April 7, 2015

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Minnesota State University, Mankato

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Autism Awareness in Mankato: Story on Page 2

Photos by Yohanes Ashenafi

The MSU tower was lit up in blue (left) while the CEC hosted a scavenger hunt (right) April 2 in honor of Autism Awareness Month.

MSU observatories open to explorers Students encouraged to visit the campus facility for a stellar experience. a friend about the observatories and head to the southern edge of campus on a starry night.

I personally will be making a trip to Standeford this spring.

Yes, the extra credit is enticing, but I can genuinely say that I have enjoyed learning about the night sky in my astronomy class. The observatory gives me the opportunity to visually see many of the phenomena I have been learning in theory for over half of a semester now.

Whether you come to get some extra credit, make a new discovery or make a wish on a shooting star you pass your spring semester finals, going to the MSU observatories can be an unexpectedly educational and

NICOLE SCHMIDT Staff Writer After a long winter away, Minnesota State University Mankato’s Standeford and Andreas Observatories are open once again as of April 1.

The average MSU student has many options to observe the night sky.

The Standeford Observatory is primarily for students taking astronomy, but all students are welcome to come and observe the night sky.

The biggest telescope offered at the Standeford Observatory is a 14-inch Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain. This telescope is housed in a 3-meter Observa-DOME and is great for picking out constellations, asterisms and other celestial bodies.

Coordinates for over 140,000 objects are programmed into the telescope already, making finding Polaris or Betelgeuse fairly easy.

The Standeford Observatory is open clear nights Monday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. this April. A sign is posted daily at the southern end of Lot 1 confirming whether or not it is open. If you are still questioning whether or not it will be open, call (507) 389-6208 before you hop in your car and drive over to Lot 1.

INSIDE:

Photos Courtesy of the Department of Physics and Astronomy The Standeford Observatory is located south of campus, behind Lot 1.

MSU also has another place to view the stars with the Andreas Observatory, located near Standeford, which has a 20-inch (.5-meter) Cassegrain telescope.

About 10 other smaller telescopes, ranging from 5.5 to 13 inches, are available for use on the concrete slab surrounding the dome.

Andreas is used primarily by faculty and staff for higher instruction and personal research, but if you so desire to visit, you

may be able to schedule a tour by calling Dr. Steven Kipp at 507.389.5912.

Going to an observatory is worth so much more than the extra credit (which some astronomy professors do offer for going). Getting outside on a pleasant spring night to look at the bright stars can be a fun and different activity to try on campus.

Not surprisingly (yet sadly), many MSU students are unaware of the telescopes on campus as well. Be sure to tell

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Food and fitness come together at MSU The 2015 expo will offer information, prizes in MavAve this Wednesday.

YUSEONG JEON Staff Writer The 2015 Food and Fitness Expo will be held on Wednesday, April 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Centennial Student Union MavAve at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The event aims to provide students with information about healthy nutrition and fitness habits in general, emphasizing the importance of diet and exercise.

In the event, free healthy food samples will be provided along with free blood pressure screening and lots of games and prizes.

In addition, participants will be able to enjoy other fun activities such as devising fun fitness ideas, playing nutrition jeopardy, guessing accurate serving sizes, having plank and jump rope competition, making a mantra

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and wining a blender.

According to Heidi Swanson, graduate assistant of Student Health Service as well as coor-

dinator if 2015 Food & Fitness Expo, the event is a tradition sponsored by many school organizations.

7th Annual WALKdo promotes education and awareness Family friendly event organized to support those impacted by Autism.

RAE FRAME News Editor April is Autism Awareness Month and many groups are getting together for events that promote and support those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

The 7th annual WALKdo for Autism Awareness will be held this Sunday, April 12 at the River Hills Mall and will offer family friendly activities and feature local organizations that support those who are impacted by ASD. Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication and by restricted and repetitive behavior, with these signs often manifesting before a child is three years old. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Autism affects one in 68 children.

The event has been held outdoors in Sibley Park in the past, where weather and scheduling have been problematic. This year’s event will make use of the mall theater and present a “sensory friendly” movie for families attending the event. The screening will begin at 10:30 a.m. and Cinemark Movies 8 will be of-

Photo Courtesy of Karen Wright

fering a reduced price to walk participants.

Other activities, including face painting, games, vendors, food and information on area services, will be offered at the event.

The WALKdo is the largest event for the Southern Minnesota Autism Coalition (SMAC) and donations from this program will be applied

towards education opportunities and events and activities for families throughout the area.

Registration for the event will open at 8:30 a.m. and the walk will begin at 9:30 a.m.

For more information about WALKdo7, or to register, visit http://www.walkdo.org or call 507.430.0211.

“This an annual event that Student Health Services puts on and it’s my first year in this position,” Swanson said. “I am adding a more like fitness type booth we usually would do more nutrition-based stuff but I am adding in some fitness also. So I am trying to do balancing out a little bit more with the fitness and nutrition.”

Swanson said the event is important for students to know what their resources are around campus so that students can be informed of healthier options they can get on campus. She said there will be a lot of activities that a lot of students are aware that they can take advantage of.

“I think the main purpose of the event is to inform students of their resources and all that stuffs. I didn’t want to bring in people from outside in the community because this is a campuswide event and I want to keep it within the campus so students know what they can do while

they are on campus,” Swanson said.

One of the volunteers of the event as well as a student worker at the Student Health Services Nickolas Vasquez said each booth is run by different student groups.

“My booth is run by the Health PROs and I think this event is important because health is important. I believe the whole purpose of the event is just to get school and students healthier. Healthier students perform better and that’s a part of what the school is about, producing good students, good people for the future career and future industries,” Vasquez said.

“They will give information about new healthy foods, different ways to be healthier, exercise healthier, and more than certainly there will be stuff about how to get better sleep, breathing posture, there’s a lot of general and a few specifics here and there when it comes to health and food,” Vasquez continued.

Food and Fitness Expo is free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by Minnesota State University, Mankato Student Health Services/Health PROs, the Campus Recreation Center, Latino Wellness, Student Dietetic and Nutrition Organization, Phi Upsilon Omicron, Eta Sigma Gamma, Sport & Exercise psychology club and University Dining Services.

For more information, please contact Heidi Swanson at Heidi. swanson@mnsu.edu.

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Send resume to: P.O. Box 60 St. Peter, MN 56082 or email: staylor@hoffmanncenter.org More information available at www.hoffmanncenter.org

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

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MSU Photo Moment: Pushups for Veteran Awareness Throughout the month of April, the Veterans Resource Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato seeks to raise awareness of veteran suicide by hosting daily pushup contests. Any campus or community member is welcome to join at noon in front of the campus fountain.

