Taking Back the Streets

Bicyclists around the world are joining the movement known as Critical Mass

By Eric Oslund

                  Once a month, all over the world, bicyclists join in on an event known as Critical Mass. The idea for this sprung up in San Francisco, and quickly spread around the world. Critical Mass has even been happening in Bemidji, not on as large a scale as in other cities.
   

                  Critical Mass was created as a way to celebrate riding, and to help assert the rights of cyclists’ on the road. The object is for the bikers to ride around on the streets of cities all over the world for a couple of hours. This event does not have any real rules, but cyclists are expected to show proper etiquette.

Critical Mass is an event where cyclists get together to
 ride around on the streets. Photo by Eric Oslund

                  Critical Mass is an idea, not an organization. There are no leaders and no one has licensed rights to it. Instead people get together and have a meeting place and time that could change. Since the times and meeting spots could be subject to change Critical Mass has been known to dwindle out in smaller cities.

                  This could be a possibility for the city of Bemidji. Being a smaller city it has been hard to find people to join in this event. “Last month in Bemidji there were about 15 people,” said Bemidji State University student Luke Holden. “That is really small for Critical Mass.”

                  Holden has been riding his bicycles everywhere for most of his life. “I have always loved riding bikes,” said Holden. “When I was younger I had a helmet I sewed ear-muffs into so I could ride in the winter.” His love of biking has led him to go on long bike rides from Duluth to Minneapolis, and even a trip to China to bike through its busy streets.

                  Having always loved biking Critical Mass seemed like the perfect event for Holden. He first got involved in Critical Mass while attending Perpich Arts High School in Minneapolis. “I saw a flyer,” said Holden. “When I got to the meeting place there were hundreds of people eating food, talking, and just having fun.”

Critical Mass is a great way for riders to celebrate riding.
Photo by Eric Oslund

 Holden now helps to organize the Critical Mass events in Bemidji. Critical Mass could be tied into political things, but Holden believes that it is also just an enjoyable bike ride, and a way to celebrate cycling.

                  In larger cities, such as Minneapolis, Critical Mass can cause traffic jams in busy areas, which can upset many people. “A lot of the time people yell obscene things at you,” Said Holden about his experience participating in Critical Mass. “They even throw things, like pennies, at you.”

                  Although Critical Mass involves biking down the streets and taking them back, the point is not to tie up traffic. “Those who want to tie up traffic as much as possible and be confrontational with motorists are missing the point,” according to a Web site created by a Critical Mass supporter.

The next ride in Bemidji Minn. will be on Oct. 29, and will start at the Paul and Babe statues at noon. 

Chance of a Lifetime

The opportunity for college students to earn credit while traveling to foreign countries

By Eric Oslund

“If you want to see the world and see England, go on Eurospring,” said Oxford Prof. Allan Chapman in a recent speech he gave at Bemidji State University.

Just walking around campus you can hear the buzz of Eurospring in one way or another. You will usually hear student saying it was one of the most memorable moments in their lives, professors talking about how amazing it is, or students talking about how they want to go on it.

Oxford Prof. Allan Chapman came to BSU
and gave a speech about Eurospring to a group of students.
Chapman has been the head lecturer at the Oxford
 section of the trip, since the trip originated.
Photo by Eric Oslund

Chapman has been the head lecturer for the Eurospring program since it began in 1977. He came to BSU to deliver his annual lecture on Sept. 19; but he also spoke to a large group of students about Eurospring. While in Oxford, Chapman takes students on multiple field trips, including the famous Stonehenge located in the England countryside of Wiltshire.

During the entirety of the Eurospring trip, you will travel all across Europe after spending five weeks in Oxford. Previous itineraries have included Paris, Lucerne, Florence, Orvieto, Rome, Venice, Salzburg, Munich, Dachau, Nuremberg, and Heidelberg. They will also get to see London and stay on the Oxford campus at the beginning of the trip.

Laura Runningen is a student at Minnesota State University-Mankato, and she went on the Eurospring trip with BSU students in 2005. In the book “The Journey That Matters,” Runningen recalls her “experience of a lifetime.”

"The Journey That Matters" is a book comprised
 of stories from the BSU students of
2005 that went on Travel Programs.
One of which was Eurospring.
Photos by Eric Oslund

She talks about how the trip changed her as a person and touched her soul. It was an experience that she will never forget and would not trade for anything. “To answer the people back home: a price couldn’t be put on this trip; it was too much of a real-life fairy tale,” stated Runningen in her story.

Students will have the opportunity to earn fifteen academic credits for going on this trip around Europe. Since this is an academic trip, the students have to attend classes taught by Chapman and take an exam at the end of the trip. The students will also be enrolled in the main lecture class in Wycliffe Hall on the Oxford University campus.

With the economy the way it is and the US dollar doing poorly in the global market some people may feel as if they cannot afford to go on Eurospring. According to the Eurospring page on the BSU-Web site the program fee is not yet available, but it is estimated to be around $7000. “BSU financial aid covered half of the cost for me,” said Erin Sundvall, a BSU student who went on Eurospring in 2011. “There were actually a lot more students that got more financial aid than I did.”