October 14, 2014

Page 1

NEWCOMER VIES FOR ST. PAUL DISTRICT PAGE 10 PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 64° LOW 42°

CITY COUNCIL

City mulls prohibiting ‘Redskins’

U OF M

MINNEAPOLIS

CAMPUS

ST PAUL

TUESDAY

OCTOBER 14, 2014

REP. ALICE HAUSMAN HAS SERVED THE CAMPUS AREA FOR 25 YEARS.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

More freshmen are sticking around

The legality of banning the NFL name on campus is questionable, city leaders say.

FRESHMAN RETENTION RATES REACH NEW HIGH OVERALL

STUDENTS OF COLOR

BY ETHAN NELSON enelson@mndaily.com

After shaking up University of Minnesota administrators and other policymakers, the controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins has moved downtown to City Hall, where elected officials are mulling a ban on the NFL team’s name. Because of a City Council vote earlier this month, the city attorney will investigate whether Minneapolis has legal authority to ban the football team’s name and logo when it plays the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium on Nov. 2. Though the attorney’s office will provide its opinion by next Wednesday, some city leaders aren’t confident they can take legal action. “I have my doubts,” said Cam Gordon, who represents the University and surrounding areas on the City Council. u See NFL Page 3

92.63% 91.6%

92.6%

91.2%

90.7%

90.5%

89.6% 90.3%

89.8% 87.3%

88.9%

89.0%

’08

’09

’10

89.9%

83.5%

WORLD

MN groups set up Ebola aid, outreach Some business owners have told a local task force that fears of the virus have affected sales. BY SARAH CONNOR sconnor@mndaily.com

As Ebola rages on, Minnesotans are shipping massive containers filled with hundreds of thousands of meals, facemasks and gloves to areas overseas affected by the deadly virus. And back home, they’re also working to eliminate stigmatization and educate Minnesotans about the disease. Members of the Brooklyn Park-based Minnesota African Task Force Against Ebola, a group formed by West African community leaders, are facilitating outreach on the virus. The group also recently teamed up with local nonprofit Matter to send supplies to countries affected by Ebola. Mike Muelken, Matter’s international program director, said they have already sent more than $400,000 worth food and items like sanitizer, IV solution and hospital u See DISEASE Page 10

’07

’11

’12 ’13 SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DATA

The University’s first-year retention rate reached a new high with the freshman class of 2013, new data show. indicates that our students — from all back-

BY PARKER LEMKE plemke@mndaily.com

T

grounds — like it here and want to stay

hey leave for many reasons: financial

here,” Kaler told the regents.

concerns, family issues or worries

The figures come eight years after Uni-

the University of Minnesota isn’t a good fit.

versity regents set a goal to hit a 90 percent

But now, more University freshmen are

first-year retention rate, said Bob McMas-

making it through their first year than ever

ter, vice provost and dean of undergraduate

before.

education. The University hit that goal with

Of first-year students who came to the University in fall 2013, 92.6 percent returned this year — an increase of 2.1 percentage points over the previous freshman class.

the class that entered in 2008, McMaster said. First-year retention rates are important to maintaining graduation rates, he said. “Students who do persist into the sopho-

During the same year, the retention rate

more year are much more apt to stay and

for first-year students of color rose to 92.63

graduate than not,” McMaster said. “The

percent — edging out the average for the

first year is just critical for their success.”

first time.

The higher rates have also increased

University President Eric Kaler high-

the University’s standing among its Big

lighted the numbers in a repor t to the

Ten peers in first-year retention, McMaster

Board of Regents last week.

said.

“I am very heartened by this data, which

“We’ve gone from basically last place

u See RETENTION Page 3

HEALTH

STUDENT LIFE

New tech might bolster brain research Students irked

by Iggy Azalea

New University projects will develop a smaller MRI device and better image sensitivity.

Some say the homecoming artist is offensive and shouldn’t be allowed at the University.

BY KAYLEE KRUSCHKE kkruschke@mndaily.com

Traditional magnetic resonance imagining, or MRI, machines have their patients drawn into a large, noisy tube. But now, the MRI process could become as simple as strapping on a helmet, thanks to a new technology partly developed by University of Minnesota scientists. The project is one of two University projects that received a total of $2.5 million through two National Institutes of Health grants late last month. It was a par t of President Barack Obama’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Technologies Initiative, or BRAIN, project. The initiative supports high-risk neuroimaging projects that would other wise struggle to secure funding, radiology professor Michael Garwood said. While both University research projects focus on MRI technology, one will improve existing imaging and the other will create a brand new method of administering the test. u See MRI Page 3

BY SARAH CONNOR sconnor@mndaily.com

ELIZABETH BRUMLEY, DAILY

From left to right, University researchers Thomas Vaughan, Michael Garwood and Wei Chen pose in front of an MRI machine at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research Facility on Monday. The three researchers are working on two separate projects to develop next-generation neuroimaging technology.

The University of Minnesota had no trouble selling out of tickets for Friday’s homecoming concert with rapper Iggy Azalea. But some students are angr y with the school’s decision to invite Azalea to campus, claiming the “Fancy” singer has posted racist and homophobic comments on social media and has engaged in cultural appropriation that’s offensive to some. As of Oct. 7, one student had written a formal complaint to Student Unions and Activities about the performer. In the complaint, the student wrote that Azalea is a “racist, homophobic, self-entitled person who appropriates culture in offensive ways.” By allowing Azalea to perform, the student wrote, the University is showing tolerance for those behaviors. Child psychology junior Monica Goodman criticized SUA for not reviewing u See CONCERT Page 10

VOLUME 116 ISSUE 25


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