Phi Sigma Pi is part honor society, part service organization, and part social fraternity. Phi Sigma Pi seeks to incorporate the best and most beneficial aspects of all these types of organizations into its own program. The honor society aspect sets Phi Sigma Pi apart and commands respect. The social fraternity aspect builds fellowship and commitment, which in turn serves as a stimulus to undertake service projects… the greatest expression of leadership.

Phi Sigma Pi meets on Thursday’s in Strong Hall room 003 @ 7 PM.

Learn more about this organization: http://organizations.missouristate.edu/phisigmapi

Everything you need to know about the SUSTAINABILITY FUND at Missouri State in five minutes or less:

Did you know there is over $100,000 a year available to students to use for projects regarding sustainability at this University?

Quick facts:

• In March 2009, students voted to implement a $2 per semester fee to go towards sustainability on campus.
• This fund is to be used solely by students for students.
• The only requirement for submitting a proposal to use the fund is that you are a student.
• The Sustainability Commission, made up of five students and non-voting faculty and staff members, will evaluate all proposals submitting and allocate funds accordingly.

How to utilize it:

• Formulate an idea for a sustainable project (see sample list below).
• Compile basic research of what, where, how, how much, when, who, etc. of the project.
• Reference the Student Government Association website (sga.missouristate.edu) for guidelines and the linke below* for a sample proposal.
• Seek out members of the Sustainability Commission or other knowledgeable students and faculty if you have any questions.
• Submit your proposal to the SGA Director of Sustainability at any point during the semester.
• Be prepared to present, explain, and defend your proposal.

Sample project ideas:

• Student maintained campus community garden
• Corrugated cardboard recycling facilities
• Local organic dining options
• Installation of Photovoltaic solar panels
• Campus wide low-flow toilets, faucets, and showerheads
• Motion activated lights in all campus buildings
• The possibilities are endless!

*Copy and paste this link into your browser for a sample Sustainability Proposal. Format is not standardized but this is a good example of the depth of information you should know about implementing your project idea.

http://sga.missouristate.edu/docs/Sample Sustainability Proposal.doc

Fellow students,

Recent concerns have been raised as to the productivity of the Student Government Association during the school year thus far. I would like to address these concerns and inform you of the many issues being discussed by SGA.

It may seem that much of our legislation this year has consisted of commendations, and while recognizing the efforts of others is important to SGA, it is not the bulk of our work. SGA serves as the official voice of the student body; this task is achieved primarily through resolutions.

Before SGA proposes a piece of legislation, much research and discussion is conducted on the given topic. Depending on the issue, a significant amount of time must be dedicated to reach a fully informed decision. We realize this may not be ideal; however, our purpose is to ensure an accurate representation of student needs, wants, and opinions. With that stated, the majority of issues being addressed by SGA are those that require such large amounts of time.

Resolutions are not the only means of representing students; the Student Body President serves on many university committees that solicit input from students. These committees range from the Executive Budget Committee to the Master Planning Committee; serving on these committees not only allows me to gather information for students and report to Senate but also allows me the chance to convey student concerns to the respective committees. I assure you that these venues are being utilized.

SGA has made great strides to become more transparent and accountable to the study body, and we strongly encourage students to practice their civic duty and become more informed on all that is happening within the university and SGA. I would like to remind you that our website now features many opportunities to stay connected with SGA; within our website are descriptions of current projects as well as lists of Senators working on each project. For your convenience, I have included a list of projects being worked on by each of our committees. I also encourage you to attend the Town-Hall forum hosted by SGA on Wednesday, November 11^th at 7:30 PM in the PSU Traywick Parliamentary Room (PSU 313).

Sincerely,

Christopher W.  Polley

Student Body President

Academic Affairs:

• Increased Academic Information
• Graduate School Testing Preparation
• Schedule Change Options
• Plus/Minus Standardization
• Public Affairs Distinction
• IDS Service Learning Expansion
• Summer Course Postings

Administrative and Information Services

• Campus Safety
• Wireless Expansion
• Bearline Shuttle Improvements
• Occupancy Signs for Parking Garages
• Campus Information Centers

Diversity and Public Affairs

• Unity Council
• Adopt-A-Street
• V.O.I.C.E. Retreat
• Alternative Spring Break

Research and Development

• Bearline Tracking
• SGA Website
• Public Opinion Poll
• Tree Campus USA
• Campus Wide Yard Sale
• MissouriState.edu Improvements

University and Civic Advancement

• University Recreation Center
• Campus Master Signage & Wayfinding Plan
• Promote Athletic Attendance
• Expanding Athletic Promotions
• Current Events Marquees
• City-Wide Student Action Program
• Political Action Forum
• Census 2010
• Bear Experience

Student Affairs

• Promote Bear Wear Fridays
• Textbook Rental
• Shuttles to Local Springfield Locations
• Student Organization Spotlight
• Student Artwork

The Student Activities Council (SAC) is a student-run organization responsible for providing quality programs for a diverse student body. This programming board plans a variety of events throughout the year at Missouri State University.