Photos by Yohanes Ashenafi

Groundwater concerns blossom in Blooming Prairie BLOOMING PRAIRIE, Minn. — Some residents in southern Minnesota are worried about what the growth of large animal feedlots could mean for local groundwater and quality of life.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports a new program was recently launched by state officials in four southern Minnesota counties to review water use by livestock farms and whether they have proper permits.

Water-appropriation permits are required by the state for operators that use more than 1 million gallons of water a year, but only a fraction of operators have them.

Rural Dodge County resident Lowell Trom and his wife have sued the county over its approval

of a hog farm bordering his land, saying officials fast-tracked it unfairly. Ten hog farms already sit around their home in 3-mile ring.

“It just got too big. That’s the problem,” Trom said of livestock operations around him. He was born in the house 85 years ago.

A judge ruled in favor of the Troms in an earlier lawsuit in December, saying county officials gave the OK to an incomplete permit application for the new hog farm. The operator made revisions to the application, and the county approved the 2,400 hog operation by the end of the month.

Sonja Tom Eayrs, the couple’s daughter, said her parents are worried about the smell from the new hog farm bordering their

land, as well as long-term effects on air quality, water usage and contamination.

County officials contend the process was legal. Zoning and environmental services director Mark Gamm said the county made changes to its ordinance to comply with the judge’s decision, clarifying what’s required in applications.

Dodge County Administrator Jim Elmquist said the county held a public hearing about the proposed farm and notified the state and local officials about the application.

“What’s trying to be projected out there is that Dodge County fast-tracked it so nobody could get the information,” Elmquist said. “Everybody had the information.”

TWIN CITIES SERVICES MSP Airport Select Downtown Service (Minneapolis & St. Paul) Train Connections to The Mall of America and Event Centers

4 • MSU Reporter

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Q & A with the Winners of the 2015 ISA Elections An interview with Dolly Baruah and Faiçal Rayani.

LUKE LARSON Staff Writer

Last Tuesday, international students cast their votes for president and vice president of the International Students Association (ISA). From a pool of four candidates, Dolly Baruah, a sophomore from Guwahati, India majoring in business, was elected as the new ISA president with 192 votes, 43% of the total, beating out second-place finisher Ayushma Shrestha by 56 votes.

Faiçal Rayani, a sophomore from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia majoring in Information Technology, was elected vice president with 230 votes, beating out Charles Thiemele by 89 votes. Although the positions of president and vice president are voted for separately, the two had campaigned together leading up to the election. President-elect Baruah and vice president-elect Rayani recently spoke with the Reporter about themselves, the state of the ISA, and their goals and aspirations for the organization.

As the new leaders of the ISA, what will be your top priorities?

Dolly Baruah: My top priority is to give a platform to all the International Students to showcase their talents. I have planned to come up with the talent show.

I’m really excited about it, and I’ve been talking with students about the idea. Faiçal and I are coming up with really great events. Everyone should step up and participate! I think events are very important, because if you organize events, then a lot of people can meet each other and experience each others’ culture, and this fosters communication with international students.

That’s our first goal.

Secondly, we will really focus on building better relationships between international students with small gatherings. I’m thinking of creating more publicity even for the small events. If we [invite] everybody to come, the small gatherings will be really beneficial for the international students to meet each other and know each other. That’s the most important thing.

We also are thinking not only of the international students, but the native students should also cooperate with each other and come up with events, because that would be really good in helping the international students to know more about America.

It’s important for international students because they plan to come here, stay here, and learn here, so it would be better. I’m also envisioning small events where all the native students and the international students can all come together and come up with events.

Faiçal Rayani: Personally, I want to have mixer events. The idea is really crude right now, but I want all the international RSOs to get to know each other,

SPRING 2015 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Schuyler Houtsma........ 389-5454 NEWS EDITOR: Rae Frame.................. 389-5450 SPORTS EDITOR: Derek Lambert.............. 389-5157 A&E EDITOR: Chelsey Dively..............389-5227 ADVERTISING SALES: Mac Boehmer............. 389-5097 Jase Strasburg.............. 389-1079 Jacob Wyffels..............389-6765 Allie Bigbee................ 389-5609 Brandon Poliszuk......... 389-5453 Amber Masloski...........389-1063 Sam Rosenzweig..........389-5451 BUSINESS MANAGER: Jane Tastad.................. 389-1926

Photo Courtesy of Dolly Baruah

because as it stands, there isn’t enough interaction between them. I want to bring them all together.

As for events, we’ve already been having gatherings in the ISA office every week almost.

We have the ISA Café, What’s Weird about America, and small group discussions. So there’s those, the events we have at the ISA office. And then we have all the cultural nights: India Night, Nepal Night, African Night, the international night, etc. So, we have all these kinds of events already, but we want to add more.

Why made you decide to run for these positions?

DB: I was really inspired by seeing others helping the international students. The first step that I took was to be a peer mentor, because I thought “okay, I should start like this to help the other international students.” I really enjoyed the job, and I really enjoyed helping others. I feel

good when they come to me with the questions and when they don’t know something and asked “could you help me?” I felt really happy when I got the opportunity to be in a position to help to the international students. Then I realized how the members of the ISA feel when they get the opportunity to help the international students and what ISA really stands for. Then I thought, “how can I help others in a bigger way?” I thought running for president of the ISA was the best opportunity for me.

FR: I had already gotten the position for vice president of RHA (Residence Hall Association), and I wanted to have more experience in that field. I also wanted to help out more with the international community because I’ve been a little bit out of touch with it.

The slogan “Your Dreams, Our Responsibilities” was cen-

ISA • Page 5

“MSSA elections are April 14, what would make you more likely to vote?”

TOFAYEL AHMAD, I.T. “Campaign so people know it’s coming up and food to encourage them. Let people know about what they can do for the students.”

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THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THE MSU REPORTER ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OR STUDENT BODY.

Compiled by Yohanes Ashenafi

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“The candidates need to market themselves around campus better.”

“Definitely free food!”

“If I see people I know who are going to vote.”

“[Candidates can] be active on campus to promote themselves.”

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

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ISA continued from 4 also want them to step up if they think they have come up with a great project and we can make an event out of it.

FR: Dolly really would like to showcase everyone’s talents.

That’s where her emphasis was.

She wants everyone to be involved and to give everyone a platform.

What do you think needs to be changed about the ISA? FR: Our current executive board is very occupied. They do a wonderful job but they are so busy that it’s hard for them to keep up with everything and be completely involved. We plan to follow in their footsteps and do one better by being even more involved and raising awareness of all the functions of ISA. I would like to also change the attitude of carelessness that seems to be somewhat common amongst matters of the ISA. It’s important that people treat the ISA resources and staff with respect.

What are the biggest chal-

lenges facing international students at MSU today?

DB: I feel that along with culture, it’s communication.

