As a music lover, it only felt right to highlight songs by queer artists for Pride Month.

Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin received a sentence of 270 months, which is 22 and a half years, for the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

The jury convicted Chauvin of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April after several weeks of testimony from witnesses, including Floyd’s family, bystanders and medical experts.

Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Chauvin on the highest charge that he was convicted of — second-degree murder. The average sentence for that crime is 12 and a half years; however, Cahill granted an upward departure, meaning the sentence was extended past the average length.

“I am not basing it on an attempt to send any messages,” Cahill said. “The job of a trial court judge is to apply the law to specific facts.”

The upward departure was based on Chauvin’s abuse of authority and his “particular cruelty” toward Floyd, Cahill added. He said he would explain his reasoning in a 22 page memo attached to the sentencing order.

Chauvin spoke briefly on his own behalf for the first time since the trial began to address Floyd’s family.

“I want to give my condolences to the family,” Chauvin said. “There will be some information in the future that will be of interest and I hope that things will give you some peace of mind.”

Chauvin and his defense attorney, Eric Nelson, gave no clarification as to what this emerging information will be.

Four aggravating factors contributed to the sentence: Chauvin “abused a position of trust and authority,” he acted toward Floyd with “particular cruelty,” he committed the crime with three other officers and there were several children that witnessed it.

Both the defense and prosecution wrote memos arguing what sentence would be appropriate. The prosecution requested 360 months, which is about 30 years, arguing that the aggravating factors justified a sentence double the average length for the crime. The defense requested probation, citing “mitigating factors” such as Chauvin’s lack of a criminal record.

“I ask the court follows the sentencing guideline, applies the law in a reasoned matter and imposes a just settlement,” said Nelson.

Four members of the Floyd family spoke to the judge, detailing the impact that George’s murder had on their lives. Floyd’s 7-year-old daughter appeared via video chat, telling the judge how she missed her dad, and she was followed by Floyd’s nephew Brandon Williams and two brothers Philonise and Terrence Floyd.

“I wanted to know from [Chauvin] himself why?” Terrence said. “What were you thinking? What was going through your head when you had your knee on my brother’s neck?”

Williams, Philonise and Terrence asked Cahill to give Chauvin the maximum sentence.

Chauvin’s mother, Carolyn Pawlenty, also gave a victim impact statement, in her first public testimony on the case since it began.

“The public will never know the loving and caring man he is,” Pawlenty said. She said she believed her son was innocent, and disagreed with media outlets that called him racist, aggressive and heartless.

“What the sentence is not based on is not emotion or sympathy,” Cahill said. “At the same time I want to acknowledge the deep pain all families are feeling, especially the Floyd family.”

Minnesota judge sentences Derek Chauvin to 22.5 years in prison

Chad Davis/Creative Commons

Chad David under CC BY-SA 2.0

Former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Friday to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. In April, Chauvin was convicted by a jury of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced Friday to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. 

Chauvin was convicted by a jury of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in April. 

The 22.5-year sentence is less than the 40-year maximum sentence for second-degree unintentional murder, the highest charge Chauvin faced, but more than the 10 to 15 years sentence recommended by Minnesota state guidelines. 

“I am not basing my sentence also on public opinion, I am not basing it on any attempt to send any messages,” said the Hon. Judge Peter Cahill at the sentencing hearing. “This is based on your abuse of a position of trust and authority and also the particular cruelty shown to George Floyd.”  

State prosecutors filed a memo June 2 calling for a sentence of 30 years, noting that Chauvin’s conduct was “particularly cruel.” In the memo, prosecutors noted the presence of four “aggravating factors” and urged the judge to issue a stronger sentence than that recommended by the guidelines.

Eric J. Nelson, Chauvin’s defense counsel, commented on the gravity and divisiveness of the sentencing during the hearing. 

“There are a great number of people who will view any sentence you pronounce as overly lenient and insufficient to satisfy justice,” Nelson said at the hearing. “But there is an equal number of people who will view any sentence you pronounce as draconian or overbearing.”

