Mizna, a nonprofit providing a platform for art, literature and film by Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) artists, is screening or sponsoring showings of several Palestinian films throughout February to uplift Palestinian stories that aren’t normally told in mainstream media.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which dates back decades, has resulted in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of nearly two million Gazan residents. This conflict has not only led to devastating losses in human life, but it has also caused negative dialogue and depictions surrounding Palestinians and Arab people as a whole. 

According to Lana Barkawi, the executive and artistic director at Mizna, US and Western media often portray these communities in dehumanizing and vilifying ways that further perpetuate harmful discourse.

“The work is always about revising and updating and allowing Arab and SWANA folks’ voices to be amplified and change narratives that are persistent in our culture, particularly over the past four decades or so,” said Michelle Baroody, Mizna’s film programming curator. 

As part of this year’s quarterly Mizna Film Series, many of the films the organization is screening center around SWANA women who created films about uprisings or gender and sexuality.

While Mizna tends to show contemporary films in their other programming, the Mizna Film Series allows them to share older films that were considered lost, especially in places like Palestine.

“The Mizna Film Series is a place where we can show a lot of recent restorations of archival cinema or just films that have [been] thought to be lost and have been found,” Baroody said.

For the first segment of the 2024 film series, the organization will screen “Palestinian Women” on Feb. 28 at the Trylon Cinema in Minneapolis. The recently restored film by Lebanese director Jocelyne Saab is about Palestinian female resistance fighters. The documentary is being shown before “The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived,” a film by Heiny Srour about another woman-led uprising in Oman.

Mizna will also be sponsoring a screening of “Bye Bye Tiberias” Thursday at the Walker Art Center. The documentary, which had its world premiere last September, follows Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass who left her village to pursue acting. Thirty years later, Abbass and her daughter, Lina Soualem, who also directed the film, return to her village and explore her initial choice to leave and the influence of Palestinian women in their family.

“Leila and the Wolves,” also by Srour, will also be co-sponsored by Mizna and The Main Cinema will show it on Feb. 16. The narrative film follows a woman who travels back in time and moves through Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements.

While Mizna doesn’t exclusively showcase Palestinian artists and stories, Barkawi said they are doing more Palestine-related programming than normal because of how necessary and urgent it feels due to continued Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip.

“We are using our platform as an urgent space to center Palestinian cultures, center Palestinian voices telling stories on their own terms,” Barkawi said.

Omar Aly, a fourth-year at the University of Minnesota, serves as the social media and marketing chair for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). 

In the past few months, SJP has held bake sales, solidarity and unity events with other University student groups and placed 10,000 flags in the shape of the Palestinian flag in the Northrop Mall that named the lives lost in Gaza. 

According to Aly, after the flags were put up in the mall, Mizna was able to turn the display into an exhibit called “Bear Witness: Honoring Gaza’s Martyrs” which was shown at Public Functionary in northeast Minneapolis last December.

Aly said SJP and Mizna have very different kinds of programming, with the former focusing on education and taking to the streets and the latter centering arts and culture. Despite this, Aly thinks the organizations “complete each other” in their activism because they can appeal to the most amount of people possible.

“I think it’s very important for that type of culture and for that type of work to keep going and to actually expand and grow further,” Aly said. “Without it, it’s kind of like you’re deleting the past.”

While activism in the form of art, literature and film can often be overlooked, Baroody said it can humanize groups of people and provide more depth to their lived experiences than media outlets can provide.

“Art and culture and film and poetry and literature allows people to speak in so many different ways and give people a voice in ways that are just so much more humanizing and so much more important in many instances than the kinds of things that you might see in the news media,” Baroody said.

To learn more about Mizna’s programming, visit their website.

University of Minnesota students reflect on concerns of safety and peace as tensions rise between Somalia and Ethiopia. 

Tensions between the two countries rose after Somaliland, a neighboring territory, signed an agreement with Ethiopia to lease a part of its coastline to the landlocked nation for the next 50 years. East African University students voiced concerns about how the tensions are impacting themselves, their friends and family. 

Somaliland was a former British colony until 1960 when it joined Somalia. It was an unstable union between the two and in 1991, Somaliland broke away with intentions to become an independent, sovereign nation and started a civil war. 

