Pro-Palestine student groups marched to Huntington Bank Stadium from Coffman Union to protest an Israeli diplomat’s speech Thursday afternoon. 

The speech was given to a private audience inside Huntington Bank Stadium as security personnel, caution tape and barriers prevented protestors and reporters from entering. 

According to Students Supporting Israel vice president Tagore Pathak, the speech was a private event for SSI members and other people on an invite list. He said the diplomat, Yinam Cohen, was going to discuss Israeli diplomacy and was not planning on discussing anything University-specific.

Cohen is responsible for assisting and promoting U.S. and Israel relations in nine Midwestern states, including Minnesota. 

Reporters met Cohen at a table near the John and Nancy Lindall entrance to ask him questions. He did not talk to reporters, who were not allowed to enter the building, and only ushered in people who were allowed into the event.

Student groups protesting included Students for a Democratic Society, Students for Justice in Palestine and other students in the Divest Coalition. About a hundred marchers left Coffman Union around 3 p.m. and arrived at Huntington when the speech was scheduled to begin around 3:20. There, the protesters met barriers, caution tape and a dozen University police officers.

A previous meeting between University of Minnesota administration and Cohen on campus in March of last year prompted a hundred protesters to march for divestment from Israel, according to Fight Back! news. 

Thursday’s protest comes after 11 departmental statements on Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine were taken down by University administration after a Saturday Zoom meeting between Provost Rachel Croson and department chairs, the Minnesota Daily reported. 

Administration said they did not want an email record of the statement removals, according to sources who participated in the meetings.

Pathak said SSI was not intimidated by protesters but he has experienced death threats and has reason to be concerned for his safety.

“We are here, we are proud, we are not going away,” Pathak said.

Veterans for Peace member Tom Bauch said he joined the protest to support students protesting for Palestine. He said academic restrictions on freedom of speech were shameful to the University. 

“Freedom of speech is what universities are supposed to stand for,” Bauch said. “Why would any students want to go to school in this climate?”

Merrilyn Downes, 75, was on the private list of invitees to the speech. She said she was concerned about protesters’ hate.

“Everyone has rights to freedom of speech as long as they aren’t hurting anyone,” Downes said. “As long as it’s a safe protest.”

SDS member Fae Hodges said the turnout to the protest was high despite students not knowing about Cohen’s speech until late yesterday afternoon. She said the plan for the protest was to peacefully chant outside and then leave.

“Students dropped what they were doing and engaged with us at the last minute,” Hodges said.

Hodges said the coalition was here to tell the University to divest from war crimes and genocide.

“We are not here to harm or scare students,” Hodges said. “Attacks on free speech are a threat to all students.”

SJS member Noora Ahmed said the invitation to have an Israeli diplomat speak on campus, protected by University police, does not send a message of neutrality. 

“How is it neutral to invite a war criminal to campus?” Ahmed asked. “This is upsetting, and we don’t even know if admin is there.”

Ahmed said protesters from different backgrounds came to show support. She added that this was a huge deal for Palestinians on campus.

“This isn’t just a Palestinian issue,” Ahmed said.

Five other students at Minnesota State University, Mankato have had their student visas terminated, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported Wednesday night.

Mankato State University president Edward Inch said in a Wednesday night statement neither the university nor the students were notified of the termination of their Student Exchange Visitor Information System records, which is used to maintain visa information. According to the statement, staff discovered the terminations after running a status check.

MSU-Mankato history professor Jameel Haque said in a statement to the Star Tribune that the students have not been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but rather asked to self-deport within 60 days.

This follows the recent ICE detainments of two university students — Dogukan Gunaydin at the University of Minnesota and an unidentified Mankato state student late last week. The circumstances regarding why these students were arrested are not yet clear.

International students at universities have been arrested and detained across the country in recent months, mostly for demonstrating pro-Palestine activism. According to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, over 300 protestors have been arrested for engaging in destabilizing activity.

“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses,” Rubio said in the statement. “If we have given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we’re going to take it away.”

Students across the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus are full of fear and anxiety. Administrators are trying to juggle Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) compliance with the safety of undocumented and immigrant students, and many say more needs to be done.

A coalition of students, staff, faculty, administrators and community members are circulating a petition to support non-citizen and immigrant community members. The nine demands include University President Rebecca Cunningham joining the Presidents’ Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration, restoring the now-defunct Immigration Response Team and ensuring UMPD does not assist ICE operations, among others.

As of Feb. 3, the petition has garnered over 3,100 signatures in four days, double the amount of signatures of the 2016 petition to make the University a sanctuary campus.

The University’s Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Studies (RIDGS) Director and Chicano Studies professor Jimmy Patino Jr. said the Faculty Senate Social Concerns Committee has agreed to write a statement requesting the administration join the alliance and follow its recommendations. 

Finance and Operations Vice President Gregg Goldman said in an emailed statement Friday that the University is committed to keeping community members affected by immigration policy safe and well informed. Goldman provided links to resources and FAQs regarding resources and advice in the email.

“In my role overseeing the Department of Public Safety on the Twin Cities campus and in public safety matters systemwide, I want to reassure you that the University has personnel and resources in place to support faculty, staff, and students who may be affected by these changes,” Goldman said in the email.

Chicano and Latino Studies professor and Faculty Senator Jessica Lopez Lyman said past University presidents were very active in communicating that campus was a safe space where campus police would not aid and abet ICE. She added that a limited message sends a message.

Lopez Lyman said undocumented and immigrant students might not be safe walking the streets downtown or in their neighborhoods, but they should not have to fear ICE coming into their classes.

“One of the things the President cares a lot about, and I agree with her, is that wellness for students should be first and foremost.” Lopez Lyman said. “Right now we have had limited word from the administration, and we want to ensure that our undocumented students and students who are non-citizens feel supported on campus.” 

