Now, graduation looms on the horizon, and I’m starting to pack my bags to move away from the Cities—headed to the Big Apple for the summer.

Here is a list of things I took for granted during my last four years, and that you should enjoy while you can.

1. No sales tax. I’m definitely not looking forward to paying sales tax on clothing and food from now on. New York City has an 8.875 percent tax; Chicago has a sales tax of more than 10 percent. Minnesota’s deal is sounding pretty nice, huh?

2. The Mississippi River Walk. Yes, I may have Central Park in New York, but it won’t be the same. Nothing beats running by the Mississippi River in the fall when the leaves are changing, or taking a stroll while the last bit of snow melts away into spring. Who would ever want to run on a treadmill, or anywhere else, after that?

3. Juicy blucies. Hailing from a region of deep-dish pizza, I didn’t think anything would beat the Chicago specialty. But I have to admit, the Juicy Blucy has stolen a piece of my food-loving heart. Personal fav: the Merriam Park Blucy from the Blue Door.

4. The lakes. After all, Minnesota has 10,000 of them. I’ll miss the talk of waterskiing and wakeboarding and spending long days on a boat. I’ll miss sitting on the beach at Lake Calhoun and staring at the Minneapolis skyline. And something tells me the Hudson River just won’t live up.

5. The Varsity Theater. Minneapolis and St. Paul have a pretty good music culture, and my personal favorite is the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown. With red-curtained walls and draped Christmas lights throughout the room, the Varsity offers a whimsical atmosphere for concerts. New York will offer great concerts, but I’ll miss the Varsity.

6. The skyway system. What other city offers you an indoor route from one end to another? For a girl who is awfully wimpy when it comes to cold weather, the skyway system is one of my favorite parts of Minneapolis. From now on, I suppose I’ll have to brave the slush and cold during the winter.

7. Minnesota nice. There’s a reason why Travel and Leisure magazine ranked Minneapolis/St. Paul in the top 5 friendliest U.S. cities. People are just nice here.

What is your favorite part about the Twin Cities? What would you miss most? Submit a comment with your thoughts.

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.

This is News in :90 for Monday, April 18, 2011.

Senior Greg Scharine was voted 2011-12 USG president.

Beating last year’s record of 948 total votes, 1,245 students participated in this year’s election.

“It’s pretty significant,” said Corey Dahl, USG vice president of public relations. “It’s obviously great. I think it’s because we had contested elections, and people campaigned really hard and got people to vote.”

USG members declined to give the number of votes for individual candidates.

Mike Orth was named executive vice president, and said he is excited to join Scharine on the executive board.

“It’s certainly exciting because, being on USG for the past few years, I’ve looked up to the executive board as a tool for change,” Orth said. “I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Orth said he has some ideas in mind for next year.

“The first thing I want to do is listen to other students and talk to them to see what they want for next year,” he said. “There are a lot of good ideas out there, and I certainly want to take their ideas and not just my own.”

Scharine was not available for comment at the time of publication.

The rest of the executive board is as follows: Chris Daniels as vice president of administrative affairs, Jessica Root as vice president of academic affairs and Ben Schmitz as vice president of public relations. Vice president of finance will be chosen by the executive board. Applications are due April 21. Any junior or senior is eligible to apply.

Other positions will be filled as follows:

-Senior class president: Jazz Hampton
-Sophomore class senators: Heidi Ennigna and Kayla Gardner
-Elections and Credentials Chair: Jenna Johnson
-Commuter Senator: Megan Matheny
-Legislative Affairs Senator: Tom Deiley
-Neighborhood Senator (WSNAC): Jared Scharpen
-Neighborhood Senator (Merriam Park): Hayley Trace

The totals were still being tallied at the time of publication for senior class senators, junior class senators, sophomore class president and transfer senator. The position for residential senator was not filled and will be open for elections in the fall.

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.

"Money Talks," an Undergraduate Student Government-sponsored series with discussions on April 6, April 20, and April 27, aims to help college students with their finances after graduation. (meddygarnet/Creative Commons)

“It kind of burned me because it was a trick where after 30 days, they started billing you $19 a month,” he said.

