No picketers, lobbyists or door knockers need apply.
Tom Williams, a Prior Lake High School graduate from Savage, along with some fellow Minnesota State University-Mankato students, walked 97 miles in about 72 hours to spread the word about inadequate funding for higher education.
The trip started from the student center on the Mankato campus on Friday (May 14) and ended at the state Capitol steps on Monday (May 17).
“Overall, it was a success,” Williams said standing on the steps to the Capitol. “If you break it down, well, it really hurts.”
As legislators went in and out of the building after spending several late nights in St. Paul while the 2010 Legislative session finished up, Williams and the other walkers hand delivered invitations to attend an open forum on the current and future state of higher education funding to the lawmakers at Mankato in the fall.
The crew was greeted with the same question each time they explained their walk: “Why?”
When tales from the trail wore down, the talk was all business.
“It’s all about higher education funding,” Williams told them. “I firmly believe you won't have small businesses, you won't have innovation, you won't have new technology without higher education. There's job creation when workers are laid off and they seek out the colleges and universities to be retrained.”
The walkers talked to candidates, senators and representatives including Teresa Collett, who is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, Minnesota House of Representatives Majority Leader Tony Serditch, Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, who is running for governor, and others.
Dayton said come fall he’ll either be campaigning for governor or unemployed; either way, he said he would like to attend.
When Senjem was told about the invitation, he said he would be happy to attend. “You boys walked all the way here from Mankato, the least we could do is come down there,” he said.
Pogemiller had many questions about the trek and said he would try to make the date.
Williams was elected president of the Student Association just before school let out for the summer. He and his running mate, Vice President Brett Anderson, came up with the idea of the long walk during their campaign.
Anderson said he wanted to show they were serious about the work as potential leaders. “We thought it would be a great way to show our commitment to our jobs,” he said.
Williams morphed the walk into a challenge to legislators to attend an open forum. “It’s about the future of education,” he said, adding the rising costs are creating negative impacts on the economy and the future.
Williams and Anderson walked with Matt Schmidt, the speaker of the Student Association and Dan Kromer, a senator in the Association.
Together they had over 20 blisters, sun burnt skin, aching ankles, knees and hips as well as swollen feet. And, they were tired.
Kromer was the only one who prepared for the trek because he is a runner. The others purchased new shoes just before taking finals.
“We didn’t do much for preparation,” he admitted as he limped at the foot of the Capitol steps.
For the online Savage Pacer story, click on http://www.savagepacer.com/news/general-news/walkin-walk-students-walk-mankato-st-paul-105
For more Savage Pacer news, go to http://www.savagepacer.com/node
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