(!) Tomorrow's Hearings: IMPORTANT by Gary Weisserman on Monday, April 19, 2010 at 11:05 AM

Hi everyone! As you know, our MSC Spring Hearings are upon us--tomorrow, in fact, at 9:30 AM on the 4th floor of the state capital building in Lansing. If you've never been to Lansing, it's easy enough to find--a quick Google Maps search will give you directions in a heartbeat. Turnout should be high, and it may be a tight fit--come early if you want to guarantee a seat.

Special thanks to Samantha Zach, Michael Shulman and Michael Belanovsky, who have been working with State Representative Rebekah Warren's office to invite members of the legislature to the hearings. Additionally, Professors Kupperman, McDowell and Weisserman will sit on the committee as well.

The following presentations will be made. IMPORTANT: We have only received Powerpoint presentations for those presentations with asterisks (*) next to them. We need to receive them by early this evening, or you must bring them on a flash drive in the morning.

* Health (Topic coordinators: Ariel Halperin, Mollie Coleman and Ally Washarawsky)

* Limit abuse of prescription pills, originally proposed by Gillian Gorge
* Mandatory Nutrition Facts on Resaturant Menus , originally proposed by Alexa Finkelstein
Requiring Physical Education in Public School Curriculums, originally proposed by Alysha Valencia
Mandatory High School Physical Education Requirement, originally proposed by Molly Coleman

Education and the Arts (Topic coordinators: Adam Lynn, Jason Javer and Daniel Fetner)

Mandating AP Courses in Michigan Public Schools, originally proposed by Jillian Bennett
* Providing Incentives to Clog the Michigan Brain Drain, originally proposed by Scott Schubiner
* Reading Support Program for Underperforming Students, originally proposed by Alex Rosenberg

Poverty (Topic coordinators: Andrew Guthrie, Justin Grischkan, and Brian Carlin)

Vacated buildings in Detroit should be made useful, originally proposed by Natalie Perach
Fighting Hunger In Michigan by Donating Leftovers, originally proposed by Alexis Rosen
* Keeping industries alive and bringing life to new industries in Michigan, originally proposed by Zachary Marc Kaufman

Environment and Science (Topic coordinators: Gillian Gorge, Stephanie Nosan, Stephanie Brigstock)

Increase the Sin Tax on Cigarettes, originally proposed by Justin A. Weiss
Reusable Water Bottle Distribution, originally proposed by Joseph Kimsal
Public Recycling Bins, originally proposed by James Hazan

Justice and Security (Topic coordinators: Rose Friedlander and Kasey Rothkopf)

Driving Tests for the Elderly., originally proposed by Jordan Simmonds
Increasing Security on College Campuses, originally proposed by John Wines
* Banning cell phone use while driving, originally proposed by Kathryn Libtow

Service Activities (Topic coordinators: Jenna Carpel and Aaron Sklar)

Food Drive, originally proposed by Scott Schubiner
School Supplies Drive, originally proposed by Allie Penz
Book Drive, originally proposed by Sarah Lynn Futernick
Salvation Army Clothing Drive, originally proposed by Donald Brian Effler III

By way of refresher: At 9:30, the chairpersons of the Michigan House of Representatives Special Commission on Civic Engagement will introduce the commission members and representatives from the various state agencies. We (Gary, Jay and Jeff) will then give a brief (!) history of the MSC, and introduce the agenda for the hearings.

Topic coordinators will then be introduced. (Each coordinator will speak, with one of you taking the lead role.) The coordinators will give a 1-2 minute summary of the most prominent ideas and issues that were discussed in that topic. They also may mention any noteworthy proposals that did NOT make it into the platform.

Then, the topic coordinators will introduce the author(s) of each resolution that has PASSED into the platform. ("And now, Tom Smith and Josie Gupta will talk about a resolution to improve tourism in the Thumb area ...") The authors will then spend 3-5 minutes explaining the underlying problem, the specifics of their resolution, and a summary of what was learned in discussion. Be sure to include specific facts and statistics in here, and above all be prepared to thoughtfully answer questions in a reasonable, highly informed way. The author(s) of each resolution in the platform should prep a BRIEF (no more than 4 slides) powerpoint presentation for these, as well as a written copy of the resolution for the committee.

