Student Union

St. Louis, MO: Student Union will begin to offer student groups new web services from Google Apps on January 15, 2009, as a “proof of concept” project that was initiated last spring.

The new services from Google Apps will include an @su.wustl.edu email address that utilizes Gmail with over 6 GB of space, calendar and document sharing, and google sites.

 

“Harnessing the power of Google Apps will allow student groups to conduct business more efficiently” said Jeff Nelson, Vice President of Administration. “Students on campus have expressed a desire for improvements to the various email systems on campus. Student Union is proud to be taking the lead and offering student groups next generation web applications.”

 

In February, the Student Union Technology Resources Committee conducted a survey that found thatseventy-nine percent of students favored Gmail in the event that student email were outsourced.

 

Student Union has been working with Student Technology Services and the University General Counsel to develop this program as a pilot and a proof-of-concept for a potential student-wide switch to a commercial email service.

 

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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.

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.