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A 1.5% tuition increase for students at the University of Minnesota was proposed as part of the administration’s 2022 operating budget during the June Board of Regents meeting held Thursday and Friday.

The tuition increase would raise fees by approximately $200 for Minnesota residents and over $450 for nonresidents on the Twin Cities campus. Although some of the regents questioned the idea of increasing tuition, most regents agreed that decreasing tuition or holding it flat was not sustainable due to financial constraints.

University President Joan Gabel said the $4 billion budget proposal, which includes the proposed tuition increase, reflects the “spirit, resiliency and shared sacrifice” of the last year, while also reflecting the $172 million budget deficit resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board will vote on the budget proposal at a special meeting scheduled for June 29.

Regents weigh in on the tuition increase proposal

“I don’t like it, but I can get there,” Regent Dave McMillan said in response to the proposed tuition increase at the meeting. McMillan chairs the Finance and Operations Committee, which oversees discussion of the budget proposal.

The 1.5% tuition increase is below the current rate of inflation, which ranges from 2-5%, according to Julie Tonneson, associate vice president and budget director.

Regent Darrin Rosha voiced his concern over the proposed tuition increase at the meeting and discussed the need for the University to stay competitive with the prices of peer institutions.

“When I think about quality public education, that’s also affordable,” he said at the meeting.

Moving forward from the pandemic

Tonneson said the budget will focus on moving forward from the pandemic.

“As opposed to last year, which was kind of a standstill budget due to uncertainties around the pandemic, the budget we are proposing to you… allows for movement forward,” Tonneson said at the meeting.

Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Myron Frans said the University should take the opportunity to move strategically as the administration develops the budget proposal.

“Big events require big responses,” Frans said at the meeting. “I’m really excited about the opportunity coming out of this really tough year… to making some strategic decisions to put us on the right path for a long time, not just a few years.”

The University also has $15.5 million dollars in proposed state funding built into the budget, although this funding is yet to be passed by the State legislature.

The budget also proposed a 1.5% increase in compensation for staff and faculty. This is below the current rate of inflation and comes after a freeze on merit raises and salary cuts throughout the last financial year.

Feedback from the University community

The board held a public forum Friday to allow members of the University community to give feedback on the budget proposal. Many of the speakers were current staff and faculty at the University.

Mostafa Kaveh, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, said the proposed 1.5% salary increase for faculty and staff is just a starting point.

“A 1.5% modest compensation increase, when we’re in a highly competitive environment for talent, is a step in the right direction, but it’s just a start,” Kaveh said at the meeting.

Phil Buhlmann, a chemistry professor at the University and outgoing chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee also supported the salary increase at the public forum.

“Please remember that half of the employees at the University of Minnesota earn less than $60,000,” Buhlmann said. “Please remember that the faculty were team players [during the pandemic].”

The regents are accepting written feedback from the public on the proposed budget on their website until June 23.

Abbey Machtig contributed to this report

The UH women’s 4×100-meter relay team consisting of freshman Camille Rutherford and senior Naomi Taylor and graduate students Samiyah Samuels and Tristan Evelyn scored the first points for the Cougars women’s team at the NCAA Outdoor Championships since 2012. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

The Houston women’s track and field team capped off its 2021 season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a total of two points and a tie for 58th-place finish in the team standings.

The two points were the most points the UH women’s track and field team has scored at the NCAA Outdoor Championships since 2012.

On Saturday, the women’s 4×100 meter relay team grabbed a seventh-place finish in the event final after clocking in a time of 44.29, led by freshman Camille Rutherford and senior Naomi Taylor and graduate students Samiyah Samuels and Tristan Evelyn.

On Thursday, senior Mikaila Martin wrapped her season up by launching a toss of 66.08 meters for a 12th-place finish in the women’s hammer throw final. Martin’s performance earned her All-America Second Team honors, the first Cougar to do so in the women’s hammer throw.

Rutherford earned a 10th-place finish in the women’s 100-meter dash semifinals with a time of 11.40, earning her All-America Second Team yet just missing the cut for the event final.

Graduate student Brianne Bethel trailed Rutherford by less than a tenth of a second, finishing at 11.49 for an 18th-place finish as she received All-America Honorable Mention.

In the women’s long jump finals, Samuels picked up an 18th-place finish with a jump of 6.12 meters to also earn All-America Honorable Mention honors.

The women’s 4×400 meter relay team picked up a 23rd-place finish with a time of 3:39.61 to wrap up Thursday’s events for the Cougars.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“UH women’s track and field ends season at NCAA Outdoor Championships” was originally posted on The Cougar

Located on 13th and Washington in Denver’s Capitol Hill district, Wax Trax Records has been at the heart of Denver’s alternative music scene since it opened in 1975.  Despite the inconspicuous appearance of the brick and mortar corner store, Wax Trax has a long history of putting on shows featuring both local and touring bands, such […]

Throughout the pandemic, Brown and local LGBTQ+ organizations alike have been forced to reimagine how to gather their communities while abiding by public health restrictions. Last June, the in-person pride parades and gatherings central to Pride Month were canceled or postponed as the COVID-19 pandemic reached new heights nationally. But this year, as COVID-19 rates continue to decline and vaccination levels rise, local organizations have begun to offer in-person celebrations, combined with some online events.

