Category Archives: Campus

Campus

Winona State University forecasts fall semester

Leave a comment

Winona State University recently announced plans to hold a majority of classes in person for the fall 2021 semester.

Dean of Students, Karen Johnson, explained the decision.

“We are hoping for 70 percent in-person classes. Which to me that just seems like a really nice mix because some students truly do like the online classes,” Johnson said.

Professor Andrea Gierok, instructor in the public health program, gave her thoughts.

Ken Janz, Winona State’s chief information officer, dean of the library and associate vice president for academic affairs said Winona State consults many sources for guidance on COVID-19 policy.

“One of our biggest guides is from both MDH [Minnesota Department of Health], and the system office on where they feel we should be,” Janz said. “And we just try and make the best plan to create the balance, to create a safe environment, but a great learning environment. And those aren’t always compatible, but we try to make them as much as possible.”

Janz, along with a group of faculty and administration lead  a committee named the COVID Classroom Instruction Action Option Group, responsible for making decisions that affected the future semester, including course offerings.

Janz cited a variety of factors, including future social distancing guidelines being lowered to three feet and vaccine distribution as important to allow for fall classes in-person.

“In the latest MDH guidance fall planning, you can do three-feet social distancing.” Janz said. “So, you know what three-feet social distancing is? That’s almost a small classroom. It really is. Depending on the level of circulating virus, universal masking may still be required and depending on level and circulation of virus, assigned seating may be required.” 

The Winona State COVID-19 dashboard visualizes reported data for the spread of COVID on campus during spring semester. Source: Winona.edu

Gierok said the current regulations have allowed for certain spring classes to be conducted in person safely.

“I think they’re doing it now safely in some classes. I think as long as we’re vigilant about lessening the risk,” Gierok said. “So, you know, like I said, the distance, the masks, the cleaning of classrooms after students leave, all of the things they’re doing now, I think if they continue to do those things in the fall, I think the risk is pretty minimal.”

Cleaning supplies sit among records at KQAL 89.5, the school’s radio station. DJ’s are required to wipe down the studios touch points at the end of every shift.

Gierok spoke highly of Winona State’s compliance and attentiveness to guidelines but noted that risk still exists in returning to in-person.

“I think Winona State has done everything they needed to get us safely back in the classrooms or as much as they can possibly do. They’re following CDC guidelines and they’re following recommendations from the Department of Health and working with Winona county emergency management,” Gierok said. “So, I feel safe going back into the classroom. But I don’t have any real health issues or pre-existing conditions. 

Mackenzie Moroney, a graduate in nursing this fall semester, shared her opinion on the decision.

“I think that’s really exciting because I had like my first couple years in person and then last year was online, and I just loved the in-person,” Moroney said. “I felt like I was able to actually concentrate a little bit more and be able to really like retain the knowledge, especially being in nursing because in nursing it’s so hands-on.”

Johnson shared a similar excitement.

Ava Beal is a fourth-year student at Farmington High School attending Winona State in the fall.

Beal said all of her classes for her upcoming first year will be in person, noting her distaste of virtual classes.

“I’m not crazy about online classes,” Beal said.

Beal noted her excitement about having more freedom and concerns about staying motivated and accountable in the upcoming semester.

Campus, College, Higher Education, Journalism, Winona State University

New Professor Overcomes New Challenges

Video Leave a comment

Education is fundamental to the of development one’s life.
Kay Hannahan knows this well.

Hannahan is a first-year professor in the Mass Communication department at Winona State University.

She got into teaching after graduating college at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

After graduating, she returned home to Minnesota where she later joined AmeriCorps in their welfare to work program.
In this program she taught immigrants “how to write a resume and how to interview.”

She enjoyed volunteering and said made connections and taught people valuable life skills.

Hannahan then joined the Peace Corps where Hannahan “taught English in a really small village school.”

One of her memorable moments while in Peace Corps in Bulgaria, was when she was walking down the street with fellow Peace Corp members when some of her students stopped to say hello to them in English in what sounded like a Minnesota accent.

From there, Hannahan went to graduate school at Temple University in Philadelphia where she taught as an assistant in the film program.

After spending time on the east coast and outside the United States, she returned to Minnesota in 2019 to look for teaching jobs.

