In the Associated Student Government office Wednesday, the Public Relations Committee discussed where to put the remaining copies of a flyer they had been distributing.
“It’s a good idea to put them above the hand dryers and the water fountains,” said Communication freshman Shirin Savliwala.
“We have enough of them in stalls, and everyone uses stalls,” concurred ASG Vice President Bill Pulte, a Medill junior.
The Stall Street Journal is only a small part of a sweeping effort by ASG to increase its visibility by reaching out to students in places like dorm hallways, lounges and, in the case of the Stall Street Journal, bathrooms.
One element of the initiative, periodic fireside chats with executive board members, has been successful, said ASG President Neal Sales-Griffin, who attended all six that have been held.
The SESP senior said he felt the events have both improved ASG’s image on campus and provided practical benefits for students.
“It serves a dual purpose,” Sales-Griffin said. “We’ve received great suggestions from students, but we’ve also made them more aware of things that we’re already doing and are capable of.”
At an Ayers College of Commerce and Industry fireside, a student suggested ASG create a system where students request bagged lunches from dining halls for takeout, similar to ones in place at Purdue University and Ohio State.
“That’s something that we want to look into now but didn’t know about a couple days ago,” Sales-Griffin said.
Shepard Residential College Vice President Sarah Gregory said she felt the fireside at her dorm Tuesday changed her former, more negative opinion of the group.
“I felt they didn’t have a lot of respect for our specific jurisdiction,” the Communication sophomore said, “mandating that we had a fireside or mandating that every week our ASG senator spoke at munchies.”
The conversation at Shepard moved back and forth between topics like water fountains and the U-Pass that interested students and those like the possibility of a new student center that interested ASG officials. Gregory said Dorm Storm, the next scheduled activity in the Winter Campaign, would be an invasion of privacy for residence halls. The event, which starts in Allison Hall this evening, will feature ASG senators walking through residential halls and talking with students about ASG.
Shalini Singh, the campaign’s coordinator, said privacy concerns about the Dorm Storm were unfounded.
“It’s just knocking on doors, giving out ASG paper,” the Weinberg freshman said. “Everyone in ASG felt that there was a disconnect with the student body, and we just wanted to reach out to them. After all, it’s the student government.”
Despite her complaints about the initiative, Gregory said meeting the ASG executives at the fireside improved her opinion of them as individuals.
“Even if I didn’t agree with every choice, I felt that they were extremely stubborn and go-getter and their work would pay for the student body.”
