CAMPUS & METRO
FOOTBALL
VOLLEYBALL
A U study could lead to better treatments for degenerative brain diseases.
Minnesota improved to 3-0 with a 29-12 win over Western Illinois.
The Gophers beat Louisville but lost to No. 19 Kentucky.
Researchers use old drug in a new way u See PAGE 4
SUNNY HIGH 66° LOW 52°
U OF M
Student health plan adds more benefits, costs The changes are in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. BY T YLER GIESEKE tgieseke@mndaily.com
Star ting this fall, the University of Minnesota’s Student Health Benefit Plan provides more coverage to keep pace with health care reform, but it also costs more for students. An increase of about 5 percent brings the total price tag to $999 per semester. The updated plan expands coverage for contraception and routine doctor’s visits, among other changes. This increase will buy coverage that matches some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The University’s plan is self-insured, meaning the ACA doesn’t regulate it, said Susann Jackson, student health benefits director. Still, she said, the University wanted to match
some of the benefits the legislation requires. “We want to be doing the same things for our students as the Affordable Care Act,” Jackson said. Before the changes, the plan covered 80 percent of eligible contraception and preventive care costs, like regular eye exams. The updated plan will cover all eligible costs for these ser vices, Jackson said. The updated student plan also removes the $3 million lifetime cap on coverage, so students can spend as much insurance money as they need. It also increases the dependent age limit from 19 to 26, so students’ children will be covered longer. L ynn Blewett, a University health policy professor, said the changes follow a trend for plans similar to the University’s. “A lot of self-insured plans are following some of the provisions of the
Minnesota drops first match of season u See PAGE 10
u See PAGE 9
MINNEAPOLIS
HEALTH CARE
Gophers led by strong O-line
ST PAUL
MONDAY
SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
ADMINISTRATION
Kaler: U will cut $90M Administrative costs would be cut $15 million per year for six years. BY MEGHAN HOLDEN mholden@mndaily.com
University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler announced a plan Friday to cut
administrative costs by $90 million over six years, despite outside reports saying the institution’s spending is on track with its peers. According to recent findings by University-hired consulting firms, the institution’s spending is within reasonable levels. But at this week’s Board of Regents meeting, Kaler proposed a
plan cutting $15 million a year in administrative costs. The cuts would begin this fiscal year and continue for five more, he said. “I think it’s time to be more ambitious than we ever have been,” Kaler said to the board. University Chief Financial Of ficer Richard Pfutzenreuter said he hopes the
bulk of the cuts will come u See REGENTS Page 3 The cuts match recommendations from the state Legislature. RELATED CONTENT Regents also discussed the upcoming bonding bill. u See Page 3
FOOTBALL
Kill has fourth game-day seizure
u See HEALTH Page 14 Most international students are required to enroll in the plan.
ENVIRONMENT
U investigates sudden slew of bee deaths Researchers from the U’s Bee Lab suspect pesticides are responsible. BY HAILEY COLWELL hcolwell@mndaily.com
Thousands of Minneapolis honey bees began dying of f late last week due to apparent pesticide poisoning. The University of Minnesota Bee Lab and the Minnesota Depar tment of Agriculture are conducting tests to verify whether pesticides were the actual cause. Minneapolis resident Mark Lucas noticed the bees he and his family keeps in their back yard behaving strangely Wednesday night, shaking on the edge of the hive and falling to the ground. “They just come spilling out of the hive like they’re drunk,” he said. Lucas’ hive was one of at least three hit in the
Kenwood neighborhood, nor th of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. The MDA took samples from hives Friday to test for pesticide contamination. Pesticide is suspected because of the way the bees died, said Becky Masterman, co-coordinator of the University’s Bee Squad, a division of the Bee Lab that educates and mentors local beekeepers. Beekeepers suspect that a pesticide was used in the area and bees brought it back to their colonies after pollination. “This was in no way on our radar,” Master man said, because the colonies were known to be healthy. One of the Bee Squad’s colonies was also af fected by the incident, said Bee Squad co-coordinator Jody Gerdts. The Bee Lab is conducting its own tests in hopes of u See BEES Page 5 Researchers hope to warn local beekeepers earlier than the MDA.
AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY
Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill watches on the sidelines in the first half against Western Illinois on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. Kill had a seizure at halftime and was taken to a nearby hospital.
The Gophers’ AD didn’t address Kill’s health Saturday, but he will this week. BY SAM GORDON sgordon@mndaily.com
The first time Jer r y Kill had a seizure during a game, all of TCF Bank Stadium stood still. But when the University of Minnesota head football coach had a seizure on the sideline during Saturday’s
BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY
halftime in the Gophers’ 29-12 win over Wester n Illinois. Medical staf f immediately tended to him on the sideline during the marching band’s halftime performance. Kill was car ted of f the field and transpor ted to a nearby hospital where he rested comfor tably Saturday afternoon, according to a prepared statement by Chris Werle, associate athletics director for strategic communications. Gophers athletic direc-
tor Norwood Teague didn’t speak to the media after the game. University athletics officials said Teague will address Kill’s situation Monday. Kill, a cancer sur vivor, has battled epilepsy for years. His seizures are nothing new for fans, his assistant coaches and his players, who have all developed a u See SEIZURE Page 9 Kill has said he intends to keep coaching despite his epilepsy.
HIGHER ED
SYRIA
U speaks out against CBS, CFANS merger details still unclear Syria intervention Students protested and faculty held a roundtable discussion last week. BY ALEXA BILLADEAU abilladeau@mndaily.com
Bee Squad coordinator Becky Masterman checks on a hive in Minneapolis’ Kenwood neighborhood Sunday. Masterman said the increased number of dead bees in Kenwood is a recent issue.
game against Western Illinois University, the marching band didn’t even stop playing. The seizure was his fourth on a game day during his tenure with the University, including one during his first home game in September 2011. Kill has also had several seizures away from the gridiron. But Saturday’s episode has sparked questions about whether he should keep coaching. Kill, 52, collapsed at
As global leaders continue to weigh action in Syria, University of Minnesota professors and students are adding their voices to the debate. This week, discussion shifted from militar y action to diplomacy as Russia and the U.S. agreed to a plan to strip Syria of its chemical weapons. But militar y inter vention is not off the table. Despite uncer tainty about the U.S.’s course of action, University community members vocally oppose inter vening on the countr y’s three-year
civil war. Nearly 100 community members, including University students, attended a protest on the cor ner of Hiawatha Avenue and Lake Street on Saturday to speak out against U.S. militar y inter vention in Syria. “It’s an excuse for the U.S. to do something that advances its geopolitical and economic interests,” said University American studies graduate student Matt Boynton, who attended the protest. “It’s not about the human rights of the Syrian people.” Boynton is a member of the Students for a Democratic Society ’s University chapter, which has participated in three anti-war protests this month. u See SYRIA Page 4 A U student from Syria said she opposes U.S. intervention.
Administrators say faculty and staff positions likely won’t be cut. BY ROY AKER raker@mndaily.com
After the possibility of a new University of Minnesota college was announced last week, administrators say faculty and staf f positions likely wouldn’t be affected by the change. According to administrators, the new college, which would combine the College of Biological Sciences and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, would cut one dean position but wouldn’t eliminate faculty and staff members currently working in the colleges. A release from the Office of Academic Affairs and Provost said “it’s too early
to tell” how faculty and staff positions will be af fected, but the office expects no immediate impact on current employees. CBS Dean Robert Elde said the possible new college is an “economizing strategy” and is aimed at better serving students. “Given the number of depar tments, people and students we ser ve, we can’t see any substantive reduction in workforce that would accompany this…” he said. Elde plans to retire next summer. CFANS Dean Allen Levine stepped down in August and was replaced by interim Dean Brian Buhr. In fiscal year 2012, Elde made $231,600 and Levine made $226,060, according to salar y data collected in u See MERGER Page 5 Some are concerned about the U’s investment in agriculture.
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 8
2
Daily Review
Monday, September 16, 2013
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1932 In his cell at Yerovda Jail near Bombay, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest of the British government’s decision to separate India’s electoral system by caste. HISTORYCHANNEL.COM/TDIH
SLIDESHOW Vol. 115 Monday, September 16, 2013, No. 8
An Independent Student Newspaper, Founded in 1900. 2221 University Ave. SE Suite 450 Minneapolis, MN 55414 Phone: (612) 627-4080 Fax: (612) 435-5865 Copyright © 2013 The Minnesota Daily This newspaper, its design and its contents are copyrighted. OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER Tony Wagner awagner1@mndaily.com Co-Publisher and Editor-in-Chief (612) 435-2759 Morgan Goronkin mgoronkin@mndaily.com Co-Publisher and President Bailey Alto balto@mndaily.com Co-Publisher and Business Operations Officer =
=
=
NEWS STAFF Emma Nelson enelson1@mndaily.com Managing Editor Claire Fenimore cfenimore@mndaily.com Managing Production Editor Dane Mizutani dmizutani@mndaily.com Sports Editor Sarah Harper sharper@mndaily.com A&E Editor Spencer Doar sdoar@mndaily.com Assistant A&E Editor Amanda Snyder asnyder@mndaily.com Multimedia Editor Charlie Armitz carmitz@mndaily.com Copy Desk Chief Kaitlin Mincke kmincke@mndaily.com Assistant Copy Desk Chief Amber Billings abillings@mndaily.com Visuals Editor Josh Jones jjones@mndaily.com Chief Page Designer Jessica Lee jlee@mndaily.com Policy Editor Rebecca Harrington City Editor rharrington@mndaily.com Cody Nelson cnelson1@mndaily.com Campus Editor Bryna Godar bgodar@mndaily.com Projects Editor Jeff Hargarten jhargarten@mndaily.com Web Editor =
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
AMANDA SNYDER AND ICHIGO TAKIKAWA, DAILY
Minnesota defeated Western Illinois on Saturday to improve to 3-0 for the season. Gophers head coach Jerry Kill had a seizure at halftime and was taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary reasons. His team responded after the episode and beat WIU 29-12 behind a strong rushing attack.
=
=
=
WORLD BRIEFING
=
13 dead as tropical storm, hurricane batter Mexico
=
=
EDITORIAL STAFF Eric Best ebest@mndaily.com Editorials & Opinions Editor William Bornhoft wbornhoft@mndaily.com Senior Editorial Board Member =
=
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ACAPULCO, Mexico — Tropical Storm Manuel edged onto Mexico’s Pacific coast Sunday while Hurricane Ingrid swirled of fshore on the other side of the country, as heavy rains and landslides caused at least 13 deaths and led authorities to evacuate thousands. Stormy conditions led some communities in affected states to cancel Independence Day celebrations planned for Sunday and Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Manuel began to weaken as soon as it made landfall near the port of Manzanillo during
the afternoon, but remained a threat to produce flash floods and mudslides. It was predicted to dissipate by Monday. In the southern coastal state of Guerrero, six people died when their SUV lost control on a rain-swept highway headed for the tourist resor t of Acapulco. Landslides killed two people in Guerrero, and the collapse of a fence killed one person in Acapulco. Manuel had maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph and was moving to the northwest at 9 mph late Sunday afternoon. Its center was about 15 miles north of Manzanillo. Rains from Ingrid caused landslides that killed three people in the central state of
Egypt says militants booby trap Gaza border BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO — The Egyptian army has discovered a network of booby traps along its border with the Gaza Strip, a military spokesman said Sunday, as he criticized the Palestinian territory’s Hamas rulers for poorly controlling their side of the border and urged them to reign in militant groups operating there. The accusations, made in a news conference explaining the military’s ongoing offensive in the volatile northern Sinai area, were a rare public criticism of the Palestinian militant group by the military since the July ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in a coup. Egyptian media has been pointing the finger at Hamas for meddling in Egypt’s affairs, some suggesting that the ouster of Morsi, an ally and fellow Islamist, has prompted the group to cause trouble in Sinai by supporting militant groups there. Hamas officials have denied interfering and complain that Egyptian authorities have imposed the strictest restrictions on the border and its vital Rafah crossing in years. “Securing borders is a joint mission for those sharing the borders. It is also up to Hamas to exert more effort to control the borders,” Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said. “Egypt deserves more than the effort we are seeing from the other side to secure the border.” Ali said troops have arrested 309 militants and criminals, including Palestinians, in operations that began in the region in July and were stepped up with an offensive last weekend. They also uncovered weapons caches that included antiaircraft missiles, long-range mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and tons of explosives, he added.
