News

Marcy-Holmes neighborhood seeks public input for new Master Plan

rharrington@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:27:24 +0000

Marcy-Holmes officials are planning the neighborhood’s next 10 years.

The Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association is looking for a middle ground between traditional single-family homes and new student apartment complexes that have divided public opinion, focusing on what they call “gentle density.”

At a public hearing on Tuesday, residents expressed a desire to build housing for students, young families and seniors.

“They don’t want to become a monoculture of just students,” said Pierre Willette, economic and community development manager at the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Willette is part of a steering committee tasked with updating the neighborhood’s Master Plan, which Minneapolis City Council last updated a decade ago. He said Marcy-Holmes needs to keep working on being a neighborhood for everybody.

The old plan focused on keeping high-density housing on the neighborhood’s edges while maintaining a “solid core” of single-family homes on Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth streets southeast.

Willette said the recent swell of student housing has changed the neighborhood dramatically.

“The neighborhood needs to figure out how to deal with that change,” he said.

He added the University — and its students — are major stakeholders in the neighborhood’s future.

For more on what the Master Plan could change, pick up Wednesday’s Minnesota Daily.

Looming Cigarette Tax Hike

asnyder@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:33:19 +0000

A new tobacco tax signed into law last month will raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.60 starting July 1. Local tobacco store manager and business owner discuss the upcoming tax increase on cigarettes and what trends and effects they believe it will have on the industry as a whole.

University program preps first-generation college students

cfenimore@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:02:24 +0000

By: Branden Largent

Sousada Chidthachack grew up as part of an immigrant family and went to college to live out her mother’s dream of having her own career.

Chidthachack’s mother ran away from her childhood home in Laos, crossing Thailand and finally arriving in the United States so her future children could have more opportunities.

“I’m reminded every day that it’s a struggle,” Chidthachack said. “I saw my parents struggle.”

She’s pursuing a Ph.D. in math at the University of Minnesota with the dual goal of achieving a family dream and inspiring students with backgrounds like hers.

One way of doing this is through a new math tutoring program at the University.

The Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation gave the University STEM Education Center $300,000 to start the Prepare2Nspire program, which will provide tutoring and mentoring for underrepresented middle and high school students, said Lesa Clarkson, an associate

professor in the University’s Curriculum and Instruction department.

The program will train University undergraduates to tutor and mentor eleventh graders this fall to prepare them for college math, said Clarkson, the program’s principal investigator.

Those eleventh-graders will then tutor and mentor eighth grade students in algebra.

Prepare2Nspire will work with students from North Community, Thomas Edison, Patrick Henry, Heritage Academy of Science & Technology and MetroTech Career Academy high schools, Chidthachack said.

Applications for undergraduate tutors and mentors are still open. Positions will be decided in July, and training will begin in August, said University graduate student and project manager Forster Ntow.

The project is funded by a one-year grant. If the program is successful, Clarkson said, she hopes to get the funding to continue it.

She said the program will target Minneapolis students who are potential first-generation college students, ethnic minorities and students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.

“Just because a student is from a poor family doesn’t mean they can’t be successful,” said Chidthachack, the program’s recruitment and retention operator.

One reason the program started, Clarkson said, was to make sure underrepresented students don’t fall behind with the state’s math regulations, which have required eighth graders to complete Algebra I since 2007.

The funding will be enough to tutor and mentor 135 eighth- and eleventh-grade students during the coming academic year.

“If we can prepare students better in math in high school,” Clarkson said, “then students have the opportunity to be more successful.”

Clarkson said getting students interested in math is important because it’s becoming a necessary skill in many careers.

“Math is just not optional anymore,” she said. “It’s so easy to give up when you don’t have the support when you’re trying to learn math.”

Chidthachack said she, Clarkson and the other program leaders will collect qualitative and quantitative data on student progress throughout the year.

In addition to participating in the project, Chidthachack is working on writing a book about her life story as another way to reach out to underrepresented students. She said she hopes the program, as well as her own personal story, will inspire young students to pursue higher education in math-related fields.

“That’s why this mentoring is so huge,” she said. “It’s so much more than just a math program.”

Science courses aim to diversify

cfenimore@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:59:56 +0000

By: Branden Largent

Traditionally, the University of Minnesota hasn’t incorporated diversity topics into its science courses.

Now, some faculty members and administrators want to change that.

Faculty members from the University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, the College of Biological Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine are working to include diversity in their curricula, said Karl Lorenz, CFANS Diversity and Inclusion program director.

