I was recently on the Metro green line headed to St. Paul, and what I saw and smelt was beyond disappointing. Metro Transit is a means of transportationthat is utilized by Minnesotans –young and old. The train has made transportation in the Twin Cities much easier for its riders.
But at what cost?
Years ago, before the pandemic, the only complaint I had was the foul smell at the train stations, especially in the downtown area. The inside of the train was bearable and okay to ride, for however long, at the time. Now, however, the odor inside the train is very much unbearable.
The longer the trip, the worse the smell gets. There is trash on the floor. The seats have dried stains on them that at times reek. And if you want to stand for the duration of the trip, it becomes inevitable to hold onto the bars and who knows if the next COVID-19 variant lives on those handles.
I used to love taking buses and trains as it gave me a moment of peace.
There was no need to use my cellphone. The creative side in me came out during those trips. I always carried a book and a pen with me to jot down words of poetry. What used to be my piece of mind turned into a dreadful trip I would rather avoid. I have to breathe through my mouth in hopes not to smell the foul stench assaulting my nose and of all the passengers from every angle. It is as if there is no proper ventilation installed.
The trains are not sanitary. According to the metro council website the trains get sanitized and cleaned during downtimes and sometimes between trips. As a rider, I can say that it doesn’t always feel like that.
In early 2020, the Metropolitan council held a press conference to announce efforts to improve the safety on Twin Cities buses, and I agree that this is also a major concern, but so does public health. We are the public the city is serving yet not doing an adequate job to fulfill its duty.
There is a focus and safety on Metro Transit trains and buses. As much as I appreciate taking our safety seriously, it is equally important to take our health very seriously as well.
People of different ages, backgrounds and medical conditions ride both buses and trains. The unhygenic environment in the stations and from inside the trains and buses can negatively impact the health of riders. The longer the exposure, the more complicated one’s health can get. And this exposure is inevitable as many of us use this mode of transportation on a daily basis to take care of our necessities.
I urge our city to take the health of riders seriously and work to keep trains and buses clean.
Posted in NewsComments Off on Boru: Unhygienic trips on Metro Transit
BART plans to issue $700 million in bonds intended to support renovations and improvements as part of Measure RR.
Due to the success of Measure RR — a program centered on rebuilding and improving BART’s infrastructure — the BART Board of Directors voted to issue $700 million worth of climate-friendly green bonds, the sale of which will continue to support renovations.
The Climate Bonds Initiative certified BART’s green bonds after concluding that Measure RR will help minimize the use of cars in the Bay Area, according to a BART press release. The press release added that money produced from these bonds is intended to improve the reliability of BART services, and subsequently to motivate more Bay Area residents to use public transit as a means of commuting.
“These bonds are supporting rebuilding projects that have a direct impact on the Bay Area’s climate footprint,” said BART representative Chris Filippi in an email. “Replacing the core infrastructure of BART is essential to ensure the system is as reliable as possible. That reliability allows riders to count on us for their trips instead of driving.”
Measure RR was passed with a large majority in several Bay Area counties.
As a result, many essential pieces of the BART system have been improved or rebuilt, such as train rails and power cables. It aims to maximize not only efficiency, but the amount of people who rely on BART each day.
Additionally, BART noted in a press release that, although the plan is only five years into its expected 20-year timeline, 35% of the expected work has already been completed. The sale of the green bonds will enable the plans laid out in Measure RR to continue smoothly and successfully, the press release said.
“The Measure RR program has made tremendous progress in its first five years of existence,” Filippi said in the email. “BART has already replaced 42 out of 90 miles of worn rail throughout the system. In many cases the rail components being replaced are 50 years old. In the last year BART has completed work on 14 projects.”
Though the measure intends to create a more effective and speedy system of public transportation for the Bay Area, it has resulted in issues for regular BART riders, according to Filippi. He added construction on railways can cause train delays, and people who live close to the stations often have to deal with loud noises.
However, Filippi emphasized that BART has worked to inform the public about the measure and its effectiveness as a way of easing these frustrations.
