Student Union

I have been a Student Union Senator since Fall 2007. I currently chair the Campus Services Committee (C-Serve). C-Serve handles issues related to Dining Services, Student Health Services, Residential Life, Parking & Transportation, and Campus Security. Recognizing the fact that the Student Union Executive Board has identified Dining Services as one of its priorities during the 2008-2009 school year and the creation of the Dining Services Advisory Committee has provided an opportunity for increased cooperation between administrators and students in the area of dining, the C-Serve has decided to primarily focus its attention to improving the dining experience on campus for the remainder of the year.

Our members meet regularly with administrators and discuss issues including nutrition, sustainability, eating disorders, food allergies, daily operations, campus card services, and facilities planning. In addition to this each senator is a designated liaison to a department on campus. In this capacity they meet regularly with campus administrators in their designated department to convey the views of the student body and report back to our general body on changes being implemented in said department.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact a member of our committee or join us at one of our weekly meetings, which are held Thursdays at 6:00 P.M. in the OSA/SU Conference Room (DUC 273).

Hey, I was inspired by Robyn's post to make my own first post as an SU Senator.  Quick intro: I'm Chase Sackett, a junior ArtSci senator, and I'm on Senate's Campus Services Committee.  I'm also the SU-CS40 liaison, one of the new Senate Constituency Outreach co-chairs, serve as SU's rep to the Housing Selection Task Force, and work on SU's new LiveWELL student health campaign (we did the flu shot and sleep awareness events in the DUC last semester).  Outside of SU, I'm involved with XRHH and Chimes Junior Honorary.  If you want more on me personally, go ahead and Facebook stalk me...it may or may not be exciting (probably not).

One of the things I wanted to give attention was the resolution Student Union passed earlier this month advocating the expansion of ResLife's gender neutral housing program, as well as better advertising its availability.  After serving on the Housing Selection Task Force, I discovered how beneficial the gender neutral housing program would be for many students if it were expanded from Greenway and the Village to encompass all WashU-owned housing on the North Side and off-campus, and I decided to sponsor this resolution.  It passed unanimously (22-0), and I thought it was a really great example of Student Union's ability to advocate for the student body. 

The resolution SU passed is right here: Gender Neutral Housing Resolution

And to find out more about the reasoning behind the resolution, the Student Life article covering it is here: http://studlife.com/news/su_lobbies_for_expansion_of_gender-neutral_housing

A lot of the things SU does aren't visible to the student body (hopefully these blogs will make that easier), but resolutions like this can make a big impact on administrators and WashU policy.

As student representatives, we would like to express our disappointment in the website JuicyCampus.com and call for Washington University students to discontinue the use, recognition and support of the website. As members of the Washington University community we embrace the values of respect, integrity and trust in our fellow students, faculty and staff. The activity on this website promotes negativity and disrespect for others in our community and violates this safety and trust.

As other campuses that have been faced with the same challenges, we should take this opportunity as a way to encourage a ‘change in culture.’ It is our chance to talk about the risks and threats that a gossip culture brings to the Washington University community, and choose to take ownership of our own actions and words. In discouraging the use of this website or any other similar forum, we show that we have respect for each other and our differences. Let’s move forward from this point and conduct ourselves in more honorable and considerate ways in which we can be proud. Thank you to those of you who have expressed your concern or discontent with the website and please feel free to contact us with any other concerns.

Signed respectfully,

Brittany Perez
Student Union President

Michelle Beasley
Women’s Panhellenic Association President

Daniel Cate
Interfraternity Council President

Jacob Novick
Congress of the South 40 Speaker

Steven Hollander
North Side Association Speaker

This past Wednesday, Senate held internal elections for its leadership team. Here are the results:

Speaker of the Seante
Jordan Aibel (senate@su.wustl.edu)

Academic Affairs Chair
Kady McFadden (acaff@su.wustl.edu)

Campus Services Chair
Trevor Mattea (cserve@su.wustl.edu)

University Initiatives Chair
Alex Christensen (initatives@su.wustl.edu)

Congratulations to the newly elected Senate Leadership Team. We look forward to serving you in the coming term.