november 2017
» WHY CHAMP? PG. 4 How the mascot’s name came to be
» UMD PROFESSOR’S COMMUNITY RESEARCH PG. 5 Solving Duluth’s food access problems
» OPINION: DULUTH ‘LEAST-STRESSED CITY’ IN THE NATION? NOT SO FAST PG. 9
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Why Champ? How the mascot’s name came to be
05 UMD professor’s research helps solve Duluth’s food access problems
07 UMD senior completes tour of Sweden’s arctic north
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09 Opinion: Duluth ‘leaststressed city’ in the nation? Not so fast
10 Nemuel Nyangaresi receives first scholarship honoring Will Grahek
11 UMD pharmacy student elected AISES national student representative
Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer review
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NOVEMBER 2017 · THEBARKUMD.COM
WHY CHAMP?
HOW THE MASCOT’S NAME CAME TO BE By: Andrew Becker Graphic By: Will Madison Imagine being inside Amsoil Arena on a brisk, fall night. Our favorite hockey squad is wailing on the competition when, suddenly, someone yells at the school mascot. “Hey look, it’s Killer!,” they say. “Let’s get a picture!” Before UMD changed it to Champ in 1997, Killer was the familiar, yet unofficial name for that goofy bulldog we all know and love. But, the question becomes, why Champ? Before that can be addressed, though, let’s take a look at what this campus used to be like. According to Umd’s website, until the year 1947, UMD’s school colors were actually (brace yourselves, Vikings fans) green and gold. In fact, the school wasn’t even recognized as UMD, instead they were known as the Duluth State Teachers College, and the mascot was dubbed the Peds, short for Pedagogues, until 1933. The term pedagogues essentially means teachers, which, suffice it to say, was not an ideal image for the program’s athletic teams. The tag didn’t stick around for long, and thus the name Bulldogs took over, chosen by the athletes themselves. Now the school had a brand new identity. The name has been in place ever since, and Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Bob Nygaard has been able to observe the many changes to the school mascot since he started working here in 1983. “For the longest time, we had a bulldog mascot with really no name,” Nygaard says. He says the primary reason for the name change in the late ‘90s was partly due to the fact that UMD was undergoing an athletic director change, but also from the graphic nature of the name Killer. “They basically called this mascot a murderer,” said Nygaard. And he has a point. The name Killer is simply too violent for a school mascot, especially if the costume is seen as representative of the University. Something needed to be done. “They decided to hold a survey with students and vote on [the new name], and I think Champ was the overwhelming favorite,” Nygaard said. The mascot, according to Nygaard, should really be more for the
kids anyway, not the students. In turn, it was the kids that ultimately tipped the scale in favor of the name change. Even though Killer may have been a strong, intimidating name for the athletes to go by, it became inappropriate when young Bulldog fans started using it. Around campus, it’s clear that the name Champ is more than just a name to some, like UMD Freshman Colyn Davidson. “To me, it signifies a winner, and somebody who’s going to give you their best day in and day out. A person who never quits on their team.”
(L-R) DALTON KNAPP, HIS BROTHER DREW KNAPP, AND FRIEND LUKE CHAMBERS. PHOTO COURTESY OF DALTON KNAPP.
UMD PROFESSOR’S RESEARCH HELPS SOLVE DULUTH’S FOOD ACCESS PROBLEMS
community garden at the Harrison Community Center,” Foster said. “They also started a new bus route with the DTA that goes through the neighborhood and goes directly to the Super One in West Duluth.” Angie Miller, who also works at Community Action Duluth, said that groundbreaking for a deep winter greenhouse began in September in front of Denfeld High School in West Duluth. The produce grown there will be sold at the Harrison Community Center twice a month during the winter. Miller said that the Lincoln Park Farmer’s Market is a step toward solving the food access problems in the community. “It’s more and more a place where you can actually do grocery shopping because there’s more than just vegetables, there’s probably seven or eight vendors at least, there are baked goods, there’s all kinds of things at the market,” Miller said. “It is really becoming one part of the food access puzzle; it’s not the whole solution. What we would like is a grocery store in this neighborhood.” While market research has indicated that Lincoln Park doesn’t support a full service grocery store, there has been a Kwik Trip location that has opened in the area within the last few years, according to Miller. “Kwik Trip has a lot more food options,” Miller said. “They have a whole meat cooler, they have cheese, yogurt, they have all kinds of things that are a small step toward addressing the food desert.”
