The American Student Dental Association is a national student-run organization that protects and advances the rights, interests

and welfare of dental students. It introduces students to lifelong involvement in organized dentistry and provides services, information, education, representation and advocacy.

District
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Bringing District 8 together since 2013.

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2nd Annual National Leadership Conference

ASDA takes over Chicago for an inspirational weekend of fun!
For the second year in a row, ASDA members from across the country gathered in Chicago, Illinois for a long weekend of leadership training and excitement. The ASDA National Leadership Conference, which has replaced

Vol. 3: Winter 2013-14

Regional Meetings on the ASDA yearly agenda, has proven to be a profoundly

successful event. Its easy to say that most of us left the Windy City feeling motivated and ready to return to our home chapters with bigger and better ideas for the future. Compared to Annual Session or District Meetings, NLC provides many more breakout sessions and opportunities to tailor our experience to our interests. Topics this year varied from leadership skills (obviously!) such as public speaking, leading effective meetings, and running an ideal chapter to debt management, practice marketing, and starting a new practice. We had the treat of welcoming back former District 8 members,

More inside!

How to Make Policy

By: Michael Capp, Minnesota 15 Minnesota ASDA LGN Chair
Do you have an idea for how ASDA could better serve its members? Annual Session is the perfect place to put that idea into action. Each year representatives from each ASDA chapter gather in the House of Delegates to set the policies for ASDA. By submitting your idea in the form of a resolution before the House, you have a chance to make a significant impact on ASDA and its members. Here is how to turn your idea into policy. Step one is to do your research. ASDA has many policies already and may already address your issue. The Current Statements on Position or Policy can be found at www.asdanet.org. Next, you need to write your idea in the form of a resolution. Templates and examples can be found on ASDAs website. They can look a little complicated at first, but essentially it comes down to writing the actions you want ASDA to take in the resolved clauses and the arguments in favor of your resolution in the background section. Once you have a draft of your resolution, it is a good idea to run it by your District Trustee or the Speaker of the House to make sure it follows all of the rules correctly. The speaker is usually a good choice because he is unable to take a stance on it, so his advice should be neutral. Now that you have a resolution written and you have confirmed that it is in order, you should start building a coalition of support for it. Reach out to your contacts at other schools and talk to them about your idea. The more people you can convince to be sponsors of your resolution, the higher your chance of success. Finally, you submit your resolution to resolutions@ASDAnet.org. The deadline for submission is February 27. Your idea will be discussed in a reference committee before being put to the House for a vote. The House generally votes the way of the reference committee, so be sure to do everything in your power to convince the reference committee to support your resolution. Last year I wrote a resolution that passed the House unanimously. If you have any questions, I will be at Annual Session this year, and you can email me at cappx005@umn.edu. Im looking forward to seeing some good resolutions coming from District 8!

Annual Session Checklist

BEFORE YOU GO: Find a were on a boat costume. The weirder the better. Read up on the EC candidates here: http://asdanet.org/elections/ Brainstorm ideas of things to do to said candidates in caucus. Like the District 8 Facebook page so we can keep you updated and you can share photos and fun! Download the Annual Session App on your phone or tablet. Check the weather, pack accordingly. Its not winter everywherewho knew? Get plenty of sleep and/or carboload. WHILE YOURE THERE: Network! Dont be surprised or afraid when youre put at a table full of strangers for lunch. Pay attention: your voice matters in votes and elections. Go to EVERYTHING! Sleep can wait. Caffeine will be readily available. Take notes: of good ideas and things you can bring back to your chapter. DisneylandIm just saying. HAVE FUN

Dr. Aaron Bumann (MN 13) and Dr. Aruna Rao

(MN 12) as speakers in several of the weekends

breakout sessions. This year at NLC, District 8 also had the great

What to Expect at Annual Session 2014

Annual Session is first and foremost ASDAs major business meeting of the year. At this event, delegates from chapters across the country meet in the House of Delegates and discuss and vote on resolutions proposed by any ASDA member. These resolutions help determine the focus of the work of the organization at the national level over the next year. Resolutions can vary in topic from membership dues to ASDAs view on midlevel providers to encouraging the use of assistants for adequate fourhanded dentistry training within dental schools. The other main purpose of Annual Session is to elect many of the new national leaders for the year. Executive Committee and Speaker of the House candidates deliver speeches to all attendees and then tour the caucuses (2-3 districts) where they are questioned about ASDA policy, their platform, and their leadership experience. The caucus composed of District 8 and 9 tends to be a more laid back caucus, and so fun questions are often thrown into the mix. Within each district, a similar process takes place for the District Trustee election. Finally, Annual Session includes great speakers, a large vendor fair, and networking with students from across the country. Towards the end of the week, the annual Gold Crown Awards are a major source of excitement. Applications from chapters describing their activities during 2013 are evaluated, and awards are given out in a variety of areas, with the most coveted being Ideal ASDA Chapter. The Presidents Dinner Dance tops off the week and includes a costume theme of Were on a Boat. Get your maritime clothes and gear out and get ready for the best week ever! Stephanie Zastrow, Minnesota 15 Minnesota ASDA President 3

