By: Kia Farhang

Summer construction on new apartments in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood is forcing some current tenants to move out earlier than expected.

Several residents living on 15th Avenue in Marcy-Holmes will have to move out to make way for new apartment buildings built by Dinkytown Rentals and CPM Property Management.

While some tenants have said they were told about moving out months ago, others said they were given little notice.

Owners of both Dinkytown Rentals and CPM said they’re offering alternative housing for displaced tenants.

Psychology senior Max Zimbel  said one of his roommates got a call in early May letting her know they had 60 days to vacate their house on 15th Avenue   between Seventh and Eighth Street streets that will be replaced by a six-story, 643-bedroom CPM apartment complex .

“They only spoke to her,” Zimbel said, and never sent a letter or called the other tenants. Zimbel said he’s currently working with University Student Legal Service to negotiate the end of their lease with their current landlord.

CPM President Daniel Oberpriller said his company is trying to mitigate the concerns of those living in properties he’s buying.

“We’re working out deals with them,” Oberpriller said. “We’re trying to make it positive.”

While the early move-out surprised Zimbel and his roommates, some in the area knew it was coming.

Joe Nelson, who rents from Dinkytown Rentals and whose house will be replaced by his landlord’s new four-story, 38-bedroom apartment complex, has known for some time he’d be leaving early.

“There was a little bit of hinting that this might be the last lease [for the property],” he said.

The Minneapolis Community and Technical College sophomore said he has to be out by the end May but is planning to move home to Apple Valley, Minn., for the summer.

Dinkytown Rentals owner Tim Harmsen said all of his tenants knew about the new development well in advance.

“We’ve been in communication with all of them,” said Harmsen, who noted there’s an early termination clause in the leases.

The new property has to be constructed quickly, Harmsen added, or he won’t be able to show it to prospective tenants.

Harmsen said he offered to let current tenants rent his other properties for the summer if they had nowhere else to go, but they weren’t interested.

The new CPM development will also displace some long-term residents in the area.

Ardes Johnson, a University alumna, decided to sell her townhouse in the Rollins Court complex after living there for 22 years.

“It was hard to say, ‘O.K., for the right price, I’ll give in,’” Johnson said. “That’s what it amounted to.”

Construction on the Dinkytown Rentals development is slated to begin July 10, while CPM will break ground Aug. 1.

By: Jake Stark

University of Minnesota police Lt. Troy Buhta rarely sees action as the internal affairs investigator of his department.

Buhta is responsible for looking into complaints filed against University police officers by civilians, but none have been filed since he took the job more than a year ago. There have been a total of 17 complaints since 2008.

Buhta is not disappointed by the inactivity.

“I think it means we’ve got some very responsible police officers,” he said.

Buhta learned to become an internal affairs investigator at the Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute, he said.

The institute serves as a police training and consulting agency funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, said Executive Director Dennis Cusick. It specializes in internal affairs investigation.

“We walk them through all of the steps that are necessary to ensure an open, fair, competent and quick investigation,” Cusick said.

When complaints are filed, Buhta said he investigates them as if they were a crime: He interviews witnesses and the officer involved, collecting evidence and writing up a report, he said.

University police Chief Greg Hestness ultimately decides if the complaint is valid and deals out punishment if necessary, based on Buhta’s report.

Most complainants accuse officers of using profane language or excessive use of force, said University police Deputy Chief Chuck Miner, who has served as UMPD internal investigator in the past.

Police officers tend to get more complaints than other occupations, such as firefighters, because their job requires them to do things some civilians don’t like, Miner said.

“A lot of times it’s just more venting,” he said. “Nobody likes getting a ticket, and nobody likes getting arrested.”

Among the 17 complaints since 2008, eight were for unprofessional conduct, and five were for use of force.

Discipline for offending officers can range from verbal reprimands to firings, Miner said.

No officers have been found guilty of excessive use of force since 2008, Miner said, and officers are found to have used excessive profanity “once every two years.”

