Candidates prioritize student issues
State legislature hopefuls addressed student concerns in the CSU Mondayby Matt Sauer
Issue date: 10/21/08
Section: Campus News
With the 2008 U.S. presidential election now two weeks away, it seems many local political races and their candidates have taken a back seat, but that doesn't mean they're not there.
Monday morning's "Pizza, punch and politics" event in the Minnesota State Centennial student union Ballroom provided students and teachers with important information about the platforms and ideas of Minnesota's House of Representatives candidates for Districts 23A and B and District 24B.
The event began as a basic meet and greet and people were encouraged to bring up any issues to the candidates that they felt weren't being addressed or demanded more attention.
After the audience had time to voice its concerns, the candidates got down to business. Minnesota State Student Association's Clark Johnson served as moderator for a question and answer session with the candidates. MSU senior John Busch provided the voice for the question portion of the event.
Issues discussed ranged from alcohol and smoking concerns to gun control on MSU's campus, but student financial worries and tuition prices seemed to take priority.
"The main problem here is that [state] legislation doesn't have authority to set tuition prices," said Terry Morrow, the incumbent for District 23A. "Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, but the fact of the matter is that by 2014 more people [in Minnesota] will be retiring than graduating, resulting in less qualified people for many jobs."
"If tuition keeps going up, just the idea of paying for college might be enough to keep people from going," Morrow added. "As it stands, tuition costs are pricing people out of college."
Mike Bidwell, also running for the District 23A seat, seemed to agree.
"Terry's right here. Students need to be made a priority," Bidwell said. "Instead of taking a backseat to the state's financial concerns, officials need to find a way to appropriate funds - whether that be privatization or some other means - and provide students with an incentive for school, not a financial burdon."
The candidates also addressed the importance of the state's Minnesota State College and University (MnSCU) system, with many candidates making mention of the misappropriation of funds to the system's central headquarters.
"The first thing we need to do is make sure there's good communication between the MnSCU central office and the schools themselves," said John Branstad, a candidate for representative of District 24B. "Once that's taken care of, school and state officials will have to find a way to make their system more efficient, and possibly reduce the central office's funds to allow more money to be integrated into the schools themselves."
Branstad added that MnSCU may be falling out of touch with those it's meant to serve.
"Schools are made for students, and if the students can't afford the schools then both are out of luck. This is something that MnSCU seems to be forgetting lately," Branstad said.
The legalization of concealed weapons on state campuses, one of the more controversial topics colleges are facing these days, was also discussed with mixed reaction.
"The fact of the matter is that 'gun free' zones are just another name for killing zones," said Tony Cornish, Lake Crystal's police chief and a District 24B representative hopeful. "If somebody were to come in this room right now and start shooting, the only person who could save lives would be a person with a gun.
"Think about it, the only person that can defend against an armed person is another armed person," he added.
Morrow disagreed respectfully on the basis that violence isn't the answer to violence.
"I respect Tony's enthusiasm on this issue, the fact that he is a police chief gives him enough credential to be listened to seriously," he said. "However, many people have different views, and gun control is one of those issues that literally has life or death consequences."
"As a result, I don't think anybody should be allowed to carry weapons on campuses, because there are always more options than simply carrying a gun yourself."
By the end of the forum, several key issues were addressed, but the consensus seemed to be that students need to be made a priority. Every candidate agreed that prices for tuition, books, and other university-related expenses are becoming near outrageous, and state funds need to seriously reallocated to ensure students don't suffer even more.
Matt Sauer is a Reporter staff writer
Monday morning's "Pizza, punch and politics" event in the Minnesota State Centennial student union Ballroom provided students and teachers with important information about the platforms and ideas of Minnesota's House of Representatives candidates for Districts 23A and B and District 24B.
The event began as a basic meet and greet and people were encouraged to bring up any issues to the candidates that they felt weren't being addressed or demanded more attention.
After the audience had time to voice its concerns, the candidates got down to business. Minnesota State Student Association's Clark Johnson served as moderator for a question and answer session with the candidates. MSU senior John Busch provided the voice for the question portion of the event.
Issues discussed ranged from alcohol and smoking concerns to gun control on MSU's campus, but student financial worries and tuition prices seemed to take priority.
"The main problem here is that [state] legislation doesn't have authority to set tuition prices," said Terry Morrow, the incumbent for District 23A. "Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, but the fact of the matter is that by 2014 more people [in Minnesota] will be retiring than graduating, resulting in less qualified people for many jobs."
"If tuition keeps going up, just the idea of paying for college might be enough to keep people from going," Morrow added. "As it stands, tuition costs are pricing people out of college."
Mike Bidwell, also running for the District 23A seat, seemed to agree.
"Terry's right here. Students need to be made a priority," Bidwell said. "Instead of taking a backseat to the state's financial concerns, officials need to find a way to appropriate funds - whether that be privatization or some other means - and provide students with an incentive for school, not a financial burdon."
The candidates also addressed the importance of the state's Minnesota State College and University (MnSCU) system, with many candidates making mention of the misappropriation of funds to the system's central headquarters.
"The first thing we need to do is make sure there's good communication between the MnSCU central office and the schools themselves," said John Branstad, a candidate for representative of District 24B. "Once that's taken care of, school and state officials will have to find a way to make their system more efficient, and possibly reduce the central office's funds to allow more money to be integrated into the schools themselves."
Branstad added that MnSCU may be falling out of touch with those it's meant to serve.
"Schools are made for students, and if the students can't afford the schools then both are out of luck. This is something that MnSCU seems to be forgetting lately," Branstad said.
The legalization of concealed weapons on state campuses, one of the more controversial topics colleges are facing these days, was also discussed with mixed reaction.
"The fact of the matter is that 'gun free' zones are just another name for killing zones," said Tony Cornish, Lake Crystal's police chief and a District 24B representative hopeful. "If somebody were to come in this room right now and start shooting, the only person who could save lives would be a person with a gun.
"Think about it, the only person that can defend against an armed person is another armed person," he added.
Morrow disagreed respectfully on the basis that violence isn't the answer to violence.
"I respect Tony's enthusiasm on this issue, the fact that he is a police chief gives him enough credential to be listened to seriously," he said. "However, many people have different views, and gun control is one of those issues that literally has life or death consequences."
"As a result, I don't think anybody should be allowed to carry weapons on campuses, because there are always more options than simply carrying a gun yourself."
By the end of the forum, several key issues were addressed, but the consensus seemed to be that students need to be made a priority. Every candidate agreed that prices for tuition, books, and other university-related expenses are becoming near outrageous, and state funds need to seriously reallocated to ensure students don't suffer even more.
Matt Sauer is a Reporter staff writer
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