Released on Friday, boygenius’ debut LP, “the record,” elevates each musician’s songwriting mystique as they enter new sonic territories together as a supergroup.

Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, the three critically acclaimed queer female musicians in boygenius, each add a different style of “sad girl” indie rock. “the record” works, not only as a refreshing update on each young artist’s songwriting growth, but also as a guide through the grief of relationships and lost family.

In their solo careers, the three artists have each built their fan bases by writing and performing guitar-heavy ballads with weighty lyrical ruminations.

Bridgers’ soul-crushing album “Punisher” centers on an atmosphere of ominous instrumentals with devastatingly apocalyptic themes of broken relationships, sex, pain and death.

Dacus’ songs are delicately conceived and full of timeless lyrics. On her album “Home Video,” the songwriter embraces a tinge of country rock and combines it with stories about her relationships, growing up and falling in love.

Baker writes intimate songs about love and loss. She remains influenced by her Tennessee upbringing and her exit from the church. Nowadays, she writes stark lyrics examining fear and death on albums like “Little Oblivions.”

These solo endeavors, along with their boygenius output, have made each of the them into indie celebrity A-listers.

Bridgers, the most famous of the trio, has lent her talent to a few high-caliber superstars, most notably her stylistic forebear Taylor Swift.

Bridgers, Dacus and Baker graced the cover of Rolling Stone in January in promotion of “the record.” Oscar-nominated actor (and fellow queer indie sad girl) Kristen Stewart directed the accompanying short film, titled “the film.”

Together, these elegant songwriters blend their influences into emotive lyrics and sonic gloom. Baker, Dacus and Bridgers all sing lead vocals throughout the songs on “the record” as well as backup vocal harmonies that complement the overall fusion.

On their first release in 2018, their self-titled EP, the band introduced themselves as folk-influenced emotion-stirrers on songs like “Ketchum, ID.”

Now, on “the record,” boygenius illuminates their growth artistically as a band. After briefly parting ways to make more solo music, the three singer-songwriters exemplify that they learned to make songs particular to how they sound together.

Overarchingly, boygenius uses a more complete dose of instrumentation on “the record.”

“Cool About It” is an example of this complete sound. All three vocalists contemplate running into their exes over sparse instrumentals that seamlessly fit the stories together into one cohesive image.

“Satanist” especially helps cement the boygenius project as a major highlight in all the artists’ discographies. The song features satirical and playful lyrics about nihilism, anarchy and death.

All three sing, “Solomon had a point when he wrote ‘Ecclesiastes.’ If nothing can be known, then stupidity is holy. If the void becomes a bore, we’ll treat ourselves to some self-belief.”

Interestingly, the cohesive album ends with three songs featuring solo vocal performances, perhaps the three best songs on the album.

First, Dacus sings a touching love song about a lover who listens to her even when she feels “insane” on the song “We’re In Love.”

Next, Baker delivers a nostalgic rock ballad on “Anti-Curse” where, with expert lyricism, she unpacks a lost love from her youth.

Bridgers ends the album with an atmospheric goodbye on “Letter To An Old Poet,” which tells the story of moving on from a former lover (sad indie boy Paul Mescal?).

The last three tracks work to emphasize the best themes of “the record.” On their debut LP, boygenius succeeds because of their three distinct songwriting abilities, not despite them. With “the record,” Dacus, Baker and Bridgers cement themselves as three of the most prolific musicians of their generation.

After some weather delays, spring football practices at Colorado State University were finally underway starting Tuesday.

It’s an exciting time for the team and its fans — a chance for everybody to catch a glimpse of the offseason conditioning, training and chemistry-building. This year, it’s especially encouraging for the Rams’ defense, which returns numerous starters on the line and in the secondary.

The Rams will certainly miss a few of its defensive playmakers, like linebackers Cam’Ron Carter and Dequan Jackson, who are about to be lost to graduation.

CSU returns solid linemen like Mohamed Kamara and Cam Bariteau, as well as standout defensive backs like Jack Howell, Henry Blackburn and Chigozie Anusiem. Guys like these were crucial in last year’s turnaround from giving up at least 34 points in every nonconference game to then holding many opponents to under 20 points, culminating in a shutout in the season finale against the University of New Mexico.

