The Student Union and Activities (SUA) Board of Governors met with contractors on Jan. 26 to provide feedback about the proposed design for the new St. Paul Student Center building, which would combine the St. Paul Student Center, Magrath Library and the St. Paul Dining Center into one building.

According to Jason Hancock, interim director of SUA, the proposed project would make important services easier to find. The new building would be located at the site of the current Student Center on Buford Avenue and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2026, according to Hancock.

Contractors have not yet developed plans for the building that currently houses Magrath Library, as the library will merge with the new student center and dining hall. Magrath Library is one of two libraries on the St. Paul campus along with the Natural Resources Library.

“The selected site is intended to serve as a highly visible and welcoming campus gateway that will allow the new campus center to build a strong sense of connection to the rest of campus and a new destination that embodies the St. Paul campus experience,” Hancock said in an email statement to the Minnesota Daily.

The board and contractors plan to meet on Thursday to further discuss the pre-design process, said Tasha Reichhardt, a fourth-year student at the University and president of the SUA Board of Governors.

“Part of the pre-design effort will be to examine the impact of vacating Magrath Library on the campus as a whole,” Marc Partridge, a University architect who is overseeing this project and is director of design in Capital Project Management, said in an email to the Daily.

Reichhardt said the student advisory board, which approves budgets and spaces for student events and represents student interests, has been working with contractors to develop a budget and building operations plan since last year. The board also gathered student input in November on what students would want to see at the site.

The board has been advocating to expand dining services, provide food options produced on the St. Paul campus and offer multi-functional spaces for student groups and events, according to Reichhardt.

“We expect to see a focus on making the space accessible for everyone,” Reichhardt said. “This should include gender-neutral bathrooms, which the St. Paul student center currently does not have, ADA-accessible ramps and a lactation space.”

Contractors decided to build a new building after a University facilities condition assessment found that extensive repairs, replacements and upgrades to the building needed to be completed, according to Hancock. The last time the building underwent a major renovation was in 1980, he said in a statement.

Reichhardt said the board sought feedback from Bailey Hall residents and students from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences by conducting focus groups and interviews to develop the plan for the new building.

Reichhardt said she hopes the new St. Paul Student Center will be more environmentally-friendly to showcase the St. Paul campus as an environmentalism-based campus.

“We’re also hoping for more acknowledgment and incorporation of Indigenous history and heritage within the building, especially considering that the agricultural aspects of the St. Paul campus is really what land-grant universities were founded on,” Reichhardt said.

Martin Moen, an employee of the College of Veterinary Medicine, said the center was a hub for people to meet others and build a sense of community, but since services have diminished, it does not serve students and faculty as well as it used to.

“On multiple occasions, I have walked over there to buy something and found it closed or no longer available,” Moen said. “That makes me look somewhere off campus to find those services, and this works against my sense of the St. Paul campus as a community.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Marc Partridge’s professional title. Partridge is a University architect and director of design in Capital Project Management. 

Clarification: The contractors working on this project are University employees. 

The University of Minnesota’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) installed a new Wi-Fi service in every University residence hall on Jan. 12.

The new service is known as the Internet of Things (IoT) network, which “enables a wider range of IoT devices to be connected to Wi-Fi and enhances security by adding encryption,” according to a statement from Housing and Residential Life (HRL).

Louis Hammond, an IT Service Owner at the OIT, said in an email to the Minnesota Daily that IoT devices are a technology that connects and exchanges data over the internet. Devices such as smart TVs, medical devices, media streamers and gaming systems are part of the IoT.

“The Office of Information Technology has offered an IoT network since 2018 using the U of M’s guest network, however, some users found that connecting their IoT devices was difficult and some devices could not connect at all,” Hammond said.

Nora Engbring, a first-year student studying scientific writing and technical communications, noticed the IoT Wi-Fi is easier to connect to than the University’s eduroam Wi-Fi.

“I would close my computer or go to a different location on campus and have to re-sign in, and it wouldn’t work right away,” Engbring said. “It was really frustrating; sometimes it would take 15 minutes before it would re-load.”

Engbring lives in Bailey Hall and said her connection to the eduroam Wi-Fi lagged, especially when calling family from out of state.

