By: Katelyn Faulks

This summer, University of Minnesota student Brittany Egeland cared for otters at the Minnesota Zoo and researched sharks in the Bahamas.

Because the University doesn’t offer a marine biology major, the biology, society and environment junior had always planned to use field studies, research and internships to gain experience. Now, a new marine biology minor includes those elements as requirements.

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By: Kyle Stowe

While the majority of University of Minnesota library collections support academic research, staff members are trying to appeal to the casual reader with more accessible popular literature.

A new exhibit located at the main entrance of Wilson Library titled “From Our Collections” cycles through a new theme every two months, showcasing patron recommendations that can be checked out from one of the Twin Cities campus’s 13 libraries.

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By: Anne Millerbernd

Nearly five years after a new policy was installed, some University of Minnesota students and professors say extra credit opportunities have changed.

Professors are required to announce all extra credit opportunities, and some students say it’s now offered more fairly or not at all in their classes.

In response to complaints that extra credit was being offered unequally, the University began requiring instructors to outline all extra credit opportunities in their syllabi in 2008.

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By: Alexi Gusso

With two hotly contested constitutional amendments and a presidential election, University of Minnesota students encountered political campaigns as soon as they stepped foot on campus last year.

This year, campaigning at the University hasn’t been as prevalent. And some students aren’t even aware of the upcoming Minneapolis elections, leaving candidates wondering if targeting campus is worthwhile.

Political science professor Larry Jacobs said students are not necessarily unengaged, but mayoral candidates have a hard time “breaking through” to them.

“I think the challenge for the mayoral candidates is to stand out and excite students,” he said.

“As a group, [the candidates] have just failed to do that so far.”

A recent Star Tribune poll of 800 likely Minneapolis voters showed 32 percent in the 18-to-39 age group were unsure of their first choice for mayor. 

Among older voters polled, none said they were unsure.

Jacobs said the uncertainty among young voters stems from the large pool of candidates hoping to replace Mayor R.T. Rybak — 35 will appear on the

Nov. 5 ballot.

“I think this race is so diffuse with so many candidates that it may be hard for students to figure out why it’s important for them to vote and which candidate offers the most for them,” he said.

University student Stephanie Behm said she isn’t familiar with any mayoral candidates and probably won’t choose whom to vote for until closer to the election.

“I’m not even going to worry about it until the end of October,” she said.

Leah Enter, co-chair of the University’s Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, said the group registered nearly 7,000 students on campus last year. This year, volunteers have registered a few hundred.

“When you get down to the city level, students really just aren’t aware of elections and how much city policies affect them,” Enter said.

Unlike Jacobs, she said the variety of candidates on the ballot will be helpful to student voters because it’ll allow them to find someone they relate to more than the usual “brand name” candidates.

“It may be a little more difficult to find information about each candidate,” Enter said. “But students are more than capable of finding that information.”

Not a wise investment

Enter said University students are often unaware of city elections because candidates don’t always market to them.

Ben Fridley, campaign spokesman for DFL mayoral candidate Mark Andrew, said the campaign plans to “ramp up” efforts on college campuses as the election approaches.

Fridley said the University will be an important part of Andrew’s campaign because students who aren’t constituents now may eventually become Minneapolis voters.

“Allowing [students] to feel empowered in the decision-making process in a place they might someday call home is important,” Fridley said.

In a Star Tribune poll administered Sept. 8-10, Andrew polled 9 percent with 18 to 39-year-olds. The poll cited a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

Among people in the 18-to-39 age group, 18 percent listed former City Council President Dan Cohen as their first choice, ranking him the highest of all mayoral candidates.

Despite Cohen’s ranking in that demographic, campaign manager Troy Wilson said University students are “not necessarily on the list for the target group” because many students are from out of state.

“If we did something at the U of M, we would not be able to determine who was [from Minneapolis], and we’re not sure if that would be a wise way to invest time,” Wilson said.

University chemical engineering sophomore Zach Gartner said he didn’t know there were city elections this year because he hadn’t seen any campaigning on campus.

But Gartner, a Burnsville native, said the elections don’t affect him because he doesn’t vote in Minneapolis.

Aaron Wells, campaign spokesman for mayoral candidate and ward 13 city councilwoman Betsy Hodges, said the University is an important source of volunteers and interns, regardless of whether they’re Minneapolis

voters.