The November Wyrick Commission meeting will take place on November 11th, 8AM at the Burgess House.  The meeting is open for students to attend.

Also, if you are interested in proposing a Wyrick Project, please contact me at brandt1@live.missouristate.edu to schedule a meeting to discuss your project.

Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) is a social men’s fraternity brought to the Missouri State campus in 2007. Guided by their values of friendship, knowledge, service, morality, and excellence, they had grown and officially chartered at Missouri State on February 28, 2009 as the Psi Mu Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta.

FIJI is dedicated to helping the community and Missouri State campus in a variety of ways. They host the Black Diamond Golf Tournament each spring with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross. They have also organized the FIJI Run, partnering with University of Arkansas chapter. Each chapter runs from their University to the Arkansas/Missouri border and last year alone they raised over $13,000 for the American Red Cross.

Learn more about this organization

Up ‘Til Dawn is a student-led, student-run program hosted by colleges and universities nation-wide. Up ‘Til Dawn unites faculty, staff, students, the surrounding community and sponsors in a goal to help the kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Currently, over 80 college campuses participate in this program.

The mission for Missouri State University’s chapter of Up ‘Til Dawn is a campus-wide philanthropy program to raise funds for and awareness of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Through the duration of their first year as an organization on the Missouri State University Campus, they became the 3rd top team in the nation for rasing the most money at $108,000.

Thanks to all for your help with letter writing and taking the time out of your day to donate, or making the fun trips to Panera on Panera Night. You have touched the children and parents at St. Jude. All together we have raised over $80,001 this year alone!!! This is exciting, and we thank you all again for your support.

Up ‘Til Dawn meets on Wednesdays at 4 PM in the PSU.

For more information contact: Courtney Wendel: courtney652@live.missouristate.edu.

Learn more about this organization.

Fellow students,

The Student Government Association is working diligently to better the academic experience at Missouri State, and we are well on our way to the implementation of key initiatives that will allow for improved publishing of academic information to students. Similarly, SGA continues to increase the methods of communication between it and the student body in hopes of obtaining greater student input on an array of issues. I hope that the realization of these two goals ultimately fosters better relationships between students and their student government, faculty, and administration.

SGA realizes the importance of remaining transparent and accountable to the student body by providing convenient and easy-to-use means of communication between SGA and students; additionally, we are constantly seeking student opinion on a variety of issues around campus and encourage students to provide input whenever possible. In an effort to meet these goals, we have reconstructed our website to allow for a better sharing of information and instituted the weekly Public Opinion Poll.

Within our website, students will be able to view published data such as the SGA budget and expenditures. Seeing as SGA is funded by the student body through a one-dollar student fee, it is appropriate and necessary that students have the ability to account for every dollar spent by SGA. Also on our website are minutes and podcasts of Senate meetings which allow you to keep track of the business conducted during Senate.

Perhaps the most important initiative thus far has been the creation of the weekly Public Opinion Poll. Each week, a new poll will be released on our website and run for a two-week period. These polls allow you to give SGA input on a variety of topics ranging from the tobacco policy of Missouri State to the naming of the Student Section in JQH Arena. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to weigh in on issues that directly affect you.

SGA also understands that when registering for classes, students may not have the most useful information available to them. We are currently working with the Faculty Senate to revise the iGrade system which allows students to view grade distributions for a class or professor. Such a revision will include the addition of new, more useful questions to end-of-the-semester evaluations; these questions will allow students to better understand the demands of the course and expectations of the professor before registering.

I hope that you find these projects useful as a student, and I continue to encourage you to use your voice and promote the betterment of student life at Missouri State.

Christopher W. Polley and Kristen E. Sanocki

Student Body President and Vice President

Missouri State University

Students,

You may have already heard the discussion about the FY 2011 situation. Higher education in Missouri is likely to face hard budget constraints as the state of our economy continues. Missouri State University recognizes the situation we may face and is prepared to act accordingly. For some background information, many of you also remember that the state faced grave concerns about the higher education budget just last year. However, there was no need to make changes because of the one-time stimulus money that we received from the federal government. That money will not be around next year and the state’s revenues are lower than we can sustain to increase higher education funding. Cuts are likely. President Nietzel first addressed this issue during his ‘State of the University’ speech and in his first town hall forum on the budget. There will be a second town hall forum regarding the budget situation on October 28, 2009 from 3-4pm in the PSU Theater. I encourage students to attend and listen to the options we are considering in light of the budget cuts we will be facing.

All the best,

Kristen Sanocki

Student Body Vice President