Engbring said connecting to Zoom classes using the IoT Wi-Fi is also easier compared to eduroam because she can attend classes on time with no connectivity issues.

“I’ve had issues joining Zoom in the past where the Wi-Fi would log me out. I would have to re-sign in and then I would be late for class and miss participation points,” Engbring said.

According to the Academic Support Resources from the Office of Undergraduate Education, there are currently 431 online undergraduate courses being offered in the spring 2023 semester.

Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Croson said the University will continue to offer classes in different modalities as students and faculty become more comfortable with using technology to facilitate classes.

Although Engbring did not have any issues using the IoT Wi-Fi, their friend had trouble connecting his gaming system.

“One of my friends has Mario Kart in his dorm, and I know he had to reboot the whole thing and it logged him out of his progress,” she said. “I don’t know if that was [because of] the Wi-Fi or the fact that we were gone for a month.”

The IoT Wi-Fi improves connectivity, which allows students who are unable to connect to eduroam to connect their devices to the internet, according to Hammond.

Through IT service requests, surveys and feedback from HRL’s Student Computer Center Coordinators, HRL and IT were able to identify what students wanted out of their technology usage, according to Jill Froehlich, assistant director of University Services Information Technology.

Clara Smith, a second-year student studying information technology infrastructure, said she is happy the University implemented the IoT Wi-Fi in the dorms but wishes it was installed sooner.

Smith, who lives in Territorial Hall, said she was unable to connect some of her devices to the eduroam Wi-Fi when she moved to campus.

“My mom got me a Wi-Fi-connected picture frame that she could add pictures of my family on through the picture frame’s app so I could be reminded of them while away from home,” Smith said. “We were disappointed when I got to my dorm and realized the picture frame would not work with eduroam.”

OIT plans to enable IoT Wi-Fi across the University in the coming months, according to Hammond.

“There are about 8,000 IoT devices registered on the Twin Cities campus; around 75% of those are student devices,” Hammond said. “Because the majority of IoT users are students, the service was enabled in the residence halls and on-campus apartments first.”

The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced Nov. 16 they are partnering to invest $34.5 million in startup businesses.

During a press conference at the University’s Health Sciences Education Center, University and state officials announced the Minnesota State Small Business Credit Initiative’s (SSBCI) Direct Investment and Multi-Fund Venture Capital Programs, which will support up-and-coming Minnesota businesses with venture capital funding.

The new program comes after the state announced last month that small businesses across the state will receive $100 million as part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which has provided economic relief to individuals and businesses to offset economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The focus of these programs is to continue the string of Minnesota’s business community by injecting funding straight into venture capital and startup opportunities,” University Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Myron Frans said at the Nov. 16 press conference.

The programs launched after companies across the state reported venture capital funding was a top need for businesses, Executive Director of Launch Minnesota Neela Mollgaard said at the press conference. Launch Minnesota is a program that aims to grow Minnesota’s startup businesses.

The state and the University plan to inject $34.5 million into venture capital investments, targeting “investments in life sciences, agriculture/food tech, climate tech, advanced manufacturing, software, and technology,” according to a press release.

Any small business can apply for funding through the University’s SSBCI Venture Capital website.

UMN investing in innovation

Speaking at the press conference in the Health Sciences Education Center’s Makerspace, Frans said the University has worked with the state in the past to encourage innovation and creativity on campus.

He said spaces such as the Makerspace and the Toaster Innovation Hub in Walter Library reflect that innovation because “ideas become reality and sometimes they transform into startups that could benefit the program.”

“As a University, we educate new generations of leaders, we discover the technologies and cures of tomorrow and we engage Minnesotans and their communities in every corner of this state to bring our expertise directly to them and to work with them to make our ideas even better,” Frans said.

Startup Genome ranked the Twin Cities as the second top emerging ecosystem in the country, which the state hopes to maintain through the partnership with the University, according to Mollgaard.

“We are leveraging the knowledge and the talent within the University walls to make sure that our entrepreneurs have the talent and know-how to succeed,” Mollgaard said at the press conference. “Working together to develop and deploy new technologies is vital to Minnesota to keep us competitive nationally and globally.”