See you all then, and good luck!

(!) Final Portfolio: Date Change By Request by Gary Weisserman on Monday, April 12, 2010 at 7:34 AM

By request of, well, just about everyone in EDU 362, we're going to move the final due date for your portfolios to April 21st at 3:00 PM. Remember, please upload the portfolio here ON THE MSC SITE.

Please remember, however: AUTHORS OF RESOLUTIONS IN THE PLATFORM and ENACTED SERVICE PROPOSALS: Please send a copy of your presentation and speech to your topic coordinators AND to Gary, Jay and Jeff no later than Thursday, April 15. Thanks!

(!) Preparing for April 20th's hearings ... by Gary Weisserman on Tuesday, April 06, 2010 at 7:57 AM

(Note: for information on service participation requirements, see the previous announcement below.)

As we move into the final stretch toward our April 20th hearing, topic coordinators should begin working with platform authors to make final edits. At this point changes should be relatively minor, but authors of proposals in the platform should take special care to make sure that the proposals are complete and free of grammatical and spelling errors. You may also add or change wording for clarity. Authors of other proposals may want to revise as well, since all published proposals will become part of the MSC archive. To revise, authors and co-authors should follow the "edit" link next to the listing of their proposal, or may work offline until such time as the proposal is finished.

One revision many of you will need to make is in the "consultations" section. The aim of the consultations section is to help check the feasibility and desirability of *your specific proposal* with people outside the MSC who are knowledgeable or interested in the issue. You must, therefore, consult with *real, live people*, in person, via phone, or email and get their reactions to your proposal. The consultant might be someone with particular knowledge -- for example, a public official, professor, or other professional -- or it might be someone who would be especially affected by your proposal, including business owners, parents, students in another part of the state, or other ordinary citizens. In any case, the point is to broaden the kind of feedback you get on your proposal. UM students, please re-read the relevant section of the syllabus for more details.

The April 20th hearing is coming up shortly. Please remember that attendance is MANDATORY for all UM caucus members, whether or not you are a topic coordinator, and whether or not you end up speaking to the Commission. If you have another class at that time, please explain the situation to your instructor for that class -- in the past, instructors have been very understanding. Lansing is about an hour from Ann Arbor by car, and you will need to arrange your own transportation there and back. (We're assuming that you'll be able to arrange rides amongst yourselves, but let us know if you need help finding someone to ride with. And before you ask us how to get there, look it up.)

The hearing will take place roughly as follows:

At 9:30, the chairpersons of the Michigan House of Representatives Special Commission on Civic Engagement will introduce the commission members and representatives from the various state agencies. We (Gary, Jay and Jeff) will then give a brief (!) history of the MSC, and introduce the agenda for the hearings.

Topic coordinators will then be introduced. (Each coordinator will speak, with one of you taking the lead role.) The coordinators will give a 1-2 minute summary of the most prominent ideas and issues that were discussed in that topic. They also may mention any noteworthy proposals that did NOT make it into the platform.

Then, the topic coordinators will introduce the author(s) of each resolution that has PASSED into the platform. ("And now, Tom Smith and Josie Gupta will talk about a resolution to improve tourism in the Thumb area ...") The authors will then spend 3-5 minutes explaining the underlying problem, the specifics of their resolution, and a summary of what was learned in discussion. Be sure to include specific facts and statistics in here, and above all be prepared to thoughtfully answer questions in a reasonable, highly informed way. The author(s) of each resolution in the platform should prep a BRIEF (no more than 4 slides) powerpoint presentation for these, as well as a written copy of the resolution for the committee.

AUTHORS OF SERVICE PROPOSALS currently being enacted should similarly be prepared to give a brief overview of the need for the action, the action itself, and progress to date.

