I would like to respond to Tuesday's editorial regarding the alleged lack of action taken by the Ohio University Student Senate. I am only writing in to inform the readers of this newspaper that this outlook on Student Senate affairs is entirely inaccurate and extremely unfair.
Had the editors of The Post attended Student Senate meetings they would have seen that the "less than satisfactory" first half of the year was actually extremely productive and set Senate up to have a very productive second half.
It is true that only six of the 29 resolutions were recommendations to the administration; however, the remaining 19 internal rule changes and appointments were immensely important to the efficiency of the body. The authors also criticize senate for the fact that only one of the six recommendations has taken actual effect.
But that issue is completely outside senate's hands at that point, and it can do little to control the actions of the administration because Student Senate is only an advisory body.
As far as the accessibility to budget planning meetings goes, Ohio University students and faculty members must understand that it is an extremely tedious process and the more people that are involved at those meetings, the longer it will take to produce a budget. Even then, it will be difficult to walk away from the situation with all parties involved feeling well.
Furthermore, the criticism of Senate not being accessible to the student body is ridiculous. The office is located on the third floor of Baker University Center, and the office is open almost all the time. The website also makes it extremely accessible to students.
If you are still not pleased, go to the general body meetings Wednesdays at 8:15 p.m. in Walter Hall. Senate has a student speak-out session at the beginning of every meeting, and the number of people who have actually attended can be counted on one hand.
The student body needs to take more responsibility if they wish to be heard. Senate can only do so much, and it is my personal opinion that most issues people have with it are completely out of senators' hands at this point.
So before you start criticizing a body that goes to bat for Ohio University students day in and day out, think about what you could be doing to help with the process.
Josh Felker is the director of sustainability for the
Ohio University Student Senate.
