I remember learning about the business of the Student Senate by listening to senators discuss business in the Student Government Suite while I was doing homework. At the time this disturbed me from my work, but as a relatively new student I didn't know any better. When I decided to run for Senate, I chose to focus my campaign on improving communication of Senate business to the rest of campus. Communication with the rest of campus is about providing information to people about what we do in the Senate, and also about gathering input from constituents to bring before the Senate. Senate Hours is an effort intended to increase the communication of feedback from students to the Student Senate.

It's an idea I came up with to encourage students who are not senators to become involved in influencing their senators. This pilot program consists of student senators volunteering an hour or two during the week to be available for other students to meet with them. Senate Hours follow an open door policy, meaning that you can visit senators during the times they are available without making an appointment. You can give feedback to senators on issues that have already been brought to the Student Senate, propose new business to bring before the Senate, or talk about projects that you feel the Senate should undertake. I believe that in order for senators to represent their constituents best, they should get feedback. Open government is important to maintaining a democratic process and part of the process is to transfer information from constituents to the Senate.

Senate Hours will only be effective if you, the constituents the senate represents, use them. We have posted a sheet on the door to the Student Government Suite (Suite 3120 on the third floor of the Student Union) that lists all of the meeting times of every committee and student government body on campus, as well as contact information for each senator (including their Senate Hours). Hours are being held on each day of the week and in several different locations around campus. I highly encourage all students on campus to use Senate Hours to ensure that we remain a responsive form of government. Feel free to drop by the Student Government Suite on the third floor of the Union with any questions, comments, concerns, or project ideas you might have!

Filed in The Senate

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