By Sasha Williams
Academic Vice President Alicia Paez pleaded with the student senators for more help. At the Sept. 27 Student Government Association meeting, she asked that senators who had committed to represent the student body at committee meetings fulfill their obligation by actually attending.
“I’m one person. I can’t be the voice of everyone,” Paez said. She said that many decisions made at committee meetings directly affect students. Decisions regarding controversial issues such as the plus/minus grading system have been made with little or no student involvement, due in part to the lack of senate participation, Paez said.
Executive Vice President Nathan Haney agreed. “It’s all faculty making these decisions. It’s difficult to get senators to go to these meetings,” he said.
One reason that senators do not attend the meetings is that they are not mandatory. The top four officers appoint senators to committee meetings that need student representation since there are far more meetings than they could each attend themselves.
Senators are asked to sign up via e-mail or after SGA meetings, Paez said. She believes the problem is that those who agree to participate either forget or assume that someone else will take on the responsibility. Previously, senators who fell through on commitments to attend committees suffered no consequences, but that is about to change.
A new SGA constitution was passed at last week’s meeting, and one major change included in the constitution was the formation of a development board. This board will individually assess the performance of each senator and of anyone else who receives money from the SGA.
“If you are known to be a senator who is not trustworthy, that’s a big penalty,” Haney said. He hopes that if senators are held accountable for their actions they will become more involved. Being a senator is not just something to put on your resume, Paez said. “Everyone has to do their part.”
