The University of Minnesota’s Queer Student Cultural Center (QSCC) faces an uncertain future after some board members went on strike to protest allegations of racism and misconduct and the majority of the QSCC’s leadership resigned.

Eight members of the Board of Governors (BOG) went on strike starting April 2 due to a disagreement with the way the QSCC administration was handling allegations of racial microaggressions, according to former BOG member Lynn Dinh.

The QSCC is governed by administrators and the BOG, which has included up to 25 members during the spring semester. Members of BOG have a variety of responsibilities such as monitoring the QSCC’s physical space in Coffman Union and leading group meetings and events.

Dinh, one of the strike’s main organizers, resigned on April 9, citing frustrations with slow progress and a continually hostile work environment.

Those on strike stopped keeping the QSCC’s physical space open during their office hours, Dinh said. Some strikers also stopped leading their group meetings.

Strikers have also withheld some money raised in a recent fundraiser, Dinh said.

Strikers made a list of demands, including having the current administration resign, changing hiring and election processes and restructuring leadership. They also demanded the QSCC post a public apology.

Instances of racism and microaggressions

“I can tell you that in my three years at the University of Minnesota, I have never faced this level of racism,” Arthi Jegraj, a BOG member, said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

Jegraj facilitates Roots, one of the QSCC’s identity groups. Roots is specifically for queer students of color.

Recently, they closed Roots meetings and online communities to anyone who does not identify as a person of color, stating, “there can be no safe space for queer BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) folk within [the QSCC] if white folks are present.”

Sara Lam, the QSCC’s former treasurer, resigned in February due to feeling disrespected by other QSCC leaders. Lam said leadership repeatedly talked over people of color, including her and Dinh, in a way that felt discriminatory.

Both Lam and Dinh said when they tried to bring up unequal treatment and microaggressions, leadership did not fully address their concerns.

Lam and Dinh said members used their queer identity or disability as a shield to claim they could not have done anything racist. This caused their concerns to be pushed aside, they said.

One of the major changes both Lam and Dinh advocated for included updating the process for filing complaints about microaggressions and misconduct.

Members can currently file complaints about racism, or any other unacceptable behavior, in a “safer space report,” which the administration was responsible for addressing.

Dinh said complaints about racial microaggressions were improperly addressed and responses to complaints favored the education and comfort of the perpetrator, rather than the safety and comfort of the victims.

“The [QSCC] is actively making change because they have been pushed to do so after mishandling quite a few issues regarding racism, and I’m glad we’re on the path to doing better,” Jegraj said.

The future of the QSCC

The QSCC is one of nine student cultural centers on the second floor of Coffman Union. Student cultural centers are some of the most active University student organizations and have a long history of activism.

The QSCC was originally founded in 1969 as FREE, or Fight Repression of Erotic Expression. In 1998, it transitioned to its current name.

Four of the five administration members from this semester have resigned, including the president, vice president, treasurer and outreach manager.

Two administrative members resigned before conversations about restructuring and the depth of racism in the QSCC began, events manager Lauren Hagen said.

The three remaining administrative members sent a survey to BOG about whether they should remain in their positions, according to Hagen.

Hagen, who is the only remaining administration member, said the “vast majority” of BOG members voted for them to stay. However, more than half of BOG voted for the other two administrators to leave, which they did.

QSCC posted an apology to their Instagram page on April 7.

 

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“We write to you to offer our sincerest apologies for the many instances of racism that have occurred within our space,” the statement read. “Our actions and inactions have made it so our space has not been safe for people of color.”

The statement pledges to amend the group’s constitution to create a new governance system and update the system for addressing instances of harassment. It also requires board members to attend implicit bias and bystander intervention training.

Hagen said the QSCC hopes to have the current governance system fully replaced by a committee system by spring 2024. The QSCC will have a transitional committee-based system in fall 2023.

Former outreach manager Alexander Lucas said he saw the plans for the transitional committee-based system and is concerned it is not significantly different from the current system.

