Student Association hopes to bring Zipcar, cheaper textbooks to campus next year
Sage Bonomo
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: News
Student Association (SA) strives to take concerns that students have about their UMD experience and improve the situation. Each semester, SA takes on different issues and comes up with a solution for them.
"This semester, our big project is the Online Course Guide Drive," Victor de Meireles said, a member of the Academic Affairs Committee on SA . "The aim is to increase faculty usage of this great tool for students. Faculty can put information up on their courses before registration so students are better prepared for classes."
The goal is to have information about readings, quizzes and expectations right on the online course catalog so that students can better judge what a class entails, without having to contact a specific instructor about every class.
The project is in the works right now, and the Academic Affairs Committee hopes to have it up and running by March 1 in time for registration in the spring.
Another one of the projects is a program called Zipcar, which is an hourly car rental for students. Jonaton Mitchell, Vice President for SA, said this is already widely popular at the Twin Cities campus.
"Students can use them to run errands or go grocery shopping for around $8 an hour," Mitchell said.
This project is still in the preliminary stages, but SA hopes to have it set up by next fall.
"Additionally, we are hoping to co-sponsor a huge round-table discussion on the rising cost of textbooks," Meireles said. "And what UMD administration, UMD students and faculty, and the UMD Bookstore can do to help curb inflation of the textbook costs."
SA is behind the Bulldog Taxi program as well, and Mitchell would like to remind students to renew their taxi cards for second semester, since the old ones won't work anymore.
"Our office is right across from the Kirby Information Desk," Mitchell said. "Just stop in and get a new card."
For students interested in getting involved in SA, congress is held every Thursday at 5 p.m. in EduE 16. There are positions open for students who would like to join and have a vote in which issues SA takes on.
"This semester, our big project is the Online Course Guide Drive," Victor de Meireles said, a member of the Academic Affairs Committee on SA . "The aim is to increase faculty usage of this great tool for students. Faculty can put information up on their courses before registration so students are better prepared for classes."
The goal is to have information about readings, quizzes and expectations right on the online course catalog so that students can better judge what a class entails, without having to contact a specific instructor about every class.
The project is in the works right now, and the Academic Affairs Committee hopes to have it up and running by March 1 in time for registration in the spring.
Another one of the projects is a program called Zipcar, which is an hourly car rental for students. Jonaton Mitchell, Vice President for SA, said this is already widely popular at the Twin Cities campus.
"Students can use them to run errands or go grocery shopping for around $8 an hour," Mitchell said.
This project is still in the preliminary stages, but SA hopes to have it set up by next fall.
"Additionally, we are hoping to co-sponsor a huge round-table discussion on the rising cost of textbooks," Meireles said. "And what UMD administration, UMD students and faculty, and the UMD Bookstore can do to help curb inflation of the textbook costs."
SA is behind the Bulldog Taxi program as well, and Mitchell would like to remind students to renew their taxi cards for second semester, since the old ones won't work anymore.
"Our office is right across from the Kirby Information Desk," Mitchell said. "Just stop in and get a new card."
For students interested in getting involved in SA, congress is held every Thursday at 5 p.m. in EduE 16. There are positions open for students who would like to join and have a vote in which issues SA takes on.
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