May 1, 2013

CAMPUS & METRO

CAMPUS & METRO

EDITORIALS & OPINIONS

BASEBALL

The research effort works to map the brain to prevent and cure diseases.

The outgoing president reflected on his term and MSA’s success.

There should be a cohesive system across the University.

The Gophers have a favorable conference schedule down the stretch.

Klobuchar, panel talk BRAIN Initiative u See PAGE 3

MSA holds elections and transitions to new term u See PAGE 4

SHOWERS HIGH 45° LOW 32°

U OF M

Big Ten title lies within Gophers’ grasp

Grading curve should be no more

u See PAGE 6

u See PAGE 5

MINNEAPOLIS

ST PAUL

WEDNESDAY

MAY 1, 2013

BUSINESS

City aims to bridge language, safety gap in restaurants

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

LEGISLATURE

DREAM Act hits Senate floor today The bill would allow undocumented students to pay instate tuition.

BY JANICE BITTERS jbitters@mndaily.com

JAAK JENSEN, DAILY

Afro Deli employees prepare the restaurant for lunch Monday in Cedar-Riverside. Afro Deli manager Abdirahman Kahin said the restaurant’s staff speaks four different languages.

The city used a grant to create food safety videos in multiple languages

BY KELSEY SHIRRIFF kshirriff@mndaily.com

SPCO returns, concerns remain

the city of Minneapolis.

Afro Deli and Cof fee on

“You’ll have a kitchen where you have four dif fer-

its diverse food selection,

ent languages spoken, and

but customers may not be

the common language is ev-

aware of the extent of the di-

er ybody’s second language

versity behind the counter.

— English,” Huf f said.

“We have four dif ferent languages [spoken here],”

that are lost in translation.”

To a d d r e s s l a n g u a g e

hin. “Most of our staff have

gaps in restaurant kitchens,

been working in the kitchen

Huf f cooked up a simpler

for a long time.”

way to train restaurant em-

It is commonplace for several dif ferent languages

Although the orchestra ended its lockout, music students still worry.

“There can be a lot of things

said owner Abdirahman Ka-

BY JILL JENSEN jjensen@mndaily.com

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra ratified a new, three-year contract Monday after a months-long lockout but not before University of Minnesota School of Music students started questioning their career paths.

The new contract reduces the orchestra from 34 to 28 players and cuts annual pay by almost $14,000, to $60,000 — a seven-year low.

“We believe this agree-

ployees in food safety standards.

to be spoken in restaurants,

The city teamed up with

said Daniel Huf f, manager

nonprofit Emergency and

u See LANGUAGE Page 3

EDUCATION

BY JANICE BITTERS jbitters@mndaily.com

A diversity gap exists among Minnesota teachers, and Twin Cities public schools have consistently looked to the University of Minnesota for help.

More than 96 percent of the teachers in Minnesota were Caucasian, while 74

percent of the student population shared that ethnicity, according to a 2012 Minnesota Department of Education study.

At the same time, t h e a m o u n t o f m i n o rity students in Minnesota is u See TEACHING Page 10 The diversity of U students studying to be teachers has improved.

2012 MINNESOTA TEACHER AND STUDENT POPULATIONS BY ETHNICITY 527 443 211

55,442 18,375 58,353 84,307

TEACHER POPULATION

STUDENT POPULATION

50,729 Hispanic

ment will allow for the preser vation of ar tistic quality while ensuring financial sustainability,” SPCO President Dobson West said in a news release.

Although the new contract is uplifting for students, it sets a national precedent of underpaying high-caliber musicians, said Christopher Brown, SPCO’s principal bassist and an adjunct professor at the University.

Brown said the musicians were “treated less than admirably” and demoralized throughout negotiations for a new contract. u See LOCKOUT Page 10 The orchestra will start performing again May 9.

DUAL-SPORT ATHLETE

Schools look to U for more diverse teachers

700

u See DREAM ACT Page 3 Some oppose giving public funds to undocumented students.

ORCHESTRA

of environmental health for

the West Bank is known for

A state Senate vote Wednesday could bring undocumented high school students one step closer to a more affordable college education.

Currently, undocumented Minnesota students aren’t eligible for in-state tuition or for state and private aid, including scholarships, at many colleges in

the state, including the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus.

The Minnesota Prosperity, or DREAM, Act would change that.

The bill is scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor Wednesday after passing through the finance committee last week. Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, who authored the proposal, said she’s confident the bill will pass, despite the fact that it has not been heard on the House floor.

The bill was scheduled

608,381

Caucasian

Native American

Asian/ Pacific Islander

AfricanAmerican

SOURCE: MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

High jump ‘fuels’ basketball player Wally Ellenson is thriving on the track after battling injuries on the court.

BY ANDREW KRAMMER akrammer@mndaily.com

Wally Ellenson works 40 hours a week and doesn’t get paid for it.

As summer nears, the freshman athlete estimates he spends more than a full-time job’s hours practicing for Gophers men’s basketball — and track and field.

The Rice Lake, Wis., native is better known for high-flying dunks at Williams Arena, but he’s competing in the high jump for the men’s track and field team this spring.

“I had some moments, up and down, riding the bench a lot in basketball this season,” said Ellenson, who is finishing up his last week of basketball practice before summer. “Track has fueled me as my sport.”

Ellenson battled injuries and illness while riding the pine in basketball, but the high jump — his natural tal-

AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY

Minnesota high jumper Wally Ellenson practices at Bierman Athletic Field on Tuesday. Ellenson is a two-sport athlete, competing in both basketball and track and field for the Gophers.

ent — provides solace from his struggles.

He envisions competing in the NBA for basketball and the Olympics for track — a dream few athletes have.

“Olympics ’16,” reads Ellenson’s Twitter profile, presumably for the high jump, an event he won

twice at the W isconsin state championship. Ellenson hit his career-best mark of 7 feet, 1 inch at the state regional meet during his senior season of high school — two inches shy of the Olympic Trial qualifier.

Gophers assistant track and field coach Paul Thorn-

ton remembers scouting Ellenson when he was a junior at the Wisconsin state track meet.

Thornton heard that Ellenson was also getting offers to play basketball. u See ELLENSON Page 6 He told recruiters that he wanted to play both sports or neither.

VOLUME 114 ISSUE 111

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Daily Review

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1931 President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City’s Empire State Building, pressing a button from the White House that turns on the building’s lights.

HISTORYCHANNEL.COM/TDIH

VIDEO Vol. 114 Wednesday, May 1, 2013, No. 111

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Bangladeshis turn rescuers after building collapse

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAVAR — The heat in the rubble was sweltering. It closed in on his body like the darkness around him, making it hard to breathe. Working by the faint glow of a flashlight, he slithered through the broken concrete and spotted a beautiful young woman, her crushed arm pinned beneath a pillar. She was dying, and the only way to get her out was to amputate.

But Saiful Islam Nasar had no training, and almost no equipment. He’s a mechanical engineer who just days earlier rushed hundreds of miles from his hometown in southern Bangladesh when he heard the Rana Plaza factory building had collapsed and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of garment workers were trapped.

He also understood that maimed women can be cast from their homes.

“I asked her, ‘Sister, are you married?’ She said ‘Yes.’

I asked her, ‘If I cut off your arm, will your husband take you again?’ She said, ‘My husband loves me very much.’ And then I started to cut,” he said.

He had brought a syringe loaded with painkiller — his father was a village medic, and had taught him how to give injections — and he cut through her arm with a small surgical blade. It was easier than he expected because the arm had already been so badly damaged.

He pointed at fading specks of blood staining his vest and pants. He began to cry.

“There was no alternative,” he said.

Bangladesh is wellversed in tragedy, a country where floods, ferr y sinkings, fires and cyclones strike with cruel regularity.

But with state services riven by dysfunction and corruption, often the only hope is the person beside you.

It is a country that makes heroes out of ever yday

citizens.

Many of the first responders at Rana Plaza were men like Nasar — neighborhood residents, fellow garment workers, relatives of the missing and charity workers — and they repeatedly took some of the most dangerous work. Using little more than hammers, hacksaws and their bare hands, they crawled into tiny holes in the wreckage, breaking through concrete and steel bars and working around the clock to drag out the victims.

They knew they were risking their lives.

Hemaet Ali, a 50-year-old construction worker who came to volunteer, told the people around him that his identity card, with his home address, was in his shir t pocket.

“If I die inside, please make sure that my body reaches my family,” he told them.

Nasar came to Savar with 50 other men from the small volunteer organiza-

tion he runs, Sunte Ki Pao. Normally, they assist people who have been in traffic accidents, offering basic first aid, securing valuables and contacting relatives. During seasonal floods, they help however they can when the waters rush into town. Nothing had prepared them to work the front line of their country’s largest industrial accident.

“It was beyond imagination,” he said Monday, six days after the collapse, when the search for survivors had given way to the search for bodies, and heavy equipment had replaced the rescuers.

Thin and lanky, the 24-year-old was well-suited for crawling through the tight tunnels he cut. At first, he had only his mobile phone to light the tiny spaces. He could see shattered chairs and tables. Sewing machines and fabric. And the battered bodies of the men and women who were crushed when the walls and ceilings came crashing down.

