The Future May Be Grim

Considering a student’s perspective of the recalibration.

Ben Knuesel, Northern Student Writer

Changes are happening all over Bemidji State University this year and next year will be no different. It is quite obvious that BSU has a budget deficit that needs to be taken care of and action needs to be taken.

A new president, Dr. Richard Hanson, has been brought in to make the proper adjustments that may not be too popular to everyone involved. According to one of his messages, the decision involving the budget cuts, was a “measured approach” and was trying to lay down a path for the future of both BSU and NTC.

Programs are being cut and professors are being laid off. Majors are being lost in this new adjustment and therefore, some students are getting caught in the middle of an ugly side of Bemidji State University.

The industrial technology college and performing arts are the two main programs that are looking to be cut. According to what has been said lately, the new image looks like next year will be a more narrow study of business and communication at BSU.

Jay Moran, a freshman student in the construction management program, said, “I came to BSU because I knew that this is what I wanted to do and Bemidji offered a great program, but now I have to look someplace else.” Moran is choosing to transfer to a competitor of BSU, the University of Minnesota-Duluth. UMD has offered many of the same programs that BSU has and is much larger providing many more opportunities than BSU, making UMD somewhat of a tough competitor.

When asked if he knew of many others that were being affected by this change he said, “well obviously everyone else in my major, but also the students who had already planned on living together next year now no longer have their room mates.”

Brody Pappenfuss, a sophomore studying history, transferred here last year from Southeast Technical College because the program here was better and now has to transfer to Winona State University.

Pappenfuss said, “ I didn’t really know what to do, because I came up here just for that and now I have to leave.” He will end up living back at home in Winona, where he had said he wanted to get away from, and there he will try to finish up at WSU.

Jacqueline Teegarden, a sophomore at Bemidji State University in the visual arts program is moving down to Minnesota State University-Mankato, another competitor which offers many of the same programs and opportunities as BSU, in Minnesota. She said, “ I will be moving down to Mankato in mid summer with two others from BSU and we will all finish up down there.”

Teegarden has been in numerous plays and musicals through campus and is very passionate about her studies, but she has no place here anymore. She also went on to say, “I don’t think that it’s very fair to the students currently in these programs and Bemidji State is really making a big mistake on closing out the unique opportunities that it has provided in the past.”

Others like Jacqueline took action and voiced their opinion in a protest, on February 2, when a group of fine arts students and others gathered in front of BSU’s Deputy Hall. Students held signs and chanted protests that rang throughout the campus. Many students think they know what they want, and they don’t think that this decision is the answer. What do you think?

Stand Out Athlete Strives For Success

Will Leonhardt Stay or Go?

By Brandon Miles

At 6’5” tall and weighing 250 pounds, Brian Leonhardt stands out in a crowd of students. His laid back demeanor is reminiscent of a gentle giant but his skills on the football field paint a different picture. Leonhardt earned academic all-conference in 2009 and both academic all conference and first team all conference tight end (football) in 2010. However, Leonhardt is not just confined to one sport.  He is also a very established track and field athlete, throwing both shot-put and discus and being all conference in both.

Brian Leonhardt Warms Up For Competiton
Photo by Brandon Miles

Originally from Spring Lake Park, Minn., Leonhardt was a three-sport athlete in high school. Track, football, and wrestling took up most of his time, and if he wasn’t in a sport, he could be found studying. “I was a bit of a bookworm in high school,” Leonhardt said. “All my friends would tease me, but I didn’t take offense to it because I knew they were all just kidding.”
Like all seniors in high school, the next step was to figure out where to go for college. Leonhardt's height and size got him a lot of attention from various athletic programs for both track and football. "Brian was a tough player to recruit," said BSU head coach Jeff Tesch. "Not only did he play two sports, but he was also being recruited by division one schools."
Everyone has their own reasons and motivations for picking a school and Leonhardt was no different. “I really thought about going to the U of M for a while,” he said, “but in the end I loved football and track and I wanted to continue doing both. That’s when I really started looking at Bemidji because they were one of the few schools who would let me do both sports.”
In the spring of 2008, Leonhardt signed at Bemidji State University as both a track and football athlete. Obviously, being a student athlete is very time consuming and being in two sports leaves Leonhardt with very little time to relax.  “Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed with both sports,” he said. “Obviously coaches from both sports want my full commitment and it’s very seasonal.”
When Leonhardt isn’t participating in football or track events, he spends a lot of his time in the library pursuing his degree in business. “Business management has always interested me," he said. "I want to be able to make good money and be my own boss, make my own hours.”
Clearly motivated and carrying a 3.76 G.P.A., he seems on his way; however, he doesn’t have everything figured out just yet. “I know I want to manage my own business but it’s not quite as simple as that," he said. "I realize that starting your own business is expensive and I’ll have to make a pretty substantial amount of money before I can pursue it on account of I don’t really want to take out loans to finance it.”

Leonhardt has proven his skill ranking among the top athletes in the NSIC for 2011. According to ncaa.com, Leonhardt is ranked 20^th in the nation at the discus throw which makes him eligible to compete in the national playoffs.

Brian Leonhardt
Photo Take by Brandon Miles

Although his motivation is high, Leonhardt seems to be at a cross-road in his collegiate career as the BSU men’s track team was recently cut for next season. This presents a major conflict for him as the number one reason he chose Bemidji was because of its lenience towards two-sport athletes. “I really feel bad for Brian and the team," said track coach Craig Hougen."Brian came to Bemidji specifically to play two sports, and now he can't."
Since track will be terminated for next year's season, Leonhardt has to decide if he wants to compete in track or football. He can choose to leave Bemidji to pursue his track career, or stay to finish football and education."The thought of transferring has not been the easiest decision," he said. “If this had happened freshman year it wouldn’t be that hard of a decision. But now I’ve established a really good group of friends, I have a girlfriend of almost two years now and transferring would most likely lose me credits.”

