Internal Affairs...Round 3

Went to St Cloud with Jake for another IA meeting. This one was about 3.5 hours, and we actually got out of there on time...amazing for an MSUSA meeting. Had 6 of 7 campuses...Mankato opted not to attend, and instead sent an email stating that they were happy with the changes discussed two weeks ago, and trusted the rest of us to finish the job. Hopefully they sing the same tune when they see the revised draft of the Bylaws.

And they should. I wouldn't say too many of today's changes were particularly huge...most of those had already been hashed out. But I think we closed some gaps, and did it fairly efficiently. One thing I will say is THANK GOD we did today's meeting "live"...some had fought for ITV at the last meeting, and after sitting through an ITV meeting for the Rev Fund yesterday, I can say that an IA meeting via ITV would have been horrible. There is a lot to be said for sitting around a table together, especially for something like this...going through documents and designing changes that are huge for the organization.

In general, this experience thus far has been pretty cool. A year ago, campuses were at each other constantly, the big school small school mentality was raging, Board, delegation and staff morale were low, and the issues with the ex-ED were just beginning to hit the fan. The organization was a mess. If anyone would have told me then that we'd be sitting today together, trying to work things out, and that progress was actually being made, I probably would not have believed it....

Fast forward to today: new leaders, new staff, new ideas, and perhaps the best campaign the organization has ever run. And we sit together, not as 7 parts regularly bickering, but as a whole, working toward a common goal to improve things for everyone's benefit. We've all made compromises, and we've gained in return. We've been able to put aside our differences and reach some consensus for the first time I can recall.

It's really something to be proud of.

Coffee as a Class?

Apparently, your morning cup of joe is more than a drink...it's an academic subject.

Coffee a popular topic on college campuses

Urban Dictionary

On TechRhet today was a post directing us to check out the definition of blog on Urban Dictionary. Here are a couple of other words I found.

blogalicious
(adj.)1. The state of being in which one finds joy in updating one's blog.2. A blog or blog entry that one finds highly enjoyable.
"I'm feeling particularly blogalicious today!"
"That is one blogalicious entry there!"
Source: Rann, Oct 4, 2004

blogariffic
For those that have a blog, it must have subject matter. Subject matter that is of particular interest shall be deemed as "blogarrific."
#1) Did you guys see the picture of that 3-headed frog? Now that's what I call a blogariffic amphibian.
#2) That whole request for another $80 billion is going to be quite blogariffic.
Source: MikeyP, Jan 25, 2005

10 Percent...on the Dot

Turns out 10 percent for the purpose of elections was 330 votes. We got exactly 330. Wild, huh?

Musings on Senate Elections

Today was day one of the annual spring elections that continue tomorrow. We're also doing the referendum on smoking in the residence halls, for which we need to register a 10 percent turnout of the student body...actually of those students who are taking classes on campus. That means we need to get about 400 people to vote.

Sounds easy, right?? NOT. Getting people to vote is like pulling teeth sometimes. Many students are willing to come vote if you ask, some are even eager to do so. However, too often our efforts are met with "I don't care" or "Yeah, I did it"...when it's clear they haven't and they are just brushing us off. Body language and tone of voice say a lot. In the worst cases, students just walk by, staring straight ahead, and don't even bother to acknowledge we exist. All we can do is laugh it off, but it's really rather rude. Granted, they may not wish to vote, and the elections are usually far from competitive, but the least a person could do is offer a simple "No" when asked if they want to vote. We are not invisible!

Who knows if we'll get the numbers we need. I guess we just have to be thankful for those that we ARE able to convince to vote. Hey, Nicole even met Erin, who she's only known in blog form up to this point, and I saw an acquaintence I thought transferred after last year, which was kind of funny.

We shall see what tomorrow brings.

8 Minutes, 25 Seconds

Shortest Maple Hall Council meeting of the year.

And a quote from our hall director in reference to the cards being used for an upcoming hall Bingo game...

"They're really old, and they smell like your Grandma"

Trying Something New

As you can see, I've changed my template. Actually, it's basically the same with a new color scheme. The old one was getting boring. Change is good, at least for a while.

Back From the "Dead"

Apparently Lindsi decided not to "kill" her blog after all. Welcome back!!

