Priscilla Opoku’s sister Karen served on Ohio University Student Senate last year, but Priscilla never attended a meeting to see her sister in action.
This year Priscilla attended her first senate meeting, not as a sister though, but rather as a uFund Senator at-large who helps allocate money to events that provide students with an alternative to Uptown nightlife.
“My RA (Vice President Courteney Muhl) last year actually reached out to me,” Opoku said. “At first I was a little hesitant because I wasn’t really sure what I was going to be getting myself into all that much.”
Opoku is not alone, as some new members have never been to a senate meeting before, and they are still learning about the body.
Athletic Senator Emily Deering said she did not even know student-athletes had representation on Student Senate.
“(I’m) just happy to be here and have a say and a voice,” Deering said. “Athletics are super important to me. I have a lot of friends and classmates that are in various sports, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to represent them and make sure everyone’s voices are heard.”
Last weekend, Student Senate hosted a retreat to teach new members about the body and set goals for the year.
“It’s a very complex organization, and there’s a lot more you can do for the university than I ever imagined,” Nick Preston, an off-campus senator, said.
Preston said his interest in senate was peaked after Senate President Hannah Clouser asked him to do design work for her campaign last academic year. He added that “a lot of information” was shared about how the body works at the retreat.
“The retreat was awesome,” Opoku said. “I learned a lot. So I feel like the retreat really prepared me for the upcoming senate meetings that we’re gonna be having.”
Although there are members new to the organization, it hasn’t stopped some of them from working toward change.
“I’m working with the University Life Commission, and we're working on different types of programs that are going to include athletes and the general student body more, so that it’s not so segregated of a group,” Deering said.
Improving street lights, accessibility and off-campus safety are some ideas Preston said he plans to work on this year.
Not all those who are new to OU Student Senate are students.
“I’m hoping there’s a lot of issues that come up and opportunity to hear students debate what direction they should take as leaders,” Vice President for Student Affairs Jason Pina said during his first Student Senate meeting.
Although Pina has worked with other university student governments, this is his first year attending OU Student Senate meetings.
“For me it’s about getting the year off to a good start,” Pina said. "Many places I have worked at, it has taken weeks for Student Senate to kinda actually get going."
