S T U DE N T RU N N E WS SI NC E 1926
TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 10, 2020
Halal Food Now Available for Students in CSU ASHLEY OPINA Staff Writer As a college student, it is crucial to feel as though the school you attend values your input and acts in favor of your wants and needs. It usually comes down to voicing your concerns to the right person who is willing to listen. That was the case for a student of Muslim faith at Minnesota State University, Mankato who chose to speak with Arnavee Maltare, the Vice President of MNSU’s Student Government. The student advocated for the addition of Halal food options at the Centennial Student Union food court. Halal is meat from humanely slaughtered animals which is then cooked according to Islamic faith and traditions. Halal food options are served at the University Dining Center, but the CSU is more accessible to students throughout the day. The CSU has a wide variety of food options, but up until a week ago, Halal food was not
MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Mohammad Mafaz, a Muslim student from Sri Lanka, shows his Halal chicken patty burger Monday, Nov. 9, 2020 in the CSU. “It’s not bad,” he said. “I will definitely be getting this once or twice a week.”
one of them. That changed after Maltare was informed of one student’s struggles who shared
the struggles of many Muslim students on campus. Maltare then began to work in their favor. At the time, she
Almost 400 COVID-19 Saliva Tests Administered in CSU COLIN HANKE Staff Writer For the second time this semester, Minnesota State University, Mankato has teamed up with the state health department to offer students COVID-19 testing. On Thursday Minnesota Department of Health officials administered nearly 400 free saliva tests in the Centennial Student Union. The tests were primarily for asymptomatic students or faculty and staff at higher risk for contracting the virus from being around students. The university encourages students with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home and call Student Health Services to administer a test. Daniel Benson, MNSU’s Director of Media Relations, said, “The November 5th salvia testing event was very successful, and we encourage
was a Senator of Student Government and had connections to Mark Constantine, the Director of the CSU.
all students to sign up for free testing on either November 12 or November 19 before students go home to their families over Thanksgiving.” An email signed by President Richard Davenport was sent to students and faculty Nov. 9, explaining more about the future tests that will be
IN THIS ELECTION’S OVER, WHAT NOW? ISSUE:
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available for free. Interim Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Matt Cecil said, “We want students to be able to go home for Thanksgiving
COVID page 5
HOW TRUMP FAILED AS PRESIDENT
HALAL page 3
Students Help Change Stigma Surrounding Mental Health JULIA BARTON Staff Writer
JOHN MINCHILLO • Associated Press A technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient samples for testing at a laboratory March 11, 2020 in New York’s Long Island.
“I actually spoke to Mark about this request last year when I was Senator,” says Maltare. “But because of COVID-19, nothing happened.” Maltare spoke with Constantine back in the Spring Semester of 2020 about adding Halal food options to the CSU. When MNSU shut down due to COVID-19, she was unable to follow up on her request. When Maltare returned in the fall, she was elected Vice President of Student Government and picked up where she left off. According to Maltare, “it only took a week to make it happen once I brought it up to Mark again.” With the help of Constantine, Maltare’s request was brought to life. “I told Arnavee that I would contact Jamie Waterbury, the Dining Services General Manager,” says Constantine.
A new student group at Minnesota State University, Mankato called CultureChange is helping raise awareness and funding for mental health issues as well as reduce the stigma surrounding it. CultureChange was launched last summer by Seth Nilsen, Alex Schaumann, Alex Schmit and Jasmin Kotek. These students are also leaders of the student organization Mental Health Mankato. CultureChange was created to educate others about their resources and start a campus-wide conversation regarding mental health. “We saw a lot of our
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friends struggling with anxiety and depression coming into our freshman year. In our sophomore year we decided to do something about it, and so we started the Mental Health Mankato RSO,” said Schaumann, a board member and MNSU senior. “After a couple years of doing Mental Health Mankato we decided that we wanted to make a change on a bigger and grander scale. We then started CultureChange this summer to have the opportunity to work in Mankato and the surrounding area, and keep growing all over Minnesota potentially,” Schaumann continued.
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2 • MSU Reporter
News
Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine is Looking 90% Effective University of Maryland School of Medicine/Associated Press
KATREASE STAFFORD • Associated Press
Kamala Harris Win Inspires Women and Girls Nationwide
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, right, takes a picture of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris posing for a photo on Sept. 22, 2020 with Egypt Otis and her nine-year-old daughter Eva Allen in front of their downtown Flint, Mich., bookstore, the Comma Bookstore & Social Hub.
DETROIT (AP) — When Ashley Richardson-George’s 5-year-old daughter saw Kamala Harris wearing a white suffragette suit during her prime-time victory speech on Saturday, she ran into her room and came back minutes later wearing a white dress and sweater. Not only did her daughter, Andrea, want to be like the Vice President-elect, she wanted to look like her, too. And on that night, it was more possible than ever. “I was just really happy for her because you really don’t believe that you can be anything that you want unless you see it,” said Richardson-George of New York. “So for her, she was like, ‘I can be the president.’ So to see that glimmer in her eyes as a parent, it really is powerful to me as her mom.” For countless women and girls, Harris’ achievement of reaching the second highest office in the country represents hope, validation and the shattering of a proverbial glass ceiling that has kept mostly white men perched at the top tiers of American government. “She’s literally the blueprint to women’s political possibility and now she is stepping literally into the Oval Office and she’s going to put an intersectional lens on everything this administration does from a gender or race lens,” said Glynda Carr, the president and CEO of Higher Heights, which focuses on electing Black women into political offices. Harris, a 56-year-old California senator who is the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency, has long credited civil rights legends like Shirley Chisholm, Mary McLeod Bethune and Fannie Lou Hamer as sources of inspiration, as well as her Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan.
