The University of Minnesota’s theatre department will open “Fucking A,” a play covering a variety of themes surrounding bodily autonomy and oppression, Friday in the Rarig Center’s Stoll Thrust Theatre.

The play, which runs until March 2, is a “radical retelling of ‘The Scarlet Letter,’” according to cast member and recent University graduate Olivia Gulden. The production aligns with the theatre department’s theme of bodily autonomy for their 2023-24 season.

“F—ing A” follows Hester Smith, an abortion provider who is physically branded with the letter “A,” her goal of reuniting with her son who was imprisoned many years prior and the devastating consequences that follow. 

According to Gulden, the playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks, defines the story as a “revenge tragedy” and “cautionary tale.”

The theatre department issued a content warning for this production. “F—ing A” includes “explicit language; simulated violence and sexual assault; descriptions of torture; use of stage blood; and themes surrounding death, incarceration, abortion, sex work, racism and class oppression,” according to its website.

Gulden, who plays Hester in the production, said she auditioned for the show last spring because of how impactful the story is and its applicability to society.

“I had read ‘F—ing A’ in a class a couple of years prior and just knew that it was very powerful and unique and that has definitely proved true as I’ve read it about a couple hundred more times,” Gulden said.

Luciana Stich, a second-year student who plays Hester’s friend Canary Mary, is also a fan of Parks’ work and agrees with Gulden’s sentiment of the play being relevant to current issues. To Stich, “F—ing A” highlights the choices the characters can and cannot make in their strict and misogynistic society and its parallels to the real world.

“I really like ‘F—ing A’ as it points out a lot of the flaws in our society and the way the world works in a world that is not necessarily, I mean, it’s not our own [society] but in a very real way, it is,” Stich said.

Opinions like Gulden’s and Stich’s are major reasons why the play was selected for this year’s programming, according to Emily Finck, a doctoral candidate in the theatre department and co-director of the show. Finck, who suggested the department produce this play, said its themes of bodily autonomy, the human desire for connection and justice and structural inequality are consistently timely.

Another major reason why the play was selected was because of its ability to allow the performers to branch out in their artistry.

“Suzan-Lori Parks as a playwright is someone I believe our students should be, not just aware of, but have the opportunity to engage with as performers, and within that includes her stylistic work,” Finck said. “When you see the show, it is not a real world and yet it exposes our real world, so I really liked the idea of letting our students play with really different styles of performance.”

“F—ing A” is a physically and emotionally demanding play for the actors, but Finck said part of their education is learning how to navigate these difficult topics.

To help prepare the performers for a show of this subject matter, the department held a BA Studio Production course for the first half of the fall semester, according to Talvin Wilks, an associate professor in the theatre department and the other co-director of the show.

Wilks said the purpose of the studio class was to give performers the opportunity to delve into the dramaturgy, movement and intimacy of the play, as well as allow them to do in-depth research and explore their characters.

“[The studio] gave us a chance to sort of bring different approaches and different techniques to thinking about the work,” Wilks said. “We all had different workshops and explorations, and it was also an early opportunity for [Finck] and I to really build a sense of collaboration and think about the way of approaching the work.”

Despite the show’s difficult subject matter, Gulden said the play still shows the characters’ hope and conviction despite the situations they are confined to.

“The reason why [the play] can be as powerful as it is, is definitely the humanity within it,”  Gulden said. “That’s the thing also about the show that is worth seeing is just the life and the love that manages to peek through the sidewalk cracks of this horrific world. The love persists.”

Tickets for “F—ing A” are available on the University theatre department’s website.

This article has been updated.

The University of Minnesota’s current system-wide strategic plan MPact 2025 entered its final year of activity since being implemented by former University president Joan Gabel in 2021.

Planning for MPact began in 2016, and since its implementation after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has seen marked areas of improvement outside of its outlined goals including creating the ongoing PRISMH initiative for student mental health.

In Gabel’s absence, Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Croson has been in charge of providing updates on MPact 2025’s progress to the Board of Regents every December. Croson said the plan is still on track to be fulfilled by its intended deadline of 2025.

“When we’re not making progress, or not making progress as we’d hoped at this stage, the first question is to think about why,” Croson said. “If you’re meeting all of your goals, you probably weren’t ambitious enough to start with.”

The plan promises to uphold the University’s mission of education, research and outreach by following five commitments. Each commitment has a subset of items for the University to take action on, like a checklist.

The goal of the first commitment, “Student Success,” is to focus on improving student well-being in the areas of enrollment, retention, graduation and mental health. “Discovery, Innovation and Impact,” the next commitment, is dedicated to growing the University’s research capabilities.

Vice President of Research and Innovation Shashank Priya said the University is meeting the research goals laid out by MPact 2025.

Under MPact 2025, Priya said the University is receiving over $1 billion in sponsored funding for research and, according to the 2023 HERD survey, is ranked #12 in public research institutions nationwide and is on track to be within the top 10 by 2025.

