OP-ED: Re-elect Dupuis for Student Trustee

Ethan Dupuis

He/Him

Contributor

4/8/25

First, I would like to express my deep gratitude for the trust the student body has placed in me to fulfill the important role of Student Trustee. This academic year, we have faced significant budget cuts that have put certain majors in jeopardy, led to a reduced ski day, and resulted in clubs and organizations losing spring funding. The Plymouth State Student Senate (PSSS) has historically been a stagnant body, where class councils often fail to spend the funds allocated to them—in a system where allocations cannot carry over from year to year. PSSS tends to be reactive, becoming more of a jaded focus group. 

In contrast, the nature of the Student Trustee position is somewhat removed from PSSS, allowing me to focus on common-sense fiscal policies, PSU course recommendations, and exploring a potential student appeal system for parking tickets. What I have worked on for PSU students includes: implementing an internal PSSS policy that required class councils to develop planned events by a specific deadline, or else the remainder of their budget would be reallocated to the CEA budget—resulting in an additional $8,000 for clubs to utilize; advocating for the introduction of a core financial planning course to be taught to all majors starting in AY 2026-2027, which will equip graduates with strategic investment plans to keep more money in their pockets; and testifying in the NH House of Representatives to advocate for increased state funding for USNH. 

In my next term, I will focus on improving the parking ticket appeal system, ensuring that students have a representative to advocate for extenuating circumstances. Currently, the appeal success rate is only 30%, which is abysmal. This means that students who appeal are denied 70% of the time. How does this support retention at a university already struggling with low enrollment numbers? Appeals account for 20% of all parking violations, so implementing a student appeal system would not significantly impact the overall transportation budget, even if students were to approve appeals at a higher rate. The student appeals system would elicit more faith in the process, rather than the typical cold shoulder of the University Police Department. 

I will continue to push for commonsense reforms, whether that’s improving our appeal processes or fighting for increased funding for our university. My goal is to foster an atmosphere where students not only feel supported but also empowered to shape their university experience. Thank you for your continued trust, and I look forward to serving in the next term with the same dedication and drive.