Kendrix’s fouryear collegiate career that he recorded a double-double. Kendrix spent the last three seasons playing for the Missouri State Bears before transferring to Mankato in the fall of 2017. The Mavericks beat the Warriors in a NSIC match-up

by a final score of 83-72. Just one day later, Kendrix had another night to remember against the Upper Iowa Peacocks. Kendrix ended this game with 11 points and 11 rebounds in a total of 32 minutes for the Mavericks. This is the second double-double in Kendrix’s career, as well as the second in two games. Kevin Krieger almost joined the double-double club in Fayette as well. Krieger, who played a game-high

40 minutes in this game, finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds. The Mavericks were able to hold onto an 86-83 win against Upper Iowa. The Peacocks had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but could not convert on the threepoint attempt with three seconds left. Minnesota State moved to a perfect 4-0 in-conference record and a 7-2 overall record with the victory in Fay-

ette. Five days later, the Mavericks were back in Mankato to begin their holiday homestand. The Mavericks would not play a road game until January 5, when they travel to Sioux Falls to face-off against Augustana. On Dec. 16, the Mavs hosted the Concordia-St. Paul Bears at the Taylor Center. The Mavericks came away with a 93-68 win in a great team effort. Chris Kendrix led the way for the Mavs with a team-high 17 points and 8 rebounds. Carlos Anderson had another impressive game off the bench for MSU, contributing 15 points in only 15 minutes. The Mavericks led the Bears for the entirety of the game. The Bears had an impressive performance from Avan Ward, who came off the bench for Concordia. Ward only played 24 minutes for the Bears, but ended up scoring a game-high 27 points. The Mavericks not only got the win, but also were glad to have freshman point-guard

BASKETBALL PAGE 12

MSU wrestling take split at Maverick Duals

KEVIN KORBEL Sports Editor Minnesota State wrestling was at home this weekend, as they faced off against both Central Missouri and UWParkside in Mankato. The Minnesota State wrestling team made it look very easy against Central Missouri, and then ran into a bit of trouble getting points points on the board against UWParkside, finishing 1-1 at the Maverick Duals Saturday afternoon. The Mavericks got out to a quick start in their dual against the Central Missouri Mules. Minnesota State rattled off five straight victories to get up to a big lead over the Mules 24-0 halfway through the dual. Andrew McFall garnered a 16-0 major decision at 125 pounds, ending the match before the third period. George Farmah upset the

#12 wrestler in Division II, John Feeney, by fall in 4:23 and earning his first pin as a Maverick. Louie Sanders followed with a first period pin in 2:11 over Carson Meek. Kyle Rathman and Daniel Close gained major decision and decision victories at 149 and 157 pounds respectively. Rathman won his third major decision victory of the season, defeating Kaleb Warner 18-5. Close extended his team-leading decision victory mark to ten wins, topping Shea Conley 9-4. The Mavericks from that point on caught fire against the Mules. Zach Johnston, Corey Abernathy, and Matthew Blome all gained pins for the Mavericks and kept Minnesota State rolling in the second half of the match. Johnston and Abernathy had identical 2:40 pins while Blome defeated Dominique Hampton in 4:25. Chris Zimmer won the final match of the dual by a 5-0 decision to make the final score 45-3. This was Minnesota State’s first time surpassing the 40 point plateau since their 49-6 victory over Truman State in December of 2016. The Mavericks would later take on the Rangers in

their second dual of the day. Wrestling in the 1,000th dual in program history, the Mavericks tried to make it a special one. Minnesota State took a 9-0 lead over second ranked UW-Parkside. Following a forfeit at the 125 pound weight-class, Farmah defeated #3 Airk Furseth by a 2-0 margin, finishing the day 2-0 with wins over nationally ranked opponents. Rathman kept the advantage with a 6-4 decision over #3 Frank Yattoni at 149 pounds. The freshman from Apple Valley, Minn. leads the team with 17 wins this season. The Maverick wrestling team just couldn’t carry on the same success they had that day when facing the Rangers in this matchup, as Minnesota State dropped three decision victories to nationally ranked opponents in the second half of the matchup. Dylan Herman fell 10-4 to #3 Pernvelon Sheppard. Johnston wrestled #1 Nick Becker close at 174 pounds, pushing Becker to the final whistle, falling 13-8. And #12 Connor Price overcame Corey Abernathy in sudden victory to help the Rangers to a 28-12 win. The Mavericks are now

