Campus changes under Zink and Ramirez

Jacob Zink and Melissa Ramirez have been elected as the President and Vice President for the Associated  Students of Montana State University (ASMSU). Each a former senator, the pair campaigned with the intent to improve campus and community outreach, adding to ASMSU’s engagement events and activities. 

The pair started planning their campaign last winter. The motivation, Zink said, was demonstrating intent. “It’s not about a resume builder, it’s certainly not about pay, but what experience have we had and what experience can we use to inform and shape and build a better culture and existence at MSU for the folks that come after us,” he said.

In terms of what made their campaign unique, Zink and Ramirez concur that last semester was a turbulent time, both in and out of ASMSU and in terms of their leadership positions.

“I think what made us stand out [was] that we were doing our jobs as senators on top of the campaign,” Ramirez said. “We were being super intentional about everything that we were doing and that action was speaking a lot louder than words.”

The pair were announced as the winners of the 2023-2024 election on April 28 with a total of 945 votes, according to the MSU News Service.

“Our government branch works tirelessly each and every week to advocate for change,” Zink said. “Changes for students and ensuring that those are always with student interests and intentions at heart.”

For the coming year, the pair plans to build ASMSU outwards, working on community building on the campus’ clubs and organizations. “Our main trajectory is to improve general campus life for the average student,” Zink said. Their focus is students who may be wary of attending athletic events or joining clubs.

With the hire of a new campus club advisor aimed at improving communication between ASMSU and campus organizations, the pair is seeking to build connections with club leaders and members to make sure that both the services that the students pay for and the services that we promise and the students expect are being delivered, Zink said.

With the addition of paid student positions that will make policies more inclusive, Zink and Ramirez are focusing on extending the role of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, he said. “That individual will make sure that lens is always present at every meeting and every table within our organization,” Zink said.

Another paid position will open up in regards to campus outreach, which will serve as both a recruitment and educational outlet to ensure that students are aware of the campus resources that are available to them, Zink said.

The Safe Ride program will also be seeing further development this year, with hopefully a pilot program beginning this spring, he said. Safe Ride will act as a campus Uber-type service to ensure that students have a safe ride home when they need it.

Ramirez explained that course material accessibility is also a key focus this year. Working in conjunction with the Office of the Provost, department heads and the campus bookstore, the pair want to make accessing course materials easier. “We’re still exploring those conversations, but it’s really exciting to be ramping up that discussion,” she said.

One final goal is to improve community outreach between ASMSU and the city of Bozeman itself — especially with regards to housing.

“We have a lot of housing security issues within Bozeman and on campus,” Zink said. “Historically, we’ve seen a lot of finger pointing between the university and the city and between developers and government officials. We’re really trying to take this as an opportunity for students to be at the forefront.”

To build community involvement, the Volunteer and Impact Montana (VIM) club funding model was instituted by the Office of Student Engagement to encourage clubs and campus organizations to perform community service, Zink said.

Through volunteer work completed by members of registered student organizations, students generate funding for their own clubs, according to a VIM funding infographic distributed by the Office of Student Engagement. The pair also hopes that VIM funding will open the door for new clubs to develop and for current clubs to level up their recruitment.

Throughout the semester and the year, both Zink and Ramirez would like to see students come to them with problems they feel need fixing. “ASMSU is such a tool and we’re working hard to make it more accessible and put us more in front of students instead of waiting for students to come to us,” Ramirez said.

For more information on VIM funding, contact clubs@montana.edu. For questions regarding ASMSU or student government, reach out through asmsu@montana.edu.