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MNDAILY.COM
POLICY
U grad students protest plan to tax tuition waivers Over 200 grad students and instructors protested at Morrill Hall Wednesday afternoon. BY KELLY BUSCHE kbusche@mndaily.com
Armed with signs and megaphones, more than 200 graduate students, research assistants, teaching assistants and instructors left classes Wednesday to protest a tax reform package being considered in Congress. Those marching said the tax plan would sharply increase graduate students’ tax burden and called on the University of Minnesota to address current graduate student conditions. The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the tax plan this week. The House already passed its version of the tax bill on Nov. 16, with 13 Republican representatives voting no. “I want to see this tax plan go down,” said Shannon Negaard, a University mathematics graduate student attending
Wednesday’s walkout. Under the tax plan, graduate students’ annual tuition stipends would count toward their taxable income – leading to deeper outof-pocket costs. As a graduate student, Negaard said she doesn’t make much money so “taking more out of our paycheck just doesn’t make any sense.” “Tuition isn’t really a benefit we feel until we get our degree,” she said. Michael Soto, a University sociology graduate student, said at the march the stipend graduate students receive is “barely manageable.” Soto saved money for 10 years prior to graduate school but said he still has to work an extra job to afford his education. “An additional tax would just be too overwhelming,” he said. Organized by UMN Grads United, marchers chanted “grad power” as they made the walk from Coffman Memorial Union to Morrill Hall, which houses University President Eric Kaler’s office. u See TAX PROTEST Page 2
JACK RODGERS, DAILY
Communications graduate student Kristina Wright, left, and ecology, evolution and behavior graduate student Jake Grossman, right, address demonstrators outside Northrup Auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CAMPUS
GOPHERS SUFFER FIRST LOSS
Free student taxi will test new schedule Gopher Chauffeur, which now runs Thursdays-Saturdays, will test more days in the spring. BY MAX CHAO mchao@mndaily.com
JACK RODGERS, DAILY
Guard Nate Mason is followed by forward Jordan Murphy as the Gophers bring the ball up the court at the Williams Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
The game was tied at halftime, but the Hurricanes pulled ahead Wednesday night.
“Obviously, we could’ve played better. Just a lot of learning things we can take away from this game.” Gophers freshman guard Isaiah
BY JACK WARRICK jwarrick@mndaily.com
Washington brought the score within two
The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes upset
points at 3:46 remaining, leaving the crowd
Minnesota on the road Wednesday night,
on their feet screaming. Washington
defeating the Gophers 86-81 in front of a
drained his second layup in a row after
sold-out crowd at the Williams Arena.
starting 1-11 on the floor.
“We just didn’t execute down the
Then, the Hurricanes (6-0) went on a
stretch,” Gophers guard Nate Mason said.
7-0 run to take a nine-point lead, which the
No. 10 Miami
86
vs
No. 12 Minnesota
81
u See BASKETBALL Page 4
Gopher Chauffeur, the University of Minnesota’s free student taxi service, will run six days a week starting this spring semester, though logistics like additional employees and costs have not been finalized. At a Nov. 21 Minnesota Student Association meeting, the Office of Student Affairs announced the extended Gopher Chauffeur pilot program for the spring. The service, which started in 2007, currently runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights on the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. The service’s supervising staff will most likely expand operation days to all weeknights, and are planning to add to the existing 64-person staff, Interim Vice Provost for Student Affairs Maggie Towle said. Details of operation hours, operation days, cost and personnel have not been finalized yet, said Mateo Frumholtz, student coordinator for Gopher Chauffeur. “The employees we have right now, they were attracted to this position because of the specific schedule,” Frumholtz said of the weekend hours. “I think we would have to look for employees that would enjoy that specific schedule.” Gopher Chauffeur employees said they recognize the challenges of expanding the program, but still support its goal. “I’m pretty excited about it, obviously our first concern with Gopher Chauffeur is making sure that everyone gets home safe... My only concern is finding students who will be willing to stay up really late on weeknights,” said junior Jayme Oberman, a driver for the service. Current Gopher Chauffeur employees would not be required to work the extra nights, but can pick up the extra hours if they want, according to an email to all employees. “For some people it’s not feasible, but it sounds like they’ll be really flexible…. I think it’s nice for people who want more hours to be able to work more hours. I know that I’m certainly interested,” said sophomore Emma Pitzl, a Gopher Chauffeur driver. The program is in response to an October MSA recommendation to OSA that asked to u See GOPHER CHAUFFEUR Page 2
CITY GOV.
Over 100 housing units up for remodel For $10M, Minneapolis entities on West Bank plan to refurbish or remodel many public homes. BY CARTER BLOCHWITZ cblochwitz@mndaily.com
CARTER BLOCHWITZ, DAILY
Jackie Smith, 26, burns leaves outside of her apartment just north of the West Bank campus on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Her building is part of a cluster of townhouses that will be undergoing rehabilitation in 2018.
Nearly 200 units of affordable rental housing in Cedar-Riverside will be renovated next year. A refinancing plan for the expansive repair project was presented by the nonprofit West Bank Community Development Corporation during its annual meeting on Nov. 13. The plan detailed an estimated $10.5 million construction budget that will go toward refurbishing 74 Riverside Homes buildings, which are scattered throughout Cedar-Riverside. David Hoffman-Dachelet, West Bank
CDC assets manager, said the older buildings have many issues that need to be addressed. Many of the buildings were built in the 1980s, but some date back as far as the 1880s. “Mostly, what we’re looking at are building envelopes, roofs, siding and windows,” Hoffman-Dachelet said. “They just need redoing — windows fail, stuff moves, siding leaks.” Riverside Homes is funded by Section 42 tax credits, which require residents to meet a certain income level to qualify for the housing. The Section 42 status also qualifies the housing to receive investment from the City of Minneapolis Housing Revenue Bond Program. “The financing is far from being completed, but at this point, we are going to request u See REPAIRS Page 3
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 25