Wolverine Party 2000 Platform
24-Hour UGLi, Union, CCRB and NCRB
Mission Statement:
To be worthy of Michigan students, the Michigan Student Assembly representatives, President, and Vice-President must focus on student oriented issues, retain their unique perspectives, and have unclouded motives. In our view, leadership for student government is finding practical solutions to student problems and finding common ground on which to build a more united University. The mission of the Wolverine Party is to ensure that the Michigan Student Assembly becomes and remains a conduit for positive change and leadership at the University of Michigan.
Practicality Statement
We the members of the Wolverine Party realize that not all of our ideals are going to be realized within a year. We want to be straight with Michigan students and not promise what we can not deliver. We seek to put MSA on a track towards our goals. At a minimum we will be able to attain a 24-hour library, a 24-hour Union basement, and extended weeknight CCRB/NCRB hours. We are confident that our entire platform will be implemented. However, this optimism is reliant on a dramatic change in the culture and official structures of MSA.
Bringing MSA Back to Life
MSA is dead. The shortcomings of the Michigan Student Assembly are wide-ranging and serious. The student body and the University administration have very little respect for the Michigan Student Assembly. This lack of respect is well founded: the Assembly has provided the campus with neither leadership nor problem solving. The lack of leadership and activity are especially vivid when compared to the student governments of other large public universities. The student governments of the Big Ten are respected nationally because they involve hundreds of students and are effective at making studentsı lives better. The Michigan Student Assembly is neither a Model United Nations nor a Mini-Model Congressit is a student government. The Wolverine Party believes that the Michigan Student Assembly must be revamped and refocused.
Fixing MSA
The Wolverine Party has a five-point plan on how to breathe the life back into the Assembly.
1. Remove Party Names from the Ballot
MSA has deeper partisan divisions than the United States Congress. Party lines and friendship lines are indistinguishable. Members do not communicate with each other and common ground has not been reached in months.
The removal of party names from the ballot will have multiple benefits. Firstly, there will be more communication between members. Secondly, representatives will vote on resolutions and for committee chairs based on their conscience and not party loyalty. Finally, students who are not friends with current members of MSA and are not associated with a party will not be put at an electoral disadvantage.
2. Introduce a more objective approach to administration-MSA relations.
In order to represent students more sincerely, the leadership of the Michigan Student Assembly should have a less friendlyı relationship with the administration. While not sacrificing professionalism, the Assembly should not be afraid to force an issue with the administration.
3. The Assembly must become more organized and professional in its efforts to solve student problems.
In order to reach goals the assembly must establish a series of priorities. This involves communication amongst all representatives so that common ground and common issues can be established. Subsequently, there needs to be an appropriate budget, time frame, and Assembly commitment for an objective. Finally, the Assembly must concert its actions by simultaneously establishing student support, press relations, and communication with the administration.
Currently, the Assembly passes a resolution and then an issue falls flat. The passing of a resolution should be just an official signing off of a plan. MSA must unite its members behind at least a few goals and have at a minimum limited cooperation amongst members.
4. MSA must have higher standards for its members.
The Wolverine Party would require members to have a greater number of required office hours. This would include work on campus. Additionally, the number of allotted absences for members would be cut in half. Finally, the MSA President and Vice-President will be required to be up-to-date on all Assembly projects so that some sense of leadership and accountability is attained.
5. The Michigan Student Assembly must have a better rapport with students, other student governments, student groups, and with the Ann Arbor community.
The Wolverine Party plan is to drastically increase student participation in the Assembly. The number of open houses and public forums must be increased. Weekly meetings and agendas must be better advertised. Students should be constantly invited to join committees and be a part of the Assemblyıs business. New recruits into the assembly should be given free workshops on how the Assembly works and taught how to be a part of the Assembly and/or run for office.
