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EARLY WEEK
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MNDAILY.COM
ADMINISTRATION
CAMPUS LIFE
U entering million-dollar partnership Fairview Health Services will give the Medical School $35 million for the first year. BY HELEN SABROWSKY hsabrowsky@mndaily.com
The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to enter a new partnership agreement with Fairview Health Services at a special meeting Friday. Under the agreement, Fairview will make annual financial contributions to the University’s Medical School that increase in amount over the next five years. The two organizations will also join under one brand: M Health Fairview. Fairview will give $35 million to the Medical School on Dec. 31, which will increase to $50 million in 2022. Medical School Dean Jakub Tolar said Fairview’s financial contributions outlined in the agreement are crucial to the partnership’s success. “Money is necessary; it’s not sufficient I would say, but unless you have foundation on right economic bases, we cannot move on,” Tolar said. The agreement has been years in the making and the University believes it could help improve the reputation of the Medical School. u See FAIRVIEW Page 3
GREEK LIFE
Frats ban hard alcohol following national policy The Interfraternity Council’s announcement spurred UMN frats to implement the ban. BY JORDAN WILLAUER jwillauer@mndaily.com
On Sunday, fraternities at the University of Minnesota banned hard alcohol following the announcement of a nation-wide ban from the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). The University of Minnesota Interfraternity Council (IFC) implemented the ban after the NIC announced in a Sept. 4 statement that all alcohol with over 15 percent alcohol by volume at member fraternity houses and chapter events would be banned, except when supplied by a thirdparty vendor. The University IFC decided at a Sunday meeting to jumpstart the process, despite not being required to implement the ban until September 2019. “It’s in effect now, and all chapters are expected to enforce it as of today,” said Quinn Roessler, president of the University’s FarmHouse Fraternity. University fraternity chapters have until Oct. 31 to amend their chapter bylaws to reflect the new policy, although the policy is already in effect campus-wide. Roessler said the implementation and enforcement of the ban will be decided by each individual fraternity, and the IFC is still currently undecided on how enforcement will take place. “Nearly all hazing and over-consumption u See BAN Page 3
COURTNEY DEUTZ, DAILY
Sociology senior Kali Suchy works on updating computer software at the CLA Language Center in Jones Hall on Friday, Sept. 28, on East Bank. Suchy has been working at the CLA Language Center through a work study program since her freshman year.
Fighting for a higher wage This fall, the student senate began a push to increase the minimum wage for students. BY MICHELLE GRIFFITH mgriffith@mndaily.com
The hourly pay for University of Minnesota student Megan Hanson’s job at Wilson Library recently increased to $9.86 per hour — the highest it’s been since she started working there in 2017. Even though she works 15 to 20 hours per week, she said she barely makes enough to cover her rent and often withdraws from her savings. “If my friends want to go to a concert, I have to really budget for it – just to do one fun thing every once in a while,” Hanson said. “It’s definitely stressful.” The University’s Student Senate
recently launched a year-long initiative to increase student minimum wage on all University campuses. The initiative hopes to ease financial burdens for students like Hanson. With the resolution in its beginning stages, USS members say they’re focusing on making a compelling argument to the University’s administration. They’re asking the University to increase the wages of student workers on all campuses to match the local minimum wage of the surrounding area. On the Twin Cities campus, students who work on East or West Bank would have their pay raised to match Minneapolis’ minimum wage of $11.25 per hour. This is scheduled to increase to $15 per hour by 2024. “The way we’re approaching this is that we want to advocate for student compensation at all levels,” said USS Chair Catalina Anampa Castro.
USS Vice Chair Aleksander Holleran said each campus would have a different policy outcome as minimum wage policy varies between cities. While many students advocate for an increase in hourly wages, some at the University say there isn’t a simple solution, said Matt Kramer, vice president of university and government relations. “This is a job, but it is financial aid,” Kramer said. “So, when people say, ‘I want to earn more money,’ or they want to talk about a living wage … I would like everybody to back up and remember: student employment is a form of financial aid.” But USS members says student pay is less than the pay non-students receive for doing the same work, with many students using income for things besides tuition. u See WAGE Page 3
NEIGHBORHOODS
Home away from home: handbuilt ‘Somali house’ connects neighbors The handmade house, at the epicenter of community events, will soon close for the winter.
TONY SAUNDERS, DAILY
The Somali House, a structure made of sticks and held together by various forms of weaving, is fixed by Cedar Riverside resident Ayan Isaq on Thursday, Sept. 27 in Minneapolis. The house serves as a space for Somali people to gather and experience Somali culture.
BY TIFFANY BUI tbui@mndaily.com
After feeling alone and unsafe during her early months in Cedar-Riverside, Ayan Isaq decided to find a way to bring her community together. Her idea spurred local Somali women to create a traditional Somali house held together by sticks, grass and old clothing. Completed in the spring, the house has been at the center of everything from holiday celebrations to weekly tea. Located at the intersection of 19th and 6th Avenue South, the intricately woven colors stand out from the surrounding single-family homes. “This is about the neighborhood [communicating and seeing] each other, and safety,” said Isaq, community liaison for the
nonprofit developer West Bank Community Development Corporation. The WBCDC provides resources to the women as part of its outreach to the Somali community, which has been ongoing
sporadically for a decade, said program manager Debbie Wolking. This the first time the developer has seen a comprehensive u See HOUSE Page 3
FACULTY
New policy to standardize grading across UMN classrooms enters final stage Policy changes include shorter deadlines for incompletes and clarified “A-F” grading scales. BY AUSTEN MACALUS amacalus@mndaily.com
Following a year-long review, changes to the University of Minnesota’s grading policy could go into effect as early as next semester. The revised policy — the University’s official guidelines for student grades, GPAs and transcripts — entered its final stages after the standard 30-day public comment period ended last week. The Senate Committee on Educational Policy, which looked at the policy over the course of the past year, approved revisions last spring. Changes to system-wide policy aim to increase clarity and consistency across the University, said Stacey Tidball, director of continuity and compliance for Academic Support Resources at the University. “Coursework and grading is the the core of what we do at the University, so we want clear and understandable rules,” she said. “We need consistent rules of the road.”
The most significant adjustment shortens the deadline for incomplete coursework, which is assigned to students who can’t finish the course due to extraordinary circumstances. Under the new rule, students would have a semester, rather than a year, to complete work before they would receive an “F” for the course. The year-long deadline was too long, said SCEP Chair Jennifer Goodnough, which presented challenges for students and faculty alike. “We were finding that sometimes … an instructor would be gone before the incomplete was done,” she said. The new policy helps reinforce that incompletes are reserved for students who have already completed most of a course. “We wanted to send a message in a lot of ways,” Goodnough said. “The expectation is there’s not a lot of work left in the course if you’re giving an incomplete.” She said students and faculty are allowed to work out another deadline, if needed. “Ideally, students are resolving it and that deadline never comes into play,” she said. u See GRADING Page 4
UNIVERSITY A-F GRADING SCALE DEFINITIONS FOR UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT GRADE GPA POINTS Represents achievement that significantly exceeds expecA 4.000 tations in the course.
AB+
3.667 3.333
B BC+
3.000 2.667 2.333
C CD+
2.000 1.667 1.333
D F
1.000 0.000
Represents achievement that is above the minimum expectations in the course.
Represents achievement that meets the minimum expectations in the course.
Represents achievement that partially meets the minimum expectations in the course. Credit is earned but it may not fulfill major or program requirements. Represents failure in the course and no credit is earned. SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 74