OCL offered services including Roommate Finder, a Facebook group moderated by OCL and a list of Non-Compliance Properties to guide students to safe and fair leases. Their website also featured pages on commuter resources and safety. 

With the OCL unit being phased out, OCL community liaison and Commuter Connection room co-chair Arya Lucht, a fourth-year student, said OCL work ends on June 14. Even with that date in mind, Lucht said the department has not had much work to do since the end of May. 

Lucht has worked with Commuter Connection, a student program with a dedicated space for commuter students to use, since the spring of 2024, but only became room co-chair at the start of June. They said they worry the transition away from OCL has left a gap in the education of students.

“Commuter Connection isn’t as focused on providing [educational] resources as OCL was,” Lucht said.

OSA senior director for student engagement Emily Oswalt oversees OCL. In an email statement, she said the work of supporting off-campus students has traditionally been a shared effort, so the quality of services should not drop.

“Some programs and services will continue to be overseen by the Office for Student Affairs, while others will be led by partners who have been doing this work effectively,” Oswalt said. 

Oswalt said the OSA will continue to offer re-entry education and support the Commuter Connection student group, adding the non-compliance property list will continue to be published as well. The list was maintained by OCL, Housing and Residential Life and Student Legal Service.

OSA associate vice president for student engagement Meaghan Miller Thul said the purpose of reorganizing OCL is to best serve varying populations of off-campus students. She said as technology and students’ needs change, grouping every tool under OCL is no longer the best option.

“A sophomore who is just moving out of the residence halls into their first apartment is going to have different needs than a junior or senior who’s been doing this for a little while,” Miller Thul said. “Or a student who has always lived with their family at home and has commuted 15 or 20 miles.”

On the technology side, Miller Thul said Roommate Finder will also be undergoing changes; however, the next platform for Roommate Finder has not yet been decided. As well as the University-moderated Roommate Finder, students can also use public tools to look for roommates, such as Facebook and Reddit. 

While working as a liaison, Lucht said they and their colleagues would answer student questions at the OCL office in Appleby Hall, as well as provide information at the Off-Campus Housing Fair. Now, at Commuter Connection, they said the educational resources are still available, but are not the focus of their job. 

“I’m really sad that OCL is no longer a thing, that you can’t have both Commuter Connection and OCL at the same time,” Lucht said.

The post UMN’s Office of Student Affairs begins phasing out Off-Campus Living department appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

Upon arriving at SpringCon, it becomes clear the comic community has grown far beyond the boundaries of comic books alone. Today, it encompasses video games, trading card games, manga and much more. 

The rise of the internet has allowed generations of comic readers to connect with like-minded fans, discover new interests and build communities. At the same time, comic book characters have become the stars of some of the highest-grossing films in history, cementing comics’ place in mainstream entertainment.

 “It was a community that was growing older, but, you know, when I look around, I can see a lot of young people here, too,” Brad Crep, a longtime Minnesota Comic Book Association volunteer, said. “I work as a paraprofessional in a school, and there are young kids that talk about comics.” 

Many comic book enthusiasts agree the community is tight-knit. Elijah Gjerdingen, a comic book store employee, said he gets to see that quality nearly every single day. 

“Most of the regulars — I know everything they read,” Gjerdingen said. “Every Wednesday, I would read the titles that I knew they were going to come pick up.”

Some may think comics are a solitary hobby, but experiences like SpringCon and comic stores prove otherwise. People come for the comics and stay for the connections. 

Volunteer John Sanborn said most of the vendors, creators and volunteers return every year. That doesn’t stop new people from entering the scene, though. 

“For me, I feel there’s a new energy, the younger crowds, younger creators, people that are kind of saying, you know what, yeah, I love this world,” Sanborn said. 

However, it has not all been smooth sailing for this community. The head of the organization, Dominic Postiglione, known by the community as Nick Post, passed away in 2014. A couple of leaders stepped up to continue his legacy after his passing. When COVID struck, however, they had no choice but to cancel both Fall and SpringCon. 