“If we’re all field generals and we’re all helping each other out, it’s unimaginable how good we can be.” –Mohamed Kamara, Rams defensive lineman

This season, Blackburn doesn’t want to stop at just holding opposing teams to low-scoring outings but to be one of the best forces in the conference.

“I realistically should be leading the conference in interceptions,” Blackburn said. “I want to do all these things; I have these personal goals, but my main goal is just to win here. That’s what I want to do more than anything. I just want to win at CSU; I want to win a bowl game; I want to win a conference championship. Those are my main focuses.”

The defensive turnaround last season started with a purge of players who weren’t bought into head coach Jay Norvell’s coaching system. A lot of change happened, particularly in the middle of the season, and players were leaving at a high rate. Those who were left on the team bought in even more and are starting to build what they believe is a much better culture.

“Guys that have been here for a while and are older are just doing a good job of holding the standard,” Blackburn said. “That’s something that’s better than it’s been in the past. … The guys who are actually bought in are here, and so we can really see the difference as a team in the culture.”

With this culture shift and a year of experience in Norvell’s staff, the defense is starting to shift their focus from individually making sure they’re doing the right thing to growing as a unit and playing as one force.

“When we’re out there, it’s more like we don’t just have one field general; we have all four (on the defensive line),” Kamara said. “If we’re all field generals and we’re all helping each other out, it’s unimaginable how good we can be.”

The potential for improvement on defense doesn’t stop at the returners. Even though it’s still early to tell if and which of the new players will take on an impactful role this season, some fresh faces stepping into the program for the first time have caught the attention of Norvell.

One new face in particular that caught Norvell’s eye in the first few practices was freshman Kennedy McDowell. McDowell played at Memorial High School in Frisco, Texas, where he accumulated 54 tackles (11 for loss) in his senior year on the way to becoming a three-star recruit.

“I’ll tell you what: I think Kennedy McDowell, for just being out here a couple (of) days, he flashes,” Norvell said. “He’s a defensive end; he can run like crazy. He’s just hard. He’s hard to get hands on. … I’ve been really impressed with him.”

Spring practices are open to the public 8-11 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays until the Green vs. Gold Spring Game April 22 at Canvas Stadium.

Reach Braidon Nourse at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @BraidonNourse.

The way we use gendered language has rapidly evolved over the past few years. Suddenly, the strict gender binary of “his” and “hers” isn’t the only possibility. The rise of “neopronouns,” or English third-person pronouns beyond traditional terms, has sparked countless discussions, both for and against. Neopronouns are important signifiers to reflect the genders of those outside the conventional binary and offer greater accessibility for identity.

Neopronouns provide alternatives to the typical “he,” “she” and “them.” The use of the singular “they” still bothers many people, so it can seem overwhelming to add on identities like “xe/xem,” “ze/zir” and “fae/faer.” For many, it almost feels out of control or rampant. But to put this into context, only about 4% of queer youth use neopronouns, according to a survey from The Trevor Project.

It’s important to recognize that neopronouns aren’t a new phenomenon created by younger generations to mess with people. English speakers have attempted to introduce gender neutral pronouns since the 1300s, with more than 200 words gaining and losing traction. The singular pronoun “thon,” introduced in 1858, was even added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 1934, though it was obsolete by 1961.

Many different cultures, specifically non-white cultures, have utilized inclusive pronouns for thousands of years. Many of these words — and other aspects of identity — have been lost to time and colonization. The view that there are only two genders actually comes from the 18th-century Enlightenment period, which saw an emphasis on an individual’s genitals rather than identity. This theory has remained prevalent ever since.

Neopronouns are often used by people who feel that “they/them” doesn’t fit, either due to personal comfort or the plurality issue. Others embrace them to force people to acknowledge their trans identity. For neurodivergent people, neopronouns are especially popular. Because of the way autistic brains are wired, some people experience and present gender differently from those who aren’t autistic. Transness and autism have large overlaps, according to a 2020 study.

Those who use neopronouns cite feeling outside the binary of male or female, while still having a gender. This likely sounds confusing for those who haven’t deeply considered their gender, but the use of “they/them” can feel de-gendering rather than gender-affirming.