Then in March of 2020 a day before the declaration of the pandemic she gave birth to her son Duke.

Not only was Hannahan juggling finding a job she said, “I always joke that there’s no postpartum book that tells you how to be a mother during a pandemic.”

Shortly after her baby was born, she was officially hired on to be a part of WSU’s Mass Communication department in June 2020.

She had to deal with the pandemic and being a new mother, Hannahan choose to have an online delivery mode for her WSU classes this year.

At first, she felt online teaching was going to be inferior to teaching in person.

She said she found it could be helpful in some ways.

Natalie Tyler, a fourth-year student at WSU and current student of Hannahan.

Photo submittted by Natalie Tyler

Said her experience in Hannahan’s online course was positive, “I love that she actually goes through all of the assignments more in detail and she shows you know what students are supposed to do and how to actually edit each project,” Tyler said.

Hannahan said she liked Zoom’s capabilities because “when you’re teaching editing software, you have the ability to record to lecture.”

Alek LaShomb, a fourth-year student at WSU has had two classes with Hannahan said that the recorded lectures were helpful because he ran into an issue with Adobe Premier Software and the recorded lecture helped him figure it out.

Photo submitted by Alek LaShomb

LaShomb said, “If we’re in person, that’s something I’d have to wait until the next class session, or I’d have to email her about”

Hannahan said camera equipment tutorials would work better in person than Zoom.

 So in the future she intends to have them in-person.

Next year, she looks forward to the introduction of her new course the Living History Project which will be a collaboration with WSU’s Retiree Center.

Hannahan said, “I’m excited to explore more of Winona and to see my students more often face-to-face.”

LaShomb spoke on what Hannahan adds to the Mass Communications faculty. “I think she’ll be a good face for that new guard that’s gonna be coming through the Mass Comm department” LaShomb said.

basketball, Campus, College, sports, Uncategorized, Winona State University

Future Bright For Warriors After Shortened Season

Leave a comment

The Winona State University women’s basketball team finished their 2020-21 campaign this weekend after a sweep of the Upper Iowa University Peacocks, a feat which head coach Scott Ballard described as difficult to accomplish during the shortened season.

“We had four separate quarantines during our season and it’s really hard to gain any momentum when you have interruptions all the time,” Ballard said, “practice is important to gain confidence in what you’re doing, when it gets taken away periodically, the confidence isn’t there.”

Ballard said winning both games of a weekend series against the same team is challenging because of the lack of opportunity to adjust due to the infrequency of practices.  “You can talk but there’s no repetitions,” Ballard said. He added there is also the extra layer of motivation for the team that loses the first game.

Despite the lack of a tournament seed due to the field being cut in half from years prior, the Warriors will have much to look forward to next season.

An extra year of eligibility for their four senior starters, each of whom have continued to develop in Ballard’s program, will provide the Warriors with a combination of experienced talent to match the youth of four incoming high school recruits.

Perhaps the most decorated member of the team, three-time NSIC second team All-Conference selection and former WSU and NSIC Freshman Female Athlete of the Year Allie Pickrain, has dealt with a knee injury the entire season resulting in her playing time decrease.  The injury will require surgery.  The sharp-shooting wing does not expect to miss any time next season.

Video: Allie Pickrain drains a wide-open three against Upper Iowa University.

While Pickrain has seen her minutes decrease, she has stayed a threat through efficiency, shooting 51.9 percent from beyond the arc.  Pickrain also achieved a career goal in reaching 1,000 points.

The team gathers to celebrate Allie Pickrain’s 1000 point. Photo: WSU Athletics

“At first I felt like I was doing something wrong,” Pickrain said, “but in reality, it’s because this season really, although it sucks to say, it didn’t mean that much because we’re coming back next year.”

The Warriors did not view this season as a waste of time.  They implemented a new defensive scheme, switching defensive matchups, a break from their traditional man-to-man defense which relied on fighting around screens to stay with their assignment.

The style of defense requires players to be versatile in defending across all five positions and has seen its popularity increase since the recent Golden State Warriors championship seasons.

On offense, the Warriors had to find a way to combat the triple teams sent against leading scorer and former NSIC first team All-Conference selection Taylor Hustad.

The Warriors also faced the backed-off approach teams took toward senior point guard Emily Kieck, who was coming off a season that saw her three-point shooting percentage fall almost 15 points from 32.2 percent to 17.8 percent.

