The last summer-Reflections from an undergraduate intern

Published in: Envision Minnesota, Newsletter of 1000 Friends of Minnesota -Fall 2009


By Ashley Ver Burg

As Minnesotans, we all feel the excitement that comes with the last snow bank melting away and the first 70 degree day; summer is on its way, bringing evening barbeques with friends and weekends up north at the lake. Each year, warmth and rain drops sneak back into our lives, and we all can appreciate the change of pace. While this time of year is simply a change in seasons to most working adults, summer has an entirely different meaning to students across the state. For us, summer signifies a three month break from chaotic routines of class, homework and commitments. Summer is a time to do exactly what we want: enjoy time with friends, read books we don’t have to, make money for school and live in the moment. As a junior undergraduate at the College of Saint Benedict, I was fully aware that 2009 would mark my last summer as I knew it. Luckily, during the spring of ‘09, I landed a Jackson Fellowship from St. Ben’s that allowed me to complete a summer internship with civic engagement components. So I began my search for the perfect place to spend my last summer, and it was not an easy task. As an environmental studies major looking to experience the nonprofit sector, I was astonished by the quality of environmental nonprofits in the state. My mind was spinning with possibilities, while sunshine and hummingbirds were quickly approaching. Then I came across 1000 Friends of Minnesota as I was doing research for a class on the Building Sensible Communities bill, and John Bailey’s work prompted me to research the organization. I was impressed. 1000 Friends of Minnesota was working toward everything I believed in, and I wanted to join the efforts. After a phone conversation and two meetings with Lakes Region Program Director Phil Hunsicker, I knew exactly where I wanted to spend my last summer.

From the end of May to the beginning of August, I spent my days working alongside Phil in the Brainerd office to “help Minnesota grow without wrecking the place.” This took the tangible form of developing conservation design scorecard outreach and education materials and jumpstarting a “Voices for the Lakes” essay contest.

I had the opportunity to work with groups like the Crow Wing County Lakes and Rivers Alliance, the Brainerd Area Environmental Learning Network and the North Central Lakes Collaborative, which taught me an extraordinary amount about the environmental efforts being made in Minnesota. In particular, the Community Growth Options program struck me as a significant contribution to helping Minnesota manage its growth, and Randall Arendt’s visit in June sticks out as an exceptionally impactful summer highlight. The experience I gained this last summer could not have been better, and the insight shared by 1000 Friends of Minnesota staff proved to be invaluable. In the end, I learned the power of altruistic dedication and sincere relationship building. If you are devoted to your work and invest in the people around you, then you can spend all your days doing exactly what you want to do. With this knowledge, I return to St. Ben’s for my senior year of college, and I look forward to savoring another year leading up to the melting of a last snow bank and a first 70 degree day. For 2009 marked not my last summer, but my first summer doing exactly what I want to do.

2009 McCarthy Lecture Speaker Appointed by Obama as Co-Chair the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

McCarthy Lecture Follow-up: Senator Chuck Hagel

The 2009 McCarthy Lector and former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (Neb-R) has been appointed by President Obama as Co-Chair of the Presidential Intelligence Advisory Board (or PIAB). The PIAB aids the President by giving advice on matters pertaining to intelligence. During Hagel’s lecture at St. John’s University, Hagel focused his speech upon a renewal in the transparency of government. Hagel also called for the revival of civil discourse and open discussion. This advisory board is precisely what Hagel advocated during the lecture. The PIAB is a non-partisan team dedicated to the protection of freedom. In the words of President Obama, this board, “improves the collection of intelligence, ensures that analysis reaches senior decision-makers in a timely way, and provides strong oversight to ensure that our intelligence activities are consistent with our democratic values and the rule of law.” The McCarthy Center would like to congratulate Senator Hagel on his appointment and wish him luck as he continues to serve his country with leadership, honesty, and patriotism.

Follow the link below to view the YouTube presentation:

President Obama Welcomes Senators Hagel and Boren to Intelligence Team...

St. Benedict forum to host GOP candidates

November 7, 2009

St. Benedict forum to host GOP candidates

Times staff report

ST. JOSEPH — Five Republican gubernatorial candidates are expected at a forum Nov. 17 at the College of St. Benedict.
The forum will be at 6:30 p.m. at Alumnae Hall, Haehn Campus Center. It is free and open to the public.

Candidates who have confirmed they will participate in the forum are State Reps. Tom Emmer of Delano and Marty Seifert of Marshall; former state auditor Pat Anderson; Bill Haas, a former state representative; and Phil Herwig, an activist from Milaca.

Each candidate will briefly present his or her platform before the group takes questions from the audience. Audience members also will be able to meet candidates before and after the forum.

The forum is cosponsored by the College Republicans at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University and the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at CSB/SJU.

Catch-22's Inherent in Today's Welfare System Block Pathways to Prosperity

By Bob DeBoer and Anna Schumacher

"Catch-22” is a commonly-used phrase in American culture. Coined in the 1961 novel of the same name by Joseph Heller, Catch-22 describes a no-win situation or a double bind. Two years ago, the Citizens League began examining its institutional history on poverty and gathering additional information through community meetings and interviews and research. The resulting project, New Pathways to Prosperity, is intended to reframe the issue of poverty in a way that can produce new ideas and new policy approaches.

So far, our efforts have convinced us that the current policies and conflicting incentives in place to address and alleviate poverty today often create a series of Catch-22s for the people living in poverty. For example:

• Current policies on poverty actually penalize people for earning more.

• The bureaucratic maze of agencies and requirements set up to address poverty waste the valuable human capacity of both those who administer the programs and those who benefit from them.

• Programs designed to help the poor fail to offer clear pathways out of poverty.

These conflicting incentives are difficult to address, but it is essential we understand them in order to develop new solutions to address poverty and the ways it contributes, both as a causal agent and negative outcome, to many other public policy dilemmas, including:

• dysfunctional families and generational cycles that increase crime and violence

• poor educational outcomes and disparities based on race and income

• poor health outcomes and disparities based on race and income (including criminalization from sexual exploitation)

• lack of mobility and access to job opportunities.

Since we began this inquiry in September 2008, the Citizens League, working with the Public Policy Project, has sought to broaden the conversation about poverty and its causes and impacts by applying a civic policy approach to the issue. Part of that approach has included convening conversations between community leaders and people directly impacted by policies on poverty. A working document available on the Citizens League website details the first phase of the New Pathways to Prosperity project. The findings and conclusions presented in that work provide the foundation for a committee to develop policy recommendations this fall.

THE WELFARE WALL AND DISINCENTIVES TO EARN

There is a cultural assumption that many Americans hold, and some assume is translated into public policy: If you hold a job and work hard, you should be able to work your way out of poverty. Yet, it is clear that our current policies and the major programs and tax structures created to address poverty make it difficult for people to climb out of poverty without extraordinary effort. Government policies and programs actually penalize people for improving their economic situation.

For those receiving government assistance, working more and earning more usually results in losing more economically than they gain, except for those able to make an astounding leap in income. “Disincentives to Earn,” a 2007 study by the Minnesota Center for Public Finance Research, reveals the conundrum: For a single parent with two children, an increase in annual earnings from $12,800 to $44,000 would result in a significant reduction in monetary resources when all the program eligibilities, tax credits,and deductions are factored in. That single parent would:

• take home $23,600 more in wages
• lose $30,600 in tax benefits and wage assistance.

This is the scenario for someone whose earnings jump from $12,800 to $44,000. The disincentives can be even greater for those who make more modest gains. If that same single parent’s earning grew from $33,000 to $34,000, the family would lose $2.50 in monetary resources for each dollar earned. These structural disincentives to earn are more commonly referred to as the “welfare wall.”

While it may seem that an increase in income would create positive change for a family, for those up against the welfare wall the outcomes are more complicated. For someone relying on government help for food, housing, or child care, each decision can lead to a serious Catch-22 that might mean the difference between working or not, having a place to sleep or not, or putting food on the table or not.

