March 28, 2023

Africa Night’s royalty shimmers

By AMALIA SHARAF Staff Writer

Annual African Night hosted by African Student Association with Kearney International Center introduced African cultures through a variety of performances.

The theme of this year’s event was Afro-Royal. ASA President, Evelin Boniface, explained what this means for the event and its visitors.

“It is about understanding every country’s royalty and how each different country’s royalty is set up. That’s the goal,” said Boniface. “And the goal is for everybody to come dressed in their royalty clothing or their cultural clothes.”

Vice President of ASA, Joel Tchouke said he is excited to work on the event and see how it went.

“This is the second biggest cultural event at MSU and each year has been always a success. We expect students to discover what African culture is because the theme of the night is afro-royal, and we are also expecting them to learn about the royalties in Africa,” said Tchouke. Visitors were able to taste cultural dishes, as well as watch performances demonstrating various cultures of Africa.

Besides the dance group performances, the event program

included a fashion show, live music, and cultural skits that show the African cultures from within.

“My performance is the

dance with the Nigerian Dance Group,” said freshman Kome Ovraiti. “The performance is showcasing the Nigerian culture and our dances.”

“I am going to play jazz and music related to Afro-American culture,” said Tchouke.

“I’m going to be in the fashion show, in which I will be

showing my African culture,” said Boniface. “And then also I will be dancing with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast.”

Students and staff members visited the event to support their friends, learn, and enjoy the agenda of the night.

“Honestly, I’m waiting for the board members to stand and get their round of applause. They deserve all the flowers, literally. They put in a lot of work and I’m very proud of them,” said BalenciaSariah Crosby, the advisor for ASA.

“I have friends that are performing and I want to support them. And I’m hoping to learn something new about the African culture,” said senior Majd Alharbi. “Cultural events like this are a couple of hours where I feel like I’m not in the U.S. and that I’m traveling the world. No matter how much you can know about a culture, you will always learn something new from these events.”

Crosby added that she would like to thank the performers and board members for the event.

“I would likely start with a big thank you, because it takes a lot to get in front of people that you don’t know or maybe you don’t know, well,” said Crosby. “And I put your heart out there so I would definitely apply them and thank them for doing so.”

‘Pinky Swear’ promises to provide pediatric payment

By EMMA JOHNSON News Director

Students have made a pinky promise to help others in need.

Pinky Swear is an organization that raises money for the Pinky Swear Foundation which helps families with children who have pediatric cancer. The foundation covers expenses such as hotel rooms, gas and food.

The Pinky Swear Foundation started in 2003 after a child named Mitch gave all of his savings to other children in the hospital at Christmas, despite having bone cancer himself.

Since he passed away, his father has kept the pinky promise he made with Mitch to continue assisting children with cancer.

The club started three years ago in Mankato when it was called the Love Your Melon crew. Senior Laine Aeilts got involved in the fall of 2022 when looking for clubs to join.

“Being a senior, I kind of missed out on joining clubs after COVID. I stumbled upon Pinky Swear at the RSO fair and I was like, ‘Oh, this is a really good cause for cancer.’ It seems like something I’d really be interested in along the lines of my career,” Aeilts said.

President Alysha Kruger and Aeilts are Applied Health Science majors and have found the club to be beneficial for their careers.

“Focusing on bringing some joy to them and doing some fun activities coincides with occupational therapy. It’s therapy-based play that brings joy to these kids’ lives,” Kruger said.

“With my major being public health, it’s kind of like advocating for people who may be going through socioeconomic issues. Dealing with pediatric cancer is hard in itself and then having to deal with the health care costs that are on top of it is extremely

hard for parents and families,” Aeilts said. “I think it’s a great cause to try to alleviate some of that stress as much as possible.”

Typical meetings consist of an activity such as card making and a featured All-Star of the week.

“The website has an AllStar archive where families will share their stories of their child, pictures and what they’ve gone through. Every meeting, we’ll either share a video or highlight a different all-star and talk about their story and how the foundation’s impacted them just to get everyone excited,” Kruger said. “You feel more a part of it when you get to know those kids like that.”

Currently, there are 14 active members of the pack, a name used by the Pinky Swear Foundation. As part of the pack, the group got paired with a kid who they do activities over Zoom with. Some of the activities have

been painting Bonsai pots and food-based science experiments.

“It’s been fun to get to know him and to not focus so much

on his cancer. He tells us about all the fun stuff he gets to do and that’s just been a lot of fun,”

LILLY ANDERSON • The Reporter

Students were treated to a dazzling night of true royalty at this year’s Africa Night. A number of students performed in dance groups along with a fashion show, live music and cultural skits.

DOMINIC BOTHE • The Reporter

Laine Aeilts (left) and Alysha Kruger discuss about the fundraising struggles of Pinky Swear and how most funds come straight from student pockets.

Physician author speaks about opioid crisis in rural America

By CARLY BAHR Staff Writer

William Cooke, author of “Canary in the Coal Mine,” spoke in Minnesota State’s Ostrander Auditorium Thursday about the opioid crisis.

MSU Masters of Social Work professor Nancy Fitzsimmons recommended the book to her students after finalizing the required reading list after she found out Cooke, a physician and author, would be coming to campus.

All eight of these students chose to read the book and attended Cooke’s speech.

“We’ve been talking a lot about the social determinants of health as a framing for the class. So the talk today from Dr. Cook really resonated thinking about what impacts people’s health and the choices that people really have. You only have choices when those opportunities are made available,” Fitzsimmons said.

Olivia Rivers, MSW student, said she and her classmates “fell in love with it” and she resonated with Cooke’s “care and compassion” that shows through his desire to help anyone regardless of their resources and challenges.

Undergraduate student Al Worrall also read the book and attended the speech for their psychopharmacology course.

“The most memorable part of the book for me was when he was really going into detail about how Christians need to show compassion towards those with addiction. That is incredibly important that he’s fighting from a Christian background,” Worrall said.

“Although I am not Christian myself, I think it is an excellent perspective and I think it can bring a lot of good.”

One of Cooke’s main points was the concept of making good choices and how those born into poverty or have limited resources are limited in the choices they have.

The book is named for the caged canaries coal miners would use to detect toxic gasses. A dead canary indicated danger.

Austin, Iowa, where Cooke traveled to practice medicine in the early 2000s, is the metaphorical canary warning the world of an unprecedented opioid crisis and HIV outbreak that would soon become the most severe in rural American history.

In his speech, Cooke chronicled his life from his birth in Appalachia to an undereducated family, many of whom struggled with addictions, including his mother and grandfather.

According to him, he struggled in school and with teachers who told him to “try harder,” without giving him guidance on what, specifically, he needed to succeed — a sentiment that parallels the stigma attached to addiction and recovery.

After graduating from medical school, he moved to Austin, Iowa to practice medicine, a town that would be severely hit by an HIV outbreak caused by needle sharing and a lack of medical infrastructure, according to Cooke’s speech.

“Healthcare disasters don’t just happen; they develop right before our eyes, unseen or ignored until it’s too late,” Cooke wrote in “Canary in the Coal Mine,” which is available free in ebook form through the MSU library.

Chipotle agrees to pay after closing store that sought union

Kruger said.

Aeilts said one of the most memorable fundraisers was tabling at the Mankato versus Duluth hockey game.

“The announcers mentioned our organization between each period, so people would come by during the breaks and we got to tell others who we are, what we’re doing and what we stand for,” Aeilts said. “We met a friend of Mitch’s dad and he was talking to us quite a bit, so that was really interesting.”

