HAI HAI BRINGS SE ASIAN FLAVORS TO NE MPLS P 5 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2019
SUMMER EDITION
THE SPOT BRINGS A FRESH TWIST TO AUTHENTIC FLAVORS
MNDAILY.COM
HOUSING
FOOTBALL
The state of renters’ rights in Minneapolis
Judge dismisses Gopher football lawsuit
State and citywide policies underway strive to protect against predatory landlords. BY J.D. DUGGAN jduggan@mndaily.com
Amid the tight Minneapolis housing market, City Council members and state lawmakers seek to balance the power dynamic between renters and landlords. A variety of citywide renter protection policies have passed since 2017, and the Minnesota Student Association pushed a bill recently passed by the Legislature to advocate for student renters. But city draft ordinances currently under consideration — which aim to protect prospective renters by limiting security deposits, rental history checks and background checks — have drawn some concern from property owners. “It’s just really important to have policies in place that … give students the resources to be informed in making those decisions, but also to kind of limit problematic and predatory behaviors from landlords,” said Jude Goossens, MSA’s director of government and legislative affairs. He also said poor renting situations are an “iconic college experience.” The MSA bill passed in May, authored by Sen. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, promotes transparency in leases for renters
The lawsuit accused University administrators of bias in a 2016 sexual assault investigation. BY IMANI CRUZEN icruzen@mndaily.com
A judge has dismissed a discrimination lawsuit against the University of Minnesota filed by former and current Gophers football players. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank filed to grant the University’s request to dismiss the lawsuit Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in June last year, claimed the players, all of whom
are black, faced racial and gender bias during a 2016 investigation of an alleged sexual assault. The University motioned to dismiss the suit in November. An investigation by the University into the alleged sexual assault resulted in four expulsions and one one-year suspension. President Eric Kaler, University Title IX Coordinator Tina Marisam and the Board of Regents were listed as defendants in the lawsuit. According to court documents, University officials acted appropriately in disciplining the players. “Moreover, it appears that the conduct at issue is plainly within the scope of Defendants’ employment with the University,” the
order to dismiss read. The lawsuit alleged the players encountered “extreme gender bias.” It also claims white athletes and athletic department staff were treated differently when facing similar accusations. “Because of Plaintiffs’ gender, and to support an archaic assumption that male football players had a propensity for sexual misconduct against women, the [University’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action] investigators deprived Plaintiffs of the fair and impartial investigation to which they were entitled under the U.S. Constitution and University policies and procedures,” the lawsuit read.
A&E
Fabulous fashion & self-love BY BECCA MOST • bmost@mndaily.com PHOTOS BY JASMIN KEMP jkemp@mndaily.com
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CURRICULUM
University unveils plans for remodeled lib ed requirements The plans would make major changes to the existing liberal education requirements. BY DYLAN ANDERSON danderson@mndaily.com
A committee tasked with overhauling the University of Minnesota’s liberal education requirements has three draft plans making their way around the University community, including several major changes — the most obvious being the name. Now called general education requirements, the plans have students take between 29 and 30 credits, a change from the current framework, which requires between 27 and 39 credits. The curriculum has largely been unchanged since the ‘90s. The fruits of nearly four years of work, the plans look to clarify the requirements, allow more student choice and shift the focus of the requirements back to broadening a student’s education. Sally Kohlstedt, chair of the Liberal Education Redesign Committee, said the new plans feel fresh. “I think we haven’t thrown anything out that was really good about our old curriculum,” said Kohlstedt, a professor in the College of Science and Engineering. “We still say themes and issues are important. We still say broad education is what you’re here to get.” Kohlstedt said she hopes the new design will be voted on by the University Senate before the end of the fall semester, and that freshmen entering fall 2021 will use the new system, although it will take several years to fully switch over. The system for evaluating how courses fit into each of the requirements is still in the works. Each of the plans, which were emailed to faculty and staff earlier this month, include a combination of classes in both disciplinary and thematic inquiries.
Top: Prada Diamond performs on stage at the Gay 90’s in Minneapolis on Friday, June 20. Above left and above right: Diamond draws on eyebrows and preps her hair for a wig in a dressing room. Left: Diamond shows off wigs in the Gay 90’s dressing room.
“Drag is just super accepted now, and very mainstream ... It’s super cool to watch it become something totally different.” PRADA DIAMOND show director at the Gay 90’s
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STUDENT LIFE
U exhibit explores LGBTQ activism Established 50 years ago, FREE was among the first student groups of its kind. BY GWIWON JASON NAM gnam@mndaily.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL H. HAGEN
FREE information table at University of Minnesota welcome week, 1970.
A new exhibit opened last week at the University of Minnesota highlighting the school’s first LGBTQ student organization. The exhibit, FREE: Remembering the History of Early LGBTQ Organizing in Minnesota, holds archives focused on FREE (Fight the Repression of Erotic Expression), which was one of the first LGBTQ student organizations in the country. The group fought against issues such as anti-gay employment discrimination, and worked to educate the University community about LGBTQ rights and advocacy. FREE was established 50 years ago to
defend “the rights of erotic minorities.” The archives are part of the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection, which is a compilation of LGBT historical materials housed in the Special Collections and Rare Books section in the University Libraries. “This exhibit was intended to invite people to think about both the past, the present, and the future of LGBTQ activism, and especially on the University of Minnesota campus,” said Rachel Mattson, curator of the Tretter Collection. The exhibit tells the history of FREE through a series of thematic investigations. One theme the exhibit examines is the work the group did around anti-gay employment discrimination. In addition, the exhibit highlights how FREE tried to make a community for LGBTQ people in the Twin Cities and on the University campus. u See FREE Page 3
VOLUME 119 ISSUE 62