This collaboration between the state and the University is important in helping businesses in “a really disruptive economy,” according to DEED Commissioner Steve Grove.

At the press conference, Grove said there has been a 33% increase in the number of startup companies every month compared to four years ago. The program will provide increased resources to help small businesses.

The partnership hopes to set aside 50% of its funding to support underrepresented groups, such as companies run by people of color and veterans and companies located in Greater Minnesota, according to Grove.

“The state needs to play a role in that, the U needs to play a role that helps accelerate that growth and that opportunity,” Grove said. “These companies are creating the next jobs for Minnesota’s economy.”

Explaining venture capital and its benefits to businesses

Assistant Finance professor Richard Thakor said a venture capital fund is money collected by investors and merged together. Thakor said venture capital investments can help smaller companies grow and earn money over time.

“If you think of a small startup company, they don’t have a lot of other places to get money,” Thakor said. “You can put in your own money, but that’s going to be risky. You could try and take out a bank loan, and many companies do this, but they have to pay back interest payments over time and they may not be generating cash at that moment.”

Some companies that have received venture capital funding have become successful throughout the years, Thakor said. He said companies like Microsoft, Google and Apple used venture capital funds to grow.

Support from investors would help businesses develop connections with investors who have experience running a successful business.

“It’s actually less than 2% of companies that get venture capital funding,” Thakor said. “A lot of evidence has shown that venture capital provides not only the money but the advice and connections that have been successful in the past and helping them to grow.”

University of Minnesota students and community activists gathered in front of a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) near campus Nov. 11 to advocate for better abortion care services on campus.

The University’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized the protest to speak out against crisis pregnancy centers like First Care Pregnancy Center in Prospect Park, which protesters said use religious sentiment to prevent pregnant people considering an abortion from seeking one.

“The kind of talking points that they will usually present to prospective patients is a religious, fundamentalist [and] moralistic statement on abortion being a sin,” said Sorcha Lona, a first-year student and SDS organizer.

First Care presents itself as a place to get pregnancy tests and information about abortions, but once patients are in the door, workers use religious sentiment to turn patients away from abortion care, Lona said.

“They don’t label themselves as abortion clinics; they label themselves as crisis pregnancy centers,” Lona said. “When you hear crisis pregnancy centers, abortion care plans are the first thing that comes to mind, and [the crisis pregnancy centers] do not provide those things.”

First Care refutes protestors’ claims

In an email statement to the Minnesota Daily, First Care’s Director of Client Care Amanda Salmon said it is a faith-based organization and does not force conversations about religion onto patients.

“If clients want to ask questions or get help and support around their faith (any faith), we are happy to talk about it with them and provide resources,” Salmon wrote.

Organizers held up megaphones and led about 20 protestors in chants of “abortion is a human right, that is why we have to fight,” and “pro-life, that’s a lie, you don’t care if people die.”

A few protestors held up signs reading, “Make abortion accessible! More clinics and funding now!”

“[CPCs] offer judgmental counseling, unscientific abortion reversal pills and abstinence-only sex education,” Montana Hirsch, an organizer with the Minnesota Abortion Action Coalition, said to the crowd. The statement was met with verbal affirmations from protestors.

First Care refuted this claim in its email statement, stating the information they provide about abortion is taken directly from the Minnesota Department of Health. The clinic employs licensed social workers and registered nurses that provide support and professional services and truthful information, according to the statement.

CPCs are legally funded by the state under the Positive Alternatives Grant Program, which promotes alternatives to abortion, such as adoption. The grant offers approximately $3 million to crisis pregnancy centers per year, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

However, First Care claimed they do not receive state funding.

“Those protesting our First Care center clearly do not know anything about what we do, or how we go about doing it,” First Care said in the statement. “If these protesters had ever been inside our center and/or used our services, they would know their claims are categorically not true of our centers.”

Speakers express frustration about abortion, LGBTQ+ rights

Hirsch spoke about measures other states have taken to protect abortion access through voting in recent election ballots.

“Here in Minnesota, we re-elected Tim Walz as governor,” Hirsch said to the crowd. “But we have to remember that voting for Democrats will not guarantee abortion access.”

