ASMSU needs to refocus, represent students
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Last week, The State News published an editorial praising ASMSU’s recent accomplishments — most notably its attempt to start a need-based leadership scholarship and efforts to testify in favor of a student medical amnesty bill. But in light of new internal controversies and developments, we feel the need to share our criticisms and thoughts regarding ASMSU’s recent behavior.
ASMSU is, of course, MSU’s undergraduate student government — but students should know and understand precisely what this statement means. Students should feel as if their student government always is working for them. The recent controversies and bickering among present and former ASMSU members only show ASMSU is lacking when it comes to its primary duty: Representing and fighting on behalf of the MSU undergraduate student body.
Our first major issue is the claim of Chairperson Kristy Currier’s committed “wage fraud.” Currier has been accused of neglecting her ASMSU duties this past summer while away on an out-of-state internship. Although ASMSU has been debating whether Currier actually did the work for which she was paid, that is not our primary concern. What is most striking is the amount she received — $2,228.55 throughout the course of 10 weeks as part of a biweekly stipend through MSU’s payroll system. This is more than what many students make working full-time for the summer, and seems inordinate to the amount of work that actually is being accomplished on behalf of MSU’s student body.
We are not doubting Currier did some work. She might have worked very diligently, but to be paid more than $222 per week seems somewhat exorbitant. It’s worth noting this salary is paid in large part by the $16.75 ASMSU tax on all MSU students. It would be in ASMSU’s best interest to make its payment system more transparent to the students it serves; and it is more than welcome to attempt to justify the pay members receive for the work they do.
But what is even more upsetting to us than ASMSU’s excessive payment system is how they its members have conducted themselves as of late. Currier’s primary accusers are former assembly member Ryan Starski and College of Natural Sciences Representative Mandy Griffin. ASMSU was hesitant to confirm Griffin as a voting representative because of her “romantic link” with former Academic Assembly Chairperson Christopher Kulesza. Starski also was accused of harboring a personal vendetta against Currier because he supposedly is “buddies” with Kulesza. The controversy looks like one, big convoluted high school drama.
ASMSU should know quite well that politics is perception, and students’ perception of its so-called “government” is not very positive at the moment. ASMSU can accomplish good things, as we saw last week, but such petty and frivolous behavior reinforces the perception that these are simply kids playing government, using ASMSU as a sort of “playpen” for democracy. ASMSU has two great things going for it — the voice to enact real change on campus, and the financial backing to make those things happen.
Student government certainly has a place and can be a great vehicle for change on this campus. We are reminded of certain leaders, past and present, who acted as terrific ambassadors for students: Student Assembly Chairperson Kyle Dysarz, who has pushed for medical amnesty; Emily Serkaian, government affairs student liaison for ASMSU, who has worked hard to foster a good relationship between MSU and East Lansing; and former RHA president Mark Dobson, who was a magnanimous leader and had the best interest of students in mind. These leaders have acted as models for how student governance should be done and how student leaders should conduct themselves.
But one might question whether ASMSU as a whole truly represents the students’ voice anymore, or if it is just an arena for certain students who want the glamour of playing government, but lack the requisite maturity to act as real adults and serve their constituency as they ought.
Behavior like this is more akin to a high school soap opera than a student government at a major university. If ASMSU’s members can’t grow up and conduct themselves in a worthy manner, their Tuesday nights might be better spent watching “90210.”
Commentary
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There it is
(10/20/09 8:42am)Report
You know, i’d thought hell froze over when i saw your last editorial actually saying good things about ASMSU. This is more of what I was expecting.
I say that becuase, while ASMSU definitely has problems as any large organization does, and the State News is right to call them out when they screw up, almost all of your coverage of them is entirely negative. Positive actions are not given any coverage here and events that ASMSU puts on do receive coverage but are never mentioned that they’re put on by ASMSU.
This leads average students to never see the positive and get repeatedly baraged by the negative. Exactly how is ASMSU supposed to make students feel its acting in their best interest when the State News always treats them like the Nixon Administration?
