August 27, 2020

S T U DE N T RU N N E WS SI NC E 1926

THURSDAY • AUGUST 27, 2020

MNSU students reflect on law enforcement program JENNA PETERSON NEWS EDITOR Police brutality for years has been among America’s most controversial topics.

Following the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis and the civil unrest across the country that erupted in response, the topic of police brutality has been an ongoing discussion.

For many, discussion does not seem to be enough, with the police-related violence continuing into this week with the shooting and injuring of Jacob Blake, a black man in Kenosha Wisconsin.

In response to this police violence, MNSU aims to create change on campus, by adapting the education for its law enforcement majors.

Dr. Pat Nelson, chair of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Law Enforcement Department, says the university is keen on making sure

Photo by Kjirstin Hall/MSU Reporter

all law enforcement majors learn what police brutality is. And this knowledge starts

from freshman year and continues until they graduate.

On top of that, professors

also recommend specific general education classes for law enforcement students to expand

their perspective and become a global and engaged citizen.

Once they are enrolled in upper level classes, students are able to spend more time talking about decision making, critical thinking and their impact on the community.

This will lead to each student learning how to use ethical resources instead of using any form of unnecessary violence.

Dr. Nelson is teaching a mindset class this semester where communication between officers and the community is a heavy topic. Students engage in role-play scenarios in an academic setting and play out different outcomes to specific problems. This allows students to understand what solutions are appropriate for certain problems.

Another question that arises when talking about law

LAW page 4

Campus safety level increased to ‘yellow’ MAXWELL MAYLEBEN EDITOR IN CHIEF In efforts to keep close tabs on the COVID-19 spread, the University has initiated a color-coded safety level system.

According to the University website, each color phase was created by the President’s Cabinet under guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health. The system was also advised by local health officials as well.

The first and least severe level of the system is the green level. At this level, transmission levels are considered to be manageable. At this level, the isolation and quarantine are less than 50 percent full.

As things progress, campus moves into the yellow level. At this level, transmission levels begin to tax on-campus resources. When in yellow, greater than 1% of students on campus have been infected within a 14-day period.

When on the yellow level, campus events become

more and more limited.

Classrooms are also limited to partial capacity to keep social distancing practiced.

The next step up is the orange level. At this point, which is the second most severe rating, transmission levels have begun to deplete university resources. In order to be bumped to this level, greater than 3% of campus students have to be infected within a 14-day period.

In the event of orange level, more intense measures will be taken by the university to keep down the quell of transmissions. These measures include a campus curfew, increased cleaning and disinfecting of the campus, decreased allowance for visitors to residence halls, and lower contact dining options.

Finally, the most severe reaction to mitigate transmission levels is color level red. At this time, the levels of transmission will have significantly depleted university resources, and the universi-

Photo by Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter

ty will be forced to suspend in-person activities and move to remote-only operations.

Many students and staff are already nervous due to the university turning to yellow status on Monday, the first day of school. Student Senate President Andrew

PAGE STUDENT GOV’T PRESIDENT recruitment IN THIS Sorority COVID-19 - page 32 COVID-19 ISSUE: adapts toON

Trenne says students should not worry too much about the shift up to yellow status.

“The MDH (Minnesota Department of Health) suggested and highly recommended that each university start at yellow instead of green” says Trenne.

Due to the MDH sugges-

PAGE SPORTS ARE CANCELLED page 14

‘WAP’

6

tion, while it doesn’t mean all indicators are met, it does mean that MNSU can enforce higher levels of safety precautions such as required facial coverings and required daily screenings.

PAGETHEATRE TO STAY OPEN Maverick hockey page 19 players go pro

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2 • MSU Reporter

News

Thursday, August 27, 2020

17-year-old arrested after 2 killed during unrest in Kenosha KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A white, 17-year-old police admirer was arrested Wednesday after two people were shot to death during a third straight night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.

Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, about 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) from Kenosha, was taken into custody in Illinois on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide in the attack Tuesday that was largely captured on cellphone video. The shooting left a third person wounded.

“I just killed somebody,” the gunman, carrying a semi-automatic rifle, could be heard saying at one point.

In the wake of the killings, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers authorized the deployment of 500 members of the National Guard to Kenosha, doubling the number of troops in the city of 100,000 midway between Milwaukee and Chicago. The governor’s office said he is working with other states to bring in additional National Guard members and law officers. Authorities also announced a 7 p.m. curfew, though protesters ignored it again Wednesday.

Protesters marched past the intersection where two people were shot Tuesday night, stopping to gather around the spot where one person was shot, and to pray and lay flowers.

Daijon Spann said he decided to join the demonstration because one of those killed the night before was a friend.

“I couldn’t take it any more,” he said. “I couldn’t just sit there and watch my friend die.”

Gov. Evers, a Democrat, issued a statement asking those who wanted to exercise their First Amendment rights to “please do so peacefully and safely” and urging others to “please stay home and let local first responders, law enforcement and members of the Wisconsin National Guard do their jobs.”

“A senseless tragedy like this cannot happen again,” Evers said.

In Washington, the Justice Department said it is sending in more than 200 federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The White House said up to 2,000 National Guard troops would be made available.

The dead were identified only as a 26-year-old Silver Lake, Wisconsin, resident and a 36-year-old from Kenosha. The wounded person, a 36-year-old from West Allis, Wisconsin, was expected to survive, police said.

“We were all chanting

A motorist raises his fist in solidarity with a march protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

‘Black lives matter’ at the gas station and then we heard, boom, boom, and I told my friend, `That’s not fireworks,’” 19-year-old protester Devin Scott told the Chicago Tribune. “And then this guy with this huge gun runs by us in the middle of the street and people are yelling, ‘He shot someone! He shot someone!’

And everyone is trying to fight the guy, chasing him, and then he started shooting again.”

Scott said he cradled a victim in his arms, and a woman started performing CPR, but “I don’t think he made it.”

According to witness accounts and video footage, police apparently let the gunman walk past them and leave the scene with a rifle over his shoulder and his hands in the air as members of the crowd were yelling for him to be arrested because he had shot people.

As for how the gunman managed to slip away, Sheriff David Beth described a chaotic, high-stress scene, with lots of radio traffic and people screaming, chanting and running — conditions he said can cause “tunnel vision” among law officers.

Rittenhouse was assigned a public defender in Illinois for a hearing Friday on his transfer to Wisconsin. The public defender’s office had no comment. Under Wisconsin law, anyone 17 or older is treated as an adult in the criminal justice system.

Much of Rittenhouse’s Facebook page is devoted to praising law enforcement, with references to Blue Lives Matter, a movement that supports police. He also can be seen holding an assault rifle.

In a photograph posted by his mother, he is wearing what appears to be a blue law enforcement uniform as

well as the kind of brimmed hat that state troopers wear.

The sheriff told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that militia members or armed vigilantes had been patrolling Kenosha’s streets in recent nights, but he did not know if the gunman was among them.

However, video taken before the shooting shows police tossing bottled water from an armored vehicle to what appear to be armed civilians walking the streets. And one of them appears to be the gunman.

“We appreciate you being here,” an officer is heard saying to the group over a loudspeaker.

Before the shooting, the conservative website The Daily Caller conducted a video interview with the suspected gunman in front of a boarded-up business.

“So people are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business,” the young man said. “And part of my job is to also help people. If there is somebody hurt, I’m running

into harm’s way. That’s why I have my rifle -- because I can protect myself, obviously.

But I also have my med kit.”

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is Black, said in an interview with the news program “Democracy Now!” that the shootings were not surprising and white militias have been ignored for too long.

“How many times across this country do you see armed gunmen, protesting, walking into state Capitols, and everybody just thinks it’s OK?” Barnes said. “People treat that like it’s some kind of normal activity that people are walking around with assault rifles.”

In Wisconsin, it is legal for people 18 and over to openly carry a gun without a license.

Witness accounts and video indicate the gunman first shot someone at a car lot just before midnight, then jogged away, fell in the street, and opened fire again as members of the crowd closed in on him.

A witness, Julio Rosas, 24, said that when the gun-

man stumbled, “two people jumped onto him and there was a struggle for control of his rifle. At that point during the struggle, he just began to fire multiple rounds, and that dispersed people near him.”

“The rifle was being jerked around in all directions while it was being fired,” Rosas said.

Blake, 29, was shot in the back seven times on Sunday as he leaned into his SUV, three of his children seated inside.

Kenosha police have said little about what happened other than that they were responding to a domestic dispute.

On Wednesday, three days after the shooting, state authorities identified the officer who shot Blake as Rusten Sheskey, a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Department. Sheskey shot Blake while holding onto his shirt after officers first unsuccessfully used a Taser, the Wisconsin Justice Department said. State agents later recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of the vehicle, the department said.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

News

MSU Reporter • 3

Sorority recruitment adapts to social distancing MAXWELL MAYLEBEN EDITOR IN CHIEF In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greek life is forced to take a brand new plan of attack for recruitment.