Some University students have family and friends in Somalia affected by these conflicts, making this subject personal. 

Mowlid Hassan, the committee chair of the Somali Student Association, is worried about his family’s safety. His uncle lived in Las Ahanov, Somalia, one of the regions where the conflict started before moving south to Bohol, where his dad lives. 

“It’s affecting me in the sense of thinking about my family’s safety,” Hassan said. “Hopefully things get better.” 

Freda Payne, the co-president of the African Student Association, said her friends are worried about being perceived the wrong way. Payne has friends from both Ethiopia and Somalia and is worried about how the conflict could create tensions here. 

“It’s not affecting them day-to-day but it’s like, if they consider going back to their own countries they’re more worried of how they’re going to be perceived by others,” Payne said. 

For Ethiopia, the agreement is vital to its economic stability because it is a landlocked nation and gives them access to the ocean. In return, Somaliland hopes Ethiopia will recognize them as a sovereign state, not just a separate region in Somalia. 

Abdimalik Shuriye, the board historian of the Somali Student Association at the University, said protests are happening in all three areas because of sovereignty disputes and lack of communication. 

“It would be like if another country was dealing with Minnesota instead of dealing with the United States,” Shuriye said. 

President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said this agreement bypasses their federal government and threatens their nation’s integrity, reported Al Jazeera news. 

Mohamud said Somalia is prepared to go to war with Ethiopia and has declared the agreement void, reported The Guardian. Ethiopia and Somalia have had ongoing tensions after their conflict in 1977-78 about a disputed region. 

Hassan points out the majority of Somalia’s population is young and feeling the effects of the past generation’s actions. 

“Most of the Somalis on Earth are younger than the age of 30, meaning they didn’t even know the start of the civil war,” Hassan said. “It’s something that affects them that the past generation has done.” 

It is unlikely Somalia will initiate an attack, though the agreement could increase longstanding tensions, according to The Guardian. East African students hope the two nations will focus on peace moving forward. 

“People need to focus on peace,” Shuriye said. “I feel like it’s just gonna hopefully all come out peacefully.”

It was the 20th anniversary of Title IX when Mary Jo Kane raised her hand during a faculty meeting at the University of Minnesota and proposed building a center that researched and empowered women in sports. 

Kane’s idea was described to Dorthy Tucker, who graduated from the University in 1945. Kane said she still remembers her shock and disbelief at receiving $1 million from Tucker to start the center. 

However, Kane said she was not able to access the funds until after Tucker passed.

“I was rattled,” Kane said. “I almost backed out because I was so eager to start my research as soon as possible.”

The University proposed to Tucker to give $45,000 annually for five years, which the University matched. Kane said she had $90,000 a year to start the center.

Kane became the founder and first director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport in 1993.

Since its initial founding, the Tucker Center has expanded the possibilities for women in sport with a focus on research and community engagement. 

Tthe Tucker Center held a distinguished lecture series on Tuesday celebrating 30 years of championing research of women in sport and recapping achievements made over the last five years. 

In the 1990s, research was not keeping pace with increased participation in women’s sport, Kane said. The Tucker Center was about to be the first and only to keep a research university strong by implementing up-to-date research on that subject.

“Research is a part of the North Star of the Tucker Center,” Kane said. “I wanted to make sure that we were taken seriously as an academic enterprise, research is at the head of the mission … end of discussion.” 

Nicole LaVoi, the co-director of the Tucker Center, said what drove her to get involved with the Tucker Center was her passion to use sports to uplift girls from all around the world. 

Changing the portrayal of female athletes in the media, developing a network among affiliate scholars in the Tucker Center and sharing research were key goals of the center, LaVoi added. 

“The strength of Mary Jo and I working together was we did have different perspectives and different strengths, but we shared the passion and the mission,” LaVoi said. 

Anna Goorevich, a research assistant at the Tucker Center, said when she started as an intern she immediately found a community and felt empowered.

“Even though we were all on Zoom, it was one of the first times where I was surrounded by like-minded, driven, passionate women who all were there to learn and also to use research to create social change,” Goorevich said.

In the past five years, the Tucker Center has focused on research in media representations for women in sports by removing barriers to participation and leadership positions, LaVoi said.

