Aaron Vehling

Out of the 168 hours in a week, some student senators can’t spare one just waiting for students to come in and talk to them.

Senate is discussing a bill that proposes to drop the mandatory one hour a week that senators are required to spend in the office.

The bill makes reference to the voluntary nature of a senate position and how the office hour requirement could push away good candidates.

Even volunteer work has responsibilities that need to be fulfilled.

Student senators are civil servants for the student body and it is absolutely necessary that they are available so students can voice their concerns in person, by phone or via e-mail. A civil servant serves no purpose if the public can’t contact him or her.

I wish I were required to sit around and wait for people to come and strike up a conversation with me.

This has to be the only position where simply talking to people means you are doing a good job. What a sweet deal.

Senators need to be present during the day because students either don’t want to or don’t have time to attend the regular Monday meetings. Only three students who are not affiliated with organizations showed up to the meeting in the last two weeks.

Sitting through a four-hour meeting after the first day of a long week may be fun for senators, but Joe or Jane Student would rather just get a rehash of what happened from someone who was there.

Communication between senators and the general student body is not very good on this campus and this bill, if passed, would make it worse.

When is the last time you talked to a senator? Can you name any of your senators?

Instead of canceling the one hour that senators should be in the office, the office hours should be advertised more so students will know there is a time when they can talk about issues to their representatives.

Maybe then students will be able to get the whole story on pending legislation that affects them and is supposed to be made with the best interests of the student body in mind.

Earlier this semester, there was confusion on Senate’s stance on Homecoming and bar policies on Water Street. A lot of rumors flew around and if students would’ve spoken directly to senators, the truth would’ve gotten out sooner.

True, not many students stop by and talk to senators, but having that hour available is a good way to show senators want and need student input.

The most underused phone number on campus is the Student Senate office number, 836-4646. Call it and talk to a Senator because he or she needs to hear what students want addressed, and Senate’s office hours shouldn’t be a concern on his or her agenda.

The proposed bill also claims that student schedules fluctuate by week, and it is difficult for senators to have the same hour each week that can be reserved for time in the office.

Unless senators take the one class that is held at random times during the week, schedules are very consistent week by week.

If a senator does have a random schedule, maybe his or her office hour can be the anchor of consistency to stabilize his or her turbulent life.

An amendment to the bill added the clause that senators should spend about one hour in the senate office during the entire week, thus contradicting the entire meaning of the original bill and postponing formal discussion until Monday.

Anyone can see what this could lead to. If an hour is not required and enforced, some senators would skip out entirely on 60 minutes of work that their title demands.

If someone is scared to spend one hour in an office with little to do except maybe talk to somebody, he or she shouldn’t volunteer for a position with such a demanding responsibility.

Dowd is a senior print journalism major and editorial editor of The Spectator. “A Dose of Dowd” appears every Thursday on the Opinion page.