In This Issue:

Hard-hitting road construction begins

This April would see Highway 36 through the cities of Maplewood and North St. Paul closed from White Bear Avenue to Century Avenue (Highway 120) until the fall. Mn/DOT proposed the highway have full closure through September in order to reduce project duration and cost as well as to increase safety, which may cause problematic commutes for students attending classes this summer...

New look, new feel on Web Registration

Beginning March 16, Web registration will have a new look and feel. Course searches will be an integral part of the new Web registration screen, which will also contain a course cart (or shopping cart). Advanced course searches will be possible for MnTC Goals, General Education, as well as begin dates, begin times, end times, keywords and/or credits...

University Job Fair

The Minnesota State University Job Fair was held at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Feb. 26. Ballrooms A and B held booths where representatives from over 130 companies recruited candidates for potential hiring. Graduates of the state universities as well as juniors and seniors were in attendance. Of the 144 Metropolitan State University students who registered, 118 attended the fair. Overall, slightly more than 1,000 students attended from the seven state universities that hosted the event...

New student organization: Student Science Association

Metropolitan State University’s bookstore offers a variety of goods and services in addition to all the required and recommended books for courses at the university. The bookstore has almost every kind of book, from reading books and children’s books to nursing references and general references; but they also offer general school supplies, backpacks, computer software and peripherals, electronics and clothing...

A little knitting goes along way

"Knit a cap and save a baby." That’s what Joanna Bradshaw, a Metropolitan State University student, thought when she heard that the Save the Children, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to working for children who suffer from poverty. Save the children and the Warm Up America! Foundation, whose members create handmade afghan blankets, clothing and accessories for people in need, joined forces to create the "Knitters and Crocheters for Newborns: Caps to the Capital" campaign...

Open Book has endless opportunites for students

Open Book is a 52,000-square-foot-center dedicated to literary nonprofit organizations, including the Loft Literary Center, Milkweed Editions and the Minnesota Book Arts. The building itself is a turn-of-the-century brick building that has been renovated by architecture and interior design firm Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle, Ltd. (MS&R). There is a fascinating staircase designed to look like an open book. MS&R calls the staircase a metaphor for joining the craft of making a book, literary with the content of a book being taken apart...

Human Services Club

Are you someone interested in human services? If so, have you ever thought of joining the Human Services Club (HSC) at Metropolitan State University? The following are answers from the Human Services Club President Ying Lee, about what the club does, what is gained from being a member and how being president for the past two years has benefited him...

Senior Salon 2007

Nine Metropolitan State University students’ artwork and writing is included in Senior Salon 2007, currently being presented in the Third Floor Gallery on the St. Paul Campus. The Senior Salon offers a chance for Metropolitan State students to showcase the hard work they’ve done in conjunction with senior coursework, as well as to allow the art department to highlight outstanding pieces...

World saxophone quartet nails it

The World Saxophone Quartet is a group of musicians who know and love their craft. The quartet began performing together as a group in 1976 and has been playing and recording together off and on with minimal changes in the line-up since...

New women’s service web site

The new Women’s Services Web site is up and running. A few options available on the Web site include an updated programs and events section to find out what’s going on with Women’s Services; a redesigned resources page for local and national links to assist with issues such as sexual assault, child care, domestic abuse, activism, and more...

Commentary: Letter from the Editor/ Letter from Ken Ng

The Photo poll of the December 2006 issue included an archived picture of student Gina Anderson with a quote that was falsely attributed to her. The photographer responsible for the photo poll is no longer with The Metropolitan....

Commentary: Make your voice heard: Exercise First Amendment rights

To mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq, I hosted a candlelight vigil at the Minnesota state capitol on the chilly evening of March 19. Approximately 200 individuals, several dogs and even one cat showed up to honor the lives of those lost and to call for an end to a war that seems to have no end in sight. Several of us briefly spoke, and we all sang peace songs and chanted. We made it on the evening news. This was one of several vigils that day...
Full Article

Commentary: A beneficiary of Minnesota’s commitment to higher education argues for renewing it

Monte Bute of Woodbury is a professor of sociology and social science at Metropolitan State University. He adapted this piece from his testimony before the higher education committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives, which originally ran in the Pioneer Press, Feb 27...

Strange Attractions 16

New music and intermedia performance works will highlight offerings of experimental intermedia art at Fine Arts Studio 677 eXperimental interMedia. Presented by Metropolitan State University’s Program in Experimental Music and Intermedia Art, the festival continues its tradition of offering cutting-edge performances in a casual, community arts setting...

Rox Boxing supports local artists

Rox Boxing and Fitness is hosting "Rox da Art," a night of art, wine and music to support local area artists on March 11. The North LoDo neighborhood has recently seen an immense amount of growth and redevelopment in recent years and is home to many architects, artists, designers, small music venues and the like...

Technology Bytes: Content, or ‘The Myspace Phenomenon’

As I mentioned in my previous articles, building a Web site requires a serious amount of planning. You need to know what it’s for, what your client wants it to look like and what your users expect to do there. Whether it’s strictly informational, simple pages of text with supporting images, or a graphic-driven interactive Web site, the end result needs to be the same: Your users need to be able to find the information they’re looking for quickly and without difficulty...

The World In Film - Student-run traveling film festival launched

A new generation of student filmmakers will be at Esquire Theatre in Denver, Colo., on July 17. Student Films Across America (SFAA), the first-ever traveling student-run film festival, will screen the best of today’s high school and college student films as it road-trips through 50 college towns and cities in the United States and Canada...

Twin Town Sound: Big quarters, big statement

A new creative life force is burning on the Twin Cities Hip Hop scene. Brothers Zach Bagaason, aka "Medium Zack," 22, and Brandon Bagaason, aka "Brandon Allday," 25, otherwise known as Big Quarters, are trying to make their mark in Minneapolis independent rap music. With a much-anticipated new release Cost of Living finally on Twin Cities’ shelves, the group is well on their way...

Sporting the Twin Cities - Basketball Blues

It’s one of the most exciting sporting events of the year unless, of course, you’re a Golden Gophers fan. Yes, the NCAA college basketball tournament—otherwise known as March Madness, Hoops Hysteria, Basketball Balderdash (OK, I made the last one up)—marks one of the largest losses of worker productivity of the year, an estimated $1.2 billion, according to the Star Tribune. It also marks the first time in five years that neither of the University of Minnesota’s Division I basketball teams, men or women, will be a part of the tournament...