Re [Mpls] College students in neighborhood associations
Today's students are tomorrow's captains of industry, Nobel prize winners, bonzai fanciers, and parents of those who come after us. Why tell individuals who have invested such major resources in their continuing education that they are less than welcome? Whatever would happen to the real estate market in this city were there not scores of thousands of households in the post-secondary education industry? Whence would come the next generation of workers in our overall economy? There are so many permanent and primary student residences in Minneapolis that I should think any sensible neighborhood would want to embrace and celebrate this talented and industrious part of their community, encourage integration into the larger life of the city and the region, and dissuade these representatives of society's future from ever planning to depart. These are urban advantages to be made the more permanent and primary in my view. Fred Markus Horn Terrace Ward Ten ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re [Mpls] College students in neighborhood associations
U. S. citizens who happen to be students will vote routinely next Tuesday. Why should NRP organizations be able to set aside that basic right in their design of the neighborhood franchise? Beween regular elections, I can register to vote without any further proof than my assertion of domicile, age, and U. S. citizenship. On election day, I can register to vote with appropriate evidence of current domicile, etc., and having proof of being a currently registered student is one of the acceptable components in this process. If I live in a college dormitory, how do I differ from the student renter down the street from me that lives in a college fraternity house? How do I differ from the renter in the next block, student or not? If I buy a condo unit or enter into a contract for deed while I'm working as a post-doc, does that make me a sort of super-citizen/student? Remember the original American constitutional dialogue about property ownership as a precondition for the franchise? Property ownership in the NRP setting seeks a new way to find electoral advantage, does it not? We have resident councils in our public housing highrises and every adult resident has the right to vote - no possibility of ownership here but rather an implied expectation of permanent domicile and plenty of students of various sorts sprinkled through our population. Should I lose the right to vote if I register for an extension class or a two-week short course someplace? Or is it not the case in NRP that students become an excluded class - objectified and rejected en masse - by non-student factions for reasons related to the preservation of some sort of advantage? Take this to the question of U. S. citizenship. As a non-U.S. citizen, should my inclusion in my neighborhood franchise be defined by my green card? my student visa? my one-year fellowship? my visiting lectureship? What awkward niceties have to be found when departing from domicile-based one person/one vote! Fred Markus, Horn Terrace, Ward Ten ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] College students in neighborhood associations?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: If the question of student membership in neighborhood associations is the only issue that Cam Gordon supporters can come up with in regard to trying to gain votes on Paul Zerby, we might as well go to the polls tomorrow. I'm personally convinced that Paul Zerby will support students fairly and equitably when he becomes the Second Ward Council Member. But, why are we spending time discussing issues that are not really relevant to governing this city? If this were only an issue of student representation then I might agree with you, but this issue is much more fundamental. You are on a slippery slope when you legitimize the exclusion of a group of people because of some peripheral attribute. Should we also exclude renters? Or poor people because they are less likely to own homes? Or African Americans because a larger percentage of them are likely to be poor? The Constitution guarantees us equal protection under the law. When students are excluded from an organization allocating tax dollars are their rights equally protected? When a candidate takes such a position it says something very basic about their attitudes towards the rights of people outside of their own group. Another action, or non action on the part of Mr. Zerby also speaks to his character. PPERRIA's president posted a response to a statement I had made and declared it to be false. When I asked Mr. Zerby to provide the truth all we heard from him was silence. That's the same lack of vocal defense for minority rights that I've heard in my neighborhood for the last three years. Rather than speak up for the fairness, Mr. Zerby once again choose to remain silent. Whereas, I hear Mr. Gordon urging his supporters to: ... work to keep these last days positive, focused on issues, focused on the future and focused on all the good we can do working together for our ward and our city, Mr. Zerby bits his tongue while our neighborhood association president distorts the facts by selectively reporting them. Do we really want to perpetuate this kind of politics in City Hall? Don't you think that it's time for a real change? I haven't been able to single-handedly improve my neighborhood association, but working together we can make Minneapolis a much nicer, more pleasant and a fairer place to live. I believe that we should elect someone who will stand up for the rights of minorities and speak up for the truth. Please consider voting for Cam Gordon. Michael Atherton Prospect Park ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
