CAMPUS & METRO
CAMPUS & METRO
MEN’S HOCKEY
The Gophers lost 4-1 on Friday but bounced back with a 5-4 win Saturday.
Jewish greek orgs provide community
Online voter registration spurs lawsuit
The spiritual and cultural groups are open to students of all faiths.
Mark Ritchie is being sued for creating the system without legislative input.
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A.M. CLOUDS/P.M. SUN HIGH 27° LOW 17°
U OF M
MINNEAPOLIS
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
MSA wants more rides home Students push to expand the Gopher Chauffeur, but money is tight. BY KYLE STOWE kstowe@mndaily.com
In response to the recent violent crimes on and around the University of Minnesota campus, the Minnesota Student Association wants to expand a popular ser vice aimed at getting students home safely. MSA is in talks with Boynton Health Ser vice officials about adding Gopher Chauffeur ser vice on Thursday nights and extending its pick-up hours, but paying for it could be an issue.
MSA President Mike Schmit said student government wants expanded Gopher Chauffeur ser vice as well as promotion for the University’s security monitor escort service, because “they’ve proven to be successful in mitigating the effects of crime.” University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner said there’s no record of someone using either ser vice becoming the victim of a crime. “They’re obviously working how they’re supposed to,” Schmit said. “Now we want to figure out how we can improve and expand them so they’re u See RIDES Page 3 MSA is surveying students about campus safety.
NEIGHBORHOODS
Como to be tested for toxins Contaminated soil vapor may have seeped into some basements. BY KIA FARHANG mfarhang@mndaily.com
Soil in and around some Southeast Como properties may contain unsafe levels of a common chemical solvent that was used by General Mills in the mid-1900s. Over the next several weeks, General Mills contractors will test the ground in homes near the old site for trichloroethylene, or TCE — provided there is consent from owners. The Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency sent letters to resi-
dents Wednesday asking them to allow testing, and teams will go door-to-door to ask for permission. After tests for TCE around the neighborhood came in higher than normal, officials want to determine if soil vapor — the air between small cracks in the ground — containing TCE has seeped from contaminated soil through cracks in basements. Of ficials knew of the TCE on the former General Mills site for decades, said Rita Messing, a state health depar tment toxicologist, but the potential for the chemical to seep through foundations and basements “is a relatively new concept.” u See TESTS Page 5 Testing of about 200 properties will begin Nov. 18.
HIGHER ED
Students weigh benefits of test prep courses Some students find courses useful, but others say they’re not worth the cost. BY KATELYN FAULKS kfaulks@mndaily.com
For University of Minnesota psychology senior Andy Gobran, using practice tests to study for the Graduate Record Examination helped him get the score he wanted — and was more worthwhile than expensive courses. Some students are taking the same approach, but others taking graduate and professional school examinations say taking a course is worth the cost. University experts say each method can be effective, depending on the student. The University’s College
of Continuing Education offers cheaper preparatory course options for students taking the GRE, Law School Admission Test, Graduate Management Admissions Test or Pharmacy College Admission Test, but not one for the Medical College Admission Test. Kaplan University is a popular choice for students who say they don’t think buying a booklet will give them enough of an advantage. But Kaplan’s MCAT preparatory courses start at about $2,000. Private tutoring can cost as much as $5,700. CCE program associate Pat Anderson said the University considered offering an MCAT course, but the test’s format is so different from the other entrance u See PREP Page 3 One student said Kaplan courses give helpful test-taking tips.
ST PAUL
Minnesota splits series with Irish u See PAGE 9
MONDAY
NOVEMBER 11, 2013
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM
PUBLIC SAFETY
Como community unites after alleged assault
BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY
University of Minnesota juniors Cody Olson and Macall Biebel trace a route Friday at Southeast Christian Church that the Southeast Como Improvement Association will tour in the Southeast Como neighborhood.
After an alleged sexual assault, Como is upping safety efforts. BY ALEX BITTER abitter@mndaily.com
The crime rate is up this fall in Southeast Como, but residents and neighborhood leaders say they’re determined to reverse that trend. One crime in particular,
an alleged sexual assault near Van Cleve Park on Oct. 27, was the focus of a meeting at Southeast Christian Church on Friday. About 30 people attended the meeting, which was coordinated by the church and the Southeast Como Improvement Association. Residents discussed the incident, and police and the University of Minnesota’s Aurora Center provided information about how to prevent similar attacks. Southeast Christian
Church senior minister Brett Miller said the influx of students in Southeast Como over the last few decades has changed the composition of the neighborhood, which used to consist mostly of families. While some communities have responded to an increase in crime by demanding more lights or greater police presence, Miller said, building a community where ever yone watches out for each other “like a family” is key to pre-
venting future assaults and other crimes. “It’s great to have more police coverage, it’s great to have more lights, but the strength is always in the people,” he said. Miller said students shouldn’t be afraid to assume a larger role in community affairs, even if they only plan to live in the area for a short time. u See COMO Page 4 Crime in Como has risen sharply since last year.
NUTRITION
Many options, little nutrition on campus A recent University study found it’s healthier to bring food from home. BY T YLER GIESEKE tgieseke@mndaily.com
Colleges may need to ramp up the healthy food choices they offer on campus, according to the lead
author of a University of Minnesota study released last week. Twin Cities college students who didn’t live on campus but purchased food there had diets similar to consumers who eat fast food on a regular basis, the study found. Those students ate more fat and added sugar and skipped meals more often than their peers, according
to the study. Jennifer Pelletier, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student in the School of Public Health, said she thought the difference in diet was due to the kinds of food available on college campuses. “There’s similarity in the types of foods that students are purchasing on campus and what they’re purchasing at fast food restaurants,”
she said. Students who brought food from home “looked better on all of the dietar y measures that we examined,” Pelletier said. In response to the findings, she suggested a “twopronged” approach: Colleges should of fer more u See FOOD Page 4 Students may develop eating habits early on.
FOOTBALL
Gophers bowl past Nittany Lions Minnesota ran the ball effectively and made critical plays on defense. BY DANE MIZUTANI dmizutani@mndaily.com
The University of Minnesota football team hadn’t held the Governor’s Victor y Bell trophy in so long that when players finally got their hands on the hardware Saturday, they didn’t know how to handle it. A mob of players bolted to the opposing sidelines to take back the trophy for the first time since 2004 as the final seconds ticked away in the Gophers’ 24-10 win over Penn State University. As the host of players hoisted the trophy in jubilation, they broke it. “I think it kind of just fell apar t when we all picked it up,” redshir t freshman Maxx Williams said with a laugh. “I think we were more worried just tr ying to keep it [together] so we could celebrate with it.”
AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY
Gophers football players celebrate after beating Penn State 24-10 on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. It was Minnesota’s fourth straight Big Ten win.
And the team has reason to celebrate. Minnesota has won four straight Big Ten games in a season for the first time since 1973. It sits at 8-2 this season and is on pace for its
best finish since 2003. The Gophers ranked No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll on Sunday, but they were absent from the Associated Press Top 25. The Gophers appear to
be playing looser over the last four games, and junior running back David Cobb u See FOOTBALL Page 8 Minnesota held the Nittany Lions scoreless in the second half.
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 40