“COVID had us shut down for a few years, and with the personnel changes,” long-time vendor, Chris Harsh, said.  “It’s really just kind of gaining its traction back.”

The community was not going to dissolve without a fight. The MNCBA and SpringCon continue to exist today largely because of the dedication of longtime volunteers who worked tirelessly to preserve them.

“It was something really big, and then COVID hit, and then it really stumbled and kind of disappeared,” Crep said. “The original people I worked with, a lot of them, you know, were volunteers that came back and decided they wanted to reboost it.” 

In the age of artificial intelligence, Sanborn believes people are seeking out authentic art. 

“We stay away from AI,” Sanborn said. “So, you still have your hands on it because people are doing it with pencil and ink.” 

Independent comic creator Wesley Speakerman was drawing comics live at the convention. His comic, “Garage Karate”, includes QR codes throughout the story that link to songs, so you can hear the music in the comic as you read. The story is about bands who fight, Speakerman said, so music is an essential part of the storytelling experience. 

“It’s kind of an excuse for me to write about my experience as a new creator who’s trying to become a professional… but I’m translating that to music instead of art,” Speakerman said. “It’s a very basic metaphor. It allows me to talk about stuff like imposter syndrome, like being unsure that you’re any good, and things like that.” 

What’s really valuable about SpringCon? It fosters connection and praises creativity. The comic community offers a space where people can find their niche, follow a story and cultivate a sense of belonging. To become a part of this community, consider visiting a comic book store and asking an expert where to begin. 

For many readers, a great place to start may be visiting the MNCBA’s next convention, FallCon, on Oct. 10-11, 2026.

The post The Comic Comeback: MNCBA’s SpringCon Recap appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

Clinic employees say they learned about the closure alongside patients in a public announcement, which left many staff members in shock.

The announcement of the closure came unexpectedly for many. 

A front desk receptionist who worked at the dental clinic for 19 years, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the University told patients their appointments would be transferred smoothly. Patient feedback suggests otherwise. 

“Everyone’s appointments just got canceled, but the emails and texts didn’t really make that very clear, and it made it sound like something was going to be transferred automatically,” the receptionist said. “People have been very upset and frustrated, like us.”  

Max Vast, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3800, said the labor union is concerned about AFSCME dental staff, as there has not been clear transparency from the University with the staff being placed on administrative leave. 

“We’re mostly concerned about the 21 workers who are AFSCME workers and the healthcare workers,” Vast said. “They’ve been placed on administrative leave and haven’t been told what is going to happen with their jobs.” 

Vast confirmed that, since the closure, the University dimissed 20 workers from their roles at the clinic. Vast added that, while some were able to find other jobs with the Unversity, there were multiple workers that were forced to leave University employment entirely.

A dental hygienist from Boynton Dental Clinic spoke out about the closure, but chose to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation. They said the closure came as a complete surprise to many workers at the clinic.

“We are all very shocked, and as much as we’re concerned about our own jobs, we’re mostly concerned about the patients,” they said. “We can’t believe that the University of Minnesota is treating the patients like this because it feels like patient abandonment.” 

Beyond just the closure itself, the dental hygienist said they are concerned about the transition from Boynton to the School of Dentistry Dental Clinics. Since the closure, the school has received hundreds of voicemails from transfer patients, making it difficult to track transfers. 

“The University of Minnesota says that it’s going to be a smooth transition to the School of Dentistry and to the faculty practice,” they said. “We know the front desk at the faculty practice, and they are telling us that there are over 300 unanswered voicemails in the morning when they come in, and they barely get through them. How many of those are emergencies?” 

Not all see this closure as a negative, though. Omar Zidan, a School of Dentistry faculty member, said the University’s administrators have decided to close the Boynton Dental Clinic as it seemed necessary, as the clinic sits on the same campus as the University’s dental school. 

