As a freshman at the University of Minnesota four years ago, I remember my eagerness for the opportunities offered to me as an underprivileged student. Between the services at the Multicultural Center...

Although the face veil is a simple piece of cloth worn by a minority of Muslim women, it has become a political symbol synonymous with oppression, patriarchy and servitude. At least, thatâÄôs the...

Have your parents ever nagged you about being a social media addict who wastes hours of time on websites like Facebook and Twitter? I hear it all the time: They say that maintaining online social "friendships"...

As part of a generation that grew up with modern technology at our fingertips, itâÄôs easy for college students to take their Internet access for granted. We assume we can access anything online,...

That smelled like a concoction of incense, fruits and cigars wafted to my nose Saturday morning as I entered Hideaway Head Shop, a Dinkytown hookah store. About a dozen eager college-aged customers hungrily...

As a child, Nurah Gentry said she had always been taught that Copernicus was the first astronomer to hypothesize that the sun was at the center of the solar system. It wasnâÄôt until after she...

Based on her appearance, you wouldnâÄôt easily be able to guess University of Minnesota sophomore Mary TaylorâÄòs racial or ethnic heritage. But if you ask the communications studies major...

Imagine someone telling you last month that the streets of Cairo would be filled with pro-democracy protesters demanding a regime change, individual freedoms and respect for human rights. You probably...

It was four days after last weekâÄôs shooting when I visited the Brian Coyle Center, and it seemed like any other typical Thursday. Teenagers played basketball on its concrete gym floor, children...

Two weeks ago, most University of Minnesota students were probably busy enjoying their long-awaited winter breaks and gripped by the tragic shooting in Arizona. So itâÄôs no surprise that most...

The Jazz Man hasnâÄôt always played jazz. Years ago, he thought R&B would be more appreciated by college students. "But that kind of music, nobody was into it," he said. "And I said, âÄòOK,...

The FBIâÄôs arrest of Somali-American teenager Mohamed Osman Mohamud in Oregon caused palpable waves of shock and fear in the Twin Cities Somali community. Minnesota Somalis were still recuperating...

You were told as a child Thanksgiving dinner is about commemorating the friendly feast shared between the Indians and the goodhearted pilgrims. But as most Americans know, that story is a myth that âÄî...

  In Saudi Arabia, my birthplace, itâÄôs normal for everyone to take up to a week off from school and work to hear the exchange of the words âÄúEid MubarakâÄù âÄî a...

Bizarre is the word that comes to mind when I watch Lady Gaga and Nicki MinajâÄôs music videos. Both artists, with their multicolored wigs, doe eyes and outrageous outfits have become cultural...

  Amid University-wide budget cuts and tuition increases, it is no surprise that entire departments and programs may be on the chopping block. However, it was disappointing to hear in March that the...

ItâÄôs been 50 years since most African nations gained or began to move toward political independence in the hopes of also attaining economic freedom from their colonial masters. Despite the continentâÄôs...

"When I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous." Those...

It was my first day at freshman orientation, and I felt isolated. I was shocked to see that the diversity the University of Minnesota bragged about on its website and brochures was almost nowhere to be...

âÄúDriven to Discover.âÄù YouâÄôve seen those three simple words plastered everywhere: from campus sidewalks and posters to the front cover of your Gopher Guide and along the Washington...

Our University is in troubled times. WeâÄôve heard incessantly from our administrators that we are faced with phenomenal financial challenges at a time when resources are scarce. We are told that...

Since Sept. 11, the American news media have been preoccupied with stories about Muslims. News coverage of bombings, suicide killings, cartoons (and ensuing death threats), angry bearded men and anything...

Imagine land the size of Florida being submerged under water for a month, Scotland’s entire population of 5 million being made homeless, and 3.5 million children being threatened with malnutrition...

Preparations are underway to build Granary Road next summer in order to reduce traffic on University Avenue and Fourth Street S. before construction for the light rail begins on University Avenue. The...

For years, Minneapolis police have struggled to gain the trust of the Somali community in Cedar-Riverside. The first precinct assigned two Somali beat officers to the neighborhood in the hopes that trust...

Be careful what you wish for. ThatâÄôs what Prospect Park residents learned after they began the arduous process of becoming a designated national historic site almost 10 years ago. When it became...

Abdiaziz Mohamed is a Somali refugee who is unemployed, canâÄôt speak fluent English and doesnâÄôt have the basic computer skills most people take for granted. Despite this, the Cedar-Riverside...

The sidewalk that connects Fifth Street and Cedar Avenue looks typical at first glance. What you wouldnâÄôt know is that it was illegally built by the West Bank Community Development Corporation...

The greek community has long been stereotyped as being careless in academics, and almost 15 years ago, the below-2.75 average GPA of many fraternities and sororities was used to support the stereotype....

After six weeks of waiting for Marcy Holmes Neighborhood Association to respond to a data practices request, property owner Jason Klohs has sued MHNA for violation of the Minnesota Government Data Practices...

Since its establishment at the University of Minnesota a year ago, Delta Epsilon Chi, the college division of DECA Inc ., has been trying to raise money through fundraisers like many other college organizations....

For the past two decades, the Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA) has depended on funds from the Neighborhood Revitalization Program to fund community programs and improve the neighborhoodâÄôs...

Since the collapse of the housing market after the economic recession hit in 2007, the City of Minneapolis and neighborhood organizations have been looking for new ways to encourage economic growth and...

Marilyn Burns is a Southeast Como resident who says she sees a drastic change in the quality of housing in the University neighborhoods. The increase in vacant properties and the rapid transition from...

The Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA) is a finalist for a grant that could fund a new pilot project that would allow residents to have a portable, reusable garden in the form of a grow box...

Plans to expand and renovate the 16-year-old Brian Coyle Community Center in Cedar-Riverside are no longer on schedule. The changes to the building and nearby facilities will now most likely be completed...

Megan Koester , a Seward resident on 24th Avenue South, looked outside her window to see a group of people wearing white suits, orange hats, and boots removing soil from the house across the street. The...

Sixteen years ago Hussein Samatar was a refugee from Somalia trying to learn English; now as the executive director of the African Development Center in Cedar-Riverside, he helps immigrants who are in...

After a relatively quiet summer with little crime reported, there has been an observed increase in aggressive youth activity in the past month within the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood . Thirty five community...

Undergraduates hoping to find new, affordable housing in Prospect Park might have their hopes put on hold. City Planning Commission approval of the construction of Eagle Crossing Apartments on the 600...

John Verly is almost like any other ambitious college student: he founded the UniversityâÄôs speech club, is a fraternity member and has big dreams for himself after graduation. However, unlike...

First-year nursing major Kelly Hitzeman is a new member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She said she joined the sorority, regardless of the financial cost, because she wanted to volunteer, be involved...

MinnesotaâÄôs decision to terminate its tax reciprocity program with Wisconsin will require Minnesota residents who work in Wisconsin âÄî and vice versa âÄî to file taxes in both...

Mohamoud Hassan was a University of Minnesota junior with a bright future that came to an abrupt and uncertain end in his war-torn homeland. The civil engineering major was one of at least 20 Twin Cities...