Lucas said he “wholeheartedly” agrees with strikers that the QSCC has not been a safe space for queer people of color and believes the proposed changes are insufficient in addressing their concerns.

President Joan Gabel announced April 3 she will be stepping down as president of the University of Minnesota after this spring semester, ending a presidency influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and rising inflation.

Gabel is leaving Minnesota to serve as the University of Pittsburgh’s next chancellor.

In 2019, Gabel started as the University’s first woman president. Over the past year, Gabel has been criticized for aspects of her most recent contract and her decision to accept a position on Securian Financial’s board of directors, from which she later resigned.

A survey the Minnesota Daily sent out to University community members, including students, staff, faculty and alumni, reflected mixed reactions to Gabel’s time in Minnesota.

This survey is not statistically significant because of the sample size and collection method. The survey should be considered a large questionnaire and not representative of the entire University community.

A total of 528 University community members completed the survey. About half of the respondents were students and about one-third were staff. The remaining respondents included faculty and alumni.

Respondents were asked several questions about their thoughts and feelings on aspects of Gabel’s performance and leadership over nearly four years.

When asked to rate Gabel’s overall performance as president on a scale of 1 to 5, with one being the lowest rating and five being the highest, the majority of respondents gave Gabel a rating of 2. About one-fourth rated a 3 and about 5% answered with the highest rating.

Respondents overall tended to view Gabel’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic better than her overall performance or her handling of campus safety issues and transparency. About half of the respondents gave her a rating of 3 or 4 for her pandemic response.

On the other hand, about half of the respondents gave her a rating of 1 or 2 for her handling of campus safety. Nearly half of the respondents rated her 1 in transparency.

Gabel has been criticized for her salary increase in December 2021, especially after tuition increased 3.5% for the 2022-23 academic year. When the Board of Regents approved her new contract, board members said the salary increase would put her in the median of what Big Ten presidents make.

Some survey respondents said they thought Gabel was “greedy” and “money hungry.”

“I didn’t really do a whole lot of research myself, but I have heard a lot of negative things about her taking a lot of money for her own benefit, raising her salary and not really adding a lot of value to the school as a whole,” Steph Robertson, a senior studying strategic communications said.

However, some community members said this is too harsh of a characterization.

“She’s obviously leaving for more money, but people are sh****** on her more than they need to because she is a woman,” Lizzy Hokanson, a senior studying mechanical engineering, said. “Would the same thing happen with a guy leaving for more money? I don’t know.”

Many survey respondents also said they did not think she contributed much to the University during her tenure.

Peter Fitterer, a senior studying mechanical engineering, said he does not think he has seen noticeable changes at the University since Gabel began her term. Hokanson agreed. As seniors, they were freshmen the same year Gabel became president.

However, some survey respondents had relatively glowing remarks about her contributions, saying she provided steady leadership, kept the University community as safe as possible during the pandemic and showed more awareness of safety issues than previous presidents.

Overall, most respondents said they are not upset that Gabel is leaving.

About one-fifth of respondents said they are disappointed Gabel is leaving the University, while about one-third said they are optimistic about the future following her departure.

Several respondents said they hope the next president focuses on continuing to improve safety, lowering tuition, increasing transparency and being more in touch with students.

The Board of Regents met on Thursday morning to discuss the process of choosing the University’s interim president following Gabel’s departure as well as required qualities for the interim. The board will meet again Monday afternoon to continue discussions.

“I hope that the next president sees more of the students and what the students want and need,” said Braylin Pantila, a freshman in computer science.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused Twin Cities public transit ridership to drastically decline and now, three years later, those numbers still have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

However, many University of Minnesota students still use public transportation, especially after the passage of the Universal Transit Pass (UTP) last fall.

Yingling Fan, a professor and researcher at the University’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, conducted research regarding public transportation usage and found national public transportation usage is at 70% of what it was pre-pandemic. In the Twin Cities, public transit usage is around 50% of pre-pandemic levels.

