Several University of Minnesota student groups petitioned to have poll questions on the ballot in this year’s campus elections, for which voting is currently open until Friday.

Poll questions appear on a ballot to gauge the collective opinion of voters on a particular topic or issue. This year, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) collaborated on one poll question, while the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) petitioned their own questions. 

The SJP, SDS and YDSA question

The poll question from SJP, SDS and YDSA asks students, “Shall the University of Minnesota sever ties with companies complicit in war crimes and human-rights violations, war-profiting companies that recruit students on campus, and study abroad programs in Israel?”

Omar Aly, SJP’s social media and marketing chair, said this is the third time SJP has brought a question to the ballot on the University cutting ties with companies involved with Israel. SJP, along with other groups, first petitioned on the topic in 2016 and 2018.

Aly said the 2018 poll question, which asked if the University should cut ties with companies complicit in war crimes, was the most voted-on in University history. Despite the question being approved, Aly said University administration did nothing. 

Aly added he hopes the war in Gaza will put greater pressure on University administration to respond this time.

Merlin Van Alstine, an SDS member, said there has been greater engagement from the campus community on the issue in recent months than there was in 2018. Some students this academic year have boycotted companies on campus that have supported Israel, such as McDonald’s and Starbucks.

Van Alstine said the question is important to bring to students since their tuition dollars help fund these companies.

“[ A University administrator] recently met with the Israeli diplomat, and it just shows that they really don’t care about their students whose family has literally been killed in Palestine,” Van Alstine said. “They’d rather be lining their pockets with more money than to actually stand on the right side of history.”

Aly said the collaboration between SJP and the other groups is meant to show students how the issue goes beyond conflict in Palestine. 

Aly said the poll question references companies complicit in human rights violations in several countries, including Palestine, Mexico, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and Pakistan, that have a big student representation on campus.

“This is also your struggle as well,” Aly said. 

The USG questions

Unlike other student groups with poll questions on the ballot, USG petitioned two questions.

USG’s first question asked, “Do you want a commitment from the Office of the University President to make countering Food Insecurity a Presidential priority, including a strategy to establish a break-even affordable grocery store on the Twin Cities campus?”

This question comes in partnership with the creation of USG’s Food Insecurity Ad-Hoc Committee, which aims to combat food insecurity issues on and around campus. A long-term goal of the committee is to introduce an on-campus break-even grocery store.

USG also posed a question asking students if they would want to increase the USG student services fee by $1.18 to better support student group event funding and advocacy, according to USG Chief Financial Officer Sumaya Mohamed.

Mohamed said USG has recently had limited funds. USG received $66,000 in funding requests this academic year alone, though it only has a $30,000 budget for its grant funding, according to Mohamed.

This question only appears on the ballots of undergraduate students.

Mohamed added the proposed funding increase would allow USG to be more effective in its advocacy efforts, with upwards of $35,000 going back into the hands of students.

“I really just hope to see engagement with that question so we have the necessary platform to then be able to serve [students] in administrations to come,” Mohamed said.

Not every group was successful

Student groups need to gather 1,000 petition signatures in order for their question to appear on the ballot, making the process difficult for groups who do not focus considerable energy on it, according to the campus elections webpage.

Students for Climate Justice (SCJ) petitioned a question asking students if the University should adopt a zero-waste plan, according to SCJ member and treasurer Gracelyn McClure.

The University currently has a goal of reaching 90% waste diversion, meaning only 10% of all waste generated on campus would go to the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC). The University’s Twin Cities campus is currently at 55% and lacks a concrete plan with steps in place for how to reach 90%, according to McClure. 

McClure said the county has put forth efforts to shut down the HERC, which is an incinerator, but there is not a specific timeline. McClure added SCJ wanted to ensure campus waste does not go to another incinerator or landfill once the HERC is shut down.

According to McClure, a poll question is the first step in ensuring the city of Minneapolis moves toward zero waste, given the campus’s prominent role in the city’s aggregate waste.

McClure said SCJ’s efforts failed because they were too hurried, with the group making its decision to petition on the day it was due. McClure added SCJ petitioning again next year is “definitely a possibility.

“I think it really depends on whether or not we see action from the regents and from the sustainability office within this next year,” McClure said.

Sexual Assault Prevention Advocates with Greek Life (SAPA) at the University of Minnesota is beginning their recruiting efforts for next year’s cohort of prevention advocates on March 15.

