OPINION: Student Senators Exist To Represent Their Constituency's Interests To Decision-Makers

(Feature Image: Via Flickr.)

In my years of watching student government's work on UT-Tyler’s campus, I have seen its participants at first become excited about joining student government, but then later not really know what to do when they arrive. Therefore, over this summer’s break, I have decided that I will try to define for student government leaders what their role is exactly.

Given that clarity about each student leaders' role and responsibility could lead to greater collaboration within both the student constituency and within the university at large, then I hope my upcoming essays will encourage effective collaboration within student government and its collaboration with administration.

Each player in the university's overall "shared governance" model--whether student senator, faculty member or administrator--has a role to play within the governance system. When each participant can play their specialized role effectively, then the university community, like a human body, can theoretically build up each other to the whole's health. (At least, so the shared governance theory goes.)

So it is with this goal of contributing to the university's prosperity (but more importantly to me, to the student constituency's prosperity) that I endeavor to define student representatives’ roles in the coming essay series.

So, with all of this in mind, I start my first essay in this essay series with the student senator position. What is the purpose of a student senator within the student government? Why does this position exist? Most importantly, how does someone serve in this role with success? 

Let's take a look.

The Student Senator

To be an effective student senator, a senator must recognize three important truths about his position: first, that a student senator exists to represent student interests to the university’s governing board; second, that student interests are those that have to do with the collective student body's shared experience mainly in their capacity as students; and third, that a senator's first responsibility is to represent his constituency. A senator who keeps these tenants in mind can be a successful and effective student senator.

Now, let’s examine each tenant more closely.

Represent Student Interests

First, a student senator exists to represent student interests to the university governing board (that is, to The UT Board of Regents).

This means that a senator ought to first discover what his constituency’s priorities are. These can be academic, financial or logistical or otherwise. Then, once he knows his constituency's mind, he should represent these concerns to university decision-makers. 

These decision-makers can be deans of the senator’s college, such as the College of Business dean, or class, such as the dean of students (in the case of Freshman Class senator), or they can also be within the student government apparatus, such as to the student body president. Hopefully, these leaders can act to serve the causes that senators bring to their attention from their constituency.

However, whether or not the senator is successful at obtaining a decision-maker’s response, his first responsibility is to represent his constituency to the university’s governing board and its representatives (deans and administrators). A successful senator will spend much of his time in doing this above all else.

Practical To Student Role

Now secondly, it is important to recognize that student issues are those issues or concerns that relate primarily to the student body’s experience as being students at the university. In other words, student issues are primarily those that relate to the students' relationship with the university as a student. 

Conversely, this means that student issues are not likely those peripheral issues students may care about that have little or nothing to do with their day-to-day relationship to the university as students. For example, these issues might be those such as climate change, global citizenship, foreign wars or popular culture. 

Instead, while not excluding these issues, student concerns are often those that are more immediate and practical to the student body's experience in their relationship to the university as a student. 

For example, they are more so practical and concrete issues such as campus food vendor hours, congestion in the student parking lot, the quality of a college's academic curriculum or tuition cost. 

These issues relate immediately and most closely to issues within student experience at the university and they have more direct relationship to the body's collective experience as students. These issues are best kind of student concerns senators should primarily represent in their constituencies to university decision-makers. 

A successful senator will remember that student issues are more so those practical issues that most closely relate his student constituency's general experience of being a student at the university. 

First Responsible To His Constituency

Finally, a successful student senator will remember his first responsibility is to his constituency. In other words, Is he The College of Nursing senator? Then his first priority is to represent what is generally important to students in The College of Nursing. Is he the The College of Business senator? Then his first priority ought to be to the business student constituency. 

As a member of this community, he is its representative and ought to represent its priorities before he undertakes any others. 

So a senator’s first responsibility is to his constituency and to represent its concerns to university the decision-makers.

Conclusion

These three tenants can keep a senator on track to becoming an effective and successful student representative. His role exists to represent student interests. Student interests relate to a student's relationship to the university. His constituency is his first priority. A senator who keeps these three tenants in mind will foster a prosperous student community and be on his way to becoming a successful student representative.

Twitter: @Jhescock12

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Feature Image: Via Flickr. (Source unknown!)