MAS Meeting Minutes

Sept. 18, 2002

Montana Tech of UM, Butte, MT

The meeting was called to order at 5:01P.M. 9/18/02

Members present: Dan Geelan, Trevor Blyth, Jon Swan, Sara Anderson, Jared Robertson, Nicole Alley, Carrie Hayes

Introductions - Acknowledgement was given to Jared for recognition of MAS on welcome sign.Richard Roehm

Legislative report

  • Dan recapped on his experiences during the special session this summer. Discussed August MAS meeting covering impacts of session.
  • reports were also given by Trevor, Jon, Sarah on discussion that took place at August MAS special meeting.
  • Nicole expressed support of MSU-Billings for whatever position MAS takes in '03 session.

Voter Guide

  • Jon Swan presented questions for a proposed voter guide Discussion was made on support of voter guide and logistics
  • Members were advised to choose three questions and consensus for preferred questions will be obtained next day in special meeting. (final questions selected are attached)
  • Discussion was made on how funding for a voter guide might occur and probability of MAS support
  • Vote was taken on MAS support of $l,000 seed money for voter guides a (vote was unanimous in favor of motion)

Student Regent Hur

  • Discussion was given regarding Regent Hur's proposal item q and r on the system issues agenda
  • Dan moved to ask Regent Hur to remove item q. from the agenda, Jon Swan seconded a Regent Hur respectfully declined from removal of item
  • Student concern was raised regarding Regent Hur's proposal to limit reimbursement to all except CEOs, Commissioner and his staff MAS expressed that his proposal would require student leaders to pay out of pocket for travel expenses.
  • Dan also raised concern regarding appearance of majority of proposals that target campus CEO's and campus officials

MAS & Student Reporting

  • Reports will be Friday morning, first thing on the agenda
  • Next BOR meeting's student reports will be due on Nov. 13 to Dan

FAFSA eligibility in regards to felony convictions

  • Nicole Alley presented the issue of federal aid denial based exclusively on Felony drug convictions
  • Thoughts or support were solicited, general consensus was that at this time it would not be
  • beneficial to take a stance on this issue.

Fee vs. tuition surcharge

  • Dan suggested to MAS group that motion be brought to the Regents considering changing tuition surcharge to a fee to spread out increase evenly
  • Sara expressed support for changing to a fee
  • Trevor was not in support of motion
  • Jon was not in support
  • Carrie expressed concern that charge should be distributed evenly
  • Jared felt that every student should pay.

Tuition Policy Review

  • Jon Swan and Trevor Blyth reviewed progress of tuition policy committee with rest of MAS group
  • Dan agreed to present request to Board that a third student be placed on tuition committee (Sara agreed to be new representative)

Lobbyist

  • MSU-Billings has people interested, but has not yet selected a student lobbyist Would like lobbyist to lobby on issues that are made by consensus of MAS
  • Missoula is also in the process and will have a lobbyist in the next few weeks
  • Bozeman is also in the process of hiring a lobbyist and will have one selected in the next few weeks.
  • No other campuses have plans for a lobbyist currently.

Request to reimburse Great Falls-COT for $23.20 for August post-special session meeting (vote was unanimous)

Dan mentioned contacting Josh Vanek for civic engagement campaign to give names for student leaders

Discussion was made on Regent Mercer's motion to increase funding for the experimental Agricultural Stations from MUS general fund.

Goals and Actions

Dan proposed to get students up in Helena in January or some other day after legislature convenes.

Could get Bill Gates or other notable member to support higher education.

Ian Davidson was also mentioned.

Lobbying theme (nice then get harsh)

Something to develop publicity.

Jared recommended sacrificing a goat in capital parking lot.

Need to have a clear link.

Chris Wilcox stressed the need for a common theme.

Jon noted importance of being taken seriously. UM will be holding a lobbyist development program to develop good lobbying skills.

Nicole mentioned need to have good suggestions instead of complaints when addressing legislators

Dan suggested the each campus make an initial effort to publicize higher education and future of

Montana issues in their own community.

