After visiting during recent student trustee office hours, I was dismayed to find that one of the student trustees was not on campus this semester. Rather, Amanda Roden took an internship elsewhere in Ohio.
While I applaud fellow Bobcats taking opportunities to further professional aspirations, Roden made a commitment to represent the student body in her role as student trustee. Her absence from campus creates a plethora of problems — most notably, a lack of responsible student representation on the Board of Trustees.
“There’s only two of us and a boardroom full of very important people, so you have to be very well informed,” Roden said in an interview with The Post. While Roden still may be able to attend Board meetings, she will not be able to communicate current student issues. Therefore, she is neglecting the most important part of her role as student trustee — being a resource for students who want to have their voices heard.
Upon appointment, The Post quoted Roden as saying, “One of the main things I want to accomplish (in the position) is more student visibility … and just getting to know the student perspective.”
How can Roden get to know a proper student perspective while not on campus? During the student trustee selection process, Roden also underscored the need for stronger relations with the Athens community.
“I think that there’s sometimes strain between the university and the Athens community, and it would be important for me to try and help those relations,” Roden said. She said she hoped to achieve this by “making sure that (she’s) out at community events as well.”
Roden gets to enjoy the resume boost, the networking and the prestige the student trustee position brings without doing any of the legwork.
Molly Nochek is a senior studying broadcast journalism at Ohio University.
