This is News in :90 for Thursday, May 13, 2010.

Students wanting to see Jordin Sparks perform on campus waited in line Tuesday morning at the Box Office & Expeditions to get their free wristband to the concert.

Freshman Ryan Streitz is very excited that Sparks is coming to campus.

“She’s the American Idol winner, and I really like the song ‘Battlefield,’” Streitz said.

Freshman Katrina Miller isn’t a huge country music fan, but really loves pop music.

“I really enjoy her music, and I’m pretty excited,” Miller said.

Senior Jenna Root waited in line for 45 minutes before getting her wristband.

“I loved her on American Idol,” Root said. “I got her CD right when it came out, and I’m going to get to the show an hour early to get good seats.”

The concert will be held Saturday in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium. Wristbands are available to St. Thomas undergraduate student with a valid UST ID. Wristbands are needed because the auditorium has a limited capacity. Doors for the concert open at 9:30 p.m. The concert will start at approximately 10 p.m.

Shane Delaney can be reached at smdelaney@stthomas.edu.

After Friday morning, commuters will need to find a new parking lot. (Ashley Stewart/TommieMedia)

Commuter students who use Lot H will have to find a new place to park their cars starting Friday morning.

Parking Lot H on the corner of Summit and Cretin avenues will close at 5 a.m. Friday, April 30, for the construction of the Anderson Student Center.

Junior Ong Yang isn’t thrilled about the change, but realizes it is something that has to happen.

“I’m not really happy about it,” Yang said. “Parking on South Campus and walking will be the only choice I have, but what are you going to do?”

According to University of St. Thomas News Service, Lot H has existed in various sizes since the opening of O’Shaughnessy Hall back in 1940. The lot originally had 402 parking spots, but those were reduced last summer when construction began on the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.

Senior Mike Spillman said the closure won’t affect his parking routine too much.

“When I have class in the afternoon I park on South Campus anyway so I guess it won’t be too much of a difference,” Spillman said.

Public Safety placed an electronic sign near the Cretin Avenue entrance of Lot H notifying drivers of the closing. The only vehicles allowed in Lot H beginning Friday will be for construction.

St. Thomas News Service said once Lot H is closed, Opus crews will begin Monday, May 3, to install construction fences, remove trees and bring in equipment for construction of the student center.

Commuter students who now park in Lot H will need to make alternative plans.

Commuter permits are valid in several other surface lots as well as the Anderson Parking Facility. A map of the lots can be found by selecting “Commuter” in the “Find Parking” pull down menu.

Shane Delaney can be reached at smdelaney@stthomas.edu

This is News in :90 for Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

Teresa Collett

Republicans from Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional District voted to endorse University of St. Thomas law professor Teresa Collett as this year’s GOP candidate.

The endorsement came on the first ballot at the party’s convention in Vadnais Heights on Saturday. Collett won 84 percent of the vote. Republican challenger Brad Lee conceded and pledged his support for Collett.

“Now that we have nominated a candidate, we must work hard to bring our message to all the voters of the Fourth District: Republican, Independent and Democrat,” Collett said. “Unemployment does not know political affiliation, and bankruptcy affects people regardless of party loyalty. We are all suffering in this economy, and so our solutions must be solutions for all.”

Collett, 53, began teaching at St. Thomas in 2003. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified before U.S. House and Senate committees. Collett represented Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and and various medical groups in the defense of the federal ban on partial-birth abortion. She calls herself a passionate advocate for human life and the family.

DFLer Betty McCollum currently holds Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional seat; she is running for her sixth term this fall.

Students could donate clothes during convo hour on Thursday. (Josh Kleven/TommieMedia)

Strong winds and cool temperatures didn’t dampen the spirit of some St. Thomas students as they donated used clothing to the Youth Express clothing drive Thursday afternoon.

“The clothes donated here will go to the Express Yourself clothing store,” senior Tara Niebeling said.

When Niebeling interned for Youth Express, an after-school program for inner-city and low-income youth, she was assigned to work with Express Yourself, a secondhand clothing store. Even though her internship has ended, Niebeling decided to keep working with the store, which is completely run by students in the program.

“They designed the store; they decide what goes on the shelves,” Niebeling said. “It’s all their project.”

Youth Express opened the store on the corner of Selby Avenue and Lexington Parkway as a way for youth to learn business practices.

“The girls in the program are learning administrative skills, customer service and even a little advertising,” Niebeling said.

The store depends on donations, and St. Thomas clubs as well as other businesses in the area have stepped up to help.

“Gamma Sigma Sigma said they needed five SUV’s to bring all their clothes today, so we’re pretty excited to see that,” Niebeling said. “Other clubs like Delta Sigma Pi, PRSSA and AdFed also helped us out with donations.”

Other businesses, such as Old Navy and American Eagle, donate clothing that did not sell in their stores. Niebeling said it’s a good way to get good looking clothes for little money.

“Just stop by the store, and check it out,” she said. “It’s all really cheap and it goes to a good cause.”

Shane Delaney can be reached at smdelaney@stthomas.edu.

This is News in :90 for Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

With the semester in full swing, students are busy with everything from homework to finding jobs.

Senior Lynn Lieser is no different. One of the last things on her mind is the upcoming 2010 census.

“I know we’re going to be getting something in our mail, and it’s important to fill out,” Lieser said.

But Lieser isn’t from St. Paul. She rents a home off campus and doesn’t know if she should fill the census form in St. Paul or back in her hometown.

Josh Hengemuhle, area manager for the commuter center and off-campus services, said students should watch their mailboxes and fill out the form for St. Paul.

“The census is trying to get a count of where you live as of April 1, 2010,” Hengemuhle said. “They want to know where you lay your head at night.”

Students who live on campus will also be counted in St. Paul.

Aaron Macke, director of residence life, says the process for on-campus students will be a little different.

“The census is going to need a roster of whoever is residing in our halls as of April 1, 2010,” Macke said. “We give them that roster, and they create a questionnaire packet for every single resident.”

Residence Life staff, such as hall directors and resident advisers, will assist with the counting of resident students.

Lieser thinks the policy to count students in St. Paul and not in their hometown makes sense.

“For the last four years I’ve lived in St. Paul, so it would be kind of dumb if they counted me in my hometown,” Lieser said.

And the information collected by the census bureaus is used by a lot of different organizations.

“Since it only happens every ten years, and it’s supposed to be a count of everyone in the U.S., it’s a pretty packed set of data that a lot of organizations use,” Hengemuhle said.

Which makes it important for every student to get counted.

Shane Delaney can be reached at smdelaney@stthomas.edu.

This is News in :90 for Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010.

Rep. Sheldon Johnson of St. Paul will hold a press conference Thursday to discuss a bill that would require cell phone companies to hand over information that shows the whereabouts of a cell phone of a missing person.

“I’m not sure how it could serve as a disadvantage,” said Michael Barrett, associate director of public safety.

When St. Thomas freshman Dan Zamlen went missing last spring, his parents said police couldn’t use his cell phone’s GPS tracking system without a court order. This bill would change that requirement, but some argue this bill violates privacy laws.

“The notion of missing persons is closer to our community than some of the other area colleges,” said Barrett, “but for somebody that doesn’t want to be found, it can be tough to look at that and say whose decision is it?”

Democratic lawmakers will be joined by a couple from Kansas whose daughter’s body was discovered in 2007 after using tracking information from their cell phone provider.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Shane Delaney can be reached at smdelaney@stthomas.edu