Puebla, and a woman died when a landslide buried her house in Hidalgo state. The hur ricane center said Ingrid, the second hurricane of the Atlantic storm season, could reach the Mexican mainland early Monday after gathering strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It was packing top sustained winds of 85 mph as it slowly crawled toward land with little change in strength in hours. Manuel was expected to dump 10 to 15 inches of rain over parts of Guerrero and Michoacan state, with maximums of 25 inches possible in some isolated areas. Authorities said those rains would present an especially dangerous threat in moun-
tains, where flash floods and mudslides were possible. Ingrid also was expected to dump ver y heavy rains. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was centered about 110 miles east-northwest of the port city of Tampico as it moved west-northwest at 6 mph. A hurricane warning was in effect from Cabo Rojo to La Pesca. In Tamaulipas state to the north, where Ingrid was expected to come ashore, the government said in a statement that Independence Day festivities were cancelled in the cities of Tampico, Madero and Altamira. The Sept. 15 and 16 celebrations commemorate Mexico’s battle of independence from Spain.
World’s oldest man dies in NY at age 112 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — The world’s oldest man, a 112-year-old self-taught musician, coal miner and gin rummy aficionado from western New York, has died. He was 112. Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez died Friday at a nursing home in Grand Island, according to Robert Young, senior gerontology consultant with Guinness World Records. Sanchez-Blazquez became the world’s oldest man when Jiroemon Kimura died June 12 at age 116. Born June 8, 1901, in village of El Tejado de Bejar, Spain, he was known for his talent on the dulzaina, a double-reed wind instrument that he taught himself and played at weddings and village celebrations. At 17, he moved with his older brother Pedro and a group of friends to Cuba, where they worked in the cane fields. In 1920, he came to the United States through Ellis Island and worked in the coal mines of Lynch, Ky. Ultimately, he moved to the Niagara Falls area of New York, where he worked in construction and in the industrial furnaces. He married his wife, Pearl, in 1934. A spokeswoman for Sanchez-Blazquez’s family did not immediately return a phone message Saturday. In a statement provided by Guinness World Records earlier this summer, Sanchez-Blazquez — whose nickname was “Shorty” — said he was humbled by the attention, saying he didn’t feel he accomplished anything special just because he has lived longer than most. “He says, ‘I’m an old man and let’s leave it at that,’ ” his daughter, 69-year-old Irene Johnson, said at the time. Sanchez-Blazquez lived with Johnson in Grand Island after his wife died in 1988; he moved to a nursing home in 2007. “We did our best,” Johnson said. “We weren’t going to put him somewhere just because he was old.”
EXTENDED WEATHER FORECAST TUESDAY HIGH 71° LOW 63° Partly sunny
WEDNESDAY HIGH 79° LOW 70° T-Storms
THURSDAY HIGH 78° LOW 59° Few showers
FRIDAY HIGH 67° LOW 49° Partly sunny
BUSINESS STAFF Eli Jochim ejochim@mndaily.com Sales Productivity Director Kaitlyn Wahldick kwahldick@mndaily.com Advertising Production Manager Tyler Hamilton thamilton@mndaily.com Distribution Manager Ashish Joshi ajoshi@mndaily.com Controller Lukas Peterson lpeterson@mndaily.com Retail Sales Manager Brittany Swaine bswaine@mndaily.com Classified Sales Manager =
=
=
=
=
=
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Vanessa Lal vlal@mndaily.com Human Resources Manager =
Daniel Barnard dbarnard@mndaily.com Online Manager Carlos Cristobal ccristobal@mndaily.com Information Systems Manager Lisi Arnstrom larnstrom@mndaily.com Marketing Director =
=
=
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DAILY Freelance audio/video: Contact Multimedia Editor Amanda Snyder at asnyder@mndaily.com. Letters to the editor: Email submissions to letters@mndaily.com Guest columns: Emails submissions to Editorials & Opinions Editor Eric Best at ebest@mndaily.com. All submissions are welcome, but there is no guarantee of publication. CORRECTIONS A page 1 article, “High greek fees deter some,” in Thursday’s Minnesota Daily incorrectly identified the vice president of the University of Minnesota chapter of Phi Kappa Psi. The fraternity’s vice president is Mac Mischke. A page 6 article, “UMPD stays safe with heavy weaponry,” in the Sept. 5 issue of the Minnesota Daily incorrectly stated what type of guns the Los Angeles bank robbers used. They used automatic rifles. errors@mndaily.com The Minnesota Daily strives for complete accuracy and corrects its errors immediately. Corrections and clarifications will always be printed in this space. If you believe the Daily has printed a factual error, please call the readers’ representative at (612) 627–4070, extension 3057, or email errors@mndaily.com immediately. THE MINNESOTA DAILY is a legally independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and is a student-written and student-managed newspaper for the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus. The Daily’s mission is: 1) to provide coverage of news and events affecting the University community; 2) to provide a forum for the communication and exchange of ideas for the University community; 3) to provide educational training and experience to University students in all areas of newspaper operations; and 4) to operate a fiscally responsible organization to ensure its ability to serve the University in the future. The Daily is a member of the Minnesota News Council, the Minnesota Associated Press, the Associated Collegiate Press, The Minnesota Newspaper Association and other organizations. The Daily is published Monday through Thursday, during the regular school year and weekly during the summer, and is printed by ECM Publishers in Princeton, Minn. Midwest News Service distributes the 22,000 issues daily. All Minnesota Daily inserts are recyclable within the University of Minnesota program and are at least 6 percent consumer waste. One (1) copy of The Minnesota Daily per person is free at newsstands in and around the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Additional copies may be purchased for $.25 each. U. S. Postal Service: 351–480.
Monday, September 16, 2013
3
Kaler: U will cut $90 million over 6 years Board of Regents prepares for new bonding request
Regents u from Page 1
from employees retiring or resigning, but said the University isn’t ruling out layoffs. “There’s no guarantee at this point,” he said. After a December Wall Street Jour nal ar ticle criticized the University’s administrative spending, Sen. Ter ri Bonof f, DFL-Minnetonka, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, authored a letter requesting reports on how the institution is spending taxpayer dollars. The $15 million in cuts per year matches a recommendation from the Legislature. In Januar y, the University hired Huron Consulting Group for $495,000 and Sibson Consulting for $48,000 to analyze administrative spending. The Sibson review showed the University’s spending is at “healthy” levels but said there are still areas for improvement. A separate repor t by Huron said the University is already taking on “major initiatives to promote efficiency and ef fectiveness and to reduce administrative costs.” The Huron repor t also suggested the University could shrink its managersto-employees ratio and combine ser vices across multiple depar tments and colleges to lower costs further. Kaler’s plan to cut administrative costs will make the University more financially stable and affordable for students, Bonof f said, though the University must continue to r egularly r epor t its spending to the Legislature. “I think [Kaler is] doing the right thing,” she said. “There really are ways to cut.” Joelle Stangler, student representative to the board, said she agrees with Kaler’s announcement “on the sur face” but wants to look fur ther into the specifics of his plan. “Any move toward making the University more ef ficient is a move in the right direction,” she said.
Regents asked the state to pay about 80 percent of the request. BY MEGHAN HOLDEN mholden@mndaily.com
CHELSEA GORTMAKER, DAILY
Regent Thomas Devine speaks to the University Board of Regents Friday at the McNamara Alumni Center.
The University of Minnesota Board of Regents reviewed the University’s 2014 bonding request at their monthly meeting Friday and will vote on the request next month. The request totals nearly $300 million — about 80 percent of which would come from the state — to improve areas of campus. Of the more than $200 million requested from the
state, $100 million would go to upkeep and maintenance of University buildings. Other par ts of the request include funding to renovate the Tate Laboratory of Physics, construct a new Microbial Sciences Research Building and modernize existing labs. “Updating old facilities and investing in research facilities is the best thing the University can be doing,” said student representative to the board Joelle Stangler.
4
Monday, September 16, 2013
Researchers use old drug in a new way A U study could lead to better treatments for degenerative brain diseases.
GLUTATHIONE LEVELS IN BRAIN (µmol/g.)
PARKINSON’S DISEASE SUBJECTS 1.4 1.2
BY KATELYN FAULKS kfaulks@mndaily.com
University of Minnesota researchers have discovered they can use an old drug in a new way to possibly slow the progression of brain diseases. Degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Gaucher’s decrease antioxidant levels in the brain, which can reduce the number of brain cells and affect patients’ motor skills. In a pilot study, University researchers gave the drug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to nine volunteers through an IV. All of the subjects’ brains showed increased levels of the antioxidant glutathione — 30 percent on average. The study didn’t prove that the drug will slow disease progression, but Gulin Oz, radiology associate professor and study co-author, said “the doors are open.” Research associate Melissa Terpstra said the results were exciting because all of the patients responded positively to the drug. “Being actually able to change brain chemistr y is not an easy thing to do,” she said. “It’s not very common.” Although the results don’t point to a cure for the diseases, they make way for further study on how NAC can help the brain. “If we can slow the progression, maybe we can find a cure,” said Mary Holmay, pharmacy doctoral candidate and lead author of the study. Currently only two other treatments exist for Parkinson’s disease. One drug works early in the disease and has many side effects, at some point making the
SUBJECT 1 SUBJECT 2 SUBJECT 3
1.0 0.8 0.6
AVERAGE PERCENT CHANGE
0.4
55%
0.2 0.0 -50
0
JULIET FARMER, DAILY
Associate Professor Dr. Gulin Oz and a colleague set up the Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy scanner Friday at the Center for Magnetic Research. The scanner recently helped advance research on Parkinson’s and Gaucher’s disease.
symptoms worse. Deep brain stimulation also has potential, but it can be dangerous because patients must have probes implanted in their brains. “When it works, it’s like a miracle,” Oz said. “But it doesn’t always work, so still a lot of people are suffering.” If University researchers can make pill or tablet forms of NAC, it could be another option to treat the diseases. Researchers found NAC helps protect the brain from losing antioxidants, but they still need to understand how it changes the brain’s chemistry. “ We h a v e n ’ t c u r e d their symptoms,” Terpstra said, “but we are kind of guiding the protocol to giving medicines.” NAC is a U.S. Food and Drug Administrationapproved medication that’s currently used to treat Tylenol overdoses and carbon monoxide poisoning. It’s also sold in a powder form as an antioxidant supplement. Since the r esear chers already knew NAC increased antioxidant levels in the blood, with this
study they wanted to see if NAC behaved similarly in the brain. James Cloyd, pharmacy professor and study co-author, said the team used Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, which is similar to an MRI, to quantify the changes in glutathione levels in the brain.
“Being actually able to change brain chemistry is not an easy thing to do.” MELISSA TERPSTRA Research associate
“So what we said was, ‘Let’s … put them in this magnet to measure their brain,” he said. “Let’s see if we can change brain chemistry.” Holmay said MRS is a new method that “takes a par ticularly strong magnet” to measure the specific chemical levels. MRI machines can’t measur e the chemical and antioxidant levels, but MRS can, Oz said. Paul Tuite, associate pro-
fessor of neurology, said the next step is to see if an oral dose of NAC will also affect the brain and, if it does, how large a dose patients will need. The intravenous dose used in the study was the largest possible. Cloyd said NAC leaves the body in about seven hours, meaning patients would have to take the drug a few times a day. “Our presumption is that you’d need to take it on a regular, consistent basis to see the benefit,” he said. If researchers can make NAC in a pill or tablet form, patients could easily take supplements themselves rather than going into the clinic for an IV dose. A number of Oz’s family members have been af fected by degenerative brain diseases, so she’s seen firsthand what they can do. “The people who are getting them are helpless,” she said, “So if you can help in some way — toward a treatment or slowing the progression of these diseases — it would be ver y satisfying.”
