I’ve now made it a goal to actually go out with my roommates and enjoy the revival of spring.

The Gopher baseball team had one of their best weekends from their starting rotation this season, but didn’t have much to show from it. Starters Sam Ireland and Aidan Maldanado lasted seven innings each while J.P. Massey went six on Saturday.

Gophers take series opener

Penn State got out to the early lead with a triple in the top of the first to get the game started, but Minnesota was quick to answer. Another run in the bottom of the second inning gave Ireland some cushion.

The Nittany Lions tied the game in the top of the fifth before the Gophers exploded for four runs in the bottom of the frame. Ireland settled in for his final two innings of the game and grabbed four more strikeouts before being pulled going into the eighth.

Reliever Tom Skoro came in to close the game and in his second inning of work had bases loaded with no outs. Penn State managed to get just one run across in the top of the ninth as Minnesota held on to a 7-3 win in the opener.

Eighth inning collapse ties series

It was a pitcher’s duel for the second game of the series in the first half between Massey and Penn State starter Travis Luensmann. The Nittany Lions broke the 0-0 tie in the top of the sixth inning with a solo shot.

Ronald Sweeny was able to get the Gophers on the board in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI on a groundout to first. Unfortunately, the tie wouldn’t last for long.

Penn State exploded for six hits to score four runs and break open the game in the top of the eighth. Minnesota used three different relievers in the inning as Noah DeLuga was charged with the loss and two of the runs.

The Gophers couldn’t get much going in their final two turns at the plate and the Nittany Lions tied up the series 1-1 after a 5-1 win.

Gophers blow lead with another eighth inning fiasco

Penn State got to Maldanado early with a pair of runs in the top of the first, though one was due to an error with two outs. Kyle Bork hit a three-run home run during a four-run first inning to put Minnesota out in front.

The Nittany Lions and Gophers each grabbed a run in the middle innings as Maldanado completed seven frames before leaving with a 5-3 lead.

Freshman reliever Noah Rooney came in for the eighth and got two quick ground outs to start the inning. Back-to-back walks ended Rooney’s day and Josh Culliver came in to try and pitch around the jam. On a full count, Penn State retook the lead with a three-run bomb.

The Gophers had a threat in the ninth, but couldn’t get one across to tie and Minnesota fell 6-5 and lost the series.

Up next

The Gophers have a pair of mid-week games against South Dakota State on Tuesday and St. Thomas on Wednesday. Minnesota then travels to Michigan to face the Spartans in a three-game weekend series.

April is always a busy month on campus. The school year is ending, finals are being taken, and the weather is getting warm. Students are ready for summer break and as the year comes to a close, it can only mean one thing: it’s time for a crime review.

The fall 2021 semester was marked by a drastic increase in sexual battery reports during the month of November. However, there was a decrease in reported assaults and destruction of property throughout the semester. Also, hit and runs and DUIs were down as well from the previous spring, thankfully. The one crime that did increase was general larceny throughout October.

The most noticeable crime-adjacent news this year was the termination of a Juice Bar employee in the Webb Center. Following a viral social media post shared by ConfessODU, the Juice Bar acknowledged a hiring mistake that led to their employment of a felon due to their failure to perform a criminal background check.

Anthony Termaine Colemen was on probation for a felony offense on charges of child sex trafficking when the Juice Bar hired him. A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted to ODU by the Mace & Crown for further information about JuiceBar employees on Nov. 18. However, ODU FOIA correspondents have not acknowledged nor responded to this request.

Moving on, this spring semester has been marked by increased numbers of reported larcenies, destruction of property, and assaults. May through the beginning of April saw staggering increases in larcenies across campus while February experienced the sharp rise in assaults. Refer to the graph above for a complete breakdown.

Sexual battery has decreased substantially this semester. According to the ODU Crime and Fire Safety Log, the numbers are down completely from 10 cases in Fall 2021 to zero for this semester . Title IX resources for students concerned about sexual battery can be found here. 

Identity theft had a busy day at the end of March. A record high of 11 counts of credit card fraud were recorded in one day, all on March 31. Another big standout is the 11 counts of weapons violations reported over the spring semester. Also, a recent phishing scam targeting DUO mobile has plagued both faculty and students accessing ODU’s internet services.

