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Student government considers decreasing senate size

Andrew Miller

With campaigning and primary elections for Miami University's Associated Student Government (ASG) around the corner, some of the organization's members are considering what changes should be made to improve ASG and help the organization connect with students.

A committee called the ASG Evaluation Task Force, which was launched March 2006, set a goal of improving the efficiency and structure of the organization. The group recently came up with several ideas, like changing the structure of the student senate and adding a new cabinet position focused on communication.

"The way we do things now is the way we've done them for at least 10 to 15 years ... sometimes things need to be shaken up a little bit just to get a fresh perspective," said Brian Alexander, student body president and leader of the task force.

According to Dennis Robert, ASG adviser, one change the task force is considering involves a bill that would reduce the size of the student senate to make elections for the position more competitive.

"We're asking some questions about the size of the senate," Roberts said. "It's pretty big compared to other schools."

Task force member Jens Sutmoller, who would like to see the senate size reduced from 50 senators to around 30, believed the change would help improve the effectiveness of the senate.

"At this point, we elect anyone with a heartbeat - if you're off campus anyway - and we can't make it competitive," Sutmoller said. "We can't ask questions like, 'What is your vision for the campus in the future?' We just have to ask, 'Can you serve your office hours? Can you make it to meetings?'"

Sophomore Annette Davisson believes it is important to ask student leaders these questions and said she often feels frustrated during student elections because she's not really sure what candidates actually want to accomplish.

"If they don't care to share what they want to do, then why should we care?" Davisson said.

Senior Claire Van Kirk, a public relations major, said she isn't familiar with what ASG does.

"I hear about ASG a lot, but I'm not even sure what they do," Van Kirk said.

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Roberts acknowledged that communication between ASG and students is sometimes an issue, but he also said students need to take some of the responsibility to find out what's going on.

"We live in a day where citizens aren't very engaged, so there's a real skepticism among people about whether the governments that represent them are effective," Roberts said.

This communication issue is another problem the task force is discussing.

Roberts said the task force wants to create a new cabinet position that would head up Internet communication and help ASG connect with students. Roberts was excited about using the Internet as a way to get students more involved.

"I've seen a lot of ASG related stuff on Facebook," Roberts said. "A cabinet member responsible for technology could also help facilitate communication in that way."

Ultimately, any changes would have to pass through the student senate before becoming official, but first-year student senator Bethany Bowyer believed the senate would be open to the task force's recommendations.

"All we want is a more involved student government at Miami," Bowyer said.

According to Alexander, the task force hopes to take these resolutions to the student senate by spring break. However, due to the nature of the legislative process, Sutmoller said that any changes probably wouldn't be implemented until the 2008-09 school year.

Even though students may have to wait a while for the changes, Sutmoller believed the task force is taking steps that would help future student leaders at Miami.

"I feel like talking is a great first step," Sutmoller said. "We have to talk the talk but we (also) have to walk the walk. The first part is just as important as the second part."