Hirsch also called for activists to put pressure on politicians to expand abortion access and stop funding CPCs.

David Gilbert-Pederson, strategic director for AFSCME Local 3800, the union representing clerical workers on campus, spoke to the crowd in support of SDS.

“We stand with you in this fight to get these predatory crisis pregnancy centers off our campus and out of our city,” Pederson said. “We can’t fight for our coworkers or students if we allow these groups on our campus.”

CJ McCormick of Climate Justice Committee addressed the crowd, and in a heated speech, said the government “want[s] to control women’s bodies and want[s] to control our reproductive health.”

McCormick also spoke about the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn of Roe v. Wade for LGBTQ+ rights.

“As a queer dude, I couldn’t help but notice that when they announced their intent to overturn Roe v. Wade, Obergefell v. Hodges was on the docket too,” McCormick said. “They absolutely intend to overturn rights to marriage access; they absolutely intend to strip away trans rights; they intend to strip away gay rights.”

Students are working to establish an Asian American Studies (AAS) department and major at the University of Minnesota, saying too few opportunities exist to learn the importance of Asian American history and culture.

First-year students Veronica Tan and Laichia Vang conducted a research survey for their sociology class centered around Asian American identities.

The survey asked participants about their history with taking AAS classes, being involved in activism and their overall opinion on having an Asian American studies major at the University.

The University currently offers AAS as a minor, with required courses in politics, history and Asian American culture. Vang said having an AAS major would allow Asian Americans to feel more seen on campus.

“Coming from a student who has always attended predominantly white institutions, never quite seeing yourself is detrimental to your health and internalization of who you are,” Vang said.

According to the University’s Institutional Data and Research database, 12.7% of students enrolled during the fall 2021 semester on the Twin Cities campus are Asian, which is nearly 7,000 students.

Despite offering classes on AAS, the University has never had an established department. Asian American studies courses are currently offered through other departments, such as sociology and gender, and women and sexuality studies.

According to the College Board, 26 universities nationwide, including one Big 10 school, offer an Asian American studies major. The AAS minor director and psychology professor Richard Lee said the University’s AAS minor was added as part of a failed initiative to push for a general Asian studies department in the early 2000s.

“When we were starting out, it was really important for us to first just come together as faculty and develop an undergraduate curriculum and see how receptive it would be to the student population,” Lee said.

Lee said the University has held discussions on moving the initiative to department status, but no action has been taken recently.

Tan and Vang spoke with Lee about creating an AAS department and major, but Lee said acquiring enough staff dedicated to teaching Asian American studies courses would pose a challenge.

Acquiring departmental and major status also requires additional University funding. Every department at the University is granted a budget for courses, hiring faculty and other programming needs, Lee said.

According to an email statement from the College of Liberal Arts, programs must submit a proposal to the college’s legislative body to request a new major. Members would then discuss and evaluate the proposal.

“These conversations can also consider additional innovative strategies that might best serve students and faculty well in a given subject area,” the statement said.

Survey results show student support for an AAS major

From their survey, Tan and Vang found that because most surveyed students had already declared another major, they did not express interest in majoring in Asian American studies. However, many said they welcomed making it available to prospective students.

“Many of them say that they would like to have these classes because in their past educational careers, Asian American studies is not focused on,” Tan said. “It is always about European history or American history.”

Some students who took the survey said they have not taken AAS courses at the University because they were not made aware of their existence.

“There are young folks who already have an idea of what they want to do, but they don’t know too much about the courses that are offered,” Vang said. “Certainly, there’s a lot of students who do want to take a course, but it is not offered in a semester.”

Tanvi Abraham, a third-year student studying political science and philosophy, said the lack of an AAS major reflects that the University doesn’t prioritize recognition of Asian American identities. She said she thinks this makes it difficult for Asian American students to learn about their own culture.

“I think they acknowledge that it exists, but beyond that, I think it is very difficult to find more about your own history,” Abraham said.

Abraham said she noticed her professors often focus on Western culture or history in their lessons, with some of her major-specific classes failing to cover important people in Asian history.

“You’re given enough information if you’re white and you don’t know anything about it,” Abraham said. “But if you are Asian American and want to learn more about your history, or you actually want to use it and have a degree in it, you’re out of luck.”