Logging permits Hezbollah hints at are being abused Syria intervention in Africa

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABIDJAN — Logging permits designed to promote small businesses are being allocated by the hundreds to industrial logging companies in West and Central Africa in a hidden pattern of abuse, according to a report published Tuesday by environmental watchdog group, Global Witness.

The use of these “shadow permits” are undermining efforts to curb corruption in the timber sector and is increasing the likelihood that illegal wood is being exported to Europe and elsewhere, according to the report. The permits were originally intended to help small-scale enterprises but are instead being used to circumvent commercial logging regulations in Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia and Congo.

The European Union Timber Regulation went into effect March 3, prohibiting the import of illegal timber. But Global Witness said the continued use of shadow permits could render the measure ineffective.

“Unless European and African policymakers take urgent action, shadow permits could become the Trojan horse by which illegal timber is brought into the EU and passed off as legitimate,” said Global Witness Europe campaigner Alexandra Pardal.

European-led efforts to reform the timber sector have focused on large-scale logging concessions, but these small-scale permits are not typically subject to the same regulations.

BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said Tuesday that Syrian rebels will not be able to defeat President Bashar Assad’s regime militarily, strongly suggesting that Syria’s “real friends” including his Iranian-backed militant group would intervene on the government’s side if the need arises.

The powerful Shiite Muslim group is known to be backing Syrian regime fighters in Shiite villages near the Lebanon border against the mostly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Assad.

But the comments by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah were the strongest indication yet that his group was ready to get more substantially involved to rescue Assad’s embattled regime.

“Syria has real friends in the region and in the world who will not allow Syria to fall in the hands of America or Israel or the Takfiris,” he said, referring to followers of an al-Qaida like extremist idology.

Hezbollah and Iran are close allies of Assad. Both have been accused by rebels of sending fighters to assist Syrian troops trying to crush the 2-year-old Syrian uprising as it morphed into a civil war.

Nasrallah said Tuesday that now there are now no Iranian forces in Syria, except for some experts who he said have been in Syria for decades. But he added: “What do you imagine would happen in the future if things deteriorate in a way that requires the intervention of the forces of resistance in this battle?”

Hezbollah has an arsenal that is the most powerful military force in Lebanon, stronger than the national army. Its growing involvement in the Syrian civil war is already raising tensions inside the divided country and has drawn threats from enraged Syrian rebels and militants.

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3

Klobuchar, panel talk BRAIN Initiative The research effort works to map the brain to prevent and cure diseases.

BY HAILEY COLWELL hcolwell@mndaily.com

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar led a panel discussion Tuesday about increasing research for curing brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, autism, epilepsy and Parkinson’s.

The panel spoke to a full conference room about the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative, a national push to prevent and cure brain disorders by mapping the human brain.

President Barack Obama announced the 1 0 - y e a r, $ 1 0 0 m i l l i o n

BRAIN Initiative earlier this month, following his call for investment in job-creating scientific research in his February State of the Union Address.

In Minnesota, more than 189,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism or epilepsy, Klobuchar said.

Autism costs the nation about $137 billion per year, and Alzheimer’s disease is expected to cost more than a trillion dollars by 2050.

Funding research initiatives like this will not only impact people with neurological disorders and their families, Klobuchar said, but will also create jobs and lower the costs of these disorders.

“We have to see this as a long-term investment,” she said.

As par t of the BRAIN Initiative Working Group, researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Magnetic Resonance Research are developing technologies to map circuits connecting dif ferent parts of the brain. This can help scientists understand neurological disorders, said radiology professor Kamil Ugurbil.

In a time when federal funding is difficult to come by, the BRAIN Initiative is impor tant to the University, he said. Looming sequestration cuts could deprive the University of millions of dollars in federal research grants.

Despite advancements the University’s made in brain research, Ugurbil said there’s much work to be done.

DREAM Act hits Senate floor DREAM Act u from Page 1

to be heard in the House at the beginning of April, however Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, the chair of the higher education finance and policy committee, cut the hearing from the agenda.

Pelowski didn’t return multiple calls for comment.

However, at an April 8 meeting he said the committee had “an array of concerns with the bill,” including that he felt the proposal was a federal issue, rather than a state one.

Immigrant rights advocate Juventino Meza wrote in a tweet that day, “Rep Pelowski’s leadership [is] disappointing; Minnesota students deserve better!”

Opponents have raised questions about whether students who don’t have the legal right to be in the U.S. should receive public funding for school, Pappas said.

The OHE estimated 50 percent of the more than

660 undocumented undergraduates in Minnesota would apply and qualify for a state grant if the measure is passed, which Pappas said would not have a large impact on Minnesota students.

The Pew Research Center estimated in 2010 that about 85,000 undocumented immigrants were living in Minnesota.

“We are putting $80 million more into financial aid this year,” Pappas said.

“And this will have a ver y minimal impact on state grants.”

Advocates for the bill, like University senior teaching specialist Kathleen Ganley, say the DREAM Act is an ethical issue for some students. “[Undocumented students] know no other place,” said Ganley, who teaches immigration and community service classes at the University. “I think it is ethically wrong to not allow them to pay in-state tuition. This is their state.

They have lived here all their lives and often had no

choice.”

In the 2012-13 academic year, resident and non-resident tuition rates at the University dif fered by about $2,600.

Pappas said if it passes the Senate on Wednesday, she will add it to the higher education omnibus bill, where it could be passed along with other higher education measures.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order that would grant certain immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children relief from deportation for two years.

University doctoral candidate Alfonso Sintjago said while passing the Minnesota DREAM Act would be beneficial to students, he’s also hoping for a federal change that would grant an easier path to citizenship.

“There’s a point when you notice the system is broken, Sintjago said.

“People wonder, ‘If the linear system is broken, then what is the system that works?’ They start trying to go around the system.”

Willem-Alexander becomes new Dutch king THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AMSTERDAM — Millions of Dutch people dressed in orange flocked to celebrations around the Netherlands Tuesday in honor of a once-in-a-generation milestone for the countr y’s ruling House of Orange-Nassau: after a 33-year reign, Queen Beatrix abdicated in favor of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander.

At 46, King W illemAlexander is the youngest monarch in Europe and the first Dutch king in 123 years, since Willem III died in 1890. Like Beatrix before him, Willem-Alexander has assumed the throne at a time of social strains and economic malaise.

Although the Dutch monarchy is largely ceremonial, he immediately staked out a course to preser ve its relevance in the 21st century.

“I want to establish ties, make connections and exemplify what unites us, the Dutch people,” the freshly minted king said at a nationally televised investiture ceremony in Amsterdam’s 600-year-old New Church, held before the combined houses of Dutch parlia-

ment.

“As king, I can strengthen the bond of mutual trust between the people and their government, maintain our democracy and ser ve the public interest.”

Most say that the House of Orange-Nassau, which was instr umental in the Dutch war for independence in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cornerstone of the national identity. It represents something that is both quintessentially Dutch, and above politics.

“I think (Willem-Alexander) is just like his mum — honest, wants to do a lot for his people inside the countr y and also outside the country,” said Ron Pols, who was attending celebrations in Amsterdam.

Willem Alexander’s popularity has been steadily rising since his 2002 marriage to an Argentine commoner, Maxima Zorreguieta.

In an inter view shortly before his accession, Willem-Alexander turned in a relaxed performance, saying he will not be a “protocol fetishist,” but a king who puts his people at ease.

Around 25,000 suppor ters thronged Amsterdam’s central Dam Square

Tuesday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the new king or the depar ting 75-year-old queen, now known as Princess Beatrix.

Millions more watched on television as King Willem-Alexander, wearing a fur-trimmed ceremonial mantle, swore an oath of allegiance to the country and the constitution.

Earlier, the new king gripped his mother’s hand and looked briefly into her eyes after they both signed the abdication document in the Royal Palace on Dam Square.

Beatrix appeared close to tears as she then appeared on a balcony decked out with tulips, roses and oranges, overlooking her subjects.

“I am happy and grateful to introduce to you your new king, Willem-Alexander,” she told the cheering crowd, which chanted: “Bea bedankt” (“Thanks Bea.”) M o m e n t s l a t e r, t h e generational shift was enacted symbolically. Beatrix left the balcony as King Willem-Alexander, his wife and three daughters — the children in matching yellow dresses and headbands — waved to the crowd.

“The road that we have to travel is really immense compared to where we are,” he said.

The impact of research

The initiative has the potential to change the way diseases are diagnosed and tr eated, according to representatives from advocacy organizations on the panel.

Because Parkinson’s disease has a 20 percent misdiagnosis rate, developing technology to better map the brain would make it easier to detect, said Paul Blom, president of the National Parkinson Foundation’s Minnesota chapter. Mapping would also help scientists identify the cells they need to focus on to develop surgi-

cal treatments, he said.

“If we could see which par ts of the brain are active in real time as a neurologist obser ves symptoms,” he said, “we could better understand where to target therapy.”

Brain mapping research would also help Alzheimer’s patients receive accurate and timely diagnoses, as only about half of people with the disease are diagnosed in primar y care, said Michelle Barclay, vice president of program ser vices for the Alzheimer’s Association.

“If we can understand how the pathology progresses,” she said, “then we can identify people before symptoms appear.”

Epilepsy is the nation’s fourth most common neurological disorder, said

Vicki Kopplin, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota.

Because its cause is unknown in about 70 percent of cases, it’s “tremendously impacted” by research, she said.

