Op-ed: Want to make change on campus? Join SU Senate!

Tyrin Truong | Speaker of SU Senate

Hello, Washington University. My name is Tyrin and as the speaker of the Student Union Senate, I am excited to make the case for why you should apply to become a senator! Senate is the advocacy branch of Student Union and being a senator empowers you to help make change on campus. We have worked on many things over the past year, including lowering the minimum deposit amount for Bear Bucks and creating a campus printer map. Senators are also working to co-locate service providers on campus to make all health and wellness services more accessible for students.

Our mission is three-fold: advocating for the needs and interests of all students, connecting students and administrators through promoting collaboration and empowering students with the means to become self-advocates. As a body, our vision is to foster the most fulfilling and equitable student experience for all Washington University students. We are looking for fellow students with a similar vision who possess the drive to help make change on campus. Our body recently created four task forces aimed at addressing issues such as mental health, socioeconomic diversity, racial identity and the general student experience. The task forces include senators, student group leaders and various University administrators and are hard at work achieving their set goals. Those goals include addressing the stigma surrounding mental health on our campus, socioeconomic sensitivity training for faculty, the establishment of a people of color council, and increasing access to study spaces on campus. If your passion lies somewhere else, we also have the resources to help you complete personal projects. Senate is here to foster whatever advocacy work your heart desires.

As senators we also attend General Budget, a joint session with Treasury where we formulate the $3.4 million budget for the next academic year. We need people with diverse perspectives to make sure that as many identities are at the table as possible. Representation matters.

Have I made a clear case for why you should join Senate yet? If not, let me add in why I personally love Senate. As a senator, you are not only serving your peers by advocating for things that they want, you are also developing relevant life skills such as communication, patience, and leadership. Some of my closest friendships have been cultivated in Senate and we want you to join the family!

I hope to see your application by this Monday, Dec. 3 at 11:45 p.m. The application can be accessed at https://bit.ly/2TUcvys or in the weekly “SUp This Week” email. I am more than happy to answer any questions you might have at [email protected] or (985) 516-4252. I am looking forward to you becoming a part of making change on our campus!

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