He called to cancel the service, but the company continued to charge him. After a year, he had wracked up $200 on his credit.

“I didn’t believe I need to pay that,” he said. “I just kept arguing with the company [to get rid of the charges].”

When he went to buy a house, that $200 haunted him. He had a 640 on his credit score—the equivalent to a C.

“I had a little bit of a difficulty getting a mortgage because that was on my credit score,” he said.

Now, Dacey wants to help prepare students for finances in the real world by helping out with the Undergraduate Student Government’s “Money Talks” series, three alumni-led discussions about different financial subjects that are important to undergraduate students before and after graduation. The first session was Wednesday night in the 3M Auditorium.

“There’s really no secret to personal finance,” Dacey said. “It’s really about not spending more than you make.”

Senior Scott Hansen helped plan “Money Talks” with hopes of easing stress for students.

“Pretty much anybody has had stress about their finances at one time or another,” he said. “It’s only going to become more stressful if they don’t know what’s going on. … Taking the wisdom from our alumni, and taking the foresight that there will be some major expenses over your lifetime, this is one resource students can go to.”

According to a Wellness Center survey, finances are the No. 2 stresser for students behind academics, Hansen said.

“Finances are more stressful than personal relationships, intimate relationships, family issues,” he said. “This is a big deal for St. Thomas students.”

Wednesday’s session will focus on asset building and short-term planning, Hansen said.

“I imagine that a lot of students are going to want to buy a house, have kids or get married in the next 10 years,” he said. “So it’s planning your money and your budgeting correctly so given your income, or lack of income, you’ll be ready for those.”

The second session, “Kicking Your Debts After Graduation,” will be on April 20, and the last, “Your Money as an Undergrad at UST,” will be on April 27.

All sessions will have free food and prizes. Each event will have alumni experts to give advice and share personal experiences, Hansen said.

“The way we have the program set up and the energy that we’ve seen from our alumni, I really believe that the majority of students who attend these sessions will benefit greatly,” he said.

Dacey, who works with mortgage banking in the Twin Cities, will speak at the second session, and he said he is happy to pass along advice to help students.

“Don’t get too overwhelmed with personal finance,” he said. “It’s really more about managing yourself and making smart decisions. There’s no magic bullet that will help you get rid of your student loans. It’s just the decisions you make everyday to get ahead.”

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.

With politically minded lineups on both sides of the fence, the two groups will go four-on-four in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium at 7 p.m. And it’s bound to be as good of a match as when Hulk Hogan took down Andre the Giant at “Wrestlemania III” … with a little more civility.

And if that isn’t enough motivation, here’s why we think it’s important that you come watch eight students jump in the political arena.

1. Learn about the issues: Topics will range from national issues, such as foreign policy and health care to state dilemmas, such as balancing the state budget. The College Republicans and Democrats will present different sides of each issue. So educate yourself; learn about the issues and hear opinions that surround them.

2. Public discourse? Is that possible? You better believe it. The groups will demonstrate civil discussion tomorrow, proving that Democrats and Republicans aren’t always at each other’s throats.

3. Agreement? Yes, you may even see some conformity from the different sides. Or, if we’re lucky, see College Democrat co-chair Tyler “The Hawk” Petersen befriend College Republicans Public Relations Officer John “The Rock” Hofmeister.

4. Participate for yourself: Because it is the 21st century, Facebook will be on the agenda and TommieMedia will offer the opportunity for audience participation. Throw down your questions, and we’ll ask the participants.

5. Support your fellow students: Cheesy, yes. But the College Democrats and Republicans deserve a little loving. Come to OEC to support Taylor Heinlein, Taylor Bottolfson, Zach Pagano and Hofmeister on the red team, and see Thomas Durfee, Kristen Kieta, Cole Trace and Petersen bat for the blue team.

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.

This is Sports in :60 for Monday, March 28, 2011.