Sororities across the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus are seeking to create a new online and in person hybrid approach for their typical strict recruitment process.

Traditionally, sorority recruitment is broken up into different social events, where potential new members speak to the different sororities and rank them based on which one they feel they’d fit best with.

At the same time, during each of these social events, sororities rank potential new members based on how they think each person would fit into their sorority.

This year, three of these social events will be held in person and three will be held online. The first event was held on the Performing Arts lawn last Friday.

After that, there is a mutual selection process, with the lists from both the recruits and the sororities being compared to each other via a computer program. This pairs the potential new members with

a sorority that fits them best.

There are four sororities at MNSU. A fifth, Zeta Phi Beta, is chartering this year.

Alpha Chi Omega was the first sorority to come to MNSU in 1965 and is dedicated to creating devoted leaders. Their philanthropy includes, but is not limited to, domestic violence awareness.

Gamma Phi Beta, known across the country for being one of the oldest sororities in the U.S., has a mission of promoting “Love, Labor, Learning, and Loyalty.” They work with the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) as their philanthropy.

Sigma Sigma Sigma, another sorority looking to recruit new members, is dedicated to serving those in need. The sorority supports hospital play therapy programs for children.

Finally, Alpha Sigma Alpha dedicates their sorority to developing women with “poise and purpose.” Their philanthropic endeavors include “Adopt-a-Highway” and “Dinner for Heroes.”

While each sorority houses different ideals and practices, the sentiment of longstanding sisterhood remains at the forefront of each organization.

As far as the potential new

File photo

members looking into joining Greek life, the numbers are fairly consistent with last year, according to Anna Thevenot, the Vice President of recruitment for the sororities.

“We typically have in the one-hundreds as far as registration,” said Thevenot.

“The numbers we have now

compared to people who have shown up to formal recruitment in the past is about the same.”

Once involved with a sorority, members find new ways to meet, including breaking into smaller groups in order to meet in person. Skyler Kottke, a current member of Alpha Sigma Alpha is excited about new

members and the new year.

“It’s definitely going to be different but it will give us a challenge,” said Kottke. “But it will make us figure out a better way to do recruitment so we can do better in the future.”

New Zealand mosque shooter sentenced to life without parole CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The white supremacist who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed.

Judge Cameron Mander said the crimes committed by 29-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant were so wicked that a lifetime in jail could not begin to atone for them. He said they had caused enormous loss and hurt and stemmed from a warped and malignant ideology.

“Your actions were inhuman,” Mander said. “You deliberately killed a 3-year-old infant by shooting him in the head as he clung to the leg of his father.”

After the sentence was announced, survivors of the shootings raised hands and fists in celebration and greeted supporters waving signs with painted hearts and carrying roses outside the court building.

The March 2019 attacks targeting people praying at the Al Noor and Linwood

mosques in Christchurch shocked New Zealand and prompted new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons. They also prompted global changes to social media protocols after the gunman livestreamed his attack on Facebook.

During the four-day sentencing hearing, 90 survivors and family members recounted the horror of that day and the trauma they continue to feel. One of those who spoke was Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack at the Al Noor mosque.

Atacocugu said he felt relieved at the sentence.

“Finally we can breathe freely, and we feel secure, and my kids feel secure,” Atacocugu said. “The justice system has locked up this ideology forever.”

Tarrant in March pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism, reversing his earlier not guilty pleas.

He fired his lawyers and told the judge he didn’t wish to speak at his sentencing. A standby lawyer appointed by

the court told the judge that Tarrant did not oppose the maximum sentence.

The judge said that Tarrant recently told a psychiatrist that he now rejects his

extremist views and considers his attacks “abhorrent and irrational.”

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Advertisement

Thursday, August 27, 2020

LAW

Continued from page 1 enforcement education is, “How much education does a person have to receive before becoming an officer?”

Minnesota requires a minimum two-year degree for law enforcement, but MNSU takes it one step further. The university requires a fouryear degree from students to ensure they get at much education as possible before going out on the field.

When comparing MNSU to other colleges, Dr. Nelson stated, “We are the largest fouryear program in the state with the school having 45-80 law enforcement graduates a year.”

MNSU law enforcement senior Ben Cline was also available to talk about the program and his experience with it.

He said each class addresses police brutality, police ethics, and situation de-escalation.

In order to learn about these topics, students watch numerous videos of tragedies and incidents where an officer does something wrong.

Afterwards, the class will discuss what was done wrong and how the problem could be fixed in an ethical way.

Classes use this approach when major news events break that involve officer shootings.

In these cases, professors will stop their lesson plan for the day and discuss what happened and how it can be resolved.

“We take the day to watch the footage and discuss it, and play out different scenarios,” stated Cline.

While there are many classes for these students to choose from, Cline made note of two classes he believes each one should take before graduating. “Police Stress” and “Community Policing” both are the first look at what causes police brutality and any biases that take place.

Another law enforcement senior, Tate Marschall, described his classes in a similar way. He mentioned that while covering what’s on the syllabus for class, the topic of police brutality is always connected in some way to ensure students know how much of a problem it is.

The history of fear toward police is another topic discussed throughout law enforcement classes.

Marschall noted the importance of knowing why different races and ethnic groups don’t trust the police, and it is even more important to learn how to turn that fear into trust.

Photo by Kjerstin Hall/MSU Reporter

“It’s hard, but it’s something that needs to be done in order to create a safe environment,” Marschall said.

Something that makes MNSU’s law enforcement program stand out is how many of its professors worked as police officers.

“They can look at a video and say where a cop did something wrong and they’ll teach students how to properly handle those situations,” said Cline. “Many of these professors have worked in different parts of the country, and this allows each of them to bring different ideas.”

Throughout the years, there are constant changes to the law enforcement program. Cline pointed out a few he would like to see take place, including required face-to-face classes in order to follow through with on-hands learning.

Cline believes MNSU is doing the right thing by making changes as they are needed and are having discussions about uncomfortable topics.

“I believe law enforcement should require a fouryear degree no matter what.

You have to want to be a police officer,” Cline stated.

The Law Enforcement De-

partment has been holding community listening sessions throughout the summer to take constructive criticism and suggestions for what can be fixed or changed.

“We will probably be making some curriculum changes, whether it being some more general education classes, or changing some of our curriculum in our program,” said Dr. Nelson. “We are now waiting for the final recommendations before we do that.”

Dr. Nelson welcomes any and all suggestions from the community. She can be reached at pat.nelson@mnsu.edu.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

News

MSU Reporter • 5

Registered student organizations fair showcases campus life JENNA PETERSON NEWS EDITOR For years, it’s been tradition for the Minnesota State University, Mankato’s student activities organization to host the Registered Student Organization Involvement Fair.

This fair allows all students to join campus organizations that pertain to their interests. MNSU currently has more than 200 RSOs, and the number continues to climb.

This year looked different for the fair due to COVID, but the university’s Student Affairs division still found a way for students to meet new friends.

In order to comply with social distancing, each day this week hosted a different area of organizations, such as sports, faith and community engagement.

Karen Anderson, Assistant Director of Student Activities, helped create an environment for the fair that would incorporate social distancing and safe COVID precautions. To do so, a section of the campus mall was fenced off for the fair to keep only a small group of people together.

Before entering the fair, Anderson explained, “Students have to scan their MavCard to both control the amount of people and to

In this file photo, a student interacts with a member of a local group at a campus Community Engagement Fair Sept. 4, 2019 in Mankato, Minn. The RSO fair held this year made sure to follow COVID-19 social distancing procedures set in place by the University. (File photo)

instantly give the student’s name and email to the RSOs to limit unnecessary contact.”

Anderson compared the fair from last year to now and mentioned that, in some ways, it’s the same.

“The only big difference is having to control our area and allowing only so many people at once,” she said. “We actually like spreading out the activities based on the day; it helps students plan out when to go.”

With only two days left of the fair, it’s important for students to know there are still groups out there for them to join. Organizations such as Maverick League of Legends Club will meet virtually for

students to continue to interact and see each other in a safe way.

Students Activities is planning to have another RSO Fair later in September in order to attract more students.

6 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, August 27, 2020

FALL 2020 EDITOR IN CHIEF:

MAXWELL MAYLEBEN

‘WAP’

maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu

MADISON DIEMERT

Insensitive or empowering?

madison.diemert@mnsu.edu

JENNA PETERSON NEWS EDITOR Ever since Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion dropped “WAP”, everyone has been putting their two cents in.

Despite some backlash, such as from ‘female expert’ Ben Shapiro himself, the song has received a large amount of praise. TikTok is one of the largest platforms where people are hearing a snippet of the song with thousands of videos using it. There’s already a dance to it as well!

