SA Comments: Representativeness

Initial Findings

The Student Assembly reserves seats for representatives from every college. Special attention is paid to particular areas of campus (i.e. minority students, international students, and LGBTQ students) by designating specific seats for a member of their community.

Often, designated seats are not held by the same students they were created to represent. The minority seats are often held by students that are not under-represented minorities, and the international seat has most recently been held by students that are not from overseas.

Potential Solutions

1. Representatives are elected by class year as opposed to from individual colleges.
2. Representatives can continue to be elected as representatives from each college, however, the minority, international, and LGBTQ seats are appointed by staff members from the Office of Minority Educational Affairs, International Students and Scholars Office, and the LGBTQ Resource Center, respectively.
3. Specific byline funded organizations or administrative divisions are delegated the authority of appointing a designated representative to a designated seat (i.e. the International Students Office appoints an International representative.)

Community Comments

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