KING PRINCESS COMMANDS FIRST AVENUE SHOW PG 5 TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019
EARLY WEEK
HER CAREFREE ATTITUDE KEPT THE VENUE’S ENERGY HIGH
MNDAILY.COM
FEDERAL GOVT.
Shutdown stirs uncertainty for UMN researchers Consequences loom for U as the longest fed. government shutdown in history drags on. BY JAKE STEINBERG jsteinberg@mndaily.com
As the University of Minnesota spends $500,000 a day for research projects typically funded by the federal government, a continued federal government shutdown sows uncertainty for the future of landmark projects throughout campus. The month-long partial shutdown is disrupting funding for faculty and students and crippling projects dependent on federal partners. Although much of the University’s research continues unaffected, officials said things will worsen as the shutdown continues. Top funders of University research are closed, affecting nearly 1,300 awards backing University research, according to the Office of the Vice President for Research. The shutdown hasn’t affected all departments equally. The National Institutes of
STUDENT LIFE
As college costs rise, some UMN students turn to paid, online dating to afford school. BY NATALIE RADEMACHER nrademacher@mndaily.com
Last year, University of Minnesota student Ava* found an unconventional way to financially support herself while attending school — she became a sugar baby. In exchange for around $100 a night, Ava would go to dinner with wealthy, middleaged men she met online. She would spend hours putting her hair up, choosing the right outfit and doing her makeup before going out to meet a sugar daddy. Ava is one of the 542 students at the University of Minnesota who were registered on SeekingArrangement last year. SeekingArrangement is an online companionship service, which markets itself to college students as a way to make money and mitigate student debt. Many students like Ava have used the service to connect with men and women by exchanging companionship, intimacy and often sex for fancy dinners, money and gifts. Though services like SeekingArrangement can be empowering, some say there are safety and legal risks associated with this type of work, which can take an emotional toll. “I found it exciting. It felt good getting paid money,” Ava said. “It was kind of fun in a weird way. I would feel hyped after using it.”
Health remains funded, leaving the health sciences largely unaffected, said Vice President for Research Chris Cramer. But the National Science Foundation and the Department of Agriculture are closed. “As long as faculty have funding left in these awards, they’re able to continue spending them,” said Associate Vice President for Research Pamela Webb. But researchers who need sponsor approval on a spending change can’t get it, hamstringing their work. Those awards pay for things like faculty salaries, graduate students and equipment costs. “Many researchers are funded grant-togrant,” Cramer said. “There’s an expectation that as one ends, another will pick up.” While sponsoring agencies are closed, the University isn’t getting reimbursed. Cramer said there are serious long-term consequences to a prolonged shutdown. “If we run into gap periods,” Cramer said, “then the University is on the hook to fund the research.” The University has fronted $10 million u See SHUTDOWN Page 4
The bittersweet life of sugar babies
“Sugar Baby University” markets to college students
SeekingArrangement’s “sugar baby university” campaign encourages college students to join the service as a way of combating student debt. Approximately 3 million college students in the United u See SUGAR BABIES Page 4
COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY
The Northern Research Station is seen on Saturday, Jan. 19, in St. Paul. The building, administrated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has been empty since the government shutdown.
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
University student Bella*, who used SeekingArrangement to cover some of her expenses, poses for a portrait on Monday, Jan. 14 close to her apartment near campus.
ADMINISTRATION
Potential UMN tuition increase draws criticism Legislators questioned the U’s priorities after Kaler suggested a tuition hike for residents. BY ISABELLA MURRAY imurray@mndaily.com
A potential tuition increase for University of Minnesota students has drawn criticism from lawmakers, who say the school should do more to cut costs. At a press conference in early January, University President Eric Kaler said he anticipates a 2 percent resident tuition increase for Twin Cities undergraduate students for the next academic year if the University’s biennial budget request is met. Lawmakers have questioned the University’s decision to prioritize faculty compensation and operational costs over a tuition freeze in its $87 million ask. Kaler said a partial budget request could result in a sharper increase if approved by the Board of Regents, although the University will try to “minimize” tuition increases. “We would hope for something more for our money, or maybe [the University is] just being brutally honest,” said Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka. Sixty percent of this year’s ask would go toward providing competitive compensation for faculty and staff, said Brian Burnett, the University senior vice president for finance and operations, at a testimony at the Capitol on Jan 15. Abler said the Legislature would like to see the University cut administrative u See TUITION Page 4
SUSTAINABILITY
BASKETBALL
Research program aims to cut plastic waste from U labs
Curry’s return an important addition for the Gophers
Recycling bins were installed throughout Nils Hasselmo Hall to collect plastic lab waste. BY NATALIE RADEMACHER nrademacher@mndaily.com
Efforts are underway by the University of Minnesota’s recycling program to make research laboratories on campus less wasteful. A pilot program was rolled out in Nils Hasselmo Hall this month to collect polypropylene plastic, which includes lab materials like test tubes and pipettes. Most research labs generate a significant amount of waste u See PLASTIC Page 3
u See Page 6
JACK RODGERS, DAILY
Forward Eric Curry jumps to dunk the ball at the Williams Arena on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Gophers defeated Penn State 65-64.
VOLUME 119 ISSUE 31
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Tuesday, January 22, 2019 Vol. 119 No. 31
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THIS DAY IN HISTORY
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Local drag queen Nocturna Lee Mission opens for King Princess at First Avenue on Thursday, Jan. 17 in Minneapolis.
COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY
UMN’s efforts to prevent sexual misconduct show improvement University officials say the campaign’s progress so far is encouraging.
BUSINESS Kyle Stumpf Sales Manager kstumpf@mndaily.com David Keane Controller dkeane@mndaily.com =
The Minnesota Daily strives for complete accuracy and corrects its errors immediately. Corrections and clarifications will always be printed in this space. If you believe the Daily has printed a factual error, please call the readers’ representative at (612) 627–4070, extension 3057, or email errors@mndaily.com immediately.
BY AUSTEN MACALUS amacalus@mndaily.com
The University of Minnesota’s plans to combat sexual misconduct set out with an ambitious goal: to stop the “epidemic” of sexual assault and harassment on campus. Nearly two years into the President’s Initiative to Prevent Sexual Misconduct, University officials see signs of success, although they say there’s more work to be done. The campaign, which costs the University more than $740,000, features a wide-range of efforts, from mandating employee training to increasing bystander intervention. Last spring, the University implemented required sexual misconduct training for all faculty and staff systemwide. The school has also revamped online sexual assault prevention training for students, launched an $80,000 public awareness campaign and started a series of sexual harassment workshops for department heads and academic leaders. “This is the largest university in the country right now that is doing something this extensive,” said School of Public Health Dean John Finnegan, chair of the initiative. “We have really brought together, I think, a critical mass of energy that can help propel culture change.” Through this spring semester, the University will emphasize bystander intervention training and student engagement, said Maggie Towle, interim vice provost for student affairs and dean of students. With the help of a new staff member hired last fall, the University is planning trainings with specific communities on campus, including Greek life and athletics, she said. Although the campaign is funded through the
EDITORIAL BOARD Ellen Schneider Editorials & Opinions Editor eschneider@mndaily.com Ariana Wilson Editorial Board Member awilson@mndaily.com Hailey Almstead Editorial Board Member halmstead@mndaily.com Kelly Busche Editor-in-Chief kbusche@mndaily.com
President Eric Kaler fields questions in his office in Morrill Hall on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018.
end of the academic year, those in charge are hopeful efforts will continue when President-Designate Joan Gabel takes over in July. Gabel praised the University’s public health approach to sexual misconduct during her visit on campus in December, saying the University should continue to take a leading role on preventing sexual misconduct when she’s president. Finnegan said the past two years mark only the beginning phases of this work. “What we’re moving toward is embedding this effort within the university, within its community and the structure of the university, in such [a] way that it’s now going to be something we can sustain in the longrun,” he said. Signs of progress, but more work ahead “Stopping sexual misconduct on our campuses begins with every one of us.” Those were the words University President Eric Kaler used when he launched the campaign in
2017. The efforts — a top priority of Kaler’s presidency — take a public health approach, which looks to address the deep-rooted causes of sexual misconduct. Two years in, there’s now measurable progress. Officials leading the campaign say they’ve received widespread support and crucial buy-in from faculty, staff and students on campus. But they also acknowledge they still have a long way to go. “I’ve been nothing but pleasantly surprised by how much support we’re getting across the board,” said Dave Golden, director of public health and communications at Boynton Health, who oversees the campaign’s evaluation and research. He pointed to the more than 99 percent of faculty and staff who completed the online sexual harassment training as a sign of progress. Even so, in a posttraining survey, faculty and staff expressed relatively low confidence in the University’s ability to prevent retaliation and respond to
sexual misconduct. However, the campaign has also highlighted areas of concern, particularly the prevalence of sexual harassment among students and employees alike. The University has long measured incidents of sexual assault, but only began collecting data about harassment among students and employees in 2018. Nearly 30 percent of faculty and staff say they’ve experienced harassment at the University, according to data collected in last year’s mandatory employee training. Boynton’s 2018 College Student Health survey found even higher rates of harassment reported by students — nearly three out of four students on the Twin Cities campus say they’ve experienced sexual harassment. Reports of sexual misconduct to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action have continued to rise. Finnegan said the increased reports of sexual
DAILY FILE PHOTO
misconduct may be “a form of success,” indicating people could feel more comfortable reporting incidents, instead of staying silent. But Finnegan acknowledged the campaign needs to look at the deep-seated causes of sexual misconduct, including the University’s culture. “We asked the question: if we have, like every university, a culture that has allowed this kind of behavior to fester, what is about the way that we have constructed the institution that has allowed it to happen,” he said. “What are the policies, what are the processes, what are the cultural values that have allowed this kind of stuff to go on?” However, officials leading the campaign say solving those problems is going to take some time. “We’re in this for the long-haul,” Golden said. “This is not just something that you just change in a year. This is going to take years of work to change a culture.”