“BART has focused so much on public outreach. New releases, online passenger bulletins, station posters, digital advertising, system announcements, community meetings, briefings with public officials, and direct mailers to residents are some of the methods BART has used to keep the public updated on the progress of RR and its impacts,” Filippi said in the email.
This year, the University has allotted all graduate students six tickets in order to avoid exceeding venue capacities, according to the executive director of the Office of Protocol and Special Events, Tonja Jones.
Students have spoken out about how the limit is affecting them and their families, as the limit has left them unable to invite their entire family.
The ticket limit has some students, like math senior Giovanni Vidana, feeling let down and wish that the University gave students an explanation for the reasoning behind the limit.
“I have a split family, so, I now have the conflict of choosing which family member ‘means the most’ to me,” Vidana said. “Over the course of my college career, the various people who have had a positive impact on my journey are being restricted on one of the most important days of my life.”
Students with large families and loved ones, like chemistry senior Dylan Campbell, want to invite more family and close friends but are restricted to mainly immediate family.
“Thus, they can’t bring friends, cousins, aunts, or uncles unless they choose them over their mom, dad, sisters or brothers,” Campbell said. “It forces the graduate to make a tough decision on who they want to attend.”
The University has stated that they condemn the reselling of tickets, something that students have begun to take advantage of, according to health communications senior Verenice Saavedra.
Saavedra said that she noticed some graduate students attempting to sell their unneeded tickets for upwards of $50, while reportedly others are scamming people and not sending the tickets.
For those unable to attend the ceremonies, they will each be live-streamed and also available for viewing once they have ended.
There is no false advertising with the title of “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” It’s exactly what it says on the tin. There is not a second of downtime to be found within a non-stop parade of vibrant colors, kinetic action set pieces and absurd sight gags.
Like Jackson Pollock’s action painting, Daniels, the directing team made up of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, metaphorically drips various assorted tones, filmmaking styles and pop culture references, not to mention head spinning and surreal metaphysics, onto the canvas to see what sticks. Luckily, most of it does.
Wrapped up in its breathless, giddy anarchy, reminiscent of a live-action version of anime or a Douglas Adams novel, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”poses a question that most have asked themselves — “What if my life would be better if I made a different decision?” Underneath the mania, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a tale of dashed hopes and dreams, broken promises and rocky familial relationships.
It’s Truly Everything Everywhere All at Once
Michelle Yeoh stars as Evelyn, a weary Chinese American immigrant who lives above the laundromat that she operates with her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), a sweet, but nebbishy man.
Evelyn’s relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is strained and frosty. She is also having to take the role of caretaker for her aging, disapproving father (James Hong).
As if the family problems and an IRS audit weren’t enough stress, Evelyn learns that she is the only one who can save the multiverse from the villainous Jobu Tupaki. In order to do so, she must summon the skills of an infinite number of Evelyns across the multiverse. This allows for her to get a glimpse of different ways her life could have gone, the roads not taken.
She is a superstar actress in a breathtaking sequence paying homage to Wong-Kar Wai’s “In the Mood for Love,” a chef in a riff on “Ratatouille,” living in a world where everyone has hot dogs instead of fingers, a piñata and a rock. The leaps into a different multiverse are done through doing something bizarre such as eating a stick of chapstick or snorting a housefly. Does this make any sense? To watch “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is to watch the Daniels’ imagination run away with them. It is bombastic, messy, exhilarating, joyous and exhausting.
Grounded By Wonderful Performances
What keeps the movie from getting lost in its sprawling, maximalist conceit is the emotional weight provided by the surprisingly melancholy and grounded performances of Yeoh and Quan.
Yeoh finds the core of truth in every single scene, even ones where that isn’t necessarily on the page, and plays each one of the multiverse Evelyns in slyly distinct ways. She makes the most complicated piece of action choreography look spontaneous and stupidly easy.
Quan, whom you might recognize from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies,” gives a beautiful and funny performance as a partner who is not as guileless as he might appear.
Hsu bites into her role with a delightful relish. Every single person in the movie, from Yeoh down to an extra, knows precisely the type of movie that they are in, and that’s saying a tremendous lot.