Coaching HER is a free program offered by the Tucker Center that launched in March 2023 in collaboration with Nike. The program provides coaches with tools and resources to coach girls effectively, according to its website.

While working on Coaching HER, Dove contacted the Tucker Center to collaborate with Nike to develop a tool that promotes body confidence in girls involved in sports, according to LaVoi. 

“It was the first time two major brands worked with leading academic partners to design, rigorously test, develop and launch a tool to keep 11- to 17-year-old girls in sports,” LaVoi said.

Body Confident Sport is designed to help coaches recognize signs of negative body image and develop an environment that promotes body confidence, LaVoi said. 

Courtney Boucher, the assistant director of research and programming and the product owner of Coaching HER, said her research is mainly focused on what she refers to as a “coaching report card,” which holds institutions accountable by creating a grading system for how many women are employed on sports teams in colleges. 

“[These programs] are creating a space that girls not only can survive in sport, but instead they thrive within it,” Boucher said. 

None of this would have been possible without people who have a passion for contributing to research and empowerment among girls and women in sports, according to Kane. 

“Just to think that me going, ‘I have an idea,’ and raising my hand that day made this all possible makes me feel deeply humbled and filled with gratitude,” Kane said. 

Samira Abubakar and Misra Yusuf opened East African Womb Wellness and Spa in July 2023 to provide women with herbal medicine and traditional healing used in East Africa during and after pregnancy. Their business supported women in the East African community.

The spa provided services to help women with depression, stress and any illnesses connected to the womb, Yusuf said. They provide services known as Yoni steam, hijama/cupping, facials and body scrubs, which have been traditionally used in East Africa for over 100 years, Abubakar said.

Abubakar and Yusuf’s business was one of seven East African businesses destroyed in a fire on Jan. 24.

Abubakar said she started this business with Yusuf because of her experiences with pregnancy and wanted to help others undergoing pregnancy. Her pregnancy questions were not answered by her gynecologist, so she turned to herbal medicine and traditional healing.

“We don’t have that in this country, so when I started, there were a lot of women who were happy from East Africa,” Abubakar said. “It’s our tradition to get this service in order for us to heal our womb.”

The fire affected two properties: one housed the seven businesses and the other, owned by the West Bank Community Development Corporation, housed the first licensed Somali home daycare in Minnesota. 

Abdi Aden, who runs the company that owns the building, said the building was burned and is waiting on his insurance to determine whether or not he can repair it.

None of the businesses had insurance, according to the West Bank Business Association (WBBA). Now, they have to relocate and replace their income, equipment, inventory and furniture. 

Yusuf said the fire destroyed their business and now they have to start from scratch six months after they began.

“We put in our time and whatever we have, we worked really hard to establish this business and we have to start from the ground again and find any sort of source that can help us,” Yusuf said.

Aden said businesses both new and old were destroyed in the fire. He is helping these business owners with relocation but is struggling himself in the aftermath of the fire. 

“My building is burned out, I think it’s a total loss,” Aden said. “I have to rebuild and look for a loan or something like that.”

The owners of the home daycare had to move out of their home and lost many personal and business items in the fire, according to WBBA. 

Yusuf said the impact on the community is not only financial but also emotional.

“It does have a huge impact, not only on us, the owners of the place, but the people that we’d be working with, our clientele, people that have had experience with us, hoping to get the service done with us and in general just women in our community that are not able to find that sort of healing process through other health systems,” Yusuf said. 

Abubakar said their goal is to find grant money, get insured and move into a new location. 

Yusuf added they want to make their services available to all women who need and can benefit from it regardless of their culture.

WBBA started a GoFundMe to raise funds to help the businesses impacted by the fire. 

“It’s not just our business, but the business owners and the community that are giving service to these different business owners that are there,” Yusuf said.

Robert McMaster is stepping down as the University of Minnesota’s vice provost and dean of undergraduate education after serving 16 years in the position. 

Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Croson confirmed McMaster’s departure on Monday in an announcement to University faculty and administration on the Twin Cities campus. 

McMaster will stay with the University as a faculty member in the Department of Geography, a department in which he previously served as the director of undergraduate studies.