“The University’s research enterprise is strong, and our work is providing real-world impact,” Priya said.

The third commitment, “MNtersections,” focuses on future innovation of technology and sustainability, according to MPact 2025’s outline.

According to Chief Sustainability Officer Shane Stennes, the University took steps to address climate action as outlined by MPact 2025 including installing renewable energy sources systemwide, switching to electric vehicles and reducing energy consumption in University buildings.

“I think it’s helpful to see how this work connects into our institutional commitments, and then how it relates to the things outside of the University and in the broader world,” Stennes said.

The final two commitments, “Community and Belonging” and “Fiscal Stewardship,” aim to make each campus feel more inclusive and target areas of financial strain across the University.

Of the 42 goals across all five commitment categories, only nine are left to be completed, including increasing student retention and reducing student debt owed to $2,500 below the national average. 

“Student Success” and “Community and Belonging” both have three action items left each. Each of the other categories only has one more goal before they are completed, according to Croson.

Croson said the work done in this strategic plan has been amazing and hopes the University will continue that trajectory with its next president and strategic plan.

“From my perspective, as I think about strategic planning, I’m kind of comfortable with having some goals that we make great progress toward, but maybe we don’t make it 100 percent,” Croson said. “We [should] continue that work in our next strategic plan and moving forward.”

When I first learned about Rex Orange County’s sexual assault allegations, I was devastated. I grew up listening to his music and his songs were scattered throughout my playlists. When I heard his music afterward, I could only wonder how someone could sing such endearing lines yet commit such a vile act toward another human being.

The charges against him were later dismissed, but I still couldn’t bring myself to listen to his music. Could we really be sure he was innocent?

That’s the problem, it remains uncertain in my mind, forever tainting his songs.

There has been an abundance of artists like Rex Orange County who have been reprimanded for their words and actions. While most people choose to completely discard the artist as I did, can others continue to listen to their music even if they don’t agree with their actions?

Separating the art from the artist has been a widely debated topic. Some can view the music and the artist as two separate entities. Others believe that continuing to listen to the music created by the artist is linked to supporting them.

Diane Miller, host and producer of the local show at The Current, finds that anyone can be an outstandingly talented artist but also an awful person at the same time.

“Kanye West is a talented, creative, individual and his ability to produce music is outstanding. To me, that is a fact,” Miller said. “What is also a fact is that Kanye West is a racist. He is not a good person. Those are two subsets that can exist simultaneously.”

Kanye West is no stranger to speaking immorally and has no shame in his opinions. After making multiple antisemitic comments, West became an extremely disrespected figure among many.

Yet, his outright bigotry didn’t seem to stop others from continuing to listen to his music. West’s recently dropped album reached number one on Apple and iTunes charts.

Kanye West’s notions have deeply offended many, but are people who solely enjoy his music for its productional excellence automatically tied to his beliefs?

Music and values go hand in hand, according to Liam De Pauw, a second-year student in the School of Music at the University of Minnesota. When the values of an artist are hateful, the music is ultimately ruined.

“There’s a lot of people that still enjoy [Kanye’s] music, and I can see that because for some people, it’s a separate entity from him,” De Pauw said. “At some point, you’re also supporting the person who created that and supporting the hurtful things that he says.”

Another example is Michael Jackson. Jackson was accused of and charged with multiple counts related to child molestation. He was put on trial, but he was acquitted of all charges.

There’s no denying that Michael Jackson helped define music and pop culture into what it is today. Just like Rex Orange County, Jackson’s allegations were dropped. But, because of Jackson’s legendary presence, does that mean it’s easier for him to get off the hook?

“[Michael Jackson] is an outstanding artist and his music is still worth billions of dollars to this day,” Miller said. “He also did what he did and it was so wrong. That’s when I think it becomes more complex.”

Nonetheless, Jackson’s music and image are still idolized today — losing little to no credibility in the eyes of the public. It would be unrealistic to completely remove the discography of someone as iconic as Jackson.

Art is often used as a vehicle to convey one’s thoughts or feelings. Does this mean artists are essentially tied to the art they release? Or, once it’s put out into the world, does it instead become the public’s personal interpretation?

“Can I still listen to [Kanye’s] music and enjoy it? To a degree, sure. I have some ability to be able to separate it,” Miller said. “Do I agree with Kanye’s viewpoints? Hell no. Do I think they’re wrong? Yeah, I do.”

So, when is it appropriate to separate music from the name of a musician who has committed serious faults?

In the end, it is up to the listener to make that decision.

It is not necessarily a black-and-white situation. Humans are flawed by nature — leaving everybody susceptible to making mistakes. Because of this, room for growth and correction should be allowed. When an artist accused of wrongdoings takes the time and effort to learn and speak to victims they may have offended, second chances can be made possible.

