September 26, 2013

The first-timer’s guide to karaoke u See PAGE 12

U OF M

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MINNEAPOLIS

ST PAUL

THURSDAY

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

STUDENT LIFE

HOUSING

Students weigh living options

Sober dorm community in sight The new Living Learning Community will likely start next fall.

BY T YLER GIESEKE tgieseke@mndaily.com

Two University of Minnesota students are working to create a new Living Learning Community that will provide suppor t and housing for students recovering from alcohol or drug

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

Senior communications major Seth Zimmermann makes himself dinner Tuesday at his house in Dinkytown.

After leaving the dorms, students leverage cost and convenience. cided to stay in campus housing

BY DAVID LITIN dlitin@mndaily.com

with a Yudof Hall apartment.

When Jesse Ehrenreich was

University students are met with

looking for a place to live, he

a variety of options across cam-

walked around Marcy-Holmes

pus and in surrounding areas.

and Dinkytown, touring open

The University of fers some

houses and calling any phone

resources, like an annual hous-

numbers he found.

ing fair, so students can talk to

Russell Barnes moved in with friends at Solhaus near the Uni-

Ankita Sahu, a student neigh-

ter his freshman year at Middle-

borhood liaison, said the housing

brook Hall.

fair is “basically an education and

And Jenny Doocy, who lived in Pioneer Hall as a freshman, de-

Student housing developers near the University of Minnesota are constantly building new projects and often selling them behind closed doors.

Developers maintain that this is a common industry practice, but community leaders argue consequences for residents and the neighborhood are unpredictable.

Doran Companies CEO

around the area.

versity of Minnesota campus af-

resource for students to look into the different housing available.”

u See HOUSING Page 4A

ADMINISTRATION

BY MEGHAN HOLDEN mholden@mndaily.com

For the first time in recent years, the University of Minnesota extensively reviewed its travel expenses system-wide — and it’s planning to make cuts.

The University spent more than $16.6 million on travel expenses during a six-month period last year, according to a report from the University’s Office of Internal Audit.

Excessive administrative spending has been a concern at the University, and reports have found it could be more efficient in its travel expense processes.

A recent repor t from Huron Consulting Group found that the institution

MOVING UP?

THE CHANGING BUSINESS OF STUDENT HOUSING

Kelly Doran said his company attempted to sell three of its six student housing complexes located near campus earlier this year. Doran said the company would consider selling any of his properties, even those that are still under construction, if a deal arose.

“Most developers sell buildings as soon as they build them,” Doran said.

“In this business, you are always exploring values — u See SALE Page 4A One developer said the sales happen behind closed doors.

ELECTION 2013

U to cut employee travel expenses The savings are part of President Kaler’s plan to cut $90 million over the next six years.

Developers often flip apts.

BY NICOLAS HALLETT nhallett@mndaily.com

various proper ty owners from

u See SOBER Page 5A The number of students in recovery is increasing.

BUSINESS

New student apartments are often sold soon after they’re finished.

When searching for housing,

addiction as soon as next fall.

The LLC, which will be open to students of all ages, will overlap with the University group Students Off Booze Enjoying Recover y, a network of students in recovery.

Boynton Health Service and Housing and Residential Life will meet in the next few

could save nearly $250,000 by fixing the way travel expenses are reimbursed, and the University plans to implement the report’s suggestions as par t of President Eric Kaler’s plan to cut $90 million over the next six years.

The University will begin making changes to travel processes this semester, and the institution will see the savings in full in the next few years, said Mike Volna, associate vice president of the University Controller’s Office.

As par t of Huron’s review of administrative spending, a repor t found that only 35 percent of University travel is booked thr ough r ecommended travel agencies that of fer discounts to the University.

Chief Financial Of ficer Richard Pfutzenreuter said u See TRAVEL Page 5A An internal report found issues with employee cash advances.

Pirate-endorsed, Katch runs again The independent candidate hopes to represent the third ward.

BY ALEX CHHITH achhith@mndaily.com

One of the candidates looking to represent Ward 3 on the Minneapolis City Council drives a limousine and is endorsed by the Pirate Party.

Michael Katch is r unning against incumbent Diane Hofstede and challengers Jacob Frey and Kristina Gronquist to represent areas around the University of Minnesota, like Marcy-Holmes and Dinkytown.

Katch manages a limousine business, frequently gives testimonies at city public hearings at City Hall and talks politics with his wife Peggy Katch, who is also the manager of his campaign.

He said he wasn’t always planning on running

for a spot on the Minneapolis City Council, but his friends, like retired political activist Fred Markus, and his wife encouraged him to start a campaign.

“I thought that I could be heard if I ran for City Council,” he said.

Out of step with many mayoral and City Council candidates, Katch has spoken out against new development in Dinkytown, saying it would “change the culture” of the area.

New apar tment buildings lead to traffic congestion, a parking shor tage, and incr eased r ent for family-owned restaurants, he said.

“Why would we want to change something good for something we don’t know … would be better in the future?” he said.

Katch said he wants to hold the city’s landlords accountable for the maintenance of their properties u See KATCH Page 5A Katch ran for Congress last year, and City Council in 2009.

JULIET FARMER, DAILY

Ward 3 Libertarian Party city council candidate Michael Katch discusses ideas Tuesday at his apartment complex in Minneapolis.

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 15

2A

Daily Review

Thursday, September 26, 2013

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1960 For the first time in U.S. history, a debate between major party presidential candidates is shown on television.

HISTORYCHANNEL.COM/TDIH

VIDEO Vol. 115 Thursday, September 26, 2013, No. 15

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WORLD BRIEFING

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US signs treaty to regulate global arms trading

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BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

UNITED NATIONS — The United States, the world’s largest arms dealer, has joined 106 other nations in signing a treaty that regulates global arms trading, but there is strong resistance in the Senate, which must ratify it.

Secretar y of State John Ker r y, who signed the Ar ms T rade T reaty on Wednesday, said it was a “significant step” in keeping the world safe and preventing terrorists and others from obtaining conventional weapons.

The Obama administration’s move is seen as critical to the treaty’s success.

The U.S. was the 91st countr y to sign, but the treaty will not take effect until 50 nations have ratified it. Only six had ratified the treaty as of Wednesday.

Many of the world’s other top arms exporters have yet to sign and opposition in the Senate, backed by the powerful National Rifle

Association, means U.S. ratification will be difficult.

A two-thirds majority in the 100-member Senate, where Democrats now hold a slight edge, is needed to ratify a treaty.

“This is about reducing the risks of international transfers of conventional arms that will be used to carry out the world’s worst crimes,” Kerry said.

He said it would require other countries to put in place the same arms expor t restrictions that the United States already has in force.

“This is about keeping Americans safe and keeping America strong, and this is about promoting international peace and global security,” he said.

Addressing U.S. critics of the treaty, the former senator said fears that it would undermine Americans’ constitutional right to keep and bear arms are not grounded in reality.

For one, the treaty does not regulate domestic

weapons sales.

“This treaty will not diminish anyone’s freedom,” he said. “It recognizes the freedom of both individuals and states to obtain, possess, and use arms for legitimate purposes.”

Ker r y said the U.S. “would never think about supporting a treaty that is inconsistent with the rights of Americans, the rights of American citizens to be able to exercise their guaranteed rights under our Constitution.”

The treaty will require countries that ratify it to establish national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms and components and to regulate arms brokers. It will not control the domestic use of weapons in any country.

It prohibits the transfer of conventional weapons if they violate arms embargoes or if they promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, and if they could be

used in attacks on civilians or civilian buildings such as schools and hospitals.

The treaty covers battle tanks, ar mored combat vehicles, large-caliber artiller y systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, and small arms and light weapons.

Oxfam America called it “a significant victor y for human rights and development.” Human Rights First urged the Senate to put aside par tisan politics to send a “a strong message to those countries committing mass atrocities, like the current Syrian regime, as well as those who are arming them, like Russia.”

Frank Januzzi of Amnesty Inter national USA said he hoped the signing would show that the Obama administration “is politically committed to ending the unscr upulous trade in deadly weapons used by dictators, war lords and criminal gangs to commit atrocities.”

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Police recover body from Mississippi River A man reportedly jumped off the Washington Avenue Bridge on Wednesday morning.

BY CODY NELSON AND KIA FARHANG cnelson1@mndaily.com mfarhang@mndaily.com

University of Minnesota police recovered a body from the Mississippi River after authorities received a report of a man jumping off the Washington Avenue Bridge around 7 a.m.

Wednesday, according to a press release from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

The body was that of a Twin Cities metro area man in his 50s, the release said. His name hasn’t been released.

University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said the man’s death was likely a suicide.

The Washington Avenue Bridge connects the East and West banks of the University campus. Though the incident occurred on campus, Miner said it’s unlikely the man was a University student.

University police used a boat from the school’s rowing team to recover the body, according to an official from the sheriff’s office.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.

Someone attempted suicide on the bridge as recently as Sept. 13, according to University police records. The last suicide on the bridge reported by University police was in May 2012.

“A fair amount of people jump off that bridge,” Miner said.

“It probably happens more than people realize.”

Somali youth speak out against al-Shabab recruiting Ka Joog held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the issue in the wake of the attack on a Nairobi mall.

BY MARION RENAULT mrenault@mndaily.com

A Somali youth organization gathered Wednesday to address concerns about recruitment of area youth by the terrorist group al-Shabab.

Ka Joog, a Twin Cities nonprofit geared toward supporting local Somali-American youth, held a press conference in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in response to last week’s attacks on Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya.

Al-Shabab, an extremist Somali Islamic group, claimed responsibility for the attack, which has killed at least 67 and injured 175 others, according to the Associated Press.

At the press conference, Ka Joog specifically addressed concerns about al-Shabab recruiting in the area.

“Minneapolis has been no stranger to recruitment efforts by radical extremists,” said a press release from Ka Joog. “This new wave brings a fresh sense of fear and concern … to [safeguard] its youth from succumbing to extremist requirement.”

A Minneapolis man, Mahamud Said Omar, was found guilty last year of helping at least 20 men — including two former University of Minnesota students — travel to Somalia to fight for al-Shabab.

Representatives from Ka Joog have recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for talks with the president of Somalia and Kenyan Ambassador Jean Kamau, according to the press release.

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MONDAY HIGH 76° LOW 56° Sunny

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Thursday, September 26, 2013

3

4A

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Interest rate woes linger for grad students The bill ties federal student loan rates to a market-based system.

BY ROY AKER raker@mndaily.com

Congress passed a bill temporarily lowering student loan interest rates this summer, but some graduate students are concerned their rates will soon go up.

The bill tied interest rates on multiple student loans to the market, which means rates could rise as high as 9.5 percent on direct, unsubsidized graduate Stafford loans, if the economy improves as expected.

Although the measure initially lowered interest rates from 6.8 to 5.4 percent, rates are linked to the 10-year Treasury note, so they could rise if the economy strengthens.

In addition to the Treasury note rate, the federal government also adds 3.6 percent in interest for additional costs to the graduate rate and 2.05 percent to the undergraduate rates.

University of Minnesota student government organizations have expressed their disappointment with the bill because interest rates may rise for future students.

Kevin Lang, University graduate student and member of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, said it’s unfortunate for students who may be in the middle of a long-term degree because their rates could still increase in future years.

“As a graduate student, I would have liked to see some analysis as to how much it’s going to add to the burden of just the sheer dollars in student loans that are taken out,” he said.

Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFLMinnetonka, said although she understands why rates are tied to the market, she takes issue with the added 3.6 percent interest.

“When we know how important education is,” she said, “why would we want to disadvantage any student in terms of the burden of carrying debt?”

Matt Forstie, Minnesota Student Association Legisla-

tive Coalition chairman, said the new bill will benefit current students but could hurt future students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

For undergraduates, interest rates are capped at 8.25 percent, 1.25 percent lower than that of graduate students.

Forstie said he thinks lawmakers set higher caps for graduate students because some assumed they would find higher-paying jobs.

“In some cases that might be true, but I don’t think it’s a perfect justification for that,” he said.

Forstie said MSA members have always advocated for a cap on market-based interest rates, but he said these caps are too high.

“Looking forward to the future of higher [education], I personally don’t think the solution that was reached was the best one,” he said, “or one that is particularly sustainable primarily because of those high caps.”

Forstie said he thinks there’s still an opportunity for future work on student

loan policy, adding that MSA will lobby for changes to the policy as part of its advocacy platform this year.

FEDERAL LOAN RATES FOR GRAD STUDENTS 9.5%* CAP ON RATE

6.8% OLD RATE 5.4% NEW RATE

*Rates could rise to cap as economy improves SOURCE: DIRECT.ED.GOV

Dispute over 911 tapes tests law

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARTFORD, Conn. — A dispute over the 911 recordings from the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementar y School is shaping up as a test of a new Connecticut law — adopted in response to the massacre — that prevents public release of certain records in homicide cases.

The Associated Press is challenging the refusal by investigators to release the tapes from the Dec. 14 shooting. A hearing officer for Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission has recommended the tapes be released, and the full commission is meeting Wednesday to consider the case.

Twenty-six people, including 20 first-graders, were killed inside the school by the gunman, Adam Lanza, who committed suicide as police arrived.

The AP requested documents including copies of 911 calls, as it does routinely

Housing u from Page 1

Ultimately, students still have to make the final choice about where they’ll live, with options ranging from residence halls and of f-campus houses to brand-new apartments.

Ehrenreich, Barnes and Doocy shared their housing experiences and looked back on the search process that got them where they are.

in newsgathering, in part to examine the response of law enforcement to one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. If the recordings are released, the AP would review the content and determine how much of them, if any, would meet the news cooperative’s standards for publication.

A state law passed earlier this year creates exemptions to the freedom-ofinformation law for the release of photographs, film, video and other images depicting a homicide victim if those records constitute “an unwarranted invasion” on the privacy of the surviving family members.

It also created a one-year moratorium on the release of certain portions of audiotape and other recordings — with the exception of 911 tapes — in which the condition of a homicide victim is described.

In her Aug. 27 recommendation siding with the

AP, hearing officer Kathleen Ross wrote that the new law “specifically does not shield from disclosure recordings of 911 calls from members of the public to law enforcement agencies.”

The prosecutor leading the Newtown investigation, Danbur y State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky III, argued in reply that certain content of 911 calls could be shielded by the law. He gave the example of a possible call from a sexual assault victim.