Personally, I had only heard the song on TikTok until recently when I sat down and listened to the full song. After looking at the lyrics and listening to the song a few more times, I can say that this song is a feminist anthem for numerous reasons.

First, I would like to point out the way in which women have been described in all genres of songs for decades.

They’ve been sexualized in each and every way possible, and men talk about using them for only sexual pleasure.

It’s become the new norm, and women are taking notice.

Secondly, in recent years female artists have started to incorporate their own confidence through their music, and Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion are no different.

Ever since they hit the music scene, they’ve made sure that they couldn’t be ignored.

Throughout the song, the two talk about their sexual

NEWS EDITOR: Jenna Peterson jenna.peterson-3@mnsu.edu SPORTS EDITOR: Mel Stramm merle.stramm@mnsu.edu A&E EDITOR: Kolby Spomer kolby.spomer@mnsu.edu WEB/PHOTO EDITOR: Mansoor Ahmad mansoor.ahmad@mnsu.edu ADVERTISING SALES: Calli Seston 507-389-5451 calli.seston@mnsu.edu In this Dec. 7, 2019, file photo, Megan Thee Stallion attends Variety’s Hitmakers Brunch in West Hollywood, Calif. In an Instagram Live video Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion said for the first time that fellow rapper Tory Lanez was the person who pulled the trigger when she was shot in the feet after a party in the Hollywood Hills more than a month earlier. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

pleasures and what they expect when with a man. They want

shown through the media that a woman being com-

“They want to normalize women owning what they enjoy...” to normalize women owning what they enjoy and talking about sex in a positive way.

Growing up, I was always

fortable with herself in such a provocative way was something to not be proud of, and I know I’m not the only one

who was taught that. With the bashing of women sexuality being a huge part of media, I’m glad to see women taking back what is theirs.

All in all, I believe this song will continue to show people that women are tired of being told what not to do, and will continue to own who they are.

Fortunately, Cardi and Megan will continue to write songs that empower not only themselves, but all women and change the music industry.

“What do you think of the song, ‘WAP’?”

Compiled by Jenna Peterson

MATT YAPTINCHAY, SENIOR

MADDY LOCH, JUNIOR

KYLE HAWE, SENIOR

“I like it, I feel like it’s a song “I haven’t listened to the whole “It would be better if it were that empowers people.” song, but I’ve heard it on Tik wine and pizza.”

Tok.”

KRISTIN OLSON, JUNIOR

SKYLER KOTTKE, SENIOR

“10/10 feminist icon.”

“I haven’t heard teh whole song, but I like the Tik Toks.”

Anna Lillie 507-389-1063 anna.lillie@mnsu.edu Kali Andriano-Allard 507-389-6765 kali.andriano-allard@mnsu.edu BUSINESS MANAGER: Jane Tastad 507-389-1926 jane.tastad@mnsu.edu ADVERTISING DESIGN/ PRODUCTION MANAGER: Dana Clark 507-389-2793 dana.clark@mnsu.edu

• If you have a complaint, suggestion or would like to point out an error made in the Reporter, contact Editor in Chief Maxwell Mayleben at maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu.

The Reporter will correct any errors of fact or misspelled names in this space. Formal grievances against the Reporter are handled by the Newspaper Board.

• The Minnesota State University Mankato Reporter is a studentrun newspaper published twice a week, coming out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Reporter generates 78 percent of its own income through advertising and receives approximately 22 percent from Student Activities fees. The Reporter is free to all students and faculty, but to start a subscription, please call us at 507-389-1776. Subscriptions for the academic school year are $55.00 and subscribers will receive the paper within three to five days after publishing.

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

Thursday, August 27, 2020

News

MSU Reporter • 7

New federal virus testing advice sparks criticism, confusion NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials sparked criticism and confusion after posting guidelines on coronavirus testing from the White House task force that run counter to what scientists say is necessary to control the pandemic.

The new guidance says it’s not necessary for people who have been in close contact with infected people, but don’t feel sick, to get tested. It was posted earlier this week on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC previously had advised local health departments to test people who have been within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.

Across the country, public health experts called the change bizarre. They noted that testing contacts of infected people is a core element of public health efforts to keep outbreaks in check, and that a large percentage of infected people — the CDC has said as many as 40% — exhibit no symptoms.

“The recommendation not to test asymptomatic people who likely have been exposed is not in accord with the science,” said John Auerbach, president of Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit that works to improve U.S. preparedness against disease.

“We are seeking clarification from CDC about its recent guidance around testing,” said a spokesman for Michigan’s health department.

Federal officials said the new recommendation was issued by consensus of the White House virus task force.

However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert and perhaps the best known task force member, said Wednesday he wasn’t part of the discussion that green-lighted the change.

Fauci told CNN he was undergoing surgery when the new guidance was discussed last week, adding he was “worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is.”

The American Medical Association, in a statement, called the change “a recipe for community spread.”

The Association of American Medical Colleges called it “a step backward in fighting the pandemic.”

Some officials — including some state governors — said it was another sign of a dysfunctional federal response to the pandemic.

“This is like a public health version of Vietnam,” said Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, which works to strengthen the public health system.

In this July 24, 2020, file photo, healthcare worker Rahaana Smith instructs passengers how to use a nasal swab, at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium, in Miami. U.S. health officials have sparked a wave of confusion after posting guidelines that coronavirus testing is not necessary for people who have been in close contact with infected people.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

CDC officials referred all media questions to the agency’s parent organization, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. That suggests that HHS ordered the change, not CDC, said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public health researcher.

After Twitter lit up with head-scratching and alarm about the change, HHS officials sent an email Wednesday saying the guidance was revised “to reflect current evidence and the best public health interventions,” but did not detail what the new evidence was.

The decision came out of meetings of the White House coronavirus task force, HHS officials said.

In a call with reporters, Dr. Brett Giroir, the HHS assistant secretary for health, said guidance language originated at the CDC. But he also said many federal leaders outside the agency were involved in “lots of editing, lots of input.” He said federal officials achieved consensus but it was difficult to attribute the final language to any one source.

Ultimately, restricting testing could be self-defeating, because it could skew the numbers and create a perception that rates of infection are higher. Testing people who appear to be healthy would tend to lower the overall rate of positive results, while narrowing testing to people who are sick would raise the overall positive rate, Auerbach said.

Why HHS would order such a change quickly became a matter of speculation. Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious diseases specialist at Emory University, suggested in a tweet that there are

two possible explanations.

One is that it may be driven by testing supply issues that in many parts of the country have caused widely reported delays in results of a week or more, he suggested.

HHS officials suggested that wasn’t the reason, arguing that testing capacity is plentiful.

But Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health commissioner for Columbus, Ohio, said the city had to curtail testing last month because of a shortage of reagents used in lab procedures.

“When we were testing asymptomatic people here in Columbus, we were picking up a large number of individuals” with the virus, she said Another possible explanation for the change is that President Donald Trump simply wants to see case counts drop, and discouraging more people from getting tested is one way to do it, del Rio said in his tweet.

Giroir said the change was made without input

from Trump or Vice President Mike Pence. “There was no weight on the scales by the president or the vice president” or HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Giroir said.

Dr. Tom Frieden, who was head of the CDC during the Obama administration, said the move follows another recent change: to no longer recommend quarantine for travelers coming from areas where infections are more common.

“Both changes are highly problematic” and need to be better explained, said Frieden, who now is president of Resolve to Save Lives, a nonprofit program that works to prevent epidemics.

Frieden said he, too, believes HHS forced CDC to post the changes. He called it “a sad day” because “CDC is being told what to write on their website.”

The governors of California, New York, Washington and Kentucky — all Democrats — criticized

the new recommendations.

Washington Gov Jay Inslee said on Twitter that the changes likely will cause thousands of infections in his state to go unrecognized, and allow the virus to spread even more. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the new guidance “reckless.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said their states will not follow the new guidance.

“We will not be influenced by that change,” Newsom said. “We’re influenced by the folks that are experts in the field who feel very differently.”

“Why would you reverse yourself on the quarantine order?” Cuomo told reporters on a conference call. “Because they don’t want publicity that there is a COVID problem. Because the president’s politics are, ‘COVID isn’t a problem We’re past COVID.’”

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8 • MSU Reporter

News

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Trolls flood social media in Pakistan amid virus lockdown ISLAMABAD (AP) — It was a music video meant to depict a young bride’s joy: Actress Saba Qamar, in a flowing white wedding gown with a golden hem, was twirled by the singer playing her groom in front of the mosaics of a 17th-century mosque in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore.

As soon as the video emerged earlier this month, it went viral — but for the wrong reasons. It infuriated religious radicals who inundated social media with claims that Qamar’s dancing sullied the historic Wazir Khan Mosque.

