Arts and Sciences representative Jeremy Cilc said he went to April Student Association of Michigan (SAM) conference to gauge whether it is a legitimate use of students’ money at the Monday meeting.
“I have to say, I’m not entirely impressed with it. It’s not a terrible organization, but they do need to work on their infrastructure, the structuring … overall, I would push for teleconferencing. I honestly don’t feel good spending students’ money on this organization,” Cilc said.
Cilc said he wants to take a financial break from SAM and attend the meetings via teleconference until they restructure and encouraged other representatives to attend SAM meetings to see what the organization does.
“Michigan State made a strong point that I took note of. MSU spent $7,000 on our weekend, and they had nothing to bring back,” Cilc said.
Off-campus representative Dani Thoune said Michigan State paid for all of the food at the conference, which was not complimentary at the hotel.
“They made that choice going into it that they’d be spending this money,” Thoune said. Thoune said in the past they’ve stayed at the Ramada or a hotel with continental breakfast to avoid some of the cost, and off-campus representative Alysa Diebolt said MSU’s spending is “a total outlier;” the most another university has spent was $1,300, Diebolt said.
“I completely agree that it was MSU’s choice to spend the money, but they were expecting results,” Cilc said, “and they didn’t get their results. So, if I was looking at this as corporate stockholdings, I’d take my money out.”
Thoune said MSU isn’t getting much out of the conferences because MSU doesn’t show up to the conferences, and in order for a university to get enough out of a conference, it needs to participate. Diebolt also said this conference was the election conference, so there was not a lot of time for discussion; much of the conference revolved around elections.
John Berry • Jun 12, 2011 at 11:44 pm
To answer Clic’s point, MSU didn’t even show up the first day until 3:30, and then got drunk and almost missed the next day aswell. Maybe the results they were looking for are in the bottom of a bottle of Johnny Walker, but the rest of the people at the conference were certainly there to do business.
ASNMU representatives go above and beyond in fighting for Michigan Students on campus aswell as at these conferences which is something we should be proud of. If Mr.(‘s) Clic and Smith, think they can do a better job running the organization then they should have risen to the challenge, or done something while they were there.
I guess the debate comes down to whether or not we as NMU Students believe that having a unified voice and increasing presence in Lansing with every other University in the state is a good thing, or we think that we can advocate better completely by ourselves with a Legislature of 110 State Reps, 38 Senators, 1 Governor, and a shit ton of special interests that are hell-bent on cutting our funding to save their own.
Going it alone and pitting one University against another won’t solve anything, sitting on our laptops and criticizing those who are actually trying to make a difference will solve even less.
Tikka • Jun 8, 2011 at 4:07 pm
James Smith, who are you to make such personal attacks on people?! Who do you think you are to insult people the way you did in your post?
roger81r • May 20, 2011 at 2:50 am
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James Smith • Apr 27, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Look, SAM isn’t exactly an organization that’s thriving. The new executive board has had no e-board experience. Cardi did a great job at SAM, but he isn’t going to be around much anymore to lead the initiatives as he did.
The new president is kind of an idiot. He is a failed politician in his own town, he started going to conferences in January, and really only worked on the failed rally. The guy wants to make a presidents summit where all the presidents of all the sgs of all the universities come meet in some single place to discuss issues. Well, SG Presidents should have other responsibilities that come before this organization.
SAM isn’t a REAL organization. I hear more people whining about wanting to drink than people actually caring about the issues being put at hand. To be honest, ASNMU needs to completely pull out of SAM and focus on all the problems we’re facing here. The new president of our SG has a lot of crap to deal with.
And Dani, congrats on your eboard position, which makes you a biased commenter. And Alysa, you dating the previous president has really made you a biased commenter as well. Maybe we should hold a student wide vote. Should we continue to send representatives to the Student Association of Michigan? Yes or No.
bieberfan4ever • Apr 22, 2011 at 12:08 pm
You’re out of order! These comments are out of order! This entire article is out of order!
Dani Thoune • Apr 22, 2011 at 8:21 am
I would like you all to take a step back and realize what was said at the meeting. All SAM participants agreed that we really want to find and do more with SAM. I believe that before we go trashing it for another year, we should first see how the new executive board has in store for SAM. It is like we are comparing ASNMU’s president from last year (first semester) to Justin, you simply can’t believe that they are interchangeable and that everything will remain the same. It is impossible and simply not fair. SAM had a president running that had great ideas that included making sure we make some kind of drastic changes in how we run.
All I am asking is that you hold off on judgements until SAM really starts back up again. They are on the planning phase for the next year and then see if nothing happens before you go off bashing them.