Lunch Topics

Regent's thoughts on tiered tuition.

Latitude of students to act without negatively affecting outcome of legislative session.

(contingency question)
Clarification on continuation of tuition surcharge.

Possible questions for state voter guide:

1. As a legislator, how would you anticipate meeting the educational needs of the State of Montana as you see them?

2. Higher Education can be seen as an individual or a social benefit or a combination Please circle which group you feels accurately represents the party(ies) that benefit the most from Higher Education.

1

2

3

4

5

Society

Society, but some of the individual

Both Equal

Individual, but some of society

Individual

 

3. Students, on average, leave the Montana University System with $17,000 in student loans, making it difficult to acquire adequate employment in the State of Montana after graduation. As an elected official of the State of Montana, what do you envision as the best solution to solving this problem?

Student Campus Report
MSU-Northern
Dan Geelan-ASMSUN President
September 19, 2002 

Access Fee - The access fee is being assessed from the students. Out of the 100 reserved parking spaces, 60 went to staff, faculty, and administration and 40 went to students. There are only 10-15 spaces available. The big north end parking lot was resurfaced over the summer. Students seem to be responding positively to the fee.

There are three students attempting to start a pep band at Northern. They have been working on this venture over the summer and seem to have sparked a lot of interest.

Enrollment during the summer was up. Fall semester enrollment seems to be slightly down.

ASMSUN has dedicated funds to erect a flagpole to fly the new school flag. The pole will be ordered next week and hopes are to have the new flag flying at Homecoming October 12.

ASMSUN continues to pursue getting student service hours consistent from 8-5 throughout the campus. The business office cashier presently is open from 9-1 and 2-4. The bookstore hours are 8-4:30.

The biggest student surprise came when students checked into the residence halls and found cable, phone and Internet service installed. Presently only the cable is working but hopes are high that the phone service will be working before this weekend. The high speed Internet will be working after software is installed.

Student Report
Written by Jared Robertson (ASMT president)
September 19th-20th

  • Ceremonies were held on September 11th to dedicate the flagpoles that were built by students during the past year. Both the campus and community turned out for the event to honor those victims of September 11th.
  • Montana Tech had a 97% job placement for its 2001 Bachelor of Science graduates.
  • The third annual Career Fair brought over 60 companies to the students of Tech which gave those students the chance to see a variety of employment opportunities for permanent and internship positions.
  • The student run radio station, KMSM, is still undergoing their frequency change; due to the buyer, the application for the change has not yet been completed by the Federal Communications Center (FCC). Furthermore, to finish the change a new F.M. monitor needs to be purchased, and in efforts to save money the frequency change must first be done through the FCC and then the F.M. monitor can be purchased which will complete the frequency change.
  • Full time enrollment (FTE) is currently up from last year, and the current numbers for FTE are:

2001--1903.24, and

2002--1972.00.

  • September 9th and 10th the entire student body was able to participate in Club Rush which is where clubs and organizations recruit students for the semester. These clubs and organizations give the students the opportunity to partake in activities throughout the semester.

Montana State University -Bozeman
Student Report
Submitted: September 20, 2002

  • The new academic year has gotten off too a very positive start. Enrollment numbers are up significantly and atmosphere is positive on campus. Turnout of MSU staff and community volunteers for "moving day" doubled that of last year. Orientation went well due to planning for high numbers and having adequate support to aid students get registered and adjusted to college life.
  • A newly created event called Catapalooza was very successful in welcoming new freshman and returning students to Bozeman. The event featured a collaborated effort between over 70 community businesses and organizations setting up information tables and activities along Centennial Mall on campus. The two day event was to climax in an outdoor concert. However, the concert was canceled due to rain.
  • ASMSU is currently in the process of hiring a student lobbyist to live in Helena next spring and lobby on behalf of students and the Montana University System.
  • ASMSU is combined in a joint voter registration and student voting campaign with the College Republican and College Democrat groups on campus. A debate for students to address issues with local legislative candidates will also be held on Oct. 16.
  • Josh Oakleaf a student at MSU-Bozeman has received a $10,000 grant from the Campus Compact to be utilized in civic engagement activities. Josh is employed under the ASMSU-Leadership Institute and will also be working with the newly developed MSU mentoring program to utilize the available community involvement and office resources. This should help to make the most effective use of the grant money.