About 21,000 children in Minnesota public schools ar e diagnosed with some form of autism, said Jonah Weinberg, executive director of the Autism Society of Minnesota, and a deeper understanding of the brain could help people with the disorder live normal lives.

“For the millions of individuals and all of their family members who are impacted by autism,” he said, “it would just be an incredible thing that would improve lives for all of us.”

City aims to bridge language, safety gap Language u from Page 1

Community Health Outreach Minnesota (ECHO), to produce videos detailing proper storage, hygiene and food handling practices in six dif ferent languages.

“The idea is [that] seeing it is understanding it, and seeing it in a language you know … makes the message all the more clear,” said Lillian McDonald, executive director of ECHO. Many chain restaurants have foolproof training manuals and videos premade for staff, but 70 to 80 percent of food establishments in Minneapolis are locally owned, Huff said.

“We in Minneapolis are ver y for tunate to have all these creative entrepreneurs and culinary artists,” he said. “So projects like this give us tools that we can give entrepreneurs and business owners to work with their own staff.”

At Rare Steak and Sushi, communication had weakened among employees who spoke English, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish.

“Ever ybody speaks at least a little bit of English,” said general manager Jason Cooney. “But the dif ficult par t for us to cer tify [is] food safety in a lot of different languages ... so this video helps with that.”

The restaurant decided to show some of the videos to the staf f, and Cooney said he has seen improvement.

The sheer amount of training kitchen employees need can be overwhelming, McDonald said, because they’re so busy.

The videos cut down on the time employees need to be properly trained and also strengthen the relationship between the city and restaurant owners, she said.

“It engages a relationship between a city inspector and a food business owner,” she said. “And relationships are really key.”

For the Afro Deli, food safety hasn’t been much of an issue since the restaurant’s kitchen is visible to customers, Kahin said.

“We do a lot of selfinspection, because this is what we’re selling,” he said. “We’re selling confidence.”

4

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

MSA holds elections and transitions to new term The outgoing president reflected on his term and MSA’s success.

BY CODY NELSON cnelson@mndaily.com

In its last forum of the year, the Minnesota Student Association reflected on the past year and prepared for the future.

President Taylor Williams spoke about accomplishments of the year, including medical amnesty legislation and a voter registration event with a high turnout.

MSA also voted Mick Hedberg to be its new speaker of the forum and elected several other University of Minnesota students to leadership positions.

In his final speech to the forum, Williams talked

about MSA’s success in pushing medical amnesty legislation — one of the main goals of his campaign last spring.

The bill, which would legally protect underage drinkers from punishment if they are seeking medical attention for themselves or others, has passed committees in the Minnesota House and Senate.

Williams said the measure — which is expected to pass — was the first time MSA and the Minnesota Student Legislative Coalition wrote legislation “from scratch” and got it introduced to the Legislature.

Engagement with MSA was another goal for Williams, he said.

M S A’ s m e m b e r s h i p nearly tripled this year, Williams said, par tly due to the internship program that brought more than 20

freshmen to the student association.

Last fall’s election also brought highlights to MSA’s year.

Williams and MSA came out against constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage and require voter ID. “Those amendments, if passed, would have been detrimental to our student body,” he said.

MSA also sponsored a voter registration event, Vo t e r p a l o o z a , d u r i n g which they registered more than 500 University students to vote.

Though MSA-suppor ted initiatives for opentextbook legislation didn’t get footing this session, Williams said student government will continue pushing the cause in the Legislature.

Hedberg said he wants MSA to have more diver-

sity in its outreach efforts.

“There are other groups on campus that represent the types of diversity we want,” he said.

Traditionally, the speaker of the forum is charged with ensuring MSA forums and procedures run smoothly.

After his election, Hedberg took over the forum, and elections were held for new committee directors and other student government representative spots.

Connie Dong was voted to lead MSA’s Grants Committee, and Alex Cole will take control of the Facilities, Housing and Transit Committee.

Olive Mar tin and Valkyrie Jensen were also elected as directors of the Student Outreach and Engagement and University Policies and Student Concerns committees, respectively.

Obama vows again to close prison at Guantanamo

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WA S H I N G T O N — President Barack Obama on Tuesday renewed his pledge to close the prison for ter rorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but the impediments that have thwarted him thus far remain.

At a White House news conference, Obama said he would tr y to persuade Congress to end restrictions that have prevented him from closing the facility. The president’s comments followed the arrival Monday of medical reinforcements at the U.S. naval prison to help deal with a hunger strike by about 100 of the 166 detainees there.

The forced feeding of detainees has refocused hu-

man rights concerns on the issue.

“I don’t want these individuals to die,” Obama told reporters.

He added that the situation was “not sustainable” and that he had asked advisers to review it. He also said he would press the issue with lawmakers.

“I’m going to re-engage with Congress to tr y to make the case that this is not something that’s in the best interest of the American people,” he said.

Obama first vowed to close the prison while campaigning for president ahead of his 2008 election.

But after Congress passed restrictions on the transfer of detainees to the United States and other countries, the president largely aban-

doned the issue.

Obama has transferred many prisoners from Guantanamo to other countries and has called for moving the remaining detainees to maximum security facilities in the United States.

Bu t t h e l a w ma k ers , mostly Republican, who blocked Obama’s push to close the facility in his first term remain no less committed to keeping it open and there is no public clamor to do so. Lawmakers opposing the closure have express concern about security and have argued that the rules of civilian courts are not appropriate for terrorism prosecutions.

Despite Obama’s pledge to make another r un at closing Guantanamo, the president was

vague about how broad an ef for t he planned. And it was unclear how much political capital he was willing to spend on the vexing issue, par ticularly if it distracts from other second term priorities like overhauling immigration laws or seeking a “grand bargain” deficit-reduction deal.

A renewed push to close the detention center would cheer liberals who long have been frustrated over Obama’s failure to make good on his promise to shutter Guantanamo. However, Obama hasn’t had the full suppor t of his par ty on this issue, with some Democrats joining Republicans in blocking ef for ts to transfer detainees to U.S. prisons.

Obama hints at potential US military action in Syria

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WA S H I N G T O N — President Barack Obama signaled Tuesday he would consider U.S. militar y action against Syria if “hard, effective evidence” is found to bolster intelligence that chemical weapons have been used in the 2-year-old civil war. Among the potential options being readied for him: weapons and ammunition for the Syrian rebels.

Despite such planning, Obama appealed for patience during a White House news conference, saying he needed more conclusive evidence about how and when chemical weapons detected by U.S. intelligence agencies were used and who deployed them.

If those questions can be answered, Obama said he would consider actions the Pentagon and intelligence community have prepared for him in the event Syria has crossed his chemical weapons “red line.”

“There are options that are available to me that are on the shelf right now that we have not deployed,” he told reporters packed into the White House briefing room.

Beyond lethal aid to the rebels, several government agencies are also drafting plans for establishing a protective “no-fly zone” over Syria and for targeted missile strikes, according to officials familiar with the planning. However, the officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the internal deliberations, stressed that Obama had not yet decided to proceed on any of the plans.

As Obama raised the prospect of deeper U.S. involvement, Hezbollah’s leader said Tuesday that his Iranian-backed militant group stood ready to aid Syrian President Bashar Assad. And new violence in Syria hit the capital of

Damascus, as a power ful bomb ripped through a bustling commercial district, killing at least 14 people.

Mindful that any military intervention in the combustible Middle East would be complicated and dangerous, Obama hinted the U.S. would probably avoid taking action unilaterally. Part of the rationale for building a stronger chemical weapons case against Assad, Obama said, is to avoid being in a position “where we can’t mobilize the international community to support what we do.”

Obama has resisted calls to expand U.S. assistance beyond the nonlethal aid the government is providing therebels. That has fr ustrated some allies as well as some U.S. lawmakers, who say the deaths of 70,000 Syriansshould warrant a more robust American response.

Tuesday’s wide-ranging news conference coincided with the 100-day mark of Obama’s second term. It’s a stretch that has been defined by the defeat of gun control legislation he supported, as well as the continuation of old disputes that marked the president’s first four years in office, including the Syria conflict and the launching of his controversial health care overhaul. Asked if he still had “the juice” to get legislation approved, he smiled and paraphrased Mark Twain’s famous line, saying, “Rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated at this point.”

Another issue that frustrated Obama in his first term resur faced when he was pressed about the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, the detention center he promised to close but hasn’t been able to. Obama said he would make another run at it, though he was vague about how.

“I’m going to go back at this,” he said. “I’ve asked my team to review ever ything that’s currently be-

ing done in Guantanamo, ever ything that we can do administratively, and I’m going to re-engage with Congress to try to make the case that this is not something that’s in the best interest of the American people.”

The president also took questions for the first time about the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings that rattled the nation two weeks ago. He defended the FBI’s 2011 investigation into Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspect who was killed, a probe that resulted in the bureau finding no evidence that he was a threat to the United States.

Russia has since provided more information about Tsarnaev and his mother — both ethnic Chechens— that could have resulted in a more rigorous FBI investigation.

Obama pointedly said that Moscow has been cooperative “since the Boston bombings.” He made no reference to information being held back ahead of the attack, but he did say, “Old habits die hard. There are still suspicions sometimes between our intelligence and law enforcement agencies that date back 10, 20, 30 years, back to the Cold War.” Russia has also stymied U.S. ef for ts at the United Nations to mount pressure against Assad’s embattled government in Syria.

