Student leaders are organizing a summit filled with art and information displays covering topics from how to make student fees more equitable to connecting students to campus resources.

UCM Student Governor Matthew Martinez and various student leaders, are planning the Selmo Sustainability Summit or S³, tentatively set for April 26-28 at Selmo Park, located along Holden street across from the Elliot Student Union.

Martinez said the Selmo Sustainability Summit is a three-day, two-night event to educate students about UCM resources through art and performances. He said they have performers from UCM, St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kansas.

Martinez said he hopes to get students to camp out overnight for the two nights in tents.

“In a larger sense, I think that we will be able to show a model to the rest of the nation that this is participatory activism,” Martinez said. “That there are potentially much more effective ways to organize and to see change than by just organizing in a space, waiting for an administrator to do something.”

Mike Godard, vice provost-chief learning officer, said in an email that he and the university’s Senior Leadership Team preferred not to comment on this event since it is not a university sponsored event or registered with Student Activities.

Martinez said they are addressing high-level issues, and that’s why they decided to call it a summit. The summit’s  main objectives are “students helping students help themselves,” “education through art” and “leaving UCM better than we found it.”

He said one of their goals during the summit is to plant trees in Selmo park, possibly a small, community garden. He said this way, they can leave the park better than they found it.

Martinez said Facilities Planning and Operations approved planting in Selmo Park however, he is still working on securing a location for the plantings.

The committee plans to fund the planting by applying for the President’s Commission on Inclusivity grant.

Martinez said the idea is to talk about how students can learn from one another, provide students the resources they need to graduate and prioritize mental health and sexual assault resources.

“So, at the end of the day, that’s why we’re doing it,” he said. “We want to educate through art, allow students to help students so they can help themselves.”

He said UCM’s Green Dot is supporting the summit by bringing students to participate.

“Educating students and giving people a comfortable space to be themselves is kind of a few priorities of the organizing committee,” Martinez said. “We want to educate as many students as possible on the resources that exist and their own personal resources to address mental health issues, where to get resources, if they’re victims of partner violence or sexual assault and start asking questions.”

Rachel Gitau, the summit’s education chair and a junior international studies major, said she joined the event because she supports its goals and wants to be a part of the people who help reach them.

“What I hope is the result of this summit is that it gives everyone a platform to get information about the different resources we have on campus,” she said. “I hope this summit will change UCM for the better.”

Davontae Hare, the operations safety lead of the summit and a sophomore public relations major, said this event is important for UCM organizations to maintain sustainability.

“Sustainability is a conversation we should have sooner rather than later and this event is the perfect outlet for all campus organizations to come support and learn,” he said. “Sustainability is important because as we continue to have organizations grow on campus we want our campus to be healthy environment-wise and culture-wise.”

Martinez said that since UCM is comprised of 63 percent low-income, under-represented Pell- Grant eligible students, it is important to provide resources for completion or at least more efficient information on the cost of college.

Martinez said more student groups should be funded better by student fees and hopes that this summit could help inspire those financial changes.

He said this summit will also look at UCM financial literacy and show students how fees work.

Martinez said that it’s unsustainable to ask low-income students to come to UCM and not get degrees and will address retention rates at the event.

He said, “If we are to survive as an institution we must examine the true costs borne by students, especially those from the inner city and rural Missouri.”

For more information, contact Matthew Martinez at mrm01290@ucmo.edu.