Fellow USM Students,
I hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday and have come out of your turkey comas ready to tackle the last few weeks of the semester.
So far this year, you’ve witnessed some distinct changes at USM; such as the combination of Advising Services, Office of Early Student Success and Career services into the Student Success Centers- which are located on all three campuses.
As you may have heard, this is the first of many changes that USM will be undergoing over the next few years. These changes are in part due to budget cuts. Our administrators are working tirelessly to make very difficult decisions on our behalf, with the intention of obtaining the best possible outcome for USM past, present and perspective students.
President Botman and other members of the USM community have created a strategic plan; a document that will help to guide USM through these difficult times and give a direction for which changes will be made. The Strategic Plan can be found at usm.maine.edu/spp.
I encourage you to take a look at this document, but do not stop there. This University exists for you, the student; and any changes will effect you or your piers on some level. Budgetary cuts have already been made and will continue. If you have not already felt the effects, you will. This is why we (the students) must be active, informed and vocal while these changes are made.
Students make up the largest population at the University and we are the recipients of the education and the support services. Thus, our feedback is imperative in this process. In order to achieve this, the Student Government has collaborated with the WE VOTE coalition to put on The New University:Critical Choices Panel event on Thursday, December 3rd from 4:20-6:30 pm in the Woodbury Campus Center Amphitheatre in Portland.
I urge you to come to this event, bring your friends and your concerns. As your Student Body President, I assure you that I am dedicated to ensuring that your voices will be heard, but I can only do that if you are vocal. The panel is made up of Student Government representatives, multicultural, veteran and non-traditional students. We will be informing you of what is going on at the University and how YOU will be effected. But most importantly, we will be a sounding board for you to voice your concerns.
I hope to see you this Thursday. USM depends on YOUR VOICE.
Cheers!
Maggie Guzman
Student Body President