Timing is everything for SG

If a Student Government (SG) debate occurs at an unknown time, does it serve students?

Like the proverbial falling tree in the forest, an event can have little impact if no one knows about it.

SG brought its elections online in keeping with its stated mission this year to increase accessibility to students, then failed to plan in advance to notify students of the debates—arguably the best medium to inform students about the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

In the March 2 SG meeting, the debate time was set for the following day at noon, only to be rescheduled later that night for 1 p.m. March 5 in the Comet Café.

SG needed to prompt the dialog for setting-up the debate, though another organization hosted it.

This blatant lack of planning in raising awareness is no anomaly. Even SG’s current new town hall project this term was not immune.

The purpose is to have students from their particular school ask questions and listen to top-level administration from the school respond, but student turnout was abysmal.

A slew of town halls swept the first week of March: the School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics; Economics, Political & Policy Sciences (EPPS); and Behavioral & Brain Sciences (BBS).

The town halls were not even mentioned at the SG meeting in late February. An e-mail went out to EPPS students almost two hours prior to the event on Wednesday. Marketing materials, a thick stack of color-printed flyers, wallowed unposted. Flyers for BBS were not posted until two days before the event.

Students should have adequate notice of events that use their student fee money to operate.

The least SG can do for their town halls and debate is get the word out with the same vigor the senators pursue re-election.

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4 comments

Anonymous

Sat Mar 13 2010 12:45

I've been in Sg for a couple of years and see the same thing happen. The officers get the flack for what the senators aren't doing. Everyone criticizes Diana and Remsen when talking about SG putting on stupid events, but they're not the ones putting the events on. Committee chairs and senators plan them. If Diana and Remsen told everyone else what events to put on, they'd get panned for dictating. People need to check on the other people in SG a lot more. The last event Diana was in charge of was Rock the Vote, and it had one of the biggest turnouts of students. The 5k run was the last event Remsen was in charge of, and it also had one of the biggest turnouts SG has ever had. I still don't get why people don't criticize the other people when it's obvious Diana and Remsen know how to get things done.

Anonymous

Wed Mar 10 2010 04:26

The town halls have been a disaster. This group of SG-ers has turned out to be like many from prior senates - more self-interested than student-interested. As Alex said, if they would pursue student interests and opinions on issues as hard as they pursue re-election, they might get something done. A senator who only needs me when he or she needs a vote is a senator that doesn't need to serve. It would be interesting if SG did pursue the student body outside of election times with election season vigor - who knows what all might change and improve!

Anonymous

Tue Mar 9 2010 20:36

Though I have nothing to say about the debate, I have to disagree about the town halls.

Academic Affairs Chair Emily Lichtenheld announced nearly every meeting preceeding March that town halls were coming up. As for the last minute town hall, a senator on that committee that was to help in planning the event resigned that day.

slash bee

Mon Mar 8 2010 19:33

we need new leaders, plain and simple. you should see how diana and remsen work when the media and other students aren't around. so concerned about how things look, not wnating to take any criticism. these programs are not here to serve students. they are there so diana kao and remsen jennings can say "WE HOSTED TOWN HALL MEETINGS GUYZ!!!" on their resumes.

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