(!) Deadline extension for final portfolio by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 11:14 AM

UM students: we are extending the deadline for submission of your final portfolios to the end of the day this Saturday, April 21. Starting later today there will be a link at the top of this page for submitting your portfolio. (Please do not email your portfolio to the instructors; contact us if you have difficulty uploading your document.)

In your portfolio, be sure to include "take away" points and lessons learned from the hearing today.

Also: Please include YOUR NAME IN THE FILENAME of the portfolio you upload. (E.g., "John_Doe_Educ362_portfolio_w12.doc")

(!) Take notes at the hearing by Jeff Kupperman on Friday, April 13, 2012 at 10:36 AM

Just a reminder that one of the requirements of your portfolio is to write about *at least* one non-trivial thing you learned at the hearing, so you should be prepared to take notes ....

(!) Environment and Health platform by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at 9:58 AM

Based on the voting results* and on recommendation of the topic coordinators, the platform for Environment and Health is as follows:

1. Requiring Schools Throughout the State of Michigan to Have AED Machines, by Scott Tuchfeld and Josh Leighton

2. Protect Michigan's Great Lakes, by Brett Singer and Charles Breitbart

*Some high vote-getting proposals were passed over because they were similar to proposals in recent MSC platforms.

(!) Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship Platform by Jeff Kupperman on Friday, April 06, 2012 at 1:05 PM

On recommendation of the topic coordinators for Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship, based on the voting results and appropriateness to the topic area, the following two proposals have been entered into the platform:

1. Malnutrition in Children And Elders, by Calie Morrow

2. Government Sponsored Food Trucks, originally proposed by Samantha Goldner and Kirby Leigh Jacobs

(!) Information about the April 17 hearing by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, April 05, 2012 at 9:14 AM

As previously noted, you will be presenting the MSC platform before the Michigan House of Representatives Special Commission on Civic Engagement, 9:00 - noon on Tuesday, April 17, in the House Appropriations Room of Michigan State Capitol building. Please plan to arrive no later than 8:45am; speakers and coordinators should arrive by 8:30. Lansing is about an hour from Ann Arbor by car, and you will need to arrange your own transportation there and back.

This is the culminating event for the MSC semester, and your best chance for your ideas to have a direct impact on lawmakers. Attendance is MANDATORY for all caucus members taking MSC as a university course, whether or not you are a topic coordinator, and whether or not you have authored a proposal in the platform.

The hearing will take place roughly as follows:

At 9:00, 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 (Jay, David, Michael 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, Mark Goldfaden and Raashid Gupta will talk about a resolution to improve tourism in the Thumb area ...") The authors will then spend NO MORE THAN 3 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 very brief (1 minute) 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 the text of your speech to your TOPIC COORDINATORS as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, December 13.

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.

ALSO:

As previously noted, it is possible to make final revisions to proposals in topics where the vote has ended. (We purposely restricted editing on published proposals as they went into voting, for fairness and to avoid confusion.) 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. As mentioned earlier, 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.

(!) What you should be doing now by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, April 02, 2012 at 9:27 AM

As we move into the final stages of the Winter 2012 Caucus, here is what you should be doing:

1) Voting and voting discussion: Voting is currently going on in Environment & Health, and in Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship. Keep in mind that it's important not just to record your vote, but to actively engage in the discussions around the voting.

2) Service enactment and documentation: Everyone should be involved in one of the selected service projects, under the guidance of the project's author(s) and the Service coordinators. Be sure to photograph, video, and/or write reflections on what you did, and UPLOAD those items to the "attachments" section of the proposal. (Yes, this means attaching a file to a proposal someone else authored.)

3) Refinement of proposals in the platform: While all of the proposals in the platform are strong ideas, all can use some degree of refinement and elaboration. Proposals in areas where voting has ended can be commented upon and edited once again. Between now and the hearing, please spend time looking closely at all the proposals in the platform and making concrete suggestions to the authors. Comments on specific clauses (click the "speech bubbles" next to each clause) are usually the most useful. Authors, please check for new comments regularly and consider making changes or additions as appropriate. Instructions on preparing for the April 17 hearing will be posted here soon.