“It is highly doubtful that the legislature would have wanted a sexual assault victim to have to choose between calling the police and having his or her 9-1-1 call on every radio station, therefore it could not have been the intent of the legislature to eliminate all exemptions simply because they were in the context of a 9-1-1 call,” Sedensky wrote.

Sedensky has argued that releasing the 911 tapes

could jeopardize the police investigation, subject witnesses to harassment from conspiracy theorists and violate sur vivors from the school who deserve special protection as victims of child abuse. His arguments were rejected by Ross, who said she was dismayed that the Newtown Police Depar tment withheld the tapes at the direction of a state’s attorney.

If the full Freedom of Information Commission agr ees the r ecor dings should be released, Newtown officials and Sedensky would have 45 days to decide whether to appeal to Superior Court.

A state task force created by the new freedomof-information legislation is expected to come up with proposals to help strike a balance between victim privacy under the state’s law and the public’s right to know. The task force faces a Jan. 1 deadline.

Luxur y living

electricity. Barnes shares a room in order to lower his rent.

Bar nes’ apar tment search was pretty easy, he said, because a friend asked him if he was interested in joining him in Solhaus.

But living in an apar tment comes with added responsibilities that he and his roommates weren’t ready for, he said.

Living independently meant buying “traditional” items, like cups and plates,

necessary for a functioning apartment.

And living with three other people can get messy.

“Things can get really cluttered,” Barnes said.

Because space is an issue, Barnes said, he and his roommates are considering getting a house next year.

Living in a Solhaus apar tment feels less “restricted” than in University housing, jour nalism and psychology sophomor e Barnes said.

After his freshman year in Middlebrook, he said, he “wanted to start a new chapter in [his] life.”

He now lives in a twobedroom apar tment with three other people and pays $445 per month, which includes ever ything but

Independent in a house

Anthr opology junior

what is something wor th and what are they willing to pay you for it?”

Numerous other student housing complexes are either for sale or have changed hands in recent years.

The Opus Group sold Stadium Village Flats to Chicago-based firm Harrison Street Real Estate Capital for $43 million one week after it completed construction last September.

Opus’ Venue in Dinkytown — the controversial, under-constr uction apar tment building that displaced the House of Hanson and other businesses — will also be sold to Harrison Street after it’s completed next year.

Solhaus, which was completed in 2011, is currently for sale. Stadium View Student Apar tments were sold in 2010.

Dinkytown Business Association President Skott Johnson said this trend shows developers have shor t-term goals for the community.

“These guys aren’t in the business of r unning dormitories,” Johnson said. “Developers are here to make money and move on. They aren’t invested in the neighborhood.”

Doran said he explored selling Sydney Hall, Dinkydome and the Edge on Oak — all built in 2010 or later — as a package deal.

He said the sale has since stalled, but interested buyers approach him “all the time.”

“We have from time to time explored selling one or more proper ties,” Doran said. “We’re not contemplating a sale of anything today, but that could change tomorrow.”

These types of purchases aren’t widely known, said Daniel Oberpriller, owner of area developer CPM Companies.

“It’s ver y quiet,” he said. “Ever ything is private, meaning they only target the buyers that would par ticularly buy the asset, and nobody else sees the packet.”

The select few notified of a sale usually sign a confidentiality agreement just to receive the property’s financial information, Oberpriller said.

Matt Hawbaker of Save Dinkytown, a grassroots group opposing development in the area, said he

dislikes how quick developers are to flip their properties.

“The point for them is to get what they want out of the deal and move on to the next thing,” Hawbaker said. “It’s a little naïve to assume that these developers want to create stake in the neighborhood beyond what can maximize their profits.”

The Minneapolis Planning Commission only looks at land use when reviewing proposed development, not ownership, said commission President Ted Tucker.

“That is something that is of interest to neighbors and does af fect how proper ties are maintained and operated,” T ucker said.

“But it’s not one of the considerations of the planning commission. … That’s not our business. So we never ask.”

Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association President Cordelia Pierson said Doran hasn’t indicated to her any plans to leave the neighborhood, but the neighborhood cannot keep him from selling his properties.

“He works in the private sector. He can decide to divest himself from the neighbor hood if he so chooses,” she said. “It’s a natural cycle. We don’t expect [developers] to necessarily have a long-term investment in the neighborhood.”

Pierson also said she would like to see the University investing more in housing around campus, especially Dinkytown complexes like Sydney Hall and Dinkydome.

After a development moratorium that would have blocked Doran’s latest pr oject was str uck down by the Minneapolis City Council, Pierson said she spoke with Doran about his plans for the community.

“I am confident he is a developer who has a longterm stake in the neighborhood,” Pierson said after the Aug. 30 meeting.

Save Dinkytown contested developments by both the Opus Group and Doran Companies. Hawbaker said the apar tment boom across Minneapolis may explain the build-andsell business model.

“The bubble could pop soon. It’s still the time to cash in, and that’s what they are doing,” he said.

“Maybe the fact they don’t want to stay around shows there is some uncer tainty in the market.”

Ehrenreich said living in Yudof Hall with four people last year didn’t work for him.

He wanted somewhere that had more square footage, and this year he lives with seven other people in a house in Dinkytown.

Ehrenreich said he pays just more than $500 a month for rent and utilities.

Finding a house in Dinkytown that was affordable and not “r un-down” was hard, Ehrenreich said.

Even when he found the house where he currently resides, he said there was still work that needed to be done.

“It was upsetting that stuf f needed to be fixed up,” he said.

Ehrenriech said he enjoys his house, but it does mean more independence and is more work than an apartment.

“If you’re going to do it,” he said, “know what you’re getting into.”

Sale u from Page 1

University apartments

Doocy, an English sophomore, said Yudof Hall is an upgrade from Pioneer.

“It’s nice and modern,” she said.

In Yudof, Doocy has her own bathroom and can cook whatever she wants, she said.

Her apar tment, which has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchenette, costs nearly $800 per month, according to the HRL website.

Because she reapplied for University housing, Doocy was able to pick where she wanted to live.

“I heard a lot of good things about [Yudof] last year,” she said.

She said Pioneer Hall “wasn’t bad,” but she didn’t like getting up in the middle of the night and having to go down the hall to use the bathroom. In her search for a new home, Doocy said proximity to campus was ver y important.

She said the videos on the HRL’s website were helpful in seeing what the University apartments look like.

Sophomore journalism major Russell Barnes relaxes after a day of classes Tuesday at his apartment in Solhaus.

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

Thursday, September 26, 2013

5A

University to offer more hybrid classes As class sizes grow, more departments look to expand coursework online.

BY ANNIE MILLERBERND amillerbernd@mndaily.com

At the University of Minnesota, more courses are moving partially online as hybrid classes.

More than a decade after their introduction, more University departments are switching to the hybrid class format in an effort to take on more students and diversify how courses are taught.

The University defines hybrid classes as courses in which students receive

content both online and in a classroom. Typically, hybrid classes are scheduled like normal classes, but class isn’t held one day to provide time for the online work.

Hybrid classes have been offered at the University for about 10 years, starting with only Spanish and psychology programs. Now, more departments are taking interest in the format.

Beth Kautz, an education specialist in the language department, said instructors in her program have been showing interest in hybrid classes over the past few years, which prompted the department to open more sections as hybrids.

“Last fall we piloted hybrid sections in [Spanish] 1003, and French was al-

ready doing 1004, and then last spring in German we piloted 1004,” Kautz said.

Hybrid classes have also expanded into chemistr y, horticulture and retail merchandising courses in recent years.

While hybrid classes are expanding at the University, student opinion varies on this new mode of instruction.

Some students, like freshman Hannah Rikkers, enjoy the hybrid format because it offers scheduling flexibility. She takes a hybrid introductor y psychology class.

“When I took it, I was a little disappointed because I thought that I would rather have a set time for a class,” Rikkers said. “Then

I realized that it’s nicer … because I can budget my schedule a little more.”

But others, including biology, society and environment junior Amber Wasley, said the hybrid class format is more difficult.

She’s taking an introductor y Spanish course as a hybrid class and said there’s more work than she expected.

“I just knew that this one meets up less during the week — I didn’t realize there’d be this much online homework,” she said.

“There’s just so much to keep track of, and I don’t think people really like that.”

Psychology 1001 was among the first classes to add the hybrid option.

Associate education

specialist and psychology instructor Kathleen Briggs said her introductory class became available as a hybrid because more students enrolled than the course could accommodate in-person. She said the class suffered because of this.

“In our introductor y class, we couldn’t say we were doing a standardized class at all,” she said. “This became a way of delivering a higher class that is consistent across all sections.”

Briggs said she’s part of a task force that’s pushing for more hybrid classes in psychology. Abnormal psychology is piloting a hybrid class this semester.

Briggs and Kautz both said they’ve seen improvement in student per for-

mance, if any change at all, since the switch to hybrid classes.

Dan Philippon, director of undergraduate studies in the English department, said the department is also exploring hybrid classes for some of its courses, though some English classes already parallel the hybrid format.

He said the English department is considering the shift because the College of Liberal Arts is changing how it offers certain online classes. Philippon said the department will discuss adding hybrid classes at a meeting this fall.

“We’re always re-evaluating the effectiveness of how we deliver our courses,” he said.

FBI agents work in nightmarish scene at Kenya mall

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NAIROBI, Kenya — Wo r k i n g n e a r b o d i e s cr ushed by r ubble in a bullet-scar red, scorched mall, FBI agents began fingerprint, DNA and ballistic analysis Wednesday to help determine the identities and nationalities of victims and al-Shabab gunmen who attacked the shopping

center, killing more than 60 people.

A gaping hole in the mall’s roof was caused by Kenyan soldiers who fired rocket-propelled grenades inside, knocking out a support column, a government official told The Associated Press. The official, who insisted he not be identified because he was sharing security information, said the soldiers fired to distract a

Pirate-endorsed, Katch runs again Katch u from Page 1

to improve the area. He also said he would like more green spaces in every neighborhood throughout the city.

“There are too many buildings that block out the sun,” he said. “It would be nice to see the sun once in a while.”

Markus said he looks to Katch for leadership in politics and he believes the candidate could bring “transparency to a corrupt system” if he’s elected.

Michael and Peggy Katch owned taxi companies in Minneapolis and St. Paul before starting Katch Enterprise, a small limousine business.

Last year, Katch ran a short campaign to unseat Democratic-Farmer-Labor incumbent Keith Ellison to represent Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

Katch also ran for a City Council seat in 2009 against Ward 7 incumbent Lisa Goodman.

Opponent Jacob Frey said Katch’s unique character is noteworthy. Frey said he

Travel u from Page 1

isn’t intimidated by Katch’s campaign, but “anything can happen” with ranked-choice voting.

Katch and his wife have been involved in politics since they were children. Native to Chicago, both were strong democratic supporters growing up.

Later in life, Katch said he realized the party didn’t match with his beliefs. Katch said he doesn’t affiliate with any political party, but he’s endorsed by the Libertarian Party and the Pirate Party this year.

“I don’t really fit into a box,” said Katch, “I don’t think I fit the descriptions of any party.”

The Pirate Party advocates for citizens to have a more powerful voice in the democratic process and author bills and city proposals.

Katch said he wants to implement a website that gives everyone in the ward a unique username and password to log on with and submit amendments to various public policies.

“Most people, when they think of Libertarians, they think that they are radical.

But Michael isn’t radical; he’s a reformer,” Markus said.

around $30 million annually on travel and related employee expenses, he said.

A better process it could take two or three years for the University to fully implement all the changes to the travel processes because it’ll have to invest in new technologies and staff members will need to comply with the new system.

Along with Huron’s findings, the University’s audit department found that the University could also improve the way employees are reimbursed to save money.

The depar tment’s findings, which were published in May, found the University spent nearly $1.2 million on travel within Minnesota, more than $5.8 million on travel in the U.S., and more than $3.2 million on foreign travel within a six-month period.

“It’s a lot of money, but [the University does] a lot of stuff that requires us to travel, and it’s appropriate,” Volna said.

University of ficials say the institution’s travel spending isn’t excessive.

Volna said the amount wasn’t surprising — the University typically spends

The internal audit report found that the University’s adherence to travel and employee reimbursement processes is good, with the exception of employee cash advances.

Cash advances are intended to be a way for employees to pay for travel expenses when they don’t have enough money on hand to cover them, Volna said.

But the audit repor t found the University was giving cash advances for things that weren’t technically meeting those standards, he said.

The University issued almost $1 million in cash advances during the audit period.

“I’m not saying that any of those needs were actually fraudulent or bad,” Volna said. “It’s just there are better ways to do it than through [the] cash advance process.”

Cash advances have higher risks of theft, fraud and lack of repayment than other payment methods, according to the audit report.

Volna said the Univer-

terrorist sniper so hostages could be evacuated.

Video of the roof collapse showed massive carnage. The collapse came Monday, shortly after four large explosions rang out followed by billows of black smoke. Although a government minister said the terrorists had set mattresses on fire, causing the roof to collapse, the video showed such massive destr uc-

Sober u from Page 1

weeks to determine details like location and number of participants.

Tentatively, the LLC will be housed in Middlebrook Hall.

Business and marketing education senior Sarah Day and psychology senior Bridget McGuinness, who spearheaded the initiative, are both active in SOBER. The group offers a variety of events for students in recovery, Day said, like going out to dinners and events around the Twin Cities.

It’s the kind of support network that McGuinness and Day hope to offer in recovery housing as well.

This academic year, the University offers 29 LLCs — groups of students living in nearby dormitory rooms who share a common interest. Students are often expected to explore that interest together, by speaking a certain language, for example, or taking a common class.

The recover y LLC will likely include weekly meetings, social events led by member students, and meetings with advisors, said Dave Golden, Boynton’s director of public health and communications.

Students could also be involved in service work and

sity will move toward using debit cards or stored value cards — one of the recommendations from the Huron repor t — which have fewer risks and are more efficient.

Because this was the University’s first comprehensive review of systemwide travel and employee

tion that the explanation seemed unlikely to be the full story.

Al-Shabab on its Twitter feed Wednesday claimed that the Kenyan government assault team carried out “a demolition” of the building.

The current death toll is 67 and is likely to climb with uncounted bodies remaining in the wreckage of the Nairobi mall. Another

175 people were injured, including more than 60 who remain hospitalized.

At least 18 foreigners were among those killed.

