Today three Minnesota State Mankato students embarked on a long journey to have their voices heard at the capitol. They're hoping for a lot in return for the miles.
Gear is packed, stretches are complete, and comfy shoes are laced tight.
"We're ready to go, and 100 miles at 30 miles a day, here we come," Brett Anderson says.
The three students are on an expedition with a purpose. They're going the extra mile for education.
"You can see that slowly but surely our ranking is slipping nationwide, especially in higher education and secondary and elementary education, but we've been known for education and it's time that we get back to that standing as the education state," says Tom Williams.
They have yearly increases in tuition, along with budget cuts, on their minds, and they are ready to walk the walk to talk about it, all the way to the state capitol.
"There's only so much phone calls and emails can do," Williams said. "We figured in order to grab the attention, the sole purpose was to issue a challenge to legislators and the governor candidates, that is we do something, then they do something."
In return for their voyage the guys are challenging lawmakers and candidates to host an open forum on campus, the topic of conversation being the future of higher education.
"It's an attempt to get more students speaking up," Williams says. "You don't find many students actually voicing and partaking in the process of elections or politics, so if we bring it on campus and put it in their face, they'll be more inclined to participate and become knowledgeable about what's going on."
One step at a time, they're getting closer to their goal.
"We just want to start the conversation, get up there, meet legislators, let them know what students are going through and work to find some solutions," Anderson says.
They're putting one foot in front of the other to make sure Minnesota State Mankato stays in stride with higher education.
To view a video clip of this KEYC-TV story, click on http://www.keyc.com/node/37305
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