THE MINNESOTA DAILY is a legally independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and is a student-written and student-managed newspaper for the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus. The Daily’s mission is: 1) to provide coverage of news and events affecting the University community; 2) to provide a forum for the communication and exchange of ideas for the University community; 3) to provide educational training and experience to University students in all areas of newspaper operations; and 4) to operate a fiscally responsible organization to ensure its ability to serve the University in the future. The Daily is a member of the Minnesota News Council, the Minnesota Associated Press, the Associated Collegiate Press, The Minnesota Newspaper Association and other organizations. The Daily is published Monday and Thursday during the regular school year and weekly during the summer, and it is printed by ECM Publishers in Princeton, Minn. Midwest News Service distributes the 10,000 issues biweekly. All Minnesota Daily inserts are recyclable within the University of Minnesota program and are at least 6 percent consumer waste. U.S. Postal Service: 351–480.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
3
Kaler’s final budget request is ‘prudent’ President Kaler emphasized UMN’s importance in the state of Minnesota. BY ISABELLA MURRAY imurray@mndaily.com
The University of Minnesota presented a realistic funding request to the Legislature Tuesday, lawmakers said. During his first testimony of the 2019 legislative session on Tuesday, University President Eric Kaler highlighted the University’s importance within the state while urging lawmakers to fully fund the school’s budget and capital funding
Plastic u from Page 1
because most plastic material is only used once, researchers say. Recycling bins were installed throughout the building, and recycling program facilitators are now working to educate researchers on how to properly recycle the material. “Our long-term goal is to make campus zero-waste, and this is a small step towards reaching that goal,” said Todd Tanner, the program coordinator for ReUse, which helps salvage wasted and extra materials on campus. The University recycling program has been collecting polypropylene plastics for the past four years, but
PLASTIC WASTE DISPOSAL BY THE NUMBERS
5.5 millon tons of plastic waste was generated
in research laboratories around the world in 2014.
10,000 – 15,000 lbs of polypropylene and high
density plastic are collected from the University every couple months. SOURCE: NATURE, AVON PLASTICS
the pilot program is the first building-wide collection of the material. There are bins around the building where researchers can bring the used polypropylene materials from their labs. The data gathered from the pilot program will be used to help improve the program and expand recycling
requests. This session, the University will ask legislators for $87 million in additional funding for the next two years and $232.3 million in infrastructure funding. “The University of Minnesota is committed to strengthening Minnesota’s future. However, we cannot do this alone,” Kaler said at a Senate higher education committee meeting. “We rely on a strong partnership with the state to continue to provide affordable education, attract and retain worldclass researchers, strengthen communities and businesses and improve the lives of Minnesotans.” Kaler, along with University administrators
and students, stressed the school’s importance in the state and the challenges it faces, including the need for competitive faculty compensation and investing in student services. “I think that what the president did do today was outline the needs for the University of Minnesota — they’re not wants, they’re needs,” said Sen. Gregory Clausen, DFL-Apple Valley. Sixty percent of this year’s ask, according to Brian Burnett, University Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations, would be for competitive faculty and staff compensation.
“Different from recent years, we are not asking for a list of programmatic or service initiatives that might add to our current portfolio,” Burnett said. “Instead, we are asking for one item. An increase in our base that will allow us to address priorities across our basic foundational mission activities.” The Legislature provided $54.62 million of the University’s $147.2 million request during its last biennial budget ask. This “modest” ask may be more tangible, some lawmakers said. “Whenever a system has a prudent ask, it helps,” said Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka. Abeler said while the
to more labs on campus. According to a study published in the journal Nature, an estimated 5.5 million tons of plastic waste was generated in biological, medical and agricultural research laboratories around the world in 2014. These labs produce the most plastic waste, the study said. Research laboratories generate a heavy waste stream because most plastic material is only used once, said Allison Paradise, founder of My Green Lab, a nonprofit that works to help make labs more sustainable. Many materials in labs are only used once to avoid contaminating and mixing material. The Wickman lab, located in Hasselmo Hall, has already been recycling polypropylene plastic for about three months through the University’s recycling program. “We generate a lot of polypropylene trash, so we just thought, ‘Why aren’t we recycling this?’” Wickman Lab Manager Ezequiel Marron said. The pilot program’s facilitators have also contacted labs around campus to promote the collection system. “We have been reaching out to labs, offering to set up a collection point if they are interested,” said Elizabeth Logas-Lindstrom, the University’s recycling coordinator. The laboratory recycling program is a continuation of Dana Donatucci’s work, who served as the University’s recycling coordinator for almost 30 years before retiring last year. He started collecting polypropylene material from labs a few years ago. The plastic collected is sold to Avon Plastics, a company based in Paynesville,
Minnesota, who break down the material to make products such as moldings and lawn items. The company currently collects about 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of polypropylene and other plastic from the University every couple months, said Nick Scherping, purchasing manager for Avon Plastics. Logus-Lindstrom and Tanner say they hope the pilot program will bring attention to recycling lab material. Some labs work with ma-
UMPD arrests individual with record-high blood alcohol content
“We generate a lot of polypropylene trash, so we just thought, ‘Why aren’t we recycling this?” EZEQUIEL MARRON Wickman Lab manager
terial that could contaminate the recycling stream. Christine Salomon, an associate professor for the University’s Center for Drug Design, works with bacteria in her Hasselmo Hall lab. Because the plastic has been contaminated by the bacteria, it can’t be recycled. “We can’t risk contaminating the whole recycling bin,” Salomon said. Luckily, Salomon said her lab does not generate as much plastic waste as some other labs because they often use glass containers. For now, coordinators for the University’s recycling program are hoping to continue expanding plastic recycling in labs and encourage researchers to reach out if they are interested in recycling their polypropylene material.
Get to Class with U-Pass!
U-Pass is a discounted metro-area transit pass for students for unlimited rides on buses and light rail for only $114 each semester!*
Order today at
buspass.umn.edu Check out metrotransit.org for bus routes & info on the Guaranteed Ride Home program! * Note: U-Pass covers $3.25 of the fee for the Northstar commuter rail (you can add money to the pass to pay any additional cost).
612-626-PARK (7275) | pts@umn.edu | pts.umn.edu
University’s ask was reasonable, it may still not be fully funded. “This is the easy part of the session. All the hard decisions are down the road and there will be some very hard decisions coming,” he said. Kaler addressed a number of new members of the Legislature and first-time members of the higher education committees. Newly appointed House higher education committee chair Rep. Connie Bernardy, DFL-New Brighton, said these new members are reflective of an increased interest in higher education at the Capitol. “There’s more people
who wanted to serve on the higher education committee than were able to because of the spots,” Bernardy said. “People are really eager and really value whether they’re serving on that committee.” With University President-designate Joan Gabel set to take over as University president in July, Kaler is representing the University at the Legislature as president for the last time. “The U of M came in and gave a really strong presentation. Their president was well-received and they’ll be getting fair consideration when they start passing out the money at the end of April,” Abeler said.
Law enforcement agencies across the state saw an uptick in DWI arrests. BY MOHAMED IBRAHIM mibrahim@mndaily.com
A public safety campaign over the holidays resulted in more than 2,700 drunk driving arrests statewide by the University of Minnesota Police Department and other agencies. Between Nov. 21 and Dec. 29, DWI arrests increased by over 100 incidents from last year during the same period, according to a report by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. UMPD arrested an individual with the highest blood alcohol content of any state law enforcement agency.
DWI ARRESTS
BY THE NUMBERS
2,656
Arrests in MN between Nov. 21 and Dec. 29, 2017.
2,757
Arrests in MN between Nov. 21 and Dec. 29, 2018. SOURCE: MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
The extra enforcement campaign was part of the Toward Zero Deaths program, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant-funded initiative that aims to reduce the number of traffic-related deaths on Minnesota roads. “We were seeing a significant and very alarming upward trend in the number of people who were
DAILY FILE PHOTO
A Minneapolis police officer patrols Dinkytown on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018.
being killed in motor vehicle crashes across the state of Minnesota,” said Mike Hanson, director of the DPS’s Office of Traffic Safety. “The TZD program came about as a result of a collaborative effort – a bunch of different agencies and entities coming together as traffic safety stakeholders who try and find ways to not only stop that upward trend but to reverse it.” The campaign is carried out using traditional enforcement methods, but with a sole emphasis on identifying impaired drivers. “You are looking for indications of drunken driving ... like failing to stop for stop signs or stop lights,” said UMPD Lt. Erik Swanson. “You’re enforcing general violations but with an attentive eye to things that look like drunken driving.” UMPD arrested an individual for drunk driving on Dec. 15 after the person had crashed into a wall. The individual registered a BAC of 0.41, the highest recorded of any state agency over the holiday season. More than 300 Minnesota
law enforcement agencies, including UMPD and the Minneapolis Police Department, work to connect certain times of year with specific behaviors using data as part of the program. According to Hanson, crash and arrest statistics show a spike in drunk drivers over the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. “One of our officers over the December DWI event arrested one person that had 12 prior DWIs and one that had 13,” said MPD Sgt. David Stichter. “Had he not been working the TZD enforcement, we wouldn’t have had those stops.” During shifts with the program, officers only look to identify drunk driving, which helps agencies ultimately make more arrests, Stichter said. “A DWI takes about three hours to process – that takes a squad off the street for a long time,” he said. “It’s really a great program in that way, that it allows us just to focus on traffic safety during those shifts.”