No movie with this one’s premise and grandiose ambitions could ever be perfect, and its very insistence on boundless possibilities makes me unable and unwilling to land on a solid position. It’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
The first event a Ute competed in this weekend was the 10k race. Morgan Jensen ran a time of 34:52.98, the eighth-fastest time in Utah program history. Jensen came in second overall. Hannah Butler and Lauren Peterson competed in the 1500m event. Butler came in with a time of 4:35.88 and Peterson came in with a time of 4:38.66.
The next day, the 4x1600m relay event took place. The team consisted of Sophie Ryan, Keelah Barger, Cara Woolnough and Simone Plourde where they finished with a time of 19:11.37 and second overall. The 4x100m relay was up next where the team of Kelise Davis, Maya LeBar, Megan Rose and Lauren O’Banion finished with a time of 47.41.
In the 4×800 relay event, Jasie York, Brooke Manson, Emma Earl and Josefine Eriksen finished with a time of 8:35.59. The final event of the day was the 4×200 relay which consisted of Davis, Bailey Kealamakia, Makenna McCloy and O’Banion where they ran a time of 1:40.34 and came in sixth place.
The final day of the invitational, the Utes still had a strong showing. The team of Ryan, Eriksen, Manson and Plourde came in second place in the DMR event with a time of 11:17.92, the fourth-fastest time in program history. Davis, LeBar, Oneillia Fuller and York ran the sprint medley relay where the team finished with a time of 3:57.04 and fifth overall.
The final event of the invitational was the 4×400 relay which consisted of the team Blair, O’Banion, Fuller and Eriksen. The team ran the event with a time of 3:41.95 which gave them the win for the event.
After the solid weekend, the Utes get ready for the last competition of the regular season at the Oregon Twilight Invitational before the Pac-12 Championships.
The UH commuter experience is difficult to enjoy for many students. The “ideal” college experience is built around a student that lives on campus, not a commuter.
The commuting experience is not tied down to “not making enough friends” but the inconvenient infrastructure, lack of autonomy and sacrificing your social life to graduate.
Political science freshman Allyson Campos decided to commute since she was advised by many that it would save her money.
“Being a commuter has drastically changed my college experience,” Campos said. “Hanging out requires you to block out a whole day just to come to campus. Most meetings are at around 6 p.m. and with traffic, I end up coming home really late. The hours I lose commuting to and from UH could have been used to study and it feels as if I have no time in a day to get work done.”
Kinesiology junior Priscilla Munoz posted a TikTok last week that gained over 60,000 views that talked about how difficult it is to be a commuter. Over 100 UH students commented how they felt the same.
“Some people say that joining organizations is good for commuters to make friends but for me, it’s hard to set aside time from my studies and job to attend mandatory meetings and events,” said Munoz.
UH has attempted to relieve the strain of commuting through its Commuter Assistant Program, yet there is a lack of improvement in commuters’ outlook.
“I didn’t know that existed,” said Campos. Computer science freshman Carolyn Heron has only heard of the Commuter Assistant Program once during this year’s commuter fair.
There is a lack of understanding over the wants of commuters. While it is true that commuters want to make friends and enjoy their time on campus, outside factors prevent them.
“Another difficulty as a commuter is that sometimes you can feel trapped on campus,” Heron said. “In between or after classes, I find myself shifting between the library, the student center or the CBB study area.”
Construction has also been a huge issue the past few years as several spots at UH are either shut down or under construction. UH’s underground satellite has been shut down since 2019 despite plans for its reconstruction to be completed by mid-2022.
“There’s no place to lay down or recline for a bit. I have seen other students sleep in study carrels or in their car but it does not sound very comfortable,” Heron said.
About 70 percent to 96 percent of students get less than eight hours of sleep. Commuter students do not sleep well because a lot of their time is spent trying to achieve an enjoyable college experience.
For UH to improve commuters’ morale regarding the college experience, it needs to implement changes that nourish the experience of a commuter. Forcing commuters to pretend that they are dormers is not helpful.
UH should invest in cheaper parking, sleeping pods and better infrastructure that minimizes traffic and develops a different outlook on what it means to be a commuter.