4-1 overall and hold a conference record of 2-0. Minnesota State will next face MSU-Moorhead on Jan. 12,

at Taylor Center at 7:00 pm.

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MSU Reporter • 11

Sports

Women’s hockey continues to struggle COLTON MOLESKY Staff Writer

It was a dismal weekend for the Minnesota State women’s hockey team, which is now 318-1, 1-13 in conference. The pair of losses against the St. Cloud State Huskies what just what the struggling conference opponent needed, as the Huskies have taken a step back this year at 4- 12-2. “Overall, we need to have a better team effort than we had tonight, it was disappointing and the mistakes we made gave them goals and it was nothing that St. Cloud State really developed on their own, they worked hard and deserved to win, but our defense made mistakes,” said Mavericks head coach John Harrington. “It led to St. Cloud State getting goals close to the net and we just have to do a better job in front of the net.”

The Minnesota offense has so much trouble scoring, despite a solid amount of shots on goal. It is another season of failing to find the back of the net for the Mavs. In game one, the Mavs were downed in the first period after letting up goals to Laura Kluge and Emma Bigham, who put the Huskies up 2-0 from the start. While the Mavericks seemed to hang around on the ice with the shots on goal a tight 34-

23 in favor of the Huskies, it did not translate to the scoreboard. The Huskies continued to pour on goals in the third period, starting with a goal from Kayla Friesen. Two more goals where added by Hallie Theodosopoulos and Hannah Potrykus, completing the 5-0 rout of the Mavericks in an embarrassing performance. Game two was far tighter, but with ultimately the same result. In the opening of the

game, the Mavericks controlled the Huskies far better, keeping the game scoreless through the first period. However, Friesen scored her second goal in as many nights to go up 1-0 in the game. Yet again, the Mavericks were aggressive and hung with the Huskies in shots on goal, 34-25. Nevertheless, a cramp was put in their comeback attempt by Theodosopoulos, who netted another goal as well. The freshman leading

MSU in points, Brittyn Fleming, posted her 15th point this season, putting the Mavericks in the game for the moment. An empty netter late in the final period of the game was by Potrykus put the Mavs away. “We weren’t playing with the urgency we needed to defensively and we weren’t playing with the toughness we needed to and I think it showed on the scoreboard,” said Harrington of a defense that let up eight goals in two nights. As with last season, the offense has not produced much of any production in the last two seasons. Unlike last season, the Mavericks do not have elite goaltender Brianna Quade in the net to bail out their offensive struggles with stellar defense. The play of Katie Bidulka has not proven to bail out the defense like Quade did, which has been problematic. The Mavericks will be on the road this week to face off against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, WI in a two-game series starting on Saturday.

Photo by Michelle Vlasak

NBA: Wolves blow past James, Cavs 127-99 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Wiggins had 25 points in three quarters, Jimmy Butler pitched in 21 points and tight defense on LeBron James, and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 127-99 victory over Cleveland on Monday night that stopped a 12-game home losing streak to the Cavaliers. Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (16 points, 13 rebounds) were tenacious around the basket for the

Timberwolves, who outrebounded the Cavs 56-37 and had a 60-42 advantage in points in the paint. James had just 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, taking his first loss at Minnesota since Feb. 17, 2005. Cleveland fell behind by as much as 41 points in the third quarter after a dunk by Wiggins set up by a driving pass by Tyus Jones, who had grabbed his own miss from 3-point range. Butler had plenty to do with that, contributing nine assists

