With sub-zero temperatures and finals week in full swing, it can be challenging for students to stretch their legs and take a minute to de-stress. Thursday’s RestWell at RecWell event was meant to give students respite of peace during a tense week.

Hosted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Beacon Room at the University of Minnesota’s Recreation and Wellness Center, the RestWell event was intended to give students an excuse to study, relax, socialize and build community, said RecWell Director of Brand and Creative Strategy Olivia Wicker.

“We started it three or four years ago,” Wicker said. “Originally, we were thinking, ‘Let’s just get some hot cocoa,’ and then, throughout the years, we’ve added in more crafts and got a lot of good feedback from students about what they like.”

The event included dedicated arts and crafts tables with snowflake making, pen making and origami as well as study tables for students to get some work done. 

Wicker said the RecWell hosted similar crafting events in the past such as “Inkwell”, a dedicated pen-making event during midterms in October.

Another popular RecWell de-stress activity is “Kindness Grows,” an event put on every spring at both the University’s Minneapolis and St. Paul gyms where students can decorate flower pots and plant seeds, according to Wicker.

 “We do get the feeling people enjoy it,” Wicker said. “I guess the only way we really know is because students keep coming back every year, and they usually leave with a smile and their hot cocoa.”

Wicker said they expected 300 to 400 attendees this year, based on previous numbers.

“We’ll go unless we run out of supplies, which I feel like we’ll run out of Reddi-Wip because that’s been really popular,” Wicker said.

Second-year student Willow Hosmer said events such as RestWell are great at helping her stay relaxed, warm and cozy, especially with the colder weather moving in.

“There’s no pressure of talking to anyone or doing really hard things,” Hosmer said. “I can come and be my inner child. I haven’t made snowflakes since elementary school so I can totally let go of my brain and just have fun.”

Hosmer said the event’s social aspect was also integral because this time of year with finals and cold weather can be isolating.

Second-year student Abby Groos said having de-stress events at RecWell is a good idea because students can come and relax, but it also makes it easier for less frequent RecWell users to utilize the center’s facilities.

“I’m not as scared to go because there’s people there, and it’s more of a community space than a gym,” Groos said. “I don’t have to work on anything intense but I could if I wanted to, and that kind of exploring can sometimes be very scary at a place like the gym.”

First-year student Jean-Steven Tougnon said he had only seen the poster for the RestWell event after finishing a workout and decided to check it out, thinking it would be a nice place to finish some schoolwork.

“I still gotta grind so I wasn’t really into the regular activities,” Tougnon said. “Not that they’re not cool, I just have some things I gotta finish.”

Tougnon said de-stress events like RestWell are great because they allow students to take a break from electronics and the stress that comes with them.

Doctorate student Agro Gushwa said his opinion on de-stress events has changed, initially thinking that they were problematic due to promoting de-stressing without dealing with the sources of said stress.

“But I think oftentimes people study longer than they really need to,” Gushwa said. “They’ll study for five hours and think they haven’t done enough, but having a break like this does more justice to the long-term study habit than continuous studying and having a headache from it.”

Gushwa said future events should incorporate more physical activities and promote a “mind/body getaway” atop the more creative de-stress activities.

One way students can incorporate a more physical study break during finals week is through the group fitness classes at the RecWell. From Dec. 12 to 20, group fitness courses will run on a reduced schedule, but students will be allowed to attend free of charge.

The University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs hosted its Global Get-Together on Tuesday, connecting students with international fellows, alumni, community members, and Humphrey faculty and staff.

In celebration of the end of the fall semester, the Global Get-Together lunch is typically held three times a year and is an opportunity to celebrate the last semester’s work. It is also an opportunity to connect students and faculty from several different degree programs whose focus aligns with the Humphrey School’s global policy area, Global Policy Area Chair Eric Schwartz said.

Schwartz said that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Humphrey School has worked to rebuild the tight-knit community they once had through similar events.

The smaller size of the Humphrey School’s student body plays an important role in connections between students and faculty, making it easier to do whole-school events, Schwartz said.

