Student Government at Michigan State

A little about me - I was elected to represent my class all four years of high school and I took it quite seriously. I was honored to represent my class and achieved leadership positions because I love getting involved. Even though I graduated with a class of about 400 students, the student governments at MSU seemed overwhelming because I would be representing thousands of people in my colleges, not hundreds. As a sophomore, I currently hold seats on the James Madison Student Senate and on ASMSU. 

During the end of the Spring semester of my freshman year I had the privilege of running for an elected position in James Madison Student Senate and earned a seat in the International Relations Caucus. Although I felt compelled to change my major to Comparative Cultures and Politics, I represent my Madison colleagues by exercising basic responsibilities like running the office for an hour or more every two weeks, attending the General Assembly meetings and reporting on ASMSU (Which I will explain later). James Madison Student Senate is just like Student Council in high school, but there is a caucus for each major in Madison. One person from each caucus and more contribute to committees such as social programming, academic programming, university community alumni relations, and community service network. JMC Student Senate organizes events for Madison students and communicates with groups in Case Hall and faculty to bridge the gap. 

ASMSU, which stands for Associated Students of Michigan State University, is a much bigger version of JMC Student Senate. It is similar to my high school student council in the set up where we have a faculty supervisor and then there is an elected executive board and committees. Depending on the number of admitted students in each college at MSU there is at least two or more representatives for each college. I was appointed to represent the College of Communication Arts and Sciences because I am a double major inside that college. I am supposed to represent the college of Communication Arts and Sciences and also serve in the Academic Affairs committee where we start resolutions or bills on anything related to Academics. As a member of the Academic Affairs committee it is required of us to attend University Council meetings once a month which include the presence of the President of MSU, the Provost and deans of the colleges across campus. The President, Lou Anna K. Simon, usually speaks about her visions and things going on at MSU through her perspective. Attendees are welcome to speak their opinions about new ideas and goals.

As an ASMSU representative it is my responsibility to make my constituents aware of the resources available to them as well as vote on bills or resolutions on various topics. We have passed a few bills to advocate for more gender neutral bathrooms across campus, post bills online so students can read them and share their opinions, and advocate for freezing tuition rates. Even though it may seem intimidating, ASMSU has many resources to help representatives and students are never alone. 

In college I think it's hard to sit back and let everything figure itself out. Although sometimes I felt like I was thrown into these positions, I asked many questions and learned that students do have a voice in academic governance at this university. Unfortunately I will be leaving my seats this spring semester because I will be studying abroad and missing re-elections. However, I will never regret trying it out in the first place. I have gotten to know some amazing peers from my college to the outside of JMC and these student government opportunities are rewarding experiences within themselves. I have gotten to meet more faculty, and learn about a lot of the things that go on behind-the-scenes, and I'm proud to be Spartan leader and stick with my Spartans to the end.

Monica
Sophomore
Comparative Cultures & Politics and Media & Information Technology