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| 06-14-2004 | Previous edition: 06-11-2004 |
        
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Printer-friendly version Student-run government connects campusBy Charise PettitEditor in Chief The leaders of the student body say that although they have many projects planned, their main focus for the year is to listen to students. Purdue Student Government represents the voice of the student body to the administration, faculty, staff and community, said Bridget Golden, associate dean of students and PSG adviser. It also functions to provide programs and services. Aaron Schnur, PSG president, said, "There are problems at Purdue and we want the students to let us know what they are." Schnur, senior in the School of Management, said a goal is to better represent the students of Purdue and reach out to hear all the concerns of the students. "We are going to speak to different groups, restructure our diversity council and have opportunities where students can voice their opinions at student concern tables," he said. PSG will continue looking into a student activity fee that would be included in students’ tuition and fees. He said the money generated by the fee would go back to organizations to bring events and provide projects for all students, which could include concerts, speakers, comedians and a newspaper collegiate readership program. Schnur said the students will vote on the necessity of the fee. Members are looking into a program called Pick-A-Prof that will aid the students by letting them know more about their professors. Schnur said the program would provide past grade distributions, syllabi, information on the professor, tips on how to succeed in the class and student reviews and comments. "Other schools have adopted this program and we think it would be a great thing to bring to the students at Purdue," he said. A few projects started by last year’s government will get completed as well, said Schnur. These include the creation of academic adviser evaluations, availability of student legal resources, finishing the HAIL Web site — a unified information portal for students — and furthering PSG’s government relations committee to advocate student concerns to local and state government. PSG is planning a voter registration drive and members are working to bring a debate to Purdue. PSG has an executive staff that oversees three main branches. The senate is responsible for enacting legislation pertinent to the student body. It is composed of students representing the various academic schools on campus. In April 2001, the switch was made to school-based representation from housing-unit based. Golden said this allows for a better link with the schools and student councils and makes it easier to locate representatives. The Board of Directors is the outreach branch. Each director is responsible for advertising, planning and sponsoring PSG events, such as concerts, speakers, memorials and campuswide informational events. The Student Court is the judicial arm. It has total jurisdiction over all PSG matters. This includes hearing any internal PSG grievances, as well as hearing all traffic ticket appeals for Purdue students. The court rules on the constitutionality of all PSG actions, in accordance with the PSG constitution and by-laws. Also, the court maintains a department of legal aid to provide Purdue students with information regarding typical legal problems such as landlord-tenant disputes and local ordinance violations. Students have several ways to get involved with PSG, said Golden, but most directly through the programming board and senate elections in the spring. Students can benefit a great deal from being involved with any student organizations, she said. "They learn valuable time management, organization, budget and team skills. In addition, students in PSG have the unique opportunity to represent the voice of the student body to the administration." If students have a problem, concern or opinion, they can stop by the PSG office in STEW G-6 or email studentgovernment@purdue.edu. Printer-friendly version |
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