“We’re not such a big school,” Schwartz said. “We’re a big school of Public Affairs, but we’re not a big school.”

Even with the smaller class sizes, Schwartz said it can sometimes be difficult for faculty to host one-on-one conversations with students, which is why events such as the Get-Together are so important.

“This builds social capital, which is a really important concept,” Schwartz said. “If you have that relationship, it’s a hell of a lot easier for a student who might feel intimidated about being in touch with a professor if they say ‘call me’ or ‘be in touch with me’ after a conversation like this.”

The end of the fall semester is not only a time for Humphrey students to connect and celebrate the work they have done, but it is also a time for the school to identify their main areas of focus, said Humphrey School Head of Communications Meagan Pierluissi.

“We’re working with the faculty to identify themes, not just one area of study, but a theme that multiple functions can feed into,” Pierluissi said.

Themes that Pierluissi said may play a big role in the Humphrey School’s studies include issues with water related to wars and climate change happening both in Minnesota and globally, humanitarian efforts in conflict or natural disasters and the engaging with others across divisions through the development of constructive dialogues.

“We’re a globally minded, Minnesota-situated policy school, so our students come here with a global focus,” Pierluissi said.

Schwartz said a recent focus of the Humphrey School is advanced policy analysis and developing expertise on difficult foreign policy issues.

Along with the Get-Together lunch, the Humphrey School hosted several other events Tuesday in honor of National Human Rights Day, including a faculty discussion on creativity in human rights research, a keynote address from the Center for Victims of Torture CEO Simon Adams and a Human Rights Day poster symposium put on by Humphrey students.

Nurudin Barre, a first-year graduate student at the Humphrey School, was one of several presenters to showcase their poster at the symposium.

Barre said his assignment was to commemorate Human Rights Day by creating a presentation on a specific human rights violation. Barre chose to focus on the systematic link between schools and prisons in the United States. 

Barre said that the smaller class sizes at Humphrey have helped him feel like part of a community within the Humphrey School compared to his undergraduate experience.

“I think the difference between undergraduate and graduate school is people want to be here if they’re signing up for more school,” Barre said. “When you walk around here, you can see people who are passionate about so many different things. We all have such different wants and passions, but we all have the same goal, which is the best for the world, and human rights.”

To combat end-of-semester stress, the University of Minnesota’s Wilson Library hosted the Long Night Against Procrastination, an event giving students structured time to study or finish homework.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening, students braved the whipping cold winds to sit in the relaxing atmosphere of the Wilson Research Collaborative Studio in Wilson Library. 

This is the fifth consecutive year that the University Libraries held the Long Night Against Procrastination, according to University Libraries Undergraduate Services Specialist and Event Emcee Lacie McMillin.

“We just want to give students the space to be productive, but also in a fun way,” McMillin said. “We’re just trying to get more students in the library that may not come here to study regularly, like we’re giving them a reason to come and have fun while they study.”

The event began with a brief introduction by McMillin explaining the structure of the event, which included dedicated focus and break times. 

Break times often involved participation in specific activities.

The first break time activity was the “Positive Post-It Study Break.” Students were given three minutes to write a positive message, drawing or affirmation on a post-it note. Then, they could choose to either give it to another attendee, give it to event staff to pass out over finals week or place it on one of the studio’s various whiteboards.

McMillin then read off a few of the student-written notes of positivity including ones saying “You’re so hot!” and “Keep Slaying!”

The second dedicated study break included a book recommendation activity and book swap involving the University of Minnesota Book Club. The third activity was a pizza break, courtesy of Mesa Pizza in Dinkytown.

Although the event had dedicated study and break times, it was a very relaxed setting with students able to come and go as they pleased and engage in additional activities like button-making, coloring or enjoying snacks.

McMillin said the University libraries receive a lot of feedback from students every year after this event. She said responses are mostly positive, with students saying they are happy with how they spent their time at the event.

Third places, areas other than someone’s home or class, are important when it comes to effective studying, according to McMillin.

