june 4, 2014

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INSIDE: TRACK STARS HONORED - PG. 7 ED/OP 4 SPORTS 7 A&E 10 www.msureporter.com Minnesota State University, Mankato facebook.com/msureporter @msureporter Wednesday, June 4, 2014 FRIDAY High: 78 Low: 61 Some sun, a thunderstorm possible SATURDAY High: 71 Low: 56 Not as warm with thunderstorms THURSDAY High: 76 Low: 58 An afternoon thunderstorm possible Construction on the horizon for MSU Governor Dayton signs law that promises new additions to MSU campus. Thanks to the hard work be- ing done in legislature, Minne- sota State University, Mankato will be reaping benefits from the ‘Minnesota Jobs Bill,’ which was recently passed into law. With Governor Dayton’s signature, the University has been granted $25.818 million dollars to build a new clinical sciences build- ing, and Mankato’s civic center has been given $14 million dol- lars in updates, which is part of a $29 million project on the Ve- rizon center, and will benefit the university’s men and women’s hockey teams greatly. “We’re grateful to the state legislature and Governor Day- ton for passing this bill into law,” said President Richard Daven- port. “These projects will be ex- tremely beneficial in the future not only to the university, but to the greater Mankato area. I’d like to thank our local elected officials, community leaders and friends of the university for their hard work and support of these projects.” President Davenport also thanked numerous senators who made it possible to pass this bill into law. With the upgrades, the civic center will be able to remodel their arena, training facilities and locker rooms. It will also become the new home of the university’s hockey teams. The new clinical sciences building is currently planned on being north of the Taylor Center and east of Ford Hall. It will be 59,100 square feet. This addi- tion will be helpful not only to the students of the university, but also the community, promot- ing health and offering countless exam rooms where dental, hear - ing and other health work may be done. It will include a 24-chair dental clinic, 14 consultation and/or examination rooms, four new classrooms, and many of- fices. Most of the College of Allied Health and Nursing will preside in the building, as well as select departments of the Dental Hy- giene and Speech, Hearing and Rehabilitation services. “We so appreciate the efforts of state legislators to bring this important project to the governor and are so grateful that he saw fit to sign the bonding bill,” said Kris Retherford, dean of the Col- lege of Allied Health and Nurs- ing. “This building will serve as a portal to campus as individuals access the speech, hearing, and dental services in the building and allow area professionals to participate in customized train- ing within the simulation labora- tories. This building allows our students to develop real-world skills necessary to be successful in professions where we are ex- periencing significant shortages. HANNAH KLEINBERG News Editor Web Photo A blueprint of what one of the new buildings, the clinical sciences building, will look like. It is a win-win for students and the community.” Minnesota State University, Mankato hopes to begin prog- ress in 2014, and have projected the work to be finished by 2016. Roundabout project underway Mankato’s biggest road con- struction project of the summer is now in effect. Sections of Highway 22 closed early Monday morning as construction on the highway’s two new roundabouts began. MnDOT crews will be working on the intersections at Adams Street and Madison Avenue for the majority of the summer as the two-lane roundabouts are built. Area businesses will remain open for the summer while regu- lar traffic begins using detour routes. New stoplights have been installed at the intersections of Haefner Drive and Adams, near Hy-Vee, and Basset Drive and Raintree Road, near Mankato Motors to curb increased traffic. Later this month, MnDOT will host a “Ride the Round- about” bus tour. Interested par - ties can tour the roundabout site in a free, one-hour bus tour to learn more about the changes coming. “Ride the Roundabout” takes place on June 24 at 10 a.m., and will be located at MnDOT offices at 2151 Bassett Dr. The roundabout project is slated to conclude in late August / early September. For further in- formation on navigating round- abouts and their safety benefits, visit www.roundaboutready.com or follow their Twitter page @ RoundaboutReady. JAMES HOUTSMA Editor in Chief Photo courtesy of Roundabout Ready Map of detours during construction.

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Page 1: June 4, 2014

INSIDE: TRACK STARS HONORED - PG. 7 ED/OP

4SPORTS

7A&E

10

www.msureporter.comMinnesota State University, Mankato

facebook.com/msureporter

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

www.msureporter.comMinnesota State University, Mankato

facebook.com/msureporter

@msureporter

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

FRIDAY High: 78 Low: 61

Some sun, a thunderstorm possibleSATURDAY High: 71 Low: 56

Not as warm with thunderstormsTHURSDAY High: 76 Low: 58

An afternoon thunderstorm possible

Construction on the horizon for MSU

Governor Dayton signs law that promises new additions to MSU campus.

Thanks to the hard work be-ing done in legislature, Minne-sota State University, Mankato will be reaping benefits from the ‘Minnesota Jobs Bill,’ which was recently passed into law. With Governor Dayton’s signature, the University has been granted $25.818 million dollars to build a new clinical sciences build-ing, and Mankato’s civic center has been given $14 million dol-lars in updates, which is part of a $29 million project on the Ve-rizon center, and will benefit the university’s men and women’s hockey teams greatly.

“We’re grateful to the state legislature and Governor Day-ton for passing this bill into law,” said President Richard Daven-port. “These projects will be ex-tremely beneficial in the future not only to the university, but to the greater Mankato area. I’d

like to thank our local elected officials, community leaders and friends of the university for their hard work and support of these projects.”

President Davenport also thanked numerous senators who made it possible to pass this bill into law.

With the upgrades, the civic center will be able to remodel their arena, training facilities and locker rooms. It will also become the new home of the university’s hockey teams.

The new clinical sciences building is currently planned on being north of the Taylor Center and east of Ford Hall. It will be 59,100 square feet. This addi-tion will be helpful not only to the students of the university, but also the community, promot-ing health and offering countless exam rooms where dental, hear-ing and other health work may be done. It will include a 24-chair dental clinic, 14 consultation

and/or examination rooms, four new classrooms, and many of-fices.

Most of the College of Allied Health and Nursing will preside in the building, as well as select departments of the Dental Hy-giene and Speech, Hearing and Rehabilitation services.

“We so appreciate the efforts of state legislators to bring this important project to the governor and are so grateful that he saw fit to sign the bonding bill,” said Kris Retherford, dean of the Col-lege of Allied Health and Nurs-ing. “This building will serve as a portal to campus as individuals access the speech, hearing, and dental services in the building and allow area professionals to participate in customized train-ing within the simulation labora-tories. This building allows our students to develop real-world skills necessary to be successful in professions where we are ex-periencing significant shortages.

HANNAH KLEINBERGNews Editor

Web PhotoA blueprint of what one of the new buildings, the clinical sciences building, will look like.It is a win-win for students and the community.”