Director Emeritus Mary Kenkel says bars are classier than house parties, and that it should stay that way. (Tommy Ellis/TommieMedia)

But lately, the bar scene isn’t classier. And it’s definitely not more mature. Instead, the bar has become the new house party, packed with underagers who own fake IDs or flirt with the bouncer for admittance.

This isn’t about whether I condone or condemn underage drinking. But there’s a problem when an underage drinker brings the house party mentality to the bar. Because in reality, the puking, drunk girl belongs in the bar about as much as Brett Favre belongs on Target Field … or in the Metrodome, for that matter.

Instead, she should party out her immaturity at a house: the place where immaturity appropriately runs rampant. And where the toilet is nearby.

A 2007 study by University of Missouri researchers found that under-21-year-old college students were twice as likely to binge drink than their older peers. And having a fake ID only upped the odds. The study found that students with fakes were five to six times more likely to binge drink at least once a week compared to those underagers who didn’t have an easy way to obtain alcohol or go to the bar. Oh, and binge drinking in this study was considered five drinks or more in a sitting for men and four drinks or more for women … a pretty light night for many college alcohol enthusiasts.

In the past, there’s been a drinking-scene hierarchy in college. Freshmen kick it off by roaming the neighborhood in herds, wearing bottle-shaped backpacks. Sophomores typically have off-campus friends who throw parties complete with beer pong, flippy cup and card games. Juniors trickle to the bars as they celebrate 21st birthdays throughout the year. And seniors enjoy the bar scene with friends as a chance to embrace their last year at college.

Instead of following this hierarchy, freshmen are finding fake IDs and paying a pretty penny in many cases. The University of Missouri study found that when entering college, 12.5 percent of freshmen have fakes. But by the end of sophomore year, nearly one-third of students are boozing it up with fake IDs. The price varies, but some IDs cost more than $100.

And by using a fake, those students are leap-frogging right over the growing-up process. With two years of house parties under their belts, guys and gals can work past the habit of drinking to the point of embarrassment. They can figure out their limits and learn how to keep it classy. Then, when they make it to the bar as a junior, it’s a place of fun, responsible drinking with other adults. It’s not a place of stumbling and blacking out. It’s a place for drinking socially with friends, busting a move and having a grand ole, grown-up time to wind down.

After all, that’s why we of-age people go out on the weekends: to avoid the house-party atmosphere. So let’s keep the beer pong, vomit and stumbling at the house party and away from the bar.

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.

This is Sports in :60 for Monday, Feb. 14, 2011.

Former St. John Vianney seminarian David Jarboe. (Photo courtesy of Jarboe's personal website)

Spokesmen for St. Thomas and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Wednesday they will not investigate former St. John Vianney Seminary Rector the Rev. William Baer, who was mentioned in a Facebook note posted by a former seminarian who fatally shot himself last week.

David Jarboe killed himself outside a Catholic church Feb. 3 in Owensboro, Ky. Jarboe attended St. John Vianney Seminary from fall 2006 to spring 2007 and in spring 2008, when he left the seminary and transferred to Western Kentucky University. In a lengthy Facebook note before his death, he wrote about the “pain and torment” he endured because of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, according to The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.

Jarboe mentioned three priests in his note, including Baer. But Jarboe did not specifically accuse any of the three priests of abusing him. To Baer, Jarboe wrote, “You get no thanks. You are an evil man. Period.”

Baer worked as seminary rector from fall 1999 to spring 2010. He now works as pastor at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Oakdale, Minn. Calls to Baer were not returned Wednesday.

The archdiocese reviewed the case and will not investigate it further, archdiocesan spokesman Dennis McGrath said.

“There have been no allegations against Father Baer,” he said. “It’s out of left field. And all of us know that. … There are no grounds for an investigation.”

The archdiocesan vicar general spoke with the Owensboro Diocese about its investigation Wednesday, McGrath said, and he was informed there is “absolutely no connection in any way” to Baer.