Cunningham reaffirmed in a Feb. 3 email that campus departments of public safety do not have a role in enforcing immigration laws and added officers “do not view it as their role” to inquire about immigration status.

“Personnel and resources are in place to support international students, faculty and staff who may be affected by these federal policy changes,” Cunningham said in the email. “This webpage is a great resource for answers to frequently asked questions on this topic.”

Cunningham did not provide information regarding whether she would sign the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.

Former University presidents and petitions on ICE

This petition is not the first time University measures for federal immigration policy have been considered.

In 2017, former University president Eric Kaler expressed disappointment in President Donald Trump’s previous attempts at revoking Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and told the Minnesota Daily that it “takes a human toll” on DACA students. This came after a 2016 petition to make the University a sanctuary campus garnered over 1,500 signatures, and Kaler vowed support to all members of the community.

In 2020, under former University president Joan Gabel, the University joined other universities across the nation in signing an Amicus Curiae brief in a lawsuit against ICE restrictions. The brief said ICE’s restrictions were neither safe nor educationally advisable and would have devastating effects on international students.  

“We cannot stand by in good conscience as international students are forced out of the country through no fault of their own,” Gabel said in a University news release. “We stand with our international students, and international students across the country, in asking that the ICE directive be overturned immediately.”

Former University Interim President Jeff Ettinger is a current member of the President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, according to their website. 

The President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration is an alliance of American college and university leaders dedicated to understanding how immigration policy affects students and campuses. They say universities across America need to mobilize strategies to protect access and equity under new ICE guidelines by challenging legislation, ensuring safety and promising to stand with students.

What the University is doing

After Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order to end birthright citizenship and revocation of former President Joe Biden’s “Churches and Schools” executive order, the University said it will still comply with federal court orders when it comes to ICE requests, according to the Minnesota Daily. 

This means the University will not release student immigration data, and UMPD will not be responsible for enforcement of ICE directives. However if ICE agents have official judicial warrants, they can access campus locations as well as student data.

According to Axios, schools can set policies that support students impacted by immigration enforcement, as well as train faculty and staff on how to interact with officers. What schools are not allowed to do is reveal most personal information without parental permission or a subpoena signed by a judge, Axios reported.

University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham released a video Jan. 29 about the new presidential administration and how it will impact the University. She said she has tasked a group of “University leaders” to monitor these developments. 

“Please know that I’m fully committed to supporting the success of our students, faculty, and staff systemwide so that you can continue to do the great work every day in support of our mission,” Cunningham said in the video. “We will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation to determine how these policy changes affect our community and impact University operations.”

Ward 2 City Councilwoman Robin Wonsley issued a Jan. 31 statement on X saying, “I am extremely disturbed by the news that the University of Minnesota will be complying with ICE immigration orders. Schools should be a protected space for students, and this is another unacceptable byproduct of the Trump Administration.”

Policy context

Trump’s executive order asserts the children of noncitizens are not covered by the 14th Amendment’s guarantee that “all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.” ICE is responsible for immediate enforcement of this order.

Previous precedent listed schools and churches as protected spaces for noncitizens, but now ICE is empowered to search such areas, the Minnesota Reformer reported. The St. Paul ICE office has already set a new target of 75 arrests per day, according to MinnPost.

One week ago, Trump signed a memorandum to prepare Guantanamo Bay for the housing and subsequent deportation of 30,000 immigrants.

The LA Times reported ICE posted on X on Jan. 27, writing,  “In one week, law enforcement officials have removed and returned 7,300 illegal aliens.” The Trump administration views all undocumented immigrants as criminals, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Minnesota was one of the states that signed on to a Jan. 21 lawsuit aiming at blocking Trump’s executive order, the Minnesota Daily reported. The order does not go into effect for 30 days as executive branch agencies figure out how to implement it and the courts decide on its legality, according to the article. 

University law professor Linus Chan said in a Jan 17. MPR interview that under current Minnesota law, state and local officials are not legally required to contribute any resources or release any information in immigration enforcement.  

“Local and state officials will continue to have a tremendous amount of discretion on whether or how much they want their resources to be used for immigration enforcement,” Chan said in the interview. “There is no mechanism in a Minnesota statute that will force them to be involved in immigration enforcement, even in the face of losing federal funding.” 

Immigration History Research Center Assistant Director Michele Waslin said while there are ways communities can make immigrant communities feel safer, no sanctuary status is absolute due to federal policy. She said we likely are going to see ICE try and enter more locations.

Waslin added it is important to stand firm and continue to have strong non-cooperation policies. She said to be aware of your rights — you do not have to let ICE into your home without seeing a warrant, and you do not need to speak to them.

“The University is basically saying they will follow the law,” Waslin said. “I would like to see affirmative statements from the University saying that they are committed to immigrant faculty, students and staff.”

Resources:

Wilson Law Group said for the time being students should get their Minnesota driver’s license so that they always have a valid form of identification on them. For students arrested by ICE officers, they should remain silent and contact an attorney.

Additionally, the University of Minnesota issued the following statement: “Students should contact Student Legal Service, which provides advice and guidance, and legal representation where appropriate, for students in a variety of immigration-related cases. Employees and students may reach out to the Law School’s Binger Center for New Americans for advice and guidance, and limited legal consulting and a discount on referrals is available to benefits-eligible employees via the Employee Assistance Program.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Jessica Lopez Lyman’s last name. It is just Lyman.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents hosted the first student listening session on the Twin Cities campus Dec. 4. Now, the Board is planning more for spring semester.

