Dear Editor, What happened? One year ago I handed the Senate over to a new board, confident in their ability to lead with justice, and uphold the high standards of respect and represent the student body stunningly. I thought that it wasn’t so bad, that incidents I had heard of were isolated and blown out of proportion. I was wrong.
From members yelling at student organizations for personal events to general lack of respect in and out of meetings, the Student Senate and the Student Body representatives have shown what a student organization should never do.
After this weekend’s meeting, I realized that these were true. Never have I been treated with such an incredible lack of respect. As a representative of a student organization on campus, I assumed that there would be questions about what I was asking for. Instead, I am told that the things I do are wrong, decisions made by our board were not what the Senate wanted, asked questions no normal person should have to answer, and that our fundraising techniques were not “Senate approved,” whatever that means.
Walking into that room and remembering what it used to be like, I was shocked and appalled at the utter lack of respect I was treated with. I can’t imagine a student or a new student organization walking in for the first time; I know if that were me I would personally never communicate with the Senate again.
Even as I write this letter, I fear that the next Senate (which will be very similar to this year’s Senate) will find a way to make the organizations I am a part of pay for me speaking out against them. With a similar board with some new members, I hope that this letter speaks to the more sensible members of Senate, and uses next year to rebuild the bridges that they have burned in their unethical reign as perceived supreme lords of the University.
Regards,Sean Greenlaw