Home to many University of Minnesota students, the quiet, residential streets of Dinkytown just past the busy commercial district consist of student homes, apartments and Greek life houses. Nestled among these extensions of University life sits another, smaller education institution: the Minneapolis branch of Miniapple International Montessori Schools.

Established in 1990 inside the nearby St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Newman Center, the Miniapple Montessori preschool soon outgrew its original location. The school’s founders, Udi Perera and her husband Mithula, relocated the school to a former fraternity house, buying the property from the University in 1996 and making it the school’s permanent home in 1999. 

Since thorough renovations, Miniapple Montessori has been a mainstay in the Dinkytown community. From Dinkytown, Miniapple soon expanded to two more Twin Cities locations in Oakdale and Roseville. Today, Miniapple educates students ages six weeks to six years old. 

Perera, who spent her career as a Montessori teacher and later a school administrator, said she built the school in Dinkytown because of her personal connection to the area. 

“Dinkytown is very special to me because that’s where I worked and I lived,” Perera said. “My husband managed an apartment building for many years until we bought a house eventually, and another house. My kids are grown up now and my grandkids went through Montessori too. It’s a great way of giving back to the community.”

The Montessori teaching method Miniapple follows focuses on the individual learning needs and interests of a child, according to Miniapple Montessori’s website, emphasizing “creativity, independence and critical thinking.”

Miniapple Minneapolis Director and parent Kaylee Burns said the school creates a classroom environment that provides the foundation for a child to learn prosperously.

“[The classroom] is called a children’s house for a reason. They create a home environment where they’re comfortable,” Burns said. “Once they hit the, ‘I feel safe, I’m fed, I’m taken care of,’ then they can actually learn and be more willing to learn, and that’s honestly the coolest thing about it.”

Perera said she is proud of the way Miniapple and the Montessori education style has cyclically served the University community. 

“We have a lot of professors’ children, students’ children, people who have come to our school and now they have their own kids and they bring them,” Perera said. “Generations of children coming and we continue to provide that.” 

Miniapple Montessori not only involves the University community through its students and parents but also through its teachers, according to Perera. The school provides employment and volunteer opportunities to University students seeking practical classroom experience.

Paige Frigaard, the lead guide for Miniapple’s transition classroom for toddlers to preschool students, started as a teaching assistant or “float” at Miniapple while still a student at the University. After she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education Foundations, Perera offered Frigaard the opportunity to lead her own classroom.

Frigaard said working at Miniapple while she was still in school helped her determine the future of her education career.

“I went to Montessori school as a preschool student and I hadn’t really had any connection to it since I had left,” Frigaard said. “When I came back to work here I found kind of a new love for it and discovered that this is something that I might want to do instead of going into public school.”

Sarena Phonngavong began working as a “float” at Miniapple in the fall of 2020. With a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University, Phonngavong said while she is not interested in being a teacher, working with children in an educational environment taught her unique lessons about technology and its impact.

“I could see how children act when they have a screen in front of them and how they act in a school setting, and then be like, ‘Okay, well, as much as I love to develop things and create different programs, I know that there is a strict line that you shouldn’t cross,’” Phonngavong said. 

Phonngavong added that her time at Miniapple has also helped shape her career goals.

“At first when I chose software engineering, I was like, ‘Big tech, blah, blah, blah, make a lot of money,’” Phonngavong said. “Now, I’m so open to doing startups or doing something where tech and education can intertwine.”

Originally from Sri Lanka herself, Perera said Miniapple prioritizes teaching students respect and global awareness. Bearing resemblance to the University’s structure, Miniapple welcomes students, parents and teachers from around the world. 

“We have people from all over the world at our school, teachers and students, and that’s what the University is too,” Perera said. “We are all equal and we are teaching the children to be respectful of that as well.” 

Frigaard said that with several international students in her class whose parents are University professors, the diversity helps introduce students to different cultures and better understand their classmates.

“It’s cool for kids to get exposure to people from different countries [and] people that speak different languages,” Frigaard said. “We like to teach the children about all the different holidays that are around because a lot of our families in the classes celebrate them, so their families can come and share about their traditions.” 

In addition to being engaged in global education, Miniapple students are surrounded by the culture of a Big Ten college town, with fraternity and sorority houses as neighbors. Burns said she was initially concerned about the clash of dynamics but has since been relieved of worry.

“My first question was, ‘Do we have a lot of issues during homecoming week and things like that?’ and [Perera] was like ‘No, not at all,’” Burns said. “I think that’s really special because we have no issues during the day, there’s no interruption.”

Phonngavong said she has noticed Miniapple’s University student neighbors’ consideration for the school’s environment and its students.

“I’ve seen lots of changes of the frats noticing that the kids are outside and they change the music,” Phonngavong said. “They stop playing [beer] pong and throw a football around, which is really sweet to see.” 

