October 8, 2020

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

THURSDAY • OCTOBER 8, 2020

Vigil for Breonna Taylor Held on Campus Mall JENNA PETERSON NEWS EDITOR On Tuesday night, the Minnesota State University, Mankato Black Student Union put together a vigil in Breonna Taylor’s memory. The organization aimed to remember one of the innocent lives taken due to police brutality and have a discussion about the ways in which black women are mistreated in this world.

To start the event, MNSU junior Bola Ogunlana gave a small speech about why they all were gathering that night and what it meant to her. In response to the history of treatment towards black women, Ogunlana commented, “We’re tired. As a black woman, I am tired.”

She further discussed the manner in which her and other black women are looked at in today’s society. There are struggles her and countless others go through just to stand on the same platform as those

Kameron Cook, MNSU student and vice president of Black Motivated Women, speaks at a vigil for Breonna Taylor on campus Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020 in Mankato. (Mansoor Ahmad/The Reporter)

who don’t experience the same oppression, if any.

“When people look down

on black women, it really is disheartening because we work so hard to get to where

Students Struggling with Wi-Fi in the Dorms BAILEY BRENDEL STAFF WRITER Throughout the past few weeks there have been many Wi-Fi outages in the Residential Life Halls, which has left students out to dry and unsure of how they will be able to complete their classes for the day.

Sophomore Brady Emery commented on the issue by saying, “It made it difficult to get any schoolwork done while in the dorms.”

In response, Minnesota State University, Mankato’s internet provider, Apogee, has been working around the clock to diagnose and fix the internet problem in the dorms.

The first thing they worked to fix was the outage in the Crawford A and B halls.

This outage was discussed at the RHA meeting, and Press Werden gave more information about the problem.

“Chaotic traffic on the network that overwhelmed some of the hardware and Crawford and it kind of locked up and

even you’re at, or even harder than you to get to where you’re at,” Ogunlana commented.

then shut off.” Apogee reprogrammed the hardware after the problem was reported.

This reprogramming allowed the network to resettle and hopefully help stop it from freezing up again.

The next issue Apogee had to fix followed a semi-truck hitting a fiber pole, causing the fiber Internet cord to be knocked over and pulled out.

This cord serves the Internet

STUDENT IN THIS ISSUE: GOVT UPDATE

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not only on campus, but other neighboring places as well.

Apogee was able to find a new internet provider for the time being, allowing students living in the residential area to have an internet connection and attend classes.

“Moving forward, we’re

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EDITORIAL: GO OUTSIDE

BREONNA page 3

Political Podcast Brings Discussion to MNSU JULIA BARTON STAFF WRITER

A student studies in the lobby of the Preska Residence Community on campus Monday, Oct. 5, 2020 in Mankato.

(Dearest Welwolie/The Reporter)

A main component of her speech was, “See me, hear me, love me,” because it was all about listening to black women’s experiences and to be there for them, instead of pushing them away.

An impactful way the Black Student Union informed the audience about the number of black women mistreated by their country was by writing the name, age, and date of death on paper bags and handing them around to each person.

These bags are currently displayed in the Multicultural Affairs window in the Centennial Student Union.

Ciree Cox, an MNSU senior, was the next to talk. In her discussion, she wanted to emphasize the importance of speaking up for the things you believe in, even if you don’t have anyone standing with you.

Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Government Department faculty has created this year’s Let’s Talk Government podcast. This podcast covers a variety of federal government issues as well as helping inform and educate students about today’s government.

The content consists of a 30 minute podcast that covers a wide range of topics which are discussed among some of the professors who teach in the government department.

Their latest podcast talks about the recent protests and other issues regarding policing.

“We want the listeners to rely on us for alternate Information,” The creator and moderator and chair of the government department, Dr. Pat Nelson stated. “We try to cover things that are either in the news with conflicting in-

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formation or maybe factors people don’t think about, I think this podcast is a good way to do that.”

The podcasts are recorded via zoom and then edited by KMSU, the radio station on campus, which is then uploaded onto multiple streaming apps such as Apple podcast, Spotify, and Google podcast, as well as on the MNSU website.

Professors from the department of government in areas such as Law Enforcement, Political Science, and Urban and Regional Studies contribute their professional knowledge and opinions about the real issues going on in today’s government.