There is another important element to the welfare wall. Families and individuals receiving assistance are also discouraged or often prohibited from accumulating capital in the form of cash or assets. Without a financial cushion, people living in poverty are ill-equipped to face even the smallest financial mishap. A working mother who attended one of our convening sessions explained how this impacted her family. At one point, she earned too much to receive medical coverage for herself and her oldest child (her youngest child was covered by Medical Assistance), so she spent years paying off a bill for an emergency room visit for her oldest son while trying to work her way out of poverty. A number of things happen to a family when income rises. A parent may lose health coverage, for example, but one of the most consequential losses is the loss of a child care benefit. Child care, or the lack thereof, is one of the biggest barriers to employment faced by those living in poverty. Under the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), child care is one of the last benefits phased out as income rises. But, proportionally, it represents the biggest benefit, due to the extremely high cost of childcare. When presented with the opportunity to work, many parents will choose to work even if it means losing medical coverage. But losing the child care benefit is often an insurmountable barrier to employment. A parent can work while uninsured, but cannot work if there is no one to take care of the children. Forced to choose, some people leave their children with relatives, friends, or others who may not be equipped to provide appropriate care.

HUMAN CAPACITY WASTED NAVIGATING THE LINE

Efforts to alleviate poverty in Minnesota and the United States have evolved into a fragmented and often contradictory system that relies on sanctions and punitive regulation to control individual behavior and choices. The choices that do exist are fraught with Catch-22s and require those receiving assistance to navigate a maze of agencies and requirements that siphon off large amounts of human capacity in efforts that often do not offer clear pathways out of poverty—even for those individuals who successfully navigate the maze.

The need for recipients to report to different agencies is just one example of the fragmented nature of the welfare system. Eligibility for various programs and tax benefits are determined by a complex set of equations, and even if an individual is eligible to receive benefits, he or she may not receive those benefits for any number of reasons. Inconsistent practices and regulations between and within county systems present another time consuming set of challenges.

One example that illustrates this dynamic takes place around nutrition and health care eligibility. Recent changes in income requirements for the Women Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program caused a number of women to lose their benefits. However, a clause in the regulation states that women can retain their WIC benefit if at least one child receives Medical Assistance(MA). One of the organizations we interviewed reported numerous referrals from clients who were instructed to apply for MA in order to maintain WIC benefits. Clients may not have needed or wanted MA, but both parties still had to expend human capacity in the application process just to comply with the rule change.

A very important issue to note in the area of health care coverageis that the application and renewal processes were designed andare mainly administered by people with generally stable lives toserve an economically unstable and highly transient population.

The result is a system that is often not well designed to meet the needs of those it serves.

Postal Service: The welfare system relies on permanent addresses, which are generally difficult for poor people to get and keep. All application and renewal activities are conducted via the postal system. That means the system relies upon a person’s permanent address to deliver important and time-sensitive information regarding eligibility, acceptance, denial, and penalties or sanctions. Backlogs in county systems can delay important notices and the variance in grace periods make reinstating medical coverageafter a sanction difficult and time consuming. Imagine a woman in an abusive relationship who takes her children to live with a relative. If her name is not on the mailbox, she can lose her benefits and have to reapply.

Proof. Proof. Proof: As noted before, a person may be eligible for benefits but still be denied. MA and MinnesotaCare require recipientsto turn in every pay stub and renew coverage every six months or annually. Many people in poverty do not have steady employment, but instead receive cash payments for odd jobs and seasonal or temporary employment. Failure to provide proof of this income results in denials or a termination of benefits.

The 50% Rule: At a certain income level, welfare recipients become ineligible for MA and are referred to MinnesotaCare, a health coverage plan that charges discounted monthly premiums based on ability to pay. But an individual is only eligible for MinnesotaCare if his or her employer does not provide medical insurance and pay at least 50 percent of the monthly premium. If the employer does offer coverage, that individual becomes ineligible for any public medical assistance, regardless of income and regardless of whether they can afford employer-based insurance. Those who can’t often chose to work without insurance. There is also no assessment of the coverage provided by employer-basedplans, so workers who do buy employer-based insurance may incur significant out-of-pocket costs and receive poor coverage.

CATCH-22s AT EVERY TURN

People in poverty who try to “do the right thing” are often confronted by a system riddled with Catch 22s. At one community meeting, a young woman shared this story: She had worked to attain her associate’s degree for three years and then lost her childcare benefit the day she graduated, leaving her with no one to care for her children while she tried to find a job with her newly acquired skills. This and other systemic Catch 22s waste huge amounts of human capacity and resources when people who work to improve themselves are then unable to compensate for the immediate loss of benefits that results from their improved situationand return instead to poverty and dependency.

A particularly vicious Catch-22 circles around the dynamic of those in poverty trying to keep stable housing, a requirement that must be met in order to keep custody of children and maintain benefits. That requirement gives landlords extraordinary economic power over impoverished tenants. If a woman cannot pay rent on time, there are predatory landlords who will settle the debt by accepting payment in other forms, most often sexual favors. Most often it is women and their children who are targeted for these “payments”. Because eviction can permanently ruin the family’s ability to find and keep housing, a woman can feel pressured to accede to such payments. If she does, she can be prosecuted if she refuses future sexual demands and seeks help. Prosecution can result in the loss of child custody and benefits.

SEEKING A NEW FRAMEWORK

The ideas presented in this article are an attempt to reframe poverty in a way that we hope will spur new ideas and new approaches. They are part of a working document available on the Citizens League website.

This fall, a Citizens League committee will take the New Pathways to Prosperity project to the next level, developing policy recommendations to resolve the Catch 22s that make it difficult for people living in poverty to climb out of poverty.

The committee’s work will be guided by our civic policy agenda and two assertions that we think will push the discussion to thenecessary policy level:

• Systems designed to support people when they are poor shouldnot keep them poor.

• Policies should not encourage family breakdown or penalize families trying to stay together.

These two statements will be tested broadly as the Citizens League seeks policy solutions that move us forward. If you are interested in participating on the committee, visit us online at http://www.citizensleague.org/.

•Bob DeBoer is the Citizens League Director of Policy Development. He can bereached at 651-293-0575 ext. 13 or at bdeboer@citizensleague.org.

Anna R. Schumacher is a senior at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’sUniversity where she received the first John Brandl scholarship. She interned at the Citizens League over the summer.

Krebs column: Is journalism dying? It depends on who you ask...

November 1, 2009

By Randy KrebsTimes opinon editor

I’ve been a professional journalist for almost a quarter century, and I (willingly) followed my father — who followed his father and mother — into journalism and the newspaper business.
I tell you that because when I say “I’ve heard my entire life that newspapers and journalism are dying,” you know I speak the truth. And yet the industry is still here. More importantly, and according to the latest buzz, 70 percent of these operations are profitable.
Yet Wednesday I attended a panel discussion, “Newspapers, Internet, And The Future Of Democracy,” featuring some knowledgeable journalists and educators, all of whom seemed so convinced that newspapers and journalism are dead that, well, I wondered if I should show up for work the next day. (I did — and we even printed a paper, put information on the Web, helped people express their views, etc.)
The event was part of a bimonthly series of informal discussions on issues related to public policy and politics, sponsored by St. John’s University’s McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement. It featured host and political science professor Jim Read; Kathleen Hansen, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota; Katie Johnson, Communication Department at St. John’s/College of St. Benedict; and Nick Coleman, senior fellow, McCarthy Center, and award-winning columnist.
As much as I respect their opinions, I must say these panelists made perhaps the most unforgivable journalistic sin: They didn’t check out all sides of the obituary — I mean story — before they wrote it.
Indeed, from what I heard them say, none of them have researched — much less worked in — the world in which I work, the world of small daily and weekly newspapers.
Don’t get me wrong. I certainly see and agree with some of their broader points.
Yes, the digital age is changing journalism. (I’d argue those are good changes, but that’s another panel discussion.) Yes, the traditional newspaper model needs to change. (It is changing; see www.sctimes.com.) And most certainly, the biggest newspapers and media companies in America are facing serious financial and journalistic challenges.
Yet to hear the panelists tell it, the struggles of the Star Tribune and a handful of other major metro newspapers make it certain that all other newspapers will die. And soon. After all, if The New York Times can’t make enough money to keep its Israel bureau open or if the Strib has to cut its Washington staff, well, that can only mean one thing: The St. Cloud Times and weekly newspapers will go under, too.
Sorry, but at the least, I call that conclusion arrogant. More so, though, I question its accuracy. (Last I checked, the Strib emerged from bankruptcy and still is among the best and biggest newspapers in the Upper Midwest.)
More importantly, from the Minnesota Newspaper Association: Of the 3,133,857 Minnesotans receiving newspapers, only 27 percent (873,249) are receiving a daily newspaper. That means 2,260,608 are receiving a paper that is not printed daily. Additionally, only 17 percent receive the Strib or St. Paul newspaper.
The reality is newspapers are like any industry. The parts that make up “the industry” all vary — in size, product, mission, technology, customers, profitability, etc. Those individual parts either evolve or they die. When hasn’t that been the case?
And while I fully acknowledge that the industry is in perhaps its biggest time of change, I can’t stress enough that it’s an industry built not on the printed word, but on providing news and information — two things more in demand today than at any other time.
So while it is troubling that some big metro daily papers are caught up in a recession while battling massive debt, from where I sit — the newsroom of a small daily newspaper — I don’t see those struggles dragging down the other 70 percent of the parts that are still profitable.
Sure, at some point your news and information might not come in the form of ink and dead trees. But you still will want that product. The challenge for the industry is to determine how to gather and deliver it in a profitable way.
That’s very different than declaring newspapers and journalism are dead just because a few of the biggest trees might be falling.
This is the opinion of Randy Krebs, St. Cloud Times Opinion Page editor. He can be reached at 255-8762 and rkrebs@stcloudtimes.com.