University public relations director Jake Ricker said in an email statement to the Minnesota Daily that the Dec. 4 listening session at the Terrace Cafe inside the St. Paul Student Center was the latest in an ongoing series of listening sessions the Board of Regents is holding on each of the University’s five campuses. 

The Board intends to host two more sessions on the East Bank and West Bank areas of the Twin Cities campus in addition to the session in St Paul.

Board of Regents Chair Janie Mayeron said in the Dec. 13 Board of Regents meeting that she found the session she attended to be quite valuable and informative. 

“These in-person opportunities provide yet another avenue for us to understand what is going well and where there is room for improvement as we seek to fulfill our three-part mission,” Mayeron said in an email statement to the Minnesota Daily.

Regent Tadd Johnson said in the meeting he was able to hear about both research and common issues of Duluth faculty, staff and students.

Regent Kodi Verhalen added the Regents have received feedback from staff and input on opportunities for growth.

“These interactions and the input we receive are really invaluable,” Verhalen said. “It provides us an opportunity to actually dialogue with members of the University community and those who care about the University of Minnesota as a whole.”

Regents have hosted listening sessions in Crookston, Duluth, Morris and the St. Paul portion of the Twin Cities campus over the past semester, according to the Board of Regents Office.

Ricker said other spring sessions are still being planned. 

The listening session stretched from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with approximately 40 individuals stopping by to talk with Regents inside the St. Paul Student Center. 

The time and location were strategically selected to take advantage of increased foot traffic during the lunch hours, according to University Public Relations. 

Sessions will be promoted through colleges and units with representation on each campus, as well as through student government groups, according to the Board of Regents Office.

“The listening sessions are a chance for you to meet the Regents and share any feedback with them, while also enjoying a cookie,” one Board of Regents office worker said.

If folks are unable to attend in-person times the Board’s Virtual Forum is another means of sharing input with the Board.

Individual Regent emails are also available on the Board’s website and correspondence sent to uregents@umn.edu is regularly shared with all Regents, according to Board of Regents Office personnel.

Several Comstock residents have reached out to FOX 9 reporters regarding multiple rooms that have been experiencing heating issues. FOX 9 reported the problems arose from air trapped in the system when Comstock Hall made the seasonal transition from air conditioning to heating.

Housing & Residential Life (HRL) director Susan Stubblefield wrote in an email to the Daily that HRL has received reports of Comstock rooms experiencing heating issues. HRL anticipates that the issues should be addressed to mitigate these one-off room requests by the end of the day today.

HRL did not respond in time to a request to provide the number of rooms affected or what the technical issues in question were.

“During routine heating system maintenance in the fall, issues can arise,” Stubblefield said in the email. “Because we’ve had an exceptionally warm fall, some of those issues weren’t apparent until the dip in temperature last week led to cooler than expected rooms.”

Stubblefield said in the email there are certain areas or rooms of Comstock that may need to be fixed individually from a mechanical standpoint, but anticipates that the issues with one-off room requests should be addressed by today.

“We sent a message to Comstock residents yesterday reminding them to submit a maintenance request (called a Fix It ticket) if they are experiencing a lack of heat in their room, so that the facilities staff can fix it,” Stubblefield said.

Stubblefield said that maintenance staff has responded within 24 hours to cold room reports. She added electric space heaters were also made available to residents experiencing issues.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Editor’s note: Sam Hill lived at Doyle Apartments and did not receive his security deposit three weeks after forwarding a bank transfer request. Here is what he found after looking into it.

In the lobby of Doyle Apartments, books sit in neat little piles, a modern-looking coffee machine sits on one side and a tenant checks her mailbox. It is Sunday evening — meaning it has been almost two months with no real word on her security deposit return from the previous year. 

“I find it to be absolutely ridiculous that the management doesn’t have the most basic skill of communicating with their tenants,” the tenant wrote in an anonymous email to the Daily due to fear her deposit would not be returned. “I have inquired about my deposit continuously over the past few months and I have only ever been met with vague answers of ‘I don’t know,’ and ‘It’s an issue with multiple people’ and ‘Thanks for your patience,’ and that’s if they bother to answer me at all.” 

She said she was furious because she asked in person, over the phone and through email and said this was another prime example of apartment managers taking advantage of students.

Hao, a tenant who asked to be referred to only by his first name, said management kept communication to a minimum.

“I realize that it’s also because Doyle got bought by another property company, but still not a good look for them,” Hao said.

Greystar, the largest apartment management company in the U.S., manages several properties at the University of Minnesota — including The Marshall and briefly the Doyle. 

According to multiple anonymous sources, many students at Doyle have not received their security deposits promptly despite forwarding receipt addresses months ago.

According to the University of Minnesota Student Legal Service (SLS), a landlord is obligated to return a security deposit or provide a statement outlining any withholding of all or part of the security deposit within three weeks of receiving the former renter’s forwarding address or delivery instructions. There is no legal obligation for a landlord to affirmatively ask for the information when a renter is moving out.

SLS lawyer Shana Tomenes said the SLS housing legal team sees about one security deposit case each week during each fall semester. She added skirting the edges of legal limits on returns is something all management companies in the area do.

If a student does not know their new address and does not affirmatively provide that information, there can be a significant delay between the time when a student moves out to when they receive their security deposit, according to Tomenes. 

One tenant shared her emails to Greystar from several weeks ago. The Greystar point of contact, given to her by Doyle management, told her they would get ahold of the accounting department and follow up on if and where the deposits were sent. 

That tenant never received a response. She is currently filing a small claims court claim against Greystar.

Another anonymous source said he had seen many former Doyle residents with the same security deposit issues on social media. He eventually received his deposit and encouraged anyone being held out by management companies to reach out to legal services. 