Thankfully, DUI’s are down by almost half from the previous semester, but motor vehicle crashes have increased simultaneously. ODU does have systems in place to mitigate DUIs, namely the ODU Police Department’s Safe Ride service which provides free rides for Monarchs after dark between 8pm-2am. Rides are available through the TapRide app which can be accessed via the link. Stay safe, Monarchs.

AFROPUNK, the nation-wide music and culture experience, has made a name for itself as being a community-fostering celebratory event of Black life and culture – and the festival has just announced that it’s coming to Minneapolis.

For the first time, AFROPUNK is coming to the midwest over the weekend of Juneteenth,
June 18-19, as Planet AFROPUNK Live: Minneapolis. With city-wide events and discussion panels taking place on June 18, and a full musical lineup stacked with national and local musicians performing at Northeast Minneapolis’ Sheridan Memorial Park on June 19, the festival hopes to celebrate the bustling community of Black creators and activists living in the Twin Cities, while opening space for a conversation around the struggles facing the community at large. Tickets for the event go on sale April 21 and start at $60.

Planet AFROPUNK Live: Minneapolis will cultivate a new era of Afropunk experiences. Besides staging 16 singers, rappers and DJs, the festival will highlight local food and art attractions including the Spinthrift Market – a shop market full of local Twin Cities makers, selectors and curators – and AFROPUNK’s Bites ‘n Beats, which gives visitors the opportunity to try foods from renowned Midwestern chefs and local food trucks. The festival will also include a live mural, early morning yoga sessions, art galleries and film screenings.

With a mixture of 16 nationally loved musicians and up-and-coming local acts performing in the heart of Minneapolis on a holiday commemorating our country’s shameful past and slowly progressing future, AFROPUNK is bringing together celebration and conversation about what the city of Minneapolis has accomplished, and what needs to change.

Check out six of the 16 artists below, and be sure to take a look at the entire lineup on AFROPUNK’s website.

Ari Lennox
Since dropping her first EP, “Pho” in 2016, Ari Lennox has made waves in the world of R&B with her jazz-infused silky vocals and summertime-warmth bops. Originally from Washington D.C., Lennox was the first woman to be signed to J. Cole’s record label, Dreamville Records, and her song “Shea Butter Baby” has over 120 million streams on Spotify alone. She includes features by J. Cole and JID on her 2019 album of the same name and has been featured on songs by Smino, Summer Walker and Dreamville.

Noname
Noname – the Chicago-based rapper, poet and record producer – made her debut rapping appearance on Chance The Rapper’s song “Lost” in 2013 and has since released two albums, four singles, and has a total of over a million followers on Spotify. It will be a rare opportunity to see her take the stage this summer. Her nursery-rhyme play on the syllables bounced around in her imagery-inducing lyrics has landed her as one of the top rappers coming out of Chicago.

Mereba
Formally known as Marian Mereba, the Pennsylvanian-raised and now LA-based musician has been interested in music since the age of 4 and has since become a popular rapper, singer and producer. After releasing two full albums, two EP’s and seven singles, Mereba has accumulated over 1.5 million followers on Spotify. With appearances by JID and 6LACK on her albums, and making appearances with Vince Staples, Berhana and Dreamville, Mereba has steadily climbed into the world of R&B and hip-hop.

Miloe
The local Twin Cities indie sensation Miloe will be making an appearance at the festival with over 5 million Spotify streams following him. After gaining popularity with his song “Winona” that was released in 2020, Miloe toured with Beach Bunny earlier this year and has an exciting summer coming up stacked with a tour with indie group, Coin, and multiple stops at music festivals around the country.

Ricki Monique
After releasing her single “Immortal” on January 25, Twin Cities-based rapper Ricki Monique has gained over 290,000 streams of the song and totals nearly 68 thousand monthly followers on Spotify. As if being hypnotized, Monique’s voice glides over polished instrumentals – music that could easily be fitted to a current-day fairy tale. Monique’s ethereal style and music creation has quickly placed her as one of the Twin Cities most prominent up-and-coming rappers.

Papa Mbye
The Twin Cities’ visual-artist-turned-musician will be making an appearance on AFROPUNK’s stage. The experimental, auto-tune loving rapper, Papa Mbye, has long been part of the local visual art scene and has recently been wowing audiences after releasing his EP, “Mang Fi” in 2021. From a sold-out headlining show at the 7th Street Entry in November to being included in First Avenue’s “Best New Bands” lineup this year, Mbye is quickly becoming a prominent force in the local music scene.

