Campus & State
Issue date: 2/7/05 Section: Briefly
Local Tibetans mourn loss of teens
A group of Minnesota Tibetans gathered Saturday night at St. Paul Community Center to discuss recent gang violence aimed at a group of Tibetan youth at a Columbia Heights pool hall.
Police claim the gang violence started when a Hmong gang mistook the group of mostly Tibetans for a rival gang. The misunderstanding turned into a fight and ended with gunshots that killed Tashi Sonam Jogottsang, 21, and his Cambodian friend, Busean Lieng, 19, as they ran away. The violence injured four more in the group.
Tsewang Ngodup, president of the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota, said the Tibetan people are shocked over this violence. This is the first time any of their members have been killed with a gun.
The Tibetan people began arriving in Minnesota in 1992. Currently, there are about 1,300 people in their close-knit community. According to Ngodup, they follow the Dalai Lama, who teaches harmony, nonviolence and peace.
Six members of the Hmong gang were charged with the shootings.
Increased school funding proposed
A school voucher proposal submitted to legislature last week would give up to $4,601 to lower-income Minneapolis and St. Paul students who would like to attend private schools.
The principal of St. Paul's Cretin-Derham Hall Catholic high school told the Star Tribune that this money would "increase the number of applicants who would never dream of coming here because of their inability to afford it," meaning the $7,500 annual private school cost.
If the voucher passes, families who make less than $47,100 a year would be eligible for aid. No more than 10 percent of a district's student body would be eligible for aid and if more apply there would be a lottery.
A group of Minnesota Tibetans gathered Saturday night at St. Paul Community Center to discuss recent gang violence aimed at a group of Tibetan youth at a Columbia Heights pool hall.
Police claim the gang violence started when a Hmong gang mistook the group of mostly Tibetans for a rival gang. The misunderstanding turned into a fight and ended with gunshots that killed Tashi Sonam Jogottsang, 21, and his Cambodian friend, Busean Lieng, 19, as they ran away. The violence injured four more in the group.
Tsewang Ngodup, president of the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota, said the Tibetan people are shocked over this violence. This is the first time any of their members have been killed with a gun.
The Tibetan people began arriving in Minnesota in 1992. Currently, there are about 1,300 people in their close-knit community. According to Ngodup, they follow the Dalai Lama, who teaches harmony, nonviolence and peace.
Six members of the Hmong gang were charged with the shootings.
Increased school funding proposed
A school voucher proposal submitted to legislature last week would give up to $4,601 to lower-income Minneapolis and St. Paul students who would like to attend private schools.
The principal of St. Paul's Cretin-Derham Hall Catholic high school told the Star Tribune that this money would "increase the number of applicants who would never dream of coming here because of their inability to afford it," meaning the $7,500 annual private school cost.
If the voucher passes, families who make less than $47,100 a year would be eligible for aid. No more than 10 percent of a district's student body would be eligible for aid and if more apply there would be a lottery.
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