“You don’t want to always study right next to where you sleep,” McMillin said. “I think it’s really good to switch it up, even switching up your study places around the library or that one place you always go to. Keeping it fresh and having a different perspective.”

Fourth-year student Mo Salem, a self-proclaimed “chronic procrastinator and pizza lover” said he utilized the event time to make progress on a paper for his English class.

Salem said he appreciated having the time and space to work around and with fellow students.

“I really find it easier to focus when there’s people around,” Salem said. “It makes me feel like I’m holding myself accountable.”

First-year student Elle Powers also said the event was effective by allowing her a space and time to study with her friends and fellow students.

“I’ve been really badly procrastinating after having a break,” Powers said. “I needed time to get back into the college groove with finals coming up.”

Both Salem and Powers expressed interest in the University holding similar organized work time events more frequently in the future.

Chivalry is alive and well on campus thanks to the University of Minnesota Fencing Club (UMFC). Four times a week, these modern-day duelists meet in Cooke Hall Room 308 to politely practice their sword fighting skills.

UMFC coach Noah Gistover said the club practices the three fencing styles — Épee, Saber and Foil. Each style has its own specialized weapon, uniform and rules of conduct. Épee has the heaviest sword and lightest rules. 

Gistover said UMFC training is focused and specific. Most practices usually include cardio workouts, dynamic stretching and calisthenics, footwork training, whole group concept reviews, and weapons group training with the club’s officers.

UMFC president Sam Docter said that beyond their meetings and practices at Cooke Hall, the club also competes in intercollegiate conference tournaments.

The UMFC hosted its annual Gopher Open in November which had around 100 fencers, according to Docter. 

“People come up from all over,” Docter said. “We get a lot of folks from North Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin and of course a lot from Minnesota. It’s great. We get a big turnout.”

Docter said the UMFC also travels to several tournaments each semester and the team’s next tournament will be the inaugural Dillion Dollar Duels taking place at the University’s Recreation and Wellness North Gym on Dec. 7.

The tournament is open for fencers who are rated D, E or unrated, making it less intimidating for beginning fencers, Docter said.

Gistover said the UMFC has made a few changes recently to appeal to beginning fencers, specifically by starting a dedicated beginner’s course last fall.

“It has had a noticeable improvement on the performance of college students who just decide to pick up the sport for the first time,” Gistover said.

Docter said the beginner program has helped field many new UMFC members. Docter, a fourth-year student who has been a member of the UMFC since her first year, said recruitment was a larger issue around the height of the pandemic. 

Docter added that the UMFC was even kicked out of their intercollegiate conference when she joined due to the club’s inactivity. The UMFC has since rejoined and membership numbers are stable and growing.

Docter said the club allows members to use club equipment for free including uniforms, masks, weapons and scoring equipment which has helped attract more beginning fencers to the club.

“Pretty much anything you need for fencing, besides shoes and a water bottle, we provide,” Docter said.

UMFC travel coordinator Jackie Lee said equipment prices can be the biggest turn-off for beginning fencers, which is why the club has decided to offer the equipment for free. 

“I think that’s how we really encourage new people to try fencing,” Lee said.

Lee said she was a beginning fencer last year and UMFC made it easy for her to try a new sport. 

Club member and graduate student Robert Hairston said he had little fencing experience before joining UMFC. He said the club appealed to him because it offered a different style of thinking than what he was used to with his school work.

“If you consider too long, you get hit,” Hairston said.

Along with the free use of equipment, Gistover said that the first three UMFC practices are free of charge. Students who decide to continue after those three practices will be required to pay the club’s dues.

The Pickleball Bash, an event at the University of Minnesota’s Recreation and Wellness Center (RecWell) on Friday, attracted dozens of students looking for an opportunity to play a few matches of pickleball.

From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., students were able to use RecWell equipment free of charge to play with friends or other students on any one of six courts specially marked with pickleball boundaries.

