Last week, the Illinois Student Senate made a motion to put a resolution that supported the prevention of a nuclear-capable Iran on the agenda for its weekly general meeting. This motion did not pass and the resolution did not even get on the agenda for discussion. According to the live-tweet feed of the meeting, Kevin Seymour, ISS treasurer, said: “This proposed resolution (regarding a nuclear Iran) is ridiculous. I urge you not to add this to the agenda.” Senator Christopher Dayton also said: “I understand the intent, but it’s not in our body to pass this. We cannot (discuss) this without further information.”

I am writing to explain that this proposed resolution is in fact not ridiculous, as some claim it to be, and that it is the responsibility of the student senators to listen to their constituents and advocate on behalf of them.

A nuclear-armed Iran would prompt a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. A nuclear-capable Iran would likely further intensify its support of Middle East terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran could share its nuclear technology with anti-American terrorist groups, increasing the threat of nuclear terrorism. The U.S. has troops and bases all over the Middle East and in countries that neighbor Iran. The threat of a nuclear-capable Iran threatens U.S. interests and Western values and, therefore, threatens students on this campus. 

The ISS website opens with: “The Illinois Student Senate, or ISS, serves as the ‘Official Voice of the Student Body’ at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is committed to representing the views and needs of the student body to campus administration, local, state and federal governments.” It is important that the ISS recognizes what its job actually is: to advocate on behalf of the student body. The ISS wants to charge each student at the University $1 to fund its goals. But what is our $1 going toward? An organization that is only able to discuss internal matters: constitutional changes, nameplates and senate supplies. How is this a representation of the student body?

Some might argue that a resolution in the senate is pointless. I beg to differ. Once passed, this resolution will be sent to Illinois members of Congress. As a flagship university, our voices on campus hold a lot of weight. Members of Congress have responded to resolutions in the past, and I expect no less from this resolution. Several other universities have passed resolutions in support of preventing a nuclear-capable Iran, including Indiana University, Northwestern University, Rutgers University and The George Washington University. Why is our senate unwilling to touch this resolution?

It is important for the Illinois student senators to take a look at their own mission and think about why they decided to run in the first place. Was it to discuss budgetary concerns, or to make a difference on campus and represent the views of their constituents?

Alana Rubin, junior in LAS