Commuters deserve a better college experience.
Cindy Rivas Alfaro is a journalism freshman who can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com
On April 30, comedians Michelle Buteau and Amanda Seales graced the Lory Student Center Ballroom with stories of being high, young and in love.
“2 Dope Queens” performer Buteau, who recently announced her show “Survival of the Thickest” with Netflix, brought high energy with her onstage. With her bubbly personality and hilarious stories of her “white boy” husband, Gijs van der Most, Buteau made her mark on students and community members alike.
“I’m really bad at being high,” Buteau said. “My husband is so good at being high, and one night, we got basketball tickets, … and he was like, ‘Let’s go get high, and it will be really fun because you don’t have to talk to anyone.’”
Stand-up comedian Michelle Buteau performs in the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom April 30. Buteau, who hosts the Netflix series “The Circle,” was one of two comedians performing at the RAMbunctious Comedy Show. (Collegian | Gregory James)
Unfortunately for Buteau, she said she hallucinated that the ground was moving and began whispering, thinking the basketball players could hear her. Like many of their other high adventures, getting high before the event did not make being high more tolerable for Buteau. She described other events like this, including a trip to a reptile refuge where she swears a lizard spoke to her.
She attributed much of her husband’s strange hobbies to his whiteness, joking she’d rather get high and make social change than fix a chair he found in the dumpster.
At the sight of so many white college students, she jokingly assigned names to audience members before asking for them and laughed when their name was more stereotypically white than she expected.
“The names are getting whiter and whiter,” Buteau said. After realizing the trend of names, she said, “Taylor, where you at?” which led to an eruption of laughter as a girl raised her hand in the middle of the crowd.
Her set was full of audience interaction and jokes about her “big-titty TED Talk,” especially as she got more personal.
“I’m from New York, and like, I get very nervous when I go to the rest of the country and leave my five-block radius,” Buteau said. “If I don’t see Black people, gay people or smell piss I get nervous.”
Buteau moved into a more serious conversation prior to Seales’ set, voicing her support for transgender women and relating to them through her own inability to carry children, telling people a woman is not defined by her fertility or birthing abilities.
As Seales took over the stage, the HBO star known for her roles in “Insecure” and “Black-ish” commented on her stress over abortion laws in Florida and Texas.
“Can y’all still get abortions (in Colorado)?” Seales asked the audience, who in response shouted and applauded to signal that the medical procedure remains legal in the state.
Stand-up comedian Amanda Seales performs at the Lory Student Center April 30. This was an event held for Colorado State University students and the public to enjoy a laugh. (Collegian | Michael Giles)
Both Seales and Buteau addressed their college years, with Seales capitalizing on the failures of her school’s sexual health clinic and the racism she witnessed from teachers in New York.
“(My roommate) went to the clinic because she was like, ‘You know, I’m having cramps,’ and the clinician was like, ‘Hm, I think you have an ectopic pregnancy.’”
Seales said despite her roommate being a virgin and the clinician running no tests prior to the statement, the clinician was convinced she was pregnant. Seales herself admitted to having a similar experience when she developed a yeast infection, and a clinician told her she had chlamydia without running any tests or doing an exam. In response, Seales accused her boyfriend of giving it to her before discovering she was negative for the disease.
Much of Seales’ set joked about sexual health and her experiences of having a vagina and how confusing it is regardless of age. Her discussion of her own sex life turned into a conversation about a racist professor at her college, who told an African student that white people “civilized” Africans just for him to “act like an animal.” The audience quickly became uncomfortable, and Seales said that class was one of the catalysts in her leaving college.
“Unless you have like, a Kanye plan of action, and we see how that’s turning out, don’t (quit school),” Seales said.
Stand-up comedian Amanda Seales performs in the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom April 30. Seales, best known for the HBO show “Insecure,” was one of two performers at the RAMbunctious Comedy Show. (Collegian | Gregory James)
The adventure tales of Seales and Buteau throughout their sets did much more than entertain an audience of mostly CSU’s underclassmen — it became clear at the end that this comedy show provided a moment to unwind without hiding from the social issues found at CSU and nationwide. Seales and Buteau offered a space in their show to celebrate diversity and encourage change in universities and larger society.