The uproar was the latest example of how trolling has surged online in Pakistan since a lockdown, imposed in March over coronavirus concerns, confined tens of millions to their homes, leading to a 50% increase in internet use in this conservative Muslim nation of over 220 million people.

Minority rights activists and social media trackers say they’ve seen a sharp rise in online sectarian attacks, hate speech and cries of “Blasphemy!”

“It is unprecedented,” Shahzad Ahmad of Bytesforall, an Islamabad-based social media rights group, told The Associated Press.

Toxic trending on Twitter has also taken aim at minorities, blaming the ethnic Hazaras for allegedly bringing the coronavirus to Pakistan from neighboring Iran.

Like most Iranians, Hazaras are Shiites, and traditionally make pilgrimages to holy sites in Iran, which has the deadliest virus outbreak in the region. Some Pakistani pilgrims returning home were among the first reported cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan.

After #Shiavirus began trending on Twitter in April, Hazaras say they were denied jobs, service at stores — even treatment in medical facilities.

Claire Thomas, deputy head of the Britain-based Minority Rights Group International, said minority Ahmadis and Hindus have also been targeted.

Sunni militant groups often target Ahmadis, also known as Qadianis, named after the birthplace in northern India of their sect’s founder. The militants consider them heretics because they believe a prophet after Muhammad arrived more than 100 years ago by the name of Ahmad.

In 1974, Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims — and any Ahmadi claiming to be Muslim can land in jail. In a single day this month, #AhmadisAreNotMuslims registered 45,700 tweets; #QadianisAreInfidel 50,600 tweets; #QadianisAreTheWorstInfidelsIn-

A member of a social media rights group displays pictures of actress Saba Qamar and singer Bilal Saeed’s music video meant to depict a young bride’s joy that as shot in a mosque and went viral on the internet, at his office in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020.

The video infuriated religious radicals who inundated social media with claims that Qamar’s dancing sullied the historic Wazir Khan Mosque. The uproar was the latest example of how trolling has exploded online in Pakistan since a lockdown, imposed in March over coronavirus concerns, confined tens of millions to their homes.

(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

TheWorld 32,600 tweets while #Expose _Qadyani _ ProM inisters had 50,600 tweets.

“Since the lockdown began ... there have been over half a dozen concerted hashtag campaigns against the community, either describing the community as worthy of death, or non-Muslim or traitors to Pakistan,” said Saleem Uddin, an Ahmadi community leader.

Extremists recently also attacked the construction site for a Hindu temple in Islamabad and warned Muslim faithful online that it would be blasphemy to support the temple.

In an ominous video on social media, a man introduces a young boy as his son. The child then speaks into the camera, delivering a message to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan that he “will kill each and every Hindu” if the temple is built. The video got nearly 100,000 clicks.

Particularly worrisome is the unprecedented number of claims of blasphemy that Ahmad, from the rights group, says have driven some of those accused into hiding. The onslaught has continued even after the pandemic lockdown was lifted in early August.

Under Pakistani law, the charge of blasphemy, or insulting Islam, carries the death penalty. But even mere allegations of blasphemy can cause mobs to riot. Any attempt to amend the law to make it more difficult to bring charges, has brought angry radicals out on the street.

Last month, a gunman shot and killed Tahir Naseem, a Pakistani-American, in a courtroom in the northwest-

ern city of Peshawar. Arrested two years ago, Naseem was on trial for blasphemy for allegedly declaring himself Islam’s prophet. Rights activists said he was mentally challenged.

The U.S. State Department said Naseem had been “lured to Pakistan” from his home in Illinois and entrapped by the blasphemy law.

Within days of the fatal shooting, religious radicals demonstrated across Pakistan in support of the killer, praising his actions. Selfies surfaced online of police guards smiling as they transported Naseem’s killer to his arraignment hearing — smiles meant to show support for the killer.

Qamar, the actress who danced in the promo video with popular singer Bilal Saeed in the Lahore mosque, apologized online.

“If we have unknowingly hurt anyone’s sentiments we apologize to you all with all our heart. Love & Peace,” she tweeted.

But the trolls were unmoved and last week, Qamar and Saeed appeared in court, charged with blasphemy. The two have not responded to AP requests for comment.

The same radical religious party that assailed them over the dancing — Tehreek-e-Labbaik, which won three seats in the 2018 local elections in Sindh province — also claimed a young entrepreneur’s soccer ball design was “satanic.”

The list goes on: a university professor whose views are seen as too liberal; a poet who defended him; a lawmaker who said no religion was superior to another.

Sunni Muslim cleric Muhammad Ali Mirza was targeted after one of his sermons went viral condemning vigilantes and clerics who incite them to kill anyone suspected of blasphemy.

This unleashed a vitriolic attack and eventually blasphemy charges were brought against Mirza.

The court rejected them.

Haroon Baloch, also of the Bytesforall rights group, said he’s been using sensitive software that tracks not only hashtags involving a specific name or an extraordinarily heavy use of a particular word, but that also identifies some of the underlying emotions behind the postings.

Such tracking can offer early warnings of “an escalation from online threats to physical threats,” he said.

Facebook said it has in-

creased its “content review team, including in Pakistan, and we now find and take action on more than 95% of hate speech before anyone reports it to us.”

“We’re also in close contact with partners on the ground to identify and remove misinformation that has the potential to incite physical harm offline,” the company told the AP. Twitter said it does “not tolerate the abuse or harassment of people on the basis of religion.”

Journalist Marvi Sirmed was targeted after tweeting about forced disappearances of activists in southwestern Baluchistan province, many believed to be in the custody of Pakistani security agencies. Her Urdu-language “tongue-in-cheek” tweet mentioned Jesus, setting off a flood of threats.

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Thursday, August 27, 2020

The Latest: Louisiana governor closes part of Interstate 10 BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said the state is closing Interstate 10 from around the Atchafalaya Bridge outside of Lafayette all the way into part of Texas, because several stretches within that area are expected to flood.

In a radio interview Wednesday night, Edwards talked of the “apocalyptic” language that meteorologists have used for the storm. “The language I’ve heard from the National Weather Service I’ve never heard before ... They’re sending the strongest possible message about how serious this storm is,” he said.

He talked specifically about concerns in Cameron Parish, which could receive wind gusts up to 180 mph (290 kph) and storm surge up to 20 feet (6 meters.)

“When people built back after Rita, they routinely built back to 15 feet,” Edwards said. He noted those structures would be overwhelmed.

Edwards said search and rescue efforts will begin Thursday as soon as it’s safe enough for officials to go out into floodwaters.

CAMERON PARISH, La. — At least 150 people refused to evacuate a coastal Louisiana parish that could be covered by ocean water as Hurricane Laura makes landfall, officials said.

Officers went door-todoor in Cameron Parish urging the roughly 7,000 residents to get out before Laura struck, and they all used social media and phone calls to warn people of the danger.

But Ashley Buller, assistant director of the parish Office of Emergency Preparedness, said officials knew of about 150 people who decided to stay put in structures ranging from seemingly safe elevated homes to recreational vehicles, which could easily be swept away by rushing storm surge.

“It’s a very sad situation,” Buller said in a telephone interview from Lake Charles, where parish officials relocated from an office closer to the coast in Cameron. “We did everything we could to encourage them to leave.”

Forecasters said Gulf waters could rise 20 feet along the coast of the low-lying parish without adding the height of waves, meaning the entire parish could be inundated.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said: “They’re thinking Cameron Parish is going to look like an extension of the Gulf of Mexico for a couple of days.”

NEW ORLEANS — A meteorologist in western Louisi-

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, at 2:40 p.m. EDT., and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Laura over the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Laura strengthened Wednesday into “an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane,” The National Hurricane Center said.

Laura is expected to strike Wednesday night into Thursday morning along the Louisiana-Texas border.

(NOAA via AP)

ana said there are increasing signs Hurricane Laura could reach Category 5 strength.

“There’s been a lot of question about whether this storm would make it to Category 5 strength before landfall -- I think that is becoming increasingly likely,” said meteorologist Donald Jones, of the National Weather Service’s regional office that covers parts of the Louisiana and Texas coastlines that are in the bullseye of Laura’s path.

“I think all evidence right now indicates that we’re probably going to be looking at a Category 5 storm,” he said.

Jones noted that there’s also debate within the weather service about whether Laura would maintain Category 5 status all the way to landfall, even it reaches that strength in the next few hours.

He made the comments during a Wednesday night briefing at the weather service’s New Orleans office, where he evacuated to from the Lake Charles office because of the storm.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has declared an emergency ahead of Hurricane Laura and set aside $250,000 to prepare for the storm’s impact.

Hutchinson said Wednesday that the state will have search and rescue teams on standby.

Arkansas is hundreds of miles inland, but even as Laura moves away from the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to hit the southwest part of the state with tropical stormforce winds. The storm could also drop up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain near Arkansas’ borders with Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.

