Since joining ranks with the student senate at the start of the year, Kendall Jackson, co-chair of the internal affairs committee, has a goal to improve the relationship between senate members and their constituents.

In the effort to address what Jackson views as a lack of communication within the student senate, he plans to propose a new policy intended to emphasize accountability.

“A lot of people are unaware of what’s going on in student government,” Jackson said. “Communication is key on behalf of the students. My agenda is to reach out to the student body to find out their needs and wants and improve communication to the RSO (registered student organization).”

To do this, Jackson has begun the process by meeting one-on-one with members to determine the progress of their activities, whether that is planning forums or collaborating with RSOs to foster improved representation.

“I feel like the senate is too concerned with passing legislation, when that’s not what we’re here for,” Jackson said. “As a student, I know what I would like, but we need to ask students what they want to see happen, and I don’t think some of the senators are doing that.”

Student Body President Michelle Murphy said a significant portion of the resolutions the student senate considers do not require prior input from students.

“It would be easy to think that we don’t go out and talk to students,” Murphy said. “A lot of the issues we discuss aren’t pressing on the average student’s mind, and it wouldn’t be practical for us to force students to have an opinion on something they don’t care about.”

Murphy said the student senate could benefit on a broader scale from establishing and maintaining a stronger sense of accountability.

“When people say we could be more accountable, that’s absolutely, 100 percent true,” Murphy said. “It’s something I worry about everyday.”

DeMarlon Brown, second-year president of the Black Student Union, attributes what he views as a lack of accountability to a divided student senate.

“It’s so divided that no one can focus on the project,” Brown said. “The project is to make student government the best it can be.”

Opting to serve on the student relations committee, Brown said he intends to open the door for students and encourage fellow senate members to take the initiative in determining where the student body stands.

“I joined student government because I feel that the people that sit around those tables every day are people that are just hearing each other,” Brown said. “They all want to bring a different voice to the table, but I feel that you cannot bring a different voice if you don’t go out and talk to anyone.”

Sharing Brown’s view, Otis Seawood, BSU’s social affairs director and second-semester member of the diversity affairs committee, said the senate members are doing the student body a disservice by not actively seeking diverse opinions.

“The funniest thing is, when you look at this whole scenario, the only time senators really get out there and talk is when it’s time to vote,” Seawood said. “It’s so funny because during elections, we can be so vicious with different tactics and antics to get people to come out and vote, but once we get into office, we don’t use those same tactics to get out there and see what the students want.”

Isaac Sandidge, senate speaker, said senate members conduct business with the best intentions toward representing the student body.

“I think they’re thinking about the population at large, which is good, because we’re all at-large now,” Sandidge said. “Right now, we’re still getting the senate up and running. This is our golden semester. We get the most done in the spring that requires direct student input, like the tuition and fee increases.”

Sandidge said in the coming weeks, senate members would consider student input concerning increased tuition and student fees that, if passed, will take effect on student bills during the following school term.

He also said the student senate would be analyzing the information garnered from several open forums held throughout the fall to determine where students stand on certain issues.

“The main problem is putting on a forum with the idea that we’re addressing an issue that students care about without asking what it is they truly care about,” Sandidge said. “I’m not a big fan of forums myself, but we’re learning from them. I’m a fan of improvement.”

Erica Whelan can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].