Criticisms of neopronouns cite that they are unmanageable and hard to keep track of. Even within the queer, specifically trans community, neopronouns are viewed disparagingly. Some are offended by the use of neopronouns, likening them to a joke at the expense of trans people. For others, it seems like a privilege to worry about someone using the correct pronouns or to be concerned over gender validation.

This prevailing criticism is cruel. It attacks the younger nature of neopronoun users, citing the usage as a phase born out of a youthful need for attention. It’s almost ironic, but regardless, there is no permanent state of self because identity is fluid.

Others are upset over the “made up” nature of neopronouns, as if every language isn’t made up. The English language cannot be preserved — it’s constantly changing and adapting.

When I was first introduced to neopronouns, I’ll admit I didn’t get it. My family was discussing it, and as the token queer, suddenly I had to have an opinion. It didn’t make sense to me. So many of us can barely get people to use “they/them” pronouns, so why make it harder to get taken seriously as a community?

However, my own relationship with gender is complicated. I’ve never felt close ties to womanhood, nor comfortable with the personal use of “they/them.” My gender is less about how I view myself and more about how others view me. It would be hypocritical to scorn how others present their identities when mine also doesn’t make sense.

People need to be kinder to things and people they don’t fully understand. No one’s lived experiences are identical, so it’s asinine to assume that one person knows better and more than another.

Even if you don’t understand it, use people’s correct pronouns. If you don’t know how to refer to someone, ask for examples. It’s better to ask questions than get something wrong, especially because it could hurt someone, even unintentionally. Using neopronouns doesn’t physically harm anyone, so there’s no excuse not to use them just because it doesn’t make sense to you.

This isn’t about coddling queer people. It’s about basic human decency.

k.lien@dailyutahchronicle.com

@kaylahlien

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Some students are reporting being addressed as their deadname in University-wide emails, despite changing their preferred name in the UH system. | Christopher Charleston/The Cougar

Some UH students and faculty members have voiced their concerns about their deadnames being used in recent emails about mental health resources, sparking conversation about the University’s acknowledgement of preferred names. 

Media production junior Melle Matney, while being more accustomed to their deadname than other transgender individuals, understands how upsetting it can be to be referred to by your deadname.

In general, Matney’s preferred name has been used after they changed it in the system, but they have run into issues when receiving official emails and other documents.

“I saw the email from the president about the task force and stuff they were doing to help with mental health and then with Agnes Arnold Hall, and I don’t know what made it different that something just flagged my brain,” Matney said.

Matney also highlighted last semester’s visit from right-wing speaker Matt Walsh, whose presence led to a protest against him and in favor of transgender rights.

“Maybe that’s just my political view, but the line’s kind of drawn when this person is directly harming your community,” Matney said.

With a sibling who is a senior in high school, Matney doesn’t want their sibling to worry about their deadname if they choose to attend UH.

“I do not want them to have to interact with their deadname whatsoever while they’re here because I know that for them, it’s a lot more jarring,” Matney said.

Students are not the only ones being affected by this, however. Adjunct women’s, gender and sexuality studies lecturer Liam Stone and current Ph.D. candidate has dealt with an increased use of his deadname since becoming a faculty member, despite starting his master’s in 2014.

“For a long time, my deadname was used in students’ class rosters, meaning they would sign up for a class with someone with my deadname, and I would have to clear this up on the first day of class,” Stone said. “This had me outing myself to students, which isn’t a big deal now, as I am primarily an Intro to LGBT Studies instructor.”

Stone eventually got the issue resolved after multiple semesters of waiting and contacting the English department.

With frequent emails from the University about their mental health efforts, Stone notes the irony in deadnames being used in these messages.

“Continuing to use trans individuals’ deadnames does not promote their mental well-being,” Stone said.

That being said, Stone also notes that the University is not intentionally discriminating against transgender people and the issue of names sometimes defaulting to legal names is instead an IT problem.

“However, it is worth questioning why this continues to be the case and why something has yet to be done earlier, given my vast history of trying to get my preferred name consistent across the system,” Stone said. “Perhaps it is now time to fix this once and for all.”