Ohio State University police had an even lower rate of complaints than UMPD, with only two since 2011 and one guilty finding.

UMPD has also added more cameras to the department throughout the years, Miner said, which has helped keep track of officer-civilian interactions.

All UMPD squad cars are equipped with cameras that monitor an officer’s actions on the streets, he said. In addition, cameras that can also record audio are located in the UMPD main lobby.

“A fair amount of our complaints start right in the lobby,” he said. “We find it very useful to listen to the audio and get a true account of what happened.”

The University of Iowa Police Department also relies heavily on video and audio evidence when investigating complaints, said Charles Green, assistant vice president and director of public safety.

University of Iowa’s police department officers use body cameras that are attached to the officer’s uniform to record confrontations with civilians, Green said.

The cameras help because complainants sometimes lie about an officer’s actions because they’re upset the officers gave them a ticket or arrested them, he said.

“They’ve really driven complaints down and almost eliminated them,” he said. “They also help keep our officers accountable.”

Police accountability practices are critical in building a trustworthy department, Cusick said.

“Police departments live and die with public trust,” he said. “If you fail in being able to investigate your own allegations of misconduct, the agency becomes destroyed.”

By: Alma Pronove

The state House of Representatives will vote Thursday whether to recognize same-sex marriages in Minnesota.

The DFL-controlled Legislature has heard arguments from both sides for months, and as the vote nears, supporters and opponents are still trying to influence undecided legislators.

If passed, the Senate will vote Monday. Gov. Mark Dayton has said he would sign the bill, making Minnesota the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriages.

Rep. John Lesch, DFL-St. Paul, who chairs the House Civil Law Committee, which recommended the bill move forward in March, said the bill has enough support in the House to pass.

“You never know what’ll happen in a debate,” he said, “but I believe there is a good chance of it passing.”

The Associated Press has reported Illinois could also legalize same-sex marriages soon. The Illinois state Senate voted to pass a bill in February, and supporters believe they can get it through the House.

The Minnesota bill to repeal the state’s 1997 statute defining marriage as one man and woman would allow same-sex couples to legally get married beginning Aug. 1.

What’s left

While legislators work out whether to legalize same-sex marriage and work out a final tax bill, a few other bills could be passed in the state Legislature this session that could directly impact students and the University of Minnesota. 

Raising minimum wage

Authors

Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, and Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center

What the bill changes

The House of Representatives approved a plan to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2015 in a 68-62 vote last week, and the Senate’s version of the bill, which raises minimum wage to $7.75 by 2015, passed on Wednesday in a 39-28 vote. The House version of the bill also calls for minimum wage to be adjusted for inflation each year, while the Senate bill does not.

Where the bill goes next

A joint conference committee will iron out the differences between the two versions before a final bill heads to the governor.

Where the governor stands

Dayton is strongly supportive of a minimum wage hike but said he prefers the House bill.

DREAM Act

Author

Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul

What the bill changes

The bill would allow undocumented Minnesota students to pay in-state tuition and receive private and public financial aid. To be eligible for in-state tuition and aid, students would have to graduate from a Minnesota high school after attending for at least three years and sign an affidavit agreeing to apply for citizenship as soon as they are eligible.

Where the bill goes next

Pappas will introduce the DREAM Act as an amendment to a joint higher education committee’s final bill. The act didn’t pass in the House of Representatives. University of Minnesota officials have indicated that if the measure passes, they would take steps to adopt a policy.

Where the governor stands

Strongly supportive.

Greater Minnesota Internship Program

Author

Sen. Kent Eken, DFL-Twin Valley

What the bill changes

The bill is intended to create more internship opportunities for students outside the metro area by giving businesses tax breaks if they offer student internships. Students must receive class credit for their internships that are related to their course of study. Businesses offering internships would receive a tax credit for 40 percent of a student’s salary.

Where the bill goes next

Eken’s bill has been included in the Senate Tax Committee’s omnibus bill and will be voted on by the full Senate in coming weeks.