Frigaard said being located in a college town offers a special opportunity for students to connect with an unfamiliar world beyond Miniapple’s walls.

“When we go on walks, there’s always like a million things to look at and see and I think kids appreciate that,” Frigaard said. “They get to kind of interact with people that they wouldn’t have seen and learn how to interact with others.”

A steady dynamic that has withstood the test of time, Perera said the connection between the University and Miniapple has remained successful because, while different, both institutions share a common goal.

“The end result should be helping the community, helping people who want to go into early childhood education and children matter because they are the future,” Perera said. “When you work together, we are trying to achieve that common goal, providing the best education possible.”

The Minneapolis City Council overturned Mayor Frey’s veto of the Israel-Palestine ceasefire resolution Thursday morning in a 9-3 vote.

The council moved forward with the ceasefire resolution by Councilmember Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10) for the war in Gaza. The resolution called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, supported an end to U.S. military funding to Israel, and called for the release of all hostages by Hamas and the immediate release of all Palestinians in Israeli military prisons. 

The ceasefire resolution initially passed with a veto-proof 9-3 majority on Jan 31 with Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto coming that same day. Frey’s veto was expected after he spoke strongly against the resolution and called it “one-sided.” 

Frey, who is currently Minneapolis’ only elected Jewish person and just the city’s second-ever Jewish mayor, said in his veto letter he supports a ceasefire but the council’s resolution was not progressive or inclusive. 

“Too much of the debate locally has been spent choosing sides, rushing to include details favoring one side while excluding those that favor another,” Frey said in the veto statement. “We are better than that.”

In the overturn vote, councilmembers Michael Rainville (Ward 3), Linea Palmisano (Ward 13) and LaTrisha Vetaw (Ward 4) voted against it while Councilmember Emily Koski (Ward 11) abstained, mirroring their initial votes on Jan. 31. 

Moments after the vote, the crowd erupted into a mix of claps and cheers before Councilmember Andrea Jenkins (Ward 8) silenced them and called on the crowd to be respectful. 

“Can I please ask people to not cheer or jeer? These issues are way too serious, it disrespects the lost life of Israelis, Palestinians,” Jenkins said. “This is not a football game or a spectator sport, so thank you for respecting that. I appreciate it.” 

In a joint statement issued on Friday, Council President Elliot Payne (Ward 1) and Council Vice President Aisha Chunghtai (Ward 10) said they are proud of the nine council members who voted to support the resolution. 

“When this council speaks with the clarity of a veto-proof majority, we will do everything in our power as council leadership to defend the will of the body, regardless of the issue,” Payne and Chunghtai said in the statement. 

After the overturn vote, Frey said in a proclamation that he supported an immediate ceasefire, the release of all Israeli and Palestinian hostages and a two-state solution recognizing the sovereignty of Israel and Palestine. 

“As a local leader, I am using my voice to stand firmly against the rise of all acts of racially motivated violence and hate crimes perpetrated against our Palestinian, Israeli, Muslim and Jewish constituents here in Minneapolis and around the United States,” Frey said in the proclamation.

Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this editorial do not represent The Minnesota Daily’s newsroom and are not necessarily representative of any individual on the Opinions Desk. This piece has been agreed upon for publication by a majority vote of all members of The Daily’s Opinions Desk.

The Board of Regents met on Friday to discuss a letter of intent for a hospital buyback deal with Fairview and the qualifications of the four anonymous finalists for the next University president.

Three of the anonymous applicants were selected to move forward in the selection process, those being Laura Bloomberg, Dr. Rebecca Cunningham and James Holloway.

The process, which lasted roughly four hours, was muddied by general vagueness, inconsequential conversation and uproarious laughter upon the burst of Myron Frans’ ringtone:  “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Though we have little concern that the Presidential Search Advisory Committee (PSAC) was thorough in its evaluation of the 46 applicants, as well as in their interviews that whittled the final 12 down to the final four, much of the conversation amongst the Board left a lot to be desired. 

Of the four finalists discussed, all of whom remained anonymous for the duration of the meeting and were referred to as “A,” “B,” “C” or “D,” only applicant “D” was not selected for the next stage of interviews. 

The selection process included the regents using stickers to vote for the two applicants they wished to proceed with most before taking an official vote. Applicant “D,” the far and away trailer, only received one sticker of 24. 

The vote to move forward with all applicants, sans “D,” was unanimous.

Brian Steeves, executive director of the Board of Regents, said this is the first time the University has had more than one finalist for the President position. 

In their initial introductions, all four applicants were described by Regent Mary Davenport as valuing shared governance among many other shared characteristics, like an affinity for Minnesota or having a knack for collaboration.

