Members of the ASMSU delegation with MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz outside the Cowles House.

Before many Spartans returned back to campus, students from across the newly expanded Big Ten visited Michigan State University for a conference of the Association of Big Ten Students, or ABTS, the undergraduate coalition of Big Ten student governments.

This summer, the Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, hosted the student delegations in East Lansing from August 16 to 18.The conference began with an opening session at the Cowles House, where MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz spoke with students, took selfies with students and offered remarks to the over 70 students in attendance.

“We might be rivals on game days, but our universities are all partners in developing tomorrow’s leaders,” Guskiewicz said. “Student leaders play a crucial role on our campuses, and it’s great that they come together to address issues their student bodies care about.”

Student leaders from across the Big Ten take photo with MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz at the Cowles House.

Student leaders also welcomed their Big Ten counterparts, including both the ABTS board, and ASMSU and Student Body President Connor Le.

"Hosting the ABTS Summer Conference at MSU was an amazing experience," Le said. "At the conference, we were able to decide our federal priorities and learn more about initiatives at each respective school which we cannot wait to bring back to MSU to help better the Spartan experience!"

Throughout the weekend, students engaged in roundtables and conversations about student services. Additionally, they held an advocacy session where they collectively voted and passed policies to advance at the Big Ten level.

Students also received a tour of campus and MSU’s athletic facilities, which included the newly opened Tom Izzo Football Building. 

Members of the ASMSU officer board with MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and his wife Amy.

ABTS typically holds a summer and winter conference, where each school rotates serving as the host school. In the spring, students travel to Washington, D.C. where they meet with their respective policy makers to discuss state and federal legislation they hope to see passed.

For MSU students wanting to get involved with ASMSU, they can email: president@asmsu.msu.edu. To learn more, students can visit their website and ASMSU's General Assembly meetings are held on Thursday nights.

All photos credit Jack Harrison.