ASMSU to go on retreat, make plans for year

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About 50 officers and representatives from ASMSU will head to their annual retreat this weekend to develop tangible goals for the academic year.

ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

The retreat’s estimated cost is $5,000.

ASMSU General Assembly Chairman Steve Marino said ASMSU will use the weekend retreat to discuss academic issues and plans for the upcoming year.

“We want to craft essentially a checklist so that at the end of the year, we can go through and say, ‘Did we accomplish this? Did we do this?’” Marino said. “That way, there aren’t these overarching, abstract, intangible goals that we’re setting.”

For the past two years, ASMSU has gone to Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa in Thompsonville, Mich., with a budget of $9,200, excluding transportation costs.

This year, ASMSU will be holding the retreat at Ebersole Environmental Education and Conference Center in Wayland, Mich., which is owned by the Lansing School District and costs less.

Marino said he hopes to cap the retreat’s expenses, which are written into the ASMSU budget. Most of the costs associated with the retreat are for lodging and transportation, he said.

The retreat’s structure will be different than in previous years, Marino said.

Instead of discussing goals as a large group, the representatives will break into small groups to discuss specific topics, including academic issues in the classroom and constituent relations.

Sunday morning, the officers and representatives will reconvene to discuss and develop a formal plan to achieve those goals during the year.

Marino said many people have complained about the costs of having a retreat off campus, which Marino said was a “valid point” but emphasized the need for ASMSU to be away from potential distractions in East Lansing.

ASMSU Provost Zach Taylor said having a retreat at a bona fide resort proved to be a distraction and decided to move the retreat to another location.

“What we’re trying to do is, in some ways, separate ourselves from the outside world,” Taylor said.

Taylor said it was possible for ASMSU to stay at Crystal Mountain because of a special discount but said the switch was necessary so the weekend would be more cost-effective and focused on the group’s goals.

Urban planning junior Christian Savona said it was good ASMSU is trying to cut back but still was concerned with the retreat’s costs.

“If they were really trying to be fiscally responsible … it would be a wiser choice to not use those funds (to) go on the retreat,” Savona said.

Marino said ASMSU’s retreat is not unusual, as most student governments — as well as the MSU Board of Trustees — go on retreats.

Taylor said the retreat also functions to help build relationships and update representatives on the most important issues for the upcoming year to maintain progress when meetings resume for the year.

“The largest advantages with where we’re going this year is the lack of distraction, which will make us more focused on activities and breakout sessions,” Taylor said.

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