During the fall 2013 general ASUI election, students were given the opportunity to provide open-ended feedback on issues they’d like their student representatives to address this year.
After the election, it was ASUI elections coordinator Tanner Beymer who sat down to review this feedback. On the ballots, students expressed desires for takeout food from Bob’s, concealed carry on campus and a Panda Express in the Idaho Commons, to name a few.
Ultimately, after organizing and compiling the input into something coherent, three major issues emerged. Beymer presented these issues, as well as other concerns that were frequent among students, to the ASUI senate on Wednesday.
ASUI plans to address each issue throughout the semester.
“ASUI is going to take a serious look at (these issues) so it can react in the smartest way and the best way within its power,” Beymer said. “Sometimes, there’s not a lot ASUI can do, but they’ll certainly do everything they can do.”
Parking
The UI parking regulations have been angering Sen. Kelly James Fisher off for years.
According to Beymer, Fisher is not the only one.
“There’s a general disgust at the lack of parking and the ridiculousness of the rules involved with it,” Beymer said.
Fisher, who heads the ASUI parking committee, said the ASUI senate plans to make the issue of on-campus parking and transportation a priority this semester.
“It’s going to be difficult, but I want to work as hard as I can to do something to improve those problems,” Fisher said. “I represent all the thousands of students at UI, and it’s very important to me. There are things that absolutely need to be changed, and with the voices of the students in the last election, it impacts more than just myself saying ‘hey, parking committee, these need to be changed, the students are asking for change … change needs to be considered.'”
The concerns are primarily about Greek and purple parking, but any student who has tried to park on-campus knows what a fiasco it can be, according to Beymer.
Since the university and parking and ticketing services are entirely different entities, students probably can’t expect any major parking reform in the near future — however, that doesn’t stop freshmen senators Austin Karsetter and Carlie Beasley from setting their sights high.
Acknowledging that ASUI by itself doesn’t have the power to create more parking, Karsetter said he believes making other forms of on-campus transportation, such as shuttles, available to students might be a more viable option. Beasley also tossed around ideas such as making parking passes cheaper, or rewarding excellent scholarship with better passes.
Fisher admits the push for better parking will be an uphill battle, but as an issue that is clearly on student minds, the ASUI senate has promised to bring it to the forefront of their discussion this semester.
Student Code of Conduct
With the recent controversies surrounding the changes made to the Student Code of Conduct, it’s only natural that students would look to their representatives to voice their concerns. Unfortunately, according to Beymer, the time for change may have come and gone.
“There’s not a whole lot that can be done,” Beymer said. “Most of this has already been passed — the jurisdiction clause and the amnesty clause — have all been passed by the faculty senate and the State Board of Education. So there’s not a whole lot they can do as far as the Code of Conduct goes, besides continue to educate the living groups.”
President Pro Tempore Anthony Filicetti withheld further comment.
Communication
There’s a chasm between ASUI and the general student body, according to Beymer.
He said students don’t quite understand what ASUI does, or what powers it does and doesn’t hold. But he said this isn’t for lack of caring.
In the ballots cast during the last election cycle, students overwhelmingly believed their ASUI representatives should be more visible on-campus, and Fisher said that if nothing else, this is an issue on which they will deliver.
“That really is our job, is to communicate with (the students),” Fisher said. “If students are complaining about that, it means some of us aren’t doing our jobs well. We have to make sure we’re really staying on top of living groups, staying on top of reports and advertising for events.”
Students requested more frequent living group visits from senators, easier access to information regarding the priorities and proceedings of the senate, and better advertising overall, according to Beymer.
One student wondered why they didn’t see ASUI at ASUI events.
“Senators need to actually attend the events they promote,” the student wrote.
Other Issues
Though they didn’t receive as much attention, students collectively vocalized opinions about several other issues, which will be looked at just as seriously, according to Beymer.
Students expressed interest in more safety campaigns like I Got Your Back, support for an on-campus smoking ban and concern about Greek and non-Greek relations.
Many freshmen senators ran on a platform of improving Greek and non-Greek relations. Karsetter and Beasley both take the Greek and non-Greek segregation issue seriously, and hope it will be addressed soon. They said they have big ideas for bringing the two groups together.
“Start with the freshmen,” Karsetter said. “Get good communication between Greeks and non-Greeks — maybe with Late Night in the Rec, or something.”
Beasley agreed that starting young is the way to go.
“When I came up here, I didn’t know one person,” Beasley said. “I was desperate for any friend. I feel like a good way is to start early, so people are not already cultured with the Greek system or residence halls not liking Greeks — if I met a Greek person and they were cool, I’d be like, ‘cool, let’s hang out!'”
At this point in the legislative session, anything is possible — Beymer said he reminds students that making changes on campus isn’t as easy as flipping a switch, however.
“Often times, there’s this idea that ASUI senate is the final decision-making body for all the things that happen on-campus, and that’s just not true,” Beymer said. “There’re a lot of other entities — faculty senate, the president’s office, the State Board of Education, the board of regents.”
Regardless of what does or doesn’t come out of ASUI’s efforts this semester’s session, Fisher said it’s important for both ASUI and students to remember that student representatives are there to serve the students.
“We do listen to (students), and ask them for suggestions and analyze them for the betterment of the entire student body,” Fisher said. “We work for them — we owe them that.”
The ASUI Senate meets every Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in the Whitewater room in the Commons. Each meeting opens with an open forum where any student is welcome to speak.
Hannah Shirley can be reached at [email protected]