Minnesota State University, Mankato hopes to begin prog-

ress in 2014, and have projected the work to be finished by 2016.

Roundabout project underway

Mankato’s biggest road con-struction project of the summer is now in effect.

Sections of Highway 22 closed early Monday morning as construction on the highway’s two new roundabouts began. MnDOT crews will be working on the intersections at Adams Street and Madison Avenue for the majority of the summer as the two-lane roundabouts are built.

Area businesses will remain open for the summer while regu-lar traffic begins using detour routes. New stoplights have been installed at the intersections of Haefner Drive and Adams, near Hy-Vee, and Basset Drive and

Raintree Road, near Mankato Motors to curb increased traffic.

Later this month, MnDOT will host a “Ride the Round-about” bus tour. Interested par-ties can tour the roundabout site in a free, one-hour bus tour to learn more about the changes coming. “Ride the Roundabout” takes place on June 24 at 10 a.m., and will be located at MnDOT offices at 2151 Bassett Dr.

The roundabout project is slated to conclude in late August / early September. For further in-formation on navigating round-abouts and their safety benefits, visit www.roundaboutready.com or follow their Twitter page @RoundaboutReady.

JAMES HOUTSMAEditor in Chief

Photo courtesy of Roundabout ReadyMap of detours during construction.

Page 2: June 4, 2014

2 • MSU Reporter News Wednesday, June 4, 2014

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LIBRARY SUMMER HOURS

SUNDAY: ........................1 P.M. TO 9 P.M.MONDAY: ................ 7:15 A.M. TO 7 P.M.TUESDAY: ............... 7:15 A.M. TO 7 P.M.WEDNESDAY: ........ 7:15 A.M. TO 7 P.M.THURSDAY: ............ 7:15 A.M. TO 7 P.M.FRIDAY: ..............7:15 A.M. TO 4:30 P.M.SATURDAY: ................ 10 A.M. TO 5 P.M.

Campaign encourages students and staff to be a little kinder to each other through media and outreach.

MSU students to dig up historyRecent evidence found along riverbank leads troop of

Mankato students to discover its mysteries.

A state grant recently gifted to the university now enables in-

depth research on the archaeo-logical evidence discovered along the bank of the Blue Earth River, just south of Mankato. Around 1,000 years ago, indige-nous people of the Woodland Pe-riod lived along the site, leaving

their historical footprint behind.The grant was given to the

university in hopes of discover-ing whether or not it could be included into the National Reg-ister of Historical Places. So far, diggers have uncovered ancient

HANNAH KLEINBERGNews Editor

Web PhotoPlaque of the National Register of Historic Places, which the Blue Earth River site may be added to.

pieces of pottery shards and maze cobs, which are crucial to retracing the steps back to where the Woodland Period people had once been.

“It’s an important Wood-land site, a multi-component site, which means over time several Woodland groups lived there,” Ron Schirmer, professor in Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Anthropology, explained. “It’s important to evaluate these sites to see if they should be nominated for the Na-tional Register.”

This site, labeled ‘The Nel-son Site,’ had been dug up by archaeologists in the 1970s, led by former MN State Mankato president Mike Scullin.

“Some excavation was done but not to modern standards and not in all the areas we wanted to look at,” Schirmer elaborated.

It was during Scullin’s hunt that they first found scarce piec-es of pottery and maze cobs, confirming their beliefs.

“It’s the earliest radiocar-bon- dated maze in the state,” Schirmer said. It was the holes where kernels had once been which was carbon dated, help-ing Minnesota State University, Mankato staff hone in on the mysteries along the Blue Earth River.

According to Schirmer’s re-

ports, 7-10 acre site was once liv-ing grounds for the inhabitants of the Woodland Period, as in-dicated by the large storage pits, which would’ve been used for things such as refuse. He aug-mented by saying, “We’re pretty sure they had permanent (wood) structures out there, too, we’re just not sure what kind. They wouldn’t have built pits unless it was a permanent (living) site.”

Whether or not they lived along the river year-round or sea-sonally cannot yet be concluded. The groups of people who lived there would’ve fluctuated from 900-1050 AD.

The archaeological dig will be held this summer and led by Minnesota State University, Mankato graduate student Jason Reichel, and will go on for sev-eral weeks. Reichel will be using this opportunity to not only bulk his experience and knowledge, but will also be doing this work as a part of his thesis. Funding for this dig was given by the Minnesota Historical Society, which will benefit the staff em-ployed. The funding was given in the form of a $10,000 grant.

The MN State Mankato group hopes to uncover more pottery and other artifacts in order to get a better idea of the previous lives of the Blue Earth River.

Page 3: June 4, 2014

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 News MSU Reporter • 3

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Civility campaign listening sessions were held on June 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Centennial Student Union, room 255. Civility working groups from different depart-ments and offices and student representatives attended the sessions. The specific direc-tions that the civility campaign should go forward were sug-gested in the sessions. Today’s listening sessions will be re-flected on the civility cam-paign to make it progressive for the coming academic year.

“Collecting feedback from campus divisions is significant to construct positive relation-ships between students and students or students and fac-ulties,” said David Jones, co-chair of the civility campaign.

The civility campaign has been conducted for two years at Minnesota State University,

Mankato. The main purpose of this campaign is to increase ci-vility on campus and make the campus environment civil-safe place.

Three questions regard-ing the feedback of the civility campaign were discussed in the session. The first topic was about whether the posters, ta-ble tents and electronic screens in the civility campaign have been effectively so far. Con-cerning this question, the prob-lem of the electronic screen was indicated. According to this opinion, since there is no enough space online, the civil-ity campaign cannot provide its information about events effectively on the website. Fur-thermore, it was also suggested that the notification should be given in advance on the web-site when there are requests on civil campaign.

“To fix these problems and reflect the opinions above, the expanded funding for the ci-vility campaign is necessary,”

Civility campaign advances towards a better good

YUSEONG JEONStaff Writer

said Linda Hanson, one of the co-chairs of the civility cam-paign.

The second discussion was what the civility campaign can do this coming academic year to support students and facul-ties in the workplace more di-rectly.

“More awareness on the fac-ulty’s expectation about school policy is needed,” said Hanson, concurring with one of the par-ticipants in the sessions. “Civil campaign has to work with stu-dents and employees to solve their issues effectively such as overworking and low work condition. In this respect, the school unions can take a more active action. It will be a good start to conduct a case study and receive talking tips from online supervisors of each de-partment,” she continued.

However, what civility cam-paign is currently struggling with is that it is hard to provide opportunities for everybody to speak. Not everyone par-ticipates in the civil campaign. “Since it is difficult to find the appropriate time to make all the faculties from different de-partments gather around, it is

challenging to reach out them and lead to well-attendance in a non-mandatory way.” Hanson said.

