Before I start, I would like to say that USG is holding its very own Town Hall Meeting to educate the student body about the changes proposed to the USG Constitution. As stated in a comment on our website by USG President Joseph Antonelli, part of the reason for these changes is to make USG a more efficient organization. I hope that all students will make it their business to go and learn about the changes being proposed. Students can then make their own educated decision when the voting begins. I am glad to say that USG is making some positive moves by reaching out to the student body.
My only criticism is that the Town Hall Meeting is set for only October 17. I think there could have been several Town Hall Meetings if there was better planning on the part of USG. I suppose I’ll take what I can get.
While I am pleased to see that USG is making some effort to reach out to the students, I want to make it clear that this is only the first step in increasing student awareness of USG. As stated in previous commentaries, we need to be informed about the issues that pertain to our own quality of life on campus. The students at USG, especially those students on the Executive Council, should be the catalysts for such changes to occur. More student-USG interaction will create more competition for spots on the USG senate, and subsequently, more competition for spots on the Executive Council. Hopefully, before I graduate (Spring 2009), all students will covet the elected positions of student leadership in USG. And with more competition, the deadweight of USG, primarily in the USG Senate (as mentioned in my previous commentaries), will be removed and we will be governed by a balanced body of individuals.
Some current Executive Council members have stated that they already devote a significant amount of their time in the form of ‘office-hours’ for the student body. In a previous article comment on our website, President Antonelli, has stated that he has allotted 30 hours a week for his office hours. Personally, I would much rather have USG officials, or students looking to get involved in USG, reach out to the students outside of the USG offices. Maybe even for a half an hour every week, it would be interesting to have our USG president, or any other USG official, come down from the USG offices to speak to the students, staff, and faculty at the dining hall (maybe on a loud speaker, or at a USG table) about recent events in USG. We can even have weekly updates at multiple campus dining locations.
This is the type of outreach I’m talking about. If one or two students go to office hours, only one or two students who actually care enough about USG matters will remain informed. However, if the president of USG goes, in person, to address a random population of students, staff, and faculty at a dining facility or other central campus location, many more individuals will see that their student leaders are working for them. More people will see feel that they have student leaders that actually care about the students population.
