CAMPUS & METRO

CAMPUS & METRO

SPORTS

Stadium Village hosts tasting event

! See PAGE 3

Local restaurants had discounts and prizes for the Taste of Stadium Village event.

U groups push for divestment Nelson, Leidner shine from the fossil fuel industry at spring game
Student groups have formed to promote the Fossil Free movement.
! See PAGE 3 ! See PAGE 10

The Gophers top two quarterbacks combined for 291 yards and 3 TDs.

PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH 73 LOW 57

U OF M

MINNEAPOLIS

ST PAUL

MONDAY

APRIL 29, 2013

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT MNDAILY.COM

House, Senate to iron out U funding differences

The House offered $18M less for the U in its higher education bill.
BY ALMA PRONOVE apronove@mndaily.com

LEGISLATURE

DINKYTOWN

A history of evolving
Dinkytown will remain an institution, despite constantly changing to serve students.

Then

Both the state Senate and House of Representatives have voted to increase funding to the University of Minnesota, but key differences in their bills still need to be ironed out. After an hour-long debate, representatives passed a bill Thursday, which, like the Senate, would freeze tuition for in-state undergraduates at the University until 2015. The House version of the bill spends $18.2 million less on the University over the biennium than the Senates, only partially funding research money requested by the University and including less legislative oversight language. Overall, the House allocated $113 million less overall to higher education in the state. ! See HIGHER ED Page 4 Rep. Bud Nornes, RSeveral House reps. proposed Fergus Falls, said the bill amendments for more U oversight.

passed with bipar tisan support. Its hard to be opposed to education, he said. Nobody wants to vote against the kids. Fourteen House Republicans voted in favor of the tuition freeze, despite concerns of raised taxes to meet those costs. The House bill includes brief language detailing increased University administrative accountability and legislative oversight but less than in the Senates. Legislators argued to increase oversight in response to a late 2012 Wall Street Journal article, which highlighted alleged administrative bloat at the University. Legislators praised Higher Education Finance Committee Chair Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL- Winona, for his critical approach to the Universitys request. Higher education has to report to us differently, Pelowski said. There has to be some accountability in administrative costs.

Now
Fourteenth Avenue Southeast in Dinkytown before and after Minneapolis approved an amendment requiring the removal of overhanging and freestanding commercial signs and billboards of a certain size to clean up and improve the appearance of the Dinkytown area. BY MARION RENAULT mrenault@mndaily.com
LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, RIGHT: AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY

SPRING JAM

Riot of color rings in spring

Holi, a Hindu festival to celebrate spring, has become widely popular.
BY ROY AKER raker@mndaily.com

the U is having Dinkytown. For more than a century, the four-block area has shifted and transformed to meet the University of Minnesotas needs. The Dinkytown of yesteryear, where the campus trolley ran, Bob Dylan began his musical career and businesses like Bridgemans Ice cream and Myers Grocer y became mainstays, is not so different from todays. Dinkytown is, and always has been, a reection of what students need and want at the time. Whether its adding more bars and chain restaurants or new student housing, Dinkytown is constantly evolving but its a trend that continues to stir controversy.

More than 700 students flocked to the East River Flats Park behind Coffman Union for a glorious riot of color and water Saturday. The color fest, part of the traditional Indian celebration Holi, was organized by Indian student group Bharat, in coordination with the Univer-

sity of Minnesotas Spring Jam festivities. The annual event marks the onset of spring. Holi is traditionally celebrated in March but a later date was chosen this year due to the unpredictable springtime weather. The timing was right during the weekend, temperatures hit 70 degrees for the rst time since October. During the event, participants threw a mixture of herbal color powder and water into the air, covering
! See HOLI Page 4 Twice as many people attended the event this year over last.

A handful of students banded together to save Dinkytowns character, producing a documentary about its history and soliciting donations. The faces and names change in Dinkytown, but the heritage remains they wrote in an editorial. Now is the time to start preserving this heritage. That was 40 years ago. Today, students are still fighting to save what they think makes Dinkytown special. Its the only place that students have, University sophomore Rebecca Orrison said. One of the really cool things about coming to

! See DINKY TOWN Page 6

FEES

STUDENT LOANS

Amid fees requests, Loan interest GAPSA asks for a cut could double
The Graduate and Professional Student Assembly reverted to its 2012-13 fees request.
BY CODY NELSON cnelson@mndaily.com

Preeya Bhakta sprays water at her friends at the Holi Festival of Colors on Saturday at East River Flats.

