CAMPUS & METRO
CAMPUS & METRO
FOOTBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Minnesota’s hourly rate is lower than the federal wage of $7.25.
Schools are encouraging high schoolers to apply this month.
Brock Vereen has played safety and cornerback for the Gophers this year.
Jasen Baranowski started this season as a manager and now is on the roster.
Push to raise minimum wage continues
Minn. schools waive application fees
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u See PAGE 5A
RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS HIGH 43° LOW 41°
U OF M
Baranowski makes squad as walk-on guard
Vereen leads Gophers with a smile u See PAGE 7A
MINNEAPOLIS
ST PAUL
u See PAGE 7A
TUESDAY
OCTOBER 29, 2013
STUDENT LIFE
International grad students find strength in numbers
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
CRIME
Sexual assault reported A student was attacked walking home early Sunday, police said. BY BRYNA GODAR AND MARION RENAULT bgodar@mndaily.com mrenault@mndaily.com
JULIET FARMER, DAILY
Graduate students Sarita Pillay and Naor Bitton share a laugh at a happy hour gathering organized by the Council of International Graduate Students on Monday at Stub & Herb’s.
A brand new group helps students acclimate to campus and find community.
Tuition hikes slow nationwide
at the University. Castro, a Spanish and
When Angela Castro
Portuguese studies doctor-
first came to the University
al candidate, said it’s tough
of Minnesota from her na-
for some inter national
tive Colombia, she learned
graduate students to figure
her definition of “cold”
out how to get a credit card,
didn’t apply to Minnesota
ride the bus or find a place
winter weather.
to live when they first arrive
“I had no idea how cold it was really going to be,” she said. “It was a shock.”
Sumitra Ramachandran,
BY T YLER GIESEKE tgieseke@mndaily.com
a scientific and technical communication master’s
graduate students accli-
student, said CIGS is the
mate to the University, a
first University graduate
group of students recently
student group specifically
started the Council for In-
dedicated to international
ternational Graduate Stu-
students.
dents.
At public four-year institutions, tuition increased less sharply this year.
on campus from overseas.
To help inter national
As the University of Minnesota froze in-state tuition for this year and the next, the increase in public, fouryear college tuition slowed to the smallest it’s been in more than a decade, according to a recent report. Tuition and fees for public four-year institutions in the 2013-14 academic year increased by less than 1 percent from last year, according to the College Board’s 2013 Trends in College Pricing report, which was released last week.
International graduate
CIGS aims to provide
students can join campus
international graduate stu-
cultural centers, she said,
dents with an outlet to dis-
but those are broken down
u See CIGS Page 4A
SCIENCE
BY KATELYN FAULKS kfaulks@mndaily.com
A high-pitched noise echoes through the hallway leading to a chemistry lab. Inside, a rapidly shaking machine disperses tiny pieces of metal into a clear liquid. Though imperceptible to the naked eye, the process is creating a plastic durable enough to surpass high-performance plastics cur rently available in industr y. University of Minnesota researchers, par tnering with Honolulu, Hawaiibased star tup Adama Ma-
At the University, tuition is the same as last year for in-state residents, but nonresidents saw an increase of nearly 6 percent this year. Other colleges and universities, like the University of Iowa, have also jumped on the tuition freeze bandwagon. Rachelle Her nandez, Office of Admissions director, said she thinks an increased commitment to accessibility within the higher education community contributed to slowed tuition growth. But in addition to the relatively low price increase, the repor t found that the net tuition and fees students pay have increased u See TUITION Page 5A In 2009-10, the cost of school increased by nearly 10 percent.
HEALTH
University research toughens up plastic A new process makes plastic more than twice as tough as existing options.
u See ASSAULT Page 3A The crime alert described the suspect as 30 to 38 years old.
HIGHER ED
cuss issues they might face
BY KYLE STOWE kstowe@mndaily.com
A University of Minnesota student was sexually assaulted early Sunday morning near Van Cleve Park, University police said. The incident took place between 2:40 and 3:10 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of 15th and Brook avenues southeast, according to a crime alert emailed to University students, faculty and staff on Monday afternoon. The victim was walking home alone after a
party when three men approached her, the alert said. One hit the victim and sexually assaulted her while the other two acted as lookouts, the alert said. Police were dispatched shortly after 3 a.m. to the victim’s home, which is near where the incident occurred, Minneapolis police Sgt. Bill Palmer said. The alleged incident occurred near a main road in the Southeast Como neighborhood, although the email alert said it was in Marcy-Holmes. The crime alert’s map also indicated the alleged assault happened a block away from where the alert said it happened. University police
terials Inc., are working on making plastics tougher by adding the carbon compound graphene, which prevents breakage. Existing high-per formance plastics used in the aviation, aerospace, automotive and spor ts equipment industries are strong and flexible, but they still crack under a cer tain amount of pressure. University researchers increased the material’s toughness by about 2.5 times by adding a small amount of graphene, a semi-metal. “It was an unusual effect,” chemistr y professor Andreas Stein said. “It toughened at an unusually low loading of graphene.” u See PLASTIC Page 12A University of Hawaii researchers made the initial discovery.
Boynton prescribes more pet therapy Starting in Nov., students can visit animals on campus every week. BY T YLER GIESEKE tgieseke@mndaily.com
Nick Ott went to the University of Minnesota’s “Cirque De-Stress” last week because he smelled the popcorn. The linguistics freshman left feeling a little closer to home after petting a golden retriever that reminded him of his own dog. Star ting next month, students can interact with registered therapy animals each week at Boynton Health Service on the East Bank. Though therapy pets are already a fixture during finals and midterms, the expansion is part of Boynton’s push for more mental health resources outside its oft-overbooked one-on-one
CHELSEA GORTMAKER, DAILY
University of Minnesota senior Brielle Sprecher pets Boudie, an 8-year-old golden retriever therapy dog, at Coffman Union on Tuesday.
counseling sessions. Registered therapy dogs, Woodstock the Ther-
apy Chicken and potentially cats and bunnies will offer students a chance to “Pet
u See ANIMALS Page 4A Boynton is hoping to treat some issues before therapy is needed.
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 33