By: Megan Ryan

Minnesota’s track and field teams have written a lot of program history at the Drake Relays. But there wasn’t much to add to the books after the 105th installment of the meet in Ames, Iowa, this weekend.

The Gophers men’s 4×800-meter relay finished fifth in the event it won the previous three years, the women’s distance medley relay placed fourth after winning and setting the school record last year, and the women’s 4×1,600-meter relay also finished just off the podium.

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By: Jace Frederick

The Gophers were in a bit of a hole Thursday.

Without top singles player Tereza Brichacova, Minnesota trailed rival Wisconsin 3-2 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

Still, the Gophers didn’t panic, didn’t fold and didn’t falter.

Minnesota took the final two singles matches, the last a straight-set victory by junior Julia Courter at No. 3 singles, to win the match 4-3.

It was another example of the relentless, never-give-up mentality head coach Chuck Merzbacher has instilled in his team.

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By: David Nelson

After navigating the latter half of the spring season with solid outings, the Gophers maintained that momentum at the Big Ten championships with a fifth-place finish in the team standings.

“We held our own,” head coach Michele Redman said. “Hopefully the finish will be good enough for us to get into the regionals.”

Michigan State and Ohio State shared the Big Ten title after both teams finished with a score of 895. Northwestern followed in third place.

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By: Meghan Holden

University of Minnesota students may get access to their peers’ course evaluations when registering for classes next year.

Some faculty members, administrators and students have pushed for years to make teacher and course evaluations more accessible. The course assessments, at least, could finally be made public when the University Faculty and Student senates vote on the issue in May.

“I think it’s good for faculty, and I think it’s really good for students,” Faculty Senate Consultative Committee Chair Will Durfee said.

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By: Allison Kronberg

Nearly half of the nation’s nursing home occupants are living with Alzheimer’s or other degenerative brain diseases — something young people may be able to avoid.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found in a study released earlier this month that maintaining an active lifestyle as a youth may help preserve memory and other brain functions.

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By: Jessica Lee

The surge in political activism from Somali-Americans in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is putting pressure on longstanding Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, to prove that she deserves another term in the state Legislature.

Somali-born Mohamud Noor, a fellow DFLer, is challenging the 22-term legislator for the seat representing the West Bank, the University of Minnesota and other east Minneapolis neighborhoods.

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By: Anne Millerbernd

For over a decade, Congress has mulled over, but never passed a bill providing financial incentive for donations to certain types of university housing, including fraternity and sorority houses.

Now, students and alumni from the University of Minnesota and across the country are preparing for a trip to Washington, D.C., later this month to lobby for the measure, called the Collegiate Housing Infrastructure Act, which would amend Internal Revenue Service code so donations to not-for-profit housing would be tax-deductible.

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By: Matt Boelke- University student

The April 10 Minnesota Daily article “U researchers: Hunting with lead poses food risks” cited a recent policy brief released by the executive director of the Raptor Center and the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, which included a recommendation to the Minnesota state Legislature to ban all ammunition made from lead. However, millions of Americans have been safely consuming game taken by traditional ammunition for over a century.

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By: David Lein- University student

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing and head-shaking over the two riots last week. “Oh, I’m just so ashamed of my fellow University students! How could they stoop to such lows? This is just a sign of the privilege this generation takes for granted!”

Cut the crap. The overdramatic reaction to these incidents has vilified the students and blown out of proportion what were not even true riots. But something really needs to be said that has not been yet said about the “riots.” They had almost nothing to do with those hockey games.

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By: Luis Ruuska

When CBS announced that comedian Stephen Colbert would inherit the “Late Show” from David Letterman less thaan a week after Letterman announced his retirement, public reaction was mixed but mostly positive.

Many thought CBS might replace Letterman with a woman like Tina Fey or a person of color like Arsenio Hall, who has a track record as a successful late-night talk show host.

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