Assad has refused to let a U.N. team into the areas near Damascus and Aleppo where chemical weapons are believed to have been used. The White House says the team is standing by and could deploy to Syria within 48 hours if Assad allows it in. Given the unlikelihood of Assad giving the inspectors access, the U.S. says it is also seeking answers on its own and through international partners.

Polling suggests warwear y Americans are reluctant to see the U.S. get involved in another conflict

in the Middle East. A CBS News/New York Times poll out Tuesday shows 62 percent of Americans say the country does not have a responsibility to inter vene in the fighting in Syria, while 24 percent say the government does have that responsibility.

While Obama insists all options are on the table when it comes to dealing with Syria, the White House has little appetite for putting American soldiers into combat there. Even Arizona’s Republican Sen. John McCain, who has pressed for aggressive U.S. involvement, has said putting U.S. troops on the ground in Syria would be a mistake.

Underscoring the danger that could await, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said Tuesday thatSyrian rebels will not be able to defeat Assad’s forces by themselves, suggesting the government’s friends, including his Iranian-backed group would inter vene on the government side if necessary.

Hezbollah and Iran are close allies of Assad, both accused by rebels of sending fighters to assist Syriantroops.

In Washington, Obama also took questions Tuesday about the immigration debate on Capitol Hill.

Obama said that while a bill crafted by eight senators — four Democrats and four Republicans — was not the legislation he would have written, “I do think that it meets the basic criteria that I laid out from the start.”

Obama also defended the implementation of the health care overhaul he signed in his first term, though he said there will be “glitches and bumps” as the sweeping law is fully implemented. He cited the unveiling Tuesday of simplified forms for people applying for insurance as an example of the administration trying to make the rollout of the law’s final stages smoother.

Mexico seeks new security, economic agenda with US

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s is ending the widespread access it gave to U.S. security agencies in the name of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime, but President Barack Obama said Tuesday he won’t judge the change until he meets this week with the country’s new leader.

Under President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office on Dec. 1, Mexico is ending direct sharing among law enforcement of resources and intelligence as the new government seeks to change its focus from violence to its emerging economy. It’s a dramatic shift from the policy under former President Felipe Calderon, who was lauded by the U.S. repeatedly for increasing cooperation between the two countries as he led an aggressive attack on Mexico’s drug cartels.

“In my first conversation with the president he indicated to me that he very much continues to be concerned about how we can work together to deal with transnational drug cartels,” said Obama, who is scheduled to arrive in Mexico on Thursday.

“I’m not going to yet judge how this will alter the relationship between the United States and Mexico until I’ve heard directly from them what exactly they are tr ying to accomplish,” Obama told a news conference in Washington.

The Mexican gover nment said Monday all contact for U.S. law enforcement will now go through a “single door,” the federal Interior Ministr y, the agency that controls security and domestic policy.

Many U.S. officials have speculated for months about likely changes in the security relationship under Pena Nieto, whose Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, has always favored central political and bureaucratic control.

Before, FBI, CIA, DEA and border patrol agents had direct access to units of Mexico’s Federal Police, army and navy and worked side by side with those units against drug cartels, including the U.S.-backed strategy of killing or arresting top kingpins.

But the narcotics efforts lacked proper coordination, Sergio Alcocer, deputy foreign secretar y for Nor th American affairs, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“Before, you had Agency A from the U.S. government that would deal with agency X, Y and Z from Mexicoand then Agency B from the U.S. that would also deal with agency X, Y and Z from Mexico. Nobody knew what was going on,” Alcocer said.

“Far from having a large number of agencies without coordination that are knocking on every door, the Mexican government has a single door called the Secretary of the Interior.”

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Depar tment of Homeland Security and other agencies deferred comment on Monday to the State Department, which said it looks forward to “continued close cooperation.”

With the first bilateral meeting later this week, the message from both countries is now about a broad agenda, with heavy emphasis on economic cooperation.

“A lot of the focus is going to be on economics,” Obama said. “We’ve spent so much time on security issues between the United States and Mexico that sometimes I think we forget this is a massive trading partner responsible for huge amounts of commerce and huge numbers of jobs on both sides of the border.”

Wearied by a six-year offensive against organized crime that took an estimated 70,000 lives and saw the disappearance of thousands more, Mexico has sought to change its message and image since Pena Nieto took

of fice with an aggressive agenda for reform. That includes focusing on trade and increased economic integration with the U.S. as Mexico experiences a boom in manufacturing and worldwide buzz about its competitive edge over China and Brazil.

“What we are striving for in Mexico is to convert the North American region into the most competitive and the most dynamic region of the world. That means that certainly there will be integration of the economy,” Alcocer said.

Bilateral trade amounted to nearly $500 billion last year, more than four times what it was 20 years ago, andMexico is the most important export market for 22 of 50 U.S. states, both countries’ top diplomats said at an April 19 meeting preparing for Obama’s trip.

Pena Nieto’s election in July brought back the PRI, which ruled Mexico for 71 years with an autocratic style. They were voted out by disenchanted voters in 2000, an event seen as the opening of Mexican democracy.

Calderon took office in 2006 after a disputed election and went to the United States immediately for help in fighting cartels, which he said threatened to take over all aspects of Mexican society. His aggressive attack on organized crime was supported by the U.S., which offered $1.9 billion for equipment and expertise under the Merida Initiative.

Under his six-year term, an unprecedented numbers of U.S. law enforcement agents began working in Mexico. Neither government will say how many, but the AP identified several hundred in 2011. U.S. drones spy on cartel hideouts, U.S. tracking beacons pinpoint suspect’s cars and phones and U.S. personnel train Mexican forces.

All U.S. agents living and working in Mexico get diplomatic status and are banned from carrying weapons.

Instead, they trace cellphone calls, read e-mails and study behavioral patterns of border incursions and follow smuggling routes using images from drones.

They process huge amounts of data about dealers, enforcers, money launderers and bosses.

While the Calderon administration took down 25 of its 37 most-wanted drug lords, critics said the effort did little more than cause a spike in gruesome violence that increasingly hit innocent civilians and spilled into everyday life. The situation seemed so chaotic that at one point, some American officials started to question whether Mexico was becoming a failed state.

Meanwhile, the Mexican economy was stabilizing and growing without much fanfare, said Raul Benitez, a security expert at Mexico’s National Autonomous University.

“Trade marched on automatically without political inter ference or the need for cooperation,” he said.

“No one was paying attention, but the trade relationship now is very intense ... the free trade agreement is working.”

Shannon O’Neil of the Council on Foreign Relations said the Obama meeting will be a start for concrete changes, including improving border crossings and bureaucracy for quicker movement of goods.

She agreed that security efforts under Calderon at times lacked coordination, but she said centralization also has its downside.

“Some of the deepest cooperation we saw in the last government was between particular agents or teams,” said O’Neil, author of the book “Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States, and the Road Ahead.”

“You can imagine U.S. agents or agencies being reluctant to share intelligence when they don’t know who it’s going to.”

Editorials & Opinions www.mndaily.com/opinion

5

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

GRADES

Grading curve should be no more There should be a cohesive grading system across the University.

S

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

ince I have been a college student, I have dealt with the fear of grades at the end of the semester, as we all do. Not only am I vying for my professors’ approval, but I’m also competing against my classmates to see who will set the grading curve for the exam.

Grading on a curve means that instead of having the grades be set at a pre-determined scale, the grade is set by the highest score in the class, and the other scores fall in comparison with that.

Having curved exams is an unfair policy to have on a college campus. Say you are the student who just so happened to be in a classroom with the four students who are at the top of your class. Your exam curve is going to be much more difficult to achieve than someone who is in another classroom, even if it is with the same professor.

Cur ving grades can also be detrimental to those who have grades that are right on

MEG O’CONNOR columnist

the border. It all depends on how their grade ends up being compared to the mean. If you are on the low side of the mean, your grade will go down, and if you are on the high side of the mean, your grade will go up.

This ends up both hurting and helping students.

Grading is one of those things about college that I wish I could change. Being that I am a measly junior standing undergraduate student, I won’t assume I have much clout in the discussion, but it is a discussion that needs to be had nonetheless.

College is competitive enough without adding in the element of actually competing against your classmates to achieve an A grade.

Many science, technology, engineering and mathematics

major courses have dramatic curves to their exams. This is arguably to help weed out the competition in some of the most competitive fields. Professors make exams exceedingly difficult in order for only a few to be successful leaving others to ride the curve and come out of the exam with a B or higher.

Why not just write the exams at the level in which the students are at and avoid the struggle of having to curve the exams? If the students who fail a difficult test wind up with a B on the curve, then they would more than likely achieve a B on an exam written at their level.

I have heard constant complaints around campus about what is referred to as the “Carlson curve.” This is the way in which grades are accumulated within the Carlson School of Management.

Each Carlson class based on its course level has a median grade level. If you hit the median marker, you will achieve a B or a similar grade in the class.

Last time I checked, “median” or “average” was a C grade.

Additionally, it is not uncommon for courses to include group assignments. These proj-

DEATHS IN IRAQ: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 4,802 — IRAQI CIVILIANS: 112,217- PLUS DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 3,278 — AFGHAN CIVILIANS: UNKNOWN

ects usually have one student performing all of the tasks, leaving the others to simply reap all of the benefits without having to actually do any work.