AUTHORS OF RESOLUTIONS IN THE PLATFORM and ENACTED SERVICE PROPOSALS: Please send a copy of your presentation and speech to your topic coordinators AND to Gary, Jay and Jeff no later than Thursday, April 15.

Remember that this is FORMAL TESTIMONY before the House of Representatives. Your name and testimony will be entered into the public record. This is not a demonstration or a show; these are elected officials genuinely interested in reaping the benefits of hard work by thoughtful, intelligent, informed people. They are taking a considerable chunk of time out of their day in a busy part of the year to hear what we have to say. You will need to be well prepared, which is why the topic coordinators will need copies of everything several days in advance. Dress, needless to say, is business attire.

(!) Service proposals: congratulations, and what to do next by Gary Weisserman on Tuesday, April 06, 2010 at 7:52 AM

Out of the many creative and thoughtful service proposals that were submitted, the Service Coordinators have chosen four for enactment. The four were chosen based partly on the number of commitments they had received, but also on the extent to which they met the criteria outlined in the syllabus, particularly in terms of their broad applicability to students across Michigan, and also in terms of going beyond existing opportunities with established organizations. Please see the service section for the proposals themselves; however, in short, they are:

"Book Drive". Initiated by Sarah Lynn Futernick
"Food Drive". Initiated by Scott Schubiner
"School Supplies Drive". Initiated by Allie Penz
"Salvation Army Clothing Drive". Initiated by Donald Brian Effler III

IMPORTANT: If you have not already committed to one of the chosen proposals, YOU MUST COMMIT TO ONE OF THEM NOW. In other words, if you had committed to a proposal that was not chosen for enactment, you must RE-COMMIT to one of the chosen proposals. If that applies to you, be sure you have made your re-commitment NO LATER THAN FRIDAY.

AUTHORS OF THOSE FOUR PROPOSALS: You need to organize and begin your activity as soon as possible. I strongly suggest making an email group that includes everyone who has committed. Please copy Jeff, Jay and me on any email correspondence you send to the group. You may also continue to use the discussion areas in the various proposals.

DOCUMENTATION: Regardless of your role in the action you choose, you will need to document your activity. Documentation may be done in any medium, including photos, video, audio, or written narrative. You can -- and should -- upload these media and files directly to the proposal, whether or not you are the author. UM students should also be sure to save a copy of any documentation to submit with your final portfolio.

We're looking forward to seeing your proposals in action!

(!) April 7th Town Hall Meeting by JMcDowell on Saturday, April 03, 2010 at 9:34 AM

The April 7th Town Hall Meeting will be held from 5:30pm-6:30pm in room 2224 of the SOE Building.

(!) Poverty Coordinators Announce Town Hall Meeting April 7th. by JMcDowell on Friday, April 02, 2010 at 7:55 AM

On Wednesday April 7, Michael Appel has agreed to speak with us, he is a director at Avalon Housing which is a supportive housing corporation for Washtenaw county The Town Hall Meeting will be held in room 2224 of the SOE Building.

(!) Reminders ... by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 8:03 AM

... we are counting down to our April 20th date in Lansing! In the meantime, you should be committing to your service proposals, and preparing to get them started ...

(!) Service Proposals by JMcDowell on Monday, March 29, 2010 at 8:33 PM

Just a reminder that it is time to commit to the Service Proposals!

(!) Justice and Security Coordinators Announce Additions to the Platform by JMcDowell on Monday, March 29, 2010 at 8:31 PM

The following proposals will be added to the Winter 2010 Platform:

Banning cell phone use while driving (36%) by Jenn Cleary

Increasing security on college campuses (30%) by John Wines

Driving tests for the elderly. (30%) by Jordan Simmonds

(!) Reminder ... by Gary Weisserman on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 8:41 AM

This is just a reminder that construction of service proposals begins today, March 18, 2010 and ends on March 26, 2010; participants may commit to a service project beginning on March 27, 2010 through April 4, 2010.

Start getting those service proposals together!

Service projects will take place between April 4, 2010 and the end of the session, based on the dates identified in each adopted project.

