As the Student Assembly chairperson of ASMSU, I felt it was my responsibility to write in response to the opinion cartoon that was published on Wednesday. I feel it is important to let students know the truth behind the ASMSU team building and leadership retreat by explaining why and where we had it, as well as what it has done and will continue to do for our student government.
The organization during these past two years has been making significant efforts to make sure that our tax-paying members truly are benefitting from our undergraduate common voice and services. ASMSU is in the best shape it has been in throughout the past several years, but there is still a lot of room to grow.
This year, we identified some major flaws within the organization that during the past years have not allowed the organization to meet its maximum potential. Student apathy on campus has been high, representative engagement within the organization and with students has been low, there has been disconnect between the hardworking staff and the representatives, and the organization has not had a concrete and organized plan for each year.
We felt that a leadership retreat was the necessary way to drastically change the culture and begin to fix flaws that have existed within our organization.
To ensure that our spending was cost efficient, we chose the Crystal Mountain Resort because we were able to get a group rate that was unheard of, with lodging around $35 per person per night.
Students expect their tax dollars to be spent in the most efficient manner. We felt that spending about 20 cents of each member’s taxes was an investment with benefits for years to come.
The retreat was really successful and we have seen the beginning of a new culture at ASMSU that will benefit students. Staff and representatives now know each other and their respective roles within the organization, representatives are more excited and engaged with student issues, we have more representatives on the assemblies than before, and for the first time in years, we have an organized plan with collectively assembled goals.
We knew when making the decision to have the much-needed leadership activity that there would be talk and misconceptions within the media. Leadership activity and its results have set high expectations for the organization so students will be able to see more initiatives such as the Collegiate Readership Program and medical amnesty.
I ask those who might still be critical of our goals for the year to become an active voice within the organization.
Kyle Dysarz
political theory and constitutional democracy senior and ASMSU Student Assembly chairman
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