On Saturday, she paid tribute to the women, particularly Black women, who paved the way for her. “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last,” Harris said in her first post-election address to the nation. Los Angeles mother Kim Rincon sat with her arm around her 9-year-old daughter, Jordan, to watch the speech. A year ago, Rincon and Jordan had met Harris backstage at a rally during her bid for president in the 2020 Democratic primaries. Jordan gave Harris the “Kamala for President” button she was wearing before Harris crouched to the ground to thank her at eye level. “Harris was being celebrated as this superstar at that rally and now on stage accepting the vice presidency,” said Rincon, whose daughter is Mexican and Vietnamese American. “My biggest hope is that Jordan grows up thinking this is normal.” A similar scene played out in Phoenix, Arizona in Nicol Russell’s home. As Harris stepped onto the stage, Russell’s 5-year-old daughter Makena and her best friend immediately sprang up and ran to the TV. For minutes, they stood transfixed. “She’s brown like my mom,” Makena told her friend. For Russell, a Black and Native Hawaiian woman, Harris’ election has profound meaning not just as it relates to her daughter but to herself as well. “In watching her, I see my sisters, I see my mother. I see every hard-working Black or brown woman,” Russell said. “I see Stacey Abrams. I see Queen Liliuokalani. I see all the women who endured so many terrible things to help clear a pathway for us to have this moment.”
This May 4, 2020, file photo provided by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, shows the first patient enrolled in Pfizer’s COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine clinical trial at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Pfizer Inc. said Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine may be a remarkable 90% effective, based on early and incomplete test results that nevertheless brought a big burst of optimism to a world desperate for the means to finally bring the catastrophic outbreak under control. The announcement came less than a week after an election seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s handling of the scourge, which has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide, including almost a quarter-million in the United States alone. “We’re in a position potentially to be able to offer some hope,” Dr. Bill Gruber, Pfizer’s senior vice president of clinical development, told The Associated Press. “We’re very encouraged.” Pfizer, which is developing the vaccine with its German partner BioNTech, now is on track to apply later this month for emergency-use approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, once it has the necessary safety information in hand. Even if all goes well, authorities have stressed it is unlikely any vaccine will arrive much before the end of the year, and the limited initial supplies will be rationed. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, said the results suggesting 90% effectiveness are “just extraordinary,” adding: “Not very many people expected it would be as high as that.” “It’s going to have a major impact on everything we do with respect to COVID,” Fauci said as Pfizer appeared to take the lead in the all-out
global race by pharmaceutical companies and various countries to develop a well-tested vaccine against the virus. Dr. Bruce Aylward, the World Health Organization’s senior adviser, said Pfizer’s vaccine could “fundamentally change the direction of this crisis” by March, when the U.N. agency hopes to start vaccinating high-risk groups. Global markets, already buoyed by the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, rallied on the news from Pfizer. The S&P 500 finished the day with a gain of 1.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 800 points. Pfizer stock was up more than 8%. Still, Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean for certain that a vaccine is imminent: This interim analysis, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the U.S. and five other countries. Some participants got the
vaccine, while others got dummy shots. Pfizer released no specific breakdowns, but for the vaccine to be 90% effective, nearly all the infections must have occurred in placebo recipients. The study is continuing, and Pfizer cautioned that the protection rate might change as more COVID-19 cases are added to the calculations. Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, former chief of the FDA’s vaccine division, called the partial results “extremely promising” but ticked off many questions still to be answered, including how long the vaccine’s effects last and whether it protects older people as well as younger ones. Trump, who had suggested repeatedly during the presidential campaign that a vaccine could be ready by Election Day, tweeted: “STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!”
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HALAL
A sign displaying the newly introduced Halal food options at the Union Grill in the Centennial Student Union.
MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM • The Reporter
Constantine had a meeting with Waterbury the following day and brought Maltare’s request forward. “He was very clear right away,” says Constantine. “He said that we could bring some food over to the Union Grill and put some signs up that say Halal food options are now available.” According to Constantine, if a student asks for Halal food at the Union Grill, they are now able to choose between Halal beef patties and chicken patties. The choices are similar to those in the Dining Center. “If somebody wanted a beef or chicken burger, they would now be able to get that at the CSU,” says Constantine. Although the options are limited, it is a start. “We are at least providing something that would be officially in the Halal range of foods,” says Constantine. “If somebody else has any requests, we certainly would take that into consideration and try to come up with a solution.” Both Maltare and the student who brought up the initial concern are pleased with how quickly their request was acted upon. Other Muslim students at MNSU share the same reaction to the news. Subhan Khalid, a Graduate Student at MNSU, says he is excited to have the option to order Halal food at the CSU.
MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM • The Reporter
Continued from page 1
Mohammad Mafaz, a Muslim student from Sri Lanka, receives his order for a Halal chicken patty burger. “It’s not bad,” he said. “I will definitely be getting this once or twice a week.”