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press

and eight rebounds before resting during the fourth quarter, too. The Wolves led 69-42 at halftime, matching their largest first-half score from just two nights ago, after a rainbow 3-pointer from the top of the key by Butler brought the fans to their feet. That also tied the most points allowed by the Cavs in a half this season. Butler made sure the Wolves didn’t slip after the break, knocking down a midrange fadeaway, stealing the ball back and then swishing a pull-up 3-pointer on the other end to push the lead to 31 points early in the third quarter. Jeff Green scored 22 points off the bench to lead the Cavs, who’ve lost six of their last nine. The only time the Timberwolves have made the playoffs during the reign of King James was in 2004, his rookie year, when they went all the way to the Western Conference finals. James and the Cavs lost here in his second season, too, but that was it until now. In many of those annual visits, too, he barely had to break a sweat. This is a different pack of Wolves, though, with the arrival of the tough-minded

veterans Butler, Gibson and Jamal Crawford to join the still-developing stars Towns and Wiggins. Neither team could’ve

seen this outcome coming, though.

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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

BASKETBALL continued from 12 Jamal Nixon back. Nixon has been sidelined since suffering an injury during the game against Missouri Southern State on Nov. 11. Nixon played for 19 minutes against the Bears, tallying 9 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal in his return. The next game for Minnesota State was on Dec. 19 against the out-of-conference Waldorf Warriors. Kevin Krieger led the way for the Mavericks with a game-high 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist, and 1 blocks. Krieger was also perfect from the free-throw line, going 4-4. The bench players for the Mavericks played well. Carlos Anderson added 9 points and 5 rebounds. In his second game back from injury, Jamal Nixon contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds as well. Nixon appears to be returning to form before he suffered the injury. In the last two games, Nixon has played a total of 42 minutes in the last two games, combining for 16 points and 7 rebounds. The Mavericks returned to action on Dec. 30 after having 11 days off for the mid-December holidays. Minnesota State did not lose a step from the holiday break, defeating NSIC opponents Minnesota State-Moorhead by a final score of 81-58. Charlie Brown led the Mavericks in this game, scoring a game-high 19 points. Chris Hendrix returned to form, scoring 10 points and hauling in 7 rebounds for the team as well. The Mavericks were in Mankato for the New Year’s celebration. On New Year’s Eve, the Mavs hosted the Nov. 13 Northern State Wolves. Unfortunately, Minnesota State was defeated by a score of 84-87. The loss snapped the Mavericks’ seven game winning streak. The team finished the month of December recording only one loss, the first since losing to St. Cloud State on Nov. 25. Former South Dakota State Jackrabbit Logan Doyle caused headaches for the Mavericks on defense. Doyle finished the game shooting 8-13 from the field, including 10-10 from the free-throw line. In only 24 minutes of play, Doyle tallied 26 points and snatched 8 rebounds for Northern State. Kevin Krieger led the way for the Mavericks, posting 19 points. Charlie Brown also played a big role for the Mavericks with his 17 points. Krieger’s three-point shot with five-seconds left in the game pulled the Mavericks

Photo by Mansoor Ahmad

within three. After the basket, Minnesota State was able to force a Northern State turnover with three-seconds remaining in the game. The Mavericks got the ball back with three ticks of the clock left in the game, but unfortunately could not convert on the three-point shot attempt to tie the game and send it to overtime. Chris Hendrix kept his head down and went to work for the Mavericks against Northern State, doing almost everything for the team. Hendrix finished the game with 6 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. Hendrix put up another 10 rebounds for Minnesota State, his third game since December 8th with 10 or more rebounds. With the win against Minnesota State, the Northern State Wolves enter the new year with the best overall record in the NSIC, 14-1, while going a perfect 8-0 in conference. Minot State is not too far behind Northern State for first place in the NSIC. Minot State closed out 2017 with an overall record of 13-1, including a 7-1 in-conference record. The Mavericks finished 2017 with an overall record of 10-3, including a 6-1 conference record. Minnesota State has a one game advantage on Southwest Minnesota State entering 2018, as Southwest Minnesota State have an overall record of 10-4 and an in-conference record of 6-2. The Mavericks started a two-week road trip on January 5th, when they travelled to Sioux Falls to compete against the Augustana Vi-

