UMD Student Association

State of Student Association Address Spring 2013

It is that time of the year again- elections are upon us! Student Association has been working incredibly hard for months now on initiatives as voiced by you, the students. I have been fortunate enough to witness the tenacity of this organization for the past two years and am confident that whoever wins the upcoming election in April will continue a legacy of advocacy and success. With that being said, do not forget to vote April 4^th and 5^th via an email ballot.

Many students ask “what does Student Association do?” and the simplest answer to that question is we advocate student concerns to faculty, staff, and administration here on campus as well as to legislators at the local, state, and federal levels. We started off the year completing the street signs initiative that has been in progress for over five years. This initiative began after a call by students for a campus that exudes more school pride and a campus Strategic Plan that wanted a defined edge to campus without placing a harsh barrier such as a fence or a building. With help from multiple fundraising partners, students were able to witness the signs being installed this past October. SA has also made large strides in a very difficult initiative this year: Parking. Arguably one of the most commonly cited complaints students make to our organization, Student Association created an ad-hoc committee this year to investigate the current parking system. After many hours of research and discussion SA presented a new and more efficient parking structure to the administration. It may not be a parking ramp, but students can expect to see changes in the parking system soon.

Our Marketing and Communications Committee (MAC) has been busy this year producing surveys to gather data on the student opinion. Some noteworthy initiatives include the Library Hours Survey. This survey is being revamped and students can expect to see it in their inboxes soon. It will then be presented to staff in the library with the hopes of extending library hours to times that work better for students study schedules. MAC and the Legislative Certificate Program were involved in creating a Duluth Business Expansion survey to gauge student’s reactions to the new BlueStone Lofts construction as well as student centered business projects. MAC received a 10% response rate and the Legislative Certificate Program will be presenting this survey to the members of the Duluth City Council in the coming weeks.

Advocating to the legislature at local, state, and federal levels is not an easy task, but our External Affairs Committee and Legislative Certificate Program took it in stride. Students were invited to attend “Support the U Day” along with the other four coordinate campuses to urge legislators to fund higher education. Students also had the opportunity to attend Bulldog Lobby Day on March 6^th to speak with legislators specifically about how UMD is important to them and how funding for their education is increasingly important. Student Association accompanied these lobbying efforts with packets of information for legislators on tuition rates, a “Put the Public Back in Public Education” Petition, as well as a postcard campaign with stories of student debt.  These initiatives were a success! These same committees have also been attending city council meetings and events such as the State of the City Address given by Don Ness to speak with the Councilors about issues affecting students such as renting and housing ordinances. Coming in May, the Legislative Certificate Program and the Student Legislative Advocates will be embarking on a capstone project to Washington D.C. to lobby our national legislators and urge them to find more sustainable ways of funding higher education.

Two senior members of our organization Molly Tomfohrde and Kelsey Becker have been sitting on the rebranding task force for a year and a half representing student voices on the new brand. Students have probably seen the “Those Who Can Duluth” brand displayed throughout the school, and perhaps noticed the student rollout event in front of the first-floor bookstore. Student Association was solely responsible for the student rollout aspect of this brand and Kelsey and Molly did a fantastic job on this initiative. As part of this rollout students had the option to participate in a contest to write the next “Those Who Can Duluth” short story that will be published.

Our Fund Allocation Committee (FAC) conducted two rounds of funding for student organizations. In the fall FAC funded 86 student organizations on campus for a total of $60,000, and 11 groups for $5,000 in the spring. I want to highlight to students that 76.4% of SA’s budget is handed back to student organizations through the Fund Allocation Committee. We take great pride in being able to help student organizations be able to pursue the initiatives important to them.

These are just some of the things that SA has been working on, and every week our members are meeting with faculty, staff, and administration to continue making UMD a better place. We have students that sit on each of the major six campus committees as well as numerous other boards and subcommittees. We urge students to come to us with any complaints that they may have no matter how big or small, or check out our Facebook, Twitter, or website for more up-to-date information on our initiatives.

I would like to end this address by thanking everyone in this organization for an amazing two years. I have been proud to be a part of such an outstanding group of student leaders and cannot wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us.

Hannah Mumm

Student Association President

Upon being elected as President last April I knew that I would be in for a bumpy ride. We lost some great leadership, but gained numerous new fresh faces and talent. I would like to preface this address with a Thank You. Thank you to all those who put in more hours than necessary to follow up on initiatives, take on projects, build relationships through outreach, and to make this organization such a success this year. Although it is not over, in fact far from it, I felt it necessary to remind you of the great work that is being done. Student Association operates behind the scenes. We are often not the ones who get the glory for change because the change we are trying to impact goes well beyond our tenure as students. In that light I am here to remind you of the wonderful things we have already accomplished, where we are at within the U system, as well as highlight what I would like to see tackled in the current semester.

Our five areas of focus decided upon at Spring Retreat were to increase student engagement with an emphasis on repairing relationships with the multicultural center, increase transparency as an organization, increase sustainability on campus, increase student involvement in Duluth, and finally effectively solve student concerns. The initiatives created by each committee acted as stepping stones towards these larger goals.

With initiative number one, we have made significant progress in rebuilding relationships with groups in the multicultural center. During Bulldog Welcome Week we cosponsored a workshop for incoming freshmen discussing leadership styles and potential groups that would fit it. This was the first of a long list of partnerships with groups such as SPAT, QASU, and the Office of Cultural Diversity. We helped sponsor the SPAT OUT this year and even after being faced with tough criticism from around the nation regarding the YFWC video, our relationships remain intact. This is a testament to the strength of relationships we have reformed and continue to form, but also lets us know there is still work to be done. I am encouraging Congress this semester to continue working towards better relationships and creating lines of open dialogue and mutual respect. I want to see an emphasis on the Bullying initiative with the possibility of an outreach component to students. I would also like to see an increase in involvement of students with events aimed at fighting racism and discrimination such as SPAT OUT and the UnFair Campaign. Student Life should also look at admissions forms in that there is no place for students to self identify as multiple ethnicities. We are not people of one background anymore. People are a mix of places and cultures and it should be represented in our admissions applications.  It is our responsibility as student leaders to fight to make this campus inclusive for all students and in order to do that we must take a stand against white privilege.

Our second focus was to increase transparency.  I feel that we have effectively done so this semester. Thanks to our Systems Administrator not only is there contact information for all representatives, but pictures to accompany them. Students can see exactly who is representing them, adding a face to a name and making us look more like people rather than a faceless organization. All minutes of meetings are placed on the website which was redone this year, as well as Pres blogs, comment boxes, and links to our facebook and twitter pages. We have made it easier than ever for students to see exactly what we are up to and what we talk about. Thanks to Campus Outreach and Public Relations for the articles that go in the Statesman as well. This is crucial for SA to remain in the news and remain present to the students. I would like to see a weekly article continue this semester.

Our third focus involves increasing sustainability on campus. Not much work has been done with this area as of yet but I would like to see increased involvement with it. I will do my part by scheduling a nightwalk this coming semester, so that we can see areas on campus in which we can approve. Morris may be the most sustainable campus in the system, but that does not mean that UMD cannot be a close second!

Our fourth area of focus was to increase student involvement in Duluth. Our Better Neighbors Program held the first annual Fall Cleanup last semester which was a huge success. There were around 50 people who came to clean up the area around UMD. There were over 75 bags of trash collected. Better Neighbors also instituted a new program involving community block parties to replace the program that had been in place. Students are afforded money to host block parties, invite their neighbors, and hopefully build meaningful relationships that foster open communication. It is still in its infant stages but I would love to see this program continue. They also held Renters rights panels for students to learn about what rights they are afforded as well as what it means to be a good neighbor. They are also planning the Spring Cleanup that will take place at Portland Square. I hope to see you all there.

Our final focus involved student concerns and Administration.  The FAC committee funded 89 student organizations with $32,000. For next year the Fund Allocation Committee is asking for $65,000 so that we can adequately fund the growing number of student groups. Coupled with scheduling office hours so that there is someone in the office at all times to handle questions, and the Yell-Like-Hell campaign put on each semester by Student Life SA is actively engaging with the student body to solve their concerns.

Where do we stand within the University system? Campus Outreach is a committee ahead of the University System. After attending a legislative Banquet last Friday numerous members of student government from the other campuses remarked about how it would be nice to have a place where the student Associations can get in contact with the leaders of all the organizations on their campuses. UMD is ahead of this trend by holding Leadership Assembly and making it a mandatory element to receive funding. 97 groups attended leadership assembly 89 of which received funding.

As an added measure we have instituted a mentorship program where each member is responsible for a certain number of student groups and acts as the liaison between them and Student Association. This helps foster an open relationship and puts a more personal touch to outreach. I would love to see a component of Leadership Assembly in the future prepping students to participate in Support the U Day.  I would like to offer a final note on coordinate campus efforts stemming from the Friday reception in the twin cities.  There have been efforts of coordinate campus involvement by means of the establishment of and MSLC in the U of M system.  There has been much debate and discussion over the past semester and a half, but I would like to urge congress to make a decision of being a part of the MSLC by no later than April 1^st, 2012.

Bulldog Taxi made history this year by shifting to a 24/7 365 system. They were also able to lower the price for students who ride with friends making the program more sustainable. This program is indispensible to students in that it now provides a cheap, safe ride any time during the day to almost anywhere in the city. This is a unique program to our system and was specifically mentioned in the small area plan for Duluth. Our program is getting recognition from sources outside of UMD which is amazing!  This is the first year that we have had such great support from the Administration and I would like to take the time to thank Chancellor Black and Lisa Erwin for all that they have helped us with. It is encouraging to know that we have the support of the administration moving forward and that we are both fighting for students!

As stated earlier you all have done amazing work this past semester and I am excited to see what you do going forward. Thank you for your continued attention and I yield my time to the chair.

This has been a fantastic year thus far in Student Association. We have a young, excited, and passionate group of members on our team that have started looking into initiatives in a wide variety of areas. To preface this message I would like to thank everyone in Student Association as well as the numerous organizations, departments, and administrative offices who have helped us thus far and It is my hope that these efforts will continue. We began this year on a different note than in previous years. The committees were given more autonomy to establish initiatives of their own that they felt followed a list of five overarching themes that SA would like to accomplish this coming year. The initiatives chosen would act like small stepping stones to the larger idea that we would like to see implemented. We decided upon increasing student engagement with an emphasis on repairing relationships with the Multicultural Center, increase transparency, increase sustainability, increase student involvement with the community, and effectively solve student concerns and issues.

The committees have been keeping busy with initiatives and programs. He Rules and Elections Committee have been updating the bylaws and constitution incrementally resolving any internal issues SA may be facing. The Student Legislative Coalition’s main goal this year is to increase awareness to students and have done so by displaying literature regarding how much tuition dollars have increased in the last 50 years.  They currently have three students sitting on the sub-committee  of the Higher Education Small Area Plan which is looking into a possible Duluth Dinkytown, and has been in contact with the Director of External Affairs regarding lobbying efforts for the new American Indian Learning and Resource Center. The SLC will be participating in the annual “Support the U Day” at the State Capitol in St. Paul. Their goal is to have 75 students attend this year. Their final initiative for the year is a Northern Lights express, a high speed rail connecting Duluth to the Twin Cities. Academic Affairs has been looking heavily into academic advising and how to address those problems. They have also been working with Jeff Romano regarding the Textbook Rental Program and less expensive options for students regarding textbook prices. Academic Affairs is continuing it’s work with the Online Course Guide Drive and hopes to increase the percentage of departments on campus taking advantage of it. Finally they are teaming up with the “How Did You Come To Be Here?” campaign and implementing a survey of cultural education on campus and then using it to help put on a White Privilege Retreat in cooperation with Danny Frank in FYE. Student Affairs has been working with the Dining Center on focus groups regarding food quality and bag lunch options. They have also been working with Karen Stromme from Athletics to find a way to increase attendance at sporting events other than Football and Hockey as well as increase school pride. Public Relations has two main goals this year of increasing the social media presence of SA and increasing the general knowledge about our organization. They just finished the video of Bulldog Welcome Week and are working on the “Meet Your Representative” campaign which will interview each one of our members. They are also responsible for sending out bi-weekly Statesman articles. The Fund Allocation Committee has completed it’s work of funding over 90 student groups with $32,000 dollars. Marketing and Communications has been working with Student Affairs on the focus groups for the DC as well as helping PR with the editing of the Bulldog Welcome Week video. They have been busy creating surveys for the numerous committees to help aid in their initiatives specifically a survey for incoming freshmen and a textbook survey for Academic Affairs. Campus Outreach completed a successful Leadership Assembly and has instituted the SA Mentorship Program where each member acts as a mentor for three to four student groups on campus and helps them with any concerns they may have. Better Neighbors has completed the first Annual Fall cleanup with around 45 people in attendance, and has been working on Renter’s Rights Panels as well as planning for Spring Cleanup. Bulldog Taxi is still going strong now that it is 24/7/365 and has over 2775 students registered for the Program!

These committees have done outstanding work and I look forward to seeing how these initiatives are resolved in the coming semester! If you have any questions regarding anything that SA is working on or would like to suggest an initiative please stop into the office (KSC 115) or leave a comment on the Facebook page.

Sincerely,

Hannah Mumm

Student Association President

Mumm0032@d.umn.edu