Below are some questions that have come up repeatedly in the hearings in the past, which you should use to help guide your revisions:

- Why are you proposing this to the legislature? In other words, what do you want the state government to do with this proposal?

- How much will it cost, how many people will be served, and how are you going to fund it? What is the "return on investment"?

- Why are you focusing on [Detroit, Ann Arbor, UM, etc.] in particular? What's in it for the rest of the state?

- What existing organizations, government officials, or relevant professionals in Michigan are addressing similar issues?

- Is there a bill on a similar topic currently being considered in the legislature? If so, what do you think of it?

- What stakeholders might be opposed to your proposal, and how will you address their concerns?

4) Finally, in topics where the voting has ended you may revise your own proposals, even if they are not in the platform. All MSC proposals are public information, so it's in the interest of the Caucus to make your proposals as strong as possible. Use the questions above as a guide as you think about how your proposals could be made stronger.

(!) Economic Policy platform by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 9:24 PM

Based on the voting and the recommendations of the topic coordinator, the platform for Economic Policy will be as follows:

1. "Increase the Tax on Cigarettes," by Lauren Schiller and Stephanie Smith

2. A combined proposal about incentives for high-tech businesses, based on "Implement Lower-Interest State Loans for Tech Startups" by Jacob Rosenfeld and "Extending the MEGA High-Tech Tax Credits" by Josh Leighton.

(!) Office Hours this week by Michael Fahy on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at 9:19 PM

I will be offering office hours tomorrow WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM and again THURSDAY, MARCH 29, from 9:00 to 10:00 AM.
If these hours conflict with your schedule but you would like to meet, please send me an email (CC'd to ALL instructors) indicating available times and I will try to accommodate.
The ICS OFFICE is located at 516 School of Education, which is in the BASEMENT on the SOUTH side of the buidling. You can enter from either East University Avenue, or the entrance opposite Lorch hall: either way, take the short flight of stairs down. Do not be dissuaded by the pipes and vents: you are indeed in the right place. MICHAEL

(!) Background for Environment & Health Town Hall this Wednesday by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, March 26, 2012 at 11:48 AM

Dr. Barry Rabe, the speaker for the Environment & Health Town Hall meeting this Wednesday, would like MSC members to read a paper he co-authored about public opinion and climate change. You can find the paper at the URL below.

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2012/02_climate_change_rabe_borick/02_climate_change_rabe_borick.pdf

The town hall meeting with Dr. Rabe is this Wednesday, March 28 at 6:15pm in room 2327 ("Brownlee Room") in the School of Education. Please attend if you can -- it's a great opportunity to talk with one of the leading experts on climate change and public policy.

(!) The room for this Thursday's town hall meeting by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, March 19, 2012 at 9:16 PM

...will be 2229 in the School of Education.

(!) Town hall meeting Thursday 6:30 by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, March 19, 2012 at 10:10 AM

Service coordinator David Stover has arranged a special town hall meeting this Thursday at 6:30 (room TBD) with Wendy Brightman, the Managing Director of Ele's Place. Although service actions are currently underway, you may find this meeting useful as you think about ideas and issues in the remaining topics.

Some background from David:

"Running a non-profit successfully in Michigan during an economic downturn has been a challenge but Ele’s Place has continued to exceed financial goals and meet the ever increasing population of children and their families seeking grief support. By surrounding herself with a remarkable team of caring, devoted professionals, Wendy has been able to focus on fund development and community outreach, while maintaining the highest level of quality programming in the industry. In fact, other grief support organizations look to Ele’s Place as a model to benchmark their success.

"Wendy and her husband Bryan, moved to Michigan in August of 2007. They have two daughters who are active in swimming and track at Saline High School. Wendy wanted me to share that when she arrived in Michigan, she was a Buckeye! Now, she roots for Michigan, too."