Where the governor stands

It’s unclear where the governor stands on the issue. 

By: Tyler Gieseke

Sandra Buchholz has had difficulty landing a job because she’s deaf.

Some employers wouldn’t hire her because her deafness would make it hard to communicate, said Buchholz, who works as an American Sign Language instructor at the University of Minnesota.

“I would say that there are a lot of deaf people out there who have a tough time getting a job because of their disability,” she said through an interpreter.

Nationwide, there’s a large gap in the employment of people with mental or physical disabilities — the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is almost double the rate for those without, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

To combat employment discrepancies in higher education, last week the U.S. Office of Disability Employment Policy partnered with the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, a group that includes the University.

People with disabilities are underrepresented in all areas of the labor force, said Colet Mitchell, ODEP employer and workplace policy team lead.

It’s difficult to estimate the number of University employees with disabilities because job applicants aren’t required to disclose whether they have disabilities, said University spokesperson Julie Christensen.

Part of the alliance will include promoting a database of 2,000 college graduates with disabilities as a recruitment tool for colleges and universities, Mitchell said.

“You want your workforce to represent the people that live in this country,” Mitchell said. “We need to increase the exposure of people with disabilities into those workforce networks.”

ODEP will also work with HERC’s member colleges and universities to include people with disabilities in their diversity plans, Mitchell said.

In her previous job at a community college, Buchholz said she struggled since she was the only deaf employee.

“I felt like I had no support,” she said.

In the University’s ASL department, many employees are deaf, she said, and they work together well.

“It’s a wonderful team,” she said.

As an equal opportunity employer, the University looks for the most qualified job applicants regardless of disabilities or medical conditions, said Dave Fuecker, associate director of UReturn — a division of Disability Services.

An equal opportunities statement must be included in every University publication, according to policy. In addition, most communications to job applicants must provide information for requesting disability accommodations.

‘Doing the right thing’

If faculty or staff need accommodations to return to work after an accident or because of a medical condition, UReturn will provide those resources if they’re reasonable, Fuecker said.

The program might set up a remote connection, for example, so employees can carry out their work from home or provide a motorized chair for those who need it.

Buchholz said she doesn’t use Disability Services often but will sometimes to request an interpreter for the first few days of classes or if she needs to talk with human resources.

Rather than abiding by the legal definition for a disability, which Fuecker said can be narrow, UReturn tries to reasonably accommodate anyone who needs it.

“It’s doing the right thing, and it’s good business,” he said.

UReturn has had about 1,900 clients system-wide in the past fiscal year, Fuecker said.

The process of returning to work could begin with several counseling sessions with UReturn employees, Fuecker said, to discuss the issue and determine what’s feasible.

“That’s pretty charged stuff,” he said. “It’s life-changing.”

By: Rebecca Harrington

Researchers from the universities of Wisconsin and Washington reportedly falsified data.

A social psychologist in the Netherlands fabricated more than 50 scientific articles over the course of his career.

While reports of research misconduct at other universities have had an uptick this year, University of Minnesota officials tout the institution’s ethics program as an example for other schools.

Proactive measures

Most University research oversight exists to prevent research misconduct from occurring in the first place.

Frances Lawrenz, associate vice president for research, said anyone doing research must complete the Responsible Conduct of Research program, as required by the governmental agency providing their funding.

This includes an introductory, two-part workshop completed online and in-person that covers conflicts of interest, social responsibilities, plagiarism, peer review, intellectual property and money management.

Depending on the nature of their studies, researchers also complete discipline-specific workshops that contain additional information on controlled substances or animal subjects, for example.

The University also requires faculty and principal investigators to complete an annual review of updated research ethics policies online and an in-person “active learning” discussion of responsible research once every three years.

“The validity of our research data is absolutely paramount,” Lawrenz said. “If you’re not collecting the data correctly and not following ethical rules, the data aren’t valid. It undergirds the whole research enterprise.”

