(!) Orientation meeting for Winter, 2011 semester by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, January 04, 2011 at 5:02 PM

The orientation meeting for UM-Ann Arbor students taking EDUC 362 in Winter, 2011 will be held 7-9pm on Wednesday, January 12, location TBA.

(!) Portfolio update!! by David Lossing on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 2:23 PM

As you submit your portfolio, please make sure to put your FULL NAME as part of the file name. We're getting portfolio's submitted as "MSC Final Portfolio" and without a name included. So we won't know who is who as we do the grading.

For example, if I were to submit a portfolio, I would name the file as:

David_Lossing_MSC_Final_Portfolio_Fall_2010

Thank you.

(!) Hearing wrap-up, and portfolios by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, December 08, 2010 at 12:00 PM

Thanks to the excellent effort by all the presenters today, and kudos to the entire caucus for your contributions throughout the semester.

For those taking MSC as a course at UM-Ann Arbor or UM-Flint:

Whether or not you presented today, we would like to HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to take into account the suggestions and concerns raised by the panel into your own resolution AND into your reflections in your final portfolio.

Some questions that came up again and again today:

- 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?

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

These are things that we have also emphasized throughout the semester, and we will be looking for the ways you have considered these issues as we review your work.

FINAL PORTFOLIOS should be submitted on this site; follow the link directly above the latest announcement to do so.

Those of you who have emailed your portfolios to the instructors already, please re-submit to the site, and you are strongly urged to revise your text to incorporate the points above.

(!) ! Hearing Update! by David Lossing on Tuesday, December 07, 2010 at 7:14 PM

The MSC hearing will take place in Room 402/403 of the State Capitol. The rooms are located on the fourth floor of the Capitol. There are elevators on the ground floor for your use. Remember, it's about a hour's drive from Ann Arbor to Lansing, so please plan accordingly in your drive time. And please dress appropriately because you are representing the University of Michigan!

See you tomorrow morning.

(!) Service documentation by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, December 07, 2010 at 12:09 PM

We've been getting some emails from people having trouble uploading their service documentation. If you are one of those people, please do the following:
1. Check to make sure your document file size is not huge. More than a megabyte or two can cause problems -- usually high resolution photos are the problem.
2. If you're uploading a Word document, try saving it as .doc (the older Word format) rather than .docx. Or save it as a pdf. Then try again.
3. If none of the above works, be sure to include your service documentation in your final portfolio.

Meanwhile, thanks to everyone for all the work being done in preparation for the hearing tomorrow. See you in Lansing....

(!) Notes about the December 8 hearing by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, November 29, 2010 at 12:19 PM

As previously noted, you will be presenting the MSC platform before the Michigan House of Representatives Special Commission on Civic Engagement, 9:00 - 11:30am on Wednesday, December 8, in the Michigan State Capitol building (room TBA). 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 or Flint by car, and you will need to arrange your own transportation there and back. As with all governmental events, there is a possibility that the hearing might run late; please try to keep your schedule clear so that you can stay until noon if necessary.

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 end up speaking to the Commission.

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 (Gary, Jay, David, 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 *and* to Gary, Jay, David and Jeff no later than Saturday, December 4.

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.

AND FINALLY:

See the earlier update below for an announcement about the Justice and Equity platform.

(!) Justice and Equity platform by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, November 29, 2010 at 12:17 PM

The MSC platform in our final topic, Justice and Equity has been finalized, based on the voting in that topic area and the recommendations of the topic coordinators:

"Requiring an Anti-bullying Policy in Schools," by Amy Darling

"Reducing School Violence," by Brittany Neely

"No MIP for Intoxicated Individuals if 911 is Called," by Zachary Patzik

Thank you to all who contributed to the Justice and Equity topic!

While the platform has now been selected, this week should still be a busy one for everyone: Authors of proposals in the platform and topic coordinators should be preparing for the hearing presentations; others should be finishing service enactment and documentation, and suggesting refinements on the proposals in the platform. You may also make final edits to proposals that did not make it into the platform, keeping in mind that all submitted proposals will be a permanent part of the MSC archive.

(!) Reminder ... by Gary Weisserman on Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 10:26 AM

... to clear your schedules for the December 8th hearing in Lansing! It is MANDATORY for all EDU 362 students.

(!) Environment and Health Platform by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, November 22, 2010 at 1:14 PM

Based on the voting and on recommendation of the Environment and Health coordinators, the following proposals have been entered into the MSC Platform:

"Mandatory Calorie Data on All Menus," by Thea Gersten

"Increase public transportation in Michigan," by Michael Averbook and Sam Hartman

"Stop Polluting the Great Lakes," by Adam Herschenfeld

Kudos to all who contributed to the Environment and Health topic, and please help the authors perfect their proposals before the hearing.

