Issue 3| Volume 1|November 2011

WSA Holds City Commissioner Forum

Student Organization Center Bernhard Center, Room 194

Phone: (269) 387-2125

Lindsay Stone WSA Public Relations Chair Wsa-publicrelations@wmich.edu

Student Association

Western

On Oct. 26, Western Student Association partnered with WMU’s Institute for Government and Politics to hold a City Commissioner Forum at the Fetzer Center. The two hour debate consisted of a question and answer session from all 16 City candidates. Topics and questions were written by students and ranged from job creation to the Downtown Kalamazoo Arena Plan. Each candidate spoke of their experience and plans for policy during their 2-year term. Around 90 students and community members attended the event. A popular topic throughout the forum was the new Commission’s future partnership with WSA. Current Mayor, Bobby Hopewell, spoke about his continued involvement with WSA as well as Western as a whole. “I have been involved with Western Student Association and WMU ever since I have been elected,” Hopewell said. “I have attempted to engage students in neighborhood meetings and community collaboration. If it takes jumping in a pool of freezing water for Polar Plunge, I’ll even do that too.” Many of the candidates also echoed a theme of pride in the city of Kalamazoo, encouraging students to become a part of the proactive change in the community. Nicholas Wikar, a past Senator of WSA and Commission Candidate, spoke that he is a champion for youth achievement. “I want the City Commission to provide young people with opportunities to start their own businesses to reach their full potential, “ Wikar said. Several other candidates echoed Wikar’s point of job creation through finding creative ways to invest in the com-munity. Don Cooney, six-term elected City Commissioner and WMU professor finished up the forum with an encouraging message that, “the future is with you, the students here at WMU.” The election will be held Nov. 8 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All students and community members are encouraged to vote.

5 Things you Need to Know on Election Day 1. Go to the Right Place: Be sure to locate your polling place before you go to vote. Check https://webapps.sos.state.mi.us./

mivote or contact the elections office 2. Bring I.D.: You need to show your ID at your polling location. To be safe, bring your drivers license or another photo I.D. 3. Get a Ballot: Don’t panic if you registered to vote but your name is not on the list. Get help from a poll worker to make sure

your vote is counted. You should be given a provisional ballot or given directions to another polling place. 4. Get help: Poll workers are there to help you. They’ll show you how to use the voting machine or give you a provisional ballot if

you need one. As, or read the signs at the polling place, which have instructions and list your voting rights. 5. Stay and Vote: You probably won’t have to wait too long. But if the line is long, do not leave without voting.

Western Student Association’s October Senator of

Name: Paul Friedlander Academic Year: Sophomore Time in WSA: 2 years WSA Involvement: 2010-2011 Student Affairs Vice Chair, 2011-2012 Student Affairs Committee & College of Arts & Sciences Senator Fun Fact: “I am an avid runner!”

On Oct. 26 Dr. Diane Anderson, Vice President for Student Affairs spoke to the Western Student Association Senate on issues regarding student life at WMU. Student Affairs encompasses a wide range of issues from residence halls, to student organizations to career and student employment. The above issues and more are covered in the Student Affairs Strategic Plan that has taken place over the past year. The plan merges with the overall university strategic plan and seeks student involvement. The plan includes 9 strategy teams made up of students and faculty. The strategy teams attempt to formalize programs for students to attain skills that will stand out in a competitive job market. At the con-clusion of Anderson’s presentation, the floor was opened for question and answer. Below are some of the questions asked from WMU students. Q: The Western View apartments have been a great addition to WMU’s campus. What’s next for WMU? A: We have many plans to renovate several areas of campus. However, we are concentrating especially on the Bernhard Center. We have formulated a Bernhard Center Strategy Team to make the BHC a more vi-brant and energized student center where students want to spend their time. Q: There are murmurs about the UCTC in regards to moving sessions and charging for services. Can you speak to that? A: Yes, recently, we moved our counseling to Sindecuse Health Center due to a move to an integrated health care model so that students may receive the best care possible. Just to make it clear, we have not made the decision to charge students for counseling. Also, we are not turning anyone away, whether they have insurance or don’t. We are here to help the students. Q: How can I become involved in the Student Affairs Strategic Planning Committee? A: Just let me know of your interest! There are one of 9 teams that you can join based on your interest. We need student involvement and seek broad and diverse student input.

