Last Thursday, student senators discussed the notorious disconnect between Senate and the student body in addressing the transparency of its bylaws and the effectiveness of the Organizational Council.
Vice President of Student Life Ben Cooper (AS3) introduced a resolution to instate a Student Senate Bylaw Ad Hoc Committee. The group of senators would “ensure that the rules and regulations for the Student Senate are reviewed objectively and updated to ensure that they accurately reflect the workings of our Senate,” according to the motion.
“The last time Senate had an ad hoc committee was three years ago for Bulldog Parade,” Cooper said when he proposed the motion.
The Bulldog Parade ad hoc committee was formed to boost school spirit, Cooper said. It was responsible for selling the decorated bulldog statues placed around campus.
The committee will be composed of seven senators, with one sitting as the chair. Cooper said the committee was created internally so Senate would have the opportunity to clarify the bylaws and make them more consistent.
“Our senators know our bylaws and the history behind them, which other students may not,” Cooper said after the meeting. “It can be confusing if you’re not familiar with them.”
Sen. Carla Olszewski (J4), nominated by Sen. Tyler Boggess (J4), was appointed chair of the committee.
“It’s important to keep bylaws relevant to our specific session, as they change from year to year,” Olszewski said.
The six nominated committee members were Vice President of Student Activities Tisleen Singh (J3), Sen. Norah Carroll (J3), Sen. Samantha Haas (AS3), Sen. Eric Gudmundson (J4), Sen. Greg Larson (B2) and Sen. Ben Whitmer (B2).
The resolution was drafted to create a six-person panel, but Senate voted to expand the size to accommodate all of the nominees. Olszewski proposed the amendment, and Motion SS 091001 was passed unanimously.
Senators also discussed the effectiveness of the Organizational Council.
Organizational Senator Brittany Miller (AS3) informally introduced a motion to change the Organizational Council attendance policy. In previous years, organization representatives were penalized for more than one absence. After gathering feedback from the council members, Miller drafted a resolution to change the policy to allow for two excused absences.
Miller also said that the organizational senators had been working to gather input from council members to improve the Organizational Council.
Some senators disagreed that the organizational Council was a necessary structure.
“We’re wasting time trying to make people understand,” Boggess said.
Singh said that students were disengaged with Senate matters.
“Lots of people don’t care about what goes on here,” Singh said. “We shouldn’t shove Senate down their throat. If people really care, they will get involved.”
Public Affairs Committee Chair Emily Krstulic (E3) added to the discussion.
“We may be in some people’s faces, but maybe not the right people,” Krstulic said. “It’s our task to make (students) care, to make them understand.”
Sen. Larson said that Senate seemed indecisive between trying to empower students to understand the inner workings of Senate and trying to make it understandable for everyone.
“I think it’s all about keeping it general,” Miller said.
Miller said that student representatives were interested in policy changes, but did not seem to care to understand the logistics of Senate.
“Organizational leaders are very blunt about how they feel about Senate, but yet they’re glad to have me at their meetings,” Miller said.
Senators agreed that the discussion, while productive, was not necessarily related to the issue Miller had introduced. President Ben Olson (AS4) encouraged senators to continue the discussion at future meetings.
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