“Please join me in thanking Professor Robert McMaster for his outstanding and transformational leadership as vice provost and dean of undergraduate education for the past 16 years,” Croson’s announcement said. “We are pleased he will remain a part of the University community and will provide transitional guidance to the newly appointed vice provost and dean of undergraduate education.”

This development comes just over two weeks after Interim President Jeff Ettinger confirmed the resignation of Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Myron Frans, another high-ranking University administrator. 

The University’s Twin Cities campus saw the largest improvement in four-year graduation rates of any doctoral-granting institution in the United States during McMaster’s tenure, according to Croson’s announcement. 

Applications and nominations for the next vice provost and dean of undergraduate education are now being accepted, with the review process beginning on Feb. 29. The chosen candidate will start in June or shortly thereafter, according to Croson’s announcement.

At the bi-weekly Forum session of the University of Minnesota Undergraduate Student Government (USG) on Tuesday, Regent Mary Turner said she will work to help USG get their legislative efforts through University administration.

In a reverse Q&A, Turner asked the USG forum body about their current concerns and efforts, touching on food and housing insecurity, campus building safety and how USG should work to have their issues heard by the Board of Regents (BOR).

Alongside her work as a regent, Turner is a working intensive care unit nurse at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale and was president of the Minnesota Nurses Association for eight years. During this time, she led the largest private-sector nursing strike in U.S. history in 2022.

“I believe in a voice of the people,” Turner said during the event. “Whether it be workers or students or the faculty.”

Turner asked the forum how they bring their issues “to the forefront.”

USG Government and Legislative Affairs (GLA) Interim Director Joslyn Blass said one example is how students frequently name food insecurity as one of their biggest concerns in GLA surveys, namely the lack of an affordable and accessible grocery store on campus.

Earlier this semester, USG started a Food Insecurity Committee to create an on-campus grocery store, an effort USG widely supports, USG President Shashank Murali said. 

USG Representative to the BOR Ebba Wako said issues arise when legislation passes through USG but is largely ignored by the BOR. 

“I cannot stress enough how hard we have been working to get University administration to recognize how important it is for us to have an on-campus grocery store,” Blass said to Turner. 

When USG encounters “roadblocks” in getting responses from University administration, Turner said they should increase their activism on that issue.

“That’s all part of the college experience: raising a ruckus,” Turner said.

Turner also asked whether USG was making efforts to bring legislative issues to the state capital. 

Blass responded that housing and food insecurity have been some of USG’s biggest concerns, adding they hope to bring housing security legislation to the state level, which would reflect its accomplishments at the local level. 

GLA worked to promote a Minneapolis ordinance, passed in December, which outlines guaranteed protections for tenants who sign a pre-lease before the building is ready for move-in.

Blass said renters’ protections are a big priority for GLA going forward.

“If you have a regent in tow, that could help,” Turner said. 

In regards to issues with buildings on campus, Turner said the University is not building anything new this year. Rather, it will work to renovate existing buildings, something she referred to as a “fix-it list.”

“I’m not into building new buildings when I’m hearing about elevators that don’t work and leaking roofs,” Turner said.

The University is specifically looking at Eddy Hall, Turner said. Eddy Hall is the oldest building on campus and has been vacant for nearly a decade, according to the Star Tribune.

Turner asked the forum body if they could think of any other campus buildings with significant safety hazards. Members cited health and safety hazards in Anderson Hall, Keeler Apartments, Middlebrook Residence Hall and 17th Avenue Residence Hall.

Prior to the Q&A, Murali and USG Vice President Sara Davis said they were excited to see the interaction between Turner and USG. Though a regent typically speaks at USG forum once a year, it is still a somewhat rare opportunity.

“That gives everybody an opportunity to be genuine and really share and then she can take that back and involve that in her work with the other Board members,” Davis said. 

Turner said, as a nurse, her patients are everything to her and as a regent, the student body is her patient whom she cares for and listens to. 

“That is what moves the legislature more than anything,” Turner said. “When [administrators] get up there and talk numbers it does not change hearts and it does not sway votes.”

Turner said a partnership between USG and the regents would make passing legislation through the capital more effective.

“If you’re up there,” Turner said, “I want to be part of your team.”