Khalid has been a student at MNSU for six years since he began his undergraduate journey back in 2014. When he first arrived on campus, the only place he could get Halal food was a restaurant located off campus that was a 30-minute walk and a 10-minute drive. “It was really hard to find food at that time,” says Khalid. “Especially if you didn’t have your own form of transportation.” Approximately three to four years later, the University Dining Center began serving Halal food. However, the instant access to it is yet to be available. “You have to call and order 30 minutes ahead of time,” says Khalid. Khalid explains that the Dining Center requires students to call beforehand to limit the food waste if no one asks for Halal food in person. He also says that a benefit of that rule is always being served fresh food, rather than the mass produced meals created for everyone. However, having to wait 30 minutes to eat is an inconvenience for students on the go. The addition of Halal food options at the CSU has helped ease that problem. “I think it’s a good initiative,” Khalid says, when asked about his thoughts on the matter. “Considering most students come to the Student Union to get food.” He believes that the option to get Halal food at the CSU will help the Muslim community to get the food they need in a timely manner, compared to waiting at the Dining Center.
4 • MSU Reporter
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
FALL 2020 EDITOR IN CHIEF:
MAXWELL MAYLEBEN
The Election is Over; It’s Time to Heal
NEWS EDITOR: Jenna Peterson jenna.peterson-3@mnsu.edu PHOTO/WEB 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
Trump supporters, who often oppose mass student loan forgiveness, may view Biden supporters as “lazy” people looking for handouts. Biden supporters, who are often opposed to the criminalization of marijuana, may view Trump supporters who are against legalization as “uneducated” people looking for mass incarceration. This divide in our society has caused hatred to be the fuel of our entire political
world. Republicans hate Democrats, so therefore anything they say must be wrong, and vice versa. So where do we go from here? We cannot forget that the person who supports the opposite candidate doesn’t necessarily support the opposite of all of your beliefs. There is a reason why everyone has their beliefs. Their own life experiences led them to the ballot box, just the same
as your life experience led you. So talk to one another. Talking to people with the same belief system as you is toxic to your own growth. Ask people who differ from you why they think that, and politely explain yourself to them. We must not be afraid of the opposing opinion. We must welcome it. If we don’t, then we will continue to drift away from one another, which can only lead to more hatred.
“Can you be friends with someone who disagrees with you politically?” Compiled by Kjerstin Hall
KATEY JEWETT, JUNIOR
MADISON DIEMERT
madison.diemert@mnsu.edu
Editorial
Election results are in. While President Donald Trump challenges the results, it seems fairly apparent that former Vice President Joe Biden will take the oath of office in January. This election season has seen extreme divisiveness that stems largely from the unrelenting support or distrust of Trump. The president’s supporters praise him for his economic policies and his “tell it like it is” manner of speaking. They see him as a welcome change in Washington, which they see as being run by establishment, career politicians. For many, the 2016 election was a way to “drain the swamp,” or to hold the Washington politicians accountable. This mentality continued into this election, with the president facing another lifelong politician. In the anti-Trump camp, critiques of the president’s long history of misogyny, racist comments and elitist behavior are as ever present this year as they were in 2016. Commonly brought up are inappropriate comments Trump has made about his daughter, saying “If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” Biden supporters are fueled against the president’s hateful rhetoric when it comes to women, minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community. These feelings toward the candidates bleed into how people feel about one another.
maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu
BELLA FIERRO, FRESHMAN
“Yes, as long as they are “Depends on if it was politics respectful about it, it shouldn’t or human rights.” make a difference.”
BRENDA JEPLETING, JUNIOR
ANDREW GRAMS, JUNIOR
ALEX BECKMAN, FRESHMAN
“Yeah, we still need each other.”
“Yes, because everyone has their own opinion.”
“No, definitley not.”
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. • Letters exceeding 400 words may not be accepted. The Reporter reserves the right to edit letters to fit space or correct punctuation. 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.
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JOHN LOCHER • Associated Press
