COLUMBUS—”Trust” was a word reiterated at the Ohio Statehouse Thursday afternoon as student representatives from universities across Ohio expressed their support of student trustee voting rights.
The second hearing of House Bill 111, which officially changed its language to allow for permissive student trustee voting rights, involved testimony from student leaders attending Ohio University, Kent State University and Ohio State University — all of which have passed student government resolutions in full-support. The language change allows each board to determine whether its trustees will have voting rights.
However, Jordan Ballinger, governmental affairs commissioner for OU’s Student Senate, was quick to note that a university’s student government does not play a big enough role to make the real changes a voting trustee could.
“Universities exist because of students and are funded by students. It only makes sense to grant students a vote on the Board of Trustees,” said Ballinger in his testimony to the Ohio House education committee. “By not allowing students a vote on issues that affect them, their voices are being silenced.”
In Ohio, the governor appoints student trustees; meaning they are expected to act in the best interest of Ohio and its taxpayers while also keeping their university’s students in mind, which has led to many opposites arguing a conflict of interest.
This conflict of interest has been cited by OU’s second-year trustee, Amanda Roden, as a reason for not supporting student trustee voting rights. OU’s Board of Trustees has yet to take a stance on the topic.
“We have asked them to keep us updated as HB 111 moves through the legislative process, so that the Board can act at the appropriate time. We also have requested that they gather information about how such voting rights are implemented in other states,” said Sandra Anderson, the board chair, in a statement. “The Ohio University Board of Trustees has always valued the significant contributions made by our student trustees, and we have always welcomed and been influenced by their voice on the Board. The Board looks forward to their continued involvement and contributions."
The language change was not the focus of the hearing; instead those in attendance focused on how to best get it passed.
“I always think it’s good for people who are affected by legislation to get involved in the process just to make sure that legislators understand the issue,” said Debbie Phillips, D-Albany, who sits on the primary and secondary education subcommittee and has expressed her support of the bill.
af234909@ohiou.edu
--Olivia Hitchcock contributed to this report