Center Emma Fee, who has seen her role increase each year on the squad, made the most of this season benefitting from the new system and increased opportunities.

“Emma had to wait her turn and pay her dues behind some all-conference players,” Ballard said, “had to be patient and keep working hard, and she didn’t get bitter she got better and now she’s an all-conference caliber player.”

Fee has transitioned from a five minute-per-game player to starter averaging 10.8 points per game with a 30-point outing against Sioux Falls on January 17.

Video: Emma Fee sinks a shot to beat the buzzer and secure the win against Concordia St. Paul.

“Emma’s scary to go against, she’s a big body, she’s in your face, there’s not a whole lot you can do.” Pickrain said.

Next season the Warriors will look to get to the regional tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign, and the team hopes there will be fans in the stands to take the journey with them.

art, Campus, Community, culture, Events, Film, Film Review

Frozen River Film Festival 16th year

Leave a comment

The Frozen River Film Festival is a year-round program in Winona that showcases the art of documentary film, which happens every February of the year. The festival’s mission is to engage, educate, and activate the community to become involved in the world. Some films may not be available through other media, making them special for providing a unique perspective on environmental issues, sustainable communities, sports, adventure travel, and diverse cultures.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the FRFF happened face-to-face with workshops and forums. This year it was all virtual via on-demand streaming. The FRFF group believes their filmmaking workshops and forums inspire local filmmakers to improve their craft. These types of events often feature world-class filmmakers who share skills and inspiration to the public, providing a learning opportunity from each other.

The documentary films feature exciting stories, interviews, and various perspectives on current affairs. The films encourage the public to learn more about an issue, volunteer with an organization, and help financially support a cause they believe.

Eileen Moeller, managing director of the FRFF, explained the festival was created by members of Theatre du Mississippi as an annual event where volunteers brought sets from Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride to Winona.

“There was an interest in documentary films and by collaborating with an existing film festival, volunteers were able to bring exceptional documentary film programming to Winona,” said Moeller.

The event was popular and eventually took on a life of its own and was able to become a separate entity from Theatre du Mississippi.

This was the Festival’s 16th year. Over recent years, the organization has worked to expand beyond the usual one-week festival and offer more throughout the year.

Moeller said the virtual festival was a success and a great way to reach people in a way that felt comfortable, safe and accessible. For her, the big difference this year, besides being online, was that people were able to see far more films than they typically would on a weekend, as there was more time to watch them.

People’s Choice Award Winner

The FRFF partners with Winona State University and its students. “We had great engagement from students this year, but we always hope for more, especially since this event happens on the WSU campus and students can get in for free” said Moeller

According to Moeller, the process for the 2022 festival has already begun. The film submissions opened on Feb. 15.  Already, seven films have been submitted. Those will be reviewed and as more films get submitted, they will continue to review them and start to brainstorm.

J Paul Johnson, a film studies professor at Winona State University, attended the FRFF regularly since its beginning and partnered with the festival for years. Besides introducing films and supervising internships, Johnson served as a jury member both this year and others.

Johnson said he thinks the Frozen River Film Festival is a boon to the artistic, creative and social community of Southeast Minnesota and Winona State students. According to him, WSU film studies majors and minors volunteer at and intern with the festival, and this year, seven students had their work featured in the festival.

Local Choice Award Winner

Johnson’s advice to students is to take a chance and enjoy the films.

“Let the films show you what they do,” said Johnson. “Every one of them will have its own charm and purpose, whether short or feature-length, local or global, small-scale or epic. You won’t be disappointed!”

The FRFF group misses gathering together with the public, but as Moeller says, the “warmth of Winona” is not always about being in the same space together.

For more information visit https://www.frff.org/

Campus, Community, Jail, Local, News, Winona

Winona New Jail

Image Leave a comment

For decades America has had a problem with mass incarceration.

The Winona County jail is dealing with multiple violations which is why the community is pushing to build a new one.

Chris Meyer the District One Commissioner for Winona County is in favor of building a new jail.

Photo submitted by Chris Meyer

Meyer said, “the jail was condemned, and we’re replacing it.
She also said the current jail, “it is simply not safe for anyone, not for the community, not the individuals arrested and certainly not our jail staff”.