Pride Month’s timing at the start of the summer normally precludes on-campus celebration, given that most community members are away from College Hill. But the University’s three-semester calendar this year means more students are at Brown in June.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to celebrate Pride in June in quite the same way we’ll be able to celebrate Pride this year,” Caitlin O’Neill, assistant director of the LGBTQ Center, wrote in an email to The Herald.

The LGBTQ Center’s first in-person event of the year will take place Wednesday on the Main Green, where O’Neill hopes the LGBTQ Center’s staff will be able to “introduce (themselves) to a whole new generation of Brown students.” The event will include music, food, merchandise and a giveaway to students who sign up to attend.

“While the pandemic may still make gathering very difficult in many circumstances, recent guidelines from the state and from Brown are allowing us to come together,” O’Neill added.

O’Neill wrote that they hope having both in-person and virtual activities will allow students to “find programs that meet their specific needs and still allow them to make meaningful connections” with the LGBTQ Center and other students.

As public health guidelines ease locally and on campus, “we’re hoping that there will be more opportunities for LGBTQ+ students to … interact in ways that may not have been possible since the beginning of the pandemic and to be visibly seen and feel affirmed,” O’Neill wrote.

The LGBTQ Center will also host an online speed-friending event June 22 to allow students to “link up with each other and find some common interests,” O’Neill wrote. They added that the Center will collaborate with the Brown Center for Students of Color to host a talk with Rodney Davis, a community activist who helped organize with Rhode Island Pride in previous years, to speak about “his experiences as a Black queer man of faith.”

Other local organizations noted that their plans for the month are downsized from the large events held prior to the pandemic. Tiffany Carcieri, administrative coordinator of Youth Pride Inc., wrote in an email to The Herald that the organization typically marches in the Rhode Island Pride Illuminated Night Parade. Though the event has been postponed, YPI will host an outdoor celebration for their youth with “music, food, games and community.”

SouthCoast LGBTQ Network, which serves the LGBTQ community of southern coastal Massachusetts, has held large in-person celebrations in years past, including a speech from a protestor who was at Stonewall and a “Pride in the Park” event gathering 500 attendees, according to Andy Pollock, SouthCoast LGBTQ Network president. While the organization’s events were entirely virtual for 2020, it has expanded its operations to include some in-person events this year.

“We’re doing some things like walks in the park and some other safe outdoor activities,” he said. “But we’re also doing virtual events so people can join on Zoom.”

Among its in-person events, the organization will host a Round Table Talk Sunday which will discuss the documentary “Gen Silent,” according to Pollock. The documentary centers upon “older LGBT folks going back in the closet” to live in senior living facilities, he said. When picking the programming for this year, Pollock said, the organization focused on “youth, elders and the trans community,” hoping to highlight some particularly “vulnerable” groups in the community.

The organization also plans to show five films at the Zeiterion Theater in New Bedford, Massachusetts both virtually and in-person, Pollock said. Youth events will also include a mix of virtual and in-person programming, he said.

Still, some organizations have opted to exclusively offer remote events this year given ongoing public health risks. Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Elders Rhode Island, an advocacy group for LGBT elders, is offering a movie series for Pride Month through Zoom, they wrote in an email to The Herald. Additionally on June 28, SAGE RI will hold the SAGE RI LGBT Short Film Festival, which will include the opportunity for attendees to meet the films’ creators.

Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced local LGBTQ+ organizations to adapt their programming and find new ways to celebrate. Since most events were large and in-person, Pollock said that “when COVID hit, (they) had to really rethink fairly quickly.”

“We wanted to have a well-balanced and a comprehensive Pride Month,” which, going forward, might continue to include virtual events for those who cannot attend in person,” Pollock said. 

Coming out of the pandemic, local organizations are excited for the future of their communities. 

For Pollock, the recent purchase of a building in the works to become a community center will open new doors for SouthCoast LGBTQ Network.

For Carcieri, the pandemic has taught her and YPI that Pride transcends the events. “If you have enough pride in your own identity and are surrounded by like-minded individuals,” she wrote, “any day and any place can be Pride.”

Gophers CSCAA Diver of the Year redshirt senior Sarah Bacon placed second with synchro teammate Kassidy Cook Thursday night at the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials in Indianapolis, Indiana, after totaling 871.50 points over their 15 dives throughout the preliminary, semifinal and final round of the women’s synchro 3m springboard.