Blogs at BSU: Why Not?

Toward the end of our discussion last night, we got to talking about the use of blogs at BSU, and a big question: When, if ever, will we have them attached in some way to the University? (eg offer something like UThink).

The desire to blog is certainly here, not only personally but in an academic sense. As Morgan points out, it is a teaching tool that can be used widely if it's organized and implemented in the right way. We've already got the test cases (Weblogs and Wikis etc) lets give it a shot.

I'll go a step further...we're a fairly small school looking for ways to grow. The University knows it has to attract students, and students are becoming more tech savvy all the time...if we can show them that there is space for student weblogs, wikis, and websites exists, combined with courses that are using the new technology (WW, Elements of E-Rhetoric, TWWT, etc) , it might encourage them to take a closer look at our programs.

Presentation a Success

Well, the presentation for TWWT last night went well. We were so nervous to get up in front of the group of Grad students as the only three undergrads in the class. There was good discussion, which we wanted. All in all, a good experience.

Proof Our Voices Matter!

We received word today that State Sen Carrie Ruud, who had been against the tuition freeze as recently as last week, has decided to support it, based in part on what she heard at Friday's Town Meeting.

See also:
Nicole's Freeze blog
Julie's thoughts

We still have many battles to fight, but this is a major victory for us. To anyone who has questioned whether students/student leaders have the ability to make things happen...this is proof that we DO have a voice.

Putting Words In My Mouth-UPDATE

So, this morning I decided to email the author of that article where I was misquoted the other day. Text Follows:

-------
[Author]

I saw some WSU colleagues at a meeting over the weekend who mentioned that they were surprised to see my name pop up on the CyberIndee independent news website. I was fairly surprised to hear about it, so I checked when I got home, and sure enough, my name was in a story about Rally Day. You appeared to be the author of the story.

I think it is prudent to inform you that the quote you attributed to me is incorrect..."One speaker, Berne Christiansen of Bemidji State, told the crowd: "We students have taken on more than our fair share of the burden of balancing the state's budget, and we need some relief." "Those are not my words. In fact, I never addressed the crowd during the Rally. I don't know how my name became attached, and I am sure it was an honest mistake. As a journalism student I am certain you are aware of the need to be diligent and correct when quoting others in the media.

On a positive note, I am happy to see that you are paying attention to the Tuition Freeze Campaign, which is perhaps the biggest project MSUSA has undertaken.

Have a great day!
-------
His Response:

Mr. Christiansen ~ I am sorry about the mistake, i asked a friend about who a particular speaker was, and they said your name. i will try to be more careful about this in the future. Thanks for letting me know.
------
Lets hope they double check quotes from now on. I am really curious to know who this friend is, because it must be someone I know, and for anyone I know to mistake me for someone else is, well, funny.

Bloggers Beware

Found this article linked on Michelle's blog...

Free Expression Can Be Costly When Bloggers Bad-Mouth Jobs

The debate continues. Should an employer be allowed to fire you because of what you say about them on your own website, on your own time, when you don't even name them...or yourself? I think not.

BSU Students Speak Up

On Friday, several of us attended a Town Meeting put on by some Republican State Senators. Higher Ed, and the Tuition Freeze were major topics of conversation, and an article with quotes from Jake, Chris, and Jordan appeared in the Pioneer this morning:

Lawmakers urged to support tuition freeze, fund programs that help rural health care

Putting Words in My Mouth

While I was at IA today, the Winona people, including both the State and Vice Chair, mentioned to me that my name had shown up on an independent WSU student news website:

The following blurb appeared in the CyberIndee:

Tuition rally draws 2,000 students

ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 9, 2004 -- Almost 2,000 college students, including 31 from Winona State, marched on the State Capital to rally for a tuition freeze. One speaker, Berne Christiansen of Bemidji State, told the crowd: "We students have taken on more than our fair share of the burden of balancing the state's budget, and we need some relief." Students have faced 13 to 15 percent tuition hikes two years running to make up for state cutbacks in funding the colleges.

State Rep. Bud Nornes, R-Fergus Falls, chair of the House higher-ed committee, told the students that legilators are working with what resources are available and putting them to use. After rallying on the Capitol steps for an hour, the students went inside the rotunda and continued for another hour, making sure that the legislators were aware of their presence.

