An Interesting Delegates Weekend

Yet another long and busy weekend was had at MSUSA Delegate Assembly. For the most part, things seemed to go well. People had fun...we laughed, we joked, we had stories to tell. It was also really nice to have some along that aren't usual conference goers...I think Nolan and Gregg both enjoyed most of it which was good.

Friday morning started off with Jake's lame attempt at an April fools joke on me. As always, he called my cell when they were coming over here to get me. He said "There's been a mishap. We are in Akeley and will be there in a half hour to get you." The Achilles heel of this joke: I had said we were leaving at 8, this was 8:10...and Akeley is at least a 45 minute drive from Bemidji. Nice try, Jakeus :) We got down there and did committees and platforms...committees were quick, but a couple of the platforms took a long time.

Saturday was filled with Board meeting, and Delegates debate on platforms. Delegates was not too painless. Of course with me, Jake, Nicole, and Chris sitting, there were bound to be some funny moments. It was tough to keep a straight face at times, with Jake next to me whispering jokes, whistling, singing and the like. He went so far as to make a song out of one word..."yeah". Naturally, I had to counter with rhythmic "nos". The board meeting went pretty late, and then Melissa (former Senator) came by to visit. It was nice to see her. She sounds busy but happy at William Mitchell, and is heading to Egypt this summer. Sounds exotic huh?

Sunday started out well. The bylaw changes that we worked on in Internal Affairs passed, and the budget discussion seemed to start off ok...I was in a good mood, and optimistic enough to tell Brent that things seemed to be in good shape when he asked...he'd stopped by to see us. I genuinely thought that it was going to end better than last year, when Mankato and St Cloud had staged the now infamous walkout. I thought we were to a point where the organization was moving forward, putting the past behind us and finally reaching some consensus on the future.

Apparently, I was too optimistic. At about 4 the shit hit the fan and we deadlocked on the budget. Then, we recessed into the board meeting and a new rabbit came out of the hat...a proposed new article from St C and Metro which, as I understand it, will put quotas on the Board, Officers, and Facilitators based upon race and gender. I'm all for increased diversity, but this freaks me out...it's extreme, IF it's even legal. At any rate, the amendment was tabled, and the budget not passed...which means a special IA meeting and more Delegates work at Southwest in a couple of weeks.

The organization seems to take 3 steps forward, one back. We've done GREAT things this year...DC Summit...Tuition Freeze. Yet, we are still dealing with this internal strife that seems like it won't end. If it's not one thing, it's another, and it is very frustrating.

Now to wait and see what happens in Marshall.