Meyer also said the jail has failed state inspections due to narrow doorways, no sprinkler systems, only one intake stall, pod structure and other safety and health concerns.

When comparing Winona County’s current jail and the plan for the new jail, especially in concerns with COVID-19, Meyer said, “It will have a negative airflow system, and it will also have the ability to separate folks in a way that is simply not possible now.”

Submitted Photo by Community Not Cages of a drawing by Katie Mueller-Freitag

A local coalition Community not Cages opposes the new jail.

Tova Strange, a member of Community not Cages, and Winona State University student, said the group is composed of current and past Winona residents who disagree with the jail expansion.

Strange, is a lifelong Winona resident which is why this issue is important to her.

She joined the group because she is anti-incarceration and supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

When she heard about the new jail in Winona, she disagreed with it.

Strange said, “the idea of expanding a jail to 80-90 beds, and possibly adding a juvenile detention center really frightened me and frustrated me”.

Kara Eggers, a fellow WSU student and member of Community not Cages, said Winona County should redistribute funds for a new jail or juvenile facility to other causes.

“I think, putting finances and resources into preventative methods, helping people actually get into the doctor in a timely manner,” Eggers said.

Strange, said she is continuously seeing the same individuals in and out of jail for drug addiction.

“The solution to addiction is providing rehab facilities locally that are accessible and cheap enough for people to go and good enough that it works,” Strange said.

Chris Meyer said that delaying the new jail is not possible but if they had come to the community board sooner, Community not Cages could’ve been involved in the discussion about the new jail.

Meyer said she disagrees with Community not Cages on the new jail she said the “truth of the matter is I actually share many of their concerns”.

Campus, College, Sorority, Winona State University

Sorority adapts to COVID-19

Video Leave a comment

This year has been difficult no matter a student’s year here at Winona State University because it’s been filled with uncertainties and adaptations.

As a first-year college student, one of the biggest concerns is trying to make new friends and making the university feel like home, which is where campus involvement comes in to play.

Before COVID-19 it was easy to go to campus events hosted by many different organizations. Now, it’s nearly impossible.

The Phi Theta Chi sorority knows this all too well.

Entering her first year at WSU, Nicole Banicki didn’t really know what to expect as COVID was in full swing.

She decided to join Phi Theta Chi in hopes of making connections with people at WSU.

Phi Theta Chi is a sisterhood that holds fundraising and social events throughout the school year according to their website.

This allowed her to immerse herself into the university, as well as make friends “It’s hard to make friends right now, because there’s no social events” Banicki, said.

Photo submitted by Nicole Banicki of her posing outdoors.

COVID has also been difficult for older students like senior Skylar Smiley.

Smiley has been in Phi Theta Chi for three years and holds four positions within the sorority which involves event planning.

One of the events she organizes is Rush Week which is where she tries to recruit new members to the sorority.

This is important for Phi Theta Chi because it’s a smaller sorority that typically has “13 to 15 members but this year, they dropped to 11” Smiley, said.

Photo submitted by Skylar Smiley of her wearing a Phi Theta Chi T-shirt.

Instead of doing it in person Smiley shifted Rush Week to online by hosting multiple different nights between January 19-29 some of the nights included creating your own birth chart and distanced gaming.

Aside from Rush Week, Smiley has had difficulty trying to adjust with other events such as tabling and fundraising.

Smiley stated, “without tabling, it’s just been really weird to have to do the events without like physically being there.”

A fundraising event they can’t do is their annual bake sale, where they sell baked goods on campus.

COVID makes bake sells impossible.

They have turned to alternative ways to raise money. Phi Theta Chi is not a nationally recognized sorority, so they raise their money locally.

One alternative is virtual raffles where Phi Theta Chi used social media to raise money.

All-in-all Smiley said last semester they were able to host a couple in person events such as a chalking event to counter-protest the Warriors for Life chalk display on campus.

Smiley also said the transition was difficult at first. Now with dedication from all the women they are still about to keep that sisterhood connection Through virtual games such as Among Us, virtual meetings, etc.

Since joining Phi Theta Chi, Banicki said the social aspect of the sorority has “made life happier”.

Even though she prefers to face to face interaction, she feels that communicating online has been helpful because time isn’t wasted going back and forth places.