One opinion was offered about this issue that civility campaign can provide infor-mation through an orientation for people who cannot attend every meeting. This will make people knowledgeable about the civility campaign and help departments to research human resources through facilitating department meetings. More-over, civility campaign can give a filter to open up com-munications among each indi-vidual or organization.

Lastly, the listening session covered on what kind of cam-pus-wide civility campaign events could support cultural change at the university.

“The civility campaign should be effective and worth it to support the cultural change. For this matter, the campaign should be able to celebrate students and faculties for their positive behavior and reward their civility. For example, our civility campaign can make a poster of individuals who has been appreciated and respected

for their civil manners,” Han-son said as reflecting the ma-jority opinions of the partici-pants.

“It would be also beneficial to give people practical tips they can utilize about how to handle certain situations. To make people deal with de-es-calating uncivil situations, the civility campaign can let them know how to start conversation through appropriate communi-cation skill.”

The working group in the listening sessions concluded that interaction is essential to make the civility campaign events more supportive on di-verse cultural challenges. In this sense, using non face-to-face meetings via email and social media does not develop relationships. “The more you know people, the more it is difficult to be mean to them. Meeting diverse people in per-son and reflecting their per-spectives should be a major concern of the civility cam-paign,” Hanson, the co-chair of the civility campaign as well as the chairperson of the listening session, said.

Web PhotoAn example of the civility campaign and their efforts toward a kinder campus

Campaign encourages students and staff to be a little kinder to each other through media and outreach.

Recent evidence found along riverbank leads troop of Mankato students to discover its mysteries.

Page 4: June 4, 2014

STAFFSUMMER 2014

POLICIES & INFORMATION

EDITOR IN CHIEF:Schuyler Houtsma ....... 389-5454

NEWS EDITOR:Hannah Kleinberg ...... 389-5450

SPORTS EDITOR:Joey Denton ................389-5227

VARIETY EDITOR:Rae Frame ..................389-5157

ADVERTISING SALES:Mac Boehmer ............ 389-5097Brandon Poliszuk ........ 389-5453Jase Strasburg .............389-0179Sammy Terning ............389-5451Amber Masloski ..........389-1063Allie Bigbee ............... 389-5609

BUSINESS MANAGER: Jane Tastad ................. 389-1926

AD. DESIGN/PROD. MGR.: Dana Clark .................389-2793

• If you have a complaint, suggestion or would like to point out an error made in the Reporter, call Editor in Chief Schuyler Houtsma at 507-389-5454. The Reporter will correct any errors of fact or misspelled names in this space. Formal grievances against the Reporter are handled by the Newspaper Board.

• The Minnesota State University Mankato Reporter is a student-run newspaper published twice a week, coming out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Reporter generates 78 percent of its own income through advertising and receives approximate-ly 22 percent from Student Activities fees. The Reporter is free to all stu-dents and faculty, but to start a sub-scription, please call us at 507-389-1776. Subscriptions for the academic school year are $55.00 and subscrib-ers will receive the paper within three to five days after publishing.

• Letters exceeding 400 words may not be accepted. The Reporter reserves the right to edit letters to fit space or correct punctuation. The Reporter reserves the right to publish, or not publish, at its discretion. Letters must contain year, major or affiliation with the university, or lack thereof. All letters must contain phone numbers for verification purposes.

“How do you feel about summer tuition?”

Compiled byYohanes Ashenafi

ARNOLD BAGAMBA, SOPHOMORE

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING“It’s expensive compared to regular semesters.”

SANTIAGO MARTINEZ, JUNIOR

BIO-CHEMISTRY“Expensive but reasonable.”

CHIENG MOUA,JUNIOR

ACCOUNTING“The rates are affordable.”

ZACH RITTER,SENIOR

SPORTS MANAGEMENT“Tuition for summer classes are overpriced for the few weeks you are in class. It’s all ridiculous.”

ABOLAJI AKINYEMI,SENIOR

PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY“It is more expensive than the tu-ition during the regular semesters.”

4 • MSU Reporter Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Email the Editor in Chief:[email protected]

Follow the Reporteron Twitter

@MSU Reporter orLike Us on Facebook.com/

msureporter

Summer tuition: A student’s peril

When I decided to take sum-mer classes, I did not think much about the cost. As a transferred student, I had to take summer courses so I could graduate on time. After registering all the classes that I needed to take for the summer, I just enjoyed my sweet break before the sum-mer semester started. However, what happened next shocked me. When I tried to pay for my tuition on the first day of the summer semester, I realized that the price was too expen-sive. It was a lot more expensive than I’d first anticipated. Hon-estly, I can’t even understand how other students can afford the tuition. Then some ques-tions popped up in my mind. Why do so many students take the expensive summer classes, and are they worth it?

In my case, I am taking composition and an environ-mental geology class to finish up my general education goal areas. For the first session, I am currently taking the composi-tion class and this class is very

beneficial. I have nothing to complain about when it comes to the quality of the class. How-ever, I still keep thinking the price is too expensive. I think the price is inappropriate con-sidering it’s a general educa-tion, and not even a class geared toward my major. Especially the geology class that I am tak-ing for the second session of the summer semester, which is totally not related to my major (Mass Media) at all, but is just something general education. I don’t think it’s fair because stu-dents are forced to take these general education classes, yet they’re so high priced. I believe they just have no choice but to take the expensive summer classes for graduating on time, otherwise they’ll have to face another semester before gradu-ation.

What if it is for the stu-dents who are taking their ma-jor classes for the summer? Do they respond differently about the summer tuition? Accord-ing to one biology major stu-dent who is currently taking a genetics class, the tuition is worthwhile regardless of the high expense. She wants to take the class to follow her aca-demics. However, there is also

a problem here; major classes are much more intensive than the general education classes during the summer. Many stu-dents struggle with learning everything in such a limited time which normally takes one semester (six months) to learn. Although the quality of the ma-jor class is higher, the tuition is still too expensive regarding the efficiency of academic ac-complishment.

Online classes are even worse. It is hard to understand that taking online class costs so much more than sitting in a classroom. From my experi-ence, even though I prefer to take offline class to interact with professors face-to-face, I tried to change my composi-tion class to online one because the online class time is more flexible. However, as a result, I could not because of the high price of the online class. The offline class costs $1197.28 for one hour and fifty minutes, five times a week. On the oth-er hand, the online class costs $1337.28 for one and a half hours, just one day a week. As calculating the price at an hour, while the offline class is $27.21 per hour, the online class is $89.152. That is a huge differ-

ence. Online classes are exces-sively priced.

I recognized that, so to speak, not only is the tuition for the summer expensive in gen-eral, but also the price of online classes are even outrageous. I believe that the price is too ex-pensive to devote our studies for the summer.

