Bill 61-47, introduced by Asian Pacific American Student Organization Rep. Alexandra Pham, would advocate to increase the minimum wage of ULA positions to $15 an hour.

There is no set wage or minimum wage for undergraduate learning assistants, according to MSU spokesperson Mark Bullion, but he said the positions typically pay anywhere from $13 to $18 per hour "depending on various departments and classes."

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Advocate to save 'The Ducks' Campaign

Bill 61-51, introduced by Broad Business College Rep. Christian Allmand, advocates for the University Health and Wellbeing department to retain 'The Ducks' campaign.

Earlier this week, this campaign came to an end with an event celebrating 15 years of 'The Ducks' promoting understanding of alcohol use among students as a part of MSU’s Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) program.

Residential College of Arts and Humanities Rep. Abigail Rodriguez, seconder of the bill, agreed with Allmand.

"Who does not love the ducks? I feel like it's a great way to give the student body information," Rodriguez said. 

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Vote of no confidence

Bill 61-52, introduced by Pham, calls upon ASMSU to support a vote of no confidence in ASMSU Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer Alex Guo. Pham said she hoped that CDEIO Guo would step up and help the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students (CORES) and Council of Progressive Students (COPS) feel supported, but this has not been the case.

"I'm not disappointed just as a student leader, but also as a student," she said. "I have not felt supported by the CDEIO for months."

Pham said APASO needed help with data disaggregation, and CDEIO Guo promised to help in September but has not yet done so. Other CORES and COPS groups have vocalized similar concerns to her as well, she said.

"I will not tolerate constant lack of communication and lack of support of minoritized and marginalized groups," Pham said. "I want to see change and important improvement, as well as involvement from the CDEIO in 2025."

Pham said that even if this bill does not go through, she hopes it will bring attention to this matter and motivate Guo to perform better in the future.

Rodriguez, seconder of the bill, said she is tired of CORES and COPS groups being inadequately supported and represented.

"The CDEIO should be a student-focused position, and meeting solely with higher administration is not the only way to show support," she said, "There needs to be more involvement from the CDEIO."

Jones said that Guo had asked to bring back a previously cut role which serves as a coordinator for CORES and COPS and was run out of the DEI office. The hiring and implementation of this person into the office is an ongoing university process, she said.

The bill originally stated that Guo had unsatisfactorily performed their duties defined in their job description. Later in the discussion, this was amended by Pham to say those duties were based on the standards CORES and COPS had set. 

Guo said they felt blindsided by this bill and believed there could have been conversations regarding concerns before resorting to a vote of no confidence, saying it is very aggressive.

Guo said there are over a dozen responsibilities for their position on top of working with CORES and COPS, and that their time spent meeting with administration has always related to advocating for marginalized student groups.

Black Students' Alliance Rep. Missy Chola said that CORES and COPS organizations should be part of conversations with administrators and kept in the loop. Lack of communication via email is also an issue, she said.

Pham agreed, saying that APASO was left out of mass email chains to CORES and COPS and that the organization has had poor communication with Guo. She said CORES and COPS have been going through a lot recently and it hurts to see Guo meeting with higher administration more than student leaders. Balance between administration and student groups with communication is an expectation of hers, she said.

ASMSU adviser Quinn Barker said that every office of the president member is restricted to 20 hours per week, and Guo, being the only DEI person on staff, has to be in every interview session among other responsibilities, so they are very stressed for time. 

Barker also affirmed that Guo has noticed the need for a CORES and COPS coordinator role, agreeing that MSU’s slow process of hiring has resulted in this issue not being addressed.

Barker finally added that it has not been the norm for a CDEIO to have an abundant number of interactions with CORES and COPS. This precedent was only set by the previous CDEIO.

The bill failed with 10 in favor, 4 against and 12 abstaining.

Podcast

Vice President for Finance and Operations Delaney Jones announced a podcast for ASMSU that will be starting up next semester.

She said the purpose of the podcast is to provide new ways for students to learn about and engage with ASMSU while showing off the opportunities and services they provide to students.

"We want to recognize everybody, we want to get to know all the different parts of ASMSU," Jones said.

They plan to release one to two episodes per month on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, Jones said. 

Advocate for a circular economy

College of Social Science Rep. Pavithra Elavarasan introduced bill 61-44 which would advocate for a circular economy institute at MSU. A circular economy is a production and consumption model that reduces waste through reuse, remanufacturing and recycling.

Elavarasan said it is important to implement this bill because Michigan is a top contributor of waste, and advocacy for this bill could disrupt the current linear system where waste ends up in landfills and instead have it recycled and reused. Implementation of a circular economy institute would also promote research and outreach to mitigate environmental impacts of linear waste systems, she said.

This bill passed with a voice majority.