Al-Shabab, the Somali Islamic extremist group which carried out the attack, said Wednesday that foreigners were a “legitimate target” and confirmed witness accounts that gunmen separated Muslims from other people and let

the Muslims go free. The others were gunned down or taken hostage.

“The Mujahideen carried out a meticulous vetting process at the mall and have taken ever y possible precaution to separate the Muslims from the Kuf far (disbelievers) before carr ying out their attack,” the group said in an email exchange with The Associated Press.

training to mentor other students in recovery, said ThanhVan Vu, a Boynton chemical health counselor.

Although there will be some overlap with SOBER, Golden said, students in the LLC won’t be required to join the group.

Most new LLCs start off with about 20 students, said Kristie Feist, assistant director for HRL. That way, space won’t be overcommitted and HRL can determine whether it needs to shrink or grow the number of students going forward.

Deciding which LLCs will be offered year after year is a “fluid” process, she said. An average of two are created every year. If interest in an LLC is dwindling, it’ll be discontinued, at least temporarily.

ogy senior, said Minnesota is known as the “land of 10,000 treatment centers.”

“There’s a lot of young people in recovery looking for options,” she said.

The difference between addiction and abuse, Day said, is that addiction is a long-term disease. About one half of lifetime substance use disorders begin by age 14, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

In recent years, the number of students in SOBER has grown. When McGuinness joined the group, she said, there were about four members. A year later, member-

ship neared 20.

Other schools in Minnesota, like Augsburg College, already have recovery housing, McGuinness said. These programs were part of the inspiration for the recovery LLC at the University.

McGuinness and Day said they hope a University housing community will help students find the support they need.

“I want other students that are in recovery to have the chance to have a college experience,” Day said. “I just don’t want other people to have to go through what I went through.”

A growing community In the past, the University has been criticized for not providing adequate resources to students recovering from addiction. Day and McGuinness hope to change that.

Day, a business and marketing education senior, said she doesn’t want incoming students to go through what she did.

As a transfer student, she said, making friends was hard enough. But as a student in recovery, it was even harder because she had to build relationships without going out on weekends.

McGuinness, a psychol-

expense reimbursements, comparable data is unavailable, said Al Willie, Audit Manager in the University’s audit department.

T h e d e t a i l e d b r e a kdown for individual employee reimbursements and depar tments at the University was not immediately available.

UNIVERSITY SIX-MONTH TRAVEL EXPENSES $1.2 MILLION TRAVEL WITHIN MINNESOTA $6.4 MILLION OTHER*

ABOUT $16.7 MILLION TOTAL $5.8 MILLION TRAVEL WITHIN THE U.S.

$3.2 MILLION TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF THE U.S.

*includes: charter services, recruitment, visiting scholars, nonemployee, travel-trainee, local transportation and employee relocation

SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA OFFICE OF INTERNAL AUDIT

LIKELY COMPONENTS OF RECOVERY HOUSING

1 2 3 4 5

SUPPORT NETWORK FROM OTHER STUDENTS IN RECOVERY SOBER ACTIVITIES

COMMUNITY AND SERVICE WORK COUNSELING AND SEMINARS ON TOPICS RELATED TO RECOVERY TRAINING TO BECOME A PEER RECOVERY MENTOR SOURCE: THANHVAN VU

SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

BY THE NUMBERS

50 percent OF ALL LIFETIME CASES OF

MENTAL AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS BEGIN BY AGE 14

75 percent OF THESE BEGIN BY AGE 24 20.6 million PEOPLE AGE 12 AND OLDER

WERE CLASSIFIED WITH ALCOHOL OR ILLICIT DRUG DEPENDENCE OR ABUSE IN 2011

40 to 60 percent OF A PERSON’S LIKELIHOOD

OF DEVELOPING AN ILLEGAL SUBSTANCE ADDICTION IS DUE TO GENETIC FACTORS SOURCE: SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

6

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Editorials & Opinions www.mndaily.com/opinion

7A

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

NEIGHBORHOODS

Overbuilding Dinkytown A plethora of new developments are decimating Dinkytown.

S

ince the completion of our on-campus football stadium, the Stadium Village neighborhood has been running rampant with new developments in order to capitalize on the proximity to the sports venue.

Opus Group built Stadium Village Flats in 2012 and completed construction on the Station on Washington this fall.

The developer recently started construction on its next project, the Venue in Dinkytown.

Located next to Riverton’s Chateau Apartments, the Venue is scheduled to be completed by fall 2014.

Doran Companies, like Opus, has been working to build an abundance of new student residences in the University of Minnesota area. The Edge on Oak, The Knoll, The Bridges in Dinkytown, Sydney Hall and 412 Lofts have all sprung up in the past three years, along with renovations it made to the Dinkydome in

CONNOR NIKOLIC columnist

2009.

Doran Companies CEO Kelly Doran has also announced plans to possibly build a hotel in the heart of Dinkytown, displacing local businesses Mesa Pizza, Camdi Restaurant, University LifeCare Center and Dinkytown Tattoo Shop.

I regularly stop by Mesa for a quick slice, but if they were relocated? I just don’t know how dramatically that would hurt their business. I’m still downtrodden about Sally’s being torn down for the year; losing Mesa will only further dampen the student view of local developers.

Look Doran, I see where you’re coming from. You feel that you’ve already built just about all of the apar tment buildings you can feasibly

squeeze into the Dinkytown area. But really, your next course of action is to build a six-story complex to tower over the neighborhood and move some of the oldest and most recognized area businesses? That doesn’t seem like a responsible business decision to me.

The majority of University upperclassmen and graduate students take advantage of off-campus housing options, including apartments, greek housing and rented units in the Dinkytown, Stadium Village, Como and Marcy-Holmes neighborhoods.

Eventually, these developers will reach a point where the amount of rooms they have to fill will exceed the number of students exploring off-campus housing opportunities. With the number of apartment complexes Opus and Doran alone have built in the past few years, that tipping point is becoming more and more of a topic that must be addressed.

No one knows when or how the neighborhood was first granted the moniker “Dinkytown.” However, it is believed that the name originally stemmed from the trolleys and

DEATHS IN IRAQ: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 4,802 — IRAQI CIVILIANS: 114,566- PLUS DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN: U.S. & COALITION TROOPS: 3,373 — AFGHAN CIVILIANS: UNKNOWN

rail cars that once ran through the area. These were referred to as “Dinkys.”

The name has become synonymous with the old Dinky storefront businesses, some of which have been standing over these streets for more than 50 years. These staples are more valuable to the area than an additional apartment complex or a hotel. Hopefully, Doran and Opus will come to realize this before they cripple these neighborhoods to shells of their former selves.

Doran Companies and Opus Group have built some excellent complexes, investing millions locally. Now all I am asking of them is to be content with what they have. Dinkytown doesn’t need a new hotel.

Stadium Village is already full of housing options. They need to put their millions toward maintaining the businesses that have made these areas great for so many years. And really, these neighborhoods need developers to wise up and realize when they have a good thing.

Connor Nikolic welcomes comments at cnikolic@mndaily.com.

GLOBAL POLITICS

A tangled web of words For Syria’s sake, political scrutiny shouldn’t stop at Putin.

R

Collin Randolph welcomes comments at crandolph@mndaily.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Cultivating entrepreneurship While our student body is known for its academic leadership, many enrolled in business, entrepreneurship and research classes at the University of Minnesota are now taking specific steps to become the next generation of innovators, business leaders and job creators. In other words, our students are on their way to becoming the economic engines upon which the future of Minnesota and the U.S. depend.

To take that leap from student to innovator to entrepreneur requires the right springboard of opportunity, ingenuity and guidance. The Minnesota Cup provides that jumpstart for many student-driven breakthrough ideas. Since 2005, the competition has attracted more than 7,000 entries and is now the largest new venture competition in the nation. This year a majority of the semifinalists were University students, faculty or alumni.

Nathan Conner, a secondyear MBA student at the University, was the $10,000 student division winner. He also won an additional $1,000 for being the audience’s choice with the ShedBed, a bed that uses electricity to collect pet hair.

The company Santé, a runner-up in this year’s student division, produced a unique fat-free yogur t spread. It’s currently being tested in local co-ops, and so far consumer feedback has been ver y positive. Other promising student entries

this year included Playtabase, a wearable electronics company, and Modiron, a new ironing technology allowing users to iron clothes while they are wearing them.

I want to congratulate these students for their ideas, their energy and their willingness to step outside of their comfort zones to work toward a goal beyond a grade. We all should be very proud of them and of the rich tradition of innovation they represent.

The students who made it to the Minnesota Cup are involved in the Carlson School of Management’s Entrepreneurship in Action and STARTUP courses, offered through the Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship. These courses give students hands-on experience in launching a real business as part of their education. Students currently enrolled in the class will test and launch approximately 30 businesses during the upcoming year.

We need to continue to cultivate this spirit at the University and in Minnesota, whether it is through business and entrepreneurship classes, research endeavors, strategic partnerships, technology commercialization or startup creation — or a combination of all of the above.

This past fiscal year, the University launched a record 14 startups, and research at the University creates $8.6 billion in total economic impact annually.

Our research enterprise is committed to a vision of bringing people together in new ways, fostering discoveries and making our world

a better place. We can make a dif ference to our social and economic future, one idea at a time.

Dr. Brian Herman Vice President of Research University of Minnesota

Discussing the FairTax

When family, friends and neighbors are signing up for unemployment or food stamps, or you can’t find a meaningful job after college, it’s hard to swallow government claims about the economy improving.

There’s a reason that it’s hard to believe things are getting better. For the middle class and poor, the economy is not improving. After adjusting for inflation, today’s median income for family households is roughly the same as in 1980. Since the 1970s, the median income for men working full time has remained stagnant. Last year 1.7 million Americans used government help to stay above the poverty level.

The Fair Tax Act would end the game of finding which income bracket allows you to pay the least amount in taxes by ending the income tax. Under the FairTax in the first year, 13.3 million more jobs would be created and wages would increase by 10 percent.

For years the Fair Tax Act has sat in the House Ways and Means Committee. It is time to bring it to the attention of citizens and the House floor.

Beverly Martin FairTax Nation

us s i a n presid e n t Vladimir Putin agitated many Americans when he published an op-ed in the Sept. 11 edition of The New York BRIAN Times.

REINKEN Putin’s arcolumnist ticle, which discouraged American intervention in Syria, was met with general disdain. See, for example, New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, who said the op-ed made him want to vomit. Within a day, Putin’s piece had been fact-checked and annotated by The Washington Post.

It was refreshing to see so critical an eye turned to a political text. Commentators highlighted Putin’s dubious facts, cited his omissions and expressed doubts regarding the sincerity of his motives. Due to Russia’s tenuous relationship with the U.S., it seems natural to be wary of Putin’s advice. There is a simpler reason to examine his article, however; at the end of the day, Putin is a politician.

Like others in his line of work, he will say whatever he can get away with, provided it increases his popularity.

Imagine how the political atmosphere of the U.S. would change if the American public inspected President Barack Obama’s words as carefully as it did those of Putin. Obama’s Aug. 31 speech on the Syrian situation made much of the Assad regime’s “mocker y of the global prohibition on chemical weapons.” The president, however, failed to remind his audience that the U.S. militar y utilized deadly chemical weapons such as white phosphorus and depleted uranium to wage war in Iraq. This was done despite the fact that such armaments are prohibited by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, of which the U.S. is a signatory.

Apathy is the great enabler. The words of Putin and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad have been under careful watch, as is only appropriate. But it’s easy to forget that every state, and every politician, has an agenda. As the crisis in Syria moves for ward, it will inevitably continue to receive international attention. As democratic citizens, it will be our duty to stay critical, curious and informed in order to play a smarter, more responsible role in the events that will unfold both at home and abroad.

Brian Reinken welcomes comments at breinken@mndaily.com.

Questions on Kaler’s cuts The language surrounding President Eric Kaler’s $90 million cuts isn’t revealing the entire story.

E

arlier this month, University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler announced a plan to cut administrative cuts by $90 million over six years. However, where these cuts will come from is still unclear.

In a Sept. 25 letter to the editor, Abdul Omari, a University Board of Regents member, described the savings as a “reinvestment” that would also help fulfill a University mission to limit the cost of tuition.

In a Sept. 19 Minnesota Daily article, Kaler said these savings will be invested in classroom renovations. Kaler added he also hopes to translate resources into hiring faculty.

The confusion lies in where the savings will be going. Will the $90 million in administrative cuts be used to reduce tuition, or simply be reinvested into the University, whereby not truly being savings?

This rhetoric doesn’t give a clear answer, and reports on administrative compensation aren’t helping.

In a Board of Regents Sept. 12 Annual Report on Compensation, the Office of Human Resources reported base salaries at the University were below peer and market averages.

The report included senior leader salaries for the first time. OHR said senior leader salaries are on par or below equivalent positions at peer and Big Ten schools.

The Sibson Consulting and Huron Consulting Group diagnostic studies earlier this year showed administrative overhead is at a normal level.

Kaler has not revealed where any specific cuts are going to come from yet. He only said administrative spending will be cut and that more than $30 million has already been found.

Last session, state legislators requested for more transparency in the University’s budget, specifically with administrative costs. Since both internal and third-party analyses aren’t clear on where the costs should come from, it leaves the University community wondering what Kaler will cut to fulfill his $90 million goal. Even more worrisome is if these savings will truly cut tuition or be reinvested into the University.

Don’t mess with Molly Following its recent rise in popularity, several deaths have occurred as a result of the drug.

T

he drug known as “Molly” has been making headlines recently as it has been linked to multiple deaths in the last month.

As a result, officials at several U.S. colleges in the northeast region are working hard to spread the word about the dangers of the drug.

Molly is the pure form of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is the active component in Ecstasy. An article in the Minnesota Daily published last week quoted David Ferguson, University of Minnesota medicinal chemistry professor, saying that the drug is essentially “just Ecstasy.”

Students interviewed by the Daily suggest that, while local police have reported few incidents, the drug is becoming more common.

Most college students know there are inherent risks when it comes to substance abuse, but new forms of drugs can cause additional problems given the lack of information. Users of Molly might think twice before taking it if they knew that, because MDMA is an amphetamine, it shares properties with and can cause similar problems as meth.

The new form of Ecstasy has been featured in several popular songs by various artists, which have glamorized the drug and added to its popularity, giving students and others a false sense of safety regarding its effects. Regardless of how socially acceptable it may be, students would do well to avoid Molly altogether.