honor of celebrating with Minnesota ASDA President Stephanie Zastrow (MN 15) as she was awarded the Ryan Turner Memorial Scholarship. Hundreds of exceptionally qualified ASDA members applied for the award, but it is a testament to the incredible

involvement and work ethic of District 8 that one of our

own brought it home this year. Speaking of bringing it home, another District 8 member, Xu Yao (MN 17), dominated the field in the District 8 and 9 rock-paperscissors tournament, held during caucus on Sunday morning of NLC. Besides the usual business of an ASDA meeting, there was also plenty of the usual fun. District

8 was treated to two delicious dinners sponsored by

Pacific Dental and MedPro. We also enjoyed soaking up some nightlife along the Chicago River downtown, and (for many of us) trying Chicago-style deep dish pizza for the first time. Hope to see you all again next year! Christine Lucachick, MN 16 MN ASDA President-Elect

Americas Dental Meeting: We Play Hard but We Work Harder

Past District 8 Trustee, Jenna Hatfield-Waites experiences at ADA Annual Session

The American Dental Associations Annual Session, newly rebranded as Americas Dental Meeting, was held st rd October 31 through November 3 in The Big Easy, better known as New Orleans. I was more than honored to represent District 8 and the voice of all dental students within the ADA House as a delegate. I arrived in New Orleans and met up with the rest of the ASDA delegation and what better way to start off a busy week in NOLA than to hit up Bourbon Street for some oysters on half shell, a shrimp po boy, and a hurricane. While we managed to fit in a little fun and games on Bourbon Street, after all we were there over Halloween, the ASDA delegation definitely got down to business. I was surprised at how much of a well oiled machine we were. There was plenty of pre-meeting work that was accomplished via Google docs, emails, and many conference calls. We reviewed all House resolutions and identified which ones were most pertinent to students, and which ones were so important that we needed to take a stance for or against them. Once we arrived, we worked hard in our little meeting room, which we soon came to know as our little home. The ASDA staff and student delegates ensured that any comments we made regarding the resolutions would be well thought out and based on facts. Within the reference committee meetings, district caucuses, and on the House floor, the use of various forms of technology for communication was critical. ASDAs vote is very instrumental within the House as we hold five voting positions and some states such as North Dakota hold only two. It was evident that ASDAs opinion was well-respected by all. Some of the highlights of the meeting included listening to the distinguished speaker, former president Bill Clinton, who talked about The Clinton Foundation and its humanitarian efforts overseas. Another highlight was meeting and interviewing each of the candidates for President Elect and Second Vice President. While they were all very qualified and already great leaders with much wisdom, Dr. Maxine Feinberg of Westfield, New Jersey and Dr. Jonathan D. Shenkin of Freeport, Maine were elected for 2014 President-Elect and Second Vice President respectively. Finally, after all of our hard work on the House floor we had a few victories that we were quite proud of. These included the defeat of Resolutions 44 and 45. Resolution 44: Dues Structure, proposed that ADA dues for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral members be established by the ADA Board of Trustees, as opposed to the current structure of the ADA House setting the dues. This was opposed by the ASDA delegation as this would mean ASDA would no longer have a vote on setting the dues for dental students. Resolution 45: Review of Student Dues Category, would have increased ADA student member dues from $5 to $10. This increase would have posed a logistical challenge, as ADA student member dues are included in ASDA dues and collected by ASDA, then remitted to the ADA. ASDA dues must be approved by ASDAs House of Delegates. The ASDA delegation utilized testimony during reference committee and districts caucuses to inform the ADA House of the challenges associated with passing the resolution. In the for reading the Articul8or! end, both resolutions were struck down and the ASDA delegation celebrated in true New Orleans fashion, with beignets for brunch. If interested in contributing to Americas Dental Meeting was an amazing experience and I feel privileged to have experienced it at such an early point in my dental this quarterly publication, please career. I am grateful that I am part of such a remarkable organization contact Communication Chair, that knows how to play hard, but Christine Lucachick at work even harder.

Thanks!

lucac009@umn.edu

Jenna Hatfield-Waite, UNMC 14