4
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Sugar babies u from Page 1
States are registered on SeekingArrangement, making up about 37 percent of the more than 8 million sugar baby users. “We wanted to be able to offer [students] one less burden associated with the cost of college, and encourage them to find relationships that would help them elevate their lifestyle,” SeekingArrangement spokesperson Kimberly De La Cruz said in an email. Students are offered free memberships when they join the service using their university emails. Ava, who no longer uses SeekingArrangement, said she joined in 2017 because she couldn’t afford rent, tuition and groceries while attending school. She found it exciting and empowering to make money by going on dates with people from SeekingArrangement. Although she never had sex with any of the men she met, she said sex is part of many arrangements between sugar daddies and babies. “I felt like I was trying to not do the sexual labor, but also wanted to get paid. It was hard balancing that,” Ava said. To Ava, the arrangements were mutually beneficial. She said she was financially secure enough to say “no” if she didn’t want to meet with a sugar daddy. “I had the option to say, ‘no, I don’t want to go on this date.’ … If I was really depending on that money, that line probably would’ve been more blurred,” she said. Sarah Polowin, a graduate of Carleton University in Canada who wrote her doctoral thesis on SeekingArrangement in 2017, found that money is the primary motivating factor for college students using the service. The service markets itself as a way for members to develop relationships on their own terms, and is “where beautiful, successful people fuel mutually beneficial relationships,” according to the company’s website.
ELLEN SCHMIDT, DAILY
Left: Makeup that Bella* bought with money earned from SeekingArrangement sits on her desk on Monday, Jan. 14 in her apartment near campus. A $200 Sephora gift card was among the gifts she received from a man she met on the website. Above: Bella* shows an example of navigating the SeekingArrangement website.
Polowin found that the arrangements created on SeekingArrangement are more complicated than the website lets on.
“Sometimes I would forget about the money, because I actually started enjoying the sexualness of it.” When sugar daddies and babies meet online, sugar babies are not supposed to ask for money or imply that they will engage in a sexual relationship — that’s often negotiated later in person, Polowin said. “The premise of an arrangement is that you explicitly state what you want for what kind of compensation. But in theory, it’s almost the opposite,” she added.
Balancing legal and safety concerns
Many say that relationships on SeekingArrangement differ from prostitution and traditional dating, creating a gray area that raises legal and safety concerns. “It is a really unique and new phenomenon. These
women don’t identify as sugar daddies’ girlfriends, but [they] distance themselves from traditional sex workers,” Polowin said. “[It] is kind of this gray, in-between space where it is clear that money and some type of companionship, whether that be sex or emotional intimacy, are exchanged.” While prostitution is illegal, SeekingArrangement operates around the law by the language it uses, Polowin said. “They say they are not exchanging money for sex, but are exchanging companionship for intimacy.” When meeting with men she met on SeekingArrangement, Ava, like the other sugar babies interviewed by the Minnesota Daily, said she often worried about her safety. She took extra precautions by meeting men in public places so they would not know where she lives. “It is a dangerous game. You want people to do what they want, but also keep sugar babies safe,” Ava said. According to the 2015 Student Sex Work Project, a survey of 6,773 students in the United Kingdom, about one in four university students who engage in some form of sex work report not always feeling safe while working. In 2017, a University student, who is not being identified to protect her identity, reached out to The Aurora Center at the University for support
Shutdown
The mental health effects on sugar babies
Laura*, a student at Luther College in Iowa, started using SeekingArrangement because of financial stress. She said it was sometimes difficult not to associate her self-worth with a dollar sign when using SeekingArrangement. She said she had consistent arrangements with several sugar daddies over summer break while at home in Minneapolis. While she enjoyed the consistency and felt trusted and respected in these arrangements, using
government needs to be a partner,” she said. “We have to make sure that we make you whole again.”
u from Page 1
in unreimbursed research expenses since the shutdown began, said Assistant Chief Financial Officer Mike Volna. “With the federal spigot closing off, it’s pretty easy to see that we are essentially loaning the federal government money from state funds and student tuition,” Volna said. He projected the figure to rise to nearly $14 million by the end of January. Because the University is spending money that would have been sitting in an account, that money isn’t gaining interest. Volna said the University has forgone $25,000 in interest — slightly higher than the cost of one in-state student’s tuition, room and board for a year. The University has been reimbursed after previous shutdowns, and University officials expect the same when the government reopens this time. Cramer said it’s risky
while allegedly being harassed by a man she met on SeekingArrangement. According to a Minnesota District Court transcript of her testimony, the student alleged the man sexually assaulted her around the time they met. The two then engaged in an arrangement that lasted four months, and after she tried to end it, she alleges he harassed her through social media. The student, who recently underwent a legal name change, filed for a restraining order in court through the University’s Student Legal Service in 2018. The student was awarded a restraining order, which is effective until June 2019. The court did not find sufficient evidence to prove sexual assault. The student was not able to be reached for comment, and her lawyer denied requests for comment.
Unreimbursable losses
COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY
Congresswoman Betty McCollum discusses the effects of the government shutdown with University staff and community members on Friday, Jan. 18.
for the University to float research costs as the shutdown continues. If it lasts another month, Cramer said spending $500,000 a day will become unsustainable. “When that happens, we’ll have to make a decision,” he said. “The University just can’t write a check like that every day to keep the operation running.” At a Friday round-table with University research
officials, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., pledged to ensure the University is fully reimbursed for its research expenses. McCollum is the incoming chair of the Appropriations Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which oversees spending for multiple shut-down agencies. “ T h e w o rk i n t h e University’s mission is important and the federal
“Even when the government comes back, and the money comes back, that time won’t,” said Greg Cuomo, associate dean for research of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences . Cuomo said CFANS research has been especially hit by the shutdown. Along with the NSF and USDA, other key partners are closed. Many faculty have to work around their federal colleagues’ absences. For some, there’s nothing more they can do. Heather Koop, associate director of the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center, is working with the United States Forest Service on a handheld device that can diagnose oak trees with the deadly oak wilt fungus. Because oaks are particularly susceptible to infection when cut, Koop said the device can only be tested in the winter. But her Forest Service partners are on furlough and the project is stalled. “We’ll lose this field season,” she said. “Minnesotans have invested almost a quarter million dollars into this project and it will take another year then to complete.”
Tuition u from Page 1
costs instead. “It seems to me that they could take some of [the tuition funding] out of the admin side,” he said. “There’s a break-point, and I don’t know when that happens. I don’t know how many students won’t be able to go [to school] because of the increases.” Sen. Greg Clausen, DFL-Apple Valley, said he’s understanding of the University’s need to increase tuition even with a fully-funded request. “The $87 million is for operating and general costs around the University, and the 2 percent [tuition increase for in-state
SeekingArrangement sometimes negatively affected her mental health. “I was starting to feel very objectified,” said Laura, who earned over $2,000 using SeekingArrangement. “I had to be really careful about where my headspace was because it was not always the best thing for me to do, even if I just wanted money.” Teela Sanders, research director and professor of criminology at the University of Leicester in England, said young women work through services like SeekingArrangement in total isolation because they fear judgement, which can lead to negative mental health effects. “Sometimes I would forget about the money, because I actually started enjoying the sexualness of it,” Laura said. “But then, whenever the money would come around, ‘oh yeah, this is all I am here for.’” Bella*, another University student who has used SeekingArrangement, said she doesn’t feel like a prostitute, even though sex was part of her past arrangements. “Prostitution revolves around all different kinds of services, but it all revolves around sex. With this, it revolves around a relationship with aspects of sex, which is what a relationship is,” Bella said, describing how arrangements on SeekingArrangement are different than traditional sex work.
One sugar daddy loved cuddling and watching movies, which Bella said felt like a relationship. Even with the safety risks and emotional toll that can result from being a sugar baby, the number of students using the service is on the rise.
Officials expect problems to continue after the government reopens. Webb said the government will have to catch up on grant proposals in the pipeline, resulting in funding gaps and permanent scientific losses. “We’re mortgaging the future of our science because we need a constant flow of proposals going out,” said Paul Morin, director of the University’s Polar Geospatial Center. Morin heads a project to continuously measure the planet’s topography. It produces 50 terabytes of data a week used to measure things like sea-level rise and permafrost melt. But the data needs to be validated by NASA and is stored on a federally funded computer. “We’re producing data now that is key to meeting other scientists’ science goals,” he said. “So we have this science supply chain that is interrupted.”