(!) Hearing date confirmed by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 6:58 PM

We've confirmed Tuesday, April 17, 9am - noon for the hearing in Lansing. Attendance is mandatory for all MSC members enrolled in a UM course; please work on resolving any conflicts you may have for that day and time so that you can attend.

(!) Rooms for upcoming town hall meetings by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 10:17 AM

The upcoming Town Hall Meetings will both be in Room 2327 ("Brownlee Room") in the School of Education.

Economic Policy: this Friday, March 16, 5:00pm.

Environment & Health: Wednesday, March 28 at 6:15pm (note slight time change).

(!) Economic policy town hall Friday by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 5:04 PM

A town hall meeting for Economic Policy will be held this Friday at 5:00pm, room TBA. This town hall will also be of interest to those planning or working on proposals in Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship.

The featured guest, Alex Gatof, a junior here at U of M - Ann Arbor, started his own company called Splash.fm. Splash.fm is a social media music based discovery website, and Alex will touch on his background how he got started in his company and discuss what goes into building a company from the ground up; highlighting both on ambition and innovation among younger individuals in Michigan.

(!) Environment and Health proposal phase also extended by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 11:40 AM

By request from the Environment and Health topic coordinators, the proposal construction phase for that topic has been extended to the end of March, in order to accommodate a town hall meeting with Dr. Barry Rabe from the school of Public Policy.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 28 at 6 p.m., room TBA. Dr. Rabe conducts research on Public Opinion and Climate Change for The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, garnering international recognition for his work.

Please note that this means that the proposal construction phases for Economic Policy and for Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship will end before that of Environment and Health.

(!) Economic Policy proposal construction phase extended by Jeff Kupperman on Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 9:12 PM

The topic coordinators for Economic Policy are also trying to set up a town hall for this week, so the proposal construction phase has been extended until March 17.

(!) Minor in Possession legislative hearing by David Lossing on Friday, March 09, 2012 at 2:03 PM

In case any of you might be interested, the Judiciary Committee in the Michigan State Senate is holding a hearing on HB 4393 on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 2:30pm in Room 110 of the Farnum Building, 125 W. Allegan Street in Lansing, Michigan.

The bill, if approved and signed by the Governor, would exempt from underage drinking violations, minors (those under the age of 21) who present themselves or friends to medical personnel for treatment.

This issue has been one we've seen before in the MSC and several years ago, was presented as a resolution on the platform during the legislative hearing we hold at the State Capitol.

I only post this in case you want to see a legislative hearing in action, or better yet, provide direct testimony to the committee on any personal experiences with MIP that you may have encountered.

(!) Human Development & Welfare Platform by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, March 08, 2012 at 10:19 PM

Based on the voting results and on recommendation of the topic coordinators, the following two resolutions have been entered into the MSC platform in Human Development & Welfare:

1. Grades K-12 Class Sizes Capped at 20 Students for Academic Achievement, by Elizabeth Canvasser

2. Getting Back to Nutrition in School Lunch, by Elise King

Authors of two other proposals about nutrition in schools will be working with Elise to incorporate additional ideas into her proposal.

(!) Environment and Health proposal phase extended by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, March 08, 2012 at 8:01 PM

The Environment and Health topic coordinators have requested that the proposal creation phase for that topic be extended, in order to accomodate an upcoming Town Hall meeting. More details to follow soon....

(!) Town Hall Meeting today by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, March 07, 2012 at 8:08 AM

There is a town hall meeting for Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship today, Wednesday, March 7, at 4:00pm in room 2302 in the School of Education. See the previous announcement for details.

(!) Midterm meeting Thursday March 8, 7:30pm by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, March 01, 2012 at 10:02 AM

On Thursday, March 8 at 7:30 pm in Schorling Auditorium (1202 School of Education) we will hold a mid-term meeting for those in EDUC 362 at UM-Ann Arbor (others are welcome, too). Attendance is highly encouraged, though not strictly required.

