MSA President: Proposed 9/11 Commemoration At U Of M Needs More Research

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A resolution to recommend an annual 9/11 commemoration on the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus is moving forward behind the scenes.

The College Republican group's original 9/11 commemoration proposal was turned down during this week's student government regular meeting not solely because of concerns of safety of Muslim students on the Twin Cities campus. Minnesota Student Association (MSA) president Joelle Stangler says the resolution, presented to the full body not long before the meeting, needed more research before it was considered.

"If there are concerns from the Muslims about their safety, they need to be reached out to," Stangler said.

The College Republicans plan to resubmit their proposal at the next MSA meeting later this month after they've met with Muslim student groups.

"There was an agreement to have them be at the table to have a conversation," Stangler said. "So I imagine on Nov. 24 we'll see a more researched proposal with a few more stake holders signed on to it."

Stangler is adamant that the resolution was not rejected, but that the MSA members want to see a more comprehensive proposal.

"Just because it was not passed doesn't mean that it was necessarily rejected," Stangler said. "It wasn't a consensus of the full body that this was going to be so damaging, and that we need to be concerned about how offended people might be. This isn't really an issue of political correctness."