Nick Phelps was ready for the shutdown. He grabbed his laptop and a plant that would be easy to care for. He left the aloe and the clivia. Phelps is one of 18 faculty, staff and graduate students who were displaced when the Forest Service-owned North Central Research Station on
the St. Paul campus locked its doors for the third shutdown in the last year. Phelps, associate director of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center, and other displaced researchers have been squatting in unoccupied offices, conference rooms and foyers for the last month. Phelps said CFANS has been accommodating, and the many researchers will be moving into longer-term spaces after classes start Tuesday. However, his troubles won’t be over. He’s working with the United States Geological Survey to plan Minnesota’s biggest ever experimental treatment for zebra mussels, which he said has great potential to combat the invasive species. “We’re really excited about it, but I have no idea what’s happening,” he said. Also closed is the USDAowned Cereal Disease Lab, where researchers are working on making wheat resistant to a fungal infection that threatens global food security. “We have at least six graduate students and 12 post-docs whose research is in there,” said Cuomo at Friday’s round-table. “When microbial cultures dry out, they die. Nobody is out there to put the treatments in.”
students] would be outside of that,” Clausen said. “The Legislature in general wants to keep tuition down, there’s no question about that, but the University is a pretty intensive institution. To have a zero budget increase is really difficult.” Clausen said that he’s open to discussions of tuition freezes, but a permanent freeze isn’t sustainable. House higher education committee chair Rep. Connie Bernardy, DFL-New Brighton, said one of her biggest priorities this session is freezing tuition. She said even if the University cannot allot budget allocations to prevent tuition increases, it should look into alternative means of cutting costs. “You can freeze tuition
and reduce quality of programs, but I don’t think people want that. … I think we need to figure out how we’ll solve this, whether it’s savings in the systems and how we do business, if its investing money into how to buy down those tuition increases,” Bernardy said. A projected $1.5 billion state budget surplus was announced in December. Another forecast, set to be announced in February, will give lawmakers a better idea of how the University’s request will fare when the Legislature disperses funds. “That will be a better indication of what will happen but we know our goal and strong desire is working toward freezing tuition in an honest way,” Bernardy said.
“My other plants are probably dead now”
“I was starting to feel very objectified. I had to be really careful about where my headspace was because it was not always the best thing for me to do, even if I just wanted money.” “I did feel kind of guilty sometimes. My friends would be like, ‘why are you doing this?’ and kinda judged me for doing it,” Bella said. “I don’t believe I am a prostitute. I was comfortable enough with myself that I was fine doing that part of it.” *The names of the sugar babies in this story have been changed for privacy reasons.
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MNDAILY.COM
MN DAILY
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019
CONCERT COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY
Mikaela Straus of King Princess performs at First Avenue on Thursday, Jan. 17 in Minneapolis. The sold out show is part of the Pussy Is God tour.
KING PRINCESS RULES OVER HER KINGDOM Thursday night with King Princess felt more like a celebration than a concert. BY SAMIR FERDOWSI
SFERDOWSI@MNDAILY.COM
“Dance. Dance! Fucking DANCE!” With a contagious carefree attitude and guitar riffs reverberating off First Avenue’s iconic walls, King Princess commanded the crowd to have a good time on Thursday night. Kicking off her “Pussy Is God” tour in Minneapolis, Mikaela Straus and her band (consisting of two guitarists and a drummer) came in with a bang and kept the energy potent throughout the one-hour set. With a majority of her
songs coming off the band’s upcoming album, King Princess made it known that she was here for good vibes and good vibes only. “I’m so thirsty … wait someone just told me in my ear that I have water up here. That’s so fierce! This tour is lit,” the NYC-native giddily shouted. The crowd then erupted in claps and screams of “oh my god.” Accompanying the band on stage for a select few songs, drag queens shined with icy blue crystal outfits reflecting the iconic blue-
purple fluorescent hum of First Ave’s lights. Songs like “Pussy Is God,” “Upper West Side” and the obvious “1950” evoked celebration even further. The band was jumping around, King Princess was doing karate-esque kicks and the crowd kept bouncing. All this joyous energy made it hard to not feel love and tingling happiness while watching everyone groove to the vibes coming from the crowd and performers. The music itself, though? Perfectly mediocre.
This is coming from a hip-hop head, so take this with a grain of sparkle ... but King Princess played a show that, musically, could have been done by any high school garage rock band. Yes, she can sing, but where is the uniqueness of her songs? At just 20 years old, there is plenty of room for King Princess to grow. Maybe a new flow, unique riffs, avant-garde sounds? I’ll leave the mode of development up to the blossoming band. Something, though,
needs to give the crew a little more oomph. I have no doubt that she will become a flawless artist and the band will take their rightful throne. But until then, they lack a sonic individuality that is so needed in the saturated genre of new age alternative pop. Luckily, tones and melodies are not the only ingredients in an enjoyable concert soup. Her lyrics? All there. The Brooklyn musician has anthems for the LGBTQ+ community that
so rarely has tunes to bump that represent them to the fullest. Volcanic cheers went up at every break in the music, and every lyric was known by the majority of the crowd. Especially in a prideful city like Minneapolis, the night was special for triedand-true fans. “I’m going to bring my kids here. It’s so fucking lovely,” said King Princess. And we’d be happy to see you again, too. Grade: B
ART
Err celebrates emerging artists and creative collaboration Err, a Minneapolis based art collective, hosts monthly variety shows and accepts rolling submissions for their magazine “Errata.” BY KSENIA GORINSHTEYN kgorinshteyn@mndaily.com
The steps between pursuing art as a hobby and becoming a practicing artist can be blurry. Local art collective Err aims to make that path a little clearer by giving creatives the opportunity to define their role in the Twin Cities arts community. Err was founded in 2014 by a group of recent college graduates, including University of Minnesota grads who previously worked on the University’s undergraduate literary magazine, “The Tower.” “One of the questions that sparked Err was we have so many creative friends who all actively pursued their art in their undergraduate career … how do we keep that art continuing and … how do we transition from art as a hobby to being an emerging artist?” said Hanna Kjeldbjerg, Err’s event director. The result was a collective that embraces all art forms, from visual, to literary, to musical. Err was first a traveling collective before finding a home for their variety show at Honey on the second Wednesday of every month. Here, they also host short, casual workshops that give artists a chance to refine their skills. “We have a lot of people [performing] for the first time,” said Shannon Fletcher, who does branding for Err. “We’re always there to cheer you on … you can’t ‘fail’ fail. It’s pretty welcoming that way.” Fletcher chose the name Err, similar to the word “error,” as a way to emphasize that the collective doesn’t expect perfection. There is room for mistakes and space to grow as an artist. “When I went and read,
“You don’t really feel any kind of self-consciousness there … everyone is just really there for the art and really excited about the art.” AUBREY ASLESON recent U graduate
multiple people would come up to me and just compliment my work,” said Aubrey Asleson, who graduated from the U in 2017. “You don’t really feel any kind of self-consciousness there … everyone is just really there for the art and really excited about the art.” The collective extends its work with creators through their zine “Errata.” Each month they publish their featured artists from the variety show as well as pieces from their rolling submissions. “We’ll have somebody who will mention writing a poem and then I’ll leap on them,” Kjeldbjerg said. “One of our artists … just posted a couple of poems on Facebook and I was like ‘Girl, you got the goods,’ and she’s going to perform for her first time on stage in February.” The founders of Err have created a collaborative community of artists that push their own artistic limits. “Some artists return, like a musician who will come and read some writing,” said Trevor Simmons, also part of the Err team. “Acts in the past have forged together to do something experimental, in unison.” For their fifth anniversary
in September, Err will work with The Future, a shop in South Minneapolis, to create a zine inspired by each of the chakras. This will be one of many projects that the Err team has worked on with other organizations, like the Art Shanty Projects. The basis of Err, as an organization founded by a few friends, is passion and inspiration. Their love for the arts propels them to continue their work as a collective. “We’re doing this work with our best friends,” Kjeldbjerg said. “All of the founding members of Err are my best friends.” Since 2014, Err has gone from a small show at a friend’s house to a monthly celebration of the Twin Cities artist population. “We have a secret Facebook group for anyone who has ever performed at Err and … it’s kind of like a big club,” Fletcher said. “You’re part of the family after you perform.”
What: Err When: Second Wednesday of the month, 7:30-11:30 p.m. Where: Honey, 205 E Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis Cost: Free
ELLE MOULIN, DAILY
ABOVE: The Sparks perform at Honey in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 17. The group was one of the featured artists at art collective Err’s 36th event. BELOW: Chavonn Williams Shen reads pieces of her poetry at Honey in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 17. Shen was one of the featured artists at art collective Err’s 36th event.