When this year’s Academy Awards nominations came out, fans of the film “Barbie’” were quick to flood everyone’s screens with their outrage, trickling debate into the many corners of social media. 

While we can pull up all the minutiae as to what exactly goes into considering an academy nomination, one point from this controversy feels certain and worthy of recognition: there is a clear lack of opportunity for women working in the film industry. 

“Barbie” made history as the highest-grossing film directed by a woman of all time, proving to the public that films written and directed by women can be as financially successful as films written and directed by their male counterparts. On the surface, this feels like a major win for women not only within the film industry but everywhere — especially when you look at those box office scores. 

Yet, here we are at the start of 2024 and women still do not make up an equal portion of the film industry. According to a study, 75% of top-grossing films hired 10 or more men while only 4% hired 10 or more women in 2023. Additionally, only 16% of directors on the top 250 grossing films of 2023 were women. 

That is less than the previous year, which was 18% — a notable decline for an already low percentage.

In the year with some of the most publicly acclaimed films being directed by women, you would think the film industry was finally crossing the street on this gender inequality issue — but they aren’t even past the curb. What could be the reason? It’s pretty simple really: Major film studios are not hiring enough women. 

Carolyn Sackett, a fourth-year student and president of a film club at the University of Minnesota, doesn’t find the percentage surprising, but the lack of catch-up for hiring more women is disappointing. 

“A lot of it has to do with it being a boys club to direct a movie,” Sackett said. “You need a lot of connections and someone who’s willing to produce and finance. People need to think you’re capable enough to do it. And unfortunately, with Hollywood being once again such a boys club, it’s a lot harder for a woman to get that okay.” 

Success in the film industry is not always attributed to popularity, but it most definitely is attributed to opportunities. Yet, in the case of being a woman, opportunities are scarce and it seems like popularity is the only way to get to success, or at least close to it, whereas the film industry seems to favor men regardless of status. 

Because of this, up-and-coming women filmmakers are bending over backward to keep their ideas from being scrapped by money-hungry producers who don’t believe stories by and about women can sell.

This is no fault of women, but instead the fault of the avaricious film industry that pushed women out of director and key behind-the-scenes roles back in the 1920s when cinema started to become financially successful. Wealth and patriarchy seeped in and kept women from being treated equally in the industry and from being awarded their deserving accolades. 

Kelly Nathe, a publicist and programmer for MSP Film Society, finds the industry to be rooted in patriarchal ideals and evidently, those ideals have unconsciously manifested into places like the prestigious Academy Awards.

“Typically, when you’ve been nominated, you’re automatically invited [to the academy] and you can also be invited to join by peers who are within the academy,” Nathe said. “And so, it’s sort of this Sisyphean task that specifically women who are trying to get up the hill, as directors, can’t quite get there. They can’t quite get nominated, so they can’t join the directors branch of the academy.”

In an effort to incorporate more diversity, the academy planned back in 2016 to double its number of diverse members by 2020. In 2021, almost 400 new members joined, of which 46% were women.

However, even with this substantial increase, women only made up about 33% of academy voters in 2022, continuing its gender discrepancy. 

Now, I’m not dismissing the academy’s attempt to be more inclusive — I’m glad that there was an increase in not only women invited but also people of color. Nonetheless, it’s still not enough, and there is no excuse for the lack of catch-up.

Women continue to prove themselves more and more each year and the public has become extremely aware of it. It’s about time that these “esteemed” award shows reflect that awareness. 

“We don’t need more ‘Barbie,’ but we do need more brilliant films helmed by women telling stories that are well crafted and well rounded that people show up for,” Nathe said.

Women do not expect to be given accolades simply because they are women, but because they want their work and art to be acknowledged. But how can women be acknowledged when they are not even considered? 

With the Super Bowl fast approaching on Sunday, Surly has jumped on the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce relationship bandwagon. The brewery is featuring beers named after the pop star and the Chiefs’ tight-end in their taproom.

The beers are described on Surly’s website as using the same hop, but different yeasts: “our two newest IPAs both utilize Hopsteiner’s experimental #16660 hop. One uses our house yeast, the other uses Omega’s Cosmic Punch thiolized yeast.”