kings. The Mavericks beat the Vikings in the first matchup this season in Mankato by a score of 90-79. The second match-up between these two teams proved to be a lot tougher for the Mavericks. The Mavericks allowed the Vikings back into the game late in the second half, where Augustana would eventually force overtime with the score tied at 78 apiece. It continued to be a backand-forth game in overtime, with each team trading baskets and lead changed. The Mavericks came out victorious in the end with a 94-91 win. Cole Harper helped the Mavericks on the glass by pulling down 11 rebounds and adding 11 points as well for his first double-double of the season. Carlos Anderson continues to play extremely well for the Mavs. Anderson led the Mavericks in scoring with 23 points while coming off the bench. The Vikings had two players who were only one statistic away from notching a double-double. Marcus Asmus had a game-high 25 points, while pulling down 9 rebounds. Jordan Spencer added 23 points for Augustana, while dishing out 9 assists of his own. The Mavs traveled to Nebraska on Jan. 6 for a game against the Wayne State Wildcats. Minnesota State defeated Wayne State earlier in the season in Mankato by a score of 86-58. The Mavericks had to fight for a win for the second night

in a row, as they defeated the Wildcats by a score of 75-74. Jamal Nixon gave the Mavericks the victory when he made a free-throw with three second remaining. Wayne State was able to get the ball down the floor in a last-ditch effort for the win, but luckily for the Mavs, Kendall Jacks missed a three-point attempt as time expired. This game had it all: late drama, emotion, and physicality. The game seemed to sputter out of hand for Wayne State when they got a

little too physical during the second half. Austin Esters of Wayne State was charged with a flagrant foul with 9:05 remaining in the second half. Shortly thereafter, Brian Goodwin, also of Wayne State, was charged with a flagrant foul of his own. The Mavericks had two players of their own who were only one statistic away from each having a double-double. Kevin Krieger led the game in scoring with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Chris Kendrix had 18 points of his own, while also having 9 rebounds. Carlos Anderson followed up with another impressive performance, by scoring 13 points off the bench for Minnesota State. The Mavericks end the winter break with an overall record of 12-3, including an in-conference record of 8-1. Minnesota State has climbed to second in the NSIC, trailing only Northern State. The Mavericks hope to keep their two-game winning streak alive this week as they will head to the state of North Dakota. On Friday, the Mavericks will travel to Minot for match-up against the Minot State Beavers. On Saturday, the Mavs will travel to Bismarck for a game against the University of Mary Marauders. The Mavericks have not played either team yet this season, but hope to be victorious in their only match-up of the year with both teams.

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Minnesota State University, Mankato

MSU Reporter • 13 Have a story idea or a comment? EMAIL

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Christmas thriller The Elf chops together horror and love Feelings of reduncancy makes the viewer want to stop watching

“The Elf” is about a girl, Victoria (Natassia Halabi) who is bringing her finance Nick (Gabriel Miller) home to meet her family but on the way, she confronts him about not having ever been introduced to a single member of his. It isn’t until later on in the movie that he reveals that his family is cursed and part of Santa’s ‘naughty list.’ Nick as a young boy witnessed a murder and trauma has haunted him all these years, especially around Christmas. He inherited an old toy shop where he stumbles across