How the high prices of online versus in-person tuition can take a toll on students across campus.

YUSEONG JEONStaff Writer

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say six climbers are presumed dead after a fall from one of the most technical and physically grueling routes on Mount Rainier in Washington state.

The identities of the two guides from Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International were released on its website. The company and Mount Rainier National Park have refused to re-lease other names, citing privacy issues, but family members and colleagues have released details on them.

___

MATT HEGEMAN

More than 100 people com-mented on Alpine Ascents’ Facebook page remembering the lead guide on the Mount Rainier journey, who was a resident of Truckee, California. Hegeman led climbs throughout northern California and had done exten-sive rock climbing throughout the state, the company said.

“Matt, intense, philosophical and driven by the right way to do things, left an indelible mark on all around him. His pursuit for excellence was matched by his sense of camaraderie and humor,” the company wrote on its website.

Holly Mullally, the wife of one of the victims, issued a state-ment to The Seattle Times on Monday saying she had climbed with Hegeman.

“I respected his leadership and found him to be experi-enced, skilled, appropriately conservative, thoughtful, and someone who I could count on to keep my husband safe, barring tragedy beyond our control,” she wrote of the guide.

___

EITAN GREEN

He started his career as a mountain guide after receiving a degree in anthropology at Colby College in Maine, according to Alpine Ascents and the college.

Green worked at the climb-ing company since 2009 and climbed, trekked and guided trips all over the world, includ-ing in India, Nepal, Alaska and Argentina, the company’s

Web Photo

Page 5: June 4, 2014

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 News MSU Reporter • 5

DIRECT SUPPORT STAFFAre you looking for a rewarding experience, an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, then you would be a great addition to our team! LivingLinks currently has part-time openings for direct support staff to assist individuals with developmental disabilities. You will receive on the job training, be involved in their day to day living, assisting in their activities, daily cares and meals. You will need to have a valid driver’s license and a good driving record. $8.84-9.85 hr. Stop in and pick up an application at LivingLinks 1230 N. River Dr., Mankato, or download atwww.livinglinks.org. Questions, call 507-345-7458.

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say six climbers are presumed dead after a fall from one of the most technical and physically grueling routes on Mount Rainier in Washington state.

The identities of the two guides from Seattle-based Alpine Ascents International were released on its website. The company and Mount Rainier National Park have refused to re-lease other names, citing privacy issues, but family members and colleagues have released details on them.

___

MATT HEGEMAN

More than 100 people com-mented on Alpine Ascents’ Facebook page remembering the lead guide on the Mount Rainier journey, who was a resident of Truckee, California. Hegeman led climbs throughout northern California and had done exten-sive rock climbing throughout the state, the company said.

“Matt, intense, philosophical and driven by the right way to do things, left an indelible mark on all around him. His pursuit for excellence was matched by his sense of camaraderie and humor,” the company wrote on its website.

Holly Mullally, the wife of one of the victims, issued a state-ment to The Seattle Times on Monday saying she had climbed with Hegeman.

“I respected his leadership and found him to be experi-enced, skilled, appropriately conservative, thoughtful, and someone who I could count on to keep my husband safe, barring tragedy beyond our control,” she wrote of the guide.

___

EITAN GREEN

He started his career as a mountain guide after receiving a degree in anthropology at Colby College in Maine, according to Alpine Ascents and the college.

Green worked at the climb-ing company since 2009 and climbed, trekked and guided trips all over the world, includ-ing in India, Nepal, Alaska and Argentina, the company’s

website said.“Eitan, quick with a smile

and exuberant, had that infec-tious nature of guides who love their work and time in the mountains. His talent as a strong leader and critical thinker in the wilderness was unsurpassed,” Alpine Ascents officials wrote on the groups’ website.

Colby College spokesman Steve Collins said the Mas-sachusetts native graduated in 2009 and was a member of the college mountaineering club. A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday in Levine Chapel in Brookline, Massachusetts.

___

JOHN MULLALLY

The Seattle mountain climber “died doing what he loved,” ac-cording to his wife’s statement to The Seattle Times.

“John was an amazing husband, father, friend, moun-taineer, and all around human being,” Holly Mullally wrote. “John lived to climb mountains, and had his first summit of Mount Rainier in his early 20s. Although my heart is broken, I find peace in the knowledge that he died doing what he loved.”

She wrote that her husband was a “truly self-made man” who worked at Microsoft for more than 20 years, starting in the manufacturing division in his late teens, working his way up to program manager in the Win-dows division.

Besides his wife, John Mul-lally is survived by his parents, two sisters and two daughters, ages 5 and 9. Holly Mullally wrote that an educational memo-rial fund will be set up on their behalf.

___

MARK MAHANEY

Even as a toddler, Mahaney had a knack for climbing. The St. Paul, Minnesota, man often tried to get out of his crib or would climb on his parents’ table, said his uncle Rob Mah-aney.

He said his nephew’s passion for scaling things brought him to Washington state last week to attempt his second ascent of Mount Rainier.

“He loved the outdoors, he

Six missing, presumed dead during Mount

Rainier climb

loved the exhilaration of being in the wide open,” Rob Mahaney said.

The 26-year-old graduated from Prior Lake High School southwest of St. Paul and then moved to St. Paul, where he be-came a quality-assurance analyst for a high-tech company. He was the youngest of five children.

___

UDAY MARTY

Marty, a vice president and managing director of Intel Corp. in Southeast Asia who was based in Singapore, was a seasoned climber who made annual treks, colleague and Intel spokesman Bill Calder said.

Calder says other friends told him that Marty had climbed Rainier before. He said that Marty was “widely loved and respected at this company.”

“We are most definitely mourning his loss here,” Calder told The Associated Press. According to his biography on Intel’s website, Marty man-aged sales and marketing in the region and had previously man-aged global notebook market-ing out of Intel’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. He joined the company in 1996.

“He was a guy with a great attitude, and he always had a big smile,” Calder said.

___

ERIK BRITTON KOLB

The 34-year-old finance manager at American Express in New York was “an avid outdoorsman with a passion for new and exciting experiences,” according to a statement issued on behalf of his family.

“Erik was a smart, gentle and

generous man whose warmth and kindness touched the lives of all who knew him,” the state-ment read.

Kolb was born in Minneapo-lis and grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and in Scotch Plains and Westfield, New Jersey, where he graduated from high school. He earned an MBA from Georgetown University.

He lived with his wife, Lisa, in Brooklyn. He is also survived by his parents David and Pamela Kolb of Westfield, New Jersey, sister Kirsten Kolb of Raleigh, North Carolina, and by his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Photo courtesy of Associated PressMissing climber Matt Hegeman.