The two beers prove to be an enticing pair, as they are similar yet have distinct differences. If you order both beers, the “Travis” is the hazy one whereas the “Taylor” is translucent. Both IPAs have a 7% ABV.

The “Travis” is a very approachable IPA, as its bitterness is not overwhelming and its overall flavor is subdued relative to some stronger-tasting IPAs, adding up to a smooth drinking experience. Its flavor is comparable to what you might expect from a hazy IPA — citrusy and slightly tart.

The “Taylor” IPA, however, is even better. It is particularly light and sweet, giving it a wine-like feel, which sets it apart from a traditional IPA. IPA newcomers can feel comfortable trying this one. For an IPA, there is nothing about the “Taylor” that might feel too overwhelming or strong.

While the “Travis” IPA is smooth, the “Taylor” is much smoother. The slight bitterness of the “Taylor” is counteracted by a bright orangey sweetness that proves to be a delectable combination of flavors.

It appears Surly sought to create two different but accessible beers from the same hop variety — a pairing that, as their website states, “ideally floods the Beer Hall with Swifties and/or fans of elite tight-end play in the dead of winter.” 

When considering that goal, while the “Travis” is a solid beer, the “Taylor” is overall more memorable and enjoyable.

The indie music staple magazine, Pitchfork, was once a leading name in online music journalism but became a subsidiary of GQ magazine on Jan. 17.

GQ being an established, corporate magazine, signifies a shift away from the DIY-ethos that defined indie music in the past.

“There has definitely been a shift of the meaning of indie music over the decades of being a DIY way of creating and promoting music, to almost becoming a genre in itself,” said Grace Williams, director of marketing at Radio K.

Indie music became a mainstream success in the late 1990s/early 2000s with bands such as The Strokes and Arcade Fire. It was a culmination of all the rock-related genres that came before it, mixing pop melodies with punk, folk and psychedelic-style instrumentals. As this style quickly saturated the market, bands had to turn to more unconventional sounds to stand out.

The Unicorns in 2003 gained popularity from Pitchfork’s glowing review of their album “Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?” This is the only album the band ever released through a label and was lauded by online publications for its use of “fun” and “goofy” guitar and keyboard sounds. 

As the genre progressed, experimentation increased. Bands like Animal Collective received a 9.6 from Pitchfork for their album “Merriweather Post Pavilion” for combining worldly sounds with electronic, atmospheric sounds and catchy hooks. 

In the 2010s, this burst of eccentricity in the genre lost its steam. Vampire Weekend’s latest release is an uninspired take on jam-rock, a change from their first three albums that merged Afropop, synthpop and ska music. Tame Impala, a band that once had a gritty, psychedelic sound is now sticking to clean production inspired by disco and 80s pop. Even Car Seat Headrest, whose lo-fi aesthetics and long-winding song structures defined their early work, now is releasing music that sounds like an amateur take on EDM.

Nowadays, soft, guitar-driven pop saturates the indie market. Boygenius is arguably the most relevant band in indie music at the moment, in terms of mainstream success. However, their sound comes across as very safe and sterile in comparison to the ambition of their predecessors.

“Platforms like Spotify have started using the word ‘indie’ to describe the sound of the playlists even when they are predominately made up of artists signed on large labels,” Williams said.

The influence of TikTok and Spotify playlists on music discoverability could be attributed to the shift in the modern indie sound. There is less of a need for online publications such as Pitchfork or Stereogum to find new music. Instead, an algorithm can pick and choose tracks based on app activity. 

“Discoverability has expanded significantly for up-and-coming artists because of social media, and more specifically TikTok,” said Minneapolis-based artist Mike Kota. “People are two times more likely to discover an artist on TikTok than any other platform.”

It seems in the past years that DIY artists have shifted away from indie and more towards electronic production. With music-making software becoming more accessible to the average person, bedroom producers are more likely to find ways to experiment with effects and plugins than with guitars and other physical instruments.

Still, the indie sound is alive and well in local scenes. The Como neighborhood in Minneapolis has regular house shows with a diverse lineup of acts.

“The people and bands of a scene may change with time, but the community always remains in some way or another to build up and support each other,” said Henry Meyer, owner of the Como Backdoor venue.

While indie musicians have a greater opportunity to put their music out there, they have to compete in an oversaturated, ever-shifting market. Indie music, once a dominating force on the music scene, has now become a niche genre.