However, when it comes to a legendary artist such as Michael Jackson, whose music has become integrated with culture, separating the art from the artist may be the only option we have as an audience.

When an artist such as Kanye West is completely aware of what they are saying and doing, leniency should be a carefully contemplated option.

“If your art speaks for you, then in another way your art speaks for the hateful things you do as well,” De Pauw said.

There’s a difference between making mistakes and intentionally being malicious. It’s important to be aware of the difference when you decide whose music you want to blast in your headphones.

The ability to separate the music from the artist comes with the acknowledgment of their errors. If you can see them as two distinct entities, then you can enjoy them for their musical excellence.

Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association (MHNA) started this year a temporary arrangement where the students living in on-campus housing near the University of Minnesota will be a part of the neighborhood association. 

By joining the neighborhood association, residents living in on-campus housing could see improvements in public transit, sidewalks and parks. 

MHNA has started working on behalf of the University and Marcy-Holmes neighborhoods as a trial arrangement for 2024. 

The University neighborhood does not have a neighborhood association because the majority of the neighborhood is students who move too quickly out of the neighborhood, leaving a lack of representation. 

Chris Lautenschlager, MHNA executive director, said MHNA is a natural fit with the University, as it is next to the University’s East Bank and has similar demographics. 

MHNA has received $30,000 from the city in support of this project. The money came from the funds of the city in exchange for merging with the University neighborhood, Lautenschlager said. 

The association wants to help students get involved in things outside of the University, like working with council members, state representatives and the mayor, Lautenschlager said.

While MHNA will continue to cover both Marcy-Holmes and University neighborhoods, the University Neighborhoods Partnership (UNP) is still in the works. 

UNP is a parallel project to the Marcy-Holmes and University merger, Lautenschlager said. 

Jake Ricker, the University’s Senior Public Relations Director, said in an email statement to The Minnesota Daily that the University is working with MHNA and hopes to explore merging further. 

Along with MHNA, the Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA) and Nicollet Island East Bank Neighborhood Association (NIEBNA) are moving forward with discussions.  

SECIA voted to continue discussions of the UNP merger in a neighborhood association meeting on Tuesday, 

DeWayne Townsend, the president of SECIA’s board, said the association will use different types of outreach to see how the merger will look. 

“There is going to be a lot of sort of outreach, a lot of polling, trying to get different ideas together to figure out what this merger organization might look like and make sure that the needs and desires of our community are being met,” Townsend said. 

Barry Clegg, the president of NIEBNA, said the association has agreed to continue discussions of merging into UNP in their January meeting. 

Prospect Park dropped out of the UNP discussions in January. 

UNP is moving forward and has until the end of this year to see what comes out of it, Lautenschlager said.

At the end of the year, MHNA has three options about its future with the University neighborhood: 

1. MHNA and the University will either merge permanently to become the Marcy-Holmes-University Neighborhood Association.
2. MHNA will return to its original structure and the University Neighborhood will create its own neighborhood association.
3. MHNA will return to its original 2023 structure and the University Neighborhood will continue not to have a neighborhood association. 

The Gophers women’s basketball team earned their first win without leading scorer Mara Braun on Saturday against Northwestern.

Braun suffered a foot injury on the road against Illinois, putting her out indefinitely. Without their starting guard, the Gophers lost four consecutive games and were on a six-game losing streak before Saturday.

Freshman Grace Grocholski showed off her shooting abilities against Northwestern, filling the void left by Braun. 

Grocholski has 61 made 3-point field goals on the season and averages 2.4 per game, fifth in the Big Ten conference. The conference named Grocholski as Big Ten freshman of the week, her third time this season. 

Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said Grocholski was battling a minor ankle injury but is getting better, leading Grocholski to put up higher numbers on the scoreboard.

“We haven’t told anybody [about her ankle] and I think she’s getting healthy again,” Plitzuweit said.

She had the ball for the first time in the game on Saturday and hit a 3-pointer. She did the same the second time she got the ball and the third.

“When the first one goes in it’s a lot easier to make the rest of them,” Grocholski said.

Grocholski’s scoring led her to a career-high 27 points. Janay Sanders also hit her first 3-pointer of the season late in the fourth quarter. 

Grocholski performed a finger gun motion and said, “[Janay] was doing this all game.”

“I made sure to do that when she scored,” Grocholski said.

Plitzuweit attributed the team’s success on Saturday to their toughness, which was not always the case after Braun’s injury.

“[We] played a really bad third-quarter of basketball, and it was really caused by how bad we were offensively,” Plitzuweit said in a post-game press conference on Feb. 8.

The Gophers had eight turnovers alone in the third quarter against Ohio State and made a series of bad decisions. Plutzuweit said the team would pass to someone running to the hoop simply because they were cutting and not because they were open.

Plitzuweit said the team failed to pass the ball to their teammates and did not capitalize on scoring opportunities.

