By: deacond on 11/4/08
It's about time that the laws of this country are respected and upheld. With the world economic slump worsening, we could see a total collapse of faith in government if these kinds of actions go unpunished.

By: tch on 11/4/08
Busse wrote the following on the huffington post:

Mature? No. Illegal? Yes. Satisfying? Definitely.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-busse/confessions-of-a-lawn-sig_b_139179.html

It would behoove St. Olaf to do a better job of checking out the people they higher to teach there.

Busse complains that people are more concerend about the property theft and not the "larger thoughts." Theft is theft. I hope that 90 days and $1,000 is for each offense, and not for the whole thing. That would mean he should be charged with at least 8 counts, and 2 years in jail. Which is where he belongs, not teaching in a college classroom.

And yes, the same applies to anybody stealing campagin signs of any political party.

By: Peter on 11/4/08
The really scary part is that guys like him are teaching our children.

By: keepingitreal on 11/4/08
It is a shame that Busse did this, and he deserves whatever the law can dish out. He obviously did not consider those who placed the McCain-Palin signs were excercising their first amendment right to free speech and Busse violated their rights. This contradicts everything that a Professor and higher education stands for.

But at least Busse had the guts to acknowledge he was wrong and resign. Our Mayor Lansing and his minion Summa should follow Busse's lead by acknowledging their misdeeds and resign.

By: northfielder on 11/4/08
Busse's actions were illegal, immoral, and unacceptable, and he was right to resign. But almost everything else said here is SO over the top. "St. Olaf should do a better job of checking out potential employees????" Just what would you suggest they screen for? "What's scary is that these people are teaching our children"? Give me a break. DO you think he's teaching kids to rip up signs? If only any of you would get so exorcised about really BIG laws being broken, violations of the Constitution, etc. I hope you are at least this upset at Norm Coleman hiding money through his wife's job (according to a lawsuit filed by a republican, not according to Al Franken) and see that as leading to a "total collapse of faith in government" (although actually i'm hoping that last one, deacond, was a joke)

By: Peter on 11/4/08
Of course he doesn't teach kids to rip off signs.
But he obviously thinks that it is alright to destroy other peoples property in order to further once own views.
The more disturbing part is, that he goes around and brags about it, not realizing that he has committed a crime.
This shows a lack of common sense and civic responsibility.

By: gimmeabreak on 11/4/08
Nortfielder.... "Give me a break. DO you think he's teaching kids to rip up signs?"

Unfortunately, yes, I do think this is being taught at many of our institutions of higher learning--including St. Olaf. Not necessarily to specifically rip up opposition signs, but most definitely the agenda of the driven left.

By: Fishman on 11/4/08
Typical Minnesota liberal commie professor! Im glad he lost his job! What an idiot!

By: tch on 11/4/08
Peter...actually he knew what he was doing was a crime and admitted as such in his post on the Huffington Post.

Our teachers should be protectors of free speech, not violators of it, such as Busse is.

By: tch on 11/4/08
Northfileder - I do get worked up over violations of the constitution - like the Democrats using cloture votes to block a president's right and power to appoint judges. "Advise and consent" does not mean stonewall and block. Other violations like bribery charges, such as in the case of William Jefferson; or assault and battery of police officers, as committed by what's her name from Georgia; using government powers to silence free speech as the Obama has done in threatneing boradcasters who carried NRA campaign ads. I could go on. but, no doubt, you won't care about these.

By: av8er on 11/4/08
As a graduate of St. Olaf College, who also happens to be conservative, I feel the need to comment on this story.

A conservative on St. Olaf campus is definately in the minority. Education institutions generally tend to be liberal, but St. Olaf (students and faculty) tend to be left of left.

I thought being a conservative on that liberal campus was an invaluable experience. You learn more from those who disagree with you than those who agree with you. Great experience! In my experiences, I was always encouraged to voice my opinions, although they were often met with heavy criticism, by faculty and students alike.

I've heard the issue brought up that the school did not take quick enough action in disciplining the professor. That reminds me of something that happened while I was on campus. Before we went to war in Iraq, a group of students painted "NO WAR" in big letters on the St. Olaf water tower, an act of vandalism. It literally took weeks and weeks for the school to paint over it. Wonder how long it would have taken them to paint over "SUPPORT THE WAR."

Is St. Olaf responsible for the actions of a professor they hired? Certainly not. Should St. Olaf take action to show they do not support the actions of this professor? Certainly.

By: northfielder on 11/4/08
yup, laws are laws and should be obeyed, and as you will not, I did not even for one second defend Busse. I'm just trying to keep the bigger picture, with its far more egregious and deadly and horrifying violations of the law, in perspective. And the persecution of conservatives on college campuses is as overblown as it could be. if you think st. olaf is left of left, i can only speculate that you have never been outside of minnesota. even carleton has a vital conservative segment.

By: av8er on 11/4/08
northfielder,

Thanks for your almost humorous comment about never being out of Minnesota. Believe it or not, I have actually gotten off the farm and studied at institutions in two other states, as well as two other countries. I've also visited a majority of the states in the union, including California, and I'm still conservative. Hard to believe, huh? I also don't remember making a statement about "persecution" of conservatives on college campuses, and indeed cited the experience as invaluable. I will now make a bold speculation that you have never sat in a college political science classroom as a conservative. Anyways, thanks for comments.

By: Peter on 11/4/08
Good call Av8er and I couldn't agree any more with you.
Last elections 99% of the college votes went to the left and it won't be any different this time.