(!) Town Hall Meeting to be held in Room 2218 by JMcDowell on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 9:12 AM

The Poverty Town hall Meeting will be held in room 2218 of the SOE Building.

(!) Poverty Coordinators announce Town Hall Meeting Monday March 22nd at 6pm. by JMcDowell on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 9:21 PM

The Poverty Topic Coordinators announce a Town Hall Meeting on Monday March 22nd at 6pm. The room is to be announced. Check back for an update.

The speaker will be Amanda Tillotson who is a joint doctoral student in social work and political science. She works almost exclusively on domestic poverty issues. She holds a masters in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles. Ms. Tillotson has published numerous articles in numerous journals including a recent publication in 2009 in The Urban Planning Journal. Her paper discusses the foreclosure and poverty crisis of the 1980s and the early phases of the sub-prime crises. In March, 2009 she presented her paper “Dominant Discourse: Race, Class and Foreclosure” at The Emerging Issues in Poverty and Inequality Conference at the University of Michigan. Among other attributes, Ms. Tillotson is on the Planning Committee of the Interdisciplinary Group on Poverty and Inequality at the University of Michigan. She is the co-founder and co-leader of this group and is in charge of organizing panel presentations and the graduate research symposium. Ms. Tillotson has a vast amount of practical experience with poverty and is excited to speak with us on reasons for which poverty exists and the current economic crisis facing the impoverished in America today.

(!) The Environment & Science Topic Coordinators Announce the Proposals to add to the Platform! by JMcDowell on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 3:06 PM

The following proposals will be added to the Winter 2010 Platform:

Increase the Sin Tax on Cigarettes (27%)- originally proposed by Justin Weiss and Drew Tevrizian 

Reusable water bottle distribution (27%)- originally proposed by Joseph Kimsal and Kelly Bartlett

Public recycling bins (27%)- originally proposed by James Hazan

(!) Poverty Coordinators announce the proposals for the platform! by JMcDowell on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 3:02 PM

The following Proposals will be added to the Winter 2010 Platform:

1. "Keeping Industries Alive and Bringing Life to new industries in Michigan" (28%)

2. "Restaurants Donate leftover food" (28%) COMBINED WITH "Fighting Hunger in michigan" (27%)


3. "Vacated Buildings in Detroit should be made useful" (25%).

(!) Poverty voting concludes by Gary Weisserman on Tuesday, March 09, 2010 at 7:15 AM

Following some absolutely terrific discussion, voting on the Poverty topic has concluded. Topic coordinators, please let Prof. McDowell and Weisserman know your top three selections as soon as possible!

(!) Calendar adjustments: PLEASE NOTE by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 7:44 AM

Please note the calendar adjustments that have been made to the Poverty, Environment, and Justice committees. Some phases have been lengthened to adjust for UM-Ann Arbor's spring break schedule. (And for those of you on break--have a safe, happy vacation!)

(!) by JMcDowell on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 7:16 AM

The Education and Arts topic coordinators have listed the following proposals as having won spots on the 2010 Winter platform:

Mandating AP Courses into Michigan Public Schools(29%) originally proposed by Jillian Bennett

Providing incentives to clog the Michigan brain drain(29%) originally proposed by Scott Schubiner

Reading support program for underperforming students (29%) originally proposed by Alex Rosenberg

Congratulations, all! These resolutions will be marked as "platform" later this week, and the topic coordinators should be in touch with the authors to do "final cleanup" on the entries (and combination of resolutions as appropriate).

(!) UM Spring Break by Gary Weisserman on Monday, February 22, 2010 at 6:47 PM

It has been correctly pointed out that UM's spring break conflicts with some of the platform construction dates. If there are any major objections to altering the schedule a bit to adjust for this fact, please let me know by tomorrow via email. Thanks!

(!) REMINDER.... by JMcDowell on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 8:11 PM

The voting for Ed and Arts has ended. Proposal construction for Poverty continues through Saturday February 20th. Brainstorming for Environment and Science ends Friday with proposal construction beginning on Saturday.