50
100
150
TIME FROM START OF INFUSION (MIN) GAUCHER’S DISEASE SUBJECTS 1.4 1.2
SUBJECT 1 SUBJECT 2 SUBJECT 3
1.0 0.8 0.6
AVERAGE PERCENT CHANGE
0.4
41%
0.2 0.0 -50
0
50
100
150
TIME FROM START OF INFUSION (MIN) CONTROLS (HEALTH SUBJECTS) 1.4 1.2
SUBJECT 1 SUBJECT 2 SUBJECT 3
1.0 0.8 0.6
AVERAGE PERCENT CHANGE
0.4
34%
0.2 0.0 -50
0
50
100
150
TIME FROM START OF INFUSION (MIN) SOURCE: CLINICAL NEUROPHARMACOLOGY, LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
CHELSEA GORTMAKER, DAILY
Junior Salma Taleb asks the panel a question at “Countering Mass Atrocities in Syria: Between Human Rights Ideals and Geo-Political Concerns” at Willey Hall on Wednesday. The panel discussed possible consequences of U.S. intervention in Syria.
Syria
FREAKY FAST! FREAKY GOOD!
u from Page 1
University communication studies junior Salma Taleb, who moved from Syria five years ago and has experienced war firsthand, said the U.S. should not inter vene because the results don’t outweigh the means. “I don’t agree with militar y inter vention because I don’t think it’s beneficial to the U.S,” she said. Last month, U.S. off i c i a l s b eg a n d eb a t i n g how to respond to an alleged chemical attack by Syrian forces that killed
TYLER NEWMAN, DAILY
Protesters march down Lake Street in Minneapolis on Saturday, demonstrating against potential U.S. military intervention in Syria.
hundreds of civilians. President Barack Obama announced his intention to seek Congressional approval for U.S. militar y strikes on Aug. 31. According to a recent agreement between the U.S. and Russia, all of the chemical weapons in Syria must be destroyed or removed by the middle of next year. If Syria doesn’t turn over its chemical weapons, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said forceful action will be taken. University political science pr ofessor Ronald Krebs said at a roundtable discussion on the West
B a n k l a s t We d n e s d a y he’s skeptical of removing chemical weapons from Syria because they may land in hands of rebel or terrorist groups. Kr eb s , who s p eci alizes in international security and counterterrorism, said seizing the weapons would take a considerable amount of time and planning. All of Syria’s chemical weapons must be inventoried by the end of this week. Even with the recent agreement — which hasn’t been of ficially accepted by Syria — militar y strikes are still on the
table. Ragui Assaad, a professor at the Humphrey School of Public Af fairs, said at the roundtable discussion that the U.S. is in a “no-win situation” with Syria. Sarah Parkinson, an assistant professor at the Humphrey School, said U.S. leaders are overestimating the argument that a militar y strike will benefit civilians. “American policy makers are far overstating the work that a strike will do for American credibility, but also for human rights,” she said.
South Koreans reopen inter-Korea factory BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FREAKY FAST
DELIVERY! ©2011 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean businessman Sung Hyun-sang’s relief at the resumption of operations at a jointly run factory park in North Korea is tempered by big worries: Can he make up for the millions of dollars he’s lost since Pyongyang shut down the Kaesong complex in April? About 800 South Koreans began returning Monday to their factories at the
Kaesong park located just north of the Demilitarized Zone to team up with North Korean employees and testr un idle assembly lines. Some are also resuming production. The reopening of the factories, after a spring that saw threats of nuclear war from Pyongyang, as well as a vow to restart atomic bomb fuel production, is the latest visible sign of easing tension between the rival Koreas. But for the businessmen
at Kaesong, many of whom, like Sung, operate small or mid-sized companies that need the cheap labor the Nor th Korean factories provide, there’s a nagging wor r y about the future. The companies at Kaesong say they’ve lost a combined total of about 1 trillion won (about $920 million) over the past five months and will reportedly need up to a year to get their businesses back on track. “I feel good about the park’s resumption, but I
also have a heavy heart,” said Sung, president of apparel manufacturer Mansun Corporation, which has lost about 7 billion won ($6.4 million) because of the shutdown. “We’ve suffered too much damage.” The park, established in 2004 during a period of warming ties between the Koreas, was considered a test case for reunification. It combined South Korean knowhow and technology with cheap Nor th Korean labor.
Monday, September 16, 2013
U investigates bee deaths Details of new college still unclear Bees
u from Page 1
Merger u from Page 1
November 2012. Information on the new college’s potential budget or funding sources hasn’t yet been released. Because the two deans are leaving, Elde said, now is the right time to consider the new college, which he said he and Levine have discussed for years. Current students should see “no change” to their academic plans, Elde said. “The proposal is for one academic unit that maintains two graduate admissions streams,” he said.
Questions about agriculture
At a Board of Regents meeting Friday, President Eric Kaler addressed con-
cerns regarding the loss of CFANS as an individual college, and the effect that might have on the University’s investment in the agricultural community. “I do want to ensure you — and our partners, alumni and friends in the agricultural community — that this exploration in no way signals any intermission of our commitment to agriculture,” he said at the meeting. Kaler said he and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Karen Hanson sent about 70 letters to agriculture and food industr y leaders to keep them informed of discussions about the new college.
A familiar process The idea of combining colleges to create a new
one isn’t unheard of at the University. In 2006, a University task force created CFANS by consolidating the College of Natural Resources, the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences and the Depar tment of Food Science and Nutrition. During his report to the Regents on Friday, Kaler said the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Iowa State University have successfully completed similar transitions. Elde said Hanson will lead a task force, which will be announced in a few weeks, to discuss the potential new college. He said he hopes students, faculty and staff will par ticipate in discussion about the potential new college in the coming weeks.
CFANS, CBS FAST FACTS 1,800
1,831
COLLEGE OF FOOD, AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES COLLEGE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 14
MAJORS
7
MAJORS
795
760
326
275 135
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
GRADUATE STUDENTS
STAFF
FACULTY
TENURED AND TENURE-TRACK FACULTY SOURCE: COLLEGE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; COLLEGE OF FOOD, AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES
getting results faster than the MDA, which could take up to six months, Gerdts said. More timely results will allow the squad to spread the word about the incident to local beekeepers, who have been vocal about the incident on social media and worr y that it could affect them, she said. “If it waits six months before we can say anything, then the stor y’s gone,” she said. The Beez Kneez, a Minneapolis-based honey bee education organization that delivers honey by bike, lost one colony over the weekend and is worried more colonies could be affected. A typical Beez Kneez colony consists of 40,000 to 50,000 bees at this time of year, said co-owner Kristy
Allen. The Beez Kneez owns 45 hives in the Twin Cities area. Though losing a colony could result in revenue loss, Allen said there’s also an emotional side to the incident. “It’s livestock, but they’re ver y impor tant,” she said. Bees are indicators of environmental health, Gerdts said, and the fact that pesticides could have potentially been used incorrectly is “scar y.” “There [are] things that are out there that are being applied to our landscape that can do more harm than perceived good,” she said. The bee deaths are part of the bigger issue of keeping pollinators healthy, as they contribute to food production, Masterman said. The Bee Squad is using social media to raise awareness about pesticide contamination. Lucas said his family will get new bees if his colony
5
is completely wiped out. When he was a child, Lucas’ grandmother kept bees in Elk River, Minn., and he said he’s been interested in them ever since. He became a cer tified beekeeper through the University and started building his colony last May. His kids were hesitant to go into the backyard with the bees at first, he said, but later became ver y involved in the process — taking pictures and collecting lar vae alongside him. “It was a really interesting thing for our family to experience together,” Lucas said. In the meantime, Lucas said, he’ll be spreading the word about the “unintended consequences” of the choices people make in their yards — such as fertilizer use — and their effect on the neighborhood. “It’s crazy how much it’s really all tied together,” he said.
6
Monday, September 16, 2013
official: Chemical University sororities Syrian weapons deal a ‘victory’ up safety efforts BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sororities implemented a Social Event and Risk Management policy this fall. BY MELISSA BERMAN mberman@mndaily.com
In efforts to keep pace with other greek organizations, University of Minnesota sororities are implementing a new policy to increase safety this fall. The University’s Panhellenic Council, the campus sorority governing body, will now require sororities to register all official social events at the local and national levels, which greek leaders say they hope will hold both sororities and fraternities more accountable. The new Social Event and Risk Management policy will sanction sororities for incidents like noise and alcohol violations. In addition, chapters will still be held to national regulations. “If there are issues in the future, it gives us a way to hold chapters accountable,” said Panhellenic Council President Julia Gross. “It’s setting us up
for success in the future.” Gross said that previously, each sorority was only accountable for the safety and disciplinary policies of its national headquarters, which varied for each chapter. But now, each sorority chapter at the University will need to get approval for its events from the Panhellenic Council. This is the first policy of its kind for University sororities, Gross said, and it was inspired by similar policies at University fraternities and other Big Ten schools. University fraternities are already required to register of ficial fraternity events, and since 2012, they’ve had the self-policing system Arkeo. Matt Levine, program director for the Of fice for Frater nity and Sorority Life, said he hopes the policy will also help fraternities become safer. “It’s putting a focus on that our sororities are providing a safe environment, too, which will then bleed into the frater nities and help us manage their risk as well,” he said. Sorority presidents developed the policy last
spring and passed it in a sorority-wide vote last April, Gross said. “It’ll ensure we’re providing social environments that are safe and fun for our members and that we’re following our national policy,” Gross said. Kappa Kappa Gamma President Delaney Reger said she thinks the safety initiative is a positive step for University greek life. “It just kind of helps take the pressure of f of individual sororities,” she said. “It helps me know that I have a backing from [the Panhellenic Council] and they’re going to double-check me as well.” Reger said she thinks individual sorority members will be cr ucial to making sure the policy is effective. “They’ll just make sure they’re respecting other chapters’ policies as well as ours,” she said. “They are the ones who carr y it out, and I trust them.” Levine said sororities are still adapting to the policy but are supportive of the change. “It takes time with a new policy, so we’re still ver y much educating people how to use it,” he said.
BEIRUT — A high-ranking Syrian official called the U.S.-Russian agreement on securing Syria’s chemical weapons a “victory” for President Bashar Assad’s regime, but the U.S. warned Sunday “the threat of force is real” if Damascus fails to carry out the plan. The comments by Syrian Minister of National Reconciliation Ali Haidar to a Russian state news agency were the first by a senior Syrian government official on the deal str uck a day earlier in Geneva. Under the agreement, Syria will provide an inventor y of its chemical arsenal within one week and hand over all of the components of its program by mid-2014. “ We w e l c o m e t h e s e agreements,” Haidar was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti agency. “On the one hand, they will help Syrians get out of the crisis, and on the other hand, they averted a war against Syria by removing the pretext for those who wanted to unleash one.” He added: “These agreements are a credit to Russian diplomacy and the Russian leadership. This is a victory for Syria, achieved thanks to our Russian friends.” There has been no official statement from the Syrian government, and it was not clear whether Haidar’s comments reflected Assad’s thinking. The deal, hashed out in marathon negotiations between U.S. and Russian diplomats, averts American missile strikes against the Assad regime, although the Obama administration has warned that the military option remains on the table if Damascus does not comply. President Barack Obama said last week the U.S. Navy will maintain its increased presence in the easter n Mediterranean Sea to keep pressure on Syria and to be in position to respond if diplomacy fails. “The threat of force is real, and the Assad regime and all those taking par t need to understand that President Obama and the United States are committed to achieve this goal,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday in Jerusalem, where he briefed Israeli leaders on the agreement. He also said the agreement, if successful, “will have set a marker for the standard of behavior with respect to Iran and with respect North Korea and any rogue state, (or) group that tries to reach for these kind of weapons.” French President Francois Hollande said in a televised address to his country that he has not ruled out the “military option,” either.