SAPA is a program within the University’s Sexual Misconduct Prevention Program in the Office of Equity and Diversity, which aims to equip fraternity and sorority members with tools to lead sexual assault prevention efforts within their chapters.

In biweekly meetings throughout the fall and spring semesters, SAPA Supervisor Alicia Leizinger said prevention advocates learn about sexual assault resources on campus and practical skills, such as how to facilitate a trauma-informed approach and respond positively if someone discloses an experience of sexual assault. 

In meetings, prevention advocates also learn about the topic of sexual violence on a general scale, including the University’s risk factors, according to Leizinger. 

SAPA also collaborates with the University’s Aurora Center, Leizinger said. Representatives from the Aurora Center went to a fall SAPA meeting and talked about the resources they provide.

Aurora Center Associate Director Chloe Vraney said she was invited each year to provide information on the Aurora Center’s direct services. She said these presentations function like a mini workshop where she speaks for about 15 minutes and presents slides about services the Aurora Center offers.

Leizinger added that she helped begin SAPA while working at Boynton Health in 2021. 

Vraney said Leizinger partnered closely with Aurora sexual assault prevention staff to learn about the trends and work being done on campus.

According to Leizinger, the 2019 AAU Campus Climate Survey determined that sorority and fraternity members were more likely to experience sexual assault than their undergraduate counterparts not in Greek life. In 2019, 41.5% of sorority members and 14% of fraternity members reported experiencing sexual assault.

Leizinger said the results of the 2019 survey drew the University’s attention to the need for the development of specific strategies to mitigate the University’s “unique risk,” specifically those related to alcohol use.

Alcohol use is a risk factor that is not often addressed, according to Leizinger. In meetings, prevention advocates learn how to recognize when someone is incapacitated and unable to consent to sexual activity. 

“We try to influence the peer influences that might be promoting a culture where sexual violence is more likely,” Leizinger said. 

Leizinger said SAPA often discusses how power and oppression relate to sexual violence, including problematic and sexist comments that diminish people’s bodily autonomy. 

Prevention Advocate Steven Mattison said these power dynamics are prevalent within fraternity and sorority culture. He added that the existence of an unbalanced power dynamic helps perpetuate incidents of sexual assault without adequate bystander intervention.

“What I heard coming into the University is that you know, it’s a very toxic place for masculinity,” Mattison said. “You need to be the alpha dog on campus.”

Leizinger said prevention advocates also talk about how social status, particularly for men, should not be tied to their sexual prowess. 

According to Leizinger, SAPA employs a peer-based approach to sexual assault prevention education where advocates take time at their chapter meetings to discuss what they learned with SAPA. Currently, 23 chapters have at least one prevention advocate. 

Mattison said SAPA has tangible goals to get more chapters involved with the program and to enact policy changes, such as implementing safety guidelines for overnight formals.

Mattison added that his goal coming away from each session is to simply reflect on the material taught and how it can be implemented in chapter meetings and members’ daily lives.

“When I’m at this [fraternity] event, what am I doing to recognize where this could go wrong or if there is any immediate threat?” Mattison said.

Leizinger said up to three students from each chapter can be prevention advocates and can tailor the program material to fit their needs, hopefully leading to more effective prevention. 

She added that while skills people learn from a one-time sexual assault prevention training may fade over time, continuous reinforcement by prevention advocates in each chapter is a lesson more likely to last.

“These are folks who are trusted who people know and love,” Leizinger said. “Those messages can really resonate differently than if I were to go into a chapter.”

Leizinger said there has been a lot more interest in the program as it grows and people see its benefits. 

According to a SAPA survey last spring, Leizinger said 92% of respondents who were in a chapter with a prevention advocate said they intervened when they heard sexually offensive comments, versus 81% of those in a chapter that did not have a prevention advocate. 

Additionally, 97% of respondents from chapters with a prevention advocate intervened in a potential sexual assault situation versus 88% of those chapters without a prevention advocate. 

“We think that we’re really having some impact and we think that that’s going to continue to grow as the program grows as well,” Leizinger said.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated which staff Leizinger partnered with. They partnered with the Aurora sexual assault prevention staff.

University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) Chief Matt Clark gave an update on the department’s ongoing public safety efforts and 2024 initiatives to the Board of Regents at the Board’s meeting on Friday.