(!) Reminder ... by Gary Weisserman on Monday, February 15, 2010 at 6:43 PM

... Just a reminder: Education and the Arts voting winds up today! If you haven't voted, you'll want to do so ASAP ...

(!) Town Meeting: Environment and Science by Gary Weisserman on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 2:29 PM

The Environment and Science Town Hall Meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 17th at 6:30 PM in room 2224 SEB. Our topic coordinators, Stephanie Nosan, Stephanie Brigstock, and Gillian Gorge, have arranged for Mr. Terry Nosan, CEO of NextDiesel BioDiesel, to be our guest. See you then!

(!) Health platform entries by Gary Weisserman on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 9:52 AM

The Health topic coordinators have listed the following proposals as having won spots on the 2010 Winter platform:

1. Mandatory High School Physical Education Requirement (40%) and Requiring Physical Education in public school curriculums (39%)

Authors: Molly Coleman and Haley Karlsruher and Alysha Valenica and Mollie Cowen

2. Mandatory Nutrition Facts on Restaurant Menus (37%)

Author: Alexa Finkelstein

3. Limit Abuse of Prescription Pills (34%)

Authors: Gillian Gorge And Jillian Bennett

Congratulations, all! These resolutions will be marked as "platform" later this week, and the topic coordinators should be in touch with the authors to do "final cleanup" on the entries (and combination of resolutions as appropriate).

(!) Welcome by J.McDowell on Monday, February 08, 2010 at 12:52 PM

Welcome Howell High School students from Mr. Marek's, Ms. Steele's, and Mr. McDowell's classes!

(!) Voting ends in Health by Gary Weisserman on Saturday, February 06, 2010 at 9:13 AM

The voting has ended in the "Health" topic. Topic coordinators are asked to select the two or three top resolutions, allowing for common sense and/or referring duplicate or strongly related resolutions to their authors to be combined and "cleaned up," preferably within the next few days ...!

(!) Bug fixed by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 at 11:33 AM

Just FYI--the bug that was preventing people from "weighting" the Environment and Science topic has been resolved. If you encounter any more problems, please let us know ... thanks!

(!) Calendar updates, new Town Meeting date by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 at 6:47 AM

Several reminders today:

First, the Poverty topic opens for brainstorming discussion today. At the same time, voting in Health is beginning to wind down, as is resolution construction in Education. Lots going on!

Also, the Justice and Security topic coordinators have announced their town meeting guest and date: on February 10 at 6:00 PM in room 2224 School of Education Building, they will be hosting Sgt. Jason Forsberg of the University's police department. Sgt. Forsberg grew up in Michigan and has a bachelor's degree in Psychology. He attended the Washtenaw Police Academy and has worked for DPS for 14 years. He has been a police patrol officer, a detective and he is currently a police sergeant. His current duties include supervising officers on the day shift, coordinating our community policing program, and coordinating the K9 unit. See you then!

(!) Reminder: Town Meeting, February 2, 2010 by Gary Weisserman on Tuesday, February 02, 2010 at 9:00 AM

Just a reminder: The Education and the Arts topic coordinators have announced a Town Meeting on Tuesday, February 2, at 6:30 PM in room 2302 of the School of Education Building. Our guest will be Professor Kai Cortina, an Associate Professor of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan. Topic coordinators have asked those in attendance to be present at 6:30 sharp. See you then!

(!) Town Meeting: TOMORROW by Gary Weisserman on Monday, February 01, 2010 at 9:42 AM

The Education and the Arts topic coordinators have announced a Town Meeting on Tuesday, February 2, at 6:30 PM in room 2302 of the School of Education Building.

Our guest will be Professor Kai Cortina. Per the coordinators, "Dr. Cortina is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan. His research is based around a lot of the topics that have been discussed on the discussion board. He has particularly focused his training in the cognitive and psychological development of adolescence and in analyzing and evaluating teaching practice. We have met with him and got him acquainted with the website and he is very eager to re-acquaint himself with some of the major topics in this section and speak before the Michigan Student Caucus."