BRIDGET BENNETT, DAILY

In an unprecedented move, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly is asking for a reduction of more than $24,000 in student services fees. The group, which is one of the largest recipients of student ser vices fees, appealed its final recommendation of $416,215 and instead asked for $392,126 the same amount it received in

2012-13. Student Ser vices Fees Committee adviser Megan Sweet said shes never seen a group le an appeal for less fees funding. This is unprecedented ... from what I can remember, she said. Fees-receiving groups occasionally ask for less funding from year-to-year because of carryover funds, Sweet said, but its less common for groups to ask for a reduction during the same fees cycle. Kevin Lang, GAPSAs vice president of finance, offered the
! See GAPSA Page 5 The group will use its extra money to add a summer grant cycle.

BY JANICE BITTERS jbitters@mndaily.com

Students could pay more to borrow federal student loans as early as this summer if a deal isnt reached in Congress. Interest rates for Stafford loans the most common type of federal student loan are set to double this summer, returning to their 2008 rate. The law that subsidizes these loans will expire June 30, raising the rate from
! See LOANS Page 4 RELATED CONTENT Colleges sue students in loan default ! See Page 4

VOLUME 114 ISSUE 109

A history of evolving
Dinkytown
From Page 1
14TH AVENUE SOUTHEAST

Monday, April 29, 2013

You cant buy a pair of socks now

Dinkytown today is an entertainment district and foodie destination more than half of its storefronts are restaurants and bars. But 50 years ago, service-driven businesses, like hardware stores and dry cleaning were dominant in Dinkytown. Retail, service and food were equally represented 20 years ago. Then the city lifted an area liquor ban put in place to prevent drinking close to campus and bars emerged. Today, the transformation from self-suf cient village to entertainment district is complete. Loring Pasta Bar was then Grays Campus Drug; Espresso Royale has taken the place of 115-year-old Simms Hardware and Perines Bookstore bookended the Dinkytown stretch of 14th Avenue that now serves Annies malts. In the 80s, a person could basically walk into Dinkytown and get everything youd need, just like it was a small town, said Jim Picard, owner of Fast Eddies shoe repair. Today, retail has diminished and restaurants rule the business landscape, partly because of students increased mobility. In the past, students depended on nearby Dinkytown for groceries and school supplies, but as they began bringing cars to school, students ventured off campus to shop. Not everyone is lamenting this change some students are happy with Dinkytown as a food hub. Retail, especially clothing, has decreased. Dinkytown has been home to stores like Al Johnson menswear, thrift shop Everyday People and family owned jewelry stores and gift shops. Today shopping options are limited, Picard said. If you wanted to buy, for instance, a pair of socks, you could, he said. Now, thats not possible, unless you want some with a picture of Goldy on it. Individual businesses today, especially unique restaurants, are the destination for customers a trend that has eroded the cohesion of the area, said Mary Rose Ciatti, whos been a server at Als Breakfast for 25 years. When Steve Bergerson, who was part of student organizers in the 1970s, attended the University, a liquor ban meant the area was more active during the day. The granting of liquor licenses in recent years has changed the texture of Dinkytown, he said. In 1999, Irv Hershkovitzs Fowl Play was the only bar in Dinkytown with a hard liquor license; today, there are three bars and Hershkovitzs Dinkytown Wine and Spirits. Before there were bars, students had to go downtown for nightlife, so having late-night businesses closer to campus has been positive for students, said MarcyHolmes Neighborhood Association President Doug Carlson. But the dominance of restaurants and bars bothers Hershkovitz. I just hate to see Dinkytown be only bars and restaurants, he said, it needs these other things.

Then Now

Commercializing Dinkytown
Dinkytown has also shifted away from local small businesses toward larger chain stores. The resulting tension boiled over in 1970 when students and residents protested the construction of fastfood franchise Red Barn at the site now housing the Dinkytown post of ce. That spring, 300 demonstrators faced off with 100 police of cers and sheriffs deputies. After protesters were forcefully removed and the site was demolished, students including Ciatti moved in and created the Peoples Park, planting owers and setting up swings. Faced with so much opposition, Red Barn representatives gave up plans for a Dinkytown branch. Today, that sort of resentment remains among longtime Dinkytowners and students. Ciatti said she began to see major changes in the 80s, when larger chains drove out historic Dinkytown establishments like Mama Ds Italian restaurant and Gordons Campus Bakery. All of the restaurants that are big now are chains,

and theyre driving everything else away, architecture sophomore Jessica Vetrano said as she stood on 14th Avenue. Environmental science sophomore Orrison said she felt Dinkytown was doing its best to hold on to long-time local businesses. Its really hard to go anywhere and not find chain stores, she said. I think Dinkytown has done a better job at resisting that national trend. Chain stores can simply afford the price of a Dinkytown location, Ciatti said. People come in and buy the buildings and raise the rents, she said. The so-called mom and pops and one-ofa-kinds had to leave because they couldnt afford it its just really sad. The assumption that the proximity to students automatically brings pro ts is partly why some businesses in Dinkytown fail, Hershkovitz said. Everyone and I mean national tenants, mom-andpop tenants, everyone thinks because you have 53,000 students across the street, all you have to do is open your doors and youll be successful, he said. That just isnt true. Four businesses along 14th Avenue now sit empty from recent closings.