It would be nice if we dropped the whole Jeremy thing, he has his opinions and others have theirs… everyone knows what the truth is and if he wasn’t engaged then that is his loss and he made the wrong decision and wasted STUDENT money. If he sat through all of the meetings and participated in discussions and was a contributing member but then had to leave just a couple minutes early, then that is what happened and lets drop it… but come on, you know what happened.
As for ASNMU, our initiatives: I would be curious in knowing how you believe that they are failing. Send me a message. The programs can only be as great as the students let them. You obviously have some strong opinions, maybe you should be voicing them in our meetings and not bashing them along with everything else we stand for in a thread.
For all of you that are completely against SAM, please just consider what I have said. If I truly got hundreds of messages from students saying that they don’t want us to go to the SAM conferences, I would find my own way down but the truth is, there are a few that care, some that voice their care appropriately and then the rest truly don’t care or don’t know. We aren’t hiding anything so every student has the ability to know what we are doing. Unless more people care, we truly don’t know if students don’t want us to go so I believe we should continue to go. You can’t fix something unless you find out that it is broken.
Z • Apr 21, 2011 at 8:02 pm
I think we should all just let bygones be bygones and all go out for some ice cream. Just saying…..
Christian Weber • Apr 21, 2011 at 5:02 pm
I can’t speak for the motives of the people who attend the SAM conferences, however the update I heard about teleconferencing did not sound promising. What it sounds like was discussed was adding additional teleconference meetings during the time SAM does not have physical conferences. Also just because MSU’s spending is an outlier doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider what they said. Whether its a few hundred dollars or a few thousand the point is that attending the physical conferences does not seem to be worth while. Technology is getting more powerful everyday. Personally I don’t believe any school would get any less out of SAM by shifting toward more electronic communication and meetings. I hope the board next year will stay involved with SAM, however they should not physically attend any meetings as long as it is possible to communicate using other means. There are programs out there specifically designed to help organizations and business conduct these types of meetings and conferences electronically, and if it is decided that skype isn’t reasonable (because lets face it a skype conference probably wouldn’t work. No one would be able to hear.) then SAM or our ASNMU Board should consider purchasing and using these different means for electronically conducting SAM Conferences.
Christian Weber
Name* • Apr 21, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Everyone,
TJ I respect what you are saying, however at the meeting, I never once sold SAM short, I acknowledge the work they have done, and I said that SAM has great potential. I only commented on what I had seen those days, all be it, there was not much going due to elections. Thus why I said I want others from the new board to go to it. Which is just like what you mentioned about rotating members, which I support full heartedly. I suppose I do see student government from a business perspective because we are handling students finances, and we are entrusted with that money what we see as doing best for the students. Alyssa, perhaps I was trigger happy with the comment I made above, and I apologize for that statement. However, I was at the meetings, I was at the one on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I left 20 minutes early in one meeting (meetings start at 9am-5pm). I left at 4:40pm. I sat through the entire meeting on Saturday minus 20 minutes. Ten of those twenty minutes I spent talking with my mother about how to get my sisters scholarship information figured out. I can provide phone numbers of the accountant, my mother and my sister if you would like. The last ten minutes I do have to admit I left for an early dinner date, and I do apologize for that. But none the less I spoke once at the meeting about why I was there, and I sat in on every meeting, so telling everyone that I left and did not participate is a bold faced lie.
Everyone, I never meant to bash SAM in our meeting, if thats how it seemed. I however did push for teleconferencing so that we are not spending money driving down every month. Thats all I was doing. I am friends with Jason Morgan TJ (our families go way back) and I am aware of a lot of the things he has done, and I love everything that he has done and what he has participated in, as well as every student who has the drive to do what he and everyone else in SAM. But I was pushing for a cheaper route for the students. That is all.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Cilc
M • Apr 21, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Gosh, you’re such a bunch of prissy bitches. How about you focus on NMU and the failing initiatives ASNMU has before you take on the other mess you obviously can’t handle.
Alysa Diebolt • Apr 21, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Jeremy,
While I appreciate you encouraging future ASNMU board members to attend conferences to see what it’s about, you also stated that you don’t think NMU should go to conference, and should only teleconference in. The new ASNMU board should also attend these conferences with an open mind, something I am confident you did not do because of your allegiances within ASNMU.
While yes, I am dating another person in SAM I did not use any conference time to be with him, on the students tab. I paid for my own hotel room. Yes, the gas used to get my vehicle to Lansing was paid for by ASNMU, but I had three other people in my car, yourself included.
Additionally, I gave a successful University Affairs Committee update, I discussed the possibility of doing a virtual conference with SAM (Something brought up at an ASNMU meeting, which I then brought to SAM with legitimate researched numbers about the costs of SAM), and I headed the conversation about the SGA election problems at each University.