Freshman De’Vion Wilson outshined his competitors in his college debut as he placed first in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.63. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

The UH track and field team collected several podium finishes this Saturday at the J. Fred Duckett Invitational at Rice University. 

In the women’s pole vault, graduate student Sarah Howe outjumped her competition and led the Cougars to a first-place finish with a 4.07-meter mark. 

Sophomore Camille Rutherford returned to make her first appearance in a meet this season as she stood out in the women’s 100-meter relay by securing a first-place finish with a time of 11.69.

While making his debut in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, freshman De’Vion Wilson outshined his competitors as he placed first with a time of 51.63. 

Meanwhile, freshman Destiny Smith followed up Wilson’s success with another podium finish for the Cougars finishing second in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 13.86.

The Cougars also finished with two more podium finishes in the women’s discus throw as Senior Hailey Pollard secured second place finishing with a 47.30-meter toss. While freshman Daisy Monie followed Pollard in third place with a personal best of 45.34m.  

In the women’s 5000, junior Claire Meyer finished the day with a time of 17:29:70. 

The Cougars will now split for the following week as the sprinters and relay teams compete at the Penn Relays while the pole vaulters and throwers will head over to Texas A&M.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“UH track and field earn podium finishes at J. Fred Duckett Invitational” was originally posted on The Cougar

The line to attend College Council’s annual CultureShock event extended from the entrance of McDonough field past Asbury Circle on April 10. Campus spirits were high following the event’s kickoff giveaway earlier that afternoon.

CultureShock is College Council’s (CC) largest event of the year, featuring diverse performances from individuals and student cultural organizations, as well as student artwork. Food trucks and catered food concluded the evening.

Before the programming began, students walked away from the kickoff with pastel CC hoodies, water bottles, stickers and hardcover copies of Alicia Garza’s ‘The Purpose of Power.” Some munched on complimentary açai bowls or snacks from Taco Bell.

By 6 p.m., the sun began to set, creating long shadows next to students lounging on picnic blankets. Hundreds of attendees packed McDonough field, some admiring the student artwork on display at the entrance, others posing with props at the outdoor photo booth. CultureShock had begun.

The event has traditionally been held in the fall in White Hall, but this year CC moved CultureShock to the spring due to COVID-19 restrictions in fall 2021. CultureShock was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Hazel Oh (23C) sang a Korean song called “Through the Night” by IU at CultureShock on April 10. (Oli Turner / The Emory Wheel).

The location change allowed more students to attend, with more open space on McDonough field and plaza.

“People were able to hang out with each other and also watch performances,” said Alisha Patel (22C), CC’s vice president of programming.

Patel said turnout was much larger than expected. Over 600 students checked into the event using their Corq code, and roughly another 100 people likely arrived after check-in, she said.

Patel said the goal of the event was to allow attendees to experience different cultures while supporting their friends.

“CultureShock is made to bring a sense of community on Emory’s campus,” she said. “[It’s] just a way to integrate different areas of Emory’s campus into one.”

Upon entry, the event featured artwork submitted by students. CC sponsored the printing of some art pieces and supplied each artist with customized note cards to label their art.

The evening also included individual and group performances. Auditions for student performers were held in the fall 2021 semester following a campus-wide call for applications.

Performing as an individual, Hazel Oh (23C) sang “Through the Night” by South Korean singer-songwriter IU, a song she chose based on her Korean heritage. 

“I have a lot of experience with Korean culture because my family members are Korean, so I thought this would be a good way to showcase some of that side of me,” Oh said. “CultureShock is a great place in terms of diverse talent or performance.”

She started singing in a choir in fifth grade and joined an a cappella group in high school. Soon after, she began private voice lessons and participated in state and regional singing competitions.

Oh said that singing is a way for her to share her passion with others.

“There’s something about music that I think is really special because it can speak to you in a way that’s kind of like using words but also not,” Oh said.

Several student dance troupes performed at CultureShock, including the step team Ngambika. The troupe created the soundtrack to their performance with their bodies, stomping and clapping in a rhythm as the sun set over the field.

Ngambika, a step dance group, put on a synchronized show for the crowd. (Oli Turner / The Emory Wheel).