Despite this, he still acknowledges the difficulties of this process. Zidan said if the University wants the transfer process to work smoothly, they would need to hire more professionals with the new increase of patients coming in for dental care. 

“Moving 7,000 patients from Boynton to the faculty practice requires more personnel to accommodate the influx,” Zidan said. 

Another anonymous source provided the Minnesota Daily with a document containing anonymous patient and community comments after the clinic’s closure. Many comments cite worries surrounding the process of transferring their care, citing the suddden announcement as a major point of confusion.

“Boynton’s presence on campus enabled me to get dental care during enormously stressful and busy times in my life,” a patient said. “Without it? I would have continued to get no care at all; the decision was made with no warning, compounds the damage to my health and to the capacity of all of us.” 

Arja Kumar, a third-year dental student, believes the patients from Boynton Dental Clinic should receive clearer communication after the announcement of the closure. Even for students, the announcement came as a surprise.

With healthcare and dental work being a community service, Kumar said she worries about what this could mean for patients.

“We really want to heal and serve the community knowing what’s going on in this situation with the school, and I understand the abrupt closure carrying that sentiment of patient neglect, which is the saddest part to me of this all,” Kumar said. “No one should feel left in the dark, and at least patients should have that dignity of transparent communication.” 

The post Following Boynton Dental Clinic’s closure, workers say concerns mount as communication remains unclear appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

The garden began construction in 1964 at the hands of the Bloomington Affiliated Garden Clubs with the help of designer Takao Wantanabe, with the garden eventually opening in 1976. The University of Minnesota recognises the garden on its Public Gardens of Minnesota website as a place “over-flowing with Japanese garden elements” and carefully-chosen aesthetics. 

Steven Geller, Normandale’s director of media and public relations, said the garden symbolizes the college’s mission of fostering community.

“As a community college, we’re here for the community, and especially the surrounding community, and I think the Japanese garden is just such a great symbol of that,” Geller said. “It helps us get known to some people who might not even step foot on campus otherwise.”

The garden itself arden is structured around a calm pond and a narrow rocky stream, divided by a red wooden arch bridge. A traditional white and red hexagonal bentendo, a type of Japanese Buddhist temple, stands as a focal point of the garden alongside the manicured green lawns and sculpted juniper bushes. A combination of mature trees and seasonal foliage frames the landscaping. All of this artful landscaping compels Normandale to celebrate the garden as a landmark on its campus, according to Normandale officials.

Geller considers the garden an underrated gem in the area due to its humble venue.

“It’s a very unassuming location, and that’s part of why it’s been underrated,”  Geller said. “People don’t necessarily think of that as a place where an amazing, beautiful Japanese garden would be. ”

John Powell, a garden designer who helped to renovate the space in 2021 and continues to support the garden’s maintenance, said he aims to make the garden accessible to everyone. Powell added that he hopes even those without any background knowledge regarding Japanese culture can find serenity within the garden space.

“I fully feel that we need to make these gardens something for everyone,” Powell said. “I wanted it to be sublime just by looking at it, even if you don’t know anything about Japan or Japanese gardens.”

Cece Cope, the lead volunteer of Friends of the Japanese Garden, said the garden’s sense of peace and tranquility helps people paint a bigger picture.

“The garden is designed for contemplation,” Cope said. “It’s kind of like walking into a great big landscape painting, and so you’ve got those [elements] pruned in an artistic way.” 

Powell says celebrating 50 years at the garden will keep its history evergreen.

“I think it’s important to mark these milestones, these anniversaries. It’s the idea of fostering a garden within the Japanese aesthetic. We also need the next generation of gardeners, caretakers, volunteers, so that’s kind of our task,” Powell said. “It’s not just about tending to the plants. We’re also trying to tend to the people, so they can then become part of the ongoing history of the garden.”

Beyond the garden’s tranquil waterfalls, red bridges and other structures, it serves as a backdrop where visitors routinely gather to celebrate major milestones, such as weddings and graduation photoshoots. It also offers a chance for everyone to explore its rich cultural history through guided tours, giving a peaceful recreational space and educational resource.

