Members of IUSA traveled to New Jersey to attend the Association of Big Ten Students winter conference at Rutgers University.
These new ideas came from discussions delegates had at breakout sessions where small groups could discuss issues affecting them all, including public safety, diversity, inclusion and sexual violence.
IUSA sponsored ABTS legislation that celebrated diversity and assessed each school’s own diversity and inclusion initiatives; the legislation passed unanimously.
Adding to the discussion on diversity and inclusion, Sara Zaheer, IUSA’s chief of staff, had the chance to speak to other ABTS members about IU’s campus climate regarding diversity, inclusion and equity.
“We talked about reaching out and empowering students by connecting them with student government so we can let them represent themselves but also speak with an informed perspective when we as IUSA are in talks with admin,” Zaheer said.
Arriving on Friday, the first event all ABTS members attended was a dinner where schools’ delegates met and started to build relationships.
Delegates spent a lot of time together over the following few days, said Dan Niersbach, deputy treasurer and intern program director.
“It was important to know each other on a personal level,” he said.
Zaheer attended a public safety presentation given by the Rutgers University Student Association where students discussed what each school does to improve public safety and each school’s relationship with public safety officers.
“We also talked about how just one session about sexual violence orientation or bystander intervention is not enough to change behavior, to change campus culture,” Zaheer said.
Niersbach attended a presentation on mental health given by the University of Minnesota which he said was very beneficial.
The presentation tackled how universities can address mental health and move forward. ABTS previously started a campaign called “U Are Not Alone” which strove to delete stigmas attached to mental health and provide resources for those who need help.
“Every Big Ten school struggles with tackling mental health,” Niersbach said. “It was really cool to say this is an issue everywhere and you have some of the strongest leaders all talking about it.”
Throughout the conference, IUSA members connected more with Purdue University’s student government members. IUSA plans to collaborate with Purdue more in the future on issues that affect students across Indiana, Zaheer said.
“The biggest takeaways were meeting and reconnecting with leaders from other campuses and hearing and discussing their practices,” Zaheer said.
Since all Big Ten schools operate similarly, Niersbach said it was interesting to see the different problems each school has and how they tackle them. This being his first ABTS Conference, Niersbach said the most beneficial takeaway is the network he has created.
“I have a network of 80 other student leaders who have the same kinds of ideas and the same conversations that we’re trying to have,” Niersbach said.
