To the Editor:
I will always be grateful for my experience at Fairmont High School. The education I received there prepared me well for college, which led to the opportunity to go on to dental school. While an FHS education shaped me immensely, the extracurricular activities I had the opportunity to be involved in did even more to mold me as a person.
Voting no on the referendum puts extracurricular activities in jeopardy. Those activities teach students important life lessons, including hard work, dedication, responsibility and time-management skills. I know I wouldn't be the same person today if I didn't have the opportunity to be in football, band and Knowledge Bowl, among others. It was those activities that made my time at FHS memorable and valuable in preparing me for success after high school.
We do a disservice to the students in Fairmont schools today if we don't afford them the same opportunities that have been available to those of us who have gone before. Please vote yes next week for the referendum.
Kurt Erickson,
Fairmont High School
class of 2006
Minneapolis