Geller said the garden allows people to remove themselves from the noise in everyday life and be at peace with nature.

“I think it is a place that represents some of the values and things in a modern society that let us slow down, and really do things as a community and altruistically,” Geller said. “So it represents a lot of the great things about this community.”

The post Normandale Japanese Garden gears up to celebrate 50 years of tranquility appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

Having been introduced in mid-March, the tagline was met with mixed reception following the initial reveal. The slogan, which the University updated for the first time in two decades, was a part of a broader marketing initiative with Minneapolis-based marketing firm Rise and Shine and Partners, which will cost the University $15 million over the course of five years.

Upon observing the diverse exchange of public opinions, the University has made the decision to drop the phrase from its rebranding plan due to a lack of creative context, according to a University statement. However, its sentiment will not completely cease in the future.

In a statement, the University’s senior director of public relations said that, although the new tagline became favorable among some University community members, it had to be rescinded following unfavorable public discussions. 

“Extensive research shows the meaning behind the tagline resonates with many people,” the statement read. “Its use as a tagline has become a distraction after being released prematurely.”

In a variety of online discussions, as can be seen on Reddit, the slogan has left people perplexed and misguided. Several users in the thread have critiqued its literal meaning, and how many students attend college as a way to invest in their future, not leave it behind.

Other users ponder the possibility of its meaning in a way in which students are meant to view their time at the University as a collective effort in building a greater future for the next generations to come.

This debate has left the tagline up for interpretation due to its apparent ambiguity.

Looking toward the future, the University said it plans to remain dedicated to its prosperity as a brand as well as the core values it aims to embody. The phrase will no longer be utilized as an official motto, but rather as a driving force in overarching objectives and undertakings.

“Our focus will remain on promotion of the University of Minnesota brand and the brand promise in ways that connect with and inspire engagement with our faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors and retirees,” the statement read.

The post UMN ‘Leave a Future’ tagline scrapped by officials following public response appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

Between heavy snow, hailstorms, freezing winters, and seasonal storms, roofs in Minnesota experience constant wear and weather damage.

If you are wondering how much it costs to replace a roof in Minnesota, pricing depends on roof size, materials, labor, accessibility, and the condition of the existing roof.

This guide explains average roof replacement costs in Minnesota, pricing factors, roofing materials, labor expenses, and what homeowners should expect before starting a roofing project.

How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Roof in Minnesota?

The average roof replacement in Minnesota typically costs between $8,000 and $20,000 or more, depending on the home and roofing material.

Smaller homes with standard asphalt shingles may cost less, while larger or more complex roofs can exceed $25,000.

Average Minnesota Roof Replacement Costs by Material

Roofing material plays one of the biggest roles in the total project cost.

Asphalt Shingle Roof Costs

Asphalt shingles remain the most common roofing material in Minnesota.

Three-Tab Shingles

Basic asphalt shingles generally cost between $4 and $6 per square foot installed.

Architectural Shingles

Architectural shingles usually cost between $6 and $9 per square foot installed.

Metal Roof Costs

Metal roofs are more durable but come at a higher upfront price.

Average Metal Roof Pricing

Metal roof replacement in Minnesota often ranges between $12,000 and $30,000+, depending on roof size and metal type.

Cedar Shake Roof Costs

Cedar shake roofs offer a natural appearance but require additional maintenance.

Average Cedar Roof Pricing

Most cedar roof replacements range between $14,000 and $28,000.

Slate and Tile Roof Costs

Premium roofing systems like slate and tile are among the most expensive options.

Average Slate Roof Costs

Slate roof replacements can exceed $40,000 depending on the property.

Factors That Affect Roof Replacement Costs in Minnesota

Several factors influence roofing costs throughout Minnesota.

Roof Size

Larger roofs require more materials and labor.

Roof Pitch and Complexity

Steep roofs and complex rooflines increase labor difficulty and installation time.

