SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - NOVEMBER 2, 2015
FORMER PRES. TOM CLIFFORD “As usual, non-North Dakotans such as UND Presidents Ken Baker, Kupchella and Robert Kelley brought with them the bias that pervades the rest of the country's limited understanding of UND and North Dakota's actual potential.” -- From a letter to the GF Herald lamenting how UND had fallen behind NDSU in certain respects. The letter went on to say, “If someone such as the late North Dakota native and UND President Tom Clifford had been in charge, we would not now be behind the 8-ball in relation to NDSU. Yes, the letter may be a little parochial.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: GF Herald columnist Tom Dennis says UND should stress leadership over academic credentials in selecting a new president. On another subject, columnist Lloyd Omdahl said “Don’t go there” to anyone hoping to reduce ND’s 100-plus thicket of boards, committees and commissions.
NOT QUITE You thought, even hoped, the UND nickname battle was over. Nope, there will be a runoff starting November 2nd between Fighting Hawks, Roughriders and Nodaks. North Stars and Sundogs are dead. If no name gets over 50 percent in the November election, there will be an additional runoff.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: GF Herald columnist Tom Dennis says UND should stress leadership over academic credentials in selecting a new president. On another subject, columnist Lloyd Omdahl said “Don’t go there” to anyone hoping to reduce ND’s 100-plus thicket of boards, committees and commissions.
NOT QUITE You thought, even hoped, the UND nickname battle was over. Nope, there will be a runoff starting November 2nd between Fighting Hawks, Roughriders and Nodaks. North Stars and Sundogs are dead. If no name gets over 50 percent in the November election, there will be an additional runoff.
RESENTMENT WILL LINGER "Don't expect new nickname to put anger, resentments to rest." -- The lead-in to a letter in the Herald. The writer said, "I've never uttered a peep about the Fighting Sioux name. But I would say that the uniqueness of that moniker helped serve as a positive identity for American Indians and UND alike." He said, further, that a contrived election is not the way to win the hearts and minds of UND supporters.
NEW HONESTY Past ND assessment scores showed students were between 70 and 80 percent proficient. Yet, national tests showed only 42 percent of the graduating class of 2015 met the college readiness benchmark for math and 40 percent needed remedial courses in college. Something was wrong with the ND tests. State Supt. of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler said new tests indicate about 46 percent of students were proficient in English and 40 percent in math. Baesler was pleased to say the new tests have closed the “honesty gap.”
MORE HONESTY NEEDED Baesler was again pleased to report ND students scored higher than last year on the “nation’s report card.” How do they really rank? Eighth grade white students in ND had a respectable reading score of 293 making them 18th in the nation and two points above the national average for whites (291). Montana (292) and South Dakota (290) were close. In math, ND white eighth graders (270) ranked a poor 43rd in the nation and below the national average for whites (273). Both MT and SD ranked above ND in math. Eighth grade white students in Minnesota were among the top ten states in both reading and math.
JESUS TURNS MEAN Anti-abortion protestors surrounded the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo. They were in turn heckled by Jesus -- at least, a man dressed as Jesus. A protestor lost it and spit on Jesus, who decked the man with a “judo throw” breaking his glasses and injuring his knee. What happened to forgiveness? No one was arrested, but Jesus and the protestor will be charged with disorderly conduct.
INTOLERANT FORUM A number of Fargo residents have expressed concern about policies for resettling refugees in the Fargo area -- they contend the community is not consulted. The Fargo Forum would have none of it and labeled those residents a “vitriolic mini-cabal of nativists.” Political leaders who listen to them were said to “pander to xenophobes.” The Forum does not brook disagreement.
"OUR MAIN PROBLEM is employment — and the schools and the housing. Local businesses are reluctant to hire immigrants who don't speak English very well, landlords sometimes take advantage of them and young Somalis are struggling in schools.” -- A Somali leader giving the reasons for formation of a Somali Council of Elders in Fargo-Moorhead to act as a buffer between public agencies and the Somali community.
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) students in East Grand Forks are assigned to classes conducted in English. In one class, poor attendance by Somali students halted the entire class because instruction had to be repeated as students returned from absences. Brian Perkins, a long-time EGF high school teacher of history and economics, sent an internal email describing the problem and proposing possible solutions to help the learning of Somali ESL students. Because of the email, Perkins was suspended. Following protests by students and the public, he was reinstated. The email appeared innocuous to the GF Herald, which asked the High School District (with Perkins’ consent) to explain the episode.