Clark discussed 2023 crime statistics, including on- and off-campus safety, staffing issues and department initiatives for 2024.

Crime statistics in 2023: On- and off-campus safety

Clark said there was a slight increase in violent crime from 2022 to 2023, with 31 events of violent crime in 2023 and 23 in 2022. According to Clark, half of these incidents were related to criminal sexual conduct where all but one were known suspects.

Aggravated assault incidents also rose from six to eight and robberies increased from four to seven, Clark said.

“It would be better if we were at zero for campus crime, what we strive to achieve,” Clark said. “But that is still a relatively low number considering the number of people and space we occupy between St. Paul and Minneapolis.”

Clark added one of the highest areas of crime incidents was theft on campus. As opposed to incidents of burglary, which involve residential spaces like University residence halls, theft occurs when someone takes something from areas open to the public.

There were 412 events of theft on campus in 2023, an 8% reduction from the 450 events in 2022, according to Clark. UMPD is still holding thefts at a low level, compared with 577 theft events pre-pandemic, which Clark said is due to Department of Public Safety (DPS) security staff as well as the securing of University buildings by making them U Card access only.

There were just over 60 events of auto theft in 2022 and 2023, which increased from 2021. Clark said this is a metro-wide issue UMPD is planning to partner with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to combat, specifically in the area of juvenile auto theft. 

According to Clark, Dinkytown saw approximately a 60% reduction in violent crime in the last two years, with 87 incidents of violent crime in 2021, 66 in 2022 and 28 in 2023. Clark said these numbers are specifically driven by robberies. 

Clark said he thought these numbers were reduced by the work UMPD did with MPD and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, as well as community engagement and safety education, which UMPD will continue to do through the rest of this year.

UMPD placed two officers in Dinkytown every night for the last two years with more on the weekends, Clark said. Similarly, UMPD officers have filled two shifts every day on transit lines at the request of the transit department and students, according to a DPS yearly survey. 

According to Clark, UMPD is also trying to fill supplemental shifts on campus to ensure UMPD is not off campus more than they are on campus and is responding to calls as quickly as possible, though it is difficult. 

“We are stretched pretty thin in terms of our personnel and the amount we’re going to work,” Clark said. 

Staffing issues

UMPD responded to over 20,000 calls on campus in 2023, according to Clark. The majority of these were 911 calls, though many others required proactive patrols and enforcement.

According to Clark, 43% of off-campus service-related calls came from Dinkytown. 

“We are putting a number of investments off campus but our core responsibility is campus,” Clark said.”

According to Clark, UMPD currently employs 58 police officers and 31 security personnel, though it is authorized for 73 police officers and 41 security personnel. 

Up from 46 police officers two years ago, Clark said UMPD is “trending in the right direction, but [is] not fully staffed at this point.”

Clark credits high competition for good officers in the metro area as well as the lengthy process to hire an officer under current state standards. He added although UMPD is receiving many applications, it is turning away applicants who do not fit the diverse community and atmosphere of the University. 

“For the University, I’d rather go with less than have the wrong officer working here,” Clark said. “I want somebody that can switch hats easily, that is a guardian and also an ambassador to the University and really enjoys working with young people.”

Clark asked for the Board’s continued support in hiring more staff. 

Initiatives for 2024

Given police staffing issues throughout the metro area, Clark said UMPD is hoping for a mutual aid expansion with MPD.

According to Clark, MPD has a limited capacity to handle all 911 calls in its jurisdiction. A mutual aid expansion would allow UMPD to help respond to certain MPD calls in the University’s surrounding neighborhoods.

Clark said UMPD has been providing safety responses to high-priority calls in MPD jurisdiction for several years and has spoken to MPD Chief Brian O’Hara about expanding UMPD response to lower-priority 911 calls as well. 

The expansion would enable UMPD to respond to 911 calls in Dinkytown, specifically the areas of University Avenue to 4th Street and 35W to 19th Avenue Southeast.

“That is a very specific area for the University,” Clark said. “We have a lot of Greek life [residents] there, we have a lot of student housing as well and we do have University infrastructure scattered within that 10 block area.”

Clark also discussed the introduction of an off-campus safety center to increase safety education, resources and engagement in off-campus areas. The center would serve as a location for safety ambassadors, community elders and first responders.

As they look for a location, Clark said the earliest UMPD could introduce an off-campus safety center is fall 2024. 

