By: Samuel Gordon

With three Big Ten series left to play, Minnesota leads second-place foes Indiana and Nebraska by one game in the loss column.

Nine conference games remain, but the Gophers have a favorable schedule the rest of the way with only one road series.

Indiana and Nebraska will meet for a three-game set this weekend, meaning that the Gophers would gain ground on at least one of the teams by winning their weekend series at Penn State.

If Minnesota continues to play well, it could gain even more ground the following weekend. The Gophers will host Nebraska May 10-12 at Siebert Field, where they’re 4-1 on the season.

The Gophers rank ninth out of 11 Big Ten teams with a team batting average of .265. But they’ve proven to be serious contenders to win the Big Ten regular-season title with their starting pitching alone.

Minnesota’s team ERA of 2.91 ranks second in the Big Ten.

On top of that, the Gophers’ offense is rounding into form. Minnesota had 44 base hits and scored 28 runs in its three-game set against Iowa, both season highs for a three-game series.

Head coach John Anderson said he was particularly impressed with the way slumping catcher Matt Halloran swung the bat in the series.

Halloran busted out of his funk last weekend and went 4-for-10 with five RBIs. He’s hitting .204 this season after batting .307 a year ago.

By: Andrew Krammer

Wally Ellenson works 40 hours a week and doesn’t get paid for it.

As summer nears, the freshman athlete estimates he spends more than a full-time job’s hours practicing for Gophers men’s basketball — and track and field.

The Rice Lake, Wis., native is better known for high-flying dunks at Williams Arena, but he’s competing in the high jump for the men’s track and field team this spring.

“I had some moments, up and down, riding the bench a lot in basketball this season,” said Ellenson, who is finishing up his last week of basketball practice before summer. “Track has fueled me as my sport.”

Ellenson battled injuries and illness while riding the pine in basketball, but the high jump — his natural talent — provides solace from his struggles.

He envisions competing in the NBA for basketball and the Olympics for track — a dream few athletes have.

“Olympics ’16,” reads Ellenson’s Twitter profile, presumably for the high jump, an event he won twice at the Wisconsin state championship. Ellenson hit his career-best mark of 7 feet, 1 inch at the state regional meet during his senior season of high school — two inches shy of the Olympic Trial qualifier.

Gophers assistant track and field coach Paul Thornton remembers scouting Ellenson when he was a junior at the Wisconsin state track meet.

Thornton heard that Ellenson was also getting offers to play basketball.

“That screamed to us, ‘This guy is going to be pretty good,’” Thornton said. “I think that interest we showed on the track and field side helped [Ellenson’s] interest in Minnesota grow.”

Programs like Louisiana State, Texas and Wisconsin showed interest in Ellenson for track, while Kansas, West Virginia and Connecticut contacted him about a possible basketball offer.

But Ellenson made it clear to all his suitors — it’s both sports or neither.

“My dreams are to do both sports. [I] want to make the Olympics,” Ellenson said. “Hard thing is, you have to have two different body types in each to compete at a high level like that. Something might have to give.”

As one of two active high jumpers for the Gophers this spring, Ellenson has placed in all three meets he’s competed in. But as he claws to catch on to collegiate track, his competitors have been practicing since the indoor season began in January.

“That’s where he’s green,” Thornton said. “He’s gifted, but he needs to catch on to the college speed of things.”

Ellenson’s raw talent comes from a long line of athletes in his family who have played Division I hockey, football and track, according to his father, Rice Lake high school track coach John Ellenson.

“I’m one of the few fathers that had to tell his child in high school, ‘no, you’re not going to the gym today, you go every day,’” John Ellenson said.

The elder Ellenson watched this basketball season as his son struggled through injuries to his hand, his heel and even the flu.

“He had a really tough basketball year,” John Ellenson said. “It was really tough on him mentally not to be on the floor. Then to go to practice early, shoot early and not see those things pay off.”

John Ellenson said track and field is a blessing, not a burden, to an already gifted athlete who needed the sport to gain confidence again.

Thornton said it’s nice to see Ellenson’s work ethic paying off in track, adding that “track doesn’t have a bench,” and athletes like Ellenson can make a difference out of high school without working through the system.

Sean Hartnett, a family friend and personal trainer to Ellenson in high school, said Ellenson’s drive sets him apart from other athletes.

Before the Wisconsin regional meet Ellenson’s senior season, Hartnett offered the idea that Ellenson try to jump 7 feet, 1 inch, despite missing the 7-foot mark 25 times in a row.

“I got a momentary pause,” Hartnett said. “He gave me a wink of his eye, and it was game on.”