“If, in fact, this poor, troubled young man was anguished for something that happened in Owensboro, that is unfortunate, but this had no connection with his time at SJV and his relationship with Father Baer,” McGrath said. “Just because Father Baer’s name was used in a different context in the Facebook page doesn’t mean he’s involved.”

St. Thomas will not be investigating and is working closely with the archdiocese to move forward, university spokesman Jim Winterer said.

“We don’t know why he (Jarboe) wrote that,” he said. “There were no specific allegations on the Facebook page. He criticized Father Baer, but there were no specific things.”

The university did talk with Baer about his relationship with Jarboe, Winterer said.

“After David left here, Father Baer had positive conversations with David, and he doesn’t know what motivated the criticism,” Winterer said. “It’s like a mystery.”

In the Facebook post, Jarboe wrote that sexual abuse in the church is real.

“Religion is not a bad thing,” he wrote. “But destroying free thought is. However, never once will I agree with the molestation of children. And never once will I agree with an institution that chooses to not acknowledge it.”

He also wrote that he hoped “that this message will save at least one child from the pain and torment that I had to go through. … Let this be hope to all those out there that have been abused by a Catholic Priest in any capacity. Perhaps your parents don’t see, perhaps those you know don’t see, know that God sees. And God never forgets.”

Jarboe also mentioned St. Thomas in his Facebook post, writing, “Thanks to all the wonderful professors who did not allow me to live inside the box. Thanks for taking a biased, angry, uneducated Ky boy and teaching him how to effectively think, act and feel.”

The university currently is not planning any on-campus memorial services for Jarboe, Winterer said.

“We feel really bad for the family,” he said. “It’s such a sad thing. But it’s a difficult thing for Father Baer too. He’s really saddened by it. For those who know Father Baer, we are kind of mystified.”

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.

The Student Organizations Committee, a group of Undergraduate Student Government class presidents and representatives, revoked club status after a review process and meeting with the Gamma Sigma Sigma executive board, according to Mike Orth, sophomore class president and SOC member.

“They’re no longer a club,” Orth said. “They had their winter formal and questionable things happened at that off-campus event. … There [were] definitely multiple violations, and we had documented evidence from various parties who were involved.”

A Sept. 27 Gamma Sigma Sigma informational meeting and member initiation. The St. Thomas chapter, Zeta Beta, lost its club recognition because of policy violations, USG member Mike Orth said. (Cynthia Johnson/TommieMedia)

Twelve Gamma Sigma Sigma members, including two executives, declined to comment.

Because of privacy rules, Campus Life could not provide details on the judicial process or violations, said Margaret Cahill, director of Campus Life.

Without club status, Gamma Sigma Sigma will not have access to school funding for at least a year, Orth said.

“It was a very difficult decision for us to make because these are our fellow students,” Orth said. “But given the facts that we found, it had been a situation that seemed to have occurred in the past. This time, it was something we could not ignore.”

National Gamma Sigma Sigma President, Keli Connor, sent a cease and desist letter to the members of St. Thomas’ Zeta Beta chapter regarding the violations.

The St. Thomas chapter is not allowed to meet “in any capacity” until its mandatory meeting Feb. 15 with the National Board of Directors. According to the letter, “failure to maintain cease and desist status will result in the immediate expulsion from Gamma Sigma Sigma.”

Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority declined to comment.

The St. Thomas chapter will have a chance to reapply for club status in 2012, said Greg Scharine, USG vice president of financial affairs.

But that does not guarantee it will be accepted.

“It’s not automatic, but they can apply again,” Cahill said. “It won’t be this semester. But a lot of that will depend on their relationship with the national office.”

Any student club affiliated with a national organization must be in good standing with that national organization to receive university funding, according to the Undergraduate Clubs and Organizations Handbook.

“We want all of our clubs to be successful. We do,” Cahill said. “And we don’t want to lose clubs. So it’s hard for us when policies aren’t followed and things happen.”

Jacqueline Destache contributed to this story.

Mary Kenkel can be reached at mlkenkel@stthomas.edu.