“That was a really tough stretch of basketball,” Plitzuweit said.

Janay Sanders stepped into the starting lineup for the Gophers in the first game after Braun’s injury. Sanders said the team is slowly finding its “stride” again.

“[Braun] was a big part of our team, it’s tough, but adversity hits every team,” Sanders said. “This is when it hit us.”

The Gophers’ matchup against Ohio State was the second time the team saw Braun since her surgery.

Even though Braun was not on the court, she made her presence felt by being an active voice on the bench during timeouts, according to Sanders.

“She’s coaching us up,” Sanders said. “Sometimes you don’t want to hear from a coach, but having it come from a player or someone that you’re connected to makes it that much easier to listen to.”

Braun’s injury forced the Gophers to adjust not only their shooting but also their centers, who are fed the ball from guards like Braun.

Sophie Hart said each guard moves a little differently, so she adjusts how she receives the ball from guards that are not Braun.

“It’s got a little bit more strategic to play around with that,” Hart said.

With Braun still out and four games left on the schedule, Plitzuweit said Saturday’s win was huge for her team. She said the team had a “really good” last few practices leading up to the game.

The next matchup for the Gophers is Tuesday against Wisconsin, who have the same conference record as the Gophers. Minnesota, with Braun, lost to Wisconsin five days before she suffered her injury.

MADISON, WIS. — Gophers women’s hockey lost both games against the Wisconsin Badgers in their final away series of the season.

Heading into the series, third-place Minnesota trailed Wisconsin by four points in the WCHA standings. Each team won a game the last time the two met at Ridder Arena.

The Gophers entered Madison on an eight-game winning streak that began on Jan. 19 with a series sweep over Bemidji State.

Game one

Gopher fans wearing yellow were scattered among the sold-out sea of red Badger fans at LaBahn Arena on Friday night. 

Minnesota head coach Brad Frost started junior goaltender Skylar Vetter against Wisconsin’s redshirt junior Jane Gervais.

Wisconsin’s early attack drew a penalty as junior forward Ella Huber was sent off for a cross-check, but the Gopher’s penalty kill smothered any Badger scoring opportunities.

Minnesota’s successful penalty kill fueled an offensive-zone drive. The Gophers forced a Wisconsin defender to turn the puck over, allowing junior captain Peyton Hemp to score the opening goal over halfway through the first period.

Midway through the second period, Badger defender Laney Potter tied the game as she scored on a centering pass from Kelly Gorbatenko. 

Wisconsin’s solid defense turned to offense as Badger forward Marianne Picard scored to give her team a 2-1 lead in the latter half of the second period. 

Josefin Bouveng tied the game five minutes into the third period after firing a shot over the shoulder of Gervais. Two and a half minutes later, forward Britta Curl scored to give the Badgers a 3-2 lead.

Minnesota’s offensive zone pressure in the final five minutes of regulation led to a powerplay as Edwards took down junior forward Abbey Murphy with a little over a minute left in the period.

Six seconds after the power play began, Bouveng scored her second goal of the game on a one-time shot following a pass from Murphy to tie the game. Time expired in regulation and the game went to overtime.

The fans in the arena were silent to start until the home crowd began a “Let’s Go Red” chant a minute and a half into overtime. With the crowd riled up, Laila Edwards broke through the Gophers’ defense and scored the overtime winner.

Bouveng and Murphy each had two points while Vetter had 31 saves in the 4-3 overtime loss.

After the game, Bouveng said playing on the top line this year has been a huge honor after the departure of graduating players.

“I’m super grateful for playing with my line and everyone else,” Bouveng said. “I think Minnesota has been a super good environment to develop in.”

Frost praised Wisconsin’s talent and mentioned the difficulty of playing an away series at LaBahn Arena.

“They’re number two [in the national rankings] for a reason,” Frost said. “If you can play toe-to-toe with a team like [Wisconsin], you can play toe-to-toe with anybody.” 

Game two

The Gophers returned to another sold-out LaBahn Arena game Saturday afternoon for the second match of the series.

Both coaches switched goaltenders as fifth-year Lucy Morgan started for Minnesota and Ava McNaughton started for Wisconsin.

After Friday’s game, Vetter said having a goaltender she can switch with alleviated some difficulty.

“I played a lot of games last year and it was very hard playing back-to-back every single night,” Vetter said. “No one really understands how hard back-to-back games are until you get thrown into it for a full year.”

The Badger’s top line of Casey O’Brien, Kirsten Simms and Curl started the game with heavy pressure in the Gopher’s zone. Simms opened the scoring two and a half minutes into the second period after she beat Morgan with a far-side shot.

Morgan was unable to stop Simms as she scored again on a shot similar to her first goal to give Wisconsin a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin continued to control much of the play in the first half of the second period. 

