By: Janice Bitters

President Eric Kaler presented his recommended 2013 – 2014 operating budget to the Board of Regents Wednesday, which proposes freezing in-state tuition for undergraduates but raising the cost of school for out-of-state students. 

Kaler heard mostly praise from Regents for the budget, though many had specific concerns, including questions about long-term funding for the University.

"For the first time in decades," Kaler said, the collegiate fee would not be raised in the coming school year. The president's budget proposal would freeze tution for resident undergradate students for the next two years, leaving tuition on the Twin Cities campus  at $12,060 next year. 

But some fees will climb. In addition to a $1,000 increase in tuition for non-resident students — who accounted for about 18 percent of students at the University last year — students will see an increase in room and board costs, some class fees and the student services fee.

Most of the student services fee increase is driven by the new recreational center building and funding for more mental health resources on campus, said Richard Pfutzenreuter, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the University.

Graduate student tuition will rise by an average of 3 percent in the coming year, according to the proposed budget. Among the graduate program increases, law students will see the largest tuition jump of about 9 percent.

The increase in law school tuition will bring the cost to the median range for law programs in the country, Kaler said during the Regents meeting Wednesday.

The Legislature granted most of the University's funding requests in the Higher Education Omnibus bill, which passed last month, allowing for the two-year resident student tuition freeze. Kaler said the high appropriations by the state this year follows a six-year lull in funding for the University.

Some of those appropriations will go toward grants for Minnesota students. As a result, many may see an increase in both state and federal aid next year, Pfutzenreuter said in a media briefing Tuesday.

The Board will consider his proposal and make a final decision next week at their full Regents meeting. 

For more details about President Kaler's budget and student reactions, look for the Minnesota Daily in print and online Wednesday, June 12.

By: Kia Farhang

Three men assaulted a University of Minnesota student and alumnus early Monday morning in Dinkytown, according to a Minneapolis Police report.

Materials science and engineering graduate Matt Taylor said he was crossing 14th Avenue at 4th Street when three men he’d never seen before knocked him off his bike.

“I’m not sure if they were picking a fight or trying to mug me,” Taylor said.

Aerospace engineering junior Arden Yundt said he heard a crash and rushed to help his friend.

“They started coming at me,” Yundt said. “It turned into a big fight.”

Others in the area notified off-duty police officers, who broke up the fight with mace, said Minneapolis police Sgt. Steve McCarty .

“We just try to stop the behavior from happening,” McCarty said. “It’s better to use mace. [You’re] less likely to get hurt as opposed to using brute physical force.”

Taylor said he sprained his ankle during the fight and has since been walking with a cane.

“The whole event was over in no more than 30 seconds,” he said.

Yundt said he took several kicks to the face while trying to help his friend.

“Looking in the mirror,” Yundt said, “I’m still not sure it was a great idea.”

Bike theft

Two University students had their bikes stolen from outside the Bierman Place apartment complex, according to a police report.

Graphic design junior Christina Maher said she noticed her bike was missing Friday morning when she left her apartment to go to work.

Maher said she locked her bike to a pole outside with a cable lock, and her friend’s bike was locked to hers.

She said the bikes were probably targeted because cable locks are easier to cut.Three men assaulted a University of Minnesota student and alumnus early Monday morning in Dinkytown, according to a Minneapolis Police report.

Materials science and engineering graduate Matt Taylor said he was crossing 14th Avenue at 4th Street when three men he’d never seen before knocked him off his bike.

“I’m not sure if they were picking a fight or trying to mug me,” Taylor said.

Aerospace engineering junior Arden Yundt said he heard a crash and rushed to help his friend.

“They started coming at me,” Yundt said. “It turned into a big fight.”

Others in the area notified off-duty police officers, who broke up the fight with mace, said Minneapolis police Sgt. Steve McCarty .

“We just try to stop the behavior from happening,” McCarty said. “It’s better to use mace. [You’re] less likely to get hurt as opposed to using brute physical force.”

Taylor said he sprained his ankle during the fight and has since been walking with a cane.

 “The whole event was over in no more than 30 seconds,” he said.

Yundt said he took several kicks to the face while trying to help his friend.

“Looking in the mirror,” Yundt said, “I’m still not sure it was a great idea.”

Bike theft

Two University students had their bikes stolen from outside the Bierman Place apartment complex, according to a police report.

Graphic design junior Christina Maher said she noticed her bike was missing Friday morning when she left her apartment to go to work.

Maher said she locked her bike to a pole outside with a cable lock, and her friend’s bike was locked to hers.

She said the bikes were probably targeted because cable locks are easier to cut.

By: Emma Nelson

The University of Minnesota’s new vice provost for student affairs and dean of students was announced Friday, following a five-month search.

Danita Brown, who has worked as Purdue University’s dean of students since March 2011, will assume her new post July 31, pending Board of Regents approval.