Because English is a second language for some people, it really becomes difficult for them to communicate. So because of that, they don’t try to get involved. If, say, one of my friends is from Sri Lanka or Bangladesh and he/she wants to talk with me, he/she has to talk with me in English. If my English is not so fluent, communication becomes difficult.

Second, all have different culture and thoughts, and that makes a barrier for the students in interacting with each other.

I think the biggest challenge is communication and differences in the culture and that’s why international students are always staying in groups among themselves. But when we try to informalize our relationship with each other, with small gettogethers, sharing food, culture, and music, it becomes really

exciting and they start to interact and become good friends. I made my best friends like that.

FR: It’s not just communication barriers. I feel like it’s cultural barriers as well. I think that when you come to a new country, your natural instinct is to find things that are closer to what home is like. So you’ll conglomerate with all the people that are closer to you, when in reality you should immerse yourself in different cultures. I think that is a problem for international students.

The biggest problem in my opinion is that we’re not as informed about things as we should be. There’s very important things for an international student to know: how to get a job, where to get a job, health insurance, how you pay for health

insurance, cultural contribution hours, where do you hand in cultural contribution hours, how to you go about renting a room – that kind of thing. There is some very basic information that I think all international students should be aware of. I think that’s the biggest problem: lack of awareness.

In your view, what is the importance of the international presence on campus?

DB: I feel that it makes it so that everybody gets the chance to gain knowledge, instead of just reading books. You know about India, but when you meet me, you’ll know more about India. I never had the opportunity to talk to people from other countries.

Only used to have friends who were from the same place and

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tral to your campaign. How do you plan to make this ideal a reality during your term?

DB: I’m really thinking this is about the big events we are coming up with. This is what “Your Dreams, Our Responsibility” means: to say it truly, when I first came here, I didn’t have that many opportunities. I didn’t get that much of an opportunity to do things, and I felt that the same people were the ones that were involved in the events. But I got the encouragement to step up and speak out and do what I am good at. I believe that every small dream is important.

Everybody who has their small dreams should step up. For the international students, the ISA is the only place where we can help them out in fulfilling whatever they feel like. Be it, for example, a science major who comes up with a project. You know, science majors never get the opportunity to show off their creativity to everyone. It always stays in their department, so we

Compiled by Nicole Schmidt Name: Donald F. Larsson Department: English (literature, film, humanities) Education: B.A. (English) George Washington University; M.A. (English) University of WisconsinMadison; Ph.D. (English) University of WisconsinMadison Favorite class: It’s hard to choose just one from over the years, but I’ve especially enjoyed Humanities 150 and 155 and my film courses, most recently Film 329: Film History and Film 334: International Cinema. The best courses are the ones where I have been learning, from and along with the students.

Hobbies: My “hobbies” are my work and my work in-

Spotlight cludes my hobbies—reading literature, watching films, thinking and writing about they have to teach.

Favorite Quote: “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” -Orson Welles, from his film-essay F for Fake [1974] Nearly 44 years ago, as I was heading east by northeast to visit friends in the Twin Cities, I looked across a floodwall and a river to a picturesque small city. “I wonder what that place is like?” I asked myself. Ten years later I found out—it was Mankato. Mankato, it seemed, was to be inevitable. My decision to take the job offer here was clinched while I was watching a rerun of the made-for-TV movie Vanished, where Richard Widmark played the President of the United States and remarked to an aide, “If anyone had ever told me that a barefoot country boy from Mankato, Minnesota could get to be President . . .”

I discovered another personal connection when I learned that the fountain between the library and the Student Union had been imported from the 1963 New

York World’s Fair, where I had seen it on two separate visits.

What was then still Mankato State University offered me a refuge in a horrible job market, where I could teach film, achieve tenure and promotion, and go on to direct the MSU Humanities Program, chair the English Department, serve as campus and state President of the IFO (the faculty union for the seven state universities), and become a Peer Review for the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits all colleges and universities between West Virginia and Arizona. On May 11, I will officially retire, but I’ll remain active, thinking, talking and even teaching about the subjects that have fascinated me for so long and the lessons that I’ve learned from MSU, Mankato and my students and colleagues here.

Expires 4/30/15.

Expires 4/30/15.

Expires 4/30/15.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

ISA continued from 5

Photo Courtesy of Dolly Baruah

who speaks the same language.

I could see people from other countries, their traditional outfit, and their culture only on the TV. But now I feel very lucky to have friends who are all from different countries. It’s really good, and at the same time, the native students get the opportunity to experience all other cultures and even the food because of the nights. Moreover, it’s really good in building a career too, when you get the chance to meet different kinds of people. If you go to a different place, you are already well prepared because you already met the person from there. So if I get a job in Germany or Brazil, I already have friends from those countries, so I’ll be very aware of things and what’s going to happen there.

FR: I think it goes far to know people from a different country.

You do get an actual sense of the culture – they’re a little window into what the country is actually like. Some people feel like just because I know someone from a different country doesn’t mean I know the entire country or the entire culture, and that is true, but you still experience a good amount.

What are your thoughts on the recent decision to reduce the amount of tuition covered by the Cultural Contributions scholarship?

FR: We, the ISA, need fund-

ing and this is the only way to get it. We’re glad we got it down to just a three hundred dollar reduction. We’re really happy that we did. The ISA was okay with it and the international students are okay with it. Where we are right now is pretty good. It’s really hard to get funding right now because enrollment rates are down. It’s hard to get anybody to allocate money for you.

Why do you think that you received such strong support in this year’s election?

DB: Actually, I didn’t expect it. I am really glad to be part of this year’s elections. I had great a experience during the campaigning. I learned many new things. I made sure that I talked with each and every person.

Every day I came to school at eight and I started talking with people. They asked me questions like “okay, so you are running in the election… could you tell me what you are going to do for the international students? What are your plans, why should I vote for you?” I talked to each and every person and told them about my plans. So I just told them what they should do and what I’m planning to do. I met great people. I started my campaigning only two of my friends and my younger brother. But later, there were so many people that came up, not only international students, [but native students

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too] who helped us with the campaigning. It was really fun. I will never forget those moments in my life.

Faiçal did a really good job too. He’s been talking with people in the dorms. The main thing is that when you talk to people, they get to know you, and when they get to know you, they decide “okay, here’s the right person.” I’m so glad they made the decision that they did.

In your view, what is the role of the ISA? DB: People should know to take all the opportunities they can. The opportunities are there, and they should know how to utilize those opportunities. ISA should represent the opportunities really well and encourage the international students to come and take advantage. That’s really important. It depends upon how we show them what opportunities are available, because most of them are unaware of them. That’s a really important part of ISA. We show what is available for the international students and how they can utilize opportunities and graduate from here with a name. Not just with a certificate or a degree, but with a better name so that you can say “yes, I made it and I have fulfilled each and every dream, all things I wanted to do, during my years at MSU.” FR: In my view, we give them a voice, we give them presence, and we relate their needs to the rest of the university. We represent every international student on campus. I feel like the existence of the ISA at this school gives it a better name. You can say “I graduated from Minneso-

ta State University and we have a really strong international program here.”

