Most students find it hard enough to balance work and school, but social relations sophomore Lauren Spencer hopes to add another responsibility.

Spencer will run for one of the two available positions on the MSU Board of Trustees.

The 19-year-old Grand Rapids native was nominated by the Green Party, and she said her status as a student would help her bring valuable input to the board.

"Who better to represent the students of MSU than a student?" Spencer said.

Spencer will face Republican incumbents Dee Cook and David Porteous, Democrats Faylene Owen and George Perles and Libertarians David Raaflaub and J.P. Denoyer in the November election.

The board makes most major decisions for the university, including setting tuition rates, and consists of eight members who serve eight-year terms. Trustees are not paid for serving on the board.

If elected to the board, Spencer would have to continue living in Michigan to keep serving on the board.

Trustee Dee Cook said in her 16 years of service, she can't recall a student who has tried to run for the board.

Spencer said her aunt, who is active in the Workers World Party, told her the Green Party was seeking a candidate for MSU Board of Trustees and encouraged her to run.

Curbing rising tuition rates and adding gender identity and expression to MSU's anti-discrimination policy will be the biggest issues she will focus on if elected, Spencer said.

She also said the board should make sure to continue providing same-sex partner benefits to MSU faculty and staff. The American Family Association announced a lawsuit against the university in July for providing the benefits, which they say clashes with the Michigan Constitution that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

"My mom is gay, so I feel that I have a unique perspective and a better understanding about the need for equality and how some people's definitions of equality differ," Spencer said. "We should be a leader in more than just education. We should be a leader in equality and many more things."

The board meets with a committee of student and faculty liaisons for input on decisions and Cook said it helps provide broader perspective of views on campus.

"It gives them insight into how we make decisions," Cook said. "They understand how we get from A to B."

Trustee Dorothy Gonzales said there should be more students involved with the governing of the university.

"We have the student liaisons and it's worked out pretty well, but at least (a student on the board) would have the vote on an issue when it comes to the table," Gonzales said.

The board's closed discussions, held the night before its regular monthly meeting, should be open to the public, Spencer said.

"If they're representing us, we should be in there and know what's going on," Spencer said. "I don't see a reason to exclude (the public). If we elected them, we should know what they really stand for."

Eric Hinojosa, chairman of ASMSU's Academic Assembly and a student liaison to the board, said the trustees do a good job of listening to student input, but it could be beneficial to have a student serving on the board.

"If you're a student and you're here all the time, you're going to see a lot of the stuff quite a bit differently," Hinojosa said.