My name is Tyrone Winfrey, Jr. and I am a sophomore running for the Michigan Student Assembly Kinesiology representative seat. On campus, I am actively involved with IMMAD, Michigan Student Ambassadors, EnspiRED, YASC, HEADS, and SBA.

Student Suggestion Forums

The largest part of my campaign involves increasing the role of the student body in legislative process at the University. The best way to do this is to increase the influence, importance, and frequency of student suggestion forums. Here, University students will be allowed the space to inform the Michigan Student Assembly of the problems that are relevant to them. As a legislative body, we cannot be aware of every single issue that students feel are important. With a campus of 40,000 plus students, somebody’s voice may not be heard. Student suggestion forums provide a way of connecting the student body with MSA.

Entrepreneurial Events/Fairs/Classes

The majority of college students are taught to think in a small scope: go to college, graduate, get a job, and work. I have found that all students do not necessarily want to follow this path to a career. Preparing students for ownership is an important issue that a university should help its students accomplish. If you talk to owners of South University Street stores such as Motivation and Sarah’s Dollar Store, you will find that they are owned by Michigan alumni. Furthermore, individuals such as Michael Dell and Russell Simmons demonstrate the need for entrepreneurs and visionaries in our world. I want to work with the Career Center and in order to create more courses related to ownership/entrepreneurship and establish entrepreneurial fairs to better prepare students.

Alleviating the Image of the University

My extensive community service with high school students has shed light on a problem which affects the entire University of Michigan community. High school students, in particular, metro-Detroit area students, bare a sense of inferiority when it comes to applying to Michigan. Our campus cannot be the entirely inclusive place that we intend it to be if there are prospective students who shun Michigan, not because of low merit, but because they believe the University community shuns them. These students come from private and public schools alike. How can we truly say we are the “Leaders and Best” if there are those who qualify but do not feel they belong? A committee needs to be formed to work towards improving relationships with these students by presenting our University at an annual “Student Connect Night” in the metro Detroit area.

Longer Cafeteria Hours

The closing of the latest cafeteria at 8:00 pm can often be inconvenient for students. The University tries to address this problem with retail dining; however, this does not always suffice due to a limited selection choice and exorbitant prices. Keeping the cafeterias open allow students with meal plans, either off-campus or on, to enjoy a quality meal without having to leave meetings or study groups early.