Apathy Marks Student Perception of Senate
By Conor O'Rourke
News Associate

Many students unable to see Dave Chapelle reenact a lap dance due to poor seats cast critical eyes toward the front rows of Bridges Auditorium where several members of ASPC Senate had reserved themselves prime seating for last Friday's show. This accusation of unjust executive privileges is only the latest in an ongoing critique of Pomona's student-run governing body.

The 19-member council, including non-voting advisors Neil Gerard, Dave Swenson, and Ann Quinley, claims to provide programs and services that promote the interests of the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC). What these interests are is a perennial topic of debate and one that defines the term "politics." "One major difficulty is being certain that you are accurately representing the interests of the students that elected you and not just working to achieve your own personal goals," said Evan Sirc '03, currently serving as Residence Halls and Food Commissioner.

Certainly some of the current Senate issues are in the interest of the greater student body. The latest meeting focused on extending library hours until 2 a.m., providing wall-mounted hampers in laundry rooms, and bringing an ideologically balanced set of speakers to campus to discuss the United State's situation in the Middle East. Nonetheless, Sirc notes, "I sometimes find myself caught in the trap of believing that because I want something to happen, others must want it too."

Sophomore Shannon Sims has recognized this trap. "I think that after things like the Dave Chapelle seating happen, we begin to wonder if the Senate really is thinking of all the Pomona students," Sims said.

The alleged self-centeredness of the Senate has been noted in everything from the reserved Dave Chapelle seating to ongoing claims that the Committee for Campus Life and Activities-a subcommittee of Senate-caters only to substance-users. "Plenty of people's idea of a good time on a weekend is not to go out, get drunk, and dance, and I think that it is important for CCLA and other campus groups to take this into account," wrote Robin Starr '04 in an Op-Ed piece for The Student Life last year.

Due to the high profile nature of CCLA events, many students tend to believe the social programming of this singular organization is the sole function of Senate. Most students are not confronting their stereotypes of CCLA and other Senate operations by attending meetings. Despite weekly invitations in the student digester to attend Senate meetings, the 1400 plus ASPC members unrelated to Senate are rarely if ever seen at these weekly meetings. Some have managed to remain completely oblivious to the function of Senate. "I don't even know if Senate is made up of students, faculty, or what," exclaimed Lauren Salvail '03.

ASPC president Philip Kopczynski '03 sees this as the prevailing view of Pomona students. "I think most students view the Senate as unimportant because they do not understand the full scope of the Senate's responsibilities," he said.

In addition to the social programming of CCLA, the Senate's scope encompasses everything from owning and operating the Coop Store and Fountain, to reviewing and retooling academic policies such as the PAC system, to bringing acts like Chapelle to campus at a discounted cost. The estimated loss for the aforementioned event was $10,000, a cost that could have been avoided by charging $17.50 for tickets instead of $5 to the roughly 800 Pomona students who bought them. "The idea was not about making money, but about giving a good show to Pomona students," said Kopczynski.

With an annual budget of $364,000, a $10,000 loss may seem like pocket change. However, what many do not realize is that most of this money is allocated before the school year even begins. The money-which comes from the $180 per semester student fee-is used to fund many campus organizations. An elaborate budget process is carried out in April for the following year, where the Senate reviews all requests through individual hearings with the different organization chairs. In addition, an unallocated sum of $15,000 per semester is used to field requests for one-time social events and start-up fees for new clubs or organizations.

The enormous budgetary power wielded by the Senate raises the issue of where the administration should draw the line on student discretion. "The ways Senate decisions can make or break the survival of an organization would be cause for legitimate concern about who decides where the money goes," said Shannon Sims '05.

"We do not always see eye to eye…but the administration has no say in most of the things we do," said Kopczynski. "Really, [Associate Dean of Students] Gerard, [Dean of Student Affairs] Quinley, and [Associate Director of the Smith Campus Center] Swenson are primarily there to provide us with information and suggestions," said North Campus Representative Cory Forsyth '03.

Quinley agreed that there is a cooperative relationship and characterized it as "strong." "It is the hallmark of student/administration interaction. I'm doing what I see students want done," she says.

Still, a large volume of dissent comes from the underclassmen who criticize the lack of freshman and sophomore representation in the Senate. "I think there are many qualified underclassmen here that would like to have their voice heard but feel uncomfortable doing so given their relative inexperience at Pomona," said Dave Petersen '05. Indeed, this may hold some weight, as only three members of Senate are actually part of the classes of 2005 and 2006. North Campus representative Cory Forsyth '03 agreed, "I think the Senate may tend towards upperclassmen and those on North Campus." Nonetheless Forsyth went on to add, "we never lose sight of the student body population as a whole. Someone will always ask 'wait, is this what everyone would want?'"