In no way can those be considered poor qualities, but they do very little to reveal the individual acumen of the applicants.

Much of the discussion in the meeting felt this way. Much like a salad bar only stocked with dressings, there was no substance to work with.

This, of course, was by design. Confidentiality was of the utmost importance for the proceeding.

Before any presidential discussion or voting occurred, Regent Janie Mayeron said the applicants were entitled to confidentiality until the finalists were selected for the interview process. Mayeron also asked that gender-neutral pronouns be used to further conceal their identities.

While confidentiality was maintained for the most part, there were a few minor slip-ups from Regent Doug Huebsch who accidentally used the pronoun “she” when referring to applicant “A” and mentioned that applicant “B” was from a Big Ten school.

Otherwise, there was little to go off of in terms of differentiating factors. Applicant “C” was described as humble by several regents but was also the only applicant with no direct ties to Minnesota. 

Applicant “D” was described as a bold forward-thinker by Regent Mike Kenyanya, who said he was tempted to reenact “12 Angry Men,” but he refrained. 

Frankly, a defense of that nature would have been worth an extended stay in McNamara. 

It was nearly impossible to glean anything from these conversations. This is for good reason, but seemed needlessly frustrating. 

Even the discussion about the hospital buyback letter of intent, which is a non-legally binding letter, seemed to yield very little discussion. The only real concern raised came from Regent Kodi Verhalen, who questioned the logistics of a September deadline to finalize a buyback agreement. 

Even that was met with little in terms of a palpable answer. We understand these are complex proceedings that require time, patience and a thorough overview — all of which we are sure the Board of Regents is taking seriously — but unanimous votes should come with more scrutiny.

Obviously, the vote being unanimous means the Regents largely agreed with each other and had little concern with the opinions of their peers. That is precisely what is most concerning. 

With so much discussion of what a tough choice it would be between the four applicants, a unanimous vote coming after a fairly vague discussion on the pros and cons of each applicant based on kindergarten-esque sticker selection seems improper.

A lot of discussion was had, but much of it felt roundabout and inessential to the decision-making process. 

Mayeron said those without something pertinent to say about a potential candidate need not speak just for the sake of having spoken. It is our opinion that this recommendation was not followed.

Coming off its best season since 2019, Gophers baseball brought in reinforcements through the transfer portal and will see the return of several pitchers coming off season-ending injuries in 2023.

Minnesota posted a team-wide 5.95 ERA last year, which has been steadily decreasing since 2021 when the team ranked dead last in the Big Ten with an 8.06 ERA.

Richie Holetz and George Klassen, two of the Gophers’ top three arms, left after last season. The team brought in three pitchers through the transfer portal and will see the return of four in-house pitchers coming off season-ending injuries in 2023.

According to Gophers pitching coach Ty McDevitt, injuries among pitchers have become a routine occurrence.

“Unfortunately, injuries have become as much a part of pitching as anything,” McDevitt said. “It’s more routine than I’d like it to be, but it is routine at this point.”

McDevitt said the Gophers have a great medical staff that gives the pitchers a good rehab plan whether it be a shoulder or elbow injury.

Minnesota pitchers Will Semb, T.J. Egan and Sam Kennedy missed the entire season due to injury. 

Noah Rooney, one of the Gophers’ top relievers in 2023, suffered a season-ending labrum injury on May 5 against Michigan. Semb is coming off a torn hip labrum and rotator cuff, forcing him to miss his entire second season at Minnesota.

Semb said he has improved his arm strength and mix of pitches since arriving in Minnesota.

“When I came here, the first thing I noticed was I started throwing a lot harder,” Semb said. “I used to not throw any breaking balls. My two main pitches I throw are two different breaking balls. One’s a harder slider and then a slower curveball.”

Coach McDevitt said Semb will challenge for a starting role this season.

Connor Wietgrefe played a significant role on the staff in 2023 and looks to step into an even larger role in 2024.

Wietgrefe took an unconventional route to becoming a pitcher at the Division I level. In high school, Wietgrefe was on Minnesota’s radar, but his pitching velocity did not hit the threshold required to reach the next level, according to McDevitt.

Wietgrefe embraced the challenge to throw harder by strengthening his pitching during his first college season at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC). After his time at NIACC, Wietgrefe called up McDevitt and got the opportunity to play for Minnesota, according to McDevitt.

From not being recruited to Minnesota out of high school, Wietgrefe looks to become an integral part of the staff in 2024. McDevitt said the Gophers want Wietgrefe on the mound in any “high-leverage situations.”

“That’s huge, having the confidence from your pitching coach obviously makes it a lot easier,” Wietgrefe said. “Having him believe in you takes a huge load off your shoulders.”