Metro Transit, which operates Twin Cities buses and the light rail, recorded an average of 231,534 rides on a weekday in January 2020, according to performance data. In January 2023, Metro Transit provided an average of 119,724 rides on a weekday.

Some researchers worried the pandemic would cause riders to associate public transportation with illness and make it a less desirable way to travel, Fan said.

According to Fan, ridership numbers should resemble what they were pre-pandemic if riders’ main issue was fear of illness.

“Right now [most] people are not wearing masks, they don’t require public space and surfaces to be cleaned, so I think right now the issue is not really about COVID safety,” Fan said.

Fan said she thinks fear of violence, rather than fear of illness, is a driving factor to why ridership is down. Additionally, she said a bus driver shortage forced Metro Transit to reduce operations, likely preventing a rider rebound.

UMN students and the Universal Transit Pass

Although public transportation ridership across the Twin Cities is down, student usage may have increased.

In 2022, the Board of Regents approved the UTP for undergraduate and graduate students. The UTP grants unlimited, free access to the Metro Transit light rail and bus system for students who pay the transportation and safety fee.

To activate the UTP, students had to tap their U Cards at a Metro Transit light rail station or at stations in Coffman Union or the St. Paul Student Center.

According to Lonetta Hanson, administrative services director and chief of staff in Parking and Transportation Services, more than 22,000 students activated their UTP. This is about double the number of U-pass users, a public transportation pass offered for an extra cost before the UTP passed, in fall 2021.

First-year student Leah Johnson said if the UTP was not in place, she would not use public transportation often. The UTP allows her to use public transportation as frequently as she needs.

Using the light rail is “really beneficial to go to your classes, especially on West Bank, when it’s cold out,” Johnson said.

Second-year student Maxwell Bryson also said he would limit his public transportation if the UTP was not in place.

Bryson said he uses public transportation to get “almost everywhere” including classes, work and groceries.

While Bryson is in support of the UTP, he wishes it covered the Northstar Line. The Northstar Line extends north of the Twin Cities and has stops in Fridley, Coon Rapids-Riverdale, Anoka, Ramsey, Elk River and Big Lake.

Bryson said the U-pass, which preceded the UTP, covered the Northstar, which allowed him to visit that area, where he’s from, for free. The UTP covers about $3 of the Northstar fare, which varies based on day and distance covered.

Neither Bryson nor Johnson said they were concerned about getting ill or catching COVID-19 from public transportation.

As the weather warms up and the first signs of plant life emerge, the University of Minnesota’s Facilities Management (FM) is making sure outdoor spaces are prepared for spring.

FM clears away the remnants of winter and brings in new equipment and plants for the spring, having to adapt to all four of Minnesota’s seasons.

A common springtime task for FM landscape workers is removing the sand, litter and organic debris exposed after the snow melts, according to Tom Ritzer, assistant director of landcare. FM workers clean up the campus and the state fairgrounds, where the University brings excess snow from campus during the winter.

FM also has to clean, organize and prepare tools and equipment for summer, Ritzer said. Some equipment has different uses across seasons, such as lawn mowers, which must be reverted from their winter use as snow removal machines.

Landscaping workers also spend this time preparing the flower beds and seasonal displays, according to Ritzer. They clear out any dead plant material and will begin planting bulbs and pansies later this month.

FM also puts out lawn furniture so students can sit outside and enjoy the warmer weather, Ritzer said.

According to Ritzer, FM street sweeps throughout the growing season, about April through October, to keep the campus clean and to help prevent debris from getting into rivers or other bodies of water.

In mid-May, FM will activate the irrigation system and repair any issues it has, Ritzer added. This is also when events at the University during which FM often does litter control, tend to become more frequent.

Long-term projects aim to increase biodiversity

Some long-term projects FM is working on include increasing biodiversity in trees and converting traditional campus landscaping to low-input landscaping, Ritzer said.

According to Ritzer, having biodiverse trees prevents one disease or insect from wiping out all of the trees in an area, which happened across the Midwest in places that primarily planted ash trees in the early 2000s when the emerald ash borer, an invasive species of beetle, infested and destroyed millions of ash trees.

