Students were recently given the unique opportunity to have a conversation with members of the Hamline Board of Trustees about the university’s Strategic Plan as a part of the Hamline Undergraduate Student Congress’s (HUSC) annual “100 Who Influence” luncheon.

The students and administrators who attended the event were assigned to tables focused on discussing topics relevant to the goals outlined by Hamline’s recent Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan is a five year roadmap for the future of the university that was developed by a committee of students, staff, and members of the Board of Trustees. Key goals of the plan range from issues of financial stability to diversity and inclusivity at Hamline.

The President and Vice President of HUSC, juniors Andrew Weston and Dieu Do, were responsible for organizing the event and inviting students in leadership positions in a variety of programs and student organizations, including Commuter Student Coordinators, New Student Mentors, Multicultural Alliance Leaders, athletes, and many others.

“Dieu and I invited student leaders from as many different areas of campus as possible, both to involve as many students in decision-making processes and to provide decision-makers with the widest range of student opinions possible,” Weston said.

Weston explained that they felt the luncheon was an overall success.

“I believe that students were able to effectively share their concerns and give meaningful feedback to decision-makers, which is the purpose of the luncheon,” Weston said. “I really enjoyed the conversations we had at my table, and heard from several other students that they felt the same.”

Sophomore Mary Sollitto had a similarly optimistic opinion on the event.

“Not going to lie, I had a lot of jitters walking into the room, but afterwards, I felt very honored to have participated,” Sollitto said. “It was nice to know that they were here specifically for us, the students, and to hear what we had to say.”

First-year Mohamed Yassin shared a similar attitude but argued that a continued conversation is needed.

“It was a great opportunity to join the members of the trustees, being able to engage and be vocal about what we hope to see happening around campus was a good chance for all participants,” Yassin said in an email interview. “Yet I would have appreciated more of a facilitated [workshop] and more focus on having conversations.”

First-year Anthony Meng sat at a table focused on financial stability and sustainability. These topics are important to him since he is employed and relies on that income to help him afford Hamline.

“As a full-time student who works three jobs to help save up for next year and pay for tuition next year, this issue was essential for me to talk and advocate about,” Meng said.

He elaborated that the conversation at their table was initially awkward because their Board member was the chair, Dale E. Peterson.

“The power dynamic was heightened,” Meng said. “However, every single member at the table was brave and courageous enough to say something about the issues they cared about.”

Sollitto’s table was joined by Board of Trustee member Doron Clark to discuss the same topic of financial stability.

“At first I was very nervous about talking about finances, because it is a touchy subject for some and it can get very controversial,” Sollitto said. “Talking with Doron, I could tell he was genuinely concerned and attentive to what our table had to say.”

The luncheon represents one of the few times students have this degree of direct access to the Board of Trustees, which is a governing body responsible for dictating the policy and overall mission of the university that the President then carries out.

Weston emphasized that they felt hosting the luncheon was an important step to maintaining transparency and communication between students and the decision-makers of the university.

“I definitely do think that these events need to happen more often,” Weston said. “The ultimate goal of Hamline University is to serve students, and I believe a major component of that should be consistently garnering feedback from students.”

Meng echoed a similar sentiment.

“A student’s perspective is essential to the decisions made because they affect us,” Meng said. “We all have a story and our voices are where our power is.”