I am writing in response to “Where is Student Government?” written by Brandon Farmer in the February 5th edition of The Activist. I would like to start out by stating my elected position and describing what it entails. I am Vice President of College Committee Representation in Student Government, and my responsibility is to appoint student ambassadors to college-wide committees. These student positions are mandated in the by-laws of each committee. Students are on these committees because they have a vote on decisions that occur in the college that in turn affect them. Therefore, to answer the question of what has ever been accomplished by having a student on a committee, is that most of the changes seen and unseen on this campus occur in committee. Students are on these committees with faculty and staff, and their vote holds the same weight as any other member of the committee. I would be glad to speak to Mr. Farmer if he has any questions concerning students on committees. I am concerned that he has not only disrespected me and my elected position, but also the students who sit on college committees as ambassadors.
I would also like to respond to the comments on elections. First of all, in response to the comment on special elections, his article came out on February 5th, and the students running for positions in the special election were not able to begin campaigning until February 4th. Since this is a two-year college, most officers move on and are no longer at the college in the fall. This means that there are no officers to conduct meetings, so if you cannot have a meeting, then it is impossible to set up the election process. Spring elections are also held so that a transitional board meeting can be held between incoming and outgoing executive officers.
The last point I would like to make is that our meetings are open to the public, and signs promoting the meetings are placed the second and fourth Wednesday evening of every month in Muntz Hall and in SAHB. Our meetings are held from 1-2 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of the month in Flory Room 12. There is also information in the free handbook that you can pick up in the Peer Center that has the dates of our meetings and our office phone number if he would have liked to have contacted someone before writing his article. I would like Mr. Farmer to keep in mind that the students in Student Government are volunteering their time, and he could very easily see all the hard work that is done if he took some of his time to research what actually goes on.
With Respect,
Danielle Patrick
Vice President of College Committee Representation