Teammates Mason Olson and Taj Blauer are just one example of the large range of pickleball experiences of participating students. While Olson said he has been an avid pickleball player for several years, Blauer had never played pickleball before coming to college.

Olson and Blauer said they have been participating in intramural pickleball together and thought that the bash would be a good way to get some practice in.

Olson said he likes pickleball for its similarity to tennis, which he enjoys. He added pickleball is like a slower-paced game of tennis, making it more fun.

“It’s just fun,” Ebba Wako, another event participant said. “My comparison for pickleball is it’s big ping pong, little tennis. It’s pretty similar to those rules.”

Compared to other racket sports, Olson said he enjoys the extra rules pickleball has and that the rules help the sport be more accessible to slower-pace players with less experience. 

Wako said the sport is easy for people with previous sports injuries to get involved in. 

Wako’s teammate and recent graduate Peter Nguyen said he believes people are getting into pickleball because of how easy it is to start playing compared to similar sports like tennis due to its availability and cost. 

Wako and Nguyen said the event was well organized and a good opportunity for pickleball players, but believe the event fliers, which advertised a pickleball tournament, may have been misleading. Wako said the event was pretty much just open play.

“I think I was expecting a tournament, like with stakes is always more fun, but I enjoy just playing in general,” Nguyen said.

Olson said he believes that the University could do more to promote the sport and accommodate student players by investing in more courts and equipment.

“I think just having this gym is not enough,” Olson said. “I feel like we need more courts, even outdoor courts so I definitely think there’s a higher demand than what we have.”

Each of the participants interviewed said they enjoyed the Pickleball Bash and expressed interest in the University holding similar events in the future. 

What do Singapore, Portugal and Chicago have to do with the University of Minnesota? Quite a lot for the University’s Model United Nations (UMN MUN).

The UMN MUN will be portraying the two United Nations member states of Portugal and Singapore at the American Model United Nations International’s (AMUN) 2024 conference in Chicago from Saturday to Tuesday.

AMUN aims to create the most realistic United Nations simulations possible with the most up-to-date information while also ensuring student delegates learn, according to the AMUN website.

The UMN MUN team will participate in the simulation of several United Nations committees as well as simulating membership in the General Assembly, Security Council and World Health Association, according to the team’s Vice President Nicole Schultz.

“When you first get to committee, it’s this huge open room where over 100 kids are sitting,” Schultz said. “All of their little placards with their country names on it. Once you start debate, it’s like pedal to the metal, everyone lobbies for their own interests.”

Schultz said the majority of the team’s work will be in forming coalitions with other teams, drafting policies beneficial to the team’s interests and publicly defending those policies on the floor of the General Assembly.

“Having to defend (policy) later on the floor is a super cool, rounded experience,” Schultz said. “You get to learn all facets of policy, research and writing as well as future implementation practices.”

Team president Connor Pernice said policy development has been one of the team’s main focuses this semester. 

“Really just getting your hands dirty and figuring out the nitty-gritty details that go into policies,” Pernice said. “You can write all sorts of stuff on paper but nothing translates right unless you actually know what you’re doing.”

Pernice said other areas of focus this semester included community advocacy, which was highlighted by the group’s Human Rights Gala, hosted Friday. 

Schultz, Pernice and the team’s General Secretary Soham Gupta said they had high hopes for the team’s performance at this year’s conference.

“We have some really great delegates going,” Gupta said. “These are all people who have the potential to win if they put in the work.”

Pernice said the team has performed well in previous years, highlighting the team’s public speaking and resolution writing ability.

“Some attend this conference because it’s part of their class,” Pernice said. “We’re going here for fun and to hone our own skills, and we perform wonderfully.”

Schultz said some of the team’s goals for this year’s conference would be winning committee awards and developing connections with teams from other attending colleges and universities.

The conference will be hosted at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk Hotel from Saturday to Tuesday with committee meetings and events starting at 8:30 a.m. and the latest meeting ending at 3 a.m., according to the AMUN website.

Climbing has become an increasingly popular sport, especially among college students, and University of Minnesota students do not seem to be immune from the bouldering bug. 

