Ohio University Student Senate traveled to Columbus Wednesday to discuss tuition hikes, Student Trustee voting rights.
Members of Ohio University’s Student Senate met with state legislators in Columbus Wednesday to discuss tuition hikes, Student Trustee voting rights and a proposal for a new trustee selection process.
Three members of Student Senate and one member of Graduate Student Senate attended the meetings, which were organized in response to results from a student body poll.
Tuition increases were identified as a top concern, according to the poll.
“A lot of what we spoke to today comes from personal experience,” Student Senate Vice President Caitlyn McDaniel said. “We can’t speak for every student, but these are pretty common experiences.” The trip was a main point of discussion in the senate’s second general body meeting of Spring Semester.
The students met with eight state representatives and senators, including Athens district Sen. Lou Gentile and state Rep. Debbie Phillips.
The Post was denied interviews with the elected officials.
Among the conversation topics, McDaniel also asked Phillips’ advice for methods to achieve change in government.
“I have seen things change because of individuals that came into the hearing room and spoke from the heart about issues important to them,” Phillips said.
Officials invited the senate members back to testify about issues, many of which students consider themselves “stakeholders.”
The next round of meetings is tentatively scheduled for March 1.
“This is an example of something where lip-service only goes so far,” McDaniel said, referencing the planned student protest that will take place during the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday. “I think we’ve been cut out of the conversation, and, therefore, we need to make a statement the best way we can.”
Student senators hope this protest will not only raise awareness, but will stall the Board of Trustees vote on guaranteed tuition and limit the tuition raise.
“We have no real power over any budgetary or meaningful processes at the university, so until that changes we can program as many events as the administration would like, but it’s not really going anywhere,” Mathes said.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, senate passed resolutions to implement a more democratic Student Trustee selection process and a resolution condemning the guaranteed tuition model and tuition raises.
Anna Morton, former Student Senate President and current employee in the Dean of Students Office, gave a presentation on OU’s Tobacco Free Initiative, outlining what the policy will look like once it takes effect in Fall 2015.
Student Senate will return to the biweekly schedule that was adopted last semester. There will be no general body meeting next week.
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