Campus Digest
9/20/2002 | | The U of M's national champion Food Science College Bowl team. |
Playing with Food Pays Off
The University of Minnesota has yet another national champion. In addition to three men’s athletic teams, the U’s Food Science and Nutrition Club College Bowl Team won the annual Institute of Food Technologists Student Association College Bowl June 17 in Anaheim. The competition tests student knowledge of food science and engineering, food history, and food law.
The team takes its training seriously. They meet weekly for two hours in the fall, peppering each other with questions "to build up our speed," explains Gerry Schamberger, a food science graduate student from Plymouth, Wisconsin. In January, the team steps it up to twice-weekly sessions. "We study various areas on our own, too," Schamberger adds. "What I really liked about our team is that we all had our own individual specialties," he says. "On other teams there are usually one or two people carrying the whole team, but on ours everybody contributed."
The University team earned a trip to the national bowl by winning an April regional contest, beating colleges from Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas in head-to-head competition. In Anaheim, Minnesota outdistanced four other regional champs before defeating North Carolina State in front of a large crowd of fellow competitors, academics, and industry representatives.
Among the questions: What was the name of the first puffed cereal? (Answer: popcorn.) What is the spongy white tissue in an orange called? (Answer: albedo.)
In addition to Schamberger, team members included Minnesotans Dana Dronen, a food science graduate student from Eden Prairie; Mike Engstrom, a food science and chemical engineering undergraduate from Coon Rapids; and Alyssa Ouverson, a food science undergraduate from Buffalo.
Coffman Sneak Peek
The renovated Coffman Memorial Union is expected to reopen January 21 (with a grand opening the last week of March), but visitors can preview Coffman’s new look by taking a virtual tour at www.coffman.umn.edu/renovation/tour.php. The 12-minute tour drops student guides into sketches of portions of the building and outlines what is included in the renovation: a 40,000-square-foot bookstore with a coffee shop, social and quiet lounges and study space, a 400-seat theater, a computer lab and walk-up Internet kiosks, a food court with new menu choices, and dramatic views of the new South Mall down to the Mississippi River. For those with slower Internet connections, drawings, photos, and renovation background can be found at www.coffman.umn.edu/renovation.php.
The Product Placement Police
From T-shirts to trash bags, products that promote the University of Minnesota and bring in money for athletics and scholarships must go through Bob Hicks and Dave Lindquist. The two-person team responsible for authorizing products and rooting out unlicensed items has put their Gopher stamp of approval on not only apparel, but also fishing lures, furniture, ice cream, office products, and more.
Hicks and Lindquist have also fielded their share of bad ideas. "We ask ourselves, is this product appropriate, safe, and made of quality materials?" says Hicks. "Then we sample the product, examine the vendor’s liability insurance, and, in the case of apparel, demand factory site disclosures." The University approved a toughened code of conduct for licensee factory conditions on May 1.
The duo has rejected lighters, matches, and pocket knives because of the liability risks they posed to the U. They turned up their noses at bricks of cheese because of the risks that such a consumable product might pose. And a proposal from wannabe makers of "M" caskets was buried in a file marked "inappropriate."
The goal is to balance good products with the desire to market the U in aggressive ways. "Our job is to protect our trademarks, promote the institution, and make profits that can be funneled into the athletics programs and our student scholarships," Hicks says. "There’s simply no downside."
Adds Lindquist: "We want to license unique products and create new markets for ourselves so that we can make Minnesota a truly national school. We want people to be able to walk into stores in California, Alaska, or Georgia and see maroon-and-gold merchandise on the shelves."
Student Housing Boom
New student housing is springing up all around the Twin Cities campus. Much of the construction is in response to an increased desire to live on campus that resulted in the University putting up hundreds of students in a nearby hotel in 1997 and 1998. Since then, apartment-style housing for more than 2,000 students has opened on and around campus. In addition, a developer has proposed an 8- to 10-story complex in Dinkytown to open in fall 2004.
The Melrose
The biggest and newest complex, the Melrose will have 932 bedrooms when finished and features individual leases for each tenant.
Location: Huron Boulevard and Delaware Street Southeast in Stadium Village, about two blocks south of the Washington-University intersection
Opened: 444 bedrooms became available in August; the remainder are scheduled to open in December
Amenities: Free 24-hour fitness center, high-speed Internet access, game room, private bathrooms, outdoor courtyard, washer/dryer, local telephone, and cable TV; underground parking for an extra fee.
Price range: $582 to $699 per bedroom per month for 12-month "construction special" lease (includes six months free parking), electricity not included.
Riverbend Commons
The University’s brand-new 421-bed residence hall for returning students is part of the overall development of the "south mall" area between Coffman Memorial Union and the Mississippi River.
Location: East River Road just south of Comstock Hall and the Weisman Art Museum
Opened: August 31
Amenities: Internet and telephone included; apartment-style units with kitchens, private or semi-private bathrooms, some with washer/dryer; all units have access to free washers and dryers, lounges, and patios.
Price range*: The equivalent of approximately $470 to $690 per month on a semester lease, all utilities included.
The GrandMarc at Seven Corners
Designed primarily for West Bank graduate students but open to all, GrandMarc has 370 bedrooms in 183 apartments.
Location: Washington Avenue and 19th Street South, just west of the Law School
Opened: August 2000, completed December 2000
Amenities: Free high-speed Internet connections, club room and fitness center, cable TV, washer/dryer, local phone. Underground heated parking for an extra fee.
Price range: $695 to $1,100 per month, based on a 12-month lease, all utilities included.
University Village
Built by the nonprofit Wedum Foundation, about two-thirds of University Village is leased and overseen through the U’s Department of Housing and Residential Life. The complex has 112 units for about 425 students operated by the University in the east part of the complex and 87 units with 168 bedrooms that can accommodate one or two people each in the west side.
Location: University Avenue near Washington Avenue in Stadium Village
Opened: September 1999
Amenities: Washer/dryer and full kitchen in each unit, full bathroom for every bedroom, high-speed Internet connections, indoor bike storage, fitness center; underground parking at an extra cost; University units include live-in advisers and U voice mail.
Price range: U units are the equivalent of $490 to $670 per month per person on a semester lease, which includes utilities; private side is $716 and $950 per bedroom a month (one or two people per room), usually on a 12-month lease.
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