Fundraising, however, has been difficult. Since the pack program started recently, not a lot of money has been allocated for tabling or fundraiser supplies.

“A lot of us on the executive board and I put so much of our own money into it. It’s getting a little financially exhausting and it’s hard because it’s such a good cause,” Kruger said. “We’ve been looking into getting some funding from the school, but it’s been difficult to qualify for any of that.”

Aeilts said students should get involved with Pinky Swear to come together for a good cause.

“If you’re looking for something to do, as long as you know that you want to help people and you have that spark and that passion, you should join Pinky Swear,” Aeilts said.

Pinky Swear meets 7 p.m. every other Sunday in CSU room 203. Meetings are open to anyone.

Applications are open for next year’s executive board. Their next meeting is April 2.

To learn more about the Pinky Swear program, head over to pinkyswear.org.

By PATRICK WHITTLE The Associated

Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay $240,000 to former employees as part of a settlement stemming from a complaint that the company violated federal law by closing a restaurant where workers wanted to unionize.

Chipotle announced it was permanently closing its Augusta, Maine, location last year after workers filed a National

Labor Relations Board petition for a union election.

The NLRB later said the closure was illegal.

The Maine location was the first in the chain to file a union petition.

The settlement, released by union officials on Monday, states that two dozen employees will receive payments from Chipotle and they will be placed on a preferential hiring list for other Maine locations.

The company must also post

a notice in dozens of stores in New England that it won’t close stores or discriminate against employees due to union support, the settlement states.

“It sends a message to corporations that shutting down a store and blackballing workers didn’t work for Chipotle and it won’t work for them either,” said Brandi McNease, a former employee of the Augusta store and the lead organizer of the union drive, in a statement provided by the Maine AFL-CIO.

MICHAEL DWYER • The Associated Press

On Monday, March 27, union officials said Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay $240,000 to former employees as part of a settlement stemming from a complaint that the company violated federal law by closing.

Press

 PROMISE from page 1

Nashville

school shooter had drawn maps, done surveillance

Factory explosion victims found THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

All seven bodies have been recovered from the site of a powerful explosion at a chocolate factory in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, officials said.

West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said in a statement Sunday night that none of the victims will be named until officials are certain that all families have been contacted.

“Please understand that this is a devastating loss, but we are truly grateful to bring closure to the families involved in the upcoming days,” Kaag said.

West Reading Borough

By JONATHAN MATTISE and TRAVIS LOLLER

The Associated Press

The suspect in a Nashville school shooting on Monday had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and done surveillance before killing three students and three adults in the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country growing increasingly unnerved by bloodshed in schools.

The suspect, who was killed by police, is believed to be a former student at The Covenant School in Nashville, where the shooting took place.

The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 8 or 9 years old, and adults Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.

A woman wielding two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol killed three 9-year-old students and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville on Monday in the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country growing increasingly unnerved by bloodshed in schools.

The suspect, who was killed by police, is believed to be a former student at The Covenant School in Nashville, where the shooting took place.

The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old, and adults Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.

The website of The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school founded in 2001, lists a Katherine Koonce as the head of the school. Her LinkedIn profile says she has led the school since July 2016.

The attack at The Covenant School — which has about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade, as well as roughly 50 staff members — comes as communities around the nation are reeling from a spate of school violence, including the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde,

Texas, last year; a first grader who shot his teacher in Virginia; and a shooting last week in Denver that wounded two administrators.

“I was literally moved to tears to see this and the kids as they were being ushered out of the building,” Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at an afternoon news conference.

The suspect’s identity and motive have not been released.

The Covenant School was founded as a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church. The affluent Green Hills neighborhood just south of downtown Nashville, where the Covenant School is located, is home to the famed Bluebird Café – a beloved spot for musicians and song writers.

President Joe Biden, speaking at an unrelated event at the White House on Monday, called the shooting a “family’s worst nightmare” and implored Congress again to pass a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons.

“It’s ripping at the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of this nation,” Biden said.

The suspect’s identity as a woman surprised experts on mass shootings. Female shooters make up only about 5% to 8% of all mass shooters, said Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama who has closely studied the psychology and behavior of mass shooters.

There have been seven mass killings at U.S. schools since 2006, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. In all of them, the shooters were males who killed four or more people within a 24-hour time frame at K-12 school.

Researchers believe there are three main explanations for why men commit more shootings than women, according to Jonathan Metzl, a professor of sociology and psychiatry at Vanderbilt University who

Chief of Police Wayne Holben said at a press briefing just after 9 p.m. that rescue workers had found the bodies earlier in the evening and that they are believed to be the remaining two individuals who were listed as missing earlier in the day. Their identities will be confirmed by the Berks County Coroner’s Office, he said.

One of the victims was found around 6:50 p.m. and the other around 8:20 p.m., Holben said. The deaths brought the total number killed to seven in the blast that occurred just before 5 p.m. Friday.

Earlier, Kaag confirmed to The Associated Press that the fifth body was found Sunday morning by first responders.

Holben said the body of a fourth victim was found under debris early Sunday at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in the borough of West Reading, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.

Rescue crews had been using

heat imaging equipment and dogs to search for possible survivors after the blast destroyed one building and damaged a neighboring building. Crews were using heavy equipment to methodically and carefully pull debris from the site, Holben said.

Three buildings around the site will be condemned as a precaution, Kaag said.

“This does not mean they are slated for demolition or uninhabitable,” she said. “Simply that there will still be work happening around them as we proceed and they will need to be looked at further by structural engineers.”

Officials said they had no update on the condition of a woman pulled alive from the rubble early Saturday. Kaag said she had apparently been on the second floor and was found in a “hopeful circumstance,” calling out to rescuers

despite her injuries after a dog located her.

Officials also reported no updates on the conditions of those taken to hospitals. Reading Hospital said it received 10 patients and transferred two to other facilities, while two others were admitted in good and fair condition respectively and the others had been discharged.

R.M. Palmer said in a statement Saturday that everyone at the company was “devastated” and it was reaching out to employees and their families through first responders and disaster recovery organizations because its communication systems were down.

Kaag, a volunteer firefighter herself, said rescue crews had been working 12- to 16-hour shifts and were so dedicated to continuing the search that “you have to pull them away at this point” to swap out and get some rest.

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Must apply online at www.chsinc.com.

JONATHAN MATTISE • The Associated Press Children from The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., hold hands as they are taken to a reunification site

MICHAEL RUBINKAM • The Associated Press

Emergency responders and heavy equipment are seen at the site of a deadly explosion at a chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania.

Made in China: The cost of living

Julia Lin Editor In Chief Emma Johnson News Director Joey Erickson Variety Editor

Alicia Reed Sports Editor Dylan Engel Photo Editor

Don’t fall victim to the ‘senior slide’

As we approach the month of April, many of us students are prepping for graduation and all that comes with it. It is one of the most exciting, yet scary, moments in life to enter the “real world,” and it can sometimes cloud our better judgment.

Just because we are graduating doesn’t mean we should slack off and not complete our schoolwork. We as students should finish our academic careers off strong.

The phrase “senior slide” is all too common for students these days as it’s so easy to find yourself in that mindset. I mean, if you’re almost rid of school forever, what’s the point of putting a ton of effort in if it won’t matter anymore? Well, there are still plenty of good reasons to stay motivated.

