Both Senator Evan Webb and Senate President Michael Adeyanju wrote letters to the editor challenging students to go to their representatives to talk if they feel dissatisfied.
Michael Adeyanju invites students who are frustrated with the Board of Trustees to talk to Chauncey Jackson, who has stated that he believes it is not the Board's job to listen to student input. Mr. Webb wants us to 'put away our tie-dyed T-shirts' and talk to our senators. Forgive me if I don't see that act of blatant disdain and condescension to be a true invitation to work together. It isn't difficult to see why many students believe collaboration with that kind of 'representative' to be impossible.
For the record, I have personally gone to multiple student speak-outs before senate meetings and worked with several of my senators on a resolution which was ultimately voted down. I've gone to McDavis' office hours, and I've organized a large effort to write letters to the Board of Trustees regarding the Statement of Expectations. I would have attended Budget Planning Council meetings, were they actually open to the public. But these limited avenues of involvement have not allowed me to feel as if I could actually participate in the way the university is run, and that's the problem.
What's the use of talking to a Student Senate that has little real power? What's the use of talking to senators who (judging from Mr. Webb's letter) are derisive of the views of dissenting students? What's the use of talking to student trustees who don't believe the Board should be accountable to students?
There are no meaningful ways for students to be involved on this campus. We have no say in the budget process, and cannot even attend meetings in which the budget is discussed. We can't choose who represents us on the Board of Trustees. We have no say in curriculum, in university priorities or planning or in what is done with our money. We are disenfranchised at every turn, told that we should just get our diploma and move on.
I, for one, want a real voice in the way the university is run. I want student senators who actively solicit student opinions, who educate and empower their constituents, instead of calling them socialists and tree-huggers when they dare to publicly express their opinions. Senators: Instead of criticizing students for not coming to you, ask yourselves, what have you done to inform and give power to the people you claim to represent?
Jessica Beardsley is a senior studying political science.
4 Opinion
