Students will have the opportunity to vote on whether they want
to increase Michigan Student Assembly fees during winter elections.
A resolution allowing MSA to add a ballot question regarding a
possible $1 dollar increase was passed last night.
If the ballot question receives support, the additional fee will
help pay for the William Monroe Trotter House renovations.
Students representing various multicultural groups attended the
MSA meeting to voice their concern for Trotter House’s poor
condition. Students also encouraged representatives to vote in
favor of the resolution.
LSA junior Harlyn Pacheco said La Voz, a Hispanic student group,
uses the building as much as possible. But when it hosts large
conferences, the decomposition of the Trotter House forces it to
hold events elsewhere, Pacheco said.
University administrators acknowledged the importance of the
Trotter House to the academic environment.
“The University recognizes the history around the Trotter
House multicultural center, as a place to celebrate the many
cultures on campus and to educate others on different
cultures,” Dean of Students Ed Willis said.
MSA Vice-President Monique Perry said Trotter House is worth
supporting.
“We need to show that MSA and the students care about the
Trotter House, and that we are willing to put our money behind it,
and the University should be willing to, as well.”
President Mary Sue Coleman and Kenneth Coleman donated a gift of
$50,000 dollars to the renovation of the Trotter House last year.
The center is a symbol of the University’s commitment to
multiculturalism and the University is looking at some ways to fund
the Trotter House, Willis added.
“To spend millions of dollars fighting affirmative action
cases that preserve and increase the diversity at Michigan and then
to cut funding to minority programs, such as Multi-Ethnic Student
Affairs and Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, is
ironic,” said LSA junior Teri Russiello. “Furthermore,
not making Trotter House appealing to all students undoes and
segregates the diversity at Michigan.”
The assembly also passed a resolution to sponsor Dailyjolt.com,
a website that offers a plethora of information about the
University, such as Residence Hall dining menus, campus events, and
links to various University websites.
“I wanted to put MSA behind this website because it
encompasses all students and possess the manpower to sustain
it,” said Budget Priorities Committee Vice Chair Anita
Leung.
“It is a centralized student website and we want it to be
a place where students can go for everything.”
The idea for utilizing this website started when students from
the University went to a conference and were influenced by Penn
State, who also employ the DailyJolt.com.