Banicki and Smiley said they are now ready and feel safe to return to limited on campus events and are excited for what the future on-campus holds.

Smiley said, “As long as COVID numbers are down, and we do everything on campus, the way that campus asks us to, they would be comfortable having some in person (events)”.

Here is a link to Phi Theta Chi’s website

https://phi-theta-chi.wixsite.com/alphachapter

Campus, College, Digital Life and Learning, Higher Education, Winona

Are Education Students Prepared to Student Teach?

Leave a comment

With COVID-19 putting a strain on in-person classes, a lot of students are suffering when it comes to learning. One such group is students who are studying to become the next generation’s teachers.

College students in the Elementary and Early Education department at Winona State University are having to do supplemental work instead of being in the classroom and working with children.

According to Daniel Kirk, Dean of the WSU College of Education, 516 students are enrolled in the Elementary and Early Education department.

Those 516 students are missing out on vital time of working in person with children, and many within the next few semesters will start their actual semester of student teaching.

Dr. Mary Anderson, a professor in the Elementary and Early Education department, said she is optimistic for her students to begin student teaching.

Dr. Mary Anderson professor of the Elementary and Early Education Department, submitted

“I think they are going to be well prepared with their content,” Anderson said. “What I can’t replicate is the actual child or group of children.”

Dr. Anderson said while students are not able to work in the field, they are doing well with online learning.

“With the work students did last semester and are continuing to do this semester, I have not seen any signs of their academic work lacking at all,” Anderson said. “In fact, I might make a case that they might even be a little bit stronger.”

Payton Portugue an early education major for three semesters will begin student teaching this fall. Portugue selecting a school where she will student teach in the fall.

Payton Portugue major of Elementary and Early Education Department

The education department offers a variety of classes to prepare students for teaching and working with children in a classroom environment.

Since COVID-19 started, these students have not been able to get into any of the local classrooms to work with kids.

“COVID-19 has severely cut down the time we get to spend working with kids in a classroom and building those classroom management skills,” Portugue said.

Portugue said instead of field experience, Winona State University has provided alternative methods like observational videos.

“I feel like I’ll never be one hundred percent prepared,” Portugue said. “I think that Winona has provided me with a lot of different skills and opportunities, so I think I’ll fit in pretty well.”

Hannah Seifert, an education major for three semesters at WSU delayed her field experience after studying abroad for a semester.

“I’ve been able to take all my classes,” Siefert said. “I haven’t been able to do any of the field experience which is a challenge.”

Siefert described the requirements all education students need in order to begin student teaching.

“Minnesota requires 100  hours of field experience in order to student teach, where 50 of those hours can be supplemental,” Siefert said.

Siefert is optimistic to begin student teaching even though she never had field experience due to COVID-19.

“I think by the time I’m done with student teaching I’ll be prepared since we’re learning all the material now,” Siefert said. “I’m hoping by next spring I’ll be able to student teach in person.”

Campus, College, Community, Journalism, Local, Uncategorized

New Winona apartments to upstage other housing options

Leave a comment

The residential scene in Winona caters to different groups of people, predominantly college students from August to May.

A new downtown apartment complex called Main Square Winona is aiming to be the updated hub for business professionals and the wealthy in town.

From a third-floor balcony, a view of Winona’s downtown amenities can be seen.

According to Tom Hoseck, Main Square Winona’s lead property manager, the complex will have two primary buildings: the Landmark on Main and 5th Streets and the Cornerstone, which is on Main and 4th.

While Landmark is housing with one, two- and three-bedroom units, Cornerstone also has space for retail offices.

Amenities like a fitness center, rooftop terraces and meeting room will be shared between residents, Hoseck said.

Speaking about the draw for living at Main Square, Hoseck mentioned proximity.

“Living here gives people everything they could need within walking distance,” Hoseck said. “Plus, we’ll be adding conveniences for residents like an orthodontist, hair salon and a walk-in clinic. We want people who live here to feel like they never have to leave.”

A complex marketed as luxury must live up to that in rental prices.

An average one-bedroom rental in the Landmark building runs $1,300 per month For the Cornerstone building, a one-bedroom suite begins at $875 a month.

In a city that’s predominantly college students, how do these rates stack up to dorms?

And would the apartments appeal to college students?