We hope to see you there!

(!) Vote vote vote, and more vote by Gary Weisserman on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 10:33 AM

Just a reminder: voting (and discussion about voting) is open in Health, and resolution construction is open in Poverty ...

(!) Health proposals and more by Gary Weisserman on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 7:19 AM

Remember, today is the LAST DAY to publish proposals for Health, including consultations. Tomorrow, the topic will move into voting. It's probably a good idea for everyone to update their weights now, before you vote.

Education and the Arts will move out of brainstorming tomorrow and into resolution construction. And just around the corner is brainstorming for Poverty ...

Topic coordinators, please remember to get us information regarding Town Meetings as soon as possible!

(!) Another reminder ... by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 6:24 AM

... that Resolution construction in Health ends the 28th. If you have any resolutions for inclusion, get them in now! Remember, too, the author of each clause should upload their own work ...

(!) Resolution construction begins in Health by Gary Weisserman on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 6:30 AM

Just a reminder that the resolution construction phase has begun in the Health topic, meaning our focus in that area goes from brainstorming to actual resolution construction. Remember that all resolutions must be connected to expert consultations! Also remember that all clauses should be submitted by their authors, respectively.

(!) Town Hall Meetings by JMcDowell on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 7:39 PM

The first Town Hall meeting of the semester was fantastic. Congrats to the topic coordinators for Health!
Below you will find some guidelines that were put together last semester by our Grad Assistant Wade Merrill. They should serve as a simple reminder as you work to put together and host your town hall meeting.



Thoughts on Hosting Effective Town Hall Meetings

As you plan these events for your fellow students throughout the semester, it may be helpful to keep some of the following guidelines in mind in. Following these will hopefully produce the most effective use of everyone’s time, help the guest speakers / panelists and ensure that everyone gets as much as possible out of the experience.

Plan Ahead

* Make sure to give at least a week to ten days notice to all students and others you hope to have attend, at least two weeks for a speaker / panelist. Make sure the location, the topic and biographies of participants are published to the group to help drum up interest.
* Select a room for the event that is appropriately sized and furnished for what you expect.



Prepare the Speaker / Panelist

* Take the time to share with the guest exactly what MSC is and what you hope to accomplish at the event. The sooner you get them this information, the more comfortable and prepared they are likely to be.
* Make sure they know how formal or informal you plan to have it be and ask if they would like and A/V equipment, copies of hand outs or other specialized materials.



General Guidelines for Coordinators

* Prepare introductions: Not every participant needs to introduce themselves, but the Coordinators should definitely make themselves known and should also prepare short but informative and polite introductions for the guests.
* Be prepared with conversation starters in case things do not naturally flow out of the group. If participants are slow to engage the speaker / panel, make sure you have a list of key points you think should be discussed during the event and ideas on how to get the ball rolling. Don’t be afraid to employ a gimmick or make it fun, as long as it remains appropriately academic.
* Take notes throughout the event so you can provide a succinct review at the end of the session as well as a summary to share with those who could not attend (as well as the video version of the event).



Follow Up

* Make sure to issue “Thank yous” to any speakers or contributors. This can be as simple as an email, but the recognition may go a long way in the future.



Please feel free to let us know if we can help in any way.

(!) Education and the Arts brainstorming; Health resolutions; first Town Meeting by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 6:37 AM

Brainstorming is now open for Education and the Arts! Topic coordinators, we look forward to you moderating the discussion, and to information about your upcoming town meeting.

Resolution construction in the Health topic will begin tomorrow, meaning brainstorming will close, and attention should then be given to turning our ideas into actual legislation. Please remember that expert consultations are a required part of any good resolution.

Finally, congratulations to our Health topic coordinators Ariel Halperin, Mollie Coleman, and Ally Washarawsky. Professor McDowell reliably informs us that yesterday's Town Meeting with Dr. Jack Billi, the Associate Dean and Vice President of the UM Health System Leadership Team, was outstanding--we look forward to seeing the video!

