Substance-free opening has ended, but the dam of ASPC Senate bureaucracy continues to impede the flow of alcohol throughout the campus. Rather than holding fall senate elections during the traditional third week of courses, the senate has postponed the elections of North, South and Off-Campus Representatives, Sophomore Class President, and Freshmen Class President until September 30.

In addition to accounting for more than one-fourth of the total senate positions, the vacant seats of North and South Campus Representatives prevent the ASPC Budget Committee from convening to approve any alcohol budget requests.
Regulations prohibit the spending of mandatory student fees on alcohol, which means that an organization’s ASPC allotment cannot be spent on alcohol. Alcohol funding comes out of a separate Alcohol Budget ($3,000 this year), to which organizations can apply for money to fund alcohol for an event they are sponsoring (e.g. Junior-Senior Socials). So, until the election is held, the Alcohol Budget is effectively frozen.

The decision to postpone the election was an irresponsible oversight. The voting members of the senate obviously did not understand the implications of a postponement – CCLA being the only organization able to host school-wide parties with Alcohol until at least October 1. Moreover, until then, the senate will continue to hold meetings, discussions, and votes without senate representation for more than half of the school.

ASPC Senate is not only an organization designed to ensure student representation, but also to facilitate student involvement. However, the senate has often fallen short of this second goal. Year after year, without appealing to the general student body, without asking for applications, and without significant discussion or debate, the ASPC Senate has nominated and appointed an elections chairperson based on interpersonal relationships rather than qualifications. This year, again there was no application process, and the senate never publicized the fact that it was looking for an elections chairperson. While this is not the first year an appointment has been made in this fashion, it nonetheless deserves student scrutiny. In order to be appointed, it seems, one must simply know someone in the senate who will nominate you. After hearing one nomination, the senate approved the nominee immediately, without any discussion. Through its actions, the senate has discouraged students without the right connections from pursuing leadership positions within the ASPC.

ASPC Senate has begun recruitment efforts at the dining halls, to boost interest in the many open student committees. Senate volunteers will be distributing applications and information about these committees. This effort is scheduled to continue until Tuesday.

The Student Life urges the senate to continue such efforts to boost student involvement and to cease the practice of appointing student officials without first appealing to the campus at large for interested candidates.