Of all the chores assigned to me as a kid, there was not one I disliked more than attending weekly confirmation classes at my local church. This process, which lasted the entire nine-month duration of my freshman year of high school, did the exact opposite of its intent.

It guided me further away from God than I had ever been. 

While the group singing, hand-holding and preachy message bothered the self-appointed intellectually independent teenage me, it was even more confusing how so many people could believe in something without undeniable evidence. 

I especially reveled in my distaste and skepticism for what my parents were putting me through, because it gave me an excuse to rebel against them. 

Immediately following my confirmation ceremony, I decided Christianity, God and religion were all pointless and nonsensical. Nothing or no one could convince me otherwise. 

For many current college students, this personal account likely resonates in some capacity. 

According to a study done by The Survey Center on American Life, 18% of our generation identifies as either atheist or agnostic, and a whopping 34% identifies as religiously unaffiliated. The latter percentage, which has only increased in the past century, is double its respective amount within the baby boomer generation. 

It’s hard to pinpoint one cause of this decline, as the issue is inherently complex. 

Father Jake Anderson of Gopher Catholic cited declining family structure and increased institutional skepticism as a possible reason for this shift. 

“I think that’s an instability factor for a lot of people to begin questioning things, to drop out of things,” Anderson said. “People are much more inclined to listen and hearken to the authority of experience rather than a spoken word from a higher institution.” 

This skepticism, upbringing and institutions aside, has undeniably been exacerbated by technology. Young people now have easier access to a wider range of opinions than ever before, resulting in a generation of impressionable kids who now think twice about going to church on Sundays. 

For those who already identify as religiously unaffiliated, college represents the perfect opportunity to shelve any association with the concept. College campuses, especially now, are littered with various outlets focusing on social activism, politics, academics, sports and Greek life. People make new friends, start new hobbies, become more social and expose themselves to new ways of thinking. 

But what happens if it all starts to feel surface-level?

No one wants to be the person having an existential crisis in the corner of the party. No one wants to feel like they lack meaningful connections or a sense of purpose. Most importantly, no one wants to feel like they have nothing to fall back on when they need it. 

In the past year, this exact internal dilemma forced me to reconcile with my previously set-in-stone dismissal of religion. 

I’ll admit — I still can’t bring myself to look past the same distaste for the church environment I had as a kid. I’m not even sure if my shaky belief in God is out of true faith or just a fear of there being nothing beyond material existence. 

But the beauty of religion is how it recognizes the never-ending nature of this internal debate. 

Eli Bechard, a fourth-year University of Minnesota student who was raised Christian, echoed that sentiment.

“It’s about accepting everybody where they’re at,” Bechard said.

Even without fully believing in God, basic religious principles can provide value for anyone. 

On an interactional level, religion provides a framework for displaying compassion, mutual respect, charity, discipline, forgiveness, humility and ethical decision-making all while encouraging individuals to partake in community and civic engagement. It satisfies our natural desire for belonging and gives meaning to the everyday interactions with our coworkers, friends and families that we often take for granted. 

On a personal level, religion teaches us plenty more. Commentary on self-reflection, gratitude and purpose is ingrained in every major practice in the world for a reason — it teaches us to reexamine our actions, strive for improvement and understand our place in the world. For many, developing a sense of spirituality (a divine connection with God) gives them hope when adversity hits.

While thinking about these core values, consider this:

We are part of the generation with the highest recorded rates of depression, loneliness and anxiety. Regardless of the cause, those numbers are only trending upward. 

We are often told that we come from nothing and that there is no greater meaning to our daily lives and interactions. Many of our lives revolve around jobs we don’t care about. We live in a world filled with distractions fueled by online echo chambers, tribalism, social media and a culture of comparison that leaves us perpetually unsatisfied. 

As a college student, it can feel impossible to balance family, friends, job searches, academics, hobbies and money at once. 

No, faith will not solve all your problems. Yes, it must be acknowledged how religion can and has been used to justify oppression for centuries. However, this does not mean that the underlying message has no value. 

At the end of the day, is it really detrimental to believe in something that allows us to step back from our everyday lives and think about what matters in life?