Page 6: June 4, 2014

6 • MSU Reporter News Wednesday, June 4, 2014

SUMMER PARKING

GOLD PERMIT STALLS ENFORCED WHEN CLASSES ARE IN SESSIONGold permit holders are not restricted and can park

in any Gold Permit lot with more than 80 stalls, including: Lot 4a, Lot 7, Lots 11.

Gold permit holders should NOT use the Visitor's Paylot unless their regular Gold Lot is full.

SUMMER GOLD PERMITS:On sale for $54 in the following lots:

Lot 7 (by Blakeslee Stadium), Rugby Gold, McElroy Curbside Gold.

Approval needed, email: [email protected]

ENFORCED STALLS:Gold permit areas, handicap stalls, meters, facilities

management, vendor stalls & delivery stalls.

GREEN PERMIT STALLS: Lot 1, Behind New Lot 2 construction, and Lot 16 (Performing Arts)

PURPLE & ORANGE PERMIT AREAS & FREE LOT 23

PARK FREEIN:

OVERNIGHT PARKING IS NOT ALLOWED IN:THE FREE LOT (LOT 23), ORANGE PERMIT LOTS, PURPLE, GOLD, ON-STREET PARKING AND THE VISITORS' PAYLOT

* Lot 16 Green Permit Stalls (400 spaces) except when new student & transfer orientation events are held - which take up 250 stalls. When unrestricted spaces are full, "free parkers" are directed to Lot 20 to park)

Slenderman stabbing

A Wisconsin teenager is recovering after a vicious attack by two of her class-mates with strange intent.

In an attempt to contact the mythical horror and In-ternet character “Slender Man”, the two girls lured another teen into the woods and stabbed her multiple times.

The victim sustained 19 stab wounds on her arms, legs and torso, but was found by a cyclist near the woods where the attack took place. She was taken to the hospi-tal, where she is now listed in stable condition, despite wounds that came within millimeters of vital arteries.

Morgan Geyser and An-issa Weier have both been charged with first-degree at-tempted homicide and will be tried as adults. If con-victed, they face a 60-year sentence; as juveniles, they would only be held until age 25.

There is some debate over whether these individuals should be tried as adults, with overwhelming support coming from the fact that this attack was pre-meditat-ed. Geyser and Weier both confessed to forming more than one plan against their classmate, and expressed some regret over their ac-tions.

The next court appear-ance is scheduled for June 11.

Wisconsin teens face 60-year sentence.

RAE FRAMEA&E Editor

Bioblend making astonishing progress toward a better world

This summer Minnesota is taking great strides toward a cleaner, better state; as of July 1st, all diesel sold within state lines will be 10% bio-diesel, a blend better known as B10, for the duration of the summer.

The benefits of biodiesel blends are clear, according to Robert Moffitt, the com-munications director of Min-nesota’s American Lung As-sociation.

“Vehicle exhaust is the sin-gle largest source of air pollu-tion in the state,” said Moffitt. “Biodiesel is cleaner-burning than traditional petroleum fuels, and it is produced here in Minnesota from renewable vegetable oils, like soybean oil, and used cooking oil. It

is a fuel that has been thor-oughly tested, both in the lab-oratory and in the field, and been proven to reduce both traditional air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.”

Adding biodiesel blends to your truck’s diet is benefi-cial, too. Diesel vehicles do not require any modifications to sustain biodiesel blends; it increases lubricity, which in turn provides for a smooth-running engine.

Minnesota legislature were the first ever to pass a law which restricted all die-sel producers within the state to have a degree of biodiesel within the fuel in 2002. Of-ficially implemented in 2005, the law began with a mini-mum of 2% biodiesel (B2), and has since increased to 5% (B5).

The American Lung Asso-ciation of Minnesota is offer-ing a unique opportunity to the general public. On June

10th, they will be hosting an informational workshop on biodiesel and the recent changes. This workshop will help increase awareness of the benefits of biodiesel in the community, but will also teach participants how to properly use and store the B10 product. Supported by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, the one-day confer-ence will be led by Hoon Ge of MGE Corp. It will take place from 2 to 4 PM at Best Western Plus, at 1111 Range Street, Mankato. There is no admission and is free to the public, however registration is required and seats are lim-ited. To register or ask fur-ther questions, please contact Ruby, at (651) 268-2146, or by e-mail at [email protected].

HANNAH KLEINBERGNews Editor

Page 7: June 4, 2014

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 MSU Reporter • 7

Email the Sports Editor:[email protected]

507-389-5227

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@MSU Reporter orLike Us on Facebook

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Three athletes earn All-American honors at national meet

Photo Courtesy of Minnesota State AthleticsNot very many people get to be a national champion in the NCAA, let alone twice. Senior Chris Reed claimed that right two years in a row in the outdoor shot put.

For Chris Reed and Jerrell Hancock, this was just icing on the cake for

their amazing careers.

Photo Courtesy of Minnesota State AthleticsSenior sprinter Jerrell Hancock ran himself to 10 All-American honors in his four years at MSU.

Two of the greatest men’s track and field athletes in Min-nesota State University, Mankato history ended their collegiate careers at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Cham-pionships as All-Americans on May 24 in Allendale, Mich.

As a team, the Mavericks brought three athletes to the na-tional meet, and all three ath-letes became All-Americans, earning 28 points and finishing in eighth place. This is the best outdoor finish for the men’s pro-gram since the 1981 and the most points scored as a team at the NCAA Championships

Senior thrower Chris Reed, who still has one more season on the gridiron come this fall, finished his collegiate track and

field career with 11 All-Ameri-can honors, which is the most by any individual in school history. He earned three All-American honors at the national meet with a first place finish in the shot put. On his very last throw of his career, the Omaha, Neb. na-tive threw his first-place throw of 65’ 4 ¾”. The throw also let him defend his title from the 2013 na-tional championships.

Before the shot put, Reed earned second place in the ham-mer throw with a throw of 200’ 1”. Numbers wise, the hammer throw has been Reed’s second best field event. The next day, he took fifth place in the discus with his best throw of his career at 179’ 7”.

In Reed’s 11 All-American honors five of them were in the shot put, two in the hammer throw, two in the weight throw

and two in the discus. He had a tremendous senior season, in-door and out. He actually owns

the Division II indoor shot put record with a 65’ 10 1/4” throw at the MSU Multi and Open, and

Photo Courtesy of Minnesota State AthleticsJust a freshman, hurdler Myles Hunter placed second at nationals in the 110-meter hurdles. He looks to have a bright future ahead of him here at MSU.