By: Tyler Schendel UMD associate professor Adam Pine has been conducting research for the last several years on food deserts in the Duluth communities of Lincoln Park and Morgan Park. His research has led to a number of initiatives in the two communities that try to make food as accessible as possible, including Community Action Duluth and Fair Food Access. According to Aimee Foster at Community Action Duluth, these solutions were brought forward by community residents within the food desert. “We went into the neighborhood with residents in Lincoln Park and asked questions related to food security and food access,” Foster said. “Lincoln Park is a USDA designated food desert, and during the canvassing they would ask people how food secure they felt and what kind of next steps they wanted in their community in regards to food security and overwhelmingly they wanted a farmer’s market, more community gardens, and an actual grocery store.” Foster said that the Lincoln Park Farmer’s Market accepts people that are on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program). Residents can use their EBT card and the market will match their purchase up to $15, which means $15 off their EBT money is good for $30 at the market. “Another project that has come out is more community gardens, so they started the Emerald Community Garden and there’s a new
Adam Pine’s research on food deserts in Duluth has been used in grants to get funds for organizations that are trying to increase food access in West Duluth. Both Foster and Miller said that Duluth’s food access problems are far from being completely solved, but there have been many steps in the right direction.
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lack of transportation, so we’re addressing all three of those here.”
“We’re far from solving the problems but it’s a step towards the right direction for sure.” AIMEE
Miller said that 22 percent of Lincoln Park residents do not have a car, which is why Community Action Duluth offers a car loan program and a car donation program in order to provide residents in need with transportation to a grocery store. Along with a farmer’s market, community garden, and grocery store, Lincoln Park residents asked for a grocery bus that could take them to and from a full service grocery store. “You can have food shelves but it’s still hard to get food from food shelves if you don’t have a way to haul it home,” Miller said. “Who can carry boxes and hold a toddler’s hand and walk six blocks? The things people expect people to do are very unrealistic, to get to where you
FOSTER
“There are still huge problems, and if you look at maps from the 1940s or 50s, there used to be these corner market stores every couple blocks that were family-run, small grocery stores and now those have largely disappeared and there are more and more food deserts,” Foster said. “We’re far from solving the problems but it’s a step towards the right direction for sure. But it’s not just a problem in Lincoln Park either, it’s a problem throughout Duluth.” Community Action Duluth tries to solve food access problems not just by bringing food closer to Lincoln Park, but they understand that food deserts are also exacerbated by lack of transportation and income. “Food deserts are complicated because they’re not just about a lack of a grocery store,” Miller said. “They’re about a lack of income and a need to go with your kids with no money and no transportation.”
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Community Action Duluth tries to solve the food desert problem by being a one stop shop for all kinds of services. They offer services to help with employment, taxes, insurance, credit scores, debts, savings, buying a house, going to college, and even starting a business. All of these resources help solve the biggest underlying problem in food deserts, which is lack of income. “There’s a lot more work but people do appreciate the solutions that have been created so far and all of these things were things that came from the neighborhood,” Miller said. “They are the ones who asked for a farmer’s market, a grocery store, community gardens, and a grocery bus, so they were things brought by people who live here.”