Several of George Floyd’s family members spoke at the hearing, including his daughter Gianna Floyd, his nephew Brandon Williams and his brothers Terrence Floyd and Philonise Floyd.

Williams described the lasting effects of George Floyd’s murder on himself and his family and spoke of Chauvin’s “active decision to kill a father.” At the end of his statement, Williams thanked the court for the opportunity to speak and called for the judge to hand down the maximum sentence.

During his statement, Terrence Floyd asked Chauvin why he made the decisions that led to George Floyd’s death. Terrence Floyd recounted the last conversation he had with his brother, adding how he and George Floyd were planning playdates for their daughters.

“My family and I have been given a life sentence. We will never be able to get George back. That is our daughter’s first love,” Philonise Floyd said at the hearing. “He will never be able to walk Gianna down the aisle at her wedding, attend those magical moments in her life such as the daddy-daughter dance, Sweet 16 parties, seeing off for prom and graduations and she will never be able to have any personal memories with her father.” 

Contact Aditya Katewa and Christopher Ying at newsdesk@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Fair Pay to Play Act to take effect beginning Sept. 1

Josh Kahen/Senior Staff

The Fair Pay to Play Act’s effective date has been moved to Sept. 1 by California state senators Nancy Skinner and Steven Bradford. The bill has been amended to included the community college system and allows athletes to now identify the school they attended while creating promotional material.

California state senators Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, announced Monday that they would be moving the effective date of the Fair Pay to Play Act to Sept. 1.

The bill was amended to include the community college system and adds athletic reputation, allowing athletes to identify the school they were in while making promotional materials, according to Skinner.

The announcement comes after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court against the NCAA, which originated with a dispute between former college athletes and the NCAA over compensation, Skinner said in a press release.

The implementation date makes SB 26 an urgency measure; the bill requires a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses to pass. Skinner said in the press release that as of now, it has bipartisan support and does not have any opposition.

SB 206, the bill that preceded SB 26, faced no opposition from legislators when it passed in 2019, according to the press release.

The Fair Pay to Play act is a law that restores the ownership of name, image and likeness to student athletes. Previously, students lost ownership when they signed a contract with the NCAA, Skinner said at a state Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and & Media Committee meeting. 

“If we keep our date in 2023, then our colleges are at a great disadvantage in terms of recruiting athletes, and also our students are disadvantaged,” Skinner said at the meeting.

Skinner noted that her office has been in contact with various colleges around California. While they may have previously opposed the bill, Skinner said in the meeting they are now “comfortable” with the effective date of the Fair Pay to Play Act being moved to Sept. 1.

According to Skinner, there is no current opposition from the colleges.

“It is our mission to provide an exceptional student-athlete experience by dedicating resources and support to our Golden Bears, and navigating through the potential changes brought about by SB 206 will be no exception,” said UC Berkeley director of athletics Jim Knowlton in a statement. “I will always be in favor of supporting our student-athletes and their well-being.”

Cal Athletics has put together a Name, Image and Likeness working group. Led by senior associate athletic director Jay Larson, it includes staff, coaches, current and former student athletes and faculty.

They will be working on finding the best course of action to support student athletes while implementing the new name, image and likeness policies, according to Associate Athletics Director Herb Benenson.

“A key element will be education to help student-athletes understand how to build their brands and take advantage of the legislation in a thoughtful and meaningful way,” Benenson said in an email. “We also expect to utilize systems and programs both within Cal Athletics and the broader campus.”

PAC-12 declined a request for comment. The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

Contact Ryan Teoh at rteoh@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter at @RyanTeoh001.

The Daily Californian

In the bustling laboratories of the School of Engineering, a team of innovative material scientists work to create a brighter, more sustainably powered tomorrow. Their recently published advancements to improve the durability of perovskite solar cells promise to advance renewable energy and solar technology.

The study, which was published in Science this May, examines the toughening of perovskite solar cells for commercial use. Improvements in the cells’ design have potential to provide a more cost-effective and efficient solar technology alternative.  