Bacon and Cook fell short of qualification for the Tokyo Olympic games this summer after placing second behind Alison Gibson and Krysta Palmer after the pair earned a total score of 899.82 points over their 15 dives.

Preliminary — Sunday, June 6

On Sunday morning, Bacon and Cook competed in the preliminary round of the women’s synchro 3m springboard event, totaling 266.46 points to finish second and secure a spot into the semifinal round.

The duo’s best dive of the preliminary was their last dive. While they had a miss early on in the competition, they pulled together a score of 68.40 on their synchro forward two and a half somersaults, one twist pike dive.

Bacon and Cook also saw similar success in their third dive after earning 67.50 points on their synchro inward two and a half somersaults pike dive.

Although the duo found success on dives three and five, the judges awarded Cook a balk on dive two that cost them a significant amount of points as they scored 32.40.

A balk in diving is when a diver initiates a motion to begin their routine but discontinues it before takeoff. This miss proved to be costly because balks cause a two-point deduction per judge and their score was cumulative throughout the three rounds of competition.

To round out their preliminary total, Bacon and Cook scored 49.80 points on dive one and 48.36 points on dive two.

Semifinal — Sunday, June 6

On Sunday night, the duo competed in the semifinals of the women’s 3m synchro springboard, improving their total score from the prelims by collecting 306.93 points for the round and totaling 573.39 cumulatively to secure a spot in the competition’s finals.

Bacon and Cook started the night slowly but quickly got into form for their last three dives of the night.

Once again, their best dive of the round was their fifth and final dive. Their forward two and a half somersaults, one twist pike earned them 73.80 points from the judges.

The duo also found success on dives three (inward two and a half somersaults pike) and four (forward three and a half somersaults pike), scoring 69.30 and 66.03 points.

To conclude their total in the semifinal round, Bacon and Cook scored 50.40 on dive one and 47.40 on dive two.

Final — Thursday, June 10

On Thursday night, Bacon and Cook competed in the final round of the women’s synchro 3m springboard, searching for a first-place finish and qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The duo totaled 298.11 points.

They entered the final round trailing behind first-place leaders Gibson and Palmer by 21 points.

As Bacon and Cook approached their final fives of the competition, they improved their score of each dive. They scored 72.90 points on their fifth dive (forward two and a half somersaults, one twist pike) of the night and 62.31 on their fourth dive (forward three and a half somersaults pike).

To conclude their totals from the final round, the pair scored 60.30 on dive three, 51.60 on dive two and 51.00 on dive one.

With only five dives left in the final round, Bacon and Cook couldn’t climb their way to the top as Gibson and Palmer extended their lead to 28.32 points by the end of Sunday’s competition.

A few misses in each round proved costly for the duo in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.

Space offers insight on benzene production, Berkeley Lab researchers find

Thors Lotsdal/Creative Commons

Researchers confirmed that free radicals can form benzene under conditions that are common in space. Although immediate practical application may be limited, the study contributes to a larger, important body of knowledge. (Pixabay License: No Attribution Required.)

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, or Berkeley Lab, the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Florida International University released research May 21 confirming that free radicals can react and form benzene under conditions that are prevalent in interstellar space.

For nearly a decade, Musahid Ahmed, senior scientist of chemistry at Berkeley Lab, Ralf Kaiser, professor of chemistry at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Alexander Mebel, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Florida International University, have worked on a series of models and experiments to study how soot forms, according to Ahmed.

Producing more than 30 papers in the course of more than 10 years, their study was published in the journal Science Advances, further exploring this mechanism.

“The reason our paper made it to this high profile journal is because what we predicted is what we saw,” Ahmed said. “That gives you some faith that the hypothesis we had is correct. This becomes important, because if you can model something that is correct, then you extrapolate that to temperatures and pressures, which we can’t do with an experiment.”

The experiments conducted by the researchers took place in 2019. Kaiser said through the use of the Advanced Light Source at Berkeley Lab, the researchers were able to detect not only benzene but also three other higher-energy structural isomers that were formed.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, can be detrimental to human health and can act as carcinogens, according to Kaiser. Naturally appearing in outer space, PAHs can also be produced when car engines burn fossil fuel; the chemical reaction responsible for their creation occurs in both scenarios.

“In space, (aromatic compounds) are actually supportive and critical to understanding the carbon balance,” Kaiser said. “On Earth, PAHs are really unwanted byproducts that we have to eliminate, and we have to understand how they are formed before we can eliminate them.”

While others have attempted to conduct this experiment in decades past, this group of researchers is the first to achieve success. Kaiser attributed previous shortcomings to loosely defined experimental conditions and analytical tools that could not distinguish between multiple structural isomers.

Although the research may not produce direct or immediate applications, it advances the subject and contributes to a larger, fundamental body of knowledge, according to Ahmed.