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“Deadnames are continuously used in emails sent to UH community, students, faculty say” was originally posted on The Cougar

Early Tuesday evening, Amundson Hall was evacuated due to a hazmat incident, according to a SAFE-U alert.

The alert was sent just after 6 p.m. and stated the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) was on the scene and police had set up a perimeter. As of about 6:15 p.m., firefighters reported the entire building was evacuated.

Officials are still investigating the nature of the chemicals.

Amundson Hall is located on the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus along Washington Avenue. Amundson houses the University’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

Nearby buildings include Keller and Lind halls. Neighboring buildings are not affected by the evacuation, according to a second alert.

As of around 6:15 p.m., there were at last three MFD vehicles outside of the building’s entrance along with a group of about seven MFD personnel.

The last time University buildings were evacuated due to a material hazard was in August when there was a petroleum leak near the University’s sporting complexes. Residences along University Avenue were also evacuated in June after a fire and explosion.

This is a breaking news report and will be updated as more information is released. 

The Cougars rose up to seventh at the Bruzzy thanks to a tournament-best final round. | Gerald Sastra/The Cougar

UH woman’s golf placed seventh at the Bruzzy on Monday after going +51 for the tournament in its regular-season closer.

The Cougars rose three spots in the final round thanks to a team-best final round of the tournament. Freshman Moa Svedenskiold posted the team’s best individual round of the tournament with an even-par 70 in the last 18 holes.

It was a tough course to crack, as only one payer in the entire tournament finished under par, and first-place North Texas went 16-over as a team.

Junior Nicole Abelar led the way for the Cougars while finishing 16th overall with a team-low 218 for the event. Abelar was the only UH player to go better than 5-over par for every round.

Svedenskiold and fellow freshman Alexa Saldana were the other two Cougars to finish in the top 50, ending up tied for 36th.

UH will now head to Brooksville, Fla., to compete in the American Athletic Conference Championships on April 17-19.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“UH women’s golf finishes seventh at the Bruzzy” was originally posted on The Cougar

Among the dozens of restaurants in the Old Town area is the FoCo Cafe. Despite the numerous establishments, there is something unique about this location. 

According to the cafe’s website, “FoCo Cafe’s mission is to build community by providing nutritious and delicious meals to the people of Fort Collins regardless of their ability to pay while using mostly local, organic and sustainably grown ingredients.”

Opened in 2014, the FoCo Cafe is completely nonprofit, and patrons pay for their meals through optional donations. There are recommended donation amounts for the various meal options, but they are not required, said Dexter Beasley, executive director of the cafe.

“A really rewarding thing is when one of our regulars who was experiencing homelessness comes to us and tells us that they finally have a place lined up. They thank us for the help we were able to give them. It’s always really heartwarming to hear.” –Dexter Beasley, executive director of FoCo Cafe

Beasley said patrons who cannot contribute monetarily may spend up to an hour volunteering for the cafe in exchange for their meal.

“We need those patrons who are able to donate a little bit more for their meals so we can keep feeding those in the community who can’t contribute monetarily,” Beasley said.

Ingredients for meals are locally sourced from farmers, churches and individual gardeners around Fort Collins, said Michelle Coy, head chef of FoCo Cafe. 

“(This job) was exactly what I was looking for — a true farm-to-table operation, for community by community,” Coy said.

The cafe is run by a staff of just five people but is also supported by volunteers and interns, many of whom come from Colorado State University’s food science and human nutrition program, Coy said. 

Aside from CSU, FoCo Cafe works with a variety of organizations and groups within the community.

The garden space outside the building is run by The Growing Project, where they host their Kids Feeding Kids Summer Breakfast Program, which helps families receive breakfast during the summer, Coy said.

The cafe also works with the Heart of the Rockies Christian Church, which provides much of the produce the restaurant uses for their menu. The church also contributes to the cafe’s Kindness Cupboard.

The Kindness Cupboard is filled with nonperishable food for community use and is part of the non-restaurant side of FoCo Cafe, Coy said. There is also a community-accessible refrigerator on property for produce and perishable food donations.

Additionally, there is The Giving Tree, where members of the community can receive toiletries and clothing in conjunction with a free library.

“You can bring pretty much everything except furniture,” Coy said. 