“I had to contact UMN legal services and had an attorney send them an email threatening legal actions and over a thousand dollars in fines if they didn’t get the return to me by the end of October,” the source said. “The next day they sent over the return.”

Some students described their experiences with Greystar management in other apartments. 

Fourth-year student Samantha Clark said she requested to not have a bed at The Marshall because she was bringing her own. Her room came with no bed or mattress, but at the end of the year, she received a $500 missing bed charge.

“I called and spoke with their corporate office about it and they said they would get back to me,” Clark said. “I have been dealing with this since Aug. 9 when I moved out and it still hasn’t been resolved.”

Management responses

Doyle property manager Sydney Dreyer said in an email to the Minnesota Daily to direct any inquiries to the former Greystar management company contact for “any questions regarding the time period prior to October 1, 2024.”

“I believe your inquiry is related to security deposits and tenancies that ended prior to October 1, 2024,” Dreyer said in the email. “The Doyle’s ownership, and management company, recently changed as the result of a sale that closed on October 1, 2024.”

The Greystar company contact in said emails has not responded to multiple requests to connect from the Daily. Greystar public relations later directed the Daily to connect with the owner but did not respond to requests to disclose the owner’s identity.

In an email to an anonymous source, Dreyer said she had “no clue where the security deposits were” on Oct. 3. In a phone conversation with the Daily, Dreyer said all deposits were mailed out the week prior to Oct. 22.

“I have been trying to work with Greystar for an update and they say they are approving them,” Dreyer wrote in the email. “As far as I know, no one has received their deposits or even the email from smart disburse so this is news to me!”

Greystar communication director Andrea Davis said in an email to the Daily that any questions regarding the timing and return of security deposits should be directed to the former owner. 

“We are not authorized to speak on behalf of the former owner of The Doyle, which we have ceased managing,” Davis said in the email. “Any questions regarding the return of security deposits and the timing of such should be correctly directed to the former owner.”

Greystar did not respond to the Daily as to whether they were in charge of collecting security deposits from former tenants.

Why it matters

The Minnesota Daily reported that increased housing development in the Dinkytown area has led to increased legal dilemmas for student renters, with a vast majority of student legal service casework being related to housing in the present day compared to 10 years ago.

Greystar Management is the largest apartment management company and property owner in the U.S., according to 2024 NMHC rankings. As a property management company, it is responsible for collecting rent and security deposits, marketing, and addressing tenant and maintenance concerns.

From Dec. 12, 2023, to Oct. 1 of this year, Greystar was responsible for managing Doyle Apartments. After Oct. 1, management and ownership transferred to Go Gopher Rentals Management company.

Go Gopher Rentals did not respond to the Minnesota Daily with comments on missing security deposits.

Emails from former Doyle management from December of last year suggest that Greystar was responsible for both owning and managing the property.

“The security deposit plus 1% interest in the amount of $500.00 has been transferred to the new owner and manager as listed below,” the email from Dec. 8 read. “New Management: Greystar Management.”

The Minnesota Daily reached out to Northstar management, the company in charge of managing Doyle Apartments prior to Greystar. The Northstar contact said that the current Northstar manager was assisting Doyle management on security deposit issues but did not provide further details.

Renter legal protections

Tomenes said University Student Legal Services advises students on the likelihood of legal success and helps them find solutions other than going straight to small claims court. She said their office also helps students fill out the required paperwork and prepare them to testify before the court. 

“Renters have strong legal protections when it comes to security deposit disputes,” Tomenes wrote in an email to the Daily.

Tomenes added students generally report satisfaction with the results of their small claims court claim. She added that when there are multiple unresolved cases with a landlord, or if students have three or more substantiated claims, such as a security deposit court ruling in their favor, the landlord is placed on the University non-compliant landlord list.

“Often if one student is having a security deposit problem with their landlord, others in the same building are facing the same problem,” Tomenes said. “Student Legal Service recommends reaching out to our office whenever you have a legal issue with your landlord, and encouraging your neighbors to do the same.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated that Greystar owns The Marshall and Doyle apartments. They manage those properties. Other edits made for clarity and accuracy.

Projected to a University of Minnesota display board in a dark lecture hall on Sept. 11, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s 7 p.m. Presidential debate was on the big screen. When Trump delivered his now infamous line about immigrants eating people’s cats and dogs, a room of about 300 students exploded into laughter.

Event moderator and Journalism professor Christopher Terry was not having it.

“Settle down, settle down!” Terry said.

It was a substantial crowd, about 10 times the projected attendance of 20 to 30 journalism students, according to Terry.

It has not been the only big crowd of the past few weeks. The Vice Presidential debate had similar attendance, and with four weeks left before the Presidential election, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) “Row the Vote” Initiative is at an all-time high in voting registration.

As of Oct. 10, Row the Vote has already counted 10,200 pledges and over 1,200 registrations, according to USG Civic Engagement Director Riley Hetland. The Minnesota Daily reported that the initial goal for this year was 7,000 pledges and 3,000 registrations.

The Row the Vote Initiative is a USG program that attempts to register and educate as many student voters as possible, according to Hetland. She said USG is keeping track of all students who have registered or pledged to vote.

MinnPost reported that Gen Z engagement in this election is expected to be high, with 65% of eligible voters aged 18 to 29 casting a ballot in the 2020 election, compared to a nationwide average of about 50%.

The Minnesota Daily reported that Row the Vote started in 2020 and was taken over by USG in 2022. USG met their benchmark of 6,000 pledges for their last Row the Vote in 2022, according to Hetland.

“Our country is very, very politically charged currently and so we’ve been seeing that reflected in the amount of people who have been signing pledge forms and registering to vote,” Hetland said. “Last year, the election was pretty unemphasized among the student body.”