Clark also recognized the deaths of the three first responders killed in Burnsville on Feb. 18. One of the two Burnsville police officers killed, Paul Elmstrand, was a former UMPD officer who spent two years working with the department.

“We greatly appreciate his service to the University campus and we recognize his sacrifice and the sacrifices of Matthew Ruge and Adam Finseth on February 18,” Clark said.

Interim President Jeff Ettinger said he has been long aware of public safety concerns and it has been one of his highest priorities since coming to the University. 

“Despite all our best efforts, occasionally there are incidents of concern on or near campus that affect our students and our greater community,” Ettinger said. “I’d like to thank all of our teams who work tirelessly to make our campuses safe. Chief Clark and our U of M Public Safety Department deserve a special thanks for their efforts.”

The University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) is investigating an incident of shots fired near Sanford Residence Hall and the FloCo apartment complex Saturday night. 

No victims or suspects were located, though casings were recovered from the southwest corner of Sanford parking lot C43, according to the police report. 

A SAFE-U alert, issued around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, notified the University community of the incident near 1122 University Ave. SE. Two males in dark clothing were seen running from the area, the alert said. 

First-year student and Sanford resident Ellie Grodnick said she heard the shots from her building. Having never heard gunshots before, Grodnick said she was scared.

“I was wanting to close my window, close my shade,” Grodnick said. “I thought it was gonna happen again. I didn’t want them to come running back and shoot at my window.”

After receiving reports of shots fired, UMPD personnel were on the scene, UMPD spokesperson Jake Ricker said in an email to The Minnesota Daily. 

FloCo resident Jenna Elbers said she did not hear the shots but was alerted to the situation by seeing bright lights outside her apartment. 

She thought the lights were from a party, and Elbers said she did not think much of it until the lights got more intense a few minutes later. 

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, those are police sirens, like, those are police lights,’” Elbers said.

Elbers said she and her roommates walked outside to see several police cars outside the complex and a police officer with a rifle in hand.

Elbers’ roommate, Camille Staats, said she was at work during this time. When she returned home, she saw the police presence outside her apartment. 

While Staats said she was not surprised to see police in and around Dinkytown, she was confused as to why there were so many outside “clearly searching the area” around the complex with guns strapped to their chests.

“That was kind of scary because there’s like big guns out here,” Staats said. “Something went down.”

Staats asked a police officer on the scene if it was safe for her to return to her apartment, to which the officer replied it was.

Based on Saturday night’s investigation and follow-up at the scene, there are no known injuries or property damage as a result of the incident.

Staats said she noticed the addition of a surveillance camera in the Sanford C43 lot in the days since the incident, but little else has changed. 

“It’s been pretty [much] business as usual here in Dinkytown,” Staats said.

Ricker said anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact (612) 624-COPS.

Women in Business (WIB) is an institutional leader in inspiration, support and connection for the University of Minnesota’s next generation of female business leaders. 

One of the largest undergraduate student organizations on campus with about 300 members in 2022, WIB offers opportunities for networking and personal growth through monthly speaker meetings, volunteer events and networking opportunities. 

Sidney Keene, a fourth-year student and the club’s president, said WIB also instills a sense of community and sisterhood amongst its members. Like any student club, WIB allows members to meet new people, although Keene added it is unique in the professional opportunities it provides. 

“There are a lot of members that join because they want to meet more people on campus,” Keene said. “We also have a chunk of our members who are interested in joining our club because they want help with their professional skill set building, and so because we provide all these different initiatives, there’s really an opportunity.”

Although it may seem difficult for new members to make connections in an organization as large as WIB, Lanah Ingebrand, a second-year student and WIB’s co-vice president of member engagement, said the organization’s shared goal to thrive in a corporate arena is enough to bring members together, though they support each other in their varied pursuits.

“We all have the same overall goal,” Ingebrand said. “We want to succeed in the business world, but we know that there are so many different paths within that and we support each and every one and there’s going to be etvents that cater to each and every one.”

Though the professional opportunities within WIB are a distinct pull for some members, Keene said the opportunity to find a smaller circle within such a large campus is what drew many current members to join. 

“We help people network in a professional setting, but this campus is huge,” Keene said. “You can make it smaller by being a part of things that you personally align with, that you enjoy and finding people that share those things with you.”

