It’s been a while since you elected your 2010-2011 senators last year, yet here we find ourselves again, ready to elect another round. The Student Senate has been working on a lot this year, but I’m afraid that sometimes that message just doesn’t reach the student body the way it should. You’ll soon, no doubt, be hearing all about the accomplishments of various candidates, but allow me to preface the debate with a few recent projects that you’ll be interested in.
Our first, and perhaps most readily apparent undertaking, is allotment of appropriations funds to various student clubs and organizations. About 157 clubs have applied this year for reasons that vary from paintball to pre-med meetings, requesting a full $170,634.10. There are various rules and regulations involved in the effort, so it really takes every senator working with and sponsoring clubs to make the operation run smoothly. I’ve sat down with some of the clubs I’ve sponsored and it’s always interesting to hear the hopes and plans that they are making before starting the semester– plans that you, as students, make possible by electing and supporting Student Government. Ethan Harrelson and the rest of the Appropriations Committee have put a great deal of time into this project and though they can’t fully fund every club, they’ve spent well over 40 hours interviewing, planning and serving on your behalf.
As appropriations draw students together from all across campus, Student Government is also undertaking another program that is intended to build campus spirit and dialogue between the colleges. At the Senate Meeting tonight, we’ll be reviewing Senator Scott Moore’s funding request for the First Annual College Cup. The College Cup will be a competition later in the year that enlists ten contestants from each college to compete in a variety of academic and athletic challenges. Spanning from Main to Centennial Campus, it will offer an opportunity to bring everyone together for a chance to meet, greet and compete. You should come out to watch. It will be a fun time and you never know, your college just might be the first to have their name on the trophy. This campus unity couldn’t be more important as we increasingly need to speak in one voice in the face of hard times.
On the topic of challenges, Student Government is also taking on student concerns with academic advising. The bill draws from interviews with students, advisers and university officials to devise a cohesive plan to address the varied advising system across the colleges and departments. It would be nearly impossible to address every positive and negative story I’ve heard in this column, but the bill chooses to focus on the four main student concerns of having advisers that are accessible, responsive, knowledgeable and individualized, while still taking into account faculty concerns with the website and training policies. This will make a difference from the moment students step in the door on their first day to when they graduate and step off campus for the last time.
If you’d like to get more information about any of these programs, send an e-mail to the people I’ve named or come talk to me. I’m always open to student input or a good idea. Or better yet, drop by the Student Senate Meeting on the second floor of Witherspoon tonight at 7:30pm. They meetings are always open to the public.
Emerson Barker is a sophomore in political science and a first-year senator at-large. Barker serves as the Student Senate Press Secretary.