If you were unable to make it out, Buteau’s comedy special, “Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia,” is available on Netflix, and Seales’ special, “Amanda Seales: I Be Knowin’,” is available through HBO and HBO Max.
Historically, the humanities have been considered to be entirely divorced from STEM. Students and faculty alike believe the two classes of subjects have different skill sets, methodologies and guiding principles.
The postseason ended in disappointment for the Atlanta Hawks, as a 4-1 series defeat to the Miami Heat saw them crash out earlier than had been expected.
Injury problems have certainly disrupted the team and robbed them of key players at vital times, but who were their best players during the regular season?
Trae Young
Young had a stellar college career before joining the NBA in 2018, and making himself right at home in the pro league by scoring lots of points and making it into the All-Rookie First Team. The 2021-22 season saw him reach a new franchise record by making 25 points in 17 games in a row. This included a career-high of 56 against the Portland Trail Blazers. As a reward for his outstanding performances, Trae was selected to play in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game for the second time.
This season also saw him mark the 10th time in his NBA career that he scored at least 40 points and 10 points in a single game, which put him in 9th place in the all-time list for this feat. He added to that by becoming the first player this season to score 40 or more on back-to-back nights.
A sign of how good Trae Young was in the regular season can be seen in the fact that he was only the second player in the history of the NBA to lead in both points and assists in the season. The only other player to have managed this was Tiny Archibald in 1972-73.
Atlanta fans were bitterly disappointed to see him fail to light up the postseason. Trey had a disappointing time in the playoffs, as Miami worked out how to stop him from dominating the games against them.
Before that, he was among the favorites, according to bookmakers, for MVP of the season. Check out how the odds look right now: https://www.bovada.lv/nba-betting
Clint Capela
The Swiss international center joined the Hawks in 2020 from the Houston Rockets and has contributed consistently to results since then. Injury problems caused him to miss most of the postseason games, which summed up the bad luck that Atlanta has had to deal with this season and that they will be hoping is now over.
His hyperextended knee should be fine for next season and his link-up play with Trae Young will be vital to their chances of getting to the playoffs again. However, it’s Capela’s defensive work that makes him most important to the team and what they’ve missed badly when he was out.
John Collins
Collins has played at power forward for the Hawks since joining them in the 2017 draft, and in August last year his importance to the team was underlined with the fact that he signed a new five-year contract with a value of $125 million.
He played in a total of 54 games in the regular season just ended, starting all but one of them. Injuries also disrupted him in the playoffs, as he admitted to playing despite not feeling 100% right for some of the games. Before that, an average of 16.8 points meant that he was having arguably his best season to date.
Some experts suggest that the Hawks should trade Collins to the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer, to bring in a lot of new faces. However, the loss of his defensive abilities would be a big blow so it’s a decision that wouldn’t be taken lightly.
De’Andre Hunter
After playing for the Virginia Cavaliers at college and impressing enough to be named the best NABC defensive player in 2019, De’Andre Hunter ended up at the Hawks after being picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019 draft.
The small forward was impressive in the 2021-22 regular season, playing 53 games and being regarded as arguably their most important player. He also shone in the playoffs by grabbing his career-high of 35 points and 11 rebounds against the Miami Heat.
This summer promises to be interesting for the Hawks, as they have the option of extending Hunter’s rookie deal. If they can keep him clear of the injuries that ruined his chances of impressing in the 2020-21 playoffs, he could prove to be another vital element that helps Atlanta to move forward to better times.
One for the Future – Jalen Johnson
Playing as a small forward, Jalen Johnson had an impressive time at college with the Duke Blue Devils with the status of a consensus five-star recruit. Johnson then joined the Hawks in the 2021 NBA draft as one of the best small forwards in the 2020 class.
He quickly made an impact in his rookie season, although his minutes were fairly limited overall. We can hope to see the best of him in the 2022-23 season, as he spent a lot of his rookie season with the College Park Skyhawks in the NBA G League, in an effort to play more and hone his skills.