September 16, 2002

Richard Roehm
Chairman
Montana Board of Regents

Dear Regent Roehm:

This fall has been extremely busy at The University of Montana. Recovering from this summer's Special Session has not been easy for Montana, nor has it been any easier for students across the state. The implantation of surcharges worries many students, for they feel as if they will become permanent tuition increases. The leadership of the ASUM look forward to working with you and the other members of the Montana Board of Regents on this issue.

Our Legislative Agenda is by far our largest project this year. We are working with MAS in designing a voter guide that will educate students across the state on who is friendly to higher education. Data will be compiled through surveys and the information will be disseminated before the November 5th elections. Lobbying for Higher Education in the past has frustrated many people in the past, because they felt that law makers did not follow through on previously made promises. This document will also serve student lobbyists in holding our legislature accountable for their actions.

The University of Montana has always taken pride in working on "Get Out The Vote" or GOTV projects. This year will be even better than in the past. We are utilizing conventional techniques with students, but also exploring new avenues for getting students to register to vote. We are also heavily investigating absentee voting, for many students make the Tuesday of elections part of a four-day weekend.

Lastly with our Legislative Agenda is a Student Lobbyist Training. Many students at The University of Montana want to be involved with the Legislative Session, but get discouraged without any direction. This training will alleviate much of that confusion and give students a clearer picture on what effective lobbying takes. We are going to be in touch with a number of people across the state to attend this full-day seminar in Missoula and are anticipating a large participant pool.

In the Missoula community, students are facing a proposed Occupancy Standard.

This regulation would limit the number of people that can live together in a single dwelling unit. The proponents of this are using the University district as the epicenter, limiting the number of unrelated individuals that can live with each other to three. Therefore, if six students are living in a six bedroom house, three of them will have to leave and everyone left will have an extra room and more rent to pay. There have been numerous legal concerns from different facets across the state and, if passed, the ASUM would research legal recourse.

The University of Montana has made a good faith effort to mitigate the problems that the proponents of the proposed Occupancy Standard have raised. As you will recall, you approved an increase in the Student Activity Fee. This increase allowed us to, among other things, hire a full-time classified staff member to direct our newly formed "Off-Campus Renter Center." We hired Judith Spannegel over the summer and, so far, she has done an amazing job fulfilling her duties and beyond. I am attaching a press release package for you to look at.

Next to the Off-Campus Renter Center, The University of Montana is planning on building new housing. You approved bonding authority earlier this year and we are currently in the planning stages. The preliminary plans do not include universal access. The University of Montana is following the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), written in 1972, that do not require universal access for buildings 3 stories high. The Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) does require universal access. The University of Montana is within guidelines on this, however, should consider following the more up-to-date laws on accessibility. The ASUM Senate, on Wednesday, will consider a resolution strongly encouraging The University of Montana to use the more updated ADAAG, rather than the older UFAS.

Thank you for your time and consideration in these manners. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via the information below.

Sincerely,

Jon P. Swan
President
Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)
UC, Suite 105
Missoula, MT 59812
(406) 243-2038

asum.president@mso.umt.edu

 

cc: Members of the Montana Board of Regents

ASMSU-Billings
Student Report
September 19-20 Board of Regents

Although the tuition surcharge affected our students, we still have about a 3% increase in enrollment from last year. This number is not official because the last day to drop classes is next week.

The new professors and Deans of the College of Business and College of Technology seem to be getting along great in their respective positions. Students had the opportunity to talk with them as well as the rest of the faculty and administration at our All College Welcome Back BBQ.

