Weekly meeting covers Break Bus tickets, Fencing Club funding, and goals for the organization
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) held its weekly meeting. Topics covered included the Thanksgiving Break Bus, declining enrollment, funding for the Fencing Club, USG goals for the year, a proposed bylaws amendment, and transportation concerns.
For Thanksgiving Break, there will be three buses traveling to the Lower Peninsula and one bus traveling to Chicago via Wisconsin. An email was sent to students on Oct. 5, informing them about the buses. Tickets will be available for purchase at noon on Oct. 26. The cost of tickets will be 173 dollars for the Lower Michigan route and 160 dollars for the Wisconsin and Chicago route.
Enrollment decline is an issue that has been witnessed across the country this year, and Michigan Tech is no exception. USG President Ford Schoonover relayed a message from MTU President Richard Koubek that the MTU community can expect enrollment numbers to decrease for the next year. Schoonover made reference to the age of Michigan Tech to assure students, stating that MTU is “older than World War One, World War Two, the Great Depression.” and that MTU survived those issues.
Concerns were also raised about recent changes to campus transportation routes. Members said bus routes changed without warning, leaving some students scrambling to make it to class on time. USG is hosting a Campus Town Hall meeting in Fisher 135 on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m to discuss transportation’s recent parking and shuttle changes.
The Fencing Club has seen an increase in engagement this year and turned to USG in hopes of receiving funding for trips to competitions. The club was asking for 4,720.20 dollars to use for four competition trips, and USG returned a recommendation of 2,000 dollars for the club to use on one trip. The vote on this recommendation is scheduled for next week.
USG members also filled out goal sheets for themselves and the organization. The sheets will be used later in the school year to evaluate whether members and the organization are meeting the goals set. Vice President Braden Quesenberry said, “The biggest thing I really want to focus on this year for USG is getting every member of the body engaged. I want everyone to have a project that they’re working on, that they’re passionate about.”
A proposed bylaw amendment was discussed that would expand the role of the Political Affairs committee. The changes would expand the committee’s responsibilities to include off-campus issues. Members said the amendment is necessary because the committee has limited work, particularly during non-election years.
The next meeting will be on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m., in the MUB Alumni Lounge.
