After being a member of the Minnesota Student Association for the past two years, Eric Dyer, an economics and finance sophomore, said he wants to give back to the organization that gave him so much.
Dyer is running for the vice presidential seat in next week’s MSA elections on a ticket with business and computer science junior Joshua Colburn.
Dyer and Colburn said the continuation of successful MSA projects such as campus safety walks is important to them, but they said the organization needs to be revamped.
“We have to completely change around the image of MSA,” Dyer said.
They said it’s imperative that MSA gains a more recognizable presence on campus and becomes more accessible to students who want to get involved.
“We want to make sure that MSA hits the new students,” Colburn said.
He said MSA is an advocacy tool for students and if they could hear about it when they first start school, they would be more likely to be involved.
Colburn said many students don’t know about MSA because several things the organization does are not visible.
“It has the potential to be the best way for students to reach administration in a positive way,” he said.
The team said they plan to boost involvement by having round-table discussions with registered student groups.
Colburn said if student groups work together, they have the potential to put up a more unified front in the Student Services Fees process next year.
Because of the low fees allocations slated for the Twin Cities Student Unions next year, Colburn and Dyer said they would also work to support student unions and make sure they can still put on Spring Jam.
Colburn and Dyer also said the University bus system needs to be analyzed and possibly changed.
The limited-stop buses are confusing for people and inconvenient to many students on the St. Paul campus, they said, because they cannot travel directly to Northrop Mall.
Both candidates said they are best for the job because they have experience in MSA and with other University organizations.
Colburn said his experiences in the marching band, combined with two years in MSA and his term as president of the Residence Hall Association this year, make him a good representative of student interests.
Dyer said he is running for vice president because he wants to impart some of the good experiences he has had with the organization onto other students.
“I used it as a way to make friends and get involved in the campus,” he said, “It worked so well for me, I want to give back to it.”
More information on these candidates is available on their Web site at www.colburndyer.com.