2020 Election: Do We Have a Winner?
Supporters of President Donald Trump stand outside of the Clark County Elections Department in North Las Vegas, Nev., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
CHRISTIAN LOHRENZ • Columnist A week after the Presidential Election and the complete results are still up in the air in the states of Georgia and North Carolina. Others may argue that there truly are more undecided states due to the claims of voter fraud and illegal ballots. These claims have yet to be substantiated, but are being fought with litigation by the Trump campaign. There were certainly claims of viruses, which had been caught, that had swapped votes from the president, over to the former Vice President and now President Elect Joe Biden. All this to say, the election and voting may be over, but the electors within the Electoral College have yet to cast the votes for the presidency. The Electoral College, in essence, is the point system in which decides the presidency. Each state has numbers of electors based upon the number of seats they have in Congress (2 senators per state, and representatives based upon population). However, there are actual people who are called electors. In December, these electors will meet in their respective capitals and cast the votes to the candidate who won their state. While the media currently has “called” states for certain candidates, the electors haven’t cast their votes. Now, in normal election years, it seems as though we always know who wins either on election night or the day following. Naturally, that did not happen this year for a handful of reasons. The first biggest reason was COVID-19. There was an overwhelming push this year, mainly by the Democrats, for voters to register and then vote by mail to try to limit the spread of the virus at the polls. Being that there was a new
wave of ballots being sent in by mail, the counting process took much longer. The claims of votes being cast by dead people, or wagons of votes, again have yet to be substantiated but are being investigated on the state level and will be seen in court. One of the other main reasons is that this race was extremely close. An outpouring of new voters took to voting in this election in support for either candidate. Several states were decided by mere percentage points. With that being said, the candidate who appears to have lost rather closely has chosen not to concede. This is another reason it appears as though it takes so much longer in this cycle. In 2016, Hillary, clearly having lost the electoral college, called the Trump campaign and conceded the following morning. Being that there are ongoing legal battles it does not appear that President Trump and his campaign have any intention to concede the election. This has been a wide divide since the election was called this past weekend, with supporters of the current president have taken to protest the results. Supporters of Biden have taken to celebrating the end of the campaign by dancing in the streets and bursting with joy. In the coming weeks these court cases will be decided and will either side with the results as they stand or call for vote flips. Historically speaking, no vote recount has ever flipped thousands of votes from one candidate to another, and in many of the swing states that went the way of President Elect Biden were decided by several thousand. Let us hope that despite the outcomes of these cases, the losing candidate may actually use their platform to heal, rather than continue to divide.
MSU Reporter • 5
Ethiopia Says its Jets are ‘Pounding’ Targets in Tigray Ethiopia’s air force is “pounding targets with precision,” a military official said Monday, as the federal government continues its offensive against the heavily armed northern region of Tigray and no clear route to peace is seen. Neighboring Sudan has sent more than 6,000 troops to the border, a military official there said, while Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed again sought to calm concerns that the deadly confrontation could slide into civil war and destabilize the strategic Horn of Africa region. It remains unclear how many people have been killed in the fighting that erupted last week in Tigray as Abiy’s government comes under increasing international pressure to calm tensions. The United Nations and others have warned of a brewing humanitarian disaster affecting up to 9 million people. The northern Tigray region is largely cut off from the outside world, making it difficult to verify each side’s assertions. Each accuses the other of starting the fighting. Ethiopian Maj. Gen. Mo-
SAMUEL HABTAB • Associated Press
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Ethiopians read newspapers and magazines reporting on the current military confrontation in the country, one of which shows a photograph of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on a street in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
hammed Tssema, who spoke of the “pounding” by the air force, in a Facebook post also denied as “totally wrong” a claim by the Tigray regional government on Sunday that a fighter jet had been shot down. The Tigray regional government, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, did confirm the federal government’s aerial assault, saying in a Facebook post that the air force had carried out more than 10 such attacks so far. Ethiopia’s prime minister
has shown no sign of opening talks with the TPLF, which once dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition but is now regarded by the federal government as illegal after it broke away last year as Abiy sought to transform the coalition into a single Prosperity Party. The TPLF felt marginalized by Abiy’s political reforms and defied the federal government by holding a local election in September. “Concerns that Ethiopia will descend into chaos are unfounded,” Abiy said.
MENTAL HEALTH Continued from page 1 Upcoming for CultureChange is a project called B414. This is a project focused on the K-8 group as statistics show about 50% of mental illnesses start before age 14. With two board members of CultureChange who are education majors, the organization plans to travel to schools around southern Minnesota to further spread awareness. The group is set to speak Nov. 10 to middle schoolers in Faribault. Some activities planned are coloring and other hands-on learning techniques to teach students that maintaining mental health is just like maintaining physical health. “I personally have anxiety and I didn’t go to therapy until I was 18 years old. Just knowing that the reason I
didn’t go to therapy or receive potential help when I was younger was because of the stigma that surrounds mental health which really brings out my passion for this mission,” stated Nilsen, Director of Communications for CultureChange and Senior at MNSU. “I’d like MNSU students to know CultureChange is extremely motivated to create change not only in our campus but around the state,” Nilsen said. “We’re motivated to do more and put all of our ideas into action and although we’ve been very active on campus, CultureChange plans to do a lot more in the future as we’re just getting started on our mission.” Not only K-8 students are encouraged to speak out and ask for help, but also MNSU
students and educate them about where they can go to get help. Resources on campus that provide aid at MNSU are the counseling center and student health services, as well as hotlines and warmlines in the Blue Earth County area. “I think educating students about mental health is important because it’s really common for kids our age and these days especially because of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever,” MNSU freshman Rileigh Martin said. For any questions or more information about the organization and their fundraisers, you can reach out to CultureChange on Instagram @Culturechangecc.
COVID Continued from page 1 confident that they will not unknowingly spread Coronavirus to family and friends. This is a great opportunity for prevention.” As noted in Davenport’s email, students should be aware that: You must not eat, drink, smoke or chew anything for at least 30 minutes before taking a saliva test. A health care professional will tell you how to take the test, but you will essentially
take the test yourself. You will spit into a funnel attached to a tube. Producing the amount of salvia needed for a successful test usually takes about 10 minutes. You will get your results in about 48-72 hours; negative test results will be delivered via email and/or text message and a positive result will be delivered via phone call. Benson also noted, “It’s important to note that these test sessions are open to students
who are not currently experiencing symptoms. Our hope is that these tests help identify asymptomatic cases that could lead to the spread of the virus over the holidays. If you are experiencing coronavirus symptoms, you should not come to campus; instead, schedule an appointment with Student Health Services or one of the local health care facilities.”
