ALSO IN THE SPORTS SECTION:
MINNESOTA VS. SAN JOSE STATE SATURDAY MATCHUP PAGE 7
■■ Volleyball swaps lineup, stays flexible
FRESHMAN QB COULD GET HIS FIRST CAREER START
■■ Women’s tennis to set expectations
The Gophers are heading to Toledo this weekend. PAGE 10
Minnesota’s focus won’t solely be on victories. PAGE 9
MOSTLY SUNNY HIGH 72° LOW 57°
FINANCIAL AID
Loan bill hits second roadblock
U OF M
MINNEAPOLIS
ST PAUL
THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
BUSINESS
Sneaker-head sanctuary
A measure to allow refinancing of federal student loans has split Congress on party lines. BY TAYLOR NACHTIGAL tnachtigal@mndaily.com
A bill that would’ve provided students with the option to refinance their federal student loans and potentially lower their interest rates was blocked Tuesday for the second time since its introduction this summer. Despite a lack of progress on the issue from the federal government, one financial company now allows borrowers the option to refinance their federal loans into private ones. And while the contention in Washington continues, some experts say a higher student voter turnout rate could push lawmakers into action on student loans. The bill, called the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, didn’t have the chance to see a floor vote on its second introduction. On Tuesday, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, proposed that legislators be allowed unlimited amendments u See REFINANCING Page 3
LIAM JAMES DOYLE, DAILY
PIFFmpls founder Ben Alberts manages the front desk of the recently established location on Como Avenue Southeast on Tuesday. The new neighborhood boutique sells clothing, shoes and other apparel.
A new store on Como Avenue, PIFFmpls, opened earlier this month and aims to cater to the city’s growing urban wear market.
RESEARCH
CBS adapts hiring for new areas
The main feature of Como Avenue
is now split evenly between shoes and ap-
Southeast’s newest storefront is designed
parel, Alberts is looking to expand to art,
to look like a cross between a Foot Locker
prints and fixed-gear bicycles.
local sneaker-heads.
“Fashion runs in trends; style is for life,” said Alberts, adding that he plans for
PIFFmpls, a one-stop shop for streetwear
PIFFmpls to become the primary provider
needs, opened Labor Day, and it consigns lux-
for Minneapolis’ growing crowd of urban-
ury shoes and clothing from brands like Ver-
wear aficionados.
sace, A Bathing Ape, Gucci and Hugo Boss.
The store, located at 1506 Como Ave. SE,
u See PIFFMPLS Page 5
BY PARKER LEMKE plemke@mndaily.com
u See SCIENCE Page 4
Ben Alberts, said though the store’s stock
and an art gallery — a fantasy of sorts for
The college has found success in “cluster hiring” to fill staff voids in new research fields.
Generating cutting-edge research sometimes means star ting from scratch with hiring. Due to the evolving nature of science fields, the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences is searching for new faculty members to fill areas of research where the college is lacking. Known as cluster hiring, the recruitment plan has canvassed academics across the globe in an attempt to fill the new areas. And since the initiative’s start three years ago, department members say the hiring method has proven successful. Biology depar tment heads say they settled on the new recruitment approach to attract the best talent for emerging multidisciplinary research fields, like genome variation, cellular biophysics and synthetic biology.
Its self-described “curator” and owner,
BY BARRY LY TTON blytton@mndaily.com
ENVIRONMENT
Arboretum seeks funds for expansion, renovation With new features, Landscape Arboretum officials want to draw 500,000 visitors annually. BY ETHAN NELSON enelson@mndaily.com
On Tuesday, the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum kicked off one of its largest public fundraising campaigns in the nearly 60 years since its opening. The arboretum, which has already raised nearly $45 million from private donors since 2011, hopes to make an additional
CAMPUS
$15 million from public contributions to fund new renovations and attractions for visitors. Projects in the works include a pollinator center, an expanded conser vator y, a Chinese garden and new roads and walkways, said Judy Hohmann, the arboretum’s marketing director. “We’re hoping the projects will create new venues for people to pursue learning or renewal or escape,” she said. Nearly 328,000 people visited the arboretum last year, Hohmann said. Already, the campaign-generated private funds have contributed to recently completed projects like expanding the arboretum’s
entrance and creating a sculpture garden. “By most measures, [the campaign] is already a success,” said Ed Schneider, the arboretum’s director and a professor in the department of horticultural science. But the campaign isn’t done yet and won’t be complete until June 2016, he said. “There’s still a lot to do,” Hohmann said. The public phase of the fundraiser is designed to appeal to a wider audience and to bring new people to the arboretum, Schneider said. One of the current projects, the Tashjian Bee and Pollinator Discover y Center, u See FUNDRAISING Page 4
LEGISLATURE
Student seeks voting rights One grad student has joined a statewide push to give voting rights to people with a felony. BY JOHN THOMAS jthomas@mndaily.com
LIAM JAMES DOYLE, DAILY
Hippo Campus member Jake Luppen performs outside of Northrop on Wednesday as part of Music on the Plaza, a free outdoor concert series that features University student bands.
Robert Stewart hasn’t been able to vote since 2006, a right he lost because there’s a felony on his record. But for the past several years, the thirdyear sociology graduate student has been fighting to regain his voting rights. “It’s encouraged me to be involved,” he said, “because I have no other way to be involved in the political process, other than through advocacy.” While a bill to restore voting eligibility to many Minnesotans with criminal records when they leave prison made headway in the last legislative session, the measure failed to make it onto the floor of either
chamber. Now, some University of Minnesota students are working to further the rights of those with criminal backgrounds. “I think [people with criminal records] should be welcomed back into the community,” said associate sociology professor Joshua Page. He said he believes the public should strive to integrate former convicts back into society, rather than exclude them. Stewart is optimistic that groups like the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition, of which he’s a member, will help a similar bill become law in this spring’s session. State Rep. Raymond Dehn, DFL-Minneapolis, co-authored the bill last session with Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, and several other DFL representatives. “I will definitely be reintroducing it,” Dehn said. Stewar t blamed the bill’s death last u See ADVOCACY Page 4
VOLUME 116 ISSUE 11