This is your chance to ask questions, get advice about proposals or service enactment, get feedback on ideas, and clarify requirements of the course. Please come with a question for the instructors or for your fellow MSC members. The instructors will also present some advice and tips for your participation during the remainder of the semester.

(!) Three items by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 1:32 PM

A. SERVICE PROPOSALS
On recommendation of the Service Coordinators, the following proposals have been selected for enactment:

1. Write a Letter to Soldiers Overseas by Brett Petrone
2. Sports Equipment Drive by Josh Leighton
3. Pick Up Litter on Campus by Megan Knuth
4. Send Holiday Cards to Children's Hospitals by Elizabeth Canvasser
5. Donate Books Other Necessities to Local Libraries by Ariana Conti
6. Donate Clothes and Linens to ruth Ellis Center by Cody Hecht
7. Helping Homeless Veterans by Tresa Hudson

If you are not already committed to one of the proposals above (or are an author/co-author of one), please re-commit to one of the seven no later than this Sunday, February 26. Beginning the week of March 4, authors of these proposals should contact members who have committed, and organize enactment of the activity.

B. ARTS AND CULTURE PLATFORM

The topic coordinators have recommended two proposals for the Platform:

1. "Creating Urban Art Parks in Michigan Cities"
2. A combined proposal for improving arts and culture requirements in Michigan schools, drawn from several of the submitted proposals.

Topic coordinators will work with all of the authors to help edit the proposals and make improvements.

C. POSTING OVER UM BREAK

UM students are welcome to post over break next week, but it is not required. You are, however, expected to post the required minimum days this week and the week of March 4.

(!) Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship Town Hall: March 7 by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 11:53 AM

Don't forget about the Service Town Hall today at 6:30 (as noted below), but also note that a town hall meeting for Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship will be held Wednesday, March 7, at 4:00pm in room 2302 in the School of Education.

Topic coordinators Josh and Calie say, "We are proud to have Nick Tobier, an associate professor at the School of Art and Design, speak at the Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship Town Hall. He is helping to lead the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative at the U of M Center for Entrepreneurship. Nick has extensive experience working with urban environments and is the author of several writings on city space, itinerant entertainment, and forms forms of public entertainment as radical social strategy. Through the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, he is focused on educating UM students on social entrepreneurship, supporting innovations for social change, and launching social ventures from the U of M community."

(!) Service town hall meeting room by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, February 20, 2012 at 8:46 AM

The room for the Service town hall meeting will be 1315 in the School of Education building.

(!) Town Hall Meeting for Service this Tuesday, 6:30pm by Jeff Kupperman on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 3:31 PM

There will be a town hall meeting for "Service" this Tuesday, February 21 at 6:30 PM, room TBA. Rollin Johnson, the Director of Community Partnerships at Edward Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, is the featured guest. By that time we should know which service proposals are going to be enacted, so it will be an opportunity to get advice and feedback on the enactment of those proposals.

(!) Commit to service proposals by today by Jeff Kupperman on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 2:38 PM

Today is the deadline for initial service proposal commitments. The Service topic coordinators will be reviewing the proposals starting tomorrow and choosing several for enactment, based in part on the number of commitments received.

(!) Justice & Equity platform by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 9:33 AM

Based on the voting and upon recommendation of the topic coordinators, the following proposals have been chosen for the MSC platform in Justice & Equity:

1."Drug Testing Welfare Recipients," by Brent Petrone

2. "Revision of House Bill No.4551: Salary of Teachers Based Upon Performance Evaluation," by John Wojciechowski

However, the topic coordinators and faculty advisors have recommended substantial elaborations before the proposals are formally entered into the platform. The topic coordinators will work with the authors to make these revisions.

Also, one highly supported proposal, "Mandatory drivers license recertification for senior citizens above the age of 75," was eliminated from consideration because it is very similar to proposals in recent MSC platforms. All MSC members should be sure to look at previous platforms (via links below on this page) before submitting proposals.