People who filled out the survey had the option to opt in to participating in a focus group led by Tan and Vang to discuss what they would like to see in a potential AAS major.

Abraham said she plans to participate in the focus group and hopes to contribute ideas about classes and her vision for the major.

Many support the creation of an AAS department and major, and there is hope to move the conversation forward, Lee said.

The need for Asian American representation has only increased following the COVID-19 pandemic when anti-Asian sentiment increased in the U.S. and internationally, Tan said. Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by nearly 150% in March 2020, and Tan said the AAS major would educate students on Asian American culture and remove stereotypes.

“It is important for me to recognize who I am, where I come from, but [to] also share that to the people around us,” Vang said.

Demand for University of Minnesota mental health services has continued to rise this semester, leading to longer wait times for appointments as students deal with college stressors following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandemic stressors like fear about health, isolation and financial loss caused a sharp increase in use of mental health resources for college students. However, while COVID-19 restrictions have receded, University officials have found demand for their mental health services has not.

Demand for mental health stays high

During fall 2021, about three-quarters of students reported moderate or severe psychological distress, according to a national survey of college student health.
People have gained awareness of their mental health concerns following permanent lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic, according to University psychology professor Liza Meredith.

Meredith said the pandemic shifted the way people view mental health through changes in school routine and social interactions, which caused people to adapt to new routines through virtual appointments and living at home.

“A lot of people took their mental health for granted until there was a major event that made them realize how so much of our lives are kind of built on the status quo,” Meredith said.

Boynton Health and Student Counseling Services (SCS) experienced a surge in demand for mental health services after the pandemic compared to during the pandemic, according to Matthew Hanson, interim director of Boynton Health’s mental health clinic.

According to surveys taken annually by the University’s Orientation & Transition Experiences, 30% of students from the class of 2024 indicated they had mental health concerns ahead of beginning classes. This percentage increased to 46% of students from the class of 2025.

In 2020, when most classes were held remotely, Boynton’s mental health services experienced lower demand than average because more students lived at home than on average, in some cases out-of-state, Hanson said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

“In 2020, we were able to see students more frequently and with less wait times between appointments, as many students were living at home and receiving support from local resources,” Hanson said. “In 2021 and 2022, students returned to campus at near pre-pandemic levels, and central mental health services increased proportionally.”

Effects on students

Since the onset of the pandemic, Boynton Health has offered intake appointments, individual and group therapy and psychiatric services through Zoom.

Demand for telehealth services has risen due to its convenience for students’ schedules, Meredith said.

“[Students] feel more comfortable asking for help, which is a good thing,” Meredith said. “There’s more telehealth than ever before, and while that is a good thing and increases supply [of counselors], some people want the in-person option.”

Despite availability of telehealth services, students must be living in Minnesota to receive mental health services through SCS and Boynton due to state licensure laws that do not allow for out-of-state mental health service.

Second-year student Emma Nelson tried getting therapy services through Boynton last spring. She had an intake appointment in April, but she was not able to schedule a following therapy appointment until the semester was over, when she returned to her home state of Wisconsin.

“I was kind of shocked because I thought that it’s such a big university with well-funded health services and that they would have openings sooner, especially when finals were coming up,” Nelson said. “I feel like that’s a time when students might really need extra support.”

Typically, demand for mental health services rises during midterms every fall semester due to the stress of increased course work and seasonal changes, Interim Director of Student Counseling Services Michelle Bettin said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

Students who seek care through SCS can expect to wait three weeks for an intake appointment based on appointment and student availability, Bettin said.

The frequency of therapy appointments depends on students’ availability and needs, which vary throughout a semester and are discussed by providers. During an intake appointment, patients are clinically assessed to see if they require immediate care and should be referred to Boynton’s crisis clinic or off-campus services.

Meredith said stigmas surrounding counseling may make some students hesitant to these services. Students may not realize that counseling is private and what a student tells a counselor will not be publicized, Meredith said.

“Sometimes things can feel really bad in the moment, but then it gets a little better,” Meredith said. “Maybe people don’t see [counseling] as worth it.”

