ASG discusses University Senate, student trustees and Oxford skate park

Nathan French appeared in front of Associated Student Government (ASG) to talk about the University Senate. French spoke about the new House Bill 96, which limits the power of faculty senates at universities across the state. French also said he wanted to strengthen the connection between ASG and University Senate.

“When the moment comes that University Senate asks for your response, or if there are opportunities like that emerging AI policy or a conversation about AI that we need to have, don't hesitate to reach out to us,” French said. “If we come to you, we'll come to you through various channels. We will welcome the opportunity to return here [to ASG] and present.”

Peyton Morrow and Arushi Agrawal, the student trustees for the Board of Trustees, gave a presentation about the search for a new student trustee, since Morrow’s term will soon come to an end. Student trustees sit on the Board of Trustees and provide a valuable point of view that can help shape decision-making at the school.

Jack Isphording, chief of staff, gave a presentation on how student trustees are selected. Applications will close on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

“It's important to choose a student who is able to combine a lot of different reaches in order to have a very holistic and very good view of the student experience,” Isphording said. “If you're interested, run next week.”

President Daniel Martin and Vice President Kirsten Osteboe addressed the senate about their campaign platform, which won their election last semester. The pair ran on a platform focused on civic engagement, transparency, leading from behind and community building. Both Martin and Osteboe emphasized their initiatives on campus, like philanthropy fest, and their office hours – which they say will resume soon.

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“We have a really involved campus, but there's also different sects of campus that don't always interlap, so we really wanted to kind of bridge those gaps, and then also bridge the gap with the community of Oxford,” Osteboe said.

ASG then reviewed student concerns. Senator Buckalew responded to a concern that had been brought up last week about red filters on the water bottle stations at the recreation center. Buckalew said filling out a service request is the only way to fix these issues; however, he also said that they are looking into a long-term fix to this issue.

“The sustainability committee is working to get QR codes added to the stations with links to the service request website so that more students understand this process better,” Buckalew said.

Additionally, ASG committed a concern about the closure of the Oxford skate park to the Community Engagement Committee to try and figure out a solution to student concerns and confusion about why the park has been shut down.

ASG will meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. in the Joslin Senate Chambers.

mahones5@miamioh.edu