Ellenson hit the 7-foot mark on the first try and followed it up with his career-high jump of 7 feet, 1 inch, the highest mark in the country at the time.

“He’s dedicated,” John Ellenson said. “He’s going to go places. He’s got bigger horizons.”

By: Cody Nelson

In an unprecedented move, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly is asking for a reduction of more than $24,000 in student services fees.

The group, which is one of the largest recipients of student services fees, appealed its final recommendation of $416,215 and instead asked for $392,126 — the same amount it received in

2012-13.

Student Services Fees Committee adviser Megan Sweet said she’s never seen a group file an appeal for less fees funding.

“This is unprecedented … from what I can remember,” she said.

Fees-receiving groups occasionally ask for less funding from year-to-year because of carryover funds, Sweet said, but it’s less common for groups to ask for a reduction during the same fees cycle.

Kevin Lang, GAPSA’s vice president of finance, offered the assembly’s appeal to fees committee members and Vice Provost for Student Affairs Jerry Rinehart at a final public hearing Thursday.

He said the decision to ask for fewer fees was made when considering the final recommendations and GAPSA’s projected budget.

“We actually saved more money than predicted,” he said.

The assembly also considered the GAPSA fee assessed to graduate and professional students, which was about $12 each semester and decided it would make the most sense to not increase that amount, Lang said.

“GAPSA indicated a significant carryover from the 2011-12 school year,” the GAPSA executive board said in its appeal to the fees committee, “accrued mostly through operational cost savings.”

Lang said these cost savings came from various sources, like partnerships with other groups including Boynton Health Service — which cosponsored the Cirque De-Stress event with GAPSA and others in early April.

“Realizing cost savings and being financially accountable is something that’s important to the fees process in general,” Sweet said.

When Lang took control of GAPSA’s finances, he said he wanted to trim the assembly’s budget.

“I made it my No. 1 goal to try to reduce costs … that could be reduced if we did a little extra work,” Lang said.

With the extra money, GAPSA will add a summer grants cycle, Lang said, which graduate students have requested before.

GAPSA offers grants to graduate and professional students for expenses like travel, academic initiatives and social events and has not previously offered grants during the summer.

“A lot of people travel during the summer because they don’t have class,” he said.

It isn’t known how many students will apply for summer grants, but Lang said GAPSA has “tried to fund as many grants as possible” this spring.

Although it hasn’t happened before, Sweet said it’s still possible for GAPSA’s request to be amended, even for less fees funding.

“Everything is considered a recommendation until it is approved by the [Board of Regents],” Sweet said.

The committee’s final recommendations will be approved by Rinehart and released May 6. They will go to the regents for review soon after.

By: Marion Renault

A handful of students banded together to save Dinkytown’s character, producing a documentary about its history and soliciting donations.

“The faces and names change in Dinkytown, but the heritage remains …” they wrote in an editorial. “Now is the time to start preserving this heritage.”

That was 40 years ago.

Today, students are still fighting to save what they think makes Dinkytown special.

“It’s the only place that students have,” University sophomore Rebecca Orrison said. “One of the really cool things about coming to the U is having Dinkytown.”

For more than a century, the four-block area has shifted and transformed to meet the University of Minnesota’s needs.

The Dinkytown of yesteryear, where the campus trolley ran, Bob Dylan began his musical career and businesses like Bridgeman’s Ice cream and Myer’s Grocery became mainstays, is not so different from today’s. Dinkytown is, and always has been, a reflection of what students need and want at the time.

Whether it’s adding more bars and chain restaurants or new student housing, Dinkytown is constantly evolving — but it’s a trend that continues to stir controversy.

‘You can’t buy a pair of socks now’

Dinkytown today is an entertainment district and foodie destination — more than half of its storefronts are restaurants and bars.

But 50 years ago, service-driven businesses, like hardware stores and dry cleaning were dominant in Dinkytown.

Retail, service and food were equally represented 20 years ago.

Then the city lifted an area liquor ban — put in place to prevent drinking close to campus — and bars emerged.

Today, the transformation from self-sufficient village to entertainment district is complete.

Loring Pasta Bar was then Gray’s Campus Drug; Espresso Royale has taken the place of 115-year-old Simms Hardware and Perine’s Bookstore bookended the Dinkytown stretch of 14th Avenue that now serves Annie’s malts.

In the ’80s, “a person could basically walk into Dinkytown and get everything you’d need, just like it was a small town,” said Jim Picard, owner of Fast Eddie’s shoe repair.