University officials and administrators should also take a close look at the fatal incidents that occurred earlier this month and figure out a way to spread awareness of the drug’s dangers to prevent similar tragedies here.

While pre-emptive warnings about the dangers of drugs or alcohol given by the University are not often taken seriously by students, it would be unfortunate if the unofficial endorsements of the drug given by pop stars such as Miley Cyrus or Lil Wayne went unchallenged.

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 Look for online exclusive columns at Fax: (612) 435-5865 Phone: (612) 435-1578 www.mndaily.com/ opinion.

Letters and columns to the editor 2221 University Ave. SE Suite 450 @mndailyopinions Minneapolis, MN 55414

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TONY WAGNER = EDITORIALS & OPINIONS EDITOR ERIC BEST = SENIOR EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER WILLIAM BORNHOFT = BOARD MEMBER CASSANDRA SUNDARAM

8A

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Sports

@MNDAILYSPORTS

FOOTBALL

Gophers prepare for stud RB Weisman Mark Weisman ran for 177 yards and a score against the Gophers last year.

BY NATE GOTLIEB ngotlieb@mndaily.com,

The Gophers will try and win back Floyd of Rosedale on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. But they’ll have to stop one of the top running backs in the Big Ten to do so.

That back is Iowa junior Mark Weisman, who rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown in the Hawkeyes’ 31-13 victory over Minnesota last season in Iowa City, Iowa.

“He’s a big back,” Gophers head coach Jerry Kill said. “He’s hard to tackle, got good bounce, great vision and he fits into what they do.”

Weisman credited his per formance that day to his blockers. The bruising 6-foot, 236-pound converted fullback was Iowa’s leading rusher last season and is averaging 117 rushing yards per game this season.

As a freshman at Stevenson High School in Illinois, Weisman weighed in at just 140 pounds, according to his father, Larry Weisman. He gained about 50 pounds before his sophomore year and played on the varsity team.

Weisman r ushed for more than 2,800 yards and had 38 rushing touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons at Stevenson. He committed to the Air Force Academy the summer before his senior year.

But after a semester, he transferred to Iowa because, he said, “it just wasn’t for me.” He joined the Hawkeyes as a walk-on, red-

FOOTBALL PREVIEW

VS MINNESOTA

IOWA

2:30 p.m., Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium

MINNESOTA: The Gophers exit nonconference play 4-0 for the second straight season. This week, however, Iowa will provide the toughest test yet.

Minnesota leads the overall series 61-43-2. In the Jerry Kill era, the Gophers are 1-1 against Iowa.

After tying a quarterback school record and running for four touchdowns last week against San Jose State, Mitch Leidner is expected to start at quarterback. Philip Nelson hurt his hamstring two weeks ago against Western Illinois.

The Gophers like to run and have done so effectively against weak opponents this year; however, Iowa is great at stopping the run. Iowa hasn’t allowed a rushing touchdown all season.

IOWA: Iowa is favored to beat the Gophers by one point Saturday.

Iowa dominated the Gophers from the get-go last year en route to a 31-13 victory.

“They honestly just kicked our butt,” Kill said. “It was very disturbing as a head football coach to have it drilled up our tail end.”

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

shirted the 2011 season and earned playing time during fall camp in 2012.

Then injuries to Iowa’s top backs early in the season last year gave Weisman an opportunity at running back. And he didn’t disappoint, rattling off four consecutive 100-yard games before an injury limited his touches toward the end of the season.

We i s m a n a p p e a r s healthy this season and leads the nation in rushing attempts through four games.

‘It’s going to take ever ything’

Iowa’s offense found success utilizing a two-tight end formation last year against Minnesota. Its offensive line opened huge holes for Weisman, especially in the first

half, when he ran for 155 yards and a touchdown.

That opened opportunities in the passing game, including a flea-flicker early in the second quarter that gave Iowa a 17-0 lead and still haunts Gophers defenders.

“We watch that on film every once in a while just as a learning point,” Gophers safety Brock Vereen said.

Minnesota held Weisman to just 22 yards in the second half, though he carried the ball only five more times.

Former Gophers linebacker Mike Rallis said the team did a good job of refocusing at halftime last season, which allowed it to contain Weisman a little better.

“It was disappointing after the game,” Rallis said, “but during it, you don’t really have time to be disappointed.”

Kill was blunt on Tues-

PHOTO COURTESY OF IOWA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

Iowa running back Mark Weisman runs the ball against the Gophers on Sept. 29, 2012, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Weisman had 21 carries for 177 rushing yards and a touchdown last season against Minnesota.

day in his assessment of last year’s Iowa game.

“They beat our butt for four quarters,” he said. “I don’t have any excuses. They just did.”

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Minnesota set for encore season The Gophers begin their season with a pair of exhibition games this week.

BY BETSY HELFAND bhelfand@mndaily.com

Minnesota women’s hockey head coach Brad Frost said time and time again last season his team was going to eventually lose a game.

It didn’t.

The Gophers went 410-0 last season en route to their second straight national championship.

Still, Frost knows perfect seasons don’t come around often, and odds are this team will lose a game this season.

“The thought of going undefeated I don’t think has cr ossed anybody’s mind on our team,” Frost said. “And if it has, then we’ll talk about it here in a couple days.”

That’s not to say this team is going to struggle this year — it’s entering the season with the No. 1 ranking. But it will likely face a few hiccups along the way.

“It’s not about going undefeated. It’s about improving throughout the year,” Frost said. “I would expect us to be a much better team five months fr om now than we ar e right now.”

The team will look a lot different than last year due to graduation and the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Minnesota graduated six players, including All America defender Megan Bozek and All America goalie Noora Räty.

Frost said sophomore goalie Amanda Leveil le, who played in seven games and didn’t give up a goal last season, is the team’s star ter in net as of right now.

The Gophers also lose Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner Amanda

Kessel and defender Lee Stecklein to the U.S. national team this year.

T h o u g h Te a m U S A hasn’t made final cuts for the Olympic roster, Frost isn’t expecting either of them back this season.

Sophomore for ward Hannah Brandt, sophomore defender Milica McMillen and junior defender Rachel Ramsey were also in contention for the national roster, but all three will be with the Gophers this year.

Minnesota has seven incoming freshmen, which Frost said is larger than the normal class.

Dani Cameranesi, 2013’s Minnesota Ms. Hockey, was named the preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year.

Frost said he thinks she will have a fairly big year. “[She’s] not necessarily a natural goal scorer, but she’s going to get her goals because of how hard she works,” Frost said.

The Gophers will look for scoring from dif ferent sources to replace the nation’s most prolific scorer, Kessel.

That scoring could come from Brandt. Brandt played on the same line as Kessel last year and finished second in the countr y in scoring with 82 points. She will be expected to shoulder a decent amount of the scoring load for Minnesota.

Frost said the team will also look to seniors Sarah Davis and Kelly Terr y and junior Rachael Bona for offensive production.

“I’m not worried, necessarily, about our players up front,” he said. “I think we’ve got 11 or 12 that can really play up there.”

In contrast, the Gophers are thin defensively.

Ramsey, McMillen and senior Baylee Gillanders are the only retur ning defenders on the current roster.

Kill said he thinks this year’s game will come down to turnovers.

Or it could come down to the Gophers’ ability to stop Weisman.

FOOTBALL

Hawkeyes to provide legit test for Gophers Minnesota if off to a perfect 4-0 start for the second straight season.

BY JACK SATZINGER jsatzinger@mndaily.com

ICHIGO TAKIKAWA, DAILY

Minnesota forward Hannah Brandt battles Minnesota StateMankato forward Kari Lundberg on Nov. 17, 2012, at Ridder Arena.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY PREVIEW

VS NO. 1 MINNESOTA

TEAM JAPAN

BRITISH COLUMBIA

7 p.m. Thursday, Friday at Ridder Arena

MINNESOTA: The Gophers women’s hockey team is fresh off an undefeated 41-0-0 season — an unprecedented feat. And this weekend the squad will look to pick up right where it left off.

Minnesota will open up with exhibition games against Team Japan and British Columbia on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Gophers will be heavily favored in each of the two matchups.

These teams will allow head coach Brad Frost to tinker with his lineups early in the season.

Minnesota might need a little time to get acclimated this season after it graduated key players like goaltender Noora Räty and defenseman Megan Bozek and lost star forward Amanda Kessel to the Olympics.

Still, the Gophers return a bulk of their championship roster and will be a force to be reckoned with again this season.

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

Frost said sophomore Brook Garzone, who played for ward for the Gophers last season, has been playing defense in practice for the team.

Junior Jordyn Bur ns, who appeared in 21 games last season, will also be called upon to play defense.

Minnesota will use the two exhibition games to tinker with line combinations and pairings on defense.

Though the Gophers

will be thin numbers-wise, they go into the season with experience.

Still, they’re not taking that for granted.

“There’s a natural tendency to want to think that just because of ever ything that happened last season, we’re automatically going to be successful this year,” senior captain Bethany Brausen said in a statement. “I think that, more and more, we’re all realizing that that’s not the case whatsoever.”

“To take him down, it’s going to take everything,” Vereen said. “We’re going to have to swarm tackle. We’re going to have to play sound defense.”

The Gophers’ 43-24 win over San Jose State last Saturday was one of the most impressive wins in the Jerr y Kill era. Still, the team doesn’t necessarily have a statement win on its resume.

In two years, Kill’s teams have won just four games against Big Ten opponents.

Two of those wins have come against Illinois and one against Pur due — neither of which is on the schedule this season.

Kill’s only Big Ten victor y that wasn’t against Purdue or Illinois was a 2221 stunner at home over Iowa in 2011.

Iowa comes back to TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, at a time when the Gophers’ potential is still unknown after a weak nonconference slate.

Minnesota isn’t the only unproven Big Ten school, though. Others have str uggled in nonconference games.

Nebraska got walloped

by UCLA, Wisconsin controversially lost to Arizona State, and Michigan narrowly beat Akron and Connecticut.

Those subpar per formances by teams across the conference bring on a perception that the Big Ten is down this year.

That leaves some room for Minnesota to potentially make noise in conference play for the first time in a long time.

The team has star ted 4-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005, but without Purdue and Illinois on the

schedule, it may not make as much noise as some expect.

Hypotheticals aside, Kill said he knows discipline is what the Gophers need to beat Big Ten powerhouses.

“It’s the only way we will,” Kill said. “If we turn over the ball and have penalties, then you’ll see something in the loss column.”

Minnesota has taken care of business early in 2013, winning its first four games by a combined 87 points, but odds are Iowa is much better than any team the Gophers have played this year.

After 15 years under head coach Kirk Ferentz, Iowa has exactly what the Gophers seek in Big Ten play, Kill said: discipline.

“They are fundamentally [sound],” Kill said.

“They beat people on fundamentals and technique.”

But Minnesota appears to be disciplined so far this year as the least-penalized team in the Big Ten. The Gophers have also done a good job protecting the ball this season. As a team, Minnesota has only thrown two interceptions in 2013 and redshirt freshman Mitch Leidner has thrown zero. “ We e m p h a s i z e n o t turning the ball over a lot in practice,” Leidner said.

“We’re always working on throwing the ball away. …

You just don’t want to turn it over.”

Iowa is disciplined.

Minnesota is, too. And in Kill’s eyes, if the Gophers can maintain that type of discipline against tougher opponents, his team could assert itself this year in the Big Ten. “If we don’t make those types of errors, then we’ll have a chance for success,” Kill said. “If we don’t, then we won’t [have success].

It’s pretty simple.”

Thursday, September 26, 2013

9A

VOLLEYBALL

Women improve to 13-1 with victory

BY MEGAN RYAN mryan@mndaily.com

The Gophers beat Indiana in straight sets in their Big Ten opener at the Sports Pavilion on Wednesday night.

Not that there was really ever any doubt.

Minnesota is No. 9 in the nation and was tabbed to finish second in the conference this year, while Indiana is unranked and was not picked to end in the Big Ten’s top six this season.

The set scores — 25-14, 25-15, 25-18 — accurately depicted the Gophers’ dominance, but perhaps not even to the extent possible.

Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon said his team was good but not perfect and had a few problems such as service errors.

“The only issue I had with the way we played was toward the back end of that third set,” McCutcheon said.

“We made a few unforced errors that I thought were uncharacteristic of us tonight.”

Though the Gophers made a total of eight service errors — half coming in the third set —sophomore outside hitter Daly Santana’s jump-spin serving game was on point. She totaled all of her team’s five aces on the night, three of which came during a nine-serve breakaway in the second set.

“That’s the Daly we expect,” McCutcheon said. “Not necessarily however many aces she has … just the fact that she was able to get back there, really assert herself from the service line and give ourselves a chance to score some points.”

Santana said she didn’t let

VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW

VS NO. 9 MINNESOTA

NO. 21 PURDUE

1 p.m. Sunday at Sports Pavilion

MINNESOTA: The Gophers volleyball team faced Indiana on Wednesday at the Sports Pavilion for its Big Ten conference opener.

Minnesota won in three sets, improving its overall record to 13-1 and beginning the conference season 1-0.

PURDUE: The Boilermakers ended the nonconference season with a 9-2 record, their only losses coming in four sets to No. 4 Southern California and in five sets to Western Kentucky.

They also lost an exhibition game against Poland in four sets.

Purdue won all its matches at the Active Ankle Challenge with straight-set wins over Syracuse and Florida International and a fourset win over Northern Kentucky.

The Boilermakers will play Wisconsin on the road Friday before hopping the border to Minnesota. Purdue was not picked to finish in the top six in the Big Ten’s preseason poll.

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

the pressure of her long service run get to her.

“All of us have been working on a lot of things in practice,” Santana said, “so I just went back there and said, ‘Do what you do in practice.’ And I feel like we all did.”

Santana and senior outside hitter Ashley Wittman also contributed defensively, blocking the ball. Minnesota had 9.5 team blocks to Indiana’s four.

McCutcheon said his middle blockers senior Tori Dixon and freshman Hannah Tapp have invested a lot of time into the defensive system, but he said Santana and Wittman made the extra effort to combat the Hoosiers’ right side.

Dixon led the team with 11 kills, but Wittman and Santana followed close behind with nine apiece. Sophomore

VOLLEYBALL RESULTS

Minnesota Indiana

1 2 3 25 25 25 14 15 18

FINAL 3 0

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

Karlie Hauer tallied eight kills.

The Gophers hit .393 for the match.

Wittman said the chemistry between the Gophers’ hitters was palpable.