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Sports
MNDAILY.COM
MN DAILY
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Curry’s return an important addition for the Gophers The forward missed more than a season and has made an impact in his return. BY NICK JUNGHEIM njungheim@mndaily.com
Three minutes and 45 seconds into the Gophers’ game against Mount St. Mary’s on Dec. 30, Williams Arena erupted into cheers as redshirt sophomore Eric Curry checked into the game. It was the first time in 654 days the 6 foot, 9 inch forward stepped onto the court in a competitive game. “It was amazing. I couldn’t even sleep at night,” Curry told the media after that game, a 71-53 Gophers’ victory. “I couldn’t wait to get back on the court in front of our fans. It was amazing seeing all the fans giving me a standing ovation.” In August 2017, Curry suffered a serious injury in his left knee, tearing his ACL, MCL and meniscus. He missed the entirety of the season, a disappointing 15-17 campaign in which the team was plagued with losses to key players. Curry was expected to make his much-anticipated return to the lineup at the beginning of this season. Unfortunately, after playing in a preseason scrimmage against Creighton, he experienced swelling in the same knee that kept him sidelined
JACK RODGERS, DAILY
Forward Eric Curry shoots the ball at Williams Arena on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Gophers defeated Penn State 65-64.
the year prior. Soon after, the team announced that Curry would require another operation that ultimately kept him out for the first 12 games of the season. Over the games Curry missed, Minnesota amassed a record of 10-2. The Gophers’ front court was still in good shape without him, thanks largely to All-Big Ten senior
Jordan Murphy. Filling in for Curry at the five was freshman Daniel Oturu, a four-star recruit who quickly established himself as a rising star for the Gophers. Oturu’s play has steadily improved throughout the year. He currently averages 10.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. “[They are] two of the great players in the
conference,” Curry told the media regarding Murphy and Oturu. “It’s been amazing going against those two guys in practice and they’ve been great helping me along the way, just like I’ve helped them along the way too.” While his minutes are still limited, Curry has been the first forward off the bench in most games since his return,
adding much needed depth at forward. Entering the game to a chorus of cheers and applause on Dec. 30 was the culmination of a difficult path to recovery for Curry. “My teammates helped me through everything,” Curry told the media. “My mom, my coaches — they kept me positive. There were times when it got really
tough, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to come back.’ But they just kept my head on straight.” As a freshman in 201617, Curry proved effective off the bench, averaging 5.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game. This season, head coach Richard Pitino has been careful not to rush Curry back, knowing he’s making steady progress toward becoming the productive player he was two years ago. “Slowly but surely,” Pitino told the media last week. “He’s not going to be ready 100 percent right away. That’s going to take some time, but I like what I’ve seen from him.” When he is on the court, senior Dupree McBrayer said that Curry brings energy and versatility to the lineup, adding a new dimension to the Gophers’ defense. “He talks a lot on defense, so that makes everything easier,” McBrayer told the media. “We definitely need that. We can switch a lot more things because [Curry] can cover guards. That gives so much more room to switch, so just having him out there we get different looks defensively.” Minnesota will need all the help they can get on defense and offense on Tuesday night when they travel to Ann Arbor to play Michigan, who suffered their first defeat of the season Saturday at Wisconsin.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Minnesota splits weekend series against Wisconsin The Gophers came back to win in the series finale after dropping first game.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY RESULTS
FRIDAY Wisconsin Minnesota
BY ERIK NELSON enelson2@mndaily.com
The top two teams in the nation traded wins in Minneapolis this weekend. No. 2 Minnesota (22-31, 12-3-1-0) defeated No. 1 Wisconsin (21-3-0, 11-3-0-0) 3-1 on Saturday at Ridder Arena after falling 2-1 on Friday. Left winger Nicole Schammel scored twice as the Badgers allowed three goals in a game for the first time since Oct. 19. “An awesome game here and a great atmosphere,” head coach Brad Frost said. “We were much more composed. We were able to break the puck out better and generate more [chances] offensively. This should give our team a lot of confidence going into the stretch.” Defender Sophie Skarzynski opened the scoring at 15:44 of the first period.
SATURDAY Wisconsin Minnesota
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2 1 1
3 0 0
FINAL 2 1
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2 1 1
3 0 1
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SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM
ELLE MOULIN, DAILY
Redshirt senior Nicole Schammel skates toward the puck on Friday, Jan. 18 at Ridder Arena. The Gophers lost to the Wisconsin Badgers 2-1.
Schammel passed the puck to Skarzynski, whose wrist shot beat Badgers goaltender Kristen Campbell after it deflected off a Wisconsin defender. It was Skarzynski’s third goal of the season and her first goal since Nov. 23. “I was pumped,” Skarzynski said. “Now that I’m back [on defense], I look to make the simple plays. Schammel had a great pass to me on the blue line as I was entering the zone. I picked my head up, saw an open slot
and shot.” Schammel doubled Minnesota’s lead at 12:38 of the second period. Her shot hit Campbell’s mask, popped up into the air and landed into the net. Schammel said it was one of the strangest goals she’s ever seen. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh my gosh. It might go in.’ And it went in,” Schammel said. “Grace Zumwinkle and Taylor Wente were crashing the net hard. A lot of props
to them to make Campbell scramble on that one.” After Wisconsin cut Minnesota’s lead to 2-1 less than 30 seconds after Schammel’s goal, Schammel scored again at 6:08 of the third period. It was Schammel’s ninth goal of the season and her first multi-goal game of the season. Goaltender Sydney Scobee made a career-high 37 saves, winning her seventh game of the season. “I was seeing the puck well,” Scobee said. “I had good communication with my teammates. They always had my back in case there was a rebound, so that gives you a lot of confidence as a goaltender.”
Wisconsin ends Minnesota’s 14-game winning streak The Gophers’ win streak ended the same way it began — on home ice. Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 2-1 on Friday night, ending Minnesota’s 14-game winning streak. Frost said he expected a tight, one-goal game. “When you have two good skating teams, the chances are going to be limited,” Frost said. “Defensively, we played well, but didn’t generate as much as we needed to on the front end to get second and third opportunities. The result is scoring one goal and most nights, that’s not going to get it done.” The Badgers opened the scoring at 5:20 of the first period on the power play. Wisconsin center Emily Clark buried a wrist shot past Minnesota goaltender Alex Gulstene. It was Clark’s seventh goal of the season. Schammel evened the score for Minnesota 18 seconds into the middle frame,
scoring her seventh goal of the season. Schammel and Wente skated two-on-one into the offensive zone. Schammel flicked a shot past Campbell as the crowd erupted into cheers. Cheers soon turned to silence when Wisconsin defender Maddie Rolfes scored off a faceoff at 14:59 of the period. It was Rolfes’ second goal of the season. It would hold up to be the game-winning goal as neither team scored in the third. Gulstene made 24 saves but lost her first game of the season. “It’s tough,” Gulstene said. “To lose to Wisconsin at home, it stings.” Minnesota’s next series will be against No. 5 Ohio State (15-8-0, 9-6-0-0) FridaySaturday in Columbus, Ohio. Friday’s game begins at 5:07 p.m. and Saturday’s game begins at 2:07 p.m. Frost said the Buckeyes will be another difficult opponent for the Gophers. “They’re fast [and] are a lot like us and Wisconsin,” he said. “It’s a tough place to play at their rink.”
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Gophers show resiliency in hard-fought 65-64 victory over PSU Dupree McBrayer’s late-game heroics broke the 64-64 tie near the finish.
MEN’S BASKETBALL RESULTS
SATURDAY MINNESOTA PENN STATE
BY NICK JUNGHEIM njungheim@mndaily.com
Following a frustrating 9568 loss at Illinois, there was a nervous energy among fans at Williams Arena Saturday. The Gophers, a team on the edge of NCAA Tournament contention, couldn’t afford a second consecutive loss to a Big Ten opponent without a win in conference play. The result was in doubt right up until the final whistle, but Minnesota (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten) ultimately defeated Penn State (7-12, 0-8 Big Ten) 65-64 in dramatic fashion. A game full of twists came down to a last-second free throw and a missed shot at the buzzer. “[They] found a way to gut it out,” said head coach Richard Pitino. “Just made some spectacular winning plays. It was important for us to get our confidence back.” Minnesota didn’t play like a team in desperate need of a victory initially. Penn State scored at the rim at will early
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SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM
JACK RODGERS, DAILY
Senior forward Jordan Murphy jumps for the ball during the game against Penn State on Saturday, Jan. 19 at Williams Arena. The Gophers won 65-64.
on, getting out to a 20-10 lead at the 10:38 mark of the first half. It briefly appeared that Minnesota had stolen momentum. The Gophers fought back and freshman Gabe Kalscheur had a clean look at a 3-pointer that would have given Minnesota the lead late in the first half. However, his
shot bounced off the side of the rim and Penn State closed on an 8-2 run over the last two minutes to give them a 38-30 lead at half time. Leading the attack for the Nittany Lions was junior Lamar Stevens, who scored from seemingly wherever he wanted. In the first half he
scored 17 points and made all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished with 27 points on 9-17 shooting. On Penn State’s first possession of the second half, Stevens converted a threepoint play to give his team their largest lead of the evening at 11 points. After
that, the game belonged to Minnesota. The Gophers kept the game close for the next five minutes, then went on a 16-5 run to take a 56-53 lead at the under-eight media timeout. “They realized Penn State is a good team,” Pitino said of his players. “I think we had to wake up a little bit there.” Minnesota eventually led by seven but could never extend its lead beyond that. Penn State fought back, mounting a comeback of their own. With 11 seconds left, Stevens completed a 3-point play to tie the game at 64. On the next possession, senior Dupree McBrayer drove to the hoop and got fouled at the rim with 2.7 seconds left. After missing the first freethrow, he calmly drained the second. Stevens missed an open mid-range jump-shot at the buzzer to the relief of the home fans. “It felt really good,” said
redshirt sophomore Eric Curry of McBrayer’s winning free throw. “I knew we were going to get a stop, him making that free throw just gave our team a boost of confidence.” Senior Jordan Murphy stuffed the stat sheet on Saturday, collecting a careerhigh 21 rebounds. He also led the team in points (19) and assists (6). “Coach [Pitino] told me to keep my mind on rebounding,” Murphy said. “I was too much in my head in the first half. He told me just keep my mind on rebounding and everything else would follow, that’s what I did.” Junior Amir Coffey added 11 points of his own despite another rough shooting night, going 3-11 from the field. Curry had his best performance of the year in his sixth game back from injury, scoring a season-high 11 points. Minnesota will have a quick turnaround before possibly their biggest challenge of the year. The Gophers take on No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Tuesday. The Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season Saturday against Wisconsin.
