According to a vague statement on the Guilford College Web site, our Community Senate’s duty is “representing student opinions in a decision and policy-making process dedicated to the welfare of the community.” Sounds noble.
Sounds influential.
Sounds completely alien to Guilford.
As a student, the only Senate I hear of is the metaphorical wallet that funds everything from work trips, to individual projects or on-campus events.
Going on what Senate should be seen as – a decisive, powerful force on our campus – shouldn’t involvement in student government be more complex than seeking funds for Senate and campus organizations?
Absolutely.
Is it?
No.
Students who are not directly involved as either executive officers or representatives rarely step foot inside Senate meetings unless, of course, money is on the line.
The March 14 Senate meeting involved four bulleted points on the agenda. Three were solely based on student acquisition of funds.
Yes, Senate has $26,000 to last the semester and is encouraging “good, not silly” proposals, but handing out cash is not their sole purpose.
“There have been a few students to bring issues asking Senate to support their efforts, but mostly I feel that students just campaign for what they want and don’t even think twice about gaining Senate support,” said senior and Inter-Club Council weekly chair, Aleks Babic.
Obviously, students do not realize the influence that Senate has on the community.
“About half of what we do is clubs’ requests for money. The other half is faculty and staff talk to us about any policy that is getting changed and see what we have to say,” said Senate president Wes Corning.
Unbeknownst to most, Senate also does the unglamorous behind-the-scenes work on a large number of campus activities and other simple tasks like providing chalk for clubs’ sidewalk advertisements.
“We are busy,” said Corning. “Particularly, executives are constantly interacting with as many people as possible, getting wheels moving,” he said.
Being a community organization, Senate’s Wednesday meetings are open to the entire Guilford population. But, obviously, the only ones taking part are the faculty and staff involved in discussions, Senate members, and the money-seekers.
“I’ve heard senators complain about us being a bank, but at the same time we must step back and ask what we’ve done to encourage students who do not attend weekly meetings to come and engage in dialogue,” said Babic.
With a forthcoming election and the gravity of events this year, students should be aware of and participating in Senate.
“There is a disconnect, with no one place to assign blame,” said Corning.
The by-laws of the Guilford College Community Senate, as ratified in 2005, state that representatives are “responsible for reporting back to their constituents the concerns of the Senate.”
So, theoretically, 37 representatives should be spreading information about student government goings on.
Also, the new-and-improved Senate webpage, www.guilford.edu/senate, offers concise weekly minutes of meetings. Yet, the ignorant perception of Senate as nothing more than an open wallet remains.
“There is a perception that we (Senate) are not doing enough,” said Corning.
It’s not Senate that is lackadaisical, but rather the apathetic and uninformed student body.