MSU Reporter

RACHAEL JAEGER Staff Writer

The Elf an elf doll in a chest but after Victoria deems the elf doll ugly, they abandon the shop together and head home. When they arrive, they are startled to find the same elf doll on an empty shelf in

their living room. At first Victoria believes Nick is playing a cruel joke on her but after her family springs their surprise visit on the couple, she realizes a supernatural unfriendliness has come

into their space. While “The Elf” was intended as a horror film, the musical score throughout the film ruins the mood because of its redundancy and soon grows irritating. The

times the elf doll chants his spells off-screen raises some neck hairs at first but as the plot progresses, the chants are his only weapon besides his short height. His evil laughter bouncing towards viewers from off-screen became too obnoxious without being the slightest bit of scary. After the first half hour you are waiting for the movie to be over. The only part that comes any close to creepy is seeing a live elf doll crawling close to the ground towards his potential victims, espe-

THE ELF

PAGE 14

Cult of Chucky ends up being a mind-numbing doll to fear 2017 film lacks much needed scariness of classic thriller franchise

MARIO ESCOTO Staff Writer

“Cult of Chucky” came out in theaters Oct. 24, 2017, near Halloween. However, here in the United States, it wasn’t released in theaters. Instead, many audiences could watch this film on Netflix. This film is the seventh installment of the franchise to the Chucky series. The director of “Cult of Chucky” was not the original director of “Child’s Play” in 1988. Instead, the director and writer of this film is Don Mancini who is the director of “Curse of Chucky” released in 2013. The film is rated R and the genre is a combination of horror and suspense. Most people call this film “Child’s Play 7” instead of “Cult of Chucky.”

Image courtesy of Martin Thomas

Chucky

I got done watching this film with my friend, and I had to take some medicine for my mind-numbing headache after watching this dull and not scary film. The director took this film from something scary to a dull film to watch. Why so dull you might ask? The film starts off in a mental asylum with a female character who is a handicap and accused of killing her whole family. I felt sorry for her. There were a lot of shots of the mental asylum being all white, which means the

nurse, workers, walls and outside were all white. Outside was snowing and kind of felt like Christmas Eve, but I wasn’t sure what day this film was shot. Yes, I understand that the nurse, workers, and walls are to represent a hospital theme. In my opinion, I would have changed the color of the wall to make it scarier for the audience to watch. Because every time I saw the walls it reminded me of a hospital instead of a mental asylum. Anyway, the killer that brought nightmares to

many families is Chucky, the killer doll. I expected Chucky to be a messedup doll in this film. I was wrong, very wrong. The design and the look of Chucky are quite stupid. The new Chucky doll is not scary compared to the original ones. I feel the original dolls had a creepy vibe compared to the new who just doesn’t scream creepy. When it comes to this modern design of Chucky’s face it didn’t bring that eerie suspense to the film. Automatically, I knew he

was the killer in the film, but I shouldn’t know that he is the killer so early on. The director should have gone with a mysterious killer versus introducing the killer immediately. In the Chucky franchise, his whole purpose is to find a human body and to transfer his soul into the body. In this film that is a different story. Instead of having one killer doll there are three killer dolls in the mental asylum. The reason why there are three killer dolls is that Chucky found a way of passing his same soul to different dolls. Which doesn’t make any sense and defeats the whole purpose of Chuck’s goal of transferring his soul to a human body. In the original “Child’s Play”, Chucky had a limited amount of time of transferring his soul to another

CHUCKY

PAGE 15

14 • MSU Reporter

A&E

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

THE ELF Continued from page 13

CHUCKY Continued from page 13 body. When he failed to do that his soul was stuck in that doll for the rest of his life. But, in the new film that changes the whole purpose of transferring Chucky’s soul to a human body. Instead of transferring one soul he decides to copy and paste his same soul into many other Chucky dolls. The gore in this film did a decent job of killing the characters off, especially towards the end of the film. When the handicap ped female character was introduced to the three Chucky killer dolls, one of them possessed her body. The antagonist of the film was knocked out by one of the killer dolls. As he woke up, the possessed handicapped woman rose up from her seat and walked towards him with her high heels. From the point of view of the antagonist, the woman rose to her feet and began to stomp on the antagonist’s face. As she did that blood was spewing out of the antago-

