Katelynn McGinley
Features Editor
For one day only, McDaniel students could say they went to school the state’s capital city.
As a part of the “Capital for a Day” initiative, Governor Martin O’Malley spent the day touring the town of Westminster, window shopping on Main Street, eating lunch at Gulianova Groceria, and shaking hands with residents and listening to their concerns. The Governor even made time to stop in at the Carroll Arts Center to take in the ‘Peep Show’ exhibit, which showcases more than 150 scenes created using Peeps – the gooey confectionary treats that are a staple in many Easter baskets.
O’Malley ended his day in McDaniel’s Forum, where students could sit in on a Cabinet meeting and listen to the Governor discuss issues ranging from the placement of mobile computers in patrol cars to water regulation issues and stimulus money with local legislatures. The Governor listened carefully to the discussions – occasionally taking notes and asking clarifying questions. He was praised by legislatures as being “a real people person” in addition to his “classy” handling of protestors on Main Street – most of who were there in opposition of O’Malley’s budget plans and stand on immigration.
Delegate Susan Krebs (R- District 9) specifically asked for O’Malley’s help in closing down Henryton – an abandoned former tuberculosis hospital in Marriottsville, MD that she says has become a health risk. Krebs and O’Malley discussed the possibility of using Browns Fields funding to possibly raze the buildings to the ground and restructure the land. Though no concrete solution was reached, O’Malley did promise to look into the matter further, citing that “a lack of dollars” would be the greatest hurdle to overcome. “None of us [are] so good [at budgeting] that we can save everyone and everything from this national, global, recession we are currently in,” the Governor said.
Following the Cabinet meeting, O’Malley mingled with the students and local residents packed into the Forum, shaking hands and posing for pictures. Keith Ludington-Adams, a junior, offered O’Malley his guitar, and O’Malley obliged by playing a song for the crowd.
“He was really cool, very friendly,” says Ludington-Adams, a member of the band Turtle Buddy (made up of all McDaniel students) who also gave O’Malley a copy of Turtle Buddy’s newest CD; Bright Bright Moon, which the Governor enthusiastically thanked him for.
“It was an honor for me to visit y’all today,” O’Malley told students, “you have an institution to be proud of here, and I thank you for your warm welcome.”