The Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA) held conferences Feb. 13-15 in St. Paul, which included a mediated board meeting. This came about after Minnesota State University, Mankato and St. Cloud State University suspended their participation in MSUSA in Nov. after the Feb. meeting. No final resolution was made.

MSUSA serves over 75,000 students across Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) seven schools and acts as the sole representative of these students.

At the Nov. Delegates Assembly, the two schools expressed concern over “secret Facebook groups” that were misrepresenting MSUSA and attacking their schools. Mankato and St. Cloud also felt that MSUSA “is no longer an effective body for facilitating multi-lateral discussion” and that “behind the scenes maneuvering and politicking has undermined the legitimacy of MSUSA as a democratic body,” according to the Nov. Delegates Assembly minutes.

After a failed motion by the two schools to withdraw completely from MSUSA, Mankato and St. Cloud left the table, ending the meeting.

A mediator was brought in to the Feb. meeting to try to resolve the issues that Mankato and St. Cloud had with MSUSA.

“[The meeting] went better than I expected because Mankato and St. Cloud both showed up and were active and participating,” SMSU Senate President Rachael Posusta said.

The issue of social media continued for Mankato and St. Cloud as two separate Facebook pages have been attacking their Senates. This includes the page of “Johnny Walker” whose identity cannot be confirmed. It’s assumed Walker is pretending to be a student on their campuses.

Someone on a personal page also posted lyrics from a rock song that the schools felt were personal attacks. A bodyguard was needed for the Mankato and St. Cloud representatives to feel safe at the meeting.

The mediated board meeting began an hour late because the two schools would not enter until their bodyguard assisted them in. Both the mediator and bodyguard were hired and paid for by MSUSA, which is funded by all students across MnSCU universities.

“I was hoping that we could move on and take care of business since we’ve been at a standstill and haven’t gotten anywhere with MSUSA this year,” Posusta said. “Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

After the meeting, no resolution was made. The two schools will continue to suspend themselves from participation in MSUSA Mankato and St. Cloud agreed to terms that’ll be discussed at the next meeting, which will take place on March 7. Mankato and St. Cloud will share all information about these Facebook pages with other board members so they’re better informed on the situation. They’ll also submit a report outlining what they’ve been doing at their individual campuses to inform students about their current position on MSUSA, and what they would like in order to move forward.