This is the first year ASMSU has formed a Goals Oversight Committee. It has helped to ensure the goals from the retreat are accomplished instead of falling to the wayside, said Mike Lipphardt, ASMSU director of university budgets and educational policy.
ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

ASMSU held a three-day, goal-setting retreat in late September at the Crystal Center at the Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville, Mich.

The weekend was budgeted at $9,200. Association Director Kara Spencer said in September the group spent less than the allocated amount, but since has not specified exact figures. She was unavailable for comment Sunday.

The Goals Oversight Committee is made up of about 10 representatives and is “one of the best things to come out of the retreat,” Pressley said. In retreats from years past, action often was not taken on the group’s goals, he said.

“Goals were created and then left behind,” he said. “We wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again.”

ASMSU’s Student Assembly recently passed a bill to allocate up to $500 from the group’s special projects fund to establish a town hall event to promote ASMSU awareness and create an informal public forum where students can voice their opinions and concerns about student issues. Pressley said the group hopes to hold the forum during a planned ASMSU awareness week in January, which he said also might include an awareness event at the rock on Farm Lane and holding an Academic Assembly or Student Assembly meeting in a central campus location, such as the International Center.

“Students are becoming more and more aware of ASMSU as we speak and with this town hall meeting we hope to further that awareness,” Pressley said. “Students know we exist, but we need to stress that there are services we provide.”

Lipphardt said holding a town hall forum in a location such as the Union or in residence halls will be key to increasing student involvement with the organization.

“There (are) students who want to make an impact and have a voice and (holding a meeting) in the Union (is) going to get a lot better response and student feedback than an isolated spot on the third floor of the Student Services Building,” Lipphardt said.

Lipphardt said he also plans to introduce a bill to create a student advisory board for the MSU budget to increase student input on university decisions.

To further external advocacy, ASMSU representatives met with several Michigan legislators this semester to discuss higher education issues, said Chris Noffze, Academic Assembly’s external vice chairman. Legislators were receptive to the group’s ideas, but Noffze said the group wants to follow up next semester to show it cares about MSU students and Michigan students at large.

“That trip (in the fall) was the first time some of the legislators had seen faces from ASMSU,” Noffze said.

“Putting a face to the issues is one of the key priorities we have.”