Dean Michels is working hard on the AACSB accreditation and is excited about the 14

million dollar donation the College of Business received from the Judith Covert and Sam

E. McDonald, Jr. family. He is excited about the opportunities this provides our University.

The COT began a majorstrategic plan in mid-August to engage the community in determining how the COTcan serve as a center for economic development.

Approximately 250 people were in attendance. This effort will continue and gain momentum with the 2nd meeting in October. Also, the University and Billings Public Schools are working together to create an educational trajectory from the Secondary schools to the COT to the main campus through the collaboration of the Career Center and COT programs.

Our Career Services office will present a Career Info/Expo on October 30. This event will feature employers that hire students from different degree programs that we offer on our campus. Students will have a chance to ask questions and learn how to use their college degree from experts in their field.

Our Child Careand Enrichment Center is getting raves from students. As of September 16, 2002, it is serving 57 families and 71 children. The largest waiting list is for children under two years of age.

KULR8, a local television station, will sponsor a voter registration for our county. They will be running extensive promotion and feature live broadcasts from three locations in our city. MSU-Billings is proud to be one of the three locations picked for this and they have agreed to let ASMSU-Billings participate and use the information they have gathered about issues and candidates to use for our voter drives.

We will also promote that any candidates from any party can come to our campus and give information to our students about themselves and their positions on certain issues. The dates aren't finalized, but we are going to have multiple dates and times so all candidates will have the same opportunity.

The ASMSU-Billings Student Senate will have our retreat this weekend and everyone seems excited and committed to serving the student body 100%.

Student Report
ASMSU-Great Falls-COT
Sara Anderson- President
Butte September 19-20, 2002

ASMSU Great Falls Senate held our first meeting on September 9th, 2002. Dan Geelan, MAS President and Dean Moe where present to help discuss the tuition surcharge.

The Dental Hygiene program held its first classes beginning September 3rd, 2002, and the school had a reception for the 14 students.

During the summer the Design Drafting students were invited to a luncheon to discuss different issues with the program. The college is in the process right now of hiring a new faculty for the program.

Friday the 20th of September, students in the Interior Design program will be meeting and talking with representatives from the National Kitchen and Bath Association to begin the accreditation process. Students will also be attending the NKBA meeting in Helena.

ASMSU-GF also congratulates Dr. Mary Moe in her acceptance as Dean of our college.

ASMSU senate students are also in the process of training for Student Conduct Committee. There will be three students residing on the committee, to get an expanded student opinion to represent the complaint process.

ASMCC Student report by Shonda Schallenberger

ASMCC is looking forward to the 2002-2003 school year. With freshmen orientation and registration over and classes beginning we have lots to look forward to. This year we changed our orientation process. On September 3rd we welcomed the incoming freshmen for orientation. In the morning we gave tours, set up e-mail accounts and helped freshmen with any concerns they had. Meanwhile, returning students were able to pay their fees. Then after lunch freshmen students paid their fees. After the day was over senate provided dinner and a BMX bike show for students, faculty, staff and community. I feel it was a great success, not only did things run smoothly but it also eliminated the time students spend waiting in lines.

Senate also provided additional activities to kick the year off. These included a free movie ticket, FOLF and will also be sponsoring mud volleyball, tailgate parties and a highway cleanup this month.

Senate Elections will be held September 16-17.

MCC has also started two new committees. One of which is the Enrollment management committee. This committee's main function will be to project a positive image which will ensure a stability and growth, secure financial resources to support quality education, and provide curriculum and services to meet the needs of diverse communities of learners. The Ambassadors Committee will be a group of student leaders to help with recruiting and will work along side of Senate.

Due to prior commitments we will not be able to attend the September meeting. If you have any questions please e-mail me at Shonda.Schallenberger@spo.milescc.edu. We will be looking forward to attending the November meeting.