CFANS will also introduce “intercultural competency” into orientation classes for its incoming freshmen, Lorenz said.

Faculty members are identifying specific courses within each of the college’s majors, Lorenz said, where students will learn about different cultures, social justice and equity, and how to collaborate across cultural differences.

For those courses, students take an intercultural development inventory that assesses their cultural competency at the beginning and end of each semester, said Department of Forest Resources assistant professor Joe Knight. The inventory measures the increase in student interest and competency in diversity topics.

Knight teaches the 1000-level course, Issues in the Environment, and restructured it to include the development inventory last year. He hasn’t received the assessment results yet, but said student discussions about diversity improved over the past two semesters.

Lorenz collaborated with the University’s Institute for Diversity, Equity and Advocacy to bring its workshop on integrating diversity into syllabi in science departments on the St. Paul campus.

“Students have to be able to work across difference,” Lorenz said. “A college that emphasizes the sciences has to bring that ability to work across difference into the classroom.”

The workshop is designed to show faculty members how they can introduce diversity into courses through assignments, learning materials and class discussions, said University associate professor and workshop leader Catherine Squires.

She said diversity can be incorporated into classes, even when they don’t fit into the University’s diversity liberal education requirements.

“Diversity matters in teaching, no matter what your subject is,” Squires said.

Lorenz said instructors often think it’s more difficult to create a diverse curricular experience for students in science-based colleges because science faculty members often weren’t taught to incorporate diversity into their teaching.

He worked with the workshop’s leaders to modify its content for a more science-savvy audience. Squires said there are more faculty members from the sciences than from CLA who are interested in attending the workshops.

Most faculty members are interested in bringing diversity into their classrooms, Lorenz said, but don’t have the skills to do it by themselves.

Because the University is primarily white, students need to be prepared to work in more culturally diverse environments, said Associate Vice Provost for Equity and Diversity Louis Mendoza.

“[The University] needs to mirror the complex, multi-racial, multi-ethnic society we live in,” Mendoza said.

Faculty members who attend both workshop sessions receive a $250 stipend, Mendoza said.

The money is used as an extra incentive to buy new classroom materials or attend conferences, he said.

Although the University is still working out how to educate its faculty members on diversity topics, it has more diversity requirements than some of its peers.

At Northwestern University, there are currently no diversity requirements. Frances Aparicio, director of Northwestern’s Latina and Latino Studies Program, said an academics and education working group proposed in February to include a diversity requirement for all undergraduates by 2015.

The University of Minnesota’s Office for Equity and Diversity isn’t looking to implement a diversity policy for every class, Mendoza said, but rather to suggest how faculty members can integrate diverse perspectives into their classes.

Craig Hassel, Food Science and Nutrition associate professor, said the workshops have helped faculty members consider how to implement more cultural context into their science curriculum.

Hassel teaches a freshman seminar where students can visit a Native American reservation and learn from elders in those communities about issues like nutrition and indigenous crops.

“Very few people would get that experience if we didn’t make a specific effort to include that in the curriculum,” Hassel said.

Lorenz plans to share how CFANS brought intercultural competency into its curriculum with other University colleges.

“If the function of education is to prepare tomorrow’s leaders,” Mendoza said, “… then we need to have somebody who can represent the interest of a wide variety of social groups.”

Cigarette tax worries businesses

akreiter@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:58:07 +0000

By: Meghan Holden

Abraham Elsayed is worried about the upcoming cigarette tax increase.

The new tobacco tax signed into law last month will raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.60 starting July 1, and Elsayed, who owns Royal Cigar and Tobacco in Dinkytown, gets a lot of his business from cigarette sales.

Anti-smoking groups say the tax increase will encourage nearly 37,000 Minnesota smokers to quit, and Elsayed said customers have been telling him they’ll give up smoking come July.

Other local businesses said they’ve heard similar pledges from customers.

Metro Petro employee Casey Sanwick said customers are constantly complaining about the new tax, adding that cigarettes are probably their biggest seller after gas.

“People are going to go

ballistic,” he said.

A 2012 study by the Small Business Survival Committee found New York City’s 2002 tax increase of $1.50 hurt about 85 percent of businesses selling tobacco.

Maxwell’s Market owner Ramadan Hussein said many customers say they’ll quit once the cigarette tax increases, but he doesn’t think they’ll follow through.

“People will never stop smoking,” he said.

The new tax also comes at a time when University of Minnesota officials are working to establish a smoke-free campus.