While this can be a stressful time for graduates, it’s important to still set yourself up for success. Although schoolwork may end, that doesn’t mean you won’t have a full plate in your occupation and other aspects of adulting.

Pushing yourself to do your best while under stress will only help prepare you for what comes after college.

Another key thing to remember is that your GPA still matters. During high school, the goal was to get a solid GPA as different colleges have certain GPA requirements. Some may think once you’re in college, it doesn’t matter as long as you pass. However, there are multiple benefits to keeping your grades up.

Upon graduation, whatever your GPA ends at, decides whether you graduate with honors and what kind of honors. With a 3.5, you are awarded with Cum Lade, a 3.8 awards you with Magna Cum Lade and a perfect GPA, or a 4.0 awards you Summa Cum Lade. Apart from simply having bragging rights, this also looks great on applications, making it easier to find jobs.

Furthermore, some companies will actually have you include your college transcripts in your application. Needing a certain GPA to get somewhere doesn’t end at college. It can sometimes follow you throughout your entire career.

Finally, simply do it for yourself. It’s always good to challenge yourself to be the best version of you that you can be. Succeeding in school will only lead to succeeding in other parts of your life. It will be something to look back on and be proud of yourself for.

Graduating from college is a very thrilling time in life. While it is important to take advantage of the time you have left to be with friends and have fun, it is also equally important to keep up the hard work as you finish off your last year of schooling.

By JULIA LIN Editor in Chief

This past weekend I drove down to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to tour apartments. The idea of moving in six weeks and starting a career in broadcasting is insane to me. It feels like just yesterday I was deciding where I want to attend college. After touring six very different apartments, one thing remained constant: how much this was all going to cost.

As someone who has had roommates ever since I moved out of my parent’s house, I’ve realized that living alone is going to be more expensive than I anticipated. Not only is location a factor but so are the amenities and the environment while also analyzing what is the most cost-effective place to live

at. Recently, I learned about inflation and how the banks and the Fed influence our economy. Researching furthermore, I found out how and why everything costs so much more these days.

As someone who highly values the type of environment they live in I really have to decide what is most important to me. Do I want to live closer to downtown? Or do I want to live in “Julia Land” far far away from the hustle and bustle? When I was down there, I also realized how much bigger it was than Mankato. With a population of roughly 200,000, this growing city was bigger than I had initially thought.

Besides the dilemma I face regarding my living situation, other topics have been on my mind lately. One thing is the fact that I will be liv-

Compiled by Luke Jackson

ing on my own for the very first time. You may be thinking ‘haven’t you been doing that?’ And yes I have, but this time I am truly on my own. No roommates to pick me up when I am down and a bit farther from my family. As someone who has been very independent for most of their life, I am excited but I am also anxious.

I think one of my biggest fears is moving to a new town and not knowing anyone. I know I’ll make friends along the way but as an “introverted” extrovert, this may be challenging for me at first. However, oftentimes when you are planning your future you can forget to finish what you started in the present. Although I am still deciding where I’ll end up living, I need to remind myself that I still have to graduate first!

BIANCA MEEKS, FRESHMAN

EMMA RONGITSCH, FRESHMAN

SAM WOO, SOPHOMORE

HARRY RYAN, SOPHOMORE

ZACH LEASMAN, FRESHMAN “Self-care.”

JACOB MUSOLF, SOPHOMORE

“Playing video games.”

Editorials represent the opinions of The Reporter editorial board. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the college, university or student body.

Letter to the Editor: Why Destined for president?

Letter to the Editor: Candidacy announcement

Dear Editor,

My name is Darlington but I go by Destined. I am a thirdyear international student from a small country on the west coast of Africa called Liberia. Interesting fact about my country: When US President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, it did not only set “all persons within the rebellious states” free, but also, it returned some of the freed black slaves back to Africa. The specific area in Africa which was bought to fulfill this goal is what is now known as Liberia, which means a Land of Liberty.

I am a political science major with a concentration in international relations and comparative politics. I aspire to become a human rights lawyer in the future, and this dream stemmed from my awful childhood experience.

I lost my mom at the tender age of six during a period of civil war in my home country. My dad had fled the war into exile, leaving my future in the uncertainty of hopelessness and despair. I survived the war and reared myself in the streets, where I did not have access to primary education for at least ten years.

This experience has inspired

has studied mass shootings for more than a decade.

Metzl listed those explanations as: Men have more testosterone, are socialized to be engaged in violence and own more guns than women.

“From school shootings historically, very often we think that people have some historical connection or emotional connection to the school,” he said, calling the Nashville shooting “an untold story.”

Monday’s tragedy unfolded over roughly 14 minutes. Police

me to pursue a career in issues of social justice, and I am on a mission to ensure that no student should be out of school based on their family’s economic background.

The task to serve as student body president is a hard and important one. However, I have acquired the relevant leadership skills and experience to face this challenge. I have served as an At-Large Senator of the student government for two consecutive terms; as an Off-campus Senator, and as president of the Maverick Involvement Team where I represent the interests of the over 260+ recognized student organizations we have on campus.

I have also experienced global leadership forums and simulations which have deepened my capacity for global citizenship. This includes the 27th Session of the United Nations General Youth Assembly, the American Model United Nations International Collegiate Conference, and Student United 2022 Advocacy Conference.

I also maintain a strong intersectionality which cuts across the story of various groups; including international students, black students, non-traditional students, first generation students and stu-

received the initial call about an active shooter at 10:13 a.m.

Officers began clearing the first story of the school when they heard gunshots coming from the second level, police spokesperson Don Aaron said during a news briefing.

Two officers from a five-member team opened fire in response, fatally shooting the suspect at 10:27 a.m., Aaron said. One officer had a hand wound from cut glass.

Aaron said there were no police officers present or assigned to the school at the time

Courtesy of Destined

dents from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Thus, electing me is electing one of your own because I have a better understanding of the issues that affect our diverse student body.

They say, “a better plan leads to a better future”, but I say having a first-hand experience of real-life situations provides student leaders the actual roadmap they need to seek the wellbeing of their fellow students. Otherwise, we are taking a bet on our future to think that someone who does not share our stories will represent us well.

Based on experience, some of what I have set out to achieve under my leadership includes using civic engagement as a tool to ensure an inclusive student government in which every student’s voice is heard; advocating for inclusive student basic need resources to address the problems of food insecurity, housing insecurity, transportation and mental health on our campus; advocating for student support systems to make college and more affordable for all student, and advocating for increased student wage and stipend.

Destined

of the shooting because it is a church-run school.

Other students walked to safety Monday, holding hands as they left their school surrounded by police cars, to a nearby church to be reunited with their parents.

Rachel Dibble, who was at the church as families found their children, described the scene as everyone being in “complete shock.”

“People were involuntarily trembling,” said Dibble, whose children attend a different private school in Nashville.

Hello Mavericks!

Our names are Sierra Roiger and David Mesta and we are so excited to announce our running for Student Government President and Vice President, respectively. We want to take this opportunity to share a few things about why you should vote for our party, Mavericks United, when election day comes on April 10th.

As students, we deserve to feel like we are being heard by not only our fellow students, but by administration, professors, and all faculty.

A big piece of this would be the development of the Leadership Council. We know this has been talked about in the past but we are dedicated to ensuring it is moved past the talking stage and is accomplished to support all leaders across the campus and beyond.