“My hope for this podcast is to hopefully connect and reach out further to students and the community about these topics while also

PODCAST

MAVERICK MACHINE

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2 • MSU Reporter

News

Thursday, October 8, 2020

VP Debate Takeaways: Pandemic Looms Over a More Civil Fight WASHINGTON (AP) — In normal times, vice presidential debates don’t matter much.

But in an election year as wild as 2020, everything is magnified.

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday faced considerable pressure to boost coronavirus-stricken President Donald Trump’s flagging reelection hopes as he trails in national and battleground state polls.

California Sen. Kamala Harris stepped on stage having to balance her role as Joe Biden’s validator with her own historic presence as the first Black woman on a major party national ticket.

The candidates were separated by plexiglass out of concern for spread of the coronavirus from cases emanating from the White House.

Here are key early takeaways from the only vice presidential debate ahead of the Nov. 3 Election Day. DEBATE, UNINTERRUPTED ... MOSTLY Millions of Americans were aghast when Trump derailed

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and her husband Doug Emhoff and Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence wave to the audience after the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool)

the first presidential debate with incessant interruptions and a cascade of falsehoods, while Biden answered by calling the Republican incumbent a “clown” who needed to “shut up.”

The opening of Wednesday’s undercard matchup made clear that Pence and Harris were set for a much different encounter — an actual debate.

To be sure, there were sharp

moments, some modest interruptions and violations of the debate clock. But the dynamics represented a rare 2020 return to some semblance of normal presidential politics.

Pence’s even temperament

has been a signature of his political career and he has often served as a kind of translator for Trump’s bombast. Harris had a long career as a prosecutor, comfortable arguing her case under pressure. Both played to type.

In tone and content, their debate was like an alternate universe from the one Americans saw little more than a week ago.

PANDEMIC, UNABATED The Trump campaign wants voters to focus on anything but the pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 people across the country and infected at least 7.5 million more. But that subject dominated from the outset, with Trump and a growing list of White House aides, campaign staff and allies now sidelined with COVID-19.

Harris immediately put Pence on the defensive, calling Trump’s pandemic response “the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country.”

Trump and Pence “still don’t have a plan,” she said.

Student Gov’t: Davenport Presentation and Criminal Justice Review BAILEY BRENDEL STAFF WRITER The Minnesota State University, Mankato Student Government held a meeting on Wednesday October 8th, 2020 starting at 4:03 pm.

To kick off the meeting, the presentation was given by Dr. Pat Nelson with the Criminal Justice program review workbook. In her presentation, Dr. Nelson brought up changes they would like to make to the Criminal Justice Program at MNSU. These changes include adding more classes about diversity and gender and women studies to the general education requirement, as well as, learning about drug use and prevention.

She also talked about wanting to change how tough subjects such as these are talked about in school. These changes will hopefully help educate those who will be going into the criminal justice field about the problems they will face in their future.

The second presentation was given by MNSU’s President Richard Davenport. He gave an overview of a few of the current events happening in the university. This includes an update on COVID-19 and the recent flare ups that have happened. However, even with these flare ups, President Davenport says that the students and faculty are doing a great job with social distancing and

masks.

He also said that, “Minnesota State University, Mankato is the only state university in Minnesota that is up in enrollment and up in retention.” This shows that MNSU students are eager to continue their education.

President Davenport also talked about athletics and how our conference voted to not start up sports this semester with possible exception of boys and girls hockey.

The next point brought up was the announcement made about Fall 2020 Commencement, and how they will be doing it virtually this year.

The Spring 2020 graduates will be allowed to participate.

However, at the next live commencements, all students who did not get a live commencement will be invited to attend the next live one.

During the open forum, MNSU Vice President Mark Johnson discussed the Technology Roundtable. The first topic was how IT Solutions is adding an additional student service center in the Centennial Student Union in order to better serve students and aid them with any help they may need. The next is having classrooms use more of the D2L services, such as badging. Following this, MNSU is working on creating virtual tours for those who may be uncomfortable taking one in-person. The last is the Flex Sync program

collecting the materials it needs to have more classrooms in the program next semester.

In officer reports, President Andrew Trenne talked about the status of the university budget, the possible increase of undergraduate tuition, virtual graduation, a new committee on course fees, and

many more topics pertaining to student government.

Four motions were presented on the floor. The first was the Carry Forward Motion.

Simply put, any Recognized Student Organizations with extra money that was allocated to them in the semester will be able to carry forward 10%

or 10,000 dollars of their base budget allocation, whichever amount is less, to the next semester. The rest of the money will go into the reserves to be used later.