Hodges polled 8 percent among 18 to 39-year-olds, placing her behind Andrew, Cohen and Don Samuels, ward 5 city councilman.

Despite the large number of out-of-state students on campus, Wells said the Hodges campaign will target the University in the coming weeks.

“The [University] is enormous,” he said. “Even if there’s only a small percentage of students who are voters, that’s still a huge number of voters there.”

By: Katelyn Faulks

University of Minnesota researchers are working to capture renewable energy from New York City’s East River to power homes.

For the next two years, the University’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and Department of Civil Engineering will develop water turbines for Verdant Power, a New York City-based renewable technology company.

Once installed, researchers speculate the 30 turbines will generate 22 percent of the electricity for New York City’s Roosevelt Island.

SAFL director Fotis Sotiropoulos said the project could demonstrate for the first time that turbine water power is capable of providing direct electricity to households.

“It won’t solve the problem, but it provides a significant help,” he said. “The nice thing is that it is a far more predictable resource than wind energy.”

Waves, tides and currents from oceans and rivers are continuous, so they can be more reliable than current renewable energy. Sotiropoulos said water power could be used to power 10 percent of America’s electricity.

Researchers will design more efficient and durable water turbines and determine the best way to position them in the East River.

Michele Guala, a civil engineering assistant professor, said water turbines extract energy with few risks because they don’t damage the environment, harm aquatic life or take up much space. He said a ship propeller would be more harmful to a fish than a turbine blade.

“You don’t see them, you don’t hear them,” Guala said. “You just get the power, essentially. The only cost would be the maintenance cost of the turbines.”

Civil engineering professor Henryk Stolarski said he and a student will create computer models of the turbines when designing the blades to last longer, increase energy output and require little maintenance.

A large portion of the project will also involve creating a computer model that simulates the East River, so the turbines can be positioned without interrupting each other’s flow.

“One turbine creates a flow that will affect [others] downstream,” Sotiropoulos said. “All of the turbines interact with each other, so … the position you place them has a huge difference.”

Saurabh Chawdhary, SAFL research assistant and former University graduate student, is helping create these computer simulations.

The plan, Chawdhary said, is to see if the data for the models match the data for the real turbines that Verdant will put in the East River.

Guala will be testing the turbine models and head the experiments. He said researchers will measure both the performance of the turbine models and the way the energy is produced. Understanding this data will help them know how far apart to place the turbines.

“The river is complex,” Guala said. “It’s not simply a uniformly flat area, which means the shape of the metal may influence the performance.”

For now, SAFL faculty will test the turbines with the equipment in the laboratory. Once SAFL researchers have generated the data and completed modifications, they will give Verdant Power the designs.

Dean Corren, director of technology for Verdant, said the company has been working with SAFL for years.

With this project, Verdant Power could be one of the first to commercialize the hydrokinetic industry of harnessing energy from waves or currents.

“If it’s successful, it will be very important for the future of hydrokinetics,” Chawdhary said. “It’s a critical moment.”

By: Nathaniel Rabuzzi

A group of Minneapolis mayoral candidates are joining forces to share their platforms and use the city’s ranked-choice voting system to fight the status quo.

The group, known as the “Mayoral Council,” was created so “fringe” candidates can discuss their plans if they were to be chosen by voters on the November ballot, said member Dan Cohen, who is considered a frontrunner in the mayoral election crowded with 35 candidates.

He said the group reflects the civility between candidates that’s promoted by the ranked-choice voting system.

The system allows voters to rank up to three candidates, all of whom are listed on the ballot under columns, for first, second and third choice.

The group holds weekly meetings outside the Hennepin County Government Center to share their platforms with the public and each other.

Members of the council work with each other so voters who support one candidate will rank their top choice’s allies as their second or third picks, said founder Bob “Again” Carney Jr.

“This is a huge step forward in democratic process,” he said. “We can connect with voters in a way that the [mainstream] candidates are simply unable to do.”

Carney said he started a similar group during the 2009 election in hopes of beating Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak using ranked-choice voting, but that effort was unsuccessful.

Carney said he invites every mayoral candidate to each Mayoral Council meeting, but he added that average attendance is only six candidates.