(!) Office Hours This week. by Michael Fahy on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 7:08 PM

I will be offering office hours this Thursday (February 16th) from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Please feel free to come by if you have any questions or would otherwise like feedback on the work you have been doing in MSC. We will meet in the ICS office: 516 School of Education, which is located in the basement on the south side of the building. If you enter from either East University or just opposite Lorch Hall (nearest to the Business School complex), take the stairs down to the basement. Do not be dissuaded by the vents and pipes: you are indeed in the right place. Michael

(!) Correction! by JMcDowell on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 9:21 PM

Rep. Dale Kildee is not speaking wednesday. It is Dan Kildee who is a candidate to replace Rep. Kildee in the fall.

(!) Commit to Service Proposals by February 19 by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 10:11 AM

Proposal construction has ended in Service, and between now and February 19 you must commit to at least one service proposal other than those you have authored or co-authored. Committing means that IF that proposal is chosen for enactment, you will actually participate in the action proposed. Proposals will be chosen for enactment on recommendation of the Service coordinators (Rich and David), based on the number of commitments, after screening for appropriateness and feasibility.

After proposals are chosen for enactment, those who are not committed to any chosen proposal will need to re-commit to one of the chosen ones.

If you are an author of a proposal chosen for enactment, you will be expected to lead that action during the second half of the semester (with help from the Service coordinators), and that will take priority over any other commitments.

To commit to a proposal, display the proposal and follow the "Commit/View current commitments" link near the top. When you commit, write a sentence or two about why you chose that proposal.

(!) Rep. Dale Kildee to address UM-Flint MSC students by JMcDowell on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 4:46 PM

Rep. Dale Kildee, Democrat from Flint, representing the State's 5th Congressional District will speak to the UM-Flint MSC student group in room 310 of French Hall at 4pm wednesday Feb. 15th. Representative Kildee will be speaking about the concept of land banks in Flint as a way to shrink the city.

(!) Human Development & Welfare town hall meeting by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, February 07, 2012 at 10:12 AM

A town hall meeting for the Human Development & Welfare topic area will be held Monday, February 13, beginning at 6:30pm in room 1322 of the School of Education.

The featured guest will be Sari Adelson, who is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Prison Creative Arts Project (http://www.lsa.umich.edu/pcap). Come to find out more about this extraordinary program and to discuss your own ideas about what can be done to support the human of the most at-risk members of our community.

(!) Voting by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, February 06, 2012 at 1:29 PM

Now that voting is going on in the Justice & Equity topic, we'd like to reiterate that the *discussion* about voting (follow the "discuss this vote" link in the voting area) is just as important as setting your preferences with the sliders. Please be sure to participate and explain your arguments for and against various proposals.

We'd also like to emphasize that our voting system is set up so that you can register your *opposition* to proposals, as well as your preferences. You do this by making sure that the proposal(s) you oppose the most are set to "0", the one(s) you prefer the most are set to "100", and everything else is set in between. If you are indifferent or neutral about a proposal, you should set the slider to "50", NOT to "0".

(!) Don't forget: Arts & Culture Town Hall today by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, February 02, 2012 at 10:38 AM

....in room 1322 of the School of Education.

(!) One more reminder by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 at 10:00 PM

Just one more reminder about proposals: Except for Service proposals and those in the area of Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship, all proposals should start with a current Michigan law or bill in the legislature and state how and why you would amend, extend, reverse, or otherwise change that law or bill. The intent is not to limit proposal topics (there is a law or bill on just about every topic imaginable), but rather to ground your ideas in existing laws and issues that are under discussion in the state. Current Michigan laws and bills can be found at http://legislature.mi.gov/.

(!) Notes by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 at 10:14 AM

We're not going to post reminders about every deadline, but since we're almost at the end of the first proposal construction phase, here are a few notes:

- Proposal construction in "Justice & Equity" ends at midnight February 3. After that, Justice & Equity moves into the voting phase. Once in the voting phase, additional proposals cannot be published in that area, so be sure you have published any proposals you wish to have considered.

