2008 Woodie Awards
Potter mingles with off-campus crowd
Becky Kuschel
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Many houses near campus played host to people looking to drink and have a good time this past weekend.
People could be seen throughout the day sitting on lawn chairs, gathered on decks, playing games and drinking from red Dixie cups.
St. Cloud Police Chief Dennis Ballantine said he was impressed with how the weekend turned out.
"I think the number of people on the streets were a little smaller," Ballantine said, "and for the most part, the students that I met down there were very cooperative and friendly. They were just trying to have a good time, and we were fine with that as long as they stayed within the rules."
As of Tuesday afternoon, Ballantine said the number of citations issued was at 323, and among those, 33 were arrested. Some officers had not turned in their tickets yet; however, the numbers were not expected to considerably increase.
St. Cloud had about 60 officers patrolling the area, along with assistance from surrounding agencies such as the Stearns County Sheriff's Office, Waite Park, Sauk Rapids and the Highway Patrol.
Also patrolling the streets was Mayor Dave Kleis and SCSU's new president Earl Potter.
Together they talked to the partygoers, getting to know them and where they were from.
"One of the first challenges that folks here in St. Cloud talked to me about was the damage that has been done to the image of the university by occurrences on past move-in days," Potter said. "I wanted to see what was going on for myself, and I wanted to make a difference by being present myself and not just telling others to deal with it."
Although Potter heard that his being "out and about" made a difference, he feels the credit should be passed around.
"I think a larger difference was made by the many things that we did to improve the day," Potter said. "Among these was the great work of Student Life and Development leaders and staff members working with a host of volunteers to create on campus events for students. Thousands of students attended events on campus, and that meant they were not on Sixth Avenue."
Next year, SCSU and all MnSCU schools will have a common start date. Students will be moving in before Labor Day weekend. Ballantine did not know if this meant the end of the Labor Day parties.
"That's the million dollar question," Ballantine said. "Move-in day will happen before Labor Day weekend, but will there still be some kind of move-in day weekend (party) that (Labor Day) weekend. We'll just have to play it by ear."
Many students made Potter proud this past weekend, yet he still feels there is work to be done.
"We still have more work to do, but I am very proud of the SCSU team and very pleased at the way we worked with the city and our neighbors," Potter said.
People could be seen throughout the day sitting on lawn chairs, gathered on decks, playing games and drinking from red Dixie cups.
St. Cloud Police Chief Dennis Ballantine said he was impressed with how the weekend turned out.
"I think the number of people on the streets were a little smaller," Ballantine said, "and for the most part, the students that I met down there were very cooperative and friendly. They were just trying to have a good time, and we were fine with that as long as they stayed within the rules."
As of Tuesday afternoon, Ballantine said the number of citations issued was at 323, and among those, 33 were arrested. Some officers had not turned in their tickets yet; however, the numbers were not expected to considerably increase.
St. Cloud had about 60 officers patrolling the area, along with assistance from surrounding agencies such as the Stearns County Sheriff's Office, Waite Park, Sauk Rapids and the Highway Patrol.
Also patrolling the streets was Mayor Dave Kleis and SCSU's new president Earl Potter.
Together they talked to the partygoers, getting to know them and where they were from.
"One of the first challenges that folks here in St. Cloud talked to me about was the damage that has been done to the image of the university by occurrences on past move-in days," Potter said. "I wanted to see what was going on for myself, and I wanted to make a difference by being present myself and not just telling others to deal with it."
Although Potter heard that his being "out and about" made a difference, he feels the credit should be passed around.
"I think a larger difference was made by the many things that we did to improve the day," Potter said. "Among these was the great work of Student Life and Development leaders and staff members working with a host of volunteers to create on campus events for students. Thousands of students attended events on campus, and that meant they were not on Sixth Avenue."
Next year, SCSU and all MnSCU schools will have a common start date. Students will be moving in before Labor Day weekend. Ballantine did not know if this meant the end of the Labor Day parties.
"That's the million dollar question," Ballantine said. "Move-in day will happen before Labor Day weekend, but will there still be some kind of move-in day weekend (party) that (Labor Day) weekend. We'll just have to play it by ear."
Many students made Potter proud this past weekend, yet he still feels there is work to be done.
"We still have more work to do, but I am very proud of the SCSU team and very pleased at the way we worked with the city and our neighbors," Potter said.