Student Reactions Sherwin Bothello; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Electrical Engineering): I was kind of anticipating their victory. I was happy about it. I do think that their competitors also stood a fair chance. They displayed a good show of enthusiasm during the debate, which was great.

I supported Dolly partly for personal reasons because she’s from my home country, India, and Faiçal because he’s from an Arabic-speaking country, and since I know Arabic, I can relate to him. But that’s from more of a personal point of view. I also looked at them in a very unbiased manner. I found that they had certain characteristics and traits that showcase a lot of leadership qualities and this will allow them and the ISA to grow as a whole in leading international students.

Caio Kaminari; Curitiba, Brazil (Mechanical Engineering): I voted Christina Tchatchouang for president and Charles Thiemele for vice president. I know that they are good people because I’m a member of the African Student Association and both of them are board members.

They are doing good work! This year’s African night was the best in years. I’m not disappointed that Dolly and Faiçal won. They are good people too and I hope they will do good work.

Mohamed Maewada; Malumfashi, Nigeria (Computer Engineering Technology): I was Dolly and Faiçal’s campaign

manager, so I worked almost sleepless nights making preparations for the election. I was excited to have them both win their election because they approached me for my help and I said that I would try my best and would put all the effort I could to see them both win.

Yuseong Jeon; Daegu, South Korea (Mass Media): I didn’t support Dolly and Faiçal just because they are my friends. I supported them because I was very inspired by their enthusiasm for making a better society for international students here on this campus. I think that’s how they were elected by a wide margin and I am looking forward to their new ISA for the upcoming academic year.

Luan Brito; Brumado, Brazil (Civil Engineering): I’m glad Dolly and Faiçal won the election. They are people that communicate very well and I believe this is a great virtue for student representatives.

Víctor Pimentel-Rivas; Granada, Spain (Spanish): I voted for Faiçal for the great empathy and respect that he shows to other cultures, while remaining humble. In the case of Dolly, I voted for her because she is a woman. I think the presence of a woman is necessary […]. In this way, we have an egalitarian system in which women also participate and represent all the women of the university.

Note: Some of the original wording has been changed by the author for grammatical purposes.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

MSU Reporter • 7

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Twins player receives 80-game suspension after failed drug test Santana will sit for half the season after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Minnesota Twins spent $55 million on Ervin Santana to bring some much-needed talent and experience to their beleaguered starting rotation.

Now, thanks to an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, the Twins will be without their biggest offseason acquisition for half the season. And their pitching staff has become a major question mark once again.

Santana was suspended by Major League Baseball on Friday after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Stanozolol.

“It’s disappointing. It’s difficult,” Twins GM Terry Ryan said. “We had a fairly decent spring. Now we’ve got to regroup here and hopefully it won’t affect us as we move forward.”

In a statement released through the players’ union, Santana said he was surprised by the news but does not plan to appeal.

New to the Twins this year, he’ll miss the first half of the season.

This was the third penalty for a positive Stanozolol test reported by MLB in the last eight days, following Seattle pitcher David Rollins and Atlanta pitcher Arodys Vizcaino.

Santana signed a four-year contract with the Twins after pitching last season with Atlanta and was slotted in the No. 2 spot behind Phil Hughes in a rotation that has been among the worst in the majors the last four years.

The 32-year-old righty will lose $5,901,639 of his $13.5 million salary this season.

In his statement, Santana issued his “deepest apologies” to his family, fans, colleagues, teammates and the Twins.

“I am very disappointed that I tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. I am frustrated that I can’t pinpoint how the substance in question entered my body. I would never knowingly take anything illegal to enhance my performance.

Minnesota a leader in wetland conversion to farmland MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota converted more wetlands into farmland than any other state when crop prices spiked between 2008 and 2012, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

About 250,000 acres, or nearly 400 square miles, were converted to row crops, according to Minnesota Public Radio News reports (http:// bit.ly/1NLoinv ). Most was grassland, but 25,000 acres were wetlands — more than any other state.

“In the Midwest we saw a lot of croplands expanding outside the traditional corn belt area, and Minnesota in particular was a key hot spot of land conversion,” said Tyler Lark, a university graduate student and the study’s lead author. “Much of the conversion came at the cost of natural ecosystems.”

Also, 13,000 acres of forests were converted — the second largest forest conversion in the country.

The study, which used satellite data from three different sources to analyze land conversion, was published Thursday in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

The study estimated that 7.3 million acres were converted nationwide. According to the study, the increased

carbon emissions from the additional corn and soybean crops alone would be equal to a year’s emissions from 34 coal-fired power plants.

The high corn and soybean prices came after the federal Renewable Fuel Standard took effect. The standard calls for a certain amount of ethanol and other renewable fuels to be added to gasoline.

Part of the policy’s goal was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but some environmental groups have argued the standard is coming up short in that regard because of the consequences of land conversion.

The study also found that converted land was often considered “marginal.”

“This marginal land is often characterized by increased risks for erosion, flooding or drought, and as such can have much greater consequences of cultivating new croplands as opposed to preexisting cropland area,” Lark said.

Corn and soybean prices have dropped since the study period, so Lark said it will be interesting to see what effect that has on land conversion.

The new federal Farm Bill limits the number of acres where farmers can earn money for keeping land as grasslands, wetlands or forests.

What I can guarantee is I never knowingly took anything illegal to enhance my performance.

That’s just not me, never has been and never will,” Santana said.

“Ever since I was a child I always had to work harder than everyone. Not too many people believed I could become a major leaguer. I worked hard to achieve everything I accomplished and I take pride in proving that through hard work dreams can come true,” he said.

Santana, acknowledging his status as a role model for youth in his native Dominican Republic, said he would never jeopardize the integrity of the sport, his family or his home country.

“I preach hard work, and don’t believe in short cuts,” Santana said. “Moving forward, I need to be more careful on what I consume in my home country. I will be more vigilant of medications I take so that I don’t commit another mistake.”

New Twins manager Paul Molitor said he had a conversation with Santana following the news, but declined to discuss the

Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press

specifics. He also addressed the team as they try to regroup before opening the season on Monday in Detroit.

“One thing that players know is adversity is a huge part of our game, and this is obviously something that no one really saw coming,” Molitor said. “So, I just tried to assure them that I believe in the group that we have and we will deal with it in the best possible way that we possibly can. It doesn’t change how I expect us to compete.”

The Twins announced before their exhibition game against Boston that they will recall lefthander Aaron Thompson from Triple-A Rochester to take Santana’s place on the staff. Thompson will go to the bullpen, and right-hander Mike Pelfrey will return to the rotation.