Maybe those of us who always end up carrying the team when in an assigned group should just stop. But there is always the fear that if one ceases to perform the tasks, nobody else will step up.

Obviously, life is about working alongside others and adapting to various situations while making the most out of it. These situations compound on the concept, however, that a student’s grade is affected by one’s peers.

Clearly, grading is an everchanging and a somewhat flawed system. Throughout my three years as a college student, I have experienced both positive and negative aspects to various grading styles. Yet I feel that the University as a whole needs to have a grading system put in place that sustains grading equality across campus.

Meg O’Connor welcomes comments at mo’connor@mndaily.com.

HOUSING

Returning to the nest Commuting to campus has its advantages over the on-campus alternatives.

Washington Avenue bike lane good idea A bike lane on Washington Avenue would be a good addition, as long as it’s safe.

A

Minnesota Daily article reported April 22 that the Minnesota Student Association is pushing for the establishment of a bike lane on Washington Avenue, the same street where the light-rail line is currently under construction.

Prior to any development of the light rail on Washington Avenue, bikers were only able to bike on the top part of the Washington Avenue Bridge, as they are now. Installing a bike lane on Washington Avenue would hopefully alleviate some of the biker and pedestrian congestion by the Science Teaching and Student Services building, as well as the crowded spaces by Amundson Hall and Moos Tower.

We support the installation of a bike lane on Washington Avenue running from Stadium Village to downtown Minneapolis. However, we understand there are serious questions of safety that must be taken into consideration, and the engineers of the light-rail line must be consulted before this measure can make real progress.

As the Daily article reported, University Parking and Transportation Services gave cautionary optimism to the bike lane’s development, saying that its establishment was “feasible.”

As long as the creation of a bike lane on Washington Avenue will not risk the safety of students or light-rail passengers, we would encourage MSA and the student body at large to continue to push for its installation and for additional designated biking areas throughout campus.

With the new addition to the Recreation Center and ongoing developments of several other buildings on campus, the creation of any new bike routes that make students’ commutes to class easier and less hazardous are welcomed investments.

Voter restriction efforts continue A bill in the North Carolina Senate would discourage college students from voting.

RONALD DIXON columnist

The residents of Alberta love their lands and waters, and they are capable of preserving those assets without our help. Alberta’s government monitors all aspects of oil sands production.

The province of Alberta has 147,000 square miles of boreal forest. A total area of 1,850 square miles is set aside for oil sands surface mining. About 350 square miles have so far been disturbed.

Producers are required to restore disturbed land and make deposits to a fund guaranteeing restoration. That fund now totals $900 million.

Water usage is limited by a law requiring that existing and approved oil projects may not use more than a total of 3 percent of the annual average flow of the Athabasca River, the primary area water source. Water in the region is continually monitored to assure that it meets Alberta’s strong standards for toxins.

As to greenhouse gases, such as CO2, 80 percent of oil GHG emissions come from the end-use burning of the gasoline or diesel made from the crude oil. Those emissions are the same for conventional and oil sands oil. Therefore, the overall well to wheel difference is small. At present, all Canadian oil sands operations account for about one-tenth of one percent of world CO2 emissions. We need serious carbon tax and fuel conservation measures to reduce fossil-fuel consumption and emissions. But pipelines will remain the safest and lowestcost way to transport oil and gas, our major energy fuel source for decades to come.

Rolf Westgard University Lifelong Learning Program on energy topics

Ronald Dixon welcomes comments at rdixon@mndaily.com.

Collin Randolph welcomes comments at crandolph@mndaily.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Keystone pipeline dilemma

President Barack Obama’s administration continues to wrestle with the issue of approving the Keystone XL pipeline that would transport oil from the huge Alberta oil sands reservoir (it’s oil, not tar) to refineries in Texas, Oklahoma and Illinois. The issue is pitting those who are concerned about environmental impact against those who see the benefit of a large new oil supply from our friendly North American neighbor.

Environmentalists contend that production of heavy oil in Alberta and its transport by pipeline risks damaging the environment.

Labor unions and the energy industr y contend that the whole process is safe and that the $7 billion pipeline project will create thousands of jobs, boost the economy and provide a needed source of oil.

Emotions are running high, and as usual, the truth lies between the two extremes.

The Alber ta oil sands geologically originated as an enormous conventional oil reservoir that lacked a capping layer. The oil slowly migrated upward and became mixed with sand and dirt near the surface. In the process, some of the lighter oil compounds either evaporated or were eaten by microbes, leaving behind a heavy oil residue called bitumen. To produce it, forest is cleared, the bitumenladen dirt is scooped up by giant shovels and the bitumen is separated from the dirt. When mixed with condensate, a very light oil compound, the diluted bitumen, now called dilbit, will flow in a pipeline.

The whole oil sands production process releases more carbon dioxide than

conventional oil drilling.

The still heavy dilbit requires extra pressure to move through the pipeline, and it is also more acidic and corrosive than conventional oil.

This creates a greater danger of pipeline leaks with risks to ground water aquifers such as the Ogallala, over which the pipeline will pass.

In response, pipeline builder TransCanada notes that existing dilbit pipelines are operating safely. This includes the Alberta Clipper pipeline, which brings dilbit from Alberta to northern Minnesota. The Alberta Clipper is a 1,000-mile crude oil pipeline that provides service amon Hardisty, Alberta and Superior, Wis. A spur pipeline at Clearbrook, Minn., brings 300,000 dilbit barrels per day to the Pine Bend, Minn., refinery, the source of most of Minnesota’s gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has approved a revised route for the Keystone Pipeline. He has sent a letter to President Barack Obama that said TransCanada would adhere to 57 safety conditions. Those include rigorous pipeline design, testing and the reporting of leaks. It would also avoid Nebraska’s ecologically sensitive Sandhills region. TransCanada had submitted this new route for the pipeline, expected to transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day, after the Obama administration had rejected its initial plan.

Environmentalists had complained it would cross ecologically sensitive regions in Nebraska. Heineman also noted that TransCanada would provide evidence that it is carr ying $200 million in third-party insurances to cover any cleanup costs from leaks.

A

s a first-year college student, I have asked numerous friends for advice on where I should live next semester. Essentially, I have three options: dorming, renting or living at home. In the end, I decided to select the latter.

Most college students will tell you that living at home after having tasted freedom is a drag. Keeping parents informed on plans, relying upon them for food and responsibilities at home are just a few of the cited concerns over living at home during college.

Through a cost-benefit analysis, however, I have deduced that living at home will be the best option.

Obviously, this does not apply for out-of-state students, or students who live too far outside of the metro, but I happen to live in Blaine, which is a mere 20 minutes from the University of Minnesota. Moreover, driving, which I plan to do, or busing, would save more money in the long term than staying in an apartment or in the over-priced dorms (even when considering car maintenance and gas, as well as losing the parking lottery). Finally, being in my comfortable and relatively quiet environment will serve me better than living in the dorms, which are notorious for loudness and disruptions.

Have I enjoyed the conveniences of dorm life? Sure. It is nice to be able to depart for class 15 minutes before the lecture begins, and unlimited food supplies have definitely kept me satisfied. In the end, though, the long-term savings, as well as the atmosphere of the suburbs and my home, will outweigh the dorming conveniences.

One of the greatest benefits, though, is having the ability to change my mind. At home, one is not limited by a lease; I could rent an apartment anytime or dorm the following semester if living at home fails to be a viable option. If the dollop of freedom obtained from living at the University is simply too much to give away, for example, then I could reclaim the independence whenever I would like.

If you are currently debating your future living arrangements, I hope that this piece will help you reach a decision. The consideration of a multitude of opinions has definitely helped me.

T

hough the next elections are several months away, efforts to restrict voting rights are already underway.

Early last month, Republicans in the North Carolina state Senate introduced SB 667, or the “Equalize Voter Rights” bill. Despite whatever false perception the title aims to give, the bill is meant to keep college students, a typically Democratic-leaning demographic, from voting in elections.

If passed, SB 667 would bar parents from claiming their children as dependents if they register to vote somewhere besides the parents’ address. According to the Huffington Post, parents who could no longer claim their children as dependent would be hit with a tax increase between $2,000 and $2,500.

The apparent rationale behind this legislation is that one cannot be considered dependent if they live outside of their parent’s home. As most college students know, this is naive and wishful thinking.

Many students who attend college elsewhere in the state or country continue to rely on their parents to help pay for expenses such as books and rent in addition to school tuition.

Furthermore, it’s peculiar that this law is only enforced if a student chooses to register at their address while at college. The authors of this bill evidently have no problem with parents claiming children as dependents who live elsewhere, just as long as they don’t register to vote while they’re away.

The real intent of this bill is obvious. The state’s Republicans feel threatened by the student vote and are trying to stifle it. Similar efforts to restrict access to the polls have been taken up in the state — including shortening the early voting days and introducing a new voter ID law.

These laws restricting voter rights and access to the polls should be rejected in North Carolina and similar forms elsewhere in the country.

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 Fax: (612) 435-5865 Phone: (612) 435-1578 Letters and columns to the editor 2221 University Ave. SE Suite 450 Minneapolis, MN 55414

Look for online exclusive columns at www.mndaily.com/opinion.