Students who need immediate care and are not able to schedule an appointment are encouraged to utilize the University’s Learn to Live and Let’s Talk programs and the 24-hour crisis line.

President Joe Biden launched his student loan forgiveness program on Monday, according to reporting from NPR. Biden plans to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for each student who qualifies. 

The plan is to cancel up to $10,000 in debt for people who make less than $125,000 annually. Those who received Pell Grants could receive up to $20,000. 

Applicants must have a federal student loan to qualify for relief. Graduate students and parents who borrowed federal PLUS loans may be eligible for relief if they meet income requirements. 

The application, which is open through Dec. 31, 2023, requires the loan borrower’s name, date of birth, social security number and is available in English and Spanish on mobile and desktop devices. 

Borrowers will not need to provide or upload any documents, including tax records. The application asks borrowers to check a box stating the information they have provided about themselves is accurate. 

Borrowers could expect debt relief within weeks of their application being processed. 

Last week, the administration published the beta application, which nearly 8 million people applied for with no reported technological issues, according to the White House.

Biden also announced an extension to the federal student loan payment pause through Dec. 31, with payments scheduled to begin in January.

A University of Minnesota student’s passion for sharing her culture and traditions has brought a unique art exhibit to life at the Coffman Art Gallery.

Rawan AlGahtani approached Student Unions and Activities (SUA) last spring with the idea to bring some of the achievements of her home country to campus.

The ZEHBAH exhibit, which will run until Nov. 13, features scenic art and patterns made and imported by artists living in Saudi Arabia.

“It was very much a learning opportunity to expand the art and culture behind Saudi Arabia,” Student Events and Entertainment Coordinator Joy Quach said. “I had a lot of fun seeing the different art and learning more about the culture through speaking with Rawan.”

Quach said the exhibit has helped students gain awareness of the presence and contributions of diverse cultures on campus.

“Coming into a predominantly white school, I had this assumption, ‘I don’t know if different cultures like mine or other peoples’ would be represented,’” Quach said. “Seeing an art show like this shows me and other students that the U does care about diversity and that they want to display different cultures and traditions.”

According to the University’s most recent statistics on international student enrollment, 48 students from Saudi Arabia enrolled at the University in 2019.

This exhibit marks the first time an undergraduate student worked in collaboration with SUA to curate an art exhibition. However, it is not the first time that SUA has featured artwork from different parts of the world.

“We’ve worked with UMN Extension and one of the professors brought in some works from Morocco, and we met the leader of Morocco at the opening,” said Tricia Schweitzer, arts and archives director for SUA. “We’ve also worked with graduate students to curate a show with the College of Design or the Department of Art.”

AlGahtani worked with an artists’ guild from Saudi Arabia, which shipped the art from Saudi Arabia or reproduced them as prints for display on campus. AlGahtani and Quach also held a reception to celebrate the exhibit on Sept. 22, which organizers said was well-attended by students.

AlGahtani said she named the exhibit ZEHBAH, which means “gold and wealth” in Arabic, to signal the richness of Saudi Arabian culture reflected in the chosen works.

“This exhibit helps signify the importance of displaying Saudi Arabian art, culture and traditions,” AlGahtani said.

Sara Alamry, whose art was featured in the exhibit, said her anime drawings are inspired by girls from the Asir region of Saudi Arabia who have been unable to marry whom they choose due to a lack of women’s rights in the country.

“I want people to understand and realize the fact that art, in all its forms and methods, has a story or suffering behind it,” Alamry said in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

The exhibit has been well-received by students, organizers said.

Quach recalled a memory of a student who stumbled across the group installing the artwork in the gallery. The student was curious about the artwork and asked the group if he could take a closer look at it. To Quach, the encounter showed how much students are interested in looking at art to learn about different cultures.

A notebook placed at the front of the exhibit displayed student feedback about the exhibit. Some anonymous comments included, “Keep doing what you’re doing,” “So amazing and beautiful” and “Inspiring!”

What will happen to the exhibit after it leaves Coffman Art Gallery is uncertain. Schweitzer said depending on the success of the exhibit on campus, she will consider working with AlGahtani to bring it to other galleries.

Making it a traveling exhibit “is certainly something we could consider based on how popular and well-received it is,” Schweitzer said.

