On Wednesday night I attended an Associated Student Government Senate meeting for the first time, and sadly, the organization that is supposed to represent my interests made me feel completely disenfranchised. My experience made me realize that non-senators generally have little say in what happens in ASG, don’t know they have the opportunity to participate, and even when they do take the time to come to meetings, don’t get a fair chance to make their voices heard.
One of the members of the ASG Executive Board lives on my floor, and it is only because of talking to him in passing that I learned that I could attempt to amend legislation that is debated by the senate. Here lies the first problem: Students can read ASG articles in The Daily and have opinions on what goes on, but how many students know they are allowed to come to meetings and propose amendments? I, for one, had no idea, and I don’t know how anyone else could know unless they asked and were specifically told.
I also learned that no more than two or three students who are not affiliated with ASG (or The Daily’s coverage of their proceedings) ever attend meetings, and even this is rare. But after what I saw Wednesday night, I am left to wonder if the students’ non-involvement in ASG is caused by a mere lack of interest or by the way they are received. For anyone who was not in Mock Trial or Model United Nations or some similar activity in high school, the proceedings seem as though they are conducted in Greek. As I observed, I had to learn a language of political jargon that was completely new to me. The speaker conducted the meeting like the Micro Machines spokesman, speaking too quickly, adding to the confusion.
The acoustics in the room in which Senate is held are awful, making it even difficult for someone sitting in the very back (where non-senators must sit) to hear the speaker at the front. The whole procedure seemed like a blur – I felt like I had a two-second window to raise my hand to bring up my motion before someone proposed a vote on the issue.
Perhaps ASG doesn’t want people to see the way senators approach their jobs. Roll call is taken at the beginning and the end of meetings, so anyone is free to skip everything in the middle with no consequences. Many used this tactic. A vote on one issue ended up 17-11. In a Senate of more than 70 members, this is somewhat troubling.
I also thought that I was a victim of the bullying of ASG. I discussed my proposal with the drafters of the original bill beforehand, so several people in the room knew that I wanted to make an amendment. However, the senators took advantage of my ignorance of ASG proceedings, and exploited it to further their agendas. I think we have missed the point of ASG: representing students. ASG needs to make itself open to more students who are not senators. Students need to know that they can make a difference in ASG, and the environment needs to foster participation among all students. As NU students, we all have an obligation to get involved in what goes on, and we are lucky enough to have a group of students who should hear our complaints and problems and try to remedy whatever situations need to be fixed.
Unfortunately this is far from the truth. ASG represents its own interests, and separates itself from the very students it is supposed to speak for. We need to make our voices heard in ASG, and ASG needs to make concessions to those who want to have something to do with the Senate but are not experienced in the ways of official proceedings. In all honesty, my amendment was not really very important, but the lesson I learned touches on an important issue that affects us all. As it stands now, I as an ordinary student am powerless, and I am led to believe that ASG intends to keep it that way.
