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Minnesota State University, Mankato
4 days, 95 miles, 1 mission
MSSA officials walk to the capitol in support of higher education
submitted photo MEGAN KADLEC
news editor
Most Minnesota State Mankato students spent their first days out of school hanging out with friends and starting their summer jobs. Unlike most people, a group of students did something a little different. Members of MSSA left Mankato last Monday morning with their sights on the State Capitol. Their mode of transportation: walking. The dedicated student leaders made the 95 mile trek to the capitol in attempts to make their views known on the importance of higher education funding for the state. They set out on the four day journey to convince the state government of the importance of college and prove to MSU students that they are dedicated to their cause. “The students whole purpose for the walk is to send a strong message to the governor and to
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the legislator about the importance of higher education — that higher education is a big engine for this institution for economic recovery,” said MSU president Richard Davenport. After students saw a three percent tuition increase last year, they are facing a higher increase this year. A five percent increase in tuition is being proposed for the upcoming year, however nothing is official yet. The school has yet to see how funding for higher education comes through in the state’s budget. The MSSA members who walked to the capitol stressed the importance of higher education and its impact on not only the local economy but also the state as a whole. “For every $1 the state invests in higher education they receive nearly $11 in economic return,” said last year’s MSSA president Tom Williams. “Minnesota State
University, Mankato has an economic impact of $350 million on the local Mankato-area economy alone. There isn’t a service the state offers that produces that type of economic return and has equally beneficial returns socially.” Last year, four MSSA officials choose to walk to the state capitol in order to show their support for higher education. The walk was effective last year in that the group was able to grab the attention of gubernatorial candidates and bring them to MSU. “Quite frankly, it will be difficult to measure the effectiveness of this year’s. Last year we set tangible and measurable goals of obtaining debates on campus, with our main objective the gubernatorial debate. We met those goals last year,” Williams said. “This year, our message is harder to measure. Our goal was to advocate for higher education,
did we accomplish that? I think so, in the most basic sense of the word.” While the group strived to make a difference at the state level, they also hope to make a difference in the attitude MSU students have towards their elected officials. “I truly hope they see how much they are appreciated on the campus level and especially on the state level. I hope they understand that their voices can be heard if they simply speak up. It doesn’t take a 95 mile hike to say what you believe. Just a phone call, or a letter or even an email,” Scott Boyd, 78th MSSA Speaker, said. “There are dozens, probably hundreds of people willing to help students all across the state, and it just takes a single voice to set off change.” When they arrived in St. Paul last Thursday, the students met with Governor Mark Dayton,
who is known to support funding for higher education in Minnesota. “He congratulated us on our efforts, commended us for the great task which we overtook,” Boyd said. “He reminded us that he has always been in support of higher education and that he will work towards helping us.” MSSA officials believe that the walk raised awareness of the issues surrounding higher education, and will start a discussion between students and the government. “When legislators see that students are willing to go above the expected avenues for voicing their concerns it shows that this topic probably needs a little more focus than what it’s receiving now,” Williams said. “It becomes a larger part of the discussion which I believe only helps higher education.”
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