 

Shonda Schallenberger
ASMCC President

FACT SHEET

ASUM Opens First 'Off-Campus Renter Center'

WHAT The Associated Students of The University of Montana- Missoula (ASUM) is set to open the University's first office designed to assist UM students and the Missoula community with issues concerning off-campus rental residences.

WHERE The office is located temporarily inside the south entrance of University Center, in UC Suite No. 114. It currently shares office space with the ASUM Office of Transportation, which encourages students and others to use buses, bicycles and other transportation modes rather than impacting the campus and nearby neighborhoods with excess automobiles.

WHEN The ASUM Off-Campus Renter Center will be officially opened on Tuesday, Sept., 3, 2002, the first day of classes for the Fall Semester.

FUNDING The Renter Center's estimated $50,000 start-up budget is being funded by ASUM, directed by ASUM President Jon Swan, with an equal amount contributed by the UM Office of Student Affairs, directed by Vice President Barbara Hollmann.

WHY According to UM data and the US Census in the year 2000, when the UM enrollment stood at 11,945:

  •          UM had 8,718 students living off-campus; 6,625 or 76% of them were renters.
  •          50% of Missoula's households were rentals, 28% of which were occupied by UM students.

Now -- with UM enrollment expected to reach 12,500, with more than 8,000 off-campus student renters, and with new University housing planned near Dornblaser Field not ready for occupancy until 2004 -- ASUM and the University is responding with a resource to assist off-campus renters, their neighbors, and Missoula's property owners and managers.

PRIORITIES (1) Alert UM renters, neighbors, property owners and managers that there is now a forum for their concerns.

(2) Offer practical, day-to-day assistance for those constituencies.

(3) Track and respond to current and future proposed housing regulations.

(4) Create and maintain a data bank of housing-related regulations and resources.

(5) Encourage creation of additional housing options for UM student renters.

CONTACTS   Judy Spannagel         Director, Off-Campus Rental Service     Office 243-2017

Jon Swan President, ASUM                                Office 243-2038

Christy Schilke Vice President, ASUM                         Office 243-2037

Barbara Hollmann UM Vice President for Student Affairs    Office 243-5225

UM 'Off-Campus Renter Center' Launched

Eighteen Years After First Proposed

 

UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA-MISSOULA, SEPTEMBER 3, 2002--Nearly 18 years after it was first officially proposed, the Associated Students of The University of Montana (ASUM) today officially opened the University's first office designed to serve the approximately 8,000 students who this year will rent housing from private landlords, and to serve the renters' Missoula area neighbors and landlords.

The service was first proposed in a document dated "Winter 1984." Produced by Minting, a public interest research group, the proposal used a University of Northern Colorado housing office, opened in 1977, as its model.

The new ASUM Off-Campus Renter Center is located temporarily just inside the south entrance of the University Center building, sharing space in Suite 114 with the ASUM Office of Transportation. The telephone number for the Renter Center is 243-2017.

Directing the Renter Center is Judith Franklin Spannagel!, a 1963 UM Journalism graduate, a former Billings Gazette reporter and Portland broadcaster. She has operated residential rentals, herself, since 1973.

The new Off-Campus Renter Center is funded by ASUM with matching funds from the UM Office of Student Affairs.

ASUM President Jon Swan announced the new service, noting that--according to UM data and the US Census--in the year 2000, when UM enrollment stood at 11,945:

  • The University had 8,718 students living off-campus. Of those, 6,625, or 76 percent of them, were renters.
  • Of all Missoula households, about 50% were rentals, and about 28 percent of those--more than one-quarter of all households in Missoula--were occupied by UM students.

"This fall," says Swan, "with the University expecting an even larger enrollment-- probably 12,000-some-and with perhaps more than 8,000 students needing to find off-campus rental housing, it seemed only responsible that we offer a full-time resource to our student renters, to the neighborhoods, and to Missoula's property owners and managers."

