THE STATESMAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH
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MPIRG’s proposed 2011-12 budget declined Decision could force independent staff out and keep university staff in BY DAVID COWARDIN Article first published in LakeVoice at lakevoicenews.org/ cowar006@d.umn.edu
Funding for UMD’s MPIRG chapter might decrease by more than 60 percent next year following a decision by the Student Service Fee Committee. The committee denied a motion to support the use of student service fees to compensate non-university staff. Out of 12 voting members, nine voted against the motion. MPIRG (Minnesota Public Interest Research Group) has three campus organizers overseeing its nine chapters. Two of those organizers are stationed in the Twin Cities and one in Duluth: Kara Skahen is Duluth’s campus organizer and could be relocated due to the committee’s decision. “If we don’t get the funding we need, we won’t be able to have a staff person in Duluth,” said senior MPIRG member Jamie Ebert. Committee co-chair Corbin Smyth said the decision was made with the idea that organizations can utilize campus employees to perform the same tasks as non-university staff. Smyth is not a voting member. But Ebert said MPIRG doesn’t work without independent staff. She said they have to hire people like Skahen to coach them on advocacy issues and teach them how to lobby for change. The group also hires lobbyists and lawyers to provide professional advice. On January 31, MPIRG members proposed a budget to the committee asking for $44,000, nearly double what they received this year. Since the majority of their proposed budget is used to compensate nonuniversity staff like Skahen, the committee recommended they receive only $7,975, almost $15,000 less than what they received for the past two years.
MPIRG representative Jamie Ebert approaches UMD student Sara Jochems about signing a petition for an appeal.
Without a campus organizer in Duluth, Skahen said, it’s like sending a group of students into a physics lab without proper instruction ... it doesn’t work. She said they need an MPIRG staff member on location to help organize grassroots campaigns. So this week, members of the student advocacy group gathered signatures from more than 4,000 students (roughly one-third of the student body). It’s all part of a petition to support an appeal for more funding. They also received letters from alumni and city councilors backing their appeal. Duluth Mayor Don Ness sent a letter to Vice Chancellor Jackie Millslagle stating that he sup-
No plans to address parking at UMD BY RACHAEL O’BRIEN Obrie760@d.umn.edu
UMD has lost 700 parking spaces since 2000, according to a report from the Duluth Transit Authority. The University has also experienced a 23 percent increase in enrollment since 2000, and is now at an all-time high with more than 12,000 students. “It’s hard enough to find a parking spot, even if you have a pass,” said UMD student Miles Gotwig. “When I can’t find one, I’m forced to risk getting a ticket every day unless I want to walk fifteen minutes from where I park, which I think defeats the purpose of
driving.” Parking services did not acknowledged the reported 700 parking spot loss. When asked if UMD had any plans to address on-campus parking, Supervisor of Parking Services Cheryl Love said, “At this time, there are no plans to increase parking lots for the 2011-2012 school year.” Love added that the maroon permit lots “have never been full this year. It may not be a front door space but there are spaces available.” The maroon permit lots, typically reserved for students, are sold at $143 per permit. Partly in order to address the
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ports the appeal. Millslagle makes the final decision in the appeals process and received the group’s letter on Wednesday, March 23. “The group is effective in engaging students on important issues,” Ness said. “MPIRG’s model is one that works and should be supported.” Ness said that if the model is not broken, then it shouldn’t be fixed. As mayor, he has worked with Skahen on student-related issues in Duluth and said that losing her would “be a loss not only for the organization but for the university and the broader community of Duluth.” Appealing the committee’s recommenSEE MPIRG A4
construction-related reduction of on-campus parking, UPASS, a partnership between UMD and the DTA, was instituted. The UPASS program aims to encourage greater use of public transportation on campus by providing unlimited rides for students, faculty and staff and building an on-campus transit hub. When school is in session in the spring and fall, UMD riders currently account for 20 percent of DTA’s system-wide ridership. UMD student Emily Cooper said she takes the bus to campus everyday. “I don’t see a real problem. Using the bus is cheaper than a parking permit and better for the environment,” she said. “The drivers frustrated with parking spots should simply take the bus instead.” On Friday, March 27, partly as a result of the UPASS program, the Duluth Transit Authority surpassed their three millionth rider milestone.
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Desperate times call for desperate measures in the UMD parking lot.
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-Anonymous UMD student
ALEX LEONE/STATESMAN
2010 census prompts redistricting in Minnesota BY DILLON FRETS frets001@d.umn.edu
A coalition of Minnesota civic groups has launched a project called Draw the Line Minnesota to try getting the state’s voters involved in the process of legislative redistricting. On March 24, the organizers, which include the League of Women Voters, Take Action Minnesota, and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, held a public forum at UMD for anybody interested in learning why redistricting matters. For an hour and a half, speakers from these organizations went over why citizens should care about the redistricting process. Redistricting, at its simplest, is the process of redrawing the lines of each state’s legislative districts. It happens every 10 years, after the census reveals population changes across the state. The purpose of redistricting is to ensure that each voter has one vote. If a district decreases in population over 10 years, the size of that district must increase in order to make up for the loss of possible voters. If a district has increased in population, it must be drawn smaller. The goal is to have every district about the same size in population. According to organizers of the forum, redistricting at its worst dilutes minority voters, allows politicians to choose their voters and
can be used to protect incumbents. At its best, redistricting allows citizens with common interests to be grouped together in the same district. In Minnesota, the redistricting process is handled in the legislature, where new district boundaries are proposed. Of those proposed, the House, the Senate and the governor must approve boundaries. Given Minnesota’s track record, the final decision will likely be headed to the courts. “I don’t have a lot of optimism based on our state’s history,” said Minnesota Senator and District 7 Representative Roger Reinert, while speaking in relation to the likelihood that the decision would be kept out of the courts. District 7 makes up a large part of Duluth, and due to the population decrease in the Range district since the last redistricting took place, some Duluth residents may find themselves being moved out of District 7. Sen. Reinert generalized saying a handful of Duluthians will likely be forced to switch districts. While the redistricting doesn’t affect students who attend UMD more than it does any other citizen of Duluth, it does affect which district they’ll be able to vote in depending on where they live. “The city is going to be more than one Senate district,” said Sen. Reinert.
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