About 20 percent of students reported using tobacco in the 2012 Boynton College Student Health Survey.

National anti-smoking groups estimate Minnesota’s tax increase will prevent more than 47,700 kids from smoking.

Individualized studies sophomore Erica Crooker said she smokes occasionally but will probably buy cigarettes less often after the tax increase.

With the 130 percent tax increase less than two weeks away, smokers are buying in bulk.

“One customer bought 27 cartons,” said Smokedale Tobacco manager David Yousef.

The ‘next big market’

While cigarette sales may start to decline, the sale of electronic cigarettes has been on the rise in recent years, Hussein said.

The GfK MRI Survey of the American Consumer found Millennials made up 44 percent of smokers who used e-cigarettes.

Because of the growing demand for the smokeless alternative, Smokedale is in the process of developing its own brand of e-cigarettes.

Along with his usual pack of cigarettes, Smokedale customer Joe Thomas bought e-cigarette cartridges, which he says helps him quit smoking.

“I’m trying to supplement with e-cigarettes,” he said. “You feel like you’re smoking.”

Stadium Village’s Smokedale has also seen an increase in e-cigarette sales, Yousef said.

“I believe it’s going to be the next big market,” Hussein said.

Despite freeze, fees increase

cfenimore@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:57:37 +0000

By: Janice Bitters

While some at the University of Minnesota will see tuition freeze for the next two years, the cost of attending school will increase for all students.

The Board of Regents approved President Eric Kaler’s budget Friday that will hold tuition at $12,060 for resident undergraduates until fall 2016.

The freeze comes with an increase in student services fees and additional fees increases for certain students, classes and programs. Tuition will also rise for non-resident and graduate students.

“The hallmark of this budget is our commitment to affordability and access for Minnesota resident undergraduate students,” Kaler said at the Regent’s meeting.

While many were pleased with the tuition freeze, some — like state legislators — were irked by the additional costs to students.

Widespread cost increases

In addition to a nearly $100 student services fees increase, Kaler’s 2014-15 operating budget will raise fees for all Carlson School of Management students and international students.

All Carlson students will have a $500 fee per semester in addition to their tuition. The fee was instated last year at $250 per semester.

Full-time international students will see a new, $125 fee.

“This is really a fee designed to provide additional services to help these students be successful academically, so it would be for things like advising or tutoring,” said Julie Tonneson, associate vice president for budget and finance.

Some course fees and study abroad program costs will also increase, she said.

Room and board will increase by more than $300 for University housing next year to compensate for higher food costs and the cost of the new dorm on 17th Avenue, according to the operating budget.

Despite the additional housing cost, the University’s housing is still less expensive than at many colleges around the country, said Richard Pfutzenreuter, the University’s vice president and chief financial officer.

State legislators have praised Kaler’s budget for holding the line on resident undergraduate tuition, but some are concerned by the fee increases.

“I am pleased that the University kept their commitment to keep the tuition flat,” said Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL-Minnetonka, who heads the Senate’s higher education committee. “But I would have preferred that the student fees were not raised.”

Rep. Gene Pelowski Jr., DFL-Winona, Bonoff’s counterpart in the House, has been especially critical of the University’s finances in the past year.

“I think, especially in the last few years with the recession, the solution has been to raise fees,” he said. “But why don’t they go away? There might be better ways to do it.”

In addition to fees increases, many students won’t see a tuition freeze.

Tuition will increase for non-resident undergraduates and graduate and professional students. First-year resident law students will have the highest increase at nine percent.

The professional program increases caused Regent Laura Brod to vote against Kaler’s budget, saying she didn’t agree with the high tuition and high financial aid model the large increases created.

“I feel like we shouldn’t have a Kelly Blue Book for tuition,” she said. “We should know what [tuition] costs and … have students know what the cost is to them.”

Andrew McNally, incoming president of the Council of Graduate Students, said graduate tuition increases could be detrimental to the University in the long run, because highly qualified students might choose to go elsewhere.

“Particularly at a University, grad students are what makes it function,” he said. “They do so much of the research at a major university — they are a major draw for the faculty.”

Additional student aid

Though a number of student costs will increase, some sources of student aid — from scholarships to health resources — will receive more funding in the coming year.

The budget includes nearly $3 million for merit-based financial aid programs. Some of the funds will help recruit students from non-reciprocity states, who pay higher tuition.

In light of a nine percent uptick in counseling service requests in the past decade, the budget also sets aside funds for mental health resources from Boynton Health Service next year, according to Ferdinand Schlapper, Boynton’s director.