The Florida State University summer program for undergraduates.

The 19th Annual Summer for Undergraduates Program
will take place: May 17- June 11, 2010.

Applications will be accepted beginning October 1, 2009, and must be postmarked by Friday, March 26, 2010.

Overview

The Summer for Undergraduates Program at Florida State Law is the largest of its kind and has become a model for other law schools nationally. Approximately 60 undergraduate college students will be chosen from the applicant pool to participate in the four-week long program.

SJU Graduate Chase Cushman '06 -Where’s Obama? Ask 'the Minnesotans’

Chase Cushman, Political Science Major, CSB/SJU ‘06

Where’s Obama? Ask 'the Minnesotans’


ERIC ROPER, Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 23, 2009
WASHINGTON

Only a handful of people have their hands on the president's daily schedule. In the Obama administration, four of them come from Minnesota -- a tightknit crew that helps plan almost every detail of the commander-in-chief's day.
They spent years bouncing from campaign to campaign together, in a happenstance journey that has landed them at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
"It's always a joke that it's the Minnesotans who have kind of taken over the scheduling office," said Chase Cushman. "And it's been that way since the [Obama] campaign."
Not long ago, Cushman's biggest worry was likely shaving seconds off his swim time as a student at St. John's University.
Now his responsibilities are weightier and on occasion can even put the 25-year-old associate director of scheduling in the Oval Office with President Obama and his advisers. Last spring Cushman was there to brief Obama on an upcoming trip to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad.
"You sit in a room with David Axelrod and like the guys that know stuff and they're looking at a kid from Monticello to ask him what they're doing," Cushman said.
But usually the Minnesota contingent operates behind the scenes, keeping people such as the communications team, advance planners and cabinet secretaries on the same page.
Working alongside Cushman is associate director of scheduling Lizzie Nelson, a 26-year-old Wayzata native who describes herself as "air traffic control" among the dozens of stakeholders at any given event. They create detailed timelines of the president's day two or three days in advance.
"As it gets closer to the time frame where you need to get down to the nitty gritty, that's sort of where we come in," Nelson said.
Deputy director and surrogate scheduler Joe Paulsen, 25, a Minnetonka native, coordinates with members of the cabinet when they participate in events with the president and keeps the rest of the White House updated on the cabinet's schedule. When cabinet members arrive for a public presidential event, it's usually Paulsen who greets them. He is also the son of Terri Bonoff, a Minnesota state senator who ran for Congress last year.
Their point of contact in the West Wing is St. Paul native Jessica Wright, 27, deputy director of scheduling. A University of Minnesota graduate, she focuses on Obama's schedule several weeks out, translating the goals of top advisers into a rough timeline.
"My job I would say is more just kind of taking all of the different things that people want to do and finding a way to make a day fit all of the different messages and all of the basic day-to-day things that we have to do," Wright said.
The influence of orderly Minnesotans in the administration extends beyond the president's scheduling staff.
Just down the hall from scheduling is Pete Selfridge, a 38-year-old Minnetonka native who leads advance operations for Vice President Joe Biden.
"They'll put the schedule on paper and then we make it real outside of the White House," said Selfridge, who began working in the White House more than 10 years ago, sorting invitations in Bill Clinton's scheduling office.
Long journey together
Many of the young Minnesotans on the White House staff have spent their entire careers in politics together.
Several met on U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's campaign. Wright was Klobuchar's personal aide, Paulsen worked in advance and Nelson coordinated volunteers. Cushman was the personal aide to DFL House candidate Patty Wetterling.
Paulsen, Wright and Nelson each moved to Iowa to join the Obama campaign, where Franny Starkey, formerly Klobuchar's director of scheduling and advance, was the Iowa trips director. Starkey is now Michelle Obama's director of scheduling and advance, working alongside Minnesota native Semonti Mustaphi, the First Lady's deputy press secretary.
After the Iowa caucuses, Paulsen, Nelson and Wright moved to Obama headquarters in Chicago, where Selfridge and Cushman were also employed.
"We've known each other for a while and our department is sort of a family," Nelson said. "We hang out outside of work. I mean they're my friends, they're my co-workers."
So how did so many Minnesotans end up in scheduling?
"We've talked about it before," Cushman said. "We just kind of thought maybe it's because Minnesotans are pragmatic, we like to plan things."
Every day in the White House brings its challenges.
"One of the things I like most about my job is that it's not very routine and every day is very different because the nature of what we're doing just changes constantly," Wright said.
Selfridge relies on a vast network of freelance advance planners around the country to help him arrange dozens of events a month. He spends most of his time coordinating the entire operation from Washington.
But working for the president and representing the United States also has its unforgettable moments.
Wright, who reports to the director of scheduling, recalled representing the United States during negotiations in Canada before the president's trip there in February.
"You sit on either side of the table and they talk about what they want to do and then they're like, 'United States delegation, what do you think?' " Wright said. "And I turned and everyone was looking at me."

Eric Roper • 202-408-2723

Carol Connolly an Evening of Poetry and Conversation

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn.

– Carol Connolly, the first poet laureate of St. Paul, Minn., holds a reading, conversation and book signing at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 at the Art Center Lecture Hall, Saint John’s University, Collegeville.
The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by The Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement, and co-sponsored by the SJU University Chair in Critical Thinking.
Connolly will be joined in conversation by Nick Coleman, senior fellow at the McCarthy Center and newspaper columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, and Mark Conway, director of the Literary Arts Institute at the College of Saint Benedict and an award-winning poet.
The event celebrates the publication of Connolly’s most recent book of poetry, All This and More, which was released Oct. 1 ($17, Nodin Press). Her previous book of poems was Payments Due, which was later released in a revised version, Payments Due: Onstage Offstage. The book was adapted for the stage and enjoyed two-year runs in both Los Angeles and Minneapolis.
McCarthy, who was a poet himself, said of Payments Due: “Hard-thought poems – not of loose words but of rock – surprising observations, images and metaphors. Don’t read if you are afraid.”
Connolly, who was named poet laureate by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman in 2006, has had a varied career in media. She has worked as a writer with the New York-based Warner Brothers Wonder Woman Foundation; served as a columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper and Mpls.-St. Paul Magazine; been a commentator on 1500 KSTP-AM radio; and been the “Duchess of Dish” at KARE-TV. Her “Hearsay” column appears in each issue of Minnesota Law and Politics magazine, and is a Star Tribune book reviewer.
She has also been actively involved in politics. Connolly served on and then chaired the St. Paul Human Rights Commission, and served three terms as Minnesota Racing Commissioner. She is also the founder and co-chair of the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus.
In 1968, she volunteered for McCarthy’s historic presidential campaign, and they became close friends.
“He (McCarthy) was such a lovely guy,” Connolly said in a story in the St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report. “My feeling on Gene was that he really was a poet. He looked at things as a poet would, rather than as a politician.”

Hagel: Rudeness in Politics Must End

Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska delivers the third annual Eugene J. McCarthy Lecture on Wednesday in the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater at St. John's University. (Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com)


By Dave Aeikens • daeikens@stcloudtimes.com • September 24, 2009

COLLEGEVILLE —

Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said the political discourse in the country has turned so poor that it threatens democracy and America's international standing.

