Bill 61-103, introduced by Asian Pacific American Student Organization Rep. Aesha Zakaria, advocates to implement a no-homework policy over scheduled breaks and officially recognized holidays. 

It states that assigning homework or deadlines over breaks contradicts the intended purpose of them and places unnecessary stress on students.

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Advocate for undergraduate research assistant wages

Bill 61-104, introduced by Zakaria, advocates for all undergraduate research assistants to be provided with wages.

It says many undergraduate research assistants go unpaid for their work and that some only receive compensation for their work through credit compensation.

"This leaves students who have reached the maximum credits per semester uncompensated because they are not eligible to obtain credits from their research work due to the credit limit per semester set by the university,” the bill says.

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Implement a living-learning community for Native students

Bill 61-108, introduced by North American Indigenous Student Organization Rep. Kaylin Casper, advocates to implement a living-learning community for Native students on campus. The bill says Native students have lower enrollments in higher education than other communities and are less likely to graduate compared to the general student population due to disparities they face.

"The cultural isolation felt at specifically land-grant institutions may be intensified for Native students by the colonial legacy of violence they leave behind," the bill says. "One way Michigan State University can, as an institution, be a leader in improving Native retention rates is by establishing a floor reserved for American Indian/Alaska Native students, in which Native identifying students can opt-in on their MSU housing form."

Casper said this is not a big commitment, as only 0.3% of the university's student population identify as Native. She said the bill has the support of NAISO and the Native community on campus. Students during public comment also expressed support for the bill.

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Land acknowledgement plaque

Bill 61-109, introduced by Casper, calls on the university to approve the wording of a proposed land acknowledgement and start construction on a land plaque.

The effort to write a land acknowledgement penned by the Native community began in 2021, with a bill passing last year to secure the funding of the physical plaque.

"Coming to a consensus to the wording and approval of the wording of the acknowledgement with higher administration has been (a) contentious and lengthy process, with NAISO making several rounds of revisions before coming to the current version," the bill says.

Casper said the Native community had to compromise on the land acknowledgement in ways that were unfavorable, and this bill acts as a way to bring this issue to the public and work towards a solution.

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Increase transparency in course material costs

Bill 61-110, introduced by College of Social Science Rep. Jacob Doss, advocates to establish costs of course materials through "course marking" at the time of scheduling in the Student Information System (SIS). 

This would, "allow the student to make the best possible choice for their personal situations, while also encouraging professors to lower the costs associated with their classes and/or materials," the bill says.

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Extend Owen Dining Hall hours

Bill 61-117, introduced by CSS Rep. Deonte Sparks, advocates to extend Owen Dining Hall’s hours in the 2025-26 academic year to include weekends.

Recently, it was announced that Thrive at Owen would no longer be operational during weekends, as opposed to its previous hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

The Owen Dining Hall is the only dining hall on campus to be free of the nine major allergens and provides dining for students with dietary restrictions, the bill says.

"The closure of 'Thrive at Owen' on weekends would significantly limit dining accessibility for an entire neighborhood of students, particularly those with severe food allergies, potentially forcing them to seek food options outside of Michigan State University, thereby increasing both financial and logistical burdens," the bill says.

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Advocate to implement formal policy for alerts on urgent matters

At the last GA meeting, Chief of Police and Executive Director of Public Safety Mike Yankowski spoke about campus safety alerts following a threat made to campus in late February.

He said that when a threat is made, MSU Police determine whether it is credible and involves an immediate threat on campus, in which case a campus-wide alert is sent out.

"It's really trying to balance making sure that we're not over-utilizing the system, but by law, we have to be very careful what we push out," Yankowski said at the previous meeting. "But again, I want to stress that if there's ever an immediate emergency threat here on campus, you will get notified through that emergency alert, through your phone, through your email, you'll hear the sirens."

The GA then passed a bill to advocating for MSU to improve its communication on campus safety issues.

Bill 61-118, introduced by Pavithra Elavarasan at Thursday's meeting, is an extension of the previous bill. The new bill, "shall advocate for a formal University policy requiring higher administration to send timely notifications to the MSU community regarding any potential or credible safety threats, including but not limited to shooting threats, regardless of their confirmation status; and therefore be it further," it reads.

The bill passed in the previous meeting holds MSU accountable for past communication faults, while the bill being discussed in this session pushes to implement a new policy, Elavarasan said.

The bill passed with a voice majority.

Advocate for MSU to stay proactive amidst Department of Education closure

Bill 61-119, introduced by Sparks, calls upon the university to, "provide students with timely updates and information regarding the potential impacts on student resources, financial aid, and other educational support systems if the United States Department of Education is continuously dismantled and or closed," the bill says.

It also calls on MSU to explore ways to support programs, student research and other initiatives currently funded or facilitated by the United States Department of Education should it be closed by Congress.

In an interview with The State News earlier this month, President Kevin Guskiewicz explained MSU's three-pronged approach to funding changes, which includes advocating for university programs to state government and looking for new sources of funding. 

The bill passed with a voice majority.