After Murphy took a penalty, Eden converted on the powerplay to put the Badgers up 3-0. Wheeler sniped a shot past Morgan 30 seconds later to extend Wisconsin’s lead to four.

The fans in LaBahn arena cheered as time expired while the Badgers claimed a 4-0 win and three more points in the WCHA standings.

After gaining one point in the standings from the overtime loss over the weekend, Minnesota can no longer surpass Wisconsin in the conference standings. The Gophers remained in  third place with 57 points as the Badgers now have 65 in second place.

The Gophers return to Ridder Arena to play the University of Minnesota – Duluth in their final regular season series of the season. Frost called attention to the importance of the series for the NCAA tournament.

“That’s going to be really important for us to get back to it,” Frost said. “Flush this one, learn from it and move on.”

When I was younger, there was nothing quite like going to my local PetSmart and immediately running towards the section of the store where all of the adoptable cats were. As I made my way over to them, I walked past the seemingly endless amount of aquarium pets, guinea pigs and geckos for sale.

It almost felt like I was at a Build-A-Bear Workshop, where I could pick out the cutest furry friend, name it and buy thousands of unnecessary accessories for it.

In fact, I did exactly that in 2016. I bought a baby guinea pig from a PetSmart near my house and named him Stewart. I bought him everything under the sun that I could find in that store including a harness with a leash, a t-shirt and toys.

I’ve since discovered the leash and some of the toys were incredibly dangerous for guinea pigs.

In PetSmart’s defense, Stewart did end up being one of the best pets in the world. However, PetSmart and Petco may not be the best place to adopt a pet from.

Alicia Sanders, founder of Piggy Haven, a local guinea pig rescue, said pet stores don’t often provide thorough instructions on how to properly care for the animal one chooses to adopt. This may set people up for unrealistic expectations about what life may look like when caring for a pet.

“A lot of [guinea pigs from pet stores] come with health concerns like ringworm, mites or lice,” Sanders said. “My first guinea pig I ever got was from a pet store which died within 10 days.”

These traumatic situations are more common than one might expect.

Common pet-store industry problems include selling sick or injured animals to customers, caring for animals in unsanitary conditions, inhumane disposal of sick or dying animals and improper veterinary care, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

It goes beyond the rodent and small-pet section of these stores. PETA said a significant portion of dogs come to pet stores from puppy mills, which are mostly midwestern breeding kennels known for their inhumane practices.

Will Sammons, a third-year student at the University of Minnesota, is a supporter of adopting pets from animal shelters and rescues. He adopted his cat, Albert, from a shelter near his hometown in Illinois.

Sammons said that the adoption process at the shelter where he bought his cat was so simple and easy that he recommends that more people adopt from shelters and rescues.

Additionally, he said that the overall adoption fees were very cheap compared to the typical purchase prices from stores and breeders. He got his furry friend for the low cost of $25.

This is beneficial for college students as most of us who feel ready to become pet owners don’t necessarily have the funds to go through with an adoption.

It is important to consider the pros and cons of owning a pet before beginning the adoption process.

Sammons said that owning a pet in college is not for everyone as it can be very time-consuming and, depending on the pet, very expensive.

“I feel like my mental capacity is there to take care of something else besides myself,” Sammons said. “It is definitely an added responsibility.”

He said adopting a cat was perfect for him and his lifestyle since as cats are relatively low-maintenance in comparison to other animals, like dogs.

Sammons recommends considering any potential lifestyle changes that may happen in the first few years following your decision to adopt a pet.

As someone who now has experience with adopting two guinea pigs from Piggy Haven, I would recommend the same. College students need to consider the temporariness of their living situations for the next four or more years.

Sanders said college students are not necessarily unfit for owning a pet, but their living situations may be an added obstacle in the future as they move to different apartments and houses. It is important to consider what your current and future leases may say about having pets in the building.

Animals bring so much joy and beauty to the world. Their unconditional love will leave a forever mark on you and your family. However, it is important to remember that these animals are very vulnerable and depend on you to live a happy and healthy life.

If you visit your local pet store and see any signs of inhumane treatment towards the animals, PETA recommends reporting it to an animal control agency or police department.

Don’t be afraid to be an advocate for the animals you see for sale in pet stores. If they are indeed living in harmful conditions, speak to the employees about your concerns.

Obviously, one conversation won’t stop pet stores from selling animals, but it lets employees know that customers are not oblivious to the type of treatment the animals are receiving.

If you choose to adopt a pet, be sure to provide them with the same unconditional love and remember to be responsible when situations with your pet feel overwhelming.

Gophers softball kicked off their 50th season playing some of the best teams in the country at the San Diego State Season Kickoff a week ago.

The Gophers finished the weekend 3-2 with a ranked win against No. 24 San Diego State and a shutout loss versus No. 3 Stanford.

Kayla Chavez and Jess Oakland headlined the offense for Minnesota. Oakland went 6/17 (.353) at the plate, including a two-home run game against UC Santa Barbara in the season opener. Chavez led the Gophers with seven hits and a .389 batting average.