According to Paula Scheevel, Winona State University’s director of housing and residence life, the dorms are a better price.

Unlike the price of the new apartment complexes, the rates of dorms were decided by the original cost to build and maintain the dorm.

In WSU’s Quad, which is a building made up of four separate other dorms, an average room is $2,800 for the academic year.

While college students pay off all charges in chunks, the average rent would come out to $350, per the housing and residence life yearly budget.

They also have stipulations through the MinnState system that all dorms must be built to withstand 100 years of residents and be paid off in 20 years.

Because Scheevel has been in her position for 16 years, she also has data on retention rate in the dorms.

“Thirty percent of people who live in res halls are returners, and that adds up to about one third of the overall student population,” Scheevel said.

She expounded on why she thought the university had those numbers.

“It’s ultimately about the value of the dollar. Our convenient location, dining plan and community in res life makes it a top choice.”

In terms of how the dorms stack up to the new apartments, Scheevel said she didn’t think Main Square Winona aimed to be for college living.

Paula Scheevel posing in her office space for housing and residence life
Paula Scheevel, director of housing and residence life, stands in her domain in Kryzsko Commons where students can apply to live on campus and inquire about other aspects of campus life.

“To my knowledge, the complexes are geared toward those who are well-off and looking for housing not directed at college students,” Scheevel said.

To live in the Cornerstone, which is the cheaper of the two luxury complexes, for one school year, it would be a 150 percent increase over residence halls at the university.

And that’s just an average dorm room cost.

By comparing the cost of Main Square Winona to the most upscale dorms on campus, Kirkland-Haake, an average room in the four-person complex is $3,650.

Calculated out, monthly rent from a dorm to this luxury complex would increase by 91 percent.

Depending on where you live, you get what you pay for.

Question is, who’s willing to pay that much?

Campus, Winona State University

What Winona State University does for the community

Video Leave a comment

Everyone always talks about what communities do for universities but not what the universities do for communities.

Winona is no stranger to that.  It is a thriving community with plenty of support for the three colleges and universities in the area.

At Winona State University there are at least 180 cubs and student organizations on campus. These range from sports clubs, Greek life, academic clubs, honorary societies, faith-based clubs and diversity organizations.

For most of these clubs and organizations, community service and philanthropy work is a significant part of how those clubs run.

The president of the university, Scott Olson, said, “First and foremost, community engagement is a great way for students to learn. It allows us to put theory into practice and allows students to try out different settings and professions to see how they might dedicate their lives.”

One subset of campus organizations where community service is an important aspect to is Greek life.

Lindsay Marosi-Kramer, an activities director on campus, said, “Our seven organizations all have both national and local philanthropies, many groups require students to host volunteer hours while not many have actual relationships with outside places like Greek groups do.”

According to Marosi-Kramer, during the 2018-2019 school year, the Greek community volunteered more than 800 hours in community services.

Students can walk off most WSU sidewalks and be in neighborhoods or in close proximity to local businesses.

Some community members have opposing opinions when it comes to living in a town with three colleges.

A Winona man who lives nine blocks east of campus, who wished to remain anonymous, said he didn’t appreciate having college students as neighbors.

He has lived in Winona his whole life and only left when he went to college.

“It’s not that I hate college students,” the man said. “I just don’t like living with around them.”

He brought up how high school and college students would leave garbage on his lawn or how loud college student neighbors are.

He said it was extremely difficult to find housing since “20 percent of each block” was rented to students or would only be rented to students.

“I do appreciate there are students and groups who will go around and clean up the garbage, especially after big events,” he said.

Kendra Weber, WSU’s director of Student and Community Engagement, arranged the clean and sweep after homecoming.

“If we know a certain amount of this is going to happen, what can we do?” Weber said.

The first year she held this event, around 30 people showed up and they ended with around 40 bags of garbage.

In 2018, the event had about 90 people sign up to pick up trash and more than 100 participants showed up.

An event like this has both community and university involvement. Weber directs the event and buys pizza for students who volunteer. The American Legion has allowed the group to use their space for free and the city allocates certain stop signs for the group to set the bags of garbage.

Chart from www.mnstate.edu that covers the financial benefits and engagement that is done between the community and Winona State University.

Olson has had community members reach out to him regarding students.