Board Chair Linda Cohen said she’d like to see preventative measures taken on the issue, including educating freshmen on mental health resources during orientation.

Funding for on-campus construction

The board voted unanimously to adopt Kaler’s six-year capital improvement plan and his capital improvement budget for the coming year.

This funding includes the final addition to the University’s Biomedical Discovery District, which will receive $63 million in the coming year, bringing the total funding for the district to nearly $300 million.

The building’s cost drew questions from several board members, but Regent John Frobenius said it makes sense to him.

“If you think about the importance of issues in the world … this may in fact be one of the most important buildings and projects the University gets in,” he said.

An additional $2 million in Kaler’s plan will be allocated to finish construction on Northrop Memorial Auditorium. The new Recreation and Wellness Center and the 17th Avenue residence hall will also be completed in the coming year.

Much of the University’s planned construction for next year has been delayed due to the failed bonding bill in the Legislature in May.

Board reviews leadership

In addition to approving both budgets, the board elected new internal leadership and reviewed Kaler’s performance during his second year in office.

In a split vote, the regents selected Richard Beeson as chair. Beeson, who joined the board in 2009, will replace Cohen in July.

After the vote, Cohen delivered Kaler’s review, describing his performance as “stellar” and adding that his decision-making style has “increased the pace of change within the University at a critical point in its history.”

Last year, Kaler got a similarly glowing review from the board, plus a three percent raise, which he donated to undergraduate scholarships.

The board will consider any potential pay increase for Kaler this year during their July meeting, according to University spokesman Matt Hodson.

City looks to crack down on renter crime

akreiter@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:54:59 +0000

By: Kia Farhang

A Minneapolis ordinance that punishes property owners for crimes their tenants commit may get stricter if the City Council acts on a recommendation from city staff.

Proposed changes could increase action taken against landlords and require them to participate in workshops after their tenants are arrested or cited for certain crimes. The proposal follows a trend of increased scrutiny on landlords from the city.

The city’s Conduct on Premises ordinance was created in 1991 to curb crime. It kicks in when tenants of a property or their guests break certain laws related to noise, prostitution, gambling, alcohol, drugs or weapons.

Minneapolis police crime prevention analyst Luther Krueger said most of the notices under the ordinance come from narcotics, prostitution and weapons cases.

“These [crimes] can be very disruptive to communities,” said Kellie Jones, manager for the city’s Problem Properties Unit.

After police cite or arrest the offenders,

property owners must currently submit a management plan to the city within 10 days of the first or second incident, depending on the severity of the crime.

These plans lay out for the city why the incident occurred and how the owner plans to keep it from happening again.

“We just need to see a written management plan to see if you’re on top of things,” Krueger said.

Owners are “a little low” in their compliance with the requirement, Jones said, which is one reason why she wants to tighten the ordinance. The plans benefit the city and property owners, she said, because they’re “all working off the same information.”

Minneapolis Ward 2 City Councilmember Cam Gordon said he’s seen neighborhoods and city government push for more regulation of rental properties in an attempt to make them more livable.

“I think a lot of that is great, but I don’t want us to tip too far in one direction,” he said. “That might have some unintended consequences that we regret later.”

Currently, police may recommend the City Council revoke owners’ rental licenses if they don’t comply with regulations. In the past five years, the city has revoked 16 licenses under the COP ordinance.

One proposed change would allow for a $500 fine instead — a more reasonable “stepping stone,” Jones said, before immediate revocation of an expensive rental license.

Local property owners said they don’t run into the ordinance often — but do fine their residents for crime.

Greg Jansma, building manager for Northstar at Siebert Field apartments, said he fines residents $300 for citations to discourage criminal behavior but has to do so less than once per year.

Instead, Jansma said, he spends more time “on the front end,” letting his tenants know they need to respect city ordinances and neighborhood expectations.

“You want to stay in the good graces of everybody in the neighborhood,” he said.

University of Minnesota lags behind nation in grad enrollment

cfenimore@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:53:27 +0000

By: Janice Bitters

National graduate and professional student enrollment rates have soared in recent years, but the University of Minnesota is bucking that trend.

While enrollment nationwide increased 16 percent between 2005 and 2010, across the University’s five campuses it decreased more than 6 percent from 2006 to 2012.

At the same time, the number of graduate program applications at the University hit more than 15,000 in 2010 and has continued to rise.

In 2012-13, the University had almost 17,000 graduate school applications, up 17 percent from four years ago.