6 • MSU Reporter
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MSU Reporter • 7
Editor’s Picks: Election Week in Photos
NOAH BERGER • Associated Press Meredith Walsh celebrates the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
JOHN MINCHILLO • Associated Press A supporter of President Donald Trump shouts at demonstrators after the 2020 presidential election is called, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Philadelphia.
PAUL BEATY • Associated Press A supporter of President-elect Joe Biden celebrates while riding his bike outside Trump Tower Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 in Chicago.
GERALD HERBERT • Associated Press Folk musician Ted Hefko performs next to a mock casket with the name Trump written on it, as patrons dine at the Bywater Bakery in New Orleans, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020.
DAVID GOLDMAN • Associated Press Trump supporters demonstrating during the election results, at right, pray with a counter protester after the presidential election was called for Joe Biden outside the State Capitol in Lansing, Mich., Nov. 7, 2020.
8 • MSU Reporter
News
Tropical Storm Eta Dumps Rain on an Already Flooded Florida
MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter
Opinion: The Wasted Potential of the Trump Administration
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
President Donald Trump looks at his supporters before speaking at a campaign rally, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020 in Rochester, Minn.
By Luis Ortiz • Cartoonist Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017, amidst a climate of division and uncertainty that has lingered for the rest of his administration. However, the time also presented a rare opportunity in the form of an outsider of the D.C. establishment to make a mark on the world of politics in a way that hadn’t been seen before since the Reagan era. Since the very beginning of the administration, the infighting between the cabinet members and the President was notorious. As of today, from the original 23 members appointed, only 7 remain. The main reason for such a high turnover rate are, as many former members of the White House staff stated, due to scandals, disagreements and mood swings of the President. Out of this, the main reason remains falling off the President’s good graces as was the case with former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Thus, lacking competent people to rely on decision making, the ability of the administration on policy making and the ability of fulfilling campaign promises, became stagnant due to lack of talent. It’s because of this lack of talent that Trump has failed to enact several of his campaign promises with some notable exceptions. The tax reform bill is indeed the most significant achievement of the administration but although it cuts taxes from working class Americans, the ones that benefit the most are large corporations. Another point of contempt is pulling out of the climate agreements and doubling down on the use of fossil fuels and carbon emitting technologies. Immigration is next. Instead of taking the problem in a reasonable manner, President Trump instead chose to issue executive orders regarding bans from certain Muslim countries. Along with this,
Trump was trying to bring to an end the DREAMER program while also bullying countries, such as Mexico, into taking large numbers of deportees not native to the country and separating families in the process. In the job creation department, until the outbreak of the coronavirus, the American economy was growing at a stable pace, partly thanks to the decisions such as ending international agreements such as the Transpacific Partnership and the cancellation of plants that had been outsourced to other countries such as China. But it is with the coronavirus where the administration feels more lacking and unprepared. Where a health issue became a political one because of the Trump Administration and its openly anti-science stand. Constant feuds with health experts in the cabinet, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci. Disregarding guidelines from both the CDC and the World Health Organization have been often attributed to the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 to alarming numbers and death tolls. It is then clear that the Trump presidency would have become a beacon of change in an area as turbulent as politics taking on issues that have been referenced by Trump himself as applying anti-trust laws to big tech companies, like Google and Twitter. These companies hold so much power over the content that is browsed online, and the censorship of right wing commentators. The unchecked power of the Federal Reserve, the uncontrolled power of lobbyists over the Washington establishment, the divide of the American society are all topics that could have been tackled and benefited from a fresh start from a man that, in his words, “It’s the outsiders who change the world and make a real lasting difference.” Instead, we had four years of controversies and embarrassments.
CARLINE JEAN • South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Associated Press Lemay Acosta pulls his daughter Layla, 2, and dog Buster on a boat as they tour his flooded neighborhood in Plantation, Fla., on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, a day after Tropical Storm Eta made landfall in the Florida Keys and flooded parts of South Florida.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A deluge of rain from Tropical Storm Eta caused flooding Monday across South Florida’s most densely populated urban areas, stranding cars, flooding businesses, and swamping entire neighborhoods with fast-rising water that had no place to drain. The system made landfall in the Florida Keys and posed a serious threat across South Florida, which was already drenched from more than 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain last month. “Never seen this, never, not this deep,” said Anthony Lyas, who has lived in his now-waterlogged Fort Lauderdale neighborhood since 1996. He described hearing water and debris slamming against his shuttered home overnight. After striking Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane and killing nearly 70 people from Mexico to Panama, the storm moved into the Gulf of Mexico early Monday near where the Everglades meet the sea, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph). “It was far worse than we
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could’ve ever imagined, and we were prepared,” said Arbie Walker, a 27-year-old student whose Fort Lauderdale apartment was filled with 5 or 6 inches (13 to 15 centimeters) of water. “It took us 20 minutes to navigate out of our neighborhood due to the heavy flooding in our area,” Walker added. Floodwaters also submerged half of his sister’s car. As much as 16 inches of rain damaged one of the state’s largest COVID-19 testing sites, at Miami-Dade County’s Hard Rock Stadium. Throughout the pandemic, it has been one of the busiest places for people to get a coronavirus diagnosis. The site was expected to be closed until Wednesday or Thursday. Eta hit land late Sunday as it blew over Lower Matecumbe, in the middle of the chain of small islands that form the Keys, but the heavily populated areas of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties bore the brunt of the fury. It is the 28th named storm of a busy Atlantic hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. Hurricane season lasts until Nov. 30.