Hagel spoke for about 40 minutes Wednesday night at the Eugene J. McCarthy Lecture at St. John's University. Hagel, who served in the Senate from 1997-2009, was the first Republican senator to speak out against the Iraq war.

"I am concerned our country has lost a good deal of what Eugene McCarthy is all about," Hagel said.

Addressing an audience of more than 400 students and other guests that included McCarthy's family and former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger and former U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, Hagel questioned whether the country will allow rudeness to take over the political system.

"Public discourse has gotten so raw, so rude, so embarrassing it has really debased our system," Hagel said.

He said any fool can stand up and scream and any fool can stand up and call names.

"It takes conscience and courage to find a solution to a problem," Hagel said.

The world is as combustible and interconnected as it has ever been, Hagel said. But the U.S. has great capacity to solve the problems of the world.

"We will never get there if we so debase the process we use to get there," Hagel said.

Hagel pointed to the tenor in the debate on health care policy changes as an example of where the public discourse has gone off the tracks. He said the screaming and rudeness has to stop.

"This is not what a civilized society does," Hagel said.

Hagel said McCarthy, a St. John's graduate from Watkins who served in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, worked to solve problems and disagreed with others in a respectful and honorable way. McCarthy in 1967 was among the first to challenge President Lyndon Johnson, a fellow Democrat, on the U.S. policy in Vietnam.

"That is another dimension on why McCarthy was so important at a very important time," Hagel said.

Hagel said President Obama is confronting more problems than Abraham Lincoln.

He said he has seen how the country has lost its ability to self-govern because it is paralyzed by partisanship.

"We have to bring some semblance back of a governing coalition in the country," Hagel said.

Is the Media ‘Fairness Doctrine’ Fair?

Is the Media ‘Fairness Doctrine’ Fair?

Can our government ensure balance in viewpoints better than the media market?


COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – David Rehr, Ph.D., the former president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters and a 1981 graduate of Saint John’s University, speaks on “Is the Media ‘Fairness Doctrine’ Fair?” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6 at the Alumni Lounge, Quadrangle Building, Saint John’s University.
His appearance, sponsored by The Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, is free and open to the public.
The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission introduced in 1949 that required the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was (in the FCC’s view) honest, equitable and balanced. In 1987, the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine.
No legislation has been introduced in the current Congress to reintroduce the doctrine. But prominent legislative leaders and former Presidents have called for its reinstatement. It could also be reinstated by a simple majority vote of the five members of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) or through other FCC regulatory orders.
Rehr will review the history of the doctrine and argue that the federal government should not regulate media fairness or balance. “It was a mistake to ever institute the doctrine and we must prevent any attempt, directly or indirectly, to regulate speech under the guise of balance.” Rehr contends. Dr. Rehr will argue that in the past both Republicans and Democrats have used the doctrine to suppress their opponents speech.
Any FCC regulation or law which has the outcome of restricting political speech must be opposed by the citizenry with vigor.
Rehr will make the positive case that technology and market competition is generating a better informed electorate than ever before in the history of the nation.
Rehr earned a bachelor of science degree from SJU in business administration, and went on to earn master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from George Mason University. He has served as a member of the SJU Board of Regents since 2007.
Prior to joining the National Association of Broadcasters in December 2005, Rehr worked as the president of the National Beer Wholesalers Association and as a chief lobbyist to the U.S. House of Representatives for the National Federation of Independent Business. Rehr has been ranked by Beacham’s Guide to Key Lobbyists as one of the 125 most influential lobbyists in Washington, D.C., was listed in Washington Life magazine’s “Power 100” list in 2007 and was annually listed as a “Top Association Lobbyist” by The Hill publication.

2 St. John’s alumni to be honored for public service

September 10, 2009

2 St. John’s alumni to be honored for public service
Men will receive the first Eugene McCarthy Public Service Award

St. Cloud Times staff report

COLLEGEVILLE — St. John’s University will honor two alumni posthumously for their public service.

John Brandl and Gerald Christenson will receive the first Eugene McCarthy Distinguished Public Service Award during the third annual McCarthy Lecture and Dinner on Sept. 23.
Brandl served in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s, first as an analyst with the Defense Department and later as a deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He later served 12 years in the Minnesota Legislature representing parts of south Minneapolis.

Brandl also was a regent at St. John’s from 1991-2000 and helped launch the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement. He was a distinguished professor of public policy at St. John’s and the College of St. Benedict, and a professor and former dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Christenson, a native of Litchfield, helped design the Minnesota school funding system known as the “Minnesota Miracle” because it made the state responsible for most public education funding. He helped create a federal youth employment program during the 1960s and was chancellor of the Minnesota community college system.

He was also the first commissioner of the state’s Department of Finance, and instituted the revenue forecast.

Christenson was a chief of staff for Fourth District Congressman Joe Karth and a candidate for lieutenant governor in 1966.
Brandl died in 2008; Christenson in 2005.

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel to speak in Collegeville, Minn.

Star Tribune

Last update: September 3, 2009 - 8:52 PM

Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel will deliver the annual Eugene McCarthy Lecture at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., this month. The speech by Hagel represents something of a historical convergence: Dedicated to the memory of one of the most trenchant Democratic opponents of the Vietnam War, it's being delivered by the first Republican senator to oppose the war in Iraq. McCarthy, whose 1968 presidential run effectively toppled President Lyndon Johnson, attended St. John's and was a member of the Benedictine community at St. John's Abbey. He served in Congress from 1949 until 1971. Hagel represented Nebraska in the Senate from 1997 until this year. A Vietnam veteran, he was considered a maverick in the GOP and his name was floated last year as a potential running mate or Cabinet member for President Obama.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public,
will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23.

BOB VON STERNBERG

The Limits Of Force:

Iraq and Afghanistan Aren't Ours to Win or Lose

Washington Post - Chuck Hagel

The other night I watched the film “The Deer Hunter.” Afterward, I remembered why it took me so many years to be able to watch Vietnam movies.

It all came tumbling back — the tragedy, the innocent victims, the waste. Too often in Washington we tend to see foreign policy as an abstraction, with little understanding of what we are committing our country to: the complications and consequences of endeavors. It is easy to get into war, not so easy to get out. Vietnam lasted more than 10 years; soon, we will slip into our ninth year in Afghanistan. We have been in Iraq for almost seven years.

When I came to the Senate in 1997, the world was being redefined by forces no single country controlled or understood. The implosion of the Soviet Union and a historic diffusion of economic and geopolitical power created new influences and established new global power centers — and new threats. The events of Sept. 11, 2001, shocked America into this reality. The Sept. 11 commission pointed out that the attacks were as much about failures of our intelligence and security systems as about the terrorists’ success. The U.S. response, engaging in two wars, was a 20th-century reaction to 21st-century realities. These wars have cost more than 5,100 American lives; more than 35,000 have been wounded; a trillion dollars has been spent, with billions more departing our Treasury each month. We forgot all the lessons of Vietnam and the preceding history.

No country today has the power to impose its will and values on other nations. As the new world order takes shape, America must lead by building coalitions of common interests, as we did after World War II. Then, international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and GATT (now the World Trade Organization) — while flawed — established boundaries for human and government conduct and expectations that helped keep the world from drifting into World War III and generally made life better for most people worldwide during the second half of the 20th century. Our greatest threats today come from the regions left behind after World War II. Addressing these threats will require a foreign policy underpinned by engagement — in other words, active diplomacy, but not appeasement. We need a clearly defined strategy that accounts for the interconnectedness and the shared interests of all nations. Every great threat to the United States — whether economic, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, health pandemics, environmental degradation, energy, or water and food shortages — also threatens our global partners and rivals. Accordingly, we cannot view U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan through a lens that sees only “winning” or “losing.” Iraq and Afghanistan are not America’s to win or lose. Win what? We can help them buy time, or develop, but we cannot control their fates. There are too many cultural, ethnic and religious dynamics at play in these regions for any one nation to control. For example, the future of Afghanistan is linked directly to Pakistan and what happens in the mountains along their border. Political accommodation and reconciliation in this region will determine the outcome.

