As the representative body for all Ohio University students, it is Student Senate's responsibility to listen to, articulate and engage the needs of our constituents. This includes every active member of the student body. It would be irresponsible not to respond to the concerns Catie Coleman voiced in her column Monday.
Let us assure the student body that each senator's primary focus always revolves around helping his or her fellow students. Last week alone Student Senate logged approximately 400 cumulative hours, a substantial majority of that time spent at our office in Baker 305. Each senator's office hours are posted outside the office for constituents' knowledge. Office hours are our time for you; come to us with anything you want to talk about.
Student Speakout has served as a great tool for students to have a voice in Senate, and lately many have utilized this opportunity. In an attempt to be more approachable, we encourage more students to attend and voice their concerns every Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. in Walter Hall. But to those who are uneasy speaking in front of a room full of strangers, there are other ways to participate in Senate and get your voice heard. For example, Green Senators attend hall council meetings and report back to Senate. Senate's sponsorship of Take Back the Night, LGBT Pride Week and Athens Beautification Day addresses the concerns of an array of students. Senate-sponsored initiatives, such as Pizza with the Provost, Cop Talk and Pizza with the President provide ways in which students can communicate their concerns. In addition to these programs, we are firmly committed to developing new ways to reach out to the university community.
The Web site, as Ms. Coleman pointed out, needs to be updated. We are currently in the process of developing a new Web site with assistance from the OU administration. This course will ensure that the current situation will not reoccur.
Senate exists for the sole purpose of assisting students across campus. This commitment, although sometimes questioned, is consistently being fine-tuned and expanded. We would like to thank Ms. Coleman for her legitimate concerns, and for the opportunity to express our continued support for the students of OU.
This letter was submitted by the members of Student Senate. Tim Vonville is the president of the organization.
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Letter to the Editor