Great quote huh? One problem, I NEVER SAID IT. In fact, I did not even speak during the rally!! What's up with that?

Journalistic integrity at its finest.

Internal Affairs...Round Two

Jake and I Spent today in St. Cloud at an MSUSA Internal Affairs Committee meeting. It was actually really productive, better than I thought. All of the schools seemed to be agreeing on things for once. Basically, our job is to put together a revised set of Articles of Operation/Bylaws to present to the Delegate Assembly in April. It's a lot of work, we're pretty much looking at revamping the structure of the organization.

It was actually, dare I say, fun. When going through something like this, its interesting to find out some of the history behind why things are the way they are, and realize that you are really impacting the future...assuming all the proposals eventually pass. We're looking at big changes to committees and board. And it was a really relaxed atmosphere, which was nice.

But alas, the fun has just begun...we go back in two weeks.

Another Blog Bites the Dust??

I was doing my usual reading today, and clicked on Lindsi's blog. It has been replaced with a single post explaining that her blog is gone...the second blog on my "Blogs I Read" list to disappear within the last month. Maybe it's just me, but I could never dump my blog. I guess if you stop having fun blogging its not worth it.

Rest in Peace, Lindsi's Blog.

Rally Day Recap

Yesterday was great! We ended up with 57 people...not the goal of 100 but still twice as many as in the past, and the most of any of the universities. That's right, our small school had the most people, which totally rocks!

Nicole blogged on this too. Read more in her post.

Countdown to Rally Day

Well, it's about 36 hours away now I guess. We're involved in the final push to have two full buses on Wednesday. Several worked hard tabling in the Union today, and I spent a couple hours with Kory in Walnut this evening. It's gonna be a good event.

Proof My Instincts are Right

As I was reading friends' blogs this afternoon, I happened upon an entry in Torin's titled "Stuck in the Student Senate" Apparently, he has become interested and involved by trying to restart Century College's French Club.

Why does his new involvement in CC Senate prove my instincts? Well, I told him years ago that he belonged in student government. At the time, I was on the Student Council at Mounds View, and ran the Open Forums once a month during lunches. He came into those just about every time we had them, and we'd discuss issues. Now, there are several reasons he could have showed up at these all the time:

A. The principal and I were cool and he wanted to hang out with us.
B. He wanted a free cookie or two
C. He cared about the school and wanted to make some kind of diffence by letting himself be heard.

Alright, I admit that it was probably a combination of all three. But mostly I think he cared. Some people have a certain "quality." You can just tell they belong in leadership. Now he says he's a Senate junkie...but I think junkie status isn't truly achieved until a few of the conditions on this list are met (putting Century in place of BSU, of course)

It's good to know my instincts are right.

What Were They Thinking?

Apparently the College Republicans at Marquette University decided the best way to support our troops was to sponsor a program called "Adopt a Sniper"

And they thought this was gonna fly?

University shuts down student fundraiser for sniper group

She's Baaack...

Not even out of prison yet, and Martha already has a new job. Wait...TWO new jobs. First, they announce a talk show. And now...

Martha Stewart to host new 'Apprentice'

Sounds silly to me, but people will watch almost anything.

Watch Out George W...

The bloggers have their eyes on you:

Bloggers Get Set For State of The Union.

Coming Together...

Lobby Day is one week away, and preparations for it are going fantasic....Nicole is an absolute rock star and everyone else is working really hard to make it a success. I am very pleased.

First, we get the administration to sponsor a second bus. Then, we get appointments with both local legislators secured. Then, we find there is enough money in the budget to buy some food for brealfast and lunch for participants. And tonight came word that Aramak will donate $5 in Beaver Bucks to each person as an incentive to participate...something I figured was a long shot at best.

Add to that more good news...

That the Student Centeredness focus groups are going well, and what I've heard so far also reaffirms that Student Services is doing the right things...

And that Julie and Michelle were able to add some money within our FY 2006 Budget request under salaries to make web coordinator a real, paid job...something I've long advocated. (Because not many people will ever be willing to do the website for free like I have)....

It's a happy day! So happy in fact that I bought pizza for the people that had stayed late in the office to work on posters. I was happy and hungry, which is sometimes a good thing.