Ways to help college students cope with the recent terrorist attacks were discussed at this weekend’s Big 12 Student Government Leadership Conference, hosted by the ISU Government of the Student Body.

The annual conference allows the student governments of the Big 12 to talk about what is happening at their schools, said Jonathan Marvin, UDA.

“This conference allows us to get together and compare the different types of governments,” he said.

In a session led by Pete Englin, interim dean of students, participants talked about how their institutions were coping with the tragedy and what they were doing to help, said Sarah Low, GSB chief of staff.

“One idea that came out of those discussions were ways to help ROTC and National Guard people who might be called up,” Low said.

Texas A&M and the University of Texas did not attend the conference because of issues related to their travel itineraries, Low said.

Other participants who decided to fly said they experienced few glitches, although one person’s plane was delayed and another had lost luggage, she said.

The Leadership Conference is held annually at a Big 12 university. Iowa State submitted a bid to host the event for the past two years and was awarded it last year.

“We started planning on the van ride back from Oklahoma State last year,” Low said. “I’ve been working on it since January.”

Part of the weekend was spent on problem solving, she said. Participants come to the conference with different problems, and the other participants help find the solutions, Low said.

Student leaders were sent home with one goal for next year – to think of ways to save students money, Marvin said. At next year’s conference at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, participants will be asked to present their ideas, he said.