Existing Roof Removal

Tearing off old roofing materials adds labor and disposal costs.

Storm Damage Repairs

Water damage, rotten decking, or structural repairs can increase project pricing.

Roofing Material Choice

Premium materials significantly raise the overall project cost.

Why Roof Replacement Costs Are Higher in Minnesota

Minnesota weather creates additional roofing challenges.

Snow and Ice Protection

Roofs in Minnesota require stronger materials and installation methods to handle snow loads and ice dams.

Storm and Hail Resistance

Many homeowners choose impact-resistant shingles due to severe weather risks.

Seasonal Labor Demand

Roofing demand often increases after major storms, which can affect contractor availability and pricing.

Signs You May Need Roof Replacement

Recognizing roof problems early can prevent expensive structural damage.

Missing or Curling Shingles

Damaged shingles often indicate aging roofing materials.

Roof Leaks

Water stains or attic moisture can signal roof failure.

Granule Loss

Granules collecting in gutters may indicate asphalt shingle deterioration.

Sagging Roof Areas

Sagging sections may point to moisture or structural problems.

Should You Repair or Replace Your Roof?

Minor damage can sometimes be repaired, but older roofs may require full replacement.

When Roof Repair Makes Sense

Repairs may work if damage is isolated and the roof is relatively new.

When Roof Replacement Is Better

Replacement is usually recommended when the roof is older, extensively damaged, or experiencing repeated leaks.

Best Roofing Materials for Minnesota Homes

Minnesota homeowners often prioritize durability and weather resistance.

Architectural Asphalt Shingles

Popular because they balance affordability and longevity.

Metal Roofing

Excellent for snow shedding and long-term durability.

Impact-Resistant Roofing

Designed to better withstand hailstorms and severe weather.

How to Save Money on Roof Replacement in Minnesota

Planning can help reduce roofing expenses.

Compare Multiple Roofing Estimates

Getting several quotes helps homeowners compare pricing and warranties.

Check Insurance Coverage

Storm damage may qualify for homeowner’s insurance coverage.

Schedule Off-Season Projects

Roofing costs may be lower during slower seasons, depending on contractor schedules.

Is Roof Replacement Worth It?

A new roof can improve:

Home Value

Roof replacement often improves curb appeal and resale potential.

Energy Efficiency

Modern roofing systems can improve insulation and ventilation.

Weather Protection

New roofs offer stronger protection against Minnesota’s harsh weather conditions.

Get a Free Roof Replacement Estimate in Minnesota

If your roof is aging or damaged, working with Owl Roofing contractors in Minnetonka can help protect your home in the long term.

Contact your local roofing professionals today for a free inspection and estimate.

The post Minnesota Roof Replacement Cost Guide (2026) appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

With new plotlines and arcs every day, “Trump’s Cabinet” keeps fan engagement up with curveballs and selective eliminations decided by President Donald Trump himself.

We began the season with a brand new cast of characters, even swapping out Trump’s right-hand man from Season one for a younger actor. Some viewers, though, were sad to see former Vice President Mike Pence leave the cast. 

From internet billionaires to former governors, this crop of recruits showed real promise, frequently demonstrating their loyalty to compete for the grand title of Secretary of Survival and the best reward of all: the president’s praise in a Truth Social post. 

Although we are only just over a year into the new season, there has still been plenty of drama to keep us going, so spoiler warning!

An early departure that shocked us all was tech billionaire Elon Musk, who had filled the ambiguous, newly created role of head of the Department of Government Efficiency. 

After arguments over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Musk left the administration, even getting into harsh social media battles that had fans raving about the big breakup. Talk about a heated rivalry!

Other major players have also been eliminated from the competition, with female cabinet secretaries strangely making up the lion’s share of the turnover. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was removed from the cabinet in March to be the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas after intense debate around her behavior and whether she could be an effective leader under Trump. 