Hetland said Row the Vote visits classrooms in what are known within USG as “class blitzes,” where they go into classes, get student vote pledges, register voters and educate people on when and how to vote. Their goal for the year is to visit 1,000 classes by election day.

“We’re going into hundreds of classrooms a day,” Hetland said. “I’d say for sure we’ve been to eight or nine hundred classrooms already.”

Hetland added that it is important to note the electricity behind the student body this year.

“It is truly, truly important for students to make change when they want to see change happen,” Hetland said.

Student engagement goes up

Terry said when he started the University’s Hubbard School Presidential Debate watch parties in 2016, he had a much smaller crowd of only journalism students. 

Terry said students from math, economics, chemistry and a whole contingent from mechanical engineering joined the journalism students for the 2024 Presidential debate after the event was mentioned on Reddit.

“We only had enough pizza for a handful of people, but then people from all over campus showed up for it,” Terry said. “I mean, that tells you something about the interest in it.”

Terry said the idea that students are not engaged and interested in politics is not true.

Terry said there has been a lot of open dialogue and competing viewpoints in University watch parties. He said they have 99.9% productive debates — besides the occasional snag comments — because you learn from people by talking to them in face-to-face interactions.

“I’m gonna watch the debate anyway,” Terry said. “Here is a productive environment to watch it.”

Who people are voting for

The Minnesota Daily asked University of Minnesota students face-to-face who they were planning to vote for and to briefly explain why. Last names have been omitted to incentivize unfiltered political expression. 

All prospective voters interviewed said they either supported former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein or said they were either not voting or undecided.

Why are you planning to vote for Trump?

A quarter of University students surveyed said they would support Trump in the 2024 election.

• “Trump is overall better for the country’s economy. He’s not easily intimidated by other countries,” said Jackson, a first-year student.

• “I am not voting for the woman who would judge me for my outfit in high school,” said Steven, a third-year student.

• “His economic policies are better. I’m not a huge Trump fan, but it’s obvious under his presidency the economy was running better,” said Soren, a post-secondary enrollment option student.

• “He more aligns with my personal beliefs and he is better for international relations. I believe he would do a better job reducing inflation, and if Kamala could’ve done it she would have by now,” said Shane, a third-year student.

• “Most likely Trump as I lean conservative fiscally, as well as for jobs. Minnesota isn’t doing great with that right now,” said Molly, a third-year student.

Why are you planning to vote for Kamala?

Out of 30 students who shared their opinions with the Minnesota Daily, a little less than two-thirds said they were planning to vote for Harris this November.

• “Her policies are just better, and she didn’t try to overthrow the government. I’d also prefer it if my girlfriend had her rights,” said Luke, a third-year student.

• “Trump is a convicted felon. It would also be cool to see a woman as president. It would be a big deal,” said Laria, a third-year student. 

• “My mother, my sister and my girlfriend would like to have rights,” said Stafford, a third-year student.

• “I hate Donald Trump a lot more,” said Nathan, a second-year student.

• “She is pro-climate change, human rights and would lead to a more united country,” said Amya, a first-year student.

• “Trump’s an egomaniac lesser of two evils,” said Jordan, a prospective graduate student. 

• “Not having access to abortion is the difference between life and death,” said Albra, a first-year student.

• “Her economic policies are better. Her attitude is better and she is more compassionate and trustworthy,” said Nate, a graduate student. 

Independent party supporters

Two students said they would be voting for Jill Stein, as neither major party candidates have a preferable stance on the Israel-Hamas war and ongoing Palestinian humanitarian crises.

• “Both the Democrats and the Republicans are in support of Israel. The Green Party vice president is Muslim and Jill Stein supports Palestine,” said Izhan, a third-year student.

• “Both sides aren’t trying to stop a genocide or having a ceasefire. Jill Stein supports reparations, free healthcare and is more genuine than both major party candidates,” said Subi, a third-year student.

Republican and DFL engagement on campus

Christopher Flemming,  Minnesota College Republican chair and St. Olaf chapter of College Republican president, said there has been high Republican engagement with the St. Olaf chapter of College Republicans, but there is not currently a College Republican chapter on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. With the Turning Point USA club dying out recently, there is not currently a major Republican group on the Twin Cities campus.

Flemming said the plurality of Republican students he has talked to said immigration was their biggest concern. He added that people would also talk about things like the economy, inflation, crime and housing costs.

“I just think a lack of enforcement of our current policies, a feeling that it’s an issue the government could fix while both sides don’t really want to,” Flemming said. “I think it shows anger with the establishment.”

Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said in an emailed statement to the Minnesota Daily that the DFL college campus turnout operation is the strongest it has ever been.

“We have student organizing programs at 23 different colleges and universities, we are promoting pop-up early voting locations near students, and we are investing time and resources into providing students the information they need to make voting easy and accessible,” Martin said in the statement.

Martin added that DFL legislative action has contributed to students from low-income families having access to free tuition from Minnesota’s state colleges and universities and access to paid family and medical leave when they graduate. 

DFL Twin Cities Campus Fellow Nora Wilcek said most of what the DFL does on campus involves tabling, direct voter recruitment, registering students to vote and knocking on dorm doors. She said the DFL mostly does this through face-to-face interaction and is looking to increase the number of events on campus as election day approaches.

Wilcek added she has not seen or interacted with many Republicans on campus.

“I think we are probably the core presence that’s on campus,” Wilcek said. “I think around Minnesota there is a lot of excitement about the DFL.”

Of the 110 student groups that applied for Student Services funding (SSF) during the 2023-2024 academic year, 103 received a total of about $950,000 for events and operations while seven were denied funding, according to Student Affairs Office Associate Director Sara Carvell.

