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MSA candidates push for on-campus safety
Nathan Whalen
- Staff Reporter
For two University students, the Minnesota Student Association's role is to communicate student concerns to administration officials and not to actually take action.
MSA presidential candidate Andy Rorvig and vice presidential candidate Craig Post both believe MSA doesn't have any actual authority. It should instead be a vehicle to develop and communicate student consensus that would lead to action from the administration, said Rorvig, who is the vice president of the political group, Gophers for Gore.
"(MSA) gives support with our issues and gives us credibility with the University," Rorvig said.
MSA elections will be held March 21 and 22 at five campus polling stations and online.
The two Phi Kappa Psi fraternity officers chose campus safety as their sole campaign issue after spending a month talking to students and collecting their opinions.
"I don't see MSA having the credibility to handle more than one main issue," Rorvig said.
Rorvig said they don't think MSA has the ability to tackle big issues such as tuition increases and on-campus stadiums.
"We want to do something tangible and that can be done," said Post, a history sophomore and treasurer for Gophers for Gore.
To make the safety issue easier to handle, Rorvig and Post have four separate plans of action they say would make the campus safer.
They would like to expand 624-WALK to provide night escorts for students to off-campus locations, increase the number of emergency telephones on campus, start an evening run for the Washington Avenue Bridge Circulator and propose a flat-rate student fee for night ramp-parking.
The flat fee for student parking would provide students with cheaper rates than the general public. The rates would encourage students to drive to campus at night rather than risk walking.
Both Rorvig and Post see the MSA election as a stepping stone for future opportunities. Rorvig, a public relations junior and state legislative intern, wants to run for city office, while Post intends to be elected to state government.
The duo said they thought about running for the top two MSA positions earlier this year because they were frustrated with MSA's performance, Rorvig said.
Rorvig and Post have the support of Gophers for Gore and their fraternity. Their campaign includes plastering the campus with posters, talking with student groups and other fraternities and sororities.
Nathan Whalen welcomes comments at nwhalen@daily.umn.edu.
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