“Ngambika is a space for Black women on Emory’s campus to be themselves and grow into their own confidence through the medium of [dance],” said Ngambika Stepmistress Dawnya Green (25C).

For members of the team, which has operated at the University for 30 years, dance is an outlet for self-expression.

“Step and general forms of dance really do hold a lot of weight in the canon of African American history,” Green said.

Ngambika practices together for six hours each week, learning “the basics” and how to move as a synchronized unit, Green said.

During Ngambika’s performance, like many others that evening, the audience seemed united by the appreciation of their peers’ talent, passion and dedication.

“I found it really enjoyable to experience a collective sense of identification,” Green said.

The post Student talent at CultureShock draws diverse crowd appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Transfer portal pickups: Cal women’s basketball welcomes Tuitele, Langarita

If there’s one strength of Cal women’s basketball head coach Charmin Smith, it’s recruiting.

Since assuming the role in June 2019, the former WNBA player has managed to bring to Berkeley the nation’s seventh-best recruiting class in 2020. Headlining the list of future stars are players such as Jayda Curry — the Pac-12’s leading scorer in 2021 — and the 13th best recruit of 2020 Dalayah Daniels, who reportedly entered the transfer portal March 24.

However, Smith’s recruiting efforts aren’t just limited to prospective freshmen. Over the weekend, the Bears welcomed two new faces to their team, Sirena “Peanut” Tuitele and Claudia Langarita, from the transfer portal.

“Peanut had us at hello,” said Smith. “Peanut has the grit and competitiveness that is needed to compete in the Pac-12.”

Tuitele, who officially signed with Cal on Friday, played significant minutes for Colorado over the course of three seasons. The 6’1” forward averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest on an efficient 51% clip in her junior year. After starting 94 games, Tuitele can be expected to play just as large of a role with the Bears as she did with the Buffaloes — especially given Cal center Fatou Samb’s recent opting in to the transfer portal.

Langarita also brings formidable talent to the frontcourt. Across the San Francisco Bay, she was USF’s third leading scorer during the 2021-22 season, posting 10.5 points per game. Listed at 6’4”, the freshman forward can stretch the floor just as efficiently as she can anchor the paint, as evidenced by a 35.7% 3-point average in high school.

Following a historically successful 9-2 start, Cal’s end to its last season was anticlimactic. Granted, the team is young — the Bears bid farewell to only one senior, Sierra Richey, in 2022.

Tuitele and Langarita both bring welcome experience to round out Cal’s roster. All eyes will be on Smith to see how she can maximize the new recruits’ potential next season.

Ryan Chien is the sports editor. Contact him at rchien@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter @RyanChienMedia.

The Daily Californian

Caitlyn Jenner has joined Fox News as a contributor following International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31. The Olympic gold medalist, who identifies as a Republican, made it alarmingly clear that though she is transgender, she is not a transgender activist.  I think most people know about Jenner’s contradictory take on the LGBTQ+ community, so naturally when Jenner joined Fox News as a commentator — commenting on LGBTQ+ issues — her opinions were viewed as a stab in the back to the community. An integral element that should be noted is that Jenner, because she is transgender, shouldn’t have […]

Josh Scheuerman, 44, is a well known and well loved local artist and advocate. On the outside, he seems like an eccentric free spirit without a care in the world, but within minutes of talking to him, it’s clear that he cares about the well-being of his community, the environment and the happiness of others far more than most.

This past weekend, Scheuerman teamed up with the University of Utah’s Dark Sky Studies Minor capstone course to create a one-of-a-kind art rendition of how constellations are perceived by cultures around the world — aiming to shed light on the often underappreciated dangers and destruction of light pollution.

Josh Scheuerman: A Jack of All Trades

Scheuerman was born and raised in West Valley, Utah by a single mother who worked six days a week to support her four children, yet still made time to help neighbors and community members.

Growing up without much money, Scheuerman and his siblings learned that they could collect aluminum cans and sell them to earn cash for Slurpees, so on Saturday mornings, that’s what they did. As Scheuerman grew up, he realized the severity of littering and thoughtless disposal, and he wanted to make a change.

On runs through neighborhoods, he would grab garbage from the gutters. He would jog down Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon, collecting around 40 pounds of trash each time. Once he ran the Moab half-marathon, crossing the finish line with an extra 70 pounds of litter.