“We have plenty of hitters on the court, on the bench, that can help us at out any time,” Wittman said.

“That makes our offense really scary to go up against because at any point, someone can hit from the front row and the back row.”

Minnesota improved to 13-1 overall. The Gophers will next play Purdue at home on Sunday.

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

Minnesota outside hitter Daly Santana hits the ball Wednesday night against Indiana at the Sports Pavilion.

CROSS COUNTRY

Minnesota ready to run at Roy Griak Invitational

BY BETSY HELFAND bhelfand@mndaily.com

Gophers cross countr y head coach Sarah Hopkins likened planning the 28th Annual Roy Griak Invitational to planning her wedding.

She had a major hand in the Griak — one of the major meets of the regular season — which will take place Saturday at Les Bolstad Golf Course.

“You have to remind yourself that [the planning] is over and you just have to let it go and have fun and appreciate what is going on when it’s going on,” Hopkins said.

From a runner’s standpoint at the Griak, it’s a little easier to soak in the atmosphere.

“There [are] people we don’t even know cheering for us, like, ‘Yay, Minnesota,’ ” senior Laura Docherty said. “That drives me and that pushes me that a lot.”

Aside from the Big Ten championships and the NCAA meets at the end of the season, the Griak is the No. 19 Gophers’ biggest meet.

It’s also one of the major cross country meets in the country and comes with a lot of excitement and pandemonium on the day of the race.

“The whole day just goes by so fast,” junior Molly Kayfes said. “I feel like we have the whole week we’re looking forward to it, pumping it up, and then [in] a blink of the eye, the race is over.”

Hopkins said the atmosphere was kind of like a “carnival,” with a Jumbotron displaying races and music blaring throughout the day.

This meet will provide the Gophers with their toughest test of the season so far.

The women’s race will have around 25 teams, many of which are ranked — a stark contrast to the Oz Memorial about three weeks ago, where Minnesota was far and away the best team.

“I think the biggest thing for us is to just really see where we’re at right now,” Hopkins said. “We haven’t really had a meet yet that has really pushed us to our limit.”

Docherty said the team is hoping for a “top two or three” finish with “three or four” finishers in the top 20.

Minnesota finished third in a field of 17 teams last year.

Docherty led the way for the Gophers in the six-kilome-

ter race with a time of 21:17.

Kayfes was right behind her at 21:39.

This year will be Docherty’s eighth and final Griak after also competing in the race in high school.

“Running in general differed in high school,” she said. “I did not know what I was doing. The gun went off and you just go.”

She’s come a long way since then.

“I’m going to hopefully go out with a bang,” she said.

Men’s The men’s team won the Griak last season, but this year senior John Simons said they’re not feeling any pressure to repeat.

Simons said this year’s team is finding a different identity than last year’s.

“A top-five finish would actually be a pretty big accomplishment even though it doesn’t look like it because we won last year,” Simons said.

Minnesota rested its top runners at the Oz Memorial in early September, so this will be the first competition of the season in which they run.

“It’s going to be a good opportunity for us to see that our guys that we’re counting on to be in shape are in shape,” head coach Steve Plasencia said.

Junior Andrew Larsen said the team has gotten a solid month of training in, but he said he’s ready to finally race.

“I think we’re antsy,” he said. “We’re ready. We’re raring to go.”

Similar to the women’s team, the men’s team will also use the Griak as an opportunity to gauge where the team stands.

“We’ll know pretty well where we stand after this,” Plasencia said. “You don’t need every competitive question answered at this time of the year. Things are still in an evolving mode.”

The Gophers are headed

into the race hoping to prove people wrong. Both Simons and Larsen said they think the team is being underrated.

“We just want to show the maroon and gold are legit again this year,” Simons said.

“We haven’t really gotten the respect around the country that our team feels that we deserve.”

As for Simons, he said he hopes to be the team’s top finisher and wants to compete for a top-five spot in the race.

Simons led the Gophers in the eight-kilometer Griak last season with a time of 25:01.

Namesake The namesake of the meet, Roy Griak, ran for the Gophers and then coached the men’s cross country and track and field teams for 33 years.

He currently serves as an administrative assistant for the Gophers.

“I don’t know how many different ways there are to

CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW

@

28TH ANNUAL ROY GRIAK INVITATIONAL

MINNESOTA 12:20 p.m., Saturday at Les Bolstad Golf Course

MEN’S: This will be just the second meet of the season for the Gophers men’s cross country team. It competed and won at the Oz Memorial about three weeks ago but sat its top runners.

That means Saturday will be the first real action this season for a lot of the members of the team. The Gophers won the Griak last season on the men’s side of the competition. They will look to repeat that this season.

Minnesota senior John Simons was the first finisher on the team last season at the Griak and is a leader on the team this year. Still, without a lot of races under their belts this season, other runners haven’t had a real chance to emerge.

WOMEN’S: This will also be just the second official meet of the season for the Gophers women’s cross country team. It dominated the Oz Memorial at the beginning of September and is looking to build on that at the Griak.

Minnesota is led by top runners senior Laura Docherty and junior Molly Kayfes at the top of its lineup. Docherty placed first on the roster at the Griak last season.

The Gophers finished third as a team last season.

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

say it, but Roy is a special, special individual,” Plasencia

said. “Roy is a legend in our program.”

10A

Thursday, September 26, 2013

SOCCER

Gophers need bounce-back weekend Minnesota has had both on-field and off-field success early this season.

BY JACE FREDERICK jfrederick@mndaily.com

The Gophers soccer team has experienced success on the field early this season, and it seems to be enjoying itself off the field as well.

Senior for ward Steph Brandt thinks there’s a correlation there.

“Overall, chemistr y seems better,” she said. “I think off-the-field [camaraderie] is transferring into on-the-field [success].”

The improved chemistry so early in the season may be surprising for a team with 12 new faces — eight freshmen and four transfers.

“We get along ver y well — ver y little drama,” Brandt said.

Junior midfielder Katie Thyken said the Gophers had a geographic advantage when coming together as a group in the offseason. The Gophers’ roster features 18 players from Minnesota.

Thyken said proximity to one another allowed the Gophers to hold captains’ practice throughout the summer.

“That helps a lot,” she said Aug. 30. “We had that extra opportunity to get to know each other, get to know each other’s play.”

That early construction

SOCCER PREVIEW

@ NO. 4 MINNESOTA

MICHIGAN STATE

NO. 13 MICHIGAN

1 p.m. Friday in East Lansing, Mich., and 1 p.m. Sunday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

MINNESOTA: The Gophers enter a crucial weekend after dropping their Big Ten opener to Indiana last Saturday.

Minnesota needs to capitalize in the attacking zone better than it has as of late. The Gophers have been shut out in two of their last three outings. Minnesota has scored 18 goals in its seven wins this season.

Freshman goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs must continue to answer the challenges presented to her. Hobbs recorded nine saves in the loss to the Hoosiers and appears to be gaining confidence with each minute in the net.

MICHIGAN STATE: Similar to the Gophers, Michigan State is in need of a rebound weekend after a conference-opening loss. The Spartans fell to Nebraska 1-0 last Thursday.

The Spartans are led by sophomore forward Allyson Krause. Krause has two goals and three assists this season, while putting a teamhigh 11 shots on net.

Michigan State has not lost at home this season (3-0-2).

MICHIGAN: The 13th-ranked Wolverines tested themselves early and often in the nonconference schedule. Michigan defeated two ranked teams on its way to a 6-0 start before falling to Butler in its nonconference finale.

Standout senior forward Nkem Ezurike shoulders much of the offensive load. Ezurike has tallied six goals and six assists in just eight games this season.

The Wolverines defeated Iowa last Sunday to open their Big Ten season.

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM, MGOBLUE.COM, MSUSPARTANS.COM

of relationships helped the Gophers get off to a hot start, winning their first six games of the season.

Sophomore Kristen Knutson said the culture between the three keepers is different than it was last season, too.

“We’re trying to build a culture based on support,” Knutson said Sept. 4. “We celebrated each other’s goals, and we celebrate successes

that we all accomplish.”

Brandt said the team is driven by everyone’s on-field effort.

“Ever ybody’s out there working so hard, and I feel like we feed off each other for that,” she said, “just to see each other giving their all.”

Now, as the Gophers head into two crucial Big Ten battles in Michigan this weekend, the group must

CHELSEA GORTMAKER, DAILY FILE PHOTO

Minnesota defender Taylor Stainbrook tries to get the ball from Louisiana State on Sept. 6 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie stadium.

remain together as it attempts to climb the conference ladder.

As they advance through

the season, the chemistr y should only improve. “[We’re] clicking with each other,” Brandt said.

“And as we get into the season more, we’re finding where each other is going and where we’ll be.”

MEN’S GOLF

Minnesota set for third tournament of fall season The Gophers will travel to play in New Mexico over the weekend.

BY JAKE STARK jstark@mndaily.com

Following back-to-back top-five finishes in their first two tournaments of the season, the Gophers are looking to make a run at a tournament title.

Minnesota will travel to Albuquerque, N.M., this weekend to play in the William H. Tucker Invitational at the New Mexico University Championship golf course.

Last year, the Gophers finished in a three-way tie for fourth in the tournament.

Gophers head coach John Carlson said he expects his team to compete for an even better finish this season.

“I think we’re a little bit better this year,” he said. “We need to come thinking about making plenty of birdies because it’s going to be a birdiefest there.”

The Gophers will face tough competition in this year’s tournament. The host, perennial powerhouse New Mexico, is currently ranked in a tie for No. 4 in the country.

MEN’S GOLF PREVIEW

@

WILLIAM H. TUCKER INVITATIONAL

MINNESOTA Friday and Saturday in Albuquerque, N. M.

MINNESOTA: The Gophers will travel to Albuquerque to play in the 2013 William Tucker Invitational. Minnesota finished in a three-way tie for fourth in the same tournament in 2012.

No. 4 New Mexico hosts the tournament and has been the model of excellence at the competition annually. The Lobos dominated last year, winning by 29 shots. New Mexico has already beaten the Gophers this season, as it finished first in the Gopher Invitational earlier this month.

Gophers freshman Jose Mendez will look to build upon his first career individual top-10 finish after placing ninth in the Wolf Run Invitational last weekend.

SOURCE: GOPHERSPORTS.COM

The Gophers have already played against New Mexico once this season. The Lobos won the Gopher Invitational in early September.

“Playing New Mexico on their home golf course is always going to be a challenge,” Carlson said. “I think our guys are ready for that challenge.”

In order to compete with New Mexico, Carlson said he needs some of his golfers to rebound from slow starts to the season.

He pointed out how senior Jon Trasamar and sophomore Jon DuToit both had

disappointing showings at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate last weekend.

“I think they have to be oncourse leaders this year,” he said. “I know those two have the ability to win.”

Though the majority of the team has struggled to start the season, freshman Jose Mendez has been a bright spot.

Mendez finished in a tie for ninth individually at the Wolf Run. “I know what we have with [him],” Carlson said of Mendez. “I think he can win every week.”

Thursday, September 26, 2013

A&E EDITOR

RADIO K TOP 7

Sarah Harper (612) 627-4070, ext. 3237 sharper@mndaily.com

1. Volcano Choir “Byegone” 2. Blouse “Arrested” 3. Jessy Lanza “Kathy Lee” 4. Goldfrapp “Drew” 5. Until the Ribbon Breaks “Pressure” 6. Washed Out “Great Escape” 7. King Krule “Easy Easy”

ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR Spencer Doar (612) 627-4070, ext. 3060 sdoar@mndaily.com

11A

ONLINE WWW.MNDAILY.COM/AE

CORRECTIONS

errors@mndaily.com 2221 University Ave. SE Suite 450 Minneapolis, MN 55414

SKATEPARK ROYALTY

BY EMILY EVELAND eeveland@mndaily.com

3rd Lair’s “no rules” philosophy keeps skateboarders innovative and energized.

O

n the final day of 3rd Lair’s Midwest Melee competition, young skaters and their parents sat precariously along the steep ledges of the skate park’s indoor bowl. One wrong move and they’d fall hard.

But falling doesn’t seem to be an issue for 3rd Lair regulars.

“To learn a new trick, imagine doing the same thing over and over and over for hours, sometimes days, and missing or falling down constantly before you finally do it once,” owner Mark Rodriguez said.

G o l d e n Va l l e y ’ s 3 r d Lair is a meeting place for some of the most dedicated skaters in the Midwest, welcoming all ages, genders and experience levels.

“Our goal as a business is to inspire people to have a lifelong love of skateboarding,” Rodriguez said.

“We are still, to this day, 100-percent skateboarderowned and operated.”

A U of M business

F

ive-year-old Alec, the youngest of a group of kids who call themselves the Flying Burrito Boys, stands slightly taller than his skateboard. He dragged it on the ground as he walked along the perimeter of the bowl.

But when he dropped in, age and size no longer mattered. He glided just as gracefully as the other kids. When he finished, he peered up from his oversized helmet, waiting for approval.

Older kids like University of Minnesota marketing sophomore and 3rd Lair employee Jack Lunt skate with the little kids as often as they do with veterans.

“I think that’s one of the cool things about skate-

TYLER NEWMAN, DAILY A man turns to do his next trick in 3rd Lair’s Midwest Melee competition Sept. 15. The annual competition offers opportunities for skaters of all ages to put their skills to the test.

boarding,” he said. “It kind of bridges the age gap.”

Lunt is one of five University students currently working at the park. Rodriguez graduated from the University in 2008, the same year he became a 3rd Lair partner.

“We’re a U of M business, apparently,” he said.

A wintertime remedy

3

rd Lair first opened in 1997 on 12th Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis, inside a space that had previously housed two other skate parks.

“That’s kind of par t of the name — it was the third attempt at an opento-the-public skate park in that building,” Rodriguez said.

Lifelong skater Mark

Muller, his father Ted Muller and Joe Schuler originally conceived of 3rd Lair as a place to skate during Minnesota winters.

“The skaters in town just really wanted a place that they could skate yearround,” Rodriguez said.

“In the mid and early ’90s, the majority of the skateboarding that happened in the winter was in, like, parking ramps downtown.”

Rodriguez said he suspects 3rd Lair succeeded where other skate parks failed because of timing and increased mainstream awareness.

“It opened at the beginning of a major boom time of our industr y,” he said.

In 2002, the business moved to Golden Valley because of space con straints and changes in ownership.