I’m not sure I would call Noem a fan favorite, as terms like “ICE Barbie” have frequently made the rounds online, but she does have a larger public following than her successor, former Sen. Markwayne Mullin. 

Only time will tell if Mullin can pick up some fans and stay in the game, especially given all of the attention on Noem and her ties to a $220 million taxpayer-funded DHS ad campaign.

In a shocking twist, former Attorney General Pam Bondi was eliminated, despite being a frequent public face for the administration. Even though she loyally defended Trump from fans anxious about dramatic plot arcs like the Epstein files and her testimony to Congress made for fantastic remixes, that is apparently not good enough to be the next “Trump’s Cabinet” survivor.

Even lower-profile cabinet officials have been voted out, as Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer left the show in April over misconduct allegations.

Outside of dramatic dismissals, this season’s unique cast of characters certainly stands out compared to the first season.

Admittedly, the characterization of RFK Jr. is a bit over the top, almost as if the showrunners had selected him to be the crazy character and specifically cut around his dialogue to make him seem crazier than he is. After all, who would believe that anyone, especially a public figure, could say such wild things? It does feel a bit unrealistic, but hey, that’s just good reality TV.

There is some speculation that his role has something to do with his popularity between seasons one and two of “Trump’s Cabinet,” as he was briefly in the running to get his own survival show, so the producers may have included him to placate his fans. Still, he plays a fantastic comic relief character, even when talking about the nation’s most serious issues.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who loves to go by the nickname “Secretary of War,” is also equally bombastic when it comes to the public limelight, even threatening the jobs of the show’s critics in legally dubious ways. Still, he remains a constant in the show’s second season so far.

“Trump’s Cabinet” isn’t afraid to include some of the more relatable side characters as well. FBI Director Kash Patel was revealed to be quite the party animal in a series of leaked emails, because who doesn’t have photos of themselves riding in an antique convertible, sniffing cigars and posing in front of a mirror with a bottle of rum?

With this setup and cast, there is surely more engaging drama to come over the next three years of Season two.

If this trend continues, Education Secretary Linda McMahon may be the next person voted out of the cabinet room, although ironically for being too loyal. Trump has made it clear that dismantling the Department of Education is an important part of his agenda, and so if McMahon continues to loyally serve Trump, she may find herself out of a job. Her departure would also continue the streak of female cabinet members leaving the competition.

There is also always the possibility that scandals pop up and force a random cabinet member to leave the show. However, some members are remarkably immune to scandal, as both war crime allegations and major breaches of national security haven’t proved strong enough to eliminate Hegseth from the competition.

If you haven’t been paying attention to Season two of “Trump’s Cabinet,” I can certainly say it is one of the most entertaining TV series yet and a powerful piece of political satire.

So refill your popcorn, grab a beverage and enjoy the show! Sometimes the best dramas don’t come from Hollywood, but Washington, D.C.

The post Satire: ‘Trump’s Cabinet’ Season two: the survival show of the century appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

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In a statement to University community members, Provost Gretchen Ritter and Chief Information Officer Tarek Tomes assured students, staff and faculty that the site has been reviewed for security and acknowledged the stress the shutdown may have caused, as the University begins its spring final exam season.

“The University’s Office of Information Technology has conducted security and operational reviews to restore local access with a focus on reengaging the platform for our campuses safely, securely and reliably,” the statement said. “We recognize this is a particularly demanding point in the semester, with so many managing final assignments, exams, grading responsibilities and student concerns.”

The security breach is believed to come from criminal hacking group ShinyHunters, which, according to CNN, would make this their second attack targeting Canvas in less than 10 days. The hack was believed to be part of a ransom scheme, which held student and staff information from thousands of schools, colleges and universities hostage in the hopes of a payout.

Though some details regarding the attack remain unclear, Canvas’ parent company, Instructure, said external forensic partners reviewed the hack and verified that no outside actors have access to the platform any longer. 

University administrators say, following the disruption, they will continue to work closely with faculty and students to mitigate any hardships that may have occurred due to the attack.

