Kenyon Williams:  Amendment Essential to Minnesota’s Future

To the Editor:

Coming next Tuesday, if you are a Minnesota resident, you will have the opportunity to vote for a Minnesota provision that will provide a very significant increase in arts funding across the state (as well as provide funds for clean water, air, and parks), entitled “The Clean Water, Air, and Legacy Amendment.”
Many are aware of its provisions for sportsmen, but few are aware of how positively it will also impact the arts. This provision has been a long time coming, and has required the banding together of virtually every arts and outdoors-related organization in the state. It finally comes to a head this November 4th.
As many of us in our area are aware, a good deal of funding for the arts in our region comes through official Minnesota state grant sources…from performing guest artists at local campuses to the FM Symphony, Plains Arts Museum, regional Performing Arts series, and many, many more. This opportunity to vote for an increase in funding for these grant sources should not be taken lightly.
The main reason I am writing you, however, is to ask you to inform your students of this vote. Many of our students will be voting for the first time this November, and many will probably only wish to vote for the Presidential candidate of their choice and leave the rest of the ballot blank.
Unfortunately, if they do not vote an affirmative “yes” for this amendment, a blank ballot will count as a “no” vote against the amendment!
In this case, not making a decision is making a decision! Many of our own music, art, and theatre majors who benefit directly from these grant sources may mistakenly help to kill it!
Please pass this information along to your fellow faculty and students by email, word of mouth, etc. If they wish to vote for or against the amendment, that is up to them, but let’s encourage them to consciously make that choice!
To find out more about the proposal, please visit: yesformn.org.

-Kenyon Williams
Moorhead