Missoula's rental problems, notes Swan, are not unique. After reviewing tight rental markets in college towns from coast to coast, "ASUM decided to follow the leads of campuses such as the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Portland State University in downtown Portland and the University of Oregon, Eugene, to establish its own resource for off-campus renters.

"In the best case scenario," Swan continues, "our ASUM Off-Campus Renter Center will not only help resolve short-term rental problems and help make renters more careful consumers, but also encourage responsible property management and begin planning for Missoula's long-term rental needs.

"We felt additional urgency to establish the new rental service at this time," says Swan, "to help address the many challenges presented, and questions raised, by the public debate this past year concerning a proposed occupancy standard for Missoula's rental housing."

The proposed occupancy standard--aimed at improving the quality of life in Missoula's residential neighborhoods--was an attempt to regulate the number of unrelated individuals who could legally live in rented properties.

Questions about the proposal include whether there is a practical way to enforce it, whether it can be drafted so as not to violate Montana's constitutional right of privacy, whether it will produce the desired results, and whether there are less divisive ways to deliver the desired quality of life.

The Missoula Consolidated Planning Board gave the proposal a do-not-pass recommendation early this year before sending it on to the city council, which took no action on the matter this summer. That proposal has recently been revised.

Creating an off-campus housing coordinator was one of 17 recommendations made to the Missoula City Council last spring by the City-University Working Group on Neighborhoods and Occupancy Issues, recalls Barbara Hollmann, UM Vice President for Student Affairs. "The Working Group--including student leaders, University administrators, homeowners, property managers and city officials--early on identified the need for such a resource," she says. "The ASUM Renter Center will be such a resource for building improved relationships between UM students and the Missoula neighborhoods."

With oversight by the ASUM Housing Board, the new service will work closely with city and county officials, neighborhood associations, commercial groups and UM offices and services. Among those is MontPIRG, which operates a tenant-landlord hotline that can be reached by telephone at 1-888-345-7474 or via its e-mail address mthotline@pirg.org.

The new Off-Campus Renter Center is funded by ASUM with matching funds from the UM Office of Student Affairs directed by Vice-President for Student Affairs Barbara Hollmann. Final dollar amounts for the budget and budget allocations will be subject to adjustment this fall and winter.

Spannagel has been working on the UM campus since returning to Montana last March from Seattle, where she worked in public relations, real estate marketing and property management. For eight years she operated a "turn-key" rental on Seattle's Capitol Hill. That rental, a condominium unit, was most often occupied by visiting professors and researchers in Seattle for short-term assignments at the University of Washington.

Bio: Judith Franklin Spannagel

Judy Spannagel, a Portland native, was graduated from the University of Montana-Missoula with a B.A. in Journalism.

She began her media career in radio-TV in Great Falls, moved on to work in film production in Los Angeles, and returned to Montana as a general assignment reporter and feature writer for The Billings Gazette. There she produced a series of stories that resulted in the election of the district's first female school board member, served on a Governor's Commission and, with a partner, founded an advertising agency.

Returning to Portland, she became that market's first female general assignment TV news reporter, for KPTV, and reported for KOIN-TV (CBS). She covered the Oregon State Legislature and produced first-ever news specials, on progress being made by minority-owned businesses and on the economic impact of Hollywood location filming in Oregon. Her series of news reports on children drowning in suburban apartment complex swimming pools resulted in new safety regulations for apartment operators. At KGW-TV (NBC), she was Associate Producer for the "PM Magazine" show, aired in some markets as "Evening Magazine." As Promotion Department Manager, she took national awards for marketing local programming.

In the 1980s and 1990s, broadcasting led Judy into public information and public relations posts-- in Portland, Washington, D.C., and then Seattle. She won national and regional public relations awards for copywriting, print concepts, TV campaigns and direct marketing.

In addition to media work, since 1973 Judy has developed a second career, designing and operating unusual residential rental units. Having returned to Montana in March 2002, she's delighted to be based, once again, at the University of Montana-Missoula and plans to spend as much time as possible with her son, Zachary Spannagel, also a UM graduate.