Saturday, December 23, 2017

Christmas Decor At The University Of Minnesota

This memo was sent to University of Minnesota student employees and faculty during the week of Dec. 11, 2017:


Since the memo created a minor furor and made Gopher Nation something of a national laughing-stock the memo was later described as simply an advisory with no particular authority by the same office that had issued it. Media coverage of events such as this seldom identify the bureaucrats involved. We think that interested folks should be able to know if the person at the next table at McDonalds or across the aisle on a flight to San Antonio was a figure in a matter of interest. Below are some of the people that occupy positions in the large and complex diversity division of the U of M.

 article photo

Michael Goh and Peter Demerath, leaders of the University Office for Equity and Diversity, and the Generation Next/UROC Faculty Fellows.

 Susan Thurston Photo by Lori Hamilton

Susan Thurston Hamerski, spokesperson for the the school’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resources Sciences (CFANS), tasked with denying that the grinch memo was a university mandate and was instead an "ill-advised" effort by an undisclosed employee.


Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) Administration

432 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612-624-0594
Fax: 612-626-0397
oed@umn.edu

Michael Goh
Interim Vice President
612-624-0594
mgoh@umn.edu


Shakeer Abdullah
Assistant Vice President
612-624-5124
sabdulla@umn.edu
Ralph Blanco
Administrative Associate
612-625-8680
rblanco@umn.edu
Jonathan Brown
CORE Director
612-626-5462
jonbrown@umn.edu
Barbara Chapin
Administrator
612-626-7386
chapi001@umn.edu
Anitra Cottledge
Director of Communications
612-625-5445
cottlead@umn.edu
Denise Dieffenbach
Assistant to the Vice President
612-626-9836
ddieffen@umn.edu
Sean Garrick
Interim Assistant Vice Provost
612-625-5059
sgarrick@umn.edu
Anne Hornickel
Program Director
North Star STEM Alliance
612-626-0043
ahornick@umn.edu
Amelie Hyams
Program & Communications Manager
612-626-9178
hyams003@umn.edu
Stef Jarvi
Director of Education
612-625-9973
swilench@umn.edu
Wendy Weimerskirch Plager
Education Program Manager
612-626-7387
wweimerp@umn.edu
Julie Showers
Interim Associate Vice President
612-624-0594
showers@umn.edu
Virajita Singh
Assistant Vice Provost
612-625-0498
singh023@umn.edu
Kitt Young-Dickerson
Principal Office and Administrative Specialist
612-625-2961
young959@umn.edu

OED Offices

Business & Community Economic Development
Darryl Peal, director
2221 University Avenue SE, Suite 136
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-624-0530
bced@umn.edu
Conflict Resolution
Bruce Grosland, interim director
662 Heller Hall (West Bank)
271 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-1030
ocr@umn.edu
Disability Resource Center
Donna Johnson, director
180 McNamara Alumni Center
200 Oak Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-626-1333 (V/TTY)
ds@umn.edu
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
Tina Marisam, director
274 McNamara Alumni Center
200 Oak Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-9547
eoaa@umn.edu
Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life
Stef Jarvi (formerly Wilenchek), director
46 Appleby Hall
128 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-0537
gsc@umn.edu
Institute for Diversity, Equity and Advocacy
432 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-7439
oedidea@umn.edu
Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence
Aurelio Curbelo, director
140 Appleby Hall
128 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-6386
mcae@umn.edu
Women’s Center
64 Appleby Hall
Uyenthi Tran Myhre, acting director
128 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-9837
women@umn.edu


Upper level administrators in the University of Minnesota diversity directorate.

After Christmas a spokesman for the University made an attempt to defuse the situation, per this article in the local press.

Evan Lapiska
University of Minnesota Public Relations Director Evan Lepiska, currently the spokesman in the school's attempt to regain some credibility.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Coyote Danger



Left: A coyote in St. Paul's Hidden Falls Regional Park went after one dog and was tracking another before a police officer shot at it on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017. (Courtesy of D'Aquila family) Right: The coyote went after Mark Bahn and his 8-month-old Goldendoodle, Ollie. They were able to get to safety. (Courtesy of Mark Bahn)
A photo of the actual coyote that threatened a man and his dog at Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul, Minnesota. The threatened dog is on the right.

The adaptable coyote continues to disorganize the order of post-modern civilization by invading American communities, as this story from the St. Paul Pioneer Press explains.

Hidden Falls Park is a secluded spot on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the gorge that runs through Minneapolis and St. Paul. Through the years much of the land adjoining the river has been reclaimed from commercial and industrial uses and re-purposed to recreational activity, which apparently involves mostly planting grass over what was once concrete. There's also the idea that this will be a return to "nature", strips of wilderness in the city.

Unfortunately, not only joggers and dog walkers enjoy the artificial/natural setting near the river. Real wild animals seem to like it as well. To a city dweller, the sight of any wild animal larger than a squirrel can be exciting or scary or both. The relatively recent expansion of the populations of Canada geese and wild turkeys in the area have created mixed feelings in the neighborhood. Both of these large birds can be a "nuisance".  But these avians are not carnivores. They don't pretend to look at mixed breed dogs as a potential lunch, if indeed that's how the coyote views a closely related domestic canine.

In this particular incident, the coyote was described as "tracking" the golden doodle and its owner. This meant intended harm, contact with law enforcement and shots fired. A number of questions arise.

What is the status of a coyote in the contemporary American city? Is it illegal for them to frequent parks? If they do, are they subject to the death penalty? Are they so dangerous that perhaps a concerted effort should be made to eradicate them? Maybe there should be a special squad made up of coyote hunters. Are only cops allowed to shoot at them? Can one call law enforcement to kill an offending opossum or raccoon?

Is a coyote threatening a dog or person by simply being near them? Can humans read the intentions of the coyote mind? If death by gunfire is the response to a coyote "threat", what of the threat that a human might perceive from another human? If a person feels threatened by the proximity of another do they have the right to shoot them or is this response limited to animals of a lower state of evolution?

Is it a good idea for law enforcement to be shooting in public areas? When cops fire their guns at people there's usually some kind of an investigation. Will there be one as a result of this incident?

There was evidence that the coyote may have been wounded. It's an unwritten law, or maybe even a written one, that animals that have been wounded must be tracked and dispatched to end their misery. Every hunter knows this. It doesn't seem that any such thing occurred after this encounter. Wouldn't an unhappy, wounded coyote be even more dangerous than an undamaged one? Couldn't some innocent child walking near the park run afoul of a coyote in pain and be attacked? 

There may not be any good answers to these questions but as conflicts between humans and wild animals that have adapted to a new environment become more frequent decisions will have to be made.

  

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

New York's Finest

 Image result for NYC cops on front page of wsj New York City policemen or storm troopers from a dystopian future? You decide.