This motion was made with

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Thursday, October 8, 2020

BREONNA Continued from page 1

Ciree Cox holds a paper bag with the name of Geraldine Townsend, a victim of police brutality, during a vigil for Breonna Taylor held on campus Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020 in Mankato.

(Mansoor Ahmad/The Reporter) “We need to stand up and speak out about the injustices that take place. It happens in Mankato too, and we need to acknowledge it. We have to have these uncomfortable conversations in order to understand the problem, to work on it, and to fix it,” stated Cox. Former Student Government President Anisa Omar walked up to the microphone to inform the audience about why it’s essential for students to be invested in these social issues. The idea behind her speech was that although hearing about these tragedies are upsetting, it also brings a spark of hope after seeing people take to the streets and protesting for a better system that protects all people.

“This is a system. It is not broken; it is working exactly as it has been designed. And it has been designed on the backs of black and brown murder, and the successes have come off the backs of black slaves and indigenous murder,” Omar commented, and continued with, “We must work to destroy these systems, otherwise we will continue to be here and continue to see more black and brown deaths.”

The director of African American affairs at MNSU, Kenneth Reid, gave a powerful and moving speech to not speak above black women, but in support of them. He wanted to acknowledge that while

this is not for him or other black men, he spoke as a black individual and reassured students he will continue to work with the students and allies to speak up about injustices.

Reid began his speech with the statement, “The reality is, black women have birthed this nation, cared for this nation, held this nation on its back.”

This comment made the audience reflect on how this country was built and the importance these women have on the country’s history. Reid then continued specifically into the Breonna Taylor case and how the justice system brought her anything but that.

He reflected on the fact that she served her country and was an EMT to proudly protect the people around her, and people still are trying to justify this horrific crime.

“Why do we have a criminal justice system? Because everyone has the opportunity to a just and fair trial. Even if someone has committed a crime, it does not mean we are supposed to take their life,” stated Reid.

This vigil was organized to honor not only Breonna Taylor, but all black women throughout the country. If you would like to have a discussion with anyone in the Black Student Union, their office is located in room number 269 in the CSU.

GOVT Continued from page 2 the intention to save students money in the extra expenses in their tuition, and it saves the Student Allocation Committee a lot of time. This motion passed 23-0-0.

The next two motions were on the same topic of the Student Allocation Committee. The first was to change the bylaws that state that the SAC is to be made up of 9 students with only three of them allowed to be senators.

The amendment would be to change the rule to after the

fourth week of the semester, more than three students on the committee may be senators. This amendment was made because of a lack of student interest to join this committee. This motion passed 28-0-1. The next motion was to wave the three senator rule as the fourth week of this semester has passed. The motion was passed.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 14 at 4 p.m. in the Ostrander Auditorium.

News

MSU Reporter • 3

WIFI Continued from page 1 exploring with our provider what it’s going to take to get more long-term redundancy in place. When something like that happens again, we’ll have a good backup plan like we did and we can enact it very quickly,” says Werden.

Providing a reliable and stable internet connection is Apogee’s next step in assisting students reach satisfaction with their internet connection.

These steps will include addressing the long-term stability problems the network has been facing.

“Imagine there was a ton of traffic in all directions, in too many places. Kind of like if an intersection didn’t have a stop light, and there were just cars flying through it all over the place. There would be some accidents and that makes it traumatic, and this is why we need to make changes and fix the problem,” said Werden.

These internet outages have had a negative impact on stu-

Dearest Welwolie/The Reporter

dents academically. Many students had to skip classes, missed assignments, and experience high levels of stress.

Freshman Olivia Chiappetta had to get creative with her Internet usage, and commented, “I was unable to connect to Wi-Fi due to the power outage, so in order to get my work done I had to

connect to my phone’s personal hotspot to do my work.”

If you are having problems with slow internet or have been dropped out of the network, you can press the chat box at MyResNet.com, text “ResNet” to 84700, or call 833-548-4743 to report it and get help.

PODCAST Continued from page 1 contributing to try and make sense of things, even when the world feels like it’s spinning 100 mph!” Dr. Amelia A. Pridemore, Assistant Professor of Political Science had stated.

“As crazy as it is this year, I want to be able to help my students and with this outreach and hopefully guide students to not just open a door, but to walk through it as well.”