Wietgrefe is not the only talented arm Minnesota will lean on this season; Tucker Novotny, after posting a team-high 73.1 innings last year, looks to be the ace of the staff again.

McDevitt said Novotny is fearless on the mound and keeps hitters off balance in the box.

“Tuck’s just a strike thrower,” McDevitt said. “He’s fearless, and he competes. The [pitches are] not going to jump off the page at you right away, but he creates deception in different ways.”

Novotny led the Gophers with 80 strikeouts in 2023 and started 14 games.

Minnesota will start the season with 22 straight games on the road while the U.S. Bank Stadium’s turf is replaced.

McDevitt said the long road trip is no excuse for poor performance on the field under the lights.

“You can talk about the time zones, the changes, the flights… All that stuff is real, but at the end of the day, how much of it can you control,” McDevitt said. “All you can control is your ability to eat quality food, get the best sleep you can possibly get and be ready to go whenever those lights come on.”

The sun had not yet risen when around 200 students gathered on Wednesday, all wearing matching clothes. Standing in rows, they waited with their water bottles at their feet. It was time for physical training, otherwise known as PT. 

The Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) cadets flock to the University of Minnesota field house for PT from 6:30 – 7:30 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In attendance on Wednesday was platoon sergeant Marcus Detloff, a third-year sociology of law, criminology and justice student, who let The Minnesota Daily follow him around for the day to experience what life as a cadet is like. 

Wednesday morning’s PT consisted of stretches, sled pulls, burpees, mountain climbers and running with medicine balls. With music blaring and supportive peers, cadets are encouraged to perform to the best of their ability. 

At first glance, PT can look intimidating, with the field house filled with matching cadets performing physical tasks. When taking a closer look, you can see leaders demonstrating tasks or participating along with cadets, encouraging them through words or actions. 

With PT concluding at 7:30, cadets have half an hour to shower and change into their uniform before military science class from 8 – 9 a.m.

This Wednesday morning, Detloff’s military science class consisted of presentations given by cadets who would be teaching later in the day on topics such as how to read and fill out range cards, what the radio and communicative signals are and why and how to camouflage while in the field. 

Military science class teaches cadets to become leaders, with teachers pushing students to test their knowledge and understanding. With a slight cussing and “welcome to the army” attitude, experienced teachers provide tough love.

With three years under his belt, Detloff knows the ROTC program is a structured environment where a person can build themself. 

“Military gives you your tasks, conditions, and standards. You’re going to do these things, here’s the standard you’re going to do it to, or here’s how we’re going to teach you to do it that way,” Detloff said. “[ROTC] gives you an environment where you are being graded against your peers.”  

After military science class, Detloff has a couple of hours to kill before class at 11 a.m. During this time, he works on homework or ROTC tasks such as taking attendance from morning PT, sorting through forms or making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to. 

Detloff decided to join ROTC because it runs in his family. With a father in active duty in the Air Force, an uncle in the army and both grandfathers having served in the Minnesota National Guard during the Vietnam War, Detloff said it was just the way he was raised. 

Beyond providing a stable environment to learn, Detloff appreciates how the military lets people improve themselves. 

“You have the ability to prove yourself and your abilities, not only to your peers and superiors but to yourself,” Detloff said. 

After his regular class, Detloff had a lab for ROTC at 4:30 p.m., where the presentations seen in military class that morning played out in real time.

Military labs meet ten times per semester and can happen at the Armory or places like Arden Hills or Camp Ripley in Brainerd. 

Cadet Gavin Chow, a second-year geography student, said the best thing for new cadets to do is take in the experience and ask questions. 

“The army is big on repetition, just kind of ingraining it into your brain,” Chow said in between lab sections. “The more questions you ask, and the more times you hear things, the easier you’ll actually learn.” 

Chow’s Wednesday was spent running an “easy six-mile” workout with the challenge team for PT and three classes, including military science, German and geography, followed by a military lab with the rest of the cadets. 

“My whole life I kind of always knew I wanted to join the army,” Chow said. “Right now, the plan is to continue with ranger challenge stuff, which is one of our specialty teams, and then I’d like to branch infantry.” 

Specialty and ranger challenge teams are premiere soldier skills teams. Some teams include the University’s Army 10 Miler team, which competes in the largest ten-mile road race in the world in Washington D.C.

The Ranger Challenge team, which Chow belongs to, competes against other colleges nationwide in events such as patrolling, marksmanship, weapons assembly, one-rope bridge, hand grenade assault course, Army physical challenging events, land navigation and forced ruck marches of various distances.

Many cadets participate in something other than regular ROTC training, according to Detloff. 

While Chow said he participated in ranger challenges, Detloff runs the ROTC’s color guard, which posts the colors for the national anthem for Gopher games and even some games for the Minnesota Vikings and the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship. 