Reactive process

Scientific misconduct varies from doctoring data to fabricating entire articles. Retractions of scientific articles are relatively rare — a study found 4,449 articles were retracted from 1928 to 2011. In 2006, 1.35 million research articles were published in total, according to a study.

The University is currently reviewing a December 2012 retraction by veterinary medicine professor Sagar Goyal, who retracted his 2010 study after a National Institutes of Health researcher noticed differences in the swine flu strains identified in the paper.

Academic Health Center spokesman Justin Paquette said the inquiry to figure out how the retraction happened is ongoing.

“No such misconduct has been determined at this point,” he said in a statement.

During the 60-day inquiry process, according to University policy, a panel of employees conducts interviews and reviews evidence to determine if further action is necessary. If the panel finds enough evidence to warrant a full investigation, an investigation panel has 120 days to conduct its analysis, and then disciplinary action can follow.

The panel reviewing Goyal’s retraction is currently in the inquiry stage and is expected to complete its report by this summer.

Lawrenz said the University tries “very hard to be a responsive institution.”

“We are always vigilant,” she said. “We have one of the leading educational programs in the nation.”

Dr. Date,

My friends and I are all in periods of transition right now, and for me that means saying goodbye to a lot of really close friends who are moving away for jobs. I’ve found myself leaning a lot on my boyfriend, who will be staying around, to get through this time, but I want to make sure I’m not just using him as someone to spend time with or that I don’t turn into a bad girlfriend that takes more than she gives. How can I make sure the support he gives me is a healthy amount and that I don’t just use him for the wrong things, like coping?

—Leech

Dear Bloodsucker,

Well you’ve got one thing that many leeches in the sea lack, self-awareness. Sure, it’s a sticky situation, but now that you’ve admitted to being a stage 5 clinger it will just take a little time and determination to get you back on your own two feet again.

It’s time to bust out Doctor Date’s famous Anti-Clinger Tool Kit. The first thing the doc has for you is a hefty can of kickass. It’s great that your friends are going off and achieving their dreams. How ’bout you? How ’bout working on those dreams? Hmm? It’s time to shake a leg, sister. You’re never going to be happy if you don’t achieve things you’re proud of, and if you’re not happy, guess where you’ll end up? Dumpsville, that’s where.

Also in the tool kit is a new friends starter guide. Step 1 — Go sit in coffee shops and other cool public places alone. Strike up conversations. Step 2 — take up a new group hobby. Step 3 — Get an easy summer job where all your co-workers are young and dumb and fun.

As for thanking your old ball and chain for being the rock upon which you stand — a nice, old-fashioned beej never hurts.

—Dr. Date

Dear Dr. Date,

To say I am inexperienced at relationships is a bit of an understatement. I’ve never dated anyone, and at 22, I just lost my virginity. That’s where my question comes in. During a drunken night of flirtation, I lost it to a guy who has been a close friend and confidante for about 8 years now. He has a long list of sexual partners, including a good friend of mine who still has feelings for him. I have often affectionately referred to him as a “man-whore” when he has relayed his problems about women to me.

Up until the incident, I have never really considered him “boyfriend material.” We were the perfect Harry and Sally, minus the sexual tension. Afterward, we toyed with the idea of becoming more than friends. However, after Spring Break, he won’t even hug me “hi” or “bye” anymore. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want a romantic relationship, but going back to being just friends makes me feel sick and kind of angry at him. Is my anger irrational? If he doesn’t want a romantic relationship anymore, should I end the friendship as well? Also, we didn’t tell anyone what was happening, and my friend keeps asking why he doesn’t return her phone calls. Do I have to tell her I was the reason why? 

—Sally

Meg Ryan, My Butt,

Listen honey, I’ve watched “When Harry Met Sally” nearly every Sunday morning since freshman year. I know it line for line, scene by scene, and you ain’t no Sally.

What you’re feeling is natural. After giving someone — even someone you like and trust — your most precious gem, if you will, it’s OK to feel vulnerable and confused. I think you’re confused.

