Last spring, SMSU’s Student Association donated $800 to the Mustang Market. This matched the donation from the SMSU Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which exceeded its goal of 300 survey participants to 335.   

Elora Olson, public relations director for the Student Association, stated that senateSenate members were pleased about the outcome.  

“I think it’s great that the DEI office wanted to donate so much to the Mustang Market, which goes directly towards the student body.  

“The Mustang Market is all about providing basic necessities for students, so donating money to the market is beneficial to all of us as well,” Olson said. 

Administered Feb. 5-Mar. 1 spring of 2024, the survey is part of the MinnState University System’s efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. Survey results will support educational efforts, programing, policy and practices. 

“The survey [was] anonymous, and the information collected will be used to help us improve our campus community,” said Erin Kline, Assistant Vice President of the DEI office. 

MinnState created the survey to develop a comprehensive understanding of how students engage with diversity and inclusion on the SMSU and statewide campuses.  

Results are intended to offer data on whether students encounter discrimination on campus, and if so, how it manifests in their personal and academic lives. 

“We want to know what student’s experiences are like in order to improve how we create safe and inclusive places for everyone to live, work, and learn,” Kline said. 

She said the DEI office would report their findings after analysis of the data collected.