Transparency and communication were the main goals of ASUI representatives who sat down for dinner with students Thursday at Bob’s Place in the Wallace Residence Center.
This was the first ASUI at Bob’s night, an event intended to enhance communication between ASUI and the student body.
“We just wanted it to be a casual scenario where students could ask questions and feel comfortable,” said Michael Shea O’Donnell, ASUI community relations coordinator. “A lot of students don’t really know how ASUI works.”
Five ASUI senators and five executive members volunteered to attend the dinner at Bob’s Place. ASUI hopes to make the event a monthly occurrence.
“It’s really to explain what ASUI is, what we do and what we deal with,” O’Donnell said. “ASUI is not just student government. It’s also the Volunteer Center, committees and other departments. It’s also to represent the student body.”
O’Donnell said when she first began working on organizing the event, her goal was to improve communication between representatives and students.
“It can be intimidating to go into the offices and ask questions,” O’Donnell said. “I think it’s important for students to know who their representatives are and feel comfortable asking questions.”
After working on the project, O’Donnell said she realized there are also some misconceptions about ASUI. Namely, that it is meant for the Greek population. She said she hopes ASUI at Bob’s night will change this misconception and encourage participation in ASUI from people of all living groups.
“I think because many of the people who are in ASUI are Greek, it’s easier for the people in houses to become involved because they hear about it more,” O’Donnell said. “When you’re living in a house with someone it’s much easier to hear about the things they participate in. This let’s people know how to get involved. It’s not as easy to hear about things when you live in a hall or off campus.”
ASUI members broke into teams of two, one senator and one executive member, to sit down with groups of students and talk to them about ASUI, as well as answer any questions.
Senator Mike VanLydegraf said he has seen both sides of campus as a residence hall member for two years and a member of the Greek system.
“There’s definitely a divide. Our goal is to unify campus as a whole,” VanLydegraf said. “ASUI doesn’t fund things that aren’t for the entire student body.”
Alec Akin, ASUI director of technology, joined VanLydegraf in talking to students about ASUI. Akin was also a residence hall member, as well as in the Greek system.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about what we do. We wanted to make things more transparent,” Akin said. “We want to make sure students know what we’re doing with their money.”
Both VanLydegraf and Akin emphasized to students that ASUI is not just a governing body.
“There are so many ways to be involved in ASUI and not even be a part of the government side,” Akin said.
Akin also said he was glad he was able to answer student questions and clear up situations, such as a computer lab debacle that began with miscommunication between the student body and ASUI Senate and Faculty Senate.
“It’s good to be able to tell people what’s going on,” Akin said. “You don’t really know what their concerns are until you talk to them.
Overall, ASUI members and students agreed the event was helpful in clearing up student concerns, as well as informing students about the many aspects of ASUI.
“If we’re given an opportunity to talk to students, we’re going to jump on it,” VanLydegraf said.