By Elizabeth Bailey

On Tuesday evening, the Associated Students of NMU board discussed the budget plans for the upcoming Student Association of Michigan (SAM) conference.

There was some concern from board members that the money being used for this budget could be used for other plans, but in SAM’s defense, Dani Thoune, chair of assembly, said it’s a great learning experience. Normally at SAM conferences representatives from student governments meet and discuss how to problem solve common issues on campuses across the state. The students can then bounce ideas off one another.
During this week’s meeting, the board also approved plans to host the next SAM conference, which will take place sometime in the next month.

In other news, according to ASNMU bylaws, the board must appoint members for their external affairs committee by the second week of the school year. The committee thus far consists of Travis Crowe, Chris Hoffman, Chris Kovala, and Aaron Loudenslager and the fifth spot will remain open until there are more people on the board.

The external affairs committee acts as a buffer for what is happening in the community, and on the state or national level that could affect students.

The bike-share program is still in the planning process, but there has yet to be any money approved for the project. The idea behind the bike-share program is to give students the ability to check out a bike from the library desk and ride it free of charge and return when done.

As always, ASNMU is looking for more members. Contact ASNMU vice president Drew Janego or stop by the ASNMU office on the first floor of the University Center.