Senate to Hold Open Meeting Today
Ben Harley
Issue date: 3/2/10 Section: Opinion
Today at 12:30 Student Senate will be holding its first open meeting. The venue will be Krasa AB, located on the upper level of the building. The meeting allows students interested in seeing their Senate in action the chance to attend one of its normal meetings.
While this is a step in the right direction, it in no way ushers in a new era of open government. The meeting is the only one of its kind. Senate has not said anything to imply they have any more open meetings planned. Which means that after the public spectacle, business may go back to usual, leaving students once again in the dark.
No one can be certain what will happen after today's meeting. We do not know if students will be excited to know what Senate is up to, or if anyone will show up. Today's meeting could be a great success for a sunshine government, or it could show that such a system is not right for BU. Either way, testing an open-door meeting is a good thing for the school.
While no one can be sure what will happen today, we can speculate what Senate's reaction will be, depending on how many people show up.
What if we all showed up? What if we all came and saw how Senate's budget was being spent? What if we all checked to make sure our elected officials were discussing our interests.
I think if we did that more would get done on this campus. If senators knew that they were being watched, and that the student body cared, maybe they would hold more open meetings. Maybe they would get more done, because they will know they are working for an appreciative student-body.
But what if no one shows up? What if we let senators know we don't care? What if we let them know that they can do whatever they want, and we won't bother to ask for results?
Not only would such a display of apathy be an insult to the spirit of Benedictine, it would also allow the senate to revert back to their closed-door policy.
And Why? There is no reason for Senate to have their doors closed. So what if no one comes in? They should still allow students the option. I have never advocated that Student Senate meetings become the most attended events on campus, but I firmly believe that the door should be open in case anyone does care to know.
Senate can make a show of their one open meeting. They can change the normal time of their meeting to show us they are making an effort to reach out to students. That's fine, but all I really want is an open door-a small gesture that helps show that one of the largest student groups on campus is not against letting all students know what they're working on.
I commend Student Senate for taking this positive step towards open government, but I hope that they will continue to have all of their meetings open to the public no matter the outcome of this first one.
* Open forums differ from the general Senate meetings discussed in this column.
While this is a step in the right direction, it in no way ushers in a new era of open government. The meeting is the only one of its kind. Senate has not said anything to imply they have any more open meetings planned. Which means that after the public spectacle, business may go back to usual, leaving students once again in the dark.
No one can be certain what will happen after today's meeting. We do not know if students will be excited to know what Senate is up to, or if anyone will show up. Today's meeting could be a great success for a sunshine government, or it could show that such a system is not right for BU. Either way, testing an open-door meeting is a good thing for the school.
While no one can be sure what will happen today, we can speculate what Senate's reaction will be, depending on how many people show up.
What if we all showed up? What if we all came and saw how Senate's budget was being spent? What if we all checked to make sure our elected officials were discussing our interests.
I think if we did that more would get done on this campus. If senators knew that they were being watched, and that the student body cared, maybe they would hold more open meetings. Maybe they would get more done, because they will know they are working for an appreciative student-body.
But what if no one shows up? What if we let senators know we don't care? What if we let them know that they can do whatever they want, and we won't bother to ask for results?
Not only would such a display of apathy be an insult to the spirit of Benedictine, it would also allow the senate to revert back to their closed-door policy.
And Why? There is no reason for Senate to have their doors closed. So what if no one comes in? They should still allow students the option. I have never advocated that Student Senate meetings become the most attended events on campus, but I firmly believe that the door should be open in case anyone does care to know.
Senate can make a show of their one open meeting. They can change the normal time of their meeting to show us they are making an effort to reach out to students. That's fine, but all I really want is an open door-a small gesture that helps show that one of the largest student groups on campus is not against letting all students know what they're working on.
I commend Student Senate for taking this positive step towards open government, but I hope that they will continue to have all of their meetings open to the public no matter the outcome of this first one.
* Open forums differ from the general Senate meetings discussed in this column.
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