(!) What you should be doing now by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 3:02 PM

As we move into the final stages of the Fall, 2010 Caucus, here is what you should be doing:

1) 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.)

2) 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. Please spend the rest of this month 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 December 8 hearing will be posted here soon.

3) Thanksgiving break: You are not required to post. Have a good holiday!

(!) Human Development resolutions by Gary Weisserman on Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 3:46 PM

Congratulations to the authors of the Human Development platform resolutions:

Job preparation for the less fortunate, originally proposed by Ilana Michele Shapiro
Hospitals and Fresh Food, originally proposed by Brett Barash
Revamp preschool curriculum to enchance logic and reasoning skills, originally proposed by Brian Kahn

(!) Nov. 17 Town Hall for Justice and Equity by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 3:42 PM

A Town Hall Meeting for the topic of Justice and Equity will be held November 17th at 7 p.m., in room 1322 of the UM-Ann Arbor School of Education.

The guest will be Norman D. Bishara, Assistant Professor of Business Law and Business Ethics.

Find out more about Professor Bishara at:
http://www.bus.umich.edu/facultybios/FacultyBio.asp?id=000674064

(!) Nov. 15 Town Hall for Environment and Health by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, November 08, 2010 at 12:27 PM

A Town Hall Meeting for Environment and Health has been scheduled for Monday, November 15, at 7pm in room 1322 ("Tribute Room") of the School of Education.

The guest will be Julie Halpert, who teaches a course called "Environmental Journalism" in the Program In The Environment, and is a freelance journalist writing for many national publications on current Environment and Public Health topics. She has also been a contributor to radio programs such as the Environment Report, Marketplace, and Living on Earth.

***Be sure to also read today's earlier announcement about Service projects below***

(!) Service Proposals chosen for enactment by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, November 08, 2010 at 10:06 AM

Six service activities have been chosen for enactment, as follows:

1. Helping Environment and Health through 1 Small Switch

2. Try Not To Drive

3. Battery Collection and Recycling Drive

4. Reuse Water Bottle Week

5. Send Thanks to Soldiers

6. Save Paper Month*

(*Depending on discussion among the coordinators and authors, the "month" might be changed to "week.")

Please see the "Service" section for details. Importantly, if you are not already committed to one of those six proposals (or an author of one of them), YOU MUST RECOMMIT to one of them now. Please do this as soon as possible but no later than 5:00pm THURSDAY.

(If you are an author of one of the chosen proposals and have committed to another that was chosen, please give priority to the one you have authored, though you are welcome to participate in the other.)

Be aware that each action must take place within the next few weeks, so be ready to move quickly and respond to the authors as they organize the details. Also be sure to DOCUMENT what you have done, and afterward post that documentation to the service proposal itself.

(!) Arts and Culture Platform by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at 6:57 PM

Belated kudos to everyone who contributed to the Arts and Culture topic. Three proposals have been entered into the platform; they are:

"After School Arts Program (ASAP) in Michigan," by Jennifer Riso

"Increase Funding for Arts Education in Michigan," by Samantha Bogus and Tessa Catlett

"Harlem Children's Zone in Detroit," by Cecily Jaros and M. Claire BeDell

(!) Service Proposals: deadline has passed! by David Lossing on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 3:20 PM

We're getting several email requests about those who have missed the deadline to post a service proposal. Unfortunately, the deadline has passed to contribute to this content area. If you have missed the deadline, please continue working in the remaining content areas and do the best you can. Additionally, don't forget to commit to one of the proposals that are finally selected.

(!) Three important announcements by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 12:56 PM

I. Service Commitments

Between tomorrow and Nov. 4, everyone should commit to at least one service proposal other than the one you have authored yourself. Shortly thereafter, the service proposals with the most commitments (and which meet all the criteria for appropriateness) will be chosen for actual enactment, and at that point those people who are not already committed to a chosen proposal will be asked to recommit.

To commit, pull up the text of the proposal and follow the "commit/view commitments" link near the top. When you commit, please say a few words about why you have selected that particular proposal.


II. Economic Development & Community Revitalization Platform

The following two proposals have been entered into the MSC platform under Economic Development & Community Revitalization, on recommendation by the topic coordinators based on the voting results:

1. Improving Education Systems in Michigan in Order to Better the Economy, by Alyssa Steinway

2. "Buy Local" Tax Incentives, by Jessica Zelvin and Alexandra Rabman

Kudos to the authors and to everyone who contributed comments and ideas on these topics.