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Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Lack of variety in diet leads to student dissatisfaction, according to new study Astronauts and U students alike suffer consequences from lacking diet variety. BY KAIT ECKER kecker@mndaily.com
A recently released NASA-funded study explored diet variety, a concern for populations, including students, who lack freedom of food choice. The study, published in January, was completed by a team of University of Minnesota researchers who explored the variety in diets of adults with stable food security. They found diet variety is key to satisfaction, but students and astronauts can lack this option. “[NASA has] always been very concerned about the lack of variety they have if you’re up in the space station,” said Zata Vickers, one of the researchers and a professor in the University’s Department of Food Science and Nutrition. The study, which surveyed 102 food-secure, freeliving adults, found that individuals ate an average of 110 unique foods over four weeks. Each participant had the freedom to choose their diet, and most indicated a high level of satisfaction, regardless of the variety they chose for themselves. Vickers and graduate student Lauren Wisdorf recognized that many groups, besides astronauts, struggle to find variety, such as those
living in dormitories or nursing homes. “Students complain that there’s not enough variety,” said Vickers. A number of students and dietitians agree that variety is important for satisfaction and happiness. Students in the dormitories are required to have some type of meal plan, said Jenna Brott, Health and Wellness Coordinator for the University of Minnesota Dining Services. “It’s important to have a variety of options,” Brott said. “Even with a four-week menu cycle, there can still be some menu fatigue.” Brott‘s solutions to menu fatigue include special “limited time offers,” such as grain bowls or a macaroni-andcheese bar. Clara Holder, a junior studying nutrition and a volunteer with the Nutritious U food pantry, said the residence hall cafeterias are good and continue improving. Still, she said she prefers the flexibility of cooking in her own apartment, because it saves money and offers more variety. “If you’re able to choose what you want, you feel happier,” said Rebecca Leighton, the health promotion associate at Boynton Health. “Food is more than just nutrition, ... it’s the cultural piece, the social pieces [and] the comfort. We eat for so many other reasons than just hunger cues.” But those hunger cues still
MORGAN LA CASSE, DAILY
worry several students. Boynton’s 2018 College Student Health Survey found that nearly 18 percent of students on the Twin Cities campus worry about food security. Nutritious U, established
by Leighton in 2017, offers a variety in diet to those struggling with food insecurity. Initiatives like the federal food stamp program also help, Leighton said, as foodinsecure students often do not
have the resources to budget for things like fresh produce or certain favorite foods. “I just think that the food pantry is an awesome resource, but we’re only there four days a month,
like what do people do the rest of the time?” Holder said. “It would be cool see more initiative coming out that kind of addressed the problem in a more permanent way.”
Shutdown continues 30 days after border demands THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thirty days into the partial government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans appeared no closer to ending the impasse Sunday than when it began, with President Donald Trump lashing out at his opponents after they dismissed a plan he’d billed as a compromise. Trump had offered the previous day to temporarily extend protections for young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones in exchange for $5.7 billion for his
border wall. But Democrats said the three-year proposal didn’t go nearly far enough. On Sunday, Trump branded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a “radical” and said she was acting “irrationally.” The president also tried to fend off criticism from the right, as conservatives accused him of embracing “amnesty” for immigrants in the country illegally. “No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer,” Trump tweeted, noting that he’d offered temporary, threeyear extensions — not permanent relief. But he added: “Amnesty will
be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else.” The criticism from both sides underscored Trump’s boxed-in position as he tries to win at least some Democratic buy-in without alienating his base. With hundreds of thousands of federal workers set to face another federal pay period without paychecks, the issue passed to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to bring Trump’s proposal to the floor this week. Democrats say there’s little chance the measure
Regent advisory council advances 25 candidates Seven students are among applicants for the open Board of Regents seats. BY TIFFANY BUI AND LEW BLANK tbui@mndaily.com lblank@mndaily.com
A citizen advisory council selected 25 applicants — including seven students — as candidates to fill vacancies on the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents. Four regent seats will be vacated this next legislative session, including two statewide at-large seats, one student at-large seat and one seat representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, according to a December press release. The selected applicants will be advanced to the interview process in January. After the interviews, the Regent Candidate Advisory Council will recommend two to four candidates for each seat to the Minnesota State Legislature. RCAC doesn’t look for any specific criteria in selecting candidates, but previous governance experience could elevate their application, said Rep. Bud Nornes, R-Fergus Falls, RCAC member and former chair of the higher education committee.
“You make a judgement on who you think would be the best, stand-out candidate at this point, knowing that the Legislature makes the final decision after this whole process,” Nornes said. The pool of applicants this year was notably a diverse mix, he said. “There’s a pretty common understanding that we really ought to, as close as we can, reflect not just the University, but also maybe the state. It’s a conscious thing, but this is not necessarily the only that we consider,” Nornes said. Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, said he didn’t think RCAC’s decision would make a difference in the Legislature’s selection process. In 2017, Regent Steve Sviggum was elected by the Legislature to the board despite not receiving a recommendation from RCAC. “We’ve ignored the recommendations of the council the last few selection cycles, so [the factors influencing RCAC’s decision] would be a question that really becomes immaterial to the process,” Pelowski said. Experienced University government leaders Joshua Preston and James Farnsworth were among the list of student candidates. Preston is the former student chair to the board and Farnsworth
“There’s a pretty common understanding that we really ought to, as close as we can, reflect not just the University, but also ... the state.” BUD NORNES representative, R-Fergus Falls
is chief of staff for the Minnesota Student Association. Other Twin Cities student interviewees include Thomas Keller, an applied economics research assistant at the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences, and Sara Kettering, a graduate student at the School of Public Health. No students were selected for an interview for a statewide at-large position. Applicants from the wider University system include Andrew Brichacek, president of the Morris Campus Student Association, Mike Kenyanya, president of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Student Association, and Mary Franz, chief of staff of UMDSA.
will reach the 60-vote threshold usually required to advance legislation in the Senate. Republicans have a 53-47 majority, which means they need at least some Democrats to vote in favor. McConnell has long tried to avoid votes on legislation that is unlikely to become law. And the Kentucky Republican has said for weeks that he has no interest in “show votes” aimed only at forcing members to take sides after Trump rejected the Senate’s earlier bipartisan bill to avert the shutdown. What’s unclear is how McConnell will bring Trump’s
plan forward — or when voting will begin. The Republican leader is a wellknown architect of complicated legislative maneuvers. One question is whether he would allow a broader immigration debate with amendments to Trump’s plan on the Senate floor. McConnell spokesman David Popp said Sunday, “When we have (a plan) we will be sure to let everyone know.” One key Republican, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, said that he and other lawmakers had been encouraging the White House to put an offer on the table — any offer — to get
both sides talking. “Get something out there the president can say, ‘I can support this,’ and it has elements from both sides, put it on the table, then open it up for debate,” Lankford said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The vote this week in the Senate is not to pass the bill, it is to open up and say ‘Can we debate this? Can we amend it? Can we make changes?’” Lankford said. “Let’s find a way to be able to get the government open because there are elements in this that are clearly elements that have been supported by Democrats strongly in the past.”
