Mark Gusaman
Proceedings went smoothly at last night’s biweekly meeting of the Student Senate and members were treated to a relatively early night, leaving after only three and a half hours of debate.
With student body elections looming just around the corner efforts were made by Senate officials to help ensure that candidates do not allow campaigning hostilities to carry over into next years Student Government and become as much as a problem as it has been this term.
“Many of the issues that have gone around this year are not necessarily based on policy or the views that people have about different issues, it’s been more personal types of conflicts including the ongoing conflict between the Senate and the student body president,” Student Body Treasurer Seneca Toms, a senior in horticulture science, said.
Toms said he thinks it is up to the candidates to be leaders and to put aside their personal feelings and do what’s best for the system.
“A lot of it’s a cultural thing and its not something that we correct with legislation fixes. People must be responsible for what we say and do,” Toms said.
Student Senate President Forrest Hinton, a junior in mathematics education and political science, said he feels some contention can be a positive thing in politics.
“Conflict is a natural part of government and when you have a Student Government that has three branches you are set up to have some tension and disagreements, but in end you come out with a better product because of compromise and new ideas.” Hinton said.
To prevent contention among the elected officials Hinton recommend that candidates avoid running on campaign tickets, which he said leads to disparities in the path and objectives of Student Government.
“If a mixture of candidates from different tickets get elected then it is harder to work in calibration,” Hinton said.
Another issue raised by Toms in his address to the Senate was the possible shift in control of the Student Government checking account to the business department in Tally Student Center.
“In a way I feel like I’m being strong-armed into the change and I said the only way I would support the move to Tally was if there would be no change in the access to funds,” Toms said.
Hinton said he agrees, asserting that Student Government could not function without the checking account and that they now need to focus on how to fix the problems they have had rather then deciding where to point the blame.
Toms is optimistic about the prospect of revising the current system, but said he remains firm in his desire to protect Student Government’s end of the deal.
“I think the current system is fine as long as everybody sits at the table and comes up with a systematic plan to correct problems, and that’s what I’ve been fighting for,” Hinton said.