WIB boasts a flourishing mentorship program, which allows younger club members to connect with an older member who can act as a guide or provide general support during the transition to the University.

“That was one of the big drawing factors for me for WIB was just having that sense of the big sister taking you through your first year,” Ingebrand said. 

WIB has an active network of sponsorships, which include connecting members with companies like Deloitte and General Mills. These sponsorships facilitate members’ relationships with potential employers in meetings every other week.

Co-vice presidents of member engagement, Ingebrand, and fourth-year student Sophie Riewe, organize the club’s community-building events, such as Friendsgiving and “Donut stress,” a stress-relieving event during finals week. These events are all at the request of members and provide a blend of personal and professional spheres. 

“I had both the personal and the professional sides of my college experience being fulfilled through WIB, and I thought that that was a really good match for me,” Riewe said. 

WIB also works in the community with Dress for Success, an organization that offers career and workplace skills development programs for low-income women. According to Riewe, WIB members have the opportunity to volunteer with Dress for Success, an experience she said was incredibly enriching. 

“It can be a huge barrier to not have the professional interview attire or work attire for a lot of different women in the Minneapolis Twin Cities area,” Riewe said. “Our partnership with them is to help with their donation days and categorizing different clothing but also to help even clean the bathrooms for them just to keep their facilities in the greatest condition.”

Ultimately, WIB members come together to not only navigate the adversities of college life and the corporate world but also to create enduring bonds and open doors for their post-college futures. 

“At the end of the day, we are all here to just help each other get through, but also to create lasting friendships and to build opportunities for one another after college as well,” Riewe said.

The University of Minnesota’s BIOL 1003 course, the Evolution and Biology of Sex, has attracted students in overwhelming numbers since its conception 10 years ago. 

The course, taught by Dr. Katherine Furniss and Dr. Sarah Hammarlund, intrigues students for its shocking subject matter, but follows through on its relevance in students’ lives and fostering curiosity. 

“The word sex in the title is doing a lot of work,” Hammarlund said. “Then I think the class ends up being a lot of foundational important science and biology that happens to be in the context of sex, and the context of sex really enhances a lot because it’s fascinating and really important for our lives.”

Much of the course’s popularity comes from word-of-mouth, Furniss and Hammarlund said. 

“The class follows through and delivers on engaging students and meeting that curiosity in a way that then leads them to tell their friends, ‘Hey, this class was really interesting; I did enjoy it and learn things,’” Furniss said. 

The course facilitates learning mainly through lab activities and student-to-student collaboration in lectures.

“It’s always been an active learning course in which students aren’t just sitting there and listening to science professors drone on about science,” Furniss said. “Rather they get to talk to each other and use their own brains to think and apply what you know.”

Elaina Hughes, a University student taking BIOL 1003 this semester, initially enrolled in the class after hearing positive feedback from friends but said the course proved to be more relevant and informative than she originally expected. Hughes added this was most prevalent in a recent lab where students tested the strength of condoms using weights.

“We were able to test out theories that people have made about condoms and how reliable they are, and they are really reliable,” Hughes said. “It’s also helpful for students having sex to know that they are trustworthy.”

Carter Sharp, another University student who took BIOL 1003 last spring, said he agrees lab activities were particularly memorable. The nature of these lab activities facilitated learning in an individualized way, according to Sharp. 

“The labs were pretty open-ended,” Sharp said. “It sort of felt like making your own experiment was the goal.”

Despite the course’s often unconventional lecture topics and lab activities, BIOL 1003 allows students to learn about important topics regarding animal and human biology in a safe and welcoming space. 

“The professors make it a really comfortable environment to talk about sex and everything that comes with it,” Hughes said. 

The course’s easygoing setting provides a unique learning environment, tailored to non-Biology majors looking to fill their biological science requirements.

“It was a more relaxed way to learn biology than a typical science class, particularly for someone not in biology,” Sharp said. 

Furniss and Hammarlund said the course’s unconventional subject matter is directly related to the fact that BIOL 1003 is geared toward students outside of the biology major. This concept is what shapes their approach to teaching the course. 

“We’re both very mindful that this is a non-majors group,” Furniss said. “This is most likely the last biology class they will ever take in their entire life, so I ask myself, ‘What do I want them to remember? Or be able to understand in five years and in 10 years, when they are making medical decisions for themselves or if they choose to have children or dependents?’”