So yes, you’re right… I went down there, and I saw my boyfriend and my friends, but I also did a lot of work. You on the other hand, did not participate in the conference, you left early, and spent almost all of your free time with a friend in Lansing, not collaboratively interacting with other SAM delegates.
-Alysa Diebolt
TJ Weber • Apr 21, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Jeremy,
With all due respect, I sat on the committee for a year last year in the same position that the person I believe you are libelously defaming. That person has done an all around great job from everything I have heard from my contacts in SAM, in a position that was difficult for me as I am sure it is still for her.
You seem to be laughably short sighted in your view of what SAM is, as does the other poster that is against it. While Jason Morgan and I were chairing the two SAM committees, we rotated the members that would come with us. While it was good to bring people down there to show what SAM was, it is also important to have some cohesiveness to the group you’re in. The realities of being a student leader at this level are quite daunting. The traveling involved with going from NMU to the other universities is extremely exhausting, and there is no compensation involved; the only reason a person would do such a thing is a love for their university, the state of Michigan, and the internal desire to help others.
To stand here and attribute the reason this person went there is solely to screw around with friends and a boyfriend is absolutely ludicrous, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself for saying so. It is disgusting that you would broadcast such a ludicrous and libelous theory online.
You are essentially punishing someone for making Northern a better place. And whether you like this person or not, you ought to have some semblance of self-respect in not making yourself look like an ignorant moron when developing criticisms of someone who cares very deeply and works very hard to make YOUR existence better. ASNMU and SAM are exhausting when you actually live up to your duties as I did in my time there.
Please be better informed when you open your mouth next time, or save us the time and just refrain from making yourself look like a moron.
TJ
Tikka • Apr 21, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Jeremy,
Is there not a new SAM E-Board coming on? Why not wait until they have a chance to change things before making judgement?
Jeremy • Apr 21, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Hello all,
My name is Jeremy Cilc. Yes I was quoted correctly in the article. All I have to say is that during the meeting I mentioned that it was only my point of view, and I insisted that others of the new board should go to the conference and see what it is all about. I previously said at the meeting that it was my first and only meeting. I know who wrote the above article and I find it immature of the individual to be angry at me for wanting to cancel her trip to hang out with her boyfriend and friends for a weekend on the students tab. All I have to say to the new board is, please send new board members to the conference and see it for themselves and make a more informed opinion.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Cilc
Utterly Distraught • Apr 21, 2011 at 12:27 pm
In response to the article, the Student Association of Michigan is an organization, not a business, and therefore should not be treated like a business. Cilc’s haughty judgments about SAM are from a misinformed perspective. Cilc had one comment he voiced during the conference, other than that he sat in discomfort fighting a hangover. He stated he only left “20 minutes early” but that is incorrect, he disappeared earlier than 4:40pm, and missed the entire end of Saturday’s conference (the conference ended at 4:45pm, Cilc was long-gone before that). I agree that ASNMU should not pay for their representatives to go to these conferences if the representatives are not going to participate, and are solely there to socialize and consume alcoholic beverages, but please don’t let one sour grape ruin the whole bunch. The other representatives who attended the conference were both engaged and participative throughout both days of the conference, and they were not hung over either day.
In response to K’s comment, I promise you that your idea, of having open forums to discuss legislation would be poorly attended as are all of the current ASNMU sponsored events. You think that students would get involved? Less than 1000 students voted in an online election for the new ASNMU board… but you think they would come to a forum to talk about legislation? Also, the Higher Education rally had over 300 students in attendance not to mention the outside support from organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers. The media attention alone has been spectacular for the event; having read over 18 unique articles about the event, one of the biggest comments has been “While it may not have been the largest rally, it certainly was the loudest.” If you think that students should come to ASNMU meetings and voice their opinion about how ASNMU (Student Money) is being spent, where were you during public comment all year?
K • Apr 21, 2011 at 12:52 am
Students Association of Michigan is an organization to get all of the public universities in Michigan together to discuss and plan events, legislative happenings and overall things that are going on in the state and in Michigan.
From what I can tell, absolutely nothing has come from SAM. Yes, you held a rally at the capital with a mere 200 students attending while hoping to have 700+. NMU sent, from what I recall, 9 students. Congrats on sending mainly ASNMU members to this event.
And the legislative issues? ASNMU has what is called an external affairs committee. This committee is designed to look at and find new bills that are going throughout legislation and discuss them with the assembly and the student body. I find it unnecessary to spend MY money to send students down to a conference to discuss these issues. How about finding the bills, and then inviting students to come to a forum on campus and discuss them? If it is a bill students truly care about they will attend.
I encourage the new board to look more closely at spending money to send ‘representatives’ down to future conferences. Teleconferencing may be an option… Students, take these issues and YOUR money into your own hands. You have a voice. Use it. Don’t like what ASNMU is doing with your money? Go to a meeting and tell them.