September 11, 2013

CAMPUS & METRO

CAMPUS & METRO

EDITORIALS & OPINIONS

FOOTBALL

New General Counsel William Donohue is set to serve for only two years.

Nine faculty members were chosen out of the several hundred applications.

Students marginalize the nearby community too often.

Marcus Jones has already returned a kick and a punt for a touchdown.

U’s general counsel spot still in flux

New hires bring new expertise to CBS u See PAGE 4

u See PAGE 3

SUNNY HIGH 85° LOW 60°

U OF M

MINNEAPOLIS

ST PAUL

Keep Riverside in mind u See PAGE 5

WEDNESDAY

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

STUDENT LIFE

TCF and the U: How close is too close?

Jones a spark for Gophers u See PAGE 6

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

MSA crafts platform for 2014 MSA will prioritize the U’s bonding bill and open-source textbooks this year. BY KYLE STOWE kstowe@mndaily.com

The Minnesota Student Association outlined its policy platfor m for this school year at its first for um of the semester Tuesday evening. MSA will focus on advocating for University of Minnesota bonding projects, open-source textbooks and changes to the Higher Education Act during its reauthorization this year. The undergraduate student government succeeded in lobbying for the

new medical amnesty law in the 2013 legislative session, and MSA leaders said they’re confident they can influence policy change again. Matt Forstie, Minnesota Student Legislative Coalition chairman, said it’s important to show state legislators a student voice when they discuss bonding projects in this spring’s session. Local governments and state agencies, including the University, request state funding during the legislative session for constr uction and remodeling projects, generally in u See MSA Page 10 MSA will also push for a more transparent college ranking.

AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY

Economics sophomore Alex Carlson uses the ATM outside TCF Bank in Coffman Union to deposit a check Tuesday.

Some students say they felt pressured to open an account when they arrived at the U. BY NICOLAS HALLETT nhallett@mndaily.com

University of Minnesota

the relationships between big banks and American universities.

biology freshman Alyssa

Many have criticized the

Oakman thought she need-

University’s relationship

ed to open a TCF Bank ac-

with the bank for targeting

count in order to receive

students since the partner-

her U Card.

ship began in 1995.

“That’s how they pre-

“In that time, the rela-

sented it at orientation, that

tionship has been scruti-

it would be easier to have

nized up and down,” said

them linked,” she said. “I

University spokesman

didn’t fully understand what

Chuck Tombarge.

was going on.”

But if the University

Though TCF check

didn’t have the bank’s spon-

cards and U Cards aren’t

sorship, he said, it would

in fact linked, the Universi-

lose funds for student-ori-

ty’s tie to TCF has recently

ented programs like schol-

come under scrutiny from

arships, Homecoming, the

the U.S. Consumer Finan-

cricket team and Spring

cial Protection Bureau,

Jam.

amid larger questions about

For example, TCF must

u See TCF Page 3

HEALTH

HIGHER ED

Online classes don’t cut costs, surprising some The University charges up to $270 in fees per online course. BY ANNE MILLERBERND amillerbernd@mndaily.com

As the cost of higher education continues to increase, online classes have been held up as a less expensive alternative. But at the University of Minnesota, and elsewhere, these classes can mean additional fees on top of tuition costs — something some students and faculty members are unaware of. University students taking more than one Online Distance Learning credit are charged an additional fee between $90 and $270,

depending on the number of credits taken. Nick Biondich has taught the ODL version of a University accounting class for nearly 18 years and said he’s never heard of the fee. Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Bob McMaster said most instructors aren’t aware of many of the fees students pay, including the ODL fee, because it’s not relevant to them. “In my role as a faculty [member], I rarely get involved with tuition-related issues,” Biondich said. Freshman Vanessa Nelson said the fee would discourage her from taking an online course. u See ONLINE Page 4 Creating a new online class can cost the U up to $100,000.

STUDENT GROUPS

Students using more e-cigs

Groups mourn lost murals in Coffman

BY T YLER GIESEKE tgieseke@mndaily.com

Until last spring, one wall of the Black Student Union’s corner office in the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Union displayed a vivid depiction of the 1969 Morrill Hall takeover — a protest that played a huge role in the group’s growth. “It brought character to the space in the way that white walls can never do,” said BSU President Amber Jones. The mural — showing a protest that sparked creation of the University’s African-American and African Studies department — was a great conversation starter and a lesson in “local, relevant” history, she said. With last summer’s renovation of Coffman’s second floor, student groups and cultural centers that previously held space lost

Coffman’s second floor renovation has left student Some say electronic cigarettes groups with blank walls. are healthier, but their full BY HAILEY COLWELL effects are unknown. hcolwell@mndaily.com

University of Minnesota staffer Brad Kaufman said he began smoking electronic cigarettes a few months ago because they contain fewer chemicals than regular cigarettes. “They’re better for you,” said the Office of Information Technology systems administrator. While they may be less harmful than regular cigarettes, health experts caution that the full effects of e-cigarettes — which are growing in popularity nationwide — are still unclear. Rather than burning tobacco, an electronic cigarette heats up nicotine extract, u See E-CIG Page 4 E-cigs aren’t affected by the new tobacco tax as much as regular cigarettes are.

u See COFFMAN Page 10 The University must now approve any painting in the new spaces.

ICHIGO TAKIKAWA, DAILY

Junior Miguel Jimenez studies at the La Raza Student Cultural Center on Friday afternoon in front of the only mural left from their previous office space before the renovation.

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 6

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Daily Review

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2001 At 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. HISTORYCHANNEL.COM/TDIH

REUSE-A-PALOOZA Vol. 115 Wednesday, September 11, 2013, No. 6

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Junior Anya Titova looks at purses at the Reuse-A-Palooza at Northrop Mall on Tuesday afternoon. The event was hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Reuse Program.

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Google loses appeal in Street View snooping court case BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal appeals cour t said Google wrongly collected people’s personal cor respondence and online activities through their Wi-Fi systems as it drove down their streets with car cameras shooting photos for its Street View mapping project. The r uling that the practice violates wiretap laws sends a war ning to other companies seeking to suck up vast amounts of data from unencr ypted Wi-Fi signals. “The payload data transmitted over unencr ypted Wi-Fi networks that was captured by Google included emails, usernames, passwords, images, and documents,” wrote the U.S. Cour t of Appeals in San Francisco in a repor t released Tuesday Google had argued that their activities were exempt from the wiretap law

because data transmitted over a Wi-Fi network is a “radio communication” and is “readily accessible to the public.” Not so, wrote the judges, agreeing with an earlier federal judge’s ruling. “Even if it is commonplace for members of the general public to connect to a neighbor’s unencr ypted Wi-Fi network, members of the general public do not typically mistakenly intercept, store, and decode data transmitted by other devices on the network,” they said. Google’s Street V iew cars can be spotted with pole mounted cameras on their roofs, photographing along roadways the world over. The photos then show up on Google’s popular Street View map option, where viewers can virtually scroll along a street past homes, cars and shops, all captured in photographs. But unbeknownst to passers-by, those cameras weren’t just making pho-

Iran’s Rouhani says ‘win-win’ nuke deal possible BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s president said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic can strike a “win-win” deal with world powers over its nuclear program, but that time is limited to reach an agreement. The statements by President Hasan Rouhani carried by state TV come as he prepares to go to New York later this month to address the U.N. General Assembly. Iran is “ready for the win-win game,” Rouhani said, but added, “The world should know that the period for solving the nuclear case will not be unlimited.” The West suspects Iran’s nuclear program has a military dimension. Iran denies the charge, saying the program is only for peaceful purposes like power generation and cancer treatment. Rouhani has stressed a more diplomatic approach to foreign affairs than the bombastic style of his hard-line predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But Rouhani has also insisted that Iran would not make concessions on the pillars of its nuclear program such as uranium enrichment. Iran “will not withdraw an iota from the definite rights of people,” Rouhani was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying on Tuesday. Enriching uranium is the core issue at the center of the nuclear controversy and a potential pathway to atomic weapons. Iran says it needs some enrichment for a Tehran research reactor. Rouhani also suggested that his trip to the U.N. along with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in coming weeks, his first visit to the West since his inauguration in August, could be a new chance for progress.

