Student Body President Nick Creamer explains to Student Senate his decision to veto a bill. Photo by Keisuke Yoshimura/The Dakota Student.

Business cards

A bill requesting business cards be bought using student fees for student senators was vetoed by Student Body President Nick Creamer this week.

“I think business cards are a good idea for all of you, but I think there’s a way we can do it while making sure we’re utilizing our resources in the most effective manner,” Creamer said during discussion.

Creamer vetoed a bill on Friday that required all senators to purchase personalized business cards in bundles of 240 -— the smallest ordering size — from UND’s Duplicating Services, which is the smallest possible amount they can order. Each bundle would’ve cost $30 per senator, bringing the total spent to $690 worth of student fees.

Creamer proposed a more “fiscally responsible” option of purchasing general business cards, which are less expensive and could be ordered in smaller amounts, like 60 or 80 at at time. Senators would then manually add their own contact info on the back of them.

“The Student Senate has an obligation to spend the money that is allocated to it by student fees in a responsible manner that will truly benefit students, rather than only the members of the Senate,” Creamer said in his official veto letter.

Big Event

Planning UND’s ninth Big Event, the largest annual campus-wide day of community service, has begun.

Big Event supplies manager Andrew Owen and promotions coach Tyler Maesse spoke in front of the Senate to request $500 worth of funding to be used on T-shirts, supplies and promotional items. Their request was unanimously approved.

All volunteers receive a free T-shirt with the words “Do Work” on them in large, bold letters. The T-shirts come in different colors every year.

“Other than the event itself, I think an essential part is having T-shirts like these,” Owen said while pointing to his yellow and blue “Do Work” T-shirt from 2013’s Big Event.

Most of UND’s student organizations volunteer together every year on a wide variety of projects such as cleaning up local parks and helping nursing home residents.

The amount of  volunteers exceeded 1,200 in 2012 and increases every year, according to the university’s website. Big Event always takes place on a Saturday morning at the end of spring semester.

Monster Patrol

Student Government’s annual Monster Patrol event will take place Thursday from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Any UND student is allowed to volunteer.

Volunteers, along with Grand Forks police officers, will help monitor the streets of Grand Forks while children and families are trick-or-treating. Duties will include directing traffic and helping children cross the streets safely.

All volunteers will receive a button and a yellow reflective safety vest. They are allowed to wear Halloween costumes as long as they are family-friendly and won’t scare children.

Free pizza will be provided after the event.

Motivational Speaker

Speakers from #besomebody, a worldwide motivational movement, will be visiting UND’s campus Nov. 8 as part of its nationwide college tour.

The crew will be talking to students in the Memorial Union from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., before the event, which will begin at 3 p.m. at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Other matters

UND students can now download the free RouteShout app for their smartphones, which will give them the schedules for UND’s green campus shuttles and the Grand Forks city buses, and tell them which bus stop is closest to them.

“I’d encourage all of you to try it out and tell your constituents about it,” Vice President Lexi Hanson said.

Hanson also mentioned that the Campus Road bridge near the Hughes Art Center is planning to re-open in November.

Student Government is planning to post newsletters inside various campus bathroom stalls, explaining what they do and what events they host.

“These will be similar to the Toilet Talk newsletters,” Public Relations Coordinator Joe Kalka said.

The Higher Learning Commission will be hosting a meeting today from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Lecture Bowl. They visit UND once every 10 years to determine if the university will receive re-accreditation.

Any UND student who is willing to talk about their college experience is welcome to attend.

The North Dakota Student Association is hosting its next monthly meeting at Mayville State University in Mayville, N.D. from Nov. 22-23.

Any UND student is welcome to attend for free if they sign up in the Student Government office on the first floor of the Memorial Union.

Jaye Millspaugh is the multimedia editor of The Dakota Student. She can be reached at jaye.millspaugh.2@my.und.edu.