LEND A HAND “It’s not about protecting a brother or friend because anyone that goes around and puts a total community in danger needs to be brought to justice.” -- A former head of the St. Paul NAACP pleading for public help regarding a recent rash of gun killings in St. Paul. A young, single mother was shot to death near her apartment after confronting burglars. Alvin Bell, the alleged killer, had two violent crime convictions, served time in three prisons and was on supervised release.
THE SPOOKIEST HOTEL IN ND ( from Yahoo Travel):
Sage Hill Bed & Breakfast / Country Inn
Anamoose, North Dakota
MAKE IT AN EVEN 20 After the recent purchase of the Black Building in Fargo, Doug Burgum’s Kilbourne Group had 18 downtown properties. He made it 20 last week when he purchased the Mathison building and another property near the busy intersection of University and NP Avenue. Kilbourne renovates historic properties and is remaking downtown Fargo.
BAKKEN VALUES TUMBLE “Between June and late September, 10 oil and gas companies have filed for bankruptcy — 19 have filed in the past year since mid-October.” -- From a Bismarck Tribune article about bankruptcies in the oil industry. Two companies with significant holdings in the Bakken were among the bankrupts: Samson Resources in Tulsa and American Eagle in Denver. Occidental Petroleum, one of the five largest U.S. oil companies, quit the Bakken and sold its properties. Whiting, the top ND oil producer, took a $900 million write-down, mostly related to ND properties.
“THE STEREOTYPE paints Minnesotans and North Dakotans as being overly polite, avoiding confrontation, an unwillingness to take credit, showing emotional restraint and being passive aggressive.” -- A description of “ND nice” from the blog of GF Herald news editor April Baumgarten. She vows to stop apologizing for things that are not her fault -- “No more Mrs. ‘North Dakota nice’ girl.”
DAKTOIDS: “The license plates will continue to be made by prisoners at Pheasantland Industries in the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.” -- From an announcement of new SD license plates featuring Mt. Rushmore . . . NDSU Extension reports prices for corn and soybeans are below break-even prices for ND farmers -- in other words, most farmers are operating at a loss.
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) students in East Grand Forks are assigned to classes conducted in English. In one class, poor attendance by Somali students halted the entire class because instruction had to be repeated as students returned from absences. Brian Perkins, a long-time EGF high school teacher of history and economics, sent an internal email describing the problem and proposing possible solutions to help the learning of Somali ESL students. Because of the email, Perkins was suspended. Following protests by students and the public, he was reinstated. The email appeared innocuous to the GF Herald, which asked the High School District (with Perkins’ consent) to explain the episode.
LEND A HAND “It’s not about protecting a brother or friend because anyone that goes around and puts a total community in danger needs to be brought to justice.” -- A former head of the St. Paul NAACP pleading for public help regarding a recent rash of gun killings in St. Paul. A young, single mother was shot to death near her apartment after confronting burglars. Alvin Bell, the alleged killer, had two violent crime convictions, served time in three prisons and was on supervised release.
THE SPOOKIEST HOTEL IN ND ( from Yahoo Travel):
Sage Hill Bed & Breakfast / Country Inn
Anamoose, North Dakota
MAKE IT AN EVEN 20 After the recent purchase of the Black Building in Fargo, Doug Burgum’s Kilbourne Group had 18 downtown properties. He made it 20 last week when he purchased the Mathison building and another property near the busy intersection of University and NP Avenue. Kilbourne renovates historic properties and is remaking downtown Fargo.
BAKKEN VALUES TUMBLE “Between June and late September, 10 oil and gas companies have filed for bankruptcy — 19 have filed in the past year since mid-October.” -- From a Bismarck Tribune article about bankruptcies in the oil industry. Two companies with significant holdings in the Bakken were among the bankrupts: Samson Resources in Tulsa and American Eagle in Denver. Occidental Petroleum, one of the five largest U.S. oil companies, quit the Bakken and sold its properties. Whiting, the top ND oil producer, took a $900 million write-down, mostly related to ND properties.
“THE STEREOTYPE paints Minnesotans and North Dakotans as being overly polite, avoiding confrontation, an unwillingness to take credit, showing emotional restraint and being passive aggressive.” -- A description of “ND nice” from the blog of GF Herald news editor April Baumgarten. She vows to stop apologizing for things that are not her fault -- “No more Mrs. ‘North Dakota nice’ girl.”
DAKTOIDS: “The license plates will continue to be made by prisoners at Pheasantland Industries in the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.” -- From an announcement of new SD license plates featuring Mt. Rushmore . . . NDSU Extension reports prices for corn and soybeans are below break-even prices for ND farmers -- in other words, most farmers are operating at a loss.
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