FM is also phasing in tree species believed to be more resilient to warmer weather caused by climate change, Ritzer said.

Over the past decade, FM has been working to convert traditional landscaping to low-input landscaping such as meadows and prairies, Ritzer said. Low-input landscapes require less maintenance and use less equipment, fertilizer and potable water than traditional landscaping.

Preparing indoor spaces for summer temps takes weeks

In addition to adapting the outdoor spaces to the changing of the seasons, FM is also responsible for preparing University buildings for weather changes, including when temperatures rise in the spring and summer.

According to FM Associate Vice President Bill Paulus, FM transitions buildings from heating to cooling, which unlike in most homes, is an involved process that takes several weeks.

“The process includes filling and preparing cooling towers and varies slightly in each of the 280 campus buildings we serve, and can only be completed when temperatures are consistently above freezing,” Paulus said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “Additionally, some of our buildings use window air conditioning units, which are started-up on an individual basis.”

The challenge of the seasons

Working in a climate that experiences a wide range of temperatures adds complications to landscape architecture, Brad Agee, the director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Landscape Architecture, said.

The freeze-thaw cycle causes cracks in pavement to form and grow quickly, “essentially guaranteeing” concrete will crack, Agee said.

Additionally, many decorative plants used by the University such as begonias, which are native to South Africa, are not suited to Minnesota winters, Agee said. In warmer climates, begonias are perennial, but in Minnesota they must be dug up and replanted every year.

Agee said there are plants native to Minnesota that are better suited for the range of seasons. Many of the tall grasses in the prairies and meadows are native to the region, which is part of what makes these areas low-input.

According to Agee, deciding what to prune before the winter months can also be difficult because some plant material is used by wildlife to withstand the winter. He gave the example of matted down ornamental grasses, which act as a blanket for pollinators trying to withstand the cold.

With spring underway, tick season will soon come with it, and insect surveillance experts in the Twin Cities are predicting Minnesota could experience a high number of Lyme disease cases and other tick-borne diseases.

Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD), which monitors tick presence in the Twin Cities metro area, saw a thriving population of deer ticks last year, according to public affairs manager Alex Carlson.

MMCD monitors tick presence by catching mice, a common host for the deer tick, and measuring how many ticks are on them, Carlson said. Last summer, MMCD saw record-high numbers of ticks per mouse, especially in early August.

Based on last year, MMCD expects ticks to be “out in abundance,” Carlson said.

May and June are the peak months of transmission for Lyme disease, which is transmitted by deer tick bites, Carlson said. At this time, ticks are in the nymphal stage, meaning they are small and difficult to spot. If not spotted and removed, ticks will stay attached long enough to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Despite May and June having the highest rate of transmission per month, ticks emerge from the ground as soon as the snow recedes, according to Benjamin Clarke, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School who studies Lyme disease.

Clarke said in an email to the Minnesota Daily the estimated number of new Lyme disease cases is “enormous,” more 350,000 annually.

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an inflammatory response to the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, Clarke said. The only way to get exposed to the bacteria is through a tick bite, introducing the bacteria into the host’s skin as the tick feeds.

The first sign of Lyme disease is a bulls-eye rash at the sight of the tick bite, Clarke said. Subsequent symptoms include headache, nausea, achy joints and muscles, and cognitive difficulties.

If Lyme disease is caught and treated with antibiotics early in the infection, the patient has a good chance of a full recovery, Clarke said. If Lyme disease is not treated early, it can cause more severe, chronic problems such as arthritis, brain swelling and nerve damage.

“Treatment with antibiotics later than a couple of weeks [into the infection] risks the chance of a more severe problem of infections in the joints, brain and heart,” Clarke said. “In general, long-term problems from Lyme disease are not lethal, but the patient is plagued with numerous chronic miserable problems.”

Why is there an increase in Lyme disease cases?

Lyme disease cases increase as the tick population grows, according to University tick-borne disease researcher Jonathan Oliver.