TRACK AND FIELD • Page 9

JOEY DENTONSports Editor

Page 8: June 4, 2014

8 • MSU Reporter Sports Wednesday, June 4, 2014

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he was named the NSIC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2014. Reed holds four school records. For indoor, he has the shot put and weight throw (67’ 7.5”), and in outdoor he owns the shot put (65’ 7”) and the hammer throw (215’ 11”). All four records were broken during this season.

Senior sprinter Jerrell Han-cock finished his career right be-hind Reed with 10 All-American titles, including an eighth place finish in the 200-meter dash with

TRACK AND FIELD “As a team, the Mavericks brought three athletes to the na-tional meet, and all three athletes became All-Americans, earning 28 points and finishing in eighth place. This is the best outdoor finish for the men’s program since 1981 and the most points scored as a team at the NCAA Championships.”continued from 7

Photo Courtesy of Minnesota State Athletics Junior pole vaulter Bryanna Sudman earned 20th place with a vault of 11’ 9 3/4” at the NCAA Division II Out-door Track and Field Championships.

Mavericks knocked out in semifinals of NCAA Division II College World SeriesFor the third season in a row, the Minnesota State University, Mankato baseball team made its way to the NCAA DII Baseball Championships.

Arnold Bagamba • MSU Reporter

Photo Courtesy of Minnesota State AthleticsHead coach Matt Magers (right) has brought the Mavericks to the NCAA tournament nine consecutive times.

The Mavericks were knocked out of the eight-team NCAA DII College World Series in a 4-3 loss against Southern Indiana.

The Mavericks got off to a

hot start early in the game, scor-ing three runs in the first frame. With senior shortstop Todd Standish on second base, senior catcher Nolan Johnson knocked in the first run of the game with a single to right field. Johnson would soon become a scor-ing run when senior first base-

man Stetson Olson came up and knocked him in along with junior right fielder Max Waletich for a 3-0 lead.

Senior hurler Jason Hoppe and crew went through the first four innings without any trouble, but the team gave up four runs in the fifth inning. Neither team

was able to bring another run across the plate, giving Southern Indiana the 4-3 victory.

In a double-loss elimination tournament, the Mavericks ac-tually dropped their first game against Seton Hill 4-2, but the Purple and Gold rallied a three game winning streak with the help of some superb pitching and fielding. The crew gave up one run in each of the three wins.

The Mavericks finished the 2014 season with a 48-11 over-

all record and 28-4 record in the NSIC circuit, giving them their fourth NSIC regular season title in five years. They have a great group of seniors that will be missed, but just like every off-season since head coach Matt Magers has been through, they don’t rebuild, they reload.

After Hoppe earned NSIC Pitcher of the Year for the sec-ond time in his career and sec-ond baseman Eric Peterson won the NSIC Freshman of the Year, the Mavericks had four players earn Daktronics All-American honors.

No doubt Hoppe found his way on to that list. The senior finished his season with a 11-4 record with 113 strikeouts in 104.2 innings pitched to help for a 2.67 ERA. The first-team Dak-tronics All-American’s most im-pressive performance this season was his complete game against Wayne State to start the NSIC tournament. Even though the team lost 2-1, Hoppe struck out nine wildcats and only gave up four hits and two earned runs in nine innings off work. The Rice, Minn. native was also named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Third-Team All-American.

Senior catcher Nolan John-son has been the wall behind the plate for the Mavericks since the 2012 season, and he found his way on to the Daktronics First-Team All-American list as well.

JOEY DENTONSports Editor

BASEBALL • Page 9

Page 9: June 4, 2014

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 Sports MSU Reporter • 9

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he was named the NSIC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2014. Reed holds four school records. For indoor, he has the shot put and weight throw (67’ 7.5”), and in outdoor he owns the shot put (65’ 7”) and the hammer throw (215’ 11”). All four records were broken during this season.

Senior sprinter Jerrell Han-cock finished his career right be-hind Reed with 10 All-American titles, including an eighth place finish in the 200-meter dash with

a time of 21.36 at the national meet.

Hancock’s senior season was also impressive. In the indoor season, the St. Louis, Mo. na-tive earned three All-American honors, finishing second in the 200-meter dash (21.33), fourth in the 60-meter dash (6.78), and eighth in the 4X400-meter relay.

In his 10 All-American hon-ors, Hancock has six honors in the 200-meter dash, two in the 60-meter dash, one on a 4X100

team and one on a 4X400 team. In his junior year, he was named the USTFCCA Central Region Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. Records wise, Hancock has two indoor records and three outdoor records. For indoor, he has the 200-meter (21.11) and 300-meter dash (33.54), and for outdoors he owns the 200-meter dash (20.49) and was apart of the 4X100-meter relay (40.16) and 4X200-meter relay (1:25.04).

The Mavericks may have a

TRACK AND FIELD “As a team, the Mavericks brought three athletes to the na-tional meet, and all three athletes became All-Americans, earning 28 points and finishing in eighth place. This is the best outdoor finish for the men’s program since 1981 and the most points scored as a team at the NCAA Championships.”continued from 7

Photo Courtesy of Minnesota State Athletics Junior pole vaulter Bryanna Sudman earned 20th place with a vault of 11’ 9 3/4” at the NCAA Division II Out-door Track and Field Championships.

Photo Courtesy of Minnesota State AthleticsJunior thrower Morgan Stampley finished 15th in the hammer throw at the championships with a throw of 167’ 6”.

rising star on the roster in Myl-es Hunter. As a freshman, the Conyers, Ga. Native took second place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.96 to earn his first All-American honor. In his indoor season, he finished ninth in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Dvision II Indoor Na-tional Championships and was named the NSIC Indoor Track

and Field Newcomer of the Year. The women’s squad had two

athletes compete at the nation-al meet. Both juniors Morgan Stampley and Bryanna Sudman made their nationals debut. In the pole vault, Sudman took 20th with a vault of 11’ 9 ¾’’. Stam-pley competed in the hammer throw and finished in 15th with a throw of 167’ 6”.

all record and 28-4 record in the NSIC circuit, giving them their fourth NSIC regular season title in five years. They have a great group of seniors that will be missed, but just like every off-season since head coach Matt Magers has been through, they don’t rebuild, they reload.

After Hoppe earned NSIC Pitcher of the Year for the sec-ond time in his career and sec-ond baseman Eric Peterson won the NSIC Freshman of the Year, the Mavericks had four players earn Daktronics All-American honors.

No doubt Hoppe found his way on to that list. The senior finished his season with a 11-4 record with 113 strikeouts in 104.2 innings pitched to help for a 2.67 ERA. The first-team Dak-tronics All-American’s most im-pressive performance this season was his complete game against Wayne State to start the NSIC tournament. Even though the team lost 2-1, Hoppe struck out nine wildcats and only gave up four hits and two earned runs in nine innings off work. The Rice, Minn. native was also named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Third-Team All-American.