Another piece of our platform is the upgrading and

moving of the reflection space next to the Women’s Center on the second floor of the CSU. It is a small area with about four couches and is completely open, except for a single shade to separate the space from the hallway. And, although there are tours near this space, it should be noted that it is not their fault for the placement of the space. It is important that we work as a group and as a team to bring this change to life.

Our students deserve the ability to practice any spirituality and religion they choose in a safe, quiet, welcoming space. The shade that has separated the space from the hallway has been faded and needing an update for a while now and we will make sure that it is completed. This large project is something that, should you elect us, we would be sure to

LETTER on page 6 

Courtesy of David Mesta

 SHOOTING from page 3

Twitter celebs balk at paying Elon Musk for blue check mark

Post-Roe clinic opens in Maryland

By LEAH WILLINGHAM The Associated Press

A new abortion provider is opening this year in Democratic-controlled Maryland — just across from deeply conservative West Virginia, where state lawmakers recently passed a near-total abortion ban.

The Women’s Health Center of Maryland in Cumberland, roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) from West Virginia, will open its doors in June — a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections — to provide abortions to patients across central Appalachia, a region clinic operators say is an “abortion desert.”

By MATT O’BRIEN The Associated Press

William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform.

They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some longtime users, including 92-year-old Star Trek legend Shatner, have balked at buying the premium service championed by Twitter’s billionaire owner and chief executive Elon Musk. After months of delay, Musk is gleefully promising that Saturday is the deadline for celebrities, journalists and others

who’d been verified for free to pony up or lose their legacy status.

“It will be glorious,” he tweeted Monday, in response to a Twitter user who noted that Saturday is also April Fools’ Day.

After buying Twitter for $44 billion in October, Musk has been trying to boost the struggling platform’s revenue by pushing more people to pay for a premium subscription. But his move also reflects his assertion that the blue verification marks have become an undeserved or “corrupt” status symbol for elite personalities and news reporters.

One of Musk’s first product moves after taking over Twitter was to launch a service granting blue checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month.

“Hours in any direction, there are no other abortion providers here — it’s smack dab in the middle of an absolute abortion desert, and that’s by design,” said Katie Quiñonez, executive director of the Charleston-based Women’s

 LETTER from page 5

get accomplished as we stand with the students who utilize spaces like these.

A third portion of our platform is dedicated to making sure there is transparency given to students when it comes to decision making. On this campus, you often don’t know about the things that are decided and how they affect you until after everything is said and done. Next year, we want to make sure that you are aware of the things that are being discussed and worked on as it is being done. You deserve to

Health Center of West Virginia, the state’s lone abortion clinic until it was forced to stop the procedures after legislators in September passed a ban with narrow exemptions.

know what your campus is doing and how it impacts you. What we have shared here is not even HALF of what we plan to work on should we be elected next year. We have student wage increases, improving bussing efficiency, basic needs support, mental health support, menstrual equity across campus, and more. We have a long list of ways we want to make sure the #MavFam is supported.

As individuals, we have accomplished many things within our own roles across campus this past year and we want to

The Cumberland clinic will be the only independent reproductive health care center in the area and the western-most provider of surgical and medical abortion and gender-affirming hormone therapy in Maryland.

take that same energy into next year and bring the students a student government that has the time, passion, and experience in bringing change to this campus.

We are also excited to be working with so many senators and non-senators right now to make sure that the things we run on are what our students want and are not just things we want to change as we would be here for you, the students. We hope you will support us as we campaign these next couple of weeks and hope to hear from you. Roll Mavs!

JEFF CHIU • The Associated Press William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the verifying blue check marks.

LEAH WILLINGHAM • The Associated Press

Chief Nurse Executive Danielle Maness stands in an empty examination room that was used to perform abortions at the Women’s Health Center.

SPORTS S

Mavs eliminated with 4-0 loss against Huskies

By KARSON BUELOW Staff Writer

After being barely over .500 after the first half of their regular season, many were left uncertain on if the Minnesota State Men’s Hockey team would sniff a berth in the NCAA tournament. But despite the dwindling confidence the Mavericks had in their team, the boys went 15-2-1 in 18 games to set up a date with St. Cloud State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Despite the roaring momentum the Mavericks were able to carry heading into the national tournament, their run was stopped short as St. Cloud blanked Minnesota State 4-0 Thursday night.

“I want to congratulate Brett Larson and St. Cloud State for moving on to play on Saturday,” said Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings. “I just have a ton of respect for them and their program.”

Contrary to the 4-0 final, the game was not completely in favor of St. Cloud. In fact, the Mavericks got out to one of the quickest starts they’ve put together all season, as they left the Huskies without a shot until just under 10 minutes into the first frame.

However, the Mavericks were unable to convert on any of the grade-A chances they produced in the first period and took a 0-0 tie

heading into the locker room. The Mavericks picked up right where they left off in the second period with several consistent minutes of time spent in the Huskies’ defensive zone.

“We couldn’t really get it out of

our end and it extended shift after shift,” said Larson. “As the second period started to go along, we were able to spend more time in their end which allowed us to play our game a little more.”

And, as Larson put it, the Hus-

kies did start to become much more clean and crisp with the way they played and were rewarded with a powerplay just over halfway through the period. To their avail, the Huskies were able to open the scoring on that powerplay as junior

forward Veeti Miettinen beat sophomore goaltender Keenan Rancier to put the Huskies up 1-0.

It wouldn’t stop there for the Huskies in the middle frame, as sophomore defenseman Jack Peart wired a wrist shot bardown past Rancier to put the Huskies up 2-0 with under three to go in the period.

The Huskies defense remained perfect and carried the 2-0 lead into the final period of play.

The third period didn’t start the way the Mavericks had opened the first two, but luckily kept the Huskies off the board early. With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, an unfortunate bounce in favor of husky forward Zach Okabe saw St. Cloud tally an insurance marker, virtually icing the game.

The real icing on the cake for the Huskies came with 3:16 left on the clock as fifth-year forward Grant Cruikshank picked up the empty netter en route to the Huskies’ first-round tournament win. Senior goaltender Jaxon Castor tallied 34 saves on the night for his fourth shutout this season.

“We couldn’t find a way to put one past Castor, he played a really good game,” said senior Maverick forward Cade Borchardt. “We tried to keep chipping away at it, but unfortunately it didn’t go our way tonight.”

Women’s Tennis hungry for the No. 1 spot

By HAYDEN LEE Staff Writer

In a year where they have only picked up one loss, the women’s tennis team did again what they do best: win.

“This is the best, deepest team Minnesota State has had in the last 15 years,” said head coach Jeff Thomae.

With an 8-1 record, the Mavs sit comfortably at No. 2 in the NSIC conference rankings. They sit behind the Augustana Vikings, who have their sights set on moving up to Division I. Their home wins this weekend earned them their fourth and fifth conference wins, besting Minnesota State Moorhead and the University of Mary.

The Mavs have a unique homecourt advantage. They play their matches at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter, home of the Gustavus-Adolphus Golden Gusties.

The Dragons came to town first Friday night, but they left empty-handed. It was all Mavs as they swept the Dragons, not dropping a single match. They began the night by winning all three of the doubles matches.

Senior Lois Page and sophomore Avery Stilwell, the Mavs’ No. 1 duo, posted a 6-2 victory over the

Dragons’ best tennis players. Senior Chiara Carnuletti and sophomore Freia Lawrence won 6-4 in the No. 2 matchup, and freshman McKenna DeMarce and sophomore Elizabeth Felderman took the threes match.

