With spring elections just over the horizon, students at the University will again have a chance to ensure their voices are heard. But just how hard are candidates and administration members listening once the ballots for Illinois Student Senate – among others – are cast? As a new senate takes oath in April, current members reflect on their funds, influence and ways they could improve.

Finances

According to financial records, this year’s version of the senate has spent about $13,704.60 on events like graduate student mixers and the inter-collegiate Association of Big Ten Students conference, as well as on items like business cards and pizza for voter registration drives.

In fact, while numerous University resources are facing considerable scrutiny, the student senate has been able to maintain somewhat of a surplus.

“We really have quite a bit of money at the moment and it doesn’t look like we’ll be spending it by the end of the year,” said Brad Tran, a sophomore in engineering and treasurer for the senate.

He said the ISS is allotted $39,000 each year from the Dean of Students office, and that figure rolls over. Tran also said his function as treasurer is similar to that of a financial adviser.

“I mean, personally I can disagree with (appropriations), but my role is more to provide the senate with a good idea of where our finances are,” he said. “I advise people to consider whether or not students would be appreciative of the way we’re spending our funds.”

Considering the current nature of University finances, Jaclyn O’Day, student body president and senior in LAS, said the senate’s annual allotment probably isn’t immune to cuts.

“I think anything is really a possibility right now,” she said.

O’Day said that while the Association of Big Ten Students meeting was the senate’s largest expenditure, it actually cost less than they had predicted.

“The school that’s hosting usually gets stuck paying the bulk of the cost. This is our first time hosting it, so we won’t be hosting it for probably five years now,” O’Day said. “I think we budgeted up to $4,000 for it, but we actually didn’t use $4,000, we only used around $2,000. So, we actually way, way underdid it.”

Influence

Naturally, the Illinois Student Senate takes a stance on multiple issues. But at times it might be difficult to tell how relations between the administration and student senate will unfold.

“I think in general the administration does take student opinion very seriously,” O’Day said. “We’re the foundation of this University. We make this place run.”

Indeed, Renee Romano, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, said she relies on input from student government to help her make decisions on a day-to-day basis.

“I don’t know what the student experience is here on campus, and they know how to improve that,” Romano said. “It’s been years since I’ve been a student, so I don’t know what it’s like to walk around campus with a backpack, or get around, or whatever.”

O’Day said she couldn’t think of a time where the senate’s opinion was neglected by the administration.

But things might not always be so rosy. A mass e-mail concerning deadlines for student elections was sent out a few weeks ago by the Student Election Commission and went through the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs office. However, the message didn’t reach graduate students for 13 days, and this had at least a few student senators wondering about the administration’s intentions.

“Since there’s a big deal about funding shortfalls, it could be that there’s an attempt from some levels of the administration to disenfranchise Grad representation,” said Jason Webber, a graduate student and student senator.

While some senate members have requested that the deadline for graduates to submit election forms be extended further, it was only moved backed to Feb. 20 from the original Feb. 17 date that still stood for undergraduates.

Romano said the faulty mass-mail was a simple mistake, but Webber said he wasn’t so sure.

“This should be the most important thing that she’s got,” Webber said. “She should have it marked on her calendar and have like, an election party every year.”

Possible improvements

There might sometimes be a disconnect between the senate and their constituents.

Sean Mills, student senator and junior in Finance, admitted that keeping the general student populous tuned in to senate action is one area where there could be improvements.

“Something we need to do better, and it’s probably something that’s obvious, is getting our name out there,” Mills said before the student senate meeting on Feb. 18. “When you ask somebody on campus ‘what is student senate, what do they do?,’ (the goal is) for that random person to know who we are and what we do.”

Even with numerous flyers and chalk messages advertising candidates for elections, some seats in the senate still have trouble getting filled each year. The college of Education, for instance, has had a write-in candidate for almost five years in a row and the graduate college is another place where getting and maintaining candidates has been an issue.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have to campaign,” said Patrick Lynch, graduate student and student senator. “We have a lot of trouble integrating people and getting them interested in the senate.”

According to some senate members, the length and discussion in ISS meetings has also been somewhat of a problem. The group has lost quorum (not had enough members to vote on an issue) on more than one occasion, sometimes forcing votes to be put off for an extra week or so.

“I think that we have a lot of really passionate people about a lot of really big issues,” said Jessica Remke, senator and senior in LAS. “But I think we’re spending a lot of time focusing on things that may not be quite as important.”