Vice Chair Feature | Get to know Krysta

written by | Krysta Sanders

---

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imaginationloom embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” Albert Einstein

I wholeheartedly believe that we need to think outside the box to challenge the status quo to become our better selves not just for ourselves but for our fellow people!

The words of Einstein and my personal belief are what led me to join Students United. This last year I was afforded the opportunity to become part of Students United and instantly fell in love with everything about it, from the daily work being done on campus to the delegate meetings where I was introduced to like minded people. Their individual work as well as collaboration on creating policy changes fully opened my eyes to the power of students. As an outspoken person who believes that everyone's voice should be heard in a respectful manner led me to pursue the vice chair position. Being part of a nonprofit where I can be the voice of each student is a huge responsibility, one that I look forward to.

Besides being passionate about bettering the world we live in I am passionate about science. Currently, I am in the process of receiving my Masters degree at Bemidji State University in biology with an emphasis in microbiology. My research is focused on finding a new bacteriophage for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that is prevalent in hospital infections, cystic fibrous, and periodontal disease. Finding an alternative to antibiotics, which is what bacteiophages can provide, will be beneficial in negating the creation of antibiotic resistant bacteria aka “Super Bugs”. My ultimate goals is to become a dentist so fingers crossed!

On a more personal note I have done summer theater for the past 6 years. This summer I was in a musical called “Nunsensations: The Vegas Review” starring as sister Robert Anne. I have three cats (yes three); Eros, Dashes, and Káura. I love puzzles and board games. The latest is the star tribune cryptoquip because they are witty and a bit corny, which is the language I speak. I'm a person who loves to stay active and engaged.  Traveling and learning about other cultures is something that I will always strive for. I have visited seven countries so far and learned that travel leads to acceptance of others. I'm looking forward to working with the amazing students and staff this year to accomplish great things.

July Equity Update

written by | Abeer Syedah

---

System & Campus

Students United: Announcing Fund the American Dream[ers]

Students United is proud to launch Fund the American Dream[ers] to respond to our students leaders’ desire to enact positive change in support of Minnesota State students who are impacted by changing immigration policies, specifically undocumented students. We are fundraising to provide modest emergency financial assistance to Minnesota State students whose finances have been adversely affected by recent immigration policy changes.

Learn more and donate: www.studentsunited.org/dreamers

State & National

Science, Engineering, and Medicine Panel Says How Universities Deal With Sexual Harassment Needs Sweeping Change

“Years of efforts to prevent sexual harassment in science, engineering and medicine have failed, and universities need to make sweeping changes in the way they deal with the issue, a searing new report by a national advisory panel concluded.”

Read more from the New York Times

In A Case Closely Watched by Higher Education, Supreme Court Upholds Travel Ban

“An analysis published by Inside Higher Ed in early February found that the number of F student visas granted for students from the affected countries had fallen sharply, as had the number of short-term B visas, a category used by foreign scholars when they come to the U.S. for conferences. Beyond the countries that are specifically affected, many in American higher education have raised concerns about the unwelcoming message the blanket visa bans send to international students and scholars from around the world.”

Read more from Inside Higher Ed

Middlesex Community College Focuses on Asian & Pacific Islander Students

“These [southeast Asian] students have as high a risk of dropping out of college as low-income Hispanic or African-American students, researchers say. Yet colleges and policymakers often don’t realize it because Southeast Asian students’ statistics are lumped in as part of overall Asian student performance. Their problems are hidden partly because of the model minority myth that all Asians are academic superstars and flourish in high school and college.”

Read more from the New York Times

Inside Queer Students’ Fight to be Heard at Brigham Young University

“The flier was bright, with words splashed across a rainbow background. It advertised a panel on LGBTQ issues at Brigham Young University — the first-ever university-sanctioned event on the topic. But...”

Read more from the Chronicle

Students United Fee Increase for 2018-2019 Academic Year

written by | Treasurer Ben Uecker

---

Hello everyone, this is your State Treasurer Ben Uecker. Since our last delegates assembly in May many of you have been asking whether there have been any updates regarding our 2018/19 budget and proposed fee increase. I am excited to share that we have successfully passed our fee increase through the System Office and have begun making updates to our campus, state, and federal advocacy plans for next year accordingly. 

Our new budget

Thanks to the contributions and feedback from our student representatives the Students United Board of Directors Passed the budget package recommended during our May delegates assembly at St. Cloud State University (Budget 3), with the board voting to support additional funding for State & Federal Advocacy, Equity initiatives, and staffing. The fee increase proposed by our board was $0.14, raising the fee from $0.47 to $0.61 per credit. At this fee level Students United would use the remaining $647K in the repurposed building fund over the course of about 6 years.

Finance and Facilities Committee

Students United submitted our proposal for the fee increase to the System Office shortly after the conclusion of our May Board meeting. State Chair Faical Rayani, Vice Chair Lexi Byler, and I presented our proposal to the Board of Trustees: Finance and Facilities Committee during their May 15th Board meeting. Though the committee members had some reservations regarding the fee increase our testimony pacified their concerns. In particular they were interested in our process; how did we decide to propose a fee increase?

We explained that our budget was based on student feedback from all seven state universities. In our presentation and the following questions we noted our fiscal policies and safeguards, as well as highlighted how we had presented the budgets to each of the student associations of each university to gather feedback. Finally, we explained that you, the students, had voted in support of the budget you wanted the Board to approve.

The amount of interest and discussion regarding the finances were overwhelmingly positive and professional this year, and the constructive feedback students provided proved to be extremely beneficial to both myself and the Board as we finalized our FY18/19 budget.

Board of Trustees

On June 20th the Board of Trustees had a second reading of our proposal, and after some discussion decided to adopt the fee increase with an additional amendment. They supported our fee increase of $0.14 and, in addition, wanted to start a greater conversation about student fees as a whole. Consequently, the Board of Trustees amended the Students United fee to be raised by $0.14 for one year, at the end of which it will be reviewed for further consideration. Furthermore, the fees for both Students United and LeadMN, our sister organization that represents 2 year institutions, will be included in a comprehensive study of all Student Fees that the Board of Trustees arranged during their May meeting.

What is next?

Well then, we passed our budget and fee increase…. So what’s next? 

Since the budget and fee increase have been finalized our new Board of Directors will begin to plan what types of initiatives and campus activism they want the organization to emphasize for the next year. 

Our excellent staff have begun planning new ways to expand our State and Federal Advocacy activities. They are excited to connect more students with their representatives this year to make sure YOUR legislators hear from YOU about student issues.

Finally, this is the last month for the Student United officers. State Chair Facial Rayani, Vice Chair Lexi Byler, and I will be finishing our terms the end of this month. It has been a fantastic experience being your State Treasurer this year. I have had the opportunity to meet numerous students, faculty, staff, and legislators who truly care about the wellbeing and success of students. Furthermore, it has provided me with some new friendships that I hope will last a long time to come.

Don’t worry though, your newly elected officers have shown great drive and intelligence that will no doubt allow them to push the organization to new levels of success. I have great faith in everyone involved that they will excel as individuals and push the organization into its next evolution. 

Thank you all for the opportunity to serve Minnesota Students everywhere.

If anyone has questions feel free to email me at treasurer@studentsunited.org