The Statesman May 1, 2013

Page 1

Spring thawing effects rivers, B3

THE STATESMAN UMD costs add up UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH

WWW.UMDSTATESMAN.COM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013

UMD is one of nation’s top twenty most expensive public schools 20000

Total Net Cost $15,318

$15,652

SCSU

$16,539

U OF M

A specific reason for UMD’s move into the top 20 can’t easily be pinned down, but rising tuition is a factor. Minnesota’s funding for higher education has decreased over the past 12 years, causing a steady rise in tuition. Since 2009, UMD’s tuition has gone from $11,004 to $12,780. “If you look at the percent of funding coming from the state 10, 15, 20 years ago compared to what it is now, it’s covering a much smaller percentage of the cost of an education than it did then,” said Tricia Bunten, UMD’s Chief Development Officer for the Advancement Office. With the cost of tuition rising and state aid not rising along with it, students are forced to pay more out of pocket. This is putting a strain on middle-income families. In an annual budget proposal submitted to the main campus, UMD administrators stated: “We continue to have significant concerns about increases in tuition, pricing UMD out of the market given our position as a

coordinate, not flagship, campus with limited scholarship funds.” Meaning, the net cost of UMD is too expensive for the area of Duluth, which mostly consists of middle-income families. The document continues to state: “Although our brand and job placement are strong, it is extremely difficult to make a case for UMD, particularly with moderate income families.” UMD’s Director of Finance and Operations Mike Seymour thinks that this is one of the biggest challenges to incoming students. “When you think of the type of student who’s attracted to UMD, where are they coming from, do you think, ‘Those who can,’ right?” Seymour said. “So we have a special interest in trying to keep cost down for all families, but particularly for the population who’s right above the threshold of federal and state financial aid support. However, Seymour said the price of UMD is worth the value. “It’s a value statement that all higher ed. is being challenged by families to provide, and the value statement is:

UMD

When people think of the most expensive colleges in the country, UMD usually doesn’t come to mind. But maybe it should. Between 2010 and 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center ranked UMD within the top twenty most expensive four-year public institutions in the nation for net cost. This puts UMD just below universities like Penn State and higher than other Minnesota universities like St. Cloud State. The total annual cost to attend UMD is $20,476 for Minnesota residents. This includes tuition, housing, books, and living expenses. The net cost is what students are expected to pay each year. This is the cost after the student is awarded any grants or state money, if they are eligible for it. The average net cost for UMD is $16,539, putting it just above the average net cost for the U of M Twin Cities campus, which is $15,318.

Why so high?

U of M Duluth

U of M Twin Cities

St. Cloud University

15000

10000

5000

0

Tuition Cost

15000

$12,780 12000

9000

6000

3000

0

$13,524 $12,027

UMD U OF M SCSU

BY ANNE KUNKEL CHRISTIANSON kunke063@d.umn.edu

U of M Duluth

see UMD EXPENSES, A3

U of M Twin Cities

St. Cloud University

ILLUSTRATION BY JOE FRASER

Former UMD students New changes to unveil year-long project sexual assault

reporting process BY MAEGGIE LICHT licht096@d.umn.edu

problem happening in Alabama. Cowardin thought the issue might be worth checking in to. So in January 2012, Cowardin and Olivieri packed up some film equipment and traveled to Alabama to see what they would find. “We weren’t at all animal activist then,” Olivieri said. “At that point, it was just a story. I wasn’t fond of dogs at the time. The film follows that. People are going to hate me in the beginning.” “He comes around to liking them,” Cowardin added. After arriving in Alabama, Cowardin and Olivieri realized the abuse epidemic was worse than either of them had expected. “What surprised me the most was seeing the dead dogs on the side of the roads,” Cowardin said.

After light was shed on UMD’s unsatisfactory incident reporting system for sexual assaults, the UMD Police Department (UMDPD) has its sights set on improvement. Last fall, two Statesman reporters discovered a large gap in sexual assault reports from UMD. From 2008 to 2010, the university reported to the federal government that only three incidents occurred. Reporters found university-commissioned surveys that revealed there were hundreds of women assaulted each year. To fix this problem, UMDPD officer Scott Drewlo has initiated an attitude shift in the department. “The biggest change that’s been made is we’ve reaffirmed and refocused our commitment to being victim-centered in dealing with victims who report sexual assaults,” Drewlo said. Drewlo said that of the problem is that in past years officers weren’t taught to treat victims this way. This can cause victims to shut down. “Law enforcement was kind of trained to be an unbiased, objective finder of facts,” Drewlo said. “When you’re dealing with traumatic victimization, a cold, sterile, fact-finding interview might not do real well for the victim’s well-being.” Drewlo’s inspiration to make the shift to a victimcentered approach came from his time working with the Duluth Police Department (DPD). He wants to adopt some of the programs, like the Rape Aggression Defense Training (RADT) program, which arms women with defensive tactics. He also wants to send several officers to Minnesota Sex Crimes Investigators Association (MNSCIA) trainings to help the UMDPD develop investigative consistency. Despite Drewlo’s enthusiasm for a solution, the initiatives are quite expensive and funds are not abundant. “We got a setback last fall,” Drewlo said. “We thought we were going to get a sexual assault grant from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and that was going to be used to pay for a lot of training.”

see ROOTS OF RESCUE, A3

see INCIDENT REPORTING, A3

LOLA VISUALS/SUBMITTED

Filmmaker and UMD graduate Joe Olivieri interviews a woman for the documentary film “Roots of Rescue.” BY GRAHAM HAKALA hakal045@d.umn.edu

After hearing about widespread animal abuse in Alabama, recent UMD graduates David Cowardin and Joe Olivieri headed south to document it on film. A year and a half in the making, the two filmmakers are ready to release their feature-length documentary, “Roots of Rescue,” on May 5. The film follows their journey into the heart of Alabama’s animal abuse problem. Filmed over two trips, Cowardin and Olivieri dove headlong into the ugly scenes that often go unnoticed. “We expected it to be isolated incidents of dogfights and things like that,” Cowardin said. “What we found was just mass neglect everywhere.” It was while studying journalism at UMD that Cowardin’s adviser told him about the animal abuse INDEX:

News: A1 - A4 |

Opinion: A5 - A6 | Sports: B1 - B2 | Outdoors: B3 | Student Life: B4 - B5


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