To complete the sweep, the Mavs took all six singles matches, beginning again with Page. She defeated Shaelyn Johnson 6-3 and 6-1 in the No. 1 singles match. Lawrence took the No. 2 matchup 6-1 and 6-2, while Carnelutti dominated the No. 3 matchup 6-1 and 6-0.

At this point, the Mavs had already secured the win, but Stilwell won 6-0 and 6-0 in the No. 4 matchup. DeMarce claimed the No. 5 matchup 7-6 and 6-4, and Felderman took the No. 6 match 6-4 and 6-1.

“The toughest part of this season has been that we have so many athletes that deserve to play,” said Thomae. “It’s tough because every day they feel pressure, but that pressure can be good because when they play matches they are used to playing at a high level.”

In their second match of the weekend, the Mavs took on the Marauders. It was not as easy as Friday, but the Mavs still claimed a 5-2 victory. Page and Stillwell, Carnelutti and Lawrence, DeMarce and Felderman swept the doubles matches, and the Mavs claimed the

first point.

The Mavs won four of six singles matches Saturday, beginning with Page claiming a 6-3 and 7-5 win in the No. 1 matchup. Lawrence was unable to claim the No. 2 matchup,

losing 2-6, winning 6-1 and losing 0-1 in the third set. Carnelutti lost her first set 6-7, but rebounded and won the last two sets 7-6 and 1-0 in a closely contested match.

Stilwell won her first set 6-2,

then lost her second set 7-6 and third 6-1, eventually losing the match. DeMarce got the Mavs back on track, winning 6-4 and 7-6.

Sophomore Hana Minisy closed

DYLAN ENGEL • The Reporter

MSU Men’s Hockey team are eliminated from the NCAA tournament after a 4-0 loss against St. Cloud State Thursday, March 23.

File photo

MSU Women’s Tennis team wins back-to-back matches last weekend in St. Peter, Minnesota against Moorhead Friday, March 24 and UMary Saturday, March 25.

Baseball with another set of wins in the books Opinion:landingLamarvelous spots

By CHARLIE GROEBNER Staff Writer

While the hot streak may have ended, Minnesota State Baseball enters back into the win column, following their road trip to another neutral site.

Last Sunday, the Mavs took on Minot State University in their annual in-conference series. The only difference this time is that due to constant weather changes, both teams met at a neutral site in Omaha, Nebraska.

Unfortunately, The Mavs lost 2-1 against the Beavers in game one of the Sunday doubleheaders. After striking out in the top of the first, the Beavers catcher Matt Malone drove the ball down the right field line for a triple to score.

It wasn’t until the top of the third when junior infielder Mikey Gottschalk doubled to center field to send junior outfielder Ryan Wickman home, tying the game. However, their attempt to make a comeback immediately fell short.

The Beavers star outfielder, Brent Riddle, hammered a ball off

 HUNGRY from page 7

out the weekend in perfect fashion, winning her matches 6-0 and 6-0.

Following their wins, the Mavs have just five more matches until they head into the conference playoffs.

“We are now through the most

Junior pitcher Nathan Culley for a home run. This play ultimately sealed the game for the Mavs and gave Culley his first loss of the season. However, the loss in game one caused the Mavs to respond in a dramatic fashion.

Following a small grace period, both sides took the field for the second game of the day. Entering the second inning, both sides traded off scoring. Junior infielder Adam Schneider homered to center, giving him his first home run of the year. The Beavers responded with a double and single to give them a 2-1 score entering the third.

However, the Mavs took control after a Grand slam from Gottschalk and a double from Wickman, giving the Mavs a 5-1 lead entering the fourth. The Beavers tried to make their way back into the contest after two homers in the fourth and fifth, making it a one-score game. But then, came the final three innings of play in the contest.

During those three innings, the Mavs proceeded to score nine

difficult part of our season, so we just need to use these last five matches to build confidence and put what we’ve learned into play,” said Thomae.

Moving closer and closer to the playoffs, the Mavs have their sights set on taking down Augustana. But for now, they will be focusing

unanswered runs. Countless singles, stolen bases, and errors from the Beavers’s defense caused the Mavs to run up the board. This evened the series up at 1-1 to conclude Sunday’s doubleheader.

As Monday finally arrived, The Mavs continued to run up the board with a 3-0 lead entering the sixth. However, the Beavers made the most out of their last breath.

The Beavers earned three runs off a wild pitch, a fielder’s choice, and a walked batter, tying the game and forcing extra innings.

Both sides would be unable to generate a chance to win in four innings, causing the Mavs to rely heavily on senior pitcher Chandler Fochs to keep them in the contest. It wasn’t until the top of the eleventh where they got their first chance.

Sophomore Aiden Byrne gave the Mavs their first score since the sixth inning with a fielder’s choice that allowed them to score and a one-score lead. The Mavs pitching staff then sealed the game 4-3 in the eleventh to give them a 2-1 series win over the Beavers.

on their next matches in Rogers, where they will take on St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.

“Taking two matches from Augustana has helped our athletes believe that they can do it and that we can do even better than we did before,” said Thomae. “They are hungry to win.”

By MOHAMED WARSAME Staff Writer

It’s been two weeks since the legal tampering period of NFL free agency began. That combined with the trades that have gone down in recent weeks has given fans plenty to talk about. With all the moves that have happened and the ones that could still potentially happen as the 2023 NFL Draft approaches in a month, the most seismic move of the offseason could yet have occurred. This would be a Lamar Jackson trade.

Yes you read that correctly. A 26-year-old former MVP quarterback with no current or past major injuries could potentially be dealt. This is the type of stuff you see in a Madden Franchise mode, not real life. Teams do everything they can to find the right guy at the most important position in the sport and keep him for as long as possible. The only time they let them go is when they are old like Tom Brady was when he left the Patriots in 2020 at the age of 42 or when the Colts let Peyton Manning walk out the door after he suffered a career-threatening neck injury.

Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have been unable to come to an agreement on a long-term deal. There have been various reports on what the Ravens have offered Jackson, and what he is asking for. What we know for sure is that after Jackson played this past season on his fifth-year deal, the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him March

7. Which means that there is a one-year $32.4 million guaranteed deal for him on the table if the two sides cannot find a middleground. This also means that Jackson is free to negotiate with other teams and the Ravens have the right to match the offer. If they choose to decline matching an offer that Jackson and another team have agreed to, Jackson’s new team would send two first-round picks to Baltimore.

The Ravens played their cards 20 days ago. Monday was Jackson’s turn. The star QB hit send on a tweet where he revealed that he requested to be traded from the organization March 2. Now that we know more about where Jackson stands, here are five teams that I believe would be great landing spots for the former MVP. San Francisco 49ers: This one is a bit of a pipe dream. I’m not really sure how the Niners could pull this off. The Niners already have so much money tied up on the offensive side of the ball. That is while having not much of it at the QB position and Jackson would command big money. Maybe the Ravens rated Trey Lance highly before the QB was drafted at No. 3 overall by the Niners in the 2021 NFL Draft and would be interested in him as part of a potential trade since we’ve barely seen him play in the NFL. Let’s just forget about that for a moment. Close your eyes and imagine. Lamar Jackson behind center with Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszcyk next to or behind him at running back

File photo

NICK WASS • The Associated Press

The MSU Men’s Baseball team wins two of three games after a triple-game series against Minot State between Sunday, March 26 and Monday, March 27.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson speaks to the media at a press conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

LANDING on page 9

Opinion: The madness of March

UConn’s Final Four streak ends with 73-61 loss

By LUKE JACKSON Staff Writer

Two weeks into March Madness and this season’s tournament has truly lived up to its name. Over the past two weeks, there have been constant headlines of Cinderella stories and upset after upset.

