Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Democratic Process
Can the President of the Association present to the Board of Regents on behalf of ASUN, a proposal to add a $10 fee for a writing center and on-campus performing arts without any apparent authority granted by the senate (see the Sagebrush report)?
The senate must be more timely and relevant in engaging this president. He has spent his entire college career working on improving this campus (do not read here that you must support him at all times). JV 2017 was in the works for a considerable period of time. The senate had ample opportunity to make an effort to be part of the process. And even when the proposal was finally made public, it has taken the senate nearly a month to get into a committee for review.
At the same time, President Reilly needs to realize his experience lends him a body of knowledge that very few students ever obtain. The ideas he has are the culmination of years of examination. The senators might need to be engaged a little more arduously than in the past to be able to adequately engage in the process. An acceptance of the educational nature of ASUN means a president with Reilly's experience must slow down a little bit to help educate and engage less experienced senators.
The ASUN political and educational process is a dynamical one, requiring both sides. Sometimes that means not doing things as fast as you want. And sometimes it means stepping a little outside of your comfort zone on ideas and issues. For too many years now, I've watched senators play in their own little sandbox and presidents work in theirs. That helps neither group and is antithetical and destructive to all the leaning processes ASUN envisions.
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/21678532/ASUN-Joint-Vision-2017-Student-Success-and-Activity-Fee-Proposal-FINAL
ReplyDeleteLink to the detailed fee proposal.