Student housing booms

In recent months, the University Technology Enterprise Center was torn down after 90 years of serving as a high school and office space. Halfway through demolition, the massive building stood mangled and gutted, a carcass of its former self. The site is now a plot of dirt. In fall of 2014, a 317-unit apartment complex will sit in its place. Along with other proposed projects, the UTEC project is ushering in a new era for Dinkytown by addressing the most recent student need: student housing close to campus. Across the street, a proposed Opus Group apartment building, if approved by the city, would provide 140 more units in Dinkytown as well as retail space. The Book House, House of Hanson and the Podium would be torn down. The UTEC apartment complex is currently finalizing rental agreements with a grocery store for its groundfloor retail space. The projects follow a campus trend in the next two years, more than 1,500 student housing units are slated to open on the Universitys East Bank. Fast Eddies owner Picard said such expansive

Dinkytown business breakdown by year

52%

50% 46% 40% 40% 39%

Retail

Serv ice

35% 34%

30%

29%

30%

20% 19%

Food

23%

23% 21%

10%

0%

2% 1962

Entertainment

4% 2% 1984 0% 1998 2012

GRAPHICS SOURCES: DINKYTOWN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ARCHIVES

Monday, April 29, 2013

Whats in a name?
Its dinkyness comes from being a small, walkable, self-suf cient area. The building housing Loring Pasta Bar has the name of an early owner, Louis Grodnik, carved over its doorway. The name Grodnik is a loose Slavic translation for small town. In Dinkytowns earliest days as a railway depot, dinkeys were small locomotives used for hauling freight and logging. The University Theater, where Varsity Theater is now, originally had only four rows of seating and was referred to colloquially as The Dinky.

Local vs. chain businesses today

1880s-1900s: Dinkytown booms as lumber and our mills thrive in the area.

1867: Enrollment at the University of Minnesota is 30; the graduating class later grows to 72.

1897: Simms Hardware is established.

FOURTH STREET SOUTHEAST

14TH AVENUE SOUTHEAST

31%
CH
AINS
1920s: Dinkytown becomes the social center of campus with popular hangouts like Stiffys Gopher Caf.

UNIVERSITY AVENUE SOUTHEAST

projects would destroy Dinkytowns unique physical character, which today is defined by its hodgepodge of smaller properties and architecture. Businesses across the street from Fast Eddies, like Mesa Pizza and Hideaway, sit in a patchwork of individual buildings. On the other hand, the block along 15th Avenue that includes CVS Pharmacy and Chilly Billys is dominated by 125-unit luxury apartment complex Sydney Hall. The overall landscape of Dinkytown, Picard said, is made sort of plain by giant buildings that house both residents and businesses. Mixed-use buildings are common in most business districts in Minneapolis, said Carlson, president of the MHNA, but Dinkytown may still need limits on development. The last thing we want to have happen is to have each block be completely occupied by mixed-use developments that are right up to the sidewalk and straight up ve or six oors, he said. Carlson and others say they believe the apartment project replacing House of Hanson in particular will encroach on the heart of Dinkytown. Nearby apartments like 412 Lofts, the Chateau, Sydney Hall and the UTEC project are located closer to the periphery of the district. For Ciatti, who grew up near the area, the separation of business from residential properties is essential to Dinkytowns character. It pisses me off, she said. Its OK to put in housing around us, but when you move into the business district that is so wrong. Its the beginning of the end.

LO C Some stuAL dents are concerned for the loss of local businesses in the wake of new development. Its kind of a shame that theyre getting rid of all the small businesses around here and building all these big apartments, electrical engineering junior Eric Kallevig said. Theres kind of enough, dont you think? The Opus project especially has received pushback from the community, spurring a Save Dinkytown group thats protesting the development and its possible zoning changes. Theres nothing that looks like this project, said Orrison, a University student and member of the group. [Dinkytown is] this really cool patchwork quilt of pastel colors, and theyre going to take out one of the spots and put in a neon green one. In order to preserve Dinkytowns character, Carlson said the Dinkytown Business Association should pursue a conservation district status and continue working with the city to create a small-area plan with guidelines for developers. Retrofitting and renovating older buildings, like Loring Pasta Bar and Varsity Theater have done, is another way to continue development without sacrificing character. These old buildings, Picard said, as beautiful as they are historically, they either have to be restored or saved or something else moves on.