This year it seems like David has taken over Goliath. No “blue blood” teams remain and most big-name schools were knocked out of the bracket early. For the first time since the seeding began in 1979, there were zero No.1 seeds in the Elite Eight and now there are no number one, two or three seeds remaining as we have the final four teams set. That is truly madness.

I knew it was going to be a great tournament right from the start. The round of 64 left all 20 million brackets shook after a 16 seed brought down a number one seed for the second time in history. Fairleigh Dickinson came into the tournament as the shortest listed team and had to face the 7-foot-4 monster of Zach Edey of the first-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. Their five-out offense ran circles on him and was able to

knock Purdue out of the playoffs in the first round. This gave FDU their first March Madness win and advanced them to the second round. Although they lost in the second round, they entered the tournament as the shortest team, but left as the largest and most talked about.

Luckily for FDU, they were knocked out by another underdog. The nine-seeded Florida Atlantic Owls bested FDU and carried their torch throughout the rest of the tournament. The Owls remain in the final four after knocking off No.4 Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen and No.3 Kansas State in the Elite Eight. This team now has a legitimate shot at winning it all and becoming the lowest seed to ever win the tournament. Another shining example of a Cinderella story.

These cases of underdogs winning and making runs in such a huge tournament showcase why this is the best tournament in all of the sports. Sure, in the NFL you may see a wild card team make a deep run for the Superbowl or even become champions, but that should be expected. Those are all players who get paid millions to play and are at the very top of their game. They are players that are

showcased daily throughout the season and that play their sport for a living. That should also be expected for every other professional sport.

What happens every March in college basketball truly is special. These students attend class and then they are expected to go play in front of millions of viewers during the tournament. With no money involved for most small schools, they shock the world and simply survive and advance.

To put in perspective, FDU play’s in an arena that can only hold 1,852 fans. Purdue’s arena can host 14,240. The difference in that is crazy. On top of that, the small schools get no media coverage throughout the entire year and are expected to lose with ease to the powerhouse schools. But it is never that simple.

Florida Atlantic now looks to play the fifth-seeded San Diego State Saturday and if they win, they have a chance at making history in the championship game. If this tournament hasn’t already proven why you should never count out an underdog, Florida Atlantic may prove it by winning it all. This is why the madness of March is so special.

By DOUG FEINBERG The Associated Press

UConn’s record Final Four run is over, thanks to a monumental performance by Ohio State.

The Buckeyes ended UConn’s unprecedented streak of reaching 14 consecutive Final Fours, beating the Huskies 73-61 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

“The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you’re closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s just a matter of time. I mean, it’s not if it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time when it’s going to happen. And it was going to happen sooner rather than later. Cotie McMahon scored 23 points for the Buckeyes, who snapped their

three-decade Elite Eight drought. The Buckeyes hadn’t made a regional final since 1993, when they eventually lost in the title game to Texas Tech.

“When I had the opportunity to come to Ohio State, this was certainly the goal and the vision to go farther than they have been going,” said coach Kevin McGuff, who had never beaten UConn. “It’s not easy to get here, obviously. But I’m really proud of our team and our program of how we’ve evolved to be able to get to this point.

“Like I said, I mean, I have so much respect for Geno and his staff and all that they have accomplished. So for us to be able to win this game in the Sweet 16 is obviously extremely significant. They’re just hard to beat. They’re so well-coached. So this is a great win for us.”

and fullback respectively. George Kittle at tight end. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk the two wide receivers. Head coach Kyle Shanahan as the play caller. It might be a pipe dream for me, but I guarantee that it would be a nightmare for the rest of the league.

New England Patriots: I like Mac Jones. Jones took a giant step back in his second season, after a solid rookie year. The QB was given a raw deal when head coach Bill Belichick hired Matt Patricia to be the Patriots offensive coordinator last season. The guy had no experience coaching offense

prior to last season. Now that the Patriots have a “real” offensive coordinator in Bill O’Brien, and some upgrades in the skill positions with the signing of WR Juju Smith-Schuster and TE Mike Gesicki, there is something for Jackson to work with. The addition of Jackson and another playmaker on offense combined with Bill Belichick’s consistently good defense would revive the big bad Patriots. Indianapolis Colts: The Colts merry go round at the quarterback position needs to stop at some point. Having guys like Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan start at QB

since the abrupt retirement of Andrew Luck hasn’t worked. It’s time for the Colts to get their long-term guy.

The Colts currently have the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. With the first two picks expected to be QBs, they shouldn’t reach for a QB just because they need one if they feel there is a dropoff from the ones that could be picked. They should either select the best defensive player on their draft board and trade their 2024 and 2025 first-round picks after the draft or just trade the No. 4 pick this year and the 2024 pick.

 LANDING from page 8 full story on website

CAEAN COUTO • The Associated Press

A basketball with a March Madness logo rests on a rack before a First Four game between Illinois and Mississippi State.

Ohio State guard Rikki Harris (1) flexes after scoring and being fouled in the fourth quarter of a Sweet 16 college basketball game.

MICHAEL CATERINA • The Associated Press

Rhodes ready to take his place in WrestleMania spotlight

Lamar Jackson says he has requested trade

By NOAH TRISTER The Associated Press

Lamar Jackson said Monday he has requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens, saying the team “has not been interested in meeting my value.”

In a series of tweets, the star quarterback said he requested a trade as of March 2. On March 7, the Ravens put the nonexclusive franchise tag on Jackson and said they were still hopeful they could reach a long-term deal with him.

“As of March 2nd I requested a trade from the Ravens organization for which the Ravens has not been interested in meeting my value,” Jackson said on Twitter. “Any and everyone that’s has met me or been around me know I love the game of football and my dream is to help a team win the super bowl.”

By JOE REEDY The Associated Press

World Wrestling Entertainment’s prodigal son could become its undisputed champion on April 2.

Cody Rhodes will face Roman Reigns in the main event of this year’s WrestleMania looking to write the final chapter of a story that began seven years ago when he left the company. When Rhodes departed in 2016, he was mired in playing different characters with no hopes of being a topcard wrestler.

He spent the time on the independent circle, including Ring of Honor, before becoming one of the significant figures in the formation of All Elite Wrestling, which has become the biggest competitor to WWE since WCW in the late ’90s.

Rhodes came back to a hero’s welcome at last year’s WrestleMania. A torn pectoral muscle last June put a slight roadblock to the comeback, but Rhodes returned in late January and won the Royal Rumble. That set up his match with Reigns, who will put his 946-day championship reign on the line April 2 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

“It’s satisfying and vindicating. But it’s hard for me to look at it and say, ‘Hey, I told you so. I knew I had it,’ unless I beat Roman Reigns,” said Rhodes about his comeback.

During his interview with The Associated Press, Rhodes also discussed his father, previewed his match against Reigns and reflected on the past seven years.

AP: The main event between you and Roman looks like two wrestlers peaking at the right time.