Today, retail has diminished and restaurants rule the business landscape, partly because of students’ increased mobility.

In the past, students depended on nearby Dinkytown for groceries and school supplies, but as they began bringing cars to school, students ventured off campus to shop.

Not everyone is lamenting this change — some students are happy with Dinkytown as a food hub.

Retail, especially clothing, has decreased. Dinkytown has been home to stores like Al Johnson menswear, thrift shop Everyday People and family owned jewelry stores and gift shops.

Today shopping options are limited, Picard said.

“If you wanted to buy, for instance, a pair of socks, you could,” he said. Now, that’s not possible, “unless you want some with a picture of Goldy on it.”

Individual businesses today, especially unique restaurants, are the destination for customers — a trend that has eroded the cohesion of the area, said Mary Rose Ciatti, who’s been a server at Al’s Breakfast for 25 years.

When Steve Bergerson, who was part of student organizers in the 1970s, attended the University, a liquor ban meant the area was more active during the day. The granting of liquor licenses in recent years has “changed the texture of Dinkytown,” he said.

In 1999, Irv Hershkovitz’s Fowl Play was the only bar in Dinkytown with a hard liquor license; today, there are three bars and Hershkovitz’s Dinkytown Wine and Spirits.

Before there were bars, students had to go downtown for nightlife, so having late-night businesses closer to campus has been positive for students, said Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association President Doug Carlson.

But the dominance of restaurants and bars bothers Hershkovitz.

“I just hate to see Dinkytown be only bars and restaurants,” he said, “it needs these other things.”

Commercializing Dinkytown

Dinkytown has also shifted away from local small businesses toward larger chain stores.

The resulting tension boiled over in 1970 when students and residents protested the construction of fast-food franchise Red Barn at the site now housing the Dinkytown post office.

That spring, 300 demonstrators faced off with 100 police officers and sheriff’s deputies.

After protesters were forcefully removed and the site was demolished, students — including Ciatti — moved in and created the “People’s Park,” planting flowers and setting up swings.

Faced with so much opposition, Red Barn representatives gave up plans for a Dinkytown branch.

Today, that sort of resentment remains among long-time Dinkytowners and students.

Ciatti said she began to see major changes in the ’80s, when larger chains drove out historic Dinkytown establishments like Mama D’s Italian restaurant and Gordon’s Campus Bakery.

“All of the restaurants that are big now are chains, and they’re driving everything else away,” architecture sophomore Jessica Vetrano said as she stood on 14th Avenue.

Environmental science sophomore Orrison said she felt Dinkytown was doing its best to hold on to long-time local businesses.

“It’s really hard to go anywhere and not find chain stores,” she said. “I think Dinkytown has done a better job at resisting that national trend.”

Chain stores can simply afford the price of a Dinkytown location, Ciatti said.

“People come in and buy the buildings and raise the rents,” she said. “The so-called mom and pops and one-of-a-kinds had to leave because they couldn’t afford it — it’s just really sad.”

The assumption that the proximity to students automatically brings profits is partly why some businesses in Dinkytown fail, Hershkovitz said.

“Everyone — and I mean national tenants, mom-and-pop tenants, everyone — thinks because you have 53,000 students across the street, all you have to do is open your doors and you’ll be successful,” he said. “That just isn’t true.”

Four businesses along 14th Avenue now sit empty from recent closings.

Student housing booms

In recent months, the University Technology Enterprise Center was torn down after 90 years of serving as a high school and office space.

Halfway through demolition, the massive building stood mangled and gutted, a carcass of its former self. The site is now a plot of dirt.

In fall of 2014, a 317-unit apartment complex will sit in its place.

Along with other proposed projects, the UTEC project is ushering in a new era for Dinkytown by addressing the most recent student need: student housing close to campus.

Across the street, a proposed Opus Group apartment building, if approved by the city, would provide 140 more units in Dinkytown as well as retail space. The Book House, House of Hanson and the Podium would be torn down.

The UTEC apartment complex is currently finalizing rental agreements with a grocery store for its ground-floor retail space.

The projects follow a campus trend — in the next two years, more than 1,500 student housing units are slated to open on the University’s East Bank.

Fast Eddie’s owner Picard said such expansive projects would destroy Dinkytown’s unique physical character, which today is defined by its hodgepodge of smaller properties and architecture.

Businesses across the street from Fast Eddie’s, like Mesa Pizza and Hideaway, sit in a patchwork of individual buildings.

On the other hand, the block along 15th Avenue that includes CVS Pharmacy and Chilly Billy’s is dominated by 125-unit luxury apartment complex Sydney Hall.

