According to the Knox College Student Senate Constitution, Student Senate is "the supreme governing body in matters related to non-academic student life on campus," and the "official representative of the student body to the faculty, administration, and staff." Its charge is to "preserve the rights of the students as outlined in the Knox College Student Handbook and in the constitutions of the various judicial bodies."
Sounds good, right? Senate's definition of itself includes the words "supreme" and "official:" though the Senate meetings themselves are far less formal than the literature implies, with jokes cracked, sandwiches consumed, and parliamentary procedure somewhat optional, that's just Knox. That's how we operate. We often do things by the seats of our pants, but we get the job done.
For Angie Martin and the Green Fee, Senate proved to be the best way to turn an idea into institutional change. For Brian Camozzi and others, Senate provides more obstacles than solutions.
[...] As an assignment for the independent study, Kasser had at least one of them attend Senate meetings every Thursday to get to know the way the system worked, to build relationships within the Senate, and to get a sense of how they could get their ideas heard. see this as practice,” said Kasser. “Here's a chance for these young women to have an opportunity to practice getting involved in a system in a way that might have some success, and maybe it'll make them keep doing The practice started to pay off quickly. [...]
[...] In fact, he says, he's written a resolution for every senate meeting this term, but none of them have made it to the floor. He has a solution to that, as well. Currently, in order for a student to get a resolution passed, he or she must recruit a senator to present it for them. Non-senators cannot add anything to the senate agenda, nor can they vote: they can only influence the meetings by raising their hands, getting a position on the speakers list, and speaking. [...]
[...] Senate showed that sustainability was important to the student body by devoting a committee to it, and, if nothing else, the issue is now firmly on the table. For the Green Team, Senate proved to be what it's supposed to be: a vehicle for students to make change and be heard. had these four students who wanted to go change the world,” said Kasser. thing I kept saying to them was, if you can't change Knox, we're doomed, as a culture.” worked!” said Kasser. [...]
[...] President Roger Taylor, for the first time, embarked on a mission to “promote a broad campus discussion of sustainability” as stated in his Proposed Administrative Priorities and Initiatives. What this meant to the Green Team was that the administration was behind them, if they could show them that there was student interest in their goals When Taylor asked Kasser to find a speaker to help start this “broad campus discussion,” he Nathan Engstrom, Oberlin College's sustainability coordinator. He gave a speech about how his school had begun to make positive environmental change to a packed audience on Sept The next day, Engstrom attended an invitation-only lunch with several influential members of the student body, as determined by Kasser and the Green Team. [...]
[...] Adding in ex-officio, a record keeping position .it's unsexy stuff that changes how senate runs so it's better in the future. There's a disconnect.” Resolutions that would make senate meetings longer don't usually pass, Camozzi says. Also, Camozzi knows he hasn't made a lot of friends on Exec by naming himself the Oversight Committee. might be perceived as the ‘Make Brian Camozzi a Senator Again Resolution,'” he said. “Which it Part III: The Chicken and the Egg Senate faces a vicious cycle of credibility. [...]
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