“You get what you put into it, but there’s a lot of variability,” Detloff said. “You kind of choose your own adventure.” 

Chow said the best part of ROTC has been meeting a lot of different people, including students from other schools. 

“I think a lot of people are afraid of the military around here and don’t like it,” Chow said. “I, for one, have gotten dirty looks while walking in uniform. I know people who have gotten flipped off.” 

What is ROTC?

The purpose of ROTC is to create second lieutenants for the army, according to Staff Sergeant Joseph Hance, who now works as a recruiter for the University’s ROTC program. 

Out of all officers in the army, 75% come out of ROTC programs, according to Hance. 

“The biggest thing is cadets must earn a degree to be commissioned an officer in the U.S. military,” Hance said. “That is our number one priority here.” 

There are 1,300 universities with an Army ROTC program, and 273 of them with a host battalion, like the University. The University is a host battalion for 11 partner schools that come to the Twin Cities campus for the program, including Bethel, St. Kate’s, Hamlin, Metro State and North Central, according to Hance. 

Hance added that while first- and second-year students take basic military classes such as Military 101, 102, 201 and 202, the advanced courses start in the last two years of the program. 

“That’s where they’re really getting into the heavy training, the leadership, really learning how to be a lieutenant,” Hance said. 

At the program’s end, cadets participate in advanced training camp, where they spend 30 days in Fort Knox, Kentucky, to compete for what they will do after graduation. 

“Cadets compete for active duty or reserve components on different lists for the branch field that they want to go into,” Hance said. 

The obligation after graduation is to serve eight years, with some of those years being active and some as a reserve.

Hance said providing scholarships for participants is a large part of the ROTC program. The program offers 23 different types of scholarships depending on their career plan and whether the cadet wishes to be on active duty, reserve duty, or if the cadet is already enlisted in the army but wants to become an officer. 

According to Hance, the University ROTC has just under 200 cadets, with 115 currently in the Minnesota National Guard. 

With plans to commission active duty, Detloff said he is shooting for the armor branch where he can work with tanks, though that depends on how he performs at advanced camp in Kentucky. 

For now, Detloff will continue to work on his responsibilities as a platoon sergeant in the Gopher Battalion. 

“In reality, we’re all the same rank,” Detloff said. “It’s all peer leadership, we’re all fellow cadets. No one’s better than anyone else, we’re here to learn.”

When thinking about what she wanted to do with her life, April Gentling believed she was going to go into law enforcement.

Now a first-year student in the University of Minnesota’s Program of Mortuary Science, Gentling is on a different path, studying to become a funeral director. 

“Before, I was actually interested in being a coroner or a medical examiner, but I felt I wouldn’t get as much fulfillment out of that as I would being a funeral director,” Gentling said. “It’s more personal, and there are more emotions, especially since you are working with the families.”

Gentling is currently working a live-in position at Evans-Nordby Funeral Home, where she is getting experience being “on-call,” just as a funeral director would. The calls she answers are not the average person’s phone calls.

“Sometimes, during the day, I will get calls about pricing or something like that, but at late times of the night or even super early in the morning, I can get calls when somebody has passed away,” Gentling said.

When she gets those calls, Gentling said she usually gathers all the information she can, talking to medical examiners, nurses and the family to answer questions they may have.

Once she has completed these tasks, Gentling relays all the information she receives to the funeral director. 

Gentling added that, on top of her practical experience, the Program of Mortuary Science helps her learn new things about the industry.

“I have enjoyed every class I have taken so far because I learn so much every day I go to class, and the professors always keep the content interesting,” Gentling said. 

Gentling said her favorite class is her funeral law class, where she learns about different contracts associated with funerals.

Michael LuBrant, the director of the program, said mortuary science is a caregiving profession.

“Really, it’s a form of health care. It’s serving families, deceased individuals and people at the end of the life cycle,” LuBrant said. “We are providing care not only to families and survivors, but we’re also providing care for the remains of people who have died.” 

The University’s program started in 1908 and is the only mortuary science program housed in a medical school in the United States, according to LuBrant.

“We are the only program in the state of Minnesota, and so most of the morticians here who are licensed graduated from this program,” LuBrant said.

LuBrant added that many graduates of the program go on to pursue a variety of careers, from becoming morticians to working for medical examiners to becoming death scene investigators. 

One component of the program, according to LuBrant, is social psychology.

“We teach students skills to work with families and survivors and to talk with them during their time of loss and bereavement to help better determine what it is that would be helpful for them in their time of loss,” LuBrant said.

LuBrant said there is also a regulatory component of the program to ensure students understand all of the laws, rules and regulations that oversee the disposition of the dead, which requires demonstrating the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct. 

Additionally, students within the program get hands-on experiences within the field, as Lubrant said students are required to perform a minimum of 256 hours of on-site clinical education at a minimum of two funeral homes.