- Keep in mind that your goal during the voting phases is not just to express your preference numerically, but to discuss the proposals with your MSC colleagues and argue for the ones you think should be in the platform. Use the discussion area on the voting page for this purpose.

- Also keep in mind that the voting mechanism is set up so you don't have to choose 1 or 2 "favorites," but rather so that you can rate all of the proposals on a sliding scale. You should have at least one proposal set at "100" and one at "0", but others can be anywhere along that line, including more at 100 or 0. Be sure to set your voting "weights," at least for Justice & Equity.

- Proposals cannot be edited during the voting phase, but after the phase is over, editing will again be possible in order to make corrections or small revisions.

- Proposal construction has begun in "Service" and ends on February 12. Be sure to author or co-author a service proposal during this period. The deadline cannot be extended.

(!) Office Hours this week by Michael Fahy on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 9:41 PM

I will be offering office hours THURSDAY morning, February 2, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM, for any and all with questions or wanting feedback, at the ICS Office, located at 516 School of Education Building, in the basement on the south side of the building. If you see vents and pipes, you are in the right place.

Michael

(!) Justice & Equity Town Hall Meeting 6pm today by Jeff Kupperman on Friday, January 27, 2012 at 11:29 AM

Remember that there is a town hall meeting in the topic of Justice & Equity today at 6pm; details are in the announcement posted January 16.

Also, if you missed President Obama's speech in Ann Arbor this morning, the archived video should be available soon at www.whitehouse.gov (follow the "photos & video" link). The president mentioned several agenda items pertaining to higher education, and whether or not you agree with them, they are worth considering as inspiration for thinking about MSC proposals.

(!) Arts & Culture Town Hall by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 4:13 PM

A Town Hall meeting for Arts & Culture has been scheduled for 5pm next Thursday, February 2, in room 1322 of the School of Education.

The featured guest will be Jim Burnstein, a screenwriting professor at UM. Until last year Jim was Vice Chairman of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council, and he is an accomplished screenwriter whose credits include "D3: Mighty Ducks" and "Renaissance Man." He is especially knowledgeable about incentives for filmmaking in Michigan, but everyone interested in the arts in Michigan should find this town hall of interest.

(!) Office Hours: by Michael Fahy on Friday, January 20, 2012 at 11:12 AM

For those of you who have questions about MSC or simply want feedback, I will be at the ICS Office (516 SOE, located in the south basement of the School of Education Buiilding) this MONDAY (January 23) from 12:15 - 2:15 PM. Michael

(!) Crowd Sourcing Bill Writing by JMcDowell on Friday, January 20, 2012 at 8:04 AM

Congress may be taking a similar approach to proposals as the MSC. Interesting article to read:

http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/the-open-act-as-an-experiment-in-digital-democracy/?hpt=hp_bn6

(!) Gov. Snyder's State of the State Address is tonight! by JMcDowell on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:54 AM

State of the State Address on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 7 p.m. EST. Listen for Gov. Snyder's ideas on how to fix Michigan and then integrate what you liked and didn't like into the MSC.

(!) Justice & Equity Town Hall Meeting: January 27, 6pm by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, January 16, 2012 at 8:31 AM

A town hall meeting in the topic area of Justice & Equity will be held January 27 at 6:00pm, in room 1322 of the School of Education. Brian Mackie, Prosecuting Attorney for Washtenaw County, will be the featured guest. MSC members in EDUC 362 at UM-Ann Arbor should keep in mind that attendance at a minimum of two town hall meetings during the semester is required. Town hall meetings for other topic areas will be scheduled as the semester goes on.

(!) Additional topic coordinators by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 8:20 PM

We have five additional topic coordinators and have added their names to the previous announcement. Two of them are "hearing coordinators," who will be helping to organize and publicize the hearing at the end of the semester in Lansing.

(!) Second Orientation Meeting Jan. 12th by JMcDowell on Monday, January 09, 2012 at 1:04 PM

We are having a second orientation on Thursday, Jan 12th at 7pm in room 2340 SOE. If you did not attend the first orientation or need further clarification please attend.