Belinda Cheung, assistant vice provost of the Graduate School, said the disparity between applications and enrollment is to be expected.

“Enrollment trends seem to lag a bit in terms of the application trend,” she said. “Any change you see in the application trend is not going to reflect right away.”

More than half of the applicants in 2012 were international students, which Graduate Admissions Departmental Director Dean Tsantir said is unique from previous years but hasn’t been reflected in enrollment.

Though international student applications have outpaced those of U.S. students, international students made up less than a fifth of enrolled graduate and professional students in spring 2013, much as in past years.

Tsantir said graduate and professional programs choose independently how many applicants to admit.

“It is really college-by-college,” he said. “It’s not like undergrad, where you have a central decision maker or an office that is working with the departments ... it’s more decentralized.”

Though the University’s overall graduate enrollment has decreased, some programs have still had enrollment increases.

Nursing and health sciences, for example, have had the largest increase in the last six years, according to the 2012 University Plan, Performance and Accountability Report.

Many factors can impact the number of students admitted to graduate programs, Tsantir said, including funding for research grants, assistantships and fellowships.

Cheung said funds for such aid have been increasingly difficult to come by in recent years, especially for Ph.D. students, causing some faculty members to become more selective when considering applications.

“[Faculty] only want to admit as many as they know they can provide financial support,” she said. “So when faculty are having a hard time securing or renewing grant applications, they are much less likely to accept more [Ph.D. applicants].”

Tsantir said some programs at the University have a policy of funding all admitted graduate or professional students.

Andrew McNally, incoming president of the University’s Council of Graduate Students, said all of his doctoral candidate peers in American Studies have assistantships. Compensation packages may play a large role in students’ decisions to enroll, he said.

Other factors in deciding the number of graduate or professional students to admit include the number of available advisers and physical space in classrooms, Tsantir said.

“There may be some [programs] that want to keep their incoming students the same,” he said. “But there might be others where, say they get a new building, so they can admit more students.”

But by the time the University has more space, faculty members or funding, the tide for graduate enrollment may have already changed.

“It’s not as simple as saying across the board that the master’s is the new bachelor’s [degree],” Tsantir said. “Especially with MOOCs development and creative bridge programs, where you can do a master’s and a bachelor’s in five years.”

Some of the University’s peer institutions have reported graduate and professional applications have started to decline or level out, Cheung said.

“We are still seeing [applications] go up,” she said. “But we are not seeing the double-digit increase that we have been seeing the last few years.”

Bike shops survive side-by-side in Dinkytown

akreiter@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:51:03 +0000

By: Meghan Holden

For five years, Varsity Bike and Transit and Erik’s Bike and Board Shop have sat side-by-side on Fourth Street Southeast — attracting two different types of bikers.

When Varsity moved from its former location on the opposite side of the Varsity Theater to expand its store, it found itself right next to Erik’s.

Although the two bike shops are competitors, they both have their own customer base and serve different bicyclists in the city.

Local ties

On a sunny day, customers can walk into the open doors of Varsity and see the bright, popping colors of custom bikes lining the walls and ceiling.

A bike covered in Pabst Blue Ribbon beer logos hangs from Varsity’s ceiling — a “customer favorite,” said employee Kevin Anderson.

The shop caters to commuter-riders — mostly students who rely on bikes to get around campus, Anderson said.

As a small business, he said, Varsity is “better able to focus on the local neighborhood.”

Varsity owner Rob DeHoff started the “urban bike shop” 18 years ago because of his love for biking, and he continues to promote cycling as an alternative to cars and buses.

Aside from the selection for city riders and affordable bikes, customer Nic Krane said he prefers Varsity because of their unique bikes.

“Compared to Erik’s, their wall is like a canvas,” he said.

Krane hadn’t heard of Varsity before noticing their yellow sign while walking down Fourth Street.

He didn’t think it looked like much on the outside, but was pleasantly surprised when he walked in, Krane said.

Although some passers-by might miss the little shop, Anderson said, it has no problem competing with Erik’s.

“It’s a good feeling that the small guys can roll with them,” he said.

Chain familiarity

Next door, Erik’s provides two floors of neatly organized higher-end bikes and accessories.

In their close quarters, Varsity and Erik’s employees often exchange greetings and chat about bikes — a shared passion.

Employees often step next door to ask for small parts and will even advise customers to check each other’s stores for things they don’t sell.

“At the end of the day, what it comes down to is people who love bikes,” said Erik’s store manager Ty Buckley.

