Opinion: Student Senate is Working For You
Students present at a Senate meeting in CUB 260, Oct. 28, 2024. (William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
This article originally appeared on page 16 of the No. 4 February 2025 edition of The Gettysburgian magazine.
By the Student Senate Executive Board and Committee Chairs
For the first time in four years, the Student Senate has truly been working for you. Although prior semesters have been plagued by internal drama, political division and committee dysfunction, the Senate is now poised to carry out its most impactful campus improvement projects in years! Much of the improved functioning can be attributed to our outstanding members and necessary changes to our body’s guiding rules and procedures. With the overwhelming support of more than twenty-five voting members, the Senate crafted a new policy that assigns members to attend a specific committee each week.
This policy has been very successful so far. Committees have had consistent attendance, allowing a greater number of campus improvement projects to be implemented. In addition to our committees’ impressive productivity, the Senate has been able to assist more students and organizations than ever before. We have solved 109 unique student concerns and funded more than 300 club activities and events. In addition, the Senate recently voted to work with Campus Recreation to acquire new gym equipment in order to enhance every student’s experience here at the College. We hope that by partnering with Campus Recreation we can work towards funding the purchase of new machines and/or equipment not currently available in the Jaeger Center.
Now that our seven committees have consistent attendance and membership, we are having one of the most productive semesters since the pandemic. Firstly, the Outreach Committee made an outstanding return after being out of operation for a few years. They have started new social media initiatives and have been hard at work planning and preparing for our collaborative Senate Open with Listeners and Performers, OSAGL, and the College Houses. The Inclusion Committee has tackled several issues this year, including ensuring that the 33 free menstrual product dispensers installed by the Student Senate in 2019 are stocked and properly labeled. The committee successfully completed an initiative to remove gendered language in the library.
The Inclusion Committee also works to spread awareness of the bias reporting process and educational events on campus. The Opinions Committee has been working on multiple opinions advocating for various campus improvements, such as safer crosswalks on North Washington Street and Carlisle Street. By popular demand, they have also begun advocating for higher-quality toilet paper across campus. More recently, they successfully passed an opinion recommending that campus laundry services be improved.
The College Life Advisory Committee has been working with multiple departments to advocate for higher student employee wages and new gym equipment. The Wellness and Safety Committee had two successful events last semester. Their chalking Peace and Love event and “flipping tables” activity were well-attended and popular. The Wellness and Safety Chair also met with the Gettysburg Police Department and Campus Safety to resolve student concerns regarding weekend policing.
Our Academic and Career Affairs Committee has been collaborating with Dean Theresa Hoover to address accessibility challenges in and outside of the classrooms, advocating for heightened Peer Learning Associate wages, hosting information sessions for student research experiences and assisting with Honor Code changes.
This has been a highly productive year for the Student Senate, and we are looking forward to doing even more! We are devoted to the betterment of our campus community. With responsible financial decisions, the Student Senate has been able to fund more clubs than ever before and take on new initiatives.
From laundry to student worker wages and free menstrual products to improving Campus Recreation, our committees and members are truly starting some great work. All of this is made possible by our members’ dedication to advocating for the needs, wants and opinions of the student body. We look forward to working on new projects this semester! If you have any new ideas or issues that the Student Senate should work to address, feel free to email woodmi02@gettysburg.edu
Sincerely,
The Student Senate Executive Board and Committee Chairs