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UMD SENIOR COMPLETES TOUR OF SWEDEN’S ARCTIC NORTH By: Connor Shea
Troy Vegel, a Senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth, recently completed a 10 day ecology course in Laponia, an Arctic region in the north of Sweden. Vegel was the only student from the United States to join on the trip. “I was the only student currently living in the US,” Vegel said. “The other American student that was there was originally from Florida, but she has lived in Sweden for 8 years now. Of course Tom, originally from Duluth, was also with us. Vegel is speaking of Tom Beery, a UMD professor that is currently with UMD’s Sea Grant Minnesota program. Beery achieved his post doctorate from the University of Kristianstead in Sweden. “During my time in Sweden I contacted some colleagues in Duluth to encourage students to travel over to Sweden and participate in this course,” said Beery. “There was a lot of paperwork to be done predeparture and Troy worked hard to get it done so he could come.” Over 4,200 miles from Minneapolis, Vegel landed in Stockholm to board an overnight train headed North to Laponia. “Including all the travel, the trip lasted two weeks on the dot, with the course lasting 10 of those days,” Vegel said. Once in the wilderness, having a roof over your head becomes a luxury. “We stayed in a hut where the host wouldn’t turn anyone away,” Vegel said. “There was very limited space for us, but I thought having these huts was a luxury. I’m used to just camping and sleeping outside.” Being in such close quarters supported a growth in team bonding, increasing the group’s chemistry. “With all of us being together and in such close quarters contributed to the chemistry with our crew being phenomenal,” Vegel said. “I can legitimately say that I came away from this trip with all group members becoming my friends.” The chemistry was essential, as up ahead challenging trails started to test members of the group. “Some of the professors got sick and we had one student hurt her knee hiking, but everyone completed the course,” Vegel said. “The hiking trails got rocky and challenging in places, however they also had wooden walkways to help over muddy and tricky areas.”
occurring, gathering berries and even eating reindeer.
Getting across those tricky areas and long hikes was well worth it for Troy.
“We packed a lot of freeze dried meals, fruit soups and other assorted bars,” Vegel said.
“Getting to this nature area that is so vast and so mountainous gave me feelings of exploration and discovery that I just can’t describe,” Vegel said.
“We would come across fields upon fields upon fields of blueberries and every once in awhile we would stumble upon my favorite, the cloudberry,” Vegel said.
While in Laponia, Vegel said that students not only learned about the area they were in, but they taught about it too.
While Vegel spent the trip learning, teaching and bonding with the other members of the group, Professor Tom Beery was still making sure all was going according to plan. He mentioned how great it was to have Vegel with on the trip.
“All of us students had the opportunity to teach the entire group, which I thought was a really cool aspect of the trip,” Vegel said. “I was teaching about the wolverines that live in Sweden, and I used a lot of games as methods. It was really cool to show them methods that I like to use.” “You get to see all these people from different parts of the world, have all these people with different experiences, and they get to show their teaching methods to share lessons while out on the trails,” Vegel said.
“With all the learning and teaching Troy has done at UMD it was great to have such a positive, friendly, and helpful influence with us in Lapland,” Beery said. “Being so trustworthy and tough, I knew he would be a great person on this trip.”
Being out in the woods for so long requires a lot of food preparation. Vegel found the best food to be naturally THEBARKUMD.COM · NOVEMBER 2017
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STAR WARS:
THE LAST JEDI TRAILER REVIEW By: Austin Rush Graphic By: Will Madison If you love Star Wars as much as I do, then you’re incredibly pumped up after watching the latest trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi which aired Monday night during halftime of the Minnesota Vikings game. If the trailer says anything to us it’s that this movie is going to be a lot darker than the movies past. Star Wars viewers got a brief taste of this with last years stand-alone film, Rogue One. With Monday night’s trailer reveal, we see Rey receiving training from Jedi
Kylo Ren is covering up his facial scar he received from Rey in Episode VII with some sort of galactic zipper looking thing?? Something you would only see in a galaxy far far away... but the quintessential bad guy facial scar absolutely gives the commander of the First Order double the bad guy points. The trailer gives us a first look at Kylo Ren’s awesome looking TIE Silencer, entering a ship that looks to be that of Princess Leia’s. Like Episode VII, Ren seems to struggle with his emotions when deciding if he should murder one of his parents. My prediction for this is that with Ren’s hesitation, someone else pulls the trigger instead. With the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher last December, it only makes sense that Princess Leia does not make it to end credits this
episode. I feel it is necessary to talk about the cute furry Grandmaster Luke Skywalker, who we learned from Episode VII, has been hiding in exile for quite sometime. The trailer also features Rey training in lightsaber combat with Luke’s first lightsaber (the one that she brings him at the end of the last movie) whose original user was Anakin Skywalker. Rey’s meditation forces the earth to literally crack underneath her and we see Luke’s incredibly concerned expression. Now the interesting part about this is what Luke Skywalker says next: “I’ve seen this raw strength only once before. It didn’t scare me enough then. It does now.” Speculation upon hearing this is that he is talking about his father, Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker). My prediction is that he is talking about his father.