The meetings are an opportunity for candidates to combine policies and initiatives into a cohesive platform every member can support, regular council attendee and mayoral candidate Captain Jack Sparrow said.

“Regardless of who is selected mayor, we have to come up with a platform that’s beneficial to all the citizens of Minneapolis,” he said.

By: Hailey Colwell

While studying law at the University of Medellín in Antioquia, Colombia, Juliana Velez worked on a human rights case about a flooding river — called La Picacha — that displaced families living near

the water.

Now, Velez is collaborating with University of Minnesota law students to further her work on the case as part of a partnership between the University’s Human Rights Program and four Colombian universities in the

Antioquia region.

Velez and Martin Palacio, another visiting Colombian law student, will spend six weeks going to law classes at the University and visiting human rights centers around the Twin Cities.

The students will also participate in law clinics — simulations with clients who need legal advice — to broaden their human rights advocacy and litigation skills, said Diana Quintero, a director of the project.

The partnership began in 2012 as a means for University faculty members to share strategies with human rights defenders at the four Colombian universities. University and Antioquia faculty members and students will have several more exchanges in the

next two years.

“We have [a] very different context in which human rights are discussed,” said visiting professor Sandra Gomez, who teaches human rights at the clinics of the four universities that are part of the partnership.

While in Minnesota, Gomez and five other Colombian professors will complete internships.

Colombia has experienced ongoing armed conflict between its government and different guerrilla and paramilitary groups since the late 1950s, in addition to other social and political violence, Gomez said.

Human rights defenders have been killed over the years, Gomez said, which is “a huge issue.”

Palacio said it’s OK to say you’re a human rights defender in the U.S., but that isn’t always allowed in Colombia.

“It’s so different working in human rights,” he said.

Palacio and Velez will teach students in the University’s human rights clinic about the Picacha flooding case and collaborate with them on relocating displaced families.

To begin, students will write a letter to the city of Medellín about how the floods are a human rights issue, Velez said, and the University clinic will write legal statements supporting the students’ case.

“It’s a good job because we are working together,” Velez said.

When Velez returns to Colombia, she said she wants to work on environmental and human rights issues. She said she hopes to bring back a greater capacity to understand differences and welcome people.

Palacio said he hopes his time at the University will help him think more internationally about human rights issues since the approach in Colombia is more locally focused.

The Colombian visitors’ time in Minnesota will be great for building an interdisciplinary network in human rights, Gomez said, something that’s less established in Colombian

legal education.

“It’s a very contrasting experience,” she said, “and we’ve been

learning a lot.”

By: Tyler Gieseke

Starting this fall, the University of Minnesota’s Student Health Benefit Plan provides more coverage to keep pace with health care reform, but it also costs more for students.

An increase of about 5 percent brings the total price tag to $999 per semester. The updated plan expands coverage for contraception and routine doctor’s visits, among other changes.

This increase will buy coverage that matches some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

The University’s plan is self-insured, meaning the ACA doesn’t regulate it, said Susann Jackson, student health benefits director. Still, she said, the University wanted to match some of the benefits the legislation requires.

“We want to be doing the same things for our students as the Affordable Care Act,” Jackson said.

Before the changes, the plan covered 80 percent of eligible contraception and preventive care costs, like regular eye exams. The updated plan will cover all eligible costs for these services, Jackson said.

The updated student plan also removes the $3 million lifetime cap on coverage, so students can spend as much insurance money as they need. It also increases the dependent age limit from 19 to 26, so students’ children will be covered longer.

Lynn Blewett, a University health policy professor, said the changes follow a trend for plans similar to the University’s.

“A lot of self-insured plans are following some of the provisions of the

[ACA],” she said. “I think it’s to follow the trend in the private market.”

University students are required to have health insurance if they’re registered for six or more credits and pay the student services fee, Jackson said. If students don’t show proof of insurance, the University charges them for its plan.

About 10,000 people, including about 400 dependents, are covered under the Student Health Benefit Plan across all five campuses, Jackson said. Many undergraduates are covered by their parents’ plans, she said.

International students are required to purchase University health insurance unless they’re eligible for a group health plan through a U.S. insurer or for the University Graduate Assistant Health Plan.

Meng Tie, an international student, said the change won’t make much of a difference for her.

The law student said she’ll return to her home country in 2014, so changes to the health benefit plan now won’t affect her for very long.