nist’s face and began to look like smashed, mushy pumpkin pieces. It was gross, morbid and kind of a victory for the handicapped female character because this antagonist was hypnotizing her to forget that he was molesting her in his office. In the end of the film, the possessed woman walk outside of the mental asylum meeting with another woman who is the girlfriend of Chucky. When they both meet they give each other kisses and get into the car. As they both were having an evil, small conversation one of the dolls from the back seat began to laugh. Thus, all the characters in the car began to laugh as well and we are shown the car driving off in the middle of the snow. This ending wasn’t good, as I expected the main protagonist killing all the characters in the car. That right there would have ended the film and left the audiences feeling

safe; knowing that the killer doll is no longer killing anyone at any time of the day. “Cult of Chucky” has potential and is fun to watch with anyone. The main things I would have changed would be the design of Chucky, the color of the wall and focus on one killer doll instead of three killer dolls. I would have shortened the runtime of this film since it felt like I was watching it for more than an hour and a half. The director of this film should have focused on the origin of Chucky series where Chucky’s goal was to find a human body and transfer his soul to it, instead of doing a copy and paste to every Chucky doll with the same actor voicing them out. I would highly recommend watching the Chucky series to understand Chucky’s origin.

Reporter Rating

2.5 5

Dept. of Music to host performance featuring famous composer MANKATO, Minn. – The Department of Music will host a performance featuring Dr. Michael Olson on Tuesday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. on the stage of E.J. Halling Recital Hall in the Earley Center for Performing Arts. The multi-dimensional concert will feature original electronic/ambient compositions by Olson. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Music Technology at Minnesota State Mankato. Michael Olson is a composer, producer, and musician. Olson’s concert music has been performed throughout the world, including the International Computer Music Conference (New York), Beijing Science Museum (China), SEAMUS National Conference (Miami), and In-

dian Institute of Technology TechFest (Mumbai), among others. Michael Olson has received numerous awards including ASCAPLus Awards (20072015), Finalist for the ASCAP/SEAMUS Commission, and First Prize at the Georgia Southern Research Awards. Michael’s music, performance, and production can also be heard on more than 20 albums spanning the genres of folk to pop, on numerous record labels. His music has been featured in films and television, including programs on MTV, VH1, E!, Spike, ABC, NBC, PBS, and CBS. Olson’s records “Fashionably Late” and “Still Going With The Lights Out” have received radio airplay on more than 200 stations across the U.S, Canada, and Australia. Michael worked

on 32 Below’s “Every Little Thing About You,” which reached #66 on the iTunes Country Album Chart, and #70 on the iTunes Country Singles Chart. Olson has toured extensively throughout the U.S., and has shared the stage with acts such as Everclear, Semisonic, Violent Fems, Rick Springfield, Better Than Ezra, Eve6, and Josh Turner. General admission is $9 and $7 for students with a valid MavCard. Discount tickets are available online for University students. Advance purchase is encouraged. Those who wish to purchase tickets online should go to www. mnsu.edu/music. For more information, call the Performance Series office, (507) 389-5549.

cially in the part where he strangles carolers with Christmas lights. He uses his short height to ambush his unsuspecting victims and hack at their ankles with a knife before he attempts their murders. Other than that, it is more of a romantic flick with a dash of comedy rather than a remake of a different kind of Chucky movie. The plot becomes more about Victoria’s family disliking Nick and believing he is psychotic versus building up the backstory of the elf doll and its role in the plot enough to make the world believable. In that way, “The Conjuring” franchise films have done an excellent job when it comes to unfolding the story and building up the

suspense. In contrast, “The Elf” is dry and boring, and director Justin Price tries too hard to give the audience the scares needed for a horror genre’s success. As a whole, the scenes feel disjointed, mostly due to technical elements such as poor lighting and the shots lacking focus. “The Elf” is an appropriate choice for film nerds to sit down together and have fun tearing apart the movie even as they are watching it.

