Senator Johnson visits campus

Augustana band students received a surprise this week with a visit from South Dakota senator Tim Johnson.

Johnson offered his aid to the students when they were mired in the recent crisis in Egypt during their J-term tour.

"You just about scared the daylights out of us," Johnson told the students.

After a short performance from the band, senior Meredith Reynolds gave Johnson a presentation of their trip.

"I was really excited when I heard that Senator Johnson would be visiting and wanted to hear about Egypt," Reynolds said. "I was glad that he was interested in the Egyptian people and culture, as well as the political scene and recent events."

Reynolds wanted to clarify that, despite the unexpected turn of events, their trip was still enjoyable.

"People there were very open and very warm," Reynolds said. "People would stop talking on their cell phones to say, ‘Welcome to Egypt.'"

Reynolds also touched on the reasons for the revolt and wanted to correct any misperceptions.

"It's not a religious thing, it's not a socio-economic thing, it's a people thing," Reynolds said. "People standing up for their rights and their future."

Johnson was impressed by the behavior of the students.

"For these students to witness history is amazing," Johnson said. "The whole region, from Algeria to Tunisia to Libya all took off from Cairo."

Reynolds agreed that the trip presented a rare opportunity.

"It was really exciting to see," Reynolds said. "This is actually happening, this could be something important."

At the end of the visit, band director Bruce Ammann also presented Johnson with an Augustana band hat and T-shirts for him and his wife as a show of their appreciation.

"It was an honor to be able to talk with him about our experiences and perspectives," Reynolds said.

While he was here, Johnson took the time to tour the Center for Visual Arts and visit with art faculty and students. He also sat down with President Rob Oliver to discuss federal funding for students.