By: Kyle Stowe

Living expenses and rising education costs continue to burden University of Minnesota graduate students, according to a recent survey.

A biennial survey released last week by the Council of Graduate Students  found that many students have to find second jobs or take out loans to cover tuition, fees and living expenses. 

The COGS 2013 Graduate and Professional Student Survey polled more than 3,800 graduate and professional students. This is the first year that professional students were surveyed.

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By: Jake Stark

Minnesota head men’s golf coach John Carlson said he had high expectations for his team in the qualifying tournament before the Alister MacKenzie Invitational.

His team did not match his expectations.

After a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Tucker Invitational on Sept. 27-28, the Gophers played a three-round qualifying tournament last week to determine the lineup for the upcoming Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Sonoma, Calif.

But after the tournament, the five players who usually travel for the team remained in the top five spots.

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By: Jace Frederick

Two steps forward, one step back.

The Gophers soccer season has appeared to follow that trend — for every big victory or successful stretch of play, there’s a setback.

And that’s exactly what Minnesota’s 2-0 loss to Northwestern was Saturday in Evanston, Ill., as the Gophers were coming off a program-defining win over then-No. 7 Penn State last Sunday.

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By: Megan Ryan

The Gophers volleyball team has lost only three matches this season, but all have been against ranked opponents. In fact, Minnesota had only beat one ranked opponent all season.

Until this weekend.

No. 11 Minnesota defeated No. 14 Ohio State in three dominant sets Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

Senior middle blocker Tori Dixon said the difference between the Buckeyes match and past matches with ranked teams was simple.

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By: Kyle Stowe

The Minnesota Student Association passed its budget for the 2014 fiscal year at a Tuesday forum after failing to do so two weeks earlier.

The new budget is almost 17 percent larger than last year’s and includes increased funding for MSA leadership stipends, a contentious point with University of Minnesota students.

MSA failed to pass a budget at its last forum because there weren’t enough voting members to make a decision and there was a fierce debate over stipends — which continued briefly at Tuesday’s forum.

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By: Nicolas Hallett

Graduate student Jonathan Hill walked across the light rail tracks on Washington Avenue and Church Street Southeast on Monday with his earphones in and his head down.

Experts say the light rail is more dangerous than other forms of transportation because it takes longer to stop and runs on street level. Come mid-2014, the Central Corridor light rail, or the Green Line, will cruise through the University of Minnesota at about 20 mph and across the Washington Avenue Bridge at up to 50 mph.

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By: Nathaniel Rabuzzi

A new Minneapolis mayor will be elected in about four weeks, and as the race heats up, candidates are focusing on issues like the new Vikings stadium and the city’s education system.

Mark Anderson, Abdul Rahaman, Doug Mann, Christopher Zimmerman and Ole Savior discussed their views on these topics in interviews with the Minnesota Daily, with plans ranging from stopping stadium development to implementing more hands-on learning programs in Minneapolis classrooms.

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By: Alexandria Chhith

Diana Newberry works in a candy factory during the day and goes door-knocking with a small group to campaign for the Socialist Workers Party at night.

Newberry is a Minneapolis City Council candidate for Ward 2, which covers parts of campus and other University of Minnesota neighborhoods. She said her ideas on economic and social issues could benefit the area, which has been represented by Green Party candidate Cam Gordon since 2006.

While working to secure a spot on the City Council, Newberry is also looking to spread the messages of the Socialist Workers Party.

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By: David Litin

The humidity and heat during the University of Minnesota’s move-in caused a mold outbreak in Frontier Hall this fall.

Mold was found in 16 rooms, and students in half of them had to move out. Some students said they were concerned about their health, and those displaced aren’t sure when they’ll be able to move back into their rooms.

Connie Thompson, assistant department director of Housing and Residential Life, said there have been minor reports of mold problems in the past, but nothing of this scale.

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By: Meghan Holden

Anarae Schunk, an award-winning chess player, had a heart that was “too big to be checkmated.”

At the University of Minnesota student’s memorial service on Sunday, a large chess piece sat on stage in the Burnsville Performing Arts Center’s auditorium, where nearly 1,000 attendees heard stories about the sociology student, who was found dead last Monday

after disappearing in September.

Schunk’s parents and family huddled together on stage, expressing their frustration, grief and love for Anarae.

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