III. Hearing Date Confirmation

We can confirm that the date of the hearing in Lansing will be Wednesday, December 8. It will take place 9am - noon in the Capitol Building.

(!) Town Hall for Human Development and Welfare: November 9 by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, October 25, 2010 at 10:10 AM

A Town Hall Meeting for Human Development and Welfare has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 9, starting at 7pm in room 1322 (Tribute Room) in the School of Education.

Adam Wilson, a recruiter for Teach For America, will be the guest speaker. He will discuss the major issues in our education system today, including the achievement gap and consequences for students of low socioeconomic background. He will also elaborate on the impact communities, families, teachers and administrators can have on this ongoing problem.

To take advantage of this opportunity, we will extend the voting period for Human Development and Welfare to November 12, and also push back the last day of voting in Environment and Health to November 15.

(!) Service proposal construction phase ends tomorrow by Jeff Kupperman on Monday, October 25, 2010 at 7:20 AM

Just a reminder -- if you're currently working on a Service proposal, please make sure it is submitted by the end of the day tomorrow. You many then commit to proposals between Oct. 28 and Nov. 4, and after that, proposals that have received the most commitments (and that meet all criteria below) will be chosen for enactment.

Remember that Service proposals should:
- allow for broad participation by students of a broad range of ages in a broad range of locations in Michigan.
- be possible with no (or very minimal) financial commitment from participants.
- not focus on a particular political party.
- not involve simply volunteering for or contributing to an existing organization in a standard way.
- be legal and must not put participants at increased physical or mental risk.

(!) Audio from Arts and Culture town hall meeting by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 1:27 PM

Links to audio recordings from Tuesday's town hall meeting with Mike Latvis from ArtServe have been posted in the Experts area.

(!) Arts and Culture proposal construction ends Thursday by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 12:38 PM

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 14) is the last day to publish proposals in the Arts and Culture topic. There are only a few published proposals right now, so if you have one in the works, make sure you finish and publish it by midnight tomorrow.

(!) Voting by Jeff Kupperman on Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 10:16 PM

As voting starts Monday in Economic Development & Community Revitalization, please take note of three important points:

1. SET YOUR WEIGHTS

Before you vote, be sure to set your "weights" (follow the tab in the left-side column). You should set them to reflect the relative importance of the various topics to you. Keep in mind that these are *weights*, not rankings -- so the most important topic to you should get a weight of 6, the next important a 5, and so on. Your votes will be *multiplied* by the weight you assign. (Needless to say, you won't need the weight of 1 for anything except maybe the sandbox.)

Weights can be changed at any time, with the following exception: once the voting phase for a topic has ended, your weight for that topic can no longer be changed.

Also: The drag-and-drop function for setting weights will not work on IE. Please use Firefox.

2. MAXIMIZE YOUR VOTE. Voting is done by rating each proposal on a scale of 0 to 100, using a slider next to the name of that proposal. Without going into the mathematical details, you will maximize your vote if you set your favorite proposal(s) at 100, and your least favorite proposal(s) at 0, with everything else rated proportionally in between. This system is designed to allow caucus members to express precise preferences about all proposals, without having to "split" one's influence.

3. DISCUSSION IS PART OF VOTING

It is important to understand that the voting phase is more than simply indicating your preferences with the weights and sliders -- there is a discussion link on the voting page, and it is important to use that discussion to argue the relative merits of the proposals up for consideration. Remember that the voting will determine the proposals that will represent the entire MSC membership as part of its platform. The goal isn't just to get your favorites in the platform, but to end up with a set of proposals that has, as much as possible, the backing of the whole MSC. That's where the discussion comes in. When judging the proposals, be sure to consider a range of factors, including the need for the proposal, as well as potential impact, feasibility, clarity, completeness, and creativity.

FOR TECHNICAL DETAILS, PLEASE SEE THE SECOND SCREENCAST, available via the links at the top of this "updates" area.

(!) Video from Econ Dev Town Hall Meeting by Jeff Kupperman on Friday, October 08, 2010 at 8:18 AM

If you missed the Town Hall Meeting this week, the topic coordinators have posted a video: just go to the "Experts" tab and follow the links. Thanks to all the coordinators for a very successful meeting!