“In general, we are seeing a big expansion in the range of the deer tick, which carries most of the human diseases in the U.S.,” Oliver said. “As the deer tick range is expanding, we are seeing an expansion of all associated with it.”

The cause of this expansion is unknown, but climate change likely plays a role by allowing ticks to survive farther north, according to Oliver.

He said the tick population in pre-existing habitats has increased, likely due to changes in ground cover, land use and animal host patterns.

“We are seeing increases in the density of ticks in their forested habitats, beyond what it used to be in some cases, far beyond what it used to be,” Oliver said. “In many areas, there used to be no ticks.”

The proportion of ticks that are infected with the Lyme disease-causing bacteria has increased in recent years, Oliver said. About 33-50% of adult deer ticks and 25-33% of tick nymphs carry the bacteria.

How to protect yourself

The best way people can protect themselves from Lyme disease is by being aware of when ticks are out and when they are entering areas with ticks, according to Oliver. It takes at least 24 hours of the tick feeding to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Checking for ticks after being in an area where ticks are prevalent is also important, Oliver said. Ticks are prevalent in wooded, brushy and grassy areas. Oliver said using insect repellent that contains DEET is effective in repelling ticks.

Additionally, Carlson said people can help reduce the number of ticks in their yard by keeping their grass short and reducing overgrown vegetation on their property lines.

More than100 University of Minnesota students learned how to administer the overdose-reversing naloxone and received an overdose response kit at a training event sponsored by the student group Boynton Health’s Recovery on Campus (ROC) and the Steve Rummler Hope Network (SRHN) on Monday in Moos Tower.

Each attendee received an overdose response kit, which included three intramuscular syringes, three doses of naloxone, gloves, alcohol wipes, a breathing barrier and an instruction card. The training provided information about overdose statistics in Minnesota, how to spot an overdose and how to administer intramuscular naloxone.

“Opiates are a very prevalent thing in our community and in college, it’s no different,” ROC President Jordyn Berg said. ROC is for those who are in recovery, have a loved one in recovery or want support related to substance use.

Naloxone is a drug that helps reverse opioid overdoses. It is sometimes referred to as NARCAN, which is the brand name of a nasal spray mechanism that dispenses naloxone, not the drug itself, SRHN presenter Liz Johnson said.

Berg said she hopes as more students learn how to use naloxone, people who overdose will be able to receive care more quickly, saving lives.

“People that have recovered have so much joy and appreciation for life and to think that some people aren’t getting that chance is heartbreaking,” Berg said.

This was the second overdose response training of the school year, with about 200 students attending a training in December 2022. There will be another overdose response training on April 14.

All Boynton Health advocates were trained to administer naloxone and given intramuscular naloxone in January, according to Julie Sanem, the director of health promotion at Boynton Health.

The Steve Rummler Hope Network helps lead naloxone training

The SRHN is a nonprofit based in St. Paul that works to train people on how to respond to overdoses. Equipping them with naloxone is one of the organization’s harm reduction initiatives.

Harm reduction is an approach focusing on reducing the potential consequences of high-risk behaviors, such as substance use, according to Boynton Health Interim Assistant Director ThanhVan Vu.

Naloxone can be given with a nasal spray or injection into a muscle (intramuscular) or vein (intravenous). The kits the SRHN hands out contain intramuscular naloxone, which should be injected into a major muscle such as the upper arm or the thigh, Johnson said.

There were 5,471 emergency room visits in 2021 in Minnesota related to opioid overdoses, according to Johnson. Of those visits, about 18% resulted in the death of the patient.

Steve’s Law, also known as the Good Samaritan Law, states people can attain naloxone without a prescription, Johnson said. Along with being able to carry naloxone, Steve’s Law also ensures the person who calls 911 will not be prosecuted if they are intoxicated with, or in possession of, a small amount of illicit drugs.

The SRHN handed out 27,208 overdose response kits and conducted more than 100 training sessions in 2022, according to Maddy Reagan, the overdose prevention manager at SRHN.