She said the extra cost to students to receive added benefits isn’t worth it. “I seldom have health problems,” she said.

But for chemical engineering junior and international student Harnon Ramos, the change is a good thing. He thinks the added costs are worth the enhanced benefits.

“[International students] feel more safe with a health insurance plan,” he said. “If something bad happens with my health here, I will have help.”

By: Tyler Gieseke

Starting this fall, the University of Minnesota’s Student Health Benefit Plan provides more coverage to keep pace with health care reform, but it also costs more for students.

An increase of about 5 percent brings the total price tag to $999 per semester. The updated plan expands coverage for contraception and routine doctor’s visits, among other changes.

This increase will buy coverage that matches some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

The University’s plan is self-insured, meaning the ACA doesn’t regulate it, said Susann Jackson, student health benefits director. Still, she said, the University wanted to match some of the benefits the legislation requires.

“We want to be doing the same things for our students as the Affordable Care Act,” Jackson said.

Before the changes, the plan covered 80 percent of eligible contraception and preventive care costs, like regular eye exams. The updated plan will cover all eligible costs for these services, Jackson said.

The updated student plan also removes the $3 million lifetime cap on coverage, so students can spend as much insurance money as they need. It also increases the dependent age limit from 19 to 26, so students’ children will be covered longer.

Lynn Blewett, a University health policy professor, said the changes follow a trend for plans similar to the University’s.

“A lot of self-insured plans are following some of the provisions of the

[ACA],” she said. “I think it’s to follow the trend in the private market.”

University students are required to have health insurance if they’re registered for six or more credits and pay the student services fee, Jackson said. If students don’t show proof of insurance, the University charges them for its plan.

About 10,000 people, including about 400 dependents, are covered under the Student Health Benefit Plan across all five campuses, Jackson said. Many undergraduates are covered by their parents’ plans, she said.

International students are required to purchase University health insurance unless they’re eligible for a group health plan through a U.S. insurer or for the University Graduate Assistant Health Plan.

Meng Tie, an international student, said the change won’t make much of a difference for her.

The law student said she’ll return to her home country in 2014, so changes to the health benefit plan now won’t affect her for very long.

She said the extra cost to students to receive added benefits isn’t worth it. “I seldom have health problems,” she said.

But for chemical engineering junior and international student Harnon Ramos, the change is a good thing. He thinks the added costs are worth the enhanced benefits.

“[International students] feel more safe with a health insurance plan,” he said. “If something bad happens with my health here, I will have help.”

By: Meghan Holden

University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler announced a plan Friday to cut administrative costs by $90 million over six years, despite outside reports saying the institution’s spending is on track with its peers.

According to recent findings by University-hired consulting firms, the institution’s spending is within reasonable levels. But at this week’s Board of Regents meeting, Kaler proposed a plan cutting $15 million a year in administrative costs.

The cuts would begin this fiscal year and continue for five more, he said.

 “I think it’s time to be more ambitious than we ever have been,” Kaler said to the board.

University Chief Financial Officer Richard Pfutzenreuter said he hopes the bulk of the cuts will come from employees retiring or resigning, but said the University isn’t ruling out layoffs.

“There’s no guarantee at this point,” he said.

After a December Wall Street Journal article criticized the University’s administrative spending, Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, authored a letter requesting reports on how the institution is spending taxpayer dollars.

The $15 million in cuts per year matches a recommendation from the Legislature.

In January, the University hired Huron Consulting Group for $495,000 and Sibson Consulting for $48,000 to analyze administrative spending.

The Sibson review showed the University’s spending is at “healthy” levels but said there are still areas for improvement.

A separate report by Huron said the University is already taking on “major initiatives to promote efficiency and effectiveness and to reduce administrative costs.”

The Huron report also suggested the University could shrink its managers-to-employees ratio and combine services across multiple departments and colleges to lower costs

further.

Kaler’s plan to cut administrative costs will make the University more financially stable and affordable for students, Bonoff said, though the University must continue to regularly report its spending to the Legislature.

“I think [Kaler is] doing the right thing,” she said. “There really are ways to cut.”

Joelle Stangler, student representative to the board, said she agrees with Kaler’s announcement “on the surface” but wants to look further into the specifics of his plan.

“Any move toward making the University more efficient is a move in the right direction,” she said.