@mndailyopinions

EDITOR IN CHIEF CALI OWINGS = EDITORIAL EDITOR ERIC BEST = SENIOR EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER WILLIAM BORNHOFT = BOARD MEMBERS CASSANDRA SUNDARAM, JONATHAN MORRIS

6

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Sports

@MNDAILYSPORTS

BASEBALL

Big Ten title lies within Gophers’ grasp 2013 BIG TEN BASEBALL STANDINGS BIG TEN OVERALL Rank/Team Record Pct. Record Pct. 1. Minnesota 9-3 .750 26-14 .650 2. Indiana 11-4 .733 34-8 .810 2. Nebraska 11-4 .733 20-23 .465 4. Ohio State 12-6 .667 28-13 .683 5. Michigan State 7-5 .583 24-13 .649 6. Illinois 8-7 .533 26-13 .667 6. Michigan 8-7 .533 22-20 .524 8. Northwestern 7-11 .389 18-17 .514 9. Purdue 5-13 .278 13-27 .325 10. Iowa 4-11 .267 16-22 .421 11. Penn State 2-13 .133 11-28 .282

REMAINING BASEBALL SCHEDULE

DATE

TIME

OPPONENT

LOCATION

May 3

5:05 p.m.

Penn State

State College, Pa.

May 4

1:05 p.m.

Penn State

State College, Pa.

May 5

12:05 p.m.

Penn State

State College, Pa.

May 8

3:05 p.m.

Milwaukee

Siebert Field

May 10

3:05 p.m.

Nebraska

Siebert Field

May 11

2:05 p.m.

Nebraska

Siebert Field

May 12

1:05 p.m.

Nebraska

Siebert Field

May 16

3:05 p.m.

Illinois

Siebert Field

May 17

2:05 p.m.

Illinois

Siebert Field

May 18

1:05 p.m.

Illinois

BASEBALL

SOURCE: BIGTEN.ORG

MARK VANCLEAVE, DAILY FILE PHOTO

Minnesota catcher Matt Halloran celebrates with his team after hitting a two-run home run against Iowa on April 27, 2012, at the Metrodome.

The Gophers have a favorable conference schedule down the stretch.

BY SAM GORDON sgordon@mndaily.com

With three Big Ten series left to play, Minnesota leads second-place foes In-

diana and Nebraska by one game in the loss column.

Nine conference games remain, but the Gophers have a favorable schedule the rest of the way with only one road series.

Indiana and Nebraska will meet for a three-game set this weekend, meaning that the Gophers would gain ground on at least one of the teams by winning

SOFTBALL

their weekend series at Penn State.

If Minnesota continues to play well, it could gain even more ground the following weekend. The Gophers will host Nebraska May 10-12 at Siebert Field, where they’re 4-1 on the season.

The Gophers rank ninth out of 11 Big Ten teams with a team batting average of .265. But they’ve proven to be serious contenders to win the Big Ten regularseason title with their starting pitching alone.

Minnesota’s team ERA of 2.91 ranks second in the

Big Ten. On top of that, the Gophers’ offense is rounding into form. Minnesota had 44 base hits and scored 28 runs in its three-game set against Iowa, both season highs for a three-game series.

Head coach John Anderson said he was particularly impressed with the way slumping catcher Matt Halloran swung the bat in the series.

Halloran busted out of his funk last weekend and went 4-for-10 with five RBIs. He’s hitting .204 this season after batting .307 a year ago.

Siebert Field

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

PREVIEW

VS MINNESOTA

ST. THOMAS

3:05 p.m., Wednesday at Siebert Field

MINNESOTA: The Gophers, winners of eight of their last nine games, will host Division III St. Thomas in their second-to-last nonconference game of the season.

Minnesota’s bats came to life last weekend against Iowa. The Gophers had 14 or more hits in all three games and scored a combined 28 runs.

Minnesota beat St. Thomas 9-2 last season in the final game at the old Siebert Field.

ST. THOMAS: The Tommies (22-4) are a Division III powerhouse. They sit atop the MIAC conference with a 10-0 record.

St. Thomas ranked No. 2 in the latest Division III poll as well.

Seven everyday players hit .350 or better for the Tommies.

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

DUAL-SPORT ATHLETE

Gophers host Green Bay High-jump success ‘fuels’ Ellenson after

injury-filled basketball season

SOFTBALL PREVIEW

VS MINNESOTA

GREEN BAY

2 p.m. and 4 p.m., Wednesday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium

MINNESOTA: The doubleheader with Green Bay will wrap up the Gophers’ nonconference games this season. Minnesota, which eclipsed the 30-win plateau last weekend for the third straight season, has a 19-10 nonconference record.

Sophomores Kaitlyn Richardson and Tyler Walker are both hitting above .400. The duo on the left side of the infield, along with sophomore Erika Smyth, has started every game this season for Minnesota.

GREEN BAY: Green Bay has a 12-25 record and is 6-13 in road contests.

The Phoenix have two batters hitting above .300, but they have no pitchers with a winning record or an earned run average less than 3.50.

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

ICHIGO TAKIKAWA, DAILY FILE PHOTO

Minnesota guard Wally Ellenson dribbles past North Dakota State guard Kory Brown on Dec. 11, 2012, at Williams Arena.

Ellenson u from Page 1

“That screamed to us, ‘This guy is going to be pretty good,’ ” Thor nton said. “I think that interest we showed on the track and field side helped [Ellenson’s] interest in Minnesota grow.”

Programs like Louisiana State, Texas and Wisconsin showed interest in Ellenson for track, while Kansas, West Virginia and Connecticut contacted him about a possible basketball offer.

But Ellenson made it clear to all his suitors — it’s both sports or neither.

“My dreams are to do both spor ts. [I] want to make the Olympics,” Ellenson said. “Hard thing is, you have to have two dif ferent body types in

each to compete at a high level like that. Something might have to give.”

As one of two active high jumpers for the Gophers this spring, Ellenson has placed in all three meets he’s competed in.

But as he claws to catch on to collegiate track, his competitors have been practicing since the indoor season began in Januar y.

“That’s where he’s green,” Thor nton said.

“He’s gifted, but he needs to catch on to the college speed of things.”

Ellenson’s raw talent comes from a long line of athletes in his family who have played Division I hockey, football and track, according to his father, Rice Lake high school track coach John Ellenson.

“I’m one of the few fathers that had to tell his child in high school, ‘no,

you’re not going to the gym today, you go ever y day,’ ” John Ellenson said.

The elder Ellenson watched this basketball season as his son str uggled through injuries to his hand, his heel and even the flu.

“He had a really tough basketball year,” John Ellenson said. “It was really tough on him mentally not to be on the floor. Then to go to practice early, shoot early and not see those things pay off.”

John Ellenson said track and field is a blessing, not a burden, to an already gifted athlete who needed the spor t to gain confidence again.

Thornton said it’s nice to see Ellenson’s work ethic paying of f in track, adding that “track doesn’t have a bench,” and athletes like Ellenson can make a dif ference out of

high school without working through the system.

Sean Har tnett, a family friend and personal trainer to Ellenson in high school, said Ellenson’s drive sets him apar t from other athletes.

Before the Wisconsin regional meet Ellenson’s senior season, Har tnett of fered the idea that Ellenson tr y to jump 7 feet, 1 inch, despite missing the 7-foot mark 25 times in a row.

“I got a momentar y pause,” Hartnett said. “He gave me a wink of his eye, and it was game on.”

Ellenson hit the 7-foot mark on the first tr y and followed it up with his career-high jump of 7 feet, 1 inch, the highest mark in the countr y at the time.

“He’s dedicated,” John Ellenson said. “He’s going to go places. He’s got bigger horizons.”

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Classifieds

7

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PERSONALS

EMPLOYMENT

Dream of Adopting Loving couple in Twin Cities, married 7 years, hoping to adopt a newborn to two-year old child and expand our family.

Please call, text, or email anytime.

507-358-7823; ryanjuliaadopt@yahoo.com

SUMMER

EMPLOYMENT BARTENDING! $300/Day potential No Exp Nec, Training available. Age 18+ OK. 1-800-965-6520 xt114 AngiesList pref contractor looking for appt setters $8/hr +bonus. 15-20 hrs/wk. matt@snapconstruction.com call 612-333-SNAP Painters Wanted, 1 summer of exp. needed, $10-13/ hour. Call 651-238-3012 or 651-6991965 Hughes and Faust Decorating

SEASONAL

Landcare Student Workers Must be UofM student Beg. PT Apr cont.

FT for summer M-F, Sat-Wed or Wed-Sun 7am-3:30pm $8.25/hr. Go to http:// z.umn.edu/landcarestudent

SUMMER WORK: Ntl marketing company will be on campus in CMU from 9-2pm on 4/30, 5/1, 5/6, 5/7 taking applications.

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Flexible schedules both part and full time avail. No experience needed. Apply online at www.workforstudents.com

HOUSING 1, 2, 3 BR’s avail 8/1 & 9/1 Crpt, A/C, ldry, secure, pkg, $720 and up, heat pd 612-237-6941 www.uofmhousing.com

3 BR Apt. Newer. 2 BA. Central Air. Off st prkg. Great price. Call Jake 612-600-9101

HOUSING

HOUSING

HOUSING

CLASSIC CITY APTS Dinkytown/Stadium Village AVAIL FALL 2013 Rooms, Studios 1 BR, 2 BR, 5 BR Units OPEN HOUSES Check our website at WWW.classiccityapartments.com for Dec/Jan Dates & Times.