“All I can do now is continue to work hard, and when the suspension is up, come back to doing what I love,” Santana said.

Join the Residential Life "Stomper Move Crew" at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Welcome New Students & Their Families to our CAMPUS Thursday, August 20, 2015 Volunteers Needed To...

• Help unload vehicles • Help direct traffic • Welcome new students & their families to Campus

Move Crew Shifts • 7:45 - 11:45 AM • 11:30 AM - 3:30 PM

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• Each group/team/organization with at least 10 volunteers will be eligible for one of two $100 prizes.

To Volunteer for Move Crew • Contact Torin Akey, Associate Director of Residential Life by May 29, 2015 at 389-1011 or torin.akey@mnsu.edu • Information needed includes: - Number of volunteers and t-shirt sizes - Shift preferences - Summer contact person including phone & email address

Move Crew: a great way to send a positive message about your group or organization!

8 • MSU Reporter

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

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Williams leaves early to sign with New York Islanders Coming off a season where he was named WCHA Goaltending Champion, junior Stephon Williams forgoes his senior season to join the NHL. LUKE LONIEN Staff Writer Minnesota State goaltender Stephon Williams agreed to terms with the New York Islanders, and got his first professional start Saturday, earning a 3-2 victory for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.

Williams was a three-year letter-winning goalie for the Mavericks posting a 25-6-3 record with a 1.65 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage in his junior season. He was an All-WCHA Second Team pick in 2014-15.

His best games of the year were knocking off no. 1 Michigan Tech twice on the road, with one being a shut out, and posting two consecutive shutouts against Lake Superior State. He was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week after both standout performances.

Williams was also one of the 28 nominees for the 2015 Mike Richter award, which honors the most outstanding goaltender in NCAA men’s hockey.

Williams was a key figure for the Mavericks, helping the team earn a number one ranking for the fist time in school history, along with gaining the number

Trevor Cokley • MSU Reporter Williams with a save against Ferris State University in the WCHA Final Five tournament.

one seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

The Islanders selected Williams in the fourth round with the 106th overall pick of the

2013 NHL draft. He decided to forgo his senior season, and signed a two-year entry-level contract. Williams was assigned to the Islanders AHL affiliate Sound Tigers were he got his

first professional start and win.

Williams got his first start Saturday, stopping 30 shots and allowing 2 goals in the 3-2 victory. He allowed both goals in the third period.

Williams took the WCHA by storm in his freshman season, earning WCHA Rookie of the Year, All-WCHA First Team, WCHA All-Rookie Team and WCHA Goaltending Champion.

He went 21-12-2 with a 2.00 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Williams led the WCHA in goals against average during conference play with 1.93 goals against average.

An offseason hip surgery slowed him down in his sophomore campaign, losing the starting job to then freshman Cole Huggins. But he picked it right back up in his junior season after Huggins suffered a similar sophomore slump early this year, and Williams went on to earn WCHA Goaltending Champion for the second time.

Williams completed his MSU career with a 51-24-5 record, 2.01 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.

He made his mark in MSU’s record books as well; his 51 wins are third in school history, he also ranks first in save percentage, goals-against average and shutouts with 10.

Williams had a two-year stint in the United State Hockey League before coming to MSU, and is a 2011 graduate of Lathrup High School in Fairbanks, Alaska.

THE WILLIAMS FILE Season

Games Played

Goals Against

Save %

2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015

35 12 35

68 32 55

.924 .862 .925

Goals Against Average 2.00 3.23 1.65

Record 21-12-2 5-6 25-6-3

2012-2013: WCHA Rookie of the Year, All-WCHA First Team, WCHA AllRookie Team, WCHA Goaltending Champion 2014-2015: WCHA Goaltending Champion, All-WCHA Second Team

Stephon Williams

10 • MSU Reporter

Sports

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Maverick softball stays hot After a sub-par start to the season, Minnesota State team has been on a roll as of late.

TOMMY WIITA Staff Writer After winning their last five games straight and their last eight of nine, the Minnesota State University Softball team has turned around their fortunes as of late. Before going 8-1 on this stretch, the team was 16-13 and looking for some kind of consistency. This year’s team features only seven upperclassmen and one senior in catcher Chelsea Riordan, so there is a lot of youth under head coach Lori Meyer. It is going to be a learning curve, but the team is quickly growing together. They have gathered a 9-3 conference record on the season.

The Mavericks took one of two from Concordia-St. Paul last Thursday at The Diamond at Gage Towers. Then, they swept a two-game series against Minnesota Crookston and another two-game series against Bemidji State. On their five game winning streak, they have outscored their opponents 27-13, and have flashed some great web gems as the season has gone along.

Junior from Solon, Iowa Emily Bransky has collected nine hits, scored five runs, two RBI and swiped nine bases during the five game stretch. She is batting .388 on the season. Sophomore from Hugo, Minnesota

Yohanes Ashenafi • MSU Reporter MSU sophomore Dana Mogren up at the plate this past weekend.

Molly Sager has powered two homeruns during the streak, as she has also collected seven hits, scored four runs, and driven in three runs. Junior from Iowa City, Iowa Tatum Klein has been a perfect catalyst for the Mavericks so far this season. She has

stolen bases.

On the pitching end, the team has two solid options they have gone to all season. Sophomore Coley Ries has a minuscule ERA this season of 2.32, and has appeared in the most games this season, 25. She is 12-11, and

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been swinging a hot bat as of late, as she collected eight hits and has also stolen eight bases in five games. She also has scored four runs, and on the season she is batting a team-best .420. She also leads the team in at-bats, runs scored, hits, total bases and

has 195 strikeouts in 141.2 innings pitched. The Eagle Lake, Minnesota native also has a clean fielding percentage. Freshman Libby Bemis from Osceola, Iowa has been the second s workhorse for the team, as she h has collected a 12-2 record with t a 2.68 ERA this season. OpN ponents are batting .245 against g Bemis this year, and she has a only given up seven homeruns in fi 104.2 innings pitched.

It is a learning year, and the s young Mavericks are quick to a adapt. Now with a 24-14 record, s the team will have to step away m from their friendly home field a where they are 5-1 and travel to V Fayette, Iowa to take on Upper R Iowa University. The doublew header is set for Friday, April o 8th at 2pm and 4pm. Upper t Iowa is currently fourth in the NSIC conference, right behind the third place Minnesota State team. They have faced their struggles this season, as they are 11-20 on the year. Something to note however is Upper Iowa has only played four games at home, in which they are 3-1. The rest of their games have been on the road or at a neutral site. The Mavericks are 4-3 on the road, as most of their games have been played at a neutral site.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

MSU Reporter • 11

Sports

Minnesota State fourth in regional poll DEREK LAMBERT Sports Editor

The Minnesota State University, Mankato men’s golf team has gotten off to a great start to the spring 2015 season. In the NCAA Division II Central Region, the Mavericks rank fourth after finishing strong in their first few outings this spring.