Solar (photovoltaic) cells are the building blocks of solar panels and attempt to capture light energy. When light strikes a material’s surface, it can transfer energy to the material’s outermost electrons, exciting them to a higher energy state. As these electrons return to their original, lower energy state, they release the energy they received from the light. Within solar cells, light excites electrons in a material layer known as the valence band. In additional layers, the electrons’ released energy is captured and then “released from the solar cell,” according to principal investigator Nitin Padture, professor of Engineering and director of the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation. 

“Perovskite” refers to the class of materials used in the light-absorption layer in place of more commonly used materials, such as silicon, said first author of the study Zhenghong Dai GS. But despite their humble differences, perovskite solar cells have presented a major development in the future of solar technology since their invention in 2009.  

The cells’ potential comes largely as a result of their efficiency, which is far greater than that of traditional silicon solar cells. While a light-absorbing silicon layer is roughly 200 microns, twice the thickness of a human hair, perovskites are only about half a micron in thickness and are thus referred to as thin-film. 

Other thin-film alternatives, such as cadmium telluride, may be used in solar cells, but these materials require relatively rare and expensive compounds. Perovskites, on the other hand, are made of only a small amount of earth-abundant materials, which significantly reduces their cost. They are also manufactured through a less energy-intensive production process and are more effective at absorbing light than other materials. As a result, these cells require less material to produce the same amount of electricity. 

“The main hurdle of the (current) photovoltaic market is the cost of fabricating … solar panels,” Dai said. A cheaper alternative, such as perovskite cells, “can revolutionize the market.”

But while perovskite solar cells would be expected to outperform conventional solar panels, they easily degrade over time. “What makes them easy to make also makes them easy to break,” Padture said. The interfaces between a perovskite cell’s material layers are prone to fracture over time as energy moves across them. This destroys the cell’s ability to capture light energy. While a silicon cell may be used for over twenty years, a perovskite cell dies within a few months. 

Capitalizing on Padture’s unique background in mechanics and solar cells, his team strove to combat perovskite cells’ breakdown. The researchers first identified the perovskite cell’s weakest interface, its Achilles’ heel, before looking at how to toughen it, a feat they achieved with “molecular glue,” Padture said.

The team sought to strengthen the adhesion between the layers of the cells by gluing them together. Since traditional laboratory adhesives would destroy the cell’s properties, the researchers instead turned towards self-assembled monolayers. 

The monolayers are composed of molecular chains with two functional groups, an anchor group on one side which attaches to one surface and an iodine group on the other which attaches to the perovskite side of the interface. The monolayers, sitting perpendicular to the perovskite surface, effectively connect both sides of the interface.

The anchoring of many such chains throughout the interface provides a strong bond between the two material surfaces and facilitates energy transport within the solar cell. As a result, the self-assembled monolayer acts as a “molecular glue” that not only toughens the interface but also enhances the cell’s efficiency. 

Prior to the usage of self-assembled monolayers, the commercial viability of perovskite cells was limited by their short reliable usage time of only 700 hours. The study has boosted this to 4,000 hours, Dai said. 

Marina Leite, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Davis, noted that the group’s use of their specific self-assembled monolayer  — known as the Iodine-Terminated Self-Assembled Monolayer, or I-SAM — boosts the interface’s toughness by about 50 percent, what she called a “major boost in stability.” 

But the team has only addressed one of the cell’s interfaces, and Padture identified at least four others that must be reinforced. He predicted that with continued advancements, perovskites may enter the commercial market within the next five to 10 years.

“The toughness of these bulky layers is like a chain. The strength of a chain lies in its weakest link. When you strengthen the weakest link, the next weakest link is going to break. So that’s what we’re working towards,” he explained. 

With a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the team plans to test the next weakest layers, conducting indoor and outdoor performance tests at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s large-scale testing facilities. 