tos. They were also collecting detailed information transmitted over WiFi networks they passed through. Privacy experts and industr y watchers said this was the first time an appeals court has ruled that it’s illegal for a company to sniff out and collect private information from the Wi-Fi networks that provide Internet ser vice to people at home. Google is also the first publically known company to try. “This appeals court decision is a tremendous victor y for privacy rights. It means Google can’t suck up private communications from people’s Wi-Fi networks and claim their WiSpying was exempt from federal wiretap laws,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project director. “Because Google’s Wi-Spy activity was so extensive, the potential damages could amount to billions of dollars.” Marc Rotenberg, exec-

utive director of Electronic Privacy Information Center, called it “a landmark decision for Internet privacy.” “The cour t made clear that the federal privacy law applies to residential Wi-Fi networks,” he said. “Users should be protected when a company tries to capture data that travels between their laptop and their printer in their home.” A Google spokesperson said T uesday that attorneys for the Internet giant are “disappointed in the 9th Circuit’s decision and are considering our next steps.” Attorney Elizabeth Cabraser, representing a class action of plaintiffs who say their privacy was invaded by Google said Tuesday they look for ward to resuming their case now that a federal appeals court has ruled in their favor. Google has apologized for the snooping, which it says took place between 2008 and March 2010.

Syrian refugees resettling in Germany GENEVA — Germany’s relocation program for Syrian refugees is getting under way with 107 people gaining temporary new homes, U.N. officials said Tuesday. The first group to be relocated under a German program for up to 5,000 Syrian refugees includes “women and girls at risk, people with serious medical conditions, survivors of torture or others with special needs,” said U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming. Unlike the makeshift arrangements for most of the 2 million refugees that have fled Syria into neighboring countries, the program announced by Germany in March gives them the right to work under two-year residence permits that could be extended if Syria’s crisis remains unchanged. In that regard, Germany currently has the world’s largest such relocation program for Syrian refugees, “setting an important example” for other nations, Fleming said The first group of 107 Syrian refugees is due to leave Lebanon on Wednesday and head to Hannover, Germany, where the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, known as the U.N. refugee agency, will help them on arrival. From there the refugees are being transferred to an accommodation center in Friedland, in Lower Saxony, where they are to stay for 14 days. During that time, they will get oriented to their new culture, including basic language training, how the schools and health works, and help in interacting with local authorities, Fleming said. After that they will leave for temporary homes across Germany, mostly small centers or apartments where they have access to schools, medical facilities and social services. The program is expected to be full by the end of this year, and Germany also is getting some support from the International Organization for Migration, another Geneva-based intergovernmental group. Austria also has pledged to temporarily relocate 500 Syrians.

EXTENDED WEATHER FORECAST THURSDAY HIGH 72° LOW 50° Mostly sunny

FRIDAY HIGH 69° LOW 52° Sunny

SATURDAY HIGH 74° LOW 57° Partly sunny

SUNDAY HIGH 71° LOW 52° Few showers

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errors@mndaily.com The Minnesota Daily strives for complete accuracy and corrects its errors immediately. Corrections and clarifications will always be printed in this space. If you believe the Daily has printed a factual error, please call the readers’ representative at (612) 627–4070, extension 3057, or email errors@ mndaily.com immediately. THE MINNESOTA DAILY is a legally independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and is a student-written and student-managed newspaper for the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus. The Daily’s mission is: 1) to provide coverage of news and events affecting the University community; 2) to provide a forum for the communication and exchange of ideas for the University community; 3) to provide educational training and experience to University students in all areas of newspaper operations; and 4) to operate a fiscally responsible organization to ensure its ability to serve the University in the future. The Daily is a member of the Minnesota News Council, the Minnesota Associated Press, the Associated Collegiate Press, The Minnesota Newspaper Association and other organizations. The Daily is published Monday through Thursday, during the regular school year and weekly during the summer, and is printed by ECM Publishers in Princeton, Minn. Midwest News Service distributes the 22,000 issues daily. All Minnesota Daily inserts are recyclable within the University of Minnesota program and are at least 6 percent consumer waste. One (1) copy of The Minnesota Daily per person is free at newsstands in and around the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Additional copies may be purchased for $.25 each. U. S. Postal Service: 351–480.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

3

U’s general counsel TCF and the U: How close is too close? spot still in flux TCF

u from Page 1

Obama delays vote on Syria, says diplomacy may work BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said in a nationally televised address Tuesday night that recent diplomatic steps offer “the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons” inside Syria without the use of force, but he also insisted the U.S. military will keep the pressure on President Bashar Assad “and be ready to respond” if other measures fail. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Obama said he had asked congressional leaders to postpone a vote on legislation he has been seeking to authorize the use of military force against Syria. Acknowledging the weariness the nation feels after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama said, “America is not the world’s policeman.” And yet, he added, “When with modest effort and risk we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act. That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional.” “Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria,” he declared. The speech capped a frenzied 10-day stretch of events that began when he unexpectedly announced he was stepping back from a threatened military strike and first asking Congress to pass legislation authorizing the use of force against Assad. With public opinion polls consistently showing widespread opposition to American military intervention, the

White House has struggled mightily to generate support among lawmakers — liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans alike — who have expressed fears of involvement in yet another war in the Middle East and have questioned whether U.S. national security interests were at stake in Syria. Obama had trouble, as well, building international support for a military attack designed to degrade Assad’s military. Suddenly, though, events took another unexpected turn this week. First Russia and then Syria reacted positively to a seemingly off-hand remark from Secretary of State John Kerry indicating that the crisis could be defused if Damascus agreed to put its chemical weapons under international control. The president said he was sending Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, and he added, “I will continue my own discussion” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, he said the United States and its allies would work with Russia and China to present a resolution to the United Nations Security Council “requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons and to ultimately destroy them under international control.” In a speech that lasted 16 minutes, Obama recounted the events of the deadly chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that the United States blames on Assad. “When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until these horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened. The facts cannot be denied,” he said.

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It’s unclear who the University of Minnesota’s top lawyer will be in two years. W illiam Donohue replaced long-standing General Counsel Mark Rotenberg in the spring, but it’s unclear how long he’ll ser ve in the position. After ser ving as a top litigator at the University for more than 30 years, Donohue was appointed to lead the Of fice of the General Counsel in May for a two-year fixed term. Rotenberg stepped down after more than two decades as the University’s top lawyer. Tracy Smith, who was appointed deputy general counsel when Donohue was promoted, said his leadership is what the OGC needs during the

institutional knowledge,” Phenix said. Two-thirds of the senior leaders at the University have held their position for less than three years, according to an email Kaler sent to University faculty and staff in May. It’s not uncommon for the University administrators to hold fixed terms, Phenix said. For example, Aar on Friedman began a threeyear fixed term as the University’s Medical School Dean and Academic Health Center Vice President in 2011. His term will end in January. A search committee for Donohue’s position hasn’t been appointed, Phenix said. The search will likely take three to six months, and there are no set dates for when it will begin, she said. Donohue said a fixed term is in the best interest of all parties. “We developed what I think is a real high-quality law office. We think we’re in the top of general counsel offices in higher education,” he said.