(!) Oct. 12 Town Hall Meeting for Arts & Culture by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, October 06, 2010 at 1:58 PM

From the Arts & Culture coordinators:

Mike Latvis from ArtServe will be coming to speak on Tuesday, October, 12 at 6 p.m., in room 1322 of the School of Education. Information on ArtServe can be found at www.artservemichigan.org. ArtServe Michigan "seeks to equip and engage a growing grassroots network of advocates for arts, culture and arts education in Michigan." Mike looks forward to discussing arts and cultural funding as well arts education in Michigan among other various topics.

(!) Oct. 4 Town Hall Meeting by Jeff Kupperman on Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 1:20 PM

The Town Hall Meeting for Economic Development and Community Revitalization will be in room 1315 in the UM-Ann Arbor School of Education Building, 610 E. University Ave., starting at 6:30pm on Monday, October 4.

(!) Town Hall Meeting for Economic Development and Community Revitalization by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 12:46 PM

The first Town Hall Meeting has been scheduled for Monday, Oct. 4, at 6:30, on the UM-Ann Arbor campus (building and room TBA). Those in EDUC 362, please note that attendance at at least two Town Hall Meetings during the semester is required. Notes or video will be posted afterward for those who cannot attend this time.

(This is the third announcement posted so far today -- be sure you don't miss the earlier ones.)

(!) Tentative hearing date and time by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 10:45 AM

We still need to confirm some details, but please save the date of WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 9:00 - 11:30am, for the hearing in Lansing. More soon...

(!) Schedule adjustment by Jeff Kupperman on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 10:34 AM

For the benefit of those who attended yesterday's orientation, brainstorming in Economic Development and Community Revitalization has been reopened and will continue until Monday, Oct. 4; the proposal construction phase remains open but has been extended to Oct. 10.

In Arts & Culture, brainstorming and proposal construction will also overlap, with extended dates in each: brainstorming will continue through Oct. 6, and proposal construction will begin tomorrow and continue through October 14.

(!) Follow up orientation: 9-28-10 @ 6:30pm! by David Lossing on Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 1:31 PM

We have scheduled a second orientation for Tuesday, September 28, 2010 starting at 6:30pm. It will take place in 1322 Tribute Room within the School of Education building. This orientation is intended for those students who have recently enrolled in EDUC 362 and did not attend the first orientation held on September 14th. You are required to attend the orientation as required as part of your final grade. If you have any questions, please contact either Professor McDowell or myself.

David Lossing.

(!) Brainstorming and Proposals by JMcDowell on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 9:04 PM

Remember to keep your brainstorming ideas and proposals focused on state-wide initiatives and not just local or University of Michigan initiatives.

(!) New Orientation Date by JMcDowell on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 8:32 PM

The mandatory orientation for students admitted to Section 007 in the Michigan Student Caucus will be held on Tuesday September 28th at 6:30pm. Room TBA. Please check back for further announcements.

Jay McDowell

(!) Where the action is by Jeff Kupperman on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 4:44 PM

Just a few reminders of what is going on right now -- this is just to help get you started, though, so don't count on an announcement every time!

At the moment there is brainstorming open in three areas: Economic Development and Community Revitalization; Arts and Culture; and Service. The last day for brainstorming in Econ Dev is Friday, and then the topic moves to the proposal construction phase; the same will happen five days later in Arts. Service has brainstorming until October 9, but don't wait until the last minute to start tossing ideas into the ring.

Especially as you move into the proposal-writing phases, be sure to think well beyond your own school and community, and beyond the Detroit area, to ideas that could benefit students and their families across the state. Keep in mind that your ultimate audience is people who make the laws and policies for the state -- what will you want to say to *them*?

(!) EDUC 362 Section 007- update on new permissions to register by David Lossing on Monday, September 20, 2010 at 1:41 PM

Good afternoon:

Thank you for your interest in signing up for the newly opened fourth section of EDUC 362. While it's listed as Section 007, its really the fourth section for this semester.

As of this afternoon, you have all been given permission to register for this course. If you receive this email, but have already registered, don't worry - you're in.

We have 35 students signed up in the three previous sections and will take 35 students for this session. As of now, we have 26 students who have signed up (as of 1:30pm).

So, the class is open for additional registrations until one of two things happen:

1) We hit 35 students and we close the registration for this section, or
2) You have until Wednesday, September 22nd by 12noon.

- whichever comes first.

The reason being is simple: if we keep it open to long, you will fall behind in the postings under the first two themes: Economic Development and the Arts as well as the construction of resolutions for each topic. Your grade depends on the quality and quantity of postings to the class website (www.michiganstudentcaucus.org)

Once we hit the 35 student registration, Prof. Jay McDowell and I will list on the "Updates" page on the MSC web site an orientation for those who were not able to attend the session last week. It's likely to be next week so stay tuned for date/time and location. Attendance at orientation is required.