New episodes of the podcast are released every Tues-

day, having it’s first episode aired on September 29. Episodes one and two had previously discussed policing in today’s society as well as protests, riots, and outlaw citizenship.

For in the future, the podcast plans on exploring more about the media, tweeting, and fake news.

“Since I am a communication major it’s very interesting to listen about the topics be-

Since elected in 2009, it has been my privilege to listen, learn and bring forth my constituents' concerns.

As my family has grown, I fully understand that safety, quality of life and a vibrant workforce are essential to Blue Earth County's future!

ing talked about. I think the content provided is very informational and educational,” Kyra Tahmaseb, a freshman at MNSU, said.

If you have any topics you would like to be discussed, there is a suggestion box on the MNSU website where you can submit ideas for future podcasts. https://sbs.mnsu.edu/about/ depa r t ment s /gover n ment / lets-talk-government-podcast

I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Thank You.

4 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, October 8, 2020

FALL 2020 EDITOR IN CHIEF:

MAXWELL MAYLEBEN

Students Need to Go Outside Before it’s Too Late Editorial

Leaves are turning, fall is coming, and a chilled breeze is on its way. But this week, we as students are given the gift of more beautiful and sunny weather.

During this time of quarantining and social distancing, it is extremely important for students to spend as much time as they can outside before the weather becomes unbearable.

It seems the outdoors is the only sanctuary we have these days from the abnormal conditions we are forced to live in. No need for masks, social distancing is natural, and the feeling of confinement is lifted.

Winter is going to take all that away from us.

It is already a natural phenomenon that people’s mental health takes a downswing during winter months, often referred to as “Seasonal Affective Disorder” or “SAD”.

SAD can be detrimental to student’s mental health during any year, but this year will no doubt be especially difficult.

We have yet to experience a winter following the current guidelines. At least over the summer, people were able to communicate and see each other in person outdoors.

These outdoor activities will no doubt be reduced significantly during the winter months.

So we have to take advantage of the wonderful weather we have right now.

Students have so many outdoor activities to partake in to fill their cup as much as possible before having to go into

a social hibernation this summer.

One extremely popular activity to engage with new friends on campus is to join in a pick-up game of sand volleyball at one of the courts on campus. This is a great way to remain distant from others, while simultaneously meeting new people and socializing.

Another great way to get out of the muggy apartment or dorm room is to go for a hike

at one of the beautiful parks around Mankato. Whether it’s Rasmussen Woods that is just down Stadium Road, or the more expansive Seven Mile Creek located further north up 169.

Minnesota is renowned for its unpredictable weather, so we very well may have more clear and sunny weather down the road, but there is an equal chance that once it gets cold again, it won’t get warm

again.

With online classes often being asynchronous, there is plenty of time for students to go outside and enjoy the sunshine and fall weather while they can.

Students cannot take these final weeks of bearable weather lightly. We have to take this time, make new friends, and spend time outside, because this may be one of the longest winters we have to face.

Zoom Classes: Any Questions?

MADISON DIEMERT

madison.diemert@mnsu.edu

NEWS EDITOR: Jenna Peterson jenna.peterson-3@mnsu.edu WEB/PHOTO EDITOR: Mansoor Ahmad mansoor.ahmad@mnsu.edu ADVERTISING SALES: Anna Lillie 507-389-1063 anna.lillie@mnsu.edu Yasir Wedatalla 507-389-5097 yasir.wedatalla@mnsu.edu Logan Larock 507-389-5453 logan.larock@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

“What kind of outdoor activities do you take part in?”

Compiled by Julia Barton

JEFFERY MELING, FRESHMAN

maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu

ALEX LEVY, FRESHMAN

REGAN HOEHN, FRESHMAN

COLTIN MAK, FRESHMAN

“I like playing sand volleyball, “I toss around the frolf, I also “I liek sand volleyball becuase “I went apple picking with my you get to meet new people” scooter around campus.”

I get to be with all my friends roommates since it’s fall.” and be active.”

BAILEY JESKE, FRESHMAN “I really like to play sand volleyball.”

• 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 Reporter reserves the right to publish, or not publish, at its discretion. Letters must contain year, major or affiliation with the university, or lack thereof.

All letters must contain phone numbers for verification purposes.

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

Thursday, October 8, 2020

News

MSU Reporter • 5

Photos: Breonna Taylor Remembered During Vigil

Students and campus community members organized a vigil for Breonna Taylor on campus Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020 in Mankato. The vigil was organized by the Black Students Union and featured student speakers including Ciree Cox, Kameron Cook and Yasir Wedatalla, as well as Kenneth Reid, the director of the African American Affairs.