Forecasters also said heavy rainfall could arrive by Friday in parts of Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Laura is so powerful that it’s expected to become a tropical storm again once it reaches the Atlantic Ocean, potentially threatening the Northeast.

MEXICO CITY — Off Mexico’s western Pacific coast, two tropical storms formed Wednesday in what appears likely to be a busy season in the Pacific as well.

Tropical Storms Hernan and Iselle formed within hours of each other. Both are expected to curve toward the southern tip of Baja California, but neither is expected to hit land. Both will likely decline to tropical depressions by late in the week.

Hernan may swing near the coast around the resort of Puerto Vallarta.

The National Hurricane Center said Hernan had winds of about 40 miles per hour (65 kph) and was located about 185 miles (300 kms) south of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico. It was moving northeast at 6 mph (9 kph).

Iselle formed further offshore, about 680 miles (1,095 kms) southwest of the tip of Baja California.

WASHINGTON — White House officials are nervously tracking the path of the storm, which they fear will make a devastating landfall.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have been dispatched to the region and are blanketing the airwaves with messages to follow authorities’ instructions, though there was concern that the evacuations started late.

There were no plans to re-

schedule portions of the Republican National Convention. Officials expected that Trump would travel to inspect the storm damage either this weekend or early next week.

Louisiana and Texas refineries and liquefied natural gas terminals shut down ahead of Hurricane Laura’s arrival.

Cheniere Energy Partners’ Sabine Pass LNG plant’s 500 employees were told to follow local, state and federal instructions about storm preparedness and evacuation, spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder said Wednesday.

Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG, also in Cameron Parish, began shutting down Wednesday, according to an emailed statement.

Phillips 66 has shut down all of its Lake Charles-area operations, including a refinery, lubricant plant and terminals and pipelines, as well as a terminal in Beaumont, Texas, according to a notice on its website.

A few more refineries are in northwest Louisiana, where Laura was expected to arrive Thursday, possibly with winds of 74 to 110 miles per hour (119 to 177 kph), putting it in Category 1 or 2.

HOUSTON — More than 60% of flights Wednesday to and from Houston’s largest airport were canceled as Hurricane Laura approached.

About one-third of Thursday’s flights were scrubbed at Bush Intercontinental Airport and the city’s smaller Hobby Airport.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Several refineries along the Gulf Coast shut down before Hurricane Laura arrived.

Oil analyst Andrew Lipow

said Wednesday that refineries nationwide were running at only about 80% because the pandemic has reduced demand for fuel. That means other refineries can pick up slack from shutdowns in Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana, he said.

Lipow said a major remaining concern is that pumping stations for the Colonial Pipeline could be damaged by flooding, which could stop gasoline produced in Houston-area refineries from reaching the East Coast, although the pipeline could still send fuel from refineries in New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards has activated the entire Louisiana National Guard for Hurricane Laura.

That includes more than 3,000 guardsmen ready for high-water vehicle and boat evacuations, search and rescue operations, levee inspections, road clearing and parish emergency operations assistance.

The National Guard has staged more than 200 high-water vehicles and 65 boats in south Louisiana ahead of the approaching storm.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Hundreds of residents of 11 nursing homes in southwest Louisiana have been evacuated in advance of Hurricane Laura, according to the state health department.

Most of the facilities were in Calcasieu Parish, which is expected to get a direct strike from the hurricane.

Health department spokeswoman Aly Neel says a mix of buses and ambulances moved the residents to other facilities mainly in Louisiana, but also in Texas.

BREAUX BRIDGE, La. — Louisiana residents Wednesday afternoon were heeding evacuation warnings as bands of heavy rain and strong wind swept into the state’s south ahead of the approaching storm, providing hotels in inland Baton Rouge a much-needed revenue boost.

Traffic slowed to a crawl at times amid intermittent periods of wind-driven rain on an elevated section of a highway between Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

Hotels in Baton Rouge were filling up fast, said Meredith Conger of tourism agency Visit Baton Rouge. Some were first responders and others were individual evacuees possibly seeking the privacy of a hotel room rather than a shelter or relatives’ house, she said.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

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MSU Reporter • 11

Pence defends police at convention amid rising race tension BALTIMORE (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence forcefully defended law enforcement but made no mention of the Black Americans killed by police this year as he addressed Republican convention proceedings that unfolded amid new protests against racial injustice following the latest shooting.

Wednesday evening’s featured speaker, Pence argued that Democratic leaders are allowing lawlessness to prevail from coast to coast. He and others described cities wracked by violence, though protests in most locations have been largely peaceful.

“The American people know we don’t have to choose between supporting law enforcement and standing with African American neighbors to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns,” he said. He assailed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for saying there is an “implicit bias” against people of color and “systemic racism” in the U.S. “The hard truth is ... you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” Pence said. “Let me be clear: The violence must stop – whether in Minneapolis, Portland, or Kenosha.”

Absent from Pence’s 37-minute speech: a direct mention of Jacob Blake, the Black man who was wounded by police on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There was also no reference to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor or other Black people who have been killed by police this year, spurring a new nationwide protest movement.

As their convention nears its conclusion on Thursday, Republicans are seeking to reconcile their depiction of President Donald Trump as a smooth, stable leader with the reality that the United States is facing a series of crises that include the demonstrations, a potentially catastrophic hurricane and a raging pandemic that is killing more than 1,000 Americans a day.

The historic convergence of health, economic, environmental and social emergencies is only increasing the pressure on Trump, as he looks to reshape the contours of his lagging campaign against Biden with Election Day just 10 weeks off and early voting beginning much sooner.

The convention keynote gave Pence another opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to Trump. The vice president, who is also the chair of the White House coronavirus task force, defended the administration’s handling of

Vice President Mike Pence speaks on the third day of the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/ Andrew Harnik)

the pandemic, a political liability that was otherwise largely absent from the convention program. He also delivered sober, encouraging words to Gulf Coast residents as Hurricane Laura neared.

“This is a serious storm,” Pence said. “And we urge all those in the affected areas to heed state and local authorities. Stay safe and know that we’ll be with you every step of the way to support, rescue, respond, and recover in the days and weeks ahead.”

Positioning himself as a potential heir to Trump in 2024, Pence delivered sharp attacks against Biden, but also presented an optimistic vision of the country’s future. He spoke from Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, where an 1814 battle inspired the National Anthem — which has been at the center of a cultural debate, fueled by Trump, over athletes who kneel rather than stand in protest of racial injustice.

Trump made an unannounced appearance to join Pence after his remarks for a performance of the anthem at the fort. The president, vice president and their wives later greeted guests, some of whom were in walkers and stood for the anthem.

Some in the crowd gathered close together to get a glimpse of the Pences and Trumps in violation of social distancing guidelines. Pence was seen shaking a greeter’s hand.

While the Fort McHenry speech was orchestrated to present a grand scene, earlier portions of the program were lower energy. The show for Americans at home lacked some of the production elements that had made previous nights memorable,

including slickly produced videos and surprise announcements, such as an unexpected presidential pardon and a citizenship ceremony.

Besides Pence, there was no major headline speaker and few boldface names. George W. Bush, the sole living former Republican president, isn’t expected to address the convention. Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee who has emerged as a Trump foe, is also absent from the lineup.

The convention unfolded after three nights of protests in Kenosha prompted Trump to issue repeated calls for

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to increase the deployment of National Guard troops to help keep the peace. Trump also directed the Department of Justice to send FBI agents and U.S. marshals to the city as reinforcements, a day after a white 17-year-old who had been outspoken in support of police, was accused of killing two protesters and wounding another.

Many of the speakers Wednesday night reinforced Trump’s law-and-order message, warning that electing Biden would lead to violence in cities spilling into the sub-

urbs, a message with racist undertones. Trump’s campaign believes his aggressive response will help him with suburban women who may be concerned by the protests — though it may only deepen his deficit with Black voters.

The Trump campaign’s focus on law enforcement continued a weeklong emphasis on motivating his political base — rather than appealing to moderate voters.

An August Fox News poll found that registered voters were somewhat more likely to say they trusted Biden than Trump on handling issues related to policing and criminal justice, 48% to 42%, and significantly more likely to trust Biden than Trump on handling race relations, 53% to 34%. Biden’s advantage on criminal justice issues mirrored his advantage overall.

Michael McHale, the president of the National Association of Police Organizations, told the convention, “The violence and bloodshed we are seeing in these and other cities isn’t happening by chance.

It’s the direct result of refusing to allow law enforcement to protect our communities.”

And Burgess Owens, a former NFL player now running for Congress in Utah, declared, “This November, we stand at a crossroads. Mobs torch our cities while popular members of Congress promote the same socialism that my father fought against in World War II.”

