Joining Forces
Ever spend hours planning a campus event with the hope that the
entire student body will get involved, only to find out on the big day that
another campus group has planned a large event as well? At Weber State
University in Utah, campus leaders have solved such lack of
communication by creating the Campus Leaders Alliance. Headed up by the WSU
Student Association, the Alliance brings together leaders from every group
on campus and allows them to meet, share resources, improve communication,
and learn about what other groups are doing. "I tried to think of a way to
get the different entities of campus to work together," says Kyle Poll, AS
vice president and Alliance co-founder. "Too many times, we have conflicting
activities that split our crowd."
Although it was difficult contacting students over the summer, nearly 100 campus leaders attended the first Alliance meeting in June 2002. Each leader represented a different organization on campus, and several represented more than one group. Poll plans to have Alliance meetings four times a year—once in the spring and summer and twice in the fall. "We gave them some pointers about how to recruit and retain members of an organization; however, the majority of the learning and progress took place as we let them communicate and mingle amongst themselves," Poll says.
The job to maintain the Alliance is written into the AS constitution as a responsibility of the executive vice president. Next year, the Alliance will be an official AS operating program and will receive a budget. "We encouraged the leaders to support the events on campus and attend them with their organizations," Poll says. "If we work together on activities and events, more students will want to become involved and our organizations all will be stronger."
Poll says that other schools could benefit from what was created at Weber. "Everyone knows the principle of synergy, and it works the same in Ogden, Utah as it does in New York, Nebraska, or even England," he says.
Contact Poll at kpoll@yahoo.com.
Ideas That Wow
Student Governments contribute to a lot on campus, but they’re often
unappreciated by students. Student Leader magazine would like to know
what your SG is doing to promote its activities, inform students about what
SG does for them, and gain recognition on campus. We’re looking for the
unique and creative—anything that has been effective with the student body.
We also want to hear about your horror stories—what you’ve tried that was a
complete failure.
Tell us what you’ve done and you could be featured in an upcoming issue of Student Leader. Send comments to Associate Editor Anna Campitelli at anna.campitelli@studentleader.com.
Ask the Expert
Leveraging over two decades of student leadership experience,
Student Leader Publisher and Editor in Chief W.H. "Butch" Oxendine, Jr.,
is now available as "America’s #1 SG Consultant." Having recently headlined
the leadership retreat for SG at the University of Kentucky, Oxendine
wants to put his years of knowledge and SG reporting to use by helping
others succeed and excel.
"In one weekend, I was able to share tips and advice on being the best SG possible," Oxendine says, "without them having to spend years learning it, only to be graduating when they’re clued in." Those tips and advice are captured from the many SG and how-to articles that appear in each issue of Student Leader, from years of speaking and leading workshops at conferences and from exclusive research such as the "SG Salary Survey" and "SG Elections Review."
T.J. Litafik, UK’s SG press secretary, says it was well worth it—so much so that UK has asked Oxendine back for the spring. "I appreciate your enthusiasm about our efforts," he says in an e-mail to Oxendine, "and respect you as the national authority for SGs...Your depth and understanding of all aspects of SG is amazing, and I’ll be calling on your counsel in the year to come."
Topics include improving voter turnout, boosting event participation, getting publicity for projects, getting students involved, and more. Oxendine offers one and two-day, on-site consultations as well as phone consultations. Included in his fee is a one-year subscription to Student Leader.
To sign up for SG consulting, please contact Consulting Services at Student Leader at 352-373-6907, fax at 352-373-8120, e-mail at sgconsultant@studentleader.com, or visit www.sgconsultant.com.
Attention Readers!1. Student Leader’s "America’s Best Student Web Sites" competition is back and is bigger than ever, thanks to co-sponsor Macromedia. To nominate your site, see previous winners, or view the judging criteria, go to www.studentleader.com.
2. Is gender an issue at your school? Student Leader is conducting a national poll to determine if gender plays a role in Student Government. The focus of our survey is on whether or not one gender dominates SGs nationwide, and if so, how this affects the operations of SG. Fill out the quick survey at www.studentleader.com.
3. Do you have a great story idea? Why not write it yourself and submit it to Student Leader? Every month during the academic year, we feature a story written by a reader at our web site. Check out our "Featured Articles" and "Trendsetters" under "Web Exclusives" at www.studentleader.com.
If this issue of Student Leader left you thirsting for more, check out the web site to get the full story:
On the Web∙ Want to know more about how Harvard University’s Lindsay Hyde built Strong Women, Strong Girls, and the Organ Donor Project? View an expanded story and more leadership tips at www.studentleader.com.
∙ Interested in finding out more about building group unity? See tips on how to lead by example and avoid the major pitfalls to group unity at www.studentleader.com.
∙ Do you want more information on how co-advisors or full-time advisors can help your group be more effective? Check out the expanded story at www.studentleader.com.
Top Conferences
Looking for a leadership conference that’s worth your time and money?
Check out Student Leader’s "Find the Perfect Conference"
searchable database of upcoming conferences and conventions at
www.studentleader.com.
We give you the basics such as times, dates, locations, program themes, costs, special events, reviews, and speakers.
To list your conference in our database, complete the form at www.studentleader.com.
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Remembering 9/11 How do you heal from the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Every American felt the tragedy on a personal level, and everyone has to come to terms with it in one way or another. For students and staff at Monroe Community College in New York, the best way to begin healing from 9/11 was to memorialize that day. "The purpose of the memorial is to offer friends of the college community, as well as members of the Rochester area, a place to pay their respects for the thousands that were lost that day and a place to memorialize what they cherish in their lives," says Daniel O’Hanlon, speaker of the senate. "Many students had never experienced such an atrocity, and they needed some kind of guidance or outlet that offered the tools they would need in the grieving process." With contributions from the Student Association Board of Directors and the MCC Foundation Board equaling $100,000, the memorial was built on the MCC campus and was dedicated on the first anniversary of 9/11. More than 2,000 attended the dedication that was broadcast live on five TV channels. Currently, CNN is making a documentary about the project. The completed memorial is made of concrete and steel to represent the buildings that were destroyed, and the memorial site’s circular design represents the global nature and effects of the attacks. The memorial wall shows the New York City skyline with two voids where the World Trade Center once stood. The monument is angled so that the sun casts light through the two spaces onto two white concrete forms within the walkway each Sept. 11 at 8:46 a.m., the moment when the first tower was struck. A plaque on the memorial reads, "Our heroes are always in our hearts. In one morning, our world changed forever. Let us honor the sacrifices of September 11, 2001 by living our lives in freedom." The project began in December 2001 when SA President Jessica Brown approached SA with an idea to build a memorial. Her belief was that the memorial could help relieve some of the unsettling feelings students were having. Originally, the plans called for a large boulder and a plaque, but after contacting a local architecture firm, the project soon expanded to its current design. "In every aspect from the final design and layout to the invitations for the dedication, the decisions have been based on the students’ voice," O’Hanlon says. "The student control and decision making has stayed intact throughout the project." Students purchased bricks for $30 that were used in the construction of the memorial site. The design had to be modified two times to accommodate the students’ demand for more bricks. Money raised from the brick sales went toward funding the monument. "The student response has been great," O’Hanlon says. "In a way, many students told us they didn’t have a way to express themselves. ‘The memorial will let me share my fears that I felt that day,’ many would tell us." Contact O’Hanlon at danielpresacc@yahoo.com. |
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