Researchers noted that successful material science is interdisciplinary — it bridges the gaps between fields. “At the quantum level there is no boundary between chemistry or physics and engineering,” author of the study and Professor of Engineering Yue Qi said. 

Leite sees this reality reflected in this study, saying that it “demonstrates how the interplay between chemistry and mechanical behavior can pave the way for reliable, low-cost and high-performing solar cells.” 

The team, which also includes authors Srinivas Yadavalli GS, Min Chen GS and Ali Abbaspour Tamijani, has already seen cutting-edge and widespread implications of their work. For example, since perovskite cells can be tuned to absorb the spectrum of light that silicon cannot, engineers may layer perovskite cells atop silicon cells, potentially doubling the cells’ collective power output, Leite said. 

Due to their thin-film nature, perovskites may also be able to create flexible solar cells where traditional silicon cells would simply snap in half, Dai said. 

The study solves an almost decade-long challenge of interface treatment in perovskites that hindered their application in LEDs, Leite added. 

Because of its wide implications, the study was deemed by Wikipedia as one of the major scientific developments of 2021 and could help combat climate change effectively with efficient solar energy. 

Reflecting on the study’s potential, Padture said, “It’s quite exciting!”

Nearly half of the people police officers kill have a mental or physical disability. This grim reality can’t continue. With 1 in 54 Utah children being diagnosed with autism, any police encounters they have will likely result in serious harm. It’s also worth noting that Black disabled individuals have a higher risk of being killed by an officer, given that “the combination of disability and skin color amounts to a double bind.”

As the nation reckons with police brutality and attempts to improve police departments across the country, Utah is taking a step further. Utah Rep. Steve Eliason introduced a bill that mandates police training on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and crisis intervention for mental illness, which took effect in May. Despite these advancements, police are not fully equipped in handling neurodivergence and need more than just training.

To put it in perspective, there is no shortage of instances where Utah police have mishandled interactions with the neurodivergent and disabled. Last year alone, 40% of the people shot by police were experiencing a mental health event.

For instance, a 13-year-old kid was shot in Salt Lake City following a mental breakdown. The boy, who was evading arrest by running away, did not need to be shot at all. The botched arrest led to an uproar and examination of police abuse with neurodivergence, and eventually, Rep. Eliason’s bill. However, these steps of improvement don’t hinder the fact that Utah police have a history of ableism and brutality against mental illness. It should not take the injury or death of another disabled or neurodivergent individual for police to be properly trained. It’s despicable that it has even come to this.

Under Rep. Eliason’s bill, police will be required to complete neurodivergence and mental health training. This legislation seeks to help police officers differentiate between behaviors indicative of illegal activities (drug use) and behaviors associated with ASD and other mental health crises. However, the bill fails to specify what officers will be learning and any type of measurement to analyze the change in officer behavior and conduct. This vagueness and lack of structure are reasons to be skeptical of the bill’s actual effectiveness.

In Utah, a few police departments are stepping up their game by adopting Project Safeguard, which is an online program promoting “communication and … quick access to important information about a person with a disability.” The program differs from legislation as it offers specific information to the police for a neurodivergent individual, including description, behaviors and known triggers.

Through Project Safeguard, a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) will be sent out in the event of a mental health crisis. This CIT will be educated and experienced with knowledge surrounding ASD and mental illnesses. Project Safeguard is helping these departments understand autism and mental illnesses, but because only a few are actively participating, there is still work to be done.

For starters, we need to examine disparities in diagnosis. Black individuals are less likely to be diagnosed with ASD than their white counterparts, leading to police mishandling or outright abusing situations with people of color.

Improvements in diagnosis disparity can help facilitate the integration of other preventative measures for police violence. For example, some states are adding an optional license designation for diagnosed communication barriers and health conditions — including ASD. This designation can help police respond to situations and behaviors that may be unfamiliar to them.

There also needs to be better support for disabled individuals so that calling the police isn’t necessary. Specially trained health professionals or social workers should work alongside police officers on mental health crisis calls. The objective should be to de-escalate situations where a person is experiencing a mental health emergency. Addressing disparities in health care is vital to any legislation hoping to combat police abuse in times of crisis.

