ND Senator Mac Schneider at North Dakota Student Association

Every month, a delegation of around 60 students known as the North Dakota Student Association (NDSA) travel across the state to discuss issues unique to their campuses and the North Dakota University System. On Friday, Sept 9, the group met at UND for its first meeting of the year. “(The students) are in a position to become a unified voice,” said ND Senator Mac Schneider. “UND only exists because of the students.” During his speech to the more than 60 delegates from nine of North Dakota’s public colleges and universities, Schneider highlighted the challenges that the state senate faced during last year’s legislative session. “We need to get a handle on the increasing cost of higher education,” said Schneider. “The cost of tuition doubled since I graduated less than ten years ago.” Students broke into one of five committees after a dinner to share ideas about improving higher education within the state. “The whole point of NDSA is to bring ideas of other institutions together,” said North Dakota State University senior Tyler Leverington. “It’s important to have these discussions that you normally won’t get with just one school.” College transfer protocols, affordability, and access to physical and mental health care services were discussed in the Student Activities Committee, chaired by UND senior Shane Gerbert. “I just want a good [set of ideas] to flow from the group,” said Gerbert. UND representatives will attend the next NDSA meeting held at North Dakota State University on October 21-22. Transportation, lodging and food will be provided by UND Student Government. Contact Shane Gerbert for more information