Other wise, he said, “there will be no pressure.” The U.S. accuses the Assad government of using poison gas against rebelheld suburbs of Damascus on Aug. 21, killing more than 1,400 people. Other death toll estimates are far lower. Syria denies the allegations and blames the rebels. The suspected chemical attack raised the prospect of U.S.-led militar y action against Syria that the rebels hoped would tip the civil war in their favor. But as the strikes appeared imminent, the Parliament of key U.S. ally Britain voted against militar y action and Obama decided to ask Congress for authorization first, delaying an armed response. Russia then floated the idea of Syria relinquishing its chemical arsenal to avert Western strikes, and the Assad regime quickly agreed. On Saturday, Moscow and Washington struck a framework agreement to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical stockpile. For Syria’s opposition, the deal is disappointing in many ways. It defers any U.S. action for the foreseeable future and does nothing to address the broader civil war or the use of conventional weapons, which have been responsible for the vast majority of the more than 100,000 deaths in the conflict. With that in mind, the main Western-backed Syrian opposition group called Sunday for a ban on the use of ballistic missiles and air power by Assad’s forces in addition to the prohibition on chemical weapons. “Chemical weapons attacks are a part of a bigger scheme of crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime, including using the Syrian air forces and ballistic missiles on residential areas,” the Syrian National Coalition said on its official website. “The Syrian Coalition insists that the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons, which killed more than 1,400 Syrian civilians, be extended to include the prohibition of the use of air forces and ballistic missiles on residential areas.” While a ban on air power and ballistic missiles would likely curb the bloodshed in some areas, it’s unclear how such a measure would be imposed or enforced. The Syrian government is highly unlikely to unilaterally relinquish such weapons, while Western powers have shown little appetite for setting up a no-fly zone in the country, a costly and potentially dangerous endeavor. Obama, speaking in a TV inter view taped before Saturday’s announcement of the chemical weapons deal, said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “protecting” Assad and doesn’t
share American “values” in Syria. “He has a dif ferent attitude about the Assad regime,” Obama told ABC’s “This Week.” “But what I’ve also said to him directly is that we both have an interest in preventing chaos, we both have an interest in preventing terrorism. The situation in Syria right now is untenable. As long as Mr. Assad’s in power, there is going be some sort of conflict there.” The U.S.-Russian agreement has won broad backing around the world, including from China, which is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. France also welcomed the deal, but French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius cautioned during a visit Sunday in Beijing that it was only the “first stage.” In Cairo, the Arab League also supported the agreement. “All parties are capable and influential enough to do their part in the U.N. Security Council to ensure a comprehensive cease-fire in Syria ... and to move toward negotiations in Geneva to achieve a peaceful settlement to the Syrian crisis,” Secretar y-General Nabil Elaraby said in a statement. The deal was greeted with cautious optimism in Israel, where leaders expressed satisfaction that Syria, a bitter enemy, could be stripped of dangerous weapons but also pessimism about whether Assad will comply. Standing next to Kerr y in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed his belief that the Geneva agreement would have deep repercussions for Iran, Syria’s close ally. “The world needs to ensure that radical regimes don’t have weapons of mass destr uction, because as we have learned in Syria, if rogue regimes have weapons of mass destruction, they will use them,” Netanyahu said. “The determination the international community shows regarding Syria will have a direct impact on the Syrian regime’s patron, Iran.” The U.N. said its chief chemical weapons inspector had turned over his team’s report on its investigation into the suspected gas attack to Secretar y-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said the secretarygeneral will brief a closed session of the U.N. Security Council on its contents Monday morning. The inspection team led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom was mandated to report on whether chemical weapons were used in the attack and, if so, which chemical agents were used — not on who was responsible. Germany of fered Sunday to help destroy Syrian chemical weapons. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Berlin is “prepared to make a technical or financial contribution to the destruction of chemical weapons from Syria.” He didn’t elaborate, but officials say Germany has helped destroy chemical weapons in Libya and elsewhere in the past. The Syrian opposition warned that the Assad regime may just be playing for time and said the threat of force must remain on the table. It added that securing Syria’s chemical weapons “must be for achieving justice and bringing the perpetrators of chemical weapons to the international court.” The Syrian National Coalition also repeated its calls for militar y aid, to “force the regime to end its military campaign and accept a political solution that leads to the democratic transformation of Syria.” The U.S. and its allies have balked at sending heavy weapons to the rebels, fearful the arms could land in the hands of extremists who are among the most ef fective fighters in the opposition ranks. Washington announced plans months ago to deliver weapons to the opposition, but rebels say they have yet to receive anything.
Editorials & Opinions www.mndaily.com/opinion
7
The Editorials & Opinions department is independent of the newsroom. The editorial board prepares the editorials labeled “EDITORIALS,” which are the opinion of the Minnesota Daily as an institution but not representative of Daily employees’ opinions. Columnists’ opinions are their own.
EDITORIALS
LOCAL POLITICS
An excess of candidates Rank-choice voting may exacerbate the chaotic Minneapolis mayoral race.
T
he sheer number of candidates in the Minneapolis Mayoral race is “a blessing of democracy but also a curse of democracy,” University of Minnesota political science professor Lar r y Jacobs told the Star Tribune last week. Ideally, in Minneapolis, candidates are nar rowed down by an endorsement process, leaving just a few to vote for during the general election. The Minneapolis mayoral race was not an exception to this general r ule. In June, we had a city convention for the DFL to endorse a candidate for the November general election. There were six contenders at the convention, many of which were qualified candidates with deep ties to the city. Due to the fact that one
RONALD DIXON columnist
candidate was unable to muster the 60 percent required suppor t to obtain the endorsement, the convention concluded without an endorsement. Because the DFL failed to endorse a candidate, a flood of contenders, ranging across the political spectr um, decided to join the race. In fact, there are now 35 hopefuls vying for the seat. Why are there so many candidates? We can attribute a portion of the cause to popular incumbent Mayor R.T. Rybak, who decided not to run for re-election and left a wide-open seat. Rank-choice voting allows constituents to vote
for multiple candidates in a ranked or der. When a candidate loses, then his or her votes are dispersed to the second preferences, and so on. RCV makes a one-par ty-dominated city like Minneapolis more competitive as well. In a way, Jacobs is correct when he declares that dozens of candidates ser ves as a “blessing of democracy.” In theor y, a democracy involves influence from more people within the constituency. At the same time, it places a “curse” on democracy by creating an incredible burden for voters to research dozens of candidates, and for these candidates to distinguish themselves in a competitive race. Even if a Minneapolis voter has a passion for local politics, would they find themselves motivated to research ever y candidate, and to rank them based upon total, overall preference? Probably not. Even if one wanted to learn about ever y candidate,
DEATHS IN IRAQ: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 4,802 — IRAQI CIVILIANS: 114,440- PLUS DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 3,363 — AFGHAN CIVILIANS: UNKNOWN
much of the repor ting out there doesn’t do justice to the views of all of the candidates. This is especially troubling for college students, who often lack the time to lear n about a few candidates, let alone 35. Moreover, each candidate, apart from well-known front-runners Betsy Hodges and Mark Andrew, is having a difficult time tr ying to promulgate his or her messages through earned media attention. Although forums have been established for candidates to participate in public debates, some bar cer tain candidates, like the DFLonly debate in March. I wish not to disincentivize University students from voting, or to tar nish the potential benefits of rank-choice voting. By identifying problems with our political process, we can develop a higher quality local government. Ronald Dixon welcomes comments at rdixon@mndaily.com.
GUEST COLUMN
Bias toward women in the classroom must be eliminated
A
Emily Johnson welcomes comments at ejohnson1@mndaily.com.
GUEST COLUMN Skipped reading leads to real consequences
Monday, September 16, 2013
Let’s be honest — you probably didn’t do your reading for class today. No, really. I get it. You’re a busy student. You’ve got all of those “important” homework assignments that get those pesky things called grades. You don’t have time to read. Because I mean, really, we all know reading is optional. It’s something that professors assign when they just feel like giving us something to do. It’s not like it really has a purpose. I’d like to think that this is an exaggeration, but looking at the state of college students today, I’m star ting to think it’s not. Simply put, when the average college student prioritizes their homework, reading will always go to the bottom. There’s usually a SparkNotes version or another student to pester for notes –-- any option but actually sitting down and opening a book. I can understand the occasional missed reading assignment. Ever yone has priorities. But if those priorities never include reading for class, then yeah, you’ve got a problem. Because I’m going to let you in on a secret right now — professors do actually think reading is good for you. Scientists think that, too. Really, everyone and their dog thinks that reading can do nothing but help you. It expands your vocabulary, it introduces new ideas and it teaches you valuable lessons. The real question here
is this: Why did you come to college if you didn’t want to learn? When I was in high school, I knew people who bragged about never having finished a book in their life. They were proud of it, like it was an accomplishment to turn 18 and graduate without actually working. But all I could think about was the fact that they wasted their only free education proving that they didn’t have to learn. I thought things would be different in college. But in every class I have, there’s some idiot sitting there bragging about passing the class despite never opening a single book. Well, to all of you slackers out there, bravo. You have successfully taken mediocrity to a new level. You’re now paying for the right to not lear n. Congratulations. Maybe your highest aspirations in life are to drink your way through college, skate by with the minimum work and get some sort of useless degree with no skills or knowledge included. Maybe you think you can get a job that doesn’t include reading or writing — because that may be difficult, since your college education would suggest you’re aiming for something a bit higher than manual labor. But to those of you who are in college for the right reasons — because you want a better job and a better future — listen up. Every white-collar job requires some sort of reading. It’s not all like reading in English classes — in fact, most of it
is technical and specific to your field. But if you haven’t practiced reading, how do you expect to accomplish anything? Reading doesn’t just go away; you just have fewer options on whether to do it. What if your lawyer bragged after work that he had never actually had to read the Constitution; he just SparkNoted it and figured he had all of the important information? How would you feel if your doctor told you that she never bothered to read privacy rules because they were long and probably not that important anyway? How would you feel if your professor came into class one day and said, “Joke’s on you losers. I never read a single Emily Dickinson poem, and I’m teaching you about American Literature.” You want to know what I think? I think you’d be angry, because you pay those people good money to know what they are talking about. You pay them to know their field, and to have learned what they need to, and to be well-versed in their specific fields of the English language. And you realize what that means? You pay the school good money to get an education, and all you do is brag about not having to actually learn something. But it’s okay. You go ahead and keep ignoring your reading. If you need me, I’ll be in the library. Anna Wenner This column appeared in the University Daily Kansan on Sept. 10. Comments should be sent to letters@mndaily.com.
s a nerdy, opinionated middleschooler who mostly surrounded myself with other nerds, I was surprisingly unaware of the biases that affected my teachers and classmates each day. I was well aware of the fact that women were discriminated against in the world, but I always thought of it as a far-off issue, something that didn’t affect me. This all changed for me in sixth grade when I read about a study revealing that teachers call on male students in class eight more times than female students. Also, teachers tolerate male students calling out answers in class more than they do for female students. At first I didn’t believe it. I thought my school must be different. I was friends with very smart girls who were always raising their hands in class and outperforming the boys on tests and the like. I figured the study didn’t apply to my school. Being the curious kid that I was, though, I decided to look into it in my own classrooms. I kept tallies of every time my teachers called on a student in class and took note of whether the student was a boy or a girl. Well, you can guess how surprised I was when it turned out to be true. Both female and male teachers called on boy students an overwhelming amount more than girl students. This is just one example of the underlying expectancy biases affecting teachers that they aren’t even aware of. Because the teachers subconsciously believe the boys to have more potential, they call on them more and, as a result, the boys tend to in turn do better in class. This underlying bias is extremely outdated, seeing as women make up 57 percent of college degree holders, yet for some reason it still affects us. It’s a glass ceiling of classrooms — no matter how smart a girl is, there will always be invisible factors, such as biases, keeping her from climbing to the top. However, just because this bias makes sense, it’s still not OK. In truth, women have just as much potential to succeed as men and should be treated as such. Teachers need to be aware of the fact that the way they treat female students in elementary and middle school classes will affect them for the rest of their lives. The fact that still, to this day, teachers are letting these biases affect their classrooms infuriates me. I’m not saying it’s easy to get rid of these biases, but it is something that is essential in order for our society to move forward. Genevieve Globus This excerpted column appeared in The Daily Cardinal of the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Sept. 13. Comments should be sent to letters@mndaily.com.