TYLER NEWMAN, DAILY A skater dropping in off the quarter pipe on Sept. 15 at 3rd Lair’s Midwest Melee competition.

Changing scenery

T

here’s always something happening at 3rd Lair, whether they’re rearranging half the park or hosting competitions like the world-renowned “King of the Groms.”

King of the Groms — groms being young skateboarders — is currently the largest 12-and-under skateboarding competition in the world. It grew so big that 3rd Lair eventually had to take it on the road, visiting skate parks in multiple states.

Seven-year-old Leif Trasser has been traveling from Wisconsin to 3rd Lair competitions since he was 5.

His mother, Jessica Trasser, is particularly grateful for King of the Groms.

“He has met so many kids from all over the United States. We have friends in, like, ever y state now,” she said.

3rd Lair has found more ways than one to keep things exciting. Ever y fall, James Kaul, aka “Swamp Trog,” leads a crew in remodeling anywhere from 25 to 75 percent of the facility.

“Swamp Trog is — he’s our ramp lord, I guess.

That’s his title on his business card,” Rodriguez said.

Travis Wood, a 3rd Lair staff member and broadcast journalism sophomore at the University, said 3rd Lair also hosts an annual haunted house under the bowl as well as monthly lock-ins for kids wanting to shred all night.

It’s no wonder 3rd Lair has a designated Red Bull refrigerator up front.

“Skateboarding got me through everything.

It’s the first thing I ever loved and I hope W it’s the last thing, you know? I might get that engraved on my tombstone.”

Logan Mozey

The state of skating hen asked about the current state of skateboarding, James Reed, father of a Midwest Melee competitor, sighed.

“It’s a sore subject because big industry is killing it for local skateboarding,” he said.

From Rodriguez’s perspective, skateboarding is as good as ever. But from a statistical standpoint, he said, he realizes it’s not where it was.

“As we move for ward,

Tony Hawk is kind of retired and in a big way, out of the public view. There isn’t really a new face to skateboarding,” he said.

Additionally, Rodriguez said skateboarding has become more demanding.

Many young skaters have mastered tricks that once inspired awe in onlookers. To succeed, new boarders must go above and beyond the most difficult maneuvers.

“Par t of our strategy here to combat that is embracing the idea that skateboarding has no r ules,” Rodriguez said. “It creates more of an opportunity for people to take it in whatever direction they want as long as they’re having fun with it.”

For Logan Mozey, a 15-year-old who competed in Midwest Melee’s expert category, the fame and recognition aren’t what count. “[My dad was] always trying to make me do competitions and stuf f, and I wasn’t really into it,” he said.

“I just wanted to have fun and do, like, whatever made me happy.”

Extending from Mozey’s elbow to his wrist is a tattoo of a skateboard encircled by roses and bordered by the words “First Love.”

“Skateboarding got me through ever ything,” he said. “It’s the first thing I ever loved and I hope it’s the last thing, you know?

I might get that engraved on my tombstone.”

12A

Thursday, September 26, 2013

MUSIC

The first-timer’s guide to karaoke A&E gives greenhorns the skinny on life’s great equalizer.

BY SARAH HARPER AND SPENCER DOAR sharper@mndaily.com sdoar@mndaily.com

I

t’s Monday night at Otter’s Saloon on Central Avenue and the place isn’t exactly hopping. But there’s a decent mix of people here, chatting, drinking and watching football — and once 9 p.m. hits, they’ll be singing their hearts out.

“It’s a place to express yourself and bust it out,” regular Larry Svoboda said.

It took years for Svoboda to hit the mic, but he’ll be the first to tell you that it should’ve been sooner.

Once you’ve experienced the jubilation of a job well done, it’s a hard habit to kick.

“We’re the only bar that has had karaoke 365 days a year since the ’80s,” bartender Ryan Fuchs said.

There are a few other bars with karaoke ever y night, including the nearby Vegas Lounge, but the Otter remains our favorite — not to mention longest-standing — standby. And we’re not the only ones.

“We get ever ybody — gay, straight, white, black.

We don’t care. Bring ‘em all in,” said Ben Donovan, a security guy who’s been working at the bar for seven years.

So if you’re looking to clear out your pipes with some golden oldies, bring your rookie self on down to the Otter, a good spot for first-timers, and indulge in one of the most fun things you can do on a Monday night — or any night, for that matter.

Do’s and Don’ts Do have a game plan.

You don’t have to practice for hours on end, but it’s nice to have a few songs filed away in your head as safeties. That way, you won’t have to spend two hours flipping through the binders. Be sure to know the cadences of the verses and not just the popular choruses. Some joints’ lyric displays aren’t the most

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

Bartender Ryan Fuchs sings at Otter’s Saloon on Monday evening.

helpful.

Don’t drink something crazy before your turn. If you’re going to follow the advice of serious singers, don’t go for anything sugar y or anything with dair y.

A sub-par mic will cancel out any clarity and tonal per fection in your voice anyway, so don’t wor r y too much. That said, don’t drink anything that will make your thr oat feel sticky.

Don’t for ce a gr oup sing. We know singing alone can be ner ve-wracking. We respect that you want your buddies up there. But there’s nothing less enter taining than five or six girls hunched around two mics screaming a Spice Girls song. If you must have backup, go for a duet — see our Spotify duet playlist for ideas.

Do tr y. We’re not saying put your hear t on the line.... Actually, we are saying that. No one’s too cool for karaoke. So when you go up there, don’t necessarily tr y to channel the emotion of Old Yeller dying, but do make the evening palatable for others who might be all too familiar with the shrieking, dr unken harpy-type.

Which leads to the next no-no: Don’t be a doofus. We know, par t of karaoke is embracing the not-sogreat voices that represent the majority of society, but that doesn’t mean you need to be bad on purpose if you actually have decent pipes in the shower. Don’t tr y to pull a Bill Mur ray lounge lizard routine. It’s always a long shot that something like that will play out well, so noobs

should avoid the schlocky, “My friends will get it, I swear” mentality.

Do be kind to your bartenders. We all know this is a rule for ever y night, but sometimes our karaoke ner ves can make us extra skittish and forget the good men and women behind the bar. Your future friends at the Otter will thank you, sometimes loudly: “I ring the bell when I get a good tip,” Fuchs said. “Or when a song requires more cowbell.”

D o n ’ t w o r r y. We ’ r e giving you a lot of advice here, but the main thing is to keep fun the main thing. “Find a song that you love,” Donovan said.

“G ood , b a d — d oes n ’t make a dif ference. Nobody cares. People come here because they want to have fun.”

Songs to try out Check out A&E’s Spotify profile, MNDailyAE, to hear our safety jams: “Takin’ Care of Business”

by Bachman-Turner Overdrive “Losing My Religion”

by R.E.M. “Lean on Me”

by Bill Withers “Friends in Low Places”

by Garth Brooks “Oops! ... I Did It Again”

by Britney Spears “I Want You to Want Me”

by Cheap Trick “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” by the Miracles “Sweet Caroline”

by Neil Diamond Karaoke genres best left to the pros Rap: Honestly, if you’re a

great rapper, you already know that about yourself.

If you have reser vations about your ability to spit it, quit it with the hip-hop.

Show tunes: Show tunes are a labor to sing and to listen to. There’s a reason musical theater people quit their day jobs and follow the no dair y/sugar/ alcohol/screaming r ules: It’s because they’re the ones who can actually hit (and sustain) those money notes. Go ahead and tr y, but you might get acquainted with the feeling of getting yanked off-stage with a cane.

M e t a l : Okay, so ther e are a few “standards” you could pull off — Metallica, maybe. But for a rookie, it’s best to avoid the growly, usually unintelligible vocals of the har dcore stuff.

THEATER

Coming to America

thursday

Atlas Genius with Family of the Year and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. If you like well-dressed men and dance-worthy indie pop, you’ll love Atlas Genius. Australian brothers Keith, Steven and Michael Jeffery started the band in their family’s garage in 2009. Two years later, they released their debut single “Trojans” and hit it big. They’ve since added a keyboardist, dropped a brother, performed on an array of latenight talk shows and sold 45,000 copies of their “Trojans” on iTunes. Catch them in Minneapolis toward the start of their two-month tour spanning the states and the UK. u Where: Varsity Theater, 1308 SE Fourth St., Minneapolis u When: 6:30 p.m. u Cost: $22.50-$30

WHAT “STEERAGE SONG” WHEN 7:30 P.M. WEDNESDAYS THROUGH SATURDAYS AND 2 P.M. SUNDAYS, SEPT. 28-OCT. 20 WHERE THE LAB THEATER, 700 N. FIRST ST., MINNEAPOLIS COST $35-81

Hornbacher said the size and scope of the work makes performance challenging.

“You don’t have time to develop a character. It has to be right there, right now without it becoming an archetype or a caricature,” he said.

The actors aren’t the only ones doing the heavy lifting, though.

Chouinard built the score with folk tunes from 20 countries. The pit musicians use everything from accordions to banjos to give the music an authentic feel.

“A lot of times the song gives you enough that you don’t need to make big gestures or some huge emotional

PHOTO COURTESY OF THEATER LATTÉ DA “Steerage Song” puts a microscope up to the world of Ellis Island and the powerful stories it holds.

performance. If you just sing the song, it’s amazing the kind of power it can have,” Andreev said.

This simplicity is crucial to the style of the show — while developing the piece over the past few years, Rothstein has worked to make sure nothing

Ghosts of Anoka Tours Historical ghost tours are the perfect combination of scary and scholarly. The Anoka County Historical Society has crafted a walking tour that covers Anoka’s most haunted homes and businesses. Your costumed tour guides will share real-life ghost stories brought to the Historical Society by Anoka’s residents. According to the Society, the ghost stories are mostly history with a healthy dose of folk lore. Tours generally last an hour and a half and will go on in spite of rain. Make sure to reserve spots in advance. u Where: Anoka County Historical Society, 2135 Third Ave N., Anoka u When: 7:30 p.m. u Cost: $5 for children and members, $7 for adults

is overblown. He said it keeps the work honest and avoids romanticizing these struggles. The musical waves an American flag but doesn’t pretend that immigrants didn’t face fierce discrimination.

For Hor nbacher, this unsentimental portrayal of

saturday

A

ctor Sasha Andreev smiled as he sat in the lobby of the Lab Theater.

“It’s kinda perfect,” he said.

When you first walk into the space, you look up.

There’s only seating for about 200 people, but it’s enormous in height. The brick-walled theater is exactly what creator and director Peter Rothstein needs to tell the expansive story of “Steerage Song.”

“The theatricality of that is what’s fun about it. ... It’s an intimate space, so small things end up carrying a lot more meaning than they might in a big house,” said Rothstein, the artistic director of Theater Latté Da. Focusing on the personal journeys of immigrants coming to the U.S., “Steerage Song” is a love letter to the diverse cultures that built the countr y. The musical contains songs performed in 17 different languages.

“These stories were deeply moving, so we wanted to

figure out a way to focus on the music, in part, but create a vehicle that allowed us to honor these people,” co-creator and music director Dan Chouinard said.

Conceived in 2009, the show was originally supposed to highlight famous musicians that came through Ellis Island. Rothstein and Chouinard found the accounts of average immigrants to be more exciting after producing a version of the show in concert form in 2011 and studying documents from the early 1900s.

“They provided, literally, stacks of books. It’s helped ground us in the reality of this journey,” actor Jay Hornbacher said about Rothstein and Chouinard.

A lot of the text in “Steerage Song” was developed using newspapers and quotes from notable speeches.

Since the pool of material was so large, Rothstein and Chouinard created a piece that doesn’t have a titular character. It’s focused on the ensemble, moving over a wide variety of stories and characters.

friday

BY JOE KELLEN jkellen@mndaily.com

Peter Rothstein and Dan Chouinard come together to musicalize Ellis Island.

immigration is what makes “Steerage Song” relevant today.

“A lot of the things that are said in this play that are negative about immigrants are things that I hear, practically on a daily basis,” he said.

Nine Inch Nails and Explosions in the Sky Nine Inch Nails, everyone’s favorite industrial band, has teamed up with Explosions in the Sky for a two-month tour that hits St. Paul this weekend. Those unfamiliar with the latter have probably heard them in what feels like every major motion picture to come out over the last year. They somehow concocted the perfect background sound for the departing of lovers, the loss of a friend and anything played in slow motion. As for Nine Inch Nails, well, who can forget the chorus to “Closer”? u Where: Where: Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul u When: 8 p.m. u Cost: $37.50-$101.50

CULTURE COMPASS BY EMILY EVELAND

Thursday, September 26, 2013

13A

Director Denis Villeneuve made his 153-minute masterpiece pass by in what felt like seconds. Maybe it was Jake Gyllenhaal’s per formance as a detective with sexy slicked-back hair and an endearing eye twitch, or perhaps it was Hugh Jackman’s warrior-dad mentality — whatever the case, the tension star ts high and keeps growing throughout the film. “Prisoners” follows the kidnapping of two young girls and the ensuing ef for ts made by Gyllenhaal and Jackman to track them down. Though it sometimes tries to accomplish too much, “Prisoners” is one of the most captivating movies in recent months. The film is par ticularly devastating for anyone with children. You’ve been warned.

“The Bones of What You Believe”

by Chvrches

eat

“Prisoners”

listen

watch

CULTURE COMPASS BY EMILY EVELAND

The long-awaited album of the most hyped band on the Internet is finally here, and it does not disappoint. Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, Chvrches have blown up the blogosphere over the past year with songs like “Lies” and “The Mother We Share.” Lead singer Lauren Mayberr y’s voice doesn’t dominate but is instead situated per fectly against the stellar synth pop beats of her band mates, Iain Cook and Mar tin Doher ty. You may want to seriously consider jumping on board if you haven’t already.

Pumpkins Pumpkin pie, pumpkin butter, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin milkshakes and plain old pumpkins are popping up all over the place — bloggers have been going nuts about the triumphant return of pumpkin spice lattes. Pumpkins are out to over take apples, and the public doesn’t seem to mind. Indulge in your ar tificially flavored pumpkin drinks if you must, but don’t forget to pick a car ving contestant from your local pumpkin path. Nothing beats fistfuls of stringy orange goop.

FOOD

College Kitchen: Clear out your pantry Four quick recipes to expand your cooking repertoire.

BY ALEX BRODSKY abrodsky@mndaily.com

Y

o u look in yo ur fridge. All you see is half an onion, three cans of Hamm’s, leftover rice and a bell pepper someone guilt-tripped you into buying at the farmers market on Church Street. What do you cook? Hamm’sbraised onions?

