About 600 freshmen have expressed interest in joining ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, following increased recruiting efforts from the group's staff, officials said.
For the first time, the Associated Students of Michigan State University has presented information about the organization and a subgroup, Freshman Class Council, at each Academic Orientation Program this summer as a way to foster interest early in the students' academic careers, said Jessica Kunnath, ASMSU's director of constituent activism.
The council didn't do much last year - not enough students joined, some dropped out and they did few visible things for their class, Kunnath said.
With unusually high turnout from recruiting at AOP sessions, ASMSU hopes to organize a more active group of freshmen.
"The last council for Freshman Class Council kind of just diminished over the year - they weren't putting on any programs, weren't really helping the freshmen," Kunnath said. "We really just want to have a very active council this year."
Freshman Class Council is a group of about 25 freshmen who apply and are interviewed for the council.
It was created because ASMSU members are elected in the spring, before freshmen arrive.
In past years, the council has helped coordinate Battle of the Bands and a dance. It has also worked to get more bicycle racks around campus and extend cafeteria hours.
It normally has a budget of about $1,500, Kunnath said.
This summer, she informed freshmen about ASMSU and collected e-mail addresses of interested students. It was the first time the director of constituent activism worked during the summer and recruited at the orientation sessions.
"My goal is to get more people aware of ASMSU in general," she said. "So starting at the freshman level really helps them become aware of all the services we offer and all the different ways they can get involved."
One problem with the Freshman Class Council is that freshmen generally don't know much about the university or the community, said Rachel James, a physiology senior and past member of the council.
"We spent so much of the first semester figuring out what we could do," she said. "It was hard for me to see us accomplishing things. We were just as clueless as any other freshman."
The Freshman Class Council is partly to help the students learn about the university and how to connect with the administration, said Roger Ludy, ASMSU's Student Assembly vice chairperson for internal affairs.
Ludy said a lot of the group's time was spent socially, having fun and getting to know each other.
"It might just be better to end up with a few freshmen on ASMSU, to have their opinions and problems brought up, rather than having a whole group of freshmen who don't know what they're doing," James said.
Officials hope the council will become more involved with more aggressive recruiting.
"My goal is to show them opportunities where they can accomplish great things," Ludy said. "But it's up to them to accomplish that."
