News Perspective:

Senate elections complete but still facing problems

For the past four weeks, Senate has been in its own little world conducting elections that only now seem to be paying off. However, Senate also seems to be suffering from a rash of resignations and so it is debatable as to how long the newly elected senators will remain.

Last year senators were resigning left and right. Due to the requirements of the Senate charter, senate was forced to spend mass amounts of time conducting elections. Near the end of the spring semester, a debate ensued between members of Senate and several candidates who were running as a slate for the vacant seats. The candidates claimed that Senate was running elections unfairly.

The controversy subsided and elections continued as scheduled. At the end of last semester, Senate was back on track, just in time for the end of the semester.

According to their charter, Senate must conduct elections in the beginning of the fall semester to fill five vacant seats, bringing the total number of senators to 15. The organization was thrown through a loop, however, when five senators, primarily those who were elected from the slate the semester before, resigned.

"Part of what has happened is unique. They had an election last year, 10 senators were elected, and I think that this fall, from what I understand, the slate that was elected last spring basically decided before the first meeting, even before any meetings or training sessions, that they didn't have enough time for Senate. I think one person on the slate chose to leave, and then it created a domino effect within the slate," said Bill Stackman, associate dean of students and Senate advisor.

With a total of 10 vacant seats and only 11 candidates, Senate was still forced to trudge through another week of elections in order to get the required number of ballots to make the election valid. Senate recently reached quorum, and will be able to proceed through the semester with a full slate of senators.

Retention should not just be examined within the College, but within Senate. Obviously Senate has more than just a problem with retention, but with student interest.

There is speculation among senators as well as the administration that interest in what Senate can do is diminished because it seems that Senate has no real power. Many resigning senators made the point that senate was not the best venue for them to accomplish their goals for the campus. Resigning senators also pointed out that last semester's debate over internal processes was another reason they left, feeling that senate was only employed with itself, not the campus.

"I don't think we're unusual among Colleges," said College President Nancy Dye. Dye pointed out that many colleges, especially smaller ones have the same problem with a fluctuating student governance system.

"It's a real mystery why student governance isn't more robust," Dye said. She did however offer a speculation that it is hard to create a strong centralized power because of the multitude of diverse groups that have opportunities for leadership.

"I think one of their challenges is to not let their own image get in their way. They have to believe in themselves. They need to find a way to really work together and be productive," said Stackman.

The ideas that have been suggested may or may not help put senate back on track, but it is important to all that the organization gets back on its feet.

"It's in the interest of the College to have a strong student governance and certainly in the interest of students," said Dye.

Moreover, more than a few committees within the College are waiting to hear fromSenate, who must appoint the student seats.

"A lot of committees are ready to go, but they don't have the students on board," said Stackman.

Getting Senate back on the right track is something everyone seems to feel is necessary.

"Senate is going on a retreat this weekend, and it is my hope that they will talk about issues of membership and turnover with an eye towards kicking around some ideas that would contribute to the stability of senate," said Peter Goldsmith, dean of students.

One possible answer to increase the power of Senate and then possibly the interest, is within the chartering proposal that will resurface in the General Faculty meeting. The proposal would give sole power over the chartering process to senate.

"[We should] make student government have some teeth," said Dye, after voicing her opinion that the chartering process should be given to Senate.

"Sometimes what I have seen in Senate, just not only here but I've also advised a student government in all the schools I have worked in, I think that it is natural for students to often concern themselves with their immediate issues or the constituencies that they feel they represent. It is important that members don't lose sight of the fact that they are there to represent the entire student body," said Stackman.

"It's hard to agree upon a degree of representation and the mission of student government," said Dye.

Goldsmith offered another suggestion. "This is one thing that I will express just as a curiosity on my part, without any particular purpose or agenda in mind, but it is interesting to me that all of the member of senate are elected at large. Which means that each time there is a vacancy, the student community at large needs to vote for replacements. There are other ways of doing that. You could have membership determined by class. It is not exactly what I would suggest for Oberlin, but you could. You could have membership that is determined in part by representation of residential areas. The advantages of doing that is that should an area lose its representative, then it is up to that area, and not the entire student body at large, to make sure that they have representation and replace that individual. I predict that there are problems with that I haven't foreseen. I hope that senate and the campus more broadly might think about whether there are other ways of construing representation on campus that would ensure its stability."

Nonetheless, 10 new senators were appointed at midnight Wednesday, which could be bringing in the wave of stability the group seems to need.

"I think it was an unfortunate situation. What it does tell me is that you have five people who are extremely capable and committed because they have been picking up the slack for the past five weeks," said Stackman.

"It's my hope that they can turn that around, and have a real good understanding from the beginning what Senate is all about, and hopefully be committed to not only their role but the organization as a whole," he said.

This is the first part of a two-part look into student governance at Oberlin College. Next week, the Review will explore the student side of Senate.