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Thursday, August 27, 2020

ART, MUSIC, FOOD, MOVIES, SPORTS, GAMING, & ALL THE REST

Five former Maverick hockey players go pro Four seniors, and a junior signed contracts with the NHL, AHL

MEL STRAMM SPORTS EDITOR The Maverick hockey program has produced some professional hockey players in the past, and the 2020 senior class was no exception to that.

After the completion of their collegiate hockey career, four Mavericks were able to sign professional contracts.

Defenseman Ian Scheid and forward Charlie Gerard signed with the Colorado Avalanche of the American Hockey League, while forward Marc Michaelis agreed to a contract with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. Forward Parker Tuomie became a part of the Deutsche Eishockey League, signing with Berlin.

But it wasn’t only seniors who were able to take the jump into the big leagues.

Junior defenseman Connor Mackey inked a deal with the NHL’s Calgary Flames, leaving MSU an year early.

The former Mavericks are following into the footsteps of 14 other MSU players who made it into the professional hockey leagues.

The last Maverick to join the NHL was forward C.J.

Minnesota State forward Parker Tuomie moves the puck in a game against Bowling Green at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Nov. 2, 2019 in Mankato, Minn. (File photo)

Suess, playing his debut for Winnipeg in November of 2019.

Last year, three former Mavericks competed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with

David Backes (2003-06) for Boston, Teddy Blueger (201216) for Pittsburgh, and Tyler

Pitlick (2009-10) for the Dallas Stars.

Boycott: NBA playoff games called off amid player protest LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.

Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.

The dramatic series of moves began when the Bucks — the NBA’s team from Wisconsin, a state rocked in recent days by the shooting by police officers of Jacob Blake, a Black man — didn’t take the floor for their playoff game against the Magic. The teams were set to begin Game 5 of their series shortly after 4 p.m., with the Bucks needing a win to advance to the second round.

Players had been discussing

boycotting games in the bubble after the shooting of Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

More discussions among players on teams still in the bubble were scheduled Wednesday, presumably on how — or if — to go forward, but even before that the Bucks apparently decided they would act.

“Some things are bigger than basketball,” Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry tweeted. “The stand taken today by the players and (the organization) shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough.

Change needs to happen. I’m incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change.”

There are three other playoff games scheduled Thursday.

It was unclear if they would be affected. Several NBA players, including the Lakers’ LeBron James, tweeted out messages demanding change and the Boston Celtics’ official Twitter

The Milwaukee Bucks bench sits empty at game time of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kevin C. Cox/Pool Photo via AP)

account did the same.

“We weren’t given advanced notice about the deci-

sion but we are happy to stand in solidarity with Milwaukee, Jacob, and the entire NBA

NBA

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Thursday, August 27, 2020

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MSU Reporter • 15

Mankato MoonDogs finish unusual season

Mankato MoonDogs pitcher AJ Wood throws a pitch against the St. Cloud Rox at the Franklin Rogers Park Aug. 11, 2020 in Mankato, Minn. (Mansoor Ahmad/MSU Reporter)

MEL STRAMM SPORTS EDITOR Summer baseball has a rich tradition for college players and the towns that host summer leagues. However, in order to ensure the safety of players and fans, Mankato MoonDogs baseball, which wrapped up last week, looked a little different this summer.

The team’s roster included four players from Minnesota State University, Mankato;

pitcher Hunter Conrad, second baseman Mickey Gottschalk, catcher Beau Schumacher and outfielder Jack Waletich.

The Northwoods League put teams together in groups to minimize exposure. The MoonDogs were in the Minnesota/Iowa “pod” with the Willmar Stingers, Rochester Honkers, St. Cloud Rox and the Waterloo Bucks. The season spanned July 1 - Aug. 20.

Northwoods League Presi-

dent and Commissioner Gary Hoover said, “This regional pod will bring the special brand of Northwoods League baseball back to those communities, but in a way that is consistent with everyone’s goal of doing so in a safe manner.”

The MoonDogs put regulations in place to allow fans to enjoy the games. That meant social distancing between the grandstand and other areas of Franklin Rogers Ballpark as

well as keeping certain seats and areas vacant.

On July 29, the Minnesota Department of Health then allowed for a total of 375 fans into the ballpark for the remainder of the season.

With a detailed COVID readiness plan, MoonDogs staff prepared for these spectators with new cleanliness policies that included spraying down the ballpark, adding hand sanitizing stations and

enforcing a mask requirement.

This also meant complete removal of the “Kids Zone” and prohibiting “spitting” items, such as sunflower seeds, gum and peanuts. Staff had their temperatures taken at shift start. Also, players were not allowed to give away balls or hold autograph sessions.

NC State at Va Tech postponed 2 weeks amid COVID-19 cases North Carolina State’s season-opener at Virginia Tech was postponed for two weeks Wednesday because of a cluster of COVID-19 cases among Wolfpack athletes.

The delay comes two days after N.C. State paused all athletic activities. The school didn’t specify which programs were impacted when it announced a cluster of 27 positive cases tied to athletics.

Spokesman Fred Demarest tweeted Monday there had been 22 positives among athletes, coaches and staff in the most recent round of 693 tests.

N.C. State has announced numerous coronavirus clusters in the past week after students returned to campus, including at sorority or fraternity houses

as well as on-campus residence halls and off-campus apartments. The school announced last week that it was moving to online-only instruction for undergraduate courses but would keep on-campus housing open.

By Wednesday afternoon, however, chancellor Randy Woodson announced the school is instructing students to begin moving out of campus housing over the next 11 days to “reduce the on-campus population significantly.”

Demarest said the majority of Wolfpack athletes live off-campus. Those who don’t will be able to apply for a waiver if necessary.

Moving the game from Sept. 12 to Sept. 26 is the Atlantic Coast Conference’s first

disruption of the conference schedule since the league announced plans to go ahead with the season, though some programs have had to find new nonconference opponents after other schools called off fall sports.

“We appreciate the ACC and Virginia Tech working together in partnership to move this game to a mutual open weekend,” N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan said.

“There’s no blueprint for what we’re all trying to navigate and we are grateful for everyone’s collaboration to make this work.”

The ACC, Southeastern Conference and Big 12 are the only three Power Five conferences that opted to try to play

in the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Big Ten and Pac-12, as well as virtually every other lower-level conference, have put off fall sports and are instead hoping to play in the spring.

Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente on Tuesday called it a “very fluid situation.”

“It’s like you walk off the practice field and you’re just waiting for the new news that’s happened,” he said. “It’s not a daily thing. It’s almost an hourly update, and I think that’s going to be the normal. ... Who knows? Opponents can change and schedules can change. You’re going to have to go with the flow a little bit.”

Virginia Tech has declined thus far to release results of its

coronavirus testing.

In the ACC, a July report by the league’s medical advisory group outlined testing and other safety protocols. Those included having athletes who test positive be isolated for at least 10 days before receiving medical clearance to return.

Additionally, anyone required to quarantine for 14 days after contact tracing must complete that before returning.

Both teams are now scheduled to open the season with instate ACC matchups Sept.

19: N.C. State will host Wake Forest, while Virginia Tech will host Virginia.

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Messi tells Barca he wants to leave, signaling end of era BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — After dozens of titles, hundreds of goals and countless records, Lionel Messi’s spectacular career at Barcelona could be coming to an abrupt end.

The divorce may turn ugly, too.

Messi told Barcelona on Tuesday that he wants to leave after nearly two decades at the club, having grown unhappy after a trophy-less season ended with a humiliating loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Barcelona confirmed to The Associated Press that Messi sent the club a document expressing his desire to leave. But the club hinted that a legal battle could be coming and said it won’t automatically grant the Argentina great his wishes.

Barcelona said it told Messi in response that it wants him to stay and finish his career at the club.

The dispute centers around a clause in Messi’s contract.

Barcelona said the document sent by Messi referenced a clause allowing him to leave for free at the end of the season. However, the club said the deadline for triggering that clause expired in June and that it would seek legal advice.

Messi’s contract also includes a 700 million euro ($826 million) buyout clause.

The Spanish season would normally have ended in May but was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“If Messi is to leave Barcelona by activating a release clause, then I hope the club (tries) to help, not hinder him,” former England and Barcelona striker Gary Lineker said on Twitter. “He’s been fiercely loyal and their great-

Lionel Messi during the Spanish Copa del Rey, quarter final, soccer match against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao, Spain. Feb. 6, 2020 (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, File)

est ever player. It would be terribly sad if it finished with a fight between the player and the club.”

If Messi can leave for free, he will have no shortage of suitors. However, only a handful of clubs could realistically afford to pay his wages even without a transfer fee — with mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City widely seen as perhaps the most likely destinations.

The 33-year-old Messi has won a record six Ballon d’Or awards during his time at Barcelona as the top player in the world, and has helped the club win 10 Spanish league titles and four Champions League crowns.