“Most of the comments I get from members of the community are very complimentary to WSU students, Olson said. “Probably the largest volume of negative comments I hear are about students walking across Main or Huff without looking up at the traffic, but I only hear this a dozen times a year or less. There are often concerns around Homecoming, but lately students have really been careful to be safe and respectful while having fun.”

In 2013, the university applied to get the Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching.

To be considered for this classification, the university had to have proof of engagement and co-existing with the community.

In 2015, Winona State University was awarded the Community Engagement Classification.

Campus, College, Winona State University

Winona State parking causes frustrations for some

Leave a comment

Winona State University has seen a limit on the amount of parking permits given to students along with limited space to park which for some leads to frustration. 

Winona State Parking Services have a cap on the number of parking permits they sell for residential and commuter parking lots. 

For residential lots, with silver, green, tan and maroon parking permits, the cap is the same as the number of spots the university has in those lots. 

All Winona State parking permits have to be hung on the rearview mirror of vehicles at all times while in a Winona State parking lot. Failure to have the permit hanging could result in a parking violation.

For the silver, green and maroon lots, the annual price of a parking permit is $155. The tan lot parking permits are $85 because there are conferences often at the Tau Center which is where the tan parking lot is. 

For commuter lots, the gold and purple parking permits, the cap is a little more than the number of spaces in those lots. 

Alisha Syrmopoulos, Winona State’s Parking Services office manager said they do that because people do not stay in the lot for long periods of time. 

Gold parking permits are $225 per calendar year. Purple parking permits are $105 per academic year. 

Sustainability parking permits are available for students who live in the sustainability house for $155 and Circle or Grey parking permits are offered for motorcycles and mopeds for $35. 

Winona State Parking Services also offers a blue parking permit for those with a state-issued handicap permit for $105. 

Faculty, staff and students have the ability to purchase handicap parking spaces provided they have a state issued handicap permit. The Winona State handicap permits are $105 per academic year.

Winona State meets ADA regulations when it comes to handicap spaces but Syrmopoulos said she receives complaints that the amount of spots is not enough. 

Syrmopoulos said she gets complaints about not having enough handicap spaces. 

With a handicap parking permit, the permit holder is able to park in any open spot on campus. Syrmopoulos said even if someone cannot find a handicap spot Parking Services stills wants to get them as close as possible. 

Syrmopoulos said they do the best with what they have. 

“We are kind of landlocked. You kind of got to work with what you have and use the space,” Syrmopoulos said. 

This is why not everyone who applies for a parking permit will get one. 

Syrmopoulos said there is a stack of applications from faculty, staff and students who want a parking permit for this school year.  

The process Parking Services use to decide who gets a parking permit is first-come-first-served. 

Syrmopoulos said there have been professors who go into the Parking Services Office and tell the student workers they should have priority to get a parking permit. 

“I have had faculty sit here and yell at my students and tell my students that they should have priority to these parking permits because if it wasn’t for them the university wouldn’t even be running,” Syrmopoulos said. 

She said her response to these professors has been that if there were no students there would be no need for faculty. 

“It’s a co-op effort,” Syrmopoulos said. 

First-year Winona State student, Kalli O’Brien said she believes the process of getting a parking permit is fair. 

She does not agree with the cap on residential parking. 

“I live in Sheehan and I’d say I have parked in that parking lot in front of Sheehan less than 10 times for sure,” O’Brien said. “It is so frustrating because I do morning shifts and walking far away in the morning when it’s freezing out sucks.” 

At the beginning of the semester, O’Brien was almost going to give up her parking permit because she did not believe it was worth the money. 

After talking to her parents O’Brien decided to keep the parking permit because she knew in the winter she would be happy to have it. 

Another aspect of the parking permit that frustrates O’Brien is when students in residential parking spots have a permit but never move their car. 

“I live on one of the top floors and my roommate and I look down and we can see the cars that have been there for weeks,” O’Brien said. “Why do you even have a car if you’re not using it?” 

O’Brien said she believes students who use their cars on a regular basis should be the ones with the parking spot right outside the building. 

O’Brien said she would not recommend getting a parking permit to anyone because it is not worth the amount of money. 

“Alternate side parking it’s kind of a hassle but it’s more of a hassle doing [a parking permit] and wasting your money,” O’Brien said.