MSU teed off their spring season with a first-place finish at the Minot State/Minnesota Crookston Invitational last month. The tournament was held at the Paiute Golf Resort in Las Vegas, Nev. and led by senior Ross Miller and Kelton Schmitz, who both shot two-round totals of 140 to finish ten under for the tournament. Sophomore Mike

Ross Miller

Oberg and Casey Anderson tied for fifth with two-round totals of 153, and freshman Jacob Cooper, with a score of 154, tied for ninth.

For his performance during the tournament, Schmitz was honored as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Golfer of the Week. Though Miller and Schmitz had identical final scores for the tournament, Schmits’ impressive score of 68 on the second day of the tournament was enough to secure the honor.

Next up for the Mavericks was the Augustana Invitational, held at Quarry Oaks in Omaha, Neb. The Mavericks again came away as champions, finishing five strokes ahead of secondplace finishers Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State.

Leading the way for the Mavs at Quarry Oaks was freshman Gonzalo Martinez, who finished with a two-round total of 149, good enough for third in the tournament. Miller saw his scores slip a bit, finishing tied for 11th with a score of 152, one stroke ahead of Schmitz and Cooper.

The Mavs looks to continue

their title winning ways into the Upper Iowa Invitational, but fell just a bit short. Playing at Sunnyside Golf Club in Waterloo, Iowa over the weekend, the Mavericks finished fourth in the ten-team field with a team score of 628 for the two-round tournament, with St. Cloud State taking the title with a score of 618.

Schmitz was the top golfer for MSU with a score of 154 on the weekend, finishing tied for sixth, while Miller tied for 10th with a score of 155, Cooper in 19th with a score of 159, and Martinez in 27th with a score of 161.

Quickly approaching is the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, in which the tournament field will be announced on Friday, April 24 at 3 p.m. on the NCAA website. Included in the field will be the top 10 teams and four individuals not competing for those teams from each of the eight regions, competing in the NCAA Super Regionals.

In fourth place in the Central Region, the Mavs are currently in good standing to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA Central Regional will be played at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Illinois from May 4-6t, while the NCAA Championships will be played two weeks later at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, N.C. For the Mavericks, this season has been highlighted by youthful leaders showing promise for the future, and one of the best who is taking his last kick

Gonzalo Martinez

at the can.

Miller was the 2013-2014 NSIC Golfer of the Year after seven top-ten finishes, including a first-place finish at the 2013 NSIC Fall Championship.

During the fall season this year, Miller was awarded back-toback NSIC Golfer of the Week awards, and has collected four

Web Photo MSU senior Ross Miller was the 2013-2014 NSIC Golfer of the Year.

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first place finishes this year.

While very few collegiate athletes are able to make a career out of their athletic ability, Miller could be one of the few who make it. He has a realistic outlook, though, on the what-if of being a professional athlete.

“Communication major, but I plan to be a professional golfer,” said Miller. “If that doesn’t pan out, I want to work in sales and teach golf.”

With the consistency he has shown over his four years at MSU, there’s no doubt that the senior from Maple Grove, Minn. could make a career of touring the professional circuit when his time in Mankato comes to an en d.

For now, Miller has his sights set on advancing as far into the NCAA Tournament field as possible, taking his last shot at a championship. As for the younger golfers such as Schmitz and Martinez, they have Miller to look at as a leader and an example of what they hope to accomplish in their days as Mavericks, and with the scores they’ve been recording this year, they just might get there.

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12 • MSU Reporter

Sports

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Mavericks find balance in Sioux Falls despite unfavorable weather Women’s track and field overcome wind, cold to showcase talents in pole vaulting meet.

DENZELL OATS Staff Writer

Despite the wind and chilly conditions, the Minnesota State women’s track and field team competed fairly this weekend at the Vance Butler Invitational in Sioux Falls, S.D. The pole vaults led the day for the day for the Mavericks women team. Not seeming fazed by the conditions, junior Faryn Wirkus captured the first place title with a vault of 11’11.75”.

Senior Bryanna Sudman followed right behind Wirkus in second with a mark of 11’11.75’’ as well. Wirkus joins Sudman in having reached a provisional qualifying standard as Sudman

Brooke Foreman

obtained the mark last week for the Mavericks in Kansas.

But as the day went on, the cold condition seemed to impact performances a bit in the

horizontal jumps however, the Mavericks still ended fairly.

Senior triple jumper Anna Veroeven put up a nice mark in her event to set the tone for the jumps. She earned a second place feat with a mark of 36’11.5’’. Also competing in the jumps. Sophomore Brieanna Puckett leaped a mark of 17’5’’ in long jump to earn her a spot at fifth place.

In high jump senior jumper Amanda Stangler led the Mavs earning a fifth place finish with a mark of 1.53 meters. Senior Kayla Lindell finished right behind Stangler in sixth place with a mark of 1.53 meters as well.

Onto the track, the team saw a well-balanced effort from every event.

Karlona Gregory finished eighth in the 100-meters with a time of 12.56. Not competing in the 100 was Puckett and Sid’Reisha Floyd who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 200-meters with Puckett on top at 25.52 and Floyd running a time of 25.83.

Junior Brooke Foreman, competing in the 100-meter hurdles finished in fifth-place leading the Maverick effort with a final time of 14.57. Freshman Kellie Wong ended the day with a rare tie for eighth at 15.43.

Taylor Glover competed for the second week in row for the Mavericks in the 400-meter hurdles. She took the top Maverick spot in at second overall with

Web Photo The pole vaults were the strength for the Mavericks over the weekend.

a time of 1:04.39. Foreman was behind her in fourth at 1:07.20.

Carrying onto the distance crew, Maddi Sjelin captured another second-place finish for MSU as she posted a 2:20.97 in the 800-meters. True freshman Megan Allen finished not too far behind with a sixth finish and a time of 2:24.37.

In the 1500-meter event, senior Halee Peterson finished fifth with a time of 4:58.40 and Erin Baker took sixth at 5:01.39.

Rounding out the distance events was junior Samantha Soupir in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Battling the brutal condition in the race, Soupir managed to earn a fifth-place

finish of 12:01.40. Kimberly Allan followed in seventh at 12:46.20.

The Mavericks will compete next as a team at the Lee Krough Invite at Gustavus in St. Peter, Minnesota Saturday April, 11th before they head to California for the Mount Sac Relays.

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The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Review of the minimalist indie game, patience required.