Messi’s announcement

came 11 days after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals, one of the worst defeats in the player’s career and in the club’s history.

The defeat capped a difficult season for Barcelona — the first without a title since 2007-08 — and ignited one of its worst crises ever.

Messi had been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with some of Barcelona’s decisions this season, talking about the team’s problems and contesting club directors. Sporting director Éric Abidal, who was criticized by Messi, left the club last week.

Messi had been silent since the loss to Bayern, though, raising doubts about his fu-

Usain Bolt tests positive for COVID-19 KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica’s Minister of Health says legendary sprinter Usain Bolt has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Minister Christopher Tufton said Bolt was aware of the results and his recent contacts were being traced.

“It is now public knowledge that Mr. Bolt has tested positive. He has been formally notified, I’m told by the authorities,″ Tufton told reporters Monday evening. “’It triggers an approach to questioning, interrogation if you will, which we follow through with contact tracing.”

Bolt said on social media Monday that he was awaiting the result of a coronavirus test and was quarantining himself as a precaution.

The 34-year-old retired sprinter who won gold in the

100 and 200 meters at the last three Olympics posted a video on social media to explain the situation.

“Good morning everybody.

Just waking up. Like everybody, checked social media and saw that social media says I’m confirmed of COVID-19,” he said. “I did a test Saturday, because I work. I’m trying to be responsible, so I’m going to stay in and stay here for my friends.”

Bolt, who appeared to be lying in bed in the video, said he has no symptoms.

“Just to be safe, I’ll quarantine myself and just take it easy,” he said.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said police are investigating the case. He didn’t specify what offense might have been committed, though Jamaica has imposed social

distancing requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They’re looking into all aspects of the matter. So no one is going to be treated with any exemption or given any special treatment. All Jamaicans have a duty,” he said.

Jamaica has had fewer than 1,700 cases, a relatively low number in a country of nearly 3 million.

On the track, Bolt was known for his poses — his “Lighting Bolt” became iconic — and of course his postrace celebrations. His speed and charisma made his sport can’t-miss viewing whenever he lined up in the blocks.

Bolt set the world records in the 100 and 200 meters at the 2009 world championships in Berlin. He retired in 2017.

ture. The defeat may have been the tipping point for the playmaker. He and his teammates faced furious Barcelona fans who confronted them and criticized the team at the club’s training center after the squad returned from Portugal.

Club president Josep Bartomeu had said he was confident that Messi would finish his career with Barcelona, and that he was a crucial part of incoming coach Ronald Koeman’s plans for the team.

Koeman met with Messi last

week and the player reportedly told the Dutchman that he saw himself more out than in at the club at that moment.

The coach reportedly had already told other key pieces of the squad that they were not in his plans, including Luis Suárez, Arturo Vidal, Samuel Umtiti and Ivan Rakitic.

After the loss to Bayern, Barcelona announced it would make “profound” changes to the first team and a “wide-ranging” restructuring of the club.

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Variety

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Pandemic forces athletic departments to cut budgets MEL STRAMM SPORTS EDITOR Sports have been taking some monumental financial hits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing franchises to implement changes that are making fans question the future of sports and even whole college programs.

League commissioners and colleges are currently scrambling to squeeze as much as possible in revenue out of whatever is possible for the 2020-21 season. Luckily, this $750 billion industry of professional sports is one of the most likely ones to survive the pandemic, but will still have to endure some major losses.

NBA players agreed to a 25% pay cut back in May. Other major athletes such as Lionel Messi have made large donations to allow franchise staff to still get paid. However, there is so much more loss than just athletes’ salaries.

Teams are now sitting on unsold merchandise, missing revenue ticket sales and laying off staff.

The University of Iowa discontinued four of its athletic programs to make up the $100

million in losses resulting from the cancellation of its football season and the $75 million overall deficit in the athletic department.

Some universities were able to make quick moves to keep themselves from going into too big of a deficit. The University of Nebraska did so through layoffs, reduced budgets, and a travel freeze. While cutting staff is not necessarily the best solution, it is one of the only options.

Smaller universities, where football programs account for larger portions of their revenue, may have an even harder time. This raises the question if departments will be able to keep up the costs of athletic scholarships which, for some athletes, are the only reason they are able to afford higher education.

“I believe in the saying, if you’re good at something, don”t do it for free. Likewise I do everything in my power to ensure I earned my scholarship and will do everything for it to not be taken away. Now if my sport got canceled, I would 100% leave because I have goals and aspirations that need to be met whether it’s at MSU

or elsewhere,” one student athlete whose season is still up in the air said. “I would love to end my career here at MSU but due to COVID or other circumstances I would take my talents elsewhere.”

“My scholarship didn’t get cut. If it did, my parents would pull from my savings. Luckily, I have that privilege,” another

their jerseys and coaches are donning pins demanding racial justice as well.

Many players wrestled for weeks about whether it was even right to play, fearing that a return to games would take attention off the deaths of, among others, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in recent months.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot when police officers burst into her Louisville, Kentucky apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation in March. The warrant was in connection with a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found. Then on May 25, Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into the Black man’s neck for nearly eight minutes — all captured on a cell phone video.

Bucks guard George Hill said after Blake’s shooting that he felt players shouldn’t have come to Disney.

“We’re the ones getting killed,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who is Black, said in an emotional postgame speech Tuesday night. “We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that we’re denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung.

We’ve been shot. And all you do is keep hearing about fear.

It’s amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back. And it’s just, it’s really so sad.”

The Celtics and Toronto Raptors met Tuesday to discuss boycotting Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, which had been scheduled for Thursday. Members of the National Basketball Players Association were also part of those meetings, and

student athlete noted.

Student athletes are urged to practice social distancing.

The answer isn’t that simple, however. Yes, if every single student athlete would follow social distancing rules, their seasons wouldn’t even be in question. But how realistic is that scenario? Especially keeping in mind that most students

have to work in order to pay their living expenses.

Regardless, if we want winter sports to happen at this point, there is no way around staying home and being careful.

Hurdles at a track meet at Myers Field House Jan. 19, 2020 in Mankato, Minn. (File photo)

NBA

Continued from page 14 community,” Orlando guard Michael Carter-Williams said.

“Change is coming.”

Magic players and referees were on the basketball court for the game but Milwaukee never took the floor. Eventually everyone else left and the arena staff soon took the balls, towels and tags that go on player chairs back inside.

National Basketball Players Association President Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder and guard Russell Westbrook of the Houston Rockets were seen emerging from a conversation, not long before it became known that their teams also decided to not play their scheduled game Wednesday.

“Today we stand united with the NBA Office, the National Basketball Players Association, the Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the league condemning bigotry, racial injustice and the unwarranted use of violence by police against people of color,” the Magic and its ownership group, the DeVos family, said in a statement.

Demanding societal change and ending racial injustice has been a major part of the NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World.

The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is painted on the arena courts, players are wearing messages urging change on

Miami forward Andre Iguodala — a union officer — said around 2:15 p.m. that he did not believe a boycott plan had been finalized.

Less than two hours later, the Bucks wouldn’t take the floor.

“When you talk about boycotting a game, everyone’s antenna goes up,” Iguodala said.

“It’s sad you have to make threats like that — I wouldn’t

say threats — but you have to be willing to sacrifice corporate money for people to realize there’s a big problem out there.”

The postponed NBA games came on the fourth anniversary of Colin Kaepernick’s very first protest of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before an NFL preseason game.

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Thursday, August 27, 2020

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MSU Reporter • 19

The top 5 albums of 2020 so far

In a less than stellar year, music has been a saving grace for many

Photo courtesy of Phoebe Bridgers’ Facebook page

KOLBY SPOMER A&E EDITOR This year has been this year. We all know and have heard enough about it. One of the few aspects of this year that is being swept under the rug is the surprisingly powerful season the music industry is having. Every genre, from metal to pop, to hip-hop have welcomed boundary-pushing and deeply important albums.

There have also been a fair share of great, by-the-book releases as well. Here are just a few of them. ”Man Alive!” by King Krule Archy Marshall has steadily gained fame over the 2010s thanks to his biggest musical project, “King Krule”. 2017’s album “The Ooz” has cemented itself as a keystone of music over the past five years, so the follow up album was bound to have very high expectations set upon it. “Man Alive!” not only meets said expectations, it hurdles over them. I personally have never been as high on King Krule as others may be, but on this newest record Marshall creates his trademark sound and vibe while adding a much needed grounded-ness to the whole ordeal. No longer do I feel like I am listlessly floating through unconnected musical mess, no. On “Man Alive!” I feel as though I’m being gently guided down a stream of consciousness.

“Petals For Armor” by Hayley Williams Longtime Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams dropped her debut solo album “Petals For Armor” in May of this year, and seemingly no one took notice. Despite a good amount of publicity and her main group’s popularity, “Petals For Armor” seemingly flopped upon release. Was it due to a lack of quality?