Explore Your Transportation Options! WALKING
Gopher Way: Indoor tunnel and skyway system 624-WALK: FREE 24/7 walking escort on & up to 1 mile off campus
BIKING
Parking: 9,000 free bike racks or Secure Parking: $40/yr Helmet & Headlights: Purchase at Boynton Pharmacy Bike Center: Repair services, showers & Zap! in Oak St. Ramp
BUSING
Campus Buses: FREE service between St. Paul/East Bank/West Bank Paratransit Service: FREE curb-to-curb, on-campus transportation for persons with short- or long-term physical disabilities; call 612-624-8338 or schedule online at z.umn.edu/paratransit Unlimited-Ride Metro-Area Transit Pass: U-Pass for students ($114/semester) or Metropass for staff and faculty ($83/month); purchase online at: buspass.umn.edu
PARKING
Public Parking: Hourly, daily, meter, off-peak and event parking (visit umn.edu/pts for rates and locations) Carpool Parking: $3.50 before 9 a.m. at Victory Lot & Lot 108 Gopher Rideshare: Connect and share your commute to save time, money and reduce congestion (gopherrideshare.umn.edu) Contracts: Guaranteed space through student lottery or staff waiting list HOURCAR: On-campus car-sharing (incl. gas/insurance) Motorist Assistance Program: FREE service (lock-outs, jumpstarts and air for tires) for legally-parked PTS customers. Call 612-626-PARK
612-626-PARK (7275) | pts@umn.edu | pts.umn.edu
8 TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019
MN DAILY
MNDAILY.COM
Editorials & Opinions
COLUMN
EDITORIAL
We all love reliving our personal ‘cringe’
Wisconsin teen escapes, needs space and time
Some popular, nostalgic memes are both reveling in the past and setting a trajectory for the future. n the past week, the #2009vs2019 (or alternatively, #HowHardDidAgeHitYou) challenge has been inescapable on all major social media platforms. PALMER HAASCH My timeline columnist has been full of 10-year-old pictures of my friends, complete with pigtails, questionable graphic tees and braces. While staying at my parents’ house, I trawled through our family desktop full of photos looking for the cringiest photo I could find, with the sole goal of exposing my middle-school self on Twitter. The inescapability of this challenge coupled with other current memes has created the perfect pinch point of nostalgic, self-centered goodness. Alongside #2009vs2019, memes that riff off questions like, “post an opinion that only your generation would understand,” and other phrases such as, “some of you didn’t [do a specific action in the past] and it shows,” are prolific, particularly on Twitter. All three of these memes — which, at
the time of writing this, are still running strong — are deeply rooted in a sense of nostalgia and depend on our love of cringe. Cringe, in this sense, is a broad term that captures any kind of content that elicits a “yikes.” Netizens feed on cringe, whether it’s in the depths of subreddits like r/relationships that detail deliciously awful relationship stories or in things like Fortnite or dabbing, which are generally wholesome but “cringe” because of their association with youth. Frequently, “cringe” comes from a position of perceived superiority. Internet culture reporter Fernando Alfonso III w rites in The Daily Dot that subreddits such as r/cringe and r/cringepics frequently featured children and young girls doing things like posting selfies or singing along to popular songs. The comments that followed were tantamount to bullying without the victims’ knowledge. However, memes like #2009vs2019 allow us to air out our personal cringe content. Putting out presumably awful photos of us as middle schoolers is, in a certain sense, a reclamation. For example, there’s a photo of me cosplaying at my first anime convention at 14 years old, which has made the rounds on my personal social media feeds. It’s one that I’ve embraced, and, in turn, I make sure to post it often and frequently enough so no one else has the power to use it against me. While #2009vs2019 deals with images, “only your generation,” and, “some of you
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
I
Stay motivated and organized this semester
Has your mind ever felt fuzzy after studying for hours? Take 10 minutes to do something relaxing.
Make friends in your classes. It may be daunting for some, but getting to know other people in your classes is helpful when creating study groups or catching up on missing assignments. Not only will you stay on track with your classes, you will expand your social circles by meeting people you may never have gotten the chance to know before. Utilize your professors’ office hours. Professors may seem scary and unapproachable, but most of them love getting to know their students. If your schedule allows, make time to head to your professors’ office hours — especially if you are struggling in the class. Not only will you get the help you need, but you will make a useful connection that could help you get recommendation letters for graduate school or references for the job hunt postgraduation. Good luck, Gophers, as you return for your final semester of the academic year. Finding the motivation to get back into your daily routine might seem a bit difficult, but once you get back into the groove of it the semester will be over before you know it.
Putting out presumably awful photos of us as middle schoolers is, in a certain sense, a reclamation. Ultimately, posting memes like this allow us to own our past selves and activities, no matter how “cringe” they may be. All of us love to revel in nostalgia, and this confluence of pastfixated memes at the beginning of the year allows us to reflect and claim our past while moving forward. Just as we revel in the past, we also set a trajectory for the future. Ten years from now, we’ll be posting our 2019 photos as previous cringe — and loving every minute of it. Palmer Haasch welcomes comments at phaasch@mndaily.com.
We need to develop more incentives for compromise
The politics of winning a fight The Minnesota Daily’s Editorial have become more important Board offers some tips for staying than serving American people. motivated through the spring.
One Stop Student Services has flooded your University email and your academic responsibilities are creeping around the corner. This only means one thing: spring semester is here. Finding the drive to get organized and stay motivated throughout the semester is one of the biggest challenges of coming back to school. Luckily, the Minnesota Daily’s Editorial Board has you covered. One of the best ways to start off the semester is to develop a consistent sleep schedule. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people aged 18 to 60 years old need at least 7 hours of sleep. The amount of sleep you get contributes to your overall mental health and well-being — both of which affect your academic performance. Creating and committing to a sleep schedule will also help you get to those dreaded 8 a.m. classes. Between homework, class and social events, finding time for sleep is hard. Sticking to a routine will make things a whole lot easier. Another way to keep yourself organized is to buy a planner. Creating a study schedule and keeping track of all your tasks and assignments are essential. When you’re a college student, life can get busy. Having a physical reminder of the work you need to complete might make it easier to get the job done. Schedule times for you to be unproductive. It may feel like it’s expected to be constantly working while in college, but setting aside time for breaks is important. Has your mind ever felt fuzzy after studying for hours? Take 10 minutes to do something relaxing. Pay attention to your procrastination habits, set a time limit for your breaks and use an alarm.
didn’t ... and it shows,” deal with shared content. For example, an opinion that someone from my generation would understand would be that “Give it Up” was a better song than “Make It Shine” (both are songs from Nickelodeon’s “Victorious”). Alternatively, I could say something like, “Some of you never watched Tori and Jade absolutely dunk on two men in the karaoke club and it shows.”
As the historic federal shutdown drags into its 28th day, the American people are reminded once again about the powers of the political parties and how the incentives for parties to fight override the incentives for compromise. Maybe this fight needs to drag out so long the incentives will change. Pundits and political scientists argue that voting bases want Democrats and Republicans to dig in on the wall funding versus shutdown battle because there is some deep psychological reason people need to feel that side has won. That’s a sobering notion. The damage is mounting every day as the shutdown drags on. Transportation Security Workers are calling in saying they can no longer afford to work without pay. About 1 in 16 workers are doing this. Important inspectors for airports and federal wildfire trainers who are furloughed add
to the potential that the shutdown will have dangerous consequences for everyone. Lines at airports are stretching through concourses. Flights are delayed. Farmers are going without their spring planting financing. Craft brewers can’t get labels to sell across statelines. Clearly, the people are suffering most in this shutdown while political parties plan their next photo opportunity, strategy session or tweet. Perhaps these things play well to what is often called the “base” of each party, that small minority of people who would rather win a political battle than compromise with the other side. There are a number of ways to address this issue and change the incentives. Voting is one. Letting politicians know you are fed up is another. Make your voice known through protest, organized rallies, writing your congressman or writing a letter to your local newspaper.
This editorial was originally published in the Mankato Free Press.
COLUMN
The bottom line of U.S. government shutdown The U.S. government should be prioritizing American workers, but it is not currently doing so.
T
h e federal government has been shut down since December 22, 2018. There’s a fairly cut-and-dry way to think about how we got here. UMA VENKATA During the columnist 2018 midterms, we elected a Democratic-majority House of Representatives and Republican-majority Senate. This put the executive and legislative branches more at odds than they were before, with Republican majority in both chambers and a Republican-controlled White House. President Donald Trump is trying to pull through with his campaign promise to build a physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, asking for $5.7 billion. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, have had more than one public display of discord with the president about the shutdown, which always boils down to the border wall. Flexing on both sides, if you will. Most Democrats on the hill oppose the wall on principle. While Washington has been stalled at the $5.7-billion impasse, the American economy has contracted by much more. As of Jan. 18, federal revenue has lost $23 billion in growth, according to independent analysts. When shutdowns happen — over budgeting power, abortion funding, tax cuts, Obamacare, among others — they occur on government’s stress fractures along ideological lines. But, as many of us have, we must step back and look at who feels the most pain from the break: those employed federally or who rely on government assistance.
Seventy-eight percent of American workers live paycheck-to-paycheck, according to a survey from CareerBuilder. Of course, not all of them work for the government. Eight hundred thousand federal employees are working unpaid or furloughed, each averaging $5,000 in missing wages. That hurts them — not the people making the executive decisions. Things compound when you don’t have money. It’s expensive to be poor. Essentials need to be covered, and that’s difficult when you have no savings — like more than 25 percent of Americans who don’t set aside savings each month. Rent, utilities, groceries, childcare — God forbid, medical bills — are things that can’t be put off. If they are, that means debt, which becomes a vicious cycle in the blink of an eye. Around 75 percent of American workers currently report to be in debt, and more than 50 percent of them believe they will never come out. The underworld of creditors and their abuses of power makes up a tome of its own. Maybe the only thing that ultimately matters is the wall, because whatever compromise we may be so lucky to get will hinge on that. My bottom line is that whatever we do, it must be in the greatest favor to American citizens. But thousands upon thousands of them are suffering over a disagreement that, if the White House gets its original way, takes away much more from them than it gives back. We’re almost used to shutdowns by now, but it doesn’t have to be like this. Lately, politicians don’t tend to compromise, but that’s a habit we can’t afford not to break. United we stand, every American must be able to stand.
Uma Venkata welcomes comments at uvenkata@mndaily.com.
After surviving the death of her parents and a kidnapping, Jayme Closs deserves space to recover. Jayme Closs is alive, and that is happy news. It does not, unfortunately, make a happy ending. Her parents, after all, are dead. And whatever the details of the 13-year-old’s nearly four months of captivity, she will carry the memories of the ordeal for the rest of her life. She has much to cope with. But none can doubt that this is one tough teen. For all the manpower devoted to the search for her after the Oct. 15 murder of her parents at their home in Barron, Wisconsin, for all the expertise deployed by law enforcement, it was Jayme who saved herself last week by escaping the rural cabin in which she was secreted.
