The pair led their fellow students through a difficult year that began with the death of St. Cloud State President Earl H. Potter III in June and included a high-profile stabbing in the city and the disappearance and death of junior Jesse Dady.
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The loss of Potter was a shock to the whole St. Cloud community, but what happened in the wake of that loss was a show of support from across the university that continued through everything that happened this year, Olson said.
The administration picked up gears right away to memorialize Potter and continue with the foundation and expectations he set at St. Cloud State. Student Government has continued working and expanding off his legacy, but also excelled in new ways under Interim President Ashish Vaidya’s administration, Johnson said.
“There was no way to prepare for all that happened this year, but with the help of passionate student leaders and dedicated administration we could accomplish anything we set our mind to,” Johnson said. “In all the hardships throughout the year is where I saw the strength of our campus shine through.”
St. Cloud United
A high-profile stabbing at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud and the uncertainty that followed was difficult for a lot of students on campus — from all backgrounds, Olson said.
Johnson and Olson knew they needed to respond but weren’t sure how. Then they heard from leaders in other student organizations asking what support services were available and what could be done to show support for students frightened by the attack.
Working with student leaders from the Somali Student Association and other organizations, Johnson and Olson organized a unity rally for the Monday after the attack.
The quick response from everyone in the campus community spoke to the commitment by everyone involved that St. Cloud State is here to support every single student, Olson said.
“This is a community for everyone, and we as students get to write our own narrative about what happens on our campus,” he said.
Johnson said that it was seeing the student body coming together to respond that showed her she was in the right place as Student Government president.
“I wanted nothing more than the voices of our students to be the lead story, for the people impacted by the event to be able to narrate their story rather than letting it be depicted by anyone outside of our community,” she said. “… I was beyond impressed when I saw fellow students standing up and leading an event like it was something they did all the time.”
Student Government reorganization
It was the everyday, behind-the-scenes efforts that Johnson and Olson believe have shaped Student Government into a better organization today, Olson said.
Johnson and Olson spurred a reorganization in Student Government designed to get more information into the hands of students and did so despite adjusting to a new administrative leadership within the university.
Johnson, a graphic design major, and Olson, an advertising major, came to Student Government with a new perspective on how to reach and involve students.
Their first job in office when they returned to campus in fall was to stabilize the Husky Howler to begin sending out consistent messages from week to week so students could be informed about what was happening on campus. They sought out information about student fees, employee bargaining units and university committees open to students and shared that information with students.
— Mikaela Johnson, 2016-17 Student Government president
“That way they knew it wasn’t just us making decisions on behalf of students, they had that opportunity as well,” Olson said. “I think that fostered more engagement as a whole to say ‘yeah, I can actually do something here.’”
They were intentional when choosing students for committees within Student Government and throughout the broader university to make sure the best people were in those roles.
In response to these changes, Student Government leaders stepped up to engage. They held serious conversations on changing the undergraduate tuition model and restructuring student fees, helped clean up the campus and strove to find better ways to serve students. They carried through on plans to create more bring your own device stations across campus and made online options available for student organizations to receive funding easily, Johnson said.
“We are extremely lucky to have the student leaders we have on campus,” she said. “They are well-rounded and willing to work on things they want to see done for fellow students.
“I’ve learned a lot about St. Cloud State University in my role, but the best part was learning about what being a Husky looks like.”
The efforts to expand communication with students paid off during Student Government elections this spring when 9.5 percent of the student body voted — surpassing the 7 percent participation rate required to pass the Student Government constitution, which hadn’t happened in seven years.
“A lot of people within our organization have talked about how far our Student Government has come to being not a reactive organization, but a proactive one,” he said. “It’s cool to see that transformation and profession over the years — to even be one piece of that has been a privilege and an honor.”