Student Action Strategic Plan

THE MONTH

Dr. Diane Anderson

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Upcoming WSA Events

Western Student Association’s RECENT APPOINTMENTS

MEGA Western Wednesday Western Student Association is hosting their last outdoor Western Wednesday of the semester at the flagpoles! WSA will be partnering with the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, Campus Activities Board, Residence Hall Asso-ciation, Anime Addicts, Her Campus WMU, Pi Kappa Phi, blank117, Squirrel Club, Kalmazoo Peace Center, and MODA present the largest Western Wednesday ever. Wear brown & gold all day for some awesome giveaways!

Kalamazoo Holiday Parade Saturday November 12, meet in the Student Organization Center at 9

Free Legal Aid EVERY THURSDAY from 4:00pm-6:00pm in the SOC Conference Room, BHC

WSA is giving all WMU students the opportunity to access free legal aid from local lawyer Jeffery Dufon. Dufon is an experienced lawyer and member of the Kalamazoo community, practicing at Redmond, Redmond & Yokum, P.L.C. Stop in and ask him any legal questions that you may have.

Executive Cabinet Allocations Committee Senator of

Nikki Ledbury Speaker Pro-Tempore

College Senators Kylia Dantzler-Morgan

College of Arts & Sciences

Alisha Hardman College of Arts & Sciences

Jessica Ferris AC Member

CAB Representative

Dustin Moore AC Member

CAB Representative

Marcus Jackson AC Member

SSG-AC Members Kyle Zettel

Haworth College of Business

Morgan Thomas

College of Health and Human Services

Melissa Phizacklea College of Fine Arts

Abolaji Olanipekun Graduate Student

Nathan Christensen

College of Engineering, Graduate Student

Western Student Association is taking part in Downtown Kalamazoo’s annual Holiday Parade! We will march in the parade with our banner and “W” costume, all decked out in our holiday gear. All WMU students and Senators are invited to join and share our Bronco Spirit with Downtown Kalamazoo!

THE MONTH

Wednesday, from 11-3 at the Flagpoles

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WSA Goes PINK

answers

You’ve got questions? WSA has

Q: How much money does Western Student Association have to collaborate with other student organizations on campus?

A: During the 2011-2012 academic year, Western Student Association had a Col-laboration Budget of $10,000. Currently, WSA has only had one collaboration with OUTSpoken, for their annual Pride Prom. There is still $7,220 left for stu-dent organizations who are interested in collaborating with WSA. Please con-tact the president, Erin Kaplan, for more information on WSA collaborations.

Got a question? Ask us. You could be featured in next month’s issue.

Please direct all questions to wsa-publicrelations@wmich.edu

Western Student Association went pink during the month of Octo-ber to support National Breast Cancer Awareness month. WSA tie-died “Be the Change,” t-shirts pink, showed their support on social media sites, held a Breast Cancer Awareness Western Wednesday at the flagpoles and held a penny war to raise money for the entire month. WSA’s Philanthropy Chair, Colin Engel, headed up the project. WSA raised over $100 in the penny wars alone, all of which will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. “I am really excited that WSA got so involved with Breast Cancer Awareness during October,” Engel said. “It is a growing issue in the US today that deserves our attention.”