The University of Minnesota’s Student Affairs Office wrote in an email to the Minnesota Daily that it budgeted $1.4 million for student groups for the 2023-2024 academic year, but only $1.2 million was collected because fewer students paid the SSF than anticipated. 

The University wrote in the email there was $235,694 in unused funding from the academic year 2023-2024. Combined with a previous carry-forward balance of about $565,000, that brings the total SSF account up to $799,722 as of June 30.

According to Carvell, extra money may go to the student resource center or future student group events.

The SSF budget has fluctuated over the years, according to the Office of Student Affairs. This was partially due to less students requesting funds and a drop in registered student groups during the pandemic.

For the current year, the Student Services Fee Committee (SSFC) provided about $600,000 for 79 student groups, covering a planned 234 student events, according to Carvell. 

Students, including those not in a student group, pay around $20 per semester to fund student groups in the 2024-25 academic year, according to calculations made by the Office of Student Affairs. Additionally, each student paid $495 to fund administrative units such as the Aurora Center and around $9 for media groups like the Daily or Radio K. 

Funding context

Student groups have a rolling process for requesting funds anytime for operations during the 2024-2025 academic year. There are eight opportunities for student groups to request SSF funds per year, with the third concluding on Sept 27.

University’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) President Rahma Ali said that to budget for the current year, USG had to make a budget request in the spring of the last academic year. She said the new academic year is when the requests are approved.

“Right now we are having conversations with the student government executive board on how much we want for grants, specific budget line items, and how much we want for events,” Ali said. “Once that is approved and goes through the forum, it gets sent to SSF to approve the budget that’s set for the school year.”

Ali said some major USG events include Row the Vote and the Global Gala hosted in Coffman Union.

“We make sure students are registered to vote, and our legislative affairs team works very well on that,” Ali said. “And for community events, our committees are able to host events that are for the student body and not just for students within USG.”

USG Treasurer Ethan Del Val Perez said student groups must properly utilize funds they are given in order to continue receiving money from the University. He said USG uses a similar process when giving out USG group event grants.

“You fill a spreadsheet where you’re detailing all of the expenses to make sure that the expenses are appropriate to the mission of the student group and the university,” Del Val said. “If USG asks for $500 and we only spend up to $400, that difference of $100 would then be returned to USG.”

If a student group does not use all the money they receive, they are required by the Student Affairs Office to return what they do not use.

Student groups apply for money by submitting SSF applications that explain how much money each event will need, and what they will use it for. Students put in two types of requests:

1. Operational requests:

Operational requests are made to acquire funds for the day-to-day operation of a student group. Students put in operational requests for supplies, dedicated practice space and other miscellaneous logistics. 

According to data consolidated from the Student Affairs office, the largest operational SSF allocation was for the Choreo Oreos dance group for $13,681. All of the money went to renting a practice space for the year.

       2. Event Requests: 

Event requests are made to acquire funds for campus-wide events, and they utilize the majority of available student group funds. Event requests will often include projected expenses for entertainment, advertising, travel and food costs.

According to the data, the largest event SSF allocation was to the Indian Student Association for $24,937. About half of the money was spent providing food to students, and the other half covered miscellaneous expenses such as entertainment and space rentals.

Months in advance, students write down projected costs for food, equipment, space rentals, speaker costs and other miscellaneous expenses. They submit these expenditures, in the form of SSF allocation requests, to the student service fee committee that reviews and approves the submissions.

Former Net Impact President Stephanie Bradt said that when filling out the spreadsheet for funding requests, the Net Impact student group had to detail every line-by-line expense, meeting plan and estimated food amount months in advance. 

When the Environmental Student Advocacy group, of which Bradt was once part of, planned a Campus Club dinner with a guest speaker, they did not get enough money for their request. 

Bradt said the Campus Club has a cost of $23 per person, and the max SSF request food allocation is around $8 per person. She added that they were only able to get their budget to around $18 per person when including requests for sustainable material and vegetarian options on the SSF form.

“Based on that, they'll decide whether or not our justification is worth more money per person,” Bradt said. “And we still didn't get the amount of money we needed.”

Bradt said the Campus Club was their last option due to its expense, but they were having a professional event with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and needed to cater to the lawyers who would be speaking.

“I know that from past experiences, SSF doesn't necessarily like giving out funding for people to have food at their weekly meetings,” Bradt said. “But when you bring free food, everyone's like, ‘Oh my God!’”

Crunching some numbers

Student groups can request between $1,000 to $30,000 in an academic year. Based on the request applications, the SSFC uses “viewpoint-neutral criteria” in accordance with tuition and fees policy to evaluate requests and grant funds to groups that meet the criteria.

To meet the tuition and fees standard, student groups must support non-instructional opportunities, must not count for academic credit and must have their programs available to everyone who pays the SSF.

Highest and lowest student group funding at the U

Both the highest and lowest-funded student groups generally requested funds mostly for practice spaces and food. Students also requested funds for equipment, entertainment, advertising, travel and registration fees for extracurricular events.

Some of the reasons for SSF rejecting requests can include that the group did not need the requested level of funds or lacked timeliness or justification.

The largest discrepancy with requested and allocated funding was the Lutheran Campus Ministry student group, which requested about $25,000 for events and operations and received about $7,000. Their largest requests were for food and entertainment, $12,000 and $4,000 respectively for the year.

There was no written reason on the Lutheran Campus Ministry SSF document for the largest individual request rejection of about $3,000 for food during a spring event.

The largest request a student group made that received no funding for the 2023-2024 school year was the African Student Association. The association requested about $7,500 for an “Africa Night” spring event, with about $4,000 for food, $2,000 for speakers and $1,000 for miscellaneous expenses such as photography and an event space.