The Wolverine Party believes that all student governments on campus should have open lines of communication. The main holdup in improving meal plans, changing academic deadlines and many other student issues is that our student governments do not work together well. Summits, emails, and get-togethers are not enough; a real commitment must be made to concert actions between student governments.
Student groups should be actively involved with Assembly business. Many issues in this and other platforms directly coincide with the mission statements of other student groups. MSA should work with student groups on issues, this would require dropping all pretenses and superiority. Additionally, MSA must not concern itself with who gets credit for a job well done, rather that the job is done well.
The Ann Arbor community is very important for students. In regards to studentsı lives the actions of the City Council, Mayorıs Office, Police/Fire Departments, and many other agencies are more significant than the Michigan Student Assembly. The Assembly, particularly the MSA President, should have very active and productive communication with the leaders of the Ann Arbor community.
Issues
24 Hour Library:
College life is 24/7. Michigan students need a universally available place on central campus where they can study, employ information technology, and utilize reference resources. Twenty-four hour libraries are a staple at many Universities across the United States. The Wolverine Party plan is to have the Shapiro Undergraduate Library Open twenty-four hours Sunday-Thursdayat the very least.
24 Hour Union:
Michigan students need a universally available place on central campus where they can have extra-curricular meetings, study groups, and social gatherings. College life requires students to meet at all times of day. The Michigan Union should serve as a safe, neutral, useful, and well-known place for students to meettwenty-four hours a day.
24 Hour CCRB:
Michigan students go to the CCRB to improve their health, to socialize, and to assist in stress management. With demanding class and extracurricular schedules, the CCRB should be universally available to students.
Tax Exempt Textbooks:
College students are poor. Students at an elite University like Michigan spend much more than the national average on tuition, textbooks, and supplies. Many states have lifted the sales tax on certain items that are used by charities, public institutions, and students. The Wolverine Party proposed supporting the process to lift the Michigan sales tax on textbooks. Students could save fifty to over a hundred and fifty dollars a semester. This is an attainable goal as a tax exemption like this is common and would be relatively simple to push through the Michigan legislature.
Street Lighting:
As the majority of students live off campusoff campus safety should be a priority for the Michigan Student Assembly. In coordination with the Mayorıs office the front porch light campaign should be intensified. Additionally, emergency phones and panic buttons should be installed in strategic off campus locations.
Budgeting:
MSA should revamp its Budget Priorities Committee procedures. The Budget Priorities Committee should dole out money to student groups either more times during the year or on a rolling basis. It is very difficult for some student groups to project a semester long budget only a month into the school year. This is especially true for new student groups and groups that have unexpectedly high costs due to a renewed student interest or more ambitious semester plans. Additionally, the amount of money allocated to student groups could be significantly increased if the Assembly were to drastically revamp its budget.
Affirmative Action:
It is the belief of the Wolverine Party that the Michigan Student Assemblyıs role in the campus debate over affirmative action should be that of facilitating dialogue. As the campus is virtually split on this very hot issue, it does little good for MSA to weigh in on one side of the debate or the other. It is not, however, the Wolverine Partyıs intention to stop any resolution regarding Affirmative Action from being considered by the Assembly. If representatives are insistent that the Assembly takes a stand on this issue, then the Wolverine Party believes the Assembly should take up the issue once a semester. The Assembly should debate the merits of Affirmative Action and/or whether or not the Assembly should weigh in on this issue. The decision of the Assembly will stand for one semester. This will eliminate the constant need to vote and revote on Affirmative Action. The Assembly should promote events and projects that will increase student knowledge on this very important topic.
Health Issues:
The Wolverine Party puts a very high price on student health. We believe that the Assembly should actively lobby to force the University to address student health needs more effectively. Physical health can be promoted if the University installs toilette seat covers and soap dispensers in every dorm and public building. The University must properly clean all buildings with appropriate methods. Student mental health must be more closely monitored by the administration. Depression is rampant on campus and all efforts must be made to identify and assist depressed students.
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