You and this “man-whore” are friends. You are friends who had sex — once. This doesn’t mean he wants a relationship, but it also doesn’t mean you should feel like you want one either.

He is probably acting cold toward you now because he doesn’t want you to get the wrong idea about what that one drunken night meant to him. I think the friendship is salvageable, but it’s going to take some time.

As for the other gal, let’s call her Helen Hillson for the sake of continuity, there’s no reason why she has to know about your night of romance. I wouldn’t assume that you’re the reason he’s not calling her back. When you assume, you make an ass out of Harry and Sally.

—Dr. Date

Professor: “Give me the name of someone who is a female singer and sings really high.”

Two guys, simultaneously: “Justin Bieber?”

—Unknown

Girl 1: “My sister will visit me after the finals, and I don’t even know where to take her!”

Girl 2: “That’s crazy. You’ve been in Minneapolis for almost a year.”

Girl 1: “I don’t even know where that apple on the spoon is.”

—The Purple Onion Café

Student 1: “Next time I’m going to lace my chips with mariju–”

Student 2: “That’s something Regina George would do in an alternate universe”

—Middlebrook Hall

Guy: “If I went home this weekend and did not study for my finals, can I use the excuse that I was celebrating Mother’s day? Do you think he’ll let me off the hook?”

Girl: “Um, how about no.”

Guy: “I really do love my mom.”

—St. Paul Student Center

“You just don’t have sex with your sister.”

—Middlebrook Hall

Guy 1: “I want to study at home, but I know I’ll get nothing done.

Guy 2: “Yeah, I won’t get much done either. But I don’t have to wear pants, so I am definitely going home.”

—Akerman Hall

Professor: “Right now, I’m shooting lots of radiation at you. It’s fine, you’re young.”

—Tate Laboratory of Physics

Girl: “We’ll discuss this when we’re sober.”

Guy: “I don’t want to [expletive] talk to you when we’re sober!”

—Tate Laboratory of Physics

Person 1: “Why do they have celery with buffalo wings?”

Person 2: “So you don’t feel so much of a fat-ass.”

—Pioneer Hall

“Is it just me, or do you feel as if the basis of all of your happiness revolves around alcohol and drugs?”

—Coffman Union

“Was Beyoncé a Cheetah Girl?”

—Coffman Union

By: John Callen, University student

Before I begin, you guessed it — I smoke cigarettes. However, to every person that has written for a smoking ban on campus, I’m 99.9 percent sure you don’t smoke and have never smoked. Now it’s time to read this opinion from a person who has been on both ends of the spectrum.

Simply put, banning cigarettes on campus is the most ludicrous idea imaginable. Let me enlighten you.

First, smoking is unhealthy for everyone involved. I think anyone who is able to read the words that I am writing understands that smoking cigarettes is unhealthy, so enough of the obvious. What many people don’t understand is that the delicious combo meal they just bought from a block off campus is just as unhealthy. According to the Los Angeles Times, two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and are at greater risk of getting, and dying of, cancer.

The Institute for Cancer Research estimates that about 20 percent of deaths in women and 14 percent of deaths in men could have been avoided if they had kept their weight in check. Obesity has always been on the rise and will continue to rise. Don’t believe me? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Don’t even get me started on adults.

I strongly believe that deaths due to obesity will soon exceed the amount of deaths due to smoking. For the people who are sitting there thinking, “But aren’t more people smoking these days as well?” Check again.

In 2010, Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services expressed that the amount of smokers fell from 22.7 percent in 1993 to 18 percent in 2008, while obesity rates rose from 14.5 percent to 26.7 percent over the same time period. Do yourself a favor — look around campus and ask yourself if you see more people smoking cigarettes or more people who are overweight or obese?

How does secondhand smoke compare to obesity?