The multi-year drought the Twin Cities metro area is experiencing has placed strain on the resources of the University of Minnesota Landcare staff, calling for a priority shift in campus lawn-care maintenance. 

Despite the seemingly pristine appearance of University grounds, Hennepin County has been in an extreme drought for several months. Extreme droughts typically manifest via major crop and pasture losses and widespread water shortages or restrictions, according to the Minnesota Drought Monitor.

University of Minnesota Assistant Director of Landcare Tom Ritzer said that while droughts are a natural phenomenon, he and his team have little experience dealing with a drought of this severity. 

Ritzer said the drought’s severity has not necessarily required more manpower but pushes University Landcare staff to reprioritize tasks. Landcare staff has responded to the lack of water by increasing hand-watering, replacing plant materials, mulching and weeding.

“We have a lot of trees. We have a lot of shrubs, and perennials for that matter, that were planted in the last couple of years, and they’re stressed from lack of water, so there’s a lot of hand watering going on,” Ritzer said. 

These tasks require additional labor, a resource the University Landcare department has lacked in recent years. 

“Traditionally, we relied pretty heavily on student labor, but for the last few years, we’ve really struggled to get students to come and work for us,” Ritzer said. 

The University is working to stay eco-friendly by transitioning to more native materials, alternative turf varieties and specialized irrigation systems, Ritzer said in an email statement. Though these materials still require water to function, they are more drought-tolerant. 

Isabella Hurt, a sustainability student at UMN, said practicing sustainability in University lawn maintenance is important to her because it is the root of a larger solution. 

“The sustainability of our landcare practices is so important because it all has to start from somewhere,” Hurt said. “All the little pieces that we have to work on as a group of people. The easiest way to do that is start with the small things.” 

Peter Boulay, assistant state climatologist for the Minnesota State Climatology Office, said despite the recent increase in rainfall, we are still experiencing a dry year. 

“The Twin Cities are still about 4.5 inches shorter than normal right now for the year,” Boulay said. 

Boulay added the steep increase in rain the Twin Cities Metro had in September set the area back on track regarding normal rainfall patterns for the month.

“For September at least, we’ll finish above normal. In the Twin Cities, we’ve had 4.05 inches of rain,” Boulay said. “The normal precipitation is 3.02. So we’ll finish at least an inch above normal for the month, and that’s the first time we’ve finished above normal for a month since March.”

According to Boulay, with the ever-changing nature of rainfall patterns, it is difficult to say whether this pattern will have long-term effects.

“We’re no stranger to these kinds of events either. Getting three inches of rain over a multiple-day period, it certainly happens. And you know, it just depends on the weather pattern we have,” Boulay said. “We’re just missing out on the storms over the summer. It’s hard to tell if this pattern will change or not. I guess we’ll just have to keep an eye on it and see what happens.”

The University of Minnesota’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) renamed its Campus Life Committee this fall to the Student Life and Well-Being Committee.

Though the name change does not change the committee’s role much, it indicates an overall shift to a more student-centric committee.

“The name Student Life and Well-Being was more fitted to what the committee was already doing,” said Andrew Larson, the new elected committee director.

Larson was elected the new director at USG’s Sept. 19 forum

Jenna Monday, a member of USG’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, worked briefly with the Campus Life Committee last year to pass two resolutions concerning data transparency and Plan B accessibility. She said the name change allows the committee to devote increased attention to the needs and development of the student body. 

“I think with the name change, the committee can focus more on students. ‘Campus life’ includes a lot of people, including faculty and staff,” Monday said.

As committee director, Larson said he hopes to further initiatives that keep students in mind. Among these are eating disorders, food security, housing issues and safety on campus. 

Larson added that these issues directly impact students’ well-being, academic success and overall college experience, making them crucial focal points for effective governance fostering a supportive and thriving campus community. 

In addition to streamlining access to clubs and resources, the formerly known Campus Life Committee played a crucial part in cultivating a strong support network for students making their way through the University. The committee made sure incoming students could easily integrate into the school community by encouraging a sense of belonging and providing direction, according to the USG website. 

The Campus Life Committee previously worked to engage with students through a variety of outreach activities. According to Monday, one example of this was handing out goodie bags in residence halls last year as a way to support students’ mental health during a stressful finals week. 