UE

BY MEGHAN HOLDEN mholden@mndaily.com

changeover. President Eric Kaler of fered Donohue an interim position shor tly after Rotenberg’s resignation and soon after appointed him to the University’s general counsel for a two-year term. “I think it’s a smar t thing for him to have done,” Donohue said. “He was worried about stability on the senior staff, and I have been here forever. I am the rock of stability.” If Donohue, 65, chooses not to retire when his contract expires in June 2015, there’s a possibility he could continue in the position pending Kaler’s approval, said University Chief of Staff Amy Phenix. Phenix said Donohue’s experience as deputy general counsel for the past 23 years and his commitment to the University would provide stability for the OGC during its transition in leadership. “We’ve had significant leadership tur nover on Kaler’s senior leadership team, and [Donohue] is somebody who comes with deep, deep

TCF U.S. BANK WELLS FARGO OTHER ATM

HA VEN

New General Counsel William Donohue is set to serve for only two years.

fering free University sweatshirts to students who open TCF checking accounts. Burdor f said the free maroon and gold merchandise didn’t persuade him to switch from his U.S. Bank account. But biomedical engineering freshman Syrus Jalali said the complimentary item influenced his decision. “Then they said, ‘Put $50 in the account and you’ll get a free sweatshir t,’ ” Jalali said. “So I was like, ‘Yeah, sure.’ ” Tombarge said the University is “ver y careful” about how TCF markets its services to students. He said he took issue with a Sept. 5 ABC News repor t which scrutinized the ways in which the bank is marketed to students. “They framed it as if we have a bounty on students and are urging them to open accounts to increase the University’s payments,” he said, “which is not entirely true.”

15T

ICHIGO TAKIKAWA, DAILY

General Counsel William Donohue at the McNamara Alumni Center Office of the General Counsel on Friday. Donohue replaced Mark Rotenberg, who stepped down this summer after more than 20 years in the position.

contribute $100,000 annually to the University of Minnesota Foundation for scholarships. TCF has to pay at least $1 million to the University per year, according to its contract. Each active U Card attached to a TCF account was assigned a value of $34 in 2013. When enough accounts were opened to total $1 million, TCF started paying the University the $34 for each subsequent account opened. In 2013, TCF paid the University $415.25 for accounts opened. It was the first time the University made additional money from the active accounts. Yuchen Yang, a mechanical engineering junior from China, was asked to set up a TCF account when he got his U Card freshman year.

“I had no idea where I am supposed to set up my bank account, so I said yes,” he said. “I thought that would just be easier for me, so I signed some sheet.” Ben Burdorf heard about linking a TCF account to his U Card even before he arrived at orientation. Burdorf, a neuroscience freshman, said he saw the bank’s many advertisements around campus and talked to a lot of students who had switched to TCF. But once he got to the University, he chose to keep his current bank. “They tried to make a point about how it would be more convenient,” Burdorf said. “They said it would be getting two birds with one stone and having it all on your U Card would be easy, since you’ll already have to use your U Card.” The contract with the University shows TCF pays $200,000 per year for marketing on campus. These efforts include of-

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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

New hires bring new expertise to CBS Nine faculty members were chosen out of hundreds of apps. BY KATELYN FAULKS kfaulks@mndaily.com

After two years of searching, the University of Minnesota has hired nine new faculty members to fill holes in expertise, three of whom arrived in August. The College of Biological Sciences used a new approach called cluster hiring to identify the areas of research the college needed more expertise in. The other six hires will arrive over the next year. Usually, new hires replace faculty members who have retired or left and often have the same areas of focus. Elizabeth Wroblewski, CBS strategic initiatives director, said the college received

several hundred applications since spring 2012. “It was astounding,” she said. “We were really amazed [by] the number of applications, and the quality of the applicant pools was excellent.” The three hires who have already arrived study multiple disciplines, and two are in more than one department. Robin Wright, CBS associate dean for faculty and academic affairs, said the process was competitive and those hired are “top-notch.” She also said the best candidates possessed three traits: They built bridges between departments, were passionate about new ways of teaching and brought new expertise to the college. “We’re not just hiring replacement faculty for one department,” Wright said. “Rather, groups of faculty that will interact and move their fields ahead in certain areas.”

Ready to collaborate After finishing his postdoctorate at the University of Chicago, Yue Chen is now an assistant professor in the University’s Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics department. Chen said he applied for the position because he liked how many different areas the University researches. “I was ver y impressed over here about the broad diversity of research performed at the University,” he said. “All types of disciplines from medicine to basic science, which gave me a lot of opportunity to collaborate.” Chen’s research uses computers to identify how proteins change, which can help doctors understand how diseases function. Chen said he’s looking forward to exploring the outdoors with his wife. “The scener y is ver y

beautiful,” Chen said, “lots of lakes.”

patient’s risk for cancer, for example.

A family transition

‘A real loss’ for his last college

Ran Blekhman’s 3-yearold son has already made the transition to Minnesota life. The new assistant professor in the departments of Ecology Evolution and Behavior and Genetics, Cell Biology and Development came after completing his post-doctorate at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. “[My family] loves it here,” he said. “There are so many things for them to do, especially for the little one.” Blekhman’s research examines the bacteria found in and on the body to find out how they affect humans. The bacteria, he said, interact with humans most commonly through diseases. If scientists can understand how this interaction happens, they may be able to predict a

Peter Kennedy, who previously worked at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., is excited to do research out in the field. He now works as an associate professor for the Plant Biology and EEB departments. Kennedy said he applied because the depar tments are “very strong” in the research he’s interested in and he wanted the opportunity to work with colleagues and students. “The facilities are fantastic,” he said. “My colleagues are great, and interactions with students have been positive so far.” Although he misses his colleagues in Portland, Kennedy said the opportunities to

teach, research and explore a new area were “too great to turn down.” Wendy McLennan, a lab coordinator and instructor at Lewis and Clark, said Kennedy’s move is a loss for them, but she understood why he had to go. “Peter was the perfect colleague because he was a great listener, really smart, kind. Students loved him; faculty and staff loved him,” she said. “He brightened everyone’s day.” At a national meeting last month, Wright said one of Kennedy’s former colleagues jokingly accused her of stealing him from the college. All of the new faculty will help the college move forward in different areas, Wright said, and help develop new strengths. “It’s nice to have people that are new,” Wright said, “with fresh eyes.”

Historical U intersection’s fate undecided University officials are deciding what’s best for the intersection of Pleasant Street Southeast and Pillsbury Drive. BY ALEXANDRIA CHHITH achhith@mndaily.com

More than half a century ago, the intersection of Pleasant Street Southeast and Pillsbury Drive Southeast served as a hub of the campus trolley line. Now, the intersection will change again to improve traffic flow. University of Minnesota Parking and Transportation Services officials will choose one of three different construction plans to permanent-

E-cig u from Page 1

turning it into a vapor that the smoker inhales, said Anne Joseph, a professor of medicine who researches how people quit smoking. Smokers can buy liquids with different concentrations of nicotine. In regular tobacco cigarettes, smokers inhale nico-

ly remodel Pleasant Street Southeast and Pillsbur y Drive, between Nicholson and Jones halls on the University’s East Bank. After the Central Corridor light-rail construction is completed next year, permanent traffic signals could be installed at the intersection. Or it could be turned into a roundabout or a four-way stop, said PTS engineer Yilun Xu. Over the summer, the University temporarily con-

tine along with about 7,000 other chemicals and carcinogens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in ecigarettes, both the levels of nicotine and cancer-causing agents are “much, much” lower, Joseph said. Without further research, however, it’s difficult to say what the long-term effects of smoking e-cigarettes could

verted the intersection into a roundabout to test traffic flow. Jacqueline Brudlos, PTS spokeswoman, said the results of this summer’s experiment are still being studied and a decision hasn’t been made. Julia Carpenter, a global studies and environmental sciences, policy and management student, said she drove through the experimental roundabout and liked it more than the current configuration. “It made traffic a lot faster,” she said. PTS assistant director Sandra Cullen said the fu-

ture of the intersection depends on pedestrian, bicycle and auto traffic data collected in the spring when the light-rail line opens and buses return to their original routes. At that point, the area’s traffic lights will be removed and the intersection will become an all-way stop until construction on a permanent solution starts, Cullen said.