“I am confident in Danita's leadership qualifications and experience to successfully lead the Office for Student Affairs and serve as a key member of my senior leadership group,” Karen Hanson, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost said in a statement.

In addition to her work at Purdue, Brown has served in a number of administrative and leadership positions at institutions including West Virginia University, Ohio University and Loyola University. She is also involved with a number of Greek and other student organizations.

Brown will replace Jerry Rinehart, who stepped down April 1 after seven years in the position and 35 years at the University.

Rinehart’s total salary in fiscal year 2012 was $173,960.

By: Kia Farhang

When Rep. Keith Ellison  graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School  in 1990 , he had $12,000 in debt.

Now the cost of higher education is keeping the congressman’s son from making life decisions – like whether to move out or have children – because he can’t afford them, Ellison said.

“He’s doing well, but he’s carrying a lot of debt,” Ellison said.

The congressman urged students to support him in maintaining the interest rate on Stafford loans , which are set to double this summer, at a panel held Thursday in the Science Teaching & Student Services  building.

Stafford loans are the most common type of federal loans. Without congressional action, the interest rate on the loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1.

“We gotta ask ourselves what kind of society we want, and then we have to go and build it,” Ellison said. Continuing to subsidize Stafford loans will lead to a productive, educated workforce, he added, which is worth the cost in the long run.

In 2012, the White House estimated more than 7 million students nationwide would pay more for their student loans if the rates increased. In Minnesota alone, more than 207,000 students have taken out the loan, according to the White House.

An ‘amenities arms race’

Minnesota Student Association  President Taylor Williams , a panelist at the event, said the cost of higher education has risen partly because schools are in an “amenities arms race” to get the best facilities and perks.

That rise in tuition has hit students from middle-class families the hardest, Williams said, because they don’t qualify for much financial aid.

“I have a number of friends whose families only make $10,000 [to] $20,000 more than mine, but get absolutely no aid,” he said. “Quite frankly, it’s ruining their lives.”

Williams said schools need to be more transparent so students know where their tuition is going.

“We are consumers,” he said. “We have the right to know what we’re paying for.”

Sebastian Ewald , a classical civilizations junior, said he wanted to hear more about the University’s administrative costs at the panel.

“Management seems to be the issue,” he said, “and being good custodians of student and taxpayer money.”

The University also gives too much money to student groups like MSA to spend however they want, Ewald said.

“I get student groups are a lot of fun,” he said. “The fact is, maybe it’s time to reevaluate some of our priorities on some of that stuff.”

By: Meritte Dahl

Kerianne Steucke and about 10 of her friends ate at Applebee’s, Dairy Queen, Kitty Corner Café, Dino’s Gyros and Raising Cane’s all in under three hours Thursday evening.

University of Minnesota students and community members sampled food and beer as part of the Taste of Stadium Village.

Some of the restaurants in the neighborhood offered $1 food items and some of the bars offered $2 pints of beer during the six-hour event.

Steucke, a biomedical engineering graduate student, said she and her friends were planning on staying for the beer special as well.

The event was the first of its kind for the neighborhood, said organizer Chris Ferguson.

Ferguson owns the Stadium Village Dairy Queen and Bywater Business Solutions, which created the event.

Some of the businesses had lines out the door, including Dairy Queen, which sold over 500 food items during the event, Ferguson said.

Francis Chang said he and five of his friends had tried the $1 waffles and chicken tenders in the neighborhood.

“It’s good to sample places you haven’t been to,” the biomedical engineering freshman said.

Check out Monday’s edition of the Minnesota Daily for the full story.

By: Jessica Lee

Nearly a thousand Minnesotans cheered in the frigid hail and snow Thursday, urging state legislators to repeal the state’s law banning same-sex marriages.

Hosted by Minnesotans United for All Families and OutFront Minnesota, the event on the Capitol’s mall attracted students, families and couples from all corners of the state.

“It was a huge crowd despite the sleet and bad weather,” said Minnesotans United spokesman Jake Loesch. “That’s just a testament to how much people want this.”

Gov. Mark Dayton, who was sporting a University of Minnesota women’s hockey hat, spoke at the rally in favor of same-sex marriage.

“You have a constitutional right … to marry the person you love, no doubt about it,” he said.

Besides listening to speeches, rally-goers enjoyed live music, visited vending booths and chatted with legislators about changing the state’s marriage law to include same-sex couples..

Attendee Michael Johnson, a freshman at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, said legalizing same-sex marriage is important to him because he is gay and he wants to have the opportunity to marry someday in his home state.

“I want to be able to get married in Minnesota where all the people that love and care about me” live, he said.

Dayton assured the crowd of same-sex marriage supporters that the Legislature “will get this one through” and pass the same-sex marriage legislation, but he said it won’t be easy.

Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, author of the House’s bill, said they’re close to having enough votes to pass it, but there are still some legislators who are undecided or haven’t voiced their opinions.

