Posted on 12 March 2014.
By: Zachary Bair, University student
After I graduated from high school, I enlisted in the U.S. Army. I was fortunate enough to deploy three times with the courageous men of the 75th Ranger Regiment. I completed Army Ranger School (one of the most rigorous military schools), and I have experienced my fair share of combat. I was honorably discharged at the end of my enlistment and was accepted to the University of Minnesota shortly thereafter.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Giving veterans a chance
Posted on 12 March 2014.
By: Derek Olson
I can still recall my fifth grade teacher moving a paper triangle — representing a ship’s sail — up and across a globe. She used this to demonstrate how Christopher Columbus witnessed ships arriving at port and first hypothesized that the earth was round. The trouble with her story was, as I didn’t learn until many years later, Columbus didn’t discover that the earth was round.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on An education goes beyond the classroom
Posted on 12 March 2014.
State Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, presented a new version of an anti-bullying bill this week that would help protect students. Dibble co-authored the legislation and reworked the bill with tighter definitions of bullying after other lawmakers criticized loose language in the original bill. Though some still criticize the bill’s coverage, lawmakers must quickly settle on better language. The Legislature can’t afford to wait on passing an anti-bullying bill.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Don’t wait on bullying law
Posted on 12 March 2014.
A bylaw change that floated in the student senate last week would reserve seats for graduate and professional students, proportional to their representation at the University of Minnesota.
We support this change. Because the senate has allocated seats by college in the past, a broader delineation between graduate and undergraduate students makes sense, ensuring equal representation on the senate.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Proportional student voice in the senate
Posted on 12 March 2014.
By: Luis Ruuska
Though administrators themselves have contested the issue, nearly everyone agrees that administrative bloat is a very bad thing.
Colleges dole out higher tuition prices and consequently higher debt to students. While the effects of administrative bloat on students are by no means minimal, faculty members have it far worse.
A January 2014 report from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce revealed just how damaging administrative bloat has been to faculty across the nation.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Sharing the burden of university bloat
Posted on 11 March 2014.
By: Blair Emerson
Graduate student Josh Kielsmeier-Cook is working to support himself, his wife and their two-year-old daughter on his stipend as a University of Minnesota research assistant.
A chunk of that stipend goes back to the University in student fees every semester, and graduate students are pushing to reduce some of those costs.
Created last month, a Council of Graduate Students petition has gathered support from graduate students regarding fees they pay and obtained more than 180 signatures.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Grad students petition for relief from fees
Posted on 11 March 2014.
By: Clint Birtzer
Hanna Okhrimchuk was sitting in an economics class when she got a message from her mother in Ukraine.
The message described recent news from Okhrimchuk’s home country, where she and her older brother, Anton, still have friends and family. She left the classroom as fast as she could, holding back tears.
The siblings attend the University of Minnesota, remaining distant from the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine. Still, they feel frustrated.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on For Ukrainian students, conflict overseas hits home
Posted on 11 March 2014.
By: Tyler Gieseke
University of Minnesota administrators say it’s time to strengthen the institution’s role in nearby development.
Minneapolis City Council members and University administrators say that increasing the University’s involvement could benefit neighborhood areas, but some city leaders caution that there are boundaries the University needs to respect.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on U wants a say in development
Posted on 11 March 2014.
By: Betsy Helfand
WASHINGTON — The University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team finished last season 41-0-0 en route to its second consecutive NCAA title.
The Gophers’ 2012-13 team had a storybook ending to its perfect season Monday when it traveled to the nation’s capital to meet President Barack Obama.
“He made it so obvious when we were all there that he really genuinely was happy that we were all there,” senior captain Bethany Brausen said, “and I think that was the most special thing to us.”
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Obama applauds Gophers
Posted on 11 March 2014.
By: Vanessa Nyarko
The building housing the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center was originally built in 1911 as a farmhouse equipment repair shop.
In the 1990s, it was renovated to study aquaculture and genetically modified fish. And now, some say it’s in desperate need of another upgrade.
The water filtration system is falling apart, the thermostat needles no longer work, the water supply system is unreliable and there are no backup alarms to monitor animal life support, said Becca Nash, associate director of the MAISRC.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Dated lab calls for renewal