“This not only involves decedent care, but also work with survivors and families as well as participation in funeral services and serving families at the actual time of need,” LuBrant said.

Janet McGee, a multi-subject professor within the program, has implemented virtual reality (VR) into some of her classes because it allows students a chance to practice empathizing with the people they are caring for.

“Empathy is a big part of being a mortician,” McGee said. “You only have one shot at this when you’re sitting at a table making arrangements with the family.”

McGee’s students went to a VR lab, put on goggles and experienced what it was like to be a 77-year-old named Alfred who had impaired vision and hearing loss. He said the goal of this was for students to become more aware of how to treat people who are different from them and to help them make people feel more comfortable.

“Say an older gentleman loses his wife and they’re making arrangements,” McGee said. “It can easily happen that the husband gets discredited because he can’t hear or keep up with the conversation.” 

It is important for people to be respected no matter their limitations, according to McGee.

“This is a profession where we have a lot of caring, empathetic people,” McGee said. “These people are giving their all, every day, to grieving families.” 

When a friend invited me to a full moon ceremony a few weeks ago, I readily agreed to attend. On a misty Thursday evening, I took the bus to Como as I prepared myself for a night of trying to keep a straight face among my spiritually-minded friends. 

To my surprise, the experience didn’t just provide an intriguing anecdote — it was genuinely restorative.

The ceremony began with a series of deep breathing and tai chi exercises in my friend’s backyard. On pieces of notebook paper, we detailed feelings of shame and anxiety, burning them one by one in an outdoor fire pit. This practice symbolized the full moon as a time of renewal and our willingness to let go of past grievances and trauma.

We then held mason jars of water up to the sky, meandering about as we visualized the light of the moon filling the glass with positive energy.

Ever the skeptic, I asked my friend if the overcast sky would reduce the efficacy of the ceremony, to which she replied, flatly, “It’s not scientific.” For the sake of my journalistic endeavor, I had to act as if the power of the full moon was real, regardless of whether I believed it or not.

Did I feel a little silly taking deep breaths as I walked around in the dark, holding a jar of tap water up to the full moon? Perhaps, but after leaning into the experience, I came back to my apartment feeling refreshed and clear-headed after a stressful week of classes. 

Broadly defined, spirituality is the individual search for something bigger than ourselves. Spirituality often intersects with religion, although it is not inherently religious. As spiritual practices like yoga and meditation become more ingrained into mainstream culture, they may feel gimmicky, but they have genuine value as a framework for self-reflection and stress relief.

Mariann Johnson, a wellbeing instructor at the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing, helps to maintain serves for all University of Minnesota campuses and provides community workshops, trainings, presentations and a 32-page well-being guide with resources and evidence-based tips for holistic wellness. The center also provides course offerings for students on topics like stress reduction, aromatherapy and yoga.

“What we’re doing with mindfulness and with spirituality is to try to connect with the preciousness of the moments in our lives,” Johnson said. “Oftentimes we just dismiss them or we’re racing to do something else or worrying about something else, and we forget to see the beauty of our lives. The people that we care about are right here, smack dab in front of us.”

Johnson explained how consistent mindfulness practice can allow us to align more closely with our sense of spirituality. By grounding ourselves in the present moment, we gain the capacity to appreciate the interconnectedness of our world on a social, physical and even cosmic level.

“So maybe that means throughout your day you go for what I like to call a mindful walk, maybe a nature walk where you’re just allowing yourself to be with the sensations of your feet and be in contact with the ground,” Johnson said. 

For students with crammed schedules, Johnson explained the value of “snacking” mindfulness: taking even just five minutes during the day to sit and silently reflect can allow us to face the challenges and stressors in our lives with greater resourcefulness.

I expected to hear more about opening chakras and finding spirit guides than plain-and-simple mindfulness practice, but I learned spiritual practice doesn’t need to be explicit to be effective. While the full moon ceremony served as an important opportunity to reflect and process, just paying attention to my physical surroundings could be just as powerful.

Chrissy Mignogna is the lead trainer and director of education at Move Mindfully, an organization providing programs and resources for mind-body stress management and self-care practices in schools and crisis mental health settings. She is also the owner of Winged Heart Yoga, which offers online and in-person yoga classes to kids and adults in the Twin Cities with a specific focus on improving mental health.

“We spend a lot of time in our thoughts, and our thoughts tend to be negative,” Mignogna said. “It’s how we were evolutionarily programmed, which gets in the way of having that stillness and that quiet and that connection to something bigger than yourself.” 

Like Johnson, Mignogna explained the value of basic mindfulness practice as a way to open ourselves to spirituality. She also mentioned how any form of exercise, such as her yoga class, can help settle our nervous systems.

