Student Gov: OER, Events, and Scooters
Bailey Brendel ® Staff Writer |
On Wednesday, Jan. 27, the Minnesota State University, Mankato Student Government held their weekly meeting in the Ostrander Auditorium. After roll call, they called up presentations.
The first to present was from Vice President for Technology, Mark Johnson where he introduced Christopher Corley, Dean of Library and Learning and Carrie Miller, Instructional Designer in IT Solutions to talk about Open Educational Resources.
“Over the past few years, IT Solutions and the Library have been working to raise awareness about the options provided by both our library collection and by Open Educational Resources (OER). Through professional development and outreach, programs like the Maverick Textbook Reserves, and our Institutional Partnership with OpenStax, we are working to offer options for students and faculty when it comes to their course material,” said Miller.
Professors in BIO 106 used this format and in 2017 their platform cost $220 per student, now the class has a platform that costs $99.35 per student because of the Open Educational Resources. In those years just one class has saved $200,000 for students. In total, this service has saved students $395,000.
The next to present was Lily Koch on the Student Events Team. There will be a Virtual Bingo Jan. 28 where students can play for over $1,000 in prizes. Anyone who would like to participate can find the link on the Student Events Team Engage page.
Another upcoming event includes a snow sculpture of a snowflake with Stomper on top. This sculpture will be created by a group of Indigenous women and it will be displayed on the Performing Arts lawn.
To celebrate Valentine’s day on Feb. 8-13 the Student Events Team will be doing Valentine grams. You can register for them online through the Engage page, and the first 150 to sign up will get a chocolate rose. For National Pizza Day on Feb. 9 be sure to text “studentevents” to 76626 in order to receive a special prize.
In his Officer Report, Student Government President Andrew Trenne talked about the new scooters coming to campus. The University recently announced it would be implementing a new mode of transportation around campus for a few dollars if students are unable to take the bus system. These scooters have been approved by the City of Mankato and they will be regulated to ensure safety of students and residents of Mankato.
Many students are excited for this new service, such as Senator Jack Wheeler. “They are going to be helpful for students who have to park in lots far away and for students who work at night and cannot take the bus route home. A lot of my friends do not have cars on campus so I think that this will be a new mode of transportation that will be especially beneficial for them.”
However, some students are not excited for this mode of transportation, such as Senator Frank Vondra.
“I think it is foolish to introduce a service that students will be charged for during a pandemic, and if this service does go under, we will end up with a bunch of dead scooters around campus,” Vondra explained.
In this meeting, Roda Abdi was sworn in as the College of Allied Health and Nursing Senator, Audrey Hopwood as one of the On-Campus Senators, and Edward Sweeny and Ahmed Ali as two of the Off- Campus Senators.
There is still an opening for the College of Science Engineering and Technology Senator position.