Why is the U banking on TCF? The University shouldn’t give TCF Bank such uninhibited access to vulnerable students.
A
s ABC News highlighted in a recent report, TCF Bank and the University of Minnesota are just one bank-school pair under investigation for possibly using their close relationship to exploit students’ financial vulnerability by recruiting them to open TCF checking accounts — an end from which both TCF and the University greatly profit. The Minnesota Daily also reported on Sept. 11 that “each active U Card attached to a TCF account was assigned a value of $34 in 2013.” After reaching $1 million through the opening of new student accounts, TCF “started paying the University the $34 for each subsequent account opened.” ABC News was quick to sensationalize this story by terming TCF’s payout for students’ business as a “bounty.” Despite this dramatic characterization, relationships between financial institutions and public institutions of higher education should be scrutinized. While the University would agree students have the freedom to choose their bank, it is undeniable that TCF is advertised far more than other banks in the area and targets its most impressionable potential customers at the University: freshmen during orientation and Welcome Week. The convenience of linking U Cards to TCF checking accounts is repeatedly highlighted by tour guides, orientation leaders and even TCF representatives during incoming students’ first few days at the University — while the overdraft fees and other less attractive TCF policies are conveniently left out. This inundating and subtle form of recruitment is something the University should not allow its students to be exposed to. If the University truly wants to display its institutional independence and indifference to student banking preferences, no bank should be given such privileged, uninhibited access to students at one of the most vulnerable and financially unstable periods in their lives.
Who does John Kline represent? Minnesota’s John Kline is working to protect for-profit colleges’ steady flow of federal dollars.
R
ecent events in the House of Representatives have revealed just how far politicians are willing to go for campaign contributions. Last month, USA Today reported that House Education Committee Chairman Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who has received generous campaign contributions from for-profit colleges, is pushing legislation that would protect the industry from losing federal aid, which accounts for much of their revenue. Kline and two others introduced the bill, titled “Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act,” on July 10. It would prohibit the Obama administration from restricting federal student aid from schools whose students graduate with lots of debt and have low repayment rates. The for-profit college industr y became the subject of much criticism after a 2012 investigation by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee revealed excessive tuition prices, abhorrent recruiting practices, poor student outcomes and wasteful use of taxpayer dollars. The investigation reported taxpayers had spent $32 billion on companies that run for-profit colleges, but the majority of students who enrolled later dropped out. Federal data also shows that a majority of for-profit colleges receive more than 70 percent of their revenue from U.S. government programs. Normally, Minnesotans might be proud to have one of their own representatives chair the House Education Committee. However, Kline’s recent legislative push is clearly a move on behalf of his big campaign donors and his constituents. His measure would ensure taxpayers and students continue to get burned by the shady practices of for-profit colleges. Kline should reconsider whose interests he ought to represent in Congress. If he doesn’t, his constituents in Minnesota’s 2nd District should find someone else who can.
LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS
The Minnesota Daily welcomes letters and guest columns from readers. All letters must include the writer’s name, address and phone number for verification. The Daily reserves the right to edit all letters for style, space, libel and grammar. Letters to the editor should be no more than 600 words in length. Readers may also submit guest columns. Guest columns should be approximately 350 words. The Daily reserves the right to print any submission as a letter or guest column. Submission does not guarantee publication. letters@mndaily.com Look for online exclusive columns at Fax: (612) 435-5865 Phone: (612) 435-1578 www.mndaily.com/ opinion. Letters and columns to the editor 2221 University Ave. SE Suite 450 @mndailyopinions Minneapolis, MN 55414
EDITOR IN CHIEF TONY WAGNER = EDITORIALS & OPINIONS EDITOR ERIC BEST = SENIOR EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER WILLIAM BORNHOFT = BOARD MEMBER CASSANDRA SUNDARAM
8
www.mndaily.com/opinion
Opinions SYRIA
HIGHER EDUCATION
A call for intervention The United States’ role in the world demands our action in Syria.
MATT HOY columnist
T
he United States and Russia came to an agreement Sept. 14 that will result in the removal or destruction of Syria’s entire chemical weapons arsenal by mid-2014 and postpone the chance of American airstrikes indefinitely. Heralded as an important step for ward for the peace process, Secretar y of State John Ker r y’s gaf fe-of-the-gods got the credit for stopping a potential war. Removing Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons is undeniably good for the current state of af fairs. Most would argue that stalling American airstrikes is equally beneficial. But to say that this step has stopped war and moved Syria in the direction of peace is a bizarre, Americentrist notion that forgets the more than 100,000 already dead, ignores the more than 2 million refugees and excuses inexcusable actions by a mad dictator. It’s akin to telling a first-time murderer that they won’t be sent to prison as long as they give up their guns. Except, of course, that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is by no means a first-time murderer, and instead of killing one person, he’s killed thousands. I understand that 58 percent of Americans are against militar y inter vention in Syria, and I understand if Congress had voted on American airstrikes, the result would likely have been a “Nay.” Both are immensely impor tant facts. Taking militar y actions without the suppor t of the nation is folly, and President Barack Obama would be remiss in his role as The Great Moderate to ignore a congressional vote that he called for. He would be remiss in any role to do so. But in this mad dash to postpone a vote on striking Syria for fear of political implications, he’s forgotten that his responsibilities as president extend beyond our nation’s borders. I do not mean to imply that Congress is without fault here. The fact that they are so willing to abandon hundreds of years of protocol prohibiting the use of chemical weapons in war fare is dishear tening at best. But I lay the responsibility of our reaction on the shoulders of the president. There is an attitude among Americans that because these weapons were used on people who happened to be born on a different piece of land, they’re not our prob-
Monday, September 16, 2013
Sexual harassment in the academy
lem. It’s an old argument, and a familiar one thanks to Iraq. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s absurd. Human rights violations are not gender-specific, they’re not race-specific and they’re not nationality-specific. They are human-specific. We allow all of these social constr uctions between “us” and “them” to justify inaction and indifference. President al-Assad committed human rights violations, and they are absolutely our problem because they’re ever yone’s problem. But our government has embraced this attitude of apathy, and so have many others. Armenian-American rock band System of a Down asks in its song “Sad Statue,” “What is in us that turns a deaf ear to the cries of human suf fering?” Why, in the face of blatant violations, is the world so comfor table to sit back and do nothing? The answer is, as it always seems to be “politics.” In the face of these politics, our response should not be to engage in “unbelievably small” airstrikes, as Kerr y put it. Our response should not be to abandon the concept of accountability in regards to human rights violations and make illusor y progress with Russia. Our response, as the nation that claims to value human rights above all others, should be to push as hard as we can for an international, comprehensive United Nations Peacekeeping force to end the civil war in Syria. In the event that Russia and China will not cooperate, even once the U.N. has released its “over whelming” repor t — expected this week, which confirms that chemical weapons were used in Syria on Aug. 21 — then we can cross that bridge. For now, removing chemical weapons from the equation does nothing for the millions of Syrian refugees and 100,000 dead. It is a woefully inadequate solution, just as airstrikes would have been. We need to take a lesson from Iraq and apply it here. Contrar y to popular belief, that lesson was not “don’t get involved.” It was “don’t get involved alone.” My argument hinges on the idea that use of chemical weapons is a human rights violation, or at the ver y least a war crime. There are a number of people who have made the case that death by chemical weapon is no worse than death by any other means. These people point out that the more than 1,000 deaths associated with chemical weapons pale in comparison to about 100,000 dead by conventional means. I believe the multitude of protocols banning their use, instated over hundreds of years, speaks to a different reality. Chemical weapons kill by torture, and even after years of debates about “Enhanced Interrogation” techniques and Machiavellian arguments about security, I believe we are still a country that does not condone torture. It is our job to lead the charge of stopping actions such as these. We can’t do that with a slap on the wrist. Matt Hoy welcomes comments at mhoy@mndaily.com.
Sexual harassment in any circumstance should not be tolerated.
TRENT M KAYS columnist
A
close friend once told me about how she was sexually harassed in the workplace. The grotesque mannerisms of an employer bent on sexual conquest cer tainly upset my friend, and rightly so. She felt there was no good solution to the problem she faced. If she reported the sexual harassment, she would lose her job — a job she sorely needed. If she didn’t report the sexual harassment, she felt she would lose her integrity and sense of self. I did not envy her decisions, though for me there was only one correct line of action: report the harassment. It’s easy for me to view my friend’s situation in black and white terms. While I have been the subject of harassment, I’ve never had to address sexual harassment from a female point of view. She asked me what I thought she should do, and I told her to repor t the harassment. No job is wor th being subject to outrageous sexual advances and harassment. I told my friend I’d help find her another job, but I’d also respect any decision she made and would always support her. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of sexual harassment, though the incident with my friend was the first time such harassment was so relevant to me. It infuriated me that a friend of mine would be subject to it. Dishear tening to me, sexual harassment and sexism permeate into areas I thought could be above such debased behavior. Perhaps it was naivete or idealism, but many years ago I considered higher education to be different. It’s not. Far from a place in which the fight against sexual harassment and sexism could be launched, higher education is an equally likely place for such harassment. Take for example the case of Colin McGinn, who was until recently a respected philosopher at the University of Miami. McGinn has been accused of sexually harassing a female Ph.D. candidate who ser ved as his research assistant. He sent sexually charged and innuendo-filled emails to this female research assistant and made improper advances. It’s mindboggling that McGinn would think it was OK to harass another human being in such a way. McGinn, when confronted, verbally waved off the accusations by saying, “Remember that I am a philosopher tr ying to teach a budding philosopher impor tant logical distinctions.”
Really? It seems unlikely that anyone would mistake “logical distinctions” for sexual harassment. Moreover, McGinn’s excuse is reminiscent of former President Bill Clinton’s famous line, “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” Intentionally mystifying semantics will get us nowhere, especially when confronted with cases of sexual harassment and sexism. McGinn is just a high-profile example of sexual misconduct. There are numerous examples of colleges and universities mishandling or ignoring sexual harassment allegations. Early this year, both Swarthmore and Occidental Colleges were accused of mishandling and mistreating victims of sexual harassment and assault. This begs the question: What’s wrong with higher education? Cer tainly, such harassment isn’t held just within higher education. It permeates any hierarchical str ucture where there are those authoritatively above others. But, what I’ve always found odd is that authority in higher education is more illusion than tangible. We need to remember that professors are no better or no worse than anyone else. Just because one has more education doesn’t mean they can’t be an irresponsible sexual aggressor. These aggressors are ever ywhere. If no one has ever stood up to them, they continue to inflict their gross advances on others. It’s imperative we take their power away. McGinn resigned from his tenured position — a big deal in the academic world. One doesn’t just give up tenure. It is unlikely McGinn would have had his monumental tenure revoked by his university. In many ways, tenure is a wonder ful thing for would-be sexual aggressors. It creates a space for aggressors to continue unabated in a position of power over students. It’s hard for students to stand up to people who, essentially, become their mentors. You never want to see your mentor in anything less than the best terms. This is especially true of students in doctoral school. At that stage of education, your advisor and other professors with whom you closely work become those you wish to emulate. They are the gauges by which you measure your work. So, it is easy to fall into a relationship where a student can be taken advantage of. For certain, it is an abhorrent violation of trust and integrity. Faculty members who would treat students in the way McGinn did deser ve to have their tenure revoked, their employment terminated and, if evidence permits, charges filed. By resigning, it seems to me that McGinn was allowed to take the easy way out. He doesn’t deser ve it. No person deser ves such ease, as they will never understand what they did wrong. If higher education is to ever achieve its promise of egalitarianism, faculty like McGinn cannot be tolerated. As a Ph.D. candidate myself, I admire the student who came for ward. It’s hard to do so, and she deser ves only our praise and support. Trent M Kays welcomes comments at tkays@mndaily.com.
