A Student Government diversity meeting designed to be an open forum for students to discuss the SG's ability to accurately reflect the student body ended up featuring participants already involved in the organization, some of whom expressed concern about the lack of other perspectives at the meeting.
"A lot of people just don't feel represented," said School of Public Affairs Undergraduate Council President Carrie Johnson.
The Diversity Action team, a new SG board led by Johnson, organized the meeting as part of the preparations for a Nov. 19 special election to select a replacement for current SG Vice President Jeff Hanley.
Hanley and Comptroller David Teslicko announced at the Undergraduate Senate's Nov. 4 meeting they would resign at that body's Dec. 7 meeting. President Joe Vidulich will select a replacement for Teslicko with the consent of the senate.
While the SG organized the meeting because of the election, diversity is always an issue for the SG, said Student Advocacy Center Director Rick Edwards.
"We always want to make sure SG reflects the student body," he said.
Some students may not want to be involved in the SG because of the way the rest of the university views it, Kennedy Political Union Director Amanda Fulton said.
The SG considered sending individual members to each club on campus to advertise running for office, Edwards said.
"They know there is a student government, but they never see it," he said.
Participants spent much of the meeting defining diversity and deciding whether it meant just talking to people outside of the SG or specifically referring to minority groups.
Another plan was to start preparing the student body earlier for elections. This idea came in response to concerns that many students don't know what the SG does, Edwards said.
"We need to begin planning now for the spring elections," Johnson said. "Let's be proactive."
Most students don't vote in SG elections, Edwards said.
"It's not extraordinarily difficult to win an election," he said. "We have an undergraduate body of 6,000, but only 2,000 people voted in the last election."
The senate sometimes appears hesitant to hear students' comments at its meetings, Johnson said.
"You can respectfully object, but it doesn't need to be a fight," Johnson said of the senate. "I just think it could be more welcoming"