The new Climbing Training Center opened Monday at the University’s Recreation and Wellness Center (RecWell). The Climbing Training Center includes two brand-new, state-of-the-art climbing walls in addition to the existing climbing wall.

RecWell Outdoor Program Director Bryan Karban said these new walls are meant to accommodate the growing demand for more climbing square footage.

The RecWell’s main climbing gym hosts nearly 900 members every semester and 125 climbers a day, according to Karban.

The new Climbing Center took the space that previously had the Recwell’s racquetball courts, which Karban said were being underutilized.

Karban said as soon as RecWell decided to remodel its racquetball courts, he wanted to add new climbing structures in their place.

“I really wanted to bring in something that represents current trends in the future direction of climbing,” Karban said.

Karban said the two walls were both created by Kilter Board, a brand owned by Colorado-based company Setter Closet. 

One wall is an Original Layout Kilter board made specifically for climbing gyms, according to Karban. The Original Kilter board is a universal design made up of standard-sized, traditionally shaped climbing holds.

The Original Kilter Board uses a specially designed Kilter app, which allows climbers to create their own climbing routes or use routes posted by other climbers, Karban said. When a route is selected, the board will light up the LED lights in the specific holds used in the route. The board has the potential for more than 18,000 routes that can be used by beginners or extreme climbers.

The second wall is a Spraywall, which has a more abstract design for its holds, which Karban said gives a unique challenge for more experienced climbers.  

The Spraywall uses a separate app from Kilter, called Stōkt, for its route setting, Karban said. Climbers can use Stōkt to create their own routes or use other climbers’ routes as well. 

Karban said the possible interactive aspect between users is what sets the Stōkt app apart.

“It creates kind of this social connection through the app, which for most climbers going to a climbing gym, you never get to have that experience of designing your own route,” Karban said.

Karban said both walls can also articulate from a 10-70 degree overhang to add an extra challenge for climbers. Karban believes these walls are some of the largest articulating walls in the Metro area.

Although the new climbing walls are open to all RecWell members for free, Karban said their addition was made with more advanced climbers in mind.

“They are meant for people who are trying to train for climbing,” said Oskar Bockhorst, a RecWell student employee and climbing instructor. “It could be a harder introduction. That’s not to say you can’t do it, but the holds here are generally worse than you would see at a normal climbing gym.”

Student Vivek Kethineni said the new climbing walls are nice because they allow climbers to try more difficult climbing routes than the RecWell’s older climbing wall has. 

In addition to the new walls, the Climbing Training Center includes amenities such as hang boards, pull-up bars and other climbing-specific training equipment. 

Karban said these extra amenities can help round out climbers who want to improve, as it can meet all climbing training needs. 

The center requires all climbers to wear shoes, which they can either bring themselves or rent from the RecWell for $8 per day. 

Although the center is targeted more at experienced climbers, it is still open to all students and RecWell members.

Many commuter students at the University of Minnesota face unique challenges, including traffic, parking, meals and expenses, which can make it difficult for them to become fully involved on campus. 

One resource on campus meant to alleviate some of these issues is the Commuter Connection Zone located on the second floor of Coffman Union. The Zone is a lounge specifically for commuter students to use as a place to study, de-stress and socialize with others.

“When you’re a commuter, you don’t get to have a space necessarily to vibe between your classes,” says Hady Kotifani, one of the student officers in charge of the Zone. “So the Commuter Connection room, I think, offers a space for students to just exist between their classes but also forming a better bond with a community on campus.”

Students such as Radwan Abdalla, who is also an officer for the Commuter Connection Zone, said it can be difficult for them to participate in extracurricular activities or University events when they do not live near campus.

“There’s only certain things I can do on certain days,” said Abdalla when discussing his involvement with the University’s motor sports team. “It’s about an hour drive and then paying for parking here too. I just don’t want to deal with that so I kind of miss half the experience.”

Besides its use as a social lounge for off-campus students to meet and hang out, the Commuter Connection Zone also has practical uses.