RHODES: I’m from Georgia, so there’s an element I see a little differently in the sense that Roman’s not a Bulldog; he’s a Yellow Jacket. Roman went to Georgia Tech, the MIT of the South. I’m sure MIT people are freaking out that I’m saying that, but it’s not an easy school to get into. That forms his wrestling IQ. His conditioning is that of a high-level athlete. That’s why he was able to stand in there with Brock Lesnar (last

year) and look the part. You mentioned he’s peaking at this point. That’s a scary thought if you think about the success he’s already had. What might be in my favor is simply the fact that I don’t think Roman knows enough about what I’ve done and who I am. My thing is taking something that wrestling purists, analysts, observers, and journalists say cannot be done or will ever be done again and subverting those expectations.

AP: This main event, more than others at WrestleMania, has the feelings of a family story due to your dad (who passed away in 2015). It’s Dusty Rhodes’ son against one of “Dusty’s Kids” that he trained at NXT.

RHODES: When he passed away, “Dusty’s Kids” was something that I heard a lot because his influence and legacy were being spread out. That was a statistic being touted. Bayley, Sasha (Banks), Becky (Lynch), Seth (Rollins), Roman, Sami (Zayn), Kevin (Owens), the core ones, were all doing better than I was. It wasn’t something I could complain about or throw a tantrum over because they were honoring him. It almost felt like they were honoring him more than I was. And there’s jealousy and envy that comes with it. I would have loved to have done a promo class or been around a ring with my father. I got a far different education from him than they did. But that’s why in these interviews, even on nights I don’t want to say his name or talk about him, you hear it nonetheless because his fingerprints are all over WrestleMania. Every one of those people I just named, for the most part, is doing something spectacular. You want to add yourself to that list, and you almost can’t function if you don’t. I feel like that’s slightly weaponized in a sense by Roman toward me. I wasn’t adjusted and ready for it. I’m ready for it now.

AP: You already had a lot of support from fans when you returned last year, but it seemed like you picked up more after going through with your match with Seth Rollins after suffering a torn pec while preparing for the match because people could see what you were going through physically.

Jackson may not need a trade to join a new team. The nonexclusive franchise tag allows him to negotiate with other clubs. However, it also gives Baltimore a chance to match any agreement he makes. The decision to make the trade request public may be an attempt to deter the Ravens from matching another team’s offer — or an attempt to spur more interest among other teams by declaring that he wants out of Baltimore.

If Jackson makes a deal with another team and the Ravens don’t match, that team would owe Baltimore two first-round draft picks. Ravens coach John Harbaugh spoke extensively about Jackson on Monday at the league’s owners meetings in Phoenix.

“I haven’t seen the tweet. That’s an ongoing process,” Harbaugh said. “I’m following it very closely, just like everybody else is here, and looking forward to a resolution. I’m excited, thinking about Lamar all the time, thinking about

him as our quarterback. We’re building our offense around that idea.”

Jackson was the 2019 NFL MVP. His passing and running ability make him one of the game’s biggest stars. At age 25, he already is one of six quarterbacks in NFL history with 10,000 yards passing and 4,000 rushing.

Jackson has been hurt at the end of the past two seasons, and the Ravens haven’t reached the AFC championship game with him. If he remains with Baltimore, he’ll have a new coordinator. The Ravens hired Georgia’s Todd Monken for that position after the end of last season.Harbaugh said he anticipates Jackson being Baltimore’s quarterback at the start of next season.

“You’ve got to plan for all the contingencies for sure,” Harbaugh said. “But I’m pretty fired up about Lamar Jackson. I mean, Lamar Jackson is a great player. Lamar came back in great shape last year. He’s fired up to play. That’s the Lamar that I’m looking forward to

seeing. Can’t wait to get back on the grass and go to work, and I’m confident that’s going to happen.”

Harbaugh tried to stay upbeat about the prospects of Jackson’s return. If Jackson does come back and play this season on Baltimore’s $32.4 million franchise tag, it could certainly be an awkward situation, and the coach will have his work cut out for him trying to soothe any hard feelings.

“Nothing’s changed in terms of the relationships, how we feel about Lamar, how we want to build our team,” Harbaugh said. Jackson does not have an agent. In a memo sent to teams last week and obtained by The Associated Press, the NFL management council said a person who is not an NFLPA-certified agent may be contacting clubs and attempting to persuade them to negotiate with Jackson. The memo reminded teams that, under the collective bargaining agreement, if a player is representing himself, an offer sheet can only be negotiated with that player.

WWE • The Associated Press Cody Rhodes makes his entrance during WrestleMania 38 on April 3, 2022. Rhodes will be part of the main event for WrestleMania 39.

PHELAN M. EBENHACK • The Associated Press

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) leaves the field after the end of the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

VA RI ET Y

Jensen headlines Good Thunder

By KENDALL LARSON Staff Writer

The Good Thunder Reading Series held an event featuring author Toni Jensen that featured a workshop, craft talk and a reading from Jensen’s book “Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land.”

The workshop focused on helping students balance imagery and other language-based concerns with broader storytelling and narrative.

Jensen said she wanted students to learn how to tell their stories. She chose to do this using a free-write exercise and some guided exercises. The activities were about how to shift the story’s language to reach different audiences.

“I think that, for creative nonfiction — where the creativity and where the balances come in — both can be from the language, the imagery and the natural world,” Jensen said.

The craft talk was done in partnership with the Kessel Peace Institute and discussed research and writing.

The research portion talked

researching social justice issues and how to make the world safer or better.

Jensen said she chose to emphasize these subjects because of her past connections in experiencing gun violence, which her memoir covers.

For the final event of the night, Jensen read from her book.

She read from the beginning of the book, and from an essay within the book that dealt with peace but also the violence she experienced.

These excerpts showcased the story and highlighted what she went over in her workshop and craft talk.

“Even though I will be talking about my experiences, I want students to see how a person writes about those experiences,” Jensen said.

And writing about those experiences can be challenging. But Jensen said that to help her cope with writing about these issues, she “made sure to have a pattern in the workplace and [her] life,” as this kept her from not overdoing it.

“I balanced the content of my book with the scenery I re-

member. I use a lot of bird images, for example, because they are beautiful and a little funny too,” Jensen continued, “It’s also important to take care of yourself when writing about difficult things, especially if they are personal.”

Learning more about yourself will help you become a better writer, she said, but can also limit your writing.There are

‘After Hours’ altered

life

my

By EMMA JOHNSON News Director

People talk about how certain songs and albums changed their outlook on life. How they can remember exactly where they were and what they were going through when they first heard a song for the first time. Music can literally change lives. I can attest to it.

skills you build up as a writer and others where you just have to have confidence. As part of being a good writer, Jensen said, “Trust your instinct but also get to know the people in your classes and workshops to have a few trusted people. And get comfortable being edited or critiqued early because it can help you be more honest with yourself.”

An aca-amazing vocal group on campus

By LAUREN VISKA Staff Writer

When people hear the words “a cappella”, they usually think of the film “Pitch Perfect” or the band Pentatonix.

If this is your thing, you’re in luck: There is a six-member a cappella group at MSU called Maverick Vocal Precision that just performed at Acapocalypse, an a cappella competition at Port Washington High School in Wisconsin.

“What’s nice about going to these (competitions) is you’re performing for people who do the same kind of thing. It’s college and high school groups, so you see your peers from all over the region,” said one of the directors, Doug Snapp.

The other director, Stephanie Thorpe, said she thinks attending these competitions is a great way to meet and learn from new people.

She also said the audience gets involved with what the group is doing.