By: northfieldseniors123 on 11/4/08
Why don't the liberal Saint Olaf Professors "spread their wealth around" by paying for their OWN kids' college tuition versus making average poor families pay over $30,000 a year -- so they can get a freebie for their selves! This is SELFISHNESS!!!! What a bunch of greedy, liberal hypocrites!

By: 20-20nfld on 11/5/08
Northfieldseniors123, before you go and get all lathered up about liberal professors' children getting a free ride, you might take a moment to check the facts (not that mere facts will change your opinion). At Carleton and St. Olaf, faculty and staff children receive generous tuition reductions, but their education is not free. This is a benefit of employment, offered, in economic theory, in lieu of higher pay. Without this benefit, many faculty and staff children would not be able to afford to attend the colleges at which their parents teach.

Further, both colleges offer significant need-based financial aid to students whose family circumstances warrant.

And finally, to tch and Peter: the sign-stealing, internet-confessing Mr. Busse is not a "real" St. Olaf professor and does not reflect the core values of the organization. He is a visiting instructor, hired to teach one course for one semester. Ask any business owner or personnel manager: sometimes a person hired proves not to work out for any number of reasons. This does not mean the business/organization/college is bad, nor that civilization as we know it is about to crumble.

By: Peter on 11/5/08
I don't know too many people that can afford the tuition at St. Olaf anyway.
But as long as they can survive charging this kinda money good for them. They are a business and that's how it should be.

There is no doubt in my mind though that St.Olaf is left of center when it comes to political views. I would be curious to see how many St. Olaf students voted liberal this time around.

Both colleges due add a great deal to the image of Northfield which is good. The downside of this is they have an undue influence on to local politics. 4000 + votes is a big block for people that are not from here. Most of them will not be citizens of Northfield, which means they don't have to live with the consequences of their political decisions.

By: tch on 11/5/08
20-20nfld - you say that Busse was not a real professor at St. Olaf? What was he doing there, then? Washing dishes? He was hired as a professor, albeit a temporary one. This means he was, in fact, a St. Olaf professor. As for the rest of your statement concerning Busse, yeah, you are right. Keep in mind that the Northfield News also described Busse as a St. Olaf professor.

Look it up in a dictionary, you will find that the definition of a "professor" is: A teacher or faculty member at a college or university. That describes Busse, even if he was only a temporary hire. He was there as a teacher, and St. Olaf is a college.

By: northfielder on 11/5/08
Peter, by your logic perhaps older people should not vote, either; they may die and not "have to live with the consequences of their political decisions." I would not be surprised if many of these students leave local races blank, frankly. av8er, point well taken about poli sci classrooms, I agree. And I wasn't saying that you cried persecution, merely that this was often done.
Anyone who thinks professors are making bundles of money and getting free education for their kids is hearing too much fox news. I dare you to find me another field where your preparation takes that many years and your salary is where professors are. I'm not talking about the few rich law profs or highly paid very senior people, but the average people are making nowhere near the salary they'd fetch if they spent that same time in law school, med school, or getting an MBA.

By: Peter on 11/5/08
Nice try Northfielder.

My point is that those students are temporary residents with no ties to the community whatsoever.
Of course the political leadership in MN has a vested interest not to change the status quo anytime soon.

By: tch on 11/5/08
Northfielder - using your "logic" that old people should not vote because they might die after the election, an therefore "not have to live with the consequences of their decisions", why not deny everyone the right to vote, because we can all pack up and move at any time after the election.

The problem with the college students voting locally is that they are not permanent residents. They leave the community after college and during the summers and other school breaks.

If I understand Peter correctly, he is not advocating denying them their franchise, but, if I understand him correctly, advocating that they vote absentee at their home of record. Kind of like military personnel vote absentee in thier home state of record, rather than in the state they are stationed in.

By: northfielder on 11/5/08
right, tch and peter, that's why I think this is an absurd argument. Why should a college student who lives here for four years have any less right to vote than a 90 year old who dies the next year or a resident who moves after two years? Where should they vote? Are they really likely to remain members of the community they left to come to college? Probably not. So it makes no more sense to have them vote "back home" than it does in their new (if temporary for many) home. It's a mistake to try to micro-manage the voting pool this way.

By: av8er on 11/6/08
This whole discussion reminds me of a mayoral election in St. Joseph, Minnesota. I don't exactly remember the year, but it was around 2000. St. Joseph is home to College of St. Benedict, a partner school with St. John's University up the road in Collegeville. A student ran for mayor and won. I can only imagine the feeling of lifetime residents who supported candidates who were permanent members of the community, only to have the college vote elect a 23 year-old. You can argue all day about whether college students should have a say in local elections, but I think everyone could at least sympathize with permanent residents.

I can really empathize with both points of view. Shortly after college students helped get Keith Covey win the mayoral election, a huge issue arose with the construction of roads to access the new hospital. St. Olaf was supporting big conservation projects to restore wild lands around the edges of campus. The new roads threatened those efforts. Students got largely involved with local politics with that issue. Perhaps students didn't personally have a stake, but the college they believe in and support did. Northfield Development definately effects the college and generally students care about what happens to the college, even after they leave.

So, the issue is definately very interesting, especially if you are able to step back and look at both sides with an objective eye.

By: tch on 11/6/08
av8er - right on the money. The question is, and I admit to not knowing the definite answer, are they considered temporary residents or permanent residents under Minnesota law. If they are permanent, then yeah, they have the right ot participate in local elections; if they are temporary residents, like non-resident military personnel (for instance, when I was stationed in Texas, I was non-resident, so could not vote in Texas elections, and voted absentee in my home of record...but that is different and also impacted my tax status, vehicle registration, and other fun things) they should be voting absentee in their home of record.