While Varsity is more of a “utility” bike shop, Erik’s serves more recreational riders, Buckley said. The Dinkytown location offers a larger selection of longboards than their other branches, he said, which also sets them apart from their neighbor.

John Rupsch, University of Minnesota entrepreneurial management and musical performance junior, browsed the spacious store while waiting for his bike to be repaired.

The Minnesota-based store caters to his needs as a mountain biker while being straightforward in their sales approach, he said.

“There’s no BS,” Rupsch said, “You know what you’re getting.”

The approach of each store may be different, but they share a mutual respect, said Erik’s employee Chris Lanyon.

Anderson agreed.

“You’d think it wouldn’t work,” he said, “but it has.”

Feeding the bike culture

Biking has become part of Minneapolis culture in the past five years, DeHoff said, which has helped the biking business succeed despite the economy.

From 2007 to 2012, daily bicyclist trips increased 56 percent in Minneapolis, according to the 2012 Minneapolis Bicyclist and Pedestrian Count Report.

“We like to think we have a hand in that culture,” Buckley said.

After moving into its current location, Varsity was able to sell cargo and electric bikes as the city began to encourage biking for daily transportation.

DeHoff started using bikes as his main mode of transportation 20 years ago, when it was much more unusual, he said.

“People used to say ‘you’re crazy,’”*** he said. “Then it changed to ‘how can I do that?’” ***

Plan B to hit drugstore shelves

cfenimore@mndaily.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:49:40 +0000

By: Elizabeth Ryan

Emergency contraception, or the morning-after pill, will soon be sold on drugstore shelves across the country instead of behind the pharmacy counter.

The Obama administration said last week it won’t fight a judge’s order allowing emergency contraceptives to be sold without a prescription or an age restriction.

In the upcoming months, the U.S Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve new labeling of the drug so it can be sold on store shelves.

Josephine Henn, a University of Minnesota senior, said she thinks it’s a “fantastic idea” and hopes to see the drug on shelves near campus, like at CVS Pharmacy.

Boynton Health Service currently carries Plan B One-Step in its pharmacy and, as soon as the packaging is updated, will move the drug from behind the counter, said Dave Golden, Boynton’s public health and communications director.

The biggest difference between now and when emergency contraception will be sold on shelves is that a customer no longer has to ask somebody for it, Golden said.

Amy Whitburn, a University senior and coordinator in the student group Sexual Health Awareness and Disease Education (SHADE), said taking away the stigma will likely lead to increased use of the drug for those who really need it.

“It will likely take away the trepidation and shame they may have felt when having to ask a pharmacist for a drug like Plan B,” she said.

Removing the age restrictions

Currently, emergency contraception is available at pharmacies for women over the age of 17. Anyone 17 or younger needs a prescription to purchase the drug.

Katie Eichele, director of The Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education, said removing age restrictions and the need for a prescription will be helpful for sexual assault survivors looking to prevent pregnancy.

Previously, the age limits for emergency contraception caused barriers for sexual assault survivors affiliated with the University, she said, such as 16- or 17-year-old students in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program.

In the 2011-12 school year, 306 female high school students were enrolled in the program, according to the PSEO office.

The Aurora Center used to work to find family members or older friends for young sexual assault survivors who wanted to take emergency contraception. Now, without the age restriction on purchasing the drug, those extra steps are no longer necessary.

“Since the age has changed,” Eichele said, “it has lifted some of the limitations.”

Protection

Critics of providing easier access to the morning-after pill say it will increase promiscuity.

Whitburn said this, and thinking women aren’t smart enough to protect themselves in other ways, is untrue.

“It’s been proven that young women really want to know that they have some sort of protection out there,” she said. “And if they can get it, they will use it.”

Kristina Stavenau, University senior and member of Students for Human Life, said she is against removing the age restrictions on emergency contraception because fewer adults will be involved in the decision-making process for girls under 17.

“There’re ways around involving parents at a teen clinic,” Stavenau said. “But if girls need to see a doctor before purchasing the morning-after pill, that’s at least one more person giving them some guidance.”

Of sexually active female college students in Minnesota, 13.8 percent said they used emergency contraception in Boynton’s 2012 College Student Health Survey. Nearly two-thirds of students who used the morning-after pill said they used it once, and 15 percent used it three or more times.

Henn said she doesn’t think making emergency contraception available without restrictions will change students’ behavior.

“People are going to have sex if they want to have sex,” she said. “Why not make it easier for everyone to be protected and safe the way they want to be?”

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.