Our campus is very fortunate and unique in the fact that you as an individual student can create and initiate change on your campus in a profound way. We have seen this recently with a student initiative to change an entire board policy regarding student travel.

This is just one example of the power a students voice can have. However, this campus is slowly losing its voice, because students are afraid to come forward and speak out about the issues that matter to everyday students.

As someone who has been a representative of our student government since my freshman year, this is something that troubles me greatly. This campus relies heavily on student input and the student voice in order to create change. When we don’t speak up, nothing changes. I urge you and implore you all, at the very least, to research who your Student Senate representative is. Find out who they are, why the decided to represent you, and reach out to them with any and all concerns that you have about this institution. You, the students, elect us to do a job that quite frankly is losing its meaning on this campus.

As students, we need to stand up for one another and fight for each other, and your Student Senators should be the ones who fight for you the hardest. No issue is too small, and every voice on this campus deserves to be heard. Our student government was designed to represent the campus body as a whole, and quite frankly, there are many students on this campus that believe our Student Senate is too comfortable, because we “only share our own opinions”. So, I urge you to make us UNCOMFORTABLE! Bring forward issues that will make us think, make us debate, and ultimately come to the overall goal of making this campus a better place for all students and not just those students who have leadership roles on this campus.

You matter, your voice matters, and this campus matters. I strongly encourage you all to use that same voice in the upcoming President/Vice President and Student Senator elections this Spring. Do you know someone who has leadership potential and a strong voice that will have the courage to speak out and advocate for students? Encourage them to run for office. We need to keep the spirit and tradition of the student voice and shared governance on this campus intact if we want to continue to have our voices heard, and this requires students who want to make a difference.

This is your campus, and this is your leadership. Make your voice heard, and make us uncomfortable.

Sincerely,

Adam Smith
A Concerned Student Senator