“It is not like this will give me a better car engine tomorrow or it will explain to me how some molecules form, but it goes into a body of knowledge that allows you to think about how origins of the universe took place, or how you will design the car engine,” Ahmed said. “It is a small part of a bigger picture.”

Contact Kira Rao-Poolla at kraopoolla@dailycal.org, and follow her on Twitter at @kiraraopoolla.

The Daily Californian

I thought A Quiet Place set a new benchmark for the horror genre because of its unique story and genuine sense of thrills. If the first movie laid the groundwork for that new kind of horror, this sequel raises the stakes immensely for both its story and suspense. It’s a sight to behold–or maybe not, if you catch my drift.

Emily Blunt returns as a mother trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world populated by blind alien creatures who have a hypersense hearing. Her husband Lee (John Krasinski) died at the end of the first movie after sacrificing himself so his family could be safe. She’s already given birth to her third child since the first movie and now they decide to leave their isolated house after it’s destroyed.

Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe costar as Blunt’s other kids, Regan and Marcus, who still use ASL to communicate and as they’re all about to become alien bait, they’re rescued by Emmett (Cillian Murphy), an old friend of Lee’s and now a survivalist takes the family under his wing.

It isn’t long before Regan stumbles upon a radio signal that leads to an island that might serve as a tool to defeat the creatures. Soon, Regan journeys out on her own in search of the island.

Even though Krasinski was only director and co-writer on this one, we do get a flashback sequence at the beginning showing the alien invasion in a very believable, gripping, and yes, terrifying fashion. This terror is only amplified by the fact that the sound is muted. It’s a remarkably ingenious device.

If the first film was similar to Alien, this sequel is closer to Aliens. Just like the first film, this is a technical and narrative marvel by upping the ante not only in some big moments, but some of the smaller ones once it’s mutated in our minds.

Krasinski is never content with giving us jump scares without a purpose or by making them feel inventive, effective, or at the very least, authentic. Not to mention there’s more character development going on which further enhances both the plot and tension in ways I won’t discuss here.

All I will say is that Krasinski has managed to accomplish something very sequels manage to do: Leaving us praying for a third one.

Grade: A

(Rated PG-13 for terror, violence, and bloody/disturbing images.)

‘Online classes suck’: Examining grading trends after a year of pass/no pass policies

Celine Bellegarda/File

Contact Shannon Bonet, Ji Yeon Woo and Connor Lin at projects@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

In a national championship event, the heart beats faster, time moves slowly and the pressure can be suffocating. It’s where collegiate athletes can make or break their career path. 

Behind record-breaking performances, the Trojans won their second NCAA outdoor National Championship in three years Saturday.

Redshirt senior sprinter and hurdler Anna Cockrell stole the show. She not only broke the 400-meter hurdles school record but became the second person to ever win the 400-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles in the same season. 

USC put up 74 total points after a full day of competition, which is the most points they’ve ever received. It is also the highest point total since Texas A&M scored 75 in 2014. 

Points are given based on finishes in the top-six of individual events — first place receives 10 points, second place gets 8; points then decrease by 2 until sixth place, which receives only 1. In relay events, first place is awarded 20 points, second place gets 16. Points then decrease by 4 until sixth place which receives only 2. 

The Trojans are now the only program to finish in the top three in each of their last four championship meets. During USC Director of Track & Field Caryl Smith Gilbert’s six-year tenure, USC has put up a combined 289 points in the NCAA Championship — the most in a six-year span by the Trojans. 

A day after their victory, USC Athletic Director Mike Bohn announced that Smith Gilbert would leave USC to become the University of Georgia’s new director of Track & Field.  

The 4×100 relay team of Jasmine Jones, Angie Annelus, Lanae-Tava Thomas and TeeTee Terry won the event for the second year in a row with a time of 42.82. The last time a team repeated this event was in 2013-14 when Texas A&M did so.  

Redshirt senior sprinters Kyra Constantine and Nicole Yeargin and junior sprinter Bailey Lear all finished within the top seven in the 400-meter final. Constantine’s personal record time of 50.87 moved her to third all time on USC’s list. Her performance also marked her as the fourth Trojan to score in the event twice. 

Freshman jumper Temi Ojora also contributed with an eighth-place finish in the triple jump. Ojora’s teammate freshman jumper Morgan Smalls placed fourth in the high jump with a collegiate-best clearance of 6-0.50. The clearance ties for the highest by a Trojan in the finals. 

In the final event, the championship already secured, USC’s 4×400 relay team ran the second-fastest time of 3:24:54 in school history. The Trojans were crowned champions, and eleven athletes were named All-Americans including Smalls, Ojora and Constantine. 

Even with the tremendous success of the women’s team, men’s Track & Field managed to finish fifth in the Men’s NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Redshirt senior Isaiah Jewett also set the school record in the men’s 800-meter run.