Ed Board would like to say a few words about responsibilities. Responsibilities are those things you have to take on as you grow up and become increasingly independent. Some responsibilities are thrust upon you whether or not you want them: taxes, for instance. Other responsibilities are voluntary, like the kind of responsibilities you accept in order to get a job, or volunteer for a public office, for example.

The point Ed Board is trying to make is this: when you take on a responsibility, by choice or otherwise, you have to accept that responsibility and are obligated to fulfill that responsibility to the best of your ability.

It is with this concept in mind that Ed Board finds the new “Pony Points” system adopted by Student Senate earlier this week so perplexing. Apparently, Senators will be able to earn Pony Points, the accumulation of which can earn a Senator some kind of reward, by doing their office hours, writing legislation, and other tasks “integral to the Student Senate’s process.”

Ed Board may be wrong, but aren’t things like “attending office hours” part of the Student Senator job description? Isn’t that sort of thing part of the responsibilities accepted by the Senators when they joined Student Senate in the first place? Has the condition of the Student Senate become so deteriorated that Senators must be bribed into doing what they were supposed to do anyway?

Instead of just rewarding those who actually care about being a part of Student Senate and take the position seriously, perhaps it would be better to take to task those who refuse to accept the responsibilities they signed on for. Rather than a carrot on the end of a stick, use the stick itself to knock sense into the inevitable Senators who are only there to pad a resume. If a Senator can’t make the time to do the office hours required by their position, perhaps they shouldn’t be part of the Senate.

It shouldn’t be necessary to reward people for simply doing what they’re supposed to do. A university is supposed to be a stepping-stone into the quote-unquote real world. In the real world workplace, no one gets rewarded for doing what is required. Rewards are reserved for those who go the extra mile and truly display an enthusiasm for their work. People who fail to satisfy their basic job requirements, like attending office hours for instance, get fired.