The overall landscape of Dinkytown, Picard said, is “made sort of plain” by giant buildings that house both residents and businesses.

Mixed-use buildings are common in most business districts in Minneapolis, said Carlson, president of the MHNA, but Dinkytown may still need limits on development.

“The last thing we want to have happen is to … have each block be completely occupied by mixed-use developments that are right up to the sidewalk and straight up five or six floors,” he said.

Carlson and others say they believe the apartment project replacing House of Hanson in particular will encroach on the heart of Dinkytown.

Nearby apartments like 412 Lofts, the Chateau, Sydney Hall and the UTEC project are located closer to the periphery of the district.

For Ciatti, who grew up near the area, the separation of business from residential properties is essential to Dinkytown’s character.

“It pisses me off,” she said. “It’s OK to put in housing around us, but when you move into the business district … that is so wrong. It’s the beginning of the end.”

Enhancing or encroaching?

At night, Dinkytown draws people of all kinds, with the low-key Kitty Cat Klub and the rowdy trio of Library Bar and Grill, Burrito Loco and Blarney Pub and Grill.

“It produces an interesting mix,” graduate student Sam Beddow said. With new apartments, he said he fears Dinkytown will lose its diversity.

As with any major changes, the new projects came with contention and added fuel to an ongoing debate on what parts of Dinkytown shouldn’t change.

New developments are long overdue, said Hershkovitz, and the area needs a face-lift.

Some of the buildings are dilapidated, and the neighborhood has survived several fires that destroyed entire businesses.

“There’s only a couple of buildings left that have character — the rest are just not very nice,” Hershkovitz said. “[Dinkytown] needs new businesses and buildings that don’t look like they’re about to fall over.”

Some students are concerned for the loss of local businesses in the wake of new development.

“It’s kind of a shame that they’re getting rid of all the small businesses around here and building all these big apartments,” electrical engineering junior Eric Kallevig said. “There’s kind of enough, don’t you think?”

The Opus project especially has received pushback from the community, spurring a “Save Dinkytown” group that’s protesting the development and its possible zoning changes.

“There’s nothing that looks like this project,” said Orrison, a University student and member of the group. “[Dinkytown is] this really cool patchwork quilt of pastel colors, and they’re going to take out one of the spots and put in a neon green one.”

In order to preserve Dinkytown’s character, Carlson said the Dinkytown Business Association should pursue a conservation district status and continue working with the city to create a small-area plan with guidelines for developers.

Retrofitting and renovating older buildings, like Loring Pasta Bar and Varsity Theater have done, is another way to continue development without sacrificing character.

“These old buildings,” Picard said, “as beautiful as they are historically, they either have to be restored or saved or something else moves on.”

Dinkytown looks back, moves forward

Painted, then faded and worn over the years, names of former businesses remain on the sides of Dinkytown buildings like the height markings of a growing child on a wall.

One hundred and thirty years ago, with a stable, feed store, blacksmith shop and railway depot, Dinkytown developed. It sat outside a handful of buildings that at the time comprised the University of Minnesota.

Many say Dinkytown will continue to be a special place for students, an off-campus campus and middle ground between the University and the city.

But although it’s always evolving to meet student needs, Dinkytown’s tradition as a University institution will remain.

“As long as the University is around, Dinkytown will be around,” Picard said. “It’s going to be different, but it’ll always be here.”

Dear Dr. Date,

I feel like I won the breakup. What’s a good way to let my ex know that I’m doing much better than they are?

—The Better Half

Braggier Half,

Yeah, awesome, good for you. We’re all super happy for you winning the breakup because, you know, that’s totally a thing, and you seem like a real winner with a fantastic personality.

Definitely go rub it in your ex’s face. Maybe post some showy pictures on Facebook or paste a snapshot of you and your new successful life to the inside of your ex’s locker. If you run into your ex? Oh, boy. If you run into your ex, make sure you gloat like a dang bandit. That’s the kind of gracious thing a winner does — it’s not at all a small and petty act of vanity and cruelty.

—Dr. Date

Dr. Date,

My man and I are so into this summer weather but don’t have a lot of cash to do the pricey outdoor activities, like concerts or eating out. What are some cheap, sunny dates you recommend?

—Walking On The Sun

Day Trippers,

When my best friend Goldy the Gopher is feeling pumped about this balmy weather, he has one place and one place only on his mind: da beach. Goldy will knock down my door, towel in hand, teeth out, ready to tan. I have to shout through the door for him to cool off a little! “How can I,” he asks, “if I’m not at the lake?!”