GUEST COLUMN
A disturbing trend toward campus censorship Censorship attacks vital public debate on college campuses nationwide.
A
re American free speech norms too permissive of of fensive and hateful speech? Many university administrators and professors seem to think so. Over the past few decades, they have launched dangerous new campaigns at schools across the countr y to limit the extent of free speech on campus. Examples are easy to find but difficult to stomach. Western Michigan University prohibited students from holding “condescending sex-based attitudes.” The University of Delaware banned “teasing” and “ridiculing.” California State University-Chico prohibited students from using “generic masculine terms … to refer to people of both sexes,” literally prohibiting students from using the term “guys” to get the attention of a group of friends. And Drexel University’s speech code proscribed — if you can believe it — “inappropriately directed laughter” and “inconsiderate jokes.” One might as well require students to “play nice with others.” When universities act in fur therance of these policies, the results are predictably disastrous. At Bucknell University, students were prohibited from holding an “af firmative action bake sale” to protest the use of racial preferences in admissions policy. Tufts University students
were found guilty of “harassment” when they accurately published certain passages from the Quran. At New York University, students were successfully pressured into not displaying the Danish cartoons of Muhammad that ignited worldwide protest nearly a decade ago. Cornell University is no stranger to this fight. Just a few years ago, the Student Assembly adopted “Resolution 6” after an ar ticle in the Cor nell Review criticized “angr y minorities” who are too quick to “complain about discrimination from whitey.” While students rightly condemned the unsubstantiated arguments and insensitive terms contained within the ar ticle, the Assembly went fur ther, urging a revision to the campus’s code of conduct to “prevent future hateful terminology.” Ironically, the Assembly used Cor nell’s “Open Doors, Open Hear ts, Open Minds” Statement on Diversity, which purpor ts to nur ture minorities, to suppress ideas deemed hostile by a majority of the campus. Thankfully, President David Skorton decided to inter vene to defend the principle that “the antidote to of fensive speech … is more speech, not less speech” in an article in The Cornell Daily Sun. Still, it is disappointing how hollow the ubiquitous rhetoric surrounding diversity rings when it is intellectual diversity that is on the chopping block. To this day, Cornell prohibits making “bias-motivated jokes or statements” that create an “of fensive environment” — criteria subjective enough to prohibit
speech on key issues such as affirmative action or immigration. What lies at the hear t of this dispute over free speech on campus? In my view, it is fundamentally about what role a university ought to play in the ideological development of its student body. Should universities be places that encourage the free exchange of ideas — places that allow students to pursue truth, wherever it might lead them? Or should universities seek to inculcate their student bodies with a predetermined truth and defend, on behalf of students, a “right not to be of fended” by speech that contradicts those prepackaged ideas? Proponents of the latter view seem to see themselves as protectors of the student body. They seek to keep us safe from material that could hur t our feelings or cause tension between dif ferent groups in the Cornell community. Indeed, nearly all Western liberal democracies allow content-based restrictions on speech deemed “hateful” or “belittling.” Whether at the national level or the university level, however, these restrictions do serious harm to a key purpose of having the freedom of speech to begin with. That purpose is to allow robust debate on matters of public concern. Through discussions with our fellow citizens, we hope to be able to come up with the optimal solution to problems we all face. Free speech enables us to pursue truth, without having to worr y that we will be punished because our beliefs conflict with
the interests of the power ful or with notions that most of society considers sacrosanct. When speech can be restricted simply because someone takes of fense, ever yone loses: The censored student loses the ability to speak, the campus community loses the ability to listen and the aggrieved students lose the ability to reconsider (or reinforce) a perspective that they hold near and dear through a clash with the offensive opinion. As Chief Justice John Rober ts said in Snyder v. Phelps, upholding the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to engage in sinister, vile protests against militar y families: “Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and — as it did here — inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a nation we have chosen a different course — to protect even hur tful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.” If our Supreme Cour t sees fit to protect the First Amendment rights of those who protest against the ver y people who defend those rights overseas, then surely we can take the smaller step of keeping our universities out of the business of regulating offensiveness. Julius Kairey This column appeared in The Cornell Daily Sun on Sept. 12. Comments should be sent to letters@mndaily.com.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Sports
9
@MNDAILYSPORTS
FOOTBALL
QUICK HITTERS
Gophers led by strong O-line play
BY SAM GORDON sgordon@mndaily.com Minnesota 29, Western Illinois 12 Saturday, Sept. 14 TCF Bank Stadium RECAP It was a different week, but the same story for the Gophers. A poorly quarterbacked first half and sloppy defense allowed an inferior Western Illinois squad to stay in the game until midway through the third quarter. Then, Minnesota’s undeniable physical advantages became too much for WIU, a Football Championship Subdivision school, to handle. The Gophers parlayed a strong running game into 23 unanswered points and coasted for much of the second half to an easy 29-12 victory. Freshman quarterback Mitch Leidner took over for injured starter Philip Nelson and played admirably in relief. Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill suffered a seizure at halftime and was transported to a nearby hospital for precautionary measures. IT WAS OVER WHEN: Rodrick Williams Jr. housed one from 37 yards out midway through the fourth quarter. Williams’ touchdown made it a three-score game and put the game out of reach. FIVE OBSERVATIONS Mitch Leidner is a more-thancapable-backup. The redshirt freshman led every Minnesota scoring drive and was effective as a runner and a passer in throwing situations The passing game as a whole is still a liability. Starter Philip Nelson struggled finding his hot reads against the blitz. Leidner missed some open receivers too and bailed out of the pocket at the first sight of a pass rush more than a few times. The Gophers finished with just 124 passing yards A healthy Donnell Kirkwood is a bonus at this point. Kirkwood’s return will give the Gophers three physical runners, and physicality is a big deal in the Big Ten. David Cobb and Rodrick Williams Jr. have filled in well with Kirkwood out with an ankle injury. Cobb, Williams Jr. and the Gophers’ offensive line had their way with WIU defenders in the second half. Theiren Cockran is someone to keep an eye on this season. The redshirt sophomore had a pair of sacks Saturday. The development of another viable pass-rusher will be crucial in Big Ten play and will allow Ra’Shede Hageman to have more freedom against opposing offensive lines. Special teams look to be improved. It turned into a game of field position in the second half. Minnesota started several drives around midfield, and a good punting game limited WIU’s offensive play calling after halftime. QUOTE OF THE DAY
There wouldn’t be any of us sitting here today if it wasn’t for Jerry Kill. That’s the hard part about it.” Gophers defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys STUDENT ENTHUSIASM REPORT The student section was about threefourths full, but support was average at best. The crowd was a factor on only a handful of plays. UP NEXT The Gophers will welcome San Jose State and NFL quarterback prospect David Fales to TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday. San Jose State is 1-1 this season.
Minnesota running back David Cobb protects the ball from a Western Illinois defender Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.
AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY
Minnesota improved to 3-0 with a 29-12 win over Western Illinois. BY JACK SATZINGER jsatzinger@mndaily.com
The Gophers’ of fense struggled early Saturday in the team’s 29-12 win over Western Illinois, scoring only one touchdown in the first half. Then, after head coach Jerr y Kill was taken to the hospital due to a seizure at halftime, Minnesota lit up the scoreboard. That second-half spark stemmed largely from the adjustments made by the Gophers’ of fensive line at the break. “We switched some in the second half from zone scheme to more of a power scheme,” offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said Sunday. “We went right at them, and that’s what gave us some success in the second half.” The results were undeniable for the Gophers. Junior running back David Cobb went into the end zone twice in the second half behind terrific blocking. Sophomore tailback Rodrick Williams Jr. took advantage of the
holes his linemen opened up, bursting past WIU’s linebackers for a 37-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. “I think the difference was that the whole line clicked and rallied,” Williams Jr. said after the game. “We can really get vertical on these guys and pound the ball down their throat. ... That’s what we decided to do.” Minnesota’s of fensive line subbed in redshir t freshman Ben Lauer for Marek Lenkiewicz early in the game. Lenkiewicz, a redshirt junior, has started multiple games in his career with the Gophers, but Lauer has improved dramatically in just his second season. “Ben Lauer is a kid that’s really come on,” Limegrover said. “He had a good spring, [and] we’ll continue to work him. He’s the kind of kid who’s hard to keep off the field.” Limegrover said the decision to sub Lauer for Lenkiewicz is similar to the team’s philosophy with running backs – they go with
ICHIGO TAKIKAWA, DAILY
Minnesota running back Rodrick Williams Jr. scampers for a 37-yard touchdown run against Western Illinois on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.
the hot hand. With Donnell Kirkwood still out with an ankle injury, Williams Jr. and Cobb have shared reps as the team’s top running back for the first three games of the season. Williams Jr. rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown last week against New Mexico State, but Cobb led the
way Saturday with 82 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Cobb had carr y for minus-1 yard at halftime, but the adjustments from the offensive line gave him the push he needed to keep the Gophers undefeated early in the 2013 season. Now Minnesota is focused on having a more
consistent performance for an entire game — something it will need against tougher Big Ten opponents. “We need to eliminate those [mistakes] and need to be more productive up front,” Limegrover said. “We need to be able to put two halves together.”
@dailyatthebank
FOOTBALL
Kill has seizure, leaves many with questions Seizure u from Page 1
routine in the event he has a seizure during a game. “That is how we were trained,” defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys said after the game. “That is what [Kill] would want. The team knows what they have to do, and nothing changes.”
Claeys said Sunday that he visited Kill on Saturday night at his home and that the head coach was resting with his family, watching television. Kill has been adamant in the past about his intentions to continue coaching despite his epilepsy. His assistants and players have been nothing but supportive. “If the doctors said it was best for him to step away,
there wouldn’t be one of us that would argue,” Claeys said. “I’ve been involved with the doctors, and there is no inkling of that around.” Senior defensive lineman Ra’Shede Hageman said he didn’t find out about the seizure until he was in the locker room at halftime. Freshman tight end Maxx Williams said the team didn’t miss a beat after halftime and credited the coaching staff’s demeanor for the strong sec-
ond-half performance. That said, there is still a considerable amount of speculation about Kill’s ability to coach at the highest level, and little has been done to dispel it. Offensive coordinator and longtime Kill assistant Matt Limegrover was passionate Sunday when speaking about Kill’s battle with epilepsy. “He hasn’t run from it or [hidden] from it,” he said. Limegrover questioned
those who criticize Kill’s work ethic and dedication to his job. “When people [are critical of Kill] … they’re basically saying, ‘Hey, it’s too bad [for] you people with epilepsy. Don’t shoot for your dreams, don’t push and try and have goals,’” Limegrover said. “I’m shaking over here because that’s just so ignorant.” -Jack Satzinger contributed to this report.