Towards the end of the vigil, members of the campus community placed bags containing an electric candle with names of African American victims of police brutality in the United States on the steps of Armstrong Hall.

Photos by Mansoor Ahmad/The Reporter

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6 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, October 8, 2020

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

Contemporary Art Installation Fills Nelson Hall SYDNEY BERGGREN STAFF WRITER If one were to walk through Nelson Hall, they would bear witness to a multitude of structural art pieces placed throughout the building.

These can range from a web of paper clips that spans three stories of a stairwell, to a work composed of various shades of blue yarn suspended from the ceiling outside of a showroom, and to a work made of toilet paper strategically arranged to frame a drinking fountain and adjacent restrooms. Minnesota State University, Mankato professor Liz Miller’s Intro to Installation students are filling Nelson Hall with contemporary, interactive pieces designed to work with a space.

When asked to describe her class, Miller stated, “Installation art courses focus on helping students to engage various sites in effective ways while integrating exciting formal and conceptual approaches. Installations have the ability to communicate powerful ideas and to challenge perception.”

The first project assigned to her students this year dealt with repetition and trans-

An art piece made by a student can be seen on display in the Conkling Art Gallery in Nelson Hall on campus Monday, Sept. 28, 2020 in Mankato. (Prasad Pol/The Reporter)

forming everyday objects into something wondrous. These installations are the previously listed ones, including MNSU student Tabitha Bergstrom’s chain-like web of paper clips.

While working on this project, Bergstrom said, “It was very tedious, but I enjoyed

it and was excited to use my imagination to create a piece of art I knew took a lot of time and effort.”

Instead of looking at installation pieces, viewers might walk through or under them.

As Miller stated, “Installation art facilitates a different inter-

action with the audience than we might expect with a traditional painting or sculpture.

Because installation art is not media-specific, it can span a wide range of materials and approaches, including more traditional art materials like clay or paint to found objects

to ephemeral elements like light and sound.”

The goal for Miller’s installation students is to engage in creative problem solving, which could be said of all art courses. What distinguishes installation art is the way the site of the piece influences the work, and the public element of the process.

“Most students have never worked on a scale as large as what they are doing in my courses,” said Miller, “and many have not created work outside of a classroom. I think there’s something really empowering about creating works that a broad audience can interact with.”

“I want students to leave my class feeling confident in creating works that speak meaningfully to a specific site--both on a structural/technical level and on a conceptual level.”

She hopes to increase their problem-solving skills, and that they will become better able to merge concepts with successful solutions. “While these are certainly art skills, they are also skills that can help you in so many different careers and situations in life,” said Miller.

Students Compare Various Streaming Services DESTINY KEMPF STAFF WRITER Streaming services have become increasingly popular over the years, especially for students at Minnesota State University, Mankato. There is a wide array of streaming options, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney Plus and YouTube TV. However, the most popular ones for Mankato students seem to be Netflix, Hulu and Disney+.

Netflix is known to have the widest selection of movies. The shows found on Netflix also tend to be a bit older. Hulu, on the other hand, contains more current-season TV shows, but with a smaller selection of movies. Finally, Disney+ gives subscribers access to an exclusive large back library of content from Disney.

With all these pros and cons of the different streaming service collections, Netflix appears to be the most popular and go to streaming service at Mankato.

“Netflix has the most options of things I like to watch,” says first year student Ella

AP photo

Halpern.

Many of the older shows found on Netflix could be considered as comfort shows shows that are off the air, but people often want to revisit.

This could explain its popularity amongst local college students.

Multiple students also commented how they share a Netflix subscription with their parents, making it much more accessible and affordable than other streaming services.

Some of the shows found on Netflix that Mankato students are talking about are “Grey’s

Anatomy”, “New Girl”, “Girlfriends”, “The 100”, and “Criminal Minds”.

When asked why she believed these streaming services were so popular amongst college students, Halpern responded, “It gives them something to do, and it lets them

procrastinate all their homework.”

First year student Tia Meyer added on, “You get to choose what you want, unlike on TV, where you just have to stick with what’s playing.”

Emily Lopez, a fourth year student, brought up a different point. “Just in general, it’s a really good way to escape. Sometimes you might be stressed or there’s a lot going on and it’s just nice to not think about all that,” said Lopez.

