CAMPUS & METRO
A&E
Kline, Kaler meet to discuss U cost
Fashionista: the menswear quiz
Kline chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee. u See PAGE 3
FLURRIES HIGH 6° LOW -9°
A male who dresses well at the bar is certain to win some eyes of approval. It’s your move in this chess game — how will you call checkmate? u See PAGE 4
U OF M
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
SPORTS
Social media is fueling its users’ narcissism.
Wenbo Chen has coached in the Olympics, China and the U.S.
Me, myself and I
Storied diving coach unites Gophers
u See PAGE 5
MINNEAPOLIS
ST PAUL
TUESDAY
u See PAGE 6
FEBRUARY 19, 2013
STUDENT ISSUES
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
TECHNOLOGY
Task force to address men’s mental health
Evaluating the U’s social media prowess
Men are less likely to seek help for depression than women.
Last month the U of M was rated the 20th most “buzzed about” university.
BY BRANDEN LARGENT blargent@mndaily.com
University of Minnesota student groups recently voiced concer ns about
men seeking mental health guidance. Often ignored because of the taboo associated with it, men’s mental health is the focus of a new Minnesota Student Association task force. “Oftentimes, it is overlooked in our society because we have this idea of manning up,” said Henr y
Rymer, a Minnesota Student Association member. “And I think that inhibits a lot of men from seeking the help they need.” R ymer, a University freshman, will lead an MSA task force to jumpstar t a men’s mental health awareness campaign. “ We h o p e t h a t b y launching a task force
led by Henr y, we can really engage with the issue and figure out what is the best plan of action,” said Marissa Kramer, director of MSA’s University Policies and Student Concerns committee. Rymer’s task force is u See TASK FORCE Page 3 Rymer hopes to start a poster campaign to raise awareness.
HEALTH
BY REBECCA HARRINGTON rharrington@mndaily.com
When the state Legislature heard the University of Minnesota’s funding request, students and faculty were encouraged to use the hashtag #LightUMN on Twitter to show their support. The University has slowly and steadily built a web presence since higher education institutions have flocked to promote their brands on social media sites in the last decade. In a repor t published last month, Global Language Monitor, an analytics company based in Austin, Texas, ranked the University the 20th most “buzzed about” this year, moving up 15 spots from 2012. The top universities on the list paralleled the top-
ranked universities in the countr y, many of them in the Ivy League. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Columbia University took the top-three spots, respectively. Global Language Monitor uses an algorithm to index the Inter net and compare schools’ presence statistically, according to its website. University Marketing Director Ann Aronson said branding is the main reason why more prestigious schools top the list. MIT has twice as many Twitter followers as the University, but only about a fifth of the students. “Our goal with the overall brand is to talk to people where they are and we know that our students are on social media, that really an increasing number of the general public is on social media,” Aronson said. The University has ofu See SOCIAL MEDIA Page 10 The U has a social media manager to manage its accounts.
RACE FOR MAYOR
AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY
Collection technician Luke Friedrich checks on a volunteer as he gives blood to the Red Cross on Monday in Coffman Union.
HIV-era blood drive policy excludes some Men who have had sex with other men since 1977 have a lifetime deferral. BY MEGHAN HOLDEN mholden@mndaily.com
in or after 1977 from donating blood. The guideline was imple-
Tanner Zimmerman wanted
mented because male-to-male
to donate blood to the Ameri-
sex has an increased risk of HIV,
can Red Cross on Monday but
according to the FDA’s website.
couldn’t because of his sexual orientation.
Because less than 38 percent of the population is eligible to
A policy put in place by the
donate — and only 8 percent do
U.S. Food and Drug Administra-
— many say the FDA’s lifetime
tion in 1983 prohibits men who
deferral of gay men needs to be
have had sex with other men
changed.
u See BLOOD DRIVE Page 3
ACADEMICS
ENVIRONMENT
U will not accept MOOC credit, yet
Research district has green design in mind
A nat’l education group OK’d five MOOCs for credit earlier this month. BY T YLER GIESEKE tgieseke@mndaily.com
Although several massive open online courses were for mally declared creditwor thy for the first time earlier this month, higher education institutions still won’t accept
transfer credits for them. The American Council on Education, an association of more than 1,800 higher education institutions including the University of Minnesota, said five MOOCs in math, bioelectricity and genetics deserve credit. Students seeking credit for MOOCs would need to pay for proctored exams, u See MOOCS Page 10 One concern is MOOCs aren’t comparable to equivalent U courses.
The district features heat recovery systems and a green roof. BY HAILEY COLWELL hcolwell@mndaily.com
One of the largest building projects on campus is not just going to help the University of Minnesota research cancer — it’ll help the school do so sustainably.
Located north of TCF Bank Stadium, the University’s Biomedical Discovery District will house about 700,000 squar e feet of energy-ef ficient research space by its projected April completion. The $292 million project will incorporate a green roof, light-harnessing windows and a storm water r unof f reduction system. u See DISTRICT Page 10 One of the buildings will feature a green roof made of plants.
Lone conservative joins DFL-heavy mayoral race Lawyer Cam Winton is running unendorsed, on purpose. BY BRIAN AROLA barola@mndaily.com
Cam Winton isn’t a career politician. That’s one thing, he said that sets him apart from a growing field of Minneapolis mayoral candidates. With no background on the Minneapolis City Council or any other elected office, Winton’s credentials largely come from his background in the private sector. Winton’s work as the senior counsel for Duke Energy Corporation involves bringing people together on a daily basis, a skill he said could ser ve him well as a mayor. Before Duke, Winton and some colleagues founded a wind turbine maintenance company, which they later sold to his current employer. “Coming from a company that provided services to demanding customers,
I can draw on that background to provide services more effectively to the citizens of Minneapolis,” he said. A lack of political experience isn’t all that sets Winton apart in the Democratcentric mayoral field. He’s a Republican, but neither wants nor will seek any party endorsement because he said he sees that as irrelevant in a municipal election. “If any party tried to endorse me I would respectfully decline,” he said. Tony Hill, assistant political science professor at the University of MinnesotaDuluth and an avid follower of Minneapolis politics, said Winton’s decision to r un as an independent is smart because Minneapolis hasn’t elected a Republican mayor in 40 years. But Hill also noted Winton can’t stray so far from his Republican background that he misses the city’s conservative base. He said ranked-choice voting could open the door for a conservative candidate u See WINTON Page 10 His wants to improve public safety and water and road systems.
AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY
Minneapolis mayoral candidate and senior counsel for Duke Energy Cam Winton poses Friday at McNamara Alumni Center. Winton will be running as an independent for mayor.
VOLUME 114 ISSUE 74