Every cook needs a couple of recipes in their back pocket they can whip out time and time again. Having a large repertoire ensures you’ll always have a meal to fix, no matter how destitute your pantry looks.

Chicken fried rice Fried rice is a per fect end-of-the-week dish. It’s simple, takes no time to cook, and you can throw just about any kind of vegetables or meat into it.

1 cup cooked white rice 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/4 inch cubes 1/2 medium onion, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar Sriracha (optional) Heat vegetable oil in a large fr ying pan. Add in half the minced garlic and fr y until lightly browned, about one minute. Toss in the chicken and fr y until no longer pink, stirring often to ensure even browning. Move the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and add more oil.

Add in the rest of the garlic and the diced onion and fr y until translucent,

about two to three minutes.

Add the carrots and bell peppers and let cook for about four minutes, constantly stirring the mixture.

Add the rice to the pan and mix thoroughly. Let the rice fry and dry out — this allows it to better soak up the sauce while maintaining their texture.

After about three minutes, add in the soy sauce and sugar and mix until the rice takes on a light brown color. Add more soy sauce if necessary.

Onion and bell pepper omelet Resist the temptation to say, “Screw it, these are scrambled eggs now.” Push yourself to your limits: Make the perfect fluffy yellow omelet.

3 large eggs 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 onion, diced Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons butter Crack the eggs into a small bowl and gently whisk them with a fork until the yolks are entirely incorporated.

Put a fr ying pan over medium high heat. Add in a tablespoon of butter and wait until entirely melted.

Tilt the pan to coat the entire bottom in melted butter.

Add the diced onions.

Fry until translucent, about four minutes. Throw in the bell pepper and cook for another two to three minutes.

Pour in the egg mixture, coating the entire bottom of the pan. Vigorously stir the mixture until the eggs begin to solidify, about 10 seconds. After wards, tilt the pan around until the remaining liquid evenly coats the rest of the pan.

Gradually move a rubber spatula or wooden spoon around the edge of

Pasta Bolognese, a quick and simple recipe for any college kitchenista.

the omelet while lightly shaking the pan to loosen it.

When the eggs have suf ficiently set, scoot the omelet to the edge of the pan furthest from you, tilt the pan and snap it back towards you, folding the omelet in half. Let sit for another 10 seconds or so. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Pasta Bolognese (kind of) The combination of vegetables here is referred to as a “mirepoix” and forms the backbone for countless soups and sauces throughout the culinar y world.

Throw that word around at fancy dinner parties.

Alternatively, you can use a store-bought marinara sauce and combine with the ground meat and pasta for a quick version on the

dish.

1 pound linguine or spaghetti 1 pound ground beef or ground Italian sausage 1 16-ounce can of diced tomatoes 1/2 medium onion, diced 1 large carrot, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced Salt and pepper Olive oil Dried parsley Parmesan (optional) In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high. Place the ground meat in the pan and let fr y until entirely browned. Break the meat up into small chunks the entire time it’s frying.

Move the meat onto a paper towel lined plate, reserving about a tablespoon

of fat in the pan.

Sauté the onions, carrots, celer y and garlic in the fat until tender, about five minutes.

Season with salt, pepper and dried parsley. Add in the can of diced tomatoes and bring the mixture up to a boil. Reduce to low heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Periodically taste and adjust seasonings. Ser ve over the spaghetti with grated parmesan.

Add salt to water and boil to cook spaghetti. The salt helps flavor the pasta and remove some of the starch.

Rosemary roasted potatoes A cheap and simple side dish, these potatoes pair per fectly with any meatheavy entrée.

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

2 medium potatoes, preferably yellow Olive oil Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon dried rosemary Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Slice potatoes into roughly 1/2-inch cubes.

In a mixing bowl, combine potato cubes, salt, pepper, rosemar y and enough olive oil to coat the potatoes.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly spread a small amount of olive oil over the aluminum foil, then add the potatoes to the sheet and transfer them to the oven.

After 15 minutes, flip the potatoes over and continue baking until the potatoes are golden brown, about 10 minutes.

COMEDY

Actually, he’s a mere mortal Derek Mears makes a living playing monsters and villains, all thanks to his love of comedy.

BY SPENCER DOAR sdoar@mndaily.com

N

early 25 years ago, Derek Mears was just a scrawny Californian high-schooler dreading a field trip to a nearby ComedySpor tz per formance. Little did he know, that trip would begin his evolution into a monster.

All nerdy innocence at the time, the 17-year-old fell in love with the improv outfit and was talented enough to immediately land a gig with the group.

“I learned a lot about selfconfidence. I got a lot more comfortable with the alopecia,” Mears said.

(For Mears, having alopecia means almost total hair loss over his body — though he’s recently been able to grow a goatee.)

He quickly moved to the Los Angeles branch of ComedySportz, eventually landing a gig in the Universal Studio live production “The Wild, Wild, Wild West Stunt Show.”

It was there that Mears stumbled across his fate, learning the tools of a stuntman’s trade while daily performing a mixture of comedic theater and feats of dusty desert derring-do for thou-

sands of the theme park’s visitors.

“In high school I was a scrawny kid — couldn’t do a pull-up,” he said. “While working [at the stunt show], I realized that if I worked out, I could be a bad guy in TV and film.”

That was a eureka moment for the now-established baddie.

A late-bloomer, Mears now stands at 6 feet 5 inches tall with a build like Atlas’ — and he’s got a circle of friends to match.

There’s Tyler Mane, the most recent Michael Myers in the “Halloween” franchise, standing at 6 feet 9 inches; then there’s Danny Trejo, another rough-andtough hot shot.

Mears parlayed his body type, acting skills and stunt abilities into more than a decade’s worth of bit roles in TV and film, eventually showing up in movies like “The Hills Have Eyes II,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Hatchet III” and “Predators.”

But that isn’t to say you’d recognize him — his roles frequently alter his appearance. In this year’s “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” Mears played the huge troll Edward. In “Predators,” he was one of the predators.

Then there’s the masked role he’s perhaps most known for: that of iconic, machete-wielding mass murderer Jason Voorhees in the 2009

WHO: DEREK MEARS WHERE: COMEDYSPORTZ, 3001 S. HENNEPIN AVE., MINNEAPOLIS WHEN: 8 P.M., THURSDAY COST: $14

reboot of “Friday the 13th.”

“The way you’re presenting your body, that’s your tool,” he said. “People don’t realize we’re human keyboards with range. If somebody were to hurt a family member in front of you or kick your dog — we all have that anger inside. It’s shared humanity.”

But he still goes back to ComedySportz, flicking the internal switch between actor psycho and real-life nice guy.

“I’ve trained myself to be in tune with my feelings,” he said. “I can go over and come back.”

After years of harrowing and hazardous work — he almost drowned in a water tank when participating in a music video shoot — Mears jokes that the most dangerous part of his life was being married and getting divorced.

Mears will be in town for the weekend after his guest spot at ComedySportz, appearing as a guest at this year’s Crypticon, the annual celebration of all things scifi and scary.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEREK MEARS Derek Mears is more than growls and machetes.

14A

Thursday, September 26, 2013

BOOKS

COMEDY

From under the parasol More than love on his line

Hold on to your corsets, kids.

Adam Carolla is the same former carpenter that landed the miracle radio gig “Loveline” almost 20 years ago: snide, clever and nasally.

BY JOE KELLEN jkellen@mndaily.com

BY SPENCER DOAR sdoar@mndaily.com

H

ours spent browsing the Internet don’t usually amount to much. But for author Deborah Yaf fe, it inspired a book.

A Jane Austen fan since her youth, Yaf fe discovered a website called The Republic of Pemberley in 2009. Note for nonJaneites: Pemberley is the name of a character’s estate in the novel “Pride and Prejudice.”

Yaf fe discovered the site, a gathering place for Austen aficionados, while she was supposed to be writing a completely different book. She used the forum instead of working a little more often than she cared to admit.

“When my husband would catch me at it, I would quickly log off,” she said.

Once she divulged her habit, though, she got a response she didn’t expect.

“One day I was telling him about these conversations and this community and how fun it was, and he looked at me and said, ‘You should write about that,’ ” she said.

Yaffe took this to heart.

By 2011, she had gotten an agent and a deal to produce “Among the Janeites.”

Her first instinct when she began researching the book was to star t with a group she’d been involved with for a while: the Jane Austen Society of Nor th America. JASNA holds conventions ever y year to celebrate Austen — conventions that frequently sell out.

The group also sponsors trips to England for readers to do research on the author.

For Yaffe, the trip was a golden opportunity.

“I had always wistfully looked at the brochure when it arrived in the mail and wished that I could afford it,” she said, “so now this was the per fect excuse to go do it.”

On the trip, Yaffe made connections with a number of Austen fans — from literar y theorists to people who wore period dress to the conventions. After seeing the variety of niches

A

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEBORAH YAFFE Deborah Yaffe will visit the University of Minnesota Bookstore this Thursday to share her “Janeite” knowledge.

within the subcultur e, she began attending even more events.

She discovered fans who had been changed by Austen’s work in significant ways. One of these fans was Phyllis Bottomer, a speech pathologist Yaffe met at a convention in Portland, Ore. Bottomer, who lives in Vancouver, Canada, is employed by a public school district and works frequently with autistic children to improve their conversation skills. In 2002, she began to realize that some of Austen’s characters had issues that resembled her

patients’.

After doing more resear ch, Bottomer pub lished an analytical piece examining the role of the autism spectrum in “Pride and Prejudice.”

“Some people at my talks have found that this work connects with their personal lives,” she said.

“If this helps them understand these conditions better, that af fects me ver y deeply.”

You might be wondering what it is about Austen’s work that attracts this fer vor. Yaf fe found that the answer to that question isn’t as important as one might think.

WHAT “AMONG THE JANEITES” DISCUSSION WITH DEBORAH YAFFE WHEN 4 P.M., SEPT. 26 WHERE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BOOKSTORE, 300 WASHINGTON AVE. SE, MINNEAPOLIS COST FREE

“A lot of my ef for t in the book is devoted to not answering the question,” she said, “because I felt in the end that is something, to a cer tain extent, that is unexplainable.”

pes and Pokemon may evolve, but Adam Carolla remains the same.

If anything, Carolla, the humorous, ranting personality who rose to prominence in the late ’90s on the syndicated radio program “Loveline” and solidified his brand with “The Man Show,” has turned more into himself — a living caricature of the blustering everyman that made him famous.

He has candles lit at all ends and yet still projects the same sort of couch-pontificating lethargy that makes him appealing to any blue-collar schmoe with dreams of entertaining.

“I don’t know what the alternative is for me – napping or death,” Carolla said.

So, what’s on his plate? Carolla helms the free podcast, “The Adam Carolla Show,” which was awarded the Guinness World Record for “Most Downloaded Podcast” in 2011 after nearly 60 million downloads over two years.

He reunited with his former “Loveline” partner Dr. Drew for another podcast, appropriately called “The Adam and Dr. Drew Show.”

The comic also has a few books to his credit and is working on a book due out next summer called “President Me.” He raised more than $1 million through crowdfunding for a new movie, “Road Hard,” which he will direct, write and star in. The film, which will start shooting in December and will take place in comedy clubs, detailing the life of a comedian forced to go back on the road after the cancellation of his sitcom.

It isn’t just his yapper that makes the dough; he runs Carolla Drinks, a company that primarily markets his signature Sangria cocktail called, what else, Mangria.

Carolla gets in touch with his construction-based background with yet another podcast, “Ace on the House,” where he riffs on household issues like why to buy a nice ceiling fan and the problems with paint rollers.

All of these podcasts (and a few more) fall under the umbrella of his company Carolla Digital, a podcast empire.

Despite all of these ven-

WHAT ADAM CAROLLA PODCAST LIVE TAPING WHEN 7:30 P.M. AND 10:30 P.M., FRIDAY WHERE THE VARSITY THEATER, 1308 FOURTH ST. SE, MINNEAPOLIS COST $40.50$50.50 AGE 18+

tures, he thinks mostly about building projects and physical labor. To step into Dr. Drew’s shoes, it’s his outlet for dealing with celebrity and the trappings of nonsense that come with Hollywood — it keeps him grounded.

“I like the tangible, mechanical, physical world, not just the world of thoughts and ideas and jokes,” Carolla said.

Working on cars, boxing (to the degree his injured hands will allow) and carpentry, all while one thought away from a 10-minute tangent: That is the real Adam Carolla.

In fact, he keeps a piece of junk mail in his wallet at all times for random observation. This is what allows the prolific talker to avoid dead air.

On the phone with A&E, he was thinking about the correlation between medicine and froyo.

One day Carolla offered his son a trip to Pinkberry for some frozen yogurt. His son didn’t want to go, saying that he didn’t like chocolate. Carolla suggested cherry instead.

Turns out, cherr y reminded his son of medicine he had to take for a childhood ear infection.

“We ruin these flavors for these kids at an early age — my son will forever hate the flavor cherry because he associates it with the horrible cough medicine and not the delightful fruit,” he said. “I think that’s interesting so I write that down. I think we need to come up with a medicine flavor that’s sweet but that they won’t encounter in their adult life at a frozen yogurt place.”

There doesn’t seem to be much ‘why’ to the work of Adam Carolla — though he may ask the question a lot — just a lot of ‘is.’ He does what he does to do it, and at this point there’s no turning back.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Classifieds

15A

RATES PER LINE/DAY • PREPAID: $2.70, BILLED: $3.10, CREDIT CARD: $2.70 To place a Classified linage ad, call: 612-627-4080 or email: classifieds@mndaily.com To place a display ad, call: 612-435-5863 For billing questions, call: 612-627-4080 *$60 minimum billing Linage hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

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EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYMENT

FOR SALE

HOUSING

RESTAURANTS

HELP WANTED GENERAL

TEMPORARY/SEASONAL

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Activist? Work for social, economic, and environmental justice. Get PAID. Call MPIRG at 612-627-4035

2-3 immediate pt/time janitorial positions Trning and advncmnt opportunities 2-4 dys/wk,11:30 PM- 3:30 AM 763-441-4859 www.leadens.com, fill out applctn on contact us page

THE BWCA READER. Stick it in a Duluth Pack or a Christmas Stocking! www.BWCAReader.com

Taco Bell Job Fair October 4th!!Be part of something big.ATTEND OUR JOB FAIR. Apply in person or online at TacoBell.com/careers Now Hiring:Team Members, Shift & Assistant Managers Instant Interviews Stinson Taco Bell 1540 Stinson Blvd NE - Minneapolis 55413 Friday, October 4th, 2013 8:30 am - 10:30 am Now hiring part time and full time!! Hiring for all shifts ! Benefit Package includes; Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Flex Spending for Medical and Day care, Paid Vacation, Holidays and Sick Time, 401K, Tuition Reimbursement, Fitness Advantage Program, Employee Assistant Program, Discounts with Sprint, AT&T, T Mobile, Dell, HP, MAC and more.

