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Augsburg University students protest living conditions
Augsburg University students are calling for the Mortensen and Urness towers to be rebuilt with safer living conditions.
MINNEAPOLIS — Dozens of Augsburg University students, staff and alumni spent Tuesday afternoon protesting against what they call unsanitary living conditions in campus residence halls, particularly the Mortensen and Urness towers.
Students claim they have dealt with issues that include mold, pest infestations, lack of air conditioning and unclean water. Augsburg tells KARE 11 the university is addressing these concerns, but students say the towers should be replaced.
“Our tuition goes up and up every single year, but the quality of our housing goes down,” said senior social work major Madisyn Gowans.
Gowans said she spent two years dealing with multiple roach infestations while living in Mortensen Hall with no support from the university.
“I tried to tell people and it wasn’t getting solved. It didn’t get solved until January of the next year because I didn’t know I had to fill out a work order … it was never communicated to me that that was the procedure,” said Gowans.
During that time, Gowans said she began suffering from emotional and psychological distress once the roaches moved from her kitchen into her living spaces, including her bedroom.
“[Roaches] would be on my sheets and in my clothes. It’s just so horrible to feel that way. I can’t even describe how that feels. Unless you have been there, you don’t know,” said Gowans.
Gowans said it wasn’t until she threatened to call the Minnesota Department of Health that the university moved her to a new building.
“This is disgusting behavior. And the university wonders why we don’t submit more work orders or do more. It’s because they have fostered a horrible relationship between residence life and its students,” Gowans said to the gathered crowd.
Demonstration organizers Ali Olanda Oliva and Manu Kannare are both Augsburg University students, and say the university has turned a blind eye on their concerns.
“[Students] should not be doing a tug of war just to have our needs met. Augsburg is responsible for meeting our needs however best they can get there,” said Kannare.
Oliva agreed, citing a lack of communication and accountability.
“My intention with this [protest] is to not point fingers and put the blame on anyone. I just want a clean space and I want students to feel safe and to not have to worry about ‘oh there’s a roach in my dorm,” said Oliva.
The two say although they do not know what will happen next, they are still open to working with Augsburg’s administration to make changes.
“They (administrators) are so important to the students. They are the ones who can create the change we are asking for. Without their help, we can’t get anywhere,” said Kannare. “I am looking forward to hearing from them and seeing how we as a collective can join our ideas and make better solutions possible.”
In a statement to KARE11, Augsburg University officials said efforts are underway to improve the situation.
“We know that pest concerns can be upsetting to students even if only a small number of residence hall units are directly affected. Campus leaders have met with student government as well as individual students in recent weeks to discuss concerns around the residence halls and solicit feedback to improve processes going forward.
As a proactive measure, a comprehensive assessment of all units in Mortensen Hall was completed on September 7–9 by an external pest control company. Efforts have also been underway for several months to ensure that students are familiar and comfortable with the online facilities work order request system. In prior years we did not have a comprehensive approach to ensuring all students were informed about how and when to use it, so this may be a new process for some students. Residence Life has prioritized communication about facilities requests at floor meetings already this semester, and will continue to do so throughout the year. Our facilities department closely tracks all open pest complaints and prioritizes those work orders.
Going forward, we’re creating a residence life committee to continue to address and solve concerns in the residence halls. This committee will be led by student government members and will include the dean of students, residence life staff, facilities staff, and public safety staff. All interested students are welcome to join.
Augsburg is committed to providing safe and comfortable accommodations for our residential students, and where there are issues, we’ll work diligently to address them.”
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Woodbury principal Sarah Sorenson-Wagner sent a message home to families about what the sub allegedly did, from twisting a student’s arm to making racial comments.
WOODBURY, Minn. — Law enforcement and district officials are investigating an alleged incident involving a substitute teacher who was accused of reenacting the death of George Floyd inside a Woodbury High School classroom.
The incident was detailed in a letter to families sent Tuesday by Woodbury H.S. principal Sarah Sorenson-Wagner describing “inappropriate and racially harmful behavior involving a substitute teacher.” Students told Woodbury staff that the teacher, contracted through Bloomington-based Teachers On Call, reportedly told students he thought they’d like to hear about his life as a police officer.
The teacher was accused of the following during the course of four English class periods:
- Put a student on the ground in front of the class as part of a reenactment of the police actions that resulted in the murder of George Floyd.
- Twisted a student’s arm behind the student’s back and showed pressure points on the chin and face.
- Spoke about a bar fight and fake punched a student with his fist “really close” to the student’s face.
- “Invaded students’ space” and mimicked holding up a gun and pointing it at students.
- Repeatedly made racially harmful comments.
- Told sexist jokes.
- Described in disturbing detail dead bodies he had seen, and shared explicit details about two sexual assault cases he investigated.
