Student Government will determine this year’s agenda based on the results of the organization’s July 8 survey.
“We wanted some concrete info going into next year,” SG Secretary Rosemary Cipriano said. “It [the results of the survey] will help us put together advocacy for the upcoming year.”
A “Statement of Students’ Rights” may be drafted if survey results indicate students are unsatisfied with the status quo, Cipriano said. This would be the first formal document outlining students’ rights at AU. However, the completion of this document is still to be determined since the complete results have not yet been collected.
The survey was sent to the undergraduate student body via email, Cipriano said.
The questionnaire asked students about their satisfaction with a variety of topics, including: •AU’s fossil fuel investment policy •the current process for handling Code of Conduct violations •allowance of free expression.
Financial aid also appeared in the survey many times, asking students if they have adequate financial information and options.
“We want to make sure that people know where to get their financial aid,” Cipriano said.
Student Government, student media groups excluded from survey
Members of student media (including The Eagle) and SG were blocked from completing the survey. A message saying “Unfortunately, the parameters of this study don’t match your background” appeared after declaring affiliation with either category.
These students were excluded because previous SG surveys included a disproportionate amount of student media members, producing results that did not represent the real demographics of the student body, Cipriano said.
The purpose of the survey is to gauge students’ opinions on a variety of issues, many of which student media and SG members are already well aware of, she said.
This is not the first time a survey excluded SG members.
“In the past, we have always omitted SG members because it’s an obvious bias,” Cipriano said. “We wanted to get the non-biased student opinion.”
Vice Chair of the Student Media Board Emma Gray disagreed with media groups’ exclusion.
“It is important to know where people are coming from and what groups they belong to,” Emma Gray, Vice Chair of the Student Media Board, said. “But that shouldn’t mean that they can’t answer the survey.”
Full Disclosure: The Eagle is currently a member of the Student Media Board and receives financial compensation from the organization.
cjohnson@theeagleonline.com