“If you’re able to tap into those moments of peace, you’re able to feel like there’s something outside of your daily worries,” Mignogna said.

The full moon isn’t for a few more weeks, but that doesn’t mean your spiritual journey can’t start today. Sit in a quiet room, go for a walk or just look at a tree. 

As we navigate schoolwork, jobs, social lives and the responsibilities of early adulthood, it can become hard to focus on anything other than ourselves. In that sense, spirituality isn’t just beneficial — it’s life-giving.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Mariann Johnson’s title. She is a wellbeing instructor at the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing.

As the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents prepares to announce the four lead candidates in its presidential search on Friday, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) weighs in on the search thus far. 

USG was previously disappointed with its lack of knowledge or involvement in the formation of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee (PSAC), releasing two letters in September and October expressing dissatisfaction with their exclusion despite continuous requests to be involved. 

Both letters were released jointly with all campuses system-wide, including each campus’ student governments and Minnesota Senate Higher Education Committee Chair Omar Fateh, according to USG Vice President Sara Davis. 

In a University-wide email sent Jan. 24, the Board announced PSAC had narrowed their search to four candidates, which would be shared at the Board’s Feb. 9 meeting. 

“The search began with all of you,” Board Chair Janie Mayeron said in the email. “Your input, your voices and your engagement have been integral to every step of this process. From the call for nominations to [PSAC], to the listening sessions held across the state, to the continuous feedback received on the presidential search website, we have all worked together on this important endeavor.”

Of the 46 candidates considered by PSAC, 89% are men, 11% are women and 39% are BIPOC individuals, according to the email. 

First-year students for the 2023-2024 academic year were 46.2% men, 53.6% women and 36.6% BIPOC identifying, according to the First Year Class Profile for Fall 2023.

Sara Davis said while BIPOC representation in the candidate pool closely represented the demographics of the most recent freshman class, USG was disappointed by the lack of women included in the pool. 

“We did the math,” Davis said. “That’s five candidates. As someone who is a woman and in one of the higher ranking directly elected student roles, that representation for me isn’t necessarily reflected in the senior University administration.”

In response to the Board email, USG released an updated letter on Feb. 2, which listed several student priorities for presidential candidates, including having a candidate with experience in higher education and who places clear importance on student issues.

“It is our expectation that the [Board] will hear our concerns during this time of major transition for the University and will do their best to include them throughout their evaluation process,” the letter said.

USG Communications Director Mina Zhang said USG wanted to release this additional letter to make sure PSAC knows what the student body wants out of its next president so that person can properly represent and advocate for its largest constituent body. 

“We are the largest body of stakeholders that they will have to consult with,” Zhang said.

Shashank Murali, USG’s president, said that until recently, PSAC was in the early stage of their search where the process was private, which created a significant barrier to student involvement. 

Though the privacy was understandable, Murali and Davis said the University’s student governmental bodies still should have had some kind of privileged access to PSAC’s process.

“Now that they’re in this private process, we get that there’s some things you can’t share,” Davis said in December. “How did you incorporate our feedback? What did you do from everything that we gave you? We haven’t heard any of that.”

USG has not received confirmation from PSAC or the Board that feedback from its joint letters or from the private listening session with the student governmental bodies in October was included in the search process, according to Davis.

“[PSAC] could have said, ‘We incorporated these specific elements into the position description,’ or ‘We noted amongst committee members that this was your feedback and we let them take that into mind,’” Davis said. “Those would have been things they would be able to do and still be in alignment with policy and we never received any of those.”

Murali said because USG has had little direct involvement in the search since October, it has focused mainly on advocacy efforts. In recent months, USG has increased its consultation with constituents by reaching out to voting members.

 “Once the committee starts its work, the only thing that we’re able to do is provide input,” Murali said. “We’ve already done that with our letters.”

Though USG is disappointed by their exclusion thus far, Murali said it is very eager to be involved in the process given the importance of selecting a new University president, and always has an “open door” to meet with the Board or PSAC, Murali said. 

“We will never say no to a meeting,” Murali said “We’re always willing to converse and talk with them in a respectful manner and try to get our information out there.”

Despite this hope, Davis said USG has no evidence to expect their involvement will change.

“We definitely want to balance the president for this University, but a part of that balance includes balancing our student perspective,” Murali said. “Whoever they choose, I sincerely hope that president is someone who is eager to work with students.”

Since taking over as head coach for the Gophers women’s tennis team, Lois Arterberry has led the squad to a 4-0 start in their spring season and will go head-to-head against her former team, St. Thomas, on Saturday.

It won’t be the first time the Gophers have played against the Tommies since Arterberry took over. The two teams met twice in the fall, first at the Gopher Invitational and most recently at the Drake Bulldog Classic.