Bogging down large armies in historically complex, dangerous areas ends in disaster. In Vietnam, we kept feeding more men, material and money into a corrupt Vietnamese government as our own leaders continued to deceive themselves and the American people. Today’s wars are quite different from Vietnam. But the Obama administration, Congress and the Pentagon must get this right because it will frame the global architecture for the next generation. We must put forward fresh thinking. We can no longer hold ourselves to narrow “single issue” engagement when dealing with nations such as China, Russia, India, Brazil, Turkey or South Korea. The United States needs all these countries and many more if we are to engage the most dangerous challenges — not one at a time, but all together. Our relationships with these nations have matured since World War II, as these nations have matured. Does anyone believe we will get to a responsible resolution on Iran without Russia? There’s a reason we are part of a Group of 20 rather than a G-8. Even the world’s largest economies cannot handle today’s problems alone.

Global collaboration does not mean retreating from our standards, values or sovereignty. Development of seamless networks of intelligence gathering and sharing, and strengthening alliances, diplomatic cooperation, trade and development can make the biggest long-term difference and have the most lasting impact on building a more stable and secure world. There really are people and organizations committed to destroying America, and we need an agile, flexible and strong military to face these threats. How, when and where we use force are as important as the decision to use it. Relying on the use of force as a centerpiece of our global strategy, as we have in recent years, is economically, strategically and politically unsustainable and will result in unnecessary tragedy — especially for the men and women, and their families, who serve our country.

Are our policies worthy of these Americans’ great sacrifices? That question must always be at the fore of our leaders’ decisions. Threats to America come from more than Afghanistan. Consider Yemen and Somalia. Are we prepared to put U.S. ground troops there? I doubt we would seriously consider putting forces in Pakistan, yet its vast Federally Administered Tribal Areas and mountainous western border harbor our most dangerous enemies today. We must shift our thinking, now, to pursue wiser courses of action and sharper, more relevant policies.
The president and his national security team should listen to recordings of conversations that President Lyndon B. Johnson had with Sen. Richard Russell about Vietnam, especially those in which LBJ told Russell that we could not win in Vietnam but that he did not want to pull out and be the first American president to lose a war. Difficult decisions with historic consequences are coming soon for President Obama.

The writer is a former Republican senator from Nebraska.

Jackson Fellows in the Community

Summer music program looks to educate youth on instruments

By Dave Aeikens (daeikens@stcloudtimes.com) - July 29, 2009

Carlos Borgert sat on the floor in one of the event rooms at the St. Cloud Public Library and told a visitor why he was there.
“I really like to play the flute,” the 6-year-old said in a booming voice.
It was the flute that was on display Tuesday in a program called “The Sounds of Summer: Music Exploration.”
Children this week can take part in the program that introduces them to instruments of the orchestra by listening to music, interacting with musicians and expressing themselves through games, arts and crafts.
The first event was Tuesday and it runs through Friday from 2-2:45 p.m. It is open to children in first through sixth grade. Children can preregister, but walk-ins are also welcome.
“We already have education programs during the school year, but during the summer there is kind of the lapse in the program,” said Chris Beckstrand, a St. Cloud symphony intern who is a College of St. Benedict student from Elk River. She helped organize the summer music program.
“The library is such a beautiful space in St. Cloud, we wanted to take advantage of the space,” she said.
Alvin Yu brought his son Willie to stoke his interest in orchestral music.
“I think it is a good chance to give children the opportunity to see instruments from the symphony,” Yu said.
Beckstrand demonstrated the flute on Tuesday. Today, Patrick Thorn will show off the trumpet, and the violin will be featured on Thursday with percussion instruments on Friday.
“I want to play the flute when I am older,” said 10-year-old Ashlyn Kotcho of Sauk Rapids.
Children at the library worked on crafts and watched demonstrations of instruments. The children made masks by using colors on white paper plates. They were told to use the colors they hear when they listen to music. Symphony music played in the background as they colored and the library set out children’s books about musicians and music to entice the children.
“We’ll have a lot of different creative things that get the children thinking and have fun during the summer,” Beckstrand said.

9 students work in honorary fellowship

By Frank Lee, July 4th, 2009


Not all learning takes place inside the classroom.

This summer, nine students from the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University are working on community service projects that build leadership skills and social development.

The students are part of the Marie and Robert Jackson Fellows program, which was established in 2008 through an anonymous donation made to St. Ben’s in St. Joseph.
“What the fellowship does is allows students to do full-time work that would not be ordinarily compensated,” said Matt Lindstrom, associate professor of political science at CSB/SJU and director of the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement.

The students attend six to eight seminars throughout the summer where they focus on leadership skills, philanthropy, public speaking, grant writing and other topics.
The goal of the program is to improve community life by engaging in both political and community service activities.

“A long-standing tradition at St. Ben’s, St. John’s has been the Benedictine influence of giving and civic work, so this Jackson fellowship continues the tradition of a holistic education where students are not only exposed to classroom theories and ideas but apply them,” he said.

The program is open to students of all majors and includes a highly competitive application and selection process.

The summer work sites vary by degree of leadership and interest from each Jackson Fellow.

“The anonymous donation to St. Ben’s provides funding for nine students, and it’s proven to be quite successful last year, and we’re hoping to expand the program,” said Lindstrom, who directs the fellows program along with Marah Jacobson-Schulte, CSB/SJU service-learning coordinator.

Throughout the summer, students in the program will also learn from each other’s experiences and take part in a reading curriculum intended to develop leadership, entrepreneurial and civic skills.

“We were looking for students who are willing to take risks, who want to do something beyond just sort of building their resume. We wanted students who have been leaders throughout their campus as well as community, or have traveled internationally or volunteered,” Lindstrom said.

More than 40 students applied to be in this summer’s program. They were then narrowed down to a pool of about 15 who were interviewed for the nine spots that would receive a $4,000 stipend.

“The idea is that we want to pay them a wage that allows them to work full time and not have to worry about working two or three other jobs, so they can focus their entire summer on their community involvement and for that reason it’s growing in popularity,” Lindstrom said.

“A lot of students are very qualified and interested in working the public sector or working in politics, public policy or community service, but they simply can’t afford it. Very few people can.”

The Jackson Fellows for this summer are:
Christen Beckstrand, a German and music double major. Beckstrand is working for the St. Cloud Symphony developing a curriculum template for the fourth-grade school outreach program, executing an educational music program for children 7-12 at the St. Cloud Public Library and writing a grant.

Emily Bina, a communication major. Bina is working for the Midday show with SJU graduate Gary Eichten on Minnesota Public Radio News in St. Paul. She is responsible for updating the Web site, writing scripts and editing audio.

Jacqueline Duchschere, a political science major. Duchschere is working for the Office on the Economic Status of Women for the Minnesota Legislature on an archiving project and on a pay equity project.

Catherine Hansen, biology major. Hansen is working for The Center for Cross-Cultural Health in Minneapolis, engaging the Somali community. Her work includes anatomy education for women and a study of interaction between patients and health care professionals.

Laura Huiras, a political science major. Huiras is working for Minnesota 2020 in St. Paul. Her duties are focused on keeping up with educational news, identifying problems and recommending tangible solutions to focus on the success of Minnesota’s educational policy.

Yesenia Murillo, sociology major. Murillo is working on a civic engagement project for Anna Marie’s Alliance in St. Cloud.

Ashley Ver Burg, a biochemistry and environmental studies double major. Ver Burg is working for 1000 Friends of Minnesota in Brainerd on conservation design development, natural resource protection and citizen involvement in land-use processes.

Michael Johnson, a political science major. Johnson is working for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services in St. Paul as an intake screener, court courier and researcher dealing with cases in family, housing and benefits law while supplying legal services to the poorest in the community.

Brian Long, a communication and English double major. Long is working for PrideAlive through the Minnesota AIDS Project in Minneapolis, an outreach program that works to educate young gay men about HIV prevention, the risks of HIV and STDs.

Nick Coleman named Senior Fellow of the McCarthy Center

As a Senior Fellow, Coleman will organize several events on campus, write columns for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, mentor students and serve as a resource for the McCarthy Center.