(!) Schedule reminders by Gary Weisserman on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 6:47 PM

Remember, brainstorming continues in Health through the 21st, after which we move to the resolution construction portion of the topic. Education and the Arts opens for brainstorming on the 20th, meaning we'll begin having to "multi-task" multiple topics at once!

(!) Just a reminder ... by Gary Weisserman on Monday, January 18, 2010 at 5:15 PM

... to topic coordinators to begin arranging your Town Hall meetings as soon as possible! We begin the Poverty brainstorming in just a few days. Brainstorming in Health, meanwhile, continues until the 21st, after which we begin to move into resolution construction ...

(!) Town Hall Meeting: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 by Gary Weisserman on Monday, January 18, 2010 at 12:10 PM

There will be a Health town hall meeting held on Tuesday, January 19th at 5:30 PM in room 2229 in the School of Education Building. Dr. Jack Billi, the Associate Dean and Vice President of the UM Health System Leadership Team will be joining us. The town hall meeting will be moderated by Health topic coordinators Ariel Halperin, Mollie Coleman, and Ally Washarawsky. See you then!

Coordinators, please remember to tape and/or transcript the event, and to take attendance at the event for any EDU 362 students present.

(!) Good start to the session! by Gary Weisserman on Friday, January 15, 2010 at 9:11 AM

Just a note to say the opening of the session has been great--we've been very impressed with the quality of initial discussion in the Health area, and we're looking forward to more and more members joining the dialogue!

(!) Tentative date for MSC Spring Hearings by Gary Weisserman on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 2:08 PM

Our tentative date for the MSC Spring Legislative Hearings is April 20, 2010, from 9:00-11:30 AM in the room 426 of the Capitol Building. As always, this is subject to change due to legislative emergencies, but please note this on your calendars!

State Representative Rebecca Warren of the 53rd District will chair the hearings, and will be joined by colleagues from the House, Senate, Executive branch, and state agencies.

(!) Information for EDU 362 students by Gary Weisserman on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 10:07 AM

Just a note that overrides have been issued for students who attended last night's orientation. You will still need to login to Wolverine Access and add yourselves to the course. Please let us know if you have any questions.

(!) Topic coordinators by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 8:15 PM

Congratulations to our Winter 2010 Topic Coordinators:

Health:

Ariel Halperin
Mollie Coleman
Ally Washarawsky

Education and Arts:

Adam Lynn
Jason Javer
Daniel Fetner

Poverty:

Andrew Guthrie
Justin Grischkan
Brian Carlin

Environment and Science:

Gillian Gorge
Stephanie Nosan
Stephanie Brigstock

Justice and Security:

Rose Friedlander
Kasey Rothkopf

Service:

Jenna Carpel
Aaron Sklar

Additionally, our Public Relations liaisons will be Samantha Zach and Michael Belanovsky.

Discussion is open immediately in Health. See you all in the Brainstorming area!

(!) Welcome to Winter Session 2010! by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 11:26 AM

Welcome, everyone, to the Winter 2010 Session of the Michigan Student Caucus! We are tremendously excited about these upcoming sessions, and looking forward to working with you all!

Just FYI, the site will be "opened" for business, officially, beginning this evening, meaning participants may login and begin deliberations. Our first topic this session is Health in Michigan, which includes a variety of sub-topics, ranging from health care, preventative medicine, insurance, environmental issues, health education, and much more.

As always, deliberations will begin with the brainstorming and open discussion phase, then will move to resolution construction and, finally, voting. Be sure to check the calendar below for more information!

(!) Mandatory MSC Winter 2010 Meeting by Gary Weisserman on Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 8:15 AM

There will be a MANDATORY orientation session for EDU 362, Michigan Student Caucus, for Professors Weisserman, McDowell and Kupperman, will be held at Schorling Auditorium in the School of Education on Jan 13th from 6:30-8:30.

Returning students should anticipate staying an additional fifteen minutes or so.

Following the orientation, we will be addressing those students who need overrides. We are not yet sure how many we will be able to accommodate, but will do our best to help as many students as possible.

