University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Page 48 text:

ms a Peter Nielsen tJohn Lopez and other Michigan Student As sembly (MSA) representatives vote whether to support the appearance of Senator Ton Hoyden at the University. MSA more than doubled student fees to help fund student organizations. The fee increase to $6.H caused an outcry among students wh thought it was unnecessary. necessary stry by Melissa Keenigsberg Serving as a liaison for the tremendous student body of the University to the administration, the Michigan Student As sembly (MSA) strove to guarantee student rights. Funding campus events and organizations, and safeguarding the right to higher education, MSA encompasses virtually every student from each niche of the University. MSA is the only central student government which represents all undergraduate and graduate students, said MSA President, junior archaeology major Fiona Rose. MSA branches out beyond the Ann Arbor campus in order to address students ' concerns and provide benefits pro- moting equal opportunity at the University. MSA is a valuable resource which recognizes and funds over 600 student groups and offices. The members elected to the assembly provide a platform to voice student concerns and work to implement new programming. Chair of the Peace and Justice Commission, anthropol- ogy senior Chris McCann said, It is not just what MSA does, it ' s what they can help students do. This year we are helping Project Serve. They do a lot of community service with faculty, staff and students. People in MSA are pushing for a student regent, reforming the meal plan, campus safety projects and getting in touch with officials at the University and other universities to see what works with students. MSA is there to lobby on students ' rights and needs with the administration and the Regents. When it comes down to it, the administration may be happy to make decisions regarding students without their input, and MSA serves as an impediment to that kind of governance at this University, said Chair of the Student ' s Right ' s Commission junior Anne Marie Ellison. If students are truly going to have a voice in administra- tive decisions, MSA must continue its lines of communication with the student body. 44 4 Michigan Student Assembly stry by Jhn Whelan Although Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) pr vides a forum for students to raise their concerns, it is an inefficient organization that wastes students ' money. As the 1996 MSA elections showed, students do not really care about student government. Voter turnout was only nine percent! Students are oblivious to the policies that MSA under- takes, and if they were aware of all the waste that occurs, most would be irate. Few people know that MSA representatives travel to Washington, D.C., Arizona, and other places financed with student funds. The stated purpose of the trips is to represent the students in lobbying efforts, but escaping the Michigan winter remained a more plausible and likely reason.. When LSA senior Jacob Gin was informed of the trips, he said No one mentions that when they run for these [MSA] offices I think the whole thing is a waste. Even when MSA decides to spend our money to hel out on campus, their methods for allocating funds are question able. Any group or organization can submit a budget proposa for funds from the Budget Priorities Committee (BPC). The BPC ' s allocation system is random and provides no explana tions for its decisions. In the fall, MSA proposed to more than double student fees, raising them from $2.69 to $6.19 pei student. The fee increase would set a dangerous preceden however, because it would allow special interest groups t dictate MSA ' s budget. Fortunately, students realized this wa insane, and voted down the measure. If MSA is going to continue, it has to end its fre spending ways and remember its purpose is to voice studen concerns. It might be fun for MSA officials to play governmen while at the University, but they are playing with students money. MSA is not part of the solution, MSA is part of the problem. Other Big Ten schools, like Penn State and Purdue, do not have a student body government, and the Universit doesn ' t need one either. iayut by Emma Cartwright

Page 47 text:

t -f V ?H Maria Russell discusses the pla Agamemnon ; her first-year Great Books 191 class. Many professors at the University were involved in some sort of research, but some stu- dents felt that this compromised the quality of education they were receiving. Sarah SmiK ' kcr Research vs. Teaching + 43

Page 49 text:

van Freidrichs speaks to other representatives at an MSA meeting. MSA served as a liaison bet veen the student body and University adminis- trators. It is not just what MSA does, it ' .v what they can help students do, believed representative Chris McCann, chair of the Peace and Justice Committee.