“We get to learn more and to see what other groups are doing and meet people and network within the a cappella community,” said Thorpe. “One of our students has a really low female voice, and as soon as she started singing, you could hear people in the crowd go, ‘yes.’”

The process for preparing for this competition started in October of last semester.

“We had to record something that they did in the fall. We had some really great songs that they did in the fall with good choreography and stuff like that,” said Thorpe. “We had them come in after one of our concerts and then we recorded like we used a class period to record their set a couple times, and then we sent it off.”

Snapp said there were some struggles about recording the audition video in the fall.

“The audition part is a little more challenging for us because the beginning of the year, what kind of group do we have? They haven’t necessarily developed their blend and feel for each other. It’s like what’s going on?” said Snapp. “This group really kind of melded together pretty well.”

The group does many different kinds of music, from pop to contemporary. Students have a say in what type of music they sing.

“We have student buy-in, so we play stuff for the students that we think our group can do, and they are welcome to submit songs too,” said Thorpe, “We decide on them all together. Dr. Snapp and I have the final say, of course.”

Snapp said students giving them song ideas is helpful.

“I think that’s one of the things that’s unique about these groups compared to some of our traditional ensembles, where,

you know, the director, picks the music. We’ll all listen to them, and we kind of vote, rank, and so forth. Then we have to say, ‘Well, does this fit the group? How many parts does it have?’” said Snapp. “On the way back from competitions, the students always play their stuff. So we’re constantly like, ‘Oh, who’s that by? Oh, this will be a good song.’”

This group is open to all students at the university, not just choral students.

“We have a lot of great singers that aren’t majors, and a lot of non majors. There are students that come from all these high schools doing a cappella choir or just choir and show

choir,” said Snapp.

Last year, they got the chance to go to Memphis, Tennessee for another festival.

“We went to the One Voice Acapella Festival last year. We had to be selected to go there, too. It really lit a fire under them. It was really cool,” said Thorpe. “So most of them had been to a festival when we went this year, so they kind of knew what to expect and they were really excited.”

The group meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 - 3 p.m. in the Performing Arts building. For more information on joining the group, email Dr. Snapp or Dr. Thorpe.

The world had just recently shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, I was taking one of my English electives, journalism. Since interviewing students was something that we could no longer do, our teacher assigned us an album review. I knew exactly which one I was going to do. In the fall of 2019, I became addicted to listening to The Weeknd. I instantly fell in love with his discography and was thrilled to hear about his upcoming album, “After Hours.”

It was midnight and the album was fully released. Lying in bed with my headphones on, the beat dropped in “Alone Again” and I felt like I was transcending into another universe. As the rest of the tracks played, I was moved and couldn’t believe my ears.

The next day, while listening to every song once again, I poured my heart out onto the document. At the time, I didn’t think of it as an assignment. It was fun. I didn’t even find it difficult to incorporate both The Weeknd’s background and how it beautifully blended with my favorite tracks. I remember feeling like I had nailed the assignment, but I wasn’t prepared for what it would actually give me.

A day or two later, I got an email from my teacher saying “I’d like to put your article on The Statesman’s website.”

I was shocked. Only if you worked on staff did you get your story put on the website. A journalism student’s article amidst the sea of staff writers. Thrilled to have my first-ever story published, I immediately responded “Yes!”

At the same time, I was debating on what to take for classes in my senior year of high school. I could either take another year of science to fully round out my chances of getting a scholarship if I so chose to attend a South Dakota college or I could write for the newspaper for a whole year. Considering I still didn’t even know where I wanted to

LILLY ANDERSON • The Reporter

Toni Jensen, pictured above, hosted the most recent Good Thunder event. Her book, “Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land” speaks on what it means to exist as an Indigenous woman in America.

Photo Courtesy of Maverick Vocal Precision Maverick Vocal Precision, pictured above, have flexed their singing muscles all across the country, from New York to Minnesota.

 MUSIC from page 11

go, my mom suggested I take a chance on the paper. Turns out, saying yes to that one email changed the trajectory of my life. It didn’t take me long to fit in with the newspaper environment. Throughout the course of my senior year, I ventured a few times into feature stories on people, but stuck mainly to entertainment and satire pieces, doing numerous reviews on movies and albums. Because I loved the fast-paced environment of the newsroom, the personalities of my co-workers and getting to write daily, my only disappointment leaving high school was I didn’t get involved with the paper sooner. Enter the Reporter. Moving

Building resumes to guarantee success

By MERCEDES KAUPHUSMAN Staff Writer

An employer looks at a resume for an average of just six seconds; finding suitable information that is enough for an impression can be difficult to squeeze into this sliver of time.

To address the do’s and don’ts of what fills the page, the Maverick Success Workshop and the Career Development Center at Mankato State combined forces to educate students about building their resumes Monday at 4 p.m. in the Centennial Student Union.

Assistant director and campus career liaison of the MSU career development Center, Alexis Persons, took the lead on this workshop to stress how a resume reflects its bolded name on top.

Persons said. “Let us help you get that job.”

exactly how they’re going to translate it to the resume.”

out of state to a place where I didn’t know anyone, there was only one thing I knew for sure. I would work for the campus newspaper as soon as I possibly could. The day after I moved in, I picked up an application and promptly turned it in within two hours of walking into the office. As they say, the rest is history. Had The Weeknd not decided to become an artist and release “After Hours,” I would probably be at a different college with different less cool people and potentially a different major. Just a 17-song album led me to find my passions in life. I attribute the majority of my success to “After Hours:” the album that changed my life.

“Here at MSU we have so many great students, but if they have difficulty translating that to a resume, then people outside (the employers) are going to have a hard time seeing how great they are,” Persons said. “How do we put that greatness onto paper in a way that employers are going to be excited about it?”

The two programs at the university answered this question by accumulating research on current trends in employers and what they look for in applicants. From there, Persons presented the knowledge on behalf of the Career Development Center and its role as an advising facility for career planning.

“The majority of students come to college with the idea of getting a job at the end of it, and so that’s our goal, too. We got it. We have a shared goal,”

A resume embodies someone’s career path. This is able to expand through self assessment, occupational exploration, gaining experience, evaluation, goal setting, and networking. Through these processes, one is able to vamp up their report and acquire skills along the way. Although there are many elements that make-up a resume, the most important aspect is to have experiences to pack it with.

“Worry less about how to put it on the resume and worry more about just getting the experience in general,” Persons said. “Whether that is doing informational interviews with professionals, getting involved in a student organization, or whether that is finding a part time job or a volunteering opportunity. Focus more on getting those experiences than

Supporting MSU students in their future endeavors is valuable to the Maverick Success Workshop and Career Development Center. It is their job to relieve some of the stress that comes from planning a future, and provide a helping hand with navigating a career journey.

“We are here. We are a resource,” Persons said. “We’re here every day from 8-4:30, and when we’re not here in person you can meet us, you can get us on an email and we can handle it as soon as we get back.”

Both programs have useful materials and invite students to come explore what is available. Students are also able to utilize drop-in hours at the Career Development Center with their resumes in hand, or via email at cdcreviews@mnsu.edu to receive recommendations.

Photo Courtesy of Republic Records

“After Hours,” the album by The Weeknd, pictured above, broke the record for the most global pre-adds in Apple Music history in March 2020, with over 1.02 million users.

PHEDIAS PIERIDES • The Reporter

The Maverick Success Workshop, working together with the Career Development center, vow to help their students attain their best futures.