Above all, continuous training is necessary. A “one-and-done” training on crisis intervention won’t change deeply held perceptions about neurodivergence and mental health conditions. Police seem to be satisfied and feel well equipped in their knowledge of ASD after training, yet autistic individuals report feeling unhappy in their interactions with law enforcement.

Effective training bridges this gap, and clearly, it’s not happening, nor is this bill enough. To make real change, we should decrease interaction between autistic people and the police. Let’s leave these encounters to trained social workers who are better equipped to handle these crises.

c.alexander@dailyutahchronicle.com

@CamdenAlexande1

s.kincart@dailyutahchronicle.com

@sydjstar

The post Alexander & Kincart: Stop Policing Mental Illness and Neurodivergence appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

Gophers volleyball seniors Stephanie Samedy and Airi Miyabe have both decided to utilize their option to return for an additional season of competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stephanie Samedy has already produced one of the most accomplished careers in school history. The opposite hitter is a four-time All-American and All-Big Ten selection for the Maroon and Gold. Last Spring, she had arguably her best season earning 2021 Big Ten Player of the Year. She now enters her final season of collegiate volleyball having totaled 1,485 kills, 1,127 digs and 1,724.5 points throughout her career.

“With the amount of adversity that we all faced this year, there are still many ways we can find the positive within the madness. And for me, that is the ability to continue representing the Maroon and Gold on the court!” Samedy said in an Instagram post. “I’m beyond excited and grateful to announce that I will be returning for one more season as a Gopher!”

Outside hitter Airi Miyabe is now entering her third season with the Gophers and fifth overall. Miyabe, hailing from Osaka, Japan, has appeared in 32 matches and 70 sets for the Gophers since transferring to the school from the College of Southern Idaho prior to the 2019 season. Since arriving in Minnesota, she has compiled 101 kills.

“I want to thank the Minnesota program, coaches, teammates and fans who have supported my Golden Gophers journey. I have been blessed by lots of great people, amazing experiences and countless love. Words can’t express how much I appreciate all of you,” Miyabe said in an Instagram post. “I would like to announce that I will be returning next year for the 2021 fall season as a Gopher!

With the addition of Samedy and Miyabe, Minnesota now returns 11 letterwinners into this season. After a 16-3 record last season and a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament, the expectations will be high for the upcoming campaign.

After playing in the spring for the 2020-21 season, the Gophers will return back to their normal fall schedule this season. The 2021 fall season will begin Aug. 27-28 in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge against Baylor and TCU.

Fort Collins Police Services arrested a suspect while responding to a shooting around 1:15 a.m. on June 23.  According to a press release from FCPS, the incident occurred in a home at the 3300 block of Red Mountain Drive. 18-year-old Samuel Power was arrested after firing shots at the two other people in the home, […]

A state bill proposing the prohibition of “divisive concepts” in education has sparked controversy across Rhode Island on the inclusion of racial justice curricula in public schools.

The bill, which was introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly early March, comes amid a nationwide push by conservatives to limit such curricula in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer. At least 24 other states have seen similar actions in recent months.

The bill includes provisions such as prohibiting teaching students that “the state of Rhode Island or the United States of America is fundamentally racist or sexist” and that “any individual should feel discomfort, guilt or anguish on account of their race or sex.”

According to State Representative Patricia Morgan (R-Dist. 26, West Warwick, Coventry, Warwick), one of the authors of the bill, these provisions are collectively intended to root out what she referred to as critical race theory in schools.

“Critical race theory is a poisonous ideology that seeks to impose a new kind of racism,” she told The Herald. “It would have us judge people by the color of their skin instead of by the content of their character, which is the opposite of the goal that MLK set for us as a country and that we have embraced since the 1960s.”