The SSFC outlined their rationale for the decision below:

“Since the group did not show up for the agreed upon presentation time, the committee could not provide an alternate presentation time or deliberate on the request as it was submitted,” the SSFC wrote on the Event SSF request form. “The committee has provided the group an opportunity to request below $7,500 and resubmit it for review during the edit period.”

Environmental Student Advocacy (ESA) Treasurer Maya Chilcote said when she attended the SSFC committee meetings that deliberated on requests, the SSFC used a line-by-line process to decide on student group funding.

“They decide each step down how much they are cutting off or whether to approve it, and then they'll leave a comment,” Chilcote said. “At the very end of that process, they will ask if you have any questions, and that's when you're able to kind of clarify why or why not to receive specific funding.”

The SSFC was not available for comment on this story.

What students are saying

ESA President Kobe Knettel said from his perspective, there are some accessibility problems in the amount of red tape surrounding SSF funding.

“We're grateful that we're able to access the Student Service funding as we wouldn't be able to do a lot of our bigger events without it,” Knettel said. “But it can be incredibly frustrating to try to keep up with the deadlines and ensure that the applications are filled out correctly when you aren’t able to yet justify why you're requesting a certain amount.”

Chilcote said the three-month out deadline for requesting event funding can be stressful. She said her receipts deadline and SSF canvas training as ESA treasurer over the summer took away from her study abroad experiences.

Chilcote added that student group officers are student volunteers, managing finances without help, and it is hard to make everything perfect that way. 

“The fact is that we are students that are in school, some of us working jobs,” Chilcote said. 

Bradt said student groups essentially put on events for free, working for the University using the funds that they pay for through SSF. She added that groups fight tooth and nail to get money that will make the University look better.

“It can feel like a slap in the face sometimes because we're working for free in a way that can make the university a much more vibrant community,” Bradt said. 

Bradt said nonprofits are organized like Student Groups, and she has learned how hard it is to get money from people.

“I would say it definitely gave me more experience, and I've seen how that translates with other organizations I've worked for,” Bradt said. “We do have a lot of student groups, so it is hard to give money to everybody for everything.”

Following a spike of graffiti during and after the George Floyd protests in 2020, there has been an explosion of sanctioned and unsanctioned Minneapolis street art, ENTER reported. 

In 2023, 18 new murals appeared on businesses and buildings on East Lake Street alone, according to nonprofit Lake Street Council. The Lake Street interactive public art map shows a location and description of 45 murals, where only three existed before 2018, with one created in 1997, one in 2002 and one in 2013.

Sanctioned art is any art officially permitted by authorities, such as property owners, the city or community organizations, according to The Art Story Collective. It often works to beautify urban spaces.

Unsanctioned art is installed on a surface without an authority’s approval and typically bears a negative connotation, according to The Art Story Collective. Sanctioned or unsanctioned, street art sends a message.

Many of the East Lake Street murals were created when business owners decided to paint over graffiti vandalism, the Star Tribune reported. These murals were made amidst the ongoing pandemic and in a community recovering from the riots following the murder of George Floyd, the Star Tribune wrote. 

University of St. Thomas Art History Professor Heather Shirey said the astounding increase in Twin Cities murals is not just in pretty-to-look-at, “Insta-ready” murals, but in street art as a form of conversation.

“So many of the artists and collectives working in the streets in Minneapolis and Saint Paul are deeply engaged in the community and understand the power of art as a form of protest and the means of coming together to heal and to envision a better future,” Shirey said. 

University of Minnesota Chicano Art Professor Karen Mary Davalos said murals come from a tradition of speaking publicly in times of social unrest, and Twin Cities artists have long used art to strengthen community.

“Visual expression in public space goes back 50 years, and it’s not surprising we are seeing it again,” Davalos said. “It’s visually taking space in the practice of mural making that makes community and forms belonging.”

MURALS SPAN FAR AND WIDE

The Minnesota Daily compiled this map using Google Maps, in-person viewing, Mark Peterson’s Flickr page and a Meet Minneapolis article on murals. Map by Sam Hill.

The Minnesota Daily has compiled an interactive map of 150 murals, showing a concentration of murals along East Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue. Art collectives like City Mischief murals and Broken Crow, along with artists like Rock “Cyfi” Martinez, Melanie Strong, Pablo Kalaka and Yuya Negishi appear on this map frequently.

Shirey said the list of incredible and prolific artists working in the Twin Cities right now is endless. There are many beautiful and impactful murals that are not on this map.

“There are muralists coming from Latinx traditions like Kalaka, Claudia Valentino and Gustavo Lira, and we have an amazing community of Indigenous artists working in public spaces, including Thomasina Topbear, Miskitoos and Marlena Myles,” Shirey said. “I greatly admire collectives like Creatives After Curfew, Copla Murals and City Mischief, and seeing the work of Philipo Dyauli, Habaaq Ibrahim and Reggie Leflore always gives me a lift.”

Shirey added that Hend Al-Mansour’s mural on University Avenue in St. Saint Paul is absolutely spectacular.

MINNEAPOLIS MURAL HISTORY

Carole Bersins, 67, said she got into mural work after she started painting signs for the original Brueggers Bagels. This led her to talk and work with folks like the Wall Dogs, a now-international group of sign painters and muralists, and Phil Vandervaart, an artist who has been painting signs and murals in the Twin Cities for almost three decades.

“Through the Wall Dogs, I learned a lot more about mural painting and kind of just kept going by word of mouth,” Bersins said.

One of the first real neighborhood forces in getting murals painted in the Twin Cities was Sarah Linnes-Robinson, who was instrumental in getting murals painted in the Kingfield and Lindale neighborhoods, according to Bersins. 

“I did that Minnesota Grown mural there in Corcoran and they were doing more over there,” Bersin said. “I did the Wall Dogs mural in 2008 and by that time, Sarah had already gotten a fair amount of murals done in Kingfield.”