be, she said, adding that it took a long time to figure out that regular cigarettes cause lung cancer. David Yousef, a store manager at Smokedale Tobacco’s Stadium Village location, said he first saw e-cigarettes appear on the market only about a year and a half ago. In that time, he said he’s seen increased sales among students. Yousef attributed e-cigarette’s popularity to the value they pose. A typical e-cigarette, which can be reused, is about $25, said Jolene Struss, a Smokedale employee, and liquid costs between $10 and $16 at the store. One bottle can last a smoker between one and two months. An average smoker might pay $7.50 every day or two for a pack of cigarettes, she said. A new tobacco tax that began in July, adding $1.60 to each pack sold, doesn’t increase the cost of e-cigarettes as much. Yousef said e-cigarettes can also help people trying to quit smoking. Smokers can slowly reduce the concentration of nicotine in the liquid they smoke, he said, eventually using a nicotine-free liquid. “There might be a good use for e-cigarettes,” Joseph said, like helping people quit or providing lifetime smokers with lower exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. However, similarities in nicotine intake could extend the quitting process, she said. Joseph also said young people could start smoking e-cigarettes and “graduate” to smoking tobacco ones. “It sure looks like they’re being marketed to younger people,” Joseph said, pointing out that a website for ecigarette manufacturer Blu, prominently features starter kits and different flavors of nicotine liquid, including “cherry crush.” Yousef said he doesn’t think e-cigarette advertising targets young people. If tobacco companies only advertised to young people and ignored the adult population, he said, they would lose customers in the long run. Some students star t smoking e-cigarettes because they can be used where

smoking is banned, like bars and inside other buildings, said journalism senior Laura Anderson. But sometimes the lure of actual tobacco is too much. Anderson said she knew students who began smoking ecigarettes but switched back to regular cigarettes because they missed tobacco. More than 21 percent of Minnesota college students said they had smoked in the past month, according to Boynton Health Ser vice’s 2012 College Student Health Survey. Although some people think e-cigarettes are useful to help quit smoking, said Kaufman, the OIT staff member, smokers who need to get their fix are still dependent on nicotine. “I think some people forget that,” he said.

Trolley remnants The fate of the intersection, located in the University’s Old Campus Historic District, could affect the remains of the defunct trolley line, Xu

AVERAGE COST PER MONTH FOR A PACK-A-DAY SMOKER

$225

said. The Inter-Campus line used to carry students between the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses, crossing through the Dinkytown and Como neighborhoods. Rod Eaton, a volunteer at the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, said he wouldn’t oppose construction, but trolley line remains are important to some. “From the museum’s view, it’s important to keep it,” he said. For the intersection to be efficient, though, removing the traffic circle might be necessary. “I don’t want to say [the

traffic circle] has to be removed, but it is a possibility because it would provide better geometry,” Xu said. The intersection needs to change to accommodate drivers and pedestrians better and damaged areas need to be fixed, he said. “The area [now] has a bad design because the streets are too wide and there are too many confliction points,” Xu said. If the area is changed into a roundabout, he said, there are two possible designs: one would have bikers riding with motor vehicles, and the other would have a bike lane.

Online classes don’t cut costs, surprising some Online u from Page 1

“I find [online classes] more challenging than faceto-face,” she said. “I just don’t really think it’s worth the extra money.”

The cost of providing courses

The University of fered more than 1,200 online classes in 2012, McMaster said. Each online class costs the University between $20,000 and $100,000 in startup expenses, he said, and par t of the ODL fee goes to recovering those costs. ODL Assistant Director Joan Saunders said the University also uses par t of the fee to keep copyrighted information online instead of having students buy a course packet, as they might for a traditional class. Other institutions also charge additional fees for online classes, though amounts var y. At the University of Illinois-Springfield, students

CLASSES OFFERED AT THE UNIVERSITY

pay a $25 fee for each credit hour they take as an online course. Ohio State University charges a $100 fee per term for students taking distance learning courses. The fee pays for “24-7 distance education suppor t,” according to the school’s website. But even though online classes and their fees are relatively new, distance learning has always come at a cost. When ODL courses were first of fered at the U n i v e r s i t y, M c M a s t e r said, they came with separate fees because students and instructors had to pay to mail course materials back and forth. As online classes became more common, he said, expenses for providing and maintaining them increased, directing money away from individual courses. “ H i s t o r i c a l l y, t h e s e were separate units, and as separate units, they had to earn their own revenue and didn’t have the resources of the whole University behind them,” McMaster said.

ODL COURSE FEES IN ADDITION TO TUITION

$270

$180

4.1%

(ABOUT 1,228 CLASSES) WERE COMPLETELY ONLINE 29,963 TOTAL CLASSES OFFERED

$13 E-CIGARETTE LIQUID

CIGARETTE PACKS

*COSTS ARE APPROXIMATE SOURCE: JOLENE STRUSS

SOURCE: BOB MCMASTER

$90

$0 1 6-10 2-5 11+ ODL CREDITS PER SEMESTER SOURCE: COLLEGE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Editorials & Opinions www.mndaily.com/opinion

The truth about textbook piracy Although textbook piracy is illegal, students may find that it is their cheapest and only option. ournalist James Surowiecki epitomized the textbook industry’s business in the New Yorker years ago as a fight against used book sales via new, expensive editions of books released ever y few years. For Surowiecki, these obsolete texts are planned to manipulate the industr y to profit from students. The cost of textbooks has skyrocketed a whopping 812 percent since 1978. In comparison, the Consumer Price Index has only risen 250 percent since 1978. Additionally, it is estimated that students pay anywhere from $800 to $1,000 annually for textbooks at four-year public universities. With no end in sight for the high cost of textbooks, students are increasingly turning to more unscrupulous methods to acquire their course materials. While students are continuing to pirate their favorite TV

LUIS RUUSKA columnist

shows, movies and albums, the odd PDF of their Monday class’s textbook may not look so out of place in their BitTorrent client these days. In 2010, around 20 percent of students surveyed by the Book Industr y Study Group reported illegally downloading course content. Today that number has risen to 34 percent. Over the same period of time, the amount of students who admitted to photocopying or scanning textbooks rose from 21 percent to 31 percent. It is clear that more than a third of students see pirating textbooks as a viable option for making the grade, but are they in the wrong? Legally, yes. It’s irrefutable that downloading copyrighted textbooks for free is illegal. How could it not be?

But to simply state this obvious fact and declare that this issue is a black-and-white one where the lazy and self-centered college students are in the wrong and the hardworking, law-abiding textbook publishing industry is in the right is to miss the point entirely. While pirating textbooks may be illegal, students have every ethical right to do it provided that they accept there may be legal consequences for their actions. Why? Because, as the old saying goes, it takes two to tango and the textbook publishing industry has kept prices exorbitantly high for more than three decades. Too long have the requests and complaints of students to the textbook publishing industry fallen upon deaf ears. At some point we as students need to draw a line in the sand and decide whether to refuse to support an industry whose profits rise as our modest finances diminish. If the textbook publishing industry does not want to compromise, then it shouldn’t be surprised to see its profits begin to dwindle year-by-year. For some students, drawing that line will mean only renting

DEATHS IN IRAQ: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 4,802 — IRAQI CIVILIANS: 114,407- PLUS DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 3,363 — AFGHAN CIVILIANS: UNKNOWN

or buying used books. For others, this will mean pirating to make the grade. The exponential rise in piracy over the last decade is the reason many industries have released streaming services like Hulu and Spotify in a gesture of compromise to their customers. The book industry has also recognized the value in digital content, and retailers like Amazon. com and Barnes & Noble have eagerly adopted their respective e-book devices, e-books and e-book loaning services and inadvertently opened the door to piracy even further. Only a tiny fraction of “pirates” face consequences each year. Students are going to be surprised to discover that pirating their textbooks is as easy and as relatively safe as pirating their favorite albums. But they will also need to decide for themselves if the ends justify the means. In this case, the ends might mean hundreds of dollars saved each semester and a little less debt after graduation. Luis Ruuska welcomes comments at lruuska@mndaily.com.

ACTIVISM

Cycling activism

Urban activists are adapting bikes to be a political instrument.