Ohhhh, Goldy. Such a good friend. Loves a nice dip.

So there’s one thing you can do. The beach is free and beautiful, and you might just spot your favorite doctor and rodent. Lake Calhoun and Hidden Beach are solid bets. No money required, just sunscreen.

Another thing to think about is that summer in the Twin Cities is rife with free stuff — while your image of a concert may entail tons o’ bucks and a lot of time standing in line outside some sticky venue, the truth about summer lovin’ is that free concerts are everywhere, and a lot of ’em are outdoors. Scour the local listings in the alt-weeklies and this very newspaper to find some sweet free events.

If you’re trying to get out of the heat, scope the myriad air-conditioned museums and libraries that are free and open to the public.

Finally, I’ll note that nothing can beat your own backyard, or if you don’t have a backyard, someone else’s backyard. A public park works, too. Lay out a blanket, pack a couple sandwiches, dry hump a little bit.

—Dr. Date

Dr. Date,

What are your thoughts on pulling out? My guy and I only use this method, and it’s always worked.

—Fingers Crossed

Keep It Cummin’,

Wear a condom, you losers! Honestly, did you miss seventh grade? Were you picking your dumb noses in the gymnasium while your classmates learned the basics of sexual intercourse without you, thusly becoming smart and capable adults?

I’m not trying to shame you for being ignorant, but it’s time to smarten up. You’re adults! Things happen. Babies happen. STDs happen. Wear a condom. If you think cum only comes out when your dude is cumming, it’s time to think again and consult like, I don’t know, a dictionary, a medical book, your mom, a child, the Internet or just about any goddang person you encounter on the street.

—Dr. Date

“This weather is orgasmic!”

—Williamson Hall

“It feels weird wearing shorts, and there are still piles of snow hanging around.”

—Walter Library

Girl: “I don’t get how anyone can dislike spring.”

Guy: “Allergies?”

Girl: “No. I get shirtless guys running outside, and you get the return of cleavage and sundresses. Everyone wins.”

—Ruttan Hall

Waitress: “This single spot is all yours.”

Guy: “Hell yeah! I guess there are benefits to waking up on the sidewalk!”

—Al’s Breakfast

Girl: “What even IS Spring Jam?”

—Dinkytown McDonald’s

“You know it’s only 10:24. The night is still young bitches, I just wanna go streaking.”

—Coffman Union

“Where do all the flies go during winter? They must swim across the ocean or something.”

—Unknown

Girl: “I like your shirt.”

Guy 1: “I like YOUR shirt.”

Guy 2: “You only liked her shirt because her boobs were in it.”

—Centennial Hall

“I’m just trying to get laid. Not a big deal.”

—Spring Jam concert

Girl on the phone: “But that’s unhealthy! You have to talk about sex! That’s what — that’s what makes pedophiles!”

—Washington Avenue Bridge

“You guys are so cute, cheating on homework together.”

—Walter Library

Professor: “Time to wear your bikini to school!”

—Humphrey School of Public Affairs

“Did I ever tell you about the time when I got so high that Journey popped out of my iPod and started singing to me?”

—Folwell Hall

By: Tyler Gieseke

Nursing sophomore Mary Guck is taking 18 credits this semester — more than the recommended 15 to stay on track for four-year graduation.

Guck said she feels she has less work than normal, despite her credit load — according to University of Minnesota policy, each week she should be spending three hours on classwork per credit.

A century after its creation, the credit hour has become the standard unit of a college student’s educational progress, serving as the basis for graduating and certain financial aid.

But some in the higher education community say the credit hour isn’t an accurate measure of learning. A small but growing number of institutions nationwide are using a “competency-based” credit model, typically for online degrees. Achievement units correspond to skills gained rather than seat time in class, allowing for accelerated, less expensive education.

While some say this new model can better demonstrate learning and lower the costs of higher education, others say the credit hour is too entrenched to make sweeping changes — and that the college experience is an important time of self-exploration that shouldn’t be cut short.

An experiment in education

Currently, many competency-based programs are geared toward students who work or can’t afford higher education.

Rather than being tied to elapsed time, the competency unit at Western Governors University, for example, focuses on learning, said Patrick Partridge, the school’s chief marketing officer.

WGU’s student body is primarily working adults returning to school, he said, but includes teens through 70-year-olds, mostly in undergraduate programs. The online school was founded in 1997.

Shana Eccles, WGU student and single mother of two, earned her bachelor’s degree in business with information technology management in a little over 2 1/2 years, and said WGU’s model allowed her to test out of a course and receive the appropriate competency units whenever she felt ready.

