Daily Breakdown

Thursday, April 3, 2025

April 03, 2025

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood newspaper,

I could tell you that there’s news in this newsletter and on the website, or that there’s only four or five weeks left of school, or that the weather is soon to get warm as long as we hang in there. But you already know all that, so just save us all some time and scroll down.

I’m glad you’re here,

Amelia Roessler | Managing Editor | [email protected]

Top Story

University of Minnesota faculty say the departmental statement takedowns lack procedure and transparency. Photo by Eleanor King.

Departmental statement takedowns lack transparency, UMN faculty say

by Hannah Ward and Tyler Church | Published April 2, 2025

Information about the removal of University of Minnesota departmental statements this week was intentionally kept out of email communications, faculty said. 

Department chairs were invited to a Zoom meeting at 5 p.m. on Saturday by College of Liberal Arts Dean GerShun Avilez regarding “updates on institutional statements based on information (Avilez had) just received from the Provost,” according to an email obtained by the Minnesota Daily.

Avilez told the chairs that any statement on behalf of a department relating to the Israel-Palestine War would be vetoed immediately by University President Rebecca Cunningham, according to Michael Gallope, the chair of the University’s Cultural Studies and Literature Department and co-chair of the CLA Assembly.

The University also removed statements on the Russia-Ukraine War. 

Gallope was one of five department chairs who attended the meeting and said he was told by Avilez that all department statements would be taken down effectively immediately.

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Campus News

By Ava Grace | Bayaaga’adowejig ingiw gabegikendaasoowigamigong, or B.I.G. lacrosse team, provides connection to centuries of Indigenous tradition and access to community on campus.

The University of Minnesota’s Circle of Indigenous Nations (COIN) facilitates the team, which was initially started by two students in 2018 who have since graduated.

Other News

By Sophia Arndt | With its biggest turnout yet, University of Minnesota club StudioU hosted their second annual Spring Showcase at Coffman Union’s Coffman Theater for its self-produced student films.

The event on Monday night had the largest turnout she had ever seen for StudioU. The showcase featured four student films made by members of the club, “Paranormal Studies,” “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over,” “Lively Mind” and “Stevenson Laundromat, 10PM,” said Studio U president Genevieve Gray.

By Amy Watters | I know I’m not alone when I say it feels like podcasts are suddenly everywhere.

Whether it’s your dad listening to Conan O’Brien, your best friend obsessed with “The Broski Report” or the guy in your economics lecture who won’t shut up about Ben Shapiro, it seems like everyone is obsessed with podcasts.