In 2013, Scheuerman created the Four Corners Project, where, in one month, he ran across Utah, cleaning the streets, visiting landfills, and speaking to rural government representatives about their recycling initiatives.

He collected a total of 500 pounds of trash and turned it into an art exhibit, showcasing it at the Salt Lake City farmers market and at multiple fundraisers. He also teamed up with Recycle Utah in Park City to push city council members to reevaluate their use of plastic bags in retail stores.

Scheuerman continued to run marathons and gather garbage, soon collecting another 1000 pounds. From that, he sold what he could to a recycling plant and gave the earnings directly back to members of his community.

Becoming a Muralist

Now one of Salt Lake City’s most famous muralists, Scheuerman didn’t start painting until he was 30. He invested $500 into canvases and paint, and within a year had created his first art show, painted his first mural and shown in his first gallery.

“I thought I would just get some beer, have my friend’s band play, get some artists together and sell some art,” Scheuerman said, remembering his first art show. They sold a total of $40 in art that night.

Thirteen years later, he continues to gather with his friends, drink beer and sell some art, but his shows have now become a community-wide event. Last December, Scheuerman held his bi-annual Art Adoption gallery, where 40 local artists sold their art and hundreds of community members came to shop. This time they sold $1,400.

Scheuerman refuses to take a cent from the other artists selling at his galleries. He does it purely for his love and dedication to the power of local art. His shows feature artists who have never shown their work before and some of the best in the state. “It makes it a level playing field,” Scheuerman said. “Art is just art.”

West Valley Skate Park

What Scheuerman is most proud of, he says, was his role in the creation of West Valley Skate Park.

Growing up in West Valley, it wasn’t uncommon for him to get kicked out or ticketed when he skated in public areas. So, when he was 21 years old, he began lobbying local politicians to build a skate park. He went to city council meetings month after month, asking the mayor how the skate park was coming along. He wanted to make sure the children to come had a safe place to skateboard, be creative, push themselves and develop a community.

After he was told “no” for years and his petition failed, Scheuerman took it to the next level. He compiled statistics on how much money skateboarding brings into the community. He went through public records and found that, according to Scheuerman, West Valley had four golf courses, 24 tennis courts, 16 ball fields, 14 soccer fields, a public pool, an ice rink and a slew of other parks paid for with tax-payers money.

He took his data to elected officials, and after 15 years of consistent pressure, West Valley City, the second-largest city in Utah, finally built a skate park — one of the best in the state.

“Skateboarding gave me the confidence to go there for 15 years and say that I want the next generation to have this opportunity to build themselves up in their community,” Scheuerman said. “That’s why I’m involved in our councils. That’s why I’m involved in the community — to make sure that we’re all represented.”

Teaming Up with The University of Utah

In 2019 the Dark Sky Studies Minor Program was created at the University of Utah as the first-ever academic program focusing solely on the damaging effects of artificial lights at night, such as migratory bird confusion, disruptions in human health and wasting of energy.

The capstone course, taught by Daniel Mendoza, the co-director of the U’s Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, contains a requirement for a creative expression project to graduate the program. In 2020 Scheuerman and Jorge Arellano, another local artist, helped the capstone students create a mural at the Salt Lake Center for Science Education depicting the bortal scale, which shows light pollution levels in different areas.

This year, Scheuerman is helping Mendoza’s two capstone students create a mural of how constellation perception varies between cultures, and how we all see the night sky in our own way. They will be working with The Natural History Museum’s Youth Teaching Youth program to paint the mural at Glendale Middle School with the help of 40 local middle school and high school students.

According to Mendoza, art is something that everybody can understand, which is why the creative expression aspect of the capstone is so important. Everybody can look at art and take something away, but not everybody can read and understand a scientific paper. “Josh is very generous with his time and has been a huge help,” Mendoza said. “And he especially likes projects that make a difference.”

gentryhale@yahoo.com

@gentry_ hale

This article was written by guest writer Gentry Hale who is a master’s candidate in journalism at the University of Montana. Gentry is a Salt Lake City-raised, University of Utah alumni with close ties to the arts and environmental activism scene here in the valley. 

The post Utah Muralist and Community Activist Josh Scheuerman Teams up With U Dark Sky Studies Students appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Preserving biodiversity and allowing for multicultural equity should be at the top of each of our priority lists.