Liza Meredith, who has a doctorate in psychology and is a professor at the University, said college students experience unique stressors that can negatively impact their mental health, making it more valuable for the Student Life and Well-Being Committee to emphasize the issue.

“It can be difficult to transition to a new environment, especially a bigger campus where you might be one of 500 students in a class,” Meredith said. “It can be difficult to know what you want to be studying and how to succeed in those classes. So there’s certainly academic stress and for many, maybe a desire to do extremely well.”

A student group like the Student Life and Well-Being Committee, which works to prioritize the well-being of University students through peer-to-peer interaction, is an important peer support system as opposed to professional mental health support on campus, according to Meredith.

“Sometimes you have more trust that a peer can understand what you’re going through and talking to a peer might feel more casual and comfortable,” Meredith said. 

Monday said USG is excited about the future of the Student Life and Well-Being Committee and she “looks forward to seeing what they do this year.”

Feeling they were largely excluded from the University of Minnesota’s interim president search last spring, members of the Registered Student Governance Associations (RSGAs) expressed concerned about student inclusion in the search for a full-time president. 

The RSGAs are made up of the Council of Graduate Students (COGS), Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and Professional Student Government (PSG). In a joint letter released Tuesday, the groups voiced concerns about insufficient student inclusion in the Presidential Advisory Search Committee’s (PSAC) formation.

“There is a particular lack of clarity regarding the composition and role of the search committee, along with a notable absence of concrete strategies for involving the RSGAs in this pivotal undertaking,” the letter said.

Mary Kate Wolken, COGS’ Representative to the Student Senate Consultative Committee, said she is worried RSGA perspectives will be excluded, given their exclusion from official consultation during the interim president search. 

“We’re very concerned that this is a pattern that’s repeating itself,” Wolken said. 

During former University President Joan Gabel’s confirmation, students made up two of 23 positions on the search committee, according to the Pioneer Press.

Members of the RSGAs expressed disappointment in this prior exclusion, given University student governments exist to provide constituents with a network to discuss issues with their elected student representatives. Wolken said she feels the University has decided to form its own network, which locks student representatives out under the guise of transparency.

“The whole point of us existing is to serve as an official microphone for our respective students’ voices,” Wolken said. 

In email correspondence between COGS and the Board of Regents, the Regents promised a search committee built to reflect the University’s breadth by including representatives from the board, faculty, students, staff, alumni and the broader University community. The regents also said there would be no seats reserved for a particular group, though they encouraged COGS to submit nominations. 

Patrick McCormick, COGS director of communications, said he did not feel it was acceptable for the Regents to assemble a search committee in a private sphere based on nominations. 

“It suggests that we either don’t have the right or are not capable of choosing who represents our interests,” McCormick said.

While COGS understands the impossibility for a search committee to perfectly represent its constituents, it asserts the importance of having student voices in the room, McCormick said.

“What we need is a Board of Regents that thinks of this community as filled with stakeholders rather than subjects that the Board of Regents rules,” McCormick said. 

Carter Yost, USG’s government and legislative affairs director, similarly acknowledged that selecting a new president is under the Regents’ fundamental jurisdiction but said the University should honor its commitment to shared governance between stakeholders. 

“I don’t think that it is an intentional exclusion. I think it’s, if anything, an opportunity for the board and an opportunity for administrators to demonstrate and live up to that stated value and goal,” Yost said. 

In a statement, Board of Regents Chair Janie Mayeron encouraged all students to participate in listening sessions, suggest potential candidates and provide feedback on finalists. Those details will be provided on the presidential search website at a later date. 

Mayeron also expressed her joy in knowing students wanted to be involved in the process and offered reassurance they would be, according to her statement.

“We were pleased to see dozens of students nominated to serve on the presidential search advisory committee,” Mayeron said. “They will receive full consideration, along with the many other faculty, staff, alumni and community member nominees submitted to us.”

These sentiments are similar to those that were said to members of USG and COGS. Though these groups appreciate the intention, they hope for more action from the regents.

“We just want to make sure that this incredibly important decision considers, to the extent that is necessary, the voices, values, perspectives and priorities of students,” Yost said. 

McCormick hopes student inclusion in this search process will be an indicator of the University’s treatment of student perspectives moving forward.

“If Minnesota wants to be the kind of place that attracts talented students they need values that stand for something more than just sort of window dressing,” McCormick said. “They need to show that this is the special place that so many people believe it to be, want it to be or used to think it was.”