Senate prez candidates debate student-admin relations
By Mike Ludwig
Campus Reporter
May 1, 2008
Student Senate president candidates Michael Adeyanju, Will Klatt and Mashur Rahman squared off over how “shared governance,” accountability and communication should occur between Ohio University students, Student Senate and OU administrators during a debate at Bentley Hall on Tuesday.
Klatt, who heads up the Birthday Party, argued for concrete changes to the “top-down” administrative structures at OU. Adeyanju, who is the Ability and Accountability (AAA) Party candidate, emphasized how his leadership abilities will allow him to aid “constructive criticism” between campus constituent groups and foster “working relationships” between students, student groups and top-level administrators. Rahman, the presidential candidate for ACT OU, called for mandatory communication between student senators and their constituents so that students are empowered and Student Senate can more accurately represent them.
All three candidates promised to push for greater student input in the Board of Trustees’ evaluations of OU President Roderick McDavis.
Although the candidates said that their policies would at least begin to enhance shared governance at OU, their definitions of shared governance, and methods for achieving it, varied.
Adeyanju said that shared governance means having the ability to create accountability. “It means what our party name is,” he said.
Rahman said that he believes in the potential for shared governance, but said the transition to it should be a “slow and structured process.”
“We cannot want something and get it the next day,” Rahman said. “We have to understand the responsibility we are wanting.”
Klatt defined shared governance as “a shared power relationship between constituent groups.” The Birthday Party is seeking to create “a set of checks and balances within the system.” Klatt also said his party will push to have two students, two faculty and two OU staffers added to the Board of Trustees as voting members (though such structural changes would probably have to be approved at the state level).
Rahman said he supports adding a non-voting faculty member to the Trustee board. He claimed that students have to become better informed and represented by Student Senate before too many structural changes are made in the administrative system.
When asked if he supports making any changes to the makeup of the Board of Trustees, Adeyanju said “this takes time” and did not state if he supports any changes. He claimed that his experience as Black Affairs Commissioner of Student Senate, and the experience held by other AAA members, has allowed his ticket to begin developing the kind of working relationships with top administrators needed to represent students’ needs.
Klatt’s biting critique of OU’s administrative system is nothing new. As a founding member of the OU chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), he organized demonstrations against “free-speech zones” on campus, and last spring helped put the historic “no-confidence” vote on the Student Senate referendum. A majority of OU students voted that they did not have confidence in McDavis and the OU administration.
In what may have been a violation of the board of elections’ rules discouraging negative campaigning, Adeyanju attacked Klatt for his lack of experience and record of accomplishment.
“He has done nothing in his three years here… except hold protests with nothing resulting from them,” Adeyanju said.
Klatt and Adeyanju also butted heads over how much power Student Senate has as a governing body. Klatt said senate has “no power,” and Adeyanju said that it does.
“They have the power to suggest, but that’s no power at all,” Klatt said.
Adeyanju quickly countered, declaring, “You can’t make change without the people who are making change.” He said that such people make up the AAA ticket, and they are capable of working with the OU administration to affect change.
Rahman said it’s possible that Student Senate has little power, but power has to be realized by encouraging students and representatives to get involved in issues and the decision-making process.
All three candidates were asked about university policies they would like to change. Klatt said that he would like to reform OU’s policies on marijuana and alcohol. He called for different levels of punishment for “low-risk drinking” and “high-risk drinking.”
“The reality on this campus is kids drink and smoke pot, and a lot of them do,” Klatt said. “There has to be a balance between the needs of students and the needs of the community.”
Adeyanju called for more student input into the Trustees’ evaluation of McDavis, and he said he wants to help Residence Life officials deliver mail to dorm residents faster.
Rahman said he wants to make the Athletic Affairs Commissioner seat a permanent position on the Student Senate. It’s currently a temporary position. Rahman also wants to reduce the amount of money international students have to pay for interim housing during breaks between quarters.
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