Sydney Schwartz said Oakland and Chavez make up “the best left side in the country.”

Taylor Krapf started at first base for two out of the first five games, a new development this season after playing catcher all 57 games last year.

Gophers head coach Piper Ritter said catching a lot of games impacted how Krapf played toward the end of the season.

“She caught all of our games last year and it takes a toll and you could see it a little bit when she was just a little slower,” Ritter said. “Her bat wasn’t as good at the end of the season and we want to keep everyone fresh, so it’s nice to have depth with Cassie [Lindmark].”

Lindmark transferred from Penn State as a graduate student with one year of eligibility left. Minnesota’s depth allows Krapf not to catch every game but to keep her bat in the lineup, whether it is at first or as the designated player.

Schwartz pitched in four of the five games in San Diego, including a start against Stanford, where she went 5.2 innings, striking out six and only allowing three runs. 

Schwartz said she’s improved in two different aspects from her first year at Minnesota.

“I would say the biggest thing is my velo[city] is up from my freshman year,” Schwartz said. “I’d say my drop has better movement and location.”

Schwartz showed off her versatility by starting the game against Stanford, but also coming in for the save against San Diego State. In her 13.1 innings, Schwartz allowed three earned runs on seven hits, posting a 1.58 ERA on the weekend.

Pitcher Bri Enter started three games in San Diego, which totaled 18 innings and included a complete game versus UC Santa Barbara, with five strikeouts and three runs allowed. Enter, stepping into a more prominent role in her second season at Minnesota, pitched more than the rest of the staff combined.

After losing Natalie DenHartog and Amani Bradley from last year’s outfield, the Gophers added transfer Morgan DeBord to bolster the outfield.

Addison Leschber played in the outfield four out of the five games in San Diego, a different role from a season ago as a starting designated hitter for 22 games.

“I feel like we had a deep lineup last year, and we were able to keep most of that depth,” Leschber said. “I think we were just able to build more, and I feel like [last] weekend we were able to just pass the bat.”

Along with the roster depth, Minnesota added a mix of new jerseys in the offseason. Ritter said the black uniform worn during their game against Kentucky is one of a few new uniforms the Gophers added.

Schwartz and Leschber both said they love the new black uniforms, and it adds an element of swag, according to Leschber.

“I just wanted to switch it up, and we do have another one coming in, but unfortunately, they don’t all get here on time,” Ritter said.

Over the last decade, housing development close to the University of Minnesota campus has skyrocketed, bringing with it legal disputes, choices and more business to the area. 

Two apartments have gone up in and around Dinkytown in the last few years, bringing up the value of nearby properties and their taxes, making it difficult for some local businesses to keep up. Increased development, mainly from management companies based outside of Minnesota, has also brought more legal dilemmas for student renters than in the past.

When the Student Legal Service (SLS) office opened, most students sought help for criminal cases because most people lived away from campus due to a lack of housing options, said SLS attorney Shana Tomenes. Over the past 10 years, fewer students have been committing crimes. 

Now, the vast majority of the office’s casework is related to housing.

Most of the students Tomenes works with are on leases with corporate, out-of-state landlords, as opposed to the locally based landlords who own many of the properties near campus.

With property management companies not based in Minnesota, leases sometimes do not reflect an understanding of state law, Tomenes said.

Many of the apartments in Dinkytown are managed by companies with home offices in Illinois, Colorado, New York and California, with a handful based locally in Minnesota.

Some recent legal changes include requiring the unit number on a lease, not charging for repairs, giving 24 hours notice before entering the property and prorating rent, meaning if you move in or out halfway through the month you are not supposed to pay a full month’s rent, Tomenes said.

“It’s not typical in the industry to have to pay a full month’s rent and not live in a home for the full month,” Tomenes said, adding that students with Undergraduate Student Government (USG) advocated strongly for the bill.

The University keeps a list of non-compliant properties that have had multiple lawsuits filed against them by renters. Properties on the list cannot advertise vacancies on that property for at least one year through Off-Campus Living’s services.

Currently, the properties on the list are Identity Dinkytown, owned by CA Ventures; the Minneapolis Rental Property Group, LLC, or MRPG; Millennium Management; and Prime Place, which rebranded as The Arrow Apartments.

The University also provides support for student renters through a roommate finder, managing two Facebook groups for University students seeking roommates and sublets and sponsoring an off-campus housing fair in the fall.

To Tomenes, one sign of a good landlord is responsiveness to repair issues, part of which involves the tenant knowing who they could call for an emergency, like water overflowing in a bathtub. Minnesota law says landlords must always respond to loss of electricity, sanitation and other essential services within 24 hours after notice.