To reiterate, i’m not saying they dont have problems, we all know they do, i’m just saying they’re not nearly as bad or “corrupt” or worse that your paper continously paints them to be. Please, before disregarding my comments, take a minute to really examine your coverage over the past 6 years or so.
brett
(10/20/09 10:55am)Report
…this editorial would be a lot more legitimate if it listed the amount of hours she was required to work for that $222 a week. $222 a week is not that much. Anyone making less than $2k a summer full-time needs to not work for $5 an hour. (Which is below minimum wage)
yep.
(10/20/09 12:25pm)Report
1. If you worked full time this summer and made only 2,000 dollars, you might want to get a grip and get a better paying job.
2. The drama involving three, one former, members of ASMSU shouldn’t warrant you to write and article basically degrading the entire organization and what they do. Academic Assembly is one facet of ASMSU, so perhaps you should be more specific while talking about that issue, instead of painting the entire association poorly.
MATH
(10/20/09 1:52pm)Report
$222 per week
/
40 Hours per week
=
$*5.55 per hour*.
Riiiiiight. I think by almost any objective standard you use, she’s underpaid.
How much is the Editor and Chief of the State News paid????
Ya know...
(10/20/09 2:02pm)Report
That means shes a good 30% below minimum wage. How exactly is that either “ASMSU’s excessive payment system” or “exorbitant”?
This is exactly what was talked about in the first post. This entire article is off base in that the actual news story is that ASMSU Staff are typically grossly underpaid and would make more working in the caf.
Suddenly
(10/20/09 2:08pm)Report
Yah State News, that’s really not a lot of money. Call em out when need be, but don’t think 2gs is all that much for “full-time” in ten weeks. I make that in about 4 weeks, and I’m still underpaid.
cuse me but
(10/20/09 2:28pm)Report
What exactly does ASMSU do during the summer that warrants ANY cost to the student taxpayer? Further what can be done to benefit the students of Michigan State when youre in ARKANSAS?!
You're cused
(10/20/09 3:38pm)Report
A lot. Train new staff, work on state budget issues for higher ed, meet with the Board of Trustees and other Admin (they dont go home during the summer), finish and publish the yearbook, prepare for the coming year, and conduct an audit for financial accountability. (those are just a few things done in those 10 weeks).
Besides, she wasnt paid for the time in Arkansas, she was paid for the hours she put in before she left and when she returned.
Thank you!!!
(10/20/09 4:57pm)Report
By the way, where is this financial audit? I would really like to see it.
Employee Pirate
(10/20/09 4:59pm)Report
AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! I once again smell ASMSU employees trying to save their booty!
Avast, they work 12 hours a week! Not a full time job, and meet with the Board of Trustees for only 2 Friday meetings at best! Next, a lot of them dont train staff as many staff are not required to be there! Also, the yearbook is very autonomous of ASMSU, and the audit happens once a year done by someone from the outside they pay!
Argggghhh, I smell someone who knows nothing of ASMSU!
You're weird Pirate
(10/20/09 5:08pm)Report
Other than odd, your post is incorrect in that the Chair positions do not work only 12 hrs per week. They’re required to work far more than that and every Chair always works far longer than even their required office hours. If they didn’t theres no way they could do the job. It’s always been a full time job. Most Chairs at the end of the day make closer to 3-4 $ per hour.
Pirate
(10/20/09 5:17pm)Report
AAARRRRGGGGHHHH, by the bylaws they are charged to work 12 hours a week. It is their personal choice to work more if they want to. If they work more, they personally accept that. The organization as the bylaws dictate say only 12. Anything above that, they have no obligation to do.
AVAST, ANOTHER EMPLOYEE!
RE Pirate
(10/20/09 6:10pm)Report
Again, you’re confusing certain staff positions with the Chair positions which are required to work far greater hours than other staff positions such as Assistant Directors and such.
FYI
(10/21/09 10:30am)Report
For the record, State Newsers aren’t paid shit. They’re paid MUCH less than the ASMSU members, and they work MUCH more than the student government.
Ex:
-Reporters make about $200 every TWO weeks.
-Editors make about $290 every TWO weeks.
-The editor in chief makes about $400 every TWO weeks.