5BR/2BA Lofts incl 46 inch TV starting at $2700/mo. Call 612-623-1888 for appt.

Email info@classiccityapartments.com WHY share a room when you can stay in an apt for around same price???

DINKYTOWN

DUPLEX & HOUSE

Summer Housing 3 bed avail in a house in Dinkytown, singles/groups welcome, 2 bath, 1 block to UofM, off-str park, new kitch/bathrooms, laundry in unit, part furnished, high eff heat/AC, rent possibly negotiable 612-210-5342

2 BR 707 Univ Ave SE $850+elec 6/1 651-635-9336

3 BR 714 4th St SE $1275 9/1 651-6359336

4 BR 615 4th St SE $1550+ 9/1 651-6359336

6 Bedroom, 4 Bath House on 3 AcresSTUNNING 1 1/2 STORY ON 3 ACRES. GORGEOUS KIT W/GRANITE COUNTERTOPS, GOURMET APPLIANCES, AND WI PANTRY. FORMAL DR. LR OFF OF KIT W/GAS FP. MF OFFICE, 1/2 BA, MUDROOM, & LAUNDRY. 3 UL BR’S, BA, AND HUGE BONUS RM. FINISHED LL. MOVE-IN READY AND IN LIKE-NEW CONDITION (NO PETS AND ONE OWNER HOME). HERE IS THE LINK TO PICTURES AND VIRTUAL TOUR:http:// www.suepladson.com MLS #4354158Contact Sue Pladson: sue@prudentialpladson. com or 320-240-3360

ST.PAUL

DUPLEX & HOUSE - ST. PAUL

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Big 3 BR by Como pk. & #3 bus, Free Ldry Avl 8/1 $1260 txt/call 651-343-0100

DINKYTOWN 4 BR Apt. Newer. 2 BA. Central Air. Off St Prkg. Great price. Call Jake 612-600-9101

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*Awesome 5 brNow Renting For Fall* 2BA unit laundry. Off st pkg. frplc Starting at $630/BR. all utl pd www.dinkytownrentals.com or 612-378-2413

8th St SE. Lg studio, 1 BR. Free ldry/PKG/ Internet. 651-226-1094

Events

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If you would like your event promoted here, go to mndaily.com/contact and fill out the provided form.

UPCOMING EVENTS WHAT: Great River Gathering celebrates the best of Saint Paul WHO: Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation with support from the Saint Paul Foundation WHEN: 5-8:30 p.m., May 9 WHERE: Saint Paul River Centre, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul PRICE: $65 As a marquee event during the second annual Placemaking Residency, the Great River Gathering brings people from diverse backgrounds and organizations together to celebrate the best of Saint Paul today. But even more importantly, it will spark conversation about where we want to go tomorrow.

WHAT: Dating for nerds WHO: Nerds at Heart WHEN: 7-10 p.m., May 15 WHERE: Devil’s Advocate, 89 S. 10th St., Minneapolis PRICE: $30 Board games, trivia, singles, oh my! This is a hobby-themed dating event for smart singles.

Register now at www.nerdsatheart.com.

WHAT: LoziLu Women’s Mud Run WHO: LoziLu WHEN: First wave at 9 a.m., second wave at noon, June 22 WHERE: Wild Wings of Oneka, 9491 N. 152nd St., Hugo, Minn.

PRICE: $59 until May 26, $69 until June 9, $79 until June 19, $89 for on-site registration Dirty has never been so fab! Check out LoziLu Women’s Mud Run for cancer. There will be obstacles, music, laughing and mud! To learn more, visit www.twincities.lozilu.com. Students and military personnel save $10 on the starred prices.

Featured Student Group HAVE A STUDENT GROUP YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE IN THE DAILY? The Minnesota Daily now promotes student groups in the new Student Group section for free.

If you would like your student group featured, email studentgroup@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 now 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.

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The subject matter, for wording, illustrations and typography of featured groups are subject to approval by the Publisher. Any content that attacks, criticizes or demeans any individual, race, religion, sex, institution, firm, business, profession, organization or affectional preference shall not be accepted.

8

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

BACKTALK

horoscopes

Today’s Birthday (5/1): Take advantage of a lucky financial cycle and save. After summer, the pace quickens with home and community activities. Resolve old issues and partnerships blossom, including new ones.

Aries (3/21 - 4/19): Today is an 8 — Mercury enters Taurus, and for about two weeks, get practical and profitable. Avoid snap judgments and assumptions; all isn’t as it appears.

Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is an 8 — Stay objective about a hot topic, and avoid gossip.

Lay low, get into your work and make an amazing discovery, which can remain private.

Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is a 9 — Don’t bother to argue. Stay respectful. Postpone travel for a few days. You’re even more practical for the next few weeks.

Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is a 7 — Listen carefully. Stay out of someone else’s argument, but remember who says what.

Enforce household rules. Settle up.

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 9 — Hold your horses, and study the situation. Stick to your budget. Check the exact wording. Clear up old messes these next few weeks.

Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is an 8 — Work requires more of your attention. Accept constructive criticism; if you can’t be nice, be quiet.

For strategies on how to solve sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk.

Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is an 8 — You work effectively with groups. Accept a challenge.

Financial planning scores today and tomorrow.

Upgrade equipment without spending a lot.

Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is a 9 — Consider an interesting suggestion. Costs are higher than expected and tempers short. You’re entering a two-day business phase.

Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 9 — Take on more responsibility. Don’t get intimidated.

Praise everyone’s results; favor negotiations, and compromise. Go slowly to avoid mistakes.

Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is an 8 — Keep faith and ask questions later. Travel is complicated; adjust your schedule. Decide what role to play. Take a leadership role.

Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is a 9 — Reschedule a meeting so you can be home with the kids. Improve your living conditions.

Change doesn’t happen all at once.

Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is a 9 — Get obsessed with details, and minimize risks. Finish work privately today and tomorrow. Concentration is easier, so advance in your studies.

sudoku Visit mndaily.com to see the solution to today’s puzzle.

5/1/13

Tuesday’s solution © 2013 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services.

All rights reserved.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Written By Linda C. Black

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

overheard “I like birds, but there is something so very wrong about going to sleep to the sound of them.”

—McNeal Hall

TA: “I haven’t been to office hours sober since the start of the semester.”

—Unknown

Professor: “A bullet through your cortex MAY lower your IQ.”

—Unknown

“It’s so nice when it finally goes in.”

—Tate Laboratory of Physics

Professor [talking about cancer]: “Since most people in this audience will probably die from it, it’s important that we know about it.”

—Vincent Hall

Construction worker 1: “Speak for yourself! I got laid this morning!”

Construction worker 2: “Oh, yeah? Is she still tied up in the closet?”

Girl 1: “Do any of you think it’s ironic that we are about to go tell little kids not to do drugs after a weekend of doing nothing but drugs?”

Girl 2: “Well, it’s not like we did any hard stuff.”

Girl 3: “Since when is acid not ‘hard stuff?’ ”

—Campus Connector

“On a scale of one to Blarney’s, how drunk should I get tonight? Ke$ha.”

—West Bank

Guy 1: “Why weren’t you at the rec today?”

Guy 2: “I had lots of homework to do.”

Guy 1: “Hey, nothing is more important than getting huge. Get your priorities straight.”

—West Bank

—Construction site on 10th Avenue and Sixth Street

What did you overhear?

4Post submissions on 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 MAY 1, 2013

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Aveeno’s parent co.

6 Hebrides native 10 Madcap 14 Olds’s last compact 15 Biblical prophet 16 “En garde” weapon 17 Louis of MGM 18 Taps 20 *General outline components 22 Actor Aykroyd 23 SFO hrs.

24 They may grade univ. papers 27 __-di-dah 30 Shell-shocked 33 Ad time 35 Steamed 37 *16th/17thcentury dramatic nickname 39 Scrawny sort 41 First person in France?

42 “Shrek” ogress 43 *2009-’10 Lady Gaga hit 46 Distance measures 47 2003 self-titled folk album 48 Lawless TV role 50 Dr. with Grammys 51 Composer Rorem 52 Windy City rail and bus org.

54 “Community” network 56 Cruise ship game ... or how to start each of the answers to starred clues?

62 Go motoring 65 Studio sign 66 Operating system developed at Bell Labs 67 Sandusky’s lake 68 Short and probably not sweet 69 Like the Nissan Cube 70 Swabbing site 71 Pounded the keyboard DOWN 1 Door part

5/1/13

By Erik Agard

2 Banned orchard spray 3 “Miss Independent” R&B singer 4 Can’t contemplate 5 “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” river 6 Schism group 7 Peter or Paul, but not Mary 8 Ship’s lowest 70Across 9 Consults 10 Son of Cronus and Rhea 11 “Angry Birds,” e.g.

12 New beginning?

13 Japanese dough 19 Hit the road 21 Intentionally fail to invite 24 Recorded, nowadays 25 Sorry sort 26 Obama left it in November, 2008 27 Capital WSW of Madrid 28 Game sanctuary?

