Student Govt: Budget, Wifi, and Spring Break

The Minnesota State University, Mankato Student Government held a meeting in the Ostrander Auditorium on Wednesday, Oct. 21. After roll call, they called up presentations.  

The first to present was Vice President Richard Straka on the University budget. In his presentation he talked about the many concerns to the University’s budget that COVID-19 has brought. 

Due to the large deficit the coronavirus has caused, the University, and the whole Minnesota State programs, student tuition will increase. 

According to Straka, the undergraduate tuition will increase by 3% in the next upcoming semesters. This increase will help the University get out of the hole of debt that has happened in the past 9 months. 

The next presentation was given by Bryan Schnieder with an IT Solutions update.

In his update, Schnieder talked about how they have been looking into all of the WiFi issues that have happened in the dorms, and for the most part have solved those problems. 

However, these issues allowed them to take a step back and see all the things they need to improve, especially with this year being mostly online learning. 

One of the biggest steps they are trying to take is providing each dorm room with their own network, providing a more secure and faster connection for its residents. 

After presentations they moved to an open forum. Kellian Clark spoke about wanting to get a group of senators to take a survey on the barriers of faculty members using open access textbooks. 

Next, Lily Koch from the Student Events Team talked about the current events that will be happening at MNSU over the next month. These events include a Blizzard Raffel, a Maverick Talent contest, WOW Zone night, Mavericks pledge to vote, and Mavericks in the kitchen. 

After Koch, Todd Pfingston from campus rec talked about how they will be opening the sports dome for everything except group contact sports. 

Lastly, Sam Steiger from Maverick Adventures mentioned that they will be holding a bonfire and s’mores event on Oct. 30. For more information, check out the Maverick Adventures Facebook page. 

After the open forum, the officers gave their reports. Student Government President Andrew Trenne talked about the recent email sent out from President Davenport explaining that administration did not change the dates of spring break this year. 

He also talked about the town hall meeting that took place on Oct. 22 over Zoom. This town hall allows students to voice their opinions and concerns to the campus administrators. 

Following this, the senators gave their reports. Senators Stiff, Gustafson, Wienzeiral, Elsaadi, Wheeler, and Salim all gave updates on policies and advancements they have made in their respective positions. These included motivating students to go vote, providing recycling bins to off campus apartments, and getting statues that talk about Greek life on campus. 

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 28 in the Ostrander Auditorium at 4 p.m.

The first to present was Vice President Richard Straka on the University budget. In his presentation he talked about the many concerns to the University’s budget that COVID-19 has brought. 

Due to the large deficit the coronavirus has caused, the University, and the whole Minnesota State programs, student tuition will increase. 

According to Straka, the undergraduate tuition will increase by 3% in the next upcoming semesters. This increase will help the University get out of the hole of debt that has happened in the past 9 months. 

The next presentation was given by Bryan Schnieder with an IT Solutions update.

In his update, Schnieder talked about how they have been looking into all of the WiFi issues that have happened in the dorms, and for the most part have solved those problems. 

However, these issues allowed them to take a step back and see all the things they need to improve, especially with this year being mostly online learning. 

One of the biggest steps they are trying to take is providing each dorm room with their own network, providing a more secure and faster connection for its residents. 

After presentations they moved to an open forum. Kellian Clark spoke about wanting to get a group of senators to take a survey on the barriers of faculty members using open access textbooks. 

Next, Lily Koch from the Student Events Team talked about the current events that will be happening at MNSU over the next month. These events include a Blizzard Raffel, a Maverick Talent contest, WOW Zone night, Mavericks pledge to vote, and Mavericks in the kitchen. 

After Koch, Todd Pfingston from campus rec talked about how they will be opening the sports dome for everything except group contact sports. 

Lastly, Sam Steiger from Maverick Adventures mentioned that they will be holding a bonfire and s’mores event on Oct. 30. For more information, check out the Maverick Adventures Facebook page. 

After the open forum, the officers gave their reports. Student Government President Andrew Trenne talked about the recent email sent out from President Davenport explaining that administration did not change the dates of spring break this year. 

He also talked about the town hall meeting that took place on Oct. 22 over Zoom. This town hall allows students to voice their opinions and concerns to the campus administrators. 

Following this, the senators gave their reports. Senators Stiff, Gustafson, Wienzeiral, Elsaadi, Wheeler, and Salim all gave updates on policies and advancements they have made in their respective positions. These included motivating students to go vote, providing recycling bins to off campus apartments, and getting statues that talk about Greek life on campus. 

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 28 in the Ostrander Auditorium at 4 p.m.

Header photo: The Student Government meeting, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in the Ostrander Auditorium. (Mansoor Ahmad/The Reporter)