Email hknight@borderfoods.com

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

Epilepsy Fdtn MN seeks P/T phone rep 8:30AM-12:30PM M-F $9.50/hr 651-287-2301 or true@efmn.org

HOUSING

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HEALTH CARE Part-time Resident Advocate Work with 25 mentally ill adults in a boarding home setting. Provide observation of them taking their medications, a meal, a snack and assistance in resolving conflicts as they arise. Call 612 872-9035 to set up an interview. Email rest2shknp@gmail.com

3, 2 BR’s avail asap, A/C, ldry, secure, pkg, heat pd 612-237-6941 1503 8th SE. www.uofmhousing.com

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UPCOMING EVENTS WHAT: Meet author and journalist Deborah Yaffe WHO: University of Minnesota Bookstores WHEN: 4–5 p.m., Thursday WHERE: University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Union, Minneapolis PRICE: Free Author and journalist Deborah Yaffe will discuss her book “Among The Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom.” “Among The Janeites” offers a look into the fascinating world of this fandom as 2013 marks Pride and Prejudice’s 200th year of publication.

WHAT: Homecoming 2013: Parade WHO: Student Unions and Activities WHEN: 7–8:30 p.m., Friday WHERE: University Avenue, East Bank, Minneapolis PRICE: Free Take part in the University’s longest-standing Homecoming tradition! Find a spot along the street, or watch the parade from the Family Viewing Area located on University Avenue in the Cooke Hall semicircle. The Family Viewing Area will feature bleachers for parade viewing, on-site restrooms; and free face painting, balloon animals, games and giveaways will begin at 6:30 p.m.

WHAT: Google Scholar and Web of Science: Complementary Tools for Finding Academic Content WHO: University Libraries WHEN: 2:30–3:30 p.m., Monday WHERE: 310 Walter Library, East Bank, Minneapolis PRICE: Free Learn how these two databases offer unique ways to retrieve and analyze academic research. Explore their broad subject coverage to do effective interdisciplinary research.

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16A

Thursday, September 26, 2013

BACKTALK sudoku

horoscopes

Complete the grid so each row, column 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.

9/26/2013

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

All rights reserved.

Today’s Birthday (9/26): What do you want, for yourself and others this year? Re-evaluate what you have, and measure the gap. Improve your home to support your vision. Love gives you new energy.

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 — Your colleagues have answers. Discover a pleasant surprise. There’s more work coming in, so pay back a debt. Plan a luxurious evening at home.

Libra (9/23 - 10/22): Today is a 6 — Anticipate changes. This could bring valuables your way. Expect more responsibility. A generous offer requires more thought.

Taurus (4/20 - 5/20): Today is a 7 — You have more business than expected. You’re especially good at marketing. Friends help you make a connection.

Scorpio (10/23 - 11/21): Today is a 6 — An opportunity presents itself enticingly. Trust a woman’s advice. News affects your decision.

Set long-range goals. You’re very popular now.

Gemini (5/21 - 6/21): Today is a 7 — Gather up the harvest. Make romantic plans. Money’s coming in; use it to create a beautiful moment.

Take care. Avoid excess, and keep it simple.

Sagittarius (11/22 - 12/21): Today is a 6 — Review your budget. Take control of the details, and handle a financial matter. There’s a choice to make, and more money coming your way.

Cancer (6/22 - 7/22): Today is a 6 — Personal matters demand attention, and you’re stronger for it. Find a great deal on a luxurious item for your home.

Capricorn (12/22 - 1/19): Today is a 7 — There’s another change to your assignment.

Accept an offer of assistance or a windfall.

Stash away the surplus.

Leo (7/23 - 8/22): Today is a 6 — It’s easier to finish old projects and commitments. Review your priorities, and get a lucky break. Get serious about your strategy without getting arrogant or bossy.

Aquarius (1/20 - 2/18): Today is a 7 — Your workload is getting more intense, and the excellent work you’ve been doing reflects well on you. Re-affirm goals together with a partner.

Virgo (8/23 - 9/22): Today is a 6 — Improve your process to increase your yield. Celebrate!

The next two days are good for travel and fun.

Friends are glad to go along for the ride.

Pisces (2/19 - 3/20): Today is a 6 — You’re developing a new perspective. Say so. Others are pleased with your work. You are lucky in love. Your fame travels far and wide.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

17A

crossword

secret admirers

FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Dear people who smell on the connectors, I exist.

Sincerely,

—Deodorant To the guy who swipes cards at the Mac:

You are always so helpful, and your hair is so perfect. I wish you could come home with me and help with more than just the stapler.

—Wondering why you don’t wear a nametag To the cute guy in the library Friday night who was talking to me and wanted to buy me a drink until he saw my Packers debit card:

We really shouldn’t let this come between us. I really think we can get past this.

I’d love to Lambeau leap into your arms.

—A Green Bay girl looking for some love

To the guy I see every Monday and Wednesday around 11 a.m. behind STSS smoking:

Your tattoos drive me wild. You’re hotter than the tip of your cigarette.

—Unknown

Dear Leo DiCaprio look-alike,

Thank you for taking time helping me with all my silly questions today at the ReUse Center, even though you seemed exhausted. It definitely helped that I got to watch you put those muscles to work. Maybe someday you’ll draw me like one of your French girls.

—Unknown

Dear grilled cheese and tomato soup,

I can only hope to find a man that compliments me as well as you complement each other.

Your relationship is inspirational.

Sincerely,

—Avid Fall Lover

To the extremely nice and attractive guy on the moped that offered me a ride home tonight:

I really wish I would have taken you up on the offer!

—Girl on crutches

To all the cute runner girls around campus:

If you’re single and looking for a running partner, we have something in common!

—Fellow runner looking for someone special To whoever folded my laundry when they took it out of the dryer:

You are an amazing human being. I will definitely pay it forward.

Sincerely,

—Guy who owes you big time

To the girl who was hit by a biker at U Commons:

Not only do I apologize for knocking you over with the force of a Mac truck, but also for possibly ruining your Dairy Queen treat you were holding. I would just like to say that I think you are super gorgeous and wouldn’t mind treating you to another round of Dairy Queen to make up for it.

Sincerely,

—Heartless Biker

To my BIO 2005 lab TA:

Wow. You are the most beautiful human being. Can we chill and nerd out about multicellularity and lions?

Sincerely,

—Starstruck

Do you have a secret crush?

4Post submissions on the “University of Minnesota Secret Admirers” Facebook group.

4Visit mndaily.com and look for the “Connect with the Daily” box on the homepage.

4Email submissions to overheards@mndaily.com.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Ski area helpers 6 Finish line?

10 Equal to the task 14 “Live Free __”: New Hampshire motto 15 Some are easily bruised 16 Sound of laughter 17 RATS 20 “Friendly skies” co.

21 Garr of “Mr. Mom” 22 “My place or __?”

23 SHUCKS 27 Unspecified amount 28 One of the Seven Sisters schools 32 Joe’s sister in TV’s “Under the Dome” 35 Salinger girl 38 Soccer shout 39 DARN 43 Goat quote 44 Hurdle for a storied cow 45 Offers thanks, in a way 46 Decides one will 49 Itinerary word 50 SHOOT 57 Setting for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” 60 Cloudburst, e.g.

61 Seasonal drink 62 FUDGE 66 Item on a “honey-do” list 67 Time fraction: Abbr.

68 “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” singer 69 Computerized city people 70 Former “Entertainment Tonight” coanchor 71 Ecclesiastical council DOWN 1 Replenish a pint of ale, say 2 Thorny shrub 3 Jane Eyre’s charge 4 Free

9/26/13

By Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

5 When sch. often starts 6 Plains home 7 Golden __: seniors 8 Classical Greek style 9 Stubborn one 10 They have strings attached 11 Boyfriend 12 Animal shelter 13 Under-the-sink joints 18 Modest acknowledgment of praise 19 Banks in fashion 24 Bill stamp 25 From the top 26 Hot spot 29 Pop 30 Compatriot 31 Roger who played Lord Marbury on “The West Wing” 32 BBs, e.g.

33 Spring tide counterpart 34 Hard-to-see pest 35 WWII command 36 “Dexter” network, in listings 37 Word with best or common

Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

40 “Don’t worry about me” 41 Huge production 42 Logician’s “E,” perhaps 47 Has to sell 48 Bullish beginning?

49 Chianti, in Chianti 51 Wipe out 52 “Eight Is Enough” actor Willie 53 Sound quality

9/26/13

54 Workers’ backer 55 “But wait! There’s more!” company 56 Vandalized, Halloween-style 57 Comedy routines 58 Healthy berry 59 Cowpoke’s polite assent 63 Tolkien’s talking tree 64 IBM hardware 65 Ask too many questions

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

dr. date Dr. Date,

What’s an appropriate gift for someone you haven’t been dating very long?

I’ve been with this guy for about a month, and his birthday is next week.

I feel like I should do something for it, but I don’t want to overdo it/freak him out. At the same time, I don’t want him to think I’m cheap or that I don’t care about his birthday. What do you think?

—(Un)gifted

Think Hard,

Well, you’re right, you shouldn’t overdo if it has only been going on for a month. No iPads, no gaming consoles, no limited edition Jordans, no Picasso sketches.

Don’t worry about being “cheap.” If you are going to get a physical item for him, I wouldn’t spend more than 30 bucks — beyond that, it starts getting questionable. At this stage, it’s more important to have a great reason you got the gift instead of a great thing. It really is the thought that counts.

But that doesn’t mean the thought can’t be goofy or really simple. Sometimes, a large length of paracord can make a guy pretty happy.

I’m more a fan of the “experience” gift. By that, I mean find a show or play that he’d enjoy going to and accompany him, regardless of your own interest. Is there something that he’s “been meaning to do” for a while? A place or event that has been on the list that he hasn’t found a moment for? Everybody has something.

Swank food is always a nice standby — unless you nabbed yourself the Olive Garden type.

—Dr. Date

Dr. Date,

I’ve got a serious one for you. My long-time girlfriend is great, but I think

she may have a bit of a drinking problem. Whenever we go out, she gets really drunk and is super hungover the next day. I usually end up taking care of her, which I’m happy to do, but it’s a lot.

It can also be embarrassing, especially if we’re out with friends/family.

I’ve tried to talk to her about it, but she gets really defensive. I told her I think she might have a problem, and I want to help, but she said she doesn’t need my help. I don’t know what to do.

—Anonymous

Tough Spot,

Rough. First off, and this isn’t meant to be cruel, do you have a history of dating fixer-uppers? That is only tangentially related to your question, but if the answer is yes, that’s something you ought to look into.

As for your frequently inebriated girlfriend, the biggest thing you mentioned is her reaction when you bring up the subject. People only get defensive when there’s something to protect. In this case, it’s her own (possibly subconscious) recognition that she does in fact have a problem. And she does need your help and support.

Unfortunately, it can be really hard to convince anybody of the need to reach out for help. Epiphanies about sensitive personal vices rarely occur without some terrible, tragic catalyst.

Because she does this socially quite a bit, it might be worthwhile to find out what some other relations of hers think about the matter. Are you the only one with apprehensions? Is she surrounded by enablers? Drinking is but a habitual manifestation of some deeper problem.

Seek out the root.

Once you have the answers to these questions, you’ll be closer to discovering the best way to broach the issue.

—Dr. Date

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

6

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Russia awaits Syria verdict

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council, long paralyzed by deep divisions over how to deal with the Syrian conflict, is about two days away from agreeing on a resolution to require Damascus to dismantle its chemical weapons stockpiles, Russia’s deputy foreign minister said Wednesday.

Gennady Gatilov told The Associated Press that the text of the resolution will include a reference to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for military and nonmilitary actions to promote peace and security.

But he stressed that there will not be an automatic trigger for such measures, which means the council will have to follow up with another resolution if Syria fails to comply.

The U.S. and Russia had been at odds on how to enforce the resolution. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met for nearly 90 minutes late Tuesday at the United Nations, and American officials said that while there had been progress in some areas, they couldn’t agree on the text, which the U.S. had been insisting be enforceable.

President Barack Obama’s threatened U.S. strikes against President Bashar Assad’s regime following an Aug. 21 suspected poison gas attack has led to a flurry of diplomatic activity. Kerry made a surprise offer that Syria could avert U.S. military action by turning over “every single bit of his chemical weapons” to international control within a week. Russia, Syria’s most important ally, and Assad’s government quickly agreed on the broad proposal.

Kerr y and Lavrov then signed an agreement in Geneva on Sept. 14, but it has taken time and tough negotiations to work out the details.

The five permanent vetowielding members of the Security Council — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — known as the P-5 have been discussing for the past few weeks what to include in a new resolution requiring that Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile be secured and dismantled. The council has been blocked on Syria, with Russia and China vetoing three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to end the violence which has killed over 100,000 people.

But Gatilov told AP the negotiations are “going quite well” and the draft resolution should be finalized “very soon — within the next two days, I think.”

As for Chapter 7, he said, “It will be mentioned but there is the understanding, of course, (that) there is no automaticity in engaging Chapter 7.”

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius agreed that there are still “a few details to solve, but I think we shall reach a common resolution, maybe today, or tomorrow.”

“I’m pretty optimistic because there were three elements which were a bit difficult, really difficult,” he told students at Columbia University on Wednesday evening.

“The first one was to include a sentence which would say that the use of chemical weapons everywhere, particularly in Syria, were crimes” that the Security Council can address, Fabius said. “That is accepted.”

The second was the Chapter 7 issue, and France proposed using the same wording that is in the U.S.-Russian agreement reached in Geneva, he said, “and this, too, has been accepted.”

That agreement said the U.S. and Russia concur that a Security Council resolution should provide for a regular review of Syria’s implementation, “and in the event of noncompliance ... or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in Syria, the U.N. Security Council should impose measures under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter.”