“Sometimes, you’ll be in a situation where — this happens for local landlords — you can not get them on the phone,” Tomenes said. “Or, you live in a big apartment complex and there is no one staffing that bottom front desk.”

Student renters can get a feel for how responsive a landlord is by how quickly they call back during the leasing process, Tomenes added.

“There are excellent out-of-town landlords, and there are really bad local landlords,” Tomenes said.

Tomenes said she gets cases from time to time where a student thought an apartment marketing itself as “student housing” was connected to the University.

“It places trust that they give the University in the hands of a landlord that’s not affiliated with the University,” Tomenes said. “That seems unfair to me.”

There are roughly 10 apartments near the University marketing themselves as “student housing,” with more who self-designate as “off-campus housing” on their websites.

It can also be a helpful way to brand by letting students know they will be living in a community with others at the same stage of life, Tomenes said, but landlords should be clear that they are not affiliated with the University to avoid misconceptions.

One benefit of having many housing options close to campus is that students have choices and are less likely to believe they are risking not having housing by not signing a lease early, Tomenes said.

“Meaningful choice is important, and to the extent that additional places are creating meaningful choice, that seems great,” Tomenes said.

Having a variety of housing options, from high-rise apartments to rental houses to family-oriented housing, is important for meeting the needs of different college students, wrote Off-Campus Living Director Kendre Turonie in an email to The Minnesota Daily. Turonie is a non-voting member of the Daily’s board of directors.

Proximity to campus is a big draw for students, Turonie wrote, and second-year students tend to be drawn toward high-rise apartments with amenities and staffed front desks, which parents also prefer. After their second year, many students look to rent houses for more privacy and independence. 

Housing access, at what cost?

Whether increased development of apartments near campus benefits students is complicated, said Katie Smithberg, local government coordinator for USG. There may be more available units, but students need affordable places to live, and young renters are in a vulnerable position. 

Rent control was a priority for USG last spring because it would help ease the burden on students also paying for tuition, bills and groceries — and the cost of rent is ever-increasing in Minneapolis, Smithberg said.

The Minneapolis City Council struck down a rent control ordinance last year during a meeting at which three Muslim members were absent due to the Eid al-Adha holiday.

“We need something that is going to put tenants first,” Smithberg said.

“Living close to campus is often the way for students to be able to do what they need to do, to get where they need to go,” said USG Vice President Sara Davis, but the expensive rent prices create a dilemma.

Keeping up with high rent prices is at odds with the amount of work that already goes into being a college student, Davis said. The more time a college student spends working outside of class, the more likely their GPA will suffer — potentially risking scholarship eligibility.

“We should end this skyrocketing development for what looks like competition to charge the highest rent around here,” Davis said. “It’s unsustainable for students in the area.”

Much of the development near campus is a “race to lower the student experience… and charge as high as you can,” Davis said, and it is not a problem unique to the University.

The company that owns Identity Dinkytown is also being sued for a property they own near the University of Chicago.

 Bring your neighbors up with you

Nearly all of the apartment buildings in Dinkytown and nearby are roughly a decade old, with more older buildings around Stadium Village. In the last several years, two more have gone up — The Fieldhouse and Identity Dinkytown. 

The new construction has helped boost the market value of properties around them, with “student housing” apartments increasing by $1 million to almost $20 million.

The highest-value apartment, The Marshall, grew from $100 million to $108 million.

As someone bids up the price of a piece of land, they also bid up the price of nearby properties because the property assessor will look at land sales in the area, said Steve Brandt, president of Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation.

New construction that requires charging a higher price generates more income for a property replacing a house or small apartment building, Brandt added.

For properties nearby, their value may also go up, but their tax rate would be driven down because the higher-value properties are paying a greater share of the property taxes, Brandt explained.

The $2.8 billion in apartment construction in Minneapolis over the past four years has helped to bring down the property tax rate for many properties citywide, according to Brandt.

Hennepin County saw $3 billion in property value growth in 2022 from the previous year, bringing down the property tax rate for many properties, Brandt said.

“Not a commercial retail district like it used to be”

Some local establishments that characterized the area have been driven out of business due to higher rental costs, according to Turonie. These changes may not be noticeable to current students, but they are to long-term residents and visiting alumni. 

A decade ago, Kent Kramp said he and other business owners in Stadium Village saw multiple smaller buildings torn down and replaced by high-rise apartments, including an Arby’s and a convenience store.

For several years, the Raising Cane’s Kramp owns in Stadium Village saw the most growth year over year out of any restaurant in the chain’s system thanks to the increased demand of new residents in the area. 

“Having big, massive apartment buildings up 15th, it only helps,” Kramp said. “It’s how people get onto campus, get off campus.”

The more recent growth in Dinkytown has absolutely increased sales, Kramp said, though that Raising Cane’s location opened in 2018.

