Wednesday, May 26, 2010
www.msureporter.com
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Walking toward progress
submitted photo Minnesota State Student Association members Dan Kromer, Tom Williams, Brett Anderson and Matthew Schmidt beam with accomplishment as they hand invitations to for the fall 2010 forum on higher education to Minnesota Representative Kathy Brynaert and Senator Kathy Sheran (middle).
MSSA members march 95 miles to invite government officials to MSU for a forum on the status of higher ed. ELENA SHUFELT
news editor This walk makes marathons look like sprints. Four Minnesota State Student Association (MSSA) members walked 95 miles to the capitol in St. Paul to invite legislators and gubernatorial candidates to a forum at Minnesota State in fall 2010. President Tom Williams and Vice President Brett Anderson led the way and were joined by Speaker Matthew Schmidt and Senator Dan Kromer. The forum will focus on the future status of higher education and the changes that have raised the financial burden students’ bear. “We probably won’t see an immediate impact,” Williams said. “What it does, though, is it puts higher education on the agenda, making it a discussion point and putting it
in the forefront of issues that the governor candidates and the legislative candidates are facing.” Williams said this walk made a statement that tells government officials that something is happening with higher education that needs their absolute attention. “We just need to start talking about the future and what our plans are for higher education because if we keep going in this direction nobody is going to be able to afford an education,” Anderson said. The state of Minnesota’s original intent was to pay more than 50% of the total revenue for higher education, but that percentage has lowered over the past few years. Now students are looking at paying almost 58% of the cost out of their own pockets.
“They are willing to listen and work with us,” Schmidt said. “I think if they came down and showed that they cared, all the students would feel a little bit better about how the government feels about higher education.” The walk began at the doors of the Centennial Student Union at noon on May 14. Williams, Anderson and Schmidt then set off toward the Sakatah State Trail to start their treacherous journey. Anderson said it was strange only working one half of the body. “From the waist up you felt like a rock star, but the bottom half your feet were just blisters and swollen. We couldn’t put our shoes on in the morning our feet were so swollen.” The first night the team carried backpacks and planned to camp, but when they stopped
in Waterville to grab some dinner, an inspired stranger took them in. Kate Aase heard the story of what they were doing and refused to let them camp. She and her husband Dennis Merritt gave them beds, showers, food and oil to rub on their worn out feet. The following day, the team pushed themselves to walk nearly 40 miles. “She really went above and beyond the call for being a stranger,” Anderson said. “I think without that—I don’t know if we would have made it as far as we did on Saturday.” Schmidt agreed that their kindness helped motivate the team to continue. Saturday Kromer joined the walk with a fresh set of legs after running a 5K earlier. “He really lifted our spirits
Walk / page 4
index
Two popular Mankato hangouts close, see page 3 Editorial...................................4 Sports......................................6 Variety......................................9 Classifieds.............................11
MSU grad runs for mayor NATE BRENNAN
editor in chief
“The way government does business is going to be changing,” says Mankato mayoral candidate Christopher Frederick. Although Frederick, a 2008 graduate of Minnesota State’s electrical engineering program, failed to ascertain one of Mankato City Council’s at-large seats in last fall’s election, he believes he has what it takes to take down incumbent John Brady. Modern politics being as much about campaigning as it is politicking, Frederick feels that given the results of his recent candidacy for the Mankato City Council, an election in which he was defeated by a mere 415 votes, there is a real chance he’ll become the next mayor of Mankato. “[The city council election] really showed me that there is a strong support for some different thoughts and some different direction needed within the council,” Frederick says. “We haven’t seen a lot of progression or changes from two years ago, so there’s still a lot of relevant issues that I feel need to be addressed.”
submitted photo 2008 Minnesota State graduate Christopher Frederick will run for the office of Mayor of Mankato in the 2010 election.
“A couple weeks ago we saw that the LGA (Local Government Aid) was cut again and the council had to address and adjust its budget accordingly,” Frederick said. “We need to have creative solutions and creative ideas on how we’re going to solve tomorrow’s problems, understanding that we’re going to have to do the
Mayor / page 4
Maverick baseball falls short in the Division II College Baseball World Series PAGE 6