Senior catcher Nolan John-son has been the wall behind the plate for the Mavericks since the 2012 season, and he found his way on to the Daktronics First-Team All-American list as well.

This season, the Bloomington, Minn. native batted a team-best .375 with five home runs, sec-ond on the team, and 50 RBIs, which was second on the team. In 200 at bats, Johnson only struck out 17 times and led the team in doubles with 20. Also, let’s not forget that he only had three errors all season at the catcher position.

As a Daktronics Third-Team All-American, Standish was a vital part of the Mavericks’ suc-cess in the batters box and in the infield. With a 95.3 fielding percentage, the senior batted .348 with five home runs like Johnson and 42 RBIs. He also

tied for second on the team in stolen bases and led the NSIC in sac bunts with 19.

How Olson was only named as an Daktronics Honorable Mention we will never know, but he cranked his game to a new level his senior year. With a .345 batting average, the Rent-on, Wash. native led the team with an unprecedented 13 home runs and 57 RBIs, and also had the fourth highest slugging per-centage in the NSIC with .647. At the first base position, he only committed two errors on 431 fielding opportunities.

Hoppe and senior Bryce Bellin were in charge of 169.2

innings of work on the mound for the Mavericks. Bellin pitched in 80 of those innings and finished the season with a 6-1 record with a 2.47 ERA and 70 strikeouts.

Luckily Magers had some younger pitchers develop quite well throughout the season. Junior Mathias Butala earned more playing time later into the season for his productivity on the mound and became the third pitcher in the postseason rotation. With a 2.11 ERA this season, he ended his junior year with a complete-game and only allowed eight hits and one earned run with six strikeouts.

BASEBALL “After Hoppe earned NSIC Pitcher of the Year and second baseman Erica Peterson won the NSIC Freshman of the Year award, the Mavericks had four players earn Dak-tronics All-American honors.”continued from 8

Page 10: June 4, 2014

Email the A&E Editor:[email protected]

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10 • MSU Reporter Wednesday, June 4, 2014

To prevent a horrible, de-structive future, the X-Men must travel back in time to fix the

mistakes of the past. Ironically, not only is this the basic outline of X-Men: Days of Future Past, it's the reality of the X-Men fran-chise exemplified by this movie. By applying a massive scale time travel story, Fox and direc-

tor Bryan Singer have made a bold play to undo many of the bumps and bruises the X-Men movies have hit along the way. While the odds are usually in fa-vor of things becoming a messy, "reach exceeds their grasp"

event, Singer and company do everyone a service by keeping their franchise building in check and delivering a tight and terrific standalone film that doesn't miss a step.

In a future where mutants are near extinction and con-stantly hunted by unstoppable killer robots called Sentinels, the remaining X-Men, consist-ing of Kitty Pride (Ellen Page), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Pro-fessor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan), hatch a plan to keep this horrible out-come from ever happening. By having Kitty send Wolverine's consciousness back to 1973 (as one does), he can then bring to-gether a team of X-Men to stop the rogue shapeshifter Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assas-sinating the creator of the deadly robots (Peter Dinklage) and set-ting things into motion. But it won't be a walk in the park as the young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) has all but given up on hope for mutantkind after the

events of X-Men: First Class, and Magneto, better known as Erik Lensherr (Michael Fass-bender), well, he's still going to end up pulling some wild antics.

Sound like a lot to process? It is, but watching the movie you'd never know; the plethora of char-acters and separate story arcs are handled with a level of care that puts a certain recent superhero flick to shame. Everything clicks together in a beautiful, coherent way that lets everyone shine and keeps the interest up throughout.

DOFP has so many good things going for it, but the thing that stands out is how contained the story is. Yes, there's more than a few instances of world building and sequel-setup by the end, but the main story can stand alone without relying on a "con-tinued next time" scenario. Even those who haven't seen all the X-Men movies should be able to pick up on things fairly quickly and above all, enjoy them. Be-

When Disney bought the Star Wars franchise in 2012, I figured it was for the right to build an X-Wing rollercoaster, and to outfit some lookalikes in robes, masks and gold bi-kinis…that’s something we can all get behind, but is a new trilogy something we can ac-cept into the existing cannon? Fans are responding with a re-sounding, “I hope so.”

The popularity of the Star Wars films has never really faded, and while this is a mark of cinematic success, the cre-ators of Episode VII have big shoes to fill; with an immense fan base, and an established reputation under LucasFilm, the new film could be a fan flop without an incredible pro-duction team.

A few weeks ago, Dis-

ney announced that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill would all return to cre-ate the fantastic universe of lightspeed travel and light sa-bers, but the production team has set their sights on getting

some fresh faces onto the sil-ver screen. While rumored additions to the cast include George Takai and Benedict Cumberbatch, two cast mem-bers—Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Gwendoline

Christie (Game of Thrones) have both joined the Episode VII’s roster.

According to the release on the official Star Wars website

Star Wars: Episode VII overview

2015 not so far, far away.

Back in time, back on trackX-Men: Days of Future Past review

JAMES HOUTSMAEditor in Chief

RAE FRAMEA&E Editor

RAE FRAMEA&E Editor

The Mankato Area Com-munity Band is offering free outdoor concerts every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The concerts will take place at two local venues, Sibley Park from June 10-July 22 in the Leas Schwickert Band-shell, while the concert for July 1 will be held in Lin-coln Park.

Concertgoers are encour-aged to bring a lawn chair or blanket, and the whole family to enjoy the music. Sibley Park is shaded after 7:00 p.m. and concerts will be cancelled in the event of rain.

For more information, contact Mankato Area Community Band, Martha Lindberg at 507-387-6990.

Music in Sibley

Park

Web PhotoEpisode VII cast members come together.

Web PhotoPast and future collide in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

STAR WARS • Page 11

X-MEN• Page 11

Page 11: June 4, 2014

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 A&E MSU Reporter • 11

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events of X-Men: First Class, and Magneto, better known as Erik Lensherr (Michael Fass-bender), well, he's still going to end up pulling some wild antics.

Sound like a lot to process? It is, but watching the movie you'd never know; the plethora of char-acters and separate story arcs are handled with a level of care that puts a certain recent superhero flick to shame. Everything clicks together in a beautiful, coherent way that lets everyone shine and keeps the interest up throughout.