The hands-on aspect of Eccles’ degree and the ability to tackle coursework at her own speed was appealing, she said, especially because she has to balance study with work and caring for her family.

Eccles said she normally worked through about 24 credits every six months. In comparison, the University recommends students take 15 credits a semester.

Once, Eccles said she completed a course in about two weeks.

“It just depended on what was going on in my life,” she said.

Now that she’s graduated with a bachelor’s degree, Eccles is pursuing her master of business administration also at WGU.

At College for America, a new online competency-based program out of Southern New Hampshire University, many students are working adults with low wages, said Chief Academic Officer Cathrael Kazin.

The program is currently in its pilot stage and will officially launch in September.

For now, Kazin said students aren’t charged and act as the program’s co-creators.

The program was formed to lower costs, increase access for low-income students and offer more job-ready skills, she said.

Students in the program get a competency transcript that includes a list of “can do” statements describing abilities. For example, the transcript might read, “can write a business memo,” she said.

“This is really the language that employers speak,” Kazin said.

Following an “all-you-can-learn” model, the program will cost $2,500 a year.

In addition to a competency transcript, students receive a transcript showing the number of credit-hour equivalencies they’ve completed. This transcript is necessary, Kazin said, so students can use their competencies in the broader higher education community.

Still, there’s nothing magical about a credit hour-based, 15-week semester, she said.

“It’s an administrative convenience, but it’s … come to rule how we think about education.”

A time to ‘‘grow and develop’’

Some think talk of reworking the credit hour may be misguided.

Drury University associate professor Richard Schur said the conversation regarding the changing landscape of higher education seems to be wrongly centered on costs rather than quality.

A college education should help a student become a good citizen, he said — someone who makes good decisions and possesses virtue.

“I think college is a really important time — and I would emphasize the word ‘time’ there,” for people to “think, reflect, grow and develop.”

Although he acknowledged the credit hour isn’t perfect, Schur said the conversation seems to be focused on making higher education cheaper and faster rather than better.

“We don’t know what we want our institutions of higher education to do,” he said. “One of the first things we need to figure out is, ‘What are we trying to accomplish?’”

Currently, many competency-based models use online learning, something that University of Minnesota professor Sally Kohlstedt said may not provide the skills a classroom experience can.

These skills, like learning to identify and solve problems, are part of the University’s “student learning outcomes.”

“It’s not that I think it can’t [provide what a classroom can], but it’s a little bit like, ‘Show me,’” she said. “You do need to put in a certain amount of time to show that you gain that competence.”

Competency-based and seat time-based credit models could work better for different students, said Jay Hatch, an associate professor in the University’s Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning.

He said one student might work best independently while another needs motivation and regular class time to learn material.

“I think it’s a slippery slope if what you’re trying to do is argue that either way is a better way for a given student,” he said.

For Guck, education is about  learning from someone and interacting with peers — online classes don’t provide enough motivation.

“You don’t put the effort in,” she said.

Chemical engineering sophomore Emily Schmitz agreed, saying a competency model might address students’ different learning rates, but learning in a traditional classroom at a steady pace provides motivation to keep going.

A century-old tradition

When it was created more than 100 years ago, the credit hour wasn’t meant to measure students’ learning.

Though it’s now the default for measuring student achievement, it was originally designed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a way to determine faculty pensions, said Elena Silva, a senior associate at the foundation.

The credit hour seems to be a “hold-over” from traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms, Hatch said.

“[It’s] a simpler way to keep track of what students are completing,” he said.

The Carnegie Foundation has received a grant to reconsider the credit hour’s viability in the modern context.

With online learning and other advancements in technology, Silva said students no longer have to sit with certain people to learn.

Silva said a Carnegie team is meeting with schools using the competency-based credit model to better understand it, and the team will continue to pin down some of the concerns over shifting away from the time-based credit.

The team will examine whether a competency-based model would make sense for liberal arts degrees — or if it only would work with certain occupations, like an associate’s degree in a technical skill.

But the foundation isn’t saying the credit hour needs to change — yet.

“We’re starting this project with an open mind,” Silva said.

U faculty cautious

A lot rides on the credit hour — from getting help paying tuition to securing a degree.

The number of credits a course is worth corresponds with the approximate number of hours spent on the class each week to give students and faculty members an idea of the time commitment a course requires.

Although some departments’ classes seem to align with this policy, others offer classes with workloads disproportionate to the number of credits, Schmitz said.

Despite nationwide discussions of the credit hour and the competency model, the model hasn’t come up at meetings of the Faculty Consultative Committee, said Kohlstedt, who’s the committee chair.

