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To the five seniors at Mankato East High School who have formed a nonprofit group to further the cause of providing youth a safe and positive atmosphere.

Four of the teens are of Somalian descent and one is Latino. They have plenty of experience dealing with frustrations that come with being labeled because of their ethnicities. What a wonderful way to take that experience and create change from it.

Their goal is to give others a positive image of youth such as themselves. Not only will they educate kids, but the greater community will benefit as well. Today the group is hosting a 5-on-5 basketball tournament at Otto Arena on the Minnesota State University campus in which the public is invited to attend.

These young men made the commitment to take action after recognizing a problem in their community, going through all the steps to form an official group — Brand New Image Inc. — that can continue to focus on their goals. They are great role models for local youth and fine representatives in the Mankato community.   

Hotel porn bill

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To a bill sponsored by state Sen. Tarryl Clark that would prohibit spending public dollars at in-state hotels or meeting facilities that provide their customers with pornographic materials that link sex with violence. Nonviolent adult movies would be all right.

OK, we’re not about to defend violent adult movies. But Clark’s proposal is a classic example of trying to make political points with unworkable and costly legislation.

Clark, a Democrat from St. Cloud who is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for a congressional seat, said the Department of Administration would keep a directory of approved facilities to help state employees plan travel.

Of course, that would presumably require department employees to periodically go to every hotel in the state and watch all their pay-per-view adult movies to see which are OK porn and which aren’t.

Which may create interesting work for some state employees, but would hardly be a serious way to take a stand against violence.

Canceled prom pleases no one

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To the Itawamba County School Board for canceling prom. A controversy over policies regarding high school prom dates prompted quite a dustup in the Jackson, Miss., school district this week when the board canceled the senior prom over a lesbian student’s desire to escort her girlfriend to the event while wearing a tuxedo. The American Civil Liberties Union weighed in against the school district, and to diffuse the situation, the board decided just to eliminate the prom altogether.

While it’s understandable that sensibilities become jostled on both sides of this issue, canceling the prom seems a bit extreme. It invites excessive derision toward the student making the request and it simply takes away everyone else’s enjoyment of what should have been a lasting high school memory. There should have been another way to proceed.

And, besides, would it have been so terrible for a prom-goer to attend this one event with a person of the same sex?

—Editorial Board

Candlelight skiing a success

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I wanted to take a moment to thank the major players involved with the candlelight ski event at Minneopa State Park Feb. 27.

To Wayne Boerner, park manager at Minneopa, I thank you for your willingness to take on certain aspects of event to ensure that it was a success. To Friends of Minneopa State Park board members Gordon Herbst and Kim Musser, I thank you for your help lighting the trails and getting the hot cocoa. Lastly, I wanted to thank the 75 or so skiers and snowshoers that enjoyed the activities so much that night. I know you had a great time, and I enjoyed the smiles and laughter that was heard from within the woods.

This was a first of a kind event for the park, but one of the kind of events that Friends of Minneopa State Park will be hosting in the future.

Jeff Brand

St. Peter