A South Green Senator addresses the Senate VP's letter from last week.
A Response to Vice President McDaniel: I'm angry, you should be too.
We should be angry with Student Senate this year, for many of reasons, although they are not outlined in Vice President McDaniel's last letter to the editor. This year Student Senate has failed you, the students, in multiple ways. We could discuss how the year started with students on campus being ostracized by their very representatives in an unapologetic fashion with the Blood Bucket scandal. We could think back to all of the issues with uFund, whether it be disrespectful exchanges, or untimely responses. We could look at how the body generally does not serve their office hours, or how the President has missed important meetings such as Budget Planning Council and General Body Meetings. We can even examine the reactions of Senate members when a student voices dissent or differing opinions — just look at the diminished attendance of Senate meetings.
All of these conduct issues are problematic in themselves. But even more problematic is the mindset of Student Senate. Regardless of what the current Senate will tell you, there are ways of working for students and with administration on hard and pressing issues. I'll outline a few for you. The Student Senate of 1999-2000 lobbied with the board and state government to bring tuition caps. Around that time the tuition was able to be raised 6%+ a year. Student Senate also worked with administration on plans for a new Baker Center in 2000-2001, so that student organizations had more space. A later Student Senate worked to expand Baker Center hours for the benefit of the students. If you have a microfridge in your residence hall room, you can thank the 1996-1997 Student Senate (along with tRAC) for that. You can also thank Student Senate in the years of 2006-2007 for advocating for students' input on their own general fee money. In 2009-2010 the administration listened when Student Senate halted the plans to raise room and board by 5% in the midst of a tuition freeze. Just last year, Student Senate enacted the preferred name policy, which allows students to change their name in University records to a preferred name rather than their legal name. This is only a brief snapshot of the work Student Senate has done.
Caitlyn was right; Student Senate has failed you this year. But their biggest mistake was not the Blood Bucket challenge, or the theft scandal. Their biggest fault was not their radical ideas. They failed you because of their attitude, an attitude so stubborn and unapproachable that they could not properly fulfill their role as a governing body. There is a place for a student union, and a place for a functioning representative student body, and they are not the same domain. Students: please remember to use your vote this spring to enact a change so that next year's Student Senate does not fail you the same way it has this year.
Gabrielle Bacha is an Ohio University student studying political science and a South Green Senator for Student Senate.
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