Chinese billionaire and founder of JD.com Richard Liu agreed on a settlement on Sunday in the lawsuit against him from a former University of Minnesota student, but the settlement’s details remain unclear.

The lawsuit stated Liu allegedly raped the former student in 2018. Richard Liu, also known as Liu Qiangdon, denied raping the student, Jingyao Liu, and prosecutors never filed charges. In a joint statement from both parties’ attorneys, the encounter was a “misunderstanding.” 

“The incident between Ms. Jingyao Liu and Mr. Richard Liu in Minnesota in 2018 resulted in a misunderstanding that has consumed substantial public attention and brought profound suffering to the parties and their families,” according to the statement. “Today, the parties agreed to set aside their differences and settle their legal dispute in order to avoid further pain and suffering caused by the lawsuit.”

Jingyao was a volunteer at the Doctor of Business Administration program at the Carlson School of Management in 2018 and was invited to attend a dinner with Liu and other businessmen in Uptown. She said Liu encouraged her to drink an excessive amount of alcohol. Liu allegedly raped Jingyao at her apartment later that night. 

This lawsuit was the first instance of sexual assault allegations made against a billionaire, according to University law professor Richard Painter. The suit was also a rare instance of a Chinese woman seeking legal charges against a man in an American courtroom. 

Before the settlement was announced, the jury trial was set to begin Monday morning.

As students return to campus, the University of Minnesota is continuing outreach efforts and testing to combat the spread of monkeypox in the campus community that began this past summer, including offering frequent communication about vaccination and treatment options to students.

“Outreach, education and vaccination efforts are currently focused on meeting the needs of those at risk of exposure,” Jake Ricker, director of public relations at the University, said in an email to The Minnesota Daily.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), monkeypox is a viral disease that is caused through skin-to-skin contact between individuals, contact with contaminated objects such as bedding and clothing and respirator particles transmitted between people. Individuals with monkeypox might experience flu-like symptoms and a rash or skin lesions, which can persist for up to four weeks without treatment.

As of Tuesday, 173 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Minnesota since June, according to the MDH.

The University has also been collaborating with the MDH to review access to vaccines as they became available and has provided guidance to the other system campuses about testing, vaccination and educational outreach.

“We ensured readiness to support members of our community in complying with MDH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines such as those for isolation while sick with monkeypox,” Ricker said in the email statement.

The University’s Boynton Health is also now administrating monkeypox tests. A student should only be tested for monkeypox if a rash appears, according to Ricker. If a student suspects that they have monkeypox, they are encouraged to contact Boynton to discuss testing options.

While monkeypox has existed in other parts of the world for about 50 years, the first case was identified in the U.S. in May. According to Roli Dwivedi, the chief clinical officer at the Community-University Health Care Center, because of its novelty, scientists remain unsure about how to classify the virus.

“It is still said that it is transmitted through the bodily fluids or the skin lesions, but it is not identified as an STD,” Dwivedi said

Monkeypox infections disproportionately affect men who have sex with men, but the disease can infect any individual regardless of gender and sexual orientation, according to a study of the virus’ spread.

Some of the groups University officials have worked with to build awareness on campus include Pride @ Work, an LGBTQIA+ affinity group, Housing and Residential Life and the Gender and Sexuality Center, according to Ricker.

Their outreach efforts involve sharing resources about prevention strategies and vaccine information, which has been an ongoing effort since the start of the summer, according to Ricker.

Dr. Lauren Fontana, an assistant professor and infectious diseases physician at M Health Fairview, said students should take preventative measures to avoid being exposed to the virus, despite a downward trend of cases in Minnesota and across the U.S.

Fontana suggested students follow standard hygiene practices to prevent themselves from the disease, such as washing their hands often and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer. However, she said the odds of catching the disease from contact with surfaces is “extremely low.”

“Early detection of a monkeypox infection is important to prevent the spread of
infection to others,” Fontana said. “In general, monkeypox is not as contagious as COVID.”

For more information about monkeypox, Boynton Health compiled a Q&A about the disease on their website. The University’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy has also published the Monkeypox Resource Center page, which features the latest news about monkeypox.