Bersin said many of the big downtown murals were around when she moved to Minneapolis in 1982, including Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit” and West Bank’s Jesus is King mural.

“I think that one’s been there since the 70s,” Bersin added regarding the Ravel mural.

THE MURAL-MAKING PROCESS

Jesse Quam, 47, said he and his family live by Lake Street, where many of the murals are. He said his process for finding a place to paint a mural often involves seeing a building that is constantly being graffitied, then talking to the business or building owner and asking if they want a mural painted on their building. 

“It would deter people from painting graffiti on it,” Quam said. “It would also beautify the neighborhood, and that’s kind of our shtick.”

Quam said painting a mural is “totally worth it” for a business and cheaper than graffiti removal. He added a lot of the murals he does with other artists are crowd-funded, or the artists will work on them for free.

“The artists that I hang out with definitely have a community service mentality, as they all want to paint murals,” Quam said. “We all talk to each other and we all bounce off ideas.”

The common mural-making process on Lake Street is a little different, according to Lake Street Council Manager Charise Canales. She said businesses typically reach out to the Lake Street Council and will provide them with an artist directory, or the business will reach out to commission an artist directly.

“Some businesses will already have an artist identified, so then we help them to apply for grant funding through our building improvement programs,” Canales said. “More recently, artists with strong connections to Lake Street and who are passionate about its recovery are proactive in reaching out to businesses with walls in need, and they help the business to apply for mural grant funding.” 

Canales said the Lake Street Council started providing grants for mural projects as part of wider recovery and beautification efforts in 2021 and has supported over 40 mural projects throughout the Lake Street area with a grant cap of $15,000. 

Lake Street Council has invested approximately $450,000 in murals outside of the We Love Lake Street fund, Canales said.

Lake Street Council’s We Love Lake Street fundraised money to support local businesses and nonprofits since the George Floyd riots in 2020, the Star Tribune reported. Canales said the fund was directly focused on reopening businesses and redevelopment of the corridor. 

Canales said agencies put out a request for larger governmental mural projects, such as the 35W Metro Transit underpass project. Artists will work with the business that made the request to implement the mural, and some projects can even include engagement activities for the community.

“One such example of this type of project was community outreach on Lake Street to inform the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches mural design,” Canales said. “The youth had the opportunity to work with the professional artists from Modern Day Me on the design and installation, making it a mural that truly belongs to the community.”

MOVING FORWARD

Canales said the Lake Street Council invests in mural-making to create a welcoming environment for all and as a strategy to “beautify our physical realm.” 

“The impact is profound – murals can transform blank or vandalized surfaces into visually appealing artworks and simultaneously deter tagging and vandalism by creating a sense of ownership and community pride,” Canales said. “People are less likely to deface something they perceive as valuable or beautiful, and well-executed murals can attract tourists and visitors, boosting local economies.”

Davalos said she taught students impacted by the Lake Street Mercado murals, as people who live with the murals daily. She added the department had students who wrote senior theses on Lake Street murals.

“This art essentially becomes a museum in the streets,” Davalos said. “These community-engaged murals are a successful methodology for expression and belonging, and Latino artists aren’t the only ones who do that.”

Interim President Jeff Ettinger sent out a campus-wide email Thursday morning announcing the agreement to end the encampment on Northrop Mall at noon, which was erected to demand an array of asks from the University of Minnesota administration and Board of Regents.

Protest encampment organizers met with University leaders for multiple talks on Wednesday. Now,  Ettinger has committed to an agreement with student protestors that will end the encampment on Northrop Mall.

Because of the encampment’s closure, Ettinger said that the University will reopen closed buildings on the Northrop Mall at noon Thursday. The student coalition has agreed there will not be organized disruptions at upcoming final exams and commencements.

There were talks at 10:00 a.m. in St. Paul Student Center, 5:00 p.m. after an email and around 9:30 p.m., according to SDS spokesperson Merlin Van Alstine. The evening talks were conducted on Zoom.

In a message sent to campus organizers Wednesday evening, Ettinger presented a list of actions the University is committed to in exchange for protestors removing the Encampment.

The University has committed to making progress for six of the coalition’s demands:

(1) Divest: The protestors will be provided an opportunity to address the Board of Regents at their meeting on May 10.

(2) Ban employers: The University would be willing to facilitate a meeting with Career Services leaders to discuss appropriate advocacy around choices of potential employers, in response to calls to ban arms manufacturer employers from campus or in career fairs.

“We do not support restricting student career opportunities by instituting a ban of employers,” Ettinger said in the email statement.

(3) Boycott: The University will connect the student groups with the Vice Provost for International Programs and Senior International Officer to ‘identify the process to explore a program affiliation with one (or more) Palestinian universities.’ The University said if students can offer information on specific affiliations with Israeli universities, the University will report back on the status of those agreements

(4)Disclose: The University plans to bring additional detail to the next meeting about the University’s holdings in public companies by May 7, and will supplement this list with any remaining public company holdings by May 17.

“Investments in public companies can be shared, but other investments are protected by non-disclosure agreements or other legal constraints,” Ettinger said.

(5) Thawabit:  The University said it will seek to find ways to better express and evidence support for Palestinian students. It has committed to regular meetings to continue to discuss the protestor’s concerns and will seek to include the incoming President-designate in these meetings

(6) Amnesty: The University administration recommended to the University of Minnesota Police Department that UMPD does not arrest or charge anyone for criminal offenses because of activities that occurred throughout the past few days, noting that would only be honored if the encampment “is removed without incident.” Additionally, the agreement noted that the University is advocating for leniency with the Minneapolis City Attorney.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.