Sophomore Anali Kocevar said the team now has a sense of their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.

 “It’s just a good opportunity to show what we have been working on,” Kocevar said.

Saturday will be the first time the two teams compete against each other in a dual matchup. Arterberry said what makes this match different from the last is the Tommies did not have all of their players. Arterberry expects a more complete roster from them on Saturday.

The Gophers ended practice Wednesday with a healthy roster and are expected to field everyone on Saturday. It is an accomplishment both the athletes and Arterberrry take pride in, especially after last season’s setback.

“It’s really important we don’t go through that again,” Arterberry said.

The team knew they were capable of improvement, so they collectively decided to show up to practice 30 minutes early to warm up and take time afterward to stretch, an improvement senior Zeyneb Sarioglan said was much needed.

“You cannot ignore the past,” Sarioglan said. “You have to take [it’s] lessons and we saw that opportunity.”

The progressively difficult schedule works in favor of a team with minimal collegiate playing experience in helping to build confidence while on the court, according to Arterberry.

Arterberry emphasized the importance of keeping athletes healthy and said the pre-practice warmups have become an injury prevention measure to keep athletes healthy for the entire season.

So far this spring, the team played Marquette, Lindenwood, North Dakota and Creighton. After playing both South Dakota and St. Thomas on Saturday, the team will travel to Boise, Idaho, to play Oregon and Boise State.

The coaching staff pushed several new developments for the Gophers team to try in their first few matches, including technical, tactical and strategic skills.

“It’s not perfect by any means and we’re still getting better,” Arterberry said about the change. “We’re still working on things, but they are doing a really good job.”

Members of the team said they felt progress was made and recognized they have come a long way since last season. According to Sarioglan, the quality of practices improved but the team “cannot control what people say” about their health or results on the court.

Kocevar and Sarioglan were the last two to leave Wednesday’s practice but, just before they did, Arterberry had one thing to say to them: “stay healthy.”

After the departure of pitcher Autumn Pease, the Gophers’ rotation is left with the challenge of replacing her over 200 innings pitched throughout the 2024 season.

Minnesota will look to veteran arms like Jacie Hambrick and Bri Enter to carry the bulk of the load while integrating a young, talented arm in Jessa Snippes.

Last year, Pease won Big Ten Pitcher of the Year after posting a 27-7 record with a 1.46 ERA. She finished the season fifth in the nation in strikeouts with 273 while allowing 29 walks.

Gophers head coach Piper Ritter said during a press conference on Feb. 2 that the team would take a staff approach for the beginning part of the season.

“I believe we’ll start off with a staff approach for sure,” Ritter said. “We have three freshmen and they’re going to need innings … Right now, we’ll be a little bit more of a staff, but we do have some rising stars in that freshman class.”

Snippes, the headliner of this year’s freshmen class, was named 2023 Minnesota Ms. Softball and StarTribune’s Metro Player of the Year.

The Gophers added Macy Richardson and Cameron Grayson, two other freshmen arms, for the 2024 season. Sydney Schwartz is another name to monitor after she finished her freshman year strong, according to Ritter.

Hambrick enters the new year with more experience in Minnesota than any other Gophers pitcher, with 92 innings pitched in 2023.

Hambrick said she understood the role Pease had last year and is up for the challenge.

“I have taken extra time to work on things I knew I needed to be better at and I learned that from Autumn,” Hambrick said.

Hambrick added that the lessons she learned from Pease last season are building blocks she hopes to utilize in 2024.

Enter is also looking to step into a larger role in both leadership and innings. After spending three years at Florida State, Enter saw her largest volume in college at Minnesota, tossing 37.2 innings, mainly in relief.

Enter said mixing pitches is an important part of her game and her arsenal allows her to be versatile when approaching hitters.

“I’m more of a spin and location type of pitcher, so I have my curve, rise and drop,” Enter said. “I can hit every corner, so it’s just keeping the batter off-balance with different speeds. I have a mix of three speeds, so that kind of helps my toolbox.”

With various new faces on the pitching staff, one constant remains in junior catcher Taylor Krapf. The 2023 All-Big Ten First Team selection returns to build on her impressive season.

Krapf caught all 57 games last season but will have more help this year with the addition of Penn State transfer Cassie Lindmark.

“I love [Krapf’s] presence behind the plate when I’m out there pitching with her,” Hambrick said. “She makes me feel like it’s our world and everybody else is just living in it.”

Minnesota heads to San Diego, California for the San Diego State Season Kickoff, where the Gophers will play five games in three days. Their first game will be on Friday against UC Santa Barbara at 5 p.m.

Of their five games over the weekend, the Gophers are scheduled to play three ranked teams, including Stanford, led by former Gophers head coach Jessica Allister.