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hamster looking thing also known as a Porg in the Star Wars universe. Lets just dial it back with the Jar Jar Binks comparisons, people. I think the producers at Star Wars are smart enough to not make the same mistake twice. All in all, this trailer has me even more excited than before for the upcoming film that premieres December 15. After the conclusion of the Vikings Monday night football victory, I opened up my phone to a text message from my old man that simply said “movie tickets purchased.” As always, may the force be with you.
NEW DTA Service EFFECTIVE August 27, 2017
Visit duluthtransit.com for Route 21 and Route 23 maps and schedules!
Direct service from Central and East Hillside to UMD. Serves 9th Street and 4th Street between 6th Avenue East and UMD. Buses will circulate through the route in opposite directions.
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OPINION:
DULUTH ‘LEASTSTRESSED CITY’ IN THE NATION? NOT SO FAST By: Kevin Ott In 2014, Duluth was named “Best town in America” by Outside Magazine. With all of the outdoor activities people can partake in year-round, Duluth was definitely a fitting candidate. After this title, it wasn’t much of a surprise when Duluth was named the “Fittest City” by the makers of the Fitbit fitness monitor earlier in 2017. However, Duluth recently received a ranking that made me raise an eyebrow: “Least-Stressed City in America.” This ranking was carried out by smartasset.com, and they judged cities based on nine factors: average hours residents work per week, average commute times, percent of residents who are getting sufficient physical activity, density of entertainment establishments, unemployment rate, bankruptcy rate, housing costs as a percent of income, average amount of sleep per night and the divorce rate. Smartasset pointed out a few of these factors about Duluth on their website. “Duluth took the top spot for the least-stressed city in America, jumping up from third in last year’s study. One of the benefits of working in Duluth is the relatively short work weeks. The average work week in Duluth is 35 hours, a slight increase from last year.” “If you worked less what sort of things might you do? Sleep more? That is exactly what Duluth residents seem to do. The average resident here comes pretty close to getting the recommended eight hours per night, sleeping an average of 7.2 hours per night. That’s
the fifth-most in the country. If this has convinced you to move to Duluth, be aware that the income taxes in Minnesota are high.” While the reasons for ranking Duluth least-stressed seem valid on the surface, there are some glaring ways in which the city may not be the right choice for the top of this list. So, with the sentiment that Duluth is starting to get a little full of itself, here are some factors that were not taken into account with the highly subjective label of “least-stressed city in America.” » Infrastructure Few things are more jarring than running over an unseen Duluth pothole. Every summer, it feels like driving to any location is a practice in evasive driving. The varying weather conditions – freezing and unfreezing that occurs in the winter in particular – greatly contribute to rough road conditions. The city’s infamous 2012 summer flood made matters even worse. In a 2015 National Citizens survey, 91 percent of Duluth residents surveyed lacked confidence in the city’s streets. The Pavement Condition Index (PCI), an industry rating to determine pavement conditions on a scale of 1-100, gave Duluth a 36. Safe to say, that is a failing grade. » Weather Not a lover of cold weather? Don’t live in Duluth. Don’t get me wrong, June through October is usually beautiful. But when over half of the year consists of potentially freezing temperatures, making sure the car starts up in the morning is a constant concern. » Taxes The total sales tax in Duluth is the largest in Minnesota at 8.375 percent. As mentioned by smartasset, Minnesota’s progressive income tax rate is among the highest in the nation. I think it would be easy to argue that higher tax levels correlate to greater financial stress. » Poverty According to 2015 census data, 21.5 percent of individuals in Duluth are below the poverty level. One potential flaw to this statistic is that the survey does include off-campus college students, but not students who live in on-campus dorms or apartments. Even though the census includes off-campus students, that number seems pretty high. There is also a noticeable disparity in income between the major regions of Duluth (East, West and Central Hillside). College students shouldn’t be ignored either, because if we are giving the title of “least stressed” city in America, shouldn’t students who live there year-round be included as well? Being a full-time student on top of making barely enough money to afford food and rent is pretty stressful, if you ask me. I have lived in Duluth my whole life and love the city. But at the same time, I think it’s important to understand that Duluth has its fair share of faults. Perhaps granting cities titles such as “least stressed” should be saved for personal opinion. THEBARKUMD.COM · NOVEMBER 2017
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NEMUEL NYANGARESI RECEIVES FIRST SCHOLARSHIP HONORING WILL GRAHEK
in Will’s name, Nem Nyangaresi. A junior captain, Nyangaresi has carved out a niche for himself on the team. He recalls being presented the scholarship by Will’s parents before the first game of the season. “It was surreal,” Nyangaresi said. “In my head I was like, ‘I don’t know if I really deserve this.’ I was really containing myself from crying.” He remembers early on after Will’s death, and how difficult it was to let go. “We played spring semester trying to honor Will the best way we could,” Nyangaresi said. “School-wise, I really wasn’t there. It was a hard semester.” Watching the rugby team at practice, each man is still doing his job, honing his craft and holding the guy next to him accountable.
