Get to know the MSSA party platforms

Mavericks Empowering Mavericks
-Personalized advising

-Textbook affordability

-Better access to feminine hygiene products

-Improving communications between RSO’s, Greeks, and Athletes

-Diversifying campus atmosphere

-Progressing environmentally sustainability

-Transparency with student government

-Improve access to volunteer oppertunities for International Students

-Promote Maverick athletics

-Preserve the free lot

-Expanding options that will meet students’ dietary restrictions

-Connecting with, and addressing the concerns of veterans, non-traditional students, and Grad Students.

Support Our Students

Representation on University Committees The MSSA tagline is: “A Voice for Students.” To make sure that we will be the best possible voice for students we need representation we need to make sure that we have representation on all of the University Committees. If elected, Presidential Candidate Fred de Ruiter will have the responsibility to make the appointments to fill all the committees. To make sure that there is adequate representation, he will go to the students which would be the most interested and find motivated students wanting to voice what the students want to administration.

For example, if we needed to find someone to serve on the technology advisory committee, then Fred de Ruiter would go to IT, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering classes to try and find students passionate and motivated to serve.

Communication

-#FreeBullpenFridays. This will be a fun, alcohol-free, activity which we are looking to having every Friday or every other Friday. #FreeBullpenFridays will be funded by the elected members of the Support Our Students Party allocating their MSSA Stipends/Salaries to the Bullpen, effectively renting hours. #FreeBullpenFridays will be a casual and relaxed event with MSSA present so that they can socialize with Students, and solicit feedback on what the students want. We want to go to where the students, rather than making the students come to us.

-More Marketing about what MSSA is, does, and what services MSSA provides.

-Enterprise Car Share

-Maverick Textbook Reserve

-Student Attorney

-Scholarship information

-Have regular communications between ISA and MSSA so MSSA will know what the issues are facing international students.

-Keep Streaming and Recording the MSSA meetings. This will provide transparency for what is discussed

-Make sure that all information on the MSSA website is up to date.

-By having several Greek members on our party, we will be better able to serve the campus Greek Community.

-Require that minutes are taken for committees under MSSA. Affordability

-Promotion of open sourced (free) textbooks and encouragement for faculty to use them

-Working with legislators to pass legislation focusing on increasing grants and freezing tuition. (Such as legislation equivalent to HF2594 which would fund a tuition freeze and increase state grants)

-#keepthefreelotfree. Our president has served on the parking advisory committee for the past few years and know what it will take to make sure that the free lot will remain free.

-With our #freebullpenfridays, we will be donating our salaries/stipends to go to the cause. This will make sure we will have this event without making students pay an extra penny.

-Create programming for smart financial planning so our students will come out of college with less debt.

-Look into ways which MSU, Mankato can expand our financial aid services to cover more than the cost of school. Find other services which students might qualify for (e.g. Food Stamps) Academic Life

-Improve the Advising Process by looking into a centralized advising system.

-Promotion and accreditation for outside the classroom learning experiences.

-Making sure that there is a four-year program for every major which is clear and easily understandable.

-Communicate with Professors so they get their orders into the bookstore before class begins.

-Make sure that all audiovisual media is accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing, and the visually impaired. This should be done with all materials right away instead of a request based system.

-Reexamination of scholarships, with specific regard to the Cultural Contribution Scholarship and withdrawing from classes. Student Life

-Expand the free feminine hygiene products from the Residential Halls to the CSU, then the rest of campus.

-Revitalize “the Herd” so we can get more Maverick Athletics Pride and get more students going to games.

-Work with Sodexo to try and provide the best possible food on campus, in the University Dining Center, and in Mav-Ave.

-Expansion of the Bus Service. More Routes, More Hours, and Possibly Sunday Busses.

-With the proposed Athletic/Campus Rec facility, we will make sure that students are at every step of the design and implementation process.

-Support of the Universities Diversity Plan. Sustainability/Environmental

-Make sure that we do not fall behind of the environmental commitments which were made in previous years.

-Bike Friendly Campus: Having our university investigated to see what we would need to do to become considered a “bike friendly campus”. Bee Friendly Campus: Making MSU, Mankato a habitat for bees. This can be done without increasing the risk of stings by keeping the bee habitat isolated to the edges of campus, and designing the habitats for non-stinging species of bees.

-More composting. Commitment

-If elected, during the first senate meeting of fall semester the following motions will be brought to table

-Expand the free feminine hygiene products into Women’s, Single-Stall, and Family restrooms in the Centennial student Union.

-Officially state that it is the desire of the student to keep the free lot free.

-Require all MSSA committees take minutes and post them on the Website.

-Support of the Expansion of the Bus Service with regards to more routes.

-Create an ad-hoc committee titled “Open Textbooks Implementation Committee” consisting of 3 faculty members, 1 administrator, and 3 students. This committee will investigate implementation methods for Open Textbooks.

-Require that all audiovisual media hosted by MSU, Mankato be accessible for deaf and hard of hearing, and the visually impaired.

NOTE: Party platforms were provided by the parties.