The rally comes a day after Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, announced amending his civil unions bill – which is yet to receive its first hearing – by omitting the word “marriage” from the state law entirely and putting “civil union” in its place.

Kelly’s proposal, amended or not, has received heavy criticism from same-sex marriage supporters.

People don’t want to have civil unions, they want to be married, Dayton said at the rally.

Minnesota for Marriage, the main force behind keeping marriage as only one man and woman, is also against the civil unions proposal, spokeswoman Autumn Leva said.

“We believe marriage is the best policy for the state,” she said. “We believe it is the only policy we have that uniquely and purposely connects kids with their parents. That’s something worth keeping.”

Leva said the push for allowing same-sex marriages in the metro area doesn’t reflect the views of out-state Minnesota.

The bills, which have passed through both House and Senate committees, will be taken up by the full Legislature in the upcoming weeks.

By: Meritte Dahl

Start with a waffle. Add a chocolate base. Top with fresh fruit, and sprinkle on some nuts.

Turkish waffles are a distictive offering at the Kitty Corner Café , opening Monday in Stadium Village  said owner Zuhal Sari .

Turkish waffles are a typical “grab-and-go” food in the Ortaköy neighborhood  of Istanbul, Turkey , said Sari who was born and raised in Istanbul.

The café will also serve coffee, espresso, sandwiches, paninis and salads, Sari said.

“I live upstairs, so I love that we’re getting a little café,” said marketing Sophomore Marisa Tirimacco , who lives in Stadium Village Flats and works at the downstairs Dino’s Gyros. 

Sari’s love of animals inspired the name of her café. Sari said she has two cats, Fıstık and Fındık—Pistachio and Hazelnut in English. She also owns two parakeets.

The Kitty Corner Café is giving out free samples  of its Turkish waffles for its grand opening Monday .

Look for the full story in Tuesday’s edition of the MN Daily.

By: Janice Bitters

Students and union members gathered on Northrop Mall Thursday to protest high fees, tuition and administrative costs at the University of Minnesota.

The protest was organized by Students for a Democratic Society as part of the annual event, National Day of Action for Education Rights.

“This is an opportunity for students nationally to join together and say education is a right,” said graduate student and SDS member, Grace Kelley. “The soaring cost of higher education is not a future that we endorse.”

SDS is calling for salary cuts for high-earning administrators, including a 15% cut for president Kaler.

Last year, Kaler declined a 3% raise totaling more than $18,000, instead donating the money towards undergraduate scholarships according to the Board of Regents.

However, not all students see tuition rates as in issue. Freshman business major Alanna Stangl said compared to other colleges, tuition at the University does not seem excessive.

“I wouldn’t say we are known for being super expensive,” Stangl said. “I wouldn’t be opposed to [lower tuition], but I don’t think it is a major issue.”

Protesters rallied not only for decreased tuition rates, but also a redistribution of funds within the University.

Barb Bezat, president of a local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union at the University challenged president Kaler to lower administrative spending and, “put the money where it needs to be.”

“It needs to go to the front line staff,” said Bezat. “It needs to go to the people who teach the students here at the University.”

Economics sophomore Kevin Fu said he would rather the University spend more money on faculty over administrative roles.

“My opinion is that the president has the least important role in the University,” he said. “The faculty is the real core of the University, not the president himself.”

American studies graduate student Matthew Boynton said graduate students should also see higher wages.

“We do most of the work that goes on behind the doors,” Boynton said. “The grad students and staff really make this university run and we deserve to be recognized for that.”

The University’s administration costs have been under a magnifying glass this year, after a Wall Street Journal article in December said the University is among the top management-heavy institutions.

The University has since hired an independent consulting firm, New York-based Sibson Consulting to identify opportunities for spending improvement.

In a preliminary report released in March, Sibson pointed to several ways the University could become more efficient, including decreasing the supervisor to employee ratio.

“It’s time to make the hard decisions,” said Bezat. “It’s not an easy task, but they have to chop from the top.”

By: Meritte Dahl

For Christmas his junior year of high school, Austin White-Pentony asked his parents for a filing cabinet.

White-Pentony told his father, Allan White, he wanted the filing cabinet to keep his tax records straight.

The University of Minnesota business freshman owns and operates Get Smarter Solutions LLC. The company buys used and broken electronics, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, then sells them on eBay.

White-Pentony created his business, formerly known as Mad Town Phone Sales, from his home in Madison, Wisconsin. The name changed when White-Pentony moved into his dorm last fall.

Last year, White-Pentony’s business made over $350,000 in sales, which allowed him to pay for college, he said.

“The fact that he can still keep his head on straight and not just blow through the money and become irresponsible is amazing,” White said.

White-Pentony has also used some of his money to pay for trips abroad. He loves to travel and has visited Peru, Panama and Sweden.

Look for a full profile of Austin White-Pentony in Tuesday’s Daily.