Naloxone is an extremely safe and effective drug, Reagan said. It is rare for people to be allergic to it, and even if administered to someone who has not overdosed on opioids, the person will not be harmed or affected, Reagan said.

If naloxone is given to someone who overdosed before their heart stops, that person has an about 90% chance of survival, Reagan said. After administration, naloxone is effective for between 30 and 90 minutes.

How to spot an overdose

Those experiencing an opioid overdose may lose consciousness or fail to respond, exhibit slow and shallow breathing or stop breathing, and/or have “pinpoint pupils,” Johnson during Monday’s training.

Other signs include making gasping or gurgling noises, a slow heartbeat and cold or discolored skin. It is important to note skin discoloration looks different on different skin tones, Johnson added.

According to Johnson, when responding to a person who seems to have overdosed, look for these signs and then attempt to wake the person, then call 911 to say it is a medical emergency. Administering naloxone and rescue breaths will give the person the highest chance of survival, Johnson said.

Clarification: Boynton Health advocates were trained to administer naloxone and given intramuscular naloxone in January.

The University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) hosted Goldy vs. Cancer, an event to raise awareness about cancer and cancer prevention for kids and families, Saturday at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

MCC set up 20 stations around the museum to teach children about cancer through games, crafts and conversations with volunteers. Goldy Gopher roamed the museum to encourage families to take part in the event.

“This is all [put on by] researchers who work within the Masonic Cancer Center,” MCC Events Coordinator Elsie Aldrich said. “They have each developed little tables that have activities for kids and families to do.”

The stations covered a variety of topics including the physical effects of cancer, the importance of healthy habits in cancer prevention and cancer research.

One station had real human tissue samples showing how cancer changes different organs. Lung samples showed the dark gray lung of a smoker compared to a healthy lung tissue sample.

At another station, volunteers taught kids about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, helping them plant seeds for cancer-fighting foods.

Another station explained how genetic risk factors can affect the likelihood of cancer. Kids made bracelets with beads representing their physical characteristics to represent how genes affect the body.

The importance of cancer prevention

Forrest Fleischman, who was at the museum with his 7-year-old son, said he was not aware the event would be going on when he decided to go to the museum.

Fleischman said his son enjoyed the event and learned about cancer and cancer prevention in a way that was engaging and age-appropriate.

Randi Johnson and Colton Cannon are fourth-year dentistry students who worked at a station about oral cancer. They taught kids about how proper oral hygiene can help prevent oral cancer and handed out dental floss.

“Creating healthy oral habits early on in life is so crucial to long-term success,” Cannon said.

Cannon said his station taught kids about oral hygiene in a way that he hopes made them feel more comfortable visiting the dentist.

Johnson said although oral cancer primarily occurs in older adults, anyone can be diagnosed with it. This makes it important to ensure people know the signs of oral cancer and dentists are checking for oral cancer in patients of all ages, he said.

Elea Hansen, who worked at a station about cancer-fighting foods around the world, decided to volunteer for the event because of the impact cancer had on her life.

“I have three family members who have terminal cancer, so cancer prevention is really big for me and my family,” Hansen said. “It’s really important to start thinking about it at a younger age.”

The University of Minnesota Department of French and Italian hosted a seminar Feb. 28 on Romance languages evolving to include nonbinary and gender-diverse people and how second-language classrooms are approaching these changes.

The Romance languages are often referred to as Latin languages and include Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.

Romance languages have many words, including adjectives, nouns and pronouns, that are categorized as either feminine or masculine, potentially causing nonbinary and gender-diverse people to feel unrepresented by the language.

“The debate of gender-inclusive language [in Romance languages] is still very much going on, and there are a lot of options being proposed for gender-neutral pronouns,” said Michela Russo, a Spanish professor at the University of Michigan who co-founded the Gender Diversity Committee (GDC), at the seminar. “There is nothing static as of today.”

The GDC focused on researching what conversations were happening around gender and gender-neutral language in countries where most people speak Romance languages, according to Russo.