SAFAC Budget Increases With High Student Enrollment

Impressive Budget Cannot Satisfy All Student Organizations

By Brandon Miles

Bemidji, MN- With the 2010-2011 school year coming to a close at Bemidji State University, the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee, better known as SAFAC, received a $630,725 budget for the 2011-2012 school year. The budget is more than SAFAC has worked with in the past couple of years and this is due to the increased enrollment at BSU. Although SAFAC’s budget is a large number, they were unable to grant all of the requested funds.

According to BSU Today, the student enrollment is at an all time high, with a 33% increase in freshman enrollment over the past five years. The boosted enrollment has increased the amount of student organizations, which ultimately leads to an increased budget.

“In terms of funding, our current SAFAC budget is not large enough to support all of the requests,” said Bill Maki, vice president for finance and administration. There are over 40 student organizations and if they all receive the requested amount, SAFAC’s budget would be in a $150,000 deficit. 

 The American Indian Science and Engineering Society, an organization whose goal is to increase American Indian interest and participation in science and engineering, was only approved to receive $1,297. The approved funding amounts to 25% of the requested $5,082. A number of other programs are taking only a slight cut in funds such as the Talley Gallery, which had its request cut only by $20.

The University Theatre program is expected to take the largest cut in funding because of the recent university budget cut, which is not associated with SAFAC’s budget. The current approved budget is $17,868, roughly 50% less than the requested $41,000. This means less money for actors, equipment, professors, and other costs associated with producing plays. The program will be completely ceased after next year, due to the fact that the University Department was one of four departments at Bemidji State that will be dropped entirely from the curriculum.

Leah Palmer, Chairman fo SAFAC Takes Part in Student Senate Meeting

“The loss in funding is based on the fact that the University Theatre has been removed from the curriculum.” Said Leah Palmer, chairman for SAFAC. “The theatre will not be involved with the university, so we will be unable to provide them with funds.”

 Other programs either took zero cuts or were recommended to receive more than their original request. The Rugby Men's team, Ultimate Frisbee Club, and Habitat for Humanity will receive exactly what they requested, while the program for international students will receive an additional thousand dollars, according to the proposed plan.

Student Senat Discuss SAFAC Budget
Photo by Brandon Miles

"The budget plan may appear tight on money because some student organizations did not receive their requested amount,” said Palmer. “But we are working with more money than we’ve had in the past few years, which gives us the opportunity to have a multitude of student organizations.”

Although some student organizations did not receive their requested budgets, SAFAC reserved $20,000 for emergency funding and new student clubs that emerge during the year. Regardless of the organization that receives funding, the reserved money will be spent entirely on student organizations. SAFAC will have the ability to grant money toward any student organization that exceeds the given budget, runs into a financial dilemma such as the Northern Student, or funding new organizations

The Northern Student ran into financial troubles earlier this year after suffering from a budget cut and a failed business relationship with The Pioneer, SAFAC stepped in and provided emergency funds to keep the paper going. The Northern Student still was only approved for considerably less than requested. However, if the student paper or any other organization ran into this same dilemma, SAFAC could be more than capable of stepping in to lend a hand.

The budget plan created by SAFAC has yet to be approved by the Student Senate. Once the Senate approves the plan, whether it is the current proposal or one made in the near future, the budget has to be approved by Bill Maki. If the budget plan were to be approved, it is reviewed by the Board of Trustees in the early summer to get the final approval. If this were to happen, then all students of BSU will be notified via email of the budget plan that will be in effect for the last year.

"Hopefully, with the approval of our comprehensible budget plan, we can keep as many programs here at BSU as possible," says Palmer. "Everyone isn’t happy, but we are dealing with the situation the best we can with the resources given."

FY 2012 SAFAC RECOMMENDATIONS FY2012 Request FY12 Approved Art Association 3,000 3,000 Advising success center 11,000 7,000 AISES 6,379 1,297 Biology Club 2,064 1,224 Campus Recreation 383,946 360000 Child Care 0 0 Chi Alpha 2,319 2,029 Club Mud 1,000 750 CMENC 3,994 1,190 Concert Choir 13,791 11060 Concert Series 7,000 7000 Computer Science Club 2,219 547 Council Ind. Students 7,000 6400 Dance Show 7,700 6000 Dance Team 1,687 919 Design Guild 1,609 901 Ducks Unlimited 470 259 Habitat for Humanity 1,233 1233 CAB 63,765 47411 InterVarsity 8,625 3636 International Students 2,100 3100 Jazz Band 3,900 140 Lifestyle Educators 5,760 4144 Math Club 2,999 442 Northern Student 51,164 22631 Opera Theatre 5,175 3695 PEHS 2,988 1393 Phoenix 6,727 5557 Pre Law Society 4,189 2764 Rivers Meeting Club Roller Derby Rugby Mens 3000 3000 Rugby Womens 8137 3053 Social Work Club 1,500 725 Students for the Environment 1560 605 Student Senate 18,941 15867 Symphonic Band 1,800 1625 Talley Gallery 9,040 9020 Theater Unlimited TOTO - EM 2,181 537 Ultimate Frisbee Club 1,028 1028 University Theatre 40,842 17868 Varsity Singers Wind Ensemble(Univ Band) 8,954 7175 Clubs 4,000 4,000 Security 5,500 5,500 Sales Tax Assistants at activities 7,000 7,500 General Admin 26,000 27,500 Total Students Activities 753,286 610,725 Budget 603000 630725 Net Budget -150286 20000 Group Revenue Goals Special Request Reserve 20,000 Total Net Budget 0 Consider Carry Forward