But that doesn’t mean faculty members aren’t talking about these topics, Kohlstedt said.

“It’s not as though we’re not reading the Chronicle of Higher Education,” Kohlstedt said. “We want to know what’s out there.”

While Kohlstedt said she hasn’t noticed a push to move toward a competency-based credit model at the University, she said faculty members have been discussing how to potentially award credit for massive open online courses, or MOOCs.

But the discussion surrounding MOOCs, she pointed out, started a long time before the University decided to create its own.

“We don’t move to every new idea that comes along.”

A ‘‘resurgence in interest’’’

In response to increased interest in competency-based programs, the U.S. Department of Education sent out a letter last month to higher education institutions detailing how competency-based programs could qualify for federal financial aid funding.

The first program to qualify for aid was College for America.

“[Competency-based programs] are not particularly common at this point,” said Kay Gilcher, director of the DOE accreditation group. “However, within the last, let’s say, six to eight months there’s been a resurgence in interest.”

To qualify for funding, programs must show how their competencies align with the credit hour, she said. Federal aid regulations are written in the context of credit hour programs, not programs using the competency model.

The rules could change in the future, but it would take time, she said.

“Who knows what Congress might do?” Gilcher said. “Everybody is sort of approaching this with a certain amount of caution.”

By: Cody Nelson

When Jaime Medina tried log rolling for the first time Sunday, he was told to have quick feet.

A few seconds later, he ended up in the pool — a common fate for a first-time log roller.

The uniquely northern activity is grabbing a foothold as a recreational sport across the country and is coming to the University of Minnesota this summer.

The Department of Recreational Sports will begin to incorporate log rolling into its summer programs for the first time this year, said Carole McNaughton-Commers, director of Youth and Community Programs at the University.

The department held a log rolling training session last weekend, which Medina, a University Recreation Center employee, said was a challenging cardio workout.

“I knew I was going to have fun,” he said, “but not this much fun.”

Though it’s just getting its footing as a sport at the University and elsewhere, log rolling began in the mid-19th century.

Lumberjacks held log drives to transport their product down U.S. rivers. Toward the end, the frontiersmen discovered it was fun to try balancing on the logs.

This playful activity eventually became competitive, with logging companies even sponsoring competitions.

“It was a way of life that turned into a recreational activity,” said Abby Hoeschler, a life-long log roller and founder of Key Log Rolling.

Though there’s a strong log rolling presence in northern states like Minnesota and Wisconsin, Hoeschler said the sport has been slow to grow.

“There’s a tradition to it and a history to it,” she said, “but not many people know about it.”

Part of the problem with log rolling’s growth, she said, was that the logs used for rolling are big, impractical to ship and can’t be taken out of the U.S.

In response, Hoeschler teamed up with Wenonah Canoe to develop and manufacture synthetic logs that are easier to use, weighing in at 60 pounds.

This year marks the company’s first selling season, Hoeschler said, adding that she hopes the synthetic log will help expand the sport.

Key Log Rolling, who will supply the University’s synthetic logs, will help with the training sessions.

Though log rolling is currently only available through the Summer Youth Programs, McNaughton-Commers said she’d like to expand the sport to more areas.

“It is something that is appealing to all ages,” she said.

By: Brian Arola

While many Minneapolis City councilmembers are sweating out the election cycle, Cam Gordon is resting a little  more easily these days.

That’s the luxury of having no formal opposition in his bid for re-election to the 2nd Ward Council seat. Gordon, whose ward covers most of the University of Minnesota area and a few surrounding neighborhoods, is the only unchallenged councilmember in this year’s elections.

But an open path to re-election hasn’t led to laziness. The two-term Green Party member is using the extra time off the campaign trail to focus more on current and future initiatives.

“It gives me time to plan and organize on issues that I care about,” Gordon said.

With less time spent campaigning, Gordon said he’s working on limiting racial inequality, increasing sustainability and helping to re-draft the city’s climate action plan.

A tailor-made ward

In many ways, Minneapolis’ 2nd Ward is a perfect fit for Gordon.

“It’s a very progressive ward,” said Robin Garwood, Gordon’s long-time policy aide. “It’s a ward where people care a lot about the environment.”

With the University and the Seward and Cedar-Riverside neighborhoods, the district also puts a premium on social and economic justice, Gordon said.

“The values that I have are shared by the vast majority of people in the ward,” Gordon said.

The ward also includes its fair share of young constituents, with students at the University and Augsburg College.