By mid-afternoon Monday, the storm was about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west-southwest of the Dry Tortugas, moving southwest at 16 mph (26 kph). It was expected to slow down and strengthen overnight. Rain and wind were felt as far north as the Tampa Bay Area. Forecasters said the system could intensify again into a minimal hurricane as it slowly moves up the southwest Gulf Coast. It is just far enough offshore to maintain its strength while dumping vast amounts of water across the lower third of the Florida peninsula. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis called it a 100-year rain event. “Once the ground becomes saturated, there’s really no place for the water to go,” Trantalis said. “It’s not like a major hurricane. It’s more of a rain event, and we’re just doing our best to ensure that the people in our community are being protected.” City officials dispatched some 24 tanker trucks with giant vacuums to soak up water from the past few weeks.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2020
MSU Reporter • 9
ART, MUSIC, FOOD, MOVIES, SPORTS, GAMING, & ALL THE REST
Xbox Series X vs. PlayStation 5
Comparing the Next Generation of Gaming Consoles DANIEL MCELROY Staff Writer As 2020 quickly nears an end, two of the most anticipated gaming releases of the year arrive Tuesday and Thursday: the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. Both of these consoles start at $500. (Each console maker offers a more affordable model, with the Xbox Series S priced at $300 and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition priced at $400.) The consoles have many similarities, but it’s the exclusives that are the determining factor for many consumers. One of the Xbox Series X exclusive titles is the highly anticipated “Halo Infinite,” although it will not be available at launch. Another title exclusive from Microsoft is “State of Decay 3,” a survival game in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with zombies. Some of the exclusive titles for PlayStation 5 include “Spiderman: Miles Morales”
Microsoft and Sony photos Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, left, and Sony’s PlayStation 5 are the next-generation gaming consoles that are being released this week.
and “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.” Both of these classic titles will be available to purchase on the PlayStation 5 launch date. Senior management student, Ben Perry, thinks that the PlayStation 5 will be the supe-
rior of the two consoles. “I would get the PlayStation 5. I like the exclusive games,” he said, “I feel as though Sony actually innovated and changed things when their competitors didn’t.” Perry’s favorite feature from
Sony’s new product is the innovative controller. Sony redesigned their controller introducing the DualSense controller. The new controller starts with longer, slimmer handles making it more comfortable for hands to
rest through hours of playing. Another feature we will see coming out of the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller is the adaptive trigger functionality. This feature will change how hard it is to pull the trigger depending on what you’re seeing on the screen. For example, different weapons in games like “Call of Duty” will have a different feel for each weapon. As for Microsoft’s new console, the Xbox Series X, the finest features we will see is the clean backwards compatibility and seamless quick resume. Quick resume is how you will be able to go from game to game in your library without having to sit through any loading screens, assuming that the game has already been started. The game library on launch day for the Series X is not as plentiful or exclusive as the PlayStation 5. Most titles from Microsoft will also be available on PC, as they are focusing more on the game being played itself, than selling their product through the games.
Res Hall’s WOW Events: Movie Night, Scavenger Hunt, and Craft Fair SYDNEY BERGGREN Staff Writer This week for What’s on Wednesday residence halls will focus on relaxation and getting involved. Crawford Hall is having a movie night, utilizing the new Stream2 streaming app. Hall Director Alexis Paladini stated, “We’ll have four movies playing, with two different ones going on at the same time from 6-10 p.m.” he said. “The 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. showings will be ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Proposal,’ and then the 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. showings will be ‘Ant-Man’ and ‘The Hangover’.” This is a great time to take a break from homework and relax with friends. Plus: candy and popcorn will be available. The Preska community will be going a different route with its “Vision Boards and More” event Wednesday evening. Residents will make vision boards about their goals, motivation and dreams for the future. There will be magazines to cut pictures from, as well as other types of art supplies. “We want the residents to
File photo
be creative and motivated. This is a simple but fun way to do just that,” says Preska Community Advisor Amy Gawrisch. Community Advisors will also be handing out chips and juice for everyone to munch
on. Julia Sears is hosting an “RSO Scavenger Hunt” to get to better know the organizations on campus. Hall director Becky Gwinn said, “Residents will begin their journey in the lobby to
receive their ‘ticket’ that has different locations around each lounge in the building. With this, they’ll go to and connect with a different organization that is recognized on campus.” There will be representa-
tives from different organizations present in each lounge who will give a short summary of their organization when students arrive. Residents can then choose to learn more, and then get a sticker on their ticket. Once their ticket is filled, they can return to the lobby to win a prize. Julia Sears advisors decided on this event to help students find involvement and activities that interest them, as many have been struggling to do. The event runs from 7-10 p.m., with three CAs at a time bringing residents for 30 minutes, as per COVID-19 guidelines. Lastly, McElroy Residence Community is hosting a Fall Craft Fair. Hall Director Grace Riggert said, “This will feature a variety of crafts that residents can do in our lobby or can take to their room to complete.” These crafts include Oreo turkeys, hand turkeys, and paper pumpkins. The event runs from 7-8:30 p.m., and there will be treats provided for those who drop in.