- Stated that “cops would be the best criminals” and that “they know how to get away with stuff,” adding he once got an “A” on a paper about how to get away with murder.
- Told students that “police brutality isn’t real.”
Sorenson-Wagner specifically acknowledged the racial harm that occurred when the substitute teacher reenacted the restraint and conduct that resulted in Floyd’s murder. She also thanked students for coming forward and sharing what they saw.
“This reported behavior is reprehensible. I am embarrassed, and I am sorry this happened to our students,” Sorenson-Wagner wrote in the letter to Woodbury families. “We will take as much time as students need to listen and create open space for courageous conversations that lead to healing, action and education. The reported actions are not, and will not, be tolerated at Woodbury High School or in South Washington County Schools.”
The principal said the substitute was immediately trespassed from Woodbury High School, and will not be allowed back on district property. Staff members are also collaborating with Woodbury police to investigate the incident and determine if charges can be filed. A full report has also been forwarded to the Minnesota Department of Education’s licensing department.
Teachers On Call responded to an inquiry from KARE 11, saying the substitute teacher is no longer an employee, emphasizing the company’s educators are required to undergo a rigorous screening process and pass thorough background checks. The company says the substitute involved in the allegations passed all background screenings before being placed on assignment.
“Teachers on Call is deeply concerned about the reported misconduct of a former employee on assignment at Woodbury High School. The actions of this individual were unacceptable, and the substitute teacher is no longer an employee of Teachers on Call,” read a statement sent to KARE 11. “We recognize the significant public trust placed in us to ensure our substitute educators maintain a safe learning environment. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of violent, aggressive, or harmful behavior.”
Woodbury police also confirmed the alleged incidents that took place at the high school are under investigation. “The safety of the students, teachers, staff and our community is our top priority,” the department said in a released statement. “We will investigate this incident to the fullest extent, while showing compassion to the students impacted.”
Administrators at Woodbury High School followed up with listening sessions in all four English classes impacted, giving students “space to process what happened.” Principal Sorenson-Wagner promised additional opportunities next week to meet with school staff to talk through what happened and take steps toward repairing the harm done.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty filed what she says is the state’s first Prosecutor-Initiated Sentencing Adjustment (PISA) petition on behalf of Jerome Nunn.
MINNEAPOLIS — A man convicted of first-degree murder nearly 30 years ago stands on the cusp of having his sentence adjusted to reflect the turnaround in his life, the first person to have this opportunity since a law was passed in 2023.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty met with reporters Wednesday to discuss what she believes is the first petition filed since Prosecutor-Initiated Sentencing Adjustment (PISA) became law. It involves a man named Jerome Nunn, who was convicted at age 19 of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder back in 1995.
A case file says Nunn fatally shot Abdul Poe and wounded a man named John Holmes in a dispute over drugs and money that had allegedly been stolen from him.
In the years since his conviction and incarceration, Moriarty, Nunn’s attorney and others say he has made a remarkable transformation, earning three college degrees, becoming an ordained minister and helping to craft the Department of Corrections’ restorative justice program.
Nunn was assigned to work release in April 2023, and is currently working for a nonprofit helping men and women released from prison re-integrate into the community. By filing the PISA petition, Moriarty is asking a judge to reduce the remainder of Nunn’s sentence (supervised release) to time served to effectively end his commitment to Minnesota’s criminal justice system and “get him into a place of unconditional freedom.”
The movement to forgive Nunn for his crimes actually started back in 2014, fueled by the mother of the man he murdered. Danielle Jones told Nunn she forgave him and began advocating for his release from prison. In a breaking voice at Wednesday’s press conference, Nunn thanked Jones – a woman who has become a spiritual mother of sorts to him – and vowed to seek atonement for his actions as a younger man, always mindful of the harm has caused.
“Everyday I get up to make a difference,” Nunn told reporters. “I stand appreciative – I stand grateful.”
A Hennepin County judge will set a hearing for within the next 60 to 90 days to hear the petition and decide whether to end Nunn’s sentence.
Billy Wilder’s classic movie has moved to the big stage.
MINNEAPOLIS — “Some Like It Hot” is headed to Minneapolis as a new Broadway musical and a classic slapstick movie.
The show runs from Tuesday to Sunday and features two musicians escaping from gangsters in the 1920s.
The original movie premiered in 1959, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Curtis and Lemmon masquerade as female saxophone players to get away from gangsters, and get entangled in a whole new set of drama.
As the creative team brought this classic movie to 2024’s stage, they updated parts of it to reflect modern times and center a message of acceptance and gender fluidity.
Edward Juvier, who plays Osgood, visited KARE 11 News at Noon to share more about the show.
Tickets start at $40 and can be purchased at this link.
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