In the meantime, please respond with any questions that you may have. I'll be off campus the next three days attending a conference but will be checking email daily.

--
David E. Lossing, M.P.A.
Adjunct Lecturer
School of Education
University of Michigan
O: 810-766-6718
Email: dalossin@umflint.edu

(!) ... and in addition ... by Gary Weisserman on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 2:20 PM

... there will be a fourth section of MSC added shortly (yay!). Professor Lossing, who serves as UM-Flint's Director of Government Relations, as well as being the mayor of Linden, Michigan, will be joining us as the instructor. If you know someone who wanted to get in but couldn't, please let them know--they should also be getting contacted by the school via email, as well.

(!) Hello All by JMcDowell on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 7:45 AM

I am sorry I did not get to meet all of you at orientation. I am the third instructor in the course. Please make sure to include me in all emails sent concerning the course.

Thank you,
J. McDowell

(!) Topic coordinators and other leadership roles by Gary Weisserman on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 8:42 PM

Congratulations to the topic coordinators for the Fall 2010 session:

Economic Development & Community Revitalization (Econ Dev):

Ben Kaminsky, Adam Kietz, Daniel Sillman, Brian Carlin, Jeremy Stern

Arts & Culture (Arts):

Alan Oaks, Matt Coleman, Michael Shmuely, Sam Hartman, Rose Friedlander

Human Development & Welfare (Human Dev):

Samantha Leon, Ilana Shapiro, Emily Zale, Jessica Zelvin, Ali Ziegler

Environment & Health (Env & Health):

Alexandra Rabman, Joe Rome, Dalia Gaon, Jaclyn Rubel, Michael Sheffy

Justice & Equity (Justice):

David Weitz, Ellen Schiff, Brian Kahn, Brett Barash, Ben Bass

Congratulations also to our service coordinators, and the planners of the caucus hearings this winter:

Service:

Justin Winiarz, Andrew Hirsch, Matt Tarasoff, Ross Karlik, Chelsea Hoffman

Hearing and publicity:

Michael Wieder, Jason Shilling, Jared Davidson

(!) Mandatory MSC Fall 2010 Meeting by Gary Weisserman on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 8:15 AM

There will be a MANDATORY orientation session for UM-Ann Arbor EDU 362, Michigan Student Caucus (Professors Weisserman, McDowell and Kupperman) at Schorling Auditorium in the School of Education on Tuesday, Sept 14th, 7:00-9:00pm.

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.

An orientation for students in EDT 532 at UM-Flint will be held Wednesday, Sept. 15, 5:00-6:00pm in 554 French Hall.

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 2010, Fall 2009, Winter 2009, Fall 2008 and Winter 2008. (You'll need to join the archived sites separately to view content.)
• 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.
• Students taking this course for college credit at UM-Ann Arbor may download the DRAFT Fall 2010 syllabus for EDUC 362.
• 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):

Economic Development & Community Revitalization (Econ Dev): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on September 9, 2010 and ends on October 4, 2010; resolution construction begins on September 25, 2010 and ends on October 10, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on October 11, 2010 and ends on October 18, 2010.

Arts & Culture (Arts): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on September 20, 2010 and ends on October 6, 2010; resolution construction begins on September 30, 2010 and ends on October 14, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on October 15, 2010 and ends on October 22, 2010.

Human Development & Welfare (Human Dev): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on September 28, 2010 and ends on October 8, 2010; resolution construction begins on October 9, 2010 and ends on October 23, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on October 24, 2010 and ends on November 12, 2010.

Environment & Health (Env & Health): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on October 6, 2010 and ends on October 17, 2010; resolution construction begins on October 18, 2010 and ends on November 2, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on November 3, 2010 and ends on November 18, 2010.

Justice & Equity (Justice): Open brainstorming for resolutions begins on October 14, 2010 and ends on October 25, 2010; resolution construction begins on October 26, 2010 and ends on November 12, 2010; voting on submitted resolutions begins on November 13, 2010 and ends on November 20, 2010.

Service schedule:

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

Fall 2010 (Service): Open brainstorming for service projects begins on September 14, 2010 and ends on October 9, 2010; construction of service proposals begins on October 10, 2010 and ends on October 26, 2010; participants may commit to a service project beginning on October 28, 2010 through November 4, 2010. Service projects will take place between November 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.