P

Maxwell Smith welcomes comments at msmith@mndaily.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR After Syrian cyber warfare, citizens must use caution as conflict is brought closer to home An interesting thing about cyber warfare is that it can make a war thousands of miles away feel a lot closer to home. Aside from the shocking news of chemical warfare in Syria, U.S. citizens have been experiencing a high level of cyber warfare from the Syrian Electronic Army. This group of politically motivated hackers has been flexing its muscles all month with its computing capabilities. Media companies have reported the SEA as a group of anonymous computer hackers who support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Although a direct connection has not been officially linked between Assad and SEA, it is highly suggested. According to Infosecurity magazine, SEA’s of ficial website is registered by the Syrian Computer Society, which is a state-affiliated organization that was headed by Assad in the 1990s. Most people have never experienced the violence and bloodshed of war firsthand. But due to our increasing dependence on social media and online news reporting, we have experienced the barrage of cyberattacks the SEA has committed in the past month. The cyberattacks committed by the SEA have been frequent and numerous. NPR, The Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch and BBC Weather were the first victims.

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

STUDENT LIFE

J

5

Then about a week ago, when Obama’s course of action in Syria was still undetermined, the SEA attacked The New York Times’ website and Twitter domains, making it difficult for people to access these sites. Most recently, on Sept. 2, the SEA hacked the U.S. Marine Corps recruiting site. The group posted a message directly from the Syrian army calling President Barack Obama a traitor. To gain access to most of these websites, the SEA used a phishing email technique targeted at the registrar Melbourne IT, an Australian company that sells website addresses such as NYTimes.com. A phishing email is an email soliciting useful information. The only catch is that it appears to be from a trusted source. As a result, the victim will usually give the information willingly. The technique operates similarly to a double agent. Information technology specialists have touted the cyberattacks as fairly basic. However, it is hard to take much comfort from these statements seeing as they have continued all month. The only relief is that the attacks on these media sites have been harmless, some even quite humorous. For instance, when SEA hacked the BBC’s Twitter account, it declared, “Forecast for Tel Aviv on Saturday – 5000 degrees Kelvin with northern fog and eastern high pressure front.” In reality, attacks like these not only limit access to information, but also are meant to create chaos. While the attacks have done little

damage in the U.S., in Syria, the SEA and other hacking groups have used comparable methods to create propaganda and track down antiregime rebels. The real difference in cyber warfare is that the government cannot hide ordinary civilians from enemies when they are online. The government has the ability to prevent information on military attacks from reaching the media. However, it cannot block ordinar y people from experiencing cyberattacks. In today’s digital age, media sites are too well-integrated to mobile devices and social media. Once something is online, it reaches multiple platforms of communication instantly. Cyber warfare will continue to increase exponentially with our online use, which increases every day. As a result, Americans will be closer to war because they will witness a lot of these cyberattacks at the same time as the government. Ultimately, with the increase in cyber war fare, Americans will need to be more careful online. Fact checking and email assurance are now more fundamental than ever before. After all, as the Syrian cyberattacks have demonstrated, the National Security Agency is no longer the only group attempting to access our information. Bram Berkowitz This column was originally published on Sept. 5 in the Daily Orange from Syracuse University. Comments should be sent to letters@mndaily.com.

utting on a helmet and riding a bike through Minneapolis may seem like an apolitical way to move around, but biking is challenging the hold ERIC BEST that motorized Editorials & Opinions traffic has on urEditor ban spaces. I’ve biked in the Twin Cities for a few years now. The more I get into riding, the more I’m realizing biking is a rejection of a lot of the norms we face each day, from nature to civic order. The aesthetic of whizzing through Minneapolis on a bike is one part spiritual and one part ego. In the summer, the accessibility to nature is exciting. The world feels friendlier as you interact with other cyclists all without air conditioning or lake traffic. In the winter, it’s the challenge of finding bravado, a strong constitution and a sense of organization. It’s a solitary endeavor as fellow bikers put away their wheels for the season. The activism comes in subtle ways. On some level, a cyclist rejects traditional transport and the paradigm of large road spaces, gas prices and surface parking. Events like Open Streets, put on by groups Open Streets MPLS and the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, involve shutting down traffic for a day so that residents can gather by foot or bike. The event underscores a social movement against the atypical city life. However, the subtlety ends there. Urbanites are using bikes for rallies, blocking traffic and getting heard. Minneapolis bikers should be familiar with rides like Cirque du SoGay and Freedom From Pants Ride that have their own elements of activism. Hundreds of cyclists disrupt the daily routine of drivers and pedestrians by safely blocking traffic. Bikers use the disr uption to physically bring attention to problems of urban planning, civic order and environmental responsibility — and they have fun doing it. New York-based Occupy Wall Street activists used bikes in rallies, events and to document police brutality. In Moscow, cyclists are becoming a counter culture against city planners who are slow to adopt bike sharing and responsible urban planning. Wherever it’s used, the bike is becoming a political tool because of its efficiency and utility. The beauty in this activism is that one can start with the approachable buy-in of wheels and a helmet. Eric Best welcomes comments at ebest@mndaily.com.

Keep Riverside in mind Students marginalize the nearby community too often.

R

esidents of Riverside Plaza spoke out this week against poor conditions in the large West Bank apartment complex. The complaints come after a two-year, $132 million renovation to the group of buildings at the center of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Residents said security and elevator service in the high-rises are often lacking or nonexistent, and some fear retaliation from the complex’s management for speaking out. Riverside Plaza is the state’s largest housing development, home to more than 4,000 people, and unfortunately these issues are not new. The cluster of 11 buildings is steps away from the University of Minnesota, but it’s kept at an arm’s length from our campus identity. At best, students ignore the large community next door; at worst, they hurl cheap, sneering nicknames. Riverside Plaza was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, and its rich history has deep ties to the University and Minneapolis as a whole. The complex was designed by Ralph Rapson while he was serving as head of the University’s architecture school, a post he held for 30 years. Rapson envisioned the complex, then called Cedar Square West, as the first step toward a planned utopian community where people from a range of backgrounds and income levels would live side-by-side. Though the project was unfinished, Riverside Plaza still stands as a pioneer of urban renewal and one of Rapson’s most important works. In the 1990s, the Plaza and Cedar-Riverside housed a massive influx of immigrants. Today, 80 percent of Riverside Plaza’s residents are immigrants or refugees from East Africa, according to the complex’s tenant association. Riverside Plaza’s legacy and ties to the University could be celebrated, not shrugged off. As the complex’s residents continue to fight for better conditions, students should embrace and fight for one of the University’s most interesting neighbors.

A free ticket to ride University students deserve a light rail fare-free zone through campus.

A

s construction to the light rail comes to a close on campus this year, the Minnesota Daily reported on Sept. 3 that negotiations are still ongoing in determining the logistics and cost of a fare-free zone for students between the 19th Avenue and Cedar Avenue station and the northeast corner of University Avenue and 23rd Avenue Southeast. The Daily article also reported that the Minnesota Student Association has been pushing for a fare-free zone since last fall, and while its implementation should be an easy decision, Metro Transit may request the University cover the cost of the zone for its students. Construction on the light rail’s Green Line (commonly referred to as the Central Corridor, connecting downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul via University Avenue) began in 2010, resulting in the partial closure of the Washington Avenue Bridge and a multitude of other road closures farther east on campus. While the completion of the Green Line is largely considered a positive and valuable infrastructure investment for the area, the process of its construction has undoubtedly created inconveniences for students on campus and businesses located along the Central Corridor. Bus routes to and from campus have had to be modified — including the route for Campus Connectors — and University researchers have voiced significant concerns about how vibrations from the light rail will affect sensitive research. Metro Transit officials should support a fare-free zone through campus and shouldn’t ask the University for compensation. The University community has long waited through a destructed, disordered campus for the light rail’s completion. When that time comes, it is only fair that students receive a free ride for their patience.

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6

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Sports

@MNDAILYSPORTS

FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL

still a Jones a spark for Gophers Receivers work in progress Minnesota has a youthful group at wide receiver this season. BY JACK SATZINGER jsatzinger@mndaily.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC MILLER, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Minnesota defensive back Marcus Jones (15) returns a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in the Gophers’ 44-21 win over New Mexico State on Saturday.