Star-Tribune Articles:

A Remedy for Fort Snelling's Forgotten War

MIAC Profiles of Excellence: Jeff Schnobrich, Saint John's University

Jeff Schnobrich '09, McCarthy Center participant, featured in College Sporting News.

by Rich Mies, CSN Mapping the MIAC Columnist

There are all kinds of family traditions, ranging from how we worship to whether we serve in the military to how we celebrate the holidays. For many, like Jeff Schnobrich, the choice of college is influenced by family tradition, too. There is a long line of men in Jeff’s family who attended Saint John’s University, and Jeff has continued this tradition. In doing so, he has been a key part of the SJU football team as well as having many off-field activities and accomplishments. In addition, he has become a semifinalist for the Draddy Award, also known as the “Academic Heisman.”

“My dad, grandpa, several uncles and cousins have all attended Saint John’s,” Jeff said.”My brother did, too, for a year. One of my cousins who went here is Matt Schnobrich, who won a bronze medal in rowing at the Beijing Olympics this summer.”

Because of his family connection, Jeff was familiar with SJU, so when the time came to choose a college, his choice did not surprise anyone. “I didn’t even apply at any other school,” he said. “I pretty much knew for a while that I wanted to be a Johnnie.”

While at Saint John’s, Jeff has excelled in the classroom, maintaining a 3.90 GPA. He has been involved in various activities in the political science department, including an internship this summer in Washington, D.C. Jeff also has participated in an overseas study program in Guatemala and several related programs. As a result, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has named him as one of 164 semifinalists for the 2008 Draddy Trophy. He also is a candidate for the NFF 2008 National Scholar-Athlete Awards.

“Jeff is blessed with many fine qualities,” stated SJU coach John Gagliardi. “He is almost a straight A student, an excellent running back, and all around fine young man in every way.”

Jeff grew up in New Ulm, a city of 14,000 about 100 miles southwest of the Twin Cities. He has two older brothers. “Andy, the oldest, has Down’s syndrome,” said Jeff. “He works back home in New Ulm. Corey went to Saint John’s for a year before transferring to Iowa State, where he earned a degree in architecture. He works in Chicago now.”

He attended New Ulm Cathedral High, where he played football, hockey and baseball. On the ice, Cathedral fielded a cooperative team with New Ulm’s public high school. Jeff played forward, seeing time at both wings and center, as the team needed. He skated on the third line as a sophomore and moved up to the first line for his junior and senior years. Jeff was named to the all-conference team as a senior, as well as the MVP of the New Ulm team. He also won the Hobey Baker Character Award. New Ulm lost in the quarterfinals of Section play in Jeff’s sophomore year and in the semifinals each of the next two seasons.

On the diamond, Jeff was a three-year starter. “My sophomore year, I played second base, third or center field,” he recalled. “I started in center the last two years.” He was named to the all-conference team his junior and senior years after being honorable mention as a sophomore. Jeff also earned All-Section honors as a junior and as a senior, and was named to the all-area team by the New Ulm Journal.

The Greyhounds are among the better high school programs in the state. “My sophomore year, we lost to Sleepy Eye-St, Mary’s in the Section final,” said Jeff. “We lost to them in the playoffs in my junior year, too. We beat them the next year and went on to win the State Class 2A championship.”

Jeff was the starting running back for Cathedral his junior and senior years. As a junior, he had a breakout season, eclipsing the school single-season rushing record with more than 1,100 yards, leading the Greyhounds to a 9-3 record. Jeff was named to the all-conference team and the Journalnamed him to its all-area team as the Greyhounds won their Section but lost to Medford in the opening round of the State.

In his senior year, Jeff topped his own rushing record, rushing for 1,390 yards. He also broke school records for single game yardage (302), single season all-purpose yards (2,050), single season touchdowns (19), career rushing yards (2,487) and career all-purpose yards (3,487). He was named offensive player of the year for the conference as well as all-conference. Jeff was also all-state honorable mention and was the Journal’s area offensive player of the year. “We made it to the Section championship game, but lost to Mankato Loyola,” said Jeff.

Jeff was named Cathedral’s outstanding senior male athlete his senior year.

He was active in drama throughout high school, playing roles in Annie, Little Women, and Fiddler on the Roof before landing the lead role in Music Man his senior year. He also competed on the Speech Team for two years. Jeff also sang in the choir. He was named an AAA award winner for Subsection 7. The AAA award recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and the arts.

The summer before Jeff’s senior year, he and a group of friends organized a community theater group. “There were 10 of us who started our own theatre group,” he said. “That summer, we put on Godspell. The organization we started still is in existence.”

Jeff was a member of the National Honor Society and was commended for the National Merit Scholarship program. The Mankato Free Press named him to its All-Area Team for Academic Excellence. He was valedictorian of his graduating class.

He was a member of the Knowledge Bowl team for four years. “My senior year, we made it to State, where we took 13th,” he said. “We had to compete in the larger schools division, and were one of the smallest schools in that division.”

Jeff was a member of the student government for four years, and was Council President his senior year. He was chosen to represent his school at Boys’ State before his senior year.

As a senior, Jeff was the recipient of two prestigious awards. The New Ulm Rotary Club gave him its annual Service Above Self award, and he was named the winner of the Lumen Christi Award. “That goes to the senior who best exemplifies the principles the school stands for,” he explained.

While many of his peers agonized with trying to decide where to attend college, Jeff’s decision was a quick and painless one. He considered only one school, Saint John’s, knowing well from familial experiences what to expect of SJU as well as the benefits of a Saint John’s education.

During his time at Saint John’s, Jeff has been part of the Johnnies’ football team all four years. He did not see action as a freshman, but he saw action in seven games his sophomore year. He carried the ball 10 times for 29 yards and hauled in three passes for 24 yards as the Johnnies tied for first place in the MIAC with Bethel and advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs. They beat Central (IA) 21-13 and Whitworth (21-3) to advance to the quarterfinals, where they lost to UW-Whitewater, 17-14, finishing their season 11-2.

Last fall, Jeff was the Johnnies’ third leading rusher, garnering 206 yards in 11 games. He also caught 16 passes for 139 yards and scored six touchdowns. Saint John’s finished second in the MIAC but earned an at-large berth in the NCAA playoffs. In the opening round, they beat Redlands (CA) 41-13 before losing to Central, 37-7, ending the year 10-2.

This fall, the Jays are off to a 3-2 start and are 1-2 in league action. Jeff leads the team in rushing with 202 yards and is the Johnnies’ second leading receiver with 23 catches for 246 yards. He ranks ninth among receivers in the MIAC.

Jeff decided to try his hand at track his freshman year. “”I thought it would be fun to try something new and different,” he explained. He ran various sprints and sprint relays for the Johnnies during the indoor and outdoor seasons his freshman and sophomore years. He is contemplating returning to the cinder this winter and spring.

He did not compete in track last year as he was participating in a study abroad program in Guatemala. “I initially became interested in studying abroad before coming to SJU after hearing about my cousin Matt’s semester in Spain,” Jeff stated. “After coming to SJU, I heard other great endorsements for studying abroad and realized that it would be easy to ‘fit in’ academically, as it is for most students. I knew that I wanted to study abroad in a country where I could be immersed in and learn another language. Having taken some Spanish classes, my choices were then narrowed to Spain and Guatemala. Chile, the other Spanish language program offered through CSB|SJU, is in the fall, and I was not going to miss a season of football. I decided to go to Guatemala both for the set-up of the program, which included lots of one-on-one instruction and other interesting classes, and because I thought it would be a more unique experience.”

He spent the semester in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. “It was an incredibly eye-opening experience,” related Jeff. “We were completely immersed in the local culture. This included staying with a host family the entire time I was there, as well as taking one-on-one Spanish classes for four hours a day for the majority of the program. Another academic highlight was a Mayan Cosmovision class, team-taught by a Mayan priest and a cultural anthropologist. Among the highlights of the semester were climbing numerous volcanoes. We also learned about Guatemala’s history and culture, especially its Mayan history and culture.”

There were numerous volunteer opportunities as well. Jeff participated in one that helped with marketing for Kuchub’al, a cooperative of small women producers. He also got involved in a hydroelectric project for Finca La Florida, a small group of communal farmers.

Jeff sports a 3.90 GPA, majoring in Political Science with minors in Spanish and Economics. He has made the Dean’s List five (of six) semesters and is a Regents’/Trustees’ scholar as well as a recipient of a Lynn Gresser Political Science scholarship.