10
Monday, September 16, 2013
VOLLEYBALL
Minnesota drops first match of season The Gophers beat Louisville in straight sets but lost to No. 19 Kentucky, its first ranked opponent of the year, in five sets. BY MEGAN RYAN mryan@mndaily.com
The Gophers volleyball team had been riding high on a per fect season — eight victories, all in straight sets. But up against its first ranked opponent of the season, the team lost its bearings. No. 4 Minnesota dropped a five-set battle Saturday to No. 19 Kentucky after beating Louisville in straight sets Friday at the Bluegrass Battle in Lexington, Ky. While the Gophers had triumphed the night before, Kentucky was fresh of f a straight-set loss to an unranked Pepperdine team. Gophers head coach Hugh McCutcheon said that unexpected loss fu-
VOLLEYBALL RESULTS FRIDAY Louisville Minnesota
1 2 3 16 18 15 25 25 25
FINAL 0 3
SATURDAY 1 2 3 4 5 FINAL 2 Minnesota 18 25 19 25 8 25 22 25 23 15 3 Kentucky
SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM
eled Kentucky. “They str uggled the night before, and they’re a good team,” he said. “So they were going to bounce back.” Minnesota str uggled with unforced er rors all match, ending with a team hitting percentage of just .174 compared to Kentucky’s .249. Senior outside hitter Ashley Wittman led the team with 17 kills and a .304 hitting percentage in the match. The captain said ner ves brought on the attacking mistakes. “Obviously with the teams that we’ve played before, it’s been a pretty easy walk for us,” Wittman said. “And getting out there and battling a team that was actually ready to battle and who wanted to battle, I think that took us by a little bit of surprise.” Kentucky had a not-sosecret weapon in the form of outside hitter Whitney Billings. The 6-foot-2-inch senior led the match with 25 kills and a .467 hitting percentage. She also managed 12 digs and five blocks defensively. Wittman said the Gophers had studied up on Billings before the match but failed to execute when it came to stopping her.
BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY
Minnesota senior outside hitter Ashley Wittman spikes the ball against Duke on Sept. 7 at the Sports Pavilion.
Sophomore libero Lindsey Lawmaster said the Gophers’ defense str uggled with reading Kentucky’s hitters and adjusting their blocking assignments and off-block positions. And having a talented and versatile hitter on the
opposite end made Minnesota’s job even harder. “I think one of our biggest problems was being able to shut [Billings] down early,” Lawmaster said. “She’s a key player for Kentucky, and if we could have shut her down early in the game, I think
we could have been better of f and had more energy. But when she’s on, she’s on.” The Gophers have just one nonconference tournament left next weekend before entering Big Ten play. McCutcheon said this loss af fords his team
the oppor tunity to lear n before the matches really start to count. “Up until now, we’ve been undefeated, and we’ve played well at times,” McCutcheon said, “but it was impor tant for us to get into trouble … and see how we respond.”
SOCCER
Gophers split a pair of weekend games in Florida Minnesota finished its nonconference slate with just one loss. BY JACE FREDERICK jfrederick@mndaily.com
The Gophers fell for the first and only time in their nonconference slate Friday with a 2-0 loss to the ninth-ranked Florida Gators. But Minnesota responded in its final Big Ten dress rehearsal. The Gophers (7-1) defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins 3-0 on Sunday. Minnesota begins Big Ten play Saturday with a road test against the Indiana Hoosiers. “We feel good about the first par t of our year,” Gophers head coach Stefanie Golan said, “but now we’r e 0-0 heading into the Big Ten, so the focus
changes.” The Gophers stuck with the Gators for much of the match Friday and carried a scoreless tie into halftime. But Gators freshman phenomenon Savannah Jordan lit the lamp twice in the second half — in the 64th and the 66th minute — to give her squad a 2-0 lead it never surrendered. Florida tested Gophers freshman keeper Tarah Hobbs early and often Friday, but Hobbs was up to the challenge for most of the game. She stopped seven of the nine shots the Gators sent on net. The Gators proved wor thy of their national ranking, outshooting the Gophers 15-4 and ear ning eight cor ner kicks compared to just two for Minnesota. “Florida does what they do ver y well, and we had a hard time getting a handle
on the game,” Golan said. “We didn’t have time [and] we didn’t have space to be able to play.” But the Gophers bounced back after their first loss of the season and flipped the script Sunday with a win over the Dolphins. Senior defender Lauren Bauer put the Gophers on the board with a header of f of a corner kick from senior defender MacKenzie Misel in the 22nd minute. “I … just tried to throw my body for ward, and I got something on it and finally scored,” Bauer said. “It felt really good.” Redshir t senior forward Steph Brandt seemingly put the game away in the 55th minute, housing a goal off a cross from sophomore for ward Haley Helverson. Junior midfielder Katie Thyken netted her
SOCCER RESULTS FRIDAY Florida Minnesota
1 0 0
2 2 0
FINAL 2 0
2 0 2
FINAL 0 3
SUNDAY 1 Jacksonville 0 Minnesota 1
SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM
seventh goal of the season late in the game to finalize the 3-0 win. The Gophers utilized 19 dif ferent players on Sunday, receiving ample production from their bench and displaying the team’s proficient depth. “We came out with tired legs, and we came out pretty banged up from the ef for t on Friday,” Golan said. “We played a lot of players, and different players were able to step up.”
CHELSEA GORTMAKER, DAILY
Minnesota midfielder Katie Thyken fights for the ball against Louisiana State on Sept. 6.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Classifieds
11
RATES PER LINE/DAY • PREPAID: $2.70, BILLED: $3.10, CREDIT CARD: $2.70 To place a Classified linage ad, call: 612-627-4080 or email: classifieds@mndaily.com To place a display ad, call: 612-435-5863 For billing questions, call: 612-627-4080 *$60 minimum billing Linage hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. E-mail address: classifieds@mndaily.com Classified Sales Manager: Brittany Swaine 612-435-1562
The Minnesota Daily must approve all ad copy and reserves the right to request text changes, reject or reclassify an ad. Advertisers are responsible for the truthfulness of their ads. Advertisers are also subject to credit approval. Corrections are accepted until 2 p.m., Mon.-Fri., by calling 612627-4080. To cancel an ad, call 612-6274080. In order to ensure proper credit, cancellations must be made by 1 p.m.; otherwise the ad will appear in the following day’s paper and be charged accordingly. Prepaid ads will be refunded by mail or in person if canceled before the end date. Please check the ad carefully after its first run; linage will not be responsible for any errors after that. The Minnesota Daily discourages sending credit card information through email.
SERVICES
EMPLOYMENT
Ask Elenute. Relationship/dating coach with >25 years professional experience. 1:1 in person for women. Free 30 min. intro session. 612-379-3316
Landscape laborer, residential landscape install and construction Vision Landscape Inc. Eden Prairie, MN 952-292-3966
TRAVEL Already thinking about winter break? Come down to where it’s warm during the winter at JNF Campground. www.jnfcampground.com
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
HOUSING
HELP WANTED GENERAL
TEMPORARY/SEASONAL
Cashier & Stockperson Wanted Franklin/Nicollet Liquors, PT and FT, Flexible Scheduling, Contact Chuck or Dave 612-871-1511.
2-3 immediate pt/time janitorial positions Trning and advncmnt opportunities 2-4 dys/wk,11:30 PM- 3:30 AM 763-441-4859 www.leadens.com, fill out applctn on contact us page
Lrge 4BR house, $1600, avail 9/1, ldry, A/C, water, furnished, short walk to U, off st prkg, 651-895-4436
HEALTH CARE Part-time Resident Advocate Work with 25 mentally ill adults in a boarding home setting. Provide observation of them taking their medications, a meal, a snack and assistance in resolving conflicts as they arise. Call 612 872-9035 to set up an interview. Email rest2shknp@gmail.com
F-PT. Clean/Organize Art & Ant. For naturist. $25/hour 651-774-7723
Housekeeping, errands, organizing 2 to 4 afternoons/wk. $11-13/hr. Car and references req. Pl send resume, hrs available to alber001@umn.edu. 612-246-8814.
3, 2 BR’s avail asap, A/C, ldry, secure, pkg, heat pd 612-237-6941 1503 8th SE. www.uofmhousing.com
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS $50 just for giving your opinions student housing! Seeking undergrad and grad students living in non-university student housing complexs. Act now! Only a limited number of spaces available. Focus groups are various times on 9/17 9/18. Cut off: 9/16 To apply, text to 410.409.9059.
DINKYTOWN 3 Bed, avail. 10/1/13, upper unit in duplex, 1 car garage, coin wash/dry onsite, util. incl, $1300/month call Cindy at 763-355-4829 666 10th Av S.E. WalkToU, Nice 1 Bdr in Triplex, crpt&hwood floors hTpd, off st. parking $575 avail 9-15, 10-1 (612)379-3366
Events
HAVE AN EVENT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE IN THE DAILY? Submit your event to have it featured here for free. If you would like your event promoted here, go to mndaily.com/contact and fill out the provided form.
UPCOMING EVENTS WHAT: A Blast of Trumpets WHO: U of M School of Music students and faculty WHEN: 7:30-9 p.m., Monday WHERE: Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall, Ferguson Hall, 2106 S. Fourth St., Minneapolis PRICE: Free Featuring duets with 11 of David Baldwin’s former students, including: David Wall, Lynn Erickson, Pam Humphrey, Dean Heller, Joe Hazlett, Takako Senn, Dan Fretland, Ray Vasquez, Mark Bobnick, Graham Steeds and Jonathan Brandt with professors Timothy Lovelace, piano, and Fernando Meza, percussion. Featuring music by Arban, Bach, Broiles, Charlier, Gibbons, Paginnini, Vivaldi and Stravinsky. All are welcome to attend a pre-concert panel discussion with the performers in Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall at 6:30 p.m.
WHAT: Conversation Among Crafts: Public Records Access WHO: Minnesota Journalism Center, School of Journalism and Mass Communication WHEN: 3:30-5 p.m., Tuesday WHERE: Murphy Hall, Room 100, Minneapolis PRICE: Free The federal Freedom of Information Act and Minnesota’s Open Records Law gives every citizen the right to access public records. This Conversation Among Crafts will bring together a variety of people using public records for different purposes to discuss the hidden stories that can be found, the compelling cases that can be supported, and the challenges that records access requests sometimes raise.
WHAT: Scholarship Exhibition opening reception WHO: Department of Art WHEN: 7-9 p.m., Thursday WHERE: Quarter Gallery, Regis Center for Art (East), Minneapolis PRICE: Free Join the University of Minnesota’s Department of Art and scholarship donors in celebrating the work of the 2013-2014 undergraduate scholarship recipients.
Featured Student Group HAVE A STUDENT GROUP YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE IN THE DAILY? The Minnesota Daily promotes student groups here for free. If you would like your student group featured, email abertelson@mndaily.com with contact person, contact phone, contact email, student group name, group description, and a photo if possible (limit 250 characters). Don’t have a photo? Contact us in advance to take your group photo.
The Minnesota Daily Classifieds page is a service for student groups. Student groups can promote themselves for free in the featured section. Featured student groups run for one week and are published on a rolling submission basis. This page is independent from the Minnesota Daily’s editorial content and is operated by the advertising staff. Group submissions are subject to approval by the Publisher for wording, illustrations and typography. Any content that attacks, criticizes or demeans any individual, race, religion, sex, institution, firm, business, profession, organization or affectional preference shall not be accepted.
12
Monday, September 16, 2013
BACKTALK
horoscopes
sudoku
Complete the grid so each row, clumn and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. Visit mndaily.com to see the solution to today’s puzzle.
9/16/2013
Sept. 12’s solution © 2013 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
Today’s Birthday (9/16): Expand your circle of influence this year. Deepen old and new connections in family, business and your community for broader reach and satisfaction. Share skills and resources.
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Written By Linda C. Black
Aries (3/21 - 4/19): Today is a 6 — Consider practical measures to advance. Proceed with caution. Maintain an even keel. Hold judgment in case of confusion. You’re gaining respect.
Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is a 6 — Mind and heart align now. Walk, jog or run. Take a mental health day. Let somebody else challenge the status quo and review facts.
Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is a 6 — In a disagreement about priorities, it’s okay to ask questions. Share ideas; don’t hoard them. Tempers could flare. Face a challenge squarely.
Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is a 6 — A creative venture flops. Face facts. Accept a new assignment. Take the long view. You create the price tag. Consider all options.
Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 7 — The schedule is wacky. Keep communication channels open in case of unexpected developments. Verify info and sources.
Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is a 6 — Public responsibilities take the stage. Wait for temporary confusion to clear. Pesky guests or regulations could annoy. Use creativity.
Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is a 6 — Review investment details. Stay home instead of going out. Keep it frugal. Let others solve a distant problem. Courage and persistence win.
Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is an 8 — A teacher offers perspective. Research your next move. Venture farther out. New information impels a change in plans.
Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 7 — Grab an opportunity quickly. Anticipate resistance, and do what really works. Promises alone won’t do it. Double-check your numbers.
Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is an 8 — Finish an important job. Intuition leads you to the right resources. Get a partner to help. If you’re going to be late, call. Barter and trade.
Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is an 8 — There may be disagreement about priorities. Stick to basics or postpone a meeting. Ask tough questions. Take care not to provoke jealousies.
Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is a 7 — Work now and play later. Some innovative ideas won’t work. Seek advice from a wise partner. Do the homework, and have a backup plan.
Monday, September 16, 2013
overheard Design professor: “She’s giving terminal cancer the duck face. Duck off, cancer!” “So the teacher asked us to talk about euthanasia, and this one girl began to rant about the youth in Asia.”
Girl: “I had an eye infection, so I used some eye drops.” Professor: “Well, what was the cause of the eye infection?” Girl: “I slept with my contacts in.” Professor: “Why would you do that?” Girl “Umm ... Well, I was really drunk.” Professor: “Ahhhh, inebriation.”
“I can’t do sight-reading. Sightseeing? Now THAT I can do.”
“So, how much meth did you do in an hour?”
Athlete is handed a small burger: “Can I have some more meat on this?” Cook: “Umm, that’s tofu.” Athlete: “Oh, [expletive] no.”
Instructor: “Don’t be too available in your relationships. Mystery is good. So don’t text and drive.”
—McNeal Hall
—Northrop Mall area
—Campus Connector
—17th Ave. dining hall
“Why do so many people drink coffee out of a glass jar? I mean, it’s not that expensive to just buy a coffee thermos, right?”
—Science Teaching and Student Services Building
—Anthropology class
—St. Paul campus
—Murphy Hall
“I’m a social butterfly. You gotta let me fly! No, wait, that’s not right. … I’m a peacock!”
—Superblock
“She didn’t even tell me she was 15.”
—Wilson Library
What did you overhear? 4Post submission son the “overheard at U of M Facebook group. 4Visit mndaily.com and look for the “Connect with the Daily” box on the homepage. 4Email submissions to overheards@mndaily.com.
crossword
FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
ACROSS 1 Manages (for oneself) 6 Snuck 11 __ Moines, Iowa 14 Native Alaskan 15 Cowboy singer Gene 16 “That’s nasty!” 17 Criticize gas and electric companies? 19 The Beatles’ “__ Loves You” 20 Sunrise direction 21 One of a D.C. 100 22 Russian capital 24 Roy G __: rainbow mnemonic 26 Piebald horse 27 Criticize a modeling shoot array? 30 It replaced the French franc 33 Pass out 35 Mudville number 36 Complete, as a scene 37 Tropicana and Minute Maid, briefly 38 Cheesy sandwiches 39 Grounded jet 40 Sworn statement 42 Isaac’s eldest 43 Wranglers with wheels 45 Folk music’s Kingston __ 46 Criticize stage shows? 48 Former Bears head coach Smith 50 Be in debt 51 Sea near Stockholm 53 Prefix with pass 55 Become enraged 59 World Cup cheer 60 Criticize awards? 63 Gen-__: boomer’s kid, probably 64 Invalidate 65 On one’s toes 66 Fist pumper’s word 67 Trotsky and Uris 68 Pack animals
By Jerry Edelstein
2 “On the Waterfront” director Kazan 3 Loch with a monster 4 Brit’s trash can 5 Sault __ Marie 6 Batman’s hideout 7 Wreck completely 8 And so on: Abbr. 9 Vacate the __: eviction notice phrase 10 Big name in chicken 11 Criticize college subjects? 12 Bounce in a 6Down 13 Depict unfairly 18 Invitation letters 23 Bouillabaisse, e.g. 25 Practitioner: Suff. 26 Kept in, as hostility 27 Criticize farmers? 28 Bodysuit for a tiny tot 29 “__ Marner”: Eliot work 31 Speak with a grating voice 32 Chooses
DOWN 1 Lose color in the wash
9/16/13 Thursday’s Puzzle Puzzle Solved Saturday’s Solved
(c)2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
33 12 inches 34 Open a bit 38 Doctor’s profession 41 Owl’s cry 43 A boxer may have a glass one 44 They’re attractive to look at 47 “Footloose” costar Singer 49 “Myra Breckinridge” author Gore
9/16/13
51 Like the Honda Element 52 Away from the wind 53 Really surprise 54 Web addresses, briefly 56 Beehive State natives 57 Little more than 58 Repair co. proposals 61 __-cone 62 Sheep’s call
Visit mndaily.com to see the solution to today’s puzzle.
dr. date Dr. Date,
I recently discovered that I’m in love with my best friend who goes to college 300 miles away from me. I think about her around the clock, and like my good friend Luke Bryan would say, she “makes my speakers go boom-boom.” We both realize that we would be tremendously happy together, but at this point we aren’t sure where to take things due to the distance issue. Additionally, being best friends, we can’t really picture romancing one another. I can’t for the life of me imagine gettin’ fresh with her; it’d be like making out with my sister. Granted, I’d love to kiss her cheek, hold her hand and take her on cute low-budget dates. Anyway, is it worth trying to start a relationship with this much distance involved, or are we better off continuing to enjoy the awesome friendship that we’ve had for years? Will we ever be able to romance each other, or will our relationship be as spice-less as an intermediate macroeconomics class?
—Capt. Confused
Aye Aye Captain,
I gotta say, I don’t think Luke Bryan’s definition of speakers going boom-boom is the same as yours. With the kissing on the cheek and the handholding, it sounds like all you want to be is captain of the friend zone. Over-thinking can be the cancer of a budding relationship, so here’s what I’d suggest: Put off any decisionmaking about what exactly to call what you have going on and stick with what you know for now. You think about her often and she makes you happy, so prioritize spending time with her. The distance might be tough, but it’s not impossible. Now that you’ve discussed your mutual curiosities about taking things to the next level, that first inperson reunion is critical. You’ll know right then if she’s rockin’ your boat or if it’s time to throw the anchor down on this relationship idea. As seasoned long-distance relationshippers will tell you, the arrangement requires a hearty dose of trust and
effort. If you’re hesitant, it’s best to wait until you’re in the same place to test the waters. After all, statistics show you’ll probably both be living with your parents again after college anyways. Ahoy, mate! —Dr. Date
Dr. Date,
It’s the first fall that my boyfriend and I have been together, and we’d really like to get away for a cozy weekend. Any suggestions for a place that’s romantic but also low-budget? We’re not trying to break the bank here. —Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Explore & More,
I like where your head is at. With the changing leaves and idyllic weather, fall is the perfect time to take in the picturesque Midwest. Here are a couple of options to get you started: St. Croix River Valley — Just an hour out of the city on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin holds an experience that feels a world away from Dinkytown. River bluffs and trails offer plenty of opportunities for hiking and secluded picnicking (free!), and lodging options range from motel to B&B to fit your budget. Plus, tons of up-andcoming wineries are currently offering great deals on sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, and there’s no bonding activity like getting silly off wine and pigging out on free cheese. Not 21? The apple orchards and berry-picking farms are equally romantic. Wisconsin Dells — The Dells might be a frequent fixture of your childhood memories, but I assure you, this won’t be your typical family vacation. Lounging on a lazy river all day — or gettin’ your grind on in a townie bar playing songs you haven’t heard since prom — could be just the relaxing getaway you and your beau need. If your available funds are dropping faster than the changing leaves, consider a day trip instead. Check out a corn maze, romantic hay ride, pumpkin farm or another (love) harvest season activity.
—Dr. Date
Need relationship advice? Email Dr. Date at drdate@mndaily.com.
13
14
Monday, September 16, 2013
Sandusky’s bid for a new trial going to court in Pa. BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Jerry Sandusky’s challenge to his child molestation conviction goes before a state appeals court on Tuesday, as the former Penn State assistant football coach seeks to overturn a sentence that could keep him behind bars for life. Pennsylvania’s Superior Cour t will decide whether prosecutors made an improper reference to the fact that Sandusky did not testify, whether jur y instr uctions wer e mishandled and whether the defense should have been given more time before trial to digest a large volume of investigative material. The court is meeting in Wilkes-Bar re, par t of effor ts to make its proceedings accessible to a wider public. Sandusky, who spent decades working under football coach Joe Pater no, was convicted in July 2012 of 45 counts of sexual abuse of 10 boys, including eight victims who testified against him. Judge John Cleland subsequently declared him a sexually violent predator and sentenced him to 30 to 60 years in state prison. Sandusky is seeking a
new trial. His appeals attorney, Norris Gelman, said this week that Sandusky, who is largely isolated from the prison population, will not be in the courtroom. Gelman argued in an appellate brief that Cleland should have issued an instruction to jurors that addressed the length of time it took his victims to report their abuse, which for four of them was more than 11 years. He noted that Cleland told the lawyers he believed it was not unusual for victims of child abuse to delay reporting it. The attorney general’s of fice, in its appeals brief, said it was clear to jurors that the defense was arguing that the abuse never occur r ed, and ar guing that the victims were making up stories in hopes of cashing in. Penn State has since settled some of their claims for undisclosed sums. “The r ecor d demonstrates that the victims had clear reasons for not disclosing the abuse by Sandusky: not only were they ashamed of the acts of abuse,” the AG’s of fice wrote, “but Sandusky gave them gifts, including access to the PSU football program, and was a prominent figure who was more
likely to be believed than they were.” Gelman also focused on a reference, by prosecutor Joe McGettigan, to an NBC television inter view Sandusky gave shortly after his arrest. McGettigan told jurors that Sandusky “had wonder ful oppor tunities to speak out and make his case.” The prosecutor told jurors that he “only heard him on TV.” Gelman argued that was among several references to Sandusky not testifying. Failure to take the stand in one’s own defense is not supposed to be used against a defendant. The attorney general’s of fice said McGettigan’s comments were confined to the TV inter view and did not refer to Sandusky not taking the stand in his own defense. Prosecutors argued the comments “constituted fair response to defense counsel’s argument relating to the interview.” Sandusky’s lawyers “went into trial ‘blind’ as to much of the material” from prosecutors, estimated to be about 9,000 pages, Gelman said. Sandusky’s lawyers were turned down in several requests for a delay, and Cleland shepherded the case from arrest to trial in just over seven months.
Student health plan adds more benefits, costs from previous years Health u from Page 1
[ACA],” she said. “I think it’s to follow the trend in the private market.” University students are required to have health insurance if they’re registered for six or more credits and pay the student ser vices fee, Jackson said. If students don’t show proof of insurance, the University charges them for its plan. About 10,000 people, including about 400 dependents, ar e cover ed under the Student Health Benefit Plan across all five campuses, Jackson said. Many undergraduates are covered by their parents’ plans, she said. International students are required to purchase University health insur-
ance unless they’re eligible for a group health plan through a U.S. insurer or for the University Graduate Assistant Health Plan. Meng Tie, an international student, said the change won’t make much of a difference for her. The law student said she’ll return to her home countr y in 2014, so changes to the health benefit plan now won’t af fect her for ver y long. She said the extra cost to students to receive added benefits isn’t worth it. “I seldom have health problems,” she said. But for chemical engineering junior and international student Har non Ramos, the change is a good thing. He thinks the added costs are worth the enhanced benefits. “[Inter national students] feel more safe with a health insurance plan,” he said. “If something bad
STUDENT HEALTH PLAN CHANGES BY THE NUMBERS
$999 NEW COST PER SEMESTER About 5 percent
INCREASE IN COST PER SEMESTER
$166.50 AVERAGE COST PER MONTH 100 percent NEW LEVEL OF PREVENTIVE CARE COVERAGE
100 percent NEW LEVEL OF
CONTRACEPTIVE COVERAGE
26 DEPENDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE
UNTIL THIS AGE SOURCE: OFFICE OF STUDENT HEALTH BENEFITS
happens with my health here, I will have help.”