Marcus Jones has already returned a kick and a punt for a touchdown. BY NATE GOTLIEB ngotlieb@mndaily.com

Following the Gophers’ win over Nevada-Las Vegas in week one, a reporter asked junior cornerback and return specialist Marcus Jones about his speed. Jones, who suffered two major knee injuries in as many years, made it clear: He doesn’t feel like he’s lost any. Jones has proved that early this season with a special teams touchdown in each of the team’s first two games. In the game against UNLV, he returned the opening kickoff of the second half 98 yards for a touchdown. And last Saturday in a win over New Mexico State, he returned a punt 65 yards for a score and earned Big Ten and

NCAA special teams honors. ”We expect big plays [on special teams],” Jones said. “We’d like to get a big play on every return.” This year, Jones will look to make it through his first full season with Minnesota. As a freshman, he appeared in the first seven games before tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament. And last year, he played 11 games before injuring the other ACL. He said the second ACL injury was harder to overcome because he also tore his meniscus and was battling tendinitis throughout his rehab. “Because I kind of knew the pain I would feel, I kind of still pushed through it,” Jones said. Jones’ mother, Patricia Jones, said she made sure her son stayed positive throughout the recovery process. She lives in North Carolina and said it was hard not being able

to check on him during his rehab, though he handled it well.

Stepping up Jones was an unheralded recruit out of Wake Forest High School in Wake Forest, N.C. He said he generated interest from smaller schools — including Elon University and Furman University — but didn’t have many Division I offers. “Most people thought I was too small to play corner and didn’t think I would have much success at anything else,” he said. Jones mostly played cornerback in high school but said he returned kicks as a senior, though only after his team’s primary return man sustained an ACL injury. He graduated high school a semester early and practiced with the Gophers in spring 2011. He also switched from cornerback to wide re-

ceiver. “I had never played receiver in my life,” Jones said. “I couldn’t catch that well. I didn’t know how to run routes. So it was definitely a slow process that I tried to pick up as fast as possible.” After his second ACL injury last November, head coach Jerry Kill switched him back to cornerback. He’s recorded six tackles so far this season and has also handled kick and punt return duties. After helping spark the team to a 2-0 start, the latter appears to be Jones’ specialty early this season, Kill praised Jones after the UNLV game for his return touchdown, which catalyzed a 35-point second half for Minnesota. “When we left the locker room, I said somebody has to step up and make a play,” Kill said. “It couldn’t have happened to a better kid.”

@dailyatthebank

In the span of 10 months, the Gophers football team has lost three of its top receivers, all for different reasons. There was A.J. Barker’s scathing letter to head coach Jerr y Kill last November, announcing he was leaving the team midseason. Then in July, Devin Crawford-Tufts left the program in favor of track and field. And last week, Kill announced Andre McDonald would not play for the Gophers this season after violating team rules. Now Minnesota is working to develop its receivers before Big Ten play ramps up in a few weeks. “We had about two or three drops that we can’t afford to have, but there’s talent in [the receiving corps],” Kill said at his Tuesday press conference. “We’ve got to get it figured out over the next three or four weeks and keep teaching kids.” Kill said Sunday that true freshman Donovahn Jones has played more wide receiver recently as the team searches for a playmaker on offense. He said another freshman wide receiver, Drew Wolitarsky, would see a bigger role this Saturday against Western Illinois. Star ting receiver Derrick Engel said Wolitarsky is “football savvy” and has a lot of potential due to his size — he weighs more than 200 pounds. Kill said redshirt freshman Jamel Harbison will also play Saturday. Harbison has barely seen the field at Minnesota after sustaining a

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

season-ending knee injury in last year’s opener at NevadaLas Vegas. “He’s a physical player and a playmaker,” Kill said of Harbison. “He’s got some physical strength and playmaking, but … we haven’t seen that on game day.”

Engel becoming confident

While the Gophers develop young receivers, they’re also trying to polish their veterans. In Minnesota’s 2013 opener against UNLV, Engel, a redshirt senior, struggled. He didn’t register a single reception and appeared to be responsible for sophomore quarterback Philip Nelson’s only interception of the game. Still, Engel didn’t let one bad game bother him and recorded two receptions last week at New Mexico State — including a 48-yard bomb from Nelson that nearly ended in a touchdown. It was the Gophers’ longest pass play of the season thus far, and Engel said that helped him build confidence. “I didn’t have a great first game and missed a lot of deep balls,” he said. “It’ll help me personally gain some confidence, and we’ve got to hit those plays for our offense to be successful.”

Notes 4Sophomore defensive lineman Alex Keith broke a bone in his hand last week. Kill expects him to play with a soft cast this weekend. 4Nelson appeared to suffer a minor injury Saturday. Kill said he’s not concerned about him getting hurt as a running quarterback and said the team will stick to their game plan. 4After missing last week’s game with an ankle injury, redshir t junior r unning back Donnell Kirkwood is progressing in rehab. Kill wouldn’t say whether he’ll play Saturday.

FOOTBALL

Simons emerges as a team leader after breakout season DB BoddyJohn Simons broke out last year with strong showings in pivotal meets. BY BETSY HELFAND bhelfand@mndaily.com

John Simons had a successful freshman year running at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but he wasn’t where he wanted to be. Now entering his senior season, Simons is finding success at his dream school as one of the Gophers’ top runners. “Minnesota was the place that I always wanted to be, even in high school,” he said. “I was getting better but wasn’t making jumps as quickly as other athletes that were signed right away.” So Simons star ted his cross countr y career at UW-Milwaukee and spent his freshman year improving. He was the team’s top finisher in five of six meets, but he said the situation wasn’t ideal. “I was virtually training myself toward the end of my career at Milwaukee,” Simons said, “so it’s nice to have … two-time Olympian [head coach Steve Plasencia] coaching you.” Simons said he contacted Plasencia immediately after getting a r elease from UW-Milwaukee. Minnesota was a good fit for Simons. The school consistently tur ned out strong performances, was close to home and competed in an elite Big Ten conference. He said training with the Gophers was more like his high school days

Calhoun out for year

because it’s a more “talentbased program.” It’s hard to know how some r unners’ previous marks will translate after they transfer, Plasencia said. “He was doing some pretty good things in a situation that he wasn’t really happy with. We were able to make the situation more happy,” he said. Still, Simons had more problems to overcome after he transferred. Simons came to Minnesota in 2010 and ran cross countr y for the Gophers his sophomore year. But he got pneumonia near the end of the season and said it cut into his strength as a runner. He dealt with injuries that hampered his performance and forced him to redshir t both the track and cross countr y seasons in 2011.

“I’m a much stronger runner physically. I just don’t have the injuries that I used to have because I have the strength built in my legs and in my core to sustain the mileage.” JOHN SIMONS Senior cross country runner

But now those problems are behind him. “I’m a much stronger r unner physically,” Simons said. “I just don’t have the injuries that I used to have because I have the strength built in

BY NATE GOTLIEB ngotlieb@mndaily.com

ANTHONY KWAN, DAILY FILE PHOTO

Minnesota runner John Simons outsprints Iowa State’s Mohamed Hrezi at the finish of the men’s Division I Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 29, 2012, at Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn.

my legs and in my core to sustain the mileage.” Last season, Simons led the Gophers at the 2012 Roy Griak Invitational, finishing first on the team and eighth overall. He also led the Gophers in the 8,000-meter Big Ten championships, finishing 11th overall. Simons said he was expecting more from himself at the NCAA Midwest Regional, where he finished second on the team and 41st overall. “Before last year, I talked to him about the fact that … he might be able

to benefit from r unning a little bit higher mileage than what he’d been comfor table with, and he did that last year,” Plasencia said. He said Simons’ tr ust in what the coaches proposed has helped him become a top runner on the squad. “I’m willing to follow [Plasencia] into any realm,” Simons said. This year, following a solid track and field season, Simons has a chance to continue developing. “I’ve improved a ton because I’m actually able

to take on the workload,” he said. “I think that’s part natural development and par t getting used to my surroundings.” Plasencia said Simons can be a good leader in his senior season and has the potential to be the team’s No. 1 runner. The Gophers kicked of f their season Sept. 6 and rested many of their top runners, including Simons. He has yet to compete this season. But when he does, he wants to lead the team to a conference title and a berth in a national meet.