By: Andrew Becker It’s 6:30 on a Wednesday night, and the campus athletic fields are buzzing. Softballs are screaming over fences, flag football players are racing downfield, and the men’s club rugby team is grinding away as always on the far side, mostly hidden by a barrier of trees and bushes. They would be easy to write off as just another team in a class of many here at UMD, if it weren’t for a unique set of circumstances and one special team captain. Last February, UMD student and rugby player Will Grahek was fatally shot in his home. Besides the massive hole he left off the field with family and friends, there was another to be filled on it. Senior Randy Tanaka couldn’t help but feel somewhat lost. “It’s always tough to lose a teammate,” Tanaka said. “You can never forget a guy like Will.” In Will’s memory, his parents created a scholarship in his name to be given to a player on the team each year. The scholarship was funded by donations from the public, according to the Duluth News Tribune. Although the players agree that their coach is responsible for getting them ready for game day, it’s up to them to occasionally push each other and strive to be better. It’s an important job, and one of those instrumental voices happens to be the man that received the scholarship
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NOVEMBER 2017 · THEBARKUMD.COM
Nothing has changed on that front. What has changed, though, is the newfound bond that this group will share for the rest of their lives. Junior Noah Siiro believes it has given them a sense of unity. “I think we’re closer this year. I think we’re all merging as one.”
UMD PHARMACY STUDENT ELECTED AISES NATIONAL STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE By: Tyler Schendel UMD pharmacy student Steven Just was recently elected as the national student representative for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) at the AISES National Student Caucus. AISES is a national nonprofit organization that focuses on increasing representation of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and other indigenous North American populations in STEM fields. Just has been involved with AISES since his undergraduate career in 2010.
been recognized for the work I’ve done over the years,” Just said. “My peers, other American Indian students and professionals, they trust me to represent them and to advance the AISES mission over the next two years, and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” Just’s role will be to communicate with the AISES regional representatives and the board of directors about issues that American Indian students are facing across the country, along with being
“I got a good understanding for what AISES was doing at the college to help me as an American Indian student and how I could work with others to do different things like community service, finding scholarships, and finding internships,” Just said. “As college students we could act as mentors to young kids, so we would go into the community and do some fun activities to get the kids interested in those STEM fields.”
“My peers, other American Indian students and professionals, they trust me to represent them and to advance the AISES mission over the next two years, and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” STEVEN
JUST
Just has been interested in running for the national student representative position at AISES since he first became involved with the organization in 2010, but he said that he finally felt prepared to run for the position this year.
the national representative of the student body. One of his main goals is to increase the focus on health sciences within AISES. “As national student representative over the next two years, I would just like to continue to see AISES grow and kind of expand more into the health sciences,” Just said. “AISES has been doing good to expand but they’re very heavy on engineering, so I like the idea of getting more health science representation within that organization.” After he graduates from pharmacy school, Just has plans to practice pharmacy for the American Indian community. He also hopes to use his experience to continue to serve AISES and other organizations that share the same mission. “Once I become a professional pharmacist, I’ll likely work in that area, like the Indian Health Service, and I’ll likely become a pharmacist there and practice for a number of years,” Just said. “I’d also like to eventually serve on the board of directors for AISES or other organizations and work myself up to those administrative roles where I can use my years of experience to give back.” Members of AISES at UMD will host a kick off meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m. in the Multicultural Center.
“It’s really fulfilling because I’ve spent seven years of my life working towards these goals in various capacities and now it’s like I’ve kind of
THEBARKUMD.COM · NOVEMBER 2017
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