Future aspirations for FoCo Cafe would be to expand the hours to serve breakfast and lunch, Coy said.

“For our low-income to no-income families coming in, we always have coffee ready for them and a warm place for them to stay in,” Coy said. “People are just eager to get here anyways in the morning, so we would love to be open for breakfast or lunch.”

Coy also mentioned expansion being a possible goal, whether it be a second brick-and-mortar store or, alternatively, a food truck to be able to provide more meals to those who need them.

“A really rewarding thing is when one of our regulars who was experiencing homelessness comes to us and tells us that they finally have a place lined up,” Beasley said. “They thank us for the help we were able to give them. It’s always really heartwarming to hear.”

Reach Samy Gentle at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @samy_gentle_.

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As college students with student loan debt await the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, I thought it would be a worthwhile endeavor to take a deep dive into the court’s recent history as well as where it stands right now.

In recent years, the court has made plenty of, quite frankly, terrible decisions.

Just last summer, the court took away the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In short, the conservatives ignored the Ninth Amendment (which seemingly doesn’t exist to the court’s originalists) and court precedent in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey to do as the evangelicals have long wished: allow states to completely ban abortion (even in cases of rape) if they wish.

As we prepare for the court’s decision on student loan forgiveness this summer, another bad decision could be in line. In oral arguments, it appears seven justices are set in their decisions. Roberts, Gorsuch, Alito and Thomas appear likely to strike down Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, while Sotomayor, Kagan and Brown-Jackson appear likely to uphold it.

The two wildcards are both Trump-appointed justices: Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Kavanaugh is sympathetic to the Biden Administration’s interpretation of the word “waive” in the HEROES Act, while Barrett questioned whether any of the suing parties have legal standing in the case. If just one of the wildcards joins with four of the court’s conservatives, the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan will be struck down.

In case there is any debate where I stand on the legality of Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, let me be very clear: Biden has the authority to cancel student loan debt. Congress gave him that authority under both the HEROES Act of 2003 and the Higher Education Act of 1965. Further, I have a tough time believing any of the suing parties have legal standing in their cases.

Regardless of the court’s decision in this case, the Supreme Court stinks. I was considering sugarcoating this column, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Increasingly so, it’s another political body that only cares about the elites that put them in their positions.

And I’m not sure the court is fixable. But, I have three ideas to try and fix our increasingly broken Supreme Court.

Term limits

If the court is going to be politically ideological — and it already is — then we might as well make it so that it at least reflects the political ideology of the people. We could do this by having a justice replaced every two years, with each new justice serving for an 18-year term.

This would ensure the court reflects the will of the people. Why does Donald Trump, a one-term president that lost the popular vote, get to nominate three justices to the bench for the rest of their lives, while Barack Obama, a president who won the popular vote twice, only get to nominate two?

Ethics code

The fact that the Supreme Court is not held to an ethics code baffles me. Why aren’t the nine justices on the court held to the same ethical standards as Congress or any other federal judge? Why can Clarence Thomas sit on cases concerning the events of Jan. 6, 2021, despite the fact that his own wife has some connections to that day’s events?

It doesn’t make any sense, and I hope Congress passes the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act of 2022, which would create a code of conduct not only for the nine justices, but also for their staffers.

Balance the court

Some critics of the current Supreme Court have called for Democrats to add four seats to the Supreme Court and “pack” the court with four liberal justices, flipping the court from a 6-3 conservative majority to a 7-6 liberal majority. This approach is impossible right now because Republicans control the House, but it is a bad idea regardless; Republicans would likely just add more conservative justices to the court in future years.

Instead of further politicizing the court, we should aim to depoliticize the court. How can we do this?

We could balance the court by doing what Daniel Epps and Ganesh Sitaraman outlined in the Yale Law Journal. They call it the “Balanced Bench.” In short, the court would permanently have 15 justices: five Democrats, five Republicans and five that are picked unanimously by the other 10. The logistics get muddy, but the goal is this would create a more non-partisan and moderate court, two attributes the current Supreme Court is certainly lacking.

The Supreme Court is broken. Its justices are increasingly partisan and predictable, and only 40% of Americans approve of it. Can these proposals fix the broken court? I don’t know, but they’re worth a shot.