MATTHEW EBERLINE Staff Writer The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a strange little game to say the least. The indie studio, The Astronauts, developed it; The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person mystery/horror game set in the fictional Red Creek Valley. Players control Paul Prospero, a detective with paranormal abilities who is drawn to the Red Creek Valley to solve the disappearance of a young boy; the eponymous Ethan Carter.

The game thrusts you into the world with very little guidance or direction, other than a quick intro setting up the story and telling you to search for clues to solve the case. From here on out it’s all up to you. There are no maps or inventory screens and the game doesn’t even take the time to explain the controls, as basic as they are. In my playthrough, I went through the entire first half of the game before I realized I could make Prospero crouch. While this approach is a welcome change from all the

guidance and handholding found in most modern AAA titles, it feels a little overdone in Carter.

Without any form of instruction or aid, it’s incredibly easy to get lost in this game and I spent much of my time just trying to figure out where to go next. It didn’t ruin the game by any means, but it did begin to pull me out of the experience after a while.

As you explore the environment, you uncover a number of gruesome crime scenes where Prospero can search for clues and use his supernatural abilities to piece together the events surrounding Ethan’s disappearance. While the clue hunting and investigation scenes were a lot of fun, most of my time with the game felt like it was spent just walking between scenes, and let me tell you, there is a lot of walking. With so much of Carter’s time spent on just getting from scene to scene, this game is one that requires more than just a little patience. Despite this, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter features a world that is truly a wonder to behold. Red Creek Valley is one of the most visu-

theastronauts.com

ally stunning and immersive environments in gaming, and the soft but ominous musical score compliments the visuals, giving the game a steady feeling of dread that rarely wavers.

Carter’s story is dark and more than a little macabre, and the superb writing weaves an intriguing but familiar tale of monsters and murder. Though he says very little throughout the game, Prospero seems a lot like the hardboiled detectives of classic noir, adding to the game’s

gritty and chilling atmosphere.

While the dialogue is minimal and the plot mostly devoid of any exposition, the game makes full use of its environment and the little details scattered throughout are what carry most of the tale.

With its minimalist approach and narrative-heavy focus, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is another strong title in a quickly growing genre of narrative based games, alongside the likes of Gone Home, Dear Esther,

and The Stanley Parable. While I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent collecting clues and solving crime scenes, too much of it felt like it was spent with me lost in the woods, trying to find my way to the next plot point.

Overall, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a quirky little gem worth checking out if you have the patience.

Reporter Rating

4.5 5

An oddly mediocre remake The Odd Couple returns to television on CBS.

WES HUNTINGTON Staff Writer The trend of Hollywood digging into the vaults to bring old ideas and TV shows and remaking them continues. In this case,

it is the recent CBS comedy The Odd Couple, which stars Matthew Perry as Oscar Madison

and Thomas Lennon as Felix Unger. The series has started airing as a mid-season replacement since Feb. 19. It is an updated version of the original play made in 1965, in which Unger is forced to live with his long-time

o.canada.com

friend Madison after Unger’s wife throws him out and divorces him.

The series is executive produced by Perry, who has said in numerous interviews that he is a huge fan of the play, and especially the 1968 film adaptation, which serves as the series’ inspiration. An early evidence of Perry’s fondness of the play and film is in the opening scene of the Friends episode “The One with the Dozen Lasagnas,” which aired on Jan. 12, 1995. In that opening scene, Ross (David Schwimmer) starts humming the famous theme and eventually the rest of the gang joins in.

As of this writing, five episodes have aired. Old Stalwart fans may be turned off by this show as it could be considered a remake of the 1970-1975 original series that starred Jack Klugman as Madison and Tony Randall as Unger. The series has added several characters and has updated the occupations of Madison and Unger to reflect the times. In the original play, film and first original series, Madison was a sportswriter. In this version, Madison is a sports ra-

dio personality and he still is a sportswriter, but we mostly get to see the pratfalls that go with him being a personality.

In the original, Unger is a news writer, while in this updated version he is a professional photographer. The other characters that have been introduced through the first five aired episodes are the ex-wives of both Felix (Ashley, played by Christine Woods of The Walking Dead and the 2009-10 ABC science-fiction drama FlashForward), and Oscar (Gaby, played

by Lauren Graham of both Parenthood and Gilmore Girls).

Additional starring characters include Emily (Lindsay Sloane), an upstairs neighbor who is attracted to Felix, Dani (Yvette Nicole Brown) who is Oscar’s assistant and Oscar’s agent Teddy (Wendell Pierce of HBO’s The Wire Fame).

The series is an okay update and remake, but Perry is no Klugman (nor Walter Matthau, who played Oscar Madison in the two Odd Couple films, re-

leased three decades apart). The same could be said for Lennon as Felix (who is no Randall, nor Jack Lemmon who played him in the same films).

The series is a good complement to the hugely-popular Chuck Lorre-produced comedy The Big Bang Theory, which airs right before The Odd Couple at 7 p.m. The theme music is nice update to the classic theme, but the theme song begs to be the original, not this remake. If the theme was the original, it could appeal to older viewers who watched the original series in the 1970’s. Overall, it could be enjoyed by fans of Perry (whose Oscar sounds just like his Friends character Chandler Bing) and some general comedy TV watchers who want a decent complement to The Big Bang Theory, which it is.

Reporter Rating

3 5

14 • MSU Reporter

A&E

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A crossover you won’t remember Cristela meets Last Man Standing in the 20th episode.

mytakeontv.com

WES HUNTINGTON Staff Writer

Crossover episodes with other shows are produced for an obvious reason which is to get exposure for the show that the episode exists in that show’s universe. Such is the case with the Cristela episode “Last Goose Standing” which aired Friday on ABC. There are two very distinct storylines in “Last Goose Standing.” The first storyline deals with Felix and Daniela

trying to get Felix’s cousin Alberto (Gabriel Iglesias, in the recurring role) out of the house when Alberto is found napping in their bed – they thought they were alone for the afternoon.

The main storyline is what has driven all of the hype for this crossover episode is the appearance of Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) and Ed Alzate (Hector Elizondo) coming down to Outdoor Man’s store in Dallas hopefully getting a building permit for expanding the gun range already present at the store. Naturally, it gets worked out thanks to swift and

interesting think on the part of Cristela and her coworker Ben Buckner (Adam Shapiro).

As thanks for their assistance of the getting permits necessary to building the expansion, Baxter gives Cristela a lifetime membership to the gun range.

Cristela, who is already uncomfortable with firearms (as she mentions that she has only fired weapons in Call of Duty), accepts. Baxter shows her the range and she gets excited, but then realizes she will just accept the gift of the membership and move on. The episode is good,

R5 announces new album Tickets for upcoming tour now available.