Gophers junior cornerback Briean BoddyCalhoun will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn medial collateral ligament, head coach Jer r y Kill announced at his press conference Tuesday. Boddy-Calhoun injured his left knee early in the first quarter Saturday against New Mexico State and did not return to the game. He made three tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown in the Gophers’ season-opening win over Nevada-Las Vegas on Aug. 29. “Briean is a critical injur y because he probably played at the highest level of any defensive back we had except Brock Vereen,” Kill said. “He’s a great kid, and it’s hard. It’s hard to see something like that happen.” The junior from Wilmington, Del., played in ever y game last season and recorded nine tackles. Kill praised the depth of the defensive backs throughout fall camp, but that depth appears to have taken a hit with the loss of Boddy-Calhoun. Kill said Boddy-Calhoun should get another year of eligibility, presumably through a medical redshirt, but nothing is finalized yet. The Gophers take on Western Illinois at 11 a.m. Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

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HELP WANTED GENERAL Cashier & Stockperson Wanted Franklin/Nicollet Liquors, PT and FT, Flexible Scheduling, Contact Chuck or Dave 612-871-1511.

Housekeeping, errands, organizing 2 to 4 afternoons/wk. $11-13/hr. Car and references req. Pl send resume, hrs available to alber001@umn.edu. 612-246-8814.

PT cashiers/stock help. Must be 21. Westwood Liquor. Call Jim 952-544-7878

Landcare Student Workers Must be UofM student, starting FT immediately, PT during school year. Mon-Fri, Wed-Sun or Sat-Wed. 7am-3:30pm $8.25/ hr.Go to http://z.umn.edu/landcarestudent

RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS $50 just for giving your opinions student housing! Seeking undergrad and grad students living in non-university student housing complexs. Act now! Only a limited number of spaces available. Focus groups are various times on 9/17 9/18. Cut off: 9/16 To apply, text to 410.409.9059.

DINKYTOWN 3 Bed, avail. 10/1/13, upper unit in duplex, 1 car garage, coin wash/dry onsite, util. incl, $1300/month call Cindy at 763-355-4829

Events

HAVE AN EVENT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROMOTE IN THE DAILY? The Minnesota Daily now promotes events in the new Events section for free. If you would like your event promoted here, go to mndaily.com/contact and fill out the provided form.

UPCOMING EVENTS WHAT: Breaking Down Bullying WHO: College of Education and Human Development WHEN: 6 p.m., Wednesday WHERE: Minnesota Children’s Museum, 10 W. Seventh St., St. Paul PRICE: Free Join Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development for a talk by New York Times best-selling author Emily Bazelon that cuts to the beating heart of an increasingly important topic: bullying. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the keynote.

WHAT: Tongues Untied meeting WHO: GLBTA Programs Office, Office of Equity and Diversity WHEN: 5-6:30 p.m., Thursday WHERE: Appleby Hall, Room 41, 128 Pleasant St. SE, Minneapolis PRICE: Free In its third year of existence at the University of Minnesota, Tongues Untied is a space for and by people of color who identify as GLBTQ and/or same-gender-loving. This group serves to connect students, staff and faculty across the University of Minnesota and the Twin Cities community by holding discussion groups that focus on how race, sexuality and gender impact our lived experiences.

WHAT: A Blast of Trumpets WHO: U of M School of Music students and faculty WHEN: 7:30-9 p.m., Sept. 16 WHERE: Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall, Ferguson Hall, 2106 S. Fourth St., Minneapolis PRICE: Free Featuring duets with 11 of David Baldwin’s former students, including: David Wall, Lynn Erickson, Pam Humphrey, Dean Heller, Joe Hazlett, Takako Senn, Dan Fretland, Ray Vasquez, Mark Bobnick, Graham Steeds and Jonathan Brandt with professors Timothy Lovelace, piano, and Fernando Meza, percussion. Featuring music by Arban, Bach, Broiles, Charlier, Gibbons, Paginnini, Vivaldi and Stravinsky. All are welcome to attend a pre-concert panel discussion with the performers in Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall at 6:30 p.m.

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 a 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. This page is independent from the Minnesota Daily’s editorial content and is operated by the advertising staff. Group submissions are subject to approval by the Publisher for wording, illustrations and typography. Any content that attacks, criticizes or demeans any individual, race, religion, sex, institution, firm, business, profession, organization or affectional preference shall not be accepted.

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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

BACKTALK sudoku

horoscopes

Complete the grid so each row, clumn and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk. Visit mndaily.com to see the solution to today’s puzzle.

9/11/2013

yesterday’s solution © 2013 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

Today’s Birthday (9/11): Your focus highlights relationships this year, in partnerships, family and community. Group participation amplifies your reach, with more accomplished for less. Do the numbers before commiting.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Written By Linda C. Black

Aries (3/21 - 4/19): Today is a 7 — Increase your assets for a month, with Venus in Scorpio. Travel is appealing under the Sagittarius Moon. Fantasies aren’t to be relied upon.

Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is a 6 — It’s easier to make money for a while. Don’t take it for granted. Gather it up. The upcoming days are excellent for studying.

Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is a 6 — Compromise comes easier. Rely on a supportive partner, and express your gratitude. Handle financial matters. Take it slow and easy.

Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is an 8 — You’re especially lucky (and attractive) with Venus in your sign. Stick to your budget. Spend your new income on practical domesticity.

Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 7 — There’s more work coming in for a month -- the kind you like. Let somebody else take care of you. Complete the backstage effort.

Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is an 8 — You won’t be wearing your heart on your sleeve quite as much. Communicate fears and expectations to be free of them. Keep a secret.

Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is an 8 — Work gets intense. Artistic efforts work out. Don’t gamble now, even on a sure thing. Relenquish expectations and just play.

Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is a 6 — You’re popular, and that busy social life could cause a problem at home. You’re out in the public. Get extra efficient. Spend with care.

Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 6 — Focus on beautifying your home. Things ease up. Plan your next move with your partner. Reality wins over fantasy. Celebrate with sensual pleasures.

Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is a 6 — Career advances are quite possible over the next month, and social activities engage you. This phase is good for travel. Investigate a dream.

Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is a 6 — You’ll love learning for this next phase. Dive into a sweet obsession. Energize your home base. Think outside the box. Send a postcard to the office.

Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is a 6 — The upcoming days are especially good for setting goals that lead to beauty, love and joy. Study your direction. Soak up the atmosphere.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

overheard “ W h a t’ s th e s c h o o l po l i c y o n raccoons?”

—Middlebrook Hall

“In Shakespeare, everyone who falls in love ends up dying.”

—Blegen Hall

“It’s like everything I put in my mouth, afterwards it smells, you know, off.”

—Coffman Union

Guy: “Do you accept Flexdine?” Girl Scout: “What?”

—Keller Hall

“ … And tenure means never having to say you’re sorry.”

Professor: “Pro-bubbly...” Student: “What?” Professor: “Oh, I meant probubly.” Student: “OHHHH, you mean ‘probably.’”

—Unknown

Professor: “Did that guy in the hallway say he was so pumped? Did anyone else hear that? He must be in the wrong building.”

—Vincent Hall

(Guy 1 pulls out a lab report) Guy 2: “How long is yours?” Guy 1: “Eight inches.”

