It’s that time of year again. Final exams are right around the corner, projects and papers are due, and the entire campus seems to kick into study-mode overdrive. It is also time for the inauguration of the student body’s elected representatives for the coming year.
During my tenure as Student Body Secretary this past year, many students asked me various questions about Student Senate.
Since this week marks the beginning of the 2012-2013 term of office, I thought now would be a great time to provide a brief overview of Senate and the duties of our newly elected representatives so that we, the SMU student body, can make the most of our student representation on campus.
The SMU Student Senate is extremely influential in the University’s current organizational processes.According to the Student Body Constitution, “Student Senate shall represent the interests of students to the entire University as the official student legislative body.”
Senate is intended to serve the entire graduate and undergraduate student body by “acting as a communicative body among the students, administration and faculty” and by “protecting the rights of students and ensuring a student voice in the decision-making process of the University.”
Its many powers and responsibilities include initiating action on student concerns, allocating Student Activity Fee funds, reviewing the University’s annual budget, overseeing and reviewing the Student Code of Conduct and sanctioning and reviewing all student organizations. Senate has a tremendous amount of power and authority, and with it must come an equal amount of responsibility and accountability.
Over the past 99 years, Student Senate has been extremely influential in shaping our campus. During the 1930s, Senate challenged the Board of Trustees and succeeded in changing the rules that banned dancing on campus. Other reforms followed regarding dorm visitation, curfews and elimination of the dress code.
More recently, Senate has been influential in creating the Student Endowment Fund for scholarships, initiating Fall Break, instigating Reading Days and encouraging the renovation of the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports. Senate has also been instrumental in ensuring that a seat was created for a student representative to the Board of Trustees. And these are only a few of Senate’s many initiatives throughout the history of SMU.The list of accomplishments is truly remarkable.
As a brief outline of each Senate member’s responsibilities, the Student Body President is primarily “the official representative of the Student Body as its liaison to the administration.” This means directing Senate to address student concerns and presenting the chamber’s decisions to the administration on behalf of the student body, as well as relaying relevant information from the Administration to students.
He or she has many additional important duties, including serving as a student representative to the Board of Trustees, “[assisting] in the initiation of programs and legislation,” and overseeing the allocation of the presidential discretionary senate fund.
The vice-president’s Senate duties are largely internal. This officer serves as the coordinator of activities of the Student Senate and “[assists] all officers in overseeing the execution of all pieces of legislation passed by the Student Senate and all Student Senate business.”
The vice president also prepares and presents a semester Senate budget. He or she also holds one-on-ones with senators and oversees their training; the vice president is also in charge of coordinating the liaison program between Senator representatives and their respective student organizations. This officer essentially serves as the president of the Senate chamber and ensures that Senate functions optimally.
The Secretary is responsible for “maintaining all records,” planning the Senate calendar, chairing the Student Code of Conduct Revision Committee and working with the Senate webmaster to update the public records, among other things.
Senators’ duties include attendance at all weekly general meetings, serving on at least one of the eight standing committees (Student Concerns, Finance, Organizations, Communications, Diversity, Scholarship, Endowment and Membership), staying informed and voting on relevant issues brought before the Senate chamber, holding weekly office hours and semesterly meet-and-greets, participating in the Senate liaison program by serving as representatives of their assigned student organizations to the senate chamber and fulfilling all the other duties enumerated in the oath of office.
While this provides a brief overview of Student Senate, a complete list of its various policies and procedures as well as the responsibilities of Senate members can be found in the governing documents archived online at www.smu.edu/studentsenate. The Senate website also contains many helpful resources, including standards for requesting funding from the Finance committee, contact information for Senators and an email dropbox for student complaints and comments. The governing documents further enumerate the procedures necessary for constituents to hold their elected representatives accountable and to remove them from office if they fail to do their duties.
Senate was established as a forum to preserve the students’ input on decisions affecting this entire university, but it will only be as effective as its members allow it to be.
I encourage students to seek to change the things they dislike about SMU. Instead of complaining about the perceived lack of proper representation, do your part to hold your elected representatives accountable this year.
Know your school’s senators. Read the weekly minutes. Stay informed about current issues in Senate and the Administration. Let your officers and representatives know your opinion. Come to senate meetings (which are open to all SMU students according to the Senate By-Laws); voice your opinion during the weekly Speakers’ Podium. Our representatives have just pledged to “serve and represent [their] constituents, to communicate all relevant issues to them, to uphold the Constitution and By-Laws of the Students’ Association and the University and to constantly strive to better the academic community of Southern Methodist University.” It is now time for the 99th Student Senate to back up words with actions. And it is the student body’s job to ensure that they will.
Martha is a sophomore majoring in accounting. She is a Cox senator.