“Thank you again for your flexibility and continued support of your peers and colleagues as our teams worked to restore services while prioritizing security and data integrity,” the statement said.

The post Canvas back online following cyberattack appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.

Twenty-year-old Nora Dayy wakes up every morning to her fourth alarm, if she’s lucky, and almost immediately her hand finds her phone. She knows it’s not healthy and definitely spikes her cortisol, but TikTok has long been a constant in Nora’s morning routine — and afternoon, evening and night routines. 

Still, she tries to stay positive. There’s always something to hope and dream for, right? But with the world descending further and further into chaos, Nora’s life is a cascade of new crises, challenges and barriers.

Before her sophomore year of college, Nora took comfort in the idea that she was isolated from at least some of the issues she saw on her phone. But since the summer of 2025, that bubble has effectively burst. 

Nora grew up in Minneapolis and has always loved the city. She has her favorite coffee shops, where she and her friends have spent a small fortune over the years, and she keeps a running list of all the thrift stores and independent book shops she wants to visit in her free time. Of course, that would require her to find free time between her class schedule and three jobs she needs to pay rent in the city, but that’s beside the point.   

She started working at a boba shop over the summer near the University of Minnesota campus, where she’s a second-year psychology major. But when Operation Metro Surge began in December of 2025, and 3,000 federal immigration enforcement agents filled the city’s streets, the shop temporarily closed down, so Nora put in extra hours trying to get her content creation business off the ground — again. 

Nora tries to be the positive one in her friend group. Life is better when you look on the bright side. But she found it challenging to do this during a federal occupation, especially when the people around her were afraid to go outside. 

Amid this fear, Nora decided she needed to step up, delivering groceries to her friends and volunteering with a community support group supplying food and household essentials to people in the city. This work gave Nora hope. If everyone works together, everything will be OK in the end. 

On top of volunteering throughout the years, Nora has always been a good student. She did her best balancing Advanced Placement classes in high school while also serving as student body president and captain of her school’s debate team. But her eighth-grade class basically skipped learning geography when her school moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic, so to say Nora can get confused in her Geography of World Affairs class is an understatement. 

But thanks to modern medicine, Nora’s sophomore year of college has been considerably less stressful since she started anxiety medication. 

Nora’s life would be almost put together if it weren’t for her inability to find a promising job that doesn’t involve scooping boba, conducting mind-numbing research in her school’s psychology lab or posting mediocre dance videos on the internet. The job market is Nora’s current nemesis. 

During spring break of her sophomore year, Nora went to a job interview for a social media manager position at a social psychology startup. The interview was easier than she’d imagined, but on her way back to her apartment, she spotted a rat — a fat rat — that had been run over by a bus, creating a small horror scene that would haunt Nora’s dreams. To make the moment better, the hiring manager ghosted her. But Nora is resourceful. She knows she’ll figure things out somehow. 

To top it all off, matcha is becoming more expensive by the week. 

Nora switched to matcha after she realized that if she kept consuming coffee at the rate of the bullet trains she wished existed in America, she might have heart problems by 30. Her mom, a certified coffee addict, says matcha tastes like grass. But she also thinks Nora can easily find a boyfriend on Hinge. 

Nora doesn’t want Hinge or a boyfriend. 

She went on one Hinge date during her freshman year of college, only to discover he was a philosophy major who, to her horror, walked into the cafe 20 minutes late carrying a cream-colored tote bag that read, “Together we can smash…the patriarchy” and featured a prominently displayed Labubu. He sat down and proceeded to talk uninterrupted for an hour about how he “doesn’t subscribe to toxic masculinity anymore” and “only listens to Clairo,” while sipping his overpriced matcha latte. Nora is now sticking to dating women. 

But through all her struggles, Nora tries to stay positive. Everything will work out in the end if she just manifests and holds onto hope. After all, delulu is the solulu, right?

The post Satire: Meet Nora Dayy appeared first on The Minnesota Daily.