15TH AVENUE SOUTHEAST

1904: The Grodnik building, which housed Northwestern School Supply, Grays Campus Drug and now Loring Pasta Bar, is erected.

Enhancing or encroaching?
At night, Dinkytown draws people of all kinds, with the low-key Kitty Cat Klub and the rowdy trio of Library Bar and Grill, Burrito Loco and Blarney Pub and Grill. It produces an interesting mix, graduate student Sam Beddow said. With new apartments, he said he fears Dinkytown will lose its diversity. As with any major changes, the new projects came with contention and added fuel to an ongoing debate on what parts of Dinkytown shouldnt change. New developments are long overdue, said Hershkovitz, and the area needs a face-lift. Some of the buildings are dilapidated, and the neighborhood has survived several fires that destroyed entire businesses. Theres only a couple of buildings left that have character the rest are just not very nice, Hershkovitz said. [Dinkytown] needs new businesses and buildings that dont look like theyre about to fall over.

Dinkytown looks back, moves forward

Painted, then faded and worn over the years, names of former businesses remain on the sides of Dinkytown buildings like the height markings of a growing child on a wall. One hundred and thirty years ago, with a stable, feed store, blacksmith shop and railway depot, Dinkytown developed. It sat outside a handful of buildings that at the time comprised the University of Minnesota. Many say Dinkytown will continue to be a special place for students, an off-campus campus and middle ground between the University and the city. But although its always evolving to meet student needs, Dinkytowns tradition as a University institution will remain. As long as the University is around, Dinkytown will be around, Picard said. Its going to be different, but itll always be here.

69

1930s: After the depression hits a waning lumber industry, many area businesses are forced to close or relocate. War widows begin opening tea and boarding houses in Dinkytown homes.

1940s: A post-war enrollment boom hits the University, and Dinkytowns business thrives. 1950: Als Breakfast, then called the Hunky Dory Lunch, is opened by Al Bergstrom. 1954: Buses replace the intercampus trolley. 1958: The Ten OClock Scholar, a small bohemian coffee house, opens as Dinkytown emerges onto the local art and music scene. 1958-60: Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan, plays at the Ten OClock Scholar for $3 a night. 1960: Burger King becomes the rst fast-food establishment to open in Dinkytown. Interstate 35-W is built and splits the neighborhoods surrounding Dinkytown, redirecting traf c. 1970: Red Barn Protests take place. 1975: Multiple res burn down local businesses. The 15th Avenue railroad bridge collapses when a freight train derailed and struck a bridgesupport column. 1948: The area is of cially dubbed Dinkytown when the Dinkytown Business Association is formed. 1956: Vescios Italian Restaurant opens.

1977: With a $100,000 price tag, Dinkytown gets revamped with new red sidewalks, concrete trash cans and trees. Dinkytown gets its rst two banks.

INTERSECTION OF FOURTH STREET AND 14TH AVENUE SOUTHEAST

1990s: The rst liquor store is proposed for Dinkytown. Dinkytowns most recent fullservice grocery store, Myers Food, closes.

1991: Dinkytowns rst annual Rites of Spring a precursor to Spring Jam is held. Up to 500 students and community members participate in anti-war protests after the announcement of a U.S. attack on Iraq. 1998: After 50 years of service, Grays Campus Drug closes.

Then Now

1996-97: The bridges at University and 14th avenues undergo reconstruction.

2002: Simms Hardware closes after 115 years.

2003: Following the University mens hockey team NCAA championship win, rioters smash windows and burn trash bins throughout Dinkytown.

2010: Sydney Hall opens, marking the rst luxury student housing development in Dinkytown.

2009: On Spring Jam weekend, riots in Dinkytown ensue. After house parties emptied onto the sidewalks, rioters uprooted street signs, lit large bon res and ipped over and burned cars. January 2013: The Opus project is proposed, dividing the community over the possible loss of three local businesses.

2012: The UTEC project is proposed. DBA begins work on a smallarea plan as well as one to increase the areas security presence. Implementation is planned for 2013.

HISTORICAL PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ARCHIVES, CURRENT PHOTOS BY AMANDA SNYDER, DAILY