The GDC found languages are adapting to create non-gendered ways of referring to people who identify as nonbinary or gender-expansive.

“Language is very much alive and really depends on the practice of people,” Russo said.

However, gender-neutral language is not universally accepted or recognized. The Royal Spanish Academy and the French Academy, organizations responsible for preserving and maintaining their respective languages, do not currently recognize gender-neutral language.

Gender traditionally strict in Romance languages

Romance languages often have two gendered ways of assigning pronouns or adjectives to people and objects: masculine and feminine. This structure does not account for people who are nonbinary, or identify as neither strictly male nor female.

“Languages are not fixed entities,” Lorenzo Fabbri, the director of Italian Studies at the University, said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “Nonbinary communities in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal are taking it upon themselves to innovate their native tongues to make them more inclusive.”

LangIn is a group of University graduate students researching the use of gender-neutral language in native speakers and its application in second-language classrooms, with their current focus primarily on Spanish.

Pronouns in Romance languages match the gender identity of the person they refer to, which is why speakers are developing gender-neutral pronouns to talk about nonbinary people, according to Fernando Gonzalez Lesniak, a member of LangIn.

The same can be said with adjectives in Romance languages. Adjectives must match the grammatical gender or gender identity of the subject, Gonzalez Lesniak said.

Some Spanish speakers have started using “e” or “x” as gender-neutral endings to adjectives, Gonzalez Lesniak said. Feminine words typically end in “a,” while masculine words end in “o” in Spanish.

Instructors implement gender-inclusive language in UMN classrooms

Foreign language instructors at the University are not currently required to teach how languages are adapting to become more gender-inclusive, according to William Viestenz, the chair of the University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies.

However, some instructors choose to work gender-neutral language into their curriculum. French instructor Lauren Goodspeed said she makes a conscious effort to introduce students to gender-neutral language options.

“Even beyond pronouns, there are so many aspects of the French language that are gendered, and so there are a lot of new forms and neologisms that are being used and proposed by trans and nonbinary communities in the French-speaking world,” Goodspeed said.

Viestenz and Goodspeed noted that one obstacle to incorporating gender-inclusive language is that many textbooks do not include gender-neutral pronouns or adjectives.

Viestenz said the Department of Spanish and Portuguese is currently working on creating and publishing its own textbooks, which would include discussions of gender-neutral options. A textbook will be developed in the 2023-24 school year for Spanish Composition and Communication (SPAN 3015W), a class with a typically high enrollment rate.

“We are making an effort to incorporate [gender-neutral language] even if our textbook doesn’t,” Goodspeed said. “When I’m teaching new grammatical concepts, I’m always going to provide additional nonbinary forms that aren’t necessarily introduced in the textbook.”

On Feb. 12, the University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) responded to a report of property damage in progress on the pedestrian level of the Washington Avenue Bridge.

The next day, UMPD arrested Michael Walter Kimber, 37, on suspicion of damaging the windows lining the sheltered part of the bridge using a club, blackjack or brass knuckles, according to a UMPD police report.

Ethan Polcyn, a third-year student at the University, was taking a late-night stroll when he heard about the Washington Avenue Bridge and the broken windows on the police scanner. He went to the bridge to check out the damage.

“When I first showed up, I didn’t notice anything at first because it [the damage] was primarily on the south side of the bridge,” Polcyn said. “As I walk, I start seeing broken glass on the ground because with the lights, I could kind of see it shining, and then I just saw window after window after window shattered.”

The Washington Avenue Bridge connects the University’s East Bank campus to the West Bank campus above the Mississippi River.

In total, 47 windows were damaged, according to a tweet by the University’s Department of Public Safety. University Facilities Management estimated the total clean–up and replacement of the broken windows will cost more than $50,000.

Lara Newton, a second-year student at the University, noticed the broken windows on Feb. 13 while walking to her class on West Bank.