Variety
Review: A Rom-com Gone Wrong in Netflix’s ‘Holidate’
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Trebek Remembered for Grace that Elevated him Above TV Host
CHRIS PIZELLO • Invision/Associated Press
10 • MSU Reporter
STEVE DIETL • Netflix/Associated Press This image released by Netflix shows Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey, right, in a scene from “Holidate.”
AP — If it didn’t actually exist, “Holidate” would sound like one of those fake movies within a movie. A couple of attractive singles decide on a low-stakes, no-commitment arrangement to be each other’s dates on holidays? It’s a perfect rom-com concept in that it’s equal parts ridiculous and shamefully appealing. Slot in some very pretty people (Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey), a drunken aunt (Kristen Chenoweth) some bawdy dialogue and a picturesque and unbelievably warm Chicago where it’s possible to wear spaghetti straps at Easter and it practically makes itself. Unfortunately, like so many that have come before, it’s pretty terrible too (and that’s taking into account the rom-com curve). “Holidate,” available now on Netflix, is one of those extremely self-aware and cynical romantic comedies where the lead characters are neither romantics nor even particularly likeable. This garbage person love story can work under the right circumstances (see: “You’re The Worst”), but that usually takes a sharp script to execute. This script by Tiffany Paulson, with insights like “chicks go mental at the holidays” and comedic asides along the lines of “excuse me, Crocodile Dundee,” is not that. And simply being aware
of rom-com cliches and having your characters discuss them is getting a little tired. Roberts’ Sloane is a chain-smoking, candy-scarfing waif who is meant to look slouchy and unkempt but always just looks like a gorgeous woman with perfect makeup who is simply wearing a hoodie. She had a bad breakup six months ago and now her little brother is engaged to a repressed stereotype and her mother (Frances Fisher) won’t stop pestering her about men and marriage. Bracey’s Jackson, meanwhile, is a handsome Australian golf pro who just wants to sleep his way through the Windy City but also not be alone on holidays. The “holidate” concept comes from Sloane’s Aunt Susan (Chenoweth, giving a terrible role her all and not earning any laughs in the process) who brought a mall Santa home and seems happy with her life. When Sloane meets Jackson in the returns line where they compare their terrible Christmases, they decide to give it a shot for New Year’s. Sloane and Jackson keep up the arrangement for the year, accompanying one another to Easter, St. Patrick’s Day (it is Chicago), the Fourth of July and so on, denying their burgeoning feelings for one another as they go.
Last Week’s Crossword Answers!
Alex Trebek gestures while presenting an award at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards May 5, 2019 in Pasadena, Calif. Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek died Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, after battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alex Trebek never pretended to have all the answers, but the “Jeopardy!” host became an inspiration and solace to Americans who otherwise are at odds with each other. He looked and sounded the part of a senior statesman, impeccably suited and groomed and with an authoritative voice any politician would covet. He commanded his turf — the quiz show’s stage — but refused to overshadow its brainy contestants. And when he faced the challenge of pancreatic cancer, which claimed his life Sunday at age 80, he was honest, optimistic and graceful. Trebek died at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by family and friends, “Jeopardy!” studio Sony said. The Canadian-born host made a point of informing fans about his health directly, in a series of brief online videos. He faced the camera and spoke in a calm, even tone as he revealed his illness and hope for a cure in the first message, posted in March 2019. “Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very en-
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couraging, but I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working,” Trebek said, even managing a wisecrack: He had to beat the disease because his “Jeopardy!” contract had three more years to run. Trebek’s death came less than four months after that of civil rights leader and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, also of advanced pancreatic cancer and at age 80. Trebek had offered him words of encouragement last January. In a memoir published this year, “The Answer Is ... Reflections on My Life,” Trebek suggested that he’s known but not celebrated, and compared himself to a visiting relative who TV viewers find “comforting and reassuring as opposed to being impressed by me.” That was contradicted Sunday by the messages of grief and respect from former contestants, celebrities and the wider public that quickly followed news of his loss. “Alex wasn’t just the best ever at what he did. He was also a lovely and deeply decent man, and I’m grateful for every minute I got to spend
with him,” tweeted “Jeopardy!” champion Ken Jennings. “Thinking today about his family and his Jeopardy! family — which, in a way, included millions of us.” “It was one of the great privileges of my life to spend time with this courageous man while he fought the battle of his life. You will never be replaced in our hearts, Alex,” James Holzhauer, another “Jeopardy!” star, posted on Twitter. Born July 22, 1940, in Sudbury, Ontario, Trebek was sent off to boarding school by his Ukrainian father and French-Canadian mother when he was barely in his teens. After graduating high school, he spent a summer in Cincinnati to be close to a girlfriend, then returned to Canada to attend college. After earning a philosophy degree from the University of Ottawa, he went to work for the Canadian Broadcasting Co., starting as a staff announcer and eventually becoming a radio and TV reporter. Trebek is survived by his wife, their two children and his stepdaughter, Nicky.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Variety
Johnny Depp Exits ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Franchise
MATT DUNHAM • Associated Press
Cook Runs Over Lions in Vikings’ 34-20 Win
MSU Reporter • 11
American actor Johnny Depp gestures to the media as he arrives at the High Court, July 14, 2020 in London. The UK High Court has ruled against Depp in his libel suit against the owner of the Sun newspaper over wife-beating allegation.
