Murryum Farooqi and Maris Ferguson joined Oakland University’s Student Congress (OUSC) not only to raise awareness but also, to bring about change. Since the pair was elected to serve as president and vice president of OUSC in the spring of 2023, Farooqi and Ferguson have advanced various initiatives to better the campus community.

January marks the midpoint of the Farooqi-Ferguson administration’s one-year term. This article will review the successes of OUSC in the summer and fall semesters under the Farooqi-Ferguson administration and the pair’s goals for the second half of their term in office.

Summer and Fall 2023 Overview

When Farooqi and Ferguson decided to campaign for leadership of OUSC, the pair had no shortage of ideas for initiatives. In March 2023, the pair spoke to The Oakland Post regarding their goals if elected.

“A few of our key initiatives include reforming the University Medical Amnesty Policy, expanding our support for the Affordable Course Materials Initiative (ACMI), pushing for better dining hall hours, advocating for the creation of an academic forgiveness policy and expanding our free menstrual products initiative to all bathrooms on campus,” the Farooqi-Ferguson Slate said when asked about campaign goals.

This January, Farooqi and Ferguson provided an update on the status of their campaign promises.

“One of our biggest points of pride and effort was about the medical amnesty policy,” Ferguson said. “There was a huge focus on opening a line of communication with the Dean of Students office and talking about how, first and foremost, it [the previous medical amnesty policy] is a problem. Once the problem was recognized, the community took a strong position on the medical amnesty reform efforts and we saw a lot of support.”

Ferguson emphasized that OUSC’s efforts for medical amnesty reform brought the whole campus community together to advocate for increased student protection. Multiple resolutions were unanimously in support of the proposed changes to the medical amnesty policy, including the Oakland University Senate. 

OUSC’s medical amnesty reform efforts were successful — Ferguson says that the revisions to the bill were akin to the proposed modifications suggested by the Farooqi-Ferguson administration.

Farooqi touched upon OUSC’s efforts to improve the quality of campus food and expand the campus dining hall hours.

“Although they [the dining hall hours] were not expanded as much as we wanted them to be, we at least got the one-hour expansion [for Hillcrest dining hall hours],” Farooqi said.

Last semester, OUSC representatives had many conversations with Chartwells leadership and Oakland University Housing professional staff in an attempt to improve campus meal options and availability. Farooqi explained that limited food options and hours of operation present accessibility barriers to community members who may have dietary restrictions, mobility issues or atypical schedules.

Near the end of the semester, OUSC focused on advocating for the University to provide increased support and resources to the Oakland University Counseling Center. Oakland University’s Counseling Center currently has the lowest faculty-to-student ratio in comparison to all other university counseling centers in Michigan.

To tackle this issue, OUSC representatives wrote letters to the editor which were published in The Oakland Post. These letters detailed the personal experiences students have had with the OUCC and highlighted the importance of quality mental health services.

OUSC’s efforts in amending university policy, improving campus dining and enhancing mental health support services are by no means the only successes the Farooqi-Ferguson administration has seen in the fall semester. OUSC has a team of legislators and directors who work diligently to advance campus sustainability, student engagement and school spirit.

Winter 2024 Outlook

OUSC under the Farooqi-Ferguson administration has achieved much success in its initiatives throughout the fall semester. While the group has celebrated its success, OUSC representatives have continued their efforts to enhance OU living, learning and dining.

Farooqi is excited to continue working with Chartwells leadership to increase campus dining options.

“When we [OUSC] hosted the Campus Dining Town Hall, a common complaint we received was a lack of variety [of food options in the dining halls],” Farooqi said. “People were tired of the same salad, the same bagel, and so on.”

Although OUSC has not achieved its major goals concerning campus dining, Farooqi recognizes that significant progress has been made.

“During Middle Eastern Heritage Week, we talked to the dining halls and they did a special menu for that week,” Farooqi said. “We hope to continue working with Chartwells leadership to introduce a variety of menu options in the dining halls for the Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Week.”

Another initiative OUSC is pursuing this semester is increasing recycling on campus.

“We [OUSC] are going to be sponsoring the placement of recycling bins across campus,” Farooqi said. “Our Director of Software and Technology has been working on an app. The app will tell a person if an item is recyclable; all they need to do is scan the barcode of the item.”

Farooqi spoke about OUSC’s plans to promote course markings.

“We want to do a postcard campaign to lobby the state legislature to adopt legislation that requires universities to mark courses when a student registers. The markings would tell a student whether there is an additional textbook cost associated with the course,” Farooqi said.

To enhance school spirit on campus, OUSC hosts a swag exchange program. To receive a free item of OU spirit wear, students may bring any article of clothing that bears the name of another university to the OUSC office. The exchange program increases the accessibility of OU spirit wear, which tends to be costly when purchased in-store.

Besides the aforementioned initiatives, the Farooqi-Ferguson administration hopes to improve the conditions of campus prayer and lactation rooms. Further, OUSC plans to continue expanding its free menstrual product program.

For those interested in getting involved with OUSC, contact the group through their email, [email protected].