Critical race theory is a branch of critical legal studies, typically covered in law school, that seeks to understand how the law perpetuates racial inequality. In recent months, however, the term has become a buzzword among conservatives, encompassing education about phenomena like institutional racism, white privilege and unconscious bias.

Morgan said that the bill is meant to ban education about concepts like structural racism and white privilege. “To be telling a six-year-old that they are guilty of white privilege — which, by the way, is a made-up construct — that’s just wrong,” Morgan said. “I don’t want them to be indoctrinated in an anti-white ideology that is poisonous to our American culture.”

But many teachers, students and organizers opposed to the bill say that it is intended to ban conversations in schools about racial injustice in American history and its persistence into the present.

Lindsay Paiva, a third-grade teacher at Webster Avenue Elementary School, said that the bill is intended to “put handcuffs on teachers and on schools, to limit what they can say.”

She added that many teachers feel that such bills create a culture of fear that threatens to chill necessary conversations about history and racial justice. “If you’re limiting what a teacher can say, and what they can teach about, and making sure that it fits within the box of white supremacy culture and that it’s aligned with this false narrative of American history — that’s indoctrination,” she said. “And that’s powerful, because then you’re bringing up generations to grow up knowing a false history.”

On the issue of critical race theory, Paiva said, “We don’t teach critical race theory in schools that are K-12 … This (buzzword) is a tool to mobilize the right.”

Paiva was an organizer of a June 12 rally against the bill in Bristol that was attended by teachers and students and that featured dozens of testimonies from students, educators and community members. The rally, part of a national day of action organized by the Zinn Education Project and Black Lives Matter At School, was held at the DeWolf Tavern, which was a major site of the slave trade in Rhode Island. “We chose a historical site that, if the bill were to pass, … we would have to lie to students about,” Paiva said.

Nancy Xiong, lead organizer for the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education, co-organizer of the June 12 event and a student at Rhode Island College, emphasized the importance of teaching about racial justice and diverse histories. “Growing up, I only learned about Eurocentric history and never had the opportunity to explore other perspectives, cultures and history,” she said. “I didn’t learn about my own history.”

“I want the next few generations, and those further on, to not only learn about Europeans and why they came to America,” she added.

Jesse Hagopian, a Seattle high school teacher and an organizer for the Zinn Education Project and Black Lives Matter At School, said that he sees the nationwide push behind this type of bill as a reaction to last summer’s protest movement against police brutality and systemic racism.

“The Washington Post described that uprising as the broadest in U.S. history,” he said. “Given the breadth of this movement, it really scared racists … They had to figure out how to stop this growing racial justice consciousness from spreading.”

Hagopian added that he views the most recent assault on racial justice content in schools within the context of historical racist suppression of education during slavery, Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement. “They knew that there was power in education,” he said. “This is the tradition that we stand in — this long Black freedom struggle that has always seen education as central to our goals.”

“For today’s racists, they are not so bold as to ban the reading of the word. But they do want to ban the reading of the world,” he said. “They want our students to not be able to understand how power is organized in our society, the role of white supremacy, and they want our students to be confused about the power of solidarity of white students and Black students and Indigenous students and students of color joining arms to take down white supremacy and inequality.”

Hagopian also commented on the national campaign against teaching about structural racism. “This is in no way a grassroots effort,” he said. “This is a well-orchestrated campaign from Republican Party operatives and their corporate sponsors.”

The struggle sparked by the bill has impacted school administrators elsewhere in the Ocean State. Jennifer Lima, a member of the North Kingstown School Committee, said that many conservative parents came to the most recent committee meeting to speak against what they saw as critical race theory. “We have recently created a diversity, equity and inclusion committee as part of our school committee … and they are concerned that we are pushing CRT,” she said.

She added that she and others have been the target of harassment on local social media in recent weeks. In South Kingstown, school officials received a death threat, according to Lima and Paiva.

“I hope that it comes to a peaceful conclusion, but I don’t see them going away quietly any time soon,” Lima said. “Sometimes they think they can intimidate people … but that’s not going to work.”

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