The biggest apartments to go up in Dinkytown after the Sydney Hall addition to the Dinkydome — The Marshall and The Venue — were controversial at the time, Kramp said. Since moving in five years ago, Kramp said he has seen several new buildings go up, as well as others nearby, such as the Fieldhouse. 

One difficulty for Dinkytown businesses has been adjusting to an increasing need for litter cleanup and street sweeping with more residents in the community. 

Dinkytown has a Special Service District, so the city collects an assessment from property owners to pay for snow removal and cleaning in the neighborhood. Because the assessment is based on the footage of a property’s perimeter, skyward development and the residents who move in did not change the amount owed.

“If you were The Marshall, you’d still be paying a huge portion of it, but if you’ve got five stories of students living there, that’s a lot of new bodies not being taken into account,” Kramp said. “It’s always a challenge between trying to keep the historic feeling and the small-town feel while also providing more housing and affordable places for people to live.”

The Special Service District board met last year to work out a fair increase to address the disparity, Kramp said.

“If you don’t have a clean neighborhood, people aren’t gonna want to come eat there, shop there, visit,” Kramp said. “It’s one of those things where you have to do it in order to keep businesses thriving.”

Shopping habits of Dinkytown residents have reflected shifting consumer habits generally, Kramp said. 

On one occasion, he heard a manager at The Marshall talking about delivery drivers frequenting the outside of the building.

“They said, ‘We have people that live above the Target, and they’re having toilet paper delivered by Amazon,’” Kramp said.

When the Target Express location opened in Dinkytown, it was the first of its kind, according to Kramp.

“Nowadays, people are less likely to be going out and doing experimental businesses, or there are more factors limiting what they want to go out and try,” Kramp said.

Shops like Goldy’s Locker Room, Hideaway and Royal Cigar and Tobacco are still around, but Dinkytown is “not a commercial retail district like it used to be,” Kramp said.

This article has been updated.

With unusually warm weather, winter-related events have come to a halt forcing residents to find indoor events to replace the usual winter fair like the closure of ice rinks at Van Cleve Park due to melting ice.

Van Cleve Park usually offers hockey, skating and broomball rinks during the winter, but the warm weather has prevented them from staying open. However, a warm winter has allowed for some sports and amenities to return much earlier than expected.

The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB) is trying to transition and go with the flow, according to Nelson Evenrud, recreation center director for MPRB. One such transition includes the golf courses, which have opened across the metro. 

During a normal winter, the skating rinks are usually packed and many people follow the reopening of the rinks, according to Evenrud. 

“One night, a couple nights before we opened before the lights were even on, people were skating in the dark,” Evenrud said.

One of their most popular ice rinks is their broomball rink, according to Evenrud.

Broomball is a sport played on ice, similar to hockey, but with a ball a little smaller than a volleyball and brooms and no skating.

Van Cleve offers one of the few broomball courts in the city, according to Scott Gagnon, athletic program specialist at MPRB.

“We’ve been running leagues in Minneapolis for quite a while now,” Gagnon said. “We had nearly 200 teams participate and register to participate in the leagues this year.”

However, the abnormally warm weather has hurt the broomball league’s schedule. While seven games were scheduled, the teams only played once, according to Gagnon.

The league usually lasts until mid-February before the ice has traditionally started to deteriorate to the point that they can no longer play, Gagnon said.

“We definitely lost a lot of broomball here,” Evenrud said “We had broomball almost every night and they only ended up with a week-long season, so that was definitely a big hit.”

Van Cleve is letting residents enjoy warm weather sports, offering a lot of indoor sports like basketball, pickleball and volleyball as well as tennis, more pickleball areas outside and their rental fields, Evenrud said.

According to Evenrud, groups of all sizes often use the fields in the spring, including University of Minnesota groups and groups of friends.

“Usually it takes until even into April to get rid of the ice from the rinks, so there’s one positive, our fields will be available much earlier,” Evenrud said.

Some outdoor sports have been positively affected by the change in weather including the University’s men’s rowing team.

The rowing team practices year-round but usually packs up their boats for the winter in November to shift to winter training, Izzy Glendenin said, Coxswain for the men’s rowing team. Their winter training is six days a week for three to four months and usually consists of using the rowing machines along with lifting weights three times a week. 

With the recent warm weather, the team has started to go on the river again using the larger eight-person boats instead of the boats that fit two to four people, Glendenin said.

“Instead of taking out smaller boats that are more susceptible to flipping into the water and being unsafe, we’ll take out bigger boats,” Glendenin said. 

The team usually does not practice outside until the weather is about 30 to 40 degrees, Glendenin said. They usually begin practicing outside again after their spring break training in Georgia when it is usually warm enough to be on the water. 

Although winter-related events have been cut short, there are plenty of other activities offered at Van Cleve, including warm-weather events.

Evenrud said parks like Van Cleve will continue to be an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in snow or shine.

“It always pays to check out our website and look at activities that are out there,” Evenrud said. “There’s just always something to do.”