I believe all students can agree that the most annoying thing that can happen in class is when a student unwraps a juicy burger or a foot-long sub. As the aroma of the food passes by each student’s nostrils, their stomachs begin to rumble until they think to themselves, “I got to get me some of that.” This must be the reason why the McDonalds line in Dinkytown is squished up to the entryway every time I walk by. Ultimately, this scenario leads to high-caloric foods having an indirect effect on the student body. I like to call it “secondhand smell.”

I have always found it interesting that our society believes it’s OK to offend smokers by publicly advertising the repulsive outcome if one is to continue smoking. You know exactly what I’m talking about — those commercials with the people pushing buttons in order to speak and the fathers who can’t play basketball with their children anymore. However, the moment someone brings up the word “obese” or “overweight,” a red flag is thrown, and the offensiveness is inevitable.

I hope you can realize the double standard that is evident within the correlation of obesity and smoking. If you don’t, start from the top, and read again.

The objective of this letter is not intended to offend anyone but rather to instill the notion that cigarettes are not the only hazardous product being consumed on campus. If the University of Minnesota is to ban cigarettes, then we must be inclined to ban all high-caloric products.

I wonder what would ensue if high-caloric foods were banned on campus?

It’s unimaginable, impossible, a blasphemy. Instead, how about I’ll have my cigarette and you have your Big Mac. Sounds reasonable to me.

By: Ronald Dixon

If you are enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, you have probably been lectured by parents, former teachers, friends, relatives or even online trolls that your degree will guarantee you a position at the local fast-food restaurant.

These snide remarks are often presented by those who are pursuing a degree in the science, technology, engineering or mathematics fields. As the “lazy” and “degenerate” CLA students pursue “useless” degrees, or so they say, the “intelligent” and “hard-working” STEM students will land jobs that will pay much more than the average wage.

A recent study, however, dispels this myth.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, universities are producing approximately 50 percent more engineers than the market is demanding. Furthermore, as liberal arts students have long faced the reality that they will more than likely work in a field that is unrelated to their major, many STEM students are also taking jobs in other fields that are unrelated to their degrees.

As the economy only makes modest gains in employment, hiring is slowing down in almost every industry. STEM fields are not an exception to this economic reality.

What does this mean? I don’t wish to argue that STEM fields are not worthwhile collegiate options, but the STEM myth should be dispelled from the cost-benefit analysis of college.

In general, college degrees offer skills and credentials that increase the probability of obtaining a career. Moreover, a college education, particularly the specific study of the humanities, develops students into well-rounded individuals.

When high school and college students decide what they would like to study, they should not be deterred by condescending attacks against the humanities or the unfair proclamations against the students who have passions for non-science or non-business areas. They should be informed that with any college major they may need to accept employment in an unrelated field. As a CLA student, I have accepted this reality and do not mind a desk job if it means a decent standard of living. STEM majors must also realize that the almighty market doesn’t come with guarantees.

By: Daily Editorial Board

Though post-graduate employment numbers remain low and tuition continues to rise, at least two private universities are willing to go to the extreme to receive payment from students.

On April 29, the Minnesota Daily reported that the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University have both sued former students because of Perkins loans — which provide low-interest loans to needy students — that went unpaid. While the University of Minnesota declined to comment on whether it had sued former students in a similar situation, the Daily article did note that it can withhold transcripts from students with unpaid loans and will also resort to collection agencies to collect payments.

While these tactics may seem harsh and unforgiving — at least for a public university — they are less surprising when given the broader context of how higher education is paid for.

While politicians at both the state and national level like to throw around rhetoric like “investing in the future” or “producing human capital” with regard to public colleges and universities, the reality is that, though subsidized, students purchase a higher education from the state just as they would purchase a car, home or service. As the Minnesota Daily Editorial Board noted earlier this year, higher education runs on a funding model where all of the risk of the “investment” is placed on the student, not the state.

Instead of this model, where students are punished if they cannot pay back their loans shortly after graduation, public universities could let students pay for their education throughout a longer period of time, and the payments  could be based off the income of students. The state would then show an actual interest in the success of each student and thus be making an actual “investment.”