Gordon said he’s had the chance to work with students on a variety of issues. He partnered with students and the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group on a recycling ordinance for commercial business owners.

A University student noticed Stadium Village bars weren’t required to recycle. He went to MPIRG, which then worked with Gordon to develop a substantive recycling program, said MPIRG executive director Josh Winters. The City Council approved the ordinance in 2011.

Gordon said he’s also worked with students on housing ordinances and is looking forward to an exciting next four years for the area if he’s re-elected.

Twelfth Ward City Council Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate Andrew Johnson, who hopes to become Gordon’s colleague in November, said the 2nd Ward is lucky to have the Green Party member.

“He’s done a fantastic job representing his ward and Minneapolis as a whole,” he said.

 Smoother sailing

Though Gordon coasted to re-election in 2009 with 84 percent of the vote, his two previous elections were a lot tougher.

In 2001, he lost to DFLer Paul Zerby by 108 votes. Four years later, he defeated DFLer Cara Letofsky by 141 votes to win the open seat.

After having trailed in the primary election two months earlier, Gordon’s 2005 victory surprised a lot of people, said Garwood, who served as Gordon’s campaign manager that year.

After the relative upset and the loss of two Green Party incumbents, Gordon became the only non-DFL candidate on the council. He said he needed to demonstrate early on that he could work across party lines if he wanted to get anything done.

“It put me in a position early on where I had to demonstrate that I could work with everybody on the council despite the party difference,” he said.

After tight council races in the past, Garwood said this year’s opponent-free election cycle has been a lot less stressful, and people seem to be happy with the work the councilman has done for the ward.

“What we hear from folks is that they feel well represented, and there’s not a particular need they feel to run somebody against him,” Garwood said.

Dan McConnell, chair of the Minneapolis DFL, said even DFLers in the ward seem content with Gordon, which explains why no candidate has opposed him.

“I think a lot of the people in the DFL support Cam and think that even though he’s not a member of the DFL, he does a good job,” he said.

Gordon’s transparency and readiness to step forward on issues make him an admirable councilmember, Johnson said. He said Gordon’s interaction with constituents — like his regularly updated 2nd Ward blog —  is unprecedented on the council.

“As I run for City Council I look to him as a role model for what a councilmember should be,” he said.

Johnson, president of the Longfellow Community Council, said Gordon shows up to nearly all of the neighborhood’s meetings with an open ear.

“When we need something in the neighborhood, he said, “he steps up to bat and is very responsive.”

By: Hailey Colwell

After more than 15 years without a full-service grocery store in Dinkytown, one may open at the University Technology Enterprise Center site in August 2014.

The 21,000-square-foot store would be called Fresh City Market — a satellite of Fresh Madison Market near the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus.

Madison Fresh Market owner Jeff Maurer, who grew up in the Twin Cities, said he’s finalizing rental agreements with UTEC’s developer.

Plans for the store would upset recent student efforts to create a cooperative grocery store near campus.

On Thursday, Maurer met with students from the Food Coalition, a group in the process of requesting funding from the University to develop a grocery co-op, to discuss ways to work together if plans for the store are finalized.

The group was planning to use the business to employ students and teach them about nutrition and sustainable food options.

Maurer said he’s open to the students’ requests and will work with them going forward.

“I don’t want to compete with students,” he said, adding that he would back out if students decide to continue with the co-op.

Though building a student co-op wouldn’t be impossible, Maurer said he worries about the project’s leadership because of quick student turnover with graduation and study abroad.

The Food Coalition’s meeting with Maurer showed the students that he’s open to accommodating their ideas, coalition member and University junior Gretchen Buechler said.

“It almost seems like the next-best alternative to having an actually student-run grocery store,” she said. “I think that is really going to benefit students completely.”

She said the coalition will work to start partnerships between the developing store and groups on campus.

Frowns from Madtown

Though Madison Fresh Market is centrally located and has good hours and produce, it’s a bit expensive, UW-Madison student Maggie Ray said.

“People kind of have to go there for convenience,” Ray said, “so I think they might take advantage of that a little bit.”

UW-Madison English sophomore Clare Michaud said she usually walks a mile to a Trader Joe’s near campus to save money and only goes to Madison Fresh Market when she’s low on time.

But having more convenient grocery options would be worth paying more, said University of Minnesota journalism sophomore Gina Carr, who said she drives to Target to get groceries with her roommate each week.

In addition to saving time and keeping gas spending down, Carr said, a Dinkytown store would spare students the frustration of having to look for groceries elsewhere.

“I’ve been thinking since I got here that it would be so much easier if there was a grocery store on campus,” she said.