S’Newsers be POOR. Trust me. A lot of those students are seriously living on ramen while ASMSU can pay more than 2k for only ten weeks of working. I’m sure many S’News workers would LOVE to trade places.
RE: FYI
(10/21/09 10:54am)Report
Uh, learn some math. If the S’News Editor in Chief makes a little over $400 every two weeks like you say than SHE MAKES THE SAME AS THE ASMSU CHAIRPERSON which is the equivelant ASMSU position.
It’s not like all ASMSU positions are paid the same.
$5 Million Building State News?
(10/21/09 10:56am)Report
Maybe the State News would have more money if the State News didn’t buy a 5 million dollar building with student tax dollars? I can only imagine the headline if ASMSU did that. Lucky for you you’re the only newspaper that’d report that.
Surprise surprise you didnt.
hypocrites
(10/21/09 2:17pm)Report
Unlike ASMSU, the State News receives ample funding from advertising. ASMSU has to campaign and fundraise under numerous capacities and still doesn’t make a profit. I could go on and on…but essentially, whatever flaws ASMSU has (which I am sure there are many), The State News has just as many problems and more. Let’s just start with the inappropriate reporting of this article…I thought the j-school actually taught students how to write real articles instead of using biased, inaccurate information with an emphasis on name-dropping and gossip.
wondering?
(10/23/09 1:11am)Report
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I thought university employees could only work for 29 hours a week. Are hours worked at ASMSU considered for the university (I don’t know if they are independent)? If they are included, then there is no way they could be making that much money on a weekly basis, strictly based off of the number of hours they can work.
Brad McDonald
(10/25/09 4:46pm)Report
First, I want to state that I’m a MSU alum and former ASMSU Academic Assembly.
Your “first major issue”:
Claiming that the $2,000 earned for a summer is excessive is incorrect (at least in relation to what a student would make working full-time during the summer). When I worked during the summer, I’d make just over $1,000/month. This was working as a park employee. I hope that someone that is the head of an organization makes what she does.
Former members:
It appears that ex-rep Starski wished to come back, but RHA did not. (ex?)-rep Griffin did not want to come back to the assembly. Their connections to ex-Chair Kulesza should also be taken into the consideration of the accused fraud. How is it fraud if the assembly was aware of the situation. Chair Currier stated in her speech election speech that she would not be around for the whole summer. She didn’t try and hide the fact. It’s my understanding that Chair Currier wishes to move on from this “high school drama.” The fact that she is being bogged down by having to defend herself on things that she has been transparent and honest about has most likely taken away time that she could be spending developing and action on new and helpful ideas for the betterment of the MSU student population.
In regards to other comments:
How ASMSU spends its money is public information. I believe the same is true for Impact, State News, RHA, and other tax-collecting organizations at MSU.
I think the general staff of both State News and ASMSU are underpaid. Last year, ASMSU’s assemblies VOTED to give their staff wage increases. This was done as an attempt to equate with the rise in the minimum wage and to be competitive.
A typical ASMSU chair puts more hours in then required. They can work more than 29 hours in a week because they are project pay. They volunteer the extra hours they put in.
I hope some more articles can be printed about the good things that ASMSU is doing (and that takes an effort for ASMSU to accomplish things (couldn’t think of a better word) and for the State News to report on them). Hopefully ASMSU can become something that students recognize and appreciate all the great things they do (represent, events, concerts, lobby the gov’t, free legal services, defend students accused academically, year books, student loans, etc).
Internal Vice-Chairperson 2008-2009
Brad McDonald
Re Brand McDonald
(10/26/09 10:52pm)Report
As a former member of the Assembly, it should be noted that Brad McDonald didn’t work a single day during the summer. Not once was he in the ASMSU office in his summer tenure. In addition, he got paid for it.
Lazy Brad
(10/27/09 3:00am)Report
He was the laziest of the ASMSU student leaders I have worked with. He comes across as a confused soul laden-ed with lots of school work and does not know how to take decisions. Bloated with ego, he still is in love with his title so much that he cannot get out of it. He has signed his comment here with the title to throw his weight around! Get a life Brad. Stop lynching on your Chairs..