—West Bank

—Law School

What did you overhear? 4Post submission son 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 SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

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

ACROSS 1 Chiang Mai native 5 Dance moves 10 Cheerful 14 Mint, e.g. 15 Ira Gershwin contribution 16 Indiana neighbor 17 Palindromic fashion mag 18 More aloof 19 “Walking in Memphis” singer Cohn 20 Accommodating work hours 23 Large amount 24 “O Sole __” 25 Harper’s __ 28 Chewie’s shipmate 29 Béchamel base 31 Monopoly deed abbr. 32 Market research panel 36 Laundry cycle 37 Fairway boundary 38 Part of i.e. 39 Biblical prophet 40 “Yikes!” 41 Frito-Lay is its title sponsor 43 Mark of Zorro 44 Action on eBay 45 USN rank 46 Acquirer of more than 1,000 patents 48 It includes mayo 49 SUV part: Abbr. 52 Culinary combination 56 Roger Rabbit or Bugs Bunny 58 Heart of Paris? 59 Old Norse poetry collection 60 Bring in 61 Rockne of Notre Dame fame 62 Look slyly 63 Multitude 64 “Bullitt” director Peter 65 Company that manufactures the starts of 20-, 32-, 41- and 52Across DOWN 1 Taking the wrong way? 2 Nametag greeting

9/11/13

By David Poole

3 “Over the Rainbow” composer 4 Wild mountain goat 5 Deli worker’s chore 6 Danish astronomer Brahe 7 Toledo’s lake 8 Mottled 9 Prepare for surgery 10 Lefty in Cooperstown 11 Small Asian pooch bred as a watchdog 12 Balloon filler 13 Medical nickname 21 Big success 22 Lenient 26 Miller’s “__ From the Bridge” 27 Kidney-related 28 “Les Misérables” author 29 Derby prize 30 Ways of escape 32 Succumbed to stage fright 33 Wondered aloud? 34 Babylonian writing system

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

35 Senate majority leader since 2007 36 Weeps convulsively 39 Capital west of Haiphong 41 Hard to please 42 Grants permanent status to, as a professor 44 A.L. East team 47 Golf-friendly forecast

9/11/13

48 Like the accent in “entrée” 49 Wedding memento 50 Rear-__ 51 Found out 53 Chaplin’s last wife 54 Neither masc. nor fem. 55 Narcissist’s love 56 Darjeeling, e.g. 57 Scull propeller

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

dr. date Dear Dr. Date,

I’m worried about my girlfriend. She often forgets to eat when she’s busy or stressed, and this summer she lost a ton of weight because she was working full-time, taking classes and doing an internship. She’s always been thin, but it’s gotten to be too much. She doesn’t seem healthy (and I’m in a position to tell). How do I broach the subject without hurting her feelings?

—Worried

Rightfully Concerned,

I’d like to commend you for being a proactive, caring partner — your girlfriend is lucky to have you. It could be that her busy schedule is causing her to accidentally skip meals, or there might be a more serious condition at play here. Either way, it’s important that she address what’s going on and figure out how she can get healthy while still continuing to thrive in her classes, work and extracurricular activities. The best first step is to talk to her calmly, without being confrontational. Use “I” statements about what you’re observing and feeling, and don’t mention her weight loss specifically — focus your concerns on her ultra-busy schedule and how you’re worried her stress level is too overwhelming. Sometimes we don’t notice how crazy busy our lives are until someone else points it out. She might feel like she should be able to handle everything on her plate, but having someone she cares about point out how much she has going on might be a gentle wakeup call to reassess her schedule or seek guidance on how to handle her stress. If the problem persists and you become worried she’s in medical danger, it’s time to pursue serious help — from her family or a medical professional, for example. Throughout all this, it’s also important that you take care of your own needs. It can be taxing to try to support a partner who is having a difficult time, so I would encourage you to talk to an expert about how you can be

there for her while maintaining your own emotional well-being.

—Dr. Date

Dr. Date,

My boyfriend is the lead singer in a band. Cool, right? Not really. I’ve been to a lot of their shows, and they’re so, so bad. I want to support him and his friends, but as far as I can tell, they’re not going to get any better. I know I’d feel terrible if he discouraged me from doing something I was excited about, but I also think I’d want him to tell me if I was pursuing something that wasn’t working. Is there a nice way for me to tell him (and get him to stop playing his EP every time we’re in the car)?

—Bleeding Ears

Yoko Ono,

First off, Pitchfork, you need to recognize that it’s possible your musical judgment might not speak for everyone. Is he in a My Chemical Romance cover band and you prefer Regina Spektor? It could be the case that your taste in music doesn’t jibe with their sound, but that doesn’t mean they suck. Someone clearly thinks they’re good enough to keep booking them for shows, right? Loving someone doesn’t mean you have to love his music, but it does mean that you should be supportive of the ventures that make him happy. So he might not be winning a Grammy anytime soon — who cares? If he enjoys what he’s doing, be happy that he has something in his life that he’s passionate about and committed to. Now, if you feel like you just can’t play the supportive-girlfriend-in-thecrowd role any longer, feel free to skip some of his shows. When your time (and future need for a hearing aid) are at stake, you have every right to find reasons to dip. Tell him you’re not up for the crowd, cig smoke, loud noise or whatever your chosen excuse and then let him know that after the show, he can give you an acoustic encore. Naked. —Dr. Date

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

9

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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

MSA crafts new platform for 2014 MSA u from Page 1

even-numbered years. “We want to make continuous improvements in facilities that are directly involved with student learning and research,” Forstie said. A large bonding bill failed last session, leaving about $110 million in University projects unfunded. The University’s pre-

liminar y 2014 bonding request, released July 15, asks for nearly $233 million from the state. The money would go toward constr uction and renovation projects across all University campuses, including renovations to the Tate Laborator y of Physics, a new Plant and Animal Science Building and updates to other labs. This preliminar y request could change in coming months as University of ficials and student

lobbyists meet with legislators to make their case for bonding projects. “We visit with state legislators all the time,” Forstie said. “We want to tell them what we think about [bonding projects] as students.” MSA will also push for open-source textbooks at the University level this year. The state Legislature didn’t pass a previous plan, instead calling for an “open educational resource council” last

session. Though MSA won’t push the measure at the state level this year, Forstie said continued discussion of free, online textbooks on campus will hopefully encourage faculty to look at the possibility of adopting open-source textbooks. “If [faculty] select an open book for one of their classes, that could save students a lot of money,” Forstie said. Some faculty members

in the College of Education and Human Development created an open textbook catalog two years ago, Forstie said, and MSA wants to expand it throughout the University. With the Higher Education Act set to expire after this year, Forstie said MSA members will also push at the federal level for a more transparent College Scorecard, an informational database for United States colleges. Forstie said MSA wants

students and parents to be able to compare cost and other statistics more easily when evaluating schools. To advocate for these changes, Forstie said MSA leaders will work with gover nment of ficials locally and in Washington, D.C. “We want to have an apples-to-apples base to compare universities on,” he said, “so when students and families are making a college decision, they’re picking a cost-ef fective and high-quality choice.”

Coffman

Union officer Sydney Tran. Of fices on the second floor were redesigned to be semi-permanent. Every two years, groups will be evaluated to determine if they get to keep their space. But Towle said because the cultural centers with space on the second floor are well-established in Coffman, she doesn’t expect them to leave. “They’re strong groups,” she said. “I really don’t anticipate that there’ll be much tur nover in their space.” La Raza Student Cultural Center of ficer Daisy Hidalgo said La Raza’s murals were impor tant because they helped the group make its mark on the University community. Many alumni came to negotiations about the fate of the murals, she said. “With the [University] being so big, you kind of want to find your own space,” Hidalgo said, “especially since the majority of the students here are white.”

Keeping the spirit alive

u from Page 1

their murals, many of which were painted by alumni and had been on the walls for years. Because it would cost too much to preser ve the original murals during the renovation process, highresolution photos were taken of each one, said Student Unions and Activities Director Maggie Towle. The photos are now displayed on a touch-screen TV on the west side of the floor. For now, no painting is allowed on second floor walls unless it’s done with University approval. Though the groups have a few options for personalizing their spaces after the renovation — painting canvases or panels to put on the walls, for example — some members say they’re too temporary. “It makes it seem like we’d be easily removed,” said Asian-American Student

Jones said the spirit of the second floor is “disrupted” right now because of the new layout and the “business vibe” of the space. One way to fix this would be to put small pieces of artwork along the walls of the main hallway, she said. “We have to come together and find a way to make sure we still keep that spirit alive throughout the entire floor regardless of where we’ve been relocated,” she said. But the groups can’t make any big decisions until the Second Floor Advisor y Committee creates a standard process for personalizing the space, Jones said. “Not ever yone [welcomes] change, but it’s always inevitable, and it keeps us on our toes,” she said. “It keeps us thinking about the next innovative thing to do with our organization and our space.”