Technical notes:

The new Michigan Student Caucus site is still in beta. Thanks for your patience in helping us make it better!

At the moment, you'll need the Firefox or Safari browser to be able to access all site capabilities (we strongly recommend Firefox for all platforms). Until further announcement, assigning weights to topics and the "drag and drop" features used while editing proposals do not work in Internet Explorer. We are working on the issue and hope to resolve it soon.

Technical update: A problem has been found in Safari as well. When you upload media files, Safari will not refresh the page properly. For the time being, if you must use Safari, you may need to click on a tab again to refresh. We are aware of the problem and are looking for a fix.

About the Michigan Student Caucus

The Michigan Student Caucus represents students throughout Michigan to the Michigan State Legislature. Since 2001, thousands of students across Michigan have participated in online deliberation, negotiation and voting leading to the construction of a political platform that is presented in formal testimony to the House Commission on Civic Engagement.

The Michigan Student Caucus is not affiliated with any political party or organization. The MSC is open to any Michigan resident (permanent or temporary) who is a student. For information about the program, please contact our faculty advisors at The University of Michigan, Professors Gary Weisserman and Jeff Kupperman.

Twice each year, MSC participants, including hundreds of high school and college students from around Michigan, present testimony about the MSC platform before the Michigan House of Representatives' Special Commission on Civic Engagement.

The following documents may be useful to you in getting started:

• The MSC archives from Winter 2009, Fall 2008 and Winter 2008. (You'll need to join the archived sites separately to view content.)
• The Winter 2009 platform (200 K, PDF format).
• The Fall 2008 platform (200 K, PDF format).
• The Winter 2008 platform (160 K, PDF format).
• The Fall 2007 platform (198 K, PDF format).
• The 2005-2006 platform.
• The 2006-2007 platform.
• Students taking this course for college credit at UM-Ann Arbor may download the Winter 2010 syllabus for EDUC 362.
• Similarly, students taking this course for graduate credit at UM-Flint may download the Fall 2009 syllabus for EDT 532.
• Here is a presentation that was used during the orientation session to introduce the program (Google Docs).

Committee schedule:

The committee schedule will occur along the following schedule (schedule subject to change):

Health (Health): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on January 12, 2010 and ends on January 21, 2010; resolution construction begins on January 22, 2010 and ends on January 28, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on January 29, 2010 and ends on February 5, 2010.

Education and the Arts (Ed & Arts): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on January 20, 2010 and ends on January 29, 2010; resolution construction begins on January 29, 2010 and ends on February 5, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on February 5, 2010 and ends on February 15, 2010.

Poverty (Poverty): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on February 3, 2010 and ends on February 13, 2010; resolution construction begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 20, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on February 21, 2010 and ends on March 8, 2010.

Environment and Science (Env & Sci): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on February 10, 2010 and ends on February 19, 2010; resolution construction begins on February 20, 2010 and ends on February 27, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on February 28, 2010 and ends on March 15, 2010.

Justice and Security (Just & Sec): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on February 17, 2010 and ends on February 26, 2010; resolution construction begins on February 27, 2010 and ends on March 14, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on March 9, 2010 and ends on March 23, 2010.

Service schedule:

The service schedule will occur along the following schedule (schedule subject to change):

Winter 2010 (Service): Open brainstorming for service projects begins on March 8, 2010 and ends on March 17, 2010; construction of service proposals begins on March 18, 2010 and ends on March 26, 2010; participants may commit to a service project beginning on March 27, 2010 through April 4, 2010. Service projects will take place between April 4, 2010 and the end of the session, based on the dates identified in each adopted project. (Projects must be approved by the service chair and faculty advisors.)

Special events, such as expert chats, will take place regularly. Please check the latest news in the "updates" area.

All MSC participants are, of course, strongly encouraged to attend our hearings in Lansing, usually in December and April (dates TBA). Participants earning college credit in EDUC 362 (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor) or EDT 532 (University of Michigan-Flint) are expected to attend per course requirements.