“On my way to class, I noticed almost right away that a couple of the windows were completely cracked,” Newton said. “It looked like something was thrown at each of them because there was a big impact spot at the center.”

Newton said there was broken glass across both the north and the south sides of the bridge.

Both Polcyn and Newton said they were surprised the University did not send out an email, advisory alert or SAFE-U alert to notify students of the damage or the broken glass on the walkways.

“After seeing all of the broken windows, I was expecting to hear about it everywhere,” Newton said. “I kept asking my friends if they saw or heard about all of the damage, but no one did.”

Andria Waclawski, assistant director of Public Relations at the University, said the University did not send out communication about the damage to the bridge because “there wasn’t a safety concern, disrupted access or other community impacts.”

Polcyn and Newton both said they were still curious about what happened to the bridge and would have liked to hear from the University.

“I was waiting for the University to send out an email explaining what happened and when it would be fixed, but I never saw something like that,” Newton said. “I am still a little curious about what happened, so I wish [the University] would have sent something out.”

As warmer months approach, University of Minnesota experts at the Raptor Center are preparing for migratory birds to return to Minnesota and likely bring the avian flu with them.

The current avian flu outbreak, which has been ongoing since early 2022, is caused by the H5N1 virus. This virus is an influenza A virus that originated and circulates in birds.

The Raptor Center, which is connected to the University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is one of the largest hospitals for ill and injured raptors such as eagles, hawks, owls, falcons and vultures. Experts are concerned this year’s migration season will cause a spike in avian flu cases.

“I expect that migrating birds will again be carrying high amounts of virus,” said Professor Carol Cardona, who studies poultry health and wellbeing at the University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “We will see poultry cases again, and some people may find dead birds in their yard.”

Although Cardona expects a spike in cases in the coming weeks, she said she believes overall avian flu cases are decreasing because wild birds that are infected with the virus either develop antibodies against it or die.

In 2022, the Raptor Center had 213 birds who tested positive for the avian flu come under its care, according to Executive Director Victoria Hall.

Raptors are some of the birds most affected by the avian flu, according to Hall.

“Once they get sick, if they make it into a rehab setting, we know the majority will die from it,” Hall said. “We did have one survive [in 2022], a great-horned owl, and go back to the wild.”

The Raptor Center closed to the public last summer for the safety of the birds, according to Hill.
The avian flu can be spread through fomites, or contaminated particles, that humans can carry on their shoes or clothes.

The Raptor Center is now open, but there are heightened sanitation requirements for visitors. Visitors must wear shoe covers and sanitize their hands and any mobility aids that touch the ground must go across a disinfecting mat.

The Raptor Center is working on a project that tests wild birds for antibodies to the avian flu, Hall said. If researchers find wild birds with antibodies, it could indicate the avian flu has a higher survival rate than previously thought.

Avian flu impacts wild turkeys, poultry and egg prices

Avian flu can be transmitted to small mammals and even humans, but these cases are fairly rare, according to Cardona.

The more recent outbreak is primarily being transmitted by wild birds and has low levels of transmission between poultry farms when compared to the 2015 outbreak, according to Amos Ssematimba, a researcher who studies flu transmission.

More than four million poultry birds have been affected by this outbreak of avian flu, compared to about nine million during the 2015 outbreak, Ssematimba said.

Still, this outbreak is a major contributing factor to higher egg prices, he said.

According to Cardona, different species of birds react differently to the virus. While many raptors are prone to severe illness and death, some ducks and geese show no symptoms of illness from the virus.

Wild turkeys, which are abundant on and near campus, seem to be at a low risk for developing serious illness from the avian flu. Coyotes are a bigger threat to wild turkeys than the avian flu, according to Cardona.

There have been avian flu cases in wild turkeys, but the cases seem sporadic and don’t indicate that the wild turkey population is struggling due to the avian flu, Cardona said.

Birds who have the avian flu tend to present neurological symptoms, such as twisted neck syndrome and walking as though intoxicated, Cardona said. He recommends reaching out to avian experts before approaching a bird exhibiting these symptoms.