Abdalla said that many students use the Zone as a convenient place to store, cook and eat light meals and snacks.

In addition, Kotifani said many commuters bring in food to save money. The Commuter Zone offers a space for such students to safely store their food in a place where officers will watch it to ensure it is not stolen.

Some of the Zone’s amenities include a fridge, microwave, toaster, water cooler and ice machine. Students can also access the Zone’s pantry, which contains quick snacks like ramen noodles if they are unable to bring their own food. 

Even with the amenities the Zone currently has, there are still things that students like commuter Eliza Tijani think the Zone could benefit from, such as a larger space and additional cooking appliances.

Tijani also said that other commuter students could benefit from the university advertising the Zone and the Commuter Connections resources more.

“I found out about the Zone by happenstance,” said Mascuud Ali, another frequent user. “I walked by and I saw the people. I would have not known about it if I didn’t walk by it.”

All students who are not living directly on campus are welcome to use the Zone and its amenities if needed. The Zone is open Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

A Murder Mystery Dinner hosted in the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Union on Friday allowed event attendees to enter their own murder mystery.

The event, put on by members of the University’s Long-Form Improv Troupe, saw more than 150 attendees come to throw their detective caps into the ring to try and solve this mystery.

“So the thought process about it was bringing the boardgame Clue to life,” said event organizer Calvin Hume. “I know that murder mysteries, like events with just your friends, are a really big thing right now, so I wanted to bring that to students.”

According to Hume, this is not the first time in recent years the University has hosted an event such as this, though this year did see a difference in planning.

“I found a website where you can buy a game and it gives you a script, it gives you everything that the improv group needed,” Hume said.

The event was a masquerade theme, providing masks for the attendees to wear throughout the night. Many attendees also dressed the part, wearing fancy and gothic-inspired outfits to help immerse themselves.

Whether guests went alone or with some friends, every attendee had the opportunity to work with a team to help solve the case. Single guests were paired at tables with groups in order to fill the allotted eight seats per table and ensure each guest could participate with other attendees.

Members of the University’s Long-Form Improv Troupe played the story’s characters, including the hosts, murder victim and suspects.

“What we knew is our characters, the motives, and who did it, and that was basically it,” said Tyler Wiyninger, a second-year member of the troupe who portrayed suspect Big Boy Blue during the dinner.

“I actually found out that I was going to do it two days (before), so I dropped into this pretty unsure of what was happening,” Wiyninger said. “But that’s kind of just what improv is. You get a character, some basic interactions, and you just roll with it and try to have some fun.”

The evening consisted of three rounds, each with a new clue.

The first round began with the suspicious death of the character Mr. Black, after which the rest of the cast began to circulate the room and discuss their characters’ backstories and relationships with attendees seated at the many tables throughout the room.

Attendees were required to fill out a ballot each round with their guess as to who Mr. Black’s killer may be. Round three had a bonus round where attendees could guess the thief of a bag of diamonds owned by the evening’s fictitious host, Ms. White.

“I think people loved it,” said Pearl Elliott, a second-year member of the troupe who portrayed Ms. White. “I was surprised that people stayed afterwards and asked for pictures with us. That was pretty cool.”

According to Elliott, the event had a capacity for 150 people but organizers were forced to find extra tables and seating due to the unexpectedly larger turnout.

“I didn’t know what to expect the engagement level to be, but people didn’t want to stop talking to us when it came time to go on to the next round,” Elliott said. “People were really just trying to get in one extra question before we moved on.”

Elliott and Wiyninger said they were given “bare bones” scripts and were merely outlines with basic facts about the characters and their relationships with each other. Everything else the actors discussed with event attendees was pure improvisation.

“I think we practiced once before today,” Elliott said. “So when we say it’s improv, we really mean it’s improv.”

However, the improv team was not the only group who enjoyed the event. The student attendees appeared engaged and enthusiastic throughout the entire three-hour dinner.

Elliott, Wiyninger and Hume each said the University should host a similar event in the future.