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Pizza with the Provost On Oct. 12, Dr. Tim Greene, Provost and Vice President of Aca-demic Affairs at WMU made his second trip to Western Student Association. The annual Pizza with the Provost event was sched-uled in Rm. 157 of the Bernhard Center at 6 p.m. All students were invited to attend the discussion. Greene briefly discussed the academic hierarchy of the univer-sity, explaining that WMU administration does not manage the curriculum, the faculty sets it. The administration sets class times only, which creates a system of shared governance. “Faculty and staff here at WMU does their best to accommodate students,” Greene said. Greene also explained new developments on the academic horizon at WMU. With over 240 cur-riculum degrees already at Western, there will be a new degree called Health Information Management available in the Fall of 2012. Health Information Management will outline the maintenance and care of health records by traditional and electronic means in hospitals, phy-sician's offices, health departments, and other facilities that provide health care or mainte-nance of health records. Greene also opened the floor for a question and answer session with students. Below are some of the questions asked by WMU students. Q: How would you tell first year students to reach out to their academic advisors? A: Faculty are important to know in addition to advisors, they can be a tremendous resource. Every semester you should make an honest attempt to meet all of your professors, introduce oneself and make your presence known in the classroom. It is no secret that faculty members are not always objective and they will appreciate the extra effort. They are also great for ref-erence letters. Students should visit their advisors 1-2 times per semester to find out what is happening with Academics at WMU and make sure that they are on the right academic path in regards to their career choices. Your tuition pays for it, so go! The appointments will most likely last around 15 minutes and will make an incredible difference in your education. Q: There has been a significant enrollment increase at WMU in the past few years. How is WMU administration accommodating this growth as far as increasing the number of classes, number of available sections, etc.? A: We attempt to have a 1-2% growth each year, which amounts to a couple hundred new stu-dents each year. Some majors, such as Nursing, Computer Science, Marketing, Aeronautical Engineering and Aviation numbers are increasing, whereas K-12 Education and General Busi-ness are decreasing. Overall, the administration attempt to balance the enrollment numbers with the numbers of faculty available for specific sections. We attempt to open up new sec-tions and classes, as long as we have the faculty available and student demand for the class is high.

Dr. Tim Greene

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Sustain

abilit

y Initia

tives

National Campus Sustainability Day Wednesday, October 26th Western Student Association Participated in National Campus Sustainability Day activities on Oct. 26. There were sustainable activities at the flagpoles during Western Wednesday that included a free market and eco-mug give-aways. In addition, the Office for Sustainability hosted a program from 5-9 p.m. in the Presidents Dining Room of the Bernhard Center. The program included pumpkin painting, a sustainability discussion panel, showcase of sustainable student organizations and a showing of the movie, Fresh. WSA Sustainability Chair, Meghan Walsh, spoke on the Panel and several WSA Cabinet and Senate members attended the event.

Appointment of SSG-AC Members Wednesday, October 26th Western Student Association in partnership with WMU’s Office for Sustainabil-ity, appointed 5 members to the Student Sustainability Grant Allocations Committee (SSG-AC). The SSG-AC is responsible for allocating $75,000 in grant money to students at WMU who utilize research, initiatives and activities that pro-mote a sustainable culture on campus. The $75,000 in grant money is a part of the Student Sustainability Fee that charges each student $8 per semester.

SOLO Cup Clean-Up Friday, November 4th

WSA’s Sustainability Chair, Meghan Walsh and her committee will organize and im-plement a campus-wide clean-up from 2-4 p.m. They will be clean up trash on and off WMU’s campus and sort it between waste and recyclables. This can also count towards Community Service hours and all students are invited to attend.

The Campus Beet Wednesday, September 28th

Several WSA Cabinet and Senate Members attended the Campus Beet’s Kickoff event for the 2011-2012 academic year at the Wesley Foundation. The Campus Beet is a stu-dent run sustainable café initiative. Food and entertain-ment was provided at the event.

Wednesday, October 26th

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Legislative Resolutions

Resolution #1112-02: Appointment of members of the Student Sustainability Grant Allocations Committee

Sponsor: Select Committee on Rules, Bylaws & Administration

Authors: Katelyn Kivel, Senator for Anime Addicts; Alexander Smith, Chair of Rules, Bylaws and Administration Committee.

Summary: This resolution was intended to provide Western Student Asso-ciation with structure and legitimacy to appoint the SSG-AC members, since WSA had not taken ownership of this appointment in recent years. The resolution gives us permission to appoint these members.

Vote: 43-0-2, passed

Resolution #1112-01: A Resolution in Support of Drive Safe Kalamazoo

Wednesday, October 12th

Authors: Senator James B. Stano, Lee Honors College

Summary: This resolution was intended to provide the RSO and 501(c)3 organization, Drive Safe Kalamazoo, with documented support of their mission from the WSA. Since its creation in 2002, DSK has provided safe rides from to over 60,000 patrons. WSA has continuously seen the benefits that have derived from this program, as well as funded DSK on a yearly basis. Overall, the WSA supports the efforts of DSK to improve efficiency of operations.

Vote: 35-1-2, passed