On March 8, The Daily Illini published yet another editorial — “ISS’ wasteful spending habits offer no aid to student body” — bashing the Illinois Student Senate for wasteful spending. By my count, this is at least the fourth editorial outlining how the Senate has failed to utilize its $39,000 annual budget to advance the student body and how the organization generally turns a blind eye toward poor fiscal practices. I write this letter to plead with The Daily Illini to stop beating a dead horse and to engage the student body on topics which will inform and enlighten them.

Editors, ISS has gone to great lengths to try and make sure that student money is spent wisely. This year, we have taken our job of defending students’ wallets so seriously that representatives on the Student Fee Advisory Committee have made people cry in hearings because of intense questioning. Over and over again, certain colleagues and I have butted heads with administrators who have never had to deal with this level of scrutiny on student fee issues before. 

Is the general student populace adequately apprised of these efforts? Of course not.

In the Friday editorial, I was quoted as saying, “anything we can do to better represent our student constituents, I think we need to throw money at it.” Perhaps my point would have been better served had I used a more eloquent phrase, but I stand by the sentiment. 

The Student Senate should indeed be “throwing” money toward programs that better help us represent our constituents. Certainly, the senate needs to spend money to try to engage the student body; the complete and total lack of support from the established media makes expenditures such as advertisements a necessity. When our campus newspaper continues to churn out editorials portraying student senators as resume-padding hacks, the ISS must spend additional resources to try and engage students who have been disillusioned and consider shared governance a waste of their time. 

Yes, the ISS has made mistakes, and it is the duty of the media to bring attention to these issues. But continuing to whip the organization over and over again for the same past wrongs is not going to solve anything. You only have one student government, so attempt to make it better. 

Spend your time writing editorials encouraging people to vote. Tell the student body to come to senate meetings and engage with their elected leaders. Equip students with the knowledge and opportunity to speak against appropriations and policies they feel are unjust.

Please, I beg of you, stop perpetuating the problem. Be a part of the solution.

Jim Maskeri,

student senator and senior in LAS