(!) Topic Coordinators by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, January 05, 2012 at 8:44 PM

As we start the Winter 2012 MSC session, a big thank you in advance to the topic coordinators, who are as follows:

Justice & Equity:
Megan Knuth & Andrew Snow

Arts & Culture:
Scott Tuchfeld & Andrew Eisbrouch

Human Development & Welfare:
Brent Petrone & Alyssa Steinway

Environment & Health:
David Kozlowski & Joshua Zeman

Economic Policy:
Neil Rabinowicz & Bari Abrams

Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship
Calie Morrow & Josh Leighton

Service:
Rich Abdy & David Stover

Hearing:
Zach Kadden & Dana Schostak

(!) Mandatory MSC Winter 2012 Meeting by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, December 26, 2011 at 8:15 AM

There will be a MANDATORY orientation session for UM-Ann Arbor EDU 362, Michigan Student Caucus (Professors Lossing, McDowell and Kupperman) at Schorling Auditorium in the School of Education on Thursday, January 5, 7:00-8:30pm.

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

Registration permissions for those on the waitlist will be given automatically if and when there are openings, in order of waitlisted date and time across all sections. If you are on the waitlist, you are welcome to attend the orientation and see if there are openings, but we cannot promise overrides.

Technical note: We recommend using Firefox or Chrome to be able to access all site capabilities.

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 advisor at The University of Michigan, 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:

• Students taking this course for college credit at UM-Ann Arbor may download the Winter 2012 syllabus for EDUC 362.
• Similarly, students taking this course for college credit at UM-Flint may download the Winter 2012 syllabus for EDT 220.
• The MSC archives from Fall 2011, Winter 2011, Fall 2010, Winter 2010, Fall 2009, Winter 2009, Fall 2008 and Winter 2008. (You'll need to join the archived sites separately to view content.)
• The Fall 2011 platform (20MB, Powerpoint format).
• The Winter 2011 platform (258 K, PDF format).
• The Fall 2010 platform (400 K, Powerpoint format).
• The Fall 2009 platform (123 K, PDF format).
• 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.
• 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 (topics schedule subject to change):

Justice & Equity (Justice): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on January 5, 2012 and ends on January 14, 2012; resolution construction begins on January 15, 2012 and ends on February 3, 2012; voting on submitted resolutions begins on February 4, 2012 and ends on February 11, 2012.

Arts & Culture (Arts): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on January 8, 2012 and ends on January 21, 2012; resolution construction begins on January 22, 2012 and ends on February 10, 2012; voting on submitted resolutions begins on February 11, 2012 and ends on February 18, 2012.

Human Development & Welfare (Human Dev): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on January 19, 2012 and ends on February 7, 2012; resolution construction begins on February 8, 2012 and ends on February 21, 2012; voting on submitted resolutions begins on February 22, 2012 and ends on March 6, 2012.

Environment & Health (Env & Health): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on February 3, 2012 and ends on February 17, 2012; resolution construction begins on February 18, 2012 and ends on March 31, 2012; voting on submitted resolutions begins on April 1, 2012 and ends on April 8, 2012.

Economic Policy (Econ Policy): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on February 11, 2012 and ends on February 24, 2012; resolution construction begins on February 25, 2012 and ends on March 17, 2012; voting on submitted resolutions begins on March 18, 2012 and ends on March 24, 2012.

Community Revitalization & Social Entrepreneurship (Community): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on February 18, 2012 and ends on March 9, 2012; resolution construction begins on March 10, 2012 and ends on March 25, 2012; voting on submitted resolutions begins on March 26, 2012 and ends on April 4, 2012.

Service schedule:

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

Winter 2012 (Service): Open brainstorming for service projects begins on January 5, 2012 and ends on January 29, 2012; construction of service proposals begins on January 30, 2012 and ends on February 12, 2012; participants may commit to a service project beginning on February 13, 2012 through February 19, 2012. Service projects will take place between February 19, 2012 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.