Why two-year student leaders like Sen. John Carlson
Cracking down on tuition must be the way to students' hearts, at least this year.
You may remember how the Minnesota State College Students Association, which represents those at two-year colleges, recently gave Legislator of the Year awards to Republican higher-ed chairs Michelle Fischbach of the Senate and Bud Nornes of the House.
Even though their party had pushed for deeper budget cuts than did the DFL, it had also pushed harder for tuition cuts.
The man arguably leading that charge was Sen. John Carlson (R-Bemidji), who proposed a tuition freeze bill. It came to naught, but tuition at state college was capped this year at 4 percent.
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MSCSA President Geoff Dittberner tells fellow students in a newsletter:
When we first met with Senator Carlson it was made abundantly clear that he was a student-centered legislator. He has been an outgoing advocate for limiting costs for public college students and well deserves this recognition.