DOFP has so many good things going for it, but the thing that stands out is how contained the story is. Yes, there's more than a few instances of world building and sequel-setup by the end, but the main story can stand alone without relying on a "con-tinued next time" scenario. Even those who haven't seen all the X-Men movies should be able to pick up on things fairly quickly and above all, enjoy them. Be-

Back in time, back on track(http://starwars.com/) the production team is very ex-cited about the two new ad-ditions:

“I could not be more ex-cited about Lupita and Gwen-doline joining the cast of Episode VII,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “It’s thrilling to see this ex-traordinarily talented ensem-ble taking shape.”

In addition to the cast expansions, award winning composer (and fan favorite) John Williams and director J.J Abrams have joined the production team.

In an interview with UK’s The Times Magazine, Abrams revealed his inten-

tions to bring the new install-ment back to its “grittier” roots, and has been endorsed by original director George Lucas via the official Lucas-film press release:

“I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a film-maker and storyteller. He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film, and the legacy couldn’t be in better hands.”

With a stellar cast and production team, Episode VII has the potential for greatness; but when it comes to building on this beloved saga, there is no try.

hold the power of a well-planned story with heart.

Based off the Chris Clare-mont comic arc of the same name, DOFP capitalizes on the prospect of combining old favor-ites and new in a way that makes sense. Stewart and McKellan comfortably step back into a franchise that had all but written them out (as do a few other faces that would be criminal to spoil), while Jackman gets to apply his classic role this time as a sort of mentor to a forlorn Xavier.

But it's the returning First Class members who carry the show. Xavier's journey from lost to found is a highly compel-ling route for a character who normally is the most composed person in the room and McAvoy sells it. While blunt, the subplot about him throwing his gifts

away via a big scary needle in the arm shows that this charac-ter probably can't get any lower. But hey, this is X-Men, the over-lord of obvious metaphors. Fass-bender's cool, debonair disposi-tion as Magneto continues to make his take on the character a constant center of attention. The bromance these two char-acters share is continued in a most satisfying way as they both hit forks in the road that will pit them against each other, despite their mutual admiration.

With X-Men and X2 director Bryan Singer back at the helm and First Class director Mat-thew Vaughn helping out on sto-ry, DOFP takes things one step further beyond the finale of the most recent film in actually feel-ing like an X-Men movie. Classic characters assembling in a pivot-

al storyline as stadiums fall from the sky and the future hangs in the balance are some things that show that the franchise is upping the ante and refining everything it can. The action is great and the character interplay has never been better.

However, nothing shows more promise for the series' di-rection going forward than what the filmmakers have done with Evan Peters' Quicksilver. Origi-nally assumed to be a throwaway inclusion appease character rights technicalities (Disney also has plans to utilize the character in next year's Avengers sequel), the entire sequence featuring the character is like a whole new ballgame. Peters' presence is an unexpected jolt of lightning as the character elevates the en-tire sequence he's involved into

a high-octane funny-fest that showcases a good dose of block-buster fun. Every second of this amazing scene shows that this character was indeed bought in with a purpose: amusement, among other things.

Admittedly, continuity stick-lers are going to have a hard time with the film, as the cre-ative team has all but thrown out a strict timeline. At least one previous film is totally ignored in the timeline, as are several technicalities that may be worth a head scratching. But that's ok because the filmmakers have now reached the point of real-izing that continuity won't be an issue as long as you deliver a great film.

DOFP only rarely suffers from slack pacing in an other-wise taught plot and has only a

few instances of sub-par visual effects that have plagued the series on and off. What really would have been welcome (and may be the case for next time -- who knows?) is a more vibrant color palette that embraces the comic book origins. Not that things need to go full tilt on the saturation but a more refined col-or scheme on a comic book mov-ie like this could do wonders.

Looking to the past to cater to the future can be a wise choice. It certainly was for this franchise going forward. X-Men: First Class set up a possible direction going forward and Days of Fu-ture Past jumped all over it. The X-Men renaissance is upon us at last.

8.5/10

X-MEN: “Story arcs are handled with a level of care that puts a certain recent superhero flick to shame.”continued from 10

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is considering giving permission to seven movie and television filming compa-nies to use unmanned aircraft for aerial photography, a potentially significant step that could lead to greater relaxation of the agency’s ban on commercial use of drones.

The companies that have filed petitions to receive exemptions are Aerial MOB LLC, Astraeus Aerial, Flying-Cam Inc., HeliV-ideo Productions LLC, Pictor-vision Inc., Vortex Aerial, and Snaproll Media LLC, the FAA said in a statement. To receive the exemptions, the companies must show their drone operations won’t harm safety, and would be in the public interest.

Drones offer the movie and television industries “an innova-tive and safer option for filming,” said Neil Fried, senior vice presi-dent for the Motion Picture Asso-ciation of America.

“This new tool for storytellers will allow for creative and excit-ing aerial shots, and is the latest in a myriad of new technologies being used by our industry to fur-ther enhance the viewer experi-ence,” he said in a statement.

Currently, no commercial

drone flights are permitted in U.S. with the lone exception of flights off the Alaskan coast over the Arctic Ocean by the Conoco Philips oil company. The FAA only granted permission for those flights after Congress told the agency to start permitting flights in the Arctic region.

The FAA has been under in-tense pressure from Congress and industry to allow commercial drone flights to do work that in many cases is too dirty, dull, or dangerous for manned aircraft. Drones are also often less ex-pensive to operate than manned aircraft. The agency has been working for the past decade on safety regulations to permit wide-spread commercial drone use, but has repeatedly delayed issuing regulations. The FAA’s current timetable calls for releasing pro-posed regulations for operating small drones — usually defined as weighing less than 55 pounds — by November. It would take at least months, and possibly years, after that to make the regulations final.

FAA officials caution that rushing to gain the economic and other benefits of drones could put manned aircraft at risk. U.S. skies have more aircraft and more var-

ied types of aircraft and aircraft operations than anywhere else in the world, and integrating their operations with unmanned air-craft is a complex business, they say.

Ben Gielow, general counsel for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a trade association for the com-mercial drone industry, said he’s pleased the FAA is considering the petitions. But he said if the agency “is only going to grant permission on a limited, case-by-case basis, then this doesn’t really open up the skies for anyone who wants to fly.”

Despite FAA’s ban, drones have already been used by the movie industry, including to film parts of the Martin Scorsese-di-rected movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.” A wide range of other businesses from real estate agents to beer makers to journalists have also ignored the ban.

At least two lawsuits have been filed challenging the ban. An ad-ministrative law judge with the National Transportation Safety Board who heard one of the chal-lenges ruled that the FAA can’t enforce regulations that don’t yet exist. The agency is appealing that decision.

STAR WARS “With an immense fan base, and an established repu-tation under LucasFilm, the new film could be a fan flop without an incredible production team.”continued from 10

FAA mulls drones for filming

Page 12: June 4, 2014

12 • MSU Reporter Advertisement Wednesday, June 4, 2014