JIM MONE • Associated Press Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook (33) runs from Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Ragland, right, during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Minneapolis. The Vikings won 34-20.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two months after releasing their all-time rusher, the Minnesota Vikings drafted Dalvin Cook. Less than four years after leaving Adrian Peterson’s historic accomplishments in the past, the present and future of the backfield with Cook has never looked brighter. Cook kept his brilliant season rolling by rushing for a career-high 206 yards and two scores on 22 carries, leading the Vikings to a 34-20 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday with Peterson watching from the opposite sideline. “I’m just glad that I got a chance to watch him growing up as a young kid,” said Cook, who embraced Peterson at midfield after the game. “To see that, it was something special for me. He doesn’t know how he impacted my career.” Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns — two to tight end Irv Smith Jr. — in his second straight turnover-free performance for the Vikings (3-5), who averaged 8.9 yards per play on the way to their first home win this season. After sitting out one game with a groin injury, Cook has 478 yards and six touchdowns from scrimmage in wins over Green Bay and Detroit to nudge the Vikings closer to contention for the expanded playoffs. “We’re just trying to play catch-up, and I’m just trying to give my team a fighting chance,” said Cook, who passed Tennessee’s Derrick Henry in rushing yards for an 858-843 lead atop the league. Cook has played in one fewer game with 79 fewer carries than Henry. Lions quarterback Matthew
Stafford, who didn’t practice all week due to coronavirus exposure protocols, left the game in the fourth quarter for concussion evaluation after taking a knee to the helmet during a sack. He was cleared of the head injury, but the Lions (3-5) left the stadium with little satisfaction. Stafford was picked off on consecutive possessions in the third quarter, first at the Minnesota 12 and then in the end zone. Chase Daniel threw another interception after taking over. “Just mistakes. I felt like I was playing at a pretty good clip there for a little bit,” said Stafford, who was missing leading receiver Kenny Golladay to a hip injury. He completed 16 straight passes in the first half, all on underneath routes while the Vikings gave their inexperienced cornerbacks continued insurance with a heavy dose of two-deep safety looks. Marvin Jones Jr. caught a touchdown pass late in the second quarter that cut the lead to 13-10, but the Vikings responded by driving 87 yards in six plays and 64 seconds. Former Lions running back Ameer Abdullah took a screen pass 22 yards for a score, giving Minnesota a 10-point advantage at the break. The show again belonged to Cook, whom Peterson admiringly called “a lethal weapon” this week. Cook, who leads the NFL with 12 rushing scores, even delivered a jarring pickup block on former teammate Everson Griffen, making his debut for Detroit at defensive end, to prevent a disruption of Smith’s second touchdown. “He’s going to do everything. That’s why he’s a cap-
tain. That’s why he comes to work every single day,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. Cook polished off his latest masterpiece early in the fourth quarter with a 70-yard scoring romp he jump-started by powered straight through the arms of defensive tackle John Penisini. “One of the most impressive things I thought was really the yards after contact. There were a couple plays where we’ve got him right there where we need him, and he was able to kind of break free and turn those into some really big plays,” said Lions coach Matt Patricia, who fell to 0-5 against the Vikings and 2-13 in NFC North games, with nine straight division losses. SLOW GOING Peterson, who returned to Minnesota with Washington last year and with New Orleans in 2017, had eight carries for 29 yards and three catches for 14 yards while again dropping behind rookie D’Andre Swift in the pecking order. Jaleel Johnson stopped Peterson for a 4-yard loss on third-andgoal from the 1 in the second quarter. SPECIALIST STRUGGLES Matt Prater’s 46-yard fieldgoal attempt went wide left for the Lions in the first quarter, the only missed kick of any type in 43 attempts against the Vikings this season. Dan Bailey missed an extra point for the Vikings, who had two punts blocked in the second half, by Austin Bryant and Romeo Okwara. UP NEXT: The Vikings visit Chicago on Nov. 16. They have lost four straight games to the Bears and three consecutive Monday night contests.
NEW YORK (AP) — Johnny Depp has exited the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise following his failed libel case against The Sun tabloid newspaper for a 2018 article that labeled him a “wife beater.” Depp said Friday in a letter posted on Instagram that he would depart the role of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald after the studio requested his resignation. Depp said his announcement came “in light of recent events.” “I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in ‘Fantastic Beasts’ and I have respected and agreed to that request,” said Depp. Warner Bros. confirmed Depp’s departure and said the role will be recast. “We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date,” the studio said in a statement. The third
“Fantastic Beasts” film is currently in production. Depp also said he would appeal the decision earlier this week by a British judge. After hearing testimony from Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard in the high-profile case, Justice Andrew Nicol said that the allegations against Depp were “substantially true.” Depp had sued News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an article accusing him of assaulting Heard. “The surreal judgement of the court in the U.K. will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal,” Depp said Friday. “My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time.”
12 • MSU Reporter
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