Undergraduate senators will be required to hold office hours next semester, according to a new Senate bill passed on March 28.
Holding office hours was a suggestion in the past, but this new bill will make senator office hours mandatory for the sixth undergraduate senate elected in October, according to Speaker of the Undergraduate Senate Eric Reath.
“It will [be] a step to make sure we hear the complaints of students,” Reath said.
The bill, written by Class of 2013 Senator Brett Atanasio, states that senators must hold one office hour of their choosing between 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on any day Monday through Friday.
Atanasio explained the bill will allow senators’ constituents to meet them.
“A lot of people don’t know who their senators are,” Atanasio said.
The senators must hold their office hours in the Senate office in Mary Graydon Center, according to the bill. A schedule of office hours will be posted online.
Reath added that because Student Activities offices will be moving to the old School of International Service building next year, the Student Government might get more space in MGC.
There are currently 25 senators in the fifth undergraduate senate and one senator awaiting nomination. There can be a maximum of 30 senators in the Senate at any one time, including five senators from each class, four senators-at-large, two senators from the College of Arts and Sciences and one senator from SIS, the School of Public Affairs and the School of Communication, according to Reath.
If an undergraduate senator fails to meet the office hour requirement, they will be assigned a one-half absence, which will count towards the maximum permissible absences according to the bill. Senators are allowed a maximum of four absences from Senate meetings.
The bill also states that senators who represent classes and schools must attend at least one of their respective class or school council meetings per month.
Reath says this bill is part of the Senate’s goal to reach out more to students and listen to their concerns.
“We want to facilitate more communication from outside and within [the Student Government],” Atanasio said.
You can reach this staff writer at ascalamogna@theeagleonline.com.