Definitely not, as “Petals For Armor” holds tracks that can go toe to toe with any of Paramore’s best. So what was it?

Well, the album had a unique release. Over the course of around six months, every track on the album was released one by one until the final release date. Theoretically, this was going to keep buzz around the album alive for longer. In reality, it resulted in most listeners getting burnt out around the eighth track or so. Despite the lack of popularity, the passion behind this project, along with Williams’ vocal prowess make it a must listen for anyone looking for quality pop music.

“Punisher” by Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Bridgers may not be at Bob Dylan’s level quite yet, but if “Punisher” is any indication of what her work will be like in the future, she very well could be. If you are looking for a pop/folk hybrid chock full of ballads that contain lyrics like “What if I told you/I feel like I know you?/But we never met”

then you should deep dive into this album. I could write articles upon articles on this album, so to spare you I will focus on one song in particular.

“I Know the End” is my favorite song of the year as nothing quite encapsulates 2020 like it. Building slowly and surely

Photo courtesy of King Krule’s Facebook page

both lyrically and instrumentally, the song climaxes in guttural, broken screeching from Bridgers, and like I said, nothing quite captures our moment in time like that.

“Limbo” by Amine Amine has had a weird career. Hitting the mainstream

hard with his single “Caroline” in 2017, he hasn’t quite climbed to the lofty heights of that song since. That’s not to say his other work isn’t worthy, as more often than

MUSIC page 23

20 • MSU Reporter

Variety

Thursday, August 27, 2020

A small preview of our upcoming art exhibit!

Photos by Kolby Spomer/MSU Reporter

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Variety

MSU Reporter • 21

22 • MSU Reporter

Variety

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Biden campaign ‘flooding the zone’ with celebrity backers

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Poised over the piano, Carole King was set to play “I Feel the Earth Move” during a recent virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden when the Democratic presidential nominee himself beat her to it.

“On my playlist, Carole!”

Biden proclaimed, holding up his phone and letting a few seconds of the song blast.

“Oh, well, I’ll just sit back and let you play your playlist,” King said with a laugh.

The four-time Grammy winner isn’t the only Biden playlist mainstay helping his campaign against President Donald Trump. Jimmy Buffett noted that “Come Monday” was among the hits stored on Biden’s phone before singing it at another recent fundraiser. And James Taylor told another group that he learned to play “America the Beautiful” for President Barack Obama’s 2013 inauguration, when Biden was sworn in for four more years as vice president.

With in-person campaigning largely suspended because of the coronavirus, a parade of movie and TV stars, pop icons and sports standouts are proving crucial in helping Biden raise money and energize supporters as campaign surrogates. Events this week with celebrities and advocates including actress Alyssa Milano are serving as counter-programming to the Republican National Convention.

“We’re just flooding the zone as much as possible,” said Michelle Kwan, Biden’s surrogate director and an Olympic silver and bronze medalist figure skater who held a similar post for Hillary Clinton in 2016. “Our artists and actors who are surrogates, they tend to be at home so their availability and their schedule has opened up (and) they’re willing to do more things.”

Biden’s campaign now has a team of 15 staffers dedicated to organizing surrogate activities.

Republicans point to the events as evidence that Biden and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, are closer to Hollywood than the heartland. Speaking at the RNC this week, party chairwoman Ronna McDaniel noted that actress Eva Longoria, known for her role on “Desperate Housewives,” moderated one night of last week’s Democratic convention.

“Well, I’m actually a real housewife and a mom from Michigan with two wonderful kids in public school who happens to be only the second woman in 164 years to run the

In this Sept. 28, 2019, file photo, Carole King waves to the crowd as she takes the stage at the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York.

Poised over the piano, King was set to play “I Feel the Earth Move” during a recent virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden when the Democratic presidential nominee himself beat her to it. “On my playlist, Carole!” Biden proclaimed, holding up his phone and letting a few seconds of the song blast.(AP Photo/Julius Constantine Motal, File)

Republican Party,” McDaniel said.

Still, Biden has gone beyond celebrities in search of campaign surrogates. He’s enlisted the help of nearly all of the 20plus Democrats he beat during the primary. And Obama has taken a more aggressive role in supporting his former vice president.

The campaign often pairs celebrities with lesser-known officials from all levels of government to make personalized pitches to voters, especially when Biden himself isn’t able to attend an event.

Milano has appeared with former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and actors like Connie Britton held an online event with former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett while Don Cheadle hosted a youth activist forum.

Other times it is elected officials who are far from household names carrying online events alone: Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar addressed Hispanics in New Mexico and former Secretary of State John Kerry brought his New England appeal to Maine voters. As many as a half dozen such events now

come multiple times per week — often when Biden himself is only doing a single, separate fundraiser or two in the meantime.

The campaign also holds events partnering some of its staffers with celebrities so that discussions on policy reach audiences that may not be closely following the presidential race, deliberately blurring the line between pop culture and politics even more.

“We’re introducing our campaign to their followers who might not always be involved with the campaign,” said Adrienne Elrod, a Clinton 2016 spokeswoman who is now Biden’s director of surrogate strategy and operations.

Biden’s team distributes a one-page list of virtual event guidelines, with tips including making sure wifi is working correctly and that no one in the house sucks up bandwidth during showtime. Such preparations can’t prevent everything. Just as actor Forest Whitaker was introducing Biden at a virtual event in June, an Amber alert shrieked from his phone.

Star appeal doesn’t always translate to votes. Clinton’s

unsuccessful presidential bid was endorsed by everyone from singer Lady Gaga to actress Lena Dunham to NBA star LeBron James. She failed to win Pennsylvania, despite a sprawling Philadelphia rally on Election Day eve featuring singers Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi and the Obamas.

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire political science professor Eric T. Kasper compared celebrity endorsements to yard signs, saying they are unlikely to sway a race but are effective at getting people talking. Stars generate candidate buzz, help with fundraising and can build campaign event crowds — even for those online.

“You have this national audience as a presidential candidate you’re trying to seek favor from,” said Kasper, who has researched the intersection of politics and popular culture. “It’s much more difficult to connect in terms of retail politics, especially in a general election, on a nationwide scale.”

Trump used his personal celebrity to build hype for his 2016 bid. His reelection campaign has been holding its

own online events with top supporters nearly every night for months and says its online events average 2.6 million views per broadcast, though its headliners are often the president’s children. A similar roster is dominating this week’s convention.

“Enthusiasm for Joe Biden simply does not exist,” said Trump reelection campaign spokeswoman Courtney Parella, “and no celebrity he hides behind will fix that problem.”

Some stars are supporters of the president, including actors Dean Cain and Jon Voight, who narrated a proTrump convention video. So far, though, they haven’t been actively campaigning for him.

Instead, Trump has used the advantages of incumbency to crisscross the country on official business that draws throngs of supporters.

The Trump campaign has also seized on Biden’s preferred venue for participating in online events, a basement studio in his Delaware home — accusing the former vice president of hiding from voters.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Variety

MSU Reporter • 23

MUSIC

Continued from page 19 not it’s even better. 2018’s “ONEPOINTFIVE” flew under many listeners radars, but showed Amine growing lyrically and production wise.

Sadly, he still had a ways to go before he became a true name in the rap game. His new album “Limbo” shows that he put in the work as it is by far my favorite rap release of the year. Songs like “Pressure In My Palms” show his music has grown much more interesting, while “Shimmy” and “Compensating” show he can drop absolute bangers on the level of “Caroline”. Hopefully the album will continue to sell well enough to give Amine more chances to claim his spot on the map.

“Fetch the Bolt Cutters” by Fiona Apple Fiona Apple has become something of a legend among most music listening circles.

Every couple years now, she’ll return with a masterpiece, drop it, and then kind of just dip. It had been eight years since her last album, and luckily for everyone Apple decided that was long enough of a wait between albums. In a surprise

announcement on Instagram live, she used ASL (American Sign Language) to tell everyone that her new album would be releasing in 2020. When the album finally did drop, it was lauded with the praise many expected, and then some. Apple really out did herself again, somehow, and created the perfect album to bridge the 2010s with the 2020s. Utilizing a stripped back, acoustic sound Apple created an album that somehow perfectly encapsulates the early 2010s hipster, coffee shop vibe while adding very timely lyrics. If you ever find yourself feeling trapped, needing inspiration to stand up to someone, or simply wanting to kick start a change in yourself, this album will be there for you.

While I wasn’t able to hit on everything I wanted to, like how King Krule’s album is heavily inspired by fatherhood, or how Phoebe Bridgers stated “Punisher” felt much more freeing and comfortable to make than any previous album, I hope you were able to find something you may be interested in listening to.

Today’s cartoon!

Photo courtesy of Hayley Williams’ Facebook page

24 • MSU Reporter

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