November 26, 2014

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PROPOSALS MAY TRANSFORM RESEARCH PAGE 3

SNOW HIGH 28° LOW 5°

U OF M

MINNEAPOLIS

ST PAUL

WEDNESDAY

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

TWO NIH-PROPOSED POLICIES MANDATE MORE REPORTING.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

BASKETBALL

Athlete arrested, off team for now

Ferguson unrest hits home

Daquein McNeil, a sophomore guard, was suspended from all team activities on Tuesday. BY NICK WICKER nwicker@mndaily.com

Protesters chant “no justice, no peace, prosecute the police” as they march on Northrop Mall after the grand jury ruling in Ferguson, Mo., over the shooting of Michael Brown. ALEX TUTHILL-PREUS, DAILY

A large on-campus demonstration followed a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer who killed Mike Brown. BY MORGAN WOLFE & CHRISTOPHER AADLAND mwolfe@mndaily.com caadland@mndaily.com

H

undreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the University of Minnesota’s Cof fman Union on Tuesday after a grand jur y declined to indict a Missouri police of ficer who shot and killed an unarmed black man in August.

In solidarity with demonstrations across the countr y, more than 300 people marched around Northrop Mall, chanting and demanding another investigation into Michael Brown’s death and more police accountability. Organizers said the demonstration was aimed at raising awareness of the issue in the University community — and they would have put on the event regardless of the grand jury’s decision.

The protest was organized by a new campus student group, Students United Against Police Brutality — an off shoot of the larger organization Communities United Against Police Brutality, which held a larger protest downtown Minneapolis. Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown after an altercation between the two men. u See DEMONSTRATION Page 3

CAMPUS

A University of Minnesota basketball player was arrested and jailed Monday for an alleged domestic assault. Sophomore guard Daquein McNeil was booked into the Hennepin County Jail in the early afternoon and was being held without bail as of Tuesday night. McNeil is suspended from all team activities, according to an email statement from Gophers athletics spokesman Chris Werle. “This athletics department … will not tolerate any form of domestic assault from its staff or student-athletes,” athletics director Norwood Teague said in the statement. A police report for an alleged domestic assault on Fulton Street Southeast, near the Superblock, was also filed Monday. The unnamed suspect and victim cited in that report are dating, the report said. The report also said the suspect was booked into jail at almost the same time as McNeil. Minneapolis police public information officer John Elder refused to disclose the suspect’s name, citing Minnesota law. However, numerous news organizations reported that McNeil was the suspect in the report and cited it as such. The police report described a physical confrontation between the couple involved that sent the girlfriend to the hospital. A verbal argument escalated and the male suspect assaulted his girlfriend, the report said. He ripped off her clothes, hit her repeatedly with a belt, strangled her and poured cold water on her, according to the report. The woman fled to a second address wearing only a small robe and coat, the report said. She was visibly upset when police reached her, and officers saw welts and bruising across her whole body, the report said. Head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino once characterized McNeil as the offseason’s most improved player. McNeil, a Baltimore native, is considered one of the Gophers’ best perimeter defenders and narrowly lost out on a starting position. McNeil has averaged 3.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 18.8 minutes in four games this season.

STATE

For food, int’l students alone during break Education

leaders talk disparities

When dining halls close over Thanksgiving break, some say finding meals at the U is tough. BY LIZ ANDERSON landerson@mndaily.com

When the University of Minnesota closes for Thanksgiving later this week, many students will go home to eat a traditional holiday dinner with family and friends. But that trip home isn’t an option for some students. While residence halls remain open during the long weekend for students who choose to stay on campus, dining halls shut down Thursday through Saturday, leaving some international students worried about where they’ll get their meals. Enoch Sun, a freshman from China, said he and his friends who are also international students are worried about what they’ll eat over break. He said the dining halls should remain open for them. “For me, I think it’s unfair for international students. We don’t have a home here. We stay here and need a place to eat,” Enoch said. “I pay a lot of money for the meal plan. I need [dining halls] open during Thanksgiving break.” In an email statement, University Dining Services said there aren’t enough students on campus during the break to keep the dining halls open. Residence halls have kitchens, and students can also use their FlexDine dollars at on-campus retail locations, the statement read. This fall, there are more than 2,800 international undergraduate students at the University.

Minnesota’s achievement gap needs lawmakers’ attention to be narrowed, advocates say. BY LOGAN WROGE lwroge@mndaily.com

“but freshman year was a little rough.” To make international students feel a part of the American tradition, the International Buddy Program — a University support service that helps transition international students into the United States — hosted a Thanksgiving feast for students, faculty and family members on Sunday. Although the feast wasn’t held on Thanksgiving Day, it offered international students a taste of turkey, stuf fing and other traditional Thanksgiving foods.

State and school leaders agree that curbing Minnesota’s achievement gap, or the differences in educational results between white students and students of color, begins with early childhood development. Advocates say there is more the state Legislature can do to narrow the disparities and that the recent elimination of a legislative committee designated to address youth education could potentially be a step backward. “The ones being most immediately impacted on an individual level are families who are in the direst straits,” said Megan Gunnar, director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development. “However, the sustainability of our state is being impacted in the long run by not addressing the needs of those individuals.” But amid the concerns, the removed committee’s responsibilities are planned to be dispersed elsewhere throughout the Capitol, and state leaders say they plan to continue the push forward in attempting to

u See DINING Page 4

u See GAP Page 5

CORA NELSON, DAILY

Freshman Enoch Sun and junior July Liu shop at United Noodles on Saturday afternoon. When UDS closes for Thanksgiving break, some international students are forced to dine out.

While Thanksgiving is traditionally an American holiday, some students argue it’s unfair that the dining halls close down for those who don’t participate in the tradition. “Not everyone celebrates this holiday,” said Keerthana Shankar, Asian language and literature senior, “so it’s like a meaningless break for us.” Ronald Phuan, international finance and risk management junior, said he cooked a cultural meal with friends in Middlebrook Hall on Thanksgiving his freshman year. “We buy what we know how to cook based on where we’re from,” Phuan said,

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