Many streaming services also offer discounted prices for students, making the temptation to begin a subscription even greater.

The most popular bundle is the subscription to Spotify Premium, Hulu, and Showtime for $4.99 a month. For people who are not students, just a subscription to Spotify would cost them $9.99 per month.

Apple offers a similarly priced bundle in which students can receive Apple Music and Apple TV for $4.99 a month as well. A subscription to both would normally cost people $14.99.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Variety

MSU Reporter • 7

Maverick Machine Keeps on Playing Amidst Pandemic MEL STRAMM STAFF WRITER The cancellation of Maverick sports for the 2020 season doesn’t only affect the athletes themselves, but a lot of other parts that make up a Maverick game day. Besides obviously the fans, the athletic department, and Cheer and Dance teams, the Maverick Machine had to reevaluate their goals and purpose for this year.

The Maverick Machine pep band includes over 180 students annually and is one of the pinnacles of big Maverick events, including marching band, pep band, baton twirling, and color guard elements.

Not only does the Machine perform at on campus events, past performances include many community events and even the Super Bowl festivities in Minneapolis.

However, with most events being moved online, band director Michael Thursby was facing a new challenge to adapt to.

“Our goals have changed a lot for the year, but at the same point they haven’t,” Thursby said. “Generally we’d be preparing for a performance in front of thousands of fans every other week and we really miss that.”

Members of the Maverick Machine Color Guard practice a flag toss routine Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020 in Mankato. (Photo courtesy of Gage Cureton/KEYC News Now)

But this hasn’t stopped the band from learning new music and evolving. “The time has given us time to pause and slow down on a few things – refining our style and the music we play” he added.

Besides trying to maintain social distancing during rehearsal, band members wear special masks while playing as well as bell covers for each of the wind instruments to help reduce the aerosol spread.

According to Thursby, the

students have done a fantastic job at following regulations and adapting to these new guidelines, mainly because they are so incredibly eager to make music together and make the best out of the year.

Cade Readmond, a Music Education junior and part of the Maverick Machine added, “ I think as a group, we have the power to do what we love, and make people feel good about themselves. With COVID-19, it’s a pleasure to

bring everyone some positivity and enjoyment to our members who take breaks from school to make music with one another, and for people to watch our performances on the internet.”

When asked about the 2021-22 season, Readmond said, “In the 2021-22 season, I expect to have a very good field show, being how many new members we have gained this year. This year is the most amount of members we’ve ever had! I want to provide a

show and sound that people have never heard before. Also, for how much we miss sports this year, we will be more than ready to be back out there to support our sports teams and community”.

The biggest plans that fell through for the Machine were mainly the men’s hockey playoffs. Additionally, two away performances in the fall were canceled.

“We had been planning a video game-themed show and integrating technology into our plan worked perfectly.

Things are very different and we miss our ‘normal’ performances, but we have some exciting virtual performances planned,” said Thursby.

As every other group at MNSU, the Machine is taking things one day at a time, adapting to things as they happen. However, their goals of performing at the highest level while maintaining a family culture and bringing pride to the community maintain the same. The Machine will be hosting virtual performances in the future.

If you are interested in joining the Machine, feel free to reach out to Thursby or anyone you know who is a part of the band.

This Week’s Fall-themed Crossword Puzzle!

ACROSS 2. riding on a cart usually pulled by a tractor 3. fall 4. another name for corn 6. a popular sport in America 12. a fall celebration accompanied with trick-or-treating and costume parties 14. a field of crops selectively cleared to confuse and get people lost 15. tool for leaves 16. corn controversial sweet treat 17. an outfit made to disguise and entertain DOWN 1. the act or process of gathering a crop 2. a long walk through nature 5. traditional fall beverage 7. a place for picking red fruit 8. the falling inspiration for Isaac Newton 9. the burning of wood, usually accompanied with roasting marshmallows 10. these are getting turnt this season 11. a coarse vine widely cultivated for its large round orange fruit with firm orange skin and numerous seeds 13. “If I only had a brain”

BY HELEN AKINYI | STAFF WRITER

8 • MSU Reporter

Variety

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Students Get Serenaded on a Sunny, Fall Afternoon

Max Graham, a Maverick alum and member of the Kind Country band, performs during the Serendipity Music Series on the Campus Mall Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020 in Mankato. (Muhammad Ibrahim/The Reporter)