Kayakers take on Lester River, B3
THE STATESMAN
WWW.UMDSTATESMAN.COM
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2013
Tuition freeze bill Student’s car goes up in flames passes House BY MAEGGIE LICHT licht096@d.umn.edu
Tuition costs creep higher and higher at universities throughout the state, but a bill passed by Minnesota lawmakers may help freeze costs in their tracks. Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, presented the tuition-freezing bill, and the Minnesota House of Representatives passed it 86-44 on Thursday, April 25. The Star Tribune reports that the bill will cost nearly $3 billion in two years. According to Rep. Pelowski, from the $150 million of new funds, 80 percent will go straight to students for grants or tuition freezes. Student Association Legislative Certificate Program Director Kelly Kemper is highly involved with state issues that impact students, like this one. She’s happy to see the freeze, but is still hopeful for a greater change. “It’s a great step in the right direction,” Kemper said. “Obviously, we’d like to see a decrease, but a freeze is a great start. It shows that the legislature is committed to (higher education).” Other students share Kemper’s opinion. Vice Chair for the State Board of Directors for Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) Mariana Glitsos wants more impact than what a freeze would bring. She thinks that the Opportunity Minnesota Bill would do more to aid students. “We do believe that (the freeze) is one step to take for the current tuition problem; however, it does not delve to the root of the student debt issue and leaves it only
bandaged, not resolved,” Glitsos said. “Affordable higher education extends beyond just stopping increasing tuition, and it needs to be addressed through ways to actually lower the costs. MPIRG strongly supports the passage of the Opportunity Minnesota Bill, which would relieve pressures on students who stay to work in Minnesota after graduation.” Though the bill will not lower tuition, it will require that the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) produce records—such as mandatory, detailed budget reports and spending figures—that prevent the slow and steady rise of tuition. If the proposed tuition freeze passes Senate and becomes law, Kemper says it would save students about $2,300 over a four-year period. With UMD’s current tuition at $12,870, that’s a savings of 18 percent. Kemper believes that this chunk of change could help build a stronger relationship between students and the university. “If students recognize that they’re being helped through the legislature and the University of Minnesota system, it will create a better positive image for the university system as a whole,” she said. “I hope that it passes and that it will take effect in 2014.” Kemper feels that if the legislature fails to pass the bill, it will show a lack of commitment from the state. “If it doesn’t pass, I’d be disappointed,” she said.
BRYCE LEMKE/SUBMITTED
Firefighters responded to a car fire at the UMD library parking lot around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7. BY ANNE KUNKEL CHRISTIANSON kunke063@d.umn.edu
Around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the Duluth Fire Department responded to a fire in UMD’s library parking lot. After arriving on the scene, the fire department found a 1999 Lexus ES 300 with flames and smoke coming out from under its hood. The car was parked between two other cars near the middle section of the lot. According to the department’s acting captain Jason Siegle, it took the department less than ten minutes to put out the fire. Kayla Estenson, a UMD student
and the owner of the car, was in class when the fire broke out. “I had a voicemail by police asking if it was my car and to call 911,” Estenson said in an email. “At that point I walked out to my car to see what was going on, only to see it being towed, and then I talked to the police officer about what happened.” “I was so shocked to see my car,” Estenson added. “It did not seem real.” Siegle said the fire probably started from an electric issue under the hood, but the department is still investigating. No one was injured, and no other cars were damaged. Estenson confirmed that the car is totaled.
see TUITION FREEZE, A3
Family receives Sasha McHale’s honorary diploma BY SHANNON KINLEY kinle005@d.umn.edu
OLIVIA FRANTI/SUBMITTED
Sasha McHale (left) and her friend Olivia Franti pose for a photo while out together.
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Five months ago UMD student Alexandra “Sasha” McHale passed away at the age of 23 from complications of the autoimmune disease Lupus, but her spirit will be with those who graduate in a few weeks. McHale was a communications major with a minor in journalism and was planning to walk at this year’s commencement ceremony alongside her friends and faculty in just a few of weeks. In order to honor all of McHale’s hard work and accomplishments during her time at UMD, the university is issuing her an honorary diploma. “We wanted to do something for (Sasha),” said Aaron Boyson, an assistant professor in the Department of Communications. “It just seemed like the right thing to do for the people who had a relationship with her. We wanted to show that we are proud of what she did here and what she meant to the department.” Professors in the Department of Communications felt that it was important to give her this degree not only for her, but also for her family. They worked with the registrar’s office to waive the rest of her credit requirements and issue her a degree. The communications department not only went about getting her the degree, but also felt it was important to do something in her honor at the end of the year banquet. Boyson said that Edward Downs, also an assistant professor in the department, gave a heartfelt speech at the banquet on May 1. “These moments that she is mentioned
can act like a piece of her,” Boyson said. “It is almost like finding a picture of her that you didn’t know you had for the first time. I hope her family feels good about it, and that it helps them to get to know her here and as a student, since they weren’t here.” Olivia Franti, one of McHale’s close friends from UMD, graduated this past December with the same major and minor as McHale. “It is just rough knowing that a lot of us are graduating or have graduated and she is not physically by our side anymore, but I think it’s really great that the departments that she was involved in are taking the time to acknowledge her and create a special moment for her and those people who really care about her,” Franti said. Franti said she still misses McHale and thinks about her every minute, of every hour, of every day. “It is especially hard because she was the one person that I met up here and we just clicked,” Franti said. “I could talk to her about anything and everything. I would talk to her about things that I still don’t talk to anyone else about.” Franti explained that McHale has left a part of her behind with the writing she did for her journalism minor. “Something that is really cool is the fact that she was a journalism student so she has left behind some really incredible stories for people to read and give them perspective in her mind and her voice through her writing,” Franti said. UMD marketing major John Tabor was McHale’s long-time boyfriend of about five years. see SASHA MCHALE, A3
-Locally made glass pipes and art -138 flavors of shisha 30 West First st. Opinion: A5 - A6 | Sports: B1 - B2 | Outdoors: B3 | Student Life: B4 - B5