About Forum

Forum sessions are where all USG members—staff, committees, student representatives, stakeholders, and more—come together to discuss, vote, and pass legislation concerning students. It is also where internal elections are held, staff & campus updates are announced, guest speakers present, and more. Forum is held every other Tuesday, from 4:30-6:30 PM at Moos Tower in Room 2-520.

Forum is open to all UMN students to attend.

2023-24 Forum Updates

  • April 9th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Guest Speakers

    • Dr Keisha Varma

    Voting

  • March 26th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Guest Speakers

    • Interim President Ettinger

    • VP of Student Affairs: Dr. Calvin Phillips

    Exec Action

    Voting

  • March 12th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Elections

    • Grace Moon was elected as ALR.

    Presentations

    • State of the Campus: President Shashank Murali

    Voting

    • Grant Policy Approval (Passed)

    • Letters of Support for State Senate and House Committees (Passed)

    • RISE Act Letter (Passed)

    • FF10-S24: Purple Line Resolution

  • February 20th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Guest Speakers

    • Speaker from University Of Minnesota Government and Community Relations

    • Senator Omar Fateh, Higher Education Committee Chair (MN Senate)

    Voting

    • Executive Board Voting Rights Conformation (Passed)

    • FF 7: Student Worker Rights Resolution (Passed)

    • FF 8: Zero Waste Resolution (Passed)

    • FF9: Crosswalk Resolution (Passed)

  • February 6th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Elections

    • Siya Shelar was elected as ALR.

    Q&A with Regent Turner

    Reverse Q&A- Regent Turner asked questions and members of Forum answered.

    Voting

    • FF6: Bylaws Amendments (Passed)

    • Signing on to People for PSEO Letter (Passed)

    • Approval of the Presidential Search Committee Letter (Passed)

  • January 23rd

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Elections

    • Mumtaaz Hirsi, Keegan Wulf, and Jacob Hong were elected as ALRs.

    • Andrew Larson was elected as Speaker of Forum.

    • Samia Adbulle was elected as DEI Committee Director.

    • Addie Sweeney was elected as Student Life & Wellbeing Committee Director.

    Forum Discussion

    • Bylaws Committee Brief

  • December 12th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Guest Speaker

    Paige Rohman, Universal Access Course Materials

    Elections

    • Niel Niel Drabeck was elected as Rep to the SSCC.

    • Food Insecurity Ad Hoc Committee Voting Members were elected.

    • SSF Ad Hoc Committee Voting Members were elected.

  • December 5th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Guest Speaker

    Professor Will Durfee, Chair of the Core Curriculum Committee

    Resolutions

    • FF4: I-94 (Passed)

    • FF5: Prison Labor (Passed)

  • November 14th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Resolutions

    • FF3: Paint the Bridge Position Statement (Did not pass)

    • FF4: Position statement about 1-94 reworking/ Event on Thursday (Passed)

    Staff Updates

    • Grants Advisory Board Applications now open.

    • SSF Distribution Working Group meets every Tuesday 3:30 to 4:30 in the USG office.

  • October 31st

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Task Forces

    • Campus Safety TF is directing a letter to UMPD and the University Department of Public Safety to convey the shared goals and ambitions of our various student groups considering the safety needs and desires on our campus.

  • October 17th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Elections

    • Fatima Aden, Hamdi Ali, Addie Sweeney, Jack Drouin, Ainsley Pauna, Sophia Rajan, and Nora Wilcek were elected as At-Large Representatives.

    Resolutions

    • FF2: USG Resolution in Support of the Stop Campus Hazing Act (Passed)

  • October 3rd

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Elections

    • Izaan Rana was elected as At-Large Representative.

    Vote on Exec Letter

    • President Murali and VP Davis presented motion regarding joint letter to the Board of Regents about the Presidential Search Committee. Motion passed.

  • September 19th

    Link to Agenda

    Link to Minutes

    Elections

    • Ian Tripp, Amal Ishtaiwi, and Cora Goodwin were elected as At-Large Representatives.

    • Andrew Larson was elected as the Student Life and Well-being Committee Director.

    • Ethan Rubin was elected as the Environmental Accountability Committee Director.

    Resolutions

    • FF 1 : USG Budget (Passed)

Voting Members

Voting Members are elected representatives that make up USG’S legislative voting body and work for Committees and Forum to serve student advocacy. They all serve on Forum and Committees as a member with voting rights and are an active member in legislation creation.

Voting Members are comprised of At-Large Representatives (ALRs), Student Group Representatives (SGRs), and Student Senators. Holding one of these three positions is a great opportunity to amplify student voices and to be introduced to student government work.

  • At-Large Representatives represent all students campus-wide. Anyone can run to become an ALR. This is a great opportunity for students new to student government to get involved.

    ALRs serve on Committees and Forum by collaborating & consulting with University members, as well as collecting data to create resolutions with their respective team.

    ALR Elections are held at Forum whenever there are seat vacancies.

    To learn about vacant ALR seats and more info, contact the Ranking ALR Gurasis Singh (he/him) by email sing0932@umn.edu

  • Student Group Representatives (SGRs) represent students of their respective student organization when collaborating with USG. SGRs are generally elected through their respective organization’s board elections and collaborate with USG members for advocacy, events, and more.

    SGRs similarly serve on Forum and Committees/Task Forces while amplifying the voices of members’ from their respective organization specifically.

    If your student group is interested in having an SGR, please contact Ranking Voting Member Athira Nair (she/her) by email nair0089@umn.edu

  • The Senate is one of the few governing bodies that represent all 5 university systems aside from the Board of Regents, meaning that Senators are responsible for representing students from beyond just the UMN-Twin Cities campus.

    Anyone can run to be a Senator. Senator elections are hosted in the Spring every year and students may run for a seat for their respective college.

    Senators hold the same responsibility as ALRs by serving on Forum and Committee while also serving on the Student Senate.

Forum Board

Forum Board is in charge of overseeing many of the legislative processes at USG. They run the Forum sessions and oversee and support our committees in their advocacy initiatives and legislative work.

  • The Speaker of Forum is the chair of the USG legislative body and is in charge of planning and leading each USG Forum session. This includes drafting and presenting Forum agendas, making sure that all voting members have the necessary information provided for voting, and they also supervise the communication between Forum Board members

  • The Ranking At-Large Representative oversees 20 At-Large Representatives (ALRs), who are elected to represent the undergraduate study body at UMN) by onboarding them, providing them with any information they need, and representing them to USG's executive board.

  • The Director of Student Group Representatives (SGRs) serves a liaison between the USG Executive Board, Forum Board, and the voting member body for Student Group Representatives (SGRs). They also work to recruit, organize, and represent the voices of SGRs by engaging with them and the rest of the student body.

  • The Representative to the Student Senate Consultative Committee (SSCC) acts as a liaison for USG to the SSCC and oversees the UMN Twin Cities undergraduate senators to support their engagement. They attend Student and University Senate meetings and report to USG and ensure appropriate student representation on Senate Committees and Subcommittees, both serving themselves and reaching out to senators to apply as necessary.

  • The Parliamentarian is well versed in Forum procedure and its Bylaws and helps Forum adhere to such rules. They also assist Forum Board discussion by providing procedural perspectives and help members with any Forum or Bylaws inquiries.