29 Kept together, as sheep 31 Doll’s cry 32 Place with a cheer named for it

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

34 Inexperienced one 36 Zip 38 Yahtzee need 40 “Tricked you!”

44 Turned from green to red, perhaps 45 Kin of -trix 49 Costello’s partner 53 Blazing 55 Brooklyn’s __ Island 56 Quite the fox

5/1/13

57 Abbr. in a bank ad 58 Onionlike veggie 59 “To serve, not to be served” group 60 Ascent 61 Stowe antislavery novel 62 Place to unwind 63 Year in Madrid 64 Puffed cereal with a Berry Berry variety

Visit mndaily.com to see the solution to today’s puzzle.

dr. date Dear Dr. Date,

As a long time reader, first time writer, I felt you were the best resource for my quandary. Over Spring Jam I got real weird and ended up hooking up with a freshman lady — twice. Based on the slew of texts she has been sending me, I’m getting the feeling that she wants this to be a regular thing. I, however, do not. How do I nip this in the bud while remaining moderately respectful?

—Confused Senior

Dear Cradle Robber,

Trust me — it’s a hard-knock life being older, wiser and probably more attractive than younger prey. Young pups want nothing more than to be looked after by an old dog, but the old dogs want nothing but a few humps and howls in the evening and then complete distance from the youthful pooches in the morn.

I’ve got a cure that’ll treat your whining ailment real quick: Text back once and never text again. Because it was only a couple of play dates with the little lady, it’s appropriate to shut down your interaction via text. Be a golden retriever, less a pit bull, in your delivery, crafting something similar to this — “Spring Jam was wild, girl; live up the rest of your freshman year.

Peace.” And if she texts you after that, well, then simply don’t respond. Deuces.

—Dr. Date

Dr. Date,

So a couple of my friends suckered me in to doing a charity walk the first weekend of May. While I’m not a huge fan of this whole exercise thing, it’s for a good cause. More importantly, I thought this might be a good way to test out my game on a girl or two outside of the bar scene and maybe get a date out it. But the event is on a Sunday morning. Would I be breaking some sort of etiquette by going on the prowl in the a.m. hours? Is there an

unspoken start time before you can start hitting on the opposite sex?

—Early Bird Gets The Worm

Dear Morning Wood,

The Doc really only has one piece of advice to put a lid on your inquiry, and that is this: If you aren’t always on the prowl, then you are doing it wrong.

Note: Because exercise is involved in this endeavor, the majority of women will be rid of makeup and have a potential case of swamp-ass, depending on the temperature. If you are a shallow bruh, you will be disappointed in the female selection for those exact reasons. If you’re not too shallow and into chicks who can pound the pavement, by all means, take a peek around.

—Dr. Date

Dr. Date,

There’s a girl I work with, and we’ve fooled around in the past. It’s always been fun, but we tried to get into something more serious a few months ago, and it didn’t work. Now she’s dating a new guy who she really likes, which is great, but when we hang out sometimes that old spark flares back up between us. I don’t know if I should tell her how I want to try again or just move on. What do I do?

—Confounded Coworker

Dear Jealous Jerry,

You strike me as a former patient of mine named Jerry, so that’s what I’ll call you. Listen, I’m sure you and your co-workin’ woman had some exhilarating sex-capades in the copy room or a boss’ office when you were knockin’ your boots together, but if it didn’t work out outside of the funky frisks the first time, chances are it never will.

Let your former mermaid between the sheets be merry with her new boo, and go pound the new front desk girl or something.

—Dr. Date

Need relationship advice? Email Dr. Date at drdate@mndaily.com.

9

10

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

SPCO returns, concerns remain

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

St. Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts PSEO student Tiller Martin receives a bass lesson from adjunct faculty instructor of double bass Christopher Brown on Tuesday in Ferguson Hall.

Lockout u from Page 1

They called for an immediate search for a new SPCO leader, the Associated Press reported.

“It came as a big shock to a lot of us that we were no longer good enough,” Brown said. “This was more than just a slap in the face.”

Many orchestra members, including Brown, are eligible to take a special retirement package of fered by SPCO, he said, and losing those musicians will hur t the ensemble.

“The real calamity is that we had a great orchestra,” he said, “and now the chances of it being a great orchestra, in my opinion … are lessened.”

Questioning careers

Violin per formance sophomore Hannah Howland said it’s scar y both T win Cities orchestras have had problems because it makes her question her career choice.

The Minnesota Orchestra has been locked out since Oct. 1, 2012.

The Iowa native said she came to the University because of the various performance opportunities.

“You can just get all this exposure to this music … which is what I want to do with my life,” Howland said.

“That in itself is kind of an educational experience.”

There has been an air of uncertainty among music students since SPCO locked out in October, Brown said.

Brown said he walked into his classroom visibly

disappointed and sad each day. He said that kind of degradation can make students question their career choice.

“I feel like I’m coming to work here, and I’m letting them down,” he said, adding that one of his students switched from a bass performance major to business.

Brown said the lockout will educate students on the clash between ar tists and corporate management.

When SPCO concer ts resume May 9, Brown will be back with the ensemble, and Howland will be in the audience.

While Brown said he’s happy to be playing music again, there are still some “outstanding issues.”

“It comes with more disappointment than happiness.”

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

St. Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts PSEO student Tiller Martin, right, receives a bass lesson from adjunct faculty instructor of double bass Christopher Brown on Tuesday in Ferguson Hall.

Schools look to University for more diverse teachers Teaching u from Page 1

projected to increase by more than 60 percent in the next decade.

Students need to be exposed to teachers of different ethnicities, said Richard Wassen, director of educator licensing at MDE. “That is one of the purposes behind integration,” he said. “All students benefit from having exposure to diversity and different cultures.”

Teachers of color also provide real-life examples to minority students for future careers, including teaching, according to a Center for American Progress report on teacher diversity.

The University has im-

proved the diversity of students studying to be teachers, said Misty Sato, an associate professor of curriculum and instruction.

Sato said 13 percent of students studying to be teachers at the University are of color, up from 9 percent a few years ago.

“We are higher than the state average, which is 3.5 percent [teachers of color], but that’s not nearly enough teachers to meet the expectations of our school partners,” she said.

The University is faced with unique pressures in filling teacher population gaps in the state, said Spanish studies junior Shawna Zielinski. She plans to become an English as a second language teacher after getting her teacher’s license.

“Because we are the biggest state school, you might say we have more of an obligation and resources,” she said, “but I think a lot [of pressure] is put on the University.”

Causes The reasons behind the teacher diversity gap are varied and complicated, Wassen said.

One of the biggest barriers is the numerous tests students must pass before they’re licensed as teachers, he said, because the tests are costly and may have cultural biases.

“We have to fine-tune our system,” he said.

“There is no research that suggests the tests measure who will make a better teacher.”

Another bar rier, Wassen said, is the high cost of education and student teaching, worsened by low teacher salaries.

“The research suggests that the most impor tant way to support teacher diversity is to create more equitable pathways,” he said.

Common suggestions for creating those pathways are scholarship increases and tuition forgiveness for teachers, according to the MDE study.

One solution Alternative teaching licensing programs are another way to ease financial pathways for teachers, but it’s been more than two years since Minnesota legislators passed the law allowing for alternative teacher licensing in the state, and no one has proposed a program to the Board of Teaching.

Alternative licensing allows people to teach sooner by allowing organizations to design a teacher-training program for people with an undergraduate degree but without a master’s or passing all the licensing tests.

After completing an approved 200-hour program, participants get a temporary teaching license and begin teaching in Minnesota schools while finishing their education and earning a salary.

At the University, developing an alternative licensing program isn’t a top priority because it already has at least 22 different teach-

ing licensure programs, Sato said.

But she said if the University did consider creating one of the programs, the primary motivation would likely be to increase diversity.

“There’s national data that show certain types of alternative licensure programs can attract and retain more people of color in a licensure program and fill that gap in the teaching population,” she said.

The most common method for earning a teaching license at the University is completing a one-year master’s teaching program after receiving a four-year bachelor’s degree.

But the quick nature of the alternative teaching licensing can turn some off.

“There are great benefits for the recent college grad,” Zielinksi said, “but I would argue that it tends to not be good overall for the schools they are placed in because they tend to be less prepared as teachers and less qualified.”

Sato said the reputation of a program could be impacted if it offered alternative teacher certification.

“There [are] some real philosophical dif ferences that people hold about what it means to become a teacher,” she said, “and how much preparation you need before you should be allowed to be the sole teacher of record with students.”

“And right now at the University, we’ve held the value that it is impor tant

to be fully prepared before you can be the teacher of record.”

Teach for America State law doesn’t limit alternative teacher licensing to institutes of higher education.

One program that currently of fers an alter native pathway to temporar y teaching is Teach for America, which recruits students from colleges and universities nationwide.

TFA could be the first to utilize the new state law, with plans to submit a formal proposal to the Board of Teaching to become a certified alternative teaching licenser, said spokeswoman Kaitlin Gastrock.

In 2012, a quarter of TFA teachers who began teaching in Minnesota identified as minorities, Gastrock said.

TFA members in Minnesota can teach with a conditional cer tification after going through summer preservice training.

Studies in three other states have found TFA members to be ef fective teachers, Gastrock said.

“Teach for America is well-positioned to meet the high bar set for th by the Board of Teaching that requires a robust admission and selection process …” she said. “We think this a tremendous oppor tunity to continue to strengthen and expand the pipeline of talented teachers in the region.”