February 20, 2013

CAMPUS & METRO

Dinkytown security plan moves forward

The plan would include hiring four off-duty cops on busy weekends. u See PAGE 3

CAMPUS & METRO

UMPD working to boost its diversity

The percentage of minority officers is increasing, but hiring is still difficult. u See PAGE 4

MOSTLY SUNNY HIGH 16° LOW 2°

U OF M

MINNEAPOLIS

EDITORIALS & OPINIONS

SPORTS

Professors’ priorities

Williams’ injury leaves scoring void

Some professors’ attention has strayed from their students to research.

Senior Rodney Williams is a gametime decision for Wednesday’s game.

u See PAGE 6

u See PAGE 8

WEDNESDAY

ST PAUL

STUDENT ISSUES

FEBRUARY 20, 2013

THE TRANSITION

Mental health clinic to expand

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

what comes next for student-athletes

Boynton Health Service wants to hire six more mental health clinic workers. BY CODY NELSON cnelson@mndaily.com

To account for increased demand for mental health services, Boynton Health Service is requesting more than $380,000 in increased funding from the University of Minnesota Student Services Fees Committee. The proposed increase — which would begin in fiscal year 2014 — would primarily be used to hire six new mental health clinic workers and eliminate the $10 co-pay for mental health visits. “The visits just keep on increasing,” said Boynton Chief Medical Officer Gary Christenson. “Because of that increase, we have a capacity issue.” u See BOYNTON Page 3 Due to student demand, there are long waiting lists for mental health services at the clinic.

EMILY DUNKER, DAILY

Former Gophers hockey player and new Minneapolis Novas head coach Joe Dziedzic watches his players during an end-of-practice relay Feb. 11 at Parade Ice Arena in Minneapolis.

Former Gophers player Joe Dziedzic is working to revitalize Minneapolis high school hockey. BY SAM GORDON sgordon@mndaily.com

Now, Dziedzic is trying to revive hockey’s popularity and the high

Joe Dziedzic is the last Minneapolis public high school graduate

LEGISLATURE

Tobacco tax increase is in the works Opponents say higher tax rates on tobacco won’t stop the state’s smokers. BY JESSICA LEE jlee@mndaily.com

State legislators want to substantially increase the state’s tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products to prevent smoking and generate revenue. Last month, Gov. Mark Dayton proposed raising Minnesota’s cigarette tax 94 cents and some legislators hope to raise it as much as a $1.60, making it one of the highest in the nation. Health proponents say the increases

to play hockey for the Gophers. If there’s another one, he’ll likely have something to do with it.

school program in his hometown. Minneapolis once had a rich hockey culture, but the sport’s popularity tailed off when the programs in the city’s schools began to fail.

Dziedzic, 41, is the head coach

Only 36 kids from the city’s sev-

of the Minneapolis Novas, the

en schools tried out for the Novas

high school hockey cooperative

this season.

between the Minneapolis public schools.

“Minneapolis probably had its heyday in the mid-to-late ’70s,”

He grew up in Minneapolis, and

Dziedzic said. “The slide probably

his family has long been involved

started after 1990. That’s when it re-

in the city’s politics. His father Walt

ally started to go downhill.”

was a longtime City Council mem-

This year, Dziedzic’s first as head

ber, and his sister Kari is a state

coach, the Novas won their confer-

senator.

ence with a 20-4-1 record. They’ll play

Politics never interested Joe. Sports did.

Minnetonka in the first round of their section playoffs Thursday.

Dziedzic was a blue-chip football

Rebuilding Minneapolis hockey

and hockey player at Minneapolis

is a long-term project, and Dziedzic

Edison High School. He played four

plans on seeing it through. Right

years at the University of Minneso-

now, the Novas play in the Two Riv-

ta and three seasons in the National

ers Conference, one of the weakest

Hockey League.

in the state.

u See TOBACCO Page 12 Dayton’s proposed tax could generate $370M.

u See DZIEDZIC Page 7

CEDAR-RIVERSIDE

PUBLIC SAFETY

Fire Ambassador Program bridges gap 15th Avenue The Mpls. Fire Department works with teens from the East-African community. BY MERITTE DAHL mdahl@mndaily.com

Fire Capt. Mike Fust was preparing teens for an ice rescue. One at a time, he and his crew zipped the group into a taxi-yellow suit with attached boots, gloves and hood, making them look like something out of a sciencefiction movie. The teens were tr ying on ice rescue suits as part of the Cedar-Riverside Youth Fire Ambassador Program. The 15-weeklong program is designed to improve the relationship between the Minneapolis Fire Department and the neighborhood’s large East-African population. The program is led by MFD Capt. and University of Minnesota graduate student EMILY DUNKER, DAILY

Sixteen-year-old Ubah Salad, right, and 20-year-old Mona Abdullahi practice chest compressions on a test dummy Tuesday at the Brian Coyle Center in Minneapolis.

u See FIRE DEPT. Page 4 The city’s fire department fields several unnecessary calls from the neighborhood.

railroad bridge rated ‘poor’ The bridge is owned by two companies that don’t have to report inspection findings. BY KELSEY SHIRRIFF kshirriff@mndaily.com

On a bright, cold Tuesday morning, Christian Skaret stared up at the rusty, hole-ridden steel under the 15th Avenue bridge. “I get really ner vous when there’s a train going over,” he said. “It just feels like it’s going to crumble.” Skaret, a sophomore studying sports management, business and marketing at the University of Minnesota, walks under the bridge almost every day. u See BRIDGE Page 5 The railroad companies are responsible for the bridge’s upkeep, but their reports aren’t public.

VOLUME 114 ISSUE 75