Given space and time, Jayme can eventually emerge from this period of trauma and find a new sense of security, as did Elizabeth Smart and Katie Beers. Once she got out, found a dog-walking resident, was taken to a safe place and got in contact with law enforcement, it took just minutes for the authorities to find and arrest the man she identified as her captor. But until she was able to start the process, they were no closer to solving the mystery than they had been at any point. We should not expect her to hurry to spill the details of the past four months, and certainly not for public consumption. Even the authorities, who must now build their case against suspect Jake Thomas Patterson, will tread slowly in interviewing Jayme. It’s a good guess that prosecutors will strive mightily to get Patterson to plead guilty rather than force Jayme to take the stand in a murder-kidnapping trial. Given space and time, Jayme can eventually emerge from this period of trauma and find a new sense of security, as did Elizabeth Smart and Katie Beers, two other women who were abducted as minors, survived their ordeals and are now, as 30-something adults, married with children. Smart and Beers are emphatic on this point: It is her story, her experience, and it must be her choice of how, when and if to tell it. She has lacked any control over her life for months; she deserves this much. May the rest of us, curious as we are, grant her that opportunity. This editorial was originally published in the Mankato Free Press. EDITORIALS & OPINIONS DEPARTMENT Editorials represent the voice of the Minnesota Daily as an institution and are prepared by the editorial board. SHARE YOUR VIEWS The Minnesota Daily welcomes letters and guest columns from readers. All letters must include the writer’s name, address and phone number for verification. The Daily reserves the right to edit all letters for style, space, libel and grammar. Letters to the editor should be no more than 500 words in length. Guest columns should be approximately 350 words. The Daily reserves the right to print any submission as a letter or guest column. Submission does not guarantee publication.
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9
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019
MN DAILY
MNDAILY.COM
HOROSCOPES Today’s Birthday (1/22): Communication profits this year. Share your affection and kindness steadily. Study to unveil a mystery. Summer glory for your crew comes before physical obstacles alert you to stop and smell the roses. Follow your heart this winter. Express your creativity and passion.
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Written by Nancy Black
Aries (3/21 - 4/19): Today is a 7 — You’re learning in great strides. The next two days get especially busy. Pace yourself. Balance work with physical exercise and rest.
Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is a 7 — Good things come through communications. Balance speaking with silence. Peaceful privacy soothes you today and tomorrow. Consider your words.
Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is a 7 — Your family fortunes are on the rise. Romance blossoms today and tomorrow. Guard time for fun and relaxation. Check in with your circle.
Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is an 8 — Profitable opportunities flow through your network of friends. Focus on community projects over the next few days.
Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 7 — A partner’s good luck rubs off on you. Focus on home and family. Domestic renovations merge beauty with function. Choose colors that soothe.
Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is an 8 — Prepare for a professional test or challenge. You’re especially charismatic; use that to your advantage. Turn on the charm.
Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is a 9 — Enjoy a surge of vitality. Exercise builds your energy, strength and endurance. Write what you’re learning. Share your discoveries.
Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is a 7 — Savor peaceful surroundings. You’ve got a travel bug; put on your rambling shoes and hit the road. Keep an open mind. You’re learning fast.
Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 9 — Someone has you quite enchanted. Don’t let a profitable opportunity pass you by. Focus on making money over the next two days. Handle a deadline.
Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is a 7 — Friends bring luck. Monitor your joint finances, and adjust the budget to suit reality. Changes necessitate revisions. Make strategic plans with your partner.
Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is an 8 — Consider your image and make style changes. Clean out your closet and let go of stuff that no longer fits. Dress for the part you want.
Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is a 9 — Your business is growing. A partner’s support is important. Express your appreciation and gratitude. You could never do it all without teamwork.
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DR. DATE Dr. Date,
Military men — is there anything sexier than a guy working out in camouflage pants to serve his country? Maybe it’s just me, but I love men in green, and my friends know it. They set me up with a guy a few weeks ago, and I fell head over heels. He’s shipping out to an undisclosed location next week and will be gone for almost a year. I figured this would a monthlong fling, but as time goes on, he seems to be getting more serious. He keeps making comments about waiting for him and how we should be committed so I won’t find another guy. When he asked me my ring size last week, I started to get a little worried. Now he’s got this romantic picnic planned that he says will be “super special.” Basically, I’m scared he’s about to propose. I like the guy, but not that much! How do I tell him I’m not that interested?
—Not A Military Wife
Dear Not A Military Wife,
I’m not saying you should say yes, but hey, talk about a compliment. He’s been with you for two weeks and he already knows you’re the one? Looks like a lifetime of love to me! Kidding — sounds like he doesn’t want to come back to a non-existent relationship and is determined to lock you down. If he starts to get down on one knee, tell him that while you’ve enjoyed hanging out with him, you two should probably put any chance of a relationship on hold. You’ve only been dating for a few weeks. He shouldn’t expect you to wait forever. If you’re both single when he comes back, he can give you a call. Until then, enjoy the time you two have and steer clear of any ring-shaped boxes in his camo pants.
— Doctor Date
Dr. Date,
We’ve all seen him: the guy who is
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oblivious to how uncomfortable he makes girls when commenting on how hot they are on Instagram. Whether it be the casual “sexy” comment or the drawn-out ramble of how this photo made his genitals feel, every encounter makes the reader feel almost as icky as the girl who posted the photo. Honestly, I was a happy when I found out the guy I’ve been seeing doesn’t have an Instagram — at least he’s not one of those guys, right? Or so I thought. Through a series of unfortunate events, (aka my friend found him when he direct-messaged her to say she was hot), I discovered he not only has an account, he follows about 1,000 Instagram models. And he comments on every girl’s photo he can find. Not in a charming way — it’s in the, “you won’t hook up with me? Nevermind, you’re ugly anyway,” kind of way. When I looked through his DM’s, they were full of him harassing women. This guy is great in every other way, but his online presence is super toxic. What do I do?
—Not a Creep
Dear Not a Creep,
Run. Why are you even debating staying with this guy? Someone who publicly reduces women to nothing but their attractiveness level is not worth your time or anyone else’s. I could maybe (probably not) excuse the awkward Instagram comments, but taking it into DM’s to try and hook up with other girls is way too far. Make sure you tell him exactly why you’re angry. Hey, maybe he will realize behavior like this is incredibly unattractive. But sadly, ten bucks says when you dump him, he says you weren’t even hot.
— Doctor Date
Want advice from the love doctor? Email Dr. Date at drdate@mndaily.com
SUDOKU CROSSWORD
Last Issue’s Puzzle Solved
Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk.
Last issue’s solution
1/22/19
© 2019 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
10
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY
Crystal Compton, a wearable technology Ph.D. student, demonstrates a virtual reality headset at the Goldstein Museum of Design in St. Paul on Friday, Jan. 18. The museum is bringing the exhibits outside its walls by making virtual exhibits available to communities who may not be able to visit the site in person.
U museum exhibits look to virtual reality Developing virtual reality experiences would increase U exhibit accessibility. BY HELEN SABROWSKY hsabrowsky@mndaily.com
University of Minnesota researchers aim to bring virtual reality experiences to people living in senior care facilities, expanding the accessibility of museum exhibits and
exploring possibilities of the technology. Faculty in the College of Design and the Goldstein Museum will use the project to study how digital experiences might increase the well-being of individuals in care facilities. Research indicates that those living in senior care facilities feel happier, more relaxed and more positive when using virtual reality. While the project is in preliminary stages, two
Goldstein Museum exhibits — Storied Lives and Demonstration Garden — have already been captured on 360 degree video with the help of Chuck Olsen, co-founder and CEO of the virtual reality company Visual, Inc. This semester, the team will begin organizing how to best deliver the videos to those living in the Episcopal Homes senior living communities located in St. Paul. Olsen said that in his
past experience, seniors have responded well to virtual reality videos. “We’re used to seeing video in some kind of rectangle. Whether it’s your TV or a phone or a movie screen, [but] VR ... completely immerses you, so there is no longer a rectangle. Everywhere you look, you’re in this ‘other’ type of experience.” Faculty will measure how well seniors respond to the experience, said Goldstein Museum Director Lin Nelson-Mayson. “It became an interesting idea to use the exhibitions here as a starting point to introduce ... the technology to people that aren’t comfortable with the technology,” Nelson-Mayson said. “[And] how do you make the things that we do here at the U accessible to people that perhaps physically can’t come here and experience them?” She said some older museum attendees miss
exhibits due to limited mobility. Virtual reality makes the experience more accessible, allowing the team to capture temporary exhibits in 3D and bring the videos to many locations on five headsets. “VR is a way to bring the world to [people] when they can no longer go out and see the world,” Olsen said. Through analysis, researchers aim to find best practices on how to develop digital experiences, said Genell Ebbini, a faculty member with the project. The team wants the experience of virtual reality videos to be like a book club — once seniors go through the videos, they can share the experience and how they feel about it, Ebbini said. Faculty members are developing a discussion guide to inform conversations after seniors use the virtual reality technology. Following the video with a discussion will make the
experience community-oriented, said Marilyn Bruin, a professor of housing studies and member of the project. Isolation can be a concern in senior housing, Bruins said, but activities like the virtual reality project build community while serving as a learning and cultural experience. Bruins said the team aims to expand on the project to reach other communities in the future. This semester, the team will begin to deliver the first videos to the Episcopal Homes and seek funding to continue its work. “Our research is richer when we work with each other. ... I think our research will be richer when the public becomes a part of the research,” Bruins said. “It is an opportunity to bring people together across the University and the community, and I think that’s important and I think it should be important for the University.”
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