At Saint John’s, Jeff has been involved in the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement. The Center is a nonpartisan learning and outreach center that emulates the principles the late Senator espoused. It fosters enhanced civic engagement and dialog about public policy. The Center hosts a series of lectures in the area of public policy and public affairs on campus and sponsors a Washington (D.C.) study program that enables interested students to intern in a government, political, or non-profit office while earning academic credit.

“I became interested in doing the internship through some political science professors, and I knew I needed some work experience related to my field of study,” he said. “I was one of 12 CSB-SJU students in the program who spent the summer in Washington. Not only did we live together and discuss our internships as a group, but we also had seminars, organized by our professors, with alumni and professionals in various fields in DC. The professors helped with application to various sites and helped us prepare for a summer as working professionals in D.C.”

Jeff spent the summer of 2008 working as an intern for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “I applied to the Transportation Committee because of my interest in transportation issues,” he said. “My duties and responsibilities varied: wherever I was needed, I would help. This would often include assisting in the preparation and conducting of committee hearings and meetings. I also did administrative work in the office, and I did research as needed for committee staffers. I was able to sit in on Congressional briefings and staff meetings, and I was also able to attend presentations by important D.C. figures.”

Currently, Jeff works as an office assistant in the Political Science department. One of his main responsibilities is promoting and organizing the Summer Study Program.

After graduation, Jeff is strongly considering Grad School. “I may delay that and get involved in something public policy related,” he said. He is unsure at this point if he will return to DC or get involved in something at the local or regional level.

Because of his familiarity with the school, Jeff arrived at Saint John’s with anticipations about the education SJU would provide him. His experiences not only equaled those expectations but greatly exceeded them. “I’ve gotten what I consider to be a great education, not only in the classroom, but beyond,” he stated. “It stretched from the rain forests of Guatemala to the halls of DC. At the same time, I was still able to play football and run track. It has been a great place to be.”

[The photos are used courtesy of the Saint John’s University Sports Information Office.]

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is widely respected as one of the premier conferences in nearly every sport competed in Division III. Year after year, the MIAC produces teams and individual student-athletes who excel in their given sport. At the same time, the MIAC schools maintain a reputation of commitment to academic excellence. This article is one in a series of spotlights on some of the young men and women who represent the league’s commitment to excellence, both in the classroom and athletics during the 2008-09 academic year.

This feature will be included in the “Profiles of Excellence 2008-2009″ book which will be available for order at RDM Publishing. It will feature profiles of student-athletes from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, written by CSN’s “Mapping the MIAC” columnist Rich Mies.

Romney Blasts Obama's 'Apology' Tour

Posted: Monday, June 01, 2009 4:01 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Abby Livingston, Katelin Schartz, and Mark Murray
At a speech today in DC sponsored by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, Mitt Romney called for increased defense spending, and also again criticized President Obama for going on a "tour of apology" while traveling abroad.

"It’s not because America hasn’t made mistakes -- we have -- but because America’s mistakes are overwhelmed by what America has meant to the hopes and aspirations of people throughout the world," he said, adding: "Britain’s Guardian newspaper noted that Mr. Obama has been more critical of his own country, while on foreign soil, than any other president in American history. That would be a most unfortunate distinction at any time."

Seeking to bolster his national security credentials, especially if he makes another White House bid, the one-term Massachusetts devoted much of his speech to calling for more defense spending. "We cannot allow the economic crisis to conceal the very real threats to our nation’s security," Romney said. "We cannot ignore the intentions of competitors who would replace America’s leadership with their own, and set back the cause of freedom."

In fact, Romney was fiercely critical of Obama's "domestic" spending at the expense of funding for national defense. "I fear ... that he will look to the military budget to find the biggest cuts and finance his domestic priorities.”

The potential 2012 presidential candidate detailed a litany of other criticisms of the Obama administration -- including its handling of North Korea. “Arrogant, delusional tyrants can not be stopped by earnest words and furrowed brows. Action, strong bold action coming from a position of strength and determination, is the only effective deterrent.”

After the speech, Romney spoke to reporters about GM filing for bankruptcy. He cited a November op-ed he penned advocating for bankruptcy and showed frustration that the action has taken so long and that the federal government has been a party to that delay. When asked if either the Bush or Obama administration were to blame for the drawn out bankruptcy, he expressed a hesitancy to "point fingers" but ultimately said, "Both."

Photos from Johnnie/Bennie Day at the Capitol

Day at the Capitol is an opportunity for college students to go to the Minnesota State Capitol and lobby for the Minnesota State Grant Program by meeting with their local representatives. This government grant gives an average of about $3,000 to about 25% of our campuses, and lets recipients choose the place of higher education that best suits them - which makes it an extremely beneficial and pertinent grant to Minnesota's private colleges. The day is organized by members of the Minnesota Private College Counsel, and the day ends for Bennies and Johnnies with a networking event organized by the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement.

Photos from Politics and a Pint

March 23rd | The Power of Doorstep Democracy

Photos from "Reflections on Public Life and Civic Engagement"

Video: "Green Design in the 21st Century: Lessons from the World."

Chris Butters' lecture on green building from February 18th.

Follow the link below to view the presentation:
http://real.csbsju.edu/asxgen/mccarthy/Chris_Butters_021809.wmv

Photos from Sally McNamara's presentation on “A Conservative European Memo to Obama”

Two senior statesmen reflect on public life and civic engagement

St. Paul, Minn. — Former Vice President Walter Mondale and former U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger discuss their experiences in public life and the need for civic engagement.

The discussion was sponsored by the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at St. John's University.

Midday host Gary Eichten moderated the discussion.

Walter Mondale and Dave Durenberger speak on "Reflections on Public Life and Civic Engagement"

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Two senior statesmen will talk about their years of public service and civic engagement during a panel discussion at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, at Pellegrene Auditorium, Saint John’s University, Collegeville.

Former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Sen. Dave Durenberger will speak on “Reflections on Public Life and Civic Engagement.” They will be joined by moderator Gary Eichten, host and producer of Minnesota Public Radio’s Midday program.

The discussion, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at CSB and SJU. The center seeks to engage the campus and wider community in debate and discourse regarding public policy and public affairs.

Mondale, Durenberger and Eichten are no strangers to the SJU campus.

Mondale, the nation’s 42nd vice president under Jimmy Carter, was a eulogist during the Memorial Mass for former Sen. Eugene McCarthy Jan. 23, 2006, at the Abbey Church. McCarthy was an SJU graduate.

Durenberger, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1978-95, recently completed the second annual Eugene McCarthy Scholar in Residence at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. And, both Durenberger (Class of 1955) and Eichten (Class of 1969) are graduates of SJU.

Many political scientists credit the Carter/Mondale administration for creating a new model of the role of a vice president. Mondale traveled extensively throughout the world advocating U.S. policy. He was the first vice president to have an office in the White House, and he served as a full-time advisor and troubleshooter for the administration.

Before becoming vice president, Mondale served as Minnesota attorney general from 1960-64, and as a senator from 1964-76.

He was the Democratic nominee for president in 1984, losing the election to President Ronald Reagan. He served as ambassador to Japan under President Bill Clinton in 1993-96, and was tabbed in 2002 to replace Sen. Paul Wellstone as the Democratic nominee for Senate after Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before the election. Mondale lost the election to Norm Coleman.

Born in St. Cloud, Durenberger was the son of long-time SJU athletic director George Durenberger. During his tenure in the Senate, Durenberger served as chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence; chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee; and chaired the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee.

Durenberger is currently a senior health policy fellow at the University of St. Thomas, and chairs the National Institute of Health Policy, a program of St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business. He was also named by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to lead the Minnesota Citizens Forum on Health Care Costs.

Sally McNamara speaks on “A Conservative European Memo to Obama”

March 3, 2009

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – What do Europeans think of the new administration of President Barack Obama?

Sally McNamara, a senior policy analyst in European affairs at the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom in Washington, D.C., gives a lecture on “A Conservative European Memo to Obama” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 at room 204A, Gorecki Dining and Conference Center, College of Saint Benedict.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, and Mark Kennedy’s Frontiers of Freedom Lecture Series. Kennedy, who served Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-07, is a 1979 graduate of SJU.

In addition to her lecture, McNamara will speak with selected students from CSB and SJU March 11. She is also scheduled to address an international political economy class, taught by assistant professor Derick Becker.

McNamara concentrates on American relations with the European Union and European countries, with particular focus on economic reform policy, trade issues and the war on terrorism. She also analyzes NATO’s evolving role in post-Cold War Europe.

A native of Nottingham, England, who came to America in 2004, McNamara served as chief parliamentary aide to Roger Helmer, a member of European Parliament in Brussels. Previous to that, she acted as a regional press officer for the British Conservative Party in the East Midlands, United Kingdom, and served on the Nottingham City Council.

The Thatcher Center was created in 2005 to study and help strengthen transatlantic relations. Its primary focus is to preserve and improve relations between the U.S. and Britain; advance American and British interests in Europe; and promote joint American-British leadership in the global war on terrorism.

GOP goes soul searching

Ever wonder what lingers in the hearts of Republicans as they retool for a return to power?
By LISA VAN DUSEN
Last Updated: 1st March 2009, 3:58am

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- There I was, in the bowels of the Omni Shoreham, trolling for the soul of the Republican Party, when I got an offer I couldn't refuse.

"You've gotta get out on an aircraft carrier to really see it," said Bud Barnes, a retired American Airlines pilot and Vietnam vet from Little Rock.

Having never been on an aircraft carrier, I really didn't want to discourage the invitation, but I had to ask.

"What does the aircraft carrier have to do with rebuilding the Republican brand?"

"You'll see what I'm talking about. Really."

He'd been talking about the state of conservatism in America in the post-Bush, mid-Obama honeymoon wilderness, tracing a continuum from the French Revolution and Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Rush Limbaugh and I guess my increasing bewilderment was making him desperate.

By the end of day one of "Where did we go wrong?" post-mortems and Obama obsessing at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Barnes' aircraft carrier field trip was looking pretty sensible.

The annual CPAC conference was expected to draw a record 9,000 attendees this year, all wanting to hear something that would not only overtake Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's falsetto response to the nation last Tuesday night as the sine qua non for conservative electoral rebirth but maybe even sum it all up in one, great defining idea.

MORAL CRUSADE
"We will not yield!" intoned Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, who, to great effect in the room, cast the road to victory as a moral crusade for "freedom, free markets and traditional moral values." The problem with, "We will not yield," is that, although it may rally the Christian right, it's still really about the other guys you're not yielding to.

Former Arkansas governor and former and seemingly current Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, whose daughter Sarah's intro stole the show, railed against the Bush record and against John McCain for voting for the $700-billion September Wall Street bailout before taking a stab at an idea that also offered the bonus of closure: "We didn't lose because we wanted to keep unborn babies from ending up in wastebaskets. We lost because we were too closely associated with people who'd spend $1,400 on a wastebasket."

OK, so it's no, "Morning in America."

Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock, 27, is the youngest member of the House of Representatives who recently earned rightie points for resisting the stimulus stumping charms of the new president and voting against the recovery package anyway. As a The Key to Victory? Listen to Conservatives, panelist, Schock issued a call to action based on clear-cut principles, invoked the boldness of Ronald Reagan and advised a clear articulation of "what we stand for" without really filling in the blanks. "When Republican candidates show a little heart, we trump anything the Democrats can offer," Schock said, adding smiling helps.

RECAPTURE THE SENATE
Other strategies from the podium included deploying the politics of personal destruction against Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and New Jersey Sen. John Corzine as a recapturing-the-Senate plot and replicating the Democrats' 50-state strategy by selling the GOP message on traditionally Democratic turf (they may have to re-tool that wastebasket talking point first). Those are really about the other guys, too.

Meanwhile, in the hallways and on nearby street corners, the foot soldiers were making a lot of sense, especially some of the young ones.

Kurt Sorensen, 22, a Republican student leader from St. John's University in Minnesota, said, "We're going to have to be more inclusive. We need to offer a choice to the voter."

Asked for one central idea that should define the Republican agenda for the next four years, Sorensen said, "We won't spend money we don't have."

Not surprisingly on the same day Obama unveiled his $3.5-trillion budget, that idea was pounded home in most of the speeches. But after eight years of ballooning Bush deficits, it may be a hard message for the GOP to own and its mileage depends on the failure of the economic recovery.

Michael Murphy, 62, an Atlanta political consultant, echoed what was developing into a theme all its own and that, for now, may be the only one with any traction.

"Right now, Americans are hungry for change and the fulfillment of the Obama promise. But people will find out there's no such thing as a free lunch."

You never know. But that's also all about the other guy.

Health Policy Crisis and Solutions

February 12, 2009

Scholar in Residence and former U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger and New America Foundation Senior Research Fellow Guy Clifton headlined a luncheon forum to discuss health care policy.

Follow the link below to view the discussion:
http://real.csbsju.edu/asxgen/mccarthy/2009-02-12HealthPolicyCrisisAndSolutions.wmv

Faith, Ethics, and Health Care

February 11, 2009

A conversation with:

• Sen. Dave Durenberger, SJU '55
• Bernie Evans, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Virgil Michel Ecumenical Chair in Rural Social Ministries
• Toby Pearson, Exec. Director of Catholic Health Association of MN
• Kathleen Twohy, CSBSJU Nursing Department Chair

Follow the link below to view the discussion:
http://real.csbsju.edu/asxgen/mccarthy/2009-02-12FaithEthicsHealthCare.wmv

The Future of Policy and Partisanship

February 10, 2009

A panel discussion featuring Sen. Dave Durenberger, Sen. Mark Dayton, Rep. Mark Kennedy, Sen. Rod Gramms.

Follow the link below to view the discussion:
http://real.csbsju.edu/asxgen/mccarthy/2009-02-11DaveDurenberger.wmv

Dave Durenberger conducts second McCarthy Residency

01/23/2009

Former Minnesota Sen. Dave Durenberger, a 1955 graduate of Saint John’s University, conducts the second annual Eugene McCarthy Residency Feb. 9-13 at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

Highlighting the residency will be two panel discussions which are free and open to the public, including one that includes three former senators and a former representative from Minnesota.
“Improving Congress: Advice and Debate from Former Members of the Republican and Democratic Parties,” is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10 at room 204C, Gorecki Dining and Conference Center, CSB. The panel consists of Durenberger, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1978-95; former Sen. Rod Grams, who served from 1995-2001; former Sen. Mark Dayton, who served from 2001-07; and former Rep. Mark Kennedy, a 1979 graduate of SJU who served in Congress from 2001-07. Lori Sturdevant, an editorial writer and columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, is the moderator of the discussion.

Durenberger will also be part of a panel, “Faith, Ethics and Health Care” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11 at Room 264, Quadrangle Building, SJU. That panel includes Bernard Evans, associate professor of theology at CSB and SJU and the Virgil Michel Chair in Theology; Kathleen Twohy, professor of nursing and chair of the department at CSB and SJU; and Toby Pearson, executive director of the Catholic Health Association of Minnesota.

An invitation-only luncheon and discussion with Durenberger and Dr. Guy Clifton, a neurosurgeon, clinical investigator, administrator and health policy advocate who is now devoting himself to health policy reform, is at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 at room 204C, Gorecki Dining and Conference Center, CSB. Although the event is free, you must register by Feb. 2 with Stacy Penk by calling 320-363-3266, or by e-mail at

spenk@csbsju.edu. Registration is limited.
During his residency, Durenberger will speak to political science, nursing and senior ethics seminar classes at CSB and SJU.

Born in St. Cloud, Durenberger was the son of long-time SJU athletic director George Durenberger. While attending SJU, he was involved in Army ROTC, becoming the program’s first cadet battalion commander and the top honor cadet. He went on to serve in the Army as a military intelligence officer from 1956-63.

In 1978, Durenberger defeated Minneapolis businessman Bob Short in a special election to complete the unexpired term of Sen. Hubert Humphrey, who had passed away earlier that year. He was reelected in 1982 (defeating Dayton) and 1988 (defeating Skip Humphrey). During his tenure in the Senate, Durenberger served as chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee.

Durenberger is currently a senior health policy fellow at the University of St. Thomas, and chairs the National Institute of Health Policy, a program of St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business. He was also named by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to lead the Minnesota Citizens Forum on Health Care Costs.
Durenberger’s visit is sponsored by the

Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at CSB and SJU. The center seeks to engage the campus and wider community in debate and discourse regarding public policy and public affairs.