LORIEN MEGIL Staff Write On April 6, pop-rock band R5 announced a July 10 release date for their eagerly awaited second album Sometime Last Night and a U.S. Summer headlining tour of the same name, which will feature Jacob Whitesides and Ryland. Albums are now available for pre-order, and fans that take advantage of this will also receive a code enabling them to purchase tour tickets early. R5 also premiered the music video for their first single from Sometime Last Night, a song called “Let’s Not Be Alone Tonight.” The music video was released on VEVO and was directed by Robert Hales, who has worked with artists including Justin Timberlake, Death Cab for Cutie, and Imagine Dragons.

R5 first came together in 2009, led by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Ross Lynch. The band is made up of of Ross Lynch, his siblings Riker (bass/vocals), Rocky (lead guitar/vocals), and Rydel (keyboard/vocals), and their friend Ellington “Ratliff” (drums/vocals).

R5 has been seen recently on Good Morning America, Ellen and LIVE! with Kelly & Michael. Riker is currently charming fans and judges alike on Season 20 of Dancing With the Stars. Ross currently stars as Austin Moon on Disney Channel’s Austin & Ally, in its fourth and final season. His performance in this role has earned him three consecutive Kids’ Choice Awards for Favorite TV Actor. He also starred as Brady in the Disney Channel Original Movie Teen Beach Movie and will be reprising that role this summer in Teen Beach 2.

In the last six years the band has established themselves in the world of pop-rock. Sometime Last Night follows their debut album Louder, which debuted in 2013 and quickly shot to No 1. on iTunes in ten countries.

These albums follow two EPs, Ready Set Rock, self-released in 2010; and Loud, released in 2013 after signing with Hollywood Records in April of 2012.

The quintet was also featured in a five-part VEVO series called R5 on R5, which followed them on a sold-out, international tour, and a six-part VEVO series, R5

in London, showcasing fan response during a show in London. In April the documentary R5: All Day, All Night will be shown in select theaters for one night only on April 16 at 7 p.m., and will cover the band’s history from beginning to now.

The six-week tour begins on July 7 in Orange Park, Florida, and closes on August 23, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, stopping in cities such as Louisville, Kentucky and St. Charles, Missouri along the way. “We can’t wait for our fans to see what we have in store for them this summer,” said the band.

“Playing such amazing venues has always been a dream of ours and we’re so excited to have our fans be a part of it.” Members of the R5 fan club will have the first chance to purchase tickets on April 14 at 10 a.m., and people with a presale code from the album pre-order will be able to purchase tickets starting at 12 p.m. that same day. Tickets will go on sale to the general public in select cities on April 17. For more information on tour stops and ticket purchases visit www.

R5Rocks.com and www.AXS. com.

but not as good as it could be.

The two separate storylines never interact, and while that is a usual characteristic of these crossover episodes, it is sadly missing here. It would have been nice to see Alberto interact with Mike Baxter and see what jokes arose out of the interaction between the two characters. Sadly, the crossover storyline actually falters when Buckner asks Cristela out for a date and having the whole affair end awkwardly for both of them. The Felix-AlbertoDaniela storyline actually steals the show when Natalia says the hilarious line, “Do you know what is worse than losing 10 rounds of bingo? Coming home and finding Alberto in my bed?!”

The episode could have been much better had the main cross-

over storyline had Baxter and Alzate been there the entire storyline, instead of being regulated to just the first half of the episode. The romantic part with Cristela and Buckner felt forced and not necessary. The second storyline gets more laughs out of the awkwardness of finding Alberto sleeping Daniela and Felix’s (and then Natalia’s) bed in the afternoon (when he was supposed to be working across town). Overall, “Last Goose Standing,” the 20th episode of the series, with two left to go (the season finale is currently slated to air April 17), isn’t the greatest, but it could have been executed a whole lot better.

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MSU Reporter • 15

A&E

A spectacular spook, It Follows A slow creepy build with a hidden real world message.

JAMES HOUTSMA Editor in Chief Never underestimate the power of word of mouth when it comes to movies. The most anticipated blockbuster titans can be sunk by it and the most micro-budgeted indie flicks can

home about, as it does, in many ways, live up to the high standards the buzz have placed on it. At the same time, it’s also a very subjective film and may just as likely leave some people scratching their heads.

After a handful of innocent dates lead to a sexual encoun-

out, Jay must find a way to ditch this curse or else find out firsthand just what happens when it catches you.

It Follows is the very definition of a mood piece. Director David Robert Mitchell establishes a deliberate, eerie tone from the first scene and plays it up

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take on a whole new following because of it.

With that phrasing, it’s all too appropriate that the horror film It Follows has stirred enough interest based on word of mouth to break past its original limited release and spread to more and more theaters.

But word of mouth is a double-edged sword. It Follows is certainly something to write

ter, Jay (Maika Monroe) finds herself in a bind. Her boyfriend explains to her that after having sex he has passed her a very special kind of curse. From now on, a malicious entity will be following her at any given time. Wherever she may go, whoever she may be with, this thing will always be walking straight for her.

It can look like anybody and it does not stop. With time running

beautifully. This isn’t a modern movie of jump scares, so much an experience in creeping dread and anxiety. Mitchell has created a complete fever dream with this film and the result is nothing short of unique.

As mentioned, the film has already proven itself to be highly subjective in how people view it. It Follows is not a shining example of eventfulness or rapid

Staff: Campus Pastor Wong, Reverend Roger Knepprath, Mark Probst, Vicar John Paustian, RA Tara Martinez

pace and that may have varied reactions. The cynical side of me wants to refer to it as “Establishing Shot: The Movie” from now on but that would imply that what Mitchell is going for here doesn’t work. Quite the contrary, Mitchell’s use of imagery, sound and hidden items of info make for a truly hypnotic movie.

Detroit almost feels like a character itself here, seemingly abandoned and lost in time (there’s a certain timeless feel to the film, from the vehicles the characters drive, to their old tube TVs, to their idyllic neighborhoods.) The way Mitchell shows the city so empty and open is a haunting effect in its own. That and the wild musical score by Disasterpiece make the film feel fully in the vein of John Carpenter.

On a narrative level, It Follows contains a little more juicy material than your average horror flick. If the synopsis sounds like a parallel for STDs is because it completely is. Luckily, this opens up opportunities for

some interesting moments in which you can draw your own conclusions on the nature of the curse and “it”. Understatement and inference is how the movie works and if the visuals weren’t so magnetic, it might have been at risk of falling apart.

Even the film’s strange climax in which our main group goes through with a confounding plan to end things falls out of line with the ethereal feel Mitchell has established.

Like an enchanted mirror, everybody is at liberty to look at It Follows and see something different. Going in not expecting a scare a minute or overly produced spectacle will certainly help the experience. For horror aficionados, alternative cinema fans and those looking for a completely unnerving experience, it’s impossible to resist the spooky trance that It Follows provides.

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16 • MSU Reporter

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Tuesday, April 7, 2015