[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES ITS 30TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM RAMSTAD

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 6, 1997

  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, the Minnesota State University Student 
Association [MSUSA] was formed in 1967 as a informal coalition of 
student leaders representing their peers at the State universities in 
Minnesota--Bemidji, Mankato, Metropolitan (Twin Cities), Moorhead, St. 
Cloud, Southwest (Marshall) and Winona. A branch campus in Akita, 
Japan, opened in 1990. Today, the association has evolved into an 
independent nonprofit corporation, funded and operated by students, and 
serving more than 60,000 students.
  Over the last 30 years, MSUSA has encouraged students to become 
active participants in the decisions that affect them, working on 
behalf of many important causes. State university students have worked 
to establish child care facilities and stabilize State tuition. They 
have advocated increased work-study wages, simplified student transfers 
between State universities, improved cultural diversity and made great 
strides toward fairer State and Federal financial aid programs, 
including those in the most recent Higher Education Act 
reauthorization.
  I am particularly grateful for the input and support MSUSA gave me 
with my legislation to provide greater protection for sexual assault 
victims on campus. This legislation was included in the 1992 Higher 
Education Act reauthorization, and it is now the law of the land.
  Many admirable and worthwhile programs are sponsored by this student 
association. MSUSA's various legislative liaisons have given students 
the opportunity to voice their concerns at critical points in the 
decisionmaking process. The Monitor, the association's newspaper, has 
the largest circulation of any State system newspaper. The MSUSA Penny 
Fellowship was founded in 1987 to encourage State university students 
to perform volunteer public and community service internships.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the current 
leadership of MSUSA: Francis Klinkner, State chair from Mankato State 
University, Garret Melby Aanerud, vice chair from Moorhead State 
University; Heidi deRuyter, treasurer and operations officer from 
Moorhead State University; and Frank X. Viggiano, executive director. I 
extend my heartfeld congratulations and wish them continued success on 
this important anniversary.

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