Reporter Rating

2 5

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CHUCKY

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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

MSU Reporter • 15

Media icon Oprah Winfrey speech gives captivating Democrats are buzzing about the possibility of a 2020 run

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Oprah Winfrey’s impassioned call for “a brighter morning even in our darkest nights” at the Golden Globes has Democratic Party activists buzzing about the media superstar and the 2020 presidential race — even if it’s only a fantasy. Even so, for Democrats in early voting states, and perhaps for a public that largely disapproves of President Donald Trump’s job performance, the notion of a popular media figure as a presidential candidate is not as strange as it once seemed, given the New York real estate mogul and reality TV star now in the White House. “Look, it’s ridiculous — and I get that,” said Brad Anderson, Barack Obama’s 2012 Iowa campaign director. While he supports the idea of Winfrey running, it would also punctuate how Trump’s candidacy has altered political norms. “At the same time, politics is ridiculous right now.” Winfrey’s speech as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award on Sunday touched on her humble upbringing and childhood wonder in civil rights heroes. But it was her exhortation of the legions of women who have called out sexual harassers — and her dream of a day “when nobody has to say ‘me too’ again” — that got some political operatives, in early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, thinking Winfrey might be just what the Democrats need. “I think we need more role models like her that are speaking to young women and trying to restore some hope. The election of Donald Trump was a devastating setback for little girls,” said Liz Purdy, who led Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 2008 New Hampshire presidential primary campaign. Trump’s job approval rating sat at just 32 percent in December, according to an Associated PressNORC poll. And though polls show his approval up slightly since, Trump is the least popular first-year president on record. He

Image courtesy of the Associated Press

Oprah

has also been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, though he has vehemently denied the allegations. Winfrey, in September and October, publicly dismissed the notion of seeking the nation’s highest office, though she noted that Trump’s victory made her rethink the requirements of the office. A representative for Winfrey did not reply to a request Monday for comment from The Associated Press. Winfrey’s longtime partner, Stedman Graham, told the Los Angeles Times that “it’s up to the people”

whether she will be president, adding, “She would absolutely do it.” Winfrey, 64, has become a cultural phenomenon over the past 30-plus years, born into a poor home in Mississippi but breaking through as a television news and talk show personality in the 1980s. Over 30 years, she became the face of television talk shows, starred and produced feature films, and began her own network. Trump himself has lavished praise on Winfrey over the years, including in 2015, when he said that he would consider her

as a running mate on his Republican ticket. “I like Oprah,” Trump told ABC News in June 2015. “I think Oprah would be great. I’d love to have Oprah. I think we’d win easily, actually.” It echoed comments Trump made in 1999, when he was weighing a presidential candidacy in the Reform Party. “If she’d do it, she’d be fantastic. I mean, she’s popular, she’s brilliant, she’s a wonderful woman,” Trump told CNN’s Larry King. Some operatives think she has what it takes to be a viable presidential candidate. “She would be a serious

candidate,” said Jennifer Palmieri, former White House communications director under President Barack Obama and the communications director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Beyond her rise from poverty, Winfrey’s success as a multidimensional media figure has come from promoting ways for women to assert themselves, typically outside the political arena. That could soften what Palmieri describes as an enduring resistance among some voters to women with political ambition. “I think lessons we all learned from watching Hillary’s run, and how her ambition was unfavorably and unfairly viewed, coupled with Oprah’s existing popularity, could give Oprah a strong start,” Palmieri said. That’s not to say Winfrey can’t claim any significant political influence. She notably headlined an Iowa rally for then-Sen. Barack Obama in the weeks leading up to his surprise victory in the state’s 2008 leadoff nominating caucuses, which helped propel him to the presidential nomination.

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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

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