The Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, met on Thursday night to discuss a variety of different subjects, from an app that gets students involved in politics to changing the senior gift to a senior campaign.
Here are five things you missed at the meeting that might affect your life on campus.
1. ASMSU wants to get students involved in politics using a new app.
Polinav is a free app that puts politics at the user's fingertips. Co-founder Cliff Kang explained that the app offers its users a summary of bills in the Senate or in the House of Representatives so that people can make more informed decisions on them.
“We’re building a mobile app that makes politics not only accessible, but also casual,” Kang said.
ASMSU plans to use the app to get students involved in politics, not just at the national and state levels, but on campus too. The app is still in its early stages but will be available to students soon.
2. There are a lot of seats open at ASMSU.
There are 15 open seats at ASMSU, and it is currently looking to fill as many of those seats as possible.
“There’s really not that many, not compared to last year,” Jason Porter, ASMSU vice president for internal administration, said.
The following colleges are in need of representatives: Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (2 seats), College of Communication Arts and Sciences (2 seats), College of Education (2 seats), College of Engineering (3 seats), James Madison College (1 seat), College of Music (1 seat), College of Nursing (2 seats), College of Veterinary Medicine (2 seats) and no preference (2 seats).
3. ASMSU wants MSU to do more to help Syrian refugees.
Representative Ahmad Abo Al-Borgol introduced a bill last night to urge MSU to join the Institute of International Education, a consortium of institutions of higher education that support Syrian refugees primarily in the form of full and partial scholarships.
The bill passed unanimously.
4. A voter registration competition will be here in October.
The week before the deadline to register to vote for president on Oct. 11, ASMSU will be hosting a competition among registered student organizations. The group that can register the most students to vote in that week will win $500 from ASMSU, which they can spend within their organization.
The goal is to get students more involved in politics and encourage them to vote in the upcoming election.
The competition will begin on Oct. 2.
5. Seniors will now do a campaign instead of a gift.
Danielle Matlick, assistant director of development, spoke at the meeting about the traditional senior gift the senior class gives to the university the year they graduate.
Seniors will be encouraged to donate money to something on campus instead of buying a gift.
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“The difference would be that students across campus would be encouraged and empowered to